NaturalWays of Self-treatment

W ith rich herbal resources in the Forestry District,the locals have accumulated so much common sense for herbal treatments that the saying“everyone is a doctor here”is widespread among the locals.

On the way to visiting some of the oldest villagers,a member of the Taping Village Committee randomly introduced us to several kinds of herbs that are often used by locals.For instance,bleeding can be stopped quickly by applying a few blades of hemostatic grass—which should be chewed by mouth and then pasted on the wound.A rash on your skin can fade if you mix wormwood,garlic pole,senecio,wild chrysanthemum,and pagoda tree bark together with salt and water,and take a bath.Stewed chicken with Astragalus,Codonopsis,and Angelica have a variety of effects and can help alleviate female anemia,hair loss,or slow recovery after birth.

As a precious treasure endowed by nature,Golden Monkey is a flagship species in the Shennongjia Forestry District.Being fastidious about their food,these monkeys live in this place for a reason.According to Yu Huiliang,vice president of the Shennongjia National Park Institute of Science,compared with apples,golden monkeys prefer a plant called“cloud grass,” which has important nutritional value for them.The Golden Monkeys must eat this grass in winter;otherwise they willsuffer from diarrhea.

“Bold”is the most handsome and courageous young man in the Dalongtan Golden Monkey Tribe.When he was an adolescent,he once got into a fight with his parents.His mouth was almost torn off and he had a bruised back and arms when the team found him.The veterinarian could not sew the wound up,and could only leave him to his own recovery.Bold entered back into the forest,and one month later,when the team thought he must have died of his injuries,he was found recovered.The herbs Bold probably ate in the forest remain to be unknown.

好朋友（姜 勇摄）Good Friends(Photo by Jiang Yong)

大王巡山（胡文波摄）Golden monkeys patrolling the mountain(Photo by Hu Wenbo)

天然自救

林区本草药资源丰富，在这里生活的人们积累了很多本草救治的常识，当地有“人人识药”、“人人皆医”的说法。

去采访长寿老人的路上，塔坪村村委会的工作人员现场给我们普及了几种当地老百姓经常会用到的草药。比如，刀伤可以摘几片止血草的叶子，放在嘴里嚼一嚼，敷在伤口上，很快就能止血；身上要是起疹子，可以用艾草、蒜杆、千里光、野菊花和槐树皮加盐泡澡，加快皮肤更新修复；女性贫血、容易掉头发，或者是生育后身体恢复缓慢，都可以用黄芪、党参和当归一起炖土鸡，富有多种功效，医养两用。

金丝猴是大自然赋予人类的宝贵财富，它们是神农架林区的旗舰物种。金丝猴能常年生活在这里，它们对这里的饮食是有讲究的。据神农架国家公园科学研究院副院长余辉亮介绍，相较苹果，金丝猴更喜欢吃一种叫“云雾草”的植物。这种植物对金丝猴的身体有很重要的营养价值，它们在冬天必须吃这种草，不然就会拉稀。

“大胆”是大龙潭金丝猴部落的青年雄猴中长相最英俊、也是最有胆识的。“大胆”未成年时，有一次和家长打架，被考察队发现时，它的嘴巴已被撕裂至脱落，背部和手臂上有大片伤痕。兽医无法给它缝合上药，只能看它自己的恢复能力。大胆进入密林深处，考察队以为它会因伤过重而死去，谁知一个月后它竟然痊愈回来了，至于它在林中吃了什么药草，目前还不得而知。