Zhu Fan Zhi and the Maritime Road of Aromatic Medicine in the Song Dynasty

Abstract

Zhao Rukuo’s Zhu Fan Zhi in the Southern Song dynasty was the first book in the history of China to systematically describe the “Maritime Silk Road”, recording the geography, products, customs, trade, etc. of more than 50 foreign countries and regions. The book included a large amount of medical literature, introducing medical customs and the production of drugs in various places, as well as the efficacy of some medicine. These materials are of unique value for understanding the medicine trade in the Song dynasty, and even the medical culture along the “Maritime Road of Aromatic Medicine”.