Sources
Data sources
Every list, article and figure on this site carries its source. This page collects all of them.
Last checked: 2026-10-14
The catalogue
- List of substances that are both food and medicine (87 items) · WeiFaJianFa [2002] No. 51, Annex 1
- Notice No. 8 of 2019: six substances newly added
- Notice No. 9 of 2023: nine substances newly added
- Notice No. 4 of 2024: four substances added
- Provisions on the administration of the catalogue · GuoWeiShiPinFa [2021] No. 36
Laws and regulatory documents
- Advertising Law of the People's Republic of China
- Measures for the administration of internet advertising (in force 1 May 2023)
- Notice on regulating health science content by self-media accounts (28 July 2025)
Official dietary guidelines
This is the only category that may be cited as guidance. Quote the stated principles only, with the full title and year.
- Dietary guidelines for adults with hypertension and three others · 2023
- Dietary guidelines for adults with obesity · 2024
- Dietary guidelines for stroke and for sarcopenia · issued April 2026
Classical texts and records
Passages follow standard editions and have not been collated character by character against facsimiles; check the original edition and chapter before citing. The gazetteer passage is taken from a public government website.
- Shennong Bencao Jing, upper grade (entries for juhua and gouqi)
- Bencao Chongyuan, Zhang Zhicong, Qing
- Xijing Zaji, ch. 3, attributed to Liu Xin, Han
- Dongjing Menghua Lu, ch. 8, Meng Yuanlao, Song
- Shijing (Book of Odes), Minor Odes, “Northern Hill”
- Yinchuan Xiaozhi, Wang Yichen, 1755
- Bencao Gangmu, ch. 22 (grain section), entry for huma, Li Shizhen, Ming
- Yue Ling Qi Shi Er Hou Ji Jie, Wu Cheng, Yuan (the three signs of Cold Dew)
Customs and official explainers
One folk record is taken from a seasonal explainer page published by the Beijing Municipal Forestry and Parks Bureau. Such pages are popular writing, not regulatory documents; cite them with the page title, the publishing body and the date.
Facsimiles
Classical passages marked checked were collated character by character against the facsimiles listed here. The volume numbers of a scan and of the text do not always line up; cite by chapter, not by scanned volume.
- Bencao Gangmu, ch. 22 (grain section), entry for huma, Li Shizhen, Ming — scan of the National Library of China copy (vol. 31)
- Shennong Bencao Jing, reconstruction by Sun Xingyan and Sun Fengyi, Qing — Wenjingtang edition, scan of the University of Hong Kong Fung Ping Shan Library copy
- Xijing Zaji, Sibu Congkan reprint of the Ming Jiajing Kong Tianyin edition
- Dongjing Menghua Lu, Yuan-dynasty block-print edition — scan of the National Library of China copy
- Mao Shi Gu Xun Zhuan (Mao Heng commentary, Zheng Xuan sub-commentary) — scan of the National Library of China copy, vol. 2
- Bencao Chongyuan, Zhang Zhicong with Gao Shishi, Qing — as printed in the Qianlong Yilin Zhiyue collection
- Yinchuan Xiaozhi, Wang Yichen, 1755 — scan of the Nanjing Library copy
English names, pinyin and botanical names are still being checked item by item, following the pharmacopoeia and established usage. They are not final.
Notice numbers and links may be updated; the latest official release prevails. This site indexes and paraphrases, it does not replace the originals.