Su Jing

Biography

Early Life and Medical Erudition

Su Jing was born in Huaiyang, Chenzhou, into an educated gentry family with a strong tradition of medical scholarship. From his youth, he immersed himself in the classical literature of antiquity, developing deep proficiency in natural history, medicinal botany, and mineral identification. During the early Tang dynasty, he entered imperial service, eventually attaining the rank of Grand Master for Closing Court (Chaosan Dafu) and serving as Chief Secretary in the Right Gate Guard administration (Youjianmenfu Changshi).

Conception and Imperial Commission of the Pharmacopoeia

By the middle of the seventh century, the standard botanical reference remained the Collection of Commentaries on the Shennong Bencao compiled by Tao Hongjing during the Southern Liang dynasty. However, after more than a century and a half of geographic expansion, that earlier text suffered from substantial inaccuracies, obsolete classifications, and numerous missing herbs indigenous to the northern and western provinces. In 657 CE (the second year of the Xianqing era), Su Jing submitted a comprehensive memorial to Emperor Gaozong, articulating the urgent clinical and governmental necessity of an official revision. Recognizing the vital role of medical standardization in imperial governance, Emperor Gaozong enthusiastically approved the project and assigned twenty-two distinguished civil officials and Imperial Academy physicians—including Chancellor Li Ji, Xu Jingzong, and Kong Zhiyue—to collaborate under Su Jing's direct scholarly coordination.

Compilation, Promulgation, and Worldwide Legacy

Under Su Jing's direction, an imperial decree commanded all commanderies and prefectures throughout the empire to collect and dispatch authentic herbal specimens alongside accurate colored botanical paintings. Su Jing meticulously collated the morphological descriptions and properties of 850 distinct substances, classifying them across fifty-four volumes divided into canonical text, drug charts, and illustrated manuals. Completed in 659 CE as the Newly Revised Materia Medica (Xinxiu Bencao, or Tang Bencao), this work represented the world's earliest official state pharmacopoeia, preceding European equivalents by over eight centuries. It rapidly disseminated across East Asia, establishing institutional drug standards in Japan, Korea, and Central Asia.

Major Activities

Pioneering the World's First State Pharmacopoeia

In 657–659 CE, Su Jing organized and drafted the Newly Revised Materia Medica, establishing national standards for drug identification, processing, and pharmaceutical taxation.

Establishing the Multi-Media Botanical Classification Model

Su Jing pioneered the integration of written text, painted botanical diagrams (Bencao Tujing), and morphological illustrations (Bencao Tu) into a unified scientific reference system.

Personal Relations

• Sovereign: Emperor Gaozong of Tang.
• Compilation Colleagues: Li Ji, Xu Jingzong, Kong Zhiyue, Xu Xiaochong.
• Academic Predecessor: Tao Hongjing (Southern Dynasties pharmacologist).

Historical Assessment

• Kong Zhiyue: Praised Su Jing in the preface to the Newly Revised Materia Medica for his meticulous botanical scholarship and public benefaction.
• Old Book of Tang (Jiu Tangshu): Recorded his pre-eminent medical understanding and organizational leadership in compiling the imperial pharmacopoeia.
• Li Shizhen (Bencao Gangmu): Hailed the Tang Pharmacopoeia as an authoritative regulatory baseline that corrected centuries of botanical inaccuracies.