Since more than 5,000 years ago, or even earlier, when human beings were still in the primitive stage of drinking blood, they began to explore how to protect their health. This kind of exploration is based on a simple philosophical idea, that is, to conform to the operation of heaven and earth, and live in harmony with nature, so as to achieve the goal of disease prevention and treatment in the unity of nature and man. According to historical records, Shennong's once tasted a hundred herbs and encountered thirty poisons in one day, which is a typical example of human exploration of nature. Shennong's discerns the qi and taste of the drug through personal experimentation, as well as the yin and yang properties of the drug through the feeling of the body and mouth. This result is recorded in detail in the "Shennong Classic of Materia Medica": "The medicine has five flavors: sour, bitter, sweet, pungent, salty, and cold, hot, warm and cool. The ancients divided the taste of medicine into "sour, sweet, bitter, bitter, and salty" to correspond to the five organs, and then according to the law of the prosperity and decline of the five elements, and the five seasons of obedience and reverse, the five flavors were mobilized to attack the evil and strengthen the right, and finally achieve the purpose of disease prevention and treatment, self-cultivation and self-cultivation. Written 2,000 years ago, the "Yellow Emperor's Neijing" is a collection of the wisdom of the predecessors in Dacheng, and its argument is based on the "yin and yang" and "smell" two ways. The opening chapter of the second volume of the Neijing says: "Water is yin, fire is yang, yang is qi, and yin is taste." The taste returns to the form, the form returns to the gas, the gas returns to the essence, and the essence is naturalized. Essence of food gas, shape of food taste, metamorphosis of essence, gas of shape. The taste hurts the shape, the qi hurts the essence, the refinement is the gas, and the gas hurts the taste. Yin flavor comes out of the lower body, and yang energy comes out of the upper body. The thick taste is yin, and the thin is the yang of yin; Those who are thick are yang, and those who are thin are the yin of yang. If the taste is thick, it will be discharged, if it is thin, it will be vented, and if it is thick, it will be hot. The smell of pungent and sweet diverges into yang, and sour and sweet gushes into yin. This passage places "yin and yang" and "smell" as the source energy of Chinese medicine, and puts them at the top of the book, which plays the role of an outline. This not only reflects the importance of yin and yang and smell in the Yellow Emperor's Neijing, but also reflects the deep understanding of Chinese medicine on the balance of yin and yang and the harmony of the five flavors of the human body.
As a pinnacle of the harmonious relationship between man and nature, Neijing delves into the important role of "smell" in the process of life. In "The Theory of Vitality and Vitality", we can see the ancients' subtle exposition of "smell": "Yin is born, the original is in the five flavors, the five palaces of yin, and the injury is in the five flavors." This passage profoundly reveals the close relationship between the five flavors and the five organs of the human body.
The five flavors are not only a simple description of the taste, but also contain the profound connotations of the five elements, such as the shengke and the long-term cultivation of the five seasons. By observing the changes in nature, the ancients summed up a simple philosophical system and applied it to the prevention and treatment of diseases. The proposition of this concept not only embodies the wisdom of the ancients, but also provides a valuable guiding ideology for later scholars.
The five-flavor treatment principle repeatedly emphasized in the Neijing is the foundation of traditional Chinese medicine. Through a reasonable diet, you can achieve the effect of harmonizing the five organs and balancing the internal environment of the body. At the same time, there are also relevant records in ancient scriptures and histories, and the principles and methods of the "Jing Fang" using medicinal taste ** diseases are clearly mentioned in the "Hanshu, Art and Literature, Fang Technique". This shows that ancient Chinese medicine not only paid attention to medicinal properties, but also paid more attention to the role of smell in **.
As the cornerstone of traditional Chinese medicine theory, the core soul of Neijing is odorology. From the ancient medical scriptures before the Han Dynasty, we can see various expositions and records about the five flavors of healing. Although there are only the "Yellow Emperor's Neijing" that has been deleted and modified by the Song people, the core ideas in these medical books are still inherited.
Another important ancient medical scripture is the "Auxiliary Practice" in the Dunhuang Testament, which not only summarizes the medical achievements of the predecessors, but also further develops the theory of the five flavors of curing diseases. The book describes in detail the relationship between the five elements and the five flavors, and draws a diagram of the five flavors and five viscera to replenish and purify the shengke, which provides valuable guidance for later scholars.
Its laxative prescriptions are as follows:
The size of the five internal organs is a laxative prescription.
Liver Soup, Citrus Aurantium, Peony, Ginger, Liver Soup, Citrus Aurantium, Peony Peony, Licorice, Skullcap, Rhubarb, Ginger, Radix Radix, Scutellaria Scutellaria, Scutellaria Scutellaria Soup, Coptis Chinensis, Skullcap, Dried Ginger, Dried Ginger, Licorice Spleen Soup, Aconite, Ginger, Skullcap, Rhubarb, Peony, Licorice Lung Soup, Radix Radix, Peony Peony, Lung Soup, Radix Radix, Radix Radix Root, Rhubarb, Peony Radix, Scutellaria Scutellaria Root Soup, Dried Ginger Kidney Soup, Poria Cocos, Licorice Root, Skullcap, Kidney Soup, Poria Cocos, Licorice Rhubarb, Rhubarb, Skullcap, Peony Root, Dried Ginger, Dried Kidney Soup, Poria Cocos, Licorice, Rhubarb, Rhubarb, Dried Ginger, Skullcap, Peony, Dried Ginger, Dried Kidney Soup, Poria Cocos, Licorice, Rhubarb, Rhubarb, Dried Ginger, Skullcap, Peony, Dried Ginger, Dried Kidney Soup, Poria Cocos, Licorice, Rhubarb, Rhubarb, Dried Ginger, Skullcap, Dried Kidney Soup, Poria Cocos, Licorice, Rhubarb, Rhubarb, Dried Ginger, Skullcap, Dried Kidney Soup, Poria Cocos, Licorice, Rhubarb, Rhubarb, Skullcap, Skullcap, Dried Root, Skullbarb, Skullcap, Scarlet Cinnamon Branch, Dried Ginger, Schisandra Chinensis, Jujube, Spiral Flower, Ochre, Bamboo Leaf, Bamboo Leaf, Dogwood, Ginseng, Licorice, Dried Ginger, Ginseng, Licorice, Dried Ginger, Atractylodes, Spleen Soup, Ginseng, Licorice, Ginger, Atractylodes, Macrocephalus, Schisandra Chinensis, Schisandra Chinensis, Radix Radix, Radix Radix, Radix Lung Soup, Wheat Mention, Schisandra Chinensis, Radix Radix, Radix Radix, Bamboo Leaf, Radix Root, Root The principle of the composition of the five visceral tonic prescriptions above the five organs above the schisandra is all in the change of smell, so the "Auxiliary Practice" cloud: "This picture is the best of the "Soup Sutra", and scholars can understand it, and the medical Tao is complete. "Using the smell to correct and dispel evil, its principle is simple and unpretentious, and it is unbreakable, which is the original appearance of ancient Chinese medicine. Since the era of "Eight Dances in the Court", the essence of ancient Chinese medicine has gradually been lost. As time goes by, people's mentality becomes more and more impetuous, valuing superficial articles and ignoring inner quality. The development of medicine has also deviated from the essence of simplicity and has become more and more cumbersome and mysterious. People pay too much attention to the performance of drugs when treating diseases, and ignore the essence and characteristics of drugs themselves. In the Tang Dynasty, the idea of replacing taste with performance was widespread. From Sun Simiao's "Qianjin Fang" to Li Shizhen's "Compendium of Materia Medica", although the medical records are complex and simple, they all despise the smell of drugs and advocate the performance of drugs. This trend has gradually become the mainstream, resulting in future generations relying too much on the prescriptions and experience of their predecessors when it comes to diseases, while ignoring the nature of diseases and individual differences. In the Qing Dynasty, Wang Ang's "Tangtou Song Recipe" became the enlightenment textbook for medical practitioners, and it was widely circulated. However, the book simply lists the composition and usage of various formulas without an in-depth explanation of the smell and properties of the drugs. This has led to a focus on the surface properties of the drug and a neglect of its intrinsic nature and characteristics. Due to the neglect of the smell of medicine, the ** effect of traditional Chinese medicine gradually weakens. People began to doubt the efficacy of TCM, and some even proposed its abolition. The emergence of this view is not only because of the shortcomings of traditional Chinese medicine itself, but also because there are misunderstandings in people's understanding and use of traditional Chinese medicine. In modern society, with the introduction and popularization of Western culture, the status of traditional Chinese culture has gradually been challenged. Many young people lack understanding and identification with traditional culture, which leads them to prefer Western medicine to Chinese medicine when choosing medical treatment. In addition, the fast-paced life of modern society also makes it easier for people to neglect their physical health. Many people are busy with work and life, and do not have time to see a Chinese doctor, but choose Western medicine simply and quickly. This has also led to a gradual decline in the status of TCM in society. However, as an important part of traditional Chinese culture, traditional Chinese medicine has a long history and a unique theoretical system. Traditional Chinese medicine pays attention to the balance and harmony of the internal and external environment of the human body, emphasizing the concept of prevention first and supplemented by prevention, which has a wide range of applicability and practicability. Therefore, we should deeply study and understand the theory and practice of traditional Chinese medicine, give full play to its advantages and value, and make greater contributions to the cause of human health. At the same time, we should also strengthen the education and inheritance of traditional Chinese medicine, cultivate more professional talents, and promote the modernization and development of traditional Chinese medicine. In today's field of TCM learning, a worrying phenomenon is emerging. TCM learners who are keen to pursue a modern medical education model have gradually deviated from the traditional TCM learning path. They devote a lot of time and energy to the study of Western medicine courses, which occupy the majority of credits. As for the study of traditional Chinese medicine, they only stay in the botanical molecular experiments in the laboratory, using mice as the test subjects, trying to understand and learn the medical skills used by their ancestors in this way. However, they have abandoned traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) learning methods, such as oral tasting of medicines. This lack of experience drugs prevents them from truly understanding and feeling the effects of drugs. Although some students memorize pharmacopoeias or memorize the Soup Song, they have little understanding of the true principles and mechanisms of action of the drug. For example, they knew that Qin Gang could dispel wind to soothe the liver, and Atractylodes atractylodes could dry dampness and strengthen the spleen, but they could not understand the principle. This phenomenon of using the subtle molecular theory of modern botanical science to explain the huge smell of traditional Chinese medicine is like a blind eye, which makes these academic schools of Chinese medicine more and more fall into the shackles of "science", and cannot see the whole picture of the breadth and profundity of Chinese medicine. After five or seven years, these "two inconsistencies" will rely on these rigid botanical experimental data to face the patients, and their identification and prescription of their diseases will completely lose the spirit of traditional Chinese medicine. Faced with Western medicine with high-tech equipment, these inheritors of the Qihuang technique, which once made their ancestors proud, are now embarrassed and depressed. Obviously, they have become pseudo-Chinese medicine. This way of learning not only made them lose their true understanding of Chinese medicine, but also caused Chinese medicine to gradually lose its due status and influence in the field of modern medicine.
There are many absurd models in modern TCM teaching, which is undoubtedly a major obstacle to the development of TCM. However, even aside, the subtle changes in the way of drug smell are a problem that cannot be ignored. Depending on the season, location, origin, and brewing method, the smell of the drug can also change significantly. White peony, for example, has a sour taste in spring and summer, and becomes light in autumn and winter. Another example is gastrodia, although the medical dictionary records that its taste is sweet and light, but the modern brewing method is far from the ancient times, and after adding chemical raw materials, its taste becomes sour. Changes in the brewing method of the drug are also critical to the effect of the drug smell. Taking aconite as an example, due to the difference in brewing methods, its smell can be hard or sour and salty. As a result, its performance and use have also changed, and it can be used for a variety of purposes, such as removing wind or rising sun. To truly grasp the odor properties of drugs, an in-depth understanding of the evolution of brewing methods is required. In addition, the differences in the origin of ancient and modern medicinal materials also have a huge impact on the smell of medicines. In ancient times, medicinal herbs were mostly collected from the naturally growing mountains and wilderness, absorbing the essence of heaven and earth, and the medicinal effect was powerful. Nowadays, most of the medicinal materials are cultivated artificially, and in order to pursue profits, a large number of chemical fertilizers and pesticides are used in the planting process, resulting in serious changes in the smell and medicinal properties of the medicinal materials, which are very different from those contained in ancient classics. These factors make the smell of ancient and modern drugs very different, as the so-called "difference is a thousand miles". For those TCM practitioners who only know how to recite the "Tang Tou Song", they are often helpless in the face of such complex changes in the smell of medicines. And today's TCM is also facing serious challenges. In the face of diseases and patients, they seem to be carving a boat for a sword. This situation has made TCM synonymous with quacks in the hearts of many people, and calls for the abolition of TCM have been constantly sounding. In fact, Chinese medicine was not defeated by Western medicine, but by its own hands. In order to revitalize traditional Chinese medicine, it is necessary to re-examine the way of drug smell, explore the root cause of the difference between ancient and modern medicinal materials, and strive to inherit and carry forward the true essence of traditional Chinese medicine. Only in this way can TCM truly get out of the predicament and regain people's trust and respect. February** Dynamic Incentive Program