Why can a simple plant cure illness? Our ancestors found the answer in the most direct way imaginable.
In the long history of humanity's fight against disease, the people of the East took a unique path – they believed that the secrets of healing lay hidden in the herbs growing from the earth.
The story begins with a god who had the head of an ox.
Legend has it that Emperor Shennong – "ox-headed and human-bodied" – wanted to figure out which plants were edible, which could heal, and which would kill. So he did something insane: he tasted every herb himself. Historical records say he “encountered seventy poisons in a single day.” Luckily, he discovered that tea could detoxify him and ginger could stop his vomiting.
Of course, this is just a myth. But it reveals a core truth: Chinese medicine is built on the real-life – and often fatal – experiences of countless ancestors.
In an age without labs or analytical instruments, every single herb that made it into the pharmacopoeia likely came at the cost of someone's life.
By the Neolithic age, our ancestors made another accidental discovery: alcohol. Not only did it relax people, it also helped medicines work better. Thus the concept of “food and medicine sharing the same origin” began to take shape.
Meanwhile, the earliest written records appeared. The Book of Songs lists over 300 plants and animals, more than 50 of which were used as medicine. The Classic of Mountains and Seas was the first to clearly state where medicinal herbs grew and what they did. And the Fifty-two Prescriptions, unearthed from the Mawangdui tombs, is the oldest formulary we have – it contains 247 drugs.
From myth to the written word, the story of Chinese medicine had begun.
👉 Next: We travel to the Han dynasty – an era of explosive medical theory. You’ll meet two foundational texts and discover that your favorite dumplings are connected to a legendary healer.
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