The Apothecary Diaries

In imperial China, medicine was the domain of the yīshī — practitioners trained in the herbalism, mineralogy, and pulse-reading codified in classics like the Bencao Gangmu. Most weren't court physicians; they ran small shops in market districts, mixing prescriptions of roots, bark, dried insects, and minerals to balance the body's qi. C-dramas love this profession because it puts a low-status commoner in striking range of empresses and emperors, which is exactly the engine of The Apothecary Diaries. Maomao is one such practitioner, raised by her adoptive father in a pleasure quarter dispensary.