In the traditional Chinese culture, based on personal experience, the ancients had their own unique understanding of water:
The ancients said: “Food is the first necessity of the people. Food comes first. "Medicinal supplements are not as good as food supplements, and food supplements are not as good as water supplements."
When they created the word, "drink" comes first, and "food supplements" come first. "In the end, "drink" is more important than "eat".
People can survive for several weeks without food; but without water, they will die of dehydration after 3 days.
Water, metal, wood, water, fire and earth, the mother of the five elements. Water is the "dragon vein" of the mountain. When ancient people chose a place to build a village, they usually used water inlets. They believed that water can make money and gather wealth, and water inlets determine the feng shui of a village.
The three states of water (liquid, solid, and gas) were the earliest objects of study of natural laws by ancient Chinese. There is a saying in "The Analects of Confucius" that "a wise man loves water". Confucius believed that smart people like water and that man and nature are one.
The pre-Qin work "Lu Shi Chun Qiu" first proposed the sports health concept of "running water does not rot". Flowing water is living water. A cup of good, moving, vital water will not change in flavor or deteriorate no matter how long it is left. However, a "stagnant water" will become rotten and smelly.
Compendium of Materia Medica written by Li Shizhen, a great medical scientist in the Ming Dynasty, is an immortal masterpiece of ancient Chinese medical culture. People often only know that it contains records of medicines. In fact, water is also medicine, and the first chapter of the book is about water. Of the contents, the Ministry of Water ranks first among the 16. The book describes the names, smells and indications of "dew", "solar terms water", "well spring water", "sweet spring", etc. For example, "solar water", according to Li Shizhen's explanation, "is the climate of heaven and earth", which is the natural water of the twenty-four solar terms, such as Beginning of Spring Water, Qingming Water, etc. He believes that "well spring water" can be divided into several categories due to different sources. Among them, water from underground springs has the best quality.
Li Shizhen said: "Water is the source of all things, and soil is the mother of all things." He believes that people's diet is resourced from water and soil, and diet is the lifeblood of life. Therefore, one should concentrate on understanding the nature and taste of water, that is, its flow, stop, coldness, temperature, density, sweetness, and bitterness, etc.
The water source of Nongfu Spring is: "the source of Qiandao Lake's living water". The so-called "living water at the source" comes from this popular poem written by Zhu Xi, a scholar in the Song Dynasty, on the Xin'an River: "As soon as the half-acre square pond is opened, the skylight and cloud shadows are lingering. Ask the canal how clear it is, why? Living water comes from the source.”
Water nourishes people. As the saying goes, "The soil and water support the people." What kind of water breeds what kind of person. The ancients used water as a mirror. Water is the mirror of the human heart. Human nature and spirit vary according to the different conditions of water. It is water that shapes people. Water quality is actually inevitably related to beauty. Some people think that the kings of all ages who chose beauty from Suzhou and Hangzhou actually chose water. Xi Shi later became the synonym for beauty. She was born by the gurgling stream of the beautiful Guyue landscape.