Investigation on the exchange of incense and medicine along the Silk Road from the perspective of medical archaeology / 西安交通大学学报(医学版)

From the perspective of medical archaeology, on the basis of sorting out the relevant archaeological findings, and starting from the diachronic nature of spice exchange, this paper divides the development of ancient Chinese fragrant drugs into the occurrence period (pre Qin), the development period (Qin and Han dynasties), the maturity period (Wei, Jin and Tang dynasties), the prosperity period (Song and Yuan dynasties), and the popularity period (Ming and Qing dynasties). The Silk Road has played a vital role in promoting the exchange of fragrant medicine culture. Since the opening of the Silk Road in the Han Dynasty, fragrant drugs from Southeast Asia, South Asia, Central Asia, and the east coast of the Mediterranean Sea have been imported into China. The exchange of fragrant medicine culture coincides with the development trend of the Silk Road. This kind of exchange has a two-way nature. While foreign fragrant drugs are continuously imported into China, Chinese medical concepts and technologies are also promoted abroad. The impact of the exchange has many effects. It has not only promoted the progress of medicine, but also promoted the friendly exchanges between China and foreign countries and the mutual dissemination of ideas and cultures, and greatly enriched the material and cultural life of the people of all countries.

Textual research on traditional application of Moringa / 中国中药杂志

Moringa has a long history of edible and medicinal use in foreign countries, this paper collected and sorted out the traditional application of Moringa recorded in the ancient medical books and historical materials of countries and regions along the ancient Silk Road. According to preliminary research, the earliest record of Moringa in China can be traced back to The Bower Manuscript(volume Ⅱ)(about the 4 th-6 th century A.D.) unearthed in Kuqa, Xinjiang. Around the 8 th century, with the communication between countries along the ancient Silk Road becoming prosperous, more and more medical books containing Moringa and its prescriptions were introduced to Tibet, Xinjiang and other places in today's China. The leaves, root bark, seeds and stem bark of Moringa all can be used for medicinal purposes and are recorded in The Ayurvedic Pharmacopoeia of India(API). Among them, Moringa leaves have been approved as a new resource food in China. According to the API, it is of cold property and sweet taste, its post-digestive effect is sweet and has the functions of removing wind, bile and fat, relieving pain, killing abdominal worms, moistening skin, brightening eyes and clearing brain. It can be used to treat edema, parasitic diseases, spleen diseases, abscess, tumor, pharyngeal swelling and other diseases. This study explored and organized the historical evidence of communication through the Silk Road and traditional application records of Moringa, in order to provide the evidence of traditional medicine basis, medicine property and efficacy application reference for the realization of the introduction of Moringa as a new resource of traditional Chinese medicine.

Traditional Chinese medicine classics and traditional Chinese medicine culture dissemination from the perspective of Belt and Road Initiative / 国际中医中药杂志

Down the centuries, the pharmaceutical interactions among countries along the "Belt and Road" project have been frequent with abundant contents and took diverse forms, of which medical classics have been an important bridge and a core carrier for cultural exchanges of TCM. This article tries to explore practical significance of the spread of TCM from the "Belt and Road Initiative" background by presenting achievements and shortcomings in current researches on TCM classics.

Ancient Human Parasites in Ethnic Chinese Populations

Whilst archaeological evidence for many aspects of life in ancient China is well studied, there has been much less interest in ancient infectious diseases, such as intestinal parasites in past Chinese populations. Here, we bring together evidence from mummies, ancient latrines, and pelvic soil from burials, dating from the Neolithic Period to the Qing Dynasty, in order to better understand the health of the past inhabitants of China and the diseases endemic in the region. Seven species of intestinal parasite have been identified, namely roundworm, whipworm, Chinese liver fluke, oriental schistosome, pinworm, Taenia sp. tapeworm, and the intestinal fluke Fasciolopsis buski. It was found that in the past, roundworm, whipworm, and Chinese liver fluke appear to have been much more common than the other species. While roundworm and whipworm remained common into the late 20th century, Chinese liver fluke seems to have undergone a marked decline in its prevalence over time. The iconic transport route known as the Silk Road has been shown to have acted as a vector for the transmission of ancient diseases, highlighted by the discovery of Chinese liver fluke in a 2,000 year-old relay station in northwest China, 1,500 km outside its endemic range.

The Dietary Life of the Longevitists of the World-wide Longevity Regions / 全日本鍼灸学会雑誌

· Since 1975 the Morishita Worldwide Longevity Regions Research Delegation has conducted in the regions of Caucusus, Hunza and Vilcabamba several times per annum.<BR>· In 1984, we designated Xinjiang Uygur as the world's fourth longevity region.<BR>· In 1987, we named the regions of Caucusus, Middle Asia, on the periphery of Pamir plateau (including Hunza) and the area extends for 8, 000km from east to west in latitude about 40° N “The Silk Road Lon-gevity Region”. And we presented of the results of our research at the 16th Natural Medicine International Symposium.<BR>· In 1991, we have conducted on the spot research of Pama of Guangxi district. In the process, we designated this area as the world's fifth longevity region.<BR>We proved that most longevitists of more than 100 years live along the Silk Road and have a lot in com-mon. That is, they eat unpolished grains as a staple diet and do not live far from the place of their birth. And they also eat crops they cultivate themselves. Life energy, the healthy condition of the earth revealing morpho-logically interdependent life pattern found in their living, has cycled in the uncivilized longevities.