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Today, Dried Ginger is the dried rhizome of Zingiber officinale Rosc., and fresh ginger rhizome is its fresh product. Dried Ginger is mainly produced in Qianwei and Muchuan of Sichuan, Liupanshui, Changshun and Xingren of Guizhou. In addition, Guangxi, Yunnan, Zhejiang, Shandong, Hubei, Guangdong, and Shaanxi also have output.

materia medica Research believes that ginger varieties have not changed from ancient to modern times, but the ancient name "Dried Ginger" may originally refer to "Dried Ginger", which is a specially processed product of fresh ginger rhizome or mother ginger, and fresh ginger rhizome or mother ginger The simple dried product of ginger is called "fresh ginger rhizome". After the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the latter gradually replaced the former and became the authentic "dried (dried) ginger". Medicinal ginger is widely cultivated in various southern provinces, with Qianwei, Sichuan, and Taizhou, Zhejiang having the longest history. It is customary to believe that these two places produce the best quality ginger and should be the most suitable areas for standardized cultivation.

【Variety Review】

Ginger, written as "䕬" in "Shuowen", Xu Shen said: "It is also a vegetable that protects against dampness. "Congqiao, strong voice." Wushi'er Bingfang was written as "䕬", "江", "强", "纺", and "橿", and later it was written as "江" in many provinces. "Wuwei Medical Slips" is also written as "ginger", and recently it is abbreviated as "ginger". The name "䕬" comes from Wang Anshi's "Zi Shuo" which says: "䕬, the one who strengthens me, is strong enough to control poisonous, evil, smelly and fishy Hanre." Also, "Jiang can control all evils, so It's called Jiang." This explanation may be incorrect. The original character of Jiang is suspected to be written as "纺". The original meaning of "Shuowen" is: "纺, the boundary. From the field, the three boundaries are drawn." This is a borrowed reference. The modern plant ginger has a shape like the palm of your hand. Its rhizome is thick and parallel.

In ancient times, ginger and cinnamon had a pungent taste and were mostly used as cooking seasonings. According to "The Analects of Confucius" "Xiang Dang" said that Confucius "does not withdraw ginger from food, and does not eat too much", "Book of Rites" "Tan Gong" "When people are mourning and sick, eating meat and fluid retention wine must be flavored by vegetation, which is why ginger and cinnamon are called ginger and cinnamon." Zheng Annotated: "It adds fragrance." "Lu's Spring and Autumn Period" "Original Flavor" says: "The beauty of harmony is the ginger of Yang Pu and the osmanthus of Swagger." In addition to eating, ginger is also used for medicinal purposes. Lingshu ﹒ Shou'ao Gangrou uses Chunjiu, bunge pricklyath pericarp, Dried Ginger, and cinnamon central bark as medicine. Mawangdui medical books use ginger a lot. Bencao Jing It is classified as the middle grade, and has been recorded in materia medica throughout the ages. Bencao Tujing describes its plant form: "The seedlings are two to three feet high, with long leaves like arrows, common lophatherum, facing each other in pairs, and the seedlings are green and the roots are yellow. There are no flowers." Bencao Gangmu said: "Ginger is suitable for the original Xisha land. In April, we took the mother ginger and planted it. In May, the seedlings were like young reeds, and the leaf sheaths were as wide as common lophatherum, with opposite leaves. It is also spicy, and the new buds suddenly grow before and after Qiu She, like rows of fingers. When eaten, there are no tendons, so it is called Zijiang. Bencao's picture shows Fuzhou fresh ginger rhizome and Wenzhou fresh ginger rhizome (Figure 1). The original plant is Zingiber officinale, which has not changed in ancient and modern times.

Ginger is made from its rhizome. In modern times, it can be roughly divided into three categories: young ginger, fresh ginger rhizome and dried Ginger according to the different parts, drying degree and processing methods: 1. Young ginger is the bud of ginger and is mainly used as a vegetable. Ru, also known as young ginger, purple ginger, pickled ginger, and ginger buds; 2. fresh ginger rhizome, the fresh rhizome of ginger, used in cooking and medicine, also known as vegetable ginger, mother ginger, and old ginger; 3. Dried Ginger , is a dried product of ginger rhizome, mainly used for medicinal purposes, and can be further processed into carbonized ginger and Blast-Fried Ginger. Regardless of whether ginger is used for medicinal purposes, although the varieties have not changed in ancient and modern times, the specific medicinal material specifications, especially the definition of "Dried Ginger", are quite different. A brief discussion is as follows.

1. The meaning of "dried ginger" or "Dried Ginger" in early literature

Ginger is a commonly used product in Qin and Han Dynasty medical prescriptions. According to statistics compiled by Mr. Ma Jixing in "Mawangdui Ancient Medical Books", Mawangdui medical books use "ginger" in about 15 places, and "ginger" is called "ginger" in 8 places. "Ginger" in 6 places and "Ginger" in 1 place. There should be no problem in understanding "dried ginger" as dry and dehydrated ginger, but is this "dried ginger" the same thing as the "dried ginger" that appears everywhere? What is the relationship between "Dried Ginger" and "ginger"? What is even more puzzling is that the "Wuwei Medical Slips" in the early Eastern Han Dynasty also used ginger in many places, but they were all called "ginger" indiscriminately. What kind of ginger this refers to is unknown. At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Shanghan Zabing Lun used ginger in more places, with more than 50 recipes each using "Dried Ginger" and "fresh ginger rhizome". "Fresh ginger rhizome" may have no different meaning, but "Dried Ginger" ” Exactly what it is still needs to be considered.

The immortal alchemists of the Qin and Han Dynasties valued the magical effects of ginger. Not only did Bencao Jing say that ginger "can be taken for a long time to remove odor and promote mental activity", there are also various records in Wei books, such as "Spring and Autumn Movement" "Dou Shu" says: "Xuanxing is scattered into ginger. When you lose your virtue and go against your will, the ginger will have wings, pungent but not smelly." And "Xiao Jing Yu Shen Qi" says: "Jie Jiang can protect against dampness, drug sweetflag rhizome can improve intelligence, and it can win a great victory." It prolongs life and brings prosperity to the army." Ginger is often used together with pepper. This is the "pepper and ginger protect against dampness" mentioned in "Yuan Shen Qi". The most noteworthy one is found in the early Taoist scripture "Tai Shang Ling Bao Five Talisman Preface". Discussion on pepper and ginger: "The old gentleman said: Pepper is born in Shu Han and contains Qi Taiyin. Heaven and earth are both born, and changes occur in the land. Therefore, it can resist dampness and evil dare not invade. Parasitic toxin is eaten by ghosts and can't help it. Zi can take it regularly. Do whatever you want. The secrets of the world are very deep. Keep them tightly and don’t let them out. You don’t need ten thousand gold.” Also, “The old gentleman said: Jiang Sheng Taiyang (EX-HN5) is from the same hometown as Jiao. Both come from good soil and graceful mountains. Between. Solid and motionless, relying on Shuiquan (KI5). It contains Qi to illuminate the confusion, and keeps the roots of the soil. It faces the yin and faces the yang, and always exists with the world. Therefore, it can ward off dampness, remove cold and make it warm. It can eliminate evil and kill diseases, and block the gate of ghosts. Zi Neng Take it regularly, and your life will be as long as the universe." In these two passages, pepper is regarded as being transformed by Taiyin, while ginger is born from Taiyang (EX-HN5), and Taiyang (EX-HN5) is Qian, so it is doubtful that the ancient name "Qian" (dried) ginger" is actually "dried (qián) ginger".

2. Dried Ginger’s approach

The important evidence for interpreting "Dried Ginger" in the Qin and Han prescriptions as "dried (qián) ginger" is that "Dried Ginger" is not actually a directly dried product of fresh ginger rhizome, but has a separate production process, Tao Hong- Jing said: "Dried Ginger is now only produced in Linhai and Zhang'an, and two or three villages explain how to make it. Ginger in the Shu Han Dynasty is beautiful in the past, and there are good gingers in Jingzhou, but it cannot be dried. When making Dried Ginger, it must be flooded for three days and then peeled. Put it in the water from the river for six days, scrape off the skin, and then dry it in the sun. It is called brewing." As far as the process itself is concerned, it is indeed not a simple drying. This "Dried Ginger" method continues until It still existed in the Song Dynasty. Bencao Tujing recorded Hanzhou Dried Ginger's Fa Yun: "Soak ginger in water for three days, peel it, put it in water from the river for six days, scrape off the skin, and then expose it. Dry it, brew it in an urn, and it will be ready in three days." Dried Ginger, Volume 6 of Li Shi's "Extended Natural History", the method is roughly the same: "After being submerged in water for three days, put it in water from the river for six days, peel it again, and then Expose it to dryness and put it into a vase, which is called brewing." This method of "dried ginger" has even spread to foreign countries. Volume 2 of Inada Xuanyi's "Processing Complete Book" has a method for making dried ginger. The summary goes: "Mother ginger" Soak it in water for three days, peel off the skin, put it in water from the river for six days, scrape off the skin, then dry it in the sun, put it in a porcelain vat and brew it for three days before it is ready."

3. Dried fresh ginger rhizome

After all, the method of "Dried Ginger" is extremely cumbersome, and merchants can't help but cut corners and save materials. The "Complete Book of Processing" specifically warns in the method of making Dried Ginger: "Mother ginger is lightly boiled in medicine shops, and then it is dried violently. It is sold under the name Dried Ginger." In fact, it was already the case in the Song Dynasty that fresh ginger rhizome was slightly processed and then dried and passed off as "Dried Ginger". Bencao Tujing said: "Autumn Harvest" The roots were washed in long water from the river and dried in the sun to become Dried Ginger." In Su Song's view, this "Dried Ginger" method goes hand in hand with the "Hanzhou Dried Ginger Method" cited earlier.

However, doctors in the Song Dynasty seemed to have noticed that the efficacy of "dried ginger" was different between the two methods, so the special term "dried fresh ginger rhizome" appeared in the prescription, such as Furen Liangfang Volume 12 quotes "Bo Ji Fang" to relieve the spleen and fluid retention. The original prescription uses "Dried Ginger". Later, there is a comment saying: "Later generations removed tangerine peel and replaced Dried Ginger with dried fresh ginger rhizome to treat qi deficiency and constipation in the elderly. , reduce body fluids, induce fluid retention, and have miraculous effects." During the Song and Yuan Dynasties, there were many prescriptions for using "dried fresh ginger rhizome", so I won't bother to give examples. Tangye Bencao used dried fresh ginger rhizome instead of " "Dried Ginger" exclusive explanation: "Ginger chips are less hot than Dried Ginger, and less moist than fresh ginger rhizome. Dried ginger rhizome is used instead of Dried Ginger because it is not arrogant." What is said here is "dry fresh" "Ginger rhizome" is the dried product of fresh ginger rhizome, which is also known as "Dried Ginger" today.

In the Ming Dynasty, Bencao Gangmu added "dried fresh ginger rhizome" after the fresh ginger rhizome article, but the wording was unclear. The Dried Ginger article said: "Made from mother ginger. Today, Jiangxi, Xiangzhou, and Jiangxi are all "Dried Ginger" is said to be white and firm, so people call it white ginger, and also call it "dried ginger". It is used as medicine and can be used as a gun." Such records do not reveal the origin of "Dried Ginger". Antagonism's later "materia medica" discusses the production of "fresh ginger rhizome" and "dried ginger" without losing the original meaning of the two: "The new shoots suddenly grow in front and back, like a row of fingers, a kind of can be If there are hundreds of fingers of growth, all branched upward, it is better to take out the seed ginger, otherwise both the mother and the child will fail. The Autumnal Equinox (16th solar term) Collect the buds, which are tender and delicious. After frost, they will be old and sinewy. If you dry them, it is called dry fresh. Ginger rhizome. Dried Ginger refers to the ginger seeds taken, soaked in water for three days, peeled, placed in water from the river to soak for six days, scraped off the skin, and then dried in the sun, put into a porcelain vat, and brewed for three days. It is considered good if it is white and firm, so people call it white ginger, and it is suitable for use as medicine."

4. Dried Ginger

Starting from around the Qing Dynasty, doctors and pharmacies gradually forgot the original meaning of "Dried Ginger", and the original cumbersome production process of "Dried Ginger" was gradually eliminated. In Song and Yuan Dynasties, the medicinal material was still called "dried fresh ginger rhizome" and became "Dried Ginger". The main source, the name also became "Dried Ginger". Bencao Chongyuan says: "Dried Ginger is made from mother ginger and dried in the sun. The one with thick, white, firm and bright flesh like Tall Gastrodia Tuber is good, so it is also called white ginger." This is different from Lu Zhi-yi's previous work. There is a completely different view that Dried Ginger is white ginger. At the same time, Bencao Qiuzhen, Bencao Congxin, "materia medica 思思录", and Depei Bencao All Materia Medicas use the saying "Dried Ginger is dried Ginger", which is also the standard preparation method of Dried Ginger for medicinal use today.

【Evolution of Authentic】

As an economic crop, ginger has a long history of cultivation. According to "Historical Records" "The Biography of Huozhi" states that "Qianqi ginger and leek are the same as those of Qianhuhou." During the Qin and Han Dynasties, Sichuan was the main producing area of ​​ginger. "Yang Pu's Ginger" was cited in "Lu Shi Chun Qiu". According to Gao Yuan's note, Yang Pu's place was in Sichuan. The county, Bencao Jing, is also said to be "the valley where Qianwei lives", which is today's Qianwei County in Sichuan. During this period, the ginger produced in Shu County was also full of legend in the Taoist immortals' writings. Not only did the "Preface to the Five Talisman of Taishang Lingbao" say that both ginger and pepper came from Shu, but "Book of the Later Han Dynasty" said that both ginger and pepper came from Shu. According to "The Biography of Fang Shu", Cao Cao sent Zuo Ci to fetch Songjiang perch and fresh ginger rhizome from Shu. Volume 9 of "The Legend of Immortals" records that Jie Xiang went to Shu to buy ginger for Sun Quan. Li Shangyin's poem "Yue Gui is left to cook Zhang Hanguo, and Sichuan ginger is used to cook Lu Jibei", which praises the ginger of Sichuan.

After the Wei and Jin Dynasties, Ginger also left Jingzhou and Yangzhou, and was recorded in Mingyi Bielu. After that, the north and the south were divided. Tao Hong-jing focused on the gingers of Linhai and Zhang'an, specifically saying: "Dried Ginger today Only Linhai and Zhang'an, two or three villages, explained it. Ginger in the Shu Han Dynasty was beautiful in the past, and Jingzhou had good ginger, but it could not be used as a dryer." Linhai and Zhang'an are in today's Taizhou, Zhejiang, according to "Book of Southern Qi". "The Biography of Kong Xiu" "(Xiu Zhi) came out as the prefect of Linhai. During his tenure, he cleared the treaty, dismissed the county and returned it, and offered twenty kilograms of Dried Ginger. The ancestors thought it was too little, and when they learned about Xiu's purity, they sighed." It is known that Jiang Yuan came out of Zhejiang from this place. . In the north, it was also cultivated at that time, but the quality was not high, and it was mainly used for medicinal purposes in the Northern Dynasties. "Qi Min Yao Shu" "Ginger Planting No. 27" says: "Chinese land is not suitable for ginger. It can only survive but not flourish. Those who plant it will be treated like medicine."

The territories of the Tang and Song Dynasties were unified. Medicinal ginger mainly came from the south. Dried Ginger, a tribute from the Tang Dynasty, mainly came from Chengdu Prefecture on Jiannan Road, Hangzhou, Taizhou, Fuzhou and Quanzhou on Jiangnan East Road, Qianzhou and Shannan on Jiangnan West Road. Xiangzhou on the east road. Tongdian specifically mentioned: "Linhai County paid tribute of 100 pieces of mackerel skin and 100 catties of Dried Ginger. Today's Taizhou." "Yuanhe County Map" records that Taizhou paid 300 catties of Dried Ginger in Kaiyuan. . Bencao Tujing said: "It is found everywhere today, especially Han, Wen and Chizhou." It should be admitted that although Sichuan has always been considered the authentic ginger production area, it may be due to Tao Hong-jing In recognition of Jiangnan ginger, the main producing area of ​​ginger has been transferred to Jiangsu and Zhejiang during the Tang and Song Dynasties.

The origin of ginger in the Ming and Qing Dynasties was still in Jiangsu and Zhejiang. Bencao Chongyuan said: "Linhai, Zhang'an, Han, Wen, and Chizhou can all produce it. It is now found in Jiangxi and Zhejiang, and Sanqu Kaihua The best." "Updated Weiyao Tiaobian says: "Dried Ginger, from Junzhou, Hunan, the white inside the small double head is Junjiang, the best. The one from Taizhou, Zhejiang, is Taijiang, small, Those with black and yellow meat are the second best. Others are from Jiangnan, Jiangxi, Ningguo, and Sichuan. It is better to have a large and solid body with white meat inside." It was precisely because Sichuan had lost its local advantage at that time, so as a supplementary book, Zhao Xue -min included "Sichuan Ginger" in Bencao Gangmu Shiyi and specifically commended it: "When it comes out of Sichuan, it bends like a dead branch. It has the most pungent taste. It is definitely not shaped like ginger. It can also be used as food."

To sum up, all southern provinces are suitable for the growth of medicinal ginger, and Qianwei, Sichuan, and Taizhou, Zhejiang, have the longest history. It is customary to believe that these two places produce the best ginger, and should be the most suitable areas for standardized planting. As for the northern provinces, although Jia Sixie of the Northern Wei Dynasty said that "the soil is not suitable for ginger, it can only survive but cannot grow", he has been criticized by Xu Guangqi: "Now it is grown in the soil of the north, but it grows and grows, which is not suitable." But because of the north The climate is cold, the frost period is early, and the growth period is short. Although ginger is grown in Shandong, Henan and other places today, its powdery nature is weak, its spiciness is weak, and there is a lot of Shuifen (CV9). It is not suitable for processing dried ginger for medicinal purposes and is mainly eaten. , commonly known as vegetable ginger, this is what Bencao Mengquan said: "Northern dried ginger is not hot, northern fresh ginger rhizome is not moist", which means that ginger from northern soil is not suitable for medicinal purposes.