July 3, 2021 is the 503rd anniversary of Li Shizhen's birth. Li Shizhen was the most famous physician and pharmacist in the History of China during the Ming Dynasty and in China, and after a long and arduous field investigation, Li Shizhen clarified many difficult problems of medicine, and completed the compilation of the Compendium of Materia Medica in 1578 at the age of 60. The Compendium of Materia Medica is a leading work of Materia Medica and has had a profound influence on later medical and natural science research.
In order to commemorate the great contributions of ancient Chinese scientists, including Li Shizhen, to the world's science and technology, China Post issued a set of 4 commemorative stamps of Ji 33 "Ancient Chinese Scientists (Group I)" on August 25, 1955, the fourth of which was the statue of Li Shizhen. On January 1, 1956, China Post issued a set of 4 small sheets of Ji 33 "Ancient Chinese Scientists (First Group)", the fourth of which was a statue of Li Shizhen. The picture selects the extreme film produced by Li Shizhen's commemorative stamps in "Portraits of Famous Chinese and Foreign Scientists and Musicians" published by Shanghai People's Fine Arts Publishing House as the carrier, and Li Shizhen's commemorative stamps made by Affixed to Ji 33 "Ancient Chinese Scientists (Group I)".
Hong Kong, China, issued a commemorative stamp entitled "Ancient Chinese Scientists" on 8 December 2015. This set of four stamps introduces four famous ancient Chinese scientists, including Zhang Heng, who invented the ground motion instrument, Zu Chongzhi, who calculated pi, Guo Shoujing, who invented the Simple Instrument, and Li Shizhen, who compiled the Compendium of Materia Medica. The picture is based on the postcard issued by Zhejiang Provincial Stamp Company with the small sheet of Ji 33 "Ancient Chinese Scientists (Group I)" as the carrier, and the extreme film made by the "Ancient Chinese Scientists" Li Shizhen stamp issued in Hong Kong is affixed to the commemorative postmark on the first day of the release of the stamp. Li Shizhen's "Compendium of Materia Medica" has made outstanding contributions to traditional Chinese medicine and the development of natural sciences in the world, and the world will always miss him.