 Li Shizhen ( 1518 – 93 ) — one of the most renowned pharmacologists and physicians in Chinese history — belonged to the late Ming period . His Bencao Gangmu is a medical text with 1 @,@ 892 entries , each entry with its own name called a gang . The mu in the title refers to the synonyms of each name . Inoculation , although it can be traced to earlier Chinese folk medicine , was detailed in Chinese texts by the sixteenth century . Throughout the Ming dynasty , around fifty texts were published on the treatment of smallpox . In regards to oral hygiene , the ancient Egyptians had a primitive toothbrush of a twig frayed at the end , but the Chinese were the first to invent the modern bristle toothbrush in 1498 , although it used stiff pig hair . 
