A Brief History of Medicine and Herss in China
中国医学和医学简史
- The history of Chinese medicine began in the Eastern (Later) Han Dynasty (25-220 AD ), although of course the Chinese people used medicinal substances for millennia before this time. The earliest extant texts were found in archeological sites over the past 30 years, and include the famous Mawangdui medical manuscripts. Most of the classics of Chinese medicine, including the Huang Di Nei Jing (Huangdi’s Canon of Medicine), Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing.(Shennong’s Herbal), Shang Han Lun (Treatise on Cold-Induced Diseases), and Jin Kui Yao Lue (Synopsis of the Golden Chamber) were probably compiled or ra written in the third century. At that time, many among the educated classes of China believed in their ability to observe and understand the natural world, and that health and disease were subject to the principles of a natural order, even though, by our own standards, they were quite superstitious.
中医的历史始于东汉（后）汉（公元 25-220 年），当然在此之前中国人使用药用物质已有数千年的历史。现存最早的文本是近 30 年来在考古遗址中发现的，其中包括著名的马王堆医学手稿。大部分中医经典，包括《黄帝内经》（黄帝医典）、《神农本草经》。（神农的草药）、尚汉伦（《寒病论》）和金魁瑶稅（《金阁提论》）可能是在三世纪编纂或写成的。当时，中国许多受过教育的阶层相信他们有能力观察和理解自然世界，健康和疾病都受自然秩序原则的约束，尽管按照我们自己的标准，它们是相当迷信的。
(Source: http.//www.wfas.org.cn/temtools /base/jianshi/747.html)
（来源： http.www.wfas.org.cn/temtools /base/jianshi/747.html）
It follows that the practice of medicine should be based on these principles.
因此，医学实践应该基于这些原则。
2. Huang Di Nei Jing is the theoretical statement of this cosmology in medicine. The universe is composed of various forces: the complementary opposites of yin and yang and the five phases. The human microcosm represents these forces in miniature. There are rules and relationships in nature that have universal validity. The practice of medicine is the application of these rules to the treatment of disease and the promotion of health. However, from the perspective of materia medica and herbal medicine, while the Huang Di Nei Jing provides much of the philosophical background for medicine as well as some important information about the use of tastes and properties, it does not include much information about the use of herbs. In fact, only 12 herbal prescriptions are mentioned there, containing a total of 28 substances.
2. 黄帝内经是医学中这种宇宙论的理论陈述。宇宙由各种力量组成：阴阳互补的对立面和五个阶段。人类的缩影以微型形式代表了这些力量。自然界中存在具有普遍有效性的规则和关系。医学实践是将这些规则应用于疾病的治疗和促进健康。然而，从本草和草药的角度来看，虽然《黄帝内经》提供了许多医学的哲学背景以及一些关于味道和特性使用的重要信息，但它并没有包含太多关于草药使用的信息。事实上，那里只提到了 12 种草药处方，总共包含 28 种物质。
3. The historical tradition of Chinese herbal knowledge also starts in the Eastern Han with the publication of the Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing, also known as the Classics of the Materia Medica. Zhang Zhonging wrote Shang Han Lun and Jin Kui Yao Lue just after the fall of the Han. His work is the source of all prescription manuals. Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing is the first
3. 中草药知识的历史传统也始于东汉，当时出版了《神农本草经》，也被称为《本草经》。张忠英在汉朝灭亡后不久写了《商汉伦》和《金魁尧珞》。他的工作是所有处方手册的来源。神农本曹晶为第一
book to focus on description of individual herbs. It is therefore the source and archetype of China’s tradition of materia medica.
这本书，重点介绍个别草药的描述。因此，它是中国本草传统的来源和原型。
4. The phrase ben cao, which we have translated as materia medica, did not appear until the Eastern Han, where it referred to both the materia medica and the knowledge required to obtain them. The materia medica specialists are mentioned as part of a larger group of “masters of methods” (fang shi), which included adepts in various occult arts. Besides materia medica experts, this group included astrologers, geomancers, magicians, and technologists. It is also likely that these materia medica specialists were involved in the search for longevity through alchemy, an effort which had an important influence on Chinese herbal medicine.
4. 本草这个词，我们翻译为本草，直到东汉才出现，它既指本草，也指获得本草所需的知识。本草专家被提及为更大的“方法大师”（方师）群体的一部分，其中包括各种神秘艺术的专家。除了药物专家外，这个群体还包括占星家、风水师、魔术师和技术人员。这些本草专家也可能参与了通过炼金术寻求长寿的工作，这一努力对中草药产生了重要影响。
5. Legend attributes the authorship of Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing to the mythical Shennong. In addition to introducing agriculture and animal husbandry, he is said to have tasted “the hundred herbs” and thereby became the legendary patron of herbal medicine. However, this text was compiled no earlier than the first century CE by unknown authors, and was later reconstructed in the sixth century from several editions describing different numbers of herbs by the famous Daoist, Tao Hongjing.
5. 传说将《神农本曹静》的作者归于神话中的神农。除了引入农牧业外，据说他还品尝了“百草”，从而成为传说中的草药赞助人。然而，该文本是由不知名的作者不早于公元 1 世纪编纂的，后来在 6 世纪由著名的道家陶弘景从描述不同数量的草药的几个版本中重建。
6. Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing contains 364 entries, matching the number of days in a year. There are botanical ( 252 entries), mineral ( 45 entries), and zoological ( 67 entries) substances. The term medicinal property (yao xing) first appears in the preface of this book, but reference is made only to the appropriate methods of preparation from each substance. Tao Hongjing further divided the substances into three basic categories: upper, middle, and lower. The upper grade nourishes life, the middle grade nourishes constitutional types, and the lower grade expels disease. Each entry is evaluated for taste (wei) and temperature characteristics (qi). Toxicity was carefully noted. Finally, the medicinal actions of each herb are described, usually in terms of symptoms.
6. 《神农本草经》包含 364 个词条，与一年中的天数相匹配。有植物学（252 个条目）、矿物（45 个条目）和动物学（67 个条目）物质。药用特性 （yao xing） 一词首次出现在本书的序言中，但仅提及每种物质的适当制备方法。陶宏景进一步将物质分为上、中、下三大类。上品滋养生命，中品滋养体质型，下品驱逐疾病。每个条目都经过口味 （wei） 和温度特性 （qi） 的评估。仔细记录毒性。最后，通常根据症状描述每种草药的药用作用。
7. The taste and temperature characteristics seem to have been derived empirically. Taste describes the perception of the herb in the mouth, while temperature characteristics describe the sensation of the herb in the stomach or on the skin. These characteristics were perhaps further clarified by observation of the herb’s effects on the body.
7. 味道和温度特征似乎是凭经验得出的。味觉描述了草药在口中的感知，而温度特征描述了草药在胃中或皮肤上的感觉。这些特征可能通过观察草药对身体的影响而得到进一步阐明。
8. From these origins the literature developed in two ways. First, there was a continuous accretion of new herbs, together with a reevaluation and addition of new uses for the old herbs. Second, there was an elaboration of connection or linkage between the theories of traditional Chinese medicine and the empirically observed therapeutic and clinical actions of the herbs.
8. 从这些起源开始，文学以两种方式发展起来。首先，新草药不断增加，同时对旧草药进行了重新评估和增加新用途。其次，详细阐述了中医理论与实证观察到的草药的治疗和临床作用之间的联系或联系。
因此，医学实践应该基于这些原则。
2. Huang Di Nei Jing is the theoretical statement of this cosmology in medicine. The universe is composed of various forces: the complementary opposites of yin and yang and the five phases. The human microcosm represents these forces in miniature. There are rules and relationships in nature that have universal validity. The practice of medicine is the application of these rules to the treatment of disease and the promotion of health. However, from the perspective of materia medica and herbal medicine, while the Huang Di Nei Jing provides much of the philosophical background for medicine as well as some important information about the use of tastes and properties, it does not include much information about the use of herbs. In fact, only 12 herbal prescriptions are mentioned there, containing a total of 28 substances.
2. 黄帝内经是医学中这种宇宙论的理论陈述。宇宙由各种力量组成：阴阳互补的对立面和五个阶段。人类的缩影以微型形式代表了这些力量。自然界中存在具有普遍有效性的规则和关系。医学实践是将这些规则应用于疾病的治疗和促进健康。然而，从本草和草药的角度来看，虽然《黄帝内经》提供了许多医学的哲学背景以及一些关于味道和特性使用的重要信息，但它并没有包含太多关于草药使用的信息。事实上，那里只提到了 12 种草药处方，总共包含 28 种物质。
3. The historical tradition of Chinese herbal knowledge also starts in the Eastern Han with the publication of the Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing, also known as the Classics of the Materia Medica. Zhang Zhonging wrote Shang Han Lun and Jin Kui Yao Lue just after the fall of the Han. His work is the source of all prescription manuals. Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing is the first
3. 中草药知识的历史传统也始于东汉，当时出版了《神农本草经》，也被称为《本草经》。张忠英在汉朝灭亡后不久写了《商汉伦》和《金魁尧珞》。他的工作是所有处方手册的来源。神农本曹晶为第一
book to focus on description of individual herbs. It is therefore the source and archetype of China’s tradition of materia medica.
这本书，重点介绍个别草药的描述。因此，它是中国本草传统的来源和原型。
4. The phrase ben cao, which we have translated as materia medica, did not appear until the Eastern Han, where it referred to both the materia medica and the knowledge required to obtain them. The materia medica specialists are mentioned as part of a larger group of “masters of methods” (fang shi), which included adepts in various occult arts. Besides materia medica experts, this group included astrologers, geomancers, magicians, and technologists. It is also likely that these materia medica specialists were involved in the search for longevity through alchemy, an effort which had an important influence on Chinese herbal medicine.
4. 本草这个词，我们翻译为本草，直到东汉才出现，它既指本草，也指获得本草所需的知识。本草专家被提及为更大的“方法大师”（方师）群体的一部分，其中包括各种神秘艺术的专家。除了药物专家外，这个群体还包括占星家、风水师、魔术师和技术人员。这些本草专家也可能参与了通过炼金术寻求长寿的工作，这一努力对中草药产生了重要影响。
5. Legend attributes the authorship of Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing to the mythical Shennong. In addition to introducing agriculture and animal husbandry, he is said to have tasted “the hundred herbs” and thereby became the legendary patron of herbal medicine. However, this text was compiled no earlier than the first century CE by unknown authors, and was later reconstructed in the sixth century from several editions describing different numbers of herbs by the famous Daoist, Tao Hongjing.
5. 传说将《神农本曹静》的作者归于神话中的神农。除了引入农牧业外，据说他还品尝了“百草”，从而成为传说中的草药赞助人。然而，该文本是由不知名的作者不早于公元 1 世纪编纂的，后来在 6 世纪由著名的道家陶弘景从描述不同数量的草药的几个版本中重建。
6. Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing contains 364 entries, matching the number of days in a year. There are botanical ( 252 entries), mineral ( 45 entries), and zoological ( 67 entries) substances. The term medicinal property (yao xing) first appears in the preface of this book, but reference is made only to the appropriate methods of preparation from each substance. Tao Hongjing further divided the substances into three basic categories: upper, middle, and lower. The upper grade nourishes life, the middle grade nourishes constitutional types, and the lower grade expels disease. Each entry is evaluated for taste (wei) and temperature characteristics (qi). Toxicity was carefully noted. Finally, the medicinal actions of each herb are described, usually in terms of symptoms.
6. 《神农本草经》包含 364 个词条，与一年中的天数相匹配。有植物学（252 个条目）、矿物（45 个条目）和动物学（67 个条目）物质。药用特性 （yao xing） 一词首次出现在本书的序言中，但仅提及每种物质的适当制备方法。陶宏景进一步将物质分为上、中、下三大类。上品滋养生命，中品滋养体质型，下品驱逐疾病。每个条目都经过口味 （wei） 和温度特性 （qi） 的评估。仔细记录毒性。最后，通常根据症状描述每种草药的药用作用。
7. The taste and temperature characteristics seem to have been derived empirically. Taste describes the perception of the herb in the mouth, while temperature characteristics describe the sensation of the herb in the stomach or on the skin. These characteristics were perhaps further clarified by observation of the herb’s effects on the body.
7. 味道和温度特征似乎是凭经验得出的。味觉描述了草药在口中的感知，而温度特征描述了草药在胃中或皮肤上的感觉。这些特征可能通过观察草药对身体的影响而得到进一步阐明。
8. From these origins the literature developed in two ways. First, there was a continuous accretion of new herbs, together with a reevaluation and addition of new uses for the old herbs. Second, there was an elaboration of connection or linkage between the theories of traditional Chinese medicine and the empirically observed therapeutic and clinical actions of the herbs.
8. 从这些起源开始，文学以两种方式发展起来。首先，新草药不断增加，同时对旧草药进行了重新评估和增加新用途。其次，详细阐述了中医理论与实证观察到的草药的治疗和临床作用之间的联系或联系。
Development of the Materia Medica
本草的发展
- The number of traditional Chinese materia medica has steadily increased during the past two thousand years, as substances were incorporated into the official tradition from both China’s folk medicine and other parts of the world. Many substances now used in traditional
在过去的两千年里，传统中药材的数量稳步增加，因为这些物质被纳入中国民间医学和世界其他地区的官方传统。现在传统的
Chinese medicine originated in places such as Southeast Asia, India, the Middle East and the Americas.
中医起源于东南亚、印度、中东和美洲等地。
10. The first major materia medica text to be published after Tao Hongjing’s was the Tang Ben Cao (The Tang-Dynasty Materia Medica), issued under the auspices of the Tang government in 659. It contained 844 entries and was China’s first illustrated materia medica. Zheng Lei Ben Cao (Classified Materia Medica) was the major materia medica of the Song Dynasty (in 1108) and contained 1,558 substances. The ongoing expansion on the materia medica is evident in the Ben Cao Gang Mu (Compendium of Materia Medica), written by China’s most celebrated herbalist, Li Shizhen. This book, first printed in 1596, included 1,892 medicinal substances, 1,173 from plants, 444 from animals, and 275 from minerals. It is the best known example of Chinese materia medica literature and portions of this classic have been translated into over 60 languages. The tradition continued into the modern era with publication in 1977 of the Jiangsu College of Zhong Yao Da Ci Dian (Encyclopedia of Traditional Chinese Medicinal Substances). This monumental effort, which took twenty-five years to write, contains 5,767 entries. The success to that book, the ten-volume Zhong Hua Ben Cao (Chinese Materia Medica), was published in 2002 and includes almost 9,000 entries.
10. 陶宏景之后出版的第一部主要本草文本是 659 年在唐朝政府主持下出版的《唐本草》。它包含 844 个条目，是中国第一本图解本草。郑雷本草（分类本草）是宋代（1108 年）的主要本草，含有 1,558 种物质。中国最著名的草药学家李时珍撰写的《本草纲目》中可以明显看出本草的持续扩展。这本书于 1596 年首次印刷，包括 1,892 种药用物质，其中 1,173 种来自植物，444 种来自动物，275 种来自矿物。它是中国本草文学最著名的例子，这部经典作品的部分内容已被翻译成 60 多种语言。这一传统一直延续到现代，1977 年出版了《中药大全书》江苏书院。这项不朽的工作历时 25 年才完成，包含 5,767 个条目。该书的成功之处在于 10 卷本草 （中药华本草），于 2002 年出版，包括近 9,000 个条目。
11. Although there are literally thousands of substances used in the Chinese materia medica, the vast majority are of local interest only. By contrast, the official 1995 edition of the Chinese Pharmacopeia lists just 535 substances, and the 2000 edition, 544. All of these herbs are in relatively common use, and are included in most of the major contemporary textbooks on materia medica in China.
11. 尽管中药材中使用了数千种物质，但绝大多数只是出于当地利益。相比之下，1995 年版的官方中国药典仅列出了 535 种物质，而 2000 年版则列出了 544 种物质。所有这些草药的使用都比较普遍，并且包含在中国大多数主要的当代药物教科书中。
12. These are mostly herbs which have recently made the jump from local herb (known as cao yao, literally “herbal medicine”) to generally available herb (zhong yao, or “Chinese herb”). This process has gone on for centuries, but accelerated in the second half of the twentieth century as the government of the People’s Republic of China encouraged the use of Chinese herbs, both as a symbol of self-reliance and as a cost-effective alternative to biomedical drugs.
12. 这些主要是最近从本地草药（称为草药，字面意思是“草药”）跃升为普遍可用的草药（中药，或“中草药”）的草药。这个过程已经持续了几个世纪，但在 20 世纪下半叶加速了，因为中华人民共和国政府鼓励使用中草药，这既是自力更生的象征，也是生物医学药物的成本效益替代品。
中医起源于东南亚、印度、中东和美洲等地。
10. The first major materia medica text to be published after Tao Hongjing’s was the Tang Ben Cao (The Tang-Dynasty Materia Medica), issued under the auspices of the Tang government in 659. It contained 844 entries and was China’s first illustrated materia medica. Zheng Lei Ben Cao (Classified Materia Medica) was the major materia medica of the Song Dynasty (in 1108) and contained 1,558 substances. The ongoing expansion on the materia medica is evident in the Ben Cao Gang Mu (Compendium of Materia Medica), written by China’s most celebrated herbalist, Li Shizhen. This book, first printed in 1596, included 1,892 medicinal substances, 1,173 from plants, 444 from animals, and 275 from minerals. It is the best known example of Chinese materia medica literature and portions of this classic have been translated into over 60 languages. The tradition continued into the modern era with publication in 1977 of the Jiangsu College of Zhong Yao Da Ci Dian (Encyclopedia of Traditional Chinese Medicinal Substances). This monumental effort, which took twenty-five years to write, contains 5,767 entries. The success to that book, the ten-volume Zhong Hua Ben Cao (Chinese Materia Medica), was published in 2002 and includes almost 9,000 entries.
10. 陶宏景之后出版的第一部主要本草文本是 659 年在唐朝政府主持下出版的《唐本草》。它包含 844 个条目，是中国第一本图解本草。郑雷本草（分类本草）是宋代（1108 年）的主要本草，含有 1,558 种物质。中国最著名的草药学家李时珍撰写的《本草纲目》中可以明显看出本草的持续扩展。这本书于 1596 年首次印刷，包括 1,892 种药用物质，其中 1,173 种来自植物，444 种来自动物，275 种来自矿物。它是中国本草文学最著名的例子，这部经典作品的部分内容已被翻译成 60 多种语言。这一传统一直延续到现代，1977 年出版了《中药大全书》江苏书院。这项不朽的工作历时 25 年才完成，包含 5,767 个条目。该书的成功之处在于 10 卷本草 （中药华本草），于 2002 年出版，包括近 9,000 个条目。
11. Although there are literally thousands of substances used in the Chinese materia medica, the vast majority are of local interest only. By contrast, the official 1995 edition of the Chinese Pharmacopeia lists just 535 substances, and the 2000 edition, 544. All of these herbs are in relatively common use, and are included in most of the major contemporary textbooks on materia medica in China.
11. 尽管中药材中使用了数千种物质，但绝大多数只是出于当地利益。相比之下，1995 年版的官方中国药典仅列出了 535 种物质，而 2000 年版则列出了 544 种物质。所有这些草药的使用都比较普遍，并且包含在中国大多数主要的当代药物教科书中。
12. These are mostly herbs which have recently made the jump from local herb (known as cao yao, literally “herbal medicine”) to generally available herb (zhong yao, or “Chinese herb”). This process has gone on for centuries, but accelerated in the second half of the twentieth century as the government of the People’s Republic of China encouraged the use of Chinese herbs, both as a symbol of self-reliance and as a cost-effective alternative to biomedical drugs.
12. 这些主要是最近从本地草药（称为草药，字面意思是“草药”）跃升为普遍可用的草药（中药，或“中草药”）的草药。这个过程已经持续了几个世纪，但在 20 世纪下半叶加速了，因为中华人民共和国政府鼓励使用中草药，这既是自力更生的象征，也是生物医学药物的成本效益替代品。