Traditional Chinese Medicine

Author: Chief Editor: He Xingdong et al
Publisher:
Publishing Time: 1998-09-01
Features:
Segment: General Discussion
1. Concepts of Chinese Drugs
Chinese Drugs: Traditional Chinese drugs are often characterized by two major aspects: most of them are produced in China, and they are clinically used to treat diseases according to the basic theory of traditional Chinese medicine and Chinese materia medica. Chinese drugs reflect traditional cultural features in Chinese history in certain aspects.
Herbs: Chinese drugs largely come from plants with medicinal herbs as their mainstays. Therefore, since ancient times, Chinese drugs have been called herbs.
Chinese Materia Medica: The Chinese materia medica, an important component part of traditional Chinese medicine, is a special subject for studying the theory on the properties of Chinese drugs, their producing areas, collection, preparation, effects, dosage, and administration.
2. The Origin and Development of Chinese Drugs
Chinese drugs originated from productive and medical practice by the laboring people in ancient China. The record of "Shen Nong tasting a hundred herbs came across seventy toxic substances in a single day" is a vivid description of the discovery and development of Chinese drugs by the laboring people in ancient China at a tremendous cost in the struggle against diseases. As early as the primitive times, while looking for food, mankind accidentally discovered that some plants could alleviate or eliminate suffering from diseases. Since then, people have been actively looking for drugs. In remote antiquity when written languages were not invented, the knowledge about drugs could only be disseminated and accumulated generation by generation in spoken languages. After the invention of written languages, the knowledge about drugs closely related to birth, senility, illness, and death was naturally recorded in written languages. Medicinal wine was recorded in inscriptions on bones or tortoiseshells in the Shang Dynasty. Drugs were also recorded in early historical books. With the increase in Chinese drugs, the development of their practical use and the research into the theory on their properties led to the publication of special books on Chinese herbs. In the history of the development of Chinese books, there were five herbal classics: Shen Nong's Herbal Classic in the late Eastern Han Dynasty, Various of Shen Nong's Herbal in the Liang Dynasty, The Newly-Revised Materia Medica in the Tang Dynasty, Classic Classified Materia Medica for Emergency in the Song Dynasty, Compendium of Materia Medica in the Ming Dynasty, and Supplement to the Compendium of Materia Medica in the Qing Dynasty. Among them, Shen Nong's Herbal Classic is the earliest special book on Chinese materia medica, The Newly-Revised Materia Medica is the earliest pharmacopeial book, and Compendium of Materia Medica has a relatively enormous influence in the world. Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, traditional Chinese medicine and Chinese materia medica have been developing rapidly. Traditional herbs are divided into Chinese Materia Medica, Medicinal Chemistry of Chinese Drugs, Medicinal Botany of Chinese Drugs, Pharmacology of Chinese Drugs, and many other related subjects. As many as 5,767 kinds of Chinese drugs were compiled in the Chinese Materia Medica Dictionary published in 1975, reflecting to a certain extent the level of the development of Chinese drugs in the present age.