The book describes the scientific name of *Rubia cordifolia* as Rubia cordifolia, a plant in the Rubiaceae family, and the entire plant can be used medicinally. It has a quadrangular stem, four whorled leaves, small barbs on the leaf margins and back veins, and a red, irregularly nodular rhizome. It is mainly used to cool the blood, stop bleeding, and promote blood circulation.
This is *Plantago asiatica*, also known as pig's ear grass. In spring, when it's tender, some people chop it up and mix it with cornmeal to make vegetable pancakes. The book also calls it plantain or flat plantain, and says it can promote urination, clear heat and detoxify, and improve liver and eye health.
This is *Sophora japonica*, a small shrub ranging from half a meter to one meter in length. Sometimes its branches and leaves are cut to feed sheep. Its scientific name in the book is *Sophora flavescens*, with a yellowish-green or yellowish-brown outer skin covered in yellow down. It has pinnate compound leaves that resemble *Sophora japonica* leaves. Its cylindrical root is used medicinally, harvested in spring and autumn, washed, and dried. It can clear heat and dampness, dispel wind, and promote urination.
This is a single root, growing like a ground locust tree, and its fate is also to be used as feed for sheep. Its scientific name is Astragalus membranaceus, with a pale green stem, one stem with several stems, and one stem with several branches. Like Sophora flavescens, it also has pinnate compound leaves, axillary racemose inflorescences, and bell-shaped calyxes. The root is used medicinally to replenish qi and raise yang, promote body fluid production and nourish blood.
Li Xiangdong found a wild grass or vegetable and checked it against the Chinese Materia Medica to see if it was a Chinese herbal medicine.
Honeysuckle, wild chrysanthemum, jujube, goji berry, horsetail, black nightshade, angelica, cricket grass... every wild herb and vegetable that Li Xiangdong commonly encountered actually had a scientific name and was a useful Chinese medicinal herb. This realization gave Li Xiangdong a surge of excitement he had never felt before.
What did Shennong feel when he tasted hundreds of herbs? How did he know which plants could cure which human diseases?
When Li Shizhen wrote the "Compendium of Materia Medica", did he compare every herb, every flower, and every animal with ancient medical books and then combine them with medical records to make corrections one by one?
This is our miraculous Chinese herbal medicine, a treasure bestowed upon mankind by nature! Thinking about the decline and demonization of traditional Chinese medicine in later generations, Li Xiangdong felt a pang of sadness.
Today, fields and roadsides are teeming with diverse Chinese medicinal herbs. However, the widespread use of pesticides and fertilizers, along with the rampant harvesting of some rare herbs, has led to the extinction of many, forcing them to rely on artificial cultivation. Furthermore, some people, blinded by greed, have demonized Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), causing widespread distrust among the general public. Meanwhile, two neighboring countries are constantly collecting and buying up Chinese herbal formulas, transforming them into their national treasures, and even more maliciously, they are buying up whole wild medicinal herbs, attempting to drive them to extinction…
Li Xiangdong's thoughts wandered for a moment. Returning to his senses, he realized there was nothing he could do now but use these precious Chinese herbs to solve his debts and his meat-eating problem. If he were to dig extensively, the secret would surely be lost; everyone would rush in, indiscriminately digging, leading to a devastating extermination effort. He needed to think this through carefully.
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