Li Shizhen spent 27 years compiling the Bencao Gangmu, his systematic pharmacopoeia cataloguing nearly 1,900 medicinal substances, completed in 1578 but not published until 1596 — four years after his death. The People's Bank issued this coin as part of its ongoing commemorative series honoring figures from Chinese scientific history, a program that began gaining international collector attention in the late 1980s as Chinese silver issues remained relatively underpriced on Western markets.
The .900 fine silver specification aligns with earlier issues in the series rather than the .999 standard China later adopted.
Li Shizhen spent 27 years compiling the Bencao Gangmu, his systematic pharmacopoeia cataloguing nearly 1,900 medicinal substances, completed in 1578 but not published until 1596 — four years after his death. The People's Bank issued this coin as part of its ongoing commemorative series honoring figures from Chinese scientific history, a program that began gaining international collector attention in the late 1980s as Chinese silver issues remained relatively underpriced on Western markets.
The .900 fine silver specification aligns with earlier issues in the series rather than the .999 standard China later adopted.