Bouyei Medicine
01 · Historical Records
The secret formula of Yigancao comes from the long practice of the Buyi ancestors in struggling against disease. Through observation, tasting with their own mouths and bodies, and practical experience, they gradually mastered the curative effects of natural medicines, and, referring to the yin-yang theory of Chinese medicine, combined them into a formula. In Guiding County, Qiannan Buyi and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, the mountains are many and the land poor, damp-heat and jaundice are easily seen, and liver disease and pain in the hepatic region have accordingly become the ailments closest to the people's lives; this demand for such a remedy is precisely the practical starting point from which liver-protecting prescriptions of the Yigancao kind arose. The rules -- performing a sacrifice before gathering the herbs, gathering them immediately afterwards, and completing the harvest before 10 a.m. -- bind medicine making together with the village rituals for praying away calamity.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
The Yigancao making technique is a component of the traditional medical culture of the Buyi people, and is circulated in the townships and villages of Xinba, Shiban, Baoguan, Huangtu, Heping, Houchangbao, Yaoshang, Huchang, Datie and Yanshan within Guiding County, Qiannan Buyi and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, Guizhou Province. In order to combat disease, the Buyi ancestors, through long practice -- observation, tasting with their own mouths and bodies, and practical experience -- gradually mastered the curative effects of many natural medicines and, referring to the "yin and yang" theory of Chinese medicine, developed the secret formula of Yigancao. The secret formula of Yigancao is composed of Hypericum japonicum (di'ercao), suantanggan (sour soup stalk), Gardenia jasminoides (huangzhizi), kema grass, dandelion and others. Combined in formula, these herbs together achieve the effects of clearing heat and detoxifying, clearing damp-heat, benefiting the liver and strengthening the spleen, and dissipating stasis to relieve pain, so as to attain a balance of yin and yang and to restore and regenerate stem cells; it is used for the prevention and treatment of liver disease and for protecting and preserving the liver. Of these, Hypericum japonicum is used with the whole plant as a medicine, and treats acute and chronic hepatitis, early cirrhosis, and pain in the hepatic region; suantanggan is the sovereign herb for benefiting the liver and strengthening the spleen; Gardenia jasminoides has the effects of protecting the liver, promoting bile secretion, clearing heat and damp-heat, and cooling the blood and detoxifying; dandelion has the effects of protecting the liver, promoting bile secretion, clearing heat and detoxifying, and dispersing abscesses and nodules; kema grass promotes the discharge of dampness, strengthens the spleen, dissipates stasis and relieves pain, and serves as an adjuvant herb. The "Yigancao" prepared in this way contains amino acids, polysaccharides, ginsenosides and more than thirty trace elements, and is a comparatively strong antiviral medicine for hepatitis. The Yigancao making technique is quite exacting. Before the herbs are gathered, a sacrificial ceremony must be held in the wilds, convened and presided over by the village elders of the Buyi people, with the aim of praying that disease and calamity be removed. Clean tea and clean wine are set out; to the interweaving rhythms of gongs, drums and wooden fish, paper is burned while chants are intoned, the blood of a rooster is offered to the earth, and the pharmacist faces east, washes his hands clean, joins his palms and pays homage to the founding master. As soon as the sacrificial ceremony ends, the herbs are gathered at once, and the gathering must be completed before 10 a.m. The freshly picked Hypericum japonicum, suantanggan, Gardenia jasminoides, kema leaves and dandelion are then washed, dried in the sun, and ground in a mortar and with a pestle, ready for use. Finally, they are decocted in an earthenware jar, the specially prepared secret formula is added, and twenty minutes later the preparation is complete. All the implements are made of wood or stone and never touch iron, so as to guarantee the efficacy of the medicines; the preparation is made by the methods of simple processing and combined water-and-fire processing.
The five herbs of the formula
Five herbs make up the formula, with the sour-stem as sovereign drug and the others serving as minister, assistant and envoy.
Rituals before herb gathering
Before gathering, village elders lead a rite with tea and wine, singing and burning paper, sacrificing a cock to the earth and the medicine-maker paying respects.
Gathering begins at once
Gathering starts as soon as the rite ends and must finish before ten in the morning, while the herbs still hold the night's moisture.
Washing, drying and pounding
The fresh herbs are washed, dried in the sun and pounded with a mortar and pestle or a grinding bowl, using no iron vessels.
Twenty minutes in an earthen pot
The powders are decocted in an earthen pot with the secret formula for twenty minutes, using only wooden and stone implements kept free of iron.
The belt of ten villages
The craft lives in ten named villages of Guiding county, where the villages are both the herb source and the seat of transmission.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
The Yigancao making technique is circulated in the townships and villages of Xinba, Shiban, Baoguan, Huangtu, Heping, Houchangbao, Yaoshang, Huchang, Datie and Yanshan in Guiding County, Qiannan Buyi and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, Guizhou Province -- ten villages that make up the distribution belt of this technique. This heritage project is transmitted mainly through masters teaching apprentices. The wild sacrificial ceremony held before herb gathering, the offering of a rooster's blood and the homage paid to the founding master are also of some reference value for research in ethnology and folklore.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
This heritage project is transmitted mainly through masters teaching apprentices. The Yigancao making technique is local knowledge accumulated by the Buyi ancestors through adapting to nature and preventing and treating disease over the course of history, and at the same time it is a carrier of Buyi culture, giving it certain historical and cultural value. Yigancao resources are abundant and the cost is relatively low, and it is an indispensable remedy in the lives of the Buyi people, giving it social and practical value. The holding of a sacrificial ceremony in the wilds before herb gathering, the offering of a rooster's blood and the homage paid to the founding master are also of some reference value for research in ethnology and folklore.
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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