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How and why hemp was fundamental in the construction of Chinese civilization which theorized its therapeutic uses for the first time.

 

 

 

Hemp Sativa or Cannabis Sativa is a species of the Cannabis genus. Sativa is often called hemp (hemp) which exemplifies the distinction with Indica Hemp containing much higher quantities of THC and therefore often used for different uses. From a phenotypic point of view it is characterized by a height of up to five meters and longer and narrower leaves than its Indica counterpart.

 

The ancient history of hemp and man was born thanks to the exceptional ductility of the fibers of which it is composed which allowed it to be exploited in the most varied fields from textiles to construction and therapeutics.

Hemp in ancient China

Chinese civilization was born and developed also thanks to the use of hemp. It is Andersson JG who in 1921 testified to the use of strings impressed on clay vessels in the Honan region by the Yang-Shao culture which dominated up to the banks of the Yellow River more than six thousand years ago. The territories of north-eastern China have been known since ancient times as the "lands of mulberry and hemp": if the textile production of mulberry trees produced silk that dressed the wealthiest people, hemp fiber was essential for dressing the entire people. One of the most important written testimonies is preserved in the Li Chi, the Book of Rites dating back to the 2nd BC, which tells how, for example, during the funeral celebrations of the Confucian era, traditional hemp clothes had to be used. The history of China is dotted with similar uses. One of the most important was for the construction of fishing nets and ropes which, through the interspersed use of knots, represent one of the first forms of recording information before writing. Speaking of writing, during the late period of the Han dynasty the invention of paper was perfected by Ts'ai Lun: the oldest artefact was found in the tomb in the Shensi region dating back to the 1st century. B.C

 

Shennong and the Pen-Ts'ao Ching

Guo Xu (1456–c.1529) - 'Shennong, the divine farmer'. Telling Images of China
 

The seeds and grains of the Sativa Hemp plant have been used since ancient times until the 6th century BC, a period in which they were replaced with higher cereals. It was not difficult to learn from eating habits that hemp could provide above all therapeutic benefits. It was the legendary Shennong (god-ancestor father of agriculture, pharmacopoeia and traditional Chinese medicine) who in the first compendium of traditional Chinese medicine, the Pen-Ts'ao Ching, spoke of the beneficial properties of hemp and the hallucinogenic effects of the flowers which, quoting, “make people communicate with the spirits and illuminate the body”. Cannabis was recognized as a genus of plants containing both the negative and passive flows of Yin and the impulsive and strong flows of Yang, it was Shennong's credit to find the correct balance by choosing to cultivate only female plants. One of the applications of hemp in the history of traditional Chinese medicine has been in the anesthetic field. The surgeon Hua T'o already in the 2nd century BC used to anesthetize his patients thanks to a decoction of cannabis flowers and wine: the màfèisàn.

 

The radical but

 
Radical ma

Hemp had such a social and civil impact in ancient Chinese history that it imposed its own language. The corresponding ideogram is the mà 麻 which depicts two hemp fibers hung to dry on a drying rack under a roof .

With the subsequent discovery of new fiber plants, the radical mà took on the generic meaning that indicated the aforementioned purpose. Over time, new words were born from the radical such as demon ( mo = mà 麻 + devil) or narcotic ( ma-tsui = mà 麻 + drunkenness).

 

Daniele Tabatabie | HENTOURAGE Head of communication

https://www.linkedin.com/in/tabadiez/

 

📑 “The Origin and Use of Cannabis in Eastern Asia Linguistic-Cultural Implications” by Hui-Lin Li

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