This legend comes from "Shen Nong's Materia Medica".
1. About "Shen Nong's Materia Medica":
1. "Shen Nong's Materia Medica" is also called "Shen Nong's Materia Medica", or "Ben Cao Jing" or "Ben Jing" for short. This is The earliest existing traditional Chinese medical classics in my country.
2. Its original book has been lost, and what we see now is compiled by later generations from the herbal books of the past dynasties. Therefore, the book has different records in three volumes, four volumes, and eight volumes. This book records the main treatments and effects of 365 kinds of medicines classified into upper, middle and lower grades. In addition, it also summarizes the basic theories of traditional Chinese medicine prescriptions such as the four qi and five flavors of medicines, poisonous and non-toxic, the compatibility principles of monarch, minister, assistant and envoy, as well as the method of taking medicine, dosage forms and taboos. This classic, named after Shennong, is actually a summary of the medical knowledge and experience of doctors of all ages. Regarding the year when this classic was written, one says it is the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, and the other is the Han Dynasty. We might as well say in general terms that it was written in the Qin and Han Dynasties. This was the period when the legends of Emperor Yan and Shennong were formed (mainly concentrated in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period). Most of the earliest texts that relayed this legend also appeared during this period.
2. "Shen Nong tasted hundreds of herbs, encountered seventy-two poisons in one day, and got tea to relieve them." Source:
1. The book "Shen Nong's Materia Medica" states: "Shen Nong's Materia Medica" Tasting hundreds of herbs, one day encounters seventy-two poisons, and drinking tea cures them." Legend has it that in order to cure people's diseases, Shen Nong went through many hardships and went through many hardships, tasted hundreds of herbs, and encountered seventy-two poisons in one day. His tongue was numb, he was dizzy and his brain was swollen. Just when he was dying, a gust of cool wind blew by, bringing with it a fragrance. A few fresh leaves slowly fell. Shennong picked them up, put them in his mouth, chewed them, and suddenly felt refreshed. The air was refreshing, the whole body felt comfortable, and all the poisons were suddenly relieved. In this way, Shennong discovered tea.
2. "Huainanzi·Xiu Wu Xun" written by Liu An of the Western Han Dynasty said: "In ancient times, people drank grass, drank water, gathered fruits from trees, and ate the flesh of clams. They often suffered from diseases, poisons, and injuries. So Shen Nong began to teach the people to sow grains, to make the land dry and fertile, and to taste the taste of the grass and the sweetness and bitterness of the springs, so that the people would know what to avoid.
3. Volume 1 of "Sou Shen Ji" written by Qianbao of Jin Dynasty: "Shennong used ocher to whip hundreds of herbs, knowing that it has the property of calming poison and cold and warming, and smelly (pronounced xiù, generally refers to various odors). Lord, to sow hundreds of grains."
4. Jin Dynasty Huangfu Mi's "Emperor's Century" says: "The Yan Emperor Shennong... tasted the herbs and herbs to cure diseases and save young people's lives."
p>5. The "Historical Records of the Three Emperors" written by Sima Zhen of the Tang Dynasty said: "(Shen Nong or Emperor Yan) then made wax sacrifices, whipped grass and trees with ocher whips, and tasted hundreds of herbs, and then there was medicine."
6. Song Dynasty Luo Mi's "Lu Shi Wai Ji" said: Emperor Yan Shennong "grinded the mirage and whipped it, checked the fishy color, tasted the vegetation, and corrected its name. Examine it to calm the poison, and treat the dryness and coldness. Observe their fear of evil, identify their ministers, and treat them three times in order to nourish their lives and cure diseases."
7. Song Dynasty. Zheng Qiao's "Tongzhi" records: "People have diseases and unknown medicinal stones. They taste the nourishment of plants and trees, observe the nature of cold and heat, and know the meaning of monarchs, ministers, assistants, and envoys. They all tasted it orally and tried it personally, and encountered seventy poisons in one day. Or Shen Nong said When he tasted a hundred medicines, he would die hundreds of times in one day, and he would get three hundred and sixty things, which were passed down to the next generation as a book called "Shen Nong's Materia Medica". /p>
8. Qing Dynasty Yuan Liao's "Supplementary Guidelines for Zhizhi" says: "We made wax sacrifices and whipped grass and trees with ocher whips. The people had diseases and unknown medicinal stones. Emperor Yan first tasted the nourishment of the grass and trees to check their warmth and calmness. According to the nature of cold and heat, the king, his ministers, and his envoys are often exposed to twelve poisons, and the spirit transforms them, so he writes prescriptions to treat people's diseases, and the medical method is established."
3. About Shennong. Family:
The Shennong family is Emperor Yan, the sun god in ancient legends, and is revered as the ancestor of the Chinese nation in folklore. According to legend, he was born with a human body and the head of an ox. He started farming at the age of three. When he grew up, he was eight feet seven inches tall, with a dragon face and big lips. He invented agricultural tools such as wooden tillage, taught people how to raise crops, make pottery and textiles, and use fire. He became famous with his achievements and became king with fire. Therefore, he became Emperor Yan and was known as Shennong. He was revered as the God of Agriculture by later generations. Shennong once traveled across mountains and rivers, tasted all kinds of herbs, in search of good medicine to cure diseases and detoxify, so as to save his life from childhood injuries. Later, he died of intestinal rupture due to accidentally eating "flame seeds". He was the inventor of medicine who taught people to treat diseases with medicine. He was also known as Later generations revered him as the god of medicine, and the "Shen Nong's Materia Medica" is based on his works.
4. About tea:
1. It is generally believed that Shennong tasted hundreds of herbs is just a historical legend, but the Shennong era after Fuxi and before Huangdi was indeed a time when mankind had just stepped out of barbarism. Civilization entered the period of primitive farming. All human civilizations of later generations, such as agriculture, medicine, industry, commerce, literature and art, all started from this time. The discovery and medicinal use of tea also began at this time. Although Shennong is only a legendary figure, it is generally believed that the history of tea utilization in my country can be traced back to this period, at least four to five thousand years ago.
2. "Huayang Guozhi" written by Jin Changxu records the tea event in five places. It mentions that when King Wu of Zhou conquered the Shang Dynasty and destroyed Zhou, the tribes of Bashu and other small southern countries who participated in the campaign used tea as a treaty to form alliances. Good tributes are presented to King Wu of Zhou and others. King Wu of Zhou conquered Zhou around 1006 BC. According to this, the "Tea Incident" in our country has a definite record of more than 3,000 years ago.
However, since it is a tribute, it is naturally very precious. It may not be easy to obtain at that time, let alone widely popularized among the people. As for the use of these tea leaves, future generations will not know. Lu Yu of the Tang Dynasty said in the "Book of Tea": "Tea is a drink that originated from Shennong and was heard by Duke Zhou of Lu." It can be seen that the tea sage Lu Yu also affirmed that tea had been discovered in ancient times, and people had already discovered it in the Spring and Autumn Period. There is a custom of drinking tea.
3. The "Book of Songs", my country's first collection of poems, contains the poems "Who says tea is bitter, but it is as sweet as water chestnuts" and "In the ninth month, uncle picks tea and firewood". Some scholars believe that This "tea" is today's tea. Others interpret the words "Zhang Tu" and "Ju Tu" in "Book of Rites: Local Officials" as tea ceremony. However, the ancient word "tea" has multiple meanings, and it does not specifically refer to tea, but also refers to bitter herbs, grasshoppers, etc.
4. So far, the existing historical data cannot clearly explain the origin of tea. However, it is certain that tea was not regarded as the main drink in the pre-Qin era. So, what was the main drink back then? According to the "Tianguan" record: "The six drinks of the king of the pulp of the palm of the palm of the hand are: water, pulp, sweet wine, cool, medical, and wine." Water is the most common and basic. Slurry is the rice soup that drains out when rice is boiled with water. Li is sweet wine. Cold is ice. Medical refers to sour plum soup. Because it can help digestion, the ancients believed it had medical value, so it was called "medicine". Liquor is caramel, mixed with water and drunk. It can be seen that although some people drank tea in the pre-Qin period, this most poetic and aesthetic beverage did not enter the ranks of leaders. The popularity of tea drinking custom is a gradual process of evolution.