David S. Lee & Liao Shi
David S. Lee & Liao Shi Kun As effective as a mother’s kiss – Turtles in Traditional Chinese Medicine The people of China have an ongoing fascination with turtles. It goes well beyond the turtles’ role as a convenient food source. According to written records the tradition of people eating turtles to obtain health benefits extends back for over 3,000 years. The history of the medical used of turtles is outlined in the Book of Changes (I Ching, an alternate name for the same book, is the most ancient of the Chinese philosophy books, and it includes three millennia of information regarding Chinese medicine. The author is unknown) (Anonymous ca. 3,000 BC). Originally turtles were a food source for the noble class that ruled China; they were worshiped as a gift of God and eaten at royal banquets. Turtles are symbolic of long life, personal wealth, fertility, strength, and happy households. In ancient China people from the Emperor down all worshiped the turtle. In former ages turtles were regarded as mysterious and at times as prophets. Citizens and slaves were not allowed to eat turtles, and turtles were sometimes used as currency in the trade of slaves. As time went on cooking techniques advanced and turtles became regarded as a delicacy. Once slavery disappeared and China entered into a feudal system (The Spring and Autumn Period, 700 BC–476 BC), eating turtle was no longer just for the privileged and everyone began to eat them. This was not simply another source of protein, and while turtles were consumed along with domestic animals and other native wildlife, there were expected side benefits derived from dishes prepared from turtles. While the use of wildlife for medical purposes dates back thousands of years, by Chinese standards it was not clearly defined until relatively recently. During the Ming Dynasty, the famous Chinese doctor Li Shi Zhen (1518–1593) wrote Fig. 1. Turtles are considered a delicacy in China; the photograph shows a soft-shelled turtle (Pelodiscus sinensis) that is offered for sale on a Chinese market... Photo: T. Blanck Fig. 2. …and after it has been turned into a dish in a restaurant. Photo: T. Blanck 4 RADIATA 23 (2), 2014
Turtles in Traditional Chinese Medicine his Compendium of Materia Medica, a text that became physicians’ Bible (Li 1578). The text explains how turtles can be used to treat any number of medical ailments. Subsequently various of Chinese authors have expanded the concept of turtles’ healing powers, both for curing diseases and maintaining health, as well as for the benefit of longevity. As are result turtles have become ingrained in Chinese tradition. While other wildlife is likewise attributed to have curing values, turtles have been exploited in vast numbers because they can easily be shipped and stored alive for long periods without refrigeration, and their shell parts can be shelved and stored indefinitely. Traditional cooking preparations would suggest to westerners that turtles are regarded primarily for their food values, but this is not the case. Today, as in the past, turtles are different than pork, beef and poultry; Chinese people eat turtles not so much as a protein food source but for the perceived health benefits that turtles are believed to provide. Here we review some of the more common medical uses of turtles in traditional Chinese medicine, comment on our current understanding of their actual medical value and environmental concerns resulting from the mass marketing of turtles in China. Our purpose is to provide a general overview of various traditional medical uses of turtles. In understanding the Chinese view of traditional medicine one must see why so many people believe in the general importance of eating turtles for treatment of specific medical issues. They are thought to strengthen the body and ward off disease. When one is sick, Fig. 3. Chinese Yellow Pond Turtles (Mauremys mutica) on a market in China. Photo: T. Blanck Fig. 4. View into a shop selling turtles (China). Photo: T. Blanck Fig. 5. This shop has just received a fresh shipment of sacs full of turtles that are now sorted into crates. Photo: T. Blanck Fig. 6. Crates full of turtles … Photo: T. Blanck RADIATA 23 (2), 2014 5
