ABSTRACT
Many medicine names were recorded in Shuowen Jiezi. The later scholars interpreted these names, but they had different standpoints on the relationship between the name and nature of some medicines. In this study, the medicine names of diao, ji, li, tiao, and di with greater different standpoints were verified by textual research. Shuowen Jiezi, Erya, Guangya and previous annotations of these exegesis books were combined with herbal literature to summarize and analyze the relevant content. The herbal content in exegesis books were compared with the records in herbal literature to hackle the relationship between name and nature of medicines, clarify the lexical meaning and illustrate the efficacy of the medicines. Meanwhile, the value of herbalism in these exegesis books was explored.