''Shennong Bencaojing'' (also ''Classic of the Materia Medica'' or ''Shen-nong's Herbal Classics''
and ''Shen-nung Pen-tsao Ching''; ) is a Chinese book on agriculture and medicinal plants, traditionally attributed to
Shennong
Shennong (), variously translated as "Divine Farmer" or "Divine Husbandman", born Jiang Shinian (), was a mythological Chinese ruler known as the first Yan Emperor who has become a deity in Chinese and Vietnamese folk religion. He is vene ...
. Researchers believe the text is a compilation of oral traditions, written between about 206 BC and 220 AD.
[Traditional uses, chemical components and pharmacological activities of the genus Ganoderma P. Karst.: a review](_blank)
/ ''Li Wang, Jie-qing Li, Ji Zhang, Zhi-min Li, Hong-gao Liu, Yuan-zhong Wang'' // RSC Advances
''RSC Advances'' is an online-only peer-reviewed scientific journal covering research on all aspects of the chemical sciences. It was established in 2011 and is published by the Royal Society of Chemistry. The editor-in-chief is Russell J. Cox (Le ...
: Issue 69, 2020. — p. 42087[ ''The first book wholly devoted to the description of herbs and their medicinal value was Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing, written in the Eastern Han dynasty of China (25-220 AD). This book is also known as “Classic of the Materia Medica” or “Shen-nong’s Herbal Classics.”''] The original text no longer exists, but is said to have been composed of three volumes containing 365 entries on medicaments and their description.
Content
The first volume of the treatise included 120 drugs harmless to humans, the "stimulating properties":
lingzhi,
ginseng
Ginseng () is the root of plants in the genus '' Panax'', such as Korean ginseng ('' P. ginseng''), South China ginseng ('' P. notoginseng''), and American ginseng ('' P. quinquefolius''), typically characterized by the presence of ginsenosides ...
,
jujube
Jujube (), sometimes jujuba, known by the scientific name ''Ziziphus jujuba'' and also called red date, Chinese date, and Chinese jujube, is a species in the genus '' Ziziphus'' in the buckthorn family Rhamnaceae.
Description
It is a smal ...
, the
orange,
Chinese cinnamon,
''Eucommia'' bark,
cannabis
''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae. The number of species within the genus is disputed. Three species may be recognized: '' Cannabis sativa'', '' C. indica'', and '' C. ruderalis''. Alternative ...
, or the root of liquorice (''
Glycyrrhiza uralensis'') . These herbs are described as "noble" or "upper herbs" ().
The second volume is devoted to 120 therapeutic substances intended to treat the sick, but have toxic, or potentially toxic properties of varying degrees. In this category are
ginger
Ginger (''Zingiber officinale'') is a flowering plant whose rhizome, ginger root or ginger, is widely used as a spice and a folk medicine. It is a herbaceous perennial which grows annual pseudostems (false stems made of the rolled bases of ...
,
peonies
The peony or paeony is a flowering plant in the genus ''Paeonia'' , the only genus in the family Paeoniaceae . Peonies are native to Asia, Europe and Western North America. Scientists differ on the number of species that can be distinguished, ...
and
cucumber
Cucumber (''Cucumis sativus'') is a widely-cultivated creeping vine plant in the Cucurbitaceae family that bears usually cylindrical fruits, which are used as culinary vegetables.[Rhubarb
Rhubarb is the fleshy, edible stalks ( petioles) of species and hybrids (culinary rhubarb) of '' Rheum'' in the family Polygonaceae, which are cooked and used for food. The whole plant – a herbaceous perennial growing from short, thick rhi ...]
, different pitted fruits and
peach
The peach (''Prunus persica'') is a deciduous tree first domesticated and cultivated in Zhejiang province of Eastern China. It bears edible juicy fruits with various characteristics, most called peaches and others (the glossy-skinned, n ...
es are among those featured. These herbs are referred to as "low herbs" ().
See also
*
Shanghan lun, a forerunner text to the ''Ben Cao Jing'' composed by
Zhang Zhongjing
Zhang Zhongjing (; 150–219), formal name Zhang Ji (), was a Chinese pharmacologist, physician, inventor, and writer of the Eastern Han dynasty and one of the most eminent Chinese physicians during the later years of the Han dynasty. He estab ...
References
Bibliography
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{{History of medicine in China
Chinese medical texts
Han dynasty texts
Herbalism
Traditional Chinese medicine
3rd-century books