The Tang Materia Medica was the first book.?

That statement is not entirely accurate. While the Tang Materia Medica (also known as the *Bencao Gangmu*) is considered one of the most important and influential books on medicine and pharmacology in Chinese history, it was not the first book on these subjects.

Here's why:

* Earlier Texts: Chinese pharmacopoeias and medicinal texts existed long before the Tang Dynasty. For example, the *Shennong Bencao Jing* (The Divine Farmer's Materia Medica) is believed to have been written sometime during the Han Dynasty (206 BCE – 220 CE) and is considered the first comprehensive materia medica.

* Compilation: The Tang Materia Medica, written by Li Shizhen in the 16th century, was actually a massive compilation and expansion of previous medicinal texts. It organized existing knowledge, added new discoveries, and included detailed descriptions of plants, minerals, and animal products used in medicine.

In essence, the Tang Materia Medica was a culmination of centuries of Chinese medicinal knowledge and research, not the first book in the field.