Shennong Bencao Jing, the earliest book on meteria medica in China, appeared approximately in the Han Dynasty with its authorship unknown.

《神农本草经》是中国最早的中药学著作， 大约出现在汉代， 其作者身份不明。

" Where a placebo merely is wanted, the purpose may be answered by means, which, although perhaps reduced under the materia medica, do not, however, deserve the name of medicines, " physician Andrew Duncan wrote in his 1770 book Elements of Therapeutic.

安德鲁·邓肯医生在他 1770 年出版的《治疗元素》一书中写道：“如果仅仅需要安慰剂，目的可以通过某种方式来实现，尽管这种方式在本草医学中可能有所减少，但却不配被称为药物。”