The Legend of Yimu Grass

Yimu Grass

Fascinated in the East Wind,
I plant some Yimu Grass in my herb garden,
Which continues to grow out from the mud.
Look, its leaves surround its flowers and its flower clusters,
Just as a child would hold their mother.
It has the formal name of Xiaju, but Yimu is better
Since it is an honour for a strain of grass to be called “Yimu”

The word Yimu can be translated as "good for women".

--Chen Changming

One day when I was young, I went out with my mother. She pointed to a plant with light red and purple flowers and told me that it was called Yimu Grass. In Chinese, Yi means “bringing benefit,” and mu means “mother.” I liked this name, and so it made a deep impression in my mind.

My mother is a doctor of Chinese medicine and is well known for the quality of her work in this field. She is diligent in her work and puts a lot of effort into ensuring that her work is carried out to the highest quality. Although she hasn’t received a lot of formal education, she has had plenty of experience with Chinese traditional medicine and herbs. In our free time, she told me about a lot of medical cases that she had experienced. After hearing about her herbs and medicines again and again, I memorised their names. Now I am a doctor myself, but my mother’s valuable knowledge still guides me in treating difficult cases.

My mother often mentioned Yimu Grass, which is a herb that is frequently used and very effective. Indeed, it is known for activating and enriching the blood and regulating the energy channels, among other things. However, it is often ignored in traditional Chinese medicine books.

Yimu Grass was mentioned in Shijing, a poetry collection composed in the Spring and Autumn Period. In the poem Shi Wangfeng Zhongguyoutui it says, “There was Yimu Grass in medieval times.” In Shennong Bencaojing (The Shennong Compendium of Materia Medica), it was ranked as one of the best herbs. It was initially called Yunwei, as well as Gaiming and Daza. In Hehan Yaokao, the Hehan Medicine Reference book, it was honoured as Qianchenta (Thousand-story Pagoda), Fanhun Dan (Resurrection Miracle Pill) and Tian Zima (Heavenly Sesame).

Yimu Grass tastes slightly spicy and a little bitter. It is good for curing women’s irregular or missed periods and other disorders related to the circulation of ones Qi [vital energy] and blood, and it also enhances labour. The root, stem, flower, fruit and leaf of the plant are all effective. They can be used individually or with other herbs. In the countryside of southern China, many elderly women often plant Yimu Grass in their yards. They pick the flower of the Yimu Grass in the summer and decoct it with red date. The soup is very effective for enriching one's blood.

Yimu Grass had been used in medicine for over 2000 years and so it's origin can be found in the form of a Chinese fairy tale. It is said that there was a kind girl named Xiu Niang, who lived in a beautiful village in southern China. She soon married and before long fell pregnant. One day, Xiu Niang was spinning cotton when suddenly a wounded yellow deer ran into her house. The deer looked at her and wailed. From a distance, Xiu Niang saw that a hunter was coming. Xiu Niang sympathised with the deer, so she hid it under her stool and covered it up with her long skirt. After a while, the hunter came to the door and asked her, “Madam, have you seen a wounded yellow deer?” Xiu Niang answered with ease while continuing to spin the cotton, “It went to the east.” The hunter immediately ran to the east. Xiu Niang then released the deer and told it to run to the west. The deer seemed to understand her words and continued to get down on its knees and bow to Xiu Niang several times and then ran to the west.

Xiu Niang was having a very hard time when it was time for her to give birth. It was so severe that even the herb called fingersmith was unable to do anything for her. She took the medicine to expedite child delivery but that didn't work either. The whole family cried in fear.

At this moment, she heard the sound of a deer outside her house. Xiu Niang saw that it was the yellow deer that she had saved. The deer had a plant in its mouth and walked slowly to her bed. With tears in its eyes, it made soft sounds to Xiu Niang, who realised its meaning and asked her husband to take the plant from the deer. The deer then nodded and went on its way.

Xiu Niang took the decoction made from the plant. Magically, her pain was gone and she was able to relax. Shortly the baby was delivered. Xiu Niang learned the function of the plant, so she collected some and planted them in front of her house and in her back yard. She recommended it to pregnant women who were about to give birth and named it Yimu Grass.