Shen-Nung
Shen-Nung tried poisons and their antidotes on himself and then
compiled the medical encyclopedia
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drying, the fibers formed sheets that could be
written on.
The Chinese kept paper making a secret for
many centuries. Eventually the secret became
known to the Japanese during the 5th century
A.D. and finally to the Arabs through Chinese
prisoners in the 9th century.
So, the Chinese used the hemp plant for rope,
clothing, bowstrings, paper and of course,
medicine.
The ancient emperor, Shen-Nung (c.2700
B.C.), is known as the Father of Chinese
Medicine. Because he was a good farmer and
concerned about his suffering subjects, he
looked to plants for cures.
According to legend, Shen-Nung tried poisons
and their antidotes on himself and then
compiled the medical encyclopedia called,
Pen Ts'ao. The Pen Ts'ao list hundreds of
drugs derived from vegetable, animal and
mineral sources. Among these drugs is the
plant cannabis, "ma."
Ma was a unique drug because it was both
feminine, or yin, and masculine, or yang.
Yin represented the weak, passive, and
negative female influence in nature while
yang represented the strong, active, and
positive male force. When yin and yang
were in balance, the body was in harmony
and healthy. When yin and yang were
out of balance, the body was in a state of
disequilibrium and ill. Realizing that the
female plant produced more medicine, the
Chinese cultivated it instead of the male plant.
Ma was used to treat absences of yin, such
as: female weaknesses (menstruation), gout,
rheumatism, malaria, beri-beri, constipation,
and absentmindedness (Abel, 1980).
During the second century A.D., the Chinese
surgeon, Hua T'o, began to use cannabis as an
anesthesia. He combined cannabis resin with
wine (ma-yo) and used it to reduce pain during
surgery. He performed painful organ drafts,
resectioning of the intestines, loin incisions,
and chest incisions while the patient was
anesthetized with ma-yo.
Cannabis was a mulitipurpose plant to the
ancient Chinese. It has been cultivated and
used for over 4000 years. It was used for war,
writing, food, and medicine but there is very
little mention of its psychoactive properties
by the Chinese. It wasn't until India came upon
cannabis that it became a widespread religious
and medicinal intoxicant. q
source: Jann Gumbiner, Ph.D.,
...is a licensed psychologist and clinical professor
at the University of California, Irvine College of
Medicine, and served on the faculty at Chapman
University, specializing in adolescent and child
development.