Dandelions of Daqing River

Dandelions of Daqing River

　　Dandelion, also known as yellow-flowered dandelion, dandelion thistle, yellow-flower boy, wood yam, or milkweed, is a plant of the genus Taraxacum in the Asteraceae family. It grows on grassy slopes, beside ditches, and along cliffs, and is distributed across most areas of the county. The annual harvest amounts to approximately 10,000–15,000 kilograms.

　　Dandelion is a perennial herbaceous plant, growing 10–25 centimeters tall, and contains white latex. Its roots are deep and long, either single or branched, with a yellowish-brown outer skin. The leaves grow basally, arranged in a rosette pattern. It blooms in early spring and late autumn, producing yellow ligulate flowers that emerge from the leaf clusters, with solitary terminal capitula. The fruit is an inverted lanceolate achene. The whole plant, including the roots, is harvested before flowering, cleaned, and used fresh or dried.

　　The entire dandelion plant contains taraxasterol, choline, inulin, pectin, and other compounds.

　　Pharmacological effects of dandelion:

　　1. Dandelion decoction has a strong inhibitory effect on Staphylococcus aureus;

　　2. Dandelion extract has a fairly strong choleretic effect.

　　3. Dandelion has anti-lung cancer effects in humans.

　　Dandelion tastes sweet and bitter, and is cold in nature. It functions to clear heat and detoxify, disperse abscesses, and resolve nodules. It is mainly used to treat upper respiratory tract infections, acute tonsillitis, pharyngitis, conjunctivitis, epidemic parotitis, acute mastitis, gastritis, enteritis, hepatitis, cholecystitis, acute appendicitis, and urinary tract infections. Dosage: 3–8 qian (dried), 1–2 liang (fresh); for external use, apply an appropriate amount of fresh plant, cleaned and mashed, directly onto the affected area.

　　Prescriptions: 1. For upper respiratory tract infections and tonsillitis: Dandelion tablets, take 4–8 tablets each time (reduce dosage for children), every 6–8 hours. Or take dandelion syrup, 8 ml each time, three times a day, reduce dosage for children. 2. For acute and chronic appendicitis: 1 liang dandelion, 5 qian each of di er cao and ban bian lian, 3 qian each of ze lan and qing mu xiang. Decoct and drink.

　　Dandelions are rich in nutrients. In addition to being used medicinally, they can also be consumed as food. Li Shizhen said: “It grows low to the ground in small patches, emits white juice when broken, and the tender sprouts are edible.” The Compendium of Materia Medica lists it under the “Vegetable” category. There are many ways to cook and eat dandelions, with popular dishes including garlic dandelion and stir-fried dandelion with shredded pork.

　　There is also a story about the origin of the medicinal name of dandelion and its healing properties. Legend has it that in a village by the Daqing River, there was an old landlord whose daughter, around the age of sixteen, was unmarried but unfortunately developed breast abscesses. Her breasts became red and swollen, causing her great pain and making it difficult for her to sit or lie down. However, the young lady was too shy to tell her parents. When her condition worsened, her personal maid secretly informed the madam. The ignorant madam, thinking that such a condition in a young girl must be due to some scandal, became furious—not only refusing to seek medical help for her daughter but also scolding her harshly.

　　Already in unbearable pain, and now berated by her mother, the young lady, in a moment of despair, walked out through the back door in the dead of night, went to the Daqing River, and jumped in.

　　By coincidence, an old fisherman and his daughter were fishing by moonlight on the Daqing River. Seeing someone jump into the river, they quickly rowed over. The fisherman’s daughter, skilled in swimming, dove in and rescued the young lady, bringing her aboard their boat. She found some of her own clothes to change the girl into. While helping her change, the fisherman’s daughter noticed the girl had a breast abscess and asked her father if he knew any folk remedies.

　　The old fisherman thought for a moment and said, “Tomorrow, go dig up some medicine for her.” Following his instructions, the fisherman’s daughter dug up a wild plant with serrated long leaves and a fuzzy white ball on top. She boiled it into a medicinal soup, which the young lady drank for several doses, and she also mashed the fresh plant to apply to the abscess. Gradually, the young lady’s condition improved.

　　After the young lady ran away from home, the landlord and his wife feared the worst, regretted deeply, and were heartbroken. They sent people to search everywhere until they finally found her on the boat. Learning that their daughter had been saved after jumping into the river, the madam was overjoyed. To show gratitude to the fisherman and his daughter for saving her life, the young lady and the fisherman’s daughter became sworn sisters. The landlord also gave the fisherman’s family many valuable gifts, but they firmly refused to accept them. Instead, they left behind a large quantity of medicinal herbs and went back to fishing. The landlord personally named the herb “dandelion,” as the fisherman’s surname was Pu (蒲), and his daughter was named Gongying (公英). From then on, the story of dandelions curing breast abscesses spread far and wide.

　　The best dandelions come from the Longshan area on the north bank of the Daqing River. These dandelions have thick roots, lush leaves, rich sap, and high medicinal value.