Lancang Kudzu Root

Lancang Kudzu Root

　　Kudzu root is an ethnic plant of the People's Republic of China. As early as during the periods of Yao, Shun, and Yu, people had already begun using kudzu vines to make hemp cloth. In 1972, three well-crafted fragments of kudzu fabric dating back to the Neolithic Age were unearthed at the Caoshan Mountain site in Wuxian County, Jiangsu Province. These fragments are reliable evidence that China began utilizing kudzu roots over 6,000 years ago.

During the Zhou Dynasty, the imperial court established an official position known as “Zhang Ge” (Kudzu Administrator), responsible for collecting and managing kudzu-based textile materials. A distinction was also made between “mountain farmer’s kudzu” (used for weaving kudzu cloth) and “marsh farmer’s kudzu” (intended for consumption).

In the Han Dynasty, the renowned antipyretic formula “Kudzu Root Decoction” was recorded by Zhang Zhongjing in the Treatise on Cold Damage Disorders (Shanghan Lun); China’s earliest medical text, the Divine Farmer's Materia Medica (Shennong Bencao Jing), classified kudzu root as a mid-grade herb and documented its properties, flavors, and therapeutic effects, marking the beginning of its use in treating diseases. At the same time, “Langan fine cloth” made from kudzu fiber was traded as far as present-day India, Central Asia, and West Asia.

The famous Ming Dynasty physician Li Shizhen conducted systematic research on kudzu root, concluding that its stems, leaves, flowers, fruits, and roots could all be used medicinally. He wrote in the Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu): “Kudzu is sweet, pungent, neutral, and non-toxic. It treats: thirst, intense body heat, vomiting, various disorders, invigorates yin energy, and neutralizes various toxins.”