[The medicinal cognition of grapes between the Western Regions and the Central Plains: a comparative study].

Abstract

Grapes originated from the eastern coast of the Mediterranean, as well as Asia Minor, the South Caucasus and other regions. Grapes were introduced to the Xinjiang area of China around 600 BC through the Iranian Plateau and Central Asia. Grapes were spread from the Western Regions (a term in Han Dynasty for the area out of Yu Men Guan) to the Central Plains (Birthplace of Chinese civilisation) with the opening of the Silk Road in the Han Dynasty. The medicinal and edible features of grapes had been recorded in ancient western medical books. The medical cognition of grapes were further developed and were incorporated into the local medical system through absorbing foreign experience and integrating them with local medical practice by physicians from both the Western Regions and the Central Plains. The medical cognition of grapes from the physicians of the civilisations was identical though with minor differences. This indicates the multidimentional specialties of different medical systems and the history of the effective exchanges and mutual learning between the two medical systems.