Entering the World of Chinese Medicinal 进入中药世界

Entering the World of Chinese Medicinal 进入中药世界

1. Chinese Medicinal 

  Chinese medicinal refers to the medicines applied under the guidance of traditional Chinese medicine theory. It is mainly composed of medicines from plants, animals, and minerals.

1. Chinese Medicinal 

  Chinese medicinal refers to the medicines applied under the guidance of traditional Chinese medicine theory. It is mainly composed of medicines from plants, animals, and minerals.

Because most of the medicines are plants, traditional Chinese medicine is also known as “herbal medicine”. According to recent data, there are approximately 8,000 different types of Chinese medicines.

The Origin and Development of Chinese Medicinal

  Regarding the origin of Chinese medicinal, the story of “Shennong tastes the herbs” is one of the most important. Legend has it that in ancient times, people ate wild food and often fell ill and died. In order 10 make people healthy, Shennong tasted the “hundred herbs” seeking medicine for healing. He discerned the cold, warm, sweet, bitter and other properties of the “hundred herbs” and was poisoned many Limes in this process. In the end, Shennong died of eating poisonous herbs, but he left valuable medical knowledge for the people.

 In fact, Chinese medicinal is the result of peopled long-term life practice. In 2015, the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences researcher Tu Youyou (born 1930) was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine due to the successful extraction of artemisinin from Artemisia annua which helped create a new method for the treatment of malaria. The world has therefore recognized the power of Chinese medicinal.

China’s Time-honored Pharmacy

 Tongren Tang in Beijing and Hu Qingyu Tang in Hangzhou are the two most well-known traditional Chinese pharmaceutical establishments.Tongren Tang was founded in 1723 and provided medicines for eight emperors, hence it is a veritable royal pharmacy. For more than three hundred years, Tongren Tang has been known for authentic medicine and excellent processing.Hu Qingyu Tang was founded in 1874 by a businessman named Hu Xueyan. Hu Qingyu Tang took “No Cheating” as its motto to promote honest business and management. Adhering to this principle, Hu Qingyu Tang has been open for more than 100 years and is known as the “Medicine King of South China”.

Cultural Notes

Tu Youyou and Artemisinin

  Tu Youyou is the chief researcher and noted pharmacist of the Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine of the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences. As a leading member of the Chinese National Task Force on Developing New Antimalarial Drugs, Tu Youyou locked antimalarial drugs on the traditional Chinese medicine Artemisia annua. Inspired by the ancient books of traditional Chinese medicine, she experienced more than 380 failures. Finally, in 1971, she successfully extracted the active anti-malaria ingredient from Artemisia annua and named it “artemisinin”. The emergence of artemisinin has helped millions of malaria patients worldwide. Thanks to her outstanding contributions, Tu Youyou was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2015, becoming the first Chinese scientist to win the Nobel Prize in science and the first Chinese scientist to receive the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

2. The Mystique of Chinese Medicinal Treatment

The Nature and Role of Chinese Medicinal

  The magical effect of Chinese medicinal lies in its unique “bias”, which is mainly reflected in the two aspects of “auras” and “flavors”.The “auras” of Chinese medicinal refer to its different characteristics of coldness, heat, warmth and coolness. The nature of coldness and coolness is close, so is the nature of heat and warmth, but to a different extent. Coldness and coolness can clear heat, while heat and warmth can dispel coldness. This characteristics of drugs are used to correct the “cold and hot imbalance” under human pathological conditions.The “flavors” of Chinese medicinal have five different types: sour, bitter, sweet, spicy and salty. Different “flavors” have different effects on the human body. When people eat a pepper with a pungent taste, they sweat, which indicates that the pungent taste has an outward divergence. People often like to eat sweets to supplement energy when they are weak, which indicates that sweet taste has a nourishing effect. In addition, the sour taste has an inward convergence effect, the bitterness has a downward efflux effect, and the salty taste has a softening effect. According to these different effects, Chinese medicinal is used to treat the corresponding diseases.The uniqueness of Chinese medicinal is that they all have specific “effective spots”, called “meridian entries”, that is, they have obvious therapeutic effects on certain diseases and certain organs.

In fact, the efficacy of Chinese medicinal is determined by its various attributes such as auras, flavors, and meridian entries. It is ultimately reflected in the regulation of Qi in the human body. Chinese medicinal restores the normal operation of the human body by means of raising, lowering, collecting, and dispersing Qi.

How to Get Good Chinese Medicinal

 The collection of the Chinese herbal medicinal materials has strict time control. A herbal medicinal material is collected at different times, and the curative effect can be very different. Taking Artemisia capillaris as an example: For the best effect, the harvest should take place in the 3rd month of the Chinese lunar calendar, whereas there is basically no therapeutic effect if collected in the 5th month.In order to give full play to the efficacy of the drug, or to overcome certain toxic side effects, Chinese medicinal is generally processed by drying, steaming, heating, etc., in order to be used.

The Mystique of Chinese Medicinal Compatibility

  Although a single Chinese medicinal can be used to treat certain diseases, due to the complexity of human diseases, in most cases, multiple Chinese medicinals need to be used together to achieve therapeutic effects.  Each Chinese medicinal has a unique nature, and the relationship between Chinese medicinals is also like the relationship between people. Some are good friends to each other and will increase their respective roles when they meet. Some are enemies, and when they meet, they will alleviate or destroy each other’s functions. A qualified Chinese doctor can skillfully use the different relationships between Chinese medicinals and use them together. In the end, the combination will achieve the purpose of enhancing therapeutic effects while reducing side effects. This prescription for Chinese medicinals after combination is called a “TCM formula”. Due to the accumulation of treatment experience and the need for clinical treatment, Chinese medicinal prescriptions have developed a variety of oral and topical dosage forms such as decoction, pill, powder, paste and pellet. Among them, decoction is the most common type of oral medicine, due to its fast absorption and fast acting characteristics.