Animal medicine also occupies an important position in traditional Chinese medicine. As early as 3000 years ago, bees were used as medicine by hardworking people in China. As early as the Book of Songs, there were records of birds, beasts, insects and fish. There are about 160 species of animals recorded in the book, many of which are edible and medicinal, and there are radicals such as "insect", "fish" and "raccoon" in the names of these animals, which shows that there is a sense of animal classification in ancient times. In addition, the Classic of Mountains and Seas in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period also recorded 67 kinds of animal medicines.
From the ancient medical books in China, it can be seen that the Shennong Materia Medica in Qin and Han Dynasties recorded 65 kinds of animal medicines, among which pilose antler, musk, bezoar and other medicines are still used in modern medicine. China's first official herbal book, Newly Revised Materia Medica, contains 128 kinds of animal medicines; The Compendium of Materia Medica written by Li Shizhen in the Ming Dynasty contains 46 1 animal medicines; Zhao Xuemin's Compendium of Materia Medica in Qing Dynasty collected 128 kinds of animal medicines; The modern Dictionary of Traditional Chinese Medicine contains 740 kinds of animal medicines. Of course, this cursive script mainly records the taste of medicines, not counting animal species. According to statistics, there are more than 900 kinds of animals available for medicine in China.
Plants not only have ornamental value, but also have very precious medicinal value, which is a rich library of traditional Chinese medicine. According to the classification method commonly used in modern plant taxonomy, each drug is classified into phylum, class, order, family, genus and species according to the natural classification system of its original plant, with species as the basic unit of classification.
Agkistrodon: At present, 90% of Chinese herbal medicines are plants, including about 200-250 kinds of roots and rhizomes. There are about180-230 kinds of fruit seeds; There are about 60-70 kinds of flowers; There are about 30-40 kinds of leather medicinal materials; There are about 160-1 180 kinds of herbs; There are about 50-60 kinds of leaf medicinal materials; There are about 40-50 kinds of rattan medicinal materials; About 20 kinds of bacteria and algae medicinal materials; 20-25 kinds of processed plants.
In the Yangtze River valley and the vast areas in southern China, there are many species that like to warm and wet, and leaves, whole grasses, flowers, vines and skins account for a large proportion. In the vast area north of the Yellow River, root and rhizome drugs are the majority, which are characterized by cold tolerance, drought tolerance and saline-alkali tolerance, followed by fruit drugs. The cultivated species in Northeast China are represented by ginseng and asarum. Wild species are represented by Phellodendron amurense, Saposhnikovia divaricata and Gentiana. The cultivated species in East China are Fritillaria, Flos Lonicerae, Rhizoma Corydalis, Radix Paeoniae Alba, Cortex Magnolia Officinalis, Atractylodis Macrocephalae and Cortex Moutan. The wild species are represented by Prunella vulgaris and Platycladus orientalis. The cultivated species in South China are Amomum villosum, Areca catechu, Alpinia oxyphylla, bergamot and Pogostemon cablin. Wild species are represented by Polygonum Multiflori Radix, Radix Stephaniae Tetrandrae, Fructus Tsaoko and Dendrobium nobile. The cultivated species in North China are represented by Radix Codonopsis, Radix Astragali, Radix Rehmanniae, Rhizoma Dioscoreae and Flos Lonicerae; the wild species are represented by Scutellariae Radix, Bupleuri Radix, Radix Polygalae, Rhizoma Anemarrhenae, Semen Ziziphi Spinosae and Fructus Forsythiae. The cultivated species in Central China are Poria, Cornus officinalis, Magnoliae Flos, Radix Angelicae Pubescentis, Radix Dipsaci and Fructus Aurantii. The wild species are represented by Pinellia ternata. The cultivated species in northwest China are represented by Gastrodia elata, Eucommia ulmoides, Angelica sinensis, Codonopsis pilosula and Lycium barbarum. Wild species are represented by licorice, ephedra, rhubarb, Gentiana macrophylla, cistanche deserticola and Cynomorium songaricum. The cultivated species in southwest China are Coptidis Rhizoma, Eucommiae Cortex, Chuanxiong Rhizoma, Radix Aconiti Lateralis Preparata, Notoginseng Radix, Radix Curcumae, Radix Ophiopogonis, etc. Wild species are represented by Fritillaria cirrhosa and Notopterygium.
Mineral drugs are divided into twelve categories: sodium compounds, potassium compounds, ammonium compounds, magnesium compounds, calcium compounds, aluminum compounds, silicon compounds, manganese compounds, iron compounds, copper compounds, zinc compounds and arsenic compounds.
Although stone and jade are dead, they also play an important role. Gold can calm the spirit, strengthen the bone marrow, and silver can calm the five internal organs and calm the mind. Copper can cure bromhidrosis, iron can cure proctoptosis and so on. Agate is mainly used for treating white membrane on eyeball, Shi Ying is used for treating pathogenic factors in chest and abdomen, and realgar is used for treating malignant sores, hemorrhoids and muscle death.
Alumen is a crystal refined from the mineral alunite. There is an interesting story about it. Once upon a time, a doctor kept his mouth shut and never told anyone about his secret recipe. In particular, he has a wonderful prescription for arsenic poisoning, which is so effective that many doctors have tried their best to get it. A colleague thought of a way to get him drunk with wine and pretend: "There is arsenic in the wine." Frightened and drunk, he let the cat out of the bag-"Give me alum to drink quickly". It turned out that his secret recipe for relieving arsenic poisoning was actually alum that was not worth a few cents.
Water is the source of all things' metaplasia. It becomes rain, dew, frost and snow in the sky, and sea, river, spring and well in the ground. The flow and stillness of water, cold and warm, are the differences formed by different moisture; The sweetness and bitterness of water is the different taste of water. Therefore, the ancient sages distinguished the good and evil of human nature and the length of life around Kyushu by distinguishing the differences of soil and water in Jiuchuan. If water and liquid are lost, the blood will be exhausted, and if Shui Gu does not enter, the defensive qi will die out. In this case, for the sex and taste difference of water. Doctors who prevent and treat diseases, in particular, should study carefully and attentively. The water of autumn dew, which bears the cold breath at night, should be used to decoct drugs for regulating lung and to cultivate various powders for treating scabies, tinea and insect furuncle. Ganquan water can be used to treat diseases such as heart and abdominal pain and foul, and it can also treat symptoms such as vexation, thirst, nausea and vomiting.
In addition, some stones are also very valuable medicinal materials. Calculus Bovis is a kind of animal calculus commonly seen in clinic, which is the calculus in the gallbladder, bile duct or liver duct of cattle and buffalo. It has the functions of resolving phlegm, promoting gallbladder function and relieving convulsion. It is used to treat fever, delirium, epilepsy, convulsion and convulsion in children, and is used to treat Japanese encephalitis and other diseases in modern times. Ma Bao is a gastrointestinal stone in Equine, which has the functions of clearing away heat and toxic materials, calming convulsion and resolving phlegm. Goubao is a stone in the stomach of a canine robbery dog, which can reduce qi, relieve stagnation and detoxify. Monkey jujube is a kind of calculus in the viscera of monkeys and other animals, which has the functions of eliminating phlegm, relieving convulsion and eliminating heat toxin. It was called the holy medicine for treating heat phlegm in ancient times.
China has a long history, complex terrain, vast territory and diverse climate, which creates superior conditions for the breeding of animals, plants and minerals. Historically, Shennong's Classic of Materia Medica, the first monograph on materia medica in China, only included 365 kinds of drugs, and the later Notes on Materia Medica (Liang Dynasty) included 730 kinds of drugs twice as much as Shennong's Classic of Materia Medica. It developed to 1774 species in the newly revised Materia Medica (Tang Dynasty), and the Compendium of Materia Medica in the Ming Dynasty collected all the ancient materia medica, with 1892 species. According to statistics, there are 13268 kinds of Chinese herbal medicines in China after the founding of New China, including 403 families of animal medicines, 1634 kinds; Plant medicines belong to 369 families, 1 147 1 species; There are 4 kinds of drugs 163, and the rest are folk and ethnic drugs. The high development of modern science and technology has also accelerated the pace of classification of traditional Chinese medicine, which has entered a brand-new development period.