Jinshi’s canonical age in The Apothecary Diaries is 19 years old in the main story timeline, even though his “official” (fake) age presented at court is 24.

Quick Scoop: Jinshi’s Age Explained

  • Jinshi is stated in the source material to be 19 at the time of the core events.
  • At the palace, he uses a fabricated public age of 24 , which is why many in-universe (and many fans) think he’s in his mid‑20s.
  • The backstory notes that he started working under this persona about six years earlier , meaning the court believed he was around 18 when he was actually about 13 , adding to the confusion and “plot hole” discussions in forums.

So if you’re wondering “How old is Jinshi in The Apothecary Diaries?” the short, canon-consistent answer is:

Privately and canonically: 19.
Publicly and officially at court: 24 (a fake age used for his persona).

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.