HERB - Chinese Herbals (was - Menstrual Cramps

[Gaylin Walli]

Mistress Agnes wrote:
>I am a bit embarrassed to speak about herbals without looking for myself.
>I don't have any references on China between 600-1600 (and my husband is
>purely modern, has no interest).

I think I do! Here is the information I have. I have not checked
the validity of it yet; I only have one source that mentions
it, but I'm hopeful to find another soon (interlibrary loan is
my friend):

  Li-Shen-Chen's _Materia Medica_ was the first major Chinese
  medical work to be translated into Western languages. Published
  in *1596* [A.D.], it contains approximately 12,000 prescriptions,
  analyzes 1074 plant substances, 443 animal substances, and 354
  mineral substances" (Rodale, p. 317).

And here's the full citation from which it came:

  Kowalchik, Claire, & Hylton, William H. (Editors). (1987).
  _Rodale's Encyclopedia of Herbs_. Emmaus, PA: Rodale Press.

Now here are the questions and comments I have regarding it and
which I plan to have answers to when I can cross-reference this
information. First, is "published in "1596" synonymous in this
case with "written"? I would guess not. Second, if it is the first
*major* Chinese medical doc translated, presumeably there were
other minor ones. What were they? Third, what is the original
title of this work? Published so late in period, there must
certainly be untranslated works which would also fill this
bill or others that most references have missed. I find it
hard to believe that there would be such a spread of time between
the writing of Shen Nung's _Pen Tsao_ (3737-2697 B.C.) or
Huang-ti's _Nei-ching_ (c.2697-2595) and 1596 A.D.

>Also, the real thing is Chinese Herbal Medicine, Materia Medica. Dan Bensky
>and Andrew Gamble (translators, compilers). 1986. Eastland Press, Seattle.
>ISBN 0-939616-03-3

Thanks very much for this cite. I have the library working on
getting me a copy and you are right about the price: $75 from amazon.com.
Another person recommended this to me recently, though without
the full citation, and now I'm sure it's something to save my
pennies for.

>[major details about ginseng deleted] -is that part of what you
>are looking for?

Yes, this is exactly it. Thank you once again.


Jasmine de Cordoba, Midrealm
g.walli at infoengine.com or jasmine at infoengine.com

"Si enim alicui placet mea devotio, gaudebo; si autem
nulli placet, memet ipsam tamen juvat quod feci."
-- Hroswith of Gandersheim


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