Give full play to the functional advantages of the science popularization education of the Chinese Medicine Museum to make the Culture of Traditional Chinese Medicine "live" (Health Focus)

Source: People's Daily

In the Traditional Chinese Medicine and Health Science Popularization Hall of Lerentang, Shijiazhuang City, Hebei Province, primary school students are learning how to use iron medicine mills.

Photo by Liang Zidong (People's Vision)

The development of chinese medicine museum is an important way to strengthen the dissemination of Chinese medicine culture and promote the prosperity and development of Chinese medicine culture. The "Opinions of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council on Promoting the Inheritance and Innovative Development of Traditional Chinese Medicine" clearly put forward "promoting the development of the cause of traditional Chinese medicine museums".

In March this year, the China Association for Science and Technology named 800 units as the first batch of national science popularization education bases in 2021-2025, and a number of traditional Chinese medicine museums were on the list, including the Museum of Traditional Chinese Medicine of Beijing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, the Museum of Traditional Chinese Medicine of Jilin Province, and the Lerentang Traditional Chinese Medicine Health Science Popularization Museum of Shijiazhuang City, Hebei Province.

In recent years, the Museum of Traditional Chinese Medicine has continuously strengthened its digital construction, focused on the function of popular science education, increased knowledge, practice and interest, and made the knowledge and culture of traditional Chinese medicine "alive". Recently, the reporter walked into a number of traditional Chinese medicine museums to visit their achievements and experiences in promoting the knowledge and culture of traditional Chinese medicine, and feel the exploration and innovation they have made to improve the health literacy of the whole people.

- Editor

Museum of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine

Highlight the educational function and experience more abundantly

Reporter Yang Yanfan

"What kind of Chinese medicine tablet is shown in the picture below?" "Which herbs come from the same plant?" "Which kind of medicinal material is easy to tear longitudinally, and when it is torn, there is white dust flying out?" ...... In May this year, the Museum of Traditional Chinese Medicine of Beijing University of Chinese Medicine held the 13th Chinese Medicine Identification Competition, which attracted many Chinese medicine enthusiasts inside and outside the university to participate online and offline.

"Many students have completed courses such as Chinese medicine identification, but they do not have much opportunity to touch the medicinal materials. The Chinese Medicine Identification Contest is a good window. Feng Linmin, director of the Museum's Chinese Medicine Department, said that carrying out activities to highlight the museum's practical education function can allow students to master the ability to identify medicines and let the public understand Traditional Chinese medicine and traditional culture.

The Museum of Traditional Chinese Medicine of Beijing University of Chinese Medicine was completed in September 1990 and has a rich collection, which is a museum of traditional Chinese medicine in colleges and universities with a long history. The museum not only undertakes the teaching tasks of some elective courses, but also has successively held brand activities such as the Chinese Medicine Identification Competition, the Museum Culture Week, and the Interpretation Competition since 2009.

"A taste of traditional Chinese medicine, from medicinal raw plants, original animals to Chinese herbal medicines, and then concocted into drinking tablets, and finally entered the pharmacy after decoction of medicine, involving many links. The titles of the competition should be both informative, interactive and interesting. Feng Linmin said.

Edutainment, competition to promote learning, but also innovation. Feng Linmin and the team have put a lot of effort into content and form. In the offline competition of the Chinese medicine identification competition, such innovations can be seen everywhere. "Authenticity identification" identifies the authenticity of Chinese medicines through various odors; "Grasping medicine according to the prescription" requires students to understand the placement rules of traditional Chinese medicine in the hundred cabinets, the use of scales, etc., and improve their application ability. In recent years, chinese medicine culture and other content have also been added to the titles to broaden the horizons of the contestants.

Entering the comprehensive exhibition hall of traditional Chinese medicine in the museum, nearly 600 kinds of commonly used traditional Chinese medicines and more than 3,000 specimens of traditional Chinese medicines are displayed one by one in accordance with the textbooks of "Chinese Pharmacy" and the functional indications of traditional Chinese medicines, and the central exhibition area is also placed with precious medicinal materials such as century-old orange peel and Nine Dynasties tribute glue, which comprehensively serves teaching. In the training base of Chinese medicine tablets, nearly 400 Chinese medicine tablets are displayed in transparent specimen bottles, and open specimens are available for students to identify.

"Whether it is studying courses or preparing for identification competitions, many students will come to the museum to see Chinese medicine specimens and medical history cultural relics to consolidate their knowledge." Sun Lingyi, a student of traditional Chinese medicine at Beijing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, said, "The cultural atmosphere of brand activities is also very strong, and the annual Chinese Medicine Culture Week can participate in museum treasure hunting, guessing Chinese medicine riddles, etc., like a temple fair, it is very lively." ”

"The North Museum of Traditional Chinese Medicine is a three-dimensional and intuitive textbook, a vivid lecture hall, the first lesson for new students to enter, and the first stop for guests to visit." After more than thirty years of work, director Lu Ying constantly feels the change, "With the improvement of people's living standards, Chinese medicine is getting hotter and hotter, and more and more people have visited the museum in recent years, initially there are more and more primary and secondary school students and the elderly in the community, and later various social groups and young people are also increasing." ”

Adapting to changes, the social and educational function of museums is gradually increasing. For community residents, the museum has carried out health and wellness classes such as "Medicinal food homologous words and health", "medicinal diet and health cream", "health care moxibustion and the production of traditional moxa sticks", and has entered the community to carry out more than 10 activities every year. For primary and secondary school students, more interesting science popularization activities such as "I am a small Shennong, Chinese medicine I will taste" have been designed.

"When museums carry out popular science education, they should focus on the cultural value of traditional Chinese medicine." Lu Ying believes that "only by participating, experiencing and interacting, people's understanding of Chinese medicine will be deepened." The Museum of Chinese Medicine is the ideal position and carrier for people to understand Chinese medicine - to see, touch, and have a sense of reality. ”

Jilin Provincial Museum of Traditional Chinese Medicine

Do a good job in the protection of collections, and popularize science more image

Reporter Liu Yiqing

Pry open the seal, pour the liquid, seal the mouth of the bottle... In the Jilin Provincial Museum of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Fan Xiangze, assistant librarian of the exhibition department, is busy. In front of him was a beichai beard plant soaked in a jar, with thin, verdant leaves and a small yellow flower. "This is a specimen from 4 years ago, and it is necessary to replenish the liquid regularly. You see, doesn't it look like it was just picked? Gently wiping the jar, Fan Xiangze was not without pride.

In September 2013, the Jilin Provincial Museum of Traditional Chinese Medicine was officially opened, and now the museum has a collection of 3381 traditional Chinese medicine cultural relics and nearly 10,000 specimens of traditional Chinese medicine, including many rare Chinese medicinal materials such as ginseng, yew, yak bone and so on.

How to do a good job of display and protection? In the past, plant specimens were mostly sealed with wax liquid, Fan Xiangze pointed to the specimen of chai hu wax liquid on the side, and the finished product has similarities with the leaves sandwiched in the book, with a flat shape and dehydrated and brittle. "Affected by plant traits, production techniques and other factors, some decades old specimens have suddenly lost their horns, and this loss is irreversible." Fan Xiangze said.

Soaking specimens can better retain the original color of the medicinal materials, which is suitable for visiting and easy to preserve. In 2016, the Jilin Provincial Museum of Traditional Chinese Medicine began to study the impregnation technology on its own, copper acetate, copper sulfate, glacial acetic acid... The staff worked together to make "stupid efforts", adjusting the reagents in grams, and calculating the operation time by one minute and one minute. In order not to waste Chinese herbs, at first, everyone picked up leaves for experiments. "One moment this is blue, the next moment it's gray and black, and there are all kinds of colors." Fan Xiangze said with a smile that everyone was having fun in their suffering and often encouraged each other.

After several months, the solution ratio was finally initially successful. "In fact, the aloe vera leaves are more fleshy, the cactus leaves are prickly, and the proportion of different herbs needs is still different, but with the general direction, it is easy to continue to refine." Fan Xiangze recalled.

"With the impregnation technology, our specimens are more three-dimensional, and it is more visual to do science popularization." The northern chai hu specimen further forward, is the large leaf chai hu, the two belong to the same genus of chai hu, the appearance is similar, however, the former into the drug can relieve liver depression, the latter is toxic. Fan Xiangze bent down slightly and pointed with his hand, "From this angle, you can clearly see that the leaves of the big leaf chai hu are larger and fatter than the leaves of the north chai hu." ”

In order to do a good job in science popularization, every year in early spring and mid-summer, the museum staff will go to the mountain to collect plants to make specimens. "Flowering, fruiting, mutant, the more we collect, the more people will understand." Originally mountains and rivers, extremely life-threatening plants and trees', this is also the charm of Chinese medicine. Fan Xiangze said.

"The museum's science popularization function is not limited to the collection in the glass booth." Zhang Ling, director of the museum, told reporters that the Jilin Provincial Museum of Traditional Chinese Medicine will set up a themed open day on the Saturday of the third week of each month, and in addition to the visit and explanation, the staff will also lead tourists to pinch hawthorn pills and sew herbal sachets together, encouraging tourists to take pictures of Chinese medicine.

During the epidemic prevention and control period, the Jilin Provincial Museum of Traditional Chinese Medicine is temporarily closed to the public, Zhang Ling plans to bring Chinese herbal medicine, walk out of the museum, and run the activities into the community, "in a vivid, interesting and diverse way, let everyone be more interested in the collection of Chinese medicine and Chinese medicine culture, which is also the responsibility of the museum." ”

Hebei Lerentang Traditional Chinese Medicine Health Science Popularization Hall

With the help of technology interaction, the exhibition is more interesting

Reporter Shao Yuzi

Fingers gently slide the large screen, arbitrarily click on a picture, the shape, color, efficacy of Chinese herbal medicines jump out... In the Traditional Chinese Medicine Health Science Popularization Museum of Lerentang, Chang'an District, Shijiazhuang City, Hebei Province, there is a digital screen with an area of nearly 10 square meters, which "collects" the information of 12,807 kinds of medicinal materials.

"Little friend, this is our medicinal magic wall. Each small picture on the magic wall represents a kind of medicinal materials, common ones are goji berries, Cangshu, Mai Dong, Kudzu, and Xiangxue..." In front of the big screen, the narrator Li Xinyue randomly clicked on a few pictures to demonstrate while introducing.

In order to inherit the culture of traditional Chinese medicine, Lerentang Investment Group has given full play to its own advantages and established the first public welfare science popularization hall in Hebei Province with the theme of traditional Chinese medicine culture. In July 2021, the Lerentang Traditional Chinese Medicine and Health Science Popularization Museum with the theme of "Le" and "Ren" was officially opened.

"The Science Popularization Hall has set up three units to introduce the history and health knowledge of Traditional Chinese medicine from different perspectives. Each unit has set up a scientific and technological interactive experience activity, through edutainment, so that everyone can feel the unique charm of Chinese medicine in a relaxed and pleasant atmosphere. Wang Peng, director of the Lerentang Traditional Chinese Medicine Health Science Popularization Museum, introduced that at the beginning of the design, Lerentang paid great attention to the deep integration of traditional Chinese medicine knowledge and modern scientific and technological innovation. Relying on high-tech digital equipment, the popular science content is more in-depth, and the popular science method is more interesting.

Simulating Lang Zhong's prescription to grasp medicine, participating in the fun answer of acupuncture points, following the screen to practice the five birds play... At present, more than 10 sets of multimedia interactive screens have been set up in the museum.

In addition to touchscreen interaction, there is an immersive experience. On the east side of the exhibition hall of the Science Popularization Hall, a digital screen extending from the foot to the wall is particularly eye-catching, and the dynamic 4D space theater attracts many visitors to stop. With "Medicine Valley Adventure" as the main line of action, the space theater has a total of 5 scenes and 3 interactive games for medicine collection in Medicine Valley, Lake, Snow Mountain, Seabed and Forest, allowing people to experience the hardships of ancient medicine collection.

"Kids, keep an eye on the screen, through the snowy mountains and rainforests, let's go to the Medicine Valley together to explore!" Li Xinyue's voice just fell, the picture in the digital screen "whizzed" up, the alpine canyon "floated" in front of the eyes, and one chicken blood vine "drilled out" from under the feet, lifted the foot lightly, and the chicken blood vine "stepped" into the bag. Elementary school student Han Shiwen had one left foot and one right foot, and after a while she "stepped on" all the chicken blood vines.

"By simulating the process of collecting herbs in the form of immersive experience, children can not only understand the environment in which medicinal herbs grow and increase their knowledge of Traditional Chinese medicine, but also more deeply understand the hard-won chinese herbal medicine." Li Xinyue said.

Typography: Zhang Fangman