In the summer of 109 B.C, in the Sweet Spring Palace, in the mausoleum of the Emperor Wu of Han, grew a Ganoderma of nine stems with twin leaves. The Emperor at that time, Liu Che, construed itsemergence as an auspicious sign from heaven and greatly pleased, he announcedan amnesty for all prisoners and ordered the Palaces musicians to compose asong, the Song of Ganoderma, in honor of the Ganoderma. The song relates: in the mausoleum of the Emperor grows a Ganoderma; it signifiesvirtue of extremeness, nimbleness and filial piety; it is likened to a painting representing luck and rarity; it prolongs life and flourishes n its place of growth; it shines like stars in the heaven, namely, Micro stars, the Shen star, the sun and moon. If the same thing happened today, one would wonder why such an occurrence as simple as the discovery of a stem of Ganoderma in the garden would have such a great impact on the Emperor and result in such an exaggerated reaction. However, this was not a rare incident. Tracing back to the year prior to the occurrence, 110 BC, the war between the people from agriculture-based Chinese ambits and the nomads from the North came to and end, and the Huns could no longer wage wars or take major actions against those regions under the rule of the Han Dynasty (206 B.C - 220 A.D). The Emperor Wu of Han thought the world was at peace and went to Mount Tai to carry out the ritual of Feng-Chan (a ritual sacrifice to heaven and earth conducted in order to show the emperors sovereignty).It is documented in the Record of the Grand Historian: Book of Feng-Chan (Sacrifices to Heaven and Earth) that, There was no Emperor who did not conduct the ritual of Feng-Chan .He sent out many alchemists to Pong Lai to seek Ganoderma but none was found. He was disappointed at the result until the unexpected discovery of Ganoderma, within the perimeter of his palace, lifted his depression Thus, he became the first emperor to declare an amnesty based on the discovery of a Ganoderma. The first Chinese medical text, Shen Nongs Herbal Classic, compiled approximately around 100 B.C. (or allegedly completed in the East of Han Dynasty), is the earliest text ever documenting and categorizing in detail the six color species of Ganoderma. Despite these descriptions varying from type to type, they all support the statement: taking such (ganoderma) for an extended period may lighten the body, prevent aging, and thus sublimate to godly longevity. The actual author of the text has remained unidentified, but is thought to be Shen Nong. Sima Qians Record of the Grand Historian states, Shen Nong, who tasted various kinds of herbs, announced the beginning of Chinese traditional medicine. For the record, there was such a person, named Shen Nong, who identified various herbs by personally tesing their properties and who established the foundation f herbal medicine based on his experiences. From the time the text first mentioned Shen Nong to its completion was about two thousand years apart. This indicates that the medical text was probably compiled by gathering the numerous personal experiencs of Shen Nong over time. The users of the medicine at that time, even the public, shared common views about the content of the text. According to the text, nothing but ganoderma deserves the comment: taking such for an extended period may lighten the body, prevent aging, and thus sublimate to godly longevity. This idea of relating optimal health condition to a beyond-all-illness godly state coincides with the naturalist Taoist philosophy. The ideology, playing an important role on Chinese Traditional medicine, emphasizes the unity of man and heaven.Indeed, the philosophy affirms that the external medicine plays an indispensable role in the pursuit of self development and divinity. Likewise, the earliest medical text in China, the Inner Canon of the Yellow Emperor (Huangdi), advocates the ideology on the practice and the harmonization f Yin Yang and the five elements. In the 2nd century, due to the establishment of Chinese local religion - Taoism - myriads of classices have perpetuated similar ideologies. Auspices for Ganoderma continued to improve. According to a Taoist book entitled Baopuzi-Divine Medicine, an intake of any one of the five fossilized mushrooms will enable one to fly and enjoy longevity. The ruling ideology of the Han dynasty had been founded on Taoist philosophy. Che was enthroned at the agae of sixteen in 141 B.C., a mere sixty one years from the time the dynasty was established. During this period, the influence of Taoism remained constantly strong. According to the descriptions in the Records of the Grand Historian, Emperor Wu of Han was superstitious about the practices of magic and that his aspiration to improve longevity and immortality was no less than that of Emperor Qin Shi Huang. Perhaps this behaviors of the emperors inevitably had a certain level of commonality due to the fact that their ruling ideologies had been nurtured by Taoism. Moreover, the time between the completion of Shen Nongs Herbal Classic and the discovery of ganoderma in the Sweet Spring Palace was so close that it could be inferred that ganoderma, from the perspective of the society at that time, was highly valued. The descriptions, in respect to ganoderma, in Shen Nongs Herbal Classic must have had a substantial effect, similar to adding fuel to flames. So, it is reasonable to believe that decisions, such as announcing amnesties and composing songs, were made over the discovery of a stem of Ganoderma. 2000 years ago, Ganoderma had already been granted superior status among all Chinese herbal medicines, and was exalted to the extent that even emperors exerted their full support. It is documented in some classics that since Ganoderma represented auspiciousness, the word Ganoderma was used in a number of songs to show expectation for an emperors moral characteristics, such as: Ganoderma flourishes when the emperor has high moral conduct; Ganoderma grows when the emperor is benevolent; purple Ganoderma grows when the emperor displays righteous conduct. According to the records of Shen Nongs Herbal Classic, the political meaning of ganoderma in such abstract expressions was far more than its scientific meaning. Each of the six colors of Ganoderma appeared to have greater scientific value in different body organs. In particular, the conclusion based on the classics two thousand years of experiences, taking such for an extended period may lighten ones body, prevent aging, and thus sublimate to godly longevity, the statement on anti-aging is worthy of further analysis. Until now, ongoing scientific experiments have proven such conclusions. The Compendium of Materia Medica (Ben Cao Gang Mu), complimented by Charles R. Darwin as the ancient Chinese encyclopedia, was completed in the Ming dynasty (c. 1600). Its main narrations on Ganoderma were practically modeled on the paradigm describing the six colors of Ganoderma in Shen Nongs Herbal Classic. The author, Li Shi Zhen (b.1581-d.1593), spent thirty years gathering, experimenting, tasting in person and comparing a variety of medicines, and perused thousands of related references. Combining his research with his clinical experiences on medicine usage, he spend twenty eight years completing this medical material which compiled 1892 kinds of medicine. Not only it was a comprehensive and outstanding text, but it also shaped a reference book of natural history. Compared to the medical texts from the past, its content was more scientific and precise. Ganoderma belongs to the vegetable category of plants, thus it can be eaten without any restrictions. Therefore, it is clearly stated in all descriptions of Ganoderma that is is innocuous. Amid them is also the ancient annotation: taking such for an extended period may lighten ones body, prevent aging, and thus sublimate to godly longevity. Throughout the length of Chinese history, there have been numerous books delineating Ganoderma. However, examination from a scientific perspective suggest that both Shen Nongs Herbal Classic and the Compendium of Materia Medica are worthy of high acclaim. Shen Nongs Herbal Classic had established a base for pharmacological classification and, building on this, The Compendium of Materia Medica expanded into an integrated scientific theory. Both works have contributed not only to pharmacology classification, but have also provided solid ground for clinical experiences in medicine usage. Moreover, based on the fact that the Compendium of Materia Medica was written by Li Shi Zhen as a professional doctor through practical prescription experiences, the book has been widely accepted in the field of medicine. millionairedreams
Posted on: Sat, 06 Dec 2014 15:17:23 +0000
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