本文旨在討論明代男性的生育問題與醫藥求子。雖說生育是天賦本能，但求子不得的遺憾似乎也是世間常情。在傳統中國社會，自兩漢到宋元時期的文獻已記載影響生育的病因、療法與藥方，但多集中在女性。到了明代，醫者逐漸重視男性的生育責任，因此一方面要求男性進行情緒與身體的自我管理，另一方面充實男子用種子藥方的種類，乃至能專設「種子門」或出版專書。然而，隨著標榜簡便廉速的醫書、方書與日用類書的問世，在醫學知識與藥方趨於簡化與普及的過程中，知識本身的細緻與準確程度也逐漸弱化。如此一來，由於醫書與方書簡化無子病因、提供速成藥方並強調「興陽」或「壯陽」的藥效，往往導致急於求子的男性陷入誤服藥物的險境。

This article focuses on male fertility problems and prescriptions of heir-begetting during the Ming Dynasty. Fertility is a natural capacity, but being childless is a common disappointment. To treat fertility problems, there were reportedly several prescriptions in medical books during the period between the two Han Dynasties and the Song and Yuan Dynasties, but most discussions focus on women. In the Ming Dynasty, doctors began to pay attention to male fertility problems. On the one hand, they requested men to manage their own sexual desires and bodies; on the other hand, they increased prescriptions of heir-begetting and even published specialized books. The medical books advertised easy and quick-acting prescriptions, simplified causes of infertility, and emphasized the efficacy of “facilitating yang.” As a result, the books often made men who desired children risk taking the wrong medication.