Chinese Traditional Story: The Noble Herbalist Shen Nong

Hello everyone. The story I'm going to share today is a novel herbalist's genome. In ancient times, green weeds grew together. The herbs and flowers grew together. No one knew which were edible, and which were poisonous, which plants would cure diseases, and which could kill people. It was a mystery. People relied on hunting to survive. Eventually, fewer and fewer birds flew in the sky, and the animal population began to dwindle, all because of hunting. People began to suffer from hunger. Whenever people developed diseases or were injured, they could only wait to die, because there were no doctors or medicines at that time. Shen Long knew people were suffering, and he began to think of ways to help them. For three days and nights, he deeply pondered this issue, and eventually he had an idea. Leading a group of people from his hometown Lishan, they walked all the way to the mountainous area in the northwest. They lost track of how many rivers they crossed, and how many mountains they climbed. They had no idea how many miles they traveled. Finally, after the sun rose 49 times in the east, they arrived at the place. Surrounded by overlapping peaks and ravines, clouds floated by, and the air was filled with perfumed fragrance. Just as they were getting ready to climb a mountain, they were suddenly surrounded by wolves, tigers, and leopards that sprang from the canyons. Shen Long told people to use their whips to drive the beasts away. However, as soon as they drove one batch off, and the other group came. For seven days and seven nights, they kept driving the beasts away, until no more appeared. The people who had accompanied Shen Long advised him to go back because this place was too dangerous. But Shen Long said firmly, I cannot go back. The people have nothing to eat, and their diseases cannot be cured. After he said this, he headed into the valley. Soon they arrived at the foot of a large mountain. The mountain was so huge that the top was in the clouds, and no one could see it. The sides of the mountain were steep cliffs that were impossible for human beings to climb. Thus, the people suggested that they should go back. But Shen Long shook his head, repeated what he said before. How can I go back if people have nothing to eat, and their diseases cannot be cured? He was standing on the top of a small stone mountain, looking around, and trying to think of an idea. Suddenly, several monkeys climbed along with hanging vines, and the dead wood fell off the trees as they swung along. Shen Long had an idea. Shen Long asked the people who accompanied him to cut the trees for sticks and to cut vines to make a ladder. Each day they assembled one length of ladder. After they walked for one year, the ladder reached the top of the mountain. Shen Long led them as they climbed to the top of the mountain. They tasted everything, the weeds and herbs. They recorded which kinds of grass tasted bitter and which tasted hot or cool. They looked for which one was edible and which one cured diseases. It was said that Shen Long had a crystal belly, and sometimes he tasted more than 70 weeds a day, and that he was poisoned more than 70 times. For 49 days, Shen Long tasted every kind of weed. Next, he traveled to each mountain. He concluded that the weed, rice, millet, beans, and sorghum were edible. He asked people to bring back the seeds for these plants. He also divided the weeds he tasted into 336 kinds, which could cure hundreds of diseases. Every plant they found was recorded in the famous book Shen Long Material Medica. After they finished collecting the herbs, they noticed that their ladders had disappeared. The wooden posts at the bottom had taken root, sent out the shoots, and turned into a vast forest. As Shen Long stood there wondering how they could get back down the mountain, suddenly a flock of cranes appeared in the sky. Shen Long and the other people mounted the cranes and flew back home. This story helps us understand the principle that food and medicine share the same origin. In other words, if human food is a gift from God, then the medicines that cure human diseases must also be found within it. Since the human body is interconnected with all things, and all things possess a characteristic of mutual generation and mutual restraint, the nutrients and medicines provided by God to meet bodies' growth needs are one and the same. If our understanding of this is correct, what impact will the various chemical drugs and medical devices produced in today's world have on the human body? This is a question truly worthy of deep reflection by each and every one of us. Thank you very much for listening to the story. More Chaoqing stories will be ready for you if you just subscribe it. Thank you again.