Wu Meng-Hua, Zhao Zhong-Zhen, Cao Hui
Research Center for Traditional Chinese Medicine of Lingnan (Southern China), College of Pharmacy, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, China.
School of Chinese Medicine, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong 00852, China.
Zhongguo Zhong Yao Za Zhi. 2016 Nov;41(21):4076-4082. doi: 10.4268/cjcmm20162130.
Many foreign medicinal materials that were imported to China via the Silk Road and maritime trade have enriched Chinese medicine. Imported foreign medicines reached a high point by the Tang and Song Dynasties, particularly in the case of aromatic medicines, which supplemented domestic Chinese aromatics and were widely employed in official dispensaries in the Song Dynasty. This study investigated historical records related to imported Chinese medicines in the Tang and Song periods, focusing on their varieties, quantity, use, and localization trends. Foreign medicines were assimilated as Chinese medical theory was applied to interpret their effects, and aromatics such as frankincense that were extremely expensive in the Tang Dynasty became accessible to common people by the Song Dynasty. By the Song Dynasty, some foreign medicines began to be domestically cultivated and the boundary between foreign and traditional Chinese medicines became blurred; foreign medicines gradually transformed into Chinese medicines. The importation of foreign medicines during the Tang and Song Dynasties was a historical turning point that contributed greatly to the development of traditional Chinese medicine.
许多通过丝绸之路和海上贸易进口到中国的外国药材丰富了中医药。到唐宋时期，进口的外国药物达到了一个高峰，尤其是芳香类药物，它们补充了中国国内的香料，并在宋代的官方药房中广泛使用。本研究调查了唐宋时期与进口中药相关的历史记录，重点关注其品种、数量、用途和本土化趋势。随着中医理论被应用于解释外国药物的功效，外国药物被同化，唐代极其昂贵的乳香等香料在宋代变得普通百姓也能使用。到宋代，一些外国药物开始在国内种植，外国药物与传统中药之间的界限变得模糊；外国药物逐渐转变为中药。唐宋时期外国药物的进口是一个历史转折点，对传统中医药的发展做出了巨大贡献。
