As an important medicinal material, pearl has a history of 2,000 years in China, and has long been a star in the treasure house of traditional Chinese medicine. There are 19 kinds of medical books in the Three Kingdoms of Han Dynasty, Materia Medica by Liang, Materia Medica by Tang, Kaibao Materia Medica by Song and Compendium of Materia Medica by Ming. Among them, the curative effect of pearls is clearly recorded. For example, the Classic of Materia Medica by Tao Hongjing in the Liang Dynasty pointed out that it had the function of "treating eyes and skin". In the Tang Dynasty, people used pearl powder to smear their faces when making up. Over time, the skin color of the actors is particularly delicate and fair. In the Yuan Dynasty, merchants also added honey and pearl powder to ice cubes to make expensive food and high-grade heatstroke prevention drinks. Yuan Haowen recorded in "Continued Jane Yizhi": "There is little ice in Taoshui in winter ... as round and clean as pearls ... in midsummer, honey water is used and pearl powder is added." In the Ming Dynasty, Li Shizhen wrote in Compendium of Materia Medica that "bead coating makes people moist and looks good. Apply hands and feet, and remove the skin from the skin. You can darken your face and make the luster white. " And described many therapies. At the end of the Qing Dynasty, Cixi also knew that pearls could make the skin smooth and shiny, and she took a spoonful of pearl powder on time every ten days. She has a eunuch who specializes in pearl powder. The pearl is very small and crystal clear. Cixi summed up the amount and time of taking pearl powder from decades of experience, and came to the conclusion that it is useless to eat too much and it is useless not to take it on time.
In addition, People's Republic of China (PRC) Pharmacopoeia I 1963 Edition, People's Republic of China (PRC) Dictionary of Traditional Chinese Medicine and People's Republic of China (PRC) Pharmacopoeia 1977 Edition also recorded that pearls have the functions of calming the heart, nourishing yin, calming the wind, clearing away heat and resolving phlegm, resolving phlegm, improving eyesight, detoxifying and promoting granulation. China has accumulated rich experience in treating diseases with pearls, and mixed various Chinese patent medicines and compound preparations.
In recent years, the clinical application of pearls has achieved fruitful results. In this research work, medical schools in Zhejiang, Hebei, Jiangxi, Shanghai and other places, as well as Beijing Tongrentang, Hainan Yangshengtang and Guangzhou Military Region General Hospital have made important contributions. In particular, Dr. Liu Jingge from Beijing University of Chinese Medicine made a comprehensive summary of the efficacy test of pearl powder and compiled a summary table against Compendium of Materia Medica, which provided a comprehensive and scientific basis for the medical application of pearl powder (Table 2-2).
Effective cases (confirmed by modern medicine) include insomnia, neurasthenia, fatigue syndrome, butt pain, fidgeting, high fever, chattering, autonomic nervous dysfunction, amnesia and so on.
Arrhythmia, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, arteriosclerosis, stroke, anemia, coronary heart disease, gastric weakness, duodenal ulcer, gastroenteritis, atrophic gastritis, halitosis, viral hepatitis, diabetes, esophagitis and diarrhea caused by bronchitis, pneumonia and excessive cough.
Positive phlegm, infertility, fetal toxicity, uterine erosion, cervicitis, uterine functional bleeding, excessive leucorrhea, dystocia, placenta retention.
Freckle, macula, eczema, skin ulcer, burn, furuncle, tinnitus, deafness, cataract, oral ulcer.
Moisturize human skin, remove skin and lungs, remove disability, treat deafness, remove acne and poison.
Second, the decoration of pearls.
1. Jewelry
The use of pearls as jewelry has a long history. "Gezhi Jingyuan" quoted the record of "Dressing Table": When pearls, green wings and aluminum powder were added to the bun, its bun was higher, so it was named Feng bun. The Analects of Confucius explains: "The cloud lip belongs to Guo Yun, also known as the old pearl. One is clam, the other is pulp, and Zhou Li is called raccoon. " Obviously, mussel pearls have been used as decorations at this time. After the Qin and Han Dynasties, it was more common to use pearls as jewelry. Emperors, queens, ladies-in-waiting, wives and ladies of bureaucrats all wear pearls: "Emperor Yangdi ordered the imperial court to wear the crown of heaven and cymbals, all of which were decorated with pearls." In the second year of Pauli in Tang Dynasty (AD 826), a tribute dancer in eastern Zhejiang wore a pale gold crown, tied with gold thread in the shape of a crane, and decorated with colored beads. In this regard, there are sentences such as "Yesterday, the butler invited a banquet, and the Royal Luo Qing put pearls in his hat". Bai Juyi said in Song of Eternal Sorrow: "The flower hairpin fell to the ground, but no one picked it up. A green and white jade hairpin tassel and a golden hairpin bird" are also flower jewelry made of pearls, precious stones and jade. From the cultural relics unearthed from the tombs of the Western Han Dynasty, we can see that pearls have a long history as decorations. For example, two finely carved Ming Dynasty Diancuizhu phoenix crests unearthed from the Wanli Mausoleum of the Ming Dynasty are inlaid with more than 5,000 jewels, with pearls and rubies as the bottom, gold-plated phoenix as the foil, and silver-plated Cui Yun as the foil, with exquisite craftsmanship; In addition, the Qing Empresses' Shimonoseki, the replacement of their mouths, faces, caps and heads were all decorated with pearls. In the United States, the European Union, Southeast Asia and other places, pearl necklaces are the most popular jewelry. Common nail and curtains made of pearls are also very beautiful and generous, which are favored by consumers. The United States is currently the largest pearl consumer in the world. At present, the annual consumption of pearl jewelry is more than 2 billion US dollars, with an average annual increase of 16%.
put on
Clothing also uses pearls, in Hanshu? The Biography of Huo Guang records: "Empress Dowager Cixi was put in a military tent with pearls", and pearls were used to embroider clothes and shoes. "Historical Records" records that "there are 3,000 guests in spring, and all the guests on it are taking beads and shoes"; "Warring States Policy" "Spring Shen Jun invited 3,000 guests, all with the pearl"; "Yanzi Chunqiu" contains "Gong Jing as shoes, gold tea, decorated with silver and even beads"; More clothes are decorated with pearls. Dragon robes and Korean pearls are all decorated with pearls. The most obvious and typical is the dragon robe of Emperor Qianlong. The azurite satin is first embroidered with colorful embroidery, and then decorated with rice beads, coral strings, dragons, bats, cranes and other patterns, which is extremely gorgeous.
1. bead curtain
Beaded curtains are the furniture of many people. In some ancient works, the bead curtain was written many times, such as Wang Changling's "West Palace Spring Complaint", "There are ancient flowers in the West Palace at night, and I want to roll the bead curtain in spring"; Du Mu's "Two Farewells" and "Yangzhou Road, which is ten miles in the spring breeze, is not as good as rolling a bead curtain"; Li Shangyin's Maid-in-waiting, "The pearls are light and bright"; Li Bai's "How beautiful she is, opening the pearl window and sitting with a frown"; Bai Juyi's "Pearl and Foil Screen Door"; Su Shi's "drunken passers-by should laugh, ten miles of beads and a half hook" and so on. The above poem shows that bead curtain decoration was very common in ancient China.
2. jewelry
Another kind of pearl ornaments is treasure ornaments. Many of them have become national treasures. 1978, the pearl relic treasure house of the Northern Song Dynasty was discovered in Ruiguang Tower in southwest Suzhou. This treasure house is an object dedicated to Buddhist relics. Gundam 122cm, made of 32,000 pearls inlaid with precious stones and gold and silver thread. The pearls on the tower are exquisite and glittering, and there are nine golden dragons beside the tower, which are glittering, lifelike and beautifully designed. In addition, there are more than 1200 pearls and more than 400 plum blossom bonsai. There are more such treasures in the Palace Museum. In the history of our country, the Liu Dynasty in the Southern Han Dynasty and Cixi in the late Qing Dynasty occupied the most pearls, and even the shoes had to be nailed with pearls.