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The ginseng root used today refers to the dry roots and rhizomes of the Araliaceae plant ginseng root Panax ginseng C.A.Mey. Cultivators call it garden ginseng, which has a large yield. In the wild, it calls mountain ginseng. It has excellent quality and is mainly produced in Fusong and Ji'an in Jilin. , Jingyu, Dunhua, Antu, Liaoning's Huanren, Andian, Xinbin, Qingyuan, Heilongjiang's five constants, Shangzhi, Ning'an, Dongning. It is also produced in Korea and Japan abroad. Tangshen is the dry root of the platycodon root family plant Tangshen Codonopsis pilosula (Franch.) Nannf., Tangshen Codonopsis pilosula Nannf. var. modesta (Nannf.) L. T. Shen or Tangshen Codonopsis tangshen Oliv. Tangshen in use today is mainly distributed in parts of North China, Northeast China, and Northwest China, and has been introduced in most areas across the country. This species is the main source of commercial Tangshen, and the commercial product is called "Ludang". It is mainly produced in Pingshun, Changzhi, Huguan, Jincheng, Shanxi, and Xinxiang, Henan , Luanchuan, Song County. Tangshen is mainly distributed in Gansu, Shaanxi, Qinghai and northwest Sichuan. The product is called "Xidang". It is mainly produced in Wenxian, Minxian, Zhouqu, Wudu and Lintan of Gansu, and Nanping, Pingwu and Songpan of Sichuan. , Ruoergai, Hanzhong, Ankang, Shangluo, Shaanxi, Wutai Mountain, Shanxi, etc. Sichuan Tangshen is mainly distributed in the western Hubei, northwestern Hunan, northern and eastern bordering areas of Sichuan and northern Guizhou. The product is called "Tiaodang".

materia medica research believes that the "Shangdang ginseng root" in ancient literature actually refers to the platycodon root family Tangshen, and the ginseng root produced in Liaodong is the ginseng root of the Araliaceae family. The history of Shangdang-produced platycodon root branch Tangshen can be traced back to the Han Dynasty, and the advantage of production area has been maintained until recent times. Changzhi City, Shanxi and its surroundings should be the best area for Tangshen GAP research.

[Variety Review]

The word ginseng root is written as "薓", such as "Lightyellow Sophora Root" in Wushi'er Bingfang, which is written as "bitter dip", "immersion" ” is the abbreviated form of “薓”. Fuyang Wanwu Han Bamboo Slips say "purple ginseng". According to "薓", it was originally the proper name of ginseng root. "Shuowen" says, "薓, human 薓, medicinal herb, comes from Shangdang." However, most of the medicinal "薓" in the Han Dynasty have been abbreviated to "ginseng", not only "薓" in "Ji" "Milkwort Root Himalayan Teasel Root ginseng root" is written as "Milkwort Root Himalayan Teasel Root ginseng root", Bencao Jing uses the word "gin" for the six ginseng roots, and "Lightyellow Sophora Root and ginseng root" also use the word "ginseng" in "Wuwei Medical Blips" Character. "薓" abbreviated as "gin" is still related to the ginseng root. "Shuowen" says "gin is also a business star". According to Duan Yucai, it should be a Jin star. "Li of Zhou" "Chun Guan" "Shi Shen, Jin Ye", all use ginseng root as the dividing line of Jin. In the Han Dynasty, the origin of ginseng root was recorded as Shangdang, Shanxi. "Shuowen" says "comes out of Shangdang", Bencao Jing said "Ginseng root is born in the valley of Shangdang", "Fan Zi Ji Ran" also says: "ginseng root is born in Shangdang, and those who resemble others are good". Another "Spring and Autumn Movement Dou Shu" says: "The scattered light and scattered stars become ginseng root. If the common yam rhizome of the river is destroyed, the light will not be illuminated and the ginseng root will not grow." From this we can see that the name "ginseng root" in the Han Dynasty is indeed Related to the constellation of Tianshangxing (GV23), "gin" implies the place of origin, specifically Shangdang in the Jin region.

So, whether the "ginseng root" produced by Shangdang in the Han Dynasty is a plant of the genus Panax of the family Araliaceae or a plant of the genus Codonopsis of the platycodon root family. Various researchers have different opinions. Many researchers will identify ginseng root of Shangdang. The root was determined to be Panax ginseng, and the reason for the extinction of this plant in Shanxi was attributed to phenological changes caused by blind mining and ecological destruction. However, the researchers intentionally or unintentionally avoided a key issue, which is the environmental requirements of Panax ginseng in its natural state. It is extremely harsh. In addition to factors such as altitude, light, precipitation, etc. that may be artificially intervened, half a year of dormancy in a low-temperature environment every year is indispensable for its growth, which is what today's Shanxi or ancient Jin does not have. of. Not only that, because Panax ginseng medicinal materials mainly come from relatively distant Liaodong and even Korea. It can be said with certainty that most people who participated in the ginseng root discussion in ancient times had never really seen the original plant. "Three branches and five leaves" is actually a saying of ear food. Hereby I would like to list the records related to "Shangdang ginseng root" after the Han Dynasty:

1. Fu Xuan's "Fu Zi" says: "The system of the previous kings, the different talents of Kyushu, the nature is not born and the earth is not born. A gentleman does not regard it as a courtesy. If the counties in Hanoi go far away from Beishan, and each of them prepares the real ginseng root of the Royal Shangdang, the upper one will be ten jins, and the lower one will be fifty jins. If the ginseng root is not grown, the people will think it is in trouble." This sentence has three meanings: the Western Jin Dynasty did pay tribute with "Shangdang Zhen ginseng root", and the quantity is as mentioned; the origin of Shangdang ginseng root is relatively limited, and although Hanoi County (today's Henan) is adjacent to Shangdang County, there is no production; this ginseng root The exact place of origin is in the northern section of the Taihang Mountains. The location is about Zituan Mountain in today's Changzhi City, also known as Baodu Mountain, 60 kilometers southeast of Huguan County. This is the origin of the popular name "Purple Tuan Shen" in later generations.
2. Volume 2 of Liu Jingshu's "Yiyuan" says: "ginseng root is a local spirit, and it is good to be born in Shangdang. It has a human form and can make children cry. In the past, someone dug it, and when he started to dig it, he heard the groaning sound in the soil. , look for the sound and get it, and the result is ginseng root."
3. "Shishuoxinyu﹒" Liu Xiao's annotation in "Shi Jian" quoted from "The Biography of Shi Le": "Le, whose courtesy name is Shilong, is from Shangdang Wuxiang, and is a descendant of the Xiongnu. ... In the early days, there were rocks growing in the ground on the plains in Le Township, and the day was long, like an iron cavalry. The ginseng root was born in the middle school, and the ginseng root was in full bloom. At that time, all the elders and elders said: This Hu is strange in appearance, and there are unknown reasons." The sentence "ginseng root is born in the middle school" is quoted in "Yu Lan" ginseng root from "Shi Lebie Biography" "Ginseng root is born in the garden." Yu Jiaxi's Shishuo Xinyu Collector's Notes says: "The Book of Jin records that it is in the garden." According to what is said, it is indeed regarded as "ginseng root is born in the garden." If the Shangdang ginseng root referred to here refers to Panax ginseng, this will be the earliest record of artificial cultivation of ginseng root.
4. "Collected Notes" says: "Shangdang County is in the southwest of Jizhou. This is the one presented by the present Wei State. It is long and yellow in shape, like Divaricate Saposhnikovia Root. It is rich and sweet. It is not suitable for common use. It is heavy. Ji Zhe is thin and hard white in shape, and has a lighter smell than Shangdang. The second term is Goryeo, which is Liaodong. It is large and soft in shape, deficient Baekje." Tao Hong-jing describes the ginseng root in the southern region during the Qi and Liang Dynasties. Regarding medicinal uses, according to Tao, the ginseng root medicinal material of Shangdang is "long and yellow in shape, like Divaricate Saposhnikovia Root, moist and sweet", which obviously refers to the platycodon root family Tangshen Codonopsis pilosula medicinal material, while Baekje (Korean Peninsula) Those from the southwest) are "thin and hard white in shape", which is quite similar to the Araliaceae ginseng root Panax ginseng. However, Tao Hong-jing must have never seen the ginseng root plant. His description is a compilation of the opinions of various experts: "The ginseng root has a straight stem, four or five opposite each other, and purple flowers. The Koreans called ginseng root and praised it: three branches and five The leaves are facing away from the sun and toward the yin. If you want to come to me, the eucalyptus tree will look for you. The eucalyptus leaves are as big as tung trees. If the yin is wide, they will grow in shady places. There are methods for harvesting them. They are also found in the mountains today, but they are not well made." In Tao's description, the plant with "one stem straight up, four or five facing each other, and purple flowers" is actually platycodon root, coastal glehnia root, Adenophora tetraphylla (Thunb.) Fisch., and Gao Li praised that Yun Fang is the Araliaceae ginseng root. , as for "there are also some nearby mountains", I don't know what they are. No wonder Su Jing criticized: "Tao said ginseng root, the seedlings are shepherd's purse and platycodon root, and I don't understand Gao Li's praise."
5. "Sui Shu" "Five Elements Chronicles" says: "During Emperor Gaozu's time, there was someone in Shangdang's house who kept calling for him every night, asking for nothing. When I went to the house a mile away, I saw a ginseng root with luxuriant branches and leaves. After digging it out, the roots were more than five feet tall. The specific shape of the person, the voice was extinguished, and the grass demon is called the grass demon." In this legend, the ginseng root of Shangdang also grows not far from the person's house, and it also involves the shape of the ginseng root, "luxuriant branches and leaves" and Maejo's "Shilebie Biography" "The leaves are very abundant", which are not the characteristics of Panax ginseng. As for the root length of five feet, it is an exaggeration.
6. The Tang Dynasty still seemed to insist that the ginseng root was superior to those from Liaodong and Korea. "Medicinal Property Theory" says: "ginseng root, born in Dangjun, human form. It first went to the East Silla Kingdom, and then went out of the Bohai Sea." "Tea Leaf Sutra" Volume: "Tea leaf is tired, also like ginseng root. The upper one gave birth to Shangdang, the middle one gave birth to Baekje and Silla, and the lower one gave birth to Goryeo."
7. People in the Song Dynasty especially liked to praise the so-called "Purple Tuan Shen", which comes from the Purple Tuan Mountain of Shangdang, Kaibao Bencao says: "The so-called purple ginseng grown in Taihang Mountain in Luzhou" is the same as in Eryayi. Mengxi Bitan Volume 9 says: "Wang Jinggong was ill with asthma, and the medicinal Zituanshan ginseng root was not available. At that time, Xue Shizheng returned from Hedong. If he had some, he gave him a few liang, but he did not accept it. Others advised him to He said: My illness is not curable with this medicine. It is a disease that can be worried, but the medicine is not enough. My husband said: I have never had purple ginseng in my life, and I am still alive today, but I don’t take it." Is this "purple ginseng" really a pandanifera? What about ginseng root? Volume 37 of "Su Shi Collected Poems" "Purple Tuan Ginseng Sends to Wang Dingguo" says: "If you want to hold the three roots, go to the nine-turn tripod." Judging from the poem, this naturally refers to Panax ginseng, but Su Dongpo also wrote it when he lived in Huizhou. "Five Odes of Xiaopu" "ginseng root", see Volume 39, the first few sentences say: "The ridge of Shangdang Tianxia, ​​the bottom of the real well in Liaodong. Xuanquan pours out the sea, and White Dew (15th solar term) sprinkles the sweet wine from the sky. The spirit seedlings are pregnant, and the shoulders and limbs are Specifically. Move the roots to Luofu, and cross the water to irrigate the clear water." According to the sentence "Plant three branches in thin loess" in the same volume of "Ci Yun Zheng Fu Travels with Baishui Mountain" Dongpo's own annotation: "Zheng Fu divides ginseng root into one seedling, Plant it back in Shaoyang." According to what these two poems chant, Su Shi did transplant the so-called "ginseng root" in a nursery in Huizhou, Guangdong. Of course, this plant cannot refer to Panax ginseng. Obviously, Su Dongpo did not really I know the ginseng root plant, it has three branches and five leaves, but it is just plagiarizing the old sayings of the predecessors.

Since the Han Dynasty mentioned that ginseng root was produced in Shangdang, the ginseng root grown in the Shile Garden of Shangdang, the ginseng root medicinal materials presented by the Wei State seen by Tao Hong-jing, and the ginseng root grown by a house in Shangdang in the Sui Dynasty It would be unbelievable to think that the five-foot-long ginseng root and the Shangdang purple ginseng root sent by Su Dongpo to Wang Dingguo and planted by himself in Huizhou nursery are Panax ginseng. However, if we carefully analyze Bencao Tujing's records about Shangdang ginseng root, we will come to the conclusion of antagonism. Su Song said: "ginseng root originated in the Shangdang Valley and Liaodong, and is found in all the prefectures of Hedong and Mount Tai today. There are also people from Hebei Guechang and central Fujian, named Silla ginseng root. However, the ones from Shangdang are both deficient. The others are better." The roots are shaped like the Divaricate Saposhnikovia Root and are moist and firm. They sprout in spring. They are often found in moist places under the paint in the deep mountains. The first ones are about three to four inches tall, with one branch and five leaves. After four or five years, they have two branches and five leaves. At the end, there are flower stems. , the stem will bear three branches after ten years, and when it is older, it will bear four branches, each with five leaves and a stem in the center, which is commonly known as Baichichuchu. There are flowers in March and April, as small as foxtail millet, with silk-like stamens, purple and white, in autumn. Later, they will bear seeds, or seven or eight, which are like soybeans, green when raw and red when ripe, and will fall off by themselves. The root is like a human-shaped god." It is also said: "It is said that those who want to try the ginseng root of the party should have two people go together, one with the ginseng root. If you hold it in your mouth and don't hold it back, you can travel three to five miles. If it does not contain the ginseng root, you will be gasping for breath. If you hold it in and can breathe freely, its ginseng root is genuine." Look again at the painting "Luzhou ginseng root" in "Zheng Lei" "The medicine picture (Picture 1) is undoubtedly Panax ginseng. How is this strange phenomenon caused?

The discussion about the origin of ginseng root in "New Revision" is worth noting. Su Jing said: "Today's Luzhou , Pingzhou, Zezhou, Yizhou, Tanzhou, Jizhou, Youzhou, and Guizhou all come out together, because their mountains are connected to each other, so they are all there." This is basically along the Taihang MountainsMaijing From Shanxi to Hebei, it ends at Huailai and Miyun in present-day Beijing, where it intersects with the Yanshan Mountains. "Taiping Huanyu Ji" written by Shi Leshi of Emperor Taizong of the Northern Song Dynasty records that there are 14 prefectures and counties where ginseng root is a native product, and they are also distributed along this line, from Shanxi and Hebei to Beijing, including: Bingzhou, Zezhou, Liaozhou, Luzhou, Wei Shengjun, Mingzhou, Dingzhou, Yingzhou, Mozhou, Yizhou, Youzhou, Jizhou, Guizhou, and Tanzhou. The most important ones to pay attention to are Luzhou and Weishengjun, because "Zheng Lei" has drawn a total of 4 ginseng root medicine pictures. Among them, the ginseng root in Yanzhou and Chuzhou is a plant of the platycodon root family Adenophora, with very typical characteristics. The ginseng root in Luzhou is five. Plants belonging to the genus Panax in the family Panax have very distinctive characteristics, but what is strange is that the ginseng root of the ginseng root has a nondescript painting resembling the above-ground part of a monocotyledonous plant (Figure 2). What is even more puzzling is that the ginseng root of the ginseng root The straight-line distance between (today's Qin County, Shanxi) and Luzhou Shangdang (today's Changzhi, Shanxi) is less than 100 kilometers. Today's Qin County is a county under the jurisdiction of Changzhi City. The ginseng root form actually emerged at the same time and in almost the same area. The difference is so big that there must be another reason.

We might as well assume that Liaodong ginseng root and Shangdang ginseng root come from different plants. In fact, this phenomenon of foreign substances with the same name was very common in ancient materia medica. With the development of history, there are only three possible consequences: If the two medicines are equally effective, they will continue to share the same name, such as Dyers Woad Leaf and Isatis Root. Both have medicinal effects, but their effects are different, so they are divided into two drugs, such as twotooth achyranthes root and Medicinal Cyathula Root, and coastal glehnia root; if one of them is ineffective, it will be gradually eliminated. If the hypothesis is true, the outcome of the two types of ginseng roots will be the same.

Tao Hong-jing in Bencao Jing Jizhu ﹒ Although the "Preface" laments that "Shangdang ginseng root is almost no longer for sale," the text of the ginseng root article says: "Shangdang County is in the southwest of Jizhou. It is the one presented by the present Wei Dynasty. It is long and yellow in shape. Divaricate Saposhnikovia Root is very moist and sweet. It is not suitable for common use. It is a Baekje root. It is thin and hard white and has a lighter smell than Shangdang." The words have already hinted at the difference in the appearance of Liaodong's participation in Shangtangshen medicinal materials, but at that time Liaodong and Shangdang both belonged to the Northern Dynasties. After all, Tao had no chance to understand the difference in plant forms between the two. He just vaguely said that Shangtangshen was "not suitable for common use", which means deficient Liaodong and Korean ginseng. Xinxiu does not comment on these views of Tao, but simply outlines the distribution range of Upper Tangshen, as quoted above. The reason why Su Jing never mentions Liaodong ginseng root is because the "Xinxiu" was written in the second year of Xianqing of Emperor Gaozong (659), and in the first year of Zongzhang (668), Goryeo was destroyed, and the Tang government established Andong in today's Pyongyang. Before the Duhufu, most of Liaodong was occupied by Goryeo. Even Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty once lamented: "The old China in Liaodong has been ignored since the Wei and Zhou Dynasties. Four of the Sui clan sent troops and returned in mourning. They cannot kill the good people of China." The number of wins." The words can be found in "Cefu Yuangui". Imperial Department﹒ Personal Expedition 2". In this way, it is easy to understand that folk people or doctors in the Tang Dynasty, such as the aforementioned "tea leaf classic" and "medicinal property theory", insisted that Tangshen was superior to Liaodong ginseng. The first official materia medica of the Song Dynasty, "Kaibao", has admitted that "ginseng root is widely used in Korea and Baekje. It comes from Taihang Mountain in Luzhou, and it is called purple ginseng, which is also used." Tao Yun said that it is not commonly used. It is not necessary to take it." It means that Tangshen deficient Liaodong ginseng is just usable. Compared with Ma Zhi's Kaibao Bencao, Su Song's Bencao Tujing compiled in the sixth year of Jiayou (1061) is much more rigorous. "Medical production book", transmission from one meridian to the next Su Song and others "collected many opinions and gathered them together to interpret them." When encountering "there is something that is mixed in various counties, has the same name but is completely different in shape, then refer to the ancient and modern It is said that they invented each other." Judging from the more than 900 illustrations preserved in "Zheng Lei", the medicinal pictures of "Weishengjun ginseng root" are very different. Not only as revealed above, the distance between Weishengjun and Luzhou is extremely Recently, the difference between the same plant (ginseng root) is so big that it is puzzling. The contrast between the details of the two pictures is also surprising. As for "Wei Shengjun ginseng root", there is no medicinal part shown ( root) is even more strange.

Based on the political situation of the Northern Song Dynasty, the mainstream ginseng root at that time can be classified into three categories according to the place of production: the first type is Shangdang ginseng root, which is distributed in the Taihang Mountains controlled by the Song Dynasty; the second type is Liaodong ginseng root, which is produced in the territory of the Liao Dynasty. For the areas controlled by the Jurchens, please refer to Volume 22 of "Khitan Chronicles" written by Ye Longli of the Southern Song Dynasty for specific information; the third type of Goryeo ginseng root is produced in Goguryeo. We noticed that although Su Song and the later Kou Zong-shi both emphasized that the domestic ginseng root was far superior to the imported Korean ginseng, they had to admit that the ginseng root at that time mainly relied on imports. "Illustrations" says: "There are also people from Hebei Guechang and central Fujian named Xinluo ginseng root, but the ones who are both deficient and Shangdang are better." "Yanyi" also says: "The current users of ginseng root are all Hebei Guan. It is easy to come to the game, and all of them are from Goryeo. They are weak in speed and weak in taste. They are not as thick and solid as those in Luzhou Shangdang, and they are well-founded in their use." Since the Song Dynasty was in a state of hostility with the Liao Dynasty most of the time, it is questionable The market opened and closed, so both Su and Kou mainly talked about Korean ginseng instead of Liaodong ginseng. Regarding the import of Korean ginseng, there is still a historical record in Volume 6 of "Baoqing Siming Zhi" of the Southern Song Dynasty, which is not recorded in the text.

Based on understanding the political background at that time, we speculate that the drug census hosted by Su Song may have discovered differences in plant form and even function between Tangshen and Liaodong or Korean ginseng, but because ginseng root is The important position in the field of medicine at that time, in order not to show weakness to the enemy (Liao Dynasty or Korea) in border trade, they deliberately concealed the fact that Tangshen was not the well-known "three branches and five leaves" Panax ginseng, and carefully prepared it according to the shape of Korean ginseng. He drew a map of the "Luzhou ginseng root" medicine and left a very accurate description to hide it from the enemy. As for the nondescript "Wei Shengjun ginseng root" picture, there is another purpose. This picture may be used to hint at the officials of the "Purchasing and Inspection of Medicinal Materials" within the origin of ginseng root in Shangdang. This kind of ambiguity The plant can also be regarded as a ginseng root. The plant represented in this picture is probably the platycodon root family Tangshen Codonopsis pilosula that has been produced in Shangdang since ancient times. In fact, Kou Zong-shi, an official of the "Medicine Acquisition and Inspection of Medicinal Materials" who was later than Su Song, was still aware of the difference between Tangshen and Korean ginseng. Bencao Yanyi said: "(Shangdang ) When the natives get a nest, they place it on a board and tie it with colored velvet. The roots are quite long and slender, which is not similar to those in the Qiangchang. Those with roots hanging down for more than a foot, or Shiqi, are worth the same as silver. , a little rare."

How many people knew the secret created by Su Song at the time is unknown. The story about Wang Anshi's refusal to take Shangdang Purple Tuan Shen in Mengxi Bitan Although it was rumored for a while, it cannot be easily cited as an example that Wang Anshi knew the inside story, let alone evidence to support this speculation. However, 66 years after Su Song compiled Bencao Tujing, including Shangdang The entire northern region including the Jurchens fell into the hands of the Jurchens, and the Jin Dynasty was established. Shangdang ginseng root had no secrets left. Two medical books from the Jin and Yuan Dynasties inadvertently exposed the truth. Liu Wan-su (1120-1200) in Hejian of the Jin Dynasty (today's Hejian, Hebei Province) "Huangdi Su Wen Xuan Ming Fang Lun" Volume 9 "Xianren limb pills", ginseng root and purple group ginseng were used together, and later in the Yuan Dynasty Zhao Wang Hao-gu (about 1200-1264) of Zhouzhou (now Zhaoxian County, Hebei Province) "Yi Lei Yuan Rong" Volume 12 Tatarian Aster Root Pills, used to treat five kinds of wind and leprosy diseases, also used purple group to participate in ginseng root. Both Liu and Wang's hometowns are not far from Shangdang. The era of Liu Wan-su is less than a hundred years away from Su Song's "Illustrated Book". They both realize that the so-called Shangdang purple group's participation in ginseng root is different. This can never be used from the Song Dynasty. By the 19th century, Panax ginseng had been exhausted and was explained by Codonopsis pilosula.

From this we know that the so-called Shangdang ginseng root is actually platycodon root Tangshen. This secret has been discovered at least in the Northern Song Dynasty, but was forced to be concealed due to special reasons. However, starting from the Jin Dynasty, the so-called "Shangdang root" "Purple Tuan Shen" is undoubtedly Tangshen. Later, the medicinal history of ginseng root of Araliaceae was relatively simple. Bencao Gangmu said: "In Shangdang, now Luzhou, people regard ginseng root as a local hazard and no longer use it. Those used today are all It is Liao ginseng. The three countries of Goryeo, Baekje, and Silla now belong to Korea, and its ginseng still comes to China for mutual trade." Li Shi-zhen said that the reason for the disappearance of Luzhou ginseng root is that "people regard ginseng root as Except for the local harm, it is no longer used. The other medicinal uses have not changed much so far, so I won’t bother to go into details.

As for the name Tangshen, it actually evolved from "Shangdang ginseng root". Volume 4 of "Gufu Yuting Miscellaneous Records" written by Wang Shizhen of the Qing Dynasty says: "Wang Jie Fuyun said that he had no purple ginseng in his life, and he lived to Today. The case of Zi Tuan is also the name of Shangdang Mountain. Tangshen has been expensive in materia medica, Tang and Song Dynasties, but now it is more expensive in Liaodong and Gaoli. The price of a good one is as high as five taels of platinum per tael, while the price per catty in Shangdang is as low as Two coins of platinum, close to the ginseng root prohibition, the price suddenly became expensive, so I started to use Tangshen instead. The price of one tael of platinum per catty is very rare, and it is not easy to buy." Tangshen is officially listed in materia medica, see Bencao Congxin, Wu Yi-luo said, "According to the ancient materia medica, it is better to have ginseng in the party. Nowadays, real Tangshen has been rare for a long time. There are many kinds of Tangshen sold in shops, and they are all useless. Only Divaricate Saposhnikovia Root Tangshen, its nature and flavor are peaceful and noble. Those with lion-coiled heads on the roots are real, while those with hard lines are fake." Zhiwu Mingshi Tukao said: "Tangshen, prolific in Shanxi. Roots grow to two or three feet long. , creeping, with wrong leaves, and nodes as big as fingers. In the wild, the roots have white juice. In autumn, they bloom like coastal glehnia root. The flowers are green and white. The natives grow them for profit." Gangmu Supplements" "Divaricate Saposhnikovia Root" Tangshen "Tangshen" is quoted by Weng Liang as saying: "The function of Tangshen can be replaced by ginseng root. Its skin is yellow and has horizontal stripes, which is similar to Divaricate Saposhnikovia Root, so it is called Fangdang. It is called lion's head ginseng in Huizhou, Jiangnan and other places, because of the reed root." The head is big and round and convex." It also quotes "Baicao Mirror" as saying: "Tangshen is a yellow ginseng, and the yellow and moist ones are good. It comes from Lu'an, Taiyuan and other places in Shanxi. There are white ones, but the clean, soft, strong and sweet ones are always better. Those that are tender and small are named Tangshen, and those that are old and large are named Fang Tangshen." The so-called "Divaricate Saposhnikovia Root Tangshen" in the book is also called "Fang Tangshen", see Xu Mingyi Lei'an Volume 35 " "Returning to Spleen Decoction, remove ginseng root, Common Aucklandia Root, and prevent Tangshen" and so on, combined with the Tangshen medicine map of "Illustrated Examination", (Figure 3) Tangshen, Anti-Tangshen, Divaricate Saposhnikovia Root Tangshen are all Codonopsis pilosula or its variant Codonopsis pilosula var. modesta.

Gangmu There is a name "Sichuan Dang" in "Supplements", which says: "In recent times, there is Sichuan Dang, which is adjacent to Shaanxi. It is transplanted and cultivated. It has white skin and light taste, similar to platycodon root, without lions. The head is quite different from the one in Shanxi." The morphological characteristics of the "lion-less head" here are similar to the so-called small strips in Sichuan Tangshen. Its root head is smaller than the main body, which is called "loach head". Therefore, this type should be the Codonopsis tangshen used today.

[Authentic History]

In the variety review section, we have used a lot of words to discuss the name and reality of Shangdang ginseng root. Therefore, the issue is related to the determination of modern ginseng root and Tangshen GAP base. If the ancient Shangdang ginseng root As expected, ginseng root is Panax ginseng. Today, Changzhi City, Shanxi Province has every reason to conduct GAP research on ginseng root. It is even possible to cultivate medicinal materials that surpass Northeastern ginseng. But if not, then the history of Shangdang producing Codonopsis pilosula can be traced all the way back. In the Han Dynasty, and until later times, the advantage of the production area was still maintained, and this place will be the best area for Tangshen GAP research.

Through historical review, it is clear that the earliest recorded origin of Panax ginseng is Liaodong, which is called Mingyi Bielu. The standard origin has not changed much from ancient to modern times. As stated in Volume 125 of the Qing Dynasty Annals: "ginseng root, with three branches and five leaves, in the shape of a human being. It is produced in the deep mountains of Liaoyang and is a top-grade medical classic. Covered by Shen Gao Zhong Yu, Jue Cao works effectively and is the sign of long-lasting kingly energy. Produced in Ninggu Pagoda and other places in Jilin, its quality It has become slightly inferior to what is called Shang Tangshen, which is the same as ordinary flowers."

Tangshen is the ancient "Shangdang ginseng root". Shangdang, Shanxi is its original place of origin. According to the "New Revision", along the Taihang Mountains Both veins can be planted. As for Xidang and Tiaodang, they were recorded later. Research can be conducted based on cultivation habits in various places.