To the Chinese, Japanese and Koreans, the bottle gourd (or calabash) is an auspicious symbol. They believe that the bottle-gourd symbolizes heaven and earth, hence the universe. In olden days and even now, gourds or wu lou are magical objects that can be used to overcome malevolent forces.
Last year, one of the teachers of my school planted the calabash plant in the Herb Garden of the school and it bore a lot of gourds. So much so that everyone was fascinated with the bottle shaped gourds and it even attracted the attention of visitors who came to my school. This year we have again planted more such plants and hopefully we will be able to harvest the Wu Lou by the end of the year.
Here is more information of the Wu Lou which has become the symbol of health and longevity for the Chinese.
A plant belonging to the cucurbitacea family. The species with the narrow-waisted fruit is applied for medicinal use.
Usage
In Healing
Constituents : The medicinal part contains glucose, pentosan, lignin and shikimic acid. White raw fruit contains carrotene and some vitamins.
Action : It is mainly applied as a diuretic and a remedy for dribbling urination. In traditional Chinese medicine, it is also applied in edema, flatulence and jaundice. Calabash is cold in nature and so people with a physical constitution of cold nature should not consume it. It is also used in hypertension.
Action : It is mainly applied as a diuretic and a remedy for dribbling urination. In traditional Chinese medicine, it is also applied in edema, flatulence and jaundice. Calabash is cold in nature and so people with a physical constitution of cold nature should not consume it. It is also used in hypertension.
In ancient China, the folk doctors used to hang up a dry calabash fruit outside their dispensaries as a symbol due to its special and attractive appearance. Even the traditional doctors and others in the medical sector used it as a professional symbol. In the old days the doctors would carry medicine inside so it has fabled properties for healing.
In Feng Shui
The hulu is believed to absorb negative earth-based qi (energy) that would otherwise affect health. Dried calabash is also used as containers of liquids, often liquors or medicine. It is a symbol of the Xian immortals.
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