중국 본초서에 실린 우리나라 본초

Korean Medicinal Herbs in Chinese Herbal Literature

Objectives : This paper seeks to discover and compile the information of the types of Korean medical herbs that are recorded in China’s medial herbs literatures. Following this, the special characteristics of each herb and the differences in the description of each Korean herb found in different literatures and ages. Methods : First, the literatures were searched for the names of countries, regions, and people used in Korean peninsula, and a database was compiled based on the findings. Texts with no relation to the subject matter were discarded, and the rests were listed in the order of publication. The special characteristics of the medical herbs found in these literatures were then studied. Results & Conclusions : Total of 69 medical herbs were found in 34 literatures. These medical herbs could be categorized into three: those with superior quality, those that are different from the medical herbs used in China, and those that are not available in China. The medical herbs with superior quality are: Gonpo(昆布), Insam(人參), Omija(五味子), Tosaja(菟絲子), Haesongja(海松子), Sesin(細辛), Baekbuja(白附子) and more. We can deduce that these medical herbs were regarded as superior in quality compared to their counterparts in China because they grow in the northeast region where pine tree thrive and a home to many areas with seas and mountains, and also with four distinctive seasons.