The Time | The Tale of Chinese Medicine

Whether we're talking about Emperor Shengnan tasting the 100 grasses or Li Shenzhen doing research for his masterwork Materia Medica, the development of Chinese medicine originated in people's desires to thrive. From this desire, the best herbs have been turned into nourishing medicine. These familiar Chinese medicinal herbs are part of a heritage that has been passed along from generation to generation over thousands of years. And each old boy in this club has its own herbal story to tell. Legend has it that Ren Shan, the king of all herbs, could live to be thousands of years old and possess the power to morph to human form. The magical mushroom, Lingzhi, was a gift from the gods to humans. Said to be a saviour of human life, it is very difficult to obtain. Tianma, a herb's spirit, has its own guards protecting it from harm. Gancao, known as a peacemaker among herbs, is a magnificent miracle of the desert land. The Chengbai mountain range sits at the 42nd parallel north latitude in China. With its cold, damp climate and deep, naturally fertilized, nutrient-rich soil, this is one of few growing regions in the world that is suitable for the rare, wild Ren Shan to grow. Ren Shan is the imp in the world of herbs with its human-like shape and mischievous personality, but it draws respect for its unique healing powers. Ren Shan, so-called because its fork-tap roots resemble the human form, is widely acknowledged as the king of all herbs. Among Chinese medicinal herbs, only Ren Shan has the potential medicinal effect known as the tonification of Qi. The most amazing use of Ren Shan is its application in concentrated doses to restore the pulse to people suffering from heart attacks. 60-year-old Cui is an experienced wild Ren Shan hunter. He started hunting for Ren Shan at the early age of 16, but the last time he went in search of wild Ren Shan was four years ago. Hunting for wild Ren Shan is hard work, requiring three to five people hunting in a group. This year, Cui's nephew insisted on joining them. He wants to learn Ren Shan hunting skills from his uncle and other experienced hunters. In the mountains, Cui is unhurried in the search for Ren Shan. Since ancient times, the locals have believed that wild Ren Shan with its human-shaped root is divine and deserves one's wholehearted respect. Wild Ren Shan grows in cool, shaded places and often under cover of layers of other wild plants. Only by spotting the plant's red berries can one find this elusive herb. One rule strictly forbids talking during a Ren Shan hunt. Legend has it that wild Ren Shan is sensitive to human voices. If it hears one, it will flee. During the hunt, if one group member gets lost in the woods, the only way to let the other know of your location is by knocking on a tree trunk with a stick. After several days of hunting, there is still no trace. Can it actually be found? Signals that someone has found a mark. Previous hunters left the mark on the tree trunk to show that they had found wild Ren Shan here. This mark was left as a friendly tip for the next hunters. The five-leaf mark represents the five compound leaves of the wild Ren Shan. That mark indicates that previous hunters found wild Ren Shan here that was over a hundred years old. Bang Cui, or wooden club, is the name for the wild Ren Shan. Wild Ren Shan roots grow in rich, humus soil, spreading out in all directions. The roots also grow all tangled up with their other roots deep underground. It is a delicate work digging up the fibrous roots of the wild Ren Shan, taking care not to destroy the complex strands of its finer fibrous roots. This digging stick is made from deer bone, so even if it touches the fine fibrous roots, it will not cause decay or breakage. Digging the tail roots and tracing them to the tap roots takes almost half a day to complete. It also requires one to focus meticulously on the task to finish the work properly. While the experienced digger carefully extracts the Ren Shan root, the other members fan away mosquitoes and bugs during the digging process. After several hours of kneeling in the dirt, a delicate Ren Shan is harvested. It has two leg-shaped tap roots with an elegant human form. This is the best herb for the tonification of qi and the extension of longevity. According to Cui, this Ren Shan is at least 40 years old. They gently wrap their treasure in moss. Every single berry of the wild Ren Shan should be returned to the rich soil by the Ren Shan hunter's own hand so it can flourish. 1,500 kilometers west of the Chengbai Mountains, the Kubuqi Desert stretches out across the Ordos High Plateau like a yellow dragon. With its parched climate and daily extreme changes in temperatures, this harsh environment demands a robustness of all living things that dare to live here. Gansau may seem ordinary, but it grows in extraordinary conditions and plays an indispensable part in the herb world. After dawn, Kalgani drives his flock of sheep out to graze. He is one of the shepherds left here in the desert plateau. Before retirement, 66-year-old Kalgani was a barefoot doctor. Now, every September, harvest permanent in hand, he heads out to forage for the most famous herb in the region, Lianwei Gansau or licorice root. The experienced Kalgani can judge the size of the licorice root that's hidden underground from the size of the plant's stalk. The Mongolian licorice hunter's rule of thumb is, dig for big, leave the small. To survive in this inhospitable environment, the licorice needs to grow strong, thick roots and smaller, shorter stalks and leaves. The longest root can reach three to four meters in length. Gansau, named for its sweet taste, improves digestion, filters toxins from the body and clears phlegm from the throat. In traditional Chinese medicine, a saying goes that 90% of formulas contain Gansau. In Shang Han Lun, by Zhang Zhong Jing, out of 112 formulas, 70 contain Gansau. Among all Chinese herbs, Gansau is favored in herbal cough formulas. It is found in over half of traditional cough remedies, not only because of its expectorant properties, but also for the role it plays in integrating other various herbs in various mixes of herbs. Gansau may seem ordinary, but it grows in extraordinary conditions and plays an indispensable part in the herb world. The idea of sustainable harvesting to a Mongolian Gansau hunters like Kalgani is not a matter of government policy, but one of tradition. The difficult living conditions have forced most of the Mongolian Gansau hunters to move away. Kalgani is one of the remaining few. Gani's way of life with licorice is a simple and holy existence. This herb defines both the boundaries and the frontiers of his life. Wei Mountain, known as the legendary sacred mountain of China, is the place where the magical mushroom for Lingzhi has been sought by generations of herb pickers. Deng Guiting has spent his whole life in the mountains. He deeply believes that the wild Lingzhi or Reishi mushroom has mythical powers, more than any other herb. He and his brothers always hunt for Lingzhi together in the mountains. It is said in Shennan Bencao Jing, Lingzhi believed to possess spiritual powers. As a totem in traditional Chinese culture, it represents luck and longevity. As an herb, it restores vitality and is also prized for prolonging life. It is these traditional beliefs in the mythical powers of Lingzhi that lead its hunters across the generations to risk life and limb in search of it. The Deng brothers have been on the hunt for Lingzhi for a good long while. Food and water are running out. And as if that weren't bad enough, the mountains are full of poisonous snakes. There, on top of the rotted out branch, is a fully grown reddish-yellow Lingzhi, shaped like a magical cloud. Deng's college-educated son, Deng Zhanggui, approaches Lingzhi in quite a different way from his father. He has chosen to study modern growing techniques for Lingzhi mushrooms. His study has taught him that September is the right season for the spore dispersal of the Lingzhi. At 5 o'clock in the morning, millions of very minute particles less than 6 micrometers in diameter fly out from the lamellas, or gills, of the mushrooms. These microscopic particles, called Ganoderma mushroom spores, disperse like dust in the air and pollinate the mushrooms. After dispersing its spores, the Lingzhi mushroom withers. The spore powder is the essence of Lingzhi. These brownish fine powders are collected and processed with a special crushing technique. The processed spores can be more easily absorbed when taken as a tonic. Although a fully grown Lingzhi can disperse spores after one year, it is extremely difficult to pollinate it in the wild. A bowl of warm, delicious Lingzhi duck stew fills both father and son's hearts with happiness and melts away the differences between them. There are no more arguments about wild Lingzhi hunting versus modern farming techniques. Deng's son chose the Lingzhi fungi seeds from his laboratory in town. The elder Deng finally agrees to try modern farming methods after repeated encouragement from his son. Drilling holes in logs, they insert the fungi seeds. After burying them deep underground, they will wait a year to harvest the Lingzhi. Deng's son is very proud of his career as a modern farmer, of Lingzhi and his efforts to contribute more to human health and well-being. In Dejiang County, Guizhou Province, the rain starts in late autumn and continues for a month straight into early winter. In spite of the gloomy rain season, villagers here are still in high spirits as they enjoy their traditional Nuwa opera. Tujia people treasure this traditional performance because they believe that it will drive away evil spirits and bring them good weather followed by a fruitful harvest. Watch and pray for the coming harvest time of the herb known as Tianma. Tianma is one of the safest and most effective herbs according to traditional Chinese medical classics. Materia Medica, Tianma can prevent dizziness and vertigo, reduce limb numbness, and if taken regularly, can rejuvenate one's health. Winter is here. From now until early April is the best time to harvest the Dongma, the round, full Tianma of winter. It is highly prized for its potency. After graduating from college, 23-year-old Tian Shuling came back from the big city to carry on the family business of growing Tianma. This is his first harvest and it means so much to him. Mountain-grown Tianma is the main source of income for the Tujia people. They follow the traditional way to seed the Tianma. Every time they approach the mountains to grow Tianma, Tujia growers enact a ritual called Hua Shan or scream at the mountain. Tujia farmers show respect to wild Tianma with this Hua Shan ritual. They believe that wild Tianma has a spirit because it grows without any leaf or root. It may have wolves or tigers surrounding it to protect it from being harvested. The honey fungus, Amaryllia mellea, is the secret of the wild Tianma. The honey fungus dissolves the rotten wood buried deep underground to provide the nutrients for the Tianma seeds. Xiao Tian didn't sell all of the Tianma from the harvest. He brought home some of the biggest ones to share with his family. He will brew Tianma milk wine and drink it to celebrate this first harvest. In Tujia villages, every family owns a stove table like this one. In the center is the stove and the surface is for warming dishes. They put Tianma on the stove surface to gradually dry and soften it. Then use it to make Tianma milk wine. To make the milk wine, you must first chop the softened Tianma into small pieces. Then grind them as you pour gallium liquor to create the mash. The person working on the mash must keep grinding it without stopping until it's finished. Then the ground mash is filtered. The work is tedious and requires much patience. Tujia women show their talents in the kitchen. They prepare full course of Tianma herbal dishes to help reinforce Tian Shuling's determination to stay and grow Tianma for the rest of his life. The performance of the Nuwa opera and screaming into the mountain during foraging season is a continuation of old wisdom for the Tujia people of Guizhou. Not only is this an act of paying respect to Mother Nature, but also a significant way of connecting the hometown people. Longevity. It's the ultimate quest of cultures going back millennia. Over that time, the hunt for herbs has spawned a history of intrigue. The stories are rich and varied, from the mystery of the thousand-year-old Lingzhi to the century-old Ren Shen, from the fairy tale of mythical creatures guarding herbs, to the enchanting power of shape-shifting. These ancient myths imbue the world of herbs with an everlasting sense of magic in the pursuit of the world's greatest gift, life.