When we go to the doctor, we call Western medicine "quyao" and traditional Chinese medicine "zhuayao". What is the reason for this?
After receiving a prescription, we go to the pharmacy to get our medicine. Inside the pharmacy, you can see the pharmacist placing the prescription on the counter and holding a weighing scale. They then proceed to grab the medicine from the small drawers in the medicine cabinet, one by one. If the pharmacist is experienced, they can accurately grab the prescribed amount with their hands and measure it using the scale. It is said that practice makes perfect, and this skill is developed through years of experience in grabbing medicine. Newer pharmacists may not reach the same level of proficiency.
There is also a fascinating legend about the origin of the term "zhuayao". During the Tang Dynasty, the famous physician Sun Simiao frequently traveled to collect medicinal herbs. Wherever he went, if he found high-quality herbs, he would fearlessly venture into difficult and dangerous places to obtain them. He would enter deep forests, climb cliffs, and cross rivers and valleys. Because he collected so many different herbs, each with their unique properties and functions, he needed to keep them separate. To facilitate classification and usage, he designed a garment with many small pockets sewn onto it. Whenever he collected a herb, he would place it in one of these pockets, making it convenient to use later.
Once, Sun Simiao was traveling to a village to provide medical care and collect herbs. Suddenly, he heard a dog barking and saw a woman lying on the ground, screaming in pain. Her lower leg had been bitten by a dog, and blood was flowing profusely. Sun Simiao quickly grabbed a medicine from one of the pockets on his garment and applied it to the woman's leg. In a short time, the bleeding stopped and the pain subsided. The woman's husband arrived and, witnessing the situation, was extremely grateful for the medicine king's help.
This is how the term "zhuayao" originated. Sun Simiao would collect herbs wherever he went and provide medical care to those in need. After diagnosing and treating a patient, he would take out the medicine from his pockets. Since he only needed a small amount of medicine for each prescription, he would grab a small handful from the pockets. Thus, people started calling it "zhuayao" or "grabbing medicine".
As time went on, pharmacies were established. In order to prevent the medicine from mixing and to facilitate classification, the owners of these pharmacies followed Sun Simiao's method. They designed medicine cabinets with small drawers, each labeled with the name of a traditional Chinese medicine. Inside each drawer, there are three or four compartments for storing different types of herbs. This design allows for easy identification and prevents confusion. Even today, in some places, patients still refer to getting medicine from the pharmacy as "zhuayao" or "grabbing medicine".
