| Long gu | |||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 lónggǔ written inseal script | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 龍骨 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 龙骨 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Literal meaning | dragon bones | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Japanese name | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Kanji | 竜骨 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Kana | りゅうこつ | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Latin name | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Latin | os draconis | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Long gu are remains of ancient life (such as fossils) prescribed for a variety of ailments inChinese medicine andherbalism. They were historically believed, and are traditionally considered, to be the remains ofdragons.[1][2]
Long gu are generallymammal fossils,petrified wood, or evenoracle bones.[3] Animals which can be identified as long gu include rhinoceros, bears, hipparion, stegodon, hyena,mastodon, orangutan, porcupine, and giant panda.[4][5][6]
Depictions of Chinese dragons (龍,lóng) first appear in the archaeological record circa 3000 BC, before any literary descriptions appear.[7] Dragon worship may have its origin in constellations associated with the lengthening days and rainfall in spring, later being given more abstract meanings. However, "the dragon flourished in art without a set of specific associations."[8]
Dragon bones have been prescribed in Chinese medicine since at least theShennong Bencaojing, composed circa 100 AD.[9] There is historical discussion regarding the origin of long gu recorded in theBencao Gangmu, which compiles a wide variety of Chinese medical sources. TheMingyi bielu claims that dragon bones are found inJin and aroundMt. Tai, and that dead dragons can be located in riverbanks and caves throughout the year; whileTao Hongjing states they can be found inLiang, Yi, and Ba. Lei Xiao reports that bones from Tanzhou,Cangzhou, andTaiyuan are of the highest quality. There was debate as to whether long gu were from dead or living dragons, and whether they were bones or secretions.[10][11]Li Shizhen listed several subcategories of dragon material, including tooth, horn, brain, fetus, and saliva.[12]
Fr. d'Incarville, a French Jesuit, noted that "petrified bones" were among the pharmacopeia sold by druggists inBeijing in 1751. However, he did not refer to these as dragon's bones.[13] Robert Swinhoe described the use of dragon's teeth in 1870:
Shanghai is a great center for [fossil trade]; and the raw article can be procured here in quantity. In other large towns you can only get the prepared drug in a calcined state. These fossils are calledLungche, or 'Dragon's teeth;' and the idea about them is that in olden time the world consisted of monsters who were incessantly fighting and killing one another [...] The monsters were large and powerful brutes; and in their teeth and bones existed their strength; hence the remains of these ground to powder and taken internally must give strength to the weak invalid.[14]
In 1885, 20 tons of fossil bones came through Chinese ports.[5] Searching Chinese pharmacies for new fossil specimens was "an established stratagem of fossil-hunters in the Far East."[6] Western investigation of dragon bones led to the discovery ofPeking Man andGigantopithecus blacki.[15][16]Wang Yirong identified the ancient Chineseoracle script on long gu in 1899.[17]
An 18th century medical treaty prescribes long gu for heart, kidney, intestine, liver ailments, and to calm the spirit. It is also used for constipation, nightmares, epilepsy, excessive perspiration, night sweats and chronic diarrhea. It is considered to have neutral, sweet, or astringent properties. It is taken raw, fried, or simmered inrice wine.[4][18] TheBencao Gangmu describes white dragon bones (白龍骨,bái lónggǔ) as
control[ing] frequent passage ofessence, and discharge of essence with urination [...] They dispel evilqi, pacify the spirit of the heart, and end sexual intercourse with demons during nightly dreams. [...] They end intestinal wind and discharge with blood. Nose flood and blood spitting. They end outflow and free-flux illness with thirst illness. They strengthen the spleen, and contract intestines and stomach [...] They boost the kidneys and press down fright. They endyin-typemalaria. They absorb moist qi and [cure] anal prolapse. They let muscles grow and help wounds to close.[19]
Dragon bones are still used today in some parts of China, and it remains an economically important resource.[20] Rural people still collect long gu for traditional use and this practice has important effects on Chinese paleontology.[21] The 2010Regulation on the Protection of Fossils has limited the production of dragon bones to fossils determined to have no archeological value, typically badly preserved ones.[22]
In TCM practice, oyster shells (ostreae concha) are considered to have a similar function and may be used in place of or together with dragon bones.[22]
Traditional Chinese medicine is considered pseudoscience and there is no evidence of the efficacy of dragon bones; however, they are a significant source ofcalcium.[18]
A centuries-old controversy in the West concerned whether the medically-important cinnabar was a natural mineral or a mixture of elephant and dragon blood.[23]
In theAraripe Basin ofSouth America,Testudine fossils, mainly that of marine turtles, aresympathetically used to treathyperactivity and similar conditions. Fossil shells are scraped and taken orally as a sedative.[24] InCyprus, the fossilized remains ofpygmy hippos (Hippopotamus minor) are identified as relics ofSaint Phanourios, and were taken medicinally as apanacea from the 16th century until the 1970s.[4] A junior synonym ofH. minor isPhanourios minutus, named for the saint.[25]
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