Stories Collected by Miao Wen-wei
Translated by Yue Chong-xi
Edited and Annotated by Steven Foster
Hidden within the great treasure house of Traditional Chinese Medicine are many gems of folk wisdom. One form is oral folk tales, word-of-mouth explanations of plant names and how a plant came to be used as a drug. Was it chance discovery? Intervention by immortal beings? Observation of diseased animals eating a plant and returning to health? From 1934 to 1980, Chinese folklorist Miao Wen-wei collected these stories from farmers, peasants, and traditional doctors in China's central coastal region. This collection of 53 folk tales was first published in Chinese in 1981. The English language edition of Herbal Peals: Traditional Chinese Folk Wisdom, was translated by Yue Chong-xi and edited by Steven Foster, author of 15 books on herbs including Peterson Field Guides and the National Geographic Desk Reference to Nature's Medicine.
A full descriptive PDF brochure on Herbal Pearls including a sample chapter.
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