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“If you can’t do it, the barbarians are still there. Who will stay in Central China? Beauty needs to be cultivated, and I can ride on the osmanthus boat.
Make Yuanxiang have no waves and make the river flow peacefully. I look forward to my husband’s future, but who cares about the difference? “
——Excerpt “Nine Songs.” Xiangjun> Qu Yuan
This poem written by Qu Yuan uses the image of boats on the river to look forward to the return of the other party and expresses deep longing. The Guizhou in the text has been proven to be a wooden boat made of cinnamon tree trunks. According to recent research, Ren Tang Bingzheng studied and pointed out that the terms related to cinnamon in “Chu Ci”, such as “Guijiu” (wine made from cinnamon), “Gui Chu” (oars made of cinnamon), “Gui Dong”, etc. should all be Cinnamon, not the fragrant osmanthus tree of the Oleaceae family.
According to the third edition of the Taiwan Chinese Pharmacopoeia, cinnamon (http://en.whatsintcm.com/dt_articles/%e8%82%89%e6%a1%82/) is a plant in the Lauraceae family, Cinnamomum cassia (L.) J.Presl Drying bark. It is commonly called “cinnamon”. The common osmanthus stuffed with osmanthus comes from the flowers of Osmanthus fragrans (Thunb.) Lour., a plant in the Oleaceae family. According to different varieties, it is divided into two types: “gold osmanthus” and “silver osmanthus”, which can be used in food or spices. Cinnamon is mainly produced in Guangxi, and Guangxi is referred to as “Gui”. Guiping in Guangxi is the main production area. Usually the production area in Fangcheng is Fangcheng Gui, the production area in Dongxing is Dongxing Gui, and the production areas in Guiping and Luoding are called Xijiang Gui is also cultivated on a large scale in Thanh Hoa, Vietnam. In Taiwan, there is also a plant in the same family as cinnamon called “cinnamon” or “yinxiang”. Its leaves and bark also have a fragrance, so they are planted and used in large quantities. Because it has been used for a long time, cinnamon has many aliases, including Guangui, Mugui, Jungui, Tonggui, Guitong, Bangui, Qinghuagui, etc. It is listed as top grade in the “Shen Nong’s Materia Medica”. It is recorded in the article that “Mu Gui” and “Gui Gui” are two different entries. What they have in common is that they taste pungent and warm, and have the effect of tonifying the middle and replenishing Qi. Both can be used for a long time. Keep your body light and never grow old. The word “mu” means strong and strong, indicating that the growth pattern of this plant is very tall. The use of “fungus” to describe it is because its growing environment is mostly in tropical areas, and its climate is mostly warm and humid, so on the trunk of the cinnamon tree There are often some fungi, algae or mossy plants attached to the epidermis, hence the name.
There are many appearances and names in the market due to the different types of collected medicinal materials and processing. Let me introduce to you in turn. “Bangui” is usually taken from the bark of old tree trunks, which is the bark peeled off the trunk near the ground. , usually pressurized into a large dry flat plate. For “Qi Bien Gui”, the bark of the cinnamon tree is peeled off and pressed in a special mold until the two sides are rolled up towards the middle, with a slightly concave and convex shape in the middle. People usually think that “Qi Bien Gui” is “Tinghua Gui”. “, but generally speaking, the origin of “Tang Hoa Gui” is limited. It refers to the large-leaf Thanh Hoa Gui produced in Thanh Hoa, Vietnam, which is basically different from cinnamon. Its taste is soft, and its processing is mostly similar to “Qibiangui”, which is misleading. “Tonggui” is made by removing the bark of a cinnamon tree that has been growing for about five or six years and drying it naturally, then curling it into a barrel shape. According to the “Compendium of Materia Medica”, “Guangui” is the best cinnamon for officials. It is the best cinnamon used to pay tribute to the court, so the quality is guaranteed to a certain extent. “Gui Xin” is not the xylem in the center of the big tree, but the bark left after the cork layer on the surface of the cinnamon tree has been removed. If the quality is good, you can scratch it with your fingernail and you will see an obvious trace of oil and a strong smell.
有「天下第一方」之稱的桂枝湯，其記載的《傷寒論》書中旁通常有小字備注，說明使用時要去皮，這裡所謂的去皮是剔除藥材外層粗糙不能入藥的粗皮，就是所謂外部的木栓層，而不是內層的藥用之皮。總的來說肉桂和桂枝因為同植物，所以都能散寒止痛，溫通經脈，然因為藥用部位不同，所以功效也會有所差異，因為桂枝為嫩枝，因此偏于散表寒；而肉桂因生長年限較長，因此偏于溫裏為主。
According to recent experiments conducted by systematic reviews and meta-analysis in international journals, cinnamon can help reduce fasting blood sugar, total cholesterol and blood pressure, and can also improve the problem of primary dysmenorrhea, because cinnamon is Commonly used spices, and because of the coumarin contained in it, animal experimental studies have shown that excessive intake will be harmful to the liver and kidneys. Therefore, the Taiwan authorities have set standards that food should not exceed 2 mg per kilogram, so the public can Use it with peace of mind and don’t worry too much.
【Picture provided] Professor Zhang Xianzhe’s “Illustrated Book of Authentic Medicinal Materials” http://en.whatsintcm.com
【About the Author】
Chen Dazhen Education: Ph.D., Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, China Medical University
Current position: Assistant Researcher, Medical Intelligence Center, Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University
Member of the National Traditional Chinese Medicine School Common Textbook Compilation Committee, Chinese Medicine Discipline
Distinguished Lecturer, Industrial Research Institute
Post-baccalaureate Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, China Medical University, Part-time Lecturer
Department of Pharmacy, Jianan University of Pharmacy, Adjunct Assistant Professor
河洛藥典 www.whatsinTCM.com 共同創辦人
