Study On "Shi-mi" In Traditional Chinese Medicine Literatures

"Shi-mi"(石蜜)was a name given to two different herbs in the history of Chinese materia medica.in the earliest Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing(Divine Husbandman’s Herbal Foundation Canon),a name given to honey referring to the good sources,amongst mountain cliffs,where quality honey could be acquired.Yet during Tang dynasty Xin Xiu Ben Cao(Newly Revised Materia Medica),"shi-mi" was used to name an herb of foreign origins,made from sugarcane.At the time,there were two sugar herbs derived from sugarcane that was introduced into the Chinese materia medica,by the translation from Sanskrit-to-Chinese sutras of the time,phanita/guda and sarkara,or in modern translation,jaggery.The two were recorded as individual herbs,with sarkara to "shi-mi"(石蜜),and phānita/guda to "sha-tang"(沙糖).However,researching into actual records in Chinese materia medica,led to a study looking into the Chinese history of sugar and development,of its relation to the records of "shi-mi",and what it was in the history of Chinese medicine.The study primarily focussed on the contents written of "shi-mi" in Chinese materia medica,the processing of sugar and relevant sugar product in Chinese history,and looking into the origins of "shi-mi" and "sha-tang" contents first recorded in Xin Xiu Ben Cao and ancient"Western medicine",i.e.,Vedic medicine,Hindu medicine and medicine of Buddhism.