It was said that a couple of brothers were planning on going hunting in the mountain. The elders said to them, "It is late autumn and winter is coming. If the pathway is blocked by the snowstorm, you will not find the way to go back."
As the saying goes, "Newborn calves are not afraid of tigers." In spite of the persuasion of the elders, the brothers went into the mountain with their bows and arrows as well as fur coating and solid food.
Several day had passed and they hunted a lot of wild animals.
But it suddenly blew hard and snowed in great flakes one afternoon. It had snowed for two days and all the pathways were covered with snow. As a result the brothers couldn't find way going back.
They had to take shelter from snowstorm in a cave.
There were several big trees in the cave. One of them had been dead and it had been rotten in the center. So the brothers emptied the center of the tree and made a big hole.
They made a fire in the hole and roasted the wild animals and warm themselves as well. So they had a residence.
Hence, they went hunting in fine day. In order to save food, they dug the root of weeds as well. The found a kind of vine of which the root was of the arm-thick and somewhat like a man. It tasted sweet. The older brother said, "It's sure that the root will benefit our health."
So, they dug a lot of the roots and pile them in the hole. After taking the root, they felt full of energy. But it caused nose bleeding if having too many of the roots. So they just had a little everyday.
The brothers spent the winter in the cave. It was the beginning of spring and the snow thawed. So the brothers went back with a lot of quarries.
The villagers thought that the brother had starved to death but the brothers come back and were stronger than before.
"What have you had in the mountain that make you stronger than before?" the villagers asked them.
The brothers showed them the roots. "Ah, isn't it like a man?" the villagers were very curious.
Since then people called it "Ren-shen", i.e., ginsen
1、从前，有兄弟俩要上山打猎。老年人劝告他们说：“现在已是深秋，马上就入冬了，山里的气候，说变就变。要是让暴风雪把山封住，你们就出不了山啦!”
2、俗话说“初生牛犊不怕虎”，哥儿俩根本听不进老人的话。他们带上弓箭、皮衣和干粮，上山去了。
3、一连几天，他们打了许多野兽。
4、有一天下午，天气突然变坏了，狂风大作，雪片纷飞。这雪一直下了两天两夜，把山路全覆盖了，兄弟二人果然没法出山。
5、他俩只好找了个树木茂密的山窝躲避，想等风雪过去再说。
6、山窝里长着几棵数十丈高的大树，树干非常粗。其中有一棵已经老死，树心枯烂成灰。兄弟俩把树心掏空，掏成一个很大的树洞。
7、他们在里边架起一堆柴火，一边烧烤獐狍鹿兔，一边烤火取暖——就这样有了人住处。
8、从此，天晴时两人就出去打猎。为了节省吃食，他们又在四周挖些草根当粮食。他们发现一种手指粗的藤秸，挖出来一看，根子有胳膊粗。这东西形状象人——根须伸展着，象人的胳膊和腿，放进嘴里一尝，甜津津的。哥哥说：“甜的是益草。”
9、两人就挖了很多，堆满半个树洞。吃了这种东西，他们感到浑身更有力气了。可是，有一回吃多了些，鼻子直冒血。从此，他们不敢多吃，每天只吃一点儿。
10、白天打猎，夜宿树洞——兄弟俩就这样在山里待了一冬天。直到第二年开春，风停雪化，两个人才满载着猎物下山回家。
11、村里的人以为这哥儿俩冻不死也得饿死了呢，一见他们又白又胖地回来了，都奇怪地问：
“你们还活着？”
“这不是好好的吗!”
“你们在山里吃了什么好东西，长得这么结实？”
弟兄俩拿出好象长着胳膊和腿似的草根，给大家看。大伙从来没见过这东西，都说：
“哎呀，看它长得多象人。这是人……是人……人呀!”
12、后来，传来传去，就把这种东西叫成了“人参”。这就是“人参”得名的来历。
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