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The Berry That Keeps Asia Looking Young-1[1]

枸杞:亞洲人不老的秘密(上)

The goji berry, which has been part of Chinese culture since the 3rd Century, is now being viewed as one of the hottest superfoods available today.

自三世紀起即被寫入中華文化的枸杞，被視為當今最熱門的超級食品之一。

By Claire Turrell

27 February 2020

克萊爾·特雷爾（Claire Turrell）於2020年2月27日發布

High in the upper reaches of North-West China lies a land filled with riches. For it’s here, on the banks of the Yellow River and in the shade of the mist-covered Liupan Mountains that the people of the Ningxia region have been growing one of Asia’s most sought-after foods for centuries.

中國西北部的上游是一片富饒之地。因為就在這裡，在這片地處黃河流域兩岸與薄霧繚繞的六盤山之間，寧夏地區的人民幾個世紀以來就在這裡栽種著一種亞洲最受歡迎的食物。

This small, oval-shaped berry has been called the “red diamond” as it is thought to have anti-ageing powers and has achieved newfound global status as a superfood, but to the people of China, who have being using it medicinally since the 3rd Century, it’s simply called the goji berry or wolfberry.

因為具有抗衰老的功效，這種橢圓形的果子被稱為「紅色鑽石」，並登上全球超級食品的地位，但對自三世紀起即在醫學上使用這種果子的中國人而言，它被稱為「枸杞」。

The goji berry is grown across China, but it’s Ningxia’s unique geology that has created the most revered version of the fruit. “It’s the combination of cool mountain breezes, mineral-rich soil and vines irrigated by the famed Yellow River that make the goji berries from the Ningxia region so prized,” said Evan Guo, sales manager for Ningxia Baishi Hengxing Food Technology Co, an organic goji berry farm.

中國各地都有種植枸杞，但由於寧夏獨特的地理條件，才造就了最廣為推崇的寧夏枸杞。寧夏百事恆興食品科技有限公司的銷售經理郭文說:「正是這涼爽的山風、富含礦物質的土壤，以及由著名的黃河水所灌溉而成的枸杞藤，才造就出珍貴的寧夏枸杞。」寧夏百事恆興食品科技有限公司是一家有機食品企業。

The farmers in Ningxia still harvest the fruit in the same way they have done throughout history. From July to September each year, farmhands crouch in front of waist-high bushes laden with the plump tomato-coloured berries. They deftly pluck a handful of the sweet treats at one time from the vines before they drop them into a woven bamboo basket.

寧夏農民以過去傳承下來的方法栽種水果。每年的7至9月，農場的主人都會蹲在齊腰高、結滿番茄色果子的樹叢前，以巧妙地手法，每次從藤蔓上摘採一大把豐碩的果實，將之放入竹編提籃中。

China’s love of the goji berry dates back hundreds of years, and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) practitioners have long believed that it has medicinal powers. The earliest record of this is in the Compendium of Materia Medica, a historical medical text written by the famed herbalist Li Shizhen in the 16th Century. Ms Zhang Ruifen, a TCM doctor for Eu Yan Sang Traditional Chinese Medicine Clinic that has locations in China, Malaysia and Singapore, said, “It is a very extensive, celebrated record and goji berry is recorded in that book. Li stated what each herb looked like and how you should use it.”

中國人對枸杞的熱愛可回溯至數百年前，中醫一直認為枸杞具有藥用功效。關於枸杞可入藥最早的記載是由著名的藥學家李時珍在16世紀所著的醫學著作《本草綱目》之中。余仁生中醫診所的張瑞芬中醫師說:「這是一本內容豐富的藥學名著，而枸杞也被收錄在該書之中。李時珍在書中詳細記載每種草藥的樣子與使用方法。」余仁生中醫診所於中國、馬來西亞及新加坡皆有設點。

The Chinese view the goji berry as a both a fruit and a herb, and the berry that’s packed with vitamin C, antioxidants, amino acids and trace minerals, is prescribed by TCM doctors to boost liver and kidney function. “Chinese mothers may say that you need to eat it as it is good for the eyes, as it contains carotene,” said Zhang, who studied Chinese medicine in Beijing. “I would prescribe it to help boost the kidney and liver system, of which TCM believes that the eyes are a part.”

中國人認為枸杞既是水果亦是藥草，這個富含維生素C、抗氧化劑、氨基酸和微量礦物質的果實是中醫師常開來為病人補肝腎的藥材。在北京學中醫的張醫師說：「中國的媽媽們可能會說吃枸杞可以明目，因為枸杞含有胡蘿蔔素，對眼睛好。但若是我來開藥，則是為了枸杞可以促進腎臟和肝臟系統的功效，中醫認為眼睛與肝腎的好壞有關。」

At home, Chinese men and women will sprinkle dried goji berries over homemade chicken, red date and ginger in their “old fire simmer soup” (a clear broth cooked over a low heat) or into a flask of chrysanthemum tea to give themselves a vitamin boost. When Zhang prescribes it to patients, she combines it with a potent combination of other herbs: “We usually don’t use a single herb for the whole treatment; it is a part of a concoction,” she said.

中國不論男女，在家裡自己煲老火湯（用小火燉煮的湯）時，除了放入雞肉、紅棗和薑以外，也會撒上乾燥的枸杞，或是在喝菊花茶時加入枸杞，補充點維生素。在開藥時，張醫師也會將枸杞與其他草藥組合使用，增強功效。她說:「我們通常給藥不會只給一種藥。這也是中藥炮制的一環。」

However, there are certain times that as a TCM practitioner Zhang says she will choose not to prescribe it so it doesn’t exacerbate the patient’s condition. “If a person has a fever, inflammation or sore throat, which we call ‘heaty’ in Chinese medicine, I would advise the patient to stop taking goji berry during that period of time,” she said. “If they were also suffering from ‘dampness’ and diarrhoea, which we call spleen deficiency, we say that you shouldn’t take it as well. But when you are fine, generally goji berry is suitable for everybody.”

但是，張醫生也說有時候為了避免加重病情，她會選擇不將枸杞放入處方之中。她說：「如果有發燒、發炎或咽喉痛，也就是中醫上所稱的『發熱』的情形，我會建議患者在這段時間內暫停使用枸杞。如果患者有『濕邪』或是腹瀉，也就是我們稱為脾虛的情形，我們也會建議患者先不要吃枸杞。不過對於健康的人來說，一般都是可以吃的。」

Goji berries have long been part of Chinese culture. Legend has it that more than 2,000 years ago a doctor visited a village in China where everyone was more than 100 years old. He discovered that they all drank from a well that was surrounded by goji berries. And the theory was that, as the fruit ripened, it would fall into the well and its vitamin-packed contents would seep into the water. Tales are also told of a 17th-Century herbalist called Li Qing Yuen who ate goji berries every day and was said to have lived until he was 252 years old. If this wasn’t enough to encourage future generations to eat the traditional old fire simmer soups that were garnished with goji berries, Chinese mothers would tell their children that the berries would stop them from needing glasses to get them to finish their bowls.

枸杞一直是中華文化的一環。傳說在兩千多年以前，曾有一位醫生到一個村莊裡，發現那裡的人都超過了一百歲。他發現這些人飲用水的來源是一口被枸杞叢所包圍的井。據推想，當果實成熟後，枸杞就會掉入井中，其中所富含的維生素也會隨之溶入水中。還有另外一個傳說是17世紀時，有一位叫作李清淵的中醫每天都會吃枸杞，據傳他活到了252歲。如果這還不足以說動孩子們喝下加有枸杞的傳統煲湯，中國的媽媽們還會和孩子說，吃枸杞對眼睛好，可以不用戴眼鏡，想辦法讓他們將枸杞吃完。