Design Description

This series comprises four wall-mounted artworks themed on the classic Chinese medicine formula Si Jun Zi Tang (Four Gentlemen Decoction). Through the four medicinals in the jun-chen-zuo-shi (monarch, minister, assistant and guide) roles, respectively Renshen (Ginseng Root, Radix Ginseng), Baizhu (Largehead Atractylodes Rhizome, Rhizoma Atractylodis Macrocephalae), Fuling (Tuckahoe, Poria Cocos) and Gancao (Liquorice Root, Radix Glycyrrhizae), the works correspond to their positions in traditional Chinese medicine’s compatibility theory and extend them as symbols of four aspects of the physician’s spirit: benevolence of heart, benevolence of skill, attentive listening, and harmonisation. Each piece centres on a hand-drawn botanical illustration of the medicinal plant, accompanied by descriptions of medicinal properties and poetic text, presenting respectively:

• Renshen as the jun (monarch) medicinal, symbolising “benevolence as foundation”;
• Baizhu as the chen (minister) medicinal, symbolising “skill in service of the world”;
• Fuling as the zuo (assistant) medicinal, symbolising “attentive listening and calming the spirit to help others”;
• Gancao as the shi (guide) medicinal, symbolising “harmonising all medicinals and coordinating all hearts”.

The design blends the style of painting on sized Xuan paper with the format of hanging scrolls, embodying the restraint, balanced and humanistic spirit of Chinese medicine culture, suitable for hospital meeting spaces and creating a professional, serene and culturally rich environment.

The designer selected illustrations from the Ming Dynasty materia medica works Buyi Leigong Paozhi Bianlan (Supplemented Lei Gong’s Compendium of Pharmaceutical Processing) and Bencao Pinhui Jingyao (Essential Classified Materia Medica) as references for artistic creation. While enhancing the visual aesthetic, the design preserves the historical character and legacy embodied in these classical texts.