Chinese herbs

Chinese herbology (simplified Chinese: 中药学; traditional Chinese: 中藥學; pinyin: zhōngyào xué) is the theory of traditional Chinese herbal therapy, which accounts for the majority of treatments in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). A Nature editorial described TCM as 'fraught with pseudoscience', and said that the most obvious reason why it has not delivered many cures is that the majority of its treatments have no logical mechanism of action. Chinese herbology (simplified Chinese: 中药学; traditional Chinese: 中藥學; pinyin: zhōngyào xué) is the theory of traditional Chinese herbal therapy, which accounts for the majority of treatments in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). A Nature editorial described TCM as 'fraught with pseudoscience', and said that the most obvious reason why it has not delivered many cures is that the majority of its treatments have no logical mechanism of action. The term herbology is misleading in the sense that, while plant elements are by far the most commonly used substances, animal, human, and mineral products are also utilized, among which some are poisonous. In the Huangdi Neijing they are referred to as 毒藥 which means toxin, poison, or medicine. Unschuld points out that this is similar etymology to the Greek pharmakon and so he uses the term 'pharmaceutic'. Thus, the term 'medicinal' (instead of herb) is usually preferred as a translation for 药 (pinyin: yào). Research into the effectiveness of traditional Chinese herbal therapy is of poor quality and often tainted by bias, with little or no rigorous evidence of efficacy. There are concerns over a number of potentially toxic Chinese herbs. Chinese herbs have been used for centuries. Among the earliest literature are lists of prescriptions for specific ailments, exemplified by the manuscript 'Recipes for 52 Ailments', found in the Mawangdui which were sealed in 168 BC. The first traditionally recognized herbalist is Shénnóng (神农, lit. 'Divine Farmer'), a mythical god-like figure, who is said to have lived around 2800 BC. He allegedly tasted hundreds of herbs and imparted his knowledge of medicinal and poisonous plants to farmers. His Shénnóng Běn Cǎo Jīng (神农本草经, Shennong's Materia Medica) is considered as the oldest book on Chinese herbal medicine. It classifies 365 species of roots, grass, woods, furs, animals and stones into three categories of herbal medicine: The original text of Shennong's Materia Medica has been lost; however, there are extant translations. The true date of origin is believed to fall into the late Western Han dynasty (i.e., the first century BC). The Treatise on Cold Damage Disorders and Miscellaneous Illnesses was collated by Zhang Zhongjing, also sometime at the end of the Han dynasty, between 196 and 220 CE. Focusing on drug prescriptions, it was the first medical work to combine Yinyang and the Five Phases with drug therapy. This formulary was also the earliest Chinese medical text to group symptoms into clinically useful 'patterns' (zheng 證) that could serve as targets for therapy. Having gone through numerous changes over time, it now circulates as two distinct books: the Treatise on Cold Damage Disorders and the Essential Prescriptions of the Golden Casket, which were edited separately in the eleventh century, under the Song dynasty. Succeeding generations augmented these works, as in the Yaoxing Lun (simplified Chinese: 药性论; traditional Chinese: 藥性論; literally 'Treatise on the Nature of Medicinal Herbs'), a 7th-century Tang dynasty Chinese treatise on herbal medicine. There was a shift in emphasis in treatment over several centuries. A section of the Neijing Suwen including Chapter 74 was added by Wang Bing in his 765 edition. In which it says: 主病之謂君，佐君之謂臣，應臣之謂使，非上下三品之謂也。 'Ruler of disease it called Sovereign, aid to Sovereign it called Minister, comply with Minister it called Envoy (Assistant), not upper lower three classes (qualities) it called.' The last part is interpreted as stating that these three rulers are not the three classes of Shénnóng mentioned previously. This chapter in particular outlines a more forceful approach. Later on Zhang Zihe (1156-1228) is credited with founding the 'Attacking School' which criticized the overus of tonics.