[TCM] Remembering Pin Yin Herbal names

[Al Stone]

On Aug 17, 2004, at 3:03 PM, George Mandler wrote:

> Hi Folks,
> I'm a 2nd year student at New England School of Acupuncture and am 
> wondering if anyone has any tips for remembering the pin yin names of 
> the herbs.  I'm a very visual learner and I stumble about when 
> attempting to recall the pin yin.  However I have little trouble with 
> the botanical names.

I myself liked to use the English translations of the herbs to keep 
them straight. If the names didn't provide any insight into their 
actions, I would usually build a story based on the pinyin rather than 
latin.  Don't ask me about Long Dan Cao.  I have yet to meet anybody 
who can come up for a story for Long Dan Cao that isn't off-color. : )

Then there are the really cool ones like "Tian Men Dong". Bensky 
translates this to "lush aerial plant" though it looks like "heaven, 
gate, winter" to me. I figure that Tian Men Dong (asparagus root of 
some sort) enters the Tian or heavenly organ. That's the lungs, the 
there's that whole winter thing, which is associated with the water 
element (kidneys). So, this herb is good for the Lung/Kidney Yin 
relationship (as indicated by the "gate" part).  That's partly how I 
keep my herbs straight.


--
Al Stone, L.Ac.
Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional.
-Adlai Stevenson