Narrative research on the stories about mystery and the spiritual beings of medicinal herbs in ancient China

Abstract Objectives This paper takes the folk stories of ancient Chinese medicinal herbs as the research object, aiming at depicting the understanding of the relationship between human beings and nature, spiritual beings and immortals in the conceptual world of Chinese people. Methods Morphological research method is adopted to focus on the text of folk stories and relevant cultural significance. Results Since the Tang Dynasty, the records about medicinal herbs becoming spiritual beings and people becoming immortals after consuming them have been widely spread. Among them, three types of stories are the most representative: one is ginseng transforming into an old man or a boy, the other one is tuckahoe transforming into a child, and the last one is the Chinese wolfberry transforming into a dog. Conclusions The story of “consuming spiritual beings and becoming immortals” not only reveals the narrative rules of the orderly upgrading from low to high among plants, spiritual beings, human beings, and immortals but also reflects our ancestors' ultimate pursuit of longevity and becoming immortals. Relevant research on this topic could be beneficial to the presentation of the knowledge-generating process of the Chinese ancient folk culture and promote the theoretical construction of Chinese stories.