The old saying goes: "A sparrow has four two ginsengs." Why is the most common bird so noble? Where is a sparrow the most valuable? Sparrow meat? Sparrow brain? Or sparrow eggs? You must have never imagined the real answer, it is actually sparrow shit!
"Past and present" of sparrows
Whether you live in the city or the countryside, there is a kind of bird you can always see, they are sparrows. This is our most common bird species. However, in the early years, the image of sparrows was not good in people's eyes.
The economic conditions at that time were not good, and people's living standards were not high, and it was difficult to maintain their own food and clothing. But the sparrows don't care about these things. They go to the fields to peck at the crops every day, which makes the farmers very dissatisfied. In addition, sparrow meat can nourish the kidneys and strengthen yang and replenish essence in the secret recipes passed down by the ancients, so many people spontaneously began to catch sparrows, either consuming them or selling them for money.
The sparrow's behavior of "snatching food with people" has also caused a catastrophe for them. It was once listed as one of the " Four Harm " . Catching sparrows is no longer spontaneous, but a nationwide action. No matter how many sparrows there are, they cannot withstand the capture and consumption of the people across the country. Not long after, the number of sparrows dropped sharply and the capture action stopped. To this day, sparrows have become one of the " three protected animals ", and catching and killing wild sparrows has also become illegal.
The baby of sparrows - White Lilac
Although it is illegal to catch wild sparrows, it is feasible to raise sparrows artificially. According to many traditional Chinese medicine classics passed down from my country, sparrows have many treasures on their bodies and have certain nourishing effects, such as sparrow meat, sparrow brain, sparrow eggs, etc. However, these parts are still worse than the most valuable part of sparrows, that is, sparrow shit, which is also the economic value of artificial breeding sparrows.
White lilac, this elegant name is not the name of a flower, but a real medicine. The so-called white lilac is actually dry sparrow shit. The appearance is cylindrical, with a length of about five millimeters, and is off-white or gray-brown. But since it is sparrow's feces, the taste must be not very good. The white lilac smell is a bit fishy and a little bitter.
According to records, white lilac has many effects. In addition to improving eyesight, it can also treat indigestion, tonsillitis, and symptoms such as carbuncles, ulcers, and boils.
Early, the economic conditions were poor and the heating conditions were limited. Many people living in rural areas often had frostbite on their hands. At this time, it is the turn of Sparrow Shit to work. Experienced elderly people will mix sparrow shit and apply some water on frostbite, then roast it on the heat and dry it, and apply another layer after it is dry. The effect is very significant. The frostbite can be eliminated in about three or four days.
Compared with the use of treating frostbite, the method of sparrow shit to treat tonsillitis and indigestion is somewhat less acceptable. Earlier, if someone at home had a bad spleen and stomach, the elderly would use sparrow shit to treat it. The specific method is to crush the dried sparrow shit and mix it into the food for people to eat it. Although is said to have a good effect, it is essentially still eating shit, which is not acceptable to most people.
In addition to treating diseases, sparrow shit also has the effect of fading freckles. In the past, there were not many skin care products like now, which could protect the skin. People who used to have freckles have developed freckles. One of the best ways is to mix dried sparrow shit into a paste and apply it to the freckles, which can help lighten the freckles.
In addition, there is another way to use Sparrow Shit, which is to beautify and nourish the skin. The method is also very simple, that is, make a facial mask. It is said that if you apply a paste mask to sparrow shit on your face and hands, you can obviously feel your skin becoming whiter and smoother in just a few days. It is said that the most famous loyal user of this kind of "skin care product" is Empress Dowager Cixi.
As a woman, Empress Dowager Cixi certainly hopes that her face will never grow old.For this reason, she also searched for various beauty recipes, and was only satisfied until she met a skin care treasure called "Yu Rong San". This "Yurong San" contains white lilac, which is what we call sparrow shit.
Compared with "one-time deals" such as sparrow meat and sparrow brain, sparrow shit that can be continuously produced seems more precious, which is also the purpose of artificial breeding of sparrows. It is said that a pound of sparrow shit can be sold at a high price of hundreds of yuan.
The magical "feces as medicine"
Although it looks weird, many people are under psychological pressure to use it, the method of using animal feces as medicinal materials is really an effective method passed down by our ancestors. It is recorded in many traditional Chinese medicine classics, and just looking at the name, you will never expect that this is feces.
For example, Wulingzhi, I thought it was oil or ointment when I heard the name, but this is actually the dry feces of mole and flying squirrel , and the color is gray-black.
and silkworm sand. This is easier to understand, it is the silkworm feces. The silkworm sand pillow that everyone is familiar with, the filling inside is silkworm sand, which can promote blood circulation in and improve sleep. It has always been loved by everyone.
In addition to these, there is also night sand, which is the feces of bats ; moon-watching sand is the feces of hares.
However, the most famous medicinal materials made of animal excrement is ambergris . is familiar with ambergris. This is the secretion of sperm whale . In addition to medicinal use, it is most famous for its use as perfume.
excrement such as feces have always been synonymous with dirty and dirty. In the eyes of ordinary people, their only function is probably used as fertilizer. But the wisdom of our ancestors is infinite. Through observation and experiment, we can turn waste into treasures, making these useless feces a medicinal material that can cure diseases and save people.
When I heard that some precious Chinese medicinal materials were made of animal feces, many people sneered at it, believing that this was a folk remedy. But in fact, it is not pseudoscience to be used as medicine, but knowledge summarized by our ancients when observing nature. For example, there are some medicinal materials for stopping bleeding. They see injured wild animals rolling in feces and stopping bleeding and have a sudden idea. Only after trying it out are the animal's feces as medicinal materials. , and feces are used as medicine, even in modern medicine, there are many such examples.
But everything has two sides. Although many animal feces have their own effects, there are also some "fake medicines". We should also look at the ancient pharmacies that have been passed down from generation to generation.
Author: September Suiyi Proofreader: Chuanchuan
Reference
Manda, Bai Yinfu; Application of animal feces medicinal materials; Chinese Journal of Ethnic Medicine ; 2008.06.15
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