The Cultivation of Shen Nong

Shen Nong tasting herbs

Several thousand years ago, Shen Nong, “The Divine Farmer,” was the leader of his tribe in prehistoric China. An ancient shaman and a medicine man, he was accustomed to picking and tasting many wild herbs to determine their medicinal value to see if they would be suitable for helping his people. He had extraordinary intuition and sensitivity to his internal organs due to his extensive training and experience, which aided him in his herb testing. Even with his training and sensitivity, he was often poisoned by some of the plants he consumed, sometimes quite badly. One poisoned him so badly that he was unsure if he would recover; he had almost died. It had taken a lot of time and effort, but he finally began to recover.

One day, when boiling his usual morning water to help balance his qi, he was deep in thought, considering whether he should continue testing herbs after his near-death experience and difficult recovery. While he was in deep thought, a gust of wind blew the leaves off a nearby tea bush and into the pot. Astonished at this seemingly random event, Shen Nong looked for where the leaves had come from. Seeing the tea bush took him by surprise. He had never noticed this mysterious tree before, despite his keen observation of the region’s flora. There was a very pleasant aroma coming from the pot now, and his intuition told him to try the infusion; he was already accustomed to trying different plants, after all. The aroma and qi of the concoction were unlike anything he had ever experienced. He felt the effects of the tea move through his body and lighten his spirit. The divine farmer, through seemingly divine happenstance, had discovered tea. After his discovery, he found that after he had consumed a poisonous plant, he would be able to re-balance the qi of his internal organs and remove the toxins from his body with the tea. Consuming a cup of tea would heal him from the poison, returning him to perfect health. This was partially due to the tea and partially due to his training and sensitivity. Shen Nong cultivated the ability to do this with tea over time, testing it with milder herbs at first, then, after long periods of practice, with very strong, deadly ones. Astonished at the tea’s properties, he dubbed it “the cure of all poisons.”

Shen Nong teaches medicine

One day something happened, and he forgot to pack his usual tea preparation, leaving it at home. He ventured far from home, tasting and testing plants in a more distant region. He was poisoned by a herb he tried, and he searched fervently for his tea. Not finding it in his travel sac, he realized what he had forgotten, but it was too late; the poison had caused too much damage to his internal organs. His heart came to a stop. Shen Nong’s spirit passed from his body in peace. His people benefited greatly, and his legend was never forgotten. Some say he may have even been invited to the Immortal Court!

by Dr. Niko Olympiadis