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| A
Bowl of Water at the Riverside |
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A
bowl of water at the river side |
In
Shennong Stream area, there is another plant which has the functions
of relieving internal heat, dredging obstruction of the vital energy
and invigorating the blood circulation. It is often used to treat
injuries, lymphnoditis, hematemesis, sours and boils. It can stop
gastragia if chewed down.
There is an interesting story in the discovery of this plant, and
even its name, "A Bowl of Water at the Riverside" (its technical
term Ainsliaea pertyoides), sounds interesting. It is recorded in
the history book Huainanxiao that "Shennong (an herb master in
the legend, Shennongjia, the vast mountain in Northwest Hubei was
named after him) tasted herbs and spring waters so that people would
get familiar with their properties. He tried as many as 70 poisons
a day." He often took great risks and climbed up the cliffs to
collect medicinal herbs.
One day, when he was climbing a rocky peak, he slipped and fell down
to the deep valley below. Seriously injured, Shennong felt pains all
over the body. Suffering from a strong internal heat at heart, he
looked earnestly around for water. Suddenly he caught sight of a trick
of water oozing from a rocky rift across the ditch. He took great
pains to crawl over but had nothing to take up the water, because
the water was too trivial to be fetched by hand. Just then, he spotted
a lotus-like plant growing nearby. He pulled it up and picked a leave
from it to make a cup. Having drunk several cups of water, he felt
a bit stronger. At the moment, he sensed a sweet medicinal smell assailing
the nostrils. It came from the plant. He took it up again and was
attracted by its bulb which had several bowl-like concavities, one
overlapping the other all over its surface. He washed the bulb with
the spring water, put some into his mouth, and began chewing. Soon
he was attacked by a strong stomachache. After it was over, he was
enraptured to find that he felt no more pains and became vigorous
again.
He recorded all these in his book. As this plant grew by a damp ditch
and the bulb was bowl-shaped, he named it "a bowl of water at
the riverside." |
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