At the age of 17, 20 and 23, Li Shizhen went to Wuchang to take the imperial exam at the provincial level, but failed every time. Hence, he gave up the imperial examination and determined to follow his father to learn medicine. He lucubrated at medical knowledge, spared no pains to take in the predecessors' experiences in medical treatment and was good at giving play to his own creativity. Coupled with his high sympathy for patients, he did not only show good curative leechcraft but also high medical ethics in his practice. He won high prestige just in a few years. Particularly, his curing of a weird disease of children called "worm addiction" in the Royal Family of Chu made his reputation rise rapidly, and he was employed by the royal family as "fengcizheng"(an official title), in charge of affairs in the "liangyisuo" (Office of Good Doctors). Later, he was recommended to the " Hospital of Imperial Physicians " in Beijing to work as the "yuanpan" (chief doctor). However, he was not interested in it and resigned on the pretext of illness after working only for a little more than one year.

In his medical practice, Li Shizhen found many mistakes, repetitions or omissions in medical books available, feeling it was a great problem that affected the health and life of patients. So he made a decision to compile a new comprehensive book specializing in medicines again. From the age of 34, he started this project. In addition to summing-up of predecessors' experiences and accomplishments, he learned extensively from medical farmers, woodmen, hunters, fishermen and other laboring people. On the other hand, he often went to deep mountains and fields to observe and collect all kinds of samples of plants, animals, minerals and so on. He cultivated medical herbs himself and tried them on his own body so as to get the right knowledge of the herbs.

After 27 years of efforts, with reference to more than 800 kinds of literature and based on Jingshi Zhenglei Beiji Bencao (a book on materia medica) by Tang Shenwei in the Song Dynasty (960-1279), he completed his monumental work in pharmacy, Compendium of Materia Medica, in the sixth year (1578) of the Wanli reign of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) at the age of 60, after he did a great deal of collation and supplementation, added many of his own findings and views, and carried out three important revisions. Li Shizhen will never be forgotten by people for his great contribution to traditional Chinese medicine.

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