Friends who have watched "The Legend of Zhen Huan" should be no stranger to musk. But most people's impression of it is still stuck on the "abortion artifact". In fact, there is much more to musk than that. It is both a precious natural spice and an indispensable medicinal herb.
Humans have a long history with musk. You may not know that many perfumes nowadays are inseparable from musk because it has a unique fragrance and is not easy to emit for a long time.
The "Compendium of Materia Medica" has recorded that musk has the effect of penetrating all the organs and penetrating the muscles and bones, and is a special medicine. Therefore, musk is added to many traditional Chinese medicines, which has the miraculous effect of opening the mind and awakening the brain, reducing swelling and relieving pain.
In the past, the price of 1 gram of musk was as high as 800 yuan, which was not surprising in the market at that time, which shows the preciousness of musk.
And since mankind discovered the beauty of musk, the maker of musk, the male musk deer, has experienced a long catastrophe.
Lone Brave Warrior
Musk mainly comes from male musk deer. The male musk deer looks a bit like a deer, but the musk deer does not have horns, which means that it is not very aggressive. It only has two fangs on its body, which is a little more aggressive and can protect itself.
Musk deer prefer to inhabit dense forests. It is not large, no more than a meter in length and weighs between 7 and 17 kilograms. He mainly lives by eating young leaves and moss, and is a proper vegetarian.
The musk deer personality is alert and timid, so they choose to live far away from humans. They could have lived a peaceful and happy life. However, because it can produce musk, which is regarded as a treasure by humans, musk musk deer cannot escape from human hunting for a long time.
The cruel process of taking musk
Although musk is precious, the process of collecting it is cruel. Musk is mainly found in the musk sac of the musk deer. The position of the musk sac below the navel and between the genitals. It is also a sensitive part for animals. There are many dry secretions accumulated in the musk sac, which is often referred to as musk.
In the early years, humans did not have much skill in extracting musk, it was very simple and rude. First, hunt the musk deer, after the catch, find a few strong men, work together to hold the musk deer's hands and feet down, and then the musk man appears, as long as the musk sac is found, the entire glandular sac is violently cut off with a tool.
The whole process is not sterilized or anesthetic, the musk deer itself is sensitive and timid, and the hunting itself has made their already fragile minds vulnerable, and the process of taking incense is no less than torture. If not done properly, it can even be life-threatening. Therefore, the process of taking musk deer can cause severe trauma to the body and mind of the musk deer.
Later, some musk deer who were accidentally arrested would take the initiative to bite their own sachets before humans could do it. Even if he hurts himself, he doesn't want to go through hellish torture.
For musk deer, it is a physical and mental test.
Later, some people finally began to realize the cruelty of musk deer, and the number of musk deer plummeted after years of hunting and incense. Therefore, since the 50s of the last century, the artificial breeding of musk deer has gradually been carried out.
In order to hide from humans, the habitat is becoming more and more remote and the number is getting smaller and smaller, and the wild musk deer that survive in the cracks have finally begun to usher in life.
At the same time as the cultivation of musk deer, there is also a technical study of incense. As farmers continue to explore and improve, they have gradually found a relatively gentle way to take incense.
The improved way of taking incense does not require the whole sachet to be cut, and the musk deer does not have to risk their lives. In this way, after disinfection, the sac is cut through a small incision, and the secretion in the sachet is scraped off with an iron sheet, which is musk. After shaving, the musk deer's body is almost unaffected.
And in this way, incense can be taken many times, and musk has become a renewable resource. For farmers, there are only benefits, no harm.
Due to the sharp decline in the number of wild musk deer, they are now protected, and the state has set up a special reserve for them, and they are not allowed to hunt.
The demand for musk is also increasing, and artificial breeding cannot be fully satisfied. In order to solve this problem, people have also invested a lot of energy in scientific research. At present, some progress has also been made in the synthesis of musk.
It is believed that with the progress of science, artificial musk can completely replace natural musk in the near future. Let these musk deer with their own spices have fun in nature, and completely return the freedom that belongs to them completely.