A Short History!
Chinese herbal medicine has great antiquity, with therapeutic roots extending back to the Zhou
Dynasty, late Bronze / early Iron Age at about 2500 to 3000 years ago.
The earliest existing evidence of emerging herbalism in China comes from two graves from the Han Era at 202 BCE to 220 CE. In 1973, the grave of an Han aristocrat was found at Mawangdui in Hunan Province. This exciting find included valuable medical data written on silk scrolls. The herbal literature included reference to 247 substances that were used by these early people for many different illnesses. The body had been placed in the grave in 168 BCE. This means that the medical information is well over 2000 years old and is the oldest existing therapeutic material.
In 500 CE, the first extensive materia medica or compendium of herbal substances was published. It was the work of the Daoist adept Taohong Jing and had 364 entries.
For more information about Chinese herbal remedies, please feel free to contact us.
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