Statue of Shennong
Qing Dynasty
Ivory. H: 19 cm, base w: 7.5 cm. The figure is tasting an herb that he holds in his hand. This reflects the legend that Shennong invented medicine by tasting all plants. The Bencao jing, the earliest systematic materia medica, probably compiled in the Han dynasty, is attributed to him. (Collection of Museum for History of Medicine, Shanghai University of TCM.)