In ancient times, human life was difficult, relying on natural grass seeds, wild fruits, and hunting for a living. Food was scarce and full of unknown risks. When ingesting toxic substances by mistake, the severity can range from severe illness to death; Suffering from illness, people often have to rely on their own resistance to resist, and life and death depend entirely on fate. Faced with this dilemma, the great Emperor Shennong felt worried and resolutely decided to embark on a journey of tasting hundreds of herbs and identifying medicinal properties, aiming to rescue the suffering of the people.
One day, Princess Huarui, the beloved daughter of Emperor Shennong, unfortunately fell ill, her appetite decreased, and her abdomen swelled. She searched for good remedies but could not find relief. Shen Nong was extremely anxious and personally collected twelve substances, including grass roots, bark, wild fruits, and some minerals. After mixing them, he had the princess take them and then hurriedly left due to busy farming. Unexpectedly, the princess suffered unbearable abdominal pain after taking the medicine and gave birth to a strange little bird, which shocked everyone and was seen as an ominous sign, and they wanted to expel it. However, this little bird was exceptionally psychic and flew back multiple times in search of Shennong, ultimately winning Shennong’s attention with its relentless calling.
At first, Shen Nong thought the birds were noisy and drove them away multiple times, but the birds persisted and eventually moved Shen Nong with their extraordinary spirituality. Shennong realized that this little bird was extraordinary, so he regarded it as a treasure and named it “Flower Core Bird”. Subsequently, Shennong used the flower bud bird as the experimental subject and tested each of the twelve drugs that the princess had previously taken one by one. By observing the trajectory and reaction of the drugs in the bird’s body, combined with his own drug testing experience, he gradually revealed the properties and operating rules of each drug in the human body.
With the deepening of research, Shennong not only drew a map of the twelve meridians of the human body, but also compiled the “Bencao Jing”, laying a solid foundation for the development of traditional Chinese medicine in later generations. However, Shen Nong was not satisfied with this. He continued to travel around with his flower, stamen, and bird, exploring more mysteries of the natural world, from mountains, rivers, lakes, and seas to forests and grasslands, from birds and animals to plants, trees, and minerals, all of which became his research objects.
Unfortunately, during an exploration, Shen Nong accidentally consumed highly toxic intestinal grass and passed away. Before his death, he still remembered his medical career and used good wood to carve a statue of a flower bud bird, which he carried with him as a commemoration. In order to commemorate the great contributions of Shennong, later generations renamed Xiaobeiding as Shennong Altar and built Shennong Temple, enshrining a statue of Shennong, holding flowers, stamens, birds, and herbs in his hands, symbolizing his endless pursuit and contribution to traditional Chinese medicine. Nowadays, Shennong Temple has become an important place for people to commemorate Shennong and learn traditional Chinese medicine culture.
