When children accidentally cut their hands, their parents or doctors will cover the wound with a Band-Aid to stop the bleeding. Why is a Band-Aid so efficacious against bleeding? The answer can be found in the use of Yunnan Baiyao as an ingredient in the bandage. Yunnan Baiyao is a white-coloured traditional Chinese medicine that is excellent for stopping bleeding.
The discovery of Yunnan Baiyao is closely connected with a story concerning a tiger.
During the Guangxu Period (1875-1908) of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), there was a doctor named Qu Huanzhang who lived in a small village. He gathered herbs in the mountains. One day, when Qu Huanzhang had finished his herb gathering, dark had fallen. On his way home, he suddenly was confronted with a large tiger hiding in the grass. It was too late to run. Thinking quickly, Qu Huanzhang lifted a big stone and threw it at the tiger. Luckily for him, he hit the tiger a hard blow and the beast was knocked to the ground. It struggled for a while and finally lay there still. To ensure it was dead, Qu Huanzhang poked its head with a stick. The tiger remained motionless. It was late and the tiger was too heavy to carry. He planned to ask his friends to come and help him carry the tiger back the next day.
Next day, Qu Huanzhang, together with his friends, walked to the place where the tiger had fallen only to find it completely empty. The tiger had gone. He realized the tiger must have been still alive. They followed the bloodstains left by the tiger and tried to find out where it had got to. Qu Huanzhang noticed some grass that has been chewed by the tiger. He wondered why a tiger -a carnivorous animal -would ate grass. As a doctor, instinct told him that the tiger was seeking some medicinal benefit by eating this grass. He decided to collect some samples. While the others were still searching the mountain, he started to study the grass at home. He carried out lots of experiments and discovered that the grass had magical curative effective against wounds and trauma. He continued his research until finally Yunnan Baiyao came into being in 1908.
