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Overview
Virtual
Tour
Exhibit
Chinese Medicinal Garden:
Plants have been used for medicinal
purposes throughout Asia for more than 5,000 years.
Opened in 1997, VanDusen's collection of Asian medicinal
plants in the Sino-Himalayan Garden currently focuses on
those plants used in China. Chinese historians attribute
the discovery of herbal medicine to the legendary
emperor Shen Nong who "tested the myriad herbs so
that the art of medicine was born."
Shen Nong was said to have "resting from Nature
a knowledge of opposing principles." These are
complementary and inseperable principles of yin
and yang which are thought to be in constant
interplay. Yin represents shadow, coolness, damp,
the receptive, Earth, the feminine - yang represents
light, warmth, dry, the creative, Heaven, the masculine.
One cannot exist without the other, and it is the
interplay of the two that creates the flux of life and
energy in the Universe. When yin and yang are balanced,
order and harmony prevail.
These same principles are also applied to human
health. By 100 BC Dong Zhongshu taught that the human
body itself is a universe influenced by the forces of yin
and yang. In traditional Chinese medicine the
physician's goal is to achieve balance. Balance brings a
smooth flow of the body's vital energy (qi - pronounced
"chee"). The Chinese physician uses
acupuncture, moxibustion, diet, herbs as well as
attention to the patient's level of exercise and mental
state to promote good health.
Working with professional herbalists VanDusen has
compiled a collection of 55 plants which are identified
with interpretive display labels. Each label includes
the English and botanical names, family, nativity,
anecdotal text, Chinese character name and Pinyin
translation. The collection is centered near the main
entry to the Sine-Himalayan Garden. In the future it is
planned to expand the collection to incorporate plants
used in other healing traditions such as Tibetan
Buddhist and Ayurvedic medicine.
Dr. Hong Shen Zhu, who teaches acupuncture and
traditional Chinese medicine at the Canadian College of
Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine in Victoria provided
technical editing and calligraphy support to the
project.
Media Inquiries:
Nancy Wong
Director, Marketing and Public Relations
Direct Line: (604) 257-8670
Email: media@vandusen.org
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