Traditional Chinese medicine is a school of its own with
a profound heritage. Every conceivable variety of drugs, herbal or
otherwise, is being used for medical purposes, many of them with amazing
curative efficacies. Drugs with a high tonic value are favorites with the
Chinese. These include ginseng and its products, snow lotus, Chinese
caterpillar fungus, Chinese wolfberries, licorice root, dangshen (Codonopsis
pilosula), and the bulbs of fritillary (Fritillaria thunbergii). A wide
range of patent drugs prepared according to traditional prescriptions, which
are high in curative value and convenient for administration, are available
in traditional Chinese pharmacies in China. |