Guest guest Posted February 4, 2010 Report Share Posted February 4, 2010 Thanks to you all for your recommendations and comments on which Shang Han Lun book to buy. Eric I have a question about ginseng. I got into a little rift with a ginseng grower up in the Portland area when I told him ginseng is more laxative when grown in warmer climates and more tonifying when grown in colder climates. I was sure I had read this in " Materi Medica " by Bensky & Gamble. Now I can't find it. I've looked through Formulas & Strategies also, and nothing. So, I feel a little foolish now. What can you tell me about this? ThanksPatrick --- On Wed, 2/3/10, smilinglotus <smilinglotus wrote: smilinglotus <smilinglotus Re: Shang Han Lun Wednesday, February 3, 2010, 12:19 PM Â , Patrick Edgmon <herbwords@. ..> wrote: > > Hi to All, > > I'm trying to get opinions on 2 versions of the Shang Han Lun. Which one would you buy and why? > > Shang Han Lun: On Cold Damage, Translation & Commentaries By by Craig Mitchell, Feng Ye, and Nigel Wiseman This one is the gold standard (Paradigm Publication' s version by Feng, Mitchell, and Wiseman). If you only own one Shang Han Lun book, this is it. If you own more than one SHL book, you definitely need this one in the collection. The commentary and translation is fantastic. The depth of scholarship in this book is the model for all translated classical texts. Eric Brand http://bluepoppy. com/blog/ blogs/index. php Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 5, 2010 Report Share Posted February 5, 2010 Patrick, what I've heard is that ginseng is more potent if it comes from higher altitude (mountain peaks)... in Korea for instance, that's usually less than 3000 meters. Maybe it's more laxative if it grows in valleys, such as Xi yang shen? (more yin) K On Thu, Feb 4, 2010 at 10:02 AM, Patrick Edgmon <herbwords wrote: > > > Thanks to you all for your recommendations and comments on which Shang Han > Lun book to buy. > Eric I have a question about ginseng. I got into a little rift with a > ginseng grower up in the Portland area when I told him ginseng is more > laxative when grown in warmer climates and more tonifying when grown in > colder climates. I was sure I had read this in " Materi Medica " by Bensky & > Gamble. Now I can't find it. I've looked through Formulas & Strategies also, > and nothing. So, I feel a little foolish now. What can you tell me about > this? > ThanksPatrick > --- On Wed, 2/3/10, smilinglotus <smilinglotus<smilinglotus%40>> > wrote: > > smilinglotus <smilinglotus <smilinglotus%40>> > Re: Shang Han Lun > <%40> > Wednesday, February 3, 2010, 12:19 PM > > > > , Patrick Edgmon <herbwords@. > ..> wrote: > > > > > > Hi to All, > > > > > > I'm trying to get opinions on 2 versions of the Shang Han Lun. Which one > would you buy and why? > > > > > > Shang Han Lun: On Cold Damage, Translation & Commentaries By by Craig > Mitchell, Feng Ye, and Nigel Wiseman > > This one is the gold standard (Paradigm Publication' s version by Feng, > Mitchell, and Wiseman). If you only own one Shang Han Lun book, this is it. > If you own more than one SHL book, you definitely need this one in the > collection. The commentary and translation is fantastic. The depth of > scholarship in this book is the model for all translated classical texts. > > Eric Brand > > http://bluepoppy. com/blog/ blogs/index. php > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 8, 2010 Report Share Posted February 8, 2010 , Patrick Edgmon <herbwords wrote: > Eric I have a question about ginseng. I got into a little rift with a ginseng grower up in the Portland area when I told him ginseng is more laxative when grown in warmer climates and more tonifying when grown in colder climates. Hi Patrick, I've never heard anything about laxative effects associated with ginseng, regardless of climate. In general, ginseng grows well in cold climates with harsh winters. Asian ginseng is primarily cultivated in China's Northeast and Korea, and both have very cold winters. In China, the three northeastern provinces that produce ginseng (Jilin, Heilongjiang, and Liaoning) grow the entire domestic supply, with Jilin accounting for about 70% of the total production. Both North Korea and South Korea produce ginseng, and Japan also grows a subtype of Panax ginseng (the Japanese product is called Dong Yang Shen). Russia also has Panax ginseng in Siberia, but the wild Russian product tends to grow relatively fat and light because the soil is looser. The production regions are all quite cold. American ginseng appears to be slightly more complex, at least in terms of its traditional range. The cultivated Wisconsin product is regarded as the best, followed by Canada. However, people grow half-wild American ginseng in many places and the quality seems to be good across a fairly wide range (though the places are typically cold, such as upstate NY). The American ginseng in BC is regarded as slightly inferior to the Wisconsin product, but it is superior to American ginseng grown in China. Within China, the best American ginseng comes from areas slightly to the south of the best spots for Asian ginseng, but I've heard that this is due to the fact that American ginseng's genetic purity is often compromised in NE China because there is so much Panax ginseng growing nearby. In terms of the product itself, the best Chinese-grown American ginseng can sometimes pass for Canadian and it is often sold as counterfeit Canadian. However, the Chinese product tends to be slightly yellowish on the cross section and only the best Chinese product can be passed off as Canadian (and can't be passed off as Wisconsin). That said, wild American ginseng does occur relatively far south, such as Kentucky. I'd be interested to try some of the Oregon-grown American ginseng, I only heard about it for the first time relatively recently. Oddly, the price of wild American ginseng is often better in Hong Kong than it is in America because the Cantonese buy it in huge quantities. Has anyone ever tried to grow Panax ginseng (Asian ginseng, Ren Shen) in the West? Eric Brand Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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