Some of the earliest written references to Cannabis involve the mythical Emperor Shen Nong, who is said to have lived around 2700BC and is considered the father of Chinese medicine.
Legends say he sampled 365 herbs — including cannabis — to test their effects as a way of teaching people to be self-sufficient. (He is also said to have died from eating a plant that made his intestines rupture before he could take an antidote).
Shen Nong — which means divine farmer — is credited with creating Chinese agriculture by inventing the ox yoke, the plow and the axe, as well as irrigation and the storage of seeds. He is also said to have discovered tea — which he named cha — after leaves from a tree blew into a pot of boiling water, producing a pleasant smell.
Drinking it gave him a warm feeling that also felt as though spirits were exploring his body, so he chose the character cha, which means to examine or investigate.
There’s no physical evidence of Shen Nong’s existence and whether he was an actual person is a matter of debate as the legend also says he was conceived when his mother inhaled the vapour of a dragon and was born with a transparent stomach, allowing him to see the effects of eating herbs.
Our knowledge of Shen Nong comes from writings that date to around 50BC that were based on oral tradition. These were eventually compiled into the Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing (some 2000 years after Shen Nong is said to have lived), which translates roughly to: The Divine Farmer's Book of Herbs.
It says seeds from the Cannabis plant — which was called Ma or DaMa — are good for gaining weight and improving blood flow and energy.
But eating too much, Shen Nong warned, “may make one behold ghosts and frenetically run about.”
Cannabis was still mainly used as a textile and food source but burial cairns found in modern-day western China that date to around 2500BC had ash residue that tested positive for THC.
This would be what we know today as Cannabis Sativa.