RESUMO
This study systematically combed and analyzed the use of such terms as "prohibition"， "contraindication"， and "use with caution" in ancient Chinese books on materia medica and prescriptions， Pharmacopoeia of the People's Republic of China（《中华人民共和国药典》）， and teaching materials and monographs of Chinese materia medica by means of hermeneutics， commentariology， textology， and data mining， and explored the historical evolution and conceptual connotations of "prohibition"， "contraindication"， and "use with caution" in Chinese materia medica， so as to provide reference for standardizing their understandings and clinical reasonable medication. The "prohibition"， "contraindication"， and "use with caution" of Chinese materia medica were first proposed in the period of pre-Qin and Han dynasties. "Prohibition" and "contraindication" were separately developed in the Sui， Tang， and Five dynasties and Song， Jin， and Yuan dynasties and have been widely used since the Ming and Qing dynasties. The "use with caution" becomes popular rapidly in modern times and is often present in clinical medication together with "prohibition" and "contraindication". "Prohibition" basically means strictly prohibited and "contraindication" means to avoid as much as possible. The terms "prohibition"， "contraindication"， and "use with caution" have experienced evolution from the pre-Qin period to modern times， and they are used to describe the degree of restriction on drug use（"prohibition" > " contraindication" > "use with caution"）.