《本草綱目》定稿時，李時珍已年過花甲，數十年努力的結晶，最大的心愿就是早日將它刻印出版，發揮社會效用。可是，這部極富科學價值的190萬字巨著，尚未為時人所識，一時很難找到承印的書商，沒有名家的贊許與政府的支持，私人刻印此書多有風險。他到過蘄州、黃州和武昌，都無功而返。傾其畢生心血撰成此書，卻無人識“君”，長期積壓案頭，這對于李時珍來說是莫大的傷心。
When "Compendium of Materia Medica" was finalized, Li Shizhen was over 60 years old and had been the fruit of decades of hard work. His greatest wish was to print and publish it as soon as possible so as to play a social role. However, this 1.9 million-word masterpiece of great scientific value has not yet been known by people. It is difficult to find a bookseller to print it. Without the approval of famous artists and the support of the government, it is risky to print the book privately. He has been to Qizhou, Huangzhou and Wuchang without success. He devoted all his life to writing this book, but no one knew the "monarch" and kept a long backlog of books. This is a great sadness to Li Shizhen.
李時珍看到自己的著作在湖北家鄉無法刻印，便于1579年赴南京尋求出版。南京是當時全國刻印書籍的中心，文化事業相當繁榮。他懷揣希望，但事情的進展并不順利，找過幾個刻書家洽談，都沒有滿意的答復。次年九月，李時珍去太倉拜訪當時的文壇領袖、著名學者王世貞，請他為《本草綱目》作序，“愿乞一言，以托不朽”。王世貞曾在湖廣做過按察使，同李時珍雖不相識，卻時有耳聞，故欣然答應。
Seeing that his works could not be printed in his hometown in Hubei, Li Shizhen went to Nanjing in 1579 to seek publication. Nanjing was the center of engraving books in the country at that time, and cultural undertakings were quite prosperous. He was hopeful, but things didn't go smoothly. He looked for several scribes to discuss and didn't get a satisfactory answer. In September of the following year, Li Shizhen went to Taicang to visit Wang Shizhen, the then literary leader and famous scholar, and asked him to write a preface to Compendium of Materia Medica, "I would like to beg for a word to uphold immortality". Wang Shizhen once made a provincial judge in Huguang. Although he did not know Li Shizhen, he heard of it from time to time, so he readily agreed.
雖然南京之行，聯系刻書事宜未有著落，但收獲還是不小。一來請到王世貞作序，他在序中盛贊《本草綱目》“實性理之精微，格物之通典，帝王之秘箓，臣民之重寶”，這對該書出版應起到一個很好的推介。二來走訪了南京的藥王廟，這里匯集全國各地的藥物，機會難得，他一一做了記錄，對其書稿頗有補正之用。
Although the visit to Nanjing did not result in any contact and inscription, the harvest was not small. First, please go to Wang Shizhen to make a preface. In the preface, he praised "Compendium of Materia Medica" as "the essence of real nature, the general canon of materials, the secret of emperors, and the treasure of subjects", which should be a good introduction to the publication of the book. Secondly, he visited the Yaowangmiao in Nanjing, where medicines from all over the country were collected. It was a rare opportunity. He made records one by one, which was useful for correcting his manuscripts.
李時珍從南京回到湖北老家，一晃又近10年。這期間政局動蕩，前有張居正改革遭壓，后有家鄉爆發農民起義。在這樣的情勢下，《本草綱目》的刻印就更加困難。其間，他又赴南京聯系刻印《本草綱目》一事。
Li Shizhen returned to his hometown in Hubei from Nanjing for another 10 years. During this period, the political situation was turbulent, with Zhang Juzheng's reforms under pressure before and peasant uprisings in his hometown after. Under such circumstances, it is even more difficult to print Compendium of Materia Medica. In the meantime, he went to Nanjing to contact the engraving of Compendium of Materia Medica.
1590年，完稿已12年的《本草綱目》終于得到南京藏書家兼出版商胡承龍的青睞，他感到這部書很有價值，愿意出錢刻印。30年的辛勞，總算得遇知音，這對古稀之年的李時珍是莫大的安慰。可惜這種喜悅來得太晚，不久李時珍就病倒，未及三年便卒于家，臨終前未能親眼所見自己寫就的著作問世。1596年，李時珍的夙愿成真，《本草綱目》刻印大功告成。
In 1590, the 12-year-old Compendium of Materia Medica finally won the favor of Nanjing bibliophile and publisher Hu Chenglong, who felt that the book was valuable and was willing to pay for the inscription. After 30 years of hard work, I finally met a bosom friend, which is a great comfort to Li Shizhen in seventy years of age. It's a pity that this joy came too late. Soon Li Shizhen fell ill and died in less than three years. Before his death, he could not see with his own eyes the works he had written. In 1596, Li Shizhen's long-cherished wish came true and Compendium of Materia Medica was successfully printed.
《本草綱目》不僅在藥物學方面有巨大成就，在化學、地質、天文等方面，都有突出貢獻。它在化學史上，較早地記載了純金屬、金屬、金屬氯化物、硫化物等一系列的化學反應。同時又記載了蒸餾、結晶、升華、沉淀、干燥等現代化學中應用的一些操作方法。
Compendium of Materia Medica has made great achievements not only in pharmacology, but also in chemistry, geology and astronomy. In the history of chemistry, it recorded a series of chemical reactions of pure metals, metals, metal chlorides, sulfides, etc. earlier. At the same time, some operating methods applied in modern chemistry such as distillation, crystallization, sublimation, precipitation and drying are also recorded.
古籍善本作為不可再生的稀缺資源，只會越來越少，而其中所包含的文獻和文物價值實是難以估量，其價格自然穩步上升。而其收藏者的隊伍越來越龐大。古籍善本的大買家往往是具有一定財力的收藏家，主要瞄準精品，一旦買入短期內就很難會再賣出，這樣使得市場上的精品在一個時期內相對慢慢減少。可以說經過十余年的拍賣，很多真正意義上的善本經過一輪的易手，目前已經越來越難以在市場上見到了。物以稀為貴，貨源量的減少和需求量的增加自然促成了價格的穩步上升，具有非常大的升值空間。
As a non-renewable scarce resource, rare editions of ancient books will only become less and less, and the value of the documents and cultural relics contained in them is incalculable, and their prices will naturally rise steadily. And the ranks of its collectors are getting larger and larger. Large buyers of rare ancient books are usually collectors with certain financial resources, mainly aiming at fine works. Once they buy them, it is difficult to sell them again in a short period of time, thus making the fine works in the market relatively slowly decrease over a period of time. It can be said that after more than 10 years of auction, many real good books have changed hands after a round of changes, and it has become increasingly difficult to see in the market. Thinning is the most expensive thing. The decrease in supply and the increase in demand naturally contribute to a steady rise in prices, with great room for appreciation.
