Development of chinese herbal medicine

It is interesting to note that traditional Chinese medicine is not purely herbs, but also includes a wide application of animal and mineral components (Paul, 1986). Chinese traditional medicine has maintained its value even in the modern world among the Chinese and people from other cultures as well (Liu et al. This makes it an important subject to study in the fields of medicine and pharmacy. Origin of the Chinese herbal medicine Archeological evidence from ancient tombs reveals that Chinese people used herbs over 5000 years ago (Sun, et al, 2013). Chinese herbal medicine which in some cases is referred to as Chinese herbology originated from trying herbs to establish their effectiveness in human body of to disease. Further developments included the adoption and expansion of household remedies, minor surgery, therapeutic exercise, heat and sexual cultivation as well as breath cultivation.

Moreover, the medicine grew to include acupuncture and some deep surgery and dissection (Paul, 1986). During the Song period, a complaint based system was used to treat illnesses giving rise to a pattern theory out of the need to find the causes of the symptoms. Emperor Taizong published the Taiping Shenghui Fang which contained more than 10000+ formulas (Xutian, et al, 2009). These were quickly spread throughout China through the government’s initiative to control population through the mass production of the published medical texts. Therefore, the origin of Chinese herbal medicine can be attributed to spreading the technique through literature materials. Again, the oldest literary works on this subject can be traced to the Han Dynasty (Zhu et al. Some of these literature materials will be highlighted later in this paper.

As the skilled doctors of the times discovered different drug mixtures and the procedures, they noted them down and these were later organized in literature materials (Paul, 1986). How Herbal Medicine Was Influenced By the Society The use of Chinese herbal medicine was influenced by the society in different manner. As the children watched their parents work and offer a helping hand, they learnt the techniques used. Also, they were uniquely placed in a position to note down the instructions for preparation, use, and storage. Thus, the beliefs helped in the development of CHM by ensuring that the skills did not die out but rather got passed along from generation to generation. The literature on Chinese medicine also influenced the development and use of the medicine.

Those who practiced medicine after the Han Dynasty had literature materials to refer to. The primordial qi theory that was developed in the Qin Dynasty is the foundation of Chinese traditional sciences (Paul, 1986). The qi theory regards the world as a holistic unity of qi. Besides, the Yin and Yan theory and the five-phase theory are the fundamental theories in the development of Chinese Herbal medicine. According to the Yin and Yan theory, the natural environment determines the individuals that live in it. Besides, it also implies that the inner environment reflects the entire will that determines the individual cells. ” According to these concepts, which also form the foundation for the Yin-Yang theory and five-phase theory, living creatures exists by adapting to the changes in the outside world with a one to one-to-one correspondence.

Categories of Herbs The categories of Chinese herbal medicine were developed by observing the effect that they had on the body depending on their characteristics. For example if they had a cooling or warming effect. In general, the Chinese physicians noticed that cold and stagnation could be dispersed by acrid herbs while damp and heat could be cleared by bitter herbs (Paul, 1986). It was also observed that sweet herbs could be used to notify qi while the sour herbs were astringent. Most commonly used zoological products are animal shells such as the oyster shell and the deer horn. Some animals, such as centipede, earthworm, scorpion, and silk worms. The most common Chinese herbal medicine substances are from the botanical kingdom. Different parts of plants used in different ways.

Some plants are special because all their parts can be used, that is, the leaves, fruits, twigs, and barks of roots of the same plant can be used as medicine. Toxicity relates the level to which different herbs are toxic as have been observed by various authors in different materia medica. The channel of entry is used to relate the action of the herb with organs in the body. Again, the characteristics were discovered through observations and literary works. For example, The Comprehensive Herbal Foundation by Li Shi Zhen is a good book to track the toxicity of different CHM (Ergil, 2011). Herbal Actions, Functions, and Processing The medicine used in CHM undergoes some form of processing before they can be used.

200, 1066 by Jingui Yaoule. The Jin period (1144- 1220) also has important publications that contained information on a movement of revised innovative approach to old learning that was championed by the Jim masters (Paul, 1986). An example include Treatise on Enlightening the Principles of Cold Damage, 1144) by Cheng Wuji. The Ming period (1536- 1650 AD) which ushered in the use of case studies had publications such as the Essential Knowledge of the Inner Classic, c. 1650 by Li Zhongzi.  Chinese Herbal Medicine: Materia Medica. Ergil, M.  C. Traditional Chinese Pharmacotherapy. In Pocket Atlas of Chinese Medicine(pp. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press. Paul, U. U. Medicine in China: A History of Pharmaceutics. University of California Press, 986, 47. Chinese journal of integrative medicine, 19(9), 706-711. Xutian, S. , Zhang, J.