It’s medicine with three parts poison. Where did the original words come from?

According to information, the person who said this sentence is Liu Chun, a physician in the Ming Dynasty. The original text comes from "Supplement to the Tongfa of Medical Treatment". Judging from the age, there were no Western medicines at that time, and it should refer to Chinese herbal medicine. The full text of this sentence is "There are three parts of medicine that are poisonous. Only those that are appetizing are non-toxic, and those that are appetizing are also responsible for detoxification." Meaning: Any medicine itself has a certain degree of toxicity. Only appetizing medicinal materials are non-toxic, because the function of appetizing medicinal materials is to remove toxins from the human body.

The "Huangdi Neijing" divides Chinese herbal medicine into four categories: highly toxic, often toxic, slightly toxic, and non-toxic. There is a saying of "non-toxic". "Shen Nong's Materia Medica" contains 365 kinds of Chinese herbal medicines, including 120 top-grade ones, which are clearly stated to be "non-toxic" and "prolong life".

At this point, we discovered that the "is" of "it is three parts of medicine and poison" is not the "is" of "everything". “Medicine” is not “all medicine” either. "Three points", some doctors think it means "three points to cure, seven points to nourish". Looking at the word "poison" again, there are differences in ancient and modern meanings. "Poison" in modern Chinese means "harmful".

In ancient times, "poison" had two meanings, one was "harmful" and the other was "bias". Ancient medical books from the Nei Jing era mostly referred to "bias". The ancients believed that as long as the medicine is either cold or hot, it is considered toxic. Traditional Chinese medicine practitioners mostly follow the ancient times, and Liu Chun also used the meaning of "bias".

In fact, when people get sick, it means that the yin and yang of the human body are out of balance and biased. Doctors use hot medicine to drive away your cold and cold medicine to clear your heat. This is precisely using the bias of the medicine to fight against your body's symptoms. Isn't it appropriate to be biased and re-balance your yin and yang and prescribe the right medicine?

With the development of science today, the natural environment has changed. Judging from the development trend of diseases, some diseases have an earlier onset age and some diseases have become more severe. It is not new at all for young people to suffer from geriatric diseases; it is not uncommon for them to be serious when they first become ill; many people cannot sleep, are restless, and are in a state of sub-health for a long time? At this time, traditional Chinese medicine can play its role in strengthening us 's physique.

As the saying goes, "A piece of ginger a day does not require a prescription", "A few dates a day will keep you from aging". Ginger and jujube are the most commonly used drugs by the medical sage Zhang Zhongjing. The famous "Guizhou" "Zhi Tang" contains five herbs, two of which are ginger and jujube, which are used to strengthen the spleen and stomach and encourage Yang Qi.

What is even more unimaginable is that someone actually used "yam" to rescue patients. According to records, Zhang Xichun, the author of "Medicine Zhongzhongshenxilu", used fresh yam juice many times to successfully treat dying patients. To this day, yam is still very effective in nourishing the lungs, spleen and kidneys.

Extended information

In 2002, the Ministry of Health announced a list of 87 items that are both food and medicine. For example, papaya, yam, white lentils, dates, ginger, kelp, fennel, pepper, honey, dandelion, etc. They are both food and medicine and are not toxic.

Some people may have asked, can dietary medicines be used for health care, but can they cure diseases?

Therapeutic medicines are indeed good, but they cannot cure all diseases. Among these 87 medicinal medicinal herbs, not all are as good as yam. There are a few generals, and the rest are considered as housekeepers.

Doctors prescribe prescriptions and medicines, just like fighting a war, which requires strategies and tactics. For example, the enemy "acute pneumonia" will usually send "Ephedra" as the vanguard, "Gypsum" as the main force, "Almond" to blow up the bunker, and "Zhigancao" to penetrate into the enemy's interior, pretending to be a "peacemaker". Sometimes It also requires "roosters, dogs, and thieves" to beat drums and line up troops to defeat it.

When fighting a tough battle, a variety of "talents" are needed, and therapeutic drugs alone are far from enough. So, where do we select "talents"?

Compendium of Materia Medica contains 1892 kinds of medicines. "Chinese Materia Medica" (1999) records 8,980 kinds of Chinese herbal medicines. Together with the medicines of other ethnic minorities, there are currently about 12,800 kinds of medicinal plants in our country. Among the many medicines, there are some good medicines that are actually poisonous. They are like generals, they can’t help but have a bit of a stubborn temper, but they can turn the tide and win a thousand-mile victory. When the condition is extremely serious and complicated, doctors have to use "tiger and wolf medicine" and "fight poison with poison."

Some people may ask, poisoning can indeed cure diseases, but the key is whether it can be detoxified?

In order to prevent everyone from being poisoned, ancestors of all generations tried their own poisons at the expense of their own lives. For example, "Shen Nong tasted a hundred herbs, encountered seventy-two poisons every day, and got tea to cure them."

Li Shizhen is a model of trying medicine on his own. When he tried Datura, he took it in different doses many times. Finally, he got the antidote and learned about Datura.

It is precisely because of countless such excellent ancestors that we have the famous "Nineteen Fears" and "Eighteen Antis", which clearly tell us which drugs cannot be overdosed and which drugs cannot be used together. Our ancestors also created a method for processing traditional Chinese medicine. After processing, the toxicity of the traditional Chinese medicine is removed and the medicinal properties are preserved. The ancestors used their lives to write a perfect detoxification chapter for future generations.

According to the latest statistics from the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, there are currently about 12,800 kinds of Chinese herbal medicines, of which more than 120 kinds cause adverse reactions, and no more than 50 kinds cause serious adverse reactions. There are many drugs without side effects. Doctors It is non-toxic and can be used to treat diseases. Everyone can use it with confidence.

Nothing in the world is perfect, and the same is true for medicines. Medicines are special and are used to save lives. How can a doctor fight a war without medicine or weapons? To fight a tough battle, more powerful weapons are needed. The enemy is rampant. If we don’t kill these diseases as soon as possible, they will kill us. Wounds will heal sooner or later. Fear of injury and delaying the fight will only lead to defeat.

Injury is inevitable in fighting, and it is dangerous to treat diseases. Patients and doctors must work together to fight the virus together. Our traditional Chinese medicine is world-leading. If we don’t use it to strengthen our body, we are nothing more than an idiot.

People's Daily Online - Interpretation of "the medicine is divided into three parts poison"