The practice of Chinese materia medica stretches back for millennia. The earliest written record of prescriptions is the manuscript Recipes for 52 Ailments (?????, Wushí'èr Bìngfang), discovered in the Mawangdui tombs, which were sealed in 168 BCE.

Later tradition credits the legendary figure Shénnóng (??, lit. "Divine Farmer") as the founder of Chinese materia medica. He is said to have lived around 2800 BCE and to have tasted hundreds of