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I find the word "simplistic" insulting unless you're using the word in error and do not mean to be judgmental. Otherwise, interesting.

hey Eliz, I use the word "simplistic" not to be judgemental, but in reference to how the workings of TCM can sometimes seem arbitrary (I mean, seriously... if the food looks like the body part, it must be good for it?!) to the average layperson not learned in TCM =p
Having said that, I stand in awe of the thousands of years of knowledge that form the basis of traditional medicine (Chinese, Korean, Ayurvedic, etc.). Many of the traditional cures have been backed up by science, and complimentary medicine (a judicious mix of Western and traditional) is a burgeoning field. In Asia however, there is a real problem among the older generation of not wanting to take Western medicine for life-threatening illnesses like cancer. I have witnessed family members waste away while refusing to accept "Western treatment," and would always advocate the making of informed decisions.

Thank you for responding. I trust your intentions were primarily to inform and entertain rather than to mock. Still, if your friend actually used the word "simplistic", he was being judgmental; the word always has pejorative connotations.

The idea that a sea cucumber might serve as an aphrodisiac--or EDT--seems hardly arbitrary given both its shape and the properties the organism shares with the genitals of aroused men.

Rather, the medicinal tradition you report is associative in nature.

Chinese traditional medicine is not alone in this regard. De Materia medicae is the Latin name of an ancient text written by the Greek physician Dioscorides that was copied and richly illustrated by medieval artists in Byzantium and the Islamic world. Christians saw in the botanical images of the blackberry what Dioscorides did not: the Burning Bush of Moses--by virtue of resemblance--and Mary, given theological practice of seeing the Old Testament fulfilled in the New. Thus, the plant no longer was viewed merely as a cure for diarrhea, etc. and given its link to Christ's mother, a stress was placed on its ability to stem the bleeding of women.

Since I am neither a medical doctor nor a herbalist, I don't know how many of the 1st-century beliefs persist in modern medicine or folk remedies. However, I doubt many surgeons are able to cite Dioscorides since his treatise is no longer of great cultural significance and we can relegate it to the past, treating it as a historical document rather than superstition.

I wonder how old the beliefs about the restorative properties of sea cucumbers are and what factors we might point to in understanding their persistence.

If my phallus ever looks like that I'm cutting it off myself. That's not a healthy look.