Flower Herbal Medicine

Author: Guo Hongtao (Editor)
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2003-01-01
Features: This book is divided into two parts. The first part introduces the historical evolution of flower-related medicinal herbs, their applications in daily life and clinical practice, modern research, general botanical knowledge of flower-related medicinal plants, and their close relationship with Chinese culture. The second part introduces the properties, flavors, meridian tropism, efficacy, main indications, preparation and application, origin, and synonyms of 7 flower-related medicinal herbs. It also includes selected prescriptions and excerpts from relevant literature, followed by an index of herb and prescription names for easy reference. The entire book integrates professionalism, practicality, and knowledge, making it suitable as a specialized reference book for traditional Chinese medicine practitioners, as well as for the general public, especially those interested in traditional Chinese medicine culture.
[Preface]
Preface
Herbal medicine is an essential component of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and holds a significant position in treatment, prevention, and health care. Without herbs, there is no medicine, and without the advancement of pharmaceutical studies, there can be no comprehensive development of clinical medicine. Therefore, the discipline of TCM is directly related to the overall improvement of the TCM academic system. Over its two thousand years of development, TCM has formed a comprehensive discipline system, including fundamental theories and specialized fields such as internal medicine, surgery, gynecology, and pediatrics. In contrast, the development of herbal medicine as a discipline has lagged behind. Most historical herbal texts were either expansions, abridgments, or selections, while specialized works like Sea Medicine Herbal and Herbal for Famine Relief were relatively rare.
Thus, scientifically classifying and systematically organizing herbal medicine based on its categories, functions, flavors, and other characteristics to make it more specialized, academic, and practical is an important task for future research and compilation in the field of herbal medicine. Over the past few decades, hundreds of TCM series books have been published, but pharmaceutical studies were either included as one of the books in a series or were completely omitted. To date, no series of books dedicated solely to herbal medicine has been available. Therefore, based on the characteristics of herbs—such as categories, functions, flavors—we have organized and compiled this series of books.
Our work builds upon the research achievements of previous scholars and references a large number of historical TCM texts. We are deeply grateful to the pioneers of the pharmaceutical field for providing us with guidance for further efforts. Our focus is on innovation, aiming to approach the discipline of herbal medicine with new perspectives and approaches, hoping to contribute to its development. This series consists of 10 volumes: Aromatic Medicine Herbal, Marine Medicine Herbal, Insect Medicine Herbal, Fungus Medicine Herbal, Edible Medicine Herbal, Mineral Medicine Herbal, Animal Medicine Herbal, Flower Medicine Herbal, Garden Medicine Herbal, and Toxic Medicine Herbal. While there is some overlapping content, the different writing perspectives ensure that the overall material is not repetitive.
In terms of structure, each book is divided into three parts: General Introduction, Specific Discussions, and Appendices. The General Introduction covers historical evolution, herbal characteristics, clinical applications, and modern research. The Specific Discussions classify and discuss each herb’s flavors, efficacy, actions, components, and supplementary formulas. The Appendices include indexes of herbs and prescriptions. This series is both an academic work and a popular reference, strong in scientific rigor, readability, and practicality. It caters to a broad readership and has distinct features, making it suitable as an important reference for TCM clinicians, educators, and researchers, as well as for TCM enthusiasts and general readers.
We firmly believe that the publication of this series will provide new perspectives and ideas for the development of herbal medicine as a discipline, which is exactly what we hope to achieve.