ABSTRACT
The recognition and use of Aconitum carmichaeli have undergone various changes from the pre-Qin period to Tang dynasty. From "the drug of evil" to "the leader of hundreds of medicine ", people's understanding of A. carmichaeli is more and more deep and specific. The medicinal values of A. Carmichaeli have been excavated, and it is widely used in brewing skill, agricultural production, Taoism, Buddhism and festival customs. Its function is becoming more and more diversified and routinized. By studying it, we can glimpse some rules in the evolution of traditional Chinese medicine, for instance relationships between drugs and poisons, drugs and non-drug; the inheritance and integration of medical books' recording; the generalization and routinization of Chinese medicinal medicines' functions, and so on.