中国的药文化有着数千年的悠久历史和丰厚的底蕴。我们的祖国幅员辽阔，地大物博，拥有种类繁多的天然中药资源，数几千年来，我国人民对这些宝贵资源进行开发和利用，这些宝贵的中药资源也一直是我国劳动人民防病治病的主要武器，保障了人民的健康和中华民族的繁衍昌盛，同时也推动了我国医药学的发展。
那么到底什么是中药呢？我们现在所说的中药是相对于西药而言的，其实在在古代，我们的祖先们并没有“中药”这一概念。由于中药基本以植物药为主，所以古代人们就把“中药”叫做“本草”。十九世纪时西药传入我国，为了把我国传统药与西药区别开来，就将传统药称为“中药”。简而言之，中药就是指在中医理论指导下使用的药物，用于预防、治疗、诊断疾病，并具有康复和保健作用。中药主要来源于天然药及其加工品，包括植物药、动物药、矿物药及部分化学、生物制品类药物。
With a history of thousands of years, the culture of Chinese herbal medicineshas a rich heritage. China isalarge country with a wide range of natural medical resources. For thousands of years, the Chinese people have exploited and utilized these precious resources as the weapon to prevent and treat various diseases. Theyguaranteed the health of the people and the prosperity of the Chinese nation, and also promoted the development of medical science in ancient China.
What exactly is Chineseherbalmedicine? This name is the result of the introduction of western medicine into China. Actually, there was no concept of “Chinese medicine” in ancient China. Since the vast majority of Chinesemedicinal materialsare botanical medicines, people in ancient China calledthem“Ben Cao” (which meansherbalmedicine). In the 19thcentury,thewestern medicine was introduced into China. In order to distinguish the Chinese medicine fromthewestern medicine, the traditional medicine of China was then called “Chinese medicine”. In short, Chineseherbalmedicine refers to themedicinal materialsused under the guidance of TCM theory for the prevention, treatment and diagnosis of diseases, and has the functions of rehabilitation and health care. Chineseherbalmedicinesmainly come from natural medicinesand their processed products, including botanical medicines, animal medicines, mineral medicinesand some chemical and biological products.
转载自《读故事 识本草：中药入门读本》
