Traditional Chinese Medicine has a history of being recorded as early as the 1st century, with classics written during and after the Han Dynasty called “Yellow Emperor’s Inner Classics”, “Divine Husbandman’s Classic of Material Medica”, “Discussion of Cold Damage”, and “Essentials from the Golden Cabinet”. Through the millennials, the studies of herbs have expanded in number of herbs, classification standards, and formulation categories from a handful of herbs to thousands of single herbs and formulations. Historically, the therapeutic and clinical actions of the herbs were empirically observed as it merged with the Chinese medical theories of the body with the empirical knowledge of the herbal characteristics.
The unique development of TCM herbal medicine is its theories on Herbal compounding or combining of different herbs to modify and enhance the therapeutic effect for a specific condition. Traditionally, there are seven ways of herbal compounding: mutual accentuation, mutual enhancement, mutual counteraction, mutual suppression, mutual antagonism, mutual incompatibility, and single effect.
Within these formulations there are four different categories of herbs based on function: chief herbs, deputy herbs, assistant herbs and envoy herbs. Chief herbs have the main therapeutic effect, the deputy herbs enhances or assists the function of the chief herbs, assistant herbs either treat any accompanying symptoms, and moderates any harsh or toxic effects of the chief herbs. Lastly the envoy herbs either guide the herbs to specific channels and organs or harmonizes the mixture of all the herbs.
Herbal Medicine Sources:
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