CHAPTER I 



THE HERBS THEIR USES AND 

 PREPARATION 



THE SCIENCE OF CHINESE HERBAL REMEDIES 



The Chinese Science of Therapeutics is as old as Chinese civilization 

 itself. In the primitive period of the nation's history, there reigned an 

 emperor known as Shin Nong, which means "Divine Farmer." Because 

 of his wonderful knowledge of Botany, he was regarded as a god. While 

 searching for cereals and other plants that might serve as food for his 

 people, he learned of the curative properties of certain plants, and set 

 himself the task of naming and describing them. 



He believed that all things on earth were included in five natural 

 elements: water, fire, vegetation, mineral and earth. The color pre- 

 dominating in the vegetation element is green. Because the liquid con- 

 tained in the gall bladder and the juices secreted by the liver are green- 

 ish, he concluded that the gall bladder and liver belonged to the vegeta- 

 tion element. The natural color of the fire element is red. As the heart 

 controls the circulation of the blood of the body, and as the blood is red, 

 he said that the heart belonged to the fire element. The natural taste 

 of the water element is salty. As the urine, which passes through the 

 kidneys into the bladder is salty, these two organs were classified under 

 the water element. The natural color of the earth element is yellow. As 

 Shin Nong believed that the stomach gets its power from the spleen, 

 and as the gastric juice of the stomach is yellow, he classified the 

 spleen and the stomach as belonging to the earth element. As the color 

 of the natural element in mineral is white, and as the lungs are white, 

 he concluded that they belonged to the mineral element. 



Shin Nong next classified the medicinal plants according to their re- 

 lations to the five natural elements. Those that were black and had a 

 salty taste were classified under the water element. He believed they 

 had an influence upon the kidneys and bladder. The color in the vegeta- 

 tion element being green and the taste sour, herbs of greenish color and 

 sour taste were believed to be allied to the vegetation element, to have 



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