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Botanical history of Dioscorea zingiberensis
In China, eating ginger has a long history, and there are many stories about celebrities and ginger.

Shennong's Classic of Materia Medica records: "Dried ginger tastes pungent and warm, and the main chest is full of cough against qi, which warms the middle to stop bleeding and sweat, and drives away rheumatism and diarrhea, especially for the living. After long-term service, the odor will be removed, the gas will be released and God will be enlightened. Shenggu. " There is a saying that Shennong tastes a hundred herbs to distinguish the medicinal properties. He fell into a coma after eating poisonous mushrooms by mistake. When he woke up, he found a clump of grass lying. Shennong pulled it out and put it in his mouth to chew its roots. After a period of time, my stomach was rumbling, and after having loose bowels, I was in good health. Shennong's surname is Jiang, so he named this pointed leaf grass "Jiang". It means it works magically and can bring itself back to life.

Confucius lived 73 years old, and he was definitely old in the Spring and Autumn Period. This is inseparable from Confucius' healthy diet view and hygienic habits. Among them, there is ginger's credit. The Analects of Confucius recorded that Confucius said, "Don't eat ginger, don't eat much." He eats ginger at every meal, but he doesn't eat much at every meal. Zhu, a master of Neo-Confucianism in the Southern Song Dynasty, further explained the reason why Confucius loved to eat ginger in the Annotation to the Analects of Confucius, saying that ginger can "enlighten the gods and eliminate evil spirits, so it will not be withdrawn."

When Su Shi was appointed as the governor of Hangzhou, he went to Jingci Temple one day to visit the abbot in the temple. The host is over 80 years old, with rosy face and bright eyes. Su Shi was very surprised and asked the host what secret recipe he used to live so long. The host said with a smile, "I have been eating it for more than 40 years, using tender ginger slices and warm water every day." When Su Shi went back, he recorded this incident and wrote a poem: "One catty of ginger, half a catty of dates, two ounces of white salt, three ounces of grass, two ounces of lilac agarwood and four ounces of fennel." Fried or soaked, this medicine is better than Bao. Have a drink every morning, and you will never get old. This poem was collected and edited by later generations in Liang Fang, Su Shen, and named "Yan Fang Bulao Fang". Many health books have been transcribed, which shows the anti-aging effect of ginger.

In Ming Dynasty, Xu Xiake was a traveler. Traveling alone, traveling long distances and getting sick are very dangerous. One of the essential things in Xu Xiake's luggage is ginger. He has the habit of chewing ginger every morning. Ginger can promote the growth of yang and make people full of energy. Sleeping in the wild, moisture invaded, and occasionally felt cold, he immediately "drank a big bowl of ginger soup and was covered with clothes; Sweating is a big problem, and it takes a long time and is very refreshing. "

Jiang also saved the emperor's life. According to folklore, during the Chu-Han dispute, Liu Bang fought in Yinshan, Henan Province, and was infected with the plague, which could not be cured for a long time. The locals provide "ginger and radish soup". After drinking it, Liu Bang's condition was greatly alleviated. After drinking it again, the medicine was cured. According to another legend, in the Northern and Southern Dynasties, Emperor Song and Ming had sores in his throat, which made him feel sore and fester. Later, even the water could not be swallowed. Xu Wenbo, a famous doctor at that time, thought that Ming Di had been poisoned by Pinellia ternata, and asked Ming Di to eat ginger three times a day, five ounces each time (65,438 Jin in ancient times 16 ounces). Sure enough, it was not long before the toxin was released and he recovered.

In fact, not only celebrities know the health benefits of ginger, but also many folk proverbs about ginger have been circulating for a long time, such as "It is better to eat three slices of ginger in the morning than to take soup", "Eat radish in winter and ginger in summer without a doctor's prescription" and "One cannot live without ginger for a day". So ginger is really a good thing. You must eat some ginger often.