A cool introduction to one of the lesser-known deities, Shen Nong 神农 shén nóng, the God of Agriculture (and later called the Bodhisattva of Medicine). This is upper-intermediate reading: expect a lot of new words (mostly relating to plants and Chinese medicine) but intermediate sentence structure, and sentences mostly communicate a complete point.
神农一生下来就是个水晶肚子，五脏六腑全都能看得一清二楚。那时侯，人们经常因为乱吃东西而生病，甚至丧命。神农决心尝遍所有的东西，好吃的放在身边左边的袋子里，给人吃；不好吃的就放在身子右边的袋子里，作药用。
第一次，神农尝了一片小嫩叶。这叶片一落进肚里，就上上下下地把里面各器官擦洗得清清爽爽，象巡查似的，神农把它叫做“查”，就是后人所称的“茶”。神农将它放进右边袋子里。第二次，神农尝了朵蝴蝶样的淡红小花，甜津津的，香味扑鼻，这是“甘草”。他把它放进了左边袋子里。就这样，神农辛苦地尝遍百草，每次中毒，都靠茶来解救。后来，他左边的袋子里花草根叶有四万七千种，右边有三十九万八千种。
但有一天，神农尝到了“断肠草”，这种毒草太厉害了，他还来不及吃茶解毒就死了。他是为了拯救人们而牺牲的，人们称他为“药王菩萨”，人间以这个神话故事永远地纪念他。
Hover a word for its pinyin & meaning; click to pin it.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 神农 | Shén nóng | Shennong or Farmer God (c. 2000 BC), first of the legendary Flame Emperors, 炎帝[Yan2 di4] and creator of agriculture |
| 一生 | yī shēng | all one's life; throughout one's life |
| 下 | xià | down; downwards; below; lower; later; next (week etc); second (of two parts); to decline; to go down; to arrive at (a decision, conclusion etc); measure word to show the frequency … |
| 来 | lái | to come; (used as a substitute for a more specific verb); hither (directional complement for motion toward the speaker, as in 回來|回来[hui2 lai5]); ever since (as in 自古以來|自古以来[zi4 gu3… |
| 就是 | jìu shì | exactly; precisely; only; simply; just; (used correlatively with 也[ye3]) even; even if |
| 个 | gě | used in 自個兒|自个儿[zi4 ge3 r5]; variant of 個|个[ge4] |
| 水晶 | shuǐ jīng | crystal |
| 肚 | dǔ | tripe |
| 子 | zǐ | son; child; seed; egg; small thing; 1st earthly branch: 11 p.m.–1 a.m., midnight, 11th solar month (7th December to 5th January), year of the rat; viscount, fourth of five orders o… |
| 五 | wǔ | five; 5 |
| 脏 | zàng | viscera; (anatomy) organ; dirty; filthy; to get (sth) dirty |
| 六 | lìu | six; 6 |
| 腑 | ||
| 全都 | quán dōu | all; without exception |
| 能 | Néng | surname Neng |
| 看 | kān | to look after; to take care of; to watch; to guard |
| 得 | dé | to obtain; to get; to gain; to catch (a disease); proper; suitable; proud; contented; to allow; to permit; ready; finished |
| 一 | yī | one; single; a (article); as soon as; entire; whole; all; throughout; "one" radical in Chinese characters (Kangxi radical 1); also pr. [yao1] for greater clarity when spelling out … |
| 清 | Qīng | Qing (Wade-Giles: Ch'ing) dynasty of China (1644–1911); surname Qing |
| 二 | èr | two; 2; (Beijing dialect) stupid |
| 楚 | Chǔ | surname Chu; abbr. for Hubei 湖北省[Hu2 bei3 Sheng3] and Hunan 湖南省[Hu2 nan2 Sheng3] provinces together; Chinese kingdom during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Periods (722–22… |
| 那时 | nà shí | then; at that time; in those days |
| 侯 | hōu | marquis; nobleman; surname Hou |
| 人 | rén | person; people; CL:個|个[ge4],位[wei4],名[ming2] |
| 们 | men | plural marker for pronouns, and nouns referring to individuals |
| 经常 | jīng cháng | frequently; constantly; regularly; often; day-to-day; everyday; daily |
| 因为 | yīn wèi | because; owing to; on account of |
| 乱 | luàn | in confusion or disorder; in a confused state of mind; disorder; upheaval; riot; illicit sexual relations; to throw into disorder; to mix up; indiscriminate; random; arbitrary |
| 吃 | chī | to eat; to consume; to eat at (a cafeteria etc); to eradicate; to destroy; to absorb; to suffer (shock, injury, defeat etc); variant of 吃[chi1] |
| 东 | Dōng | surname Dong |
| 西 | Xī | the West; abbr. for Spain 西班牙[Xi1 ban1 ya2]; Spanish |
| 而 | ér | and; as well as; and so; but (not); yet (not); (indicates causal relation); (indicates change of state); (indicates contrast) |
| 生病 | shēng bìng | to fall ill |
| 甚至 | shèn zhì | even; so much so that |
| 丧 | sǎng | mourning; (old) corpse |
| 命 | mǐng | life; order or command |
| 决心 | jué xīn | determination; resolution; determined; firm and resolute; to make up one's mind; CL:個|个[ge4] |
| 尝 | chāng | to taste; to try (food); (literary) ever; once |
| 遍 | biàn | variant of 遍[bian4]; everywhere; all over; classifier for actions: one time |
| 所有 | suǒ yǒu | all; to have; to possess; to own |
| 的 | de | of; ~'s (possessive particle); (used after an attribute when it modifies a noun); (used at the end of a declarative sentence for emphasis); (used after a noun, verb or adjective to… |
| 好吃 | hǎo chī | tasty; delicious |
| 放 | fàng | to put; to place; to release; to free; to let go; to let out; to set off (fireworks) |
| 在 | zài | to exist; to be alive; (of sb or sth) to be (located) at; (used before a verb to indicate an action in progress) |
| 身边 | shēn biān | at one's side; on hand |
| 左边 | zuǒ bian | left; the left side; to the left of |
| 袋子 | dài zi | bag |
| 里 | lǐ | variant of 裡|里[li3]; lining; interior; inside; internal; also written 裏|里[li3]; surname Li |
| 给 | gěi | to; for; for the benefit of; to give; to allow; to do sth (for sb); (grammatical equivalent of 被); (grammatical equivalent of 把); (sentence intensifier) |
| 不好 | bù hǎo | no good |
| 吃的 | chī de | (coll.) food |
| 就 | jìu | (after a suppositional clause) in that case; then; (after a clause of action) as soon as; immediately after; (same as 就是[jiu4 shi4]) merely; nothing else but; simply; just; precise… |
| 身子 | shēn zi | body; pregnancy; health |
| 右边 | yòu bian | right side; right, to the right |
| 作 | zuō | (bound form) worker; (bound form) workshop; (slang) troublesome; high-maintenance (person) |
| 药用 | yào yòng | medicinal use; pharmaceutical |
| 第 | dì | (prefix indicating ordinal number, as in 第六[di4 liu4] "sixth"); (literary) grades in which successful candidates in the imperial examinations were placed; (old) residence of a high… |
| 一次 | yī cì | first; first time; once; (math.) linear (of degree one) |
| 了 | le | (completed action marker); (modal particle indicating change of state, situation now); (modal particle intensifying preceding clause); (bound form) clear in one's mind; to understand clearly |
| 片 | piān | disk; sheet |
| 小 | xiǎo | small; tiny; few; young |
| 嫩 | něn | young and tender; (of color) light |
| 叶 | xié | to be in harmony; surname Ye |
| 这 | zhè | (pronoun) this; these; (bound form) this; the (followed by a noun); (bound form) this; these (followed by a classifier) (in this sense, commonly pr. [zhei4], esp. in Beijing) |
| 叶片 | yè piàn | blade (of propellor); vane; leaf |
| 落 | là | to leave out; to be missing; to leave behind or forget to bring; to lag or fall behind |
| 进 | jìn | to go forward; to advance; to go in; to enter; to put in; to submit; to take in; to admit; (math.) base of a number system; classifier for sections in a building or residential com… |
| 上 | shǎng | used in 上聲|上声[shang3 sheng1] |
| 上下 | shàng xià | the top and bottom of sth; the full vertical extent of sth; from top to bottom; to go up and down; before and after (as in 上下文[shang4 xia4 wen2] "context"); (used after a quantity)… |
| 下地 | xià dì | to go down to the fields; to get up from bed; to leave one's sickbed; to be born |
| 把 | bǎ | to hold; to grasp; to hold a baby in position to help it urinate or defecate; handlebar; classifier: handful, bundle, bunch; classifier for things with handles; (used to put the ob… |
| 里面 | lǐ miàn | variant of 裡面|里面[li3 mian4] |
| 各 | gè | each; every |
| 器 | qì | device; tool; utensil; CL:臺|台[tai2] |
| 官 | Guān | surname Guan |
| 擦 | cā | to rub; to scratch; to wipe; to polish; to apply (lipstick, lotion etc); to brush (past); to shred (a vegetable etc) |
| 洗 | xǐ | to wash; to bathe; to develop (photographs); to shuffle (cards etc); to erase (a recording) |
| 爽 | shuáng | bright; crisp; frank; to feel well; pleasurable; to deviate |
| 象 | xiàng | elephant; CL:隻|只[zhi1]; shape; form; appearance; to imitate |
| 巡 | xún | to patrol; to make one's rounds; classifier for rounds of drinks; variant of 巡[xun2] |
| 查 | Zhā | surname Zha |
| 似 | shǐ | used in 似的[shi4 de5] |
| 它 | tā | it; it (pronoun for an animal) |
| 叫 | jiào | to shout; to call; to order; to ask; to be called; by (indicates agent in the passive mood); variant of 叫[jiao4] |
| 做 | zuò | to make; to produce; to write; to compose; to do; to engage in; to hold (a party etc); (of a person) to be (an intermediary, a good student etc); to become (husband and wife, frien… |
| 后 | Hòu | surname Hou; back; behind; rear; afterwards; after; later; post- |
| 所 | suǒ | actually; place; classifier for houses, small buildings, institutions etc; that which; particle introducing a relative clause or passive; CL:個|个[ge4] |
| 称 | chèn | to fit; to match; to suit; (coll.) to have; to possess; Taiwan pr. [cheng4] |
| 茶 | chá | tea; tea plant; CL:杯[bei1],壺|壶[hu2] |
| 将 | jiāng | will; shall; to use; to take; to checkmate; just a short while ago; (introduces object of main verb, used in the same way as 把[ba3]) |
| 放进 | fàng jìn | to put into |
| 二次 | èr cì | second (i.e. number two); second time; twice; (math.) quadratic (of degree two) |
| 朵 | duó | flower; fig. item on both sides |
| 蝴 | hū | used in 蝴蝶[hu2 die2] |
| 蝶 | dié | variant of 蝶[die2]; (bound form) butterfly |
| 样 | yàng | manner; pattern; way; appearance; shape; classifier: kind, type |
| 淡 | dǎn | insipid; weak; light in color; indifferent |
| 红 | Hóng | surname Hong |
| 小花 | xiǎo huā | (coll.) popular young actress |
| 甜 | tián | sweet; (fig.) pleasant; endearing; lovely |
| 津 | jin | abbr. for Tianjin 天津[Tian1 jin1] |
| 香 | xiāng | fragrant; sweet smelling; aromatic; savory or appetizing; (to eat) with relish; (of sleep) sound; perfume or spice; joss or incense stick; CL:根[gen1] |
| 味 | wěi | taste; (fig.) (noun suffix) feel; sense |
| 扑 | pu | to throw oneself at; to devote one's energies; to flutter; to pat |
| 鼻 | bí | nose |
| 是 | shì | to be (followed by substantives only); correct; right; true; (respectful acknowledgement of a command) very well; (adverb for emphatic assertion); variant of 是[shi4] |
| 甘草 | gān cǎo | licorice root |
| 他 | tā | (third-person singular) (since the early 20th century, usu. male) he; him; his; (bound form) other; another; some other (as in 他日[ta1 ri4] and 他人[ta1 ren2]) |
| 辛 | Xīn | surname Xin |
| 苦 | kǔ | bitter; hardship; pain; to suffer; to bring suffering to; painstakingly |
| 地 | de | -ly; structural particle: used before a verb or adjective, linking it to preceding modifying adverbial adjunct |
| 百草 | bǎi cǎo | all kinds of grass; all kinds of flora |
| 每次 | měi cì | every time |
| 中毒 | zhòng dú | to be poisoned |
| 都 | Dū | surname Du |
| 靠 | kào | to lean against or on; to stand by the side of; to come near to; to depend on; to trust; to fuck (vulgar); traditional military costume drama where the performers wear armor (old) |
| 解救 | jiě jìu | to rescue; to help out of difficulties; to save the situation |
| 花草 | huā cǎo | flowers and plants |
| 根 | gēn | root; basis; classifier for long slender objects, e.g. cigarettes, guitar strings; CL:條|条[tiao2]; radical (chemistry) |
| 有 | yǒu | to have; there is; (bound form) having; with; -ful; -ed; -al (as in 有意[you3 yi4] intentional) |
| 四 | sì | four; 4 |
| 万 | mò | used in 万俟[Mo4 qi2]; surname Wan |
| 七 | qī | seven; 7 |
| 千 | qiān | thousand; used in 鞦韆|秋千[qiu1 qian1] |
| 种 | zhǒng | seed; species; kind; type; classifier for types, kinds, sorts |
| 三十 | sān shí | thirty; 30 |
| 九 | jǐu | nine; 9 |
| 八 | bā | eight |
| 但 | dàn | but; yet; however; still; merely; only; just |
| 天 | tiān | day; sky; heaven |
| 到了 | dào liǎo | at last; finally; in the end |
| 断 | duàn | to break; to snap; to cut off; to give up or abstain from sth; to judge; (usu. used in the negative) absolutely; definitely; decidedly |
| 肠 | chāng | intestines |
| 草 | cǎo | variant of 草[cao3]; grass; straw; manuscript; draft (of a document); careless; rough; CL:棵[ke1],撮[zuo3],株[zhu1],根[gen1] |
| 这种 | zhè zhǒng | this kind of |
| 毒 | dú | poison; to poison; poisonous; malicious; cruel; fierce; narcotics |
| 太 | tài | highest; greatest; too (much); very; extremely |
| 厉 | lǐ | strict; severe; fierce; to sharpen; surname Li |
| 害 | hài | to do harm to; to cause trouble to; harm; evil; calamity |
| 还 | Huán | surname Huan |
| 不 | bù | no; not so; (bound form) not; un- |
| 及 | jí | and; to reach; up to; in time for |
| 解毒 | jiě dú | to detoxify; to relieve fever (in Chinese medicine) |
| 死 | sǐ | to die; impassable; uncrossable; inflexible; rigid; extremely; damned |
| 为了 | wèi le | for; for the purpose of; in order to |
| 拯 | zhěng | to rescue (拯救) |
| 救 | jìu | variant of 救[jiu4]; to save; to assist; to rescue |
| 牺 | ||
| 牲 | shēng | domestic animal; sacrificial animal |
| 为 | wéi | as (in the capacity of); to take sth as; to act as; to serve as; to behave as; to become; to be; to do; by (in the passive voice); variant of 為|为[wei2] |
| 药 | yào | leaf of the iris; variant of 藥|药[yao4]; medicine; drug; substance used for a specific purpose (e.g. poisoning, explosion, fermenting); CL:種|种[zhong3],服[fu4],味[wei4]; to poison |
| 王 | Wáng | surname Wang |
| 菩 | ||
| 萨 | sǎ | (component of Buddhist transliterations such as 菩萨 bodhisattva); surname Sa |
| 人间 | rén jiān | the human world; the earth |
| 以 | yǐ | old variant of 以[yi3]; abbr. for Israel 以色列[Yi3 se4 lie4] |
| 这个 | zhè ge | (pronoun) this; (adjective) this |
| 神话 | shén huà | legend; fairy tale; myth; mythology |
| 故事 | gù shì | old practice |
| 永远 | yǒng yuǎn | forever; eternal |
| 纪念 | jì niàn | to commemorate; to honor the memory of; memento; keepsake; souvenir |
All his life, Shen Nong had a crystal abdomen, and one could clearly see all of his internal organs. At that time, humans were often getting sick and even dying because they ate things indiscriminately [not knowing if they were good or bad]. Shen Nong determinedly tasted everything everywhere; the good-tasting things he put in a bag on his left side, those were for people to eat; the bad-tasting things he put in a bag on his right side, and those were used for medicine.
The first time, Shen Nong tasted a small fresh leaf. As this leaf fell into his stomach, it cleaned every inch of his insides so that every organ top and bottom was fresh and cool, as if [the leaf] was somehow on patrol [making the rounds], so Shen Nong called it “chá” [to investigate / check], and later generations of men called it “chá” [tea]. Shen Nong put it in the bag on the right. The second time, Shen Nong tasted a little light red flower that looked like a butterfly, which was sweet and delicious, with an exotic smell that filled his nostrils, so he called it “licorice”. He put it in the bag on the left. In this way, Shen Nong diligently tasted all manner of flora, and every time he was poisoned, he used tea to rescue himself. Before long, the bag on his left contained 47,000 kinds of flowers, grasses, roots and leaves, and the right side had 398,000 kinds.
But one day, Shen Nong tasted “heartbreak grass”, and this poison was too terrible, so there wasn’t enough time to eat the tea leaves to detoxify and he died. He sacrificed himself to save humanity, so people call him the “Bodhisattva of Medicine”, and people forever commemorate him through this story.