Chinese Herbology 

Chinese herbology is the theory of traditional Chinese herbal therapy, which accounts for the majority of treatments in traditional Chinese medicine. The term herbology is misleading in the sense that, while plant elements are the most commonly used substances, animal, human, and mineral products are also utilized. 

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 tombs which were sealed in 168 BC.

The first traditionally recognized herbalist is Shennong, who tasted hundreds of herbs and imparted his knowledge of medicinal and poisonous plants to farmers. Shennong’s Herbal Classic 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 “superior” category, which includes herbs effective for multiple diseases and are mostly responsible for maintaining and restoring the body balance. They have almost no unfavorable side-effects. The second category comprising tonics（补药）, whose consumption must not be prolonged. The third category of substances which must usually be taken in small doses, and for the treatment of specific diseases only.

There are roughly 13,000 herbs used in China and over 100,000 herbal recipes recorded in the ancient literature. Plant elements and extracts （植物萃取物）are the most common elements used. In the classic Handbook of Traditional Drugs from 1941, 517 drugs were listed – out of these, only 45 were animal parts, and 30 were minerals. For many plants used as herbs, detailed instructions have been handed down not only regarding the locations and areas where they grow best, but also regarding the best timing of planting and harvesting them. Some animal parts used as medicinals can be considered rather strange such as cows’ gallstones① . Each herbal medicine prescription is a cocktail of many substances, usually tailored to the individual patient. Typically, one batch （一副） of Chinese medicine is prepared with about 4 to 8 substances. Some of these are considered as main herbs, some as ancillary herbs. Some ingredients are added in order to cancel out toxicity or side-effects of the main ingredients; on top of that, some herbs require the use of other substances as catalysts②.

                                                         Abridged and revised from

                                        http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_herbology

Notes:

① cows' gallstones:牛黄，牛的胆结石。牛黄完整者多呈卵形，质轻，表面金黄至黄褐色，细腻而有光泽。中医学认为牛黄气清香，味微苦而后甜，性凉。可用于解热、解毒、定惊。内服治高热神志昏迷、癫狂、小儿惊风、抽搐等症外用治咽喉肿痛、口疮痈肿症状。

② catalysts： 药引。药引具有引经作用（即把药物成分集中到病变部位），增强疗效作用、解毒作用、护胃作用、矫味作用。常用的药引有食盐、生姜、葱白、灯芯草，蜂蜜，大枣和红糖。