The origin of drinking has a long history, and the application of drinking in medicine has a long history, which has become a great invention in the medical field of our country. Chinese medicine believes that "wine is the best medicine", which is the ancient people's high evaluation of the application of wine in the medical field. In ancient times, the word "medicine" was written as "medicine". The upper part of "medicine" is "ling", which refers to the knocking sound when treating diseases, and the lower part refers to the wine used for treating diseases. It can be seen that wine is one of the earliest drugs. As for epidemic prevention and control, drinking also has a miraculous effect. As early as the Tang Dynasty, Sun Simiao, the "drug king", put forward the view that "one person drinks, one family drinks without epidemic, and one family drinks without epidemic".
Chinese medicine has a long history of understanding drinking. More than 2000 years ago, wine was selected into the classic classic of Chinese medicine "Huangdi Neijing" and listed as "the theory of soup and mash". In particular, the functions and raw materials of wine were discussed. The role of fermented grains is that "evil spirits can be taken at any time". Its production is also exquisite. It must use rice as raw material and straw as fuel, because "this is the sum of heaven and earth, which is suitable for competition". That is to say, the reason why wine uses rice as raw material and straw as fuel is because rice is planted in spring and harvested in autumn, and the atmosphere of heaven and earth is the most mellow. The book also points out that wine is like a spare medicine at home, which can only be taken when there are diseases and pathogens ... from various written records, it is enough to prove that the ancients used wine to treat diseases and prevent diseases for a long time.
Since then, we have collected Shen Nong's Classic of Materia Medica by Zhang Zhongjing, a famous doctor in the Han Dynasty, Notes on the Classic of Materia Medica by Tao Hongjing, a famous doctor in the Qi Dynasty in the Southern Dynasty, Qi Yaomin's Book in the Northern Wei Dynasty, Prescriptions for Emergency Treatment, Secrets Outside Taiwan, Taiping Sheng Huifang and a Chronicle of Shengji. A poem by Yu Xin in the Liang Dynasty, "Salt and Pepper Fu", wrote: "Zheng Dan is evil wine, and the New Year's longevity cup; The cypress leaves come with the inscription, and the pepper flowers come one by one. " Express people's conviction that drinking can ward off evil spirits and prolong life.
Why is wine valued by doctors of all ages? Why does drinking have an important role in promoting human health?
According to statistics, there are more than 200 kinds of wine prescriptions in Compendium of Materia Medica, which shows the correlation between wine and medicine.
Li Shizhen, the "sage of medicine" in Ming Dynasty, wrote a lot about wine in Compendium of Materia Medica. He believes that wine can "promote drug efficacy, dredge blood vessels, moisten skin, dissipate moisture, dispel wind and reduce qi". "Compendium of Materia Medica" also mentioned: wine is the beauty of heaven, drinking less will promote blood circulation, strengthen the spirit to keep out the cold, eliminate worries and rejuvenate.
Generally speaking, in surgical treatment, wine has the functions of disinfection, putrefaction, antipruritic, heat dissipation, analgesia, hemostasis, muscle relaxation and blood circulation, and the curative effect is naturally more obvious with appropriate drugs. Internal medicine is to use alcohol to spread throughout the body, so that drugs can work quickly. Therefore, it is not only used to brew hundreds of drugs, but also some drugs such as ointments, pills and powders, which are also taken with wine. Some medicines are baked, roasted, fried and soaked in wine. Wine is an indispensable article in Chinese medicine.
Today, wine still occupies an important position in China people's life, which has played a positive role in promoting human health: taking a small amount of white wine at night can gently promote blood circulation and play a hypnotic role. Drinking a small amount of white wine can stimulate the secretion of gastric juice and saliva, thus playing the role of invigorating stomach, relieving pain, diuresis and expelling worms. Traditional Chinese medicine has a long history of using Chinese liquor to treat diseases or as a kidney-tonifying drug. Western medicine also often advises people who have a cold to drink brandy. Sometimes it can be disinfected by smearing the affected area with wine.
02. Why does grain-brewed liquor have "efficacy"?
China Liquor is the wisdom of China Liquor Industry. It is made by solid-state fermentation and solid-state distillation of pure grain. It is a unique distilled liquor in the world and has been rated as China's intangible cultural heritage. From brewing wine to distilled wine, from low-alcohol wine to high-alcohol wine, it not only improves the taste and flavor, but also provides more powerful medical assistance for the health of people of all ages.
So, why is the liquor brewed with grain "effective"?
There are two main reasons, one is the drug potential of wine shops, and the other is the homology of medicine and food.
Liquor has higher alcohol content and stronger body access function.
As mentioned above, drugs can spread throughout the body through alcohol, thus acting quickly. Even without taking drugs, moderate drinking can promote blood circulation and enhance physical fitness. At the same time, more importantly, liquor is a concrete practice of China's health preserving theory, in which "Chinese Medicine" is a typical case.
In liquor brewing, there is a mysterious saying that "there is no medicine to make koji", that is, in the process of making koji, dozens or even hundreds of well-matched herbs are added. "Tunxi Fiber Records" records: "Take rice weeds as seeds and make them by fire". The "wild grass" here refers to herbs, and it is also the embryonic form of the earliest "hundred flowers make music". Some Chinese herbal medicines will be added when making wine. While adjusting the flavor of wine, these Chinese herbal medicines produce a large number of bioactive components beneficial to human health during fermentation, so "Qu has users, so it can cure diseases".
Grain-brewed liquor has "medicinal properties", which is the best example of "homology of medicine and food"
Based on the above two points, it laid a solid foundation for liquor to be known as "the first of all medicines" in ancient China. When it comes to the relationship between liquor and health, we have to mention medicinal koji, which not only carries the traditional technology of China liquor, but also embodies the dual medical values of "the trend of liquor making" and "the homology of medicine and food".
03. Why do herbs last forever?
In the production of many koji, the added medicinal materials are strictly compatible.
Beishan Jiujing, an important wine-making monograph in the Northern Song Dynasty, summarizes the theory and practice of wine-making and koji-making technology in detail. The book divides Koji into three categories. The first category is; Seven songs, including Dundi Temple Sacrifice Song, Xiangquan Song, Gui Xiang Song and Almond Song; The second category is wind songs, including Yaoquan songs, Jin songs, slide songs, bean flower songs and so on. What is the third category? Qu, including Yu You Qu, Bai Lao Qu, Xiao Jiu Qu, Yi Zhen Qu, Lian Zi Qu, etc. * * * 13 species. The production method, technological process and matters needing attention of each kind of koji were introduced in detail. Especially the formula, materials, dosage and usage. For example, as outlined in the general introduction: "All dharma and music were created in the dog days of June. Make dipping juice first. Each urn uses three stones and five buckets of sweet water, xanthium sibiricum 100 kg, snake hemp 20 kg and Polygonum hydropiper 20 kg, which are filed and put into the urn. Stir-fry for five or seven days, cloudy to ten days. " The 13 kinds of medicine songs recorded in the book further prove the historical convention of "no medicine, no song" in ancient China.
In the process of brewing, the ancients used traditional Chinese medicine to add koji, and after fermentation, the essence of traditional Chinese medicine was blended, which removed the substances that were toxic and harmful to the human body and retained the components that were beneficial to the human body, achieving a balance and coordination, which not only improved the types and quantities of microorganisms in koji, but also increased the aroma and flavor substances in liquor, improved the brewing quality and increased the health factors of liquor.
The traditional brewing technology, koji-making formula and brewing environment fully embody the idea of harmonious coexistence between man and nature. Huangdi Neijing's "Treating diseases before they occur, treating them without disorder" embodies the essence theory of TCM health preservation. Just like "bend to millet, lead to mercury, yin and yang combine and change naturally." Turning grains into wine is a combination of thousands of years' philosophical wisdom and health-preserving concept of the Chinese nation, which is the neutralization of the balance between Yin and Yang and the highest state of China's traditional culture.
Up to now, many places still keep the custom of putting herbs into music, such as medicine ditty in Guilin, wine cake ditty in Guangdong, rice ditty in Qionglai and Daqu ditty in Donggong Temple in Guizhou. It is worth mentioning that the liquor brewed by Daqu and Xiaoqu in Donggong Temple in Guizhou is the famous Dongjiu. Daqu has more than 40 herbs and Xiaoqu has more than 90 flavors, which is a must in the liquor category. Because of this, the formula and technology of Dongjiu were rated as state secrets for three times, and Dongjiu is the only old eight famous wines in China that continue to "add a hundred herbs to the qu".