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Origin of Chinese Medicine
Chinese medicine is a kind of medicinewhich is used to prevent, treat and diagnose diseases and has the function ofrehabilitation and health care under the guidance of Traditional ChineseMedicine （TCM） theory. Thediscovery and application of Chinese medicine has a history of more than 5,000years, with a unique theoretical system and application form.
In primitive times, when our ancestors weresearching for food, they would inevitably eat some poisonous plants by mistakedue to their hunger, which led to poisoning such as vomiting, diarrhea, coma,and even death. At the same time, they also accidentally ate some plants, sothat the original symptoms of poisoning could be alleviated or even eliminated.Through numerous taste experiences, they gradually accumulated the experienceof distinguishing food and medicine, and also had some knowledge of plant herbs(such as peach kernel, almond, lotus seed, etc.). The legend about"Shennong tasted all kinds of herbs" vividly reflects the process ofpeople's understanding of plant Chinese medicine.
When humans entered the clan society, withthe invention and use of bows and arrows, people took hunting and fishing asthe main way to obtain food. When people ate more animals, they also found thatsome animals had therapeutic effects, such as rhinoceros horn, leeches, turtleshells, earthworms, etc., which was the early discoveries of animal Chinesemedicine.
In the later period of clan society, due tothe development of planting and breeding, people entered the era of agricultureand animal husbandry. At the same time, they also found more Chinese medicineand had richer knowledge of them, thus forming the early medicine therapy.
The development of society and theimprovement of productivity also promoted people's awareness and demand forChinese medicine. The source of Chinese medicine gradually developed from wildand natural growth to some artificial cultivation and domestication, and thecategories expanded from animal and plant Chinese medicine to natural minerals (suchas cinnabar, alum, talc) and some artificial products (such as mirabilite andlight powder). The way of recording and disseminating Chinese medicineknowledge and experience also developed from the initial "oraltransmission" and "teacher teaching" to written records. Theearliest "medicine" word was found in Jin Wen. Shuowen Jieziexplains the word "medicine" as "treatment grass", andclearly puts forward that "medicine" is something that curesdiseases, most of which are plants.
During the Xia, Shang and Zhou Dynasties,people's dietary mode improved, such as the use of fire, the advancement ofcooking, and the discovery of wine and vinegar, all of which promoted thedevelopment of early medicine processing and application technology. Then thereappeared moxibustion, medical compatibility, decoction, vinum and so on."Homology of medicine and food" is the best overview of the origin ofChinese medicine.
In a word, the discovery and application ofChinese medicine is the result ofChinese people's long-term life practice and medical practice, and it has madeimportant contributions to maintaining people's health and promoting theprosperity of the Chinese nation.
（505 words)
参考译文
中药的起源
1. 中药是指在中医理论指导下，用于预防、 治疗、 诊断疾病并具有康复和保健作用的药物。中药的发现和应用在我国有着5,000多年的历史、 独特的理论体系和应用形式。
2. 原始时代，我们的祖先在寻找食物的过程中，由于饥不择食，不可避免地会误食一些有毒的植物，这就导致发生呕吐、腹泻、昏迷，甚至死亡等中毒现象。同时，他们也因偶然吃了某些植物，使原有的中毒症状得以缓解甚至消除。经过无数次的口尝身受，他们逐步积累了辨别食物和药物的经验，也有了关于植物药如桃仁、 杏仁、莲子等的知识。有关“神农尝百草”的传说生动形象地反映了人们认识植物类中药的过程。
3. 当人类进入氏族社会后，由于弓箭的发明和使用，人们把狩猎和捕鱼作为获取食物的主要方式。在人们吃到较多动物的时候，他们也相应地发现了一些动物具有治疗作用，如犀牛角、 水蛭、 鳖甲、 蚯蚓等，这就是早期动物类中药的发现。
4. 到了氏族社会后期，由于种植业和饲养业的发展，人们进入了农业、 畜牧业时代，同时他们也发现了更多的中药，有了更丰富的用药知识，从而形成了早期的药物疗法。
5. 社会的发展和生产力的提高也推动了人们对中药的认识和需求。中药的来源由野生、 自然生长逐步发展到部分人工栽培和驯养，并由动植物类中药扩展到天然矿物（如朱砂、 白矾、 滑石）和若干人工制品（如芒硝和轻粉）。 人们记录和传播中药知识和用药经验的方式也由最初的 “口耳相传”、“师学相承”发展到文字记载。最早的 “药”字见于金文，《说文解字》里把“药”字诠释为 “治病草也”，明确提出“药”是治病之物，大多数是植物类。
6. 夏、商、周时代 ，人们的饮食方式有了改进，如火的使用、烹调术的进步和酒、醋的发现，这些都促进了早期药物的加工和应用技术的发展。随后出现了炮灸、配伍 、汤剂、酒剂等。“药食同源”是对中药起源的最好概括。
7. 总而言之，中药的发现和应用是中国人民长期生活实践和医疗实践的结果，它对维护人民身体健康、 促进中华民族的繁荣昌盛作出了重要贡献。
Words and Expressions
diagnose /ˈdaɪəɡnəʊz(s)/ v. 诊断（病症）；找出原因
rehabilitation /ˌriːəˌbɪlɪˈteɪʃn/ n. 康复；恢复；修复，翻新
theoretical /ˌθɪəˈretɪk(ə)l/ adj. 理论的；假设的
ancestor /ˈænsestə(r)/ n. 祖先;（动植物）原种；原型
poisonous /ˈpɔɪzənəs/ adj. 有毒的；令人不愉快的；恶性的
poison /ˈpɔɪz(ə)n/ n. 毒药；有害的思想（言辞或行动)
v. 毒杀；败坏；污染（环境）
adj. 有毒的
vomit /ˈvɒmɪt/ /ˈvɑːmɪt/ v. 呕吐； n. 呕吐物；呕吐
diarrhea /ˌdaɪəˈrɪə/ n. 腹泻（= diarrhoea /ˌdaɪəˈrɪə/ ）
coma /ˈkəʊmə/ n. 昏迷
alleviate /əˈliːvieɪt/ v. 减轻，缓和
eliminate /ɪˈlɪmɪneɪt/ v. 剔除，根除；对……不予考虑; 排泄
accumulate /əˈkjuːmjəleɪt/ v. 积累，积攒
peach kernel /ˈkɜːn(ə)l/ 桃仁
almond /ˈɑːmənd/ 杏仁
lotus seed 莲子（/ˈləʊtəs/ 莲花）
legend /ˈledʒənd/ n. 传说，传奇故事；传奇人物；
adj. 十分出名的
therapeutic /ˌθerəˈpjuːtɪk/ adj.治疗的；治疗学的
n. 疗法，治疗药物；治疗学（therapeutics）
therapy /ˈθerəpi/ n. 治疗，疗法；心理治疗
rhinoceros horn 犀牛角 （/raɪˈnɒsərəs/ 犀牛）
leech /liːtʃ/ n. 水蛭；吸血鬼；榨取他人利益的人
v. 以水蛭吸血；依附并榨取
animal husbandry 畜牧业（/ˈhʌzbəndri/饲养业）
artificial /ˌɑːtɪˈfɪʃ(ə)l/ adj. 人造的，人工的；人为的
cultivation /ˌkʌltɪˈveɪʃ(ə)n/ n. 耕作，栽培，种植；培养
domestication /dəˌmestɪˈkeɪʃn/ n. 驯养；教化
cinnabar /ˈsɪnəbɑː(r)/ n. 朱砂
alum /ˈæləm/ n. 明矾
talc /tælk/ n. 滑石
mirabilite /mɪˈræbɪlaɪt/ n. 芒硝
light powder n. 轻粉
disseminate /dɪˈsemɪneɪt/ v. 散布，传播（信息、知识等）
dietary /ˈdaɪətəri/ adj. 饮食的
vinegar /ˈvɪnɪɡə(r)/ n. 醋；尖酸，刻薄
moxibustion /ˌmɒksɪˈbʌsʃən/ n. 艾灸,炮灸
decoction /dɪˈkɒkʃn/ n. 汤剂；煎煮；煎熬的药
vinum /ˈvaɪnəm/ n. 酒；酒剂
homology /həʊˈmɒlədʒi/ n. 同源；同族关系
