Traditional Chinese Medicine

History of Traditional Chinese Medicine
Chinese medicine has a wide variety owing to its long term development. The development of varieties of Chinese Medicine is tight connected with the medical development. Generally speaking, the more ancient the more slow development; while the closer the modern, the sooner its development.
 A little drug is recorded in the ancient classics; such as it just has a hundred kinds of medicine are recorded in “The Book of Odes” and “Shan Hai Jing”. In the Han Dynasty, “Sheng Nong’s Herbal Classic” - the first existing monograph of herbal classic had recorded 365 kinds of drugs; Liang Dynasty, “Materia Medica Variorum” record drugs come to 730 kinds; Tang Dynasty, “New Revised Materia Medica” develop it to 844 kinds; Song Dynasty, “Certificate Class Materia Medica” rise to 1744 kinds; Ming Dynasty, Li Shi Zhen collected the result of former 16 centuries into the “Compendium of Materia Medica” which contains 1892 kinds of drugs; Qing Dynasty, the kinds of recorded drugs more than 2600 in the “Supplement to Compendium of Materia Medica”. The fastest increase period is after the foundation of The People's Republic of China. In the period of 50's to 80's, three major national survey of traditional Chinese medicine ascertain the distribution of herbal medicine and the recorded drug kinds over 12,807. 

The Anecdote about the Source of Traditional Chinese Medicine
Chinese medicine is a
strange world and it has an extremely wide rang of sources including the vegetation, insects, fish, birds and miners. The name of drug in Chinese medicine is more unusual including elegant, uncommon and strange, full of wonders. Here are some Chinese medicines named.
1. Named for color: many traditional medicine has a natural color which becomes the significant signs, so that people named them as theirs color characteristics. Such as the red are: cinnabar, red peony
2. Named for scent: Chinese medicine has a sweet, sour, bitter, spicy and salty different scent, so that people named them as their unique smell. Such as the patchouli aroma
3. Named for shape: many drugs have the distinguished shape comparing with others. Such as the roots of Pseudostellaria like the shape of fat kids
4. Named for effectiveness: some medicines have the significant effect to certain diseases, so that people named them as their roles. Such as motherwort means cure the gynecological diseases.
5. Named for growing season: Prunella vulgaris is named for plant wilted in the beginning of summer.  
6. Named for origin: it often be headed the origin name for distinguish the same drugs from different place. Such as Anthriscus sylvestris is confined to the parameters produced by Mount Emei.
7. Named for transliteration: some drugs, which does not produce in country, relying on import, people named them by transliteration. Such as Bifa, which imported from India
8. Named for legend: the legend of eucommia is one of them. As recorded in “Compendium of Materia Medica” that: in ancient times, a man named Duzhong, often consumed a kind of plant and become the fairy. Descendant use the same plant to cure the disease with good effect so called this plant by the name of Duzhong.

The Application of Traditional Chinese Medicine  
Application of Chinese herbal medicine, it's not only master the property of each drug, but also know the coordination, usage and taking method.
Section One - Collocation
Collocation, it is the application of two or more selective drugs as the condition of patients and drug property.
1. Single: it uses only one drug to treat disease. For example, only using the purslane to treat dysentery.
2. Matching: the drug with similar function is matched to apply for double effectiveness. For example, rhubard and glauber's salt can match to diarrhea catharsis.
3. Accelerate: using one drug as the primary, with other medicines to improve the effectiveness of the main drugs. For example, using Huang Qi and Poria can strengthen the role of treatment to spleen edema.
4. Inhibition: the toxicity of a drug can be inhibited or eliminated by another. For example, you can use ginger to eliminate the Banxia's toxicity.
5. Elimination: the toxicity of a drug can be eliminated by another. For example, green beans can reduce the toxicity of croton.
6. Mismatch: after the application of two drugs, one can weaken the efficacy of other. For example, taking ginseng with radish seed will weaken the function of ginseng.
7. Contrary: after the application of two drugs, it will cause the dramatic side effects.
Section Two – Dosages
Dosages, is the component of Chinese herbal medicine in the clinical application, including weight, volume, capacity and so on.
1. The relation of drug nature and dosages: the dosage should be minor when using of highly toxic drugs.
2. The relation of matching and dosages: for the same drugs, the dosages of in to soups should be larger than pill and powder; compound should be smaller than single-flavor.
3. The relation of age, physical and dosages: the dosages can increase when using to adult and physical strong patients; the dosages should be reduced when using to children and the infirm.
Section Three – Taking Method
Taking method is the method of Chinese herbal medicines taken orally and external.
1. Decoct method: firstly, soaking the drug half an hour with cold water, and then using the clean river, well or tap water to decoct.
2. Taking method: generally one day one bag, in the serious condition, one day 2 bags

The taboo of taking Chinese Medicine
1. Collocation taboo: some kinds of drug collocated will produce the opposite result, so that their efficacy reduced even cause side effects.  
2. Pregnant women taboo: the action mainly avoids tire and abortion if using the wrong herbal medicine.
3. Dieting taboos: in order to avoid interfering factors and improve efficacy.
4. Overnight taboos: the efficacy of the overnight herbal medicine will reduce and as pollution of air, temperature and bacterial, taking it will cause the adverse to human health.