From religious manual to herbal pharmacopoeia: a textual study of the formation and transformation of Shennong’s Classic of Materia Medica
Journal Title: Traditional Medicine Research - Year 2020, Vol 5, Issue 5
Abstract
The earliest Ben Cao Jing (Classics of Materia Medica; 25 C.E.–220 C.E.) appeared during the reign of the Han Dynasty (202 B.C.E.–220 C.E.); their origins are traceable to the religious group called Fang Xian Dao. In addition to their use as a medical reference, the Ben Cao Jing works were also used for religious purposes. Tao Hongjing (456 C.E.–536 C.E.), a famous doctor and Daoist (one member of the Chinese local religion, Daoism) of the Liang Dynasty (502 C.E.–557 C.E.), compiled the Ben Cao Jing Ji Zhu (Variorum of Classics of Materia Medica; 456 C.E.–536 C.E.) based on the Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing (Shennong’s Classic of Materia Medica; 25 C.E.–220 C.E.). During the compilation of this book, Tao made a radical medical revision to the Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing, by reducing its religious contents while complementing its medical contents. After such revisions, the ancient Ben Cao Jing was transformed from a religious manual into an herbal pharmacopoeia.
Authors and Affiliations
Bi-Sheng Peng, Min Lu
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP690213
- DOI 10.12032/TMR20200428177
- Views 149
- Downloads 0
The dynamic changes and mechanisms of Rehmanniae radix processing based on Maillard reaction
Background: Traditional Chinese medicines are usually processed before they are used for clinical treatment. This is done in a way associated with the Maillard reaction. Methods: Based on the Maillard reaction, this pape...
Advances in traditional Chinese medicine for cardiovascular disease therapy in 2020
Cardiovascular diseases are a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide and there is an urgent need to develop new pharmacotherapies for managing cardiovascular diseases. In China, traditional Chinese medicine has...
Network pharmacology-based approach to investigate the mechanisms of Yiyi Fuzi Baijiang Powder in the treatment of malignant tumors
Objective: To systematically investigate the main active components, targets, target-related diseases and action mechanism of Yiyi Fuzi Baijiang powder (YFBP) of Zhang Zhongjing, a Chinese physician of Eastern Han Dynast...
Explore the medication rules of Chinese medicine of Professor Huang Wenzheng for the treatment of chronic kidney disease based on data mining
The study found the backbone network and three-level network of the Chinese medicine for the treatment of CKD by homogeneous network analysis. The 5 top commonly used herbs were Dan Shen (Radix Salviae Miltiorrhizae) , F...
Anticancer effects of Xi Huang Capsule on breast cancer in vivo
Objective To investigate the anticancer effects of Xi Huang Capsule (XH) in vivo, thirty-two Nu/Nu mice inoculated with human breast cancer SKBR-3 cells and twenty-four Nu/Nu mice inoculated with murine breast cancer 4T1...