[Study on generation cause of genuine medical herbs]

Chinese herbal medicine are the main means to prevent and treat diseases in traditional Chinese medicine, thus the quality of traditional Chinese medicinal herbs decides the clinical efficacy. Though the producing areas of genuine medical herbs had been recorded in the Qing and Han Dynasties, genuine medical herbs had not been finally established and thrived until the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Their development in more than 1 000 years was affected by many factors. Thepractice examination and theoretical direction of TCM were the theoretical basis for the generation of genuine medical herbs, while the differences in the ecological environment and herbal germplasm indicated their essential causes. The social development in the Ming and Qing Dynasties was also an intangible impetus driving force that could not be neglected.