Pharmacological Song Cuts: A Plain Explanation of Four Hundred Medicinal Herbs - 5th Edition (Series of Plain Explanations of TCM Song Cuts)

Author: Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Beijing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 1962-12-01
Features: Yao Xing Ge Kuo Si Bai Wei (A Concise Rhyming Manual of 400 Medicinal Herbs) was written by the Ming Dynasty physician Gong Tingxian. This book introduces the properties, functions, and main indications of 400 commonly used medicinal herbs in four-character rhyming verse. The content is concise and easy to remember, with a pleasant rhythm that aids memorization. However, due to the limitations of four-character rhyming verse, the language is somewhat simplistic, making it difficult to grasp deeper insights. To facilitate learning, our publishing house released Yao Xing Ge Kuo Si Bai Wei Baihua Jie (A Colloquial Explanation of Yao Xing Ge Kuo Si Bai Wei) in the 1960s. This book was highly acclaimed by readers and has been revised four times, printed 25 times, and has a cumulative print run of nearly 4 million copies, remaining consistently popular. To better meet the needs of modern readers, the original compilers at the Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Beijing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, revised this book for its fifth edition. This revision faithfully preserves the original rhyming verses while providing a more in-depth, accessible, and easy-to-understand colloquial explanation. It further enriches the discussions on the properties and functions of the herbs, adds new information on common compatibility methods, formulas, and modern pharmacological research. Some entries also include annotations to elaborate on unaddressed points. Additionally, errors from previous editions have been corrected, and the term "Chinese herbal medicine" added in earlier supplements has been removed. This book not only retains its memorable and easy-to-recite features but also allows readers to gain a comprehensive and systematic understanding of 400 commonly used medicinal herbs with a single volume, making it even more convenient to study, master, and apply.