Winter Favorite

B

e developed scientificly by Chinese caterpillar fungus, helicowaterplant, felicitious plant,dried mushroom, poria cocos; containing fungus polyhexose and unsaturated fatty acid. It can strong the lung, the kidney, the traction of the heart. It is used for resisting senile, enhancing facts of life, and also for the unclear sight, nose sensitiveness, bronchitis, pneumonia, phthisis, kidney virtual, nephritis, edema, uronephrosis, kidney stone, uremia.

Before liberation, there usually hung a picture of two men with smiles in the middle of a hall during a wedding ceremony, one of whom was holding a lotus flower, representing “harmony”, the other holding a round box, representing “union”. They were the legendary couple with harmonious union in the Chinese folk custom. As “harmony” and “union” have the similar Chinese pronunciation as“lotus”in Chinese “He” and “box” “He”. This legend may have been derived from and traced back to the book named the Rituals of Zhou Dynasty, in which it wrote “when want to marry, ask these two brothers”, and we call them HeHe deities today.

HeHe deities are also a symbol of harmonious and auspicious family. According to the Second Travel Notes of West Lake (Vol. 23), in Song Dynasty, if one of family member went far away from home, the rest would will worship HeHe deities, which is said to have such functions that it can trun ill luck into good and make a family reunited, and that was why in Song Dynasty the two deities were also called the “Brothers of Returning Home”.

In fact, the Brothers of Returning Home means “never parting with my lover until our hair turns white”, as is sung in one of the Han Lyric Songs named “Song of White Hair”, as only two get harmonious can they stay together forever. Liu Xiu of East Han was a very common person from the root ground before becaming an emperor. Many of his followers advised him to marry another wife from a great number of imperial concubines beauties, but he said “I prefer my old sword (meaning ‘my previous wife’)”, and insisted on having his first wife to be the empress. Song Hong of the same Dynasty turned down a marriage with a princess, and replied to the emperor “one should not forget the one who has helped him in need and the wife who stayed with him when he was poor”. Their loyalty to love touches the hearts of all generations over thousands of years, and reflected the best of the Chinese traditions. Until now, there still erected a stele on which Luo Pin and Zheng Wendao, two painters of Qing Dynasty, beside the two dieties, and on the back of the stele is the calligraphy of the famous Tang poem “Stopping at Night by the Maple Bridge” by Zhang Ji. These two pieces have be standing there for hundreds of years.

A family is the cell of a society and the couple is the core of a family where affection is the vigor of its core. Mr. Tong Dizhou, the American-Chinese biologist, said “a harmonious marriage benefits one’s health and career and also helps in social stability and development,” and “affection is critically important for human lives. It helps prevent and cure diseases, especially hypertension, coronary heart disease, diabetes, prostatitis and tuberculosis of kidney etc.” He believes that all those who pay attention to this will “mostly live a healthy and long life”, which is in accordance with what is said in the book of I Ching -“When all families are heading for a right position, the world will be peaceful; and the important thing between a couple is to love each other”.

When Winter Favorite comes, the frost will go, and all the family members will be happy.
It is recorded in the Notes along the West River that “There was a beautiful girl in the West River Street of the Ming State. Her body was as cold as ice even her parents dared not to touch. A great number of people had come to seen her because of her beauty; however none was willing to marry her. Later a young man coming from outside the State married her without the knowledge of the coldness of her body. And all his family members were sad when they at last know the truth and her husband dared not to touch her. An old man by the Zigzag Pond heard about it and gave her a medical bag to place on the abdomen and told her to drink everyday a wine made from awe。 Having drunk for half a year, her body gradually warmed up and the couple was able to do what a husband and a wife would do. Before long they had two sons and two daughters. People therefore sang the following song, ‘When Winter Favourite comes, the frost will go, and all the family members will be happy. Only when there is true affection in this world can good foods and good medicine be effective. As aweto serves to prevent from getting cold and cure the cold of old people in their back and knees and also increase the happiness between husband and wife, and being best loved in winter, they are called “Winter Favourite”.

The records in the Correct Understanding of the Compendium of Materia Medica may help to prove what is said in the Notes Along the West River as quoted above. “Mr Zhao introduces a new idea from Pan Youxin that this may be used as a medicine to increase the happiness between husband and wife, and Zhou Jianshi also says it is warm in nature and may serve to cure oedema and and may also be used with Zhongzidan, a medicine for pregnancy, etc.” It can be said that aweto not only serve to relieve rheumatic pains but also make one strong and cure one’s sterility. It is further indicated in the Correct Understanding of the Compendium of Materia Medica that “Mr Zhao then introduces the words from the Four Investigations into Treasures of Study by saying that -- Kong Yutang’s brother was weak and sweat all night. He was afraid of wind and coldness even in house. And He took this medicine along with foods and soon was recovered.” The words “along with foods” should be noted above, because aweto is a plant of the ergot fungus family, a combination of hepialus armoricanus oberthiir, and is a kind of edible fungus, and that’s why this medicine is often taken along foods.

It is a delicious food but better than any medicine, because it makes one live long and become strong.
As a nutritional heath food, its characteristic of being a edible fungus is very importantl. First of all, it frees users from annoying in taking medicine., they can promote their s health by enjoying delicious food. Second, aweto’s promotion of kidney, yang and pregnancy is different from chemical stimulations in that it enhances the regulation of the human body and improves the status of health. It does not give superficial treatment, which causes endocrine disturbance and mental change common to average hormone products.

The TCM Research Institute under Changzhou Asia-Pacific Economic & Cultural Development Center treated 100 impotence patients with aweto. As a result,96 patients returned to normal sexual life and the other 4 patients who had diseased organs also improved to some degree. Also with aweto, they treated 64 premature ejaculation patients 5 to 11 of whom had achieved perfect recall on normal sexual life and more than 8 of whom turned much better. Therefore, the aweto was acknowledged as“treasure of harmonious life” It should be noted that among the 160 patients, 36 patients were accompanied by asthma, 28 patients by hyperplasia of lumbar vertebra, but all of them had been alleviated.

Winter Favourite brings good luck and can be cooked like vegetable

In Qu Chi Cookbook, there is a famous dish named“Winter Fortune”, which benefits vital energy, nourishes kidney, reinforces marrow and improve spiritedness. This dish is especially helpful for those who suffer from low spirits, dizziness, tinnitus, pains in waist and back, breathlessness and palpitation, declined memory, impotence, premature ejaculation, (women’s) fear of coldness and leucorrhea disorders. The dish is made of 5-to-10-gram awe, 250g mutton , 50g ginger powder and a little shallot, cooked to boiling point with flavorings. If patients take once a day and last for ten successive days, they will be distinctly much better.

Aweto fired with green vegetables is also a special delicious dish which you can never forget once you eat. The dish also originates from Qu Chi Cookbook in which it described “it can purify heart and lungs, remove sputum, smooth blood flow and calm down the mind”. The TCM Research Institute under Changzhou Asia-Pacific Economic & Cultural Development Center cooperated with a Shanghai restaurant to use aweto in diet for twenty hyperlipemia patients of an Indonesian rehabilitation tour group. After taking the special diet for one month, physical examinations revealed reduced triglyceride, cholesterol and β-lipoprotein—as much as more than 20%. Surprisingly, among the patients, six angina patients who had heart angina did not get any attack during the period.

Aweto braised with duck is also a popular proved recipe of diet-therapy. We put 15-to-30-g aweto into the cleaned duck belly with some flavorings, and then cook with steam until it is well done. The dish nourishes lungs and prevents phtisis, and improves vitality. It is the best choice for senile chronic bronchitis and emphysema. The Medicine Records of Jing E San Fang Yao wrote, if the dish was added with pipe fish, seahorse (10 grams respectively) and cooked with yellow wine, it enabled phthisic patient absorb Ca more effectively. The TCM Research Institute applied it to ten bone tuberculosis patients and 6 kidney tuberculosis patients, finding that the treatment group was better relieved than the control group that used drugs only. Animal researches reveal that Chinese cater pillar fungus relieves damages of atmosphere upon the respiratory system. Chinese cater pillar fungus helps to free people from environmental pollution.