''Shennong Bencaojing'' (also ''Classic of the Materia Medica'' or ''Shen-nong's Herbal Classics'' and ''Shen-nung Pen-tsao Ching''; ) is a Chinese book on agriculture and medicinal plants, traditionally attributed to

Shennong Shennong (), variously translated as "Divine Farmer" or "Divine Husbandman", born Jiang Shinian (), was a mythological Chinese ruler known as the first Yan Emperor who has become a deity in Chinese and Vietnamese folk religion. He is vene ...

. Researchers believe the text is a compilation of oral traditions, written between about 206 BC and 220 AD.Traditional uses, chemical components and pharmacological activities of the genus Ganoderma P. Karst.: a review
/ ''Li Wang, Jie-qing Li, Ji Zhang, Zhi-min Li, Hong-gao Liu, Yuan-zhong Wang'' //

RSC Advances ''RSC Advances'' is an online-only peer-reviewed scientific journal covering research on all aspects of the chemical sciences. It was established in 2011 and is published by the Royal Society of Chemistry. The editor-in-chief is Russell J. Cox (Le ...

: Issue 69, 2020. — p. 42087 ''The first book wholly devoted to the description of herbs and their medicinal value was Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing, written in the Eastern Han dynasty of China (25-220 AD). This book is also known as “Classic of the Materia Medica” or “Shen-nong’s Herbal Classics.”'' The original text no longer exists, but is said to have been composed of three volumes containing 365 entries on medicaments and their description.

Content

The first volume of the treatise included 120 drugs harmless to humans, the "stimulating properties": lingzhi,

ginseng Ginseng () is the root of plants in the genus '' Panax'', such as Korean ginseng ('' P. ginseng''), South China ginseng ('' P. notoginseng''), and American ginseng ('' P. quinquefolius''), typically characterized by the presence of ginsenosides ...

jujube Jujube (), sometimes jujuba, known by the scientific name ''Ziziphus jujuba'' and also called red date, Chinese date, and Chinese jujube, is a species in the genus '' Ziziphus'' in the buckthorn family Rhamnaceae. Description It is a smal ...

, the

orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower *Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum * ...

, Chinese cinnamon, ''Eucommia'' bark,

cannabis ''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae. The number of species within the genus is disputed. Three species may be recognized: '' Cannabis sativa'', '' C. indica'', and '' C. ruderalis''. Alternative ...

, or the root of liquorice (''

Glycyrrhiza uralensis ''Glycyrrhiza uralensis'', also known as Chinese liquorice, is a flowering plant native to Asia. It is used as a sweetener and in traditional Chinese medicine. Traditional uses Liquorice root, or 'radix glycyrrhizae', is one of the 50 fundam ...

'') . These herbs are described as "noble" or "upper herbs" (). The second volume is devoted to 120 therapeutic substances intended to treat the sick, but have toxic, or potentially toxic properties of varying degrees. In this category are ginger,

peonies The peony or paeony is a flowering plant in the genus ''Paeonia'' , the only genus in the family Paeoniaceae . Peonies are native to Asia, Europe and Western North America. Scientists differ on the number of species that can be distinguished, ...

and cucumber. The substances of this group are described as "human", "commoner", or "middle herbs" (). In the last volume there are 125 entries corresponding to substances which have a strong or violent action on physiological functions and are often poisonous. Rhubarb, different pitted fruits and

peach The peach (''Prunus persica'') is a deciduous tree first domesticated and cultivated in Zhejiang province of Eastern China. It bears edible juicy fruits with various characteristics, most called peaches and others (the glossy-skinned, non-f ...

es are among those featured. These herbs are referred to as "low herbs" ().

References

Bibliography

* * * {{History of medicine in China Chinese medical texts Han dynasty texts Herbalism Traditional Chinese medicine 3rd-century books

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