Ben Cao Gang Mu, Volume III: Mountain Herbs, Fragrant Herbs 9780520385023

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Ben Cao Gang Mu, Volume III: Mountain Herbs, Fragrant Herbs by Li Shizhen

The Ben Cao Gang Mu Series The complete Chinese text translated and annotated by Paul U. Unschuld Vol. I.

Ch. 1 – 4. Introduction, History, Pharmacology, Diseases and Suitable Pharmaceutical Drugs

Vol. II.

Ch. 5 – 11. Waters, Fires, Soils, Metals, Jades, Stones, Minerals, Salts

Vol. III.

Ch. 12 – 14. Mountain Herbs, Fragrant Herbs

Vol. IV.

Ch. 15 – 17. Marshland Herbs, Poisonous Herbs

Vol. V.

Ch. 18 – 25. Creeping Herbs, Water Herbs, Herbs Growing on Stones, Mosses, Cereals

Vol. VI.

Ch. 26 – 33. Vegetables, Fruits

Vol. VII.

Ch. 34 – 37. Woods

Vol. VIII. Ch. 38 – 46. Clothes, Utensils, Worms, Insects, Amphibians, Animals with Scales, Animals with Shells Vol. IX.

Ch. 47 – 52. Fowls, Domestic & Wild Animals, Human Substances Tools

The Dictionary of the Ben Cao Gang Mu Vol. I.

Chinese Historical Illness Terminology

Vol. II.

Geographical and Administrative Designations

Vol. III.

Persons and Literary Sources

Vol. IV.

Substance Identification

Ben Cao Gang Mu, Volume III: Mountain Herbs, Fragrant Herbs by Li Shizhen

16th Century Chinese Encyclopedia of Materia Medica and Natural History

The complete Chinese text translated and annotated by Paul U. Unschuld

university of california press

The generous financial support of the Ben cao gang mu translation project and of the publication of the resulting volumes by Mr. Rong Yumin 荣裕民 is gratefully acknowledged.

University of California Press Oakland, California © 2022 by Paul U. Unschuld Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress. Library of Congress Control Number: 2020946743 ISBN 978-0-520-38501-6 (cloth : alk. paper) ISBN 978-0-520-38502-3 (ebook) Manufactured in the United States of America 31 30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22

CONTENTS 1.

Prolegomena

1.2

Structure and contents of the Ben cao gang mu

1.1

/

7

History of Chinese materia medica literature

1.3

Biographical sketch of Li Shizhen (1518 – 1593)

3.

Wang Shizhen’s preface of 1590

2.

4.

Notes on the Translation

/

23

/

/

7 /

11

21

27

Translation of the Ben Cao Gang Mu 本草綱目 Chapters 12 - 14 / 31 Herbs I, Mountain Herbs, Chapter 12 Contents / 34 Entries / 36

5.

/

/

31

Herbs II, Mountain Herbs, Chapter 13 Contents / 272 Entries / 274

/

272

Herbs III, Fragrant Herbs, Chapter 14 Contents / 455 Entries / 458

/

455

Appendix / Weights and measures / 720

5.1 Measures of capacity 5.2 Measures of weight

/

/

720

720

5.3 Measures of length

/

721

6.

/

722

5.4 Measures of the size of pills Lists of Substances

720

/

721

6.1 Identification of pharmaceutical substances of plant origin mentioned

6

The Ben Cao Gang Mu in BCGM ch. 12 - 14 in passing. Herbs with an entry of their own are marked with their entry number / 722

6.2 Substances discussed in chapters 12 – 14 in a separate entry. Listed in alphabetical order of their proper pin yin names with their popular English names and references to their entry / 743

6.3 Currently accepted scientific identification of substances discussed in BCGM ch. 12 – 14 in a separate entry. Listed in alphabetical order, with reference to their entry / 748

1. Prolegomena This book offers, together with the original Chinese text, the first complete philological and annotated English translation of chapters 12 through 14 of the Ben cao gang mu 本草綱目, the 16th century Chinese Encyclopedia of Materia Medica and Natural History by Li Shizhen 李時珍 (1518 – 1593), devoted to the natural history and pharmaceutical application of what were considered at the time “mountain herbs” and “fragrant herbs.” It opens up an almost two-millennia-long panorama of wide-ranging observations and sophisticated interpretations, ingenious manipulations and practical applications of natural substances for the benefit of human health. As Prof. Zheng Jinsheng 郑金生, the pre-eminent Ben cao gang mu expert of present day China, has characterized it: “Some of the pharmaceutical substances gathered in this book have already left the platform of their clinical application. However, the data associated with them offer abundant material to study the customs of the people and the culture of the past. While he gathered data related to pharmaceutical substances, Li Shizhen never hesitated to extend his investigations and collection to all possible realms. That is, while [the Ben cao gang mu] appears to be a book on materia medica, it is in fact an encyclopedia of natural science and has become a treasure house for today’s researchers of many fields of science.” 1

1.1 History of Chinese materia medica literature The Ben cao gang mu is the culmination of a 1600-year history of Chinese materia medica literature. This history began at some time during the Han dynasties when, between the 2nd century BCE and the 2nd century CE, two hitherto in China undocumented genres of medical-therapeutic works appeared. Stimulated by impulses whose origin and nature remain enigmatic today, the new therapeutic approach of 1 Zheng Jinsheng 郑金生 and Zhang Zhibin 张志斌, Ben cao gang mu dao du 本草綱目 导读, “Guide to Reading the Ben cao gang mu,” Beijing, Ke xue chu ban she 科學出版社, 2016, 35.

8

The Ben Cao Gang Mu

needling 365 “holes” spread over the human body, on the one hand, and a first detailed description of 365 individual pharmaceutical substances on the other, marked the onset of two traditions of health care. They conceptually remained separate for one thousand years. Why the number of days in a solar year, 365 – rather unusual in the history of Chinese categorization of natural phenomena – was chosen as a starting point of both traditions is unclear. Needling therapy, or so-called acupuncture, remained an isolated facet of Chinese medical culture until the 11th/12th century. Its seminal texts, the Yellow Thearch classics,2 were either lost during the first millennium or survived only through a rather tenuous tradition, supported by a few members of the social elite.3 Apparently, the Yinyang and Five Phases doctrines of systematic correspondences, which legitimated and guided needle therapy from its beginning, failed to achieve the status of a world view widely acknowledged by broad segments of the population. In contrast, pharmaceutical therapy, as evidenced by published recipe collections and works focusing on the description of individual substances, constituted the mainstay of medical practice from the first millennium to the present day. Since the early 1970s, recipe manuscripts with data on the therapeutic properties of combinations of herbal, mineral and animal substances have been recovered from late Zhou and early Han era tombs.4 The list of therapeutic indications and a highly developed pharmaceutical technology outlined in these texts evidence a long development of pharmaceutical therapy prior to the compilation of works with descriptions of the properties of individual substances. The earliest of these works known is the Shen nong ben cao 神農本草, “Shen nong’s materia medica.” Historians agree that it was written at some time between the 1st century BCE and the 1st century CE.5 Even though at that time Chinese civilization recognized and documented in bibliographies and catalogues individual authorship of literary works, the authors of the seminal texts of both the needling and the pharmaceutical traditions remained 2 Including the Huang Di nei jing su wen 黄帝內經素問, Huang di nei jing ling shu 黄帝 內經靈樞, and a late sequel, the Nan jing 難經. For philological translations of these classics, see Paul U. Unschuld and Hermann Tessenow, Huang Di Nei Jing Su Wen. An Annotated Translation of Huang Di’s Inner Classic, 2 vols. University of California Press, Berkeley and Los Angeles, 2011. Paul U. Unschuld, Huang Di Nei Jing Ling Shu. The Ancient Classic on Needle Therapy. University of California Press, Oakland, 2016. Paul U. Unschuld, Nan jing. The Classic of Difficult Issues. Oakland 2016. 3 Paul U. Unschuld, 2016, 1 – 4.

4 Donald Harper, Early Chinese Medical Literature. The Mawangdui Medical Manuscripts. Kegan Paul International, London and New York, 1997. 5

For details on the Shen nong ben cao and the subsequent history of Chinese materia medica literature, see Paul U. Unschuld, Medicine in China. A History of Pharmaceutics. Berkeley, Los Angeles, London, 1986.



Prolegomena

9

anonymous. Their origins were traced to legendary culture heros, that is, Huang Di 黃帝, the Yellow Thearch, and Shen Nong 神農, the divine husbandman. Shen Nong, also known as Yan Di 炎帝, the Fiery Thearch, was said in the Huai nan zi 淮南子 to have pitied the suffering of mankind. Hence he tasted all kinds of herbs and “discovered 100 with poison per day.” From the very beginning, for a natural substance “to have poison” (you du 有毒) or “to be nonpoisonous” (wu du 無毒) was seen as an important criterion for assessing its acute or long-term therapeutic potential. The Shen nong ben cao, closely associated with the tripartite world view of Dong Zhongshu 董仲舒 (179 – 104) and a political structure antagonistic to the hierarchy of the young empire, distinguished among three “ranks” (pin 品) of pharmaceutical substances. The upper rank, associated with heaven, included substances identified as jun 君, “rulers.” These were considered nonpoisonous and capable of helping extend life. A lower rank, associated with the earth, was assigned to substances “with poison.” These were given the status of zuo 佐 and shi 使, that is, “helpers” and “messengers,” and they helped eliminate the disease. A middle rank of chen 臣, “officials,” associated with mankind, was positioned between the upper and lower ranks. Some of these “officials” were considered “nonpoisonous,” while others were known to “have poison.” They acted as intermediaries between the rulers above and their helpers and messengers below. The substances described, arranged according to a preface into groups of 120, 120 and 125 respectively,6 were mostly herbal. This may be the reason behind the naming of the first materia medica work and henceforth the entire literature genre ben cao 本草, which possibly meant “based on herbs.” Tao Hongjing 陶弘景 (452-536), a Daoist naturalist, was the first author to revise and expand the “original classic,” Ben jing 本經, as he called the Shen nong ben cao. In a first work, titled Shen nong ben cao jing 神農本草經, “Shen nong’s classic on materia medica,” he retained the original division into three chapters, but added 365 “additional records [on pharmaceutical substances recorded earlier] by renowned physicians,” ming yi bie lu 明醫別錄. In a second work shortly thereafter, the Shen nong ben cao jing ji zhu 神農本草經集注, “Various annotations to Shen nong’s classic on materia medica,” Tao Hongjing significantly expanded his annotations to the 730 substances listed and divided the text into seven chapters. Tao Hongjing initiated a “main tradition” of ben cao works, which would be continued by subsequent authors until the early 13th century. This tradition was characterized by an expansion of the “original classic” with ever more data on the nature, 6 The Shen nong ben cao versions accessible today are based on reconstructions by Chinese and Japanese researchers since the 17th century. They have identified 141 substances as “upper rank,” 111 substances as “middle rank,” and 103 substances as “lower rank,” totaling 365.

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The Ben Cao Gang Mu

origin, therapeutic effects and pharmaceutical processing of natural and man-made substances. This data was often adopted from an increasing number of materia medica works published outside of the main tradition whose authors did not feel committed to the structure and contents of the Ben jing. They focused on regional knowledge, their own experience, substances used as both medication and food, substances enabling survival in times of famine, pharmaceutical processing and other such special aspects of pharmaceutical lore. In the middle of the seventh century, an official named Su Jing 蘇敬 (fl. 657) suggested that the emperor support a new edition of the “original classic” to correct older data regarded since as erroneous, and include more recent knowledge of the therapeutic potential of natural substances. The result, the Xin xiu ben cao 新修本草, “Newly revised materia medica,” of 659, combining 850 substance entries in 54 chapters, was the first government-sponsored and illustrated ben cao work in China. The main tradition came to a halt in the 13th century for at least two reasons. The lengthy title of one of the final works of this tradition, published in 1249 and describing 1746 substances in 30 chapters, offers a clear indication of one of these reasons: Chong xiu zheng he jing shi zheng lei bei yong ben cao 重修正和經史證類 備用本草, “Newly revised materia medica of the zheng he reign period, based on data from the classics and historical annals, based on evidence and ordered on the basis of groups, prepared for clinical application.” The main tradition was stifled by the abundance of its data and the perpetuation of its claim to be merely extending the original classic. The last works were extremely unwieldy. More recent data was added to previous statements, without comments on contradictions or earlier errors. Readers were left abandoned with ever longer sequences of quotes from a wide range of sources of varying quality. We see a second reason for the end of the main tradition in a completely new genre of materia medica texts initiated by Kou Zongshi’s 寇宗奭 Ben cao yan yi 本草衍意, “Extended ideas on materia medica,” in 1119 and exemplified by Wang Haogu’s 王好古 Tang ye ben cao 湯液本草, “Materia medica of decoctions” in the mid 13th century. With the rise of Song Neo-Confucianism, the more than one-millennium-old schism was bridged between the therapeutic approaches of needling and pharmaceutical therapy. Needling, i.e. acupuncture, was based on the Yinyang and Five Phases doctrines of systematic correspondences. Ben cao literature and recipe collections were based on empirical knowledge and magic correspondences. The convergence of these two separate approaches resulted in a first pharmacology of systematic correspondences. Authors committed to this new perspective categorized each pharmaceutical substance according to its presumed association with certain kinds of flavor and qi. As these kinds of flavor and qi were associated, in turn,



Prolegomena

11

with certain yin and yang qualities, as well as with the Five Phases, a link appeared possible to pathologies also defined in terms of yin and yang and the Five Phases. The main tradition was unable to integrate the ideas published by the various authors of the so-called Song-Jin-Yuan epoch of ben cao literature. As a result, the publication of comprehensive materia medica texts ended. Each of these works claimed to offer all available pharmaceutical knowledge, old and new. It was only three centuries later, in the 16th century, that two authors introduced a new structure to the contents of comprehensive materia medica works, leading to a brief revival of the tradition. The first result was the Yu zhi ben cao pin hui jing yao 御製本草品彙精要, “Materia medica, written on imperial order, containing essential data arranged in systematic order,” in 1505. The second and more successful of these newer ben cao works was the Ben cao gang mu 本草綱目 of 1593 compiled by Li Shizhen 李時珍 (1518-1593).

1.2 Structure and contents of the Ben cao gang mu It is not known whether Li Shizhen saw the Yu zhi ben cao pin hui jing yao before he set out to compile the Ben cao gang mu. In his own personal interest, Qiu Jun 邱 濬 (1420 – 1495), a scholar official, had devised a scheme to overcome the unwieldy nature of the final texts of the main tradition of ben cao literature. By restructuring the individual substance monographs, he removed the decisive obstacle to practical use of the ben cao texts. He dismissed the idea that newer ben cao works were mere emendations of the “original classic,” with whatever new knowledge had become available being added to the substance of earlier works. Qiu Jun divided each monograph in accordance with 13 characteristics of individual substances that he extracted from former texts.7 As a result, a reader interested in the origin, the pharmaceutical processing or the therapeutic indications of a particular substance found relevant data collected under a respective heading. To find the information they sought, users of the new text were no longer required to read through all the historical layers that had accrued among the texts of the main tradition of ben cao works. Qiu Jun died when he had finished writing only one chapter. After hectic intrigue and conflicts of interest, Liu Wentai 劉文泰 (fl. 1503), an official in the Imperial Medical Office, and a team of collaborators were ordered by Emperor Xiao zong 孝宗 (1470 – 1505) in 1503 “to prepare a new ben cao edition, to simplify the consultation of these works.” They took over the structural proposals of Qiu Jun but expanded the number of subheadings of each substance monograph from 13 to 24. 7 Paul U. Unschuld, 1986, 140-141.



Prolegomena

11

with certain yin and yang qualities, as well as with the Five Phases, a link appeared possible to pathologies also defined in terms of yin and yang and the Five Phases. The main tradition was unable to integrate the ideas published by the various authors of the so-called Song-Jin-Yuan epoch of ben cao literature. As a result, the publication of comprehensive materia medica texts ended. Each of these works claimed to offer all available pharmaceutical knowledge, old and new. It was only three centuries later, in the 16th century, that two authors introduced a new structure to the contents of comprehensive materia medica works, leading to a brief revival of the tradition. The first result was the Yu zhi ben cao pin hui jing yao 御製本草品彙精要, “Materia medica, written on imperial order, containing essential data arranged in systematic order,” in 1505. The second and more successful of these newer ben cao works was the Ben cao gang mu 本草綱目 of 1593 compiled by Li Shizhen 李時珍 (1518-1593).

1.2 Structure and contents of the Ben cao gang mu It is not known whether Li Shizhen saw the Yu zhi ben cao pin hui jing yao before he set out to compile the Ben cao gang mu. In his own personal interest, Qiu Jun 邱 濬 (1420 – 1495), a scholar official, had devised a scheme to overcome the unwieldy nature of the final texts of the main tradition of ben cao literature. By restructuring the individual substance monographs, he removed the decisive obstacle to practical use of the ben cao texts. He dismissed the idea that newer ben cao works were mere emendations of the “original classic,” with whatever new knowledge had become available being added to the substance of earlier works. Qiu Jun divided each monograph in accordance with 13 characteristics of individual substances that he extracted from former texts.7 As a result, a reader interested in the origin, the pharmaceutical processing or the therapeutic indications of a particular substance found relevant data collected under a respective heading. To find the information they sought, users of the new text were no longer required to read through all the historical layers that had accrued among the texts of the main tradition of ben cao works. Qiu Jun died when he had finished writing only one chapter. After hectic intrigue and conflicts of interest, Liu Wentai 劉文泰 (fl. 1503), an official in the Imperial Medical Office, and a team of collaborators were ordered by Emperor Xiao zong 孝宗 (1470 – 1505) in 1503 “to prepare a new ben cao edition, to simplify the consultation of these works.” They took over the structural proposals of Qiu Jun but expanded the number of subheadings of each substance monograph from 13 to 24. 7 Paul U. Unschuld, 1986, 140-141.

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The Ben Cao Gang Mu

The new work was completed only two years later. Pleased, the emperor personally gave it the title “The Essentials of Materia medica with the Data on Items Arranged According to their Similar Nature, compiled on Imperial Order.” Soon afterward, the emperor died. The manuscript was never published, possibly because of the exquisite color illustrations added to each entry. No technology was available in the 16th century to print such a work. Several manuscript copies were prepared and a few have ended up in libraries in Japan, Rome and Berlin. In 1701 a revised and amended version without the illustrations was prepared, by order of Emperor Kang xi 康熙. It was published by Shanghai Commercial Press in 1937.8 Li Shizhen chose a structure for his Ben cao gang mu entries similar to that of the Yu zhi ben cao pin hui jing yao substance monographs. However, rather than separating the data of each entry into 24 categories, he decided to limit their subheadings, where required, to the following ten: 1.

xiao zheng 校正: Editorial Correction

2.

shi ming 釋名: Explanation of Names

3.

ji jie 集解:

Collected Explanations

4.

xiu zhi 脩治:

Pharmaceutical Preparation

5.

bian yi 辯疑:

Discussion of Uncertain Issues

6.

zheng wu 正誤: Correction of Errors

7.

qi wei 氣味:

Qi and Flavor

8.

zhu zhi 主治:

Therapeutic Control

9.

fa ming 發明:

Explication

10.

fu fang 附方:

Added Recipes

Li Shizhen also conceptualized a new order of the entries. The “original classic,” within the three groups of “upper,” “middle,” and “lower rank,” had listed substances following their identification as mineral, herbal, and animal-human – i.e. proceeding from dead and immobile to living and immobile, and on to living and mobile substances. A fourth and final group consisted of victuals. Later works of the main tradition omitted the “upper,” “middle,” and “lower rank” divisions, but retained the mineral, herbal, and animal-human classifications. 8 Ibid., 142-143.



Prolegomena

13

Li Shizhen introduced a different order. Based on the sequence of the Five Phases, he began, after four introductory chapters, the subsequent 48 chapters with a list of waters, followed by fires, soils, and metals, which included salts and minerals (chapters 5-11) and then herbal substancs (chapters 12 through 37). Separated by chapter 38, listing “fabrics and utensils,” he then devoted chapters 39 through 50 to animals, ranging from “tiny” to “large,” that is, from worms/bugs through fowl to four-legged creatures. Again separated by a chapter on “strange items,” he eventually reached the pinnacle of his scale, human substances suitable for a medicinal application. In all, Li Shizhen wrote down ca. 1.6 million characters to describe 1892 pharmaceutical substances. The entries in the final 48 chapters were divided into 16 sections, for 13 of which Li Shizhen identified subsections. These serve to point out related items within broader groups such as waters, herbs and worms/bugs. For example, the section on worms/bugs is subdivided into those born from eggs, those generated through transformation, and those originating from moisture. Each section is introduced by a general statement explicating the special nature of the substances grouped in it. Each individual substance is given a heading stating its earliest name documented in pharmaceutical literature and, if this was the “original classic,” the upper, middle or lower rank it had been assigned to. Where required, Li Shizhen began an entry by pointing out a formerly erroneous listing of the substance in question. Whenever he found identical substances listed in previous ben cao works twice under different names, he justified the combination of these names in one entry. The length of documented Chinese pharmaceutical history, the sheer size of the country with its many regional cultures and languages, and the different kinds of sources quoted by Li Shizhen led him to list and discuss the names of the substances he described. Not infrequently, Li Shizhen saw a need to explain different names in the North and South of China assigned to an identical substance. For example, in chapter 09, he went into an extensive discussion to end an apparently millennia-old confusion concerning the substance gypsum. It was known as shi gao 石膏, “stone fat,” xi li shi 細理石, “finely structured stone/mineral,” and han shui shi 寒水石, “cold water stone/mineral.” Some authors identified it as fang jie shi 方解石, “stone/ mineral that splits into rectangular pieces,” and as chang shi 長石, “lengthy stone/ mineral.” But these names had also been applied to other minerals. Li Shizhen brought all relevant quotes together and eventually offered his conclusion. Li Shizhen titled the relevant subheading shi ming 釋名, “Explanation of Names,” because he went beyond simply enumerating alternative names. Wherever possible he added philological explanations taking into account, for example, local dialects

14

The Ben Cao Gang Mu

and the composition of characters. Substances imported from foreign countries often were given names in China transcribing the pronunciation of their original foreign pronunciation. Wherever feasible, Li Shizhen included information on the origin of such names, for example, reflecting a Sanskrit term. Furthermore, many names were written with characters possibly unfamiliar to the Ben cao gang mu’s readers. Hence Li Shizhen explained their pronunciation by either adducing homophones or resorting to the split-reading approach. And when he felt at his wits’ end, he freely acknowledged his inability to explain a certain name. While this explanation of names suggests an awareness of certain limits of understanding among future readers and users of the Ben cao gang mu, Li Shizhen rarely explained a central feature of each substance described: its therapeutic indications. The quotes on the ability of substances to “control” disease are taken from sources spanning more than 1500 years. The Ben cao gang mu lists more than 4500 key disease terms; by the time of Li Shizhen, perhaps most of them were still self-explanatory or could be understood by experts from their context. In today’s China, many of the disease names referred to in these quotes are no longer easily understood. Similarly, for readers of the Ben cao gang mu outside China, the therapeutic indications are often given with rather enigmatic disease names written in single, unfamiliar characters or using metaphors that are no longer easily grasped. The first volume of the Dictionary of the Ben cao gang mu traces each of the 4500 disease terms to its earliest appearance. It identifies its meaning in that early context and, where applicable, at the time of Li Shizhen. 9 Another central feature of descriptions of pharmaceutical substances is their place of origin. From early on it was known among Chinese experts that one and the same herb was endowed with different therapeutic powers depending on where it grew in the country. The climate and the nature of the soil varied from North to South and from East to West, and so did the “qi” a plant was exposed to. Hence where considered necessary, substance entries of the Ben cao gang mu include related information. This is mostly comparative, that is, Li Shizhen provided a ranking of the substances from different regions in accordance with the presumed strength of their therapeutic effects. All the dynasties that followed each other during the imperial age regularly rearranged administrative structures. As a consequence, place names and the names of administrative structures were assigned new names. Hardly any location kept one and the same name throughout history. Li Shizhen regularly explained the location in his time of places mentioned in an ancient quote under a 9 See Zhang Zhibin and Paul U. Unschuld, Dictionary of the Ben cao gang mu. Vol. I: Chinese Historical Illness Terminology. University of California Press, Oakland, 2015.



Prolegomena

15

name no longer in use. Today, the current location of even more places can no longer be easily identified by their ancient names. The second volume of the Dictionary of the Ben cao gang mu traces each of the place names and those of administrative structures mentioned in the Ben cao gang mu to their current location. More importantly, the Dictionary offers the history of each name and each administrative structure so that a quote from a specific time period may be compared to the existence of a name and administrative structure at that time. This is of particular relevance if one identical name was given to different locations in the course of history, or if the borders of an administrative structure were moved to a degree that may have had a significant impact on the climate or nature of soil suggested by its name.10 No materia medica text prior to the Ben cao gang mu was based on a comparable range of literary and non-literary material. It should come as no surprise that Li Shizhen exploited the Zheng he ben cao 正和本草 of 1249, the final work of the former main tradition of ben cao works, as his major source. Apparently, Li Shizhen intended to continue this tradition, but he went far beyond it. In a bibliography at the very beginning of the Ben cao gang mu, he listed more than 868 titles he had consulted. The number of titles quoted or mentioned in passing in the main text by far exceeds these 868 texts. Li Shizhen may not have held all of them in original editions in his hands. Many texts were quoted second- or third-hand from quotes in later encyclopedias. In addition to drawing his data from all kinds of literary genres, Li Shizhen personally travelled to places all over the country where he expected to access data available nowhere else. This way, he also was able to record valuable data on substances not mentioned in ben cao literature or publicly documented elsewhere before. For example, san qi 三七, identified today as Gynura segetum (Lour.) Merr., is one of the most common herbs in Chinese medicine. Li Shizhen was the first to learn of its therapeutic potential from “locals,” and introduced it with the following lines: “This medication was discovered for the first time only recently. The people in the South use it in their military as an important medication for wounds caused by metal objects/weapons. It is said to have an extraordinary [therapeutic] potential. It is also said: For all injuries resulting from flogging and blows, when stagnating blood is set free, it should be chewed until it is pulpy. Once this is applied [to the affected region, the bleeding] ends. Greenish swelling is dissolved. If one is to be flogged, let him ingest beforehand one or two qian and

10 See Hua Linfu, Paul D. Buell and Paul U. Unschuld, Dictionary of the Ben cao gang mu. Vol. II: Geographical and Administrative Designations. University of California Press, Oakland, 2017.

16

The Ben Cao Gang Mu

his blood will not rush to his heart. After a flogging it is even more advisable to ingest it. To ingest it after a birth is good, too. Generally speaking, this medication has warm qi and a sweet and slightly bitter flavor. Hence it is a medication for the blood section of the yang brilliance and ceasing yin [conduits] and can serve to cure all kinds of blood diseases, similar to qi lin jie (Daemonorops draco Bl.) and shellac.”11 In this manner the Ben cao gang mu refers to hundreds of texts and their authors, in addition to individuals (including Li Shizhen’s own extended family) unassociated with any literary genre. Many of the persons quoted or referred to as authors, patients, healers or actors in some anecdote have remained nameless to posterity. In bibliographical and biographical reference works today’s readers of the Ben cao gang mu may easily find the more prominent book titles, authors and historical personalities encountered in the Ben cao gang mu. But an identification of numerous titles and many more persons requires extensive research. It is here that one wonders how many collaborators Li Shizhen may have had. Wang Shizhen, the author of a preface to the first edition of the Ben cao gang mu, quotes Li Shizhen verbatim with a statement that he had rewritten the entire manuscript three times12. A question arises here whether he had failed to notice numerous inconsistencies in the references to book titles and authors quoted. Not infrequently, one book is quoted with either its complete title or several different abbreviations. Similarly, one identical author is quoted by his full name, by his first or last name, by his style, or other possible designations. Such diversity appears plausible if one imagines a larger team around Li Shizhen supplying him with data without prior agreement on how to quote a text or refer to a person. If this diversity makes it difficult enough for readers to immediately identify a text or author quoted, the hardship is further aggravated by numerous quotes misleadingly ascribed to source texts they were never part of. Not much later, Zhao Xuemin 趙學敏 (ca. 1730 – 1805), author of the Ben cao gang mu shi yi 本草綱目拾遺, suggested with the title of his book “to make up for omissions in the Ben cao gang mu” not only his intention to list pharmaceutically useful substances Li Shizhen had failed to include. He was also the first to point out 30 substantial errors in the description of substances recorded. In recent years, with a steep rise in Ben cao gang mu research, many more such errors and misleading data have been identified, as for instance in Mei Quanxi’s 梅全喜(1962 - ) Ben cao gang mu bu zheng 本草綱目補正, “Supplementing omissions and correcting errors 11 Ben cao gang mu, chapter 09, entry 09. See also, Zheng Jinsheng 郑金生 and Zhang Zhibin 张志斌, Ben cao gang mu dao du 本草綱目导读, 2016, 175 - 177.

12 See below p.27



Prolegomena

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of the Ben cao gang mu.”13 A comparison of numerous quotes in the Ben cao gang mu with their original sources often enough shows significant divergence. It is not always clear whether these are intentional modifications, perhaps adapting an ancient wording to usages preferred at the time of Li Shizhen, or errors due to careless copying. The third volume of the Dictionary of the Ben cao gang mu, devoted to “Persons and Literary Sources,” offers biographical and bibliographical data on all the texts and persons encountered in Li Shizhen’s encyclopedia, with a few exceptions for sources and people that appear undocumented elsewhere. This volume of the Dictionary includes the different versions of titles and names assigned by Li Shizhen or his collaborators to quotes and anecdotes. It also points out where quotes ascribed in the Ben cao gang mu to a specific text or author originated, in fact, elsewhere. 14 Ever since Tao Hongjing’s Shen nong ben cao jing ji zhu of 500 CE and throughout the history of the main tradition, authors introduced their materia medica works not only with at least one preface to inform readers of their motives, aims and (where relevant) the history of their texts. They also offered more general information associated with the origin, gathering, pharmaceutical processing, contra-indications, synergies and applications of pharmaceutical substances. Here, too, Li Shizhen extended the introductory sections to four voluminous chapters occupying one eighth of the entire text. In chapter one he enumerated 40 earlier ben cao works with brief commentaries by other authors and himself. This list is followed by another, already mentioned above, of all the literary sources he had taken into account, divided into two groups: 277 older and more recently published medical and pharmaceutical works, and 591 classics, historical annals and others. Next, Li Shizhen went into more detail informing readers of all earlier ben cao works he had taken drug descriptions from. Li Shizhen paid homage to the beginning of the main tradition by quoting the preliminary sections of the “original classic, “ including commentaries by Tao Hongjing and others. He eventually switched to the Song-Jin-Yuan understanding of health and pharmaceutical therapy by first quoting a passage from the Huang Di nei jing su wen 黃 帝內經素問 concerning the influence of climatic factors on drugs. This is followed by a section on “The seven ways of compiling a recipe,” with commentaries by the legendary Qi Bo 岐伯, the 8th century commentator of the Su wen Wang Bing 王 冰, and various Song-Jin-Yuan authors. Next is a section on “The effects of the ten kinds of recipes, “ with commentaries by Xu Zhicai 徐之才 (ca. 510 – 590), several 13 Zheng Jinsheng and Zhang Zhibin, 2016, 70.

14 Zheng Jinsheng, Nalini Kirk, Paul D. Buell and Paul U. Unschuld, Dictionary of the Ben cao gang mu, Vol. III: Persons and Literary Sources, University of California Press, Oakland, 2018.

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The Ben Cao Gang Mu

Song-Jin-Yuan authors again and Li Shizhen himself. The first chapter ends with ten treatises on the medical-theoretical teachings of the Song-Jin-Yuan period. Chapter 2 begins with an enumeration of pharmaceutical substances known by up to five alternative names. It continues with an enumeration of pharmaceutical substances according to their reciprocal, synergistic effects when ingested together, an enumeration of foods whose consumption is forbidden during an ingestion of specific pharmaceutical substances, an enumeration of substances that must not be taken by pregnant women, and an enumeration of beverages and foods that must not be consumed together. Also in chapter 2, Li Shizhen quoted from Li Gao 李杲 (1180 – 1251), one of the main authors and theoreticians of the Song-Jin-Yuan era, whose treatise acknowledged that the treatment of certain illnesses escaped theorization. Hence he simply listed certain pathological signs and the pharmaceutical substances suitable for their treatment – without reference to the Yin-Yang and Five Phases doctrines of systematic correspondences. Similarly, the next treatise is an “enumeration of all pharmaceutical substances that, according to Chen Cangqi 陳藏器 (8th century), are used in the treatment of depletions.” From another core theoretician of the Song-Jin-Yuan era, Zhang Zihe 張子和 (1156-1228), Li Shizhen took over the treatise “The three processes of sweating, vomiting and purging.” Chapter 2 ends with a section from a Yao dui 藥對, a work allegedly predating the “original classic,” and the tables of contents of the Ben jing and the Jing shi zheng lei bei ji ben cao 經史證類備急本草 by Tang Shenwei 唐 慎微 (fl.1082), one of the final works of the main tradition, written between 1080 and 1107. Chapters 3 and 4 of the Ben cao gang mu include lists of all diseases, and where necessary a detailed description of their pathological conditions, with the appropriate pharmaceutical substances and information concerning their pharmacological function, preparation and administration. Despite their prominence in chapter 2, the references to the Song-Jin-Yuan doctrines of pharmacology appear isolated. Further hints at their relevance for pharmaceutical therapy are rarely encountered in the Ben cao gang mu. Li Shizhen may have felt it suitable to pay lip service to a development that had lost its creative momentum prior to his lifetime. By the end of the Song-Jin-Yuan era, several authors had suggested combinations of empirical pharmaceutical knowledge with the Yinyang doctrines of systematic correspondences without reaching an agreement on one pharmacology accepted by all. Too many contradictions remained between the assessment of the properties in terms of yin and yang qualities on the one hand and their assumed and observed effects on the human body on the other. Eventually, this development found no further creative naturalists. By the time of Li Shizhen, carry-



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ing through to the very present, a status quo had emerged within which any author interested in a theoretical foundation of pharmaceutical treatment was free to pick from any of the Song-Jin-Yuan authors, whomever he felt or feels appropriate. Li Shizhen’s attitude toward a theoretical legitimation of pharmaceutical therapies may be called fragmented. Only in very few instances did he feel compelled to refer to the preference of a specific substance to enter one or more of the yin and yang conduits. Li Shizhen did not neglect magic argumentation, and he seems to have had a special inclination toward the number seven. It dominates suggestions for the length of periods and number of frequencies of ingestions as well as quantities in which pharmaceutical substances are to be taken. Categorizations of items according to their yin or yang status, or their affiliation with one of the Five Phases, are rarely seen in the Ben cao gang mu. Occasionally Li Shizhen resorts to a concept of cong qi lei 從其類, “group correspondence” to explain correspondences between items and their properties that appear to exist outside the realm of Yinyang and Five Phases correspondences. For example, in chapter 41, entry 16, “cicadas,” he writes: Generally speaking, to cure [diseases affecting] the long-term depots and shortterm repositories, the bodies of cicadas are to be used. To cure dermal sores and ulcers, wind and heat, the nymph shells of cicadas are to be used. This is always based on their group correspondences. Similarly, in chapter 43, entry 19-02, “breficaude pit viper”:

When poisonous items are used to attack poison diseases, then this is always based on their group correspondences.

Perhaps Li Shizhen’s reluctance to support his therapeutic advice with theoretical reasoning may be traced back to a perception of himself as primarily being a practitioner not interested in burdening other practitioners with a request to indulge in the complicated doctrines of systematic correspondences as a precondition of pharmaceutical therapy. If we are right to assume that a central motivation underlying Li Shizhen’s compilation of the Ben cao gang mu was to offer a handy work to a wide public of healers, we then also grasp two more of his encyclopedia’s great innovations. Li Shizhen’s Ben cao gang mu is the first truly inclusive encyclopedia of natural history and pharmacotherapy in China. Nothing comparable existed in the medical literature elsewhere. Ben cao literature had hitherto been dedicated to the description of individual substances. Li Shizhen integrated medical case histories. These are meant to illustrate, more vividly than would have been possible with theoretical statements, the therapeutic potential of certain substances. Medical case histories have been published in China ever since Sima Qian 司馬遷 included examples of

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The Ben Cao Gang Mu

treatments performed by Chunyu Yi 淳於意 (205 – 150 BCE) in the biography of this physician in his Shi ji 史記 of 90 BCE. Beginning with the Yuan dynasty, an increasing number of physicians chose to publish characteristic (and successful) examples of their treatments to propagate their own understanding of medicine and health care.15 Li Shizhen included case histories from his own medical practice and others quoted from earlier collections. In this way, he certainly prevented any suspicion of promoting only his personal interpretation of generally accepted theoretical premises. A common feature of his case histories is the emphasis on flexibility. That is, the flexibility required to sometimes abandon seemingly irrefutable principles and adapt a substance’s application to the specific challenge confronting the healer. An example is his own treatment, recorded in chapter 35, of “an old woman over 60 years old” who had suffered from viscous outflow, i. e., some form of diarrhea, for an extended period of time. No established therapy had been able to end her suffering. Li Shizhen followed a recommendation by the Tang physician Wang Bing 王冰 who had traced viscous outflow to an excessive accumulation of cold. He resorted to croton seeds, known in China as ba dou 巴豆, to counteract the cold responsible for that particular patient’s illness. Since antiquity, though, ba dou had been described in Chinese ben cao literature not only as an extremely “hot” substance but also as one of the most violent purgatives. Li Shizhen had also read the Yuan era author Wang Haogu 王好古, who had pointed out, for the first time, that given an appropriate pharmaceutical processing croton seeds can also be applied to stop diarrhea. Hence Li Shizhen counted on the extreme heat of croton seeds to attack the accumulated cold in the old woman. He treated her with pills prepared with croton seeds and coated with beeswax, and achieved a cure.16 Li Shizhen not only offered examples of his own reading of a patient’s specific needs but also provided details of earlier physicians’ creative approaches to difficult therapeutic situations. The implicit message underlying most such case histories was to promote flexibility rather than stubborn adherence to superficial principles. Hence he praised previous healers for their ingeniously individualized therapies. Li Shizhen was also the first author in the tradition of comprehensive works to combine the genres of ben cao and recipe literature. With very few exceptions, he added to every substance a list of recipes with the information he may have considered essential for its application in actual clinical practice. One or more therapeutic 15 Christopher Cullen, “Yi’an (case statements): the origins of a genre of Chinese medical literature,” in Elisabeth Hsü (ed.), Innovation in Chinese Medicine. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2001, 297-323.

16 Zheng Jinsheng and Zhang Zhibin, 2016, 202 – 206.



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indications, mostly down-to-earth without theoretical embellishment or legitimation, are followed by the recipe’s ingredients with brief data on their raw or processed states. The recipes further include concise data on their preparation, on the external or internal mode of their application and on the number and required time span of their applications. A source is given for each recipe. For each list of recipes added to the entry of a specific substance, Li Shizhen also specifies how many of them were recorded in previous recipe collections and how many he recorded for the first time. The perhaps most notable innovation introduced by Li Shizhen was a transition from earlier ben cao works that had merely propagated alleged facts as statements to an encyclopedia based on argumentation. Li Shizhen was the first to collect in a materia medica work the statements of earlier authors and systematically discuss them in search of what he considered as facts and truth. Earlier writers had contradicted views they failed to agree with. But Li Shizhen made this approach his basic principle. Also, simply contradicting earlier views and statements is not identical with Li Shizhen’s approach of presenting several points of view. He discussed their origins and shortcomings, and eventually decided who is right and who is wrong, or presented his own dissenting perception. This is a ubiquitous principle followed throughout the Ben cao gang mu. It is not the least because of this feature of the Ben cao gang mu that Li Shizhen deserves a most prominent place in the history of Chinese natural science.

1.3 Biographical sketch of Li Shizhen (1518 – 1593) Li Shizhen, style Dongbi 東璧, assumed name Binhu 濒湖, was born in Qi zhou 蕲州, today’s Qi chun county 蘄春縣, province Hu bei 湖北, to a family of physicians. His grandfather is known to have practiced as an itinerant healer. His father, Li Yanwen 李言聞, rose to a more respected class of physicians and was engaged for a while as medical secretary, li mu 吏目, in the Imperial Medical Office. For his therapeutic skills he was praised as Li xian 李仙, “immortal Li.” He is remembered as author of monographs on ginseng [root] and mugwort, a plant used for moxibustion. He also wrote texts on smallpox and pulse diagnosis. Li Shizhen was supposed to rise even higher on the social scale. He was trained to be an official and entered the sequence of government exams. At the age of 14, having studied the Confucian and other classical texts, he passed the county level exams and was granted the degree of xiu cai 秀才, “outstanding talent.” However, even though he continued his studies for the next ten years, he failed to pass exams



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indications, mostly down-to-earth without theoretical embellishment or legitimation, are followed by the recipe’s ingredients with brief data on their raw or processed states. The recipes further include concise data on their preparation, on the external or internal mode of their application and on the number and required time span of their applications. A source is given for each recipe. For each list of recipes added to the entry of a specific substance, Li Shizhen also specifies how many of them were recorded in previous recipe collections and how many he recorded for the first time. The perhaps most notable innovation introduced by Li Shizhen was a transition from earlier ben cao works that had merely propagated alleged facts as statements to an encyclopedia based on argumentation. Li Shizhen was the first to collect in a materia medica work the statements of earlier authors and systematically discuss them in search of what he considered as facts and truth. Earlier writers had contradicted views they failed to agree with. But Li Shizhen made this approach his basic principle. Also, simply contradicting earlier views and statements is not identical with Li Shizhen’s approach of presenting several points of view. He discussed their origins and shortcomings, and eventually decided who is right and who is wrong, or presented his own dissenting perception. This is a ubiquitous principle followed throughout the Ben cao gang mu. It is not the least because of this feature of the Ben cao gang mu that Li Shizhen deserves a most prominent place in the history of Chinese natural science.

1.3 Biographical sketch of Li Shizhen (1518 – 1593) Li Shizhen, style Dongbi 東璧, assumed name Binhu 濒湖, was born in Qi zhou 蕲州, today’s Qi chun county 蘄春縣, province Hu bei 湖北, to a family of physicians. His grandfather is known to have practiced as an itinerant healer. His father, Li Yanwen 李言聞, rose to a more respected class of physicians and was engaged for a while as medical secretary, li mu 吏目, in the Imperial Medical Office. For his therapeutic skills he was praised as Li xian 李仙, “immortal Li.” He is remembered as author of monographs on ginseng [root] and mugwort, a plant used for moxibustion. He also wrote texts on smallpox and pulse diagnosis. Li Shizhen was supposed to rise even higher on the social scale. He was trained to be an official and entered the sequence of government exams. At the age of 14, having studied the Confucian and other classical texts, he passed the county level exams and was granted the degree of xiu cai 秀才, “outstanding talent.” However, even though he continued his studies for the next ten years, he failed to pass exams

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The Ben Cao Gang Mu

on the next higher level and eventually turned to the occupation of his father and grandfather. Over time, based on experience and knowledge learned from his father and his own literate knowledge and dedication to understand the principles underlying natural processes, Li Shizhen became widely known as a competent practitioner. He was invited to noble and other high ranking families and his successful cures in 1543 eventually led to an invitation by the King of Chu 楚, Zhu Xianrong 朱顯 榕,1506 – 1545, a regional prince, to manage his palace medical office. Details of the following years are unclear. We know that Li Shizhen was offered a position in the Imperial Medical Office but returned to his hometown after only a year. The date of this journey to Beijing and the reasons why he left so soon are not known. From the contents of the Ben cao gang mu, though, it is obvious that he returned from the North having accumulated much new knowledge. In Beijing he also encountered practices he considered highly objectionable. Among the elite, a practice was widespread to “cure human ills with human substances,” yi ren bu ren 以人補人. Based on a notion that a reverse flow of menstrual blood left the body as breast milk, practitioners advocated to knead the breasts of child girls until they released some liquid. This liquid was termed pan tao jiu 蟠桃 酒, “flat peach wine,” allegedly an elixir granting immortality. Li Shizhen recorded this practice in chapter 52, entry 15, on “human milk,” clearly condemning it as “deceitful rhetoric to make a profit, aimed at those who are ignorant. It is voiced by fraudulent persons, and punished by royal law. The gentleman is to denounce it.” In Beijing he also learned of the use of opium as an aphrodisiac and considered this as a therapy not to be applied by a proper healer. Back home, in 1552, at the age of 34, Li Shizhen began to compile the Ben cao gang mu. 27 years later, in 1578, he concluded his manuscript. To compile a work of 1.6 million characters, based not only on extensive reading of earlier literature but also on the results of repeated short and long distance travelling, is an enormous achievement. Li Shizhen mentions family members and disciples as assistants, but the size of his team is not known. His achievement is even more astonishing given that during these 27 years he wrote and published several books. Two of these, the Binhu mai xue 濒湖脉學, “[Li] Binhu’s study of vessel movements,” a book on pulse diagnosis, and the Qi jing ba mai kao 奇經八脉考, “Research of the eight extraordinary conduit vessels,” survive to this day. Others, like a collection of his medical cases, Binhu yi an 濒湖醫案, a “collection of [Li] Binhu’s simple to use recipes,” Binhu ji jian fang 濒湖集簡方, and an “illustrated study of the five long-term depots,” Wu zang tu lun 五藏圖論, have been lost as individual texts.



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None of these books became as influential as the Ben cao gang mu. Initially, the completed manuscript of the Ben cao gang mu did not meet enthusiasm either. It took Li Shizhen ten years, knocking at doors here and there, until eventually Hu Chenglong 胡承龍 in Jinling 金陵, today’s Nanjing 南京, Jiangsu province, agreed to print the text. It was published in 1593 with a preface by the famous scholar Wang Shizhen 王世貞 (1526 – 1590) and supplemented by two chapters of 1109 illustrations rather hastily made by his sons Li Jianyuan 李建元 and Li Jianmu 李 建木. Whether Li Shizhen ever saw this “Jinling edition” is not known. He died that same year.17 Today eight complete copies of the first edition and four fragments are known to exist in China, in Japan and in the USA. A second edition, supported by a local government office, was published by Xia Liangxin 夏良心 and Zhang Dingsi 张 鼎思 in neighboring Jiangxi 江西 province in 1603. Even though some errors crept into the text, the print and the illustrations were executed excellently. The widespread dissemination and the fame of the Ben cao gang mu began with this “Jiangxi edition.”18 In 2011, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) certified the inscription of the Ben cao gang mu on the Memory of the World International Register.

2. Notes on the translation This translation of chapters 12-14 of the Ben cao gang mu is based on a most remarkable critical edition of the text prepared and published by Zheng Jinsheng 郑金 生 and Zhang Zhibin 张志斌. Zheng Jinsheng and Zhang Zhibin have traced all quotes to their original source text. Wherever the first 1593 Jinling print of the Ben cao gang mu differed from the original texts because of intentional abbreviations, they have added a note with the original wording. Divergences interpreted as unintended errors, such as omissions or mistakenly written single characters, as well as erroneous ascriptions of quotes to original texts and authors, were corrected in the main text with a note added to explain such modifications. The complete text of chapters 12 - 14 presented here together with its translation includes these cor17 Ibid., 3 – 7.

18 Ibid. 230. For a most detailed scholarly account of Li Shizhen’s life and the further history of the Ben cao gang mu, see Wang Jian 王剑梅全喜 and Mei Quanxi 梅全喜, Li Shizhen Ben cao gang mu, 500 nian da shi nian pu 李时珍本草纲目500年大事年谱, “Li Shizhen’s Ben cao gang mu – a chronicle of related major events of the past 500 years,” Ren min wei sheng chu ban she 人民衛生出版社, Beijing, 2018.



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None of these books became as influential as the Ben cao gang mu. Initially, the completed manuscript of the Ben cao gang mu did not meet enthusiasm either. It took Li Shizhen ten years, knocking at doors here and there, until eventually Hu Chenglong 胡承龍 in Jinling 金陵, today’s Nanjing 南京, Jiangsu province, agreed to print the text. It was published in 1593 with a preface by the famous scholar Wang Shizhen 王世貞 (1526 – 1590) and supplemented by two chapters of 1109 illustrations rather hastily made by his sons Li Jianyuan 李建元 and Li Jianmu 李 建木. Whether Li Shizhen ever saw this “Jinling edition” is not known. He died that same year.17 Today eight complete copies of the first edition and four fragments are known to exist in China, in Japan and in the USA. A second edition, supported by a local government office, was published by Xia Liangxin 夏良心 and Zhang Dingsi 张 鼎思 in neighboring Jiangxi 江西 province in 1603. Even though some errors crept into the text, the print and the illustrations were executed excellently. The widespread dissemination and the fame of the Ben cao gang mu began with this “Jiangxi edition.”18 In 2011, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) certified the inscription of the Ben cao gang mu on the Memory of the World International Register.

2. Notes on the translation This translation of chapters 12-14 of the Ben cao gang mu is based on a most remarkable critical edition of the text prepared and published by Zheng Jinsheng 郑金 生 and Zhang Zhibin 张志斌. Zheng Jinsheng and Zhang Zhibin have traced all quotes to their original source text. Wherever the first 1593 Jinling print of the Ben cao gang mu differed from the original texts because of intentional abbreviations, they have added a note with the original wording. Divergences interpreted as unintended errors, such as omissions or mistakenly written single characters, as well as erroneous ascriptions of quotes to original texts and authors, were corrected in the main text with a note added to explain such modifications. The complete text of chapters 12 - 14 presented here together with its translation includes these cor17 Ibid., 3 – 7.

18 Ibid. 230. For a most detailed scholarly account of Li Shizhen’s life and the further history of the Ben cao gang mu, see Wang Jian 王剑梅全喜 and Mei Quanxi 梅全喜, Li Shizhen Ben cao gang mu, 500 nian da shi nian pu 李时珍本草纲目500年大事年谱, “Li Shizhen’s Ben cao gang mu – a chronicle of related major events of the past 500 years,” Ren min wei sheng chu ban she 人民衛生出版社, Beijing, 2018.

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rections. Readers interested in all the details, both of the errors corrected and the original wordings that were abbreviated or otherwise modified by Li Shizhen and his collaborators, are advised to consult the text critical edition by Zheng Jinsheng and Zhang Zhibin.19 I am most grateful to both of them for supplying me with a pre-publication version of their work. I wish to especially express my thanks to Prof. Zheng Jinsheng for helping me to understand passages and single characters my own research had been unable to clarify. Almost all philological notes accompanying my translation are based on the text edition prepared by Zheng Jinsheng and Zhang Zhibin. I have also greatly benefitted from consulting the Japanese translation of the Ben cao gang mu published in 1965.20 In particular, secondary quotes within primary quotes have been marked based on the Japanese edition. In 2003, Foreign Language Press in Beijing published a first complete English version of the Ben cao gang mu. The approach chosen differed significantly from the one adopted here. This is most obvious in the translation of historical Chinese illness terms. Luo Xiwen and his collaborators have attempted to identify as many diseases, ailments and signs of illness as possible encountered in the Ben cao gang mu in terms of modern Western medical concepts.21 The Ben cao gang mu is an encyclopedia compiled in the 16th century based on literary and non-literary data of the preceding 1800 years. It quotes authors of varying expertise and offers today’s readers an incomparable view of almost two millennia of the development of pharmaceutical science and related realms of knowledge and more general aspects of culture. The translation of chapters 12 through 14 of the Chinese text honors the authors of bygone days not by telling them what they should have said if they had had the knowledge of the 20th and 21st century, but rather by illuminating as clearly as possible their thoughts and their wisdom as formed by the conceptual, social, economic and natural environment of their time. The translation offered here has resisted a temptation to make ancient views appear modern and agreeable with today’s biomedical reality. Such an approach, not 19 Zheng Jinsheng 郑金生 and Zhang Zhibin 张志斌, Ben cao gang mu yin wen ni yuan, yi, “Tracing the quotations in the Ben cao gang mu to their sources.” A volume of the Ben cao gang mu yan jiu ji cheng 本草綱目研究集成, “Collection of research on the Ben cao gang mu,” edited by Zhang Zhibin and Zheng Jinsheng, Ke xue chu ban she 科学出版 社, Beijing, 2019.

20 Kimura Kouichi 木村康 (ed.), Suzuki Shinkai 鈴木真海 (transl.), Shinchu Koutei Kokuyaku Honzou Koumoku 新註校定國本草綱目譯, , “A translation of the Ben cao gang mu. Newly annotated and checked against the original text.” Shunyoudou Shoten 春陽堂書店, Tokyo 1965.

21 Compendium of Materia Medica. (Bencao Gangmu). Compiled by Li Shizhen. Translated and Annotated by Luo Xiwen.Foreign Language Press, Beijing, 2003. This edition does not include the original Chinese text.



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infrequently met in recent renderings of ancient Chinese medical texts in Western languages, is not only a sign of disrespect for the intellectual integrity of ancient experts. It is also an obstacle blocking a recognition and appreciation of the never ending historical process of understanding nature and the management of human life as part of nature in China, since antiquity. Hence I have pursued here the same approach that has guided my translations of the ancient Chinese medical classics Huang Di nei jing su wen, Huang Di nei jing ling shu and Nan jing. Authors from previous centuries and millennia relied on metaphors and allegories to elucidate their understandings of human physiology and pathology. Modern pathology and physiology are no different. Such fields of science need to draw on metaphors and allegories to illustrate their findings.22 Disease names are a case in point. The Ben cao gang mu includes quotes with about 4500 core terms to specify all kinds of pathological conditions. Prior to the translation presented here, Prof. Zhang Zhibin and I traced them to their first appearance. Vol. I of the Dictionary of the Ben cao gang mu lists all of them with an explanation of their original meaning. The translation of chapters 12 through 14 provides, where appropriate, the literal meaning of disease terms. Occasionally, ancient single characters keep their meaning secret; in such cases, they are given in pinyin transcription. Notes are added to all occurrences of historical disease terms that are not self-explanatory, and readers are led to the relevant pages of Vol. I of the Dictionary. The heading of each entry repeats the numbers assigned to it in the table of contents, followed by the name, in Chinese characters and pinyin, of the substance discussed and the title of the earliest work on materia medica identified as its FE, i. e., “first evidence.” The translation of the names offers English colloquial names wherever available, a literal translation where meaningful, and scientific identifications where possible. Place names, designations of administrative structures, names of persons and book titles appear in the translation without additional notes. Readers interested in further details should consult volumes II and III of the Dictionary of the Ben cao gang mu, which respectively provide information on the geographic and adminstrative designations and on the persons and literary sources mentioned. A challenging feature of translating an ancient text on materia medica is the identification of natural substances recommended for medicinal use. European scientists have been eager to identify herbal and mineral substances they have encountered in China since the 17th century. From the beginning, this has proved to be a difficult endeavor. Different names were used for identical substances in different 22 Cynthia Taylor and Bryan M. Dewsbury, On the Problem and Promise of Metaphor Use in Science and Science Communication. J Microbiol Biol Educ. 2018; 19(1): 19.1.46.

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The Ben Cao Gang Mu

parts of the country; different pronunciations of an identical name in the dialects of different regions led to different writings. One and the same substance has been recorded with varying names in the course of history. An herb listed in an eighth century materia medica text might not have been available at a later time and was substituted by another herb sold under the same name. The marketing of fakes as substitutes was sufficiently widespread at any time for Li Shizhen to caution his readers in the first chapter of the Ben cao gang mu. In his descriptions of individual substances he devoted much space to such issues. The fact is, despite all the many attempts published over the past three centuries, an uncertainty remains as to the true identity of quite a few of the herbs and minerals recorded in historical Chinese materia medica works. This translation offers – with a caveat – identifications of the substances recorded in chapters 12 through 14 of the Ben cao gang mu based on the most reliable reference works available today. They include: Editing commission for Materia Medica of China, bian wei hui 中华本草编委会, National Chinese Medicine and Pharmacy Administration, Guo jia zhong yi yao guan li ju 国家医药管理中局, Materia Medica of China, Zhong hua ben cao 中华本草, 10 vols. Shanghai 1999.

Fèvre, Francine and Georges Métailié, Dictionnaire RICCI des plantes de Chine. Association Ricci – Les Éditions du Cerf, Paris 2005. Hu Shiu-ying, An Enumeration of Chinese Materia Medica, The Chinese University Press, Hongkong 1980.  Needham, Joseph and Lu Gwei-Djen, Science and Civilisation in China, Vol 5, part 2. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1972.  Read, Bernard E., Chinese Medicinal Plants from the Pen Ts’ao Kang Mu, 3rd edition. Peking Natural History Bulletin 1936, repr. Taipei 1977. Smith, F. Porter, Chinese Materia Medica - Vegetable Kingdom, rev. by G. A. Stuart, Shanghai 1911. 2nd revised edition Ku T’ing Book House, Taipei 1969. Note: Chinese names of worms/bugs/insects, animals and plants may refer to different species and substances in different geographical regions of China. Also, a species or substance indicated by a name centuries ago may no longer be the species or substance identified today. The translation offered here provides only the most likely equations. Readers interested in more detailed information are advised to consult the literature listed above. Wherever a commonly known English name was available, such as “ginger” and “ginseng [root],” it was used in the translation. All other translations refer



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to the Latin name of a substance. For a tentative botanical identification of herbs mentioned in recipes and elsewhere in passing, see the list at the end of this volume.

3. Wang Shizhen’s preface of 1590 本草綱目原序 紀稱望龍光知古劍 ， 覘寳氣辨明珠。故萍實商羊 ， 非天明莫洞。厥後博 物稱華 ， 辯字稱康 ， 析寳玉稱倚頓 ， 亦僅僅晨星耳。楚蘄陽李君東璧 ， 一日過予弇山園謁予 ， 留飲數日。予窺其人 ， 晬然貌也 ， 癯然身也 ， 津 津然譚議也，真北斗以南一人。解其装無長物，有《本草綱目》數十卷。 謂予曰 ： 時珍 ， 荊楚鄙人也。幼多羸疾 ， 質成鈍椎。長耽典籍 ， 若啖蔗 飴。遂漁獵羣書 ， 摉羅百氏。凡子史經傳 ， 聲韻農圃 ， 醫卜星相 ， 樂府 諸家 ， 稍有得處 ， 輒著數言。古有《本草》一書 ， 自炎、皇及漢、梁、 唐、宋 ， 下迨國朝 ， 註解羣氏舊矣。第其中舛繆差譌遺漏 ， 不可枚數 ， 廼敢奮編摩之志，僭纂述之權。歲歷三十稔，書考八百餘家，稿凡三易。 複者芟之，闕者緝之，譌者繩之。舊本一千五百一十八種，今增藥三百七 十四種 ， 分爲一十六部 ， 著成五十二卷。雖非集成 ， 亦麤大備 ， 僭名曰 《本草綱目》 ， 願乞一言 ， 以託不朽。予開卷細玩 ， 毎藥標正名爲綱 ， 附釋名爲目，正始也。次以集解、辯疑、正誤，詳其土産形状也。次以氣 味、主治、附方，著其體用也。上自墳典，下及傳奇，凡有相關，靡不備 採。如入金谷之園 ， 種色奪目 ； 如登龍君之宫 ， 寳藏悉陳 ； 如對冰壺玉 鑑，毛髮可指數也。博而不繁，詳而有要，綜核究竟，直窺淵海。茲豈僅 以醫書覯哉，實性理之精微，格物之通典，帝王之秘籙，臣民之重寳也。 李君用心加惠何勤哉。噫！碔玉莫剖，朱紫相傾，弊也久矣。故辯專車之 骨，必竢魯儒；博支機之石，必訪賣卜。予方著《弇州巵言》，恚博古如 《丹鉛》、《巵言》後乏人也，何幸覩茲集哉。茲集也，藏之深山石室無 當，盍鍥之以共天下後世味《太玄》如子雲者。 時萬曆歲庚寅春上元日，弇州山人鳳洲王世貞拜撰。 Original Preface to the Ben cao gang mu by Wang Shizhen.

Historical annals speak of an ancient double-edged sword that was identified for its “dragon luster,” and of a shiny pearl that was discovered for its precious radiance. That is, [the delicious and auspicious nature of ] the fruit ping [seen growing on a river by the ruler of Chu] and [the significance of the appearance in the court of



Prolegomena

27

to the Latin name of a substance. For a tentative botanical identification of herbs mentioned in recipes and elsewhere in passing, see the list at the end of this volume.

3. Wang Shizhen’s preface of 1590 本草綱目原序 紀稱望龍光知古劍 ， 覘寳氣辨明珠。故萍實商羊 ， 非天明莫洞。厥後博 物稱華 ， 辯字稱康 ， 析寳玉稱倚頓 ， 亦僅僅晨星耳。楚蘄陽李君東璧 ， 一日過予弇山園謁予 ， 留飲數日。予窺其人 ， 晬然貌也 ， 癯然身也 ， 津 津然譚議也，真北斗以南一人。解其装無長物，有《本草綱目》數十卷。 謂予曰 ： 時珍 ， 荊楚鄙人也。幼多羸疾 ， 質成鈍椎。長耽典籍 ， 若啖蔗 飴。遂漁獵羣書 ， 摉羅百氏。凡子史經傳 ， 聲韻農圃 ， 醫卜星相 ， 樂府 諸家 ， 稍有得處 ， 輒著數言。古有《本草》一書 ， 自炎、皇及漢、梁、 唐、宋 ， 下迨國朝 ， 註解羣氏舊矣。第其中舛繆差譌遺漏 ， 不可枚數 ， 廼敢奮編摩之志，僭纂述之權。歲歷三十稔，書考八百餘家，稿凡三易。 複者芟之，闕者緝之，譌者繩之。舊本一千五百一十八種，今增藥三百七 十四種 ， 分爲一十六部 ， 著成五十二卷。雖非集成 ， 亦麤大備 ， 僭名曰 《本草綱目》 ， 願乞一言 ， 以託不朽。予開卷細玩 ， 毎藥標正名爲綱 ， 附釋名爲目，正始也。次以集解、辯疑、正誤，詳其土産形状也。次以氣 味、主治、附方，著其體用也。上自墳典，下及傳奇，凡有相關，靡不備 採。如入金谷之園 ， 種色奪目 ； 如登龍君之宫 ， 寳藏悉陳 ； 如對冰壺玉 鑑，毛髮可指數也。博而不繁，詳而有要，綜核究竟，直窺淵海。茲豈僅 以醫書覯哉，實性理之精微，格物之通典，帝王之秘籙，臣民之重寳也。 李君用心加惠何勤哉。噫！碔玉莫剖，朱紫相傾，弊也久矣。故辯專車之 骨，必竢魯儒；博支機之石，必訪賣卜。予方著《弇州巵言》，恚博古如 《丹鉛》、《巵言》後乏人也，何幸覩茲集哉。茲集也，藏之深山石室無 當，盍鍥之以共天下後世味《太玄》如子雲者。 時萬曆歲庚寅春上元日，弇州山人鳳洲王世貞拜撰。 Original Preface to the Ben cao gang mu by Wang Shizhen.

Historical annals speak of an ancient double-edged sword that was identified for its “dragon luster,” and of a shiny pearl that was discovered for its precious radiance. That is, [the delicious and auspicious nature of ] the fruit ping [seen growing on a river by the ruler of Chu] and [the significance of the appearance in the court of

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The Ben Cao Gang Mu

the Duke of Qi of ] the [one-legged bird] shang yang [as an omen of imminent rain] could not have been recognized [by Confucius] without an enlightenment bestowed on him by heaven. In later times, [Zhang] Hua (232-300), who was known for [compiling the encyclopedia] Bo wu [zhi], [ Ji] Kang (223-262), [the poet] who is recorded to have carefully chosen the characters he wrote down, and Yi Dun (of the Warring States period), who [was wealthier than his king and] knew how to distinguish [genuine and fake] precious stones, they were as rare as stars in the morning sky. One day, Mr. Li Dongbi from Qi [zhou] in Chu came to see me in my seclusion in Shan yuan, and he stayed with me as a guest for several days. I saw a man of gentle disposition with an excessively thin body. What he said was interesting and meaningful. He truly was a unique person south of the dipper! When he opened his bag, it contained nothing valuable, but tens of volumes of the Ben cao gang mu. He said to me: “[I am Li] Shizhen, a man from Jing chu. In my youth I often suffered from a wasting disease. Despite a modest intelligence, I was fascinated by reading the ancient canons and various kinds of literature, as if I were eating the sweetness of sugarcane. Hence I went fishing and hunting for all kinds of books, and I collected the works of hundreds of authors. Wherever among all the experts for philosophy and history, the classics and biographies, in music and poetry, agriculture and gardening, medicine, divination, astronomy and physiognomy, and collections of tunes I found something even of only slight value, I wrote it down in many words. In ancient times there was a ben cao work [on materia medica]. From the times of Yan [di, i.e., Shen nong] and Huang [di] through the Han, the Liang, the Tang, and the Song [dynasty] down to our present dynasty, it has long been commented upon and provided with explanations. However, it was stained by innumerable errors, inconsistencies, contradictions and omissions. I felt encouraged to take the will to study [this field] and edit [this work], and I exceeded my legitimate limits when I engaged in a compilation based on a new narrative. For more than 30 years I have examined the books of more than 800 authors. I have rewritten the manuscript three times. Where there were repetitions, I eradicated them. Where there were omissions, I filled them up. Where there were mistakes, I corrected them. The old editions included 1518 kinds [of pharmaceutical substances]; here now 374 kinds are added. [The entries] are divided into 16 sections, written up in 52 volumes. Even though [my work] may not be complete, it is quite comprehensive and hence I dared to give it the title Ben cao gang mu.23 It is my deepest desire to entrust it to you so that it will not be lost.” When I opened the volumes I was pleased to see that they were written in a meticulous manner. Each pharmaceutical substance is given 23 Li Shizhen may have considered this title daring because he seemed to put his encyclopedia on a par with the, Tong jian gang mu 通鑑綱目, which was compiled by the wellknown song philosopher Zhu Xi 朱熹 (1130 – 1200)



Prolegomena

29

a name as its label, that is, as its gang, to which are added explanations of [this and additional] names as mu. This is a proper beginning. Next follow “collected explanations,” “discussions of ambiguities,” “corrections of errors,” and detailed accounts of the places of origin and physical appearances. This is followed by [data on] “qi and flavors,” “control and therapy,” and “added recipes,” indicating the concrete usage [of the substances named]. Whether [these data] had been gathered from ancient landmark and later canonical texts above, and from legends and unusual sources below, all were relevant and nothing was chosen without thinking. [Reading these volumes] was like entering the Golden Valley Garden where all kinds of colors dazzle one’s eyes. It was like entering the palace of the Dragon Sovereign where all kinds of treasures are displayed. It was like standing in front of a crystal flask and a jade mirror clearly showing each [detail like an individual] hair. [The contents] are broadly arranged but not overabundant. They are detailed with a focus on what is important. They have summed up the results of careful studies. They allow a view into the depth of the sea. How could anyone consider this as a work dedicated exclusively to medicine! In fact, it offers the essential subtleties of natural principles. It is an encyclopedia based on an investigation of things. It is a work kept secret by emperors and kings. It is a treasure highly valued by officials and the people. The diligence and the passion devoted to it by Mr. Li are extraordinary! The failure to distinguish common stones and jade, and the confusion of red and purple colors, such malpractice has lasted for long. Hence to debate the reason for the carts loaded with one bone, one had to wait for the scholar [Confucius] from Lu.24 To recognize the stone from below the loom,25 it was essential to enquire with a fortune teller. I myself have written the Yan zhou zhi yan. What a pity that in future only a few people will be able to write as broadly based works such as the ancient Dan qian and Zhi yan. So, I am all the more happy to see this collection! This collection must not be stored deep in the mountains in a stone chamber! It must be carved/printed to make it available for later generations all over the world like the work Tai xuan [jing] by Ziyun [(i. e., Yang Xiong) on the Yi jing]. Date: Wan li reign period. Year: Geng yin. On New Year’s Day. Respectfully written by Yan zhou shan ren Wang Shizhen in Feng zhou. 24 During the Warring States period, when Wu invaded Yue, they took home from the city of Kuai ji a collection of huge bones, with one of them filling one cart. Back home they enquired with Confucius about the origin of these bones and the “scholar from Lu” explained their origin.

25 A traveller once brought back a stone he had been given by a woman he had met when he tried to reach the source of a certain river. He approached the famous fortune-teller Yan Junping who told him that this was the stone forming the foundation of the loom of a celestial fairy.

4.本草綱目 Ben Cao Gang Mu Chapters 12 - 14 Translation.

本草綱目 Ben cao gang mu 草部目録 Section Herbs, Contents 第十二卷 Chapter 12 李時珍曰：天造地化而草木生焉。剛交于柔而成根荄，柔交于剛而成枝 幹。葉萼屬陽，華實屬陰。由是草中有木，木中有草。得氣之粹者爲良， 得氣之戾者爲毒。故有五形焉，金、木、水、火、土。五氣焉，香、臭、 臊、腥、羶。五色焉，青、赤、黄、白、黑。五味焉，酸、苦、甘、辛、 鹹。五性焉，寒、熱、温、凉、平。五用焉。升、降、浮、沈、中。炎 農 嘗而辨之，軒岐述而著之，漢、魏、唐、宋明賢良醫代有增益。但三品雖 存，淄澠交混，諸條重出，涇渭不分。苟不察其精微，審其善惡，其何以 權七方、衡十劑而寄死生耶？于是翦繁去複，繩繆補遺，析族區類，振 綱分目。除穀、菜外，凡得草屬之可供醫藥者六百一十種。分爲十類：曰 山，曰芳，曰隰，曰毒，曰蔓，曰水，曰石，曰苔，曰雜，曰有名未用。 舊本草部上中下三品，共四百四十七種。今併入三十一種，移二十三種入 菜部，三種入穀部，四種入果部，二種入木部，自木部移併一十四種。蔓 草二十九種，菜部移併一十三種，果部移併四種，外類有名未用共二百四 十七種。 Li Shizhen: Heaven creates, the earth transforms and herbs and trees grow. When hardness interacts with softness, roots form. When softness interacts with hardness,

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The Ben Cao Gang Mu

twigs and branches form. Leaves and the calyxes of flowers are associated with yang; blossoms and fruits are associated with yin. Hence there are trees among herbs, and herbs among trees. Those [herbs] that receive pure qi are good. Those that receive violent qi, they are poisonous. [Herbs] may appear in five physical variations, i. e., metal, wood, water, fire and soil. They have five qi, i. e., fragrant, malodorous, foul, fishy and rank [qi]. They appear in five colors, i. e., greenish, red, yellow, white and black. They have five flavors, i. e., sour, bitter, sweet, acrid and salty. They have five natures, i. e., cold, hot, warm, cool, balanced. They have five functions, i. e., rising, descending, floating, sinking and remaining in the center. Yan [di, Shen] nong tasted and distinguished them. Xuan [Yuan] and Qi [Bo] told [the respective knowledge] by writing it down. Throughout the Han, the Wei, the Tang and the Song dynasties, enlightened sages and good physicians added [new writings] and boosted [the knowledge]. However, even though a division into three ranks existed, when the rivers Zi and Sheng have joined they are no longer discernible. All sorts of entries appeared doubled. The rivers Jing and Wei were no longer separated. When subtleties are not examined, when good and malign are not known, how can one make use of the seven [kinds of ] recipes and weigh the ten kinds of dosage forms to bring the dead back to life? Hence here we have cut out redundancies and eliminated repetitions. We have corrected errors and supplemented what was missing. We have formed classes and distinguished groups. We have ordered [the herbs in accordance with] basic principles [gang 綱] and we have further divided [the entries in accordance with] individual topics [mu 目]. Apart from grain and vegetables, the herbs that can be supplied to physicians as medicinal substances amount to 610 kinds. They are divided into ten groups, namely mountain [herbs], fragrant [herbs], marshy land [herbs], poisonous [herbs], creeping [herbs], water [herbs], rocky land [herbs], mosses, miscellaneous [herbs], and those that are known by name but are out of use. In old Ben cao works, [herbs were listed in] three sections, upper, middle and lower rank, 447 kinds in all. Here now, 31 kinds have been joined [with other substances]. 23 kinds have been introduced into the section of vegetables. Three kinds have been introduced into the section of grain. Four kinds have been introduced into the section of fruits. Two kinds have been introduced into the section of trees. 14 kinds were taken from the section of trees and introduced [into the section of herbs]. 29 kinds from the creeping herbs [section] and 13 kinds from the “vegetables” section were removed to be included [in the herbs section]. Four kinds from the fruit section were removed to be included [in the herbs section]. 247 kinds are known by name but are out of use. [The items recorded below have been adopted from the following sources:]



Chapter 12

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Shen nong ben cao jing 神農本草經: 164 kinds, during Liang 梁, commented by Tao Hongjing 陶弘景 Ming yi bie lu 名醫别録: 130 kinds, during Liang 梁, commented by Tao Hongjing 陶弘景. 78 kinds known by name but not in use. Li shi yao lu 李氏藥録: 1 item, during Wei 魏, by Li Dangzhi 李當之. Wu shi ben cao 吴氏本草, 1 item, during Wei 魏, by Wu Pu 吴普. Tang ben cao 唐本草, 34 items, during Tang 唐, by Su Gong 蘇恭. Yao xing ben cao 藥性本草, 1 item, during Tang 唐, by Zhen Quan 甄權. Ben cao shi yi 本草拾遺, 68 items, during Tang 唐, by Chen Cangqi 陳藏器. Shi liao ben cao 食療本草, 2 items, during Tang 唐, by Meng Shen 孟詵. Hai yao ben cao 海藥本草, 4 items, during Tang 唐, by Li Xun 李珣. Si sheng ben cao 四聲本草, 1 item, during Tang, by Xiao Bing 蕭炳. Kai bao ben cao 開寶本草, 37 items, during Song 宋, by Ma Zhi 馬志. Jia you ben cao 嘉祐本草, 17 items, during Song 宋, by Zhang Yuxi 掌禹錫. Tu jing ben cao 圖經本草, 54 items, during Song 宋, by Su Song 蘇頌. Rihua ben cao 日華本草, 7 items, by Da Ming 大明, a Song person 宋人. Yong yao fa xiang 用藥法象, 1 item, during Yuan 元, by Li Gao 李杲. Ben cao bu yi 本草補遺, 1 item, during Yuan 元, by Zhu Zhenheng 朱震亨. Ben cao hui bian 本草會編, 1 item, during Ming 明, by Wang Ji 汪機. Ben cao gang mu 本草綱目, 86 items, during Ming 明, by Li Shizhen 李時珍. 【附註】 Additional comments [are based on the following sources]: Song 宋 [dynasty]: Lei Xiao 雷斅, Pao zhi 炮炙 Northern Qi [dynasty]: Xu Zhicai 徐之才, Yao dui 藥對 Tang 唐 [dynasty]: Yang Sunzhi 楊損之, Shan fan 删繁 Sun Simiao 孫思邈, Qian jin 千金 Shu 蜀 [dynasty]: Han Baosheng 韓保昇, Chong zhu 重注 Southern Tang 南唐 [dynasty]: Chen Shiliang 陳士良, Shi xing 食性

34

The Ben Cao Gang Mu Song 宋 [dynasty]: Kou Zongshi 寇宗奭, Yan yi 衍義 Tang Shenwei 唐慎微, Zheng lei 證類 Chen Cheng 陳承, Bie shuo 别説 Jin 金 [dynasty]: Zhang Yuansu 張元素, Zhen zhu nang 珍珠囊 Yuan 元 [dynasty]: Wang Haogu 王好古, Tang ye 湯液 Wu Rui 吴瑞, Ri yong 日用 Ming 明 [dynasty]: Wang Ying 汪穎, Shi wu 食物 Wang Lun 王綸, Ji yao 集要 Chen Jiamo 陳嘉謨, Meng quan 蒙筌 Xian wang 憲王, Jiu huang 救荒 Ning Yuan 寧原, Shi jian 食鑒

草之一 Herbs I 山草類上三十一種 Mountain Herbs Group, First: 31 kinds. 12-01 Gan cao 甘草, Chinese liquorice. FE. Ben jing 本經 12-02 Huang qi 黄耆, yellow vetch. FE. Ben jing 本經 12-03 Ren shen 人參, ginseng. FE Ben jing 本經 12-04 Sha shen 沙參, upright ladybell. FE Ben jing 本經 12-05 Qi ni 薺苨, adenophora trachelioides. FE Bie lu 别録 12-06 Jie geng 桔梗, balloon-flower. FE Ben jing 本經 12-07 Chang song 長松, Siberian pine. FE Shi yi 拾遺 12-08 Huang jing 黄精, Solomon’s seal. FE Bie lu 别録 12-09 Wei rui 萎蕤, fragrant Solomon’s seal. FE Ben jing 本經 12-09-A01 Lu yao 鹿藥, snow dragon. 12-09-A02 Wei yi 委蛇, unidentified. 12-10 Zhi mu 知母, common anemarrhena. FE Ben jing 本經 12-11 Rou cong rong 肉蓯蓉, desert broomrape. FE Ben jing 本經



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12-12 Lie dang 列當, skyblue broomrape. FE Kai bao 開寶 12-13 Suo yang 瑣26陽, songaria cynomorium herb. FE Bu yi 補遺 12-14 Chi jian, tian ma 赤箭天麻27, tall gastrodia. FE Ben jing 本經 12-15 Zhu 术, largehead atractylodes. FE Ben jing 本經 12-16 Gou ji 狗脊, golden chicken fern. FE Ben jing 本經 12-17 Guan chong 貫衆, thick stemmed wood fern. FE Ben jing 本經 12-18 Ba ji tian 巴戟天, Indian mulberry. FE Ben jing 本經 12-18-A01 Ba ji 巴棘, unidentified. 12-19 Yuan zhi 遠志, Chinese senega. FE Ben jing 本經 12-20 Bai mai gen 百脉根, birdsfoot trifoil. FE Tang ben 唐本 12-21 Yin yang huo 淫羊藿, horny goat weed. FE Ben jing 本經 12-22 Xian mao 仙茅, golden eye grass. FE Kai bao 開寶 12-23 Xuan shen 玄參, Ningpo figwort. FE Ben jing 本經 12-24 Di yu 地榆, great burnet. FE Ben jing 本經 12-25 Dan shen 丹參, Chinese sage. FE Ben jing 本經 12-26 Zi shen 紫參, common bistort. FE Ben jing 本經 12-27 Wang sun 王孫, paris bashanensis. FE Ben jing 本經 12-28 Zi cao 紫草, pink arnebia. FE Ben jing 本經 12-29 Bai tou weng 白頭翁, Chinese pulsatilla. FE Ben jing 本經 12-30 Bai ji 白及, common bletilla. FE Ben jing 本經 12-31 San qi 三七, pseudoginseng. FE Gang mu 綱目 右附方舊八十六，新二百六十。 Recipes added to the entries above: 86 of old. 260 newly [recorded]

26 The entry itself writes suo 鎖, not suo 瑣.

27 The entry itself refers to Ben jing as first evidence of chi jian 赤箭, to Kai bao as first evidence of tian ma 天麻.

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The Ben Cao Gang Mu

本草綱目 Ben cao gang mu 草部第十二卷 Section Herbs, Chapter 12 草之一 Herbs I 山草類三十一種 Mountain Herbs Group. 31 kinds 12-01 甘草本經上品 Gan cao, FE Ben jing, upper rank. Glycyrrhiza uralensis Fisch. Chinese licorice.

【釋名】蜜甘别録、蜜草别録、美草别録、蕗草别録、靈通記事珠、國老 别録。【弘景曰】此草最爲衆藥之主 ， 經方少有不用者 ， 猶如香中有沈 香也。”國老”即帝師之稱， 雖非君而爲君所宗， 是以能安和草石而解諸毒 也。【甄權曰】諸藥中甘草爲君，治七十二種乳石毒，解一千二百般草木 毒，調和衆藥有功，故有國老之號。 Explanation of Names. Mi gan 蜜甘, “honey sweet,” Bie lu. Mi cao 蜜草, “honey herb,” Bie lu. Mei cao 美草, “delicious herb,” Bie lu. Lu cao 蕗草, Bie lu. Ling tong 靈 通, “miraculous penetrator,” Ji shi zhu. Guo lao 國老, “nation’s elder,” Bie lu. [Tao] Honjing: This herb is the most unparalleled chief of all medication; classical recipes only very rarely fail to resort to it. This is comparable to the position of aloes wood, “deep reaching incense,” chen xiang 沈香, among incense substances, xiang 香, in general. Guo lao 國老, “nation’s elder,” is a designation of the emperor‘s teachers. They are not the Lord themself, but they are the Lord’s masters. That is, [gan cao] is able to pacify and harmonize herbs and minerals and resolve all sorts of poisons. Zhen Quan: Among all pharmaceutical substances, gan cao is the Lord. It serves to cure 72 kinds of stalactite mineral poisoning, and it resolves 1,200 sorts of herb and



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tree poison. It has the potential to harmonize all medications. Hence it is called “nation’s elder.” 【集解】【别録曰】甘草生河西川谷積沙山及上郡。二月、八月除日采 根，暴乾，十日成。【陶弘景曰】河西 上郡今不復通市。今出蜀漢中，悉 從汶山諸夷中來。赤皮斷理，看之堅實者，是枹罕草，最佳。枹罕乃西羌 地名。亦有火炙乾者，理多虚疏。又有如鯉魚腸者，被刀破，不復好。青 州間有而不如。又有紫甘草，細而實，乏時亦可用。【蘇頌曰】今陝西、 河東州郡皆有之。春生青苗，高一二尺，葉如槐葉，七月開紫花似柰冬， 結實作角子如畢豆。根長者三四尺，粗細不定，皮赤色，上有横梁，梁下 皆細根也。采得去蘆頭及赤皮，陰乾用。今甘草有數種，以堅實斷理者爲 佳。其輕虚縱理及細韌者不堪，惟貨湯家用之。謹按爾雅云：蘦，大苦。 郭璞：蘦似地黄。又詩 唐風云采苓采苓，首陽之巔是也。蘦與苓通用。首 陽之山在河東 蒲坂縣，乃今甘草所生處相近，而先儒所説苗葉與今全别， 豈種類有不同者乎？【李時珍曰】按沈括筆談云：本草註引爾雅蘦，大苦 之註爲甘草者，非矣。郭璞之注，乃黄藥也。其味極苦，故謂之大苦，非 甘草也。甘草枝葉悉如槐，高五六尺，但葉端微尖而糙濇，似有白毛，結 角如相思角 ， 作一本生 ， 至熟時角拆 ， 子扁如小豆 ， 極堅 ， 齒嚙不破。 今出河東西界。寇氏衍義亦取此説，而不言大苦非甘草也。以理度之，郭 説形狀殊不相類，沈説近之。今人惟以大徑寸而結緊斷紋者爲佳，謂之粉 草。其輕虚細小者，皆不及之。劉績霏雪録言：安南甘草大者如柱，土人 以架屋。不識果然否也。 Collected Explanations. Bie lu: Gan cao grows in the river valleys and sand dunes of He xi and also in Shang jun. The roots are collected during the early days of the second and the eighth month. To be prepared [for medicinal use] they are dried in the sun for ten days. Tao Hongjing: Nowadays, gan cao is no langer available on the markets in He xi and Shang jun. Today, gan cao that comes from Shu and Han zhong is all shipped there from Yi territories such as Mount Wen shan. It has a red bark and a ruptured structure. Hard and solid specimens are [called] “herb from Bao han.” They are the best. Bao han and Xi qiang are place names. There are also specimens that are roasted to dry above fire. Their structure is quite porous and loose. Furthermore, there are specimens resembling the intestines of carps. Once they have been cut with a knife, they are no longer good. [Gan cao] found in Qing zhou is not like [that from elsewhere]. There is also a purple gan cao. Its [structure] is fine and solid. When [common gan cao] is not available, [purple gan cao], too, can be resorted to. Su Song: Nowadays, it can be found in all the zhou and prefectures of Shaan xi and He dong. In spring, greenish, young plants grow with a height of one to two chi. Their leaves resemble those of sophora japonica trees. In the sev-

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enth month purple blossoms open, resembling those of star jasmine. Their fruits are beans resembling peas. Their roots reach a length of three to four chi; they may be coarse or fine. Their bark is red, and on its surface it has transverse grooves. Below these grooves are always fine roots. When [the herb] is collected, the green parts above the soil and the red bark are discarded. [The rest] is dried in the shade before it is used [for therapeutic purposes]. Today, gan cao is available in numerous kinds. Those that are hard, solid and have a ruptured structure are fine. Specimens that are light, porous and have a loose structure, and those that are fine and pliable, they are not suitable [for medicinal use]. They are only resorted to by those who sell hot broth. Careful comment: The Er ya states: “Ling is very bitter.” Guo Pu: “Ling 蘦 is similar to Chinese foxglove [rhizome].” Furthermore, “the Shi, in [the poem] Tang feng, states: ‘Collect ling 苓, collect ling 苓, at the top of Mount Shou yang’.”28 This is [the herb discussed here]. Ling 蘦 and ling 苓 are used interchangeably. Mount Shou yang is located in Pu ban xian in He dong, close to the region where gan cao comes from today. Still, the young plants and leaves previously described by scholars are quite different from those of today. Maybe these are different groups and kinds? Li Shizhen: According to Shen Gua’s Bi tan, “The comment in the Ben cao to the quote ‚ling is very bitter‘ from the Er ya, stating that this is a reference to gan cao is wrong. Guo Pu’s comment refers to polygonum [root]. It is of an extremely bitter flavor. Hence [the Shi] identifies it as ‘very bitter.’ This is not gan cao. Both the twigs and the leaves of gan cao resemble those of sophora japonica trees with a height of five to six chi. However, the leaves [of gan cao] are round with only a slightly pointed tip and a coarse surface as if it were covered by white hair. Its fruits are beans, like the beans of rosary peas. They grow as one stalk and taproot. When they are ripe, the beans split open. Their seeds are flat like red mung beans. They are extremely hard and even when bitten with one’s teeth they will not break open. Today they originate in the western border region of He dong.” Mr. Kou [Zongshi], too, in his Yan yi has adopted these statements, but he fails to point out that the “very bitter” [flavor] does not refer to gan cao. Judged with reason, the physical appearance and shape described by Guo [Pu] do not agree [with those of gan cao], while Shen [Gua] is close [to the facts]. Nowadays, the people consider only those as fine that have a diameter of one cun, are hard, and have a ruptured structure, and they call them fen cao 粉草. Those that are light, porous, fine and small, they do not reach them [in quality]. Liu Ji in his Fei xue lu states: “In An nan gan cao specimens may be as large as columns. The locals use them to build the frames of their houses.” I have no idea whether this is so or not. 28 Shi jing Part I, Book X, Ode XII,1.



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12-01-01 根。Gen. [Gan cao] root.

【修治】【雷斅曰】凡使須去頭尾尖處 ， 其頭尾吐人。每用切長三寸 ， 擘作六七片 ， 入瓷器中盛 ， 用酒浸蒸 ， 從巳至午 ， 取出暴乾剉細用。一 法 ： 每斤用酥七兩塗炙 ， 酥盡爲度。又法 ： 先炮令内外赤黄用。【時珍 曰】方書炙甘草皆用長流水蘸濕炙之，至熟刮去赤皮，或用漿水炙熟，未 有酥炙、酒蒸者。大底補中宜炙用，瀉火宜生用。 Pharmaceutical Preparation. Lei Xiao: For all [medicinal] applications the tips at both ends are to be discarded. These tips let humans vomit. For each application cut off a three cun long section, and break it into six or seven pieces. Fill them into a porcelain vessel, soak them in wine and steam this from morning to noon. Then take [the drug] out [of the vessel], dry it in the sun and cut it into fine pieces that are then ready for [medicinal] use. Another method: Apply seven liang of butter to each jin [of gan cao] and roast this until all the butter is consumed. Still another method: First roast [the drug] in a pan until it is red-yellow inside and outside and then use it. [Li] Shizhen: For roasting gan cao, all the recipe books recommend to moisten [the root] by dipping it into water that has flowed over a long distance and then roast it. Once it is thoroughly done, the red bark is to be removed. Or one roasts [the root] in fermented water of foxtail millet29 until it is done. [This applies to] those specimens that are not yet roasted with butter or steamed with wine. In general, when they are used to supplement the center, they should be applied roasted. When they are applied to drain fire, they are to be used raw. 【氣味】甘 ， 平 ， 無毒。【寇宗奭曰】生則微凉 ， 味不佳。炙則温。【 王好古曰】氣薄味厚，升而浮，陽也。入足太陰厥陰經。【時珍曰】通入 手足十二經。【徐之才曰】术、苦參、乾漆爲之使，惡遠志，反大戟、芫 花、甘遂、海藻。【權曰】忌猪肉。【時珍曰】甘草與藻、戟、遂、芫四 物相反，而胡洽居士治痰澼，以十棗湯加甘草、大黄，乃是痰在膈上，欲 令通泄，以拔去病根也。東垣 李杲治項下結核，消腫潰堅湯加海藻。丹溪 朱震亨治勞瘵，蓮心飲用芫花。二方俱有甘草，皆本胡居士之意也。故陶 弘景言古方亦有相惡相反，並乃不爲害。非妙達精微者，不知此理。 Qi and Flavor. Sweet, balanced, nonpoisonous. Kou Zongshi: Raw [gan cao root] is slightly cool, with an unpleasant flavor. Roasted [its qi are] warm. Wang Haogu: Its qi are weak; its flavor is strong. It rises and floats, and is yang. It enters the foot major yin and ceasing yin conduits. [Li] Shizhen: It passes through all twelve conduits of the hands and the feet. Xu Zhicai: Atractylodes [rhizome], sophora [root] and 29 For jiang shui 漿水, “fermented water of foxtail millet,” see BCGM 05-33.

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dried lacquer serve as its guiding substances. [Ingested together,] it abhors polygala [root], and is opposed to Peking spurge [root], daphne [herb], kansui [root] and sargassum herb. [Zhen] Quan: [During a treatment with gan cao root] pork is to be avoided. [Li] Shizhen: Gan cao is opposed to the four items sargassum herb, Peking spurge [root], kansui [root] and daphne [flower]. Still, to cure phlegm flush, Hu Qia jushi added to the “decoction with ten Chinese dates”30 gan cao [root] and rhubarb root because the phlegm is located above the diaphragm and [the treatment] is intended to free its passage and cause an outflow to eliminate the root of the disease. Dongyuan Li Gao cured nodular kernels below the neck with the “decoction to dissolve a swelling and to break through hardenings” to which he added sargassum herb. Danxi Zhu Zhenheng cured exhaustion consumption with the “Indian lotus seed germ drink” to which he added daphne [flower]. Both these recipes include gan cao [root], and both are based on the reasoning of Hu [Qia] jushi. Hence Tao Hongjing said that “ancient recipes included [substances] that abhorred each other and opposed each other and still did not cause harm. “Those who have no wondrous access to the essential subtleties [of pharmaceutical therapy] they do not know the underlying principles. 【主治】五臟六腑寒熱邪氣 ， 堅筋骨 ， 長肌肉 ， 倍氣力 ， 金瘡尰 ， 解 毒。久服輕身延年。本經。尰，音時勇切，腫也。温中下氣，煩滿短氣， 傷臟欬嗽， 止渴， 通經脉， 利血氣， 解百藥毒， 爲九土之精， 安和七十 二種石，一千二百種草。别録。主腹中冷痛，治驚癇，除腹脹滿，補益五 臟，腎氣内傷，令人陰不痿。主婦人血瀝腰痛，凡虚而多熱者加用之。甄 權。安魂定魄 ， 補五勞七傷 ， 一切虚損 ， 驚悸煩悶健忘 ， 通九竅 ， 利百 脉 ， 益精養氣 ， 壯筋骨。大明。生用瀉火熱 ， 熟用散表寒 ， 去咽痛 ， 除 邪熱 ， 緩正氣 ， 養陰血 ， 補脾胃 ， 潤肺。李杲。吐肺痿之膿血 ， 消五發 之瘡疽。好古。解小兒胎毒驚癇，降火止痛。時珍。 Control. Cold and hot evil qi affecting the five long-term depots and six short-term repositories. It hardens sinews and bones. It stimulates the growth of muscles and flesh. It doubles the strength of qi. [It dissolves] swelling associated with wounds caused by metal objects/weapons. It resolves poison. Ingested over a long time it extends the years [of life]. Ben jing. Zhong 尰, split reading shi 時 and yong 勇, is zhong 腫, swelling. It warms the center and causes the discharge of qi. [It controls] vexation, a sensation of fullness and shortness of [breath] qi. It is the essence of the nine continents, it pacifies and harmonizes the 72 stones/minerals and the 1200 kinds of herbs. Bie lu. It controls painful cold in the abdomen. It serves to cure fright epilepsy. It eliminates abdominal bloating and fullness. It supplements and boosts the five 30 This recipe includes dry Chinese dates, daphne flower, kansui root and Peking spurge root.



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long-term depots. [It controls] internal harm caused by kidney qi. It prevents one’s yin [(i. e., genital) organs] from dysfunction. It controls urinary dripping with blood of women and lower back pain. It is used as an additive to all [medication aimed at] depletion and much heat. Zhen Quan. It pacifies the hun-soul and stabilizes the po-soul. It supplements in the case of the five kinds of exhaustion and seven kinds of harm, and all kinds of depletion injury. [It controls] fright palpitation, vexation with heart-pressure and forgetfulness. It frees the passage through the nine orifices. It opens the passage through the hundreds of vessels. It boosts the essence/sperm and nourishes the qi. It strengthens sinews and bones. Da Ming. Used raw it drains fire heat. Used processed it disperses cold from the body’s exterior, removes throat pain, eliminates evil heat, and slows down the proper qi. It nourishes the yin blood, supplements spleen and stomach and supplies the lung with moisture. Li Gao. It lets one vomit pus and blood from a dysfunctional lung, and dissolves the sores and impediment-illnesses31 of five possible effusions. [Wang] Haogu. It resolves fetal poison and fright epilepsy of children. It makes fire descend and ends pain. [Li] Shizhen. 12-01-02 稍。Shao. Tip [of gan cao root]

【主治】生用治胸中積熱 ， 去莖中痛 ， 加酒煮玄胡索、苦楝子尤妙。元 素。 Control. Used raw it serves to cure accumulated heat in the chest. It removes pain in the penis. Its effects are especially wondrous when it is taken together with corydalis [tuber] and Persian lilac fruit boiled in wine. [Zhang] Yuansu. 12-01-03 頭。Tou. Top [of gan cao root]

【主治】生用能行足厥陰、陽明二經污濁之血 ， 消腫導毒。震亨。主癰 腫，宜入吐藥。時珍。 Control. Used raw it is able to free the movement of foul blood stagnating in the two conduits foot ceasing yin and yang brilliance. It dissolves swelling and leads

31 Ju 疽, “impediment-illness,” refers to an obstruction of vessels or other ducts inside the body. Qi rushing against the impediment may cause a local swelling and eventually break through the surface to cause an abscess. BCGM Dict I, 277.

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away poison. [Zhu] Zhenheng. It controls swelling associated with obstruction-illness.32 It is a suitable additive to medication stimulating vomiting. [Li] Shizhen. 【發明】【震亨曰】甘草味甘 ， 大緩諸火 ， 黄中通理 ， 厚德載物之君子 也。欲達下焦 ， 須用稍子。【杲曰】甘草氣薄味厚 ， 可升可降 ， 陰中陽 也。陽不足者，補之以甘。甘温能除大熱，故生用則氣平，補脾胃不足而 大瀉心火 ； 炙之則氣温 ， 補三焦元氣而散表寒 ， 除邪熱 ， 去咽痛 ， 緩正 氣，養陰血。凡心火乘脾，腹中急痛，腹皮急縮者，宜倍用之。其性能緩 急 ， 而又協和諸藥 ， 使之不争。故熱藥得之緩其熱 ， 寒藥得之緩其寒 ， 寒熱相雜者用之得其平。【好古曰】五味之用 ， 苦泄辛散 ， 酸收鹹軟 ， 甘上行而發 ， 而本草言甘草下氣何也 ？ 盖甘味主中 ， 有升降浮沉 ， 可上 可下 ， 可外可内 ， 有和有緩 ， 有補有泄 ， 居中之道盡矣。張仲景附子理 中湯用甘草 ， 恐其僭上也 ； 調胃承氣湯用甘草 ， 恐其速下也 ， 皆緩之之 意。小柴胡湯有柴胡、黄芩之寒，人參、半夏之温，而用甘草者，則有調 和之意。建中湯用甘草，以補中而緩脾急也；鳳髓丹用甘草，以緩腎急而 生元氣也 ， 乃甘補之意。又曰 ： 甘者令人中滿 ， 中滿者勿食甘 ， 甘緩而 壅氣，非中滿所宜也。凡不滿而用炙甘草爲之補，若中滿而用生甘草爲之 瀉，能引諸藥直至滿所，甘味入脾，歸其所喜，此升降浮沉之理也。經云 以甘補之，以甘瀉之，以甘緩之是矣。【時珍曰】甘草外赤中黄，色兼坤 離 ； 味濃氣薄 ， 資全土德。協和群品 ， 有元老之功 ； 普治百邪 ， 得王道 之化。贊帝力而人不知，斂神功而己不與，可謂藥中之良相也。然中滿、 嘔吐、酒客之病不喜其甘； 而大戟、芫花、甘遂、海藻與之相反。是亦迂 緩不可以救昏昧，而君子嘗見嫉於宵人之意與？【頌曰】按孫思邈千金方 論云：甘草解百藥毒，如湯沃雪。有中烏頭、巴豆毒，甘草入腹即定，驗 如反掌。方稱大豆解百藥毒，予每試之不效，加入甘草爲甘豆湯，其驗乃 奇也。又葛洪肘後備急方云：席辯刺史嘗言，嶺南俚人解蠱毒藥，並是常 用之物，畏人得其法，乃言三百頭牛藥，或言三百兩銀藥。久與親狎，乃 得其詳。凡飲食時，先取炙熟甘草一寸，嚼之嚥汁。若中毒隨即吐出。仍 以炙甘草三兩 ， 生薑四兩 ， 水六升 ， 煮二升 ， 日三服。或用都淋藤、黄 藤二物，酒煎温常服，則毒隨大小溲出。又常帶甘草數寸，隨身備急。若 經含甘草而食物不吐者，非毒物也。三百頭牛藥，即土常山也。三百兩銀 藥，即馬兜鈴藤也。詳見各條。 Explication. [Zhu] Zhenheng: Gan cao is sweet in flavor. It is able to extinguish all kinds of fire. It is yellow inside and contains a principle of penetration. It is a gentleman with a highly pronounced virtue and laden with many items. If one intends to reach the Lower Burner, it is essential to use the tip [of gan cao roots]. [Li] Gao: 32 Yong 癰, “obstruction-illness,”refers to an obstruction of vessels or other ducts inside the body. Qi rushing against the obstruction may cause a local swelling and eventually break through the surface to cause an abscess. BCGM Dict I, 641.



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Gan cao has weak qi and a strong flavor. It is able to rise and it is able to descend. It is yang in yin. In the case of insufficient yang [qi], supplement them with sweet [flavor]. Sweet [flavor] and warm [qi] can eliminate massive heat. Hence, used raw its qi are balanced and it supplements spleen and stomach insufficiency and massively causes an outflow of heart fire. Once it is roasted, its qi are warm. They serve to supplement the original qi of the Triple Burner and they disperse cold in the [body’s] exterior. They eliminate evil heat, end throat pain, slow down proper qi, and nourish yin blood. Whenever a heart fire has availed itself of the spleen, with acute abdominal pain, and the skin of the abdomen being tight because of shrinking, it is suitable to use a doubled dosage. By its nature it is able to slow down rapid [movement], and also to harmonize all kinds of pharmaceutical substances so that they do not fight each other. Hence when it is added to hot medication, it mitigates its heat. When it is added to cold medication, it mitigates its cold. When it is used together with a mixture of cold and hot [substances], it will balance [their qi]. [Wang] Haogu: The five flavors have the following usage. Bitter [flavor] drains. Acrid [flavor] disperses. Sour [flavor] collects. Salty [flavor] softens. Sweet [flavor] causes a rising movement and effuses. How can it be that the Ben cao states: “Gan cao causes discharge of qi?” The fact is, sweet flavor controls the center. It may rise and descend, float on the surface or sink into the depth. It can move upward, and it can move downward. It can move toward the outside, and it can move toward the inside. It is able to harmonize and it is able to slow down. It is able to supplement and it is able to drain. All this is the DAO of being situated in the center. When Zhang Zhongjing in the “decoction with aconitum [accessory tuber] to structure the center” resorted to gan cao, he did so because it was to be feared that [aconitum accessory tuber] might excessively rise upward. When in the “decoction to regulate the stomach and to uphold the qi” he used gan cao, he did so because he feared that [this decoction] might cause too rapid a discharge. Both these strategies are based on the idea of [gan cao] being able to slow down movements. The “minor decoction with bupleurum [root]” includes the cold [qi] of bupleurum [root] and scutellaria [root], and the warmth of ginseng [root] and pinellia [root]. Gan cao is used as a constituent based on the idea of its being able to regulate and harmonize [opposites]. The “decoction to strengthen the center” uses gan cao to supplement the center and mitigate the tightness of the spleen. The “phoenix marrow elixir” uses gan cao because it mitigates tightness of the kidneys and generates original qi. This is based on the idea of sweet [flavor being able to] supplement. It is also said: Sweet [flavor] causes fullness in the center. Those with fullness in their center must not consume sweet [flavor]. Sweet [flavor] slows down and blocks the [movement of ] qi. It is not suitable [to consume it] in the case of central fullness. Whenever [a person] who is not affected by fullness uses roasted

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gan cao, it will supplement [his qi]. When someone with central fullness uses raw gan cao, it will drain [his qi]. It is able to lead all kinds of medication directly to the location of the fullness. Sweet flavor enters the liver as it returns to where its preferences lie. This is its principle of rising and descending, of floating on the surface and of sinking into the depth. The classic correctly states: “Use sweet [flavor] to supplement it, use sweet [flavor] to drain it, use sweet [flavor] to relax it.”33 [Li] Shizhen: Gan cao is red outside and yellow inside. Its colors combine [the trigrams] kun 坤 and li 離. Its flavor is strongly pronounced while its qi are weak. This way it is endowed with all the virtues of soil. It harmonizes all ranks. It has the potential of a primordial elder. It serves to cure the hundreds of evil. It is a transformation product of the DAO of kings. It is endowed with the strength of a thearch that is unknown among humans. It concentrates the potentials of spirits but does not participate itself. Hence one may call it a good statesman among pharmaceutical substances. And yet, sweet [flavor] is not suitable for fullness in the center, vomiting and a devotion to wine drinking, and it is opposed by Peking spurge [root], daphne [herb], kansui [root] and sargassum herb. Is not this comparable to those who act slowly and are unable to help the confused, and when a gentleman is envied by those of low-status? [Su] Song: According to Sun Simiao’s Qian jin fang, gan cao resolves the poison of hundreds of pharmaceutical substances, just as if hot water were poured on snow. A poisoning by aconitum [main tuber] and croton seeds is fixed once gan cao has entered the abdomen. The effect comes in a snap. There are recipe [books] claiming that soybeans resolve the poison of hundreds of pharmaceutical substances. Whenever I tried this, it did not work. But when gan cao is added to prepare a decoction with gan [cao] and soybeans, the effects are extraordinary. Also, Ge Hong in his Zhou hou bei ji fang states: “Prefect Xi Bian once said: In Ling nan, the common people have a medication to resolve gu-poison.34 This is a frequently used item. They fear that other people might obtain this method, and they say that it is a medication worth 300 heads of oxen or three hundred taels of silver. After having lived among them for a long time, [Xi Bian] became familiar with them and was informed of the details. Whenever they intend to drink and eat, they first chew a one cun long piece of gan cao, roasted until done, and swallow the juice. If [the beverages and the food] were poisoned, they would throw them up. Also, they boil three liang of roasted gan cao and four liang of unprocessed ginger in six sheng of water down to two 33 An abbreviated quote from ch. 74 of Huang Di Nei jing suwen. Paul U. Unschuld and Hermann Tessenow, 2011, Vol. II, 601-602. 34 Gu du 蠱毒, “gu-poison[ing].” (1) A poison emitted by certain worms/snakes with an ability to cause varying pathological changes in a person who has taken it in by means of wine or food. (2) Abdominal fullness, in some cases with blood spitting, and blood in the stool and urine. BCGM Dict I, 192 - 193. See BCGM 42-22.



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sheng, and ingest the liquid three times a day. Alternatively, they boil the two items aristolochia [fruit] and gelsemium [herb] in wine and regularly ingest this warm to excrete the poison through fecal matter and urine. Also, they regularly carry several cun of gan cao wherever they are to be prepared for an emergency. If they hold gan cao in their mouth when they eat something and do not throw it up again, then this was not poisonous.” The “medication worth 300 heads of oxen” is maesa [leaf ]. The “medication worth 300 taels of silver” is the vine of aristolochia. For details, see the respective entries. 【附方】舊十五，新二十。 Added Recipes. 15 of old. 20 newly [recorded]. 傷寒心悸脉結代者。甘草二兩，水三升，煮一半，服七合，日一服。傷寒 類要。 Harm caused by cold with heart palpitation and [a movement in the] vessels that is [at times] knotted and intermittent. Boil two liang of gan cao in three sheng of water down to one half and ingest seven ge. To be ingested once a day. Shang han lei yao. 傷寒咽痛少陰證。甘草湯主之。用甘草二兩蜜水炙，水二升，煮一升半， 服五合，日二服。張仲景傷寒論。 Harm caused by cold with a painful throat and pathological signs in the minor yin [region]. This is controlled by a gan cao decoction. Roast two liang of gan cao in honey water and boil it in two sheng of water down to one and a half sheng. Ingest five ge. To be ingested twice a day. Zhang Zhongjing, Shang han lun. 肺熱喉痛有痰熱者。甘草炒二兩，桔梗米泔浸一夜一兩，每服五錢，水一 鍾半，入阿膠半片，煎服。錢乙直訣。 When someone with lung heat and a painful throat has phlegm and heat, prepare a dose of two liang of roasted gan cao and one liang of platycodon [root], soaked for one night in water that has been used to wash rice. Boil [these two items] in one and a half cups of water to which is added half a piece of donkey hide glue, and [let the patient] ingest this. Qian Yi, Zhi jue. 肺痿多涎。肺痿吐涎沫，頭眩，小便數而不欬者，肺中冷也，甘草乾薑湯 温之。甘草炙四兩，乾薑炮二兩，水三升，煮一升五合，分服。張仲景金 匱要略。 Lung dysfunction with much saliva. Lung dysfunction with vomiting of saliva foam, dizziness in the head, frequent urination but without cough. These are cases of cold in the lung. They are to be warmed with a “decoction with gan cao and dried

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ginger.” Boil four liang of roasted gan cao and two liang of dried ginger, roasted in a pan, in three sheng of water down to one sheng and five ge, and ingest this in several portions. Zhang Zhongjing, Jin kui yao lue. 肺痿久嗽。涕唾多，骨節煩悶，寒熱。以甘草三兩炙，搗爲末。每日取小 便三合，調甘草末一錢，服之。廣利方。 Lung dysfunction with chronic cough, much snivel, bones and joints [in pain], vexation and heart pressure, and [alternating sensations of ] cold and heat. Roast three liang of gan cao and pound them to powder. Every day mix three ge of urine with one qian of the gan cao powder and ingest this. Guang li fang. 小兒熱嗽。甘草二兩，豬膽汁浸五宿，炙研末，蜜丸緑豆大，食後薄荷湯 下十丸。名凉膈丸。聖惠方。 Children with heat and cough. Soak two liang of gan cao in pig bile for five nights, roast it and grind it to powder to be formed with honey to pills the size of mung beans. Send down ten pills after meals with a mint decoction. [This medication] is called “pills to cool the diaphragm.” Sheng hui fang. 初生解毒。小兒初生，未可便與朱砂蜜，只以甘草一指節長，炙碎，以水 二合，煮取一合，以綿染點兒口中，可爲一蜆殻，當吐出胸中惡汁。此後 待兒飢渴更與之。令兒智慧無病，出痘稀少。王璆選方。 To resolve poison in a newborn. When a child was just born, it must not be given cinnabar and honey. All that is possible is to roast and break to pieces gan cao, about as long as a one finger phalanx, boil it in two ge of water down to one ge, give the liquid into a corbicula shell and wipe the liquid with silk floss into the child’s mouth. [The newborn] will vomit malign juice from within its chest. Then wait until the child is hungry and thirsty, and apply [the treatment again]. This will make the child intelligent and free from disease. When it is affected by smallpox, the pox will be few. Wang Qiu, Xuan fang. 初生便閉。甘草、枳殻煨各一錢，水半盞煎服。全幼心鑑。 Constipation of newborns. Boil one qian each of gan cao and bitter orange fruit, cooked over a small fire, in half a cup of water and [let the child] ingest it. Quan you xin jian. 小兒撮口發噤。用生甘草二錢半 ， 水一盞 ， 煎六分 ， 温服 ， 令吐痰涎 ， 後以乳汁點兒口中。金匱玉函。 Pursed mouth and clenched jaw of children. Boil two and a half qian of unprocessed gan cao in one small cup of water down to sixty percent and [let the child] ingest it



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warm. This will let it vomit phlegm and saliva. Then drip its nursing mother’s milk into its mouth. Jin kui yu han. 嬰兒目澀。月内目閉不開 ， 或腫羞明 ， 或出血者 ， 名慢肝風。用甘草一 截，以猪膽汁炙爲末，每用米泔調少許灌之。幼幼新書。 Roughness of the eyes of a baby infant. When within its first month it does not open its eyes, or when they are swollen and [the child] cannot bear light, or when they bleed, all these are signs of “slow liver wind.” Roast a segment of gan cao in pig bile and grind it to powder. Each time force-feed [to the child] a small amount mixed with water that has been used to wash rice. You you xin shu. 小兒遺尿。大甘草頭煎湯，夜夜服之。危氏得效方。 Uncontrolled loss of urine of children. Boil gan cao [root] tips and [let the child] ingest the decoction night after night. Wei shi de xiao fang. 小兒尿血。甘草一兩二錢，水六合，煎二合，一歲兒一日服盡。姚和衆至 寶方。 Urination with blood of children. Boil one liang, two qian of gan cao in six ge of water down to two ge and let a child of one year of age ingest it entirely within one day. Yao Hezhong, Zhi bao fang. 小兒羸瘦。甘草三兩，炙焦爲末，蜜丸緑豆大。每温水下五丸，日二服。 金匱玉函。 Emaciated child. Roast three liang of gan cao until they are scorched and [grind the residue to] powder to be formed with honey to pills the size of mung beans. Each time [let the child] send down with water five pills, to be ingested twice a day. Jin kui yu han. 大人羸瘦。甘草三兩炙，每旦以小便煮三四沸，頓服之，良。外臺秘要。 Emaciated adults. Every morning boil three liang of roasted gan cao in urine four to five times to bubbling and ingest this all at once. Good. Wai tai mi yao. 赤白痢下。崔宣州 衍所傳方，用甘草一尺，炙，劈破，以淡漿水蘸，水 一升半，煎取八合，服之立效。 Red and white free-flux illness discharge. A recipe of Cui Yan from Xuan zhou [recommends to] use a one chi long piece of gan cao, roast it, cut it to pieces, dip it in bland fermented water of foxtail millet35 and boil it in one and a half sheng of water down to eight ge. To ingest this has an immediate effect. 35 For jiang shui 漿水, “fermented water of foxtail millet,” see BCGM 05-33.

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梅師方用甘草一兩炙，肉豆蔻七個煨剉，以水三升，煎一升，分服。 The Mei shi fang [recommends to] boil one liang of roasted gan cao with seven nutmeg seeds, roasted in a pan and cut to pieces, in three sheng of water down to one sheng and ingest this in separate portions. 舌腫塞口，不治殺人。甘草煎濃湯，熱漱頻吐。聖濟總録。 Swollen tongue filling the mouth. If this is not cured, it will kill one. Boil gan cao to a viscous decoction. Rinse [the mouth] with the hot liquid several times and spit it out again. Sheng ji zong lu. 太陰口瘡。甘草二寸，白礬一粟大，同嚼嚥汁。保命集。 Oral sore resulting from [a disorder in] the major yin [region]. Chew a two cun long piece of gan cao together with a piece, as big as a millet grain, of alum and swallow the [resulting] juice. Bao ming ji. 發背癰疽。崔元亮海上集驗方云：李北海言，此方乃神授，極奇秘。用甘 草三大兩 ， 生搗篩末 ， 大麥麵九兩 ， 和匀 ， 取好酥少許入内 ， 下沸水搜 如餅狀 ， 方圓大於瘡一分 ， 熱傅腫上 ， 以紬片及故紙隔 ， 令通風 ， 冷則 换之。已成者膿水自出，未成者腫便内消，仍當喫黄芪粥爲妙。 Effusion on the back of an obstruction-illness and an impediment-illness.36 Cui Yuanliang in his Hai shang ji yan fang states: Li Beihai says that “this recipe was given to him by a spirit; it has been kept extraordinarily secret. [It recommends to] mix three generous liang of gan cao, pounded unprocessed and passed through a sieve to obtain a powder, with nine liang of barley flower, add a small amount of good butter and give all this into bubbling water to form a mass shaped like a round cake as big as the sore. Apply this hot to the swelling and cover it with a piece of thin silk or old paper letting wind still pass through. As soon as it has cooled, replace it [with a hot application]. If [the obstruction-illness and impediment-illness] have already formed [an open effusion], pus and water will be released. If they have not yet formed [an open effusion], the swelling will be dissolved internally. In addition [patients] should consume an astragalus [root] gruel to achieve a wondrous effect.” 又一法 ： 甘草一大兩 ， 微炙搗碎 ， 水一大升浸之 ， 器上横一小刀子 ， 露 一宿，平明以物攪令沫出，去沫服之，但是瘡腫發背皆甚效。蘇頌圖經。 Yet another method. Soak one generous liang of gan cao, slightly roasted and pounded to pieces, in one generous sheng of water. Place a knife across the vessel and let 36 Yong ju 癰疽, “obstruction-illness, impediment-illness.” refers to two vaguely distinguished obstructions/impediments of vessels or other ducts inside the body. Qi rushing against the obstruction may cause a local swelling and eventually break through the surface to cause an abscess. BCGM Dict I, 642.



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it uncovered over night. The next morning stir [the liquid] with some object until a foam emerges. Discard the foam and drink the [liquid]. This is very effective in treating sores and swelling effusing on the back. Su Song, Tu jing. 諸般癰疽。甘草三兩，微炙切，以酒一斗同浸瓶中，用黑鉛一片溶成汁， 投酒中取出，如此九度。令病者飲酒至醉，寢後即愈也。經驗方。 All kinds of obstruction-illness and impediment-illness. Slightly roast three liang of gan cao and cut [them into pieces]. Give them into a jar to soak in one dou of wine. Melt one piece of black lead, toss it into the wine and take it out again. Do so nine times. Then let the patient drink the wine until he is intoxicated. After he has rested, he will be healthy. Jing yan fang. 一切癰疽諸發。預期服之，能消腫逐毒，使毒不内攻，功效不可具述。用 大横文粉草二斤搥碎，河水浸一宿，揉取濃汁，再以密絹過，銀石器内慢 火熬成膏，以瓷罐收之。每服一二匙，無灰酒或白湯下。曾服丹藥者亦解 之，或微利無妨，名國老膏。外科精要方。 For all kinds of obstruction-illness and impediment-illness, to be ingested at a time before an effusion has occurred. [This recipe] is able to dissolve swelling and to eliminate poison. It prevents the poison from attacking the interior. It is impossible to enumerate all its effects. Pound two jin of the fen cao 粉草 [type of gan cao] with a massive horizontal line [structure] to small pieces. Soak them in river water for one night. Knead them to obtain a viscous juice. Pass [the juice] through a fine silk fabric twice and boil it over a slow fire in a silver vessel until a paste has formed. This is to be stored in a porcelain jar. Each time ingest the amount held by one or two spoons, to be sent down with ash-free wine or clear, boiled water. [This medication] also serves to resolve [poisoning following] the ingestion of elixir drugs. It may cause a mild free flow, but this is not harmful. Its name is “the nation’s elder’s paste.” Wai ke jing yao fang. 癰疽秘塞。生甘草二錢半，井水煎服，能疏導下惡物。直指方。 Obstruction-illness and impediment-illness with constipation. Boil two and a half qian of unprocessed gan cao in well water and ingest it. This can cause a discharge of malign items. Zhi zhi fang. 乳癰初起。炙甘草二錢，新水煎服，仍令人咂之。直指方。 Breast obstruction-illness37 in its earliest stage. Boil two qian of roasted gan cao and [let the patient] ingest it with newly drawn water. At the same time let another person suck [the affected region]. Zhi zhi fang.

37 Ru yong 乳癰, “breast obstruction-illness,” a condition of acute putrefication of a woman’s breast. Often encountered if a woman, following delivery, experiences chui nai 吹奶,

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些小癰癤。發熱時 ， 即用粉草節 ， 晒乾爲末 ， 熱酒服一二錢 ， 連進數 服，痛熱皆止。外科精要方。 All kinds of minor obstruction-illness38 with pimples. When [the patient] develops heat, dry nodes of the fen cao 粉草 [type of gan cao] in the sun and [grind them to] powder. Let him ingest one or two qian with hot wine, and repeat this several times in succession. The pain and the heat will end. Wai ke jing yao fang. 痘瘡煩渴。粉甘草炙 ， 栝樓根等分 ， 水煎服之。甘草能通血脉 ， 發瘡痘 也。直指方。 Smallpox with vexation and thirst. Boil equal amounts of roasted powdery [core] gan cao and trichosanthes root and [let the patient] ingest this. The gan cao is able to penetrate the blood vessels and cause an effusion of smallpox sores. Zhi zhi fang. 陰下懸癰。生於穀道前後，初發如松子大，漸如蓮子。數十日後，赤腫如 桃李，成膿即破，破則難愈也。用横文甘草一兩，四寸截斷，以溪澗長流 水一盌，河水、井水不用，以文武火慢慢蘸水炙之。自早至午，令水盡爲 度 ， 劈開視之 ， 中心水潤乃止。細剉 ， 用無灰好酒二小盌 ， 煎至一盌 ， 温服，次日再服，便可保無虞。此藥不能急消，過二十日，方得消盡。興 化守康朝病已破，衆醫拱手，服此兩劑即合口，乃韶州 劉從周方也。李迅 癰疽方。 Suspended obstruction-illness below the yin [(i. e., genital) region]. It may develop in front or behind the anus. When it has just effused its size resembles that of pine seeds. It gradually assumes the size of lotus seeds. Several tens of days later, it is red and swollen, like a peach or plum. It forms pus and breaks open. Once it has broken open it is difficult to heal. Break one liang of gan cao with a horizontal line design into four cun long pieces. Then dip them into a small bowl of mountain rivulet water that has flowed a long distance – do not use river or well water – and was slowly heated with a mild fire first and with a strong fire later. Then roast them. Repeat this from early morning until noon, until all the water is used up, and cut them open to inspect them. When the moisture has penetrated into their center, end [the procedure of dipping and roasting]. Cut [the gan cao] into fine pieces and boil them in two small cups of good, ash-free wine down to one small cup. [Let the patient] ingest this warm and the next day ingest it again. This medication is able to offer carefree protection but it is unable to quickly dissolve [the obstruction-illness]. Only after 20 days it will have dissolved completely. When the governor’s of Xing “inflated breast,” or du ru 妒乳, “jealousy breast.”

38 Yong 癰, “obstruction-illness,”refers to an obstruction of vessels or other ducts inside the body. Qi rushing against the obstruction may cause a local swelling and eventually break through the surface to cause an abscess. BCGM Dict I, 641.



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hua, [Yao] Kangchao, [suspended obstruction-illness] broke open, all the doctors could not help it, folded their hands and watched. Then he was given this [medication] to ingest and it closed the open [lesion]. It is a recipe of Liu Congzhou of Shao zhou. Li Xun, Yong ju fang. 陰頭生瘡。蜜煎甘草末，頻頻塗之，神效。千金方。 Sores developing on the glans penis. Boil gan cao powder in honey and repeatedly apply it [to the affected region]. Divinely effective. Qian jin fang. 陰下濕癢。甘草煎湯，日洗三五度。古今録驗。 Moisture and itch below the yin [(i. e., genital) region]. Wash [the affected region] with a gan cao decoction three to five times a day. Gu jin lu yan. 代指腫痛。甘草煎湯漬之。千金方。 Finger replacement39 with painful swelling. Soak [the affected finger] in a gan cao decoction. Qian jin fang. 凍瘡發裂。甘草煎湯洗之。次以黄連、黄蘗、黄芩末 ， 入輕粉、麻油調 傅。談埜翁方。 Frost sores with cracked [skin]. Wash [the affected region] with a gan cao decoction. Then mix coptis [rhizome], phellodendron [bark] and huang qin powder with calomel and sesame oil and apply [this to the affected region]. Tan Yeweng fang. 湯火瘡灼。甘草煎蜜塗。李樓奇方。 Sores from scalding and burns from fire. Apply gan cao boiled in honey [to the affected region]. Li Lou qi fang. 蠱毒藥毒。甘草節以真麻油浸之 ， 年久愈妙。每用嚼嚥 ， 或水煎服 ， 神 妙。直指方。 Gu poison40 and medication poison. Soak gan cao nodes in genuine sesame oil; if this lasts for as long as a year, the cure will be wondrous. For each [therapy let the patient] chew [the gan cao] and swallow [the resulting liquid]. Or boil [the gan cao] in water and let him ingest it. Divinely wondrous. Zhi zhi fang. 小兒中蠱欲死者。甘草半兩，水一盞，煎五分服，當吐出。金匱玉函。 39 Dai zhi 代指, “painful finger replacement.” A condition of sores developing at the margins of one’s fingernails with the edges being inflamed, swollen and painful. BCGM Dict I, 117.

40 Gu du 蠱毒, “gu-poison[ing].” (1) A poison emitted by certain worms/snakes with an ability to cause varying pathological changes in a person who has taken it in by means of wine or food. (2) Abdominal fullness, in some cases with blood spitting, and blood in the stool and urine. BCGM Dict I, 192 - 193. See BCGM 42-22.

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When a child is struck by gu41 and is close to dying. Boil half a liang of gan cao in one small cup of water down to five parts and [let the patient] ingest it. [The child] will vomit and [the gu] comes out. Jin kui yu han. 牛馬肉毒。甘草煮濃汁，飲一二升，或煎酒服，取吐或下。如渴，不可飲 水，飲之即死。千金方。 Ox and horse meat poison. Boil gan cao to obtain a thick juice and [let the patient] drink one or two sheng. Or boil [the gan cao] in wine and [let the patient] ingest it. This will let him vomit or cause discharge. If he is thirsty, he must not drink water. If he were to drink [water], he would die. Qian jin fang. 飲饌中毒，未審何物，卒急無藥，只煎甘草薺苨湯，入口便活。金匱玉函 方。 Poisoning caused by a beverage or delicacy. If one does not know what item [may have caused it], and if this is an urgent case without access to medication, all that is required is to boil a decoction with gan cao and adenophora trachelioides [root]. Once it has entered [the patient’s] mouth he will survive. Jin kui yu han fang. 水莨菪毒。菜中有水莨菪 ， 葉圓而光 ， 有毒 ， 誤食令人狂亂 ， 狀若中 風，或作吐。以甘草煮汁服之，即解。金匱玉函妙方。 Water henbane poison. Water henbane is a poisonous vegetable with round and shiny leaves. If they are inadvertently eaten they cause madness and confusion, as if one were struck by wind. In some cases [patients] vomit. Boil gan cao and [let the patients] ingest the juice. This resolves [the poison]. Jin kui yu han miao fang. 12-02 黄耆本經上品 Huang qi, FE Ben jing, upper rank. Astragalus membranaceus Bunge var. mongolicus (Bunge) P. K. Hsiao. Yellow vetch.

【釋名】黄芪綱目、戴糝本經、戴椹别録，又名獨椹、芰草别録，又名蜀 脂、百本别録、王孫藥性論。【時珍曰】耆，長也。黄耆色黄，爲補藥之 長 ， 故名。今俗通作黄芪。或作”蓍”者 ， 非矣。”蓍”乃”蓍龜”之”蓍”， 音 尸。王孫，與牡蒙同名異物。 Explanation of Names. Huang qi 黄芪, Gang mu. Dai san 戴糝, Ben jing. Dai shen 戴椹, Bie lu. Also named du shen 獨椹, ji cao 芰草, Bie lu. Also named shu zhi 蜀 41 Zhong gu 中蠱, “being struck by gu,” “gu stroke.” Identical with gu du 蠱毒, “gu-poison[ing].” BCGM Dict I, 683.



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脂, “fat from Shu,” bai ben 百本, Bie lu. Wang sun 王孫, Yao xing lun. [Li] Shizhen: Qi 耆 is zhang 長, “senior/elder.” Huang qi is of yellow, huang 黄, color. It is the “elder” among supplementing pharmaceutical substances. Hence the name [”yellow elder”]. Nowadays it is commonly called huang qi 黄芪. When sometimes it is written shi 蓍, this is wrong. Shi 蓍 is the shi 蓍 of shi gui 蓍龜, read shi 尸. The name wang sun 王孫 also refers to du meng 牡蒙, but this is a different item. 【集解】【别録曰】黄耆生蜀郡山谷、白水、漢中。二月、十月采 ， 陰 乾。【弘景曰】第一出隴西 洮陽，色黄白甜美，今亦難得。次用黑水 宕 昌者，色白肌理粗，新者亦甘而温補。又有蠶陵 白水者，色理勝蜀中者 而冷補。又有赤色者，可作膏貼。俗方多用，道家不須。【恭曰】今出原 州及華原者最良， 蜀漢不復采用。宜州、寧州者亦佳。【頌曰】今河東、 陝西州郡多有之。根長二三尺以來。獨莖，或作叢生，枝幹去地二三寸。 其葉扶疏作羊齒狀 ， 又如蒺藜苗。七月中開黄紫花。其實作莢子 ， 長寸 許。八月中采根用。其皮折之如綿，謂之綿黄耆。然有數種，有白水耆、 赤水耆、木耆功用並同， 而力不及白水耆。木耆短而理横。今人多以苜蓿 根假作黄耆 ， 折皮亦似綿 ， 頗能亂真。但苜蓿根堅而脆 ， 黄耆至柔韌 ， 皮微黄褐色，肉中白色，此爲異耳。【承曰】黄耆本出綿上者爲良，故名 綿黄耆，非謂其柔韌如綿也。今圖經所繪憲州者，地與綿上相鄰也。【好 古曰】綿上即山西 沁州，白水在陝西 同州。黄耆味甘，柔軟如綿，能令 人肥。苜蓿根味苦而堅脆，俗呼爲土黄耆，能令人瘦。用者宜審。【嘉謨 曰】綿上，沁州鄉名，今有巡檢司，白水、赤水二鄉，俱屬隴西。【時珍 曰】黄耆葉似槐葉而微尖小，又似蒺藜葉而微闊大，青白色。開黄紫花， 大如槐花。結小尖角，長寸許。根長二三尺，以緊實如箭簳者爲良。嫩苗 亦可煠淘茹食。其子收之，十月下種，如種菜法亦可。 Collected Explanations. Bie lu: Huang qi grows in the mountain valleys of Shu jun, in Bai shui and in Han zhong. It is collected in the second and in the tenth month. It is dried in the shade. [Tao] Hongjun: First choice [huang qi] comes from Tao yang in Long xi. It is of yellow-white color and of a sweet and delicious flavor. It is difficult to obtain these days. The next best used is from Hei shui, Dang chang. It is of white color with a coarse skin texture. Fresh specimens are red and sweet, and they are warming and supplementing. Then there are those from Can ling, Bai shui. Their color and structure exceed those from Shu; they are cooling and supplementing. And there are specimens of red color; they can be made to plasters/ointments. They are frequently used in common recipes, but Daoists do not approve of them. [Su] Gong: Nowadays, those originating in Yuan zhou and Hua yuan are the best. [Kinds from] Shu and Han are no longer collected and resorted to. Those from Yi zhou and Ning zhou are fine, too. [Su] Song: Nowadays they are found at many

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places in the zhou and prefectures of He dong and Shaan xi. Their root is at least two or three chi long. They have a single stalk; they may grow as thickets. Their branches are two to three cun above the ground. Their leaves are luxuriant and well-spaced, and they are shaped like sheep teeth, or like the seedlings of tribulus herb. In the seventh month they open yellow-purple flowers. Their fruits form pods, about one cun long. The root is collected for [therapeutic] use in the eighth month. When the bark can be bent as if it were silk floss, [the substance] is called “silk floss huang qi.” However, there are several kinds, including [huang] qi from Bai shui, [huang] qi from Chi shui and “wood [huang] qi.” Their [therapeutic] functions are all identical but their strength does not reach that of [huang] qi from Bai shui. Wood [huang] qi is short and has a horizontal [line] structure. Today’s people often use alfalfa roots instead of huang qi. Their bark, too, can be bent like silk floss. They can easily be mistaken for the genuine specimens. However, alfalfa roots are hard and brittle, while huang qi is very soft and pliable. The bark is of a slightly yellow-brown color, and the meat inside is white. This is how they differ. [Chen] Cheng: Good huang qi originally came from Mian shang 綿上. Hence the name Mian huang qi does not mean that it is soft and pliable like silk floss, mian 綿. Today, the Tu jing has a drawing of [huang qi] from Xian zhou. This place is located near Mian shang. [Wang] Haogu: Mian shang is Qin zhou in Shan xi. Bai shui is in Tong zhou, in Shaan xi. The flavor of huang qi is sweet; it is soft and pliable like silk floss. It can make one fat. The roots of alfalfa are hard and brittle; they are commonly called “local huang qi.” They let one become emaciated. Those who use them must be careful. [Chen] Jiamo: Mian shang is the name of a rural region in Qin zhou. Today it has its own administration. The two rural regions Bai shui and Chi shui belong to Long xi. [Li] Shizhen: The leaves of huang qi resemble those of sophora japonica [trees] but are slightly pointed. Also, they are similar to the leaves of tribulus herb, but a bit broader, and they are of greenish-white color. They open yellow-purple flowers resembling sophora japonica flowers. Their fruits are small with a pointed end; they are a bit more than one cun long. Their roots are two to three chi long. Those roots that are a hard and solid are good. Its tender seedlings can be cleaned and fried in a pan and are consumed as food. The seeds are collected and are planted in the tenth month. The method to plant vegetables is applicable here, too. 【修治】【斅曰】凡使勿用木耆草，真相似，只是生時葉短并根横也。須 去頭上皺皮，蒸半日，擘細，於槐砧上剉用。【時珍曰】今人但搥扁，以 蜜水塗炙數次，以熟爲度。亦有以鹽湯潤透，器盛，於湯瓶蒸熟切用者。 Pharmaceutical Preparation. [Lei] Xiao: For all applications, wood [huang] qi must not be used. It is very similar to genuine kinds, except for its short leaves and hor-



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izontal roots. Remove the creased bark from the rhizome, steam [the rhizome] for half a day, break it into fine pieces and cut it on a chopping block made of sophora japonica wood, before applying [it in a therapy]. [Li] Shizhen: Today, the people only pound [huang qi] flat. They smear honey water [on these flat pieces] and roast them several times until they are done. Or they are entirely moistened with a salt decoction, filled into a container and steamed in a jar until done. Then they are cut and can be used [in medicinal therapies]. 12-02-01 根。Gen. [Huang qi] root.

【氣味】甘，微温，無毒。本經。白水者冷補。别録。【元素曰】味甘， 氣温，平。氣薄味厚，可升可降，陰中陽也。入手足太陰氣分，又入手少 陽、足少陰命門。【之才曰】伏苓爲之使，惡龜甲、白鮮皮。 Qi and Flavor. Sweet, slightly warm, nonpoisonous. Ben jing. Bai shui [kinds of huang qi] are cold and supplementing. Bie lu. [Zhang] Yuansu: Flavor sweet, qi warm, balanced. Its qi are weak; the flavor is strong. It can rise and it can descend. It is yang in yin. It enters the qi sections of the hand and foot major yin [conduits]. Also, it enters the Gate of Life through the hand minor yang and foot minor yin [conduits]. [Xu] Zhicai: Poria is its guiding substance. [Ingested together,] it abhors tortoise plastons and dictamnus [root] bark. 【主治】癰疽久敗瘡 ， 排膿止痛 ， 大風癩疾 ， 五痔鼠瘻 ， 補虚 ， 小兒百 病。本經。婦人子臟風邪氣，逐五臟間惡血，補丈夫虚損，五勞羸瘦，止 渴， 腹痛洩痢， 益氣， 利陰氣。别録。主虚喘， 腎衰耳聾， 療寒熱， 治 發背 ， 内補。甄權。助氣壯筋骨 ， 長肉補血 ， 破癥癖 ， 瘰癧癭贅 ， 腸風 血崩 ， 帶下赤白痢 ， 産前後一切病 ， 月候不匀 ， 痰嗽 ， 頭風熱毒赤目。 日華。治虚勞自汗 ， 補肺氣 ， 瀉肺火心火 ， 實皮毛 ， 益胃氣 ， 去肌熱及 諸經之痛。元素。主太陰瘧疾，陽維爲病苦寒熱，督脉爲病逆氣裏急。好 古。 Control. Obstruction-illness and impediment-illness42 that have deteriorated to sores for a long time. It removes pus and ends pain. Massive wind [i. e.,] repudia-

42 Yong ju 癰疽, “obstruction-illness, impediment-illness.” refers to two vaguely distinguished obstructions/impediments of vessels or other ducts inside the body. Qi rushing against the obstruction may cause a local swelling and eventually break through the surface to cause an abscess. BCGM Dict I, 642.

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tion-illness.43 The five kinds of piles and mouse fistula.44 It supplements depletion. All the hundreds diseases of children. Ben jing. Wind and evil qi affecting the womb of women. It dispels malign blood from the five long-term depots. It supplements in the case of depletion injury of husbands, the five kinds of exhaustion and emaciation. It ends thirst and abdominal pain with outflow. It boosts the qi. It frees the passage of yin qi. Bie lu. It controls depletion panting, kidney weakness and deafness. It heals [alternating sensations of ] cold and heat. It serves to cure effusion on the back. It supplements internally. Zhen Quan. It assists the qi and strengthens sinews and bones. It lets flesh grow and supplements blood. It breaks open concretion-illness and aggregation-illness. [It serves to cure] scrofula pervasion-illness45 and goiter reduncancy,46 intestinal wind and blood collapse,47 red and white discharge from below the belt [of women], all kinds of diseases prior to and following birth, irregular menstruation, phlegm cough, head wind,48 heat poison and red eyes. Rihua. It serves to cure depletion exhaustion and spontaneous sweating. It supplements the lung qi. It drains lung fire and heart fire. It adds substance to skin and hair. It boosts the stomach qi. It removes heat from the muscles and pain from all the conduits. [Zhang] Yuansu. It controls major yin malaria illness and suffering from [alternating sensations of ] cold and heat because of diseases affecting the yang rope [conduit] and counterflow of qi with internal tension resulting from diseases affecting the supervisor vessel. [Wang] Haogu. 【發明】【弘景曰】出隴西者温補 ， 出白水者冷補。又有赤色者 ， 可作 膏，用消癰腫。【藏器曰】虚而客熱，用白水黄耆；虚而客冷，用隴西黄 耆。【大明曰】黄耆藥中補益，呼爲羊肉。白水耆凉，無毒，排膿，治血 及煩悶熱毒、骨蒸勞。赤水耆凉，無毒，治血，退熱毒，餘功並同。木耆 凉，無毒，治煩排膿之力微於黄耆，遇闕即倍用之。【元素曰】黄耆甘温 純陽，其用有五：補諸虚不足，一也；益元氣，二也；壯脾胃，三也； 去肌熱， 四也； 排膿止痛， 活血生血， 内托陰疽， 爲瘡家聖藥， 五也。 43 Da feng lai 大風癩, “massive wind [i. e.,] repudiation-illness,” most likely including cases of leprosy/Aussatz. BCGM Dict I, 111, 293

44 Shu lou 鼠瘻, “mouse fistula,” BCGM Dict I, 466, identical with Luo li 瘰癧, “scrofula pervasion-illnes.”

45 Luo li 瘰癧, “scrofula pervasion-illness,” when two or more connected swellings of the size of plum or date kernels appear either on the neck or in the armpits, or somewhere else on the body. BCGM Dict I. 329. 46 Ying zui 癭贅, “goiter redundancy,” a condition identical with ying 癭, “goiter”. BCGM Dict I. 641. 47 [Xue] beng [血]崩, “[blood] collapse,” is excessive vaginal bleeding. BCGM Dict I, 594.

48 Tou feng 頭風, “head wind.” Condition of wind evil attacking the head followed by pain, dizziness, itching. BCGM Dict I, 509.



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又曰： 補五臟諸虚， 治脉弦自汗， 瀉陰火， 去虚熱， 無汗則發之， 有汗 則止之。【好古曰】黄耆治氣虚盗汗 ， 并自汗及膚痛 ， 是皮表之藥 ； 治 咯血， 柔脾胃， 是中州之藥； 治傷寒尺脉不至， 補腎臟元氣， 是裏藥， 乃上中下内外三焦之藥也。【杲曰】靈樞云：衛氣者，所以温分肉而充皮 膚，肥腠理而司開闔。黄耆既補三焦，實衛氣，與桂同功。特比桂甘平、 不辛熱爲異耳。但桂則通血脉，能破血而實衛氣，耆則益氣也。又黄耆與 人參、甘草三味，爲除躁熱肌熱之聖藥。脾胃一虚，肺氣先絶。必用黄耆 温分肉，益皮毛，實腠理，不令汗出，以益元氣而補三焦。【震亨曰】黄 耆補元氣，肥白而多汗者爲宜；若面黑形實而瘦者服之，令人胸滿，宜以 三拗湯瀉之。【宗奭曰】防風、黄耆，世多相須而用。唐 許胤宗初仕陳， 爲新蔡王外兵參軍，時柳太后病風不能言，脉沈而口噤。胤宗曰：既不能 下藥 ， 宜湯氣蒸之 ， 藥入腠理 ， 周時可瘥。乃造黄耆防風湯數斛 ， 置於 牀下，氣如煙霧，其夕便得語也。【杲曰】防風能制黄耆，黄耆得防風其 功愈大，乃相畏而相使也。【震亨曰】人之口通乎地，鼻通乎天。口以養 陰，鼻以養陽。天主清，故鼻不受有形而受無形；地主濁，故口受有形而 兼乎無形。柳太后之病不言，若以有形之湯，緩不及事。今投以二物，湯 氣滿室，則口鼻俱受。非智者通神，不可回生也。【杲曰】小兒外物驚， 宜用黄連安神丸鎮心藥。若脾胃寒濕，嘔吐腹痛，瀉痢青白，宜用益黄散 藥。如脾胃伏火，勞役不足之證，及服巴豆之類，胃虚而成慢驚者，用益 黄、理中之藥，必傷人命。當於心經中，以甘温補土之源，更於脾土中， 以甘寒瀉火，以酸凉補金，使金旺火衰，風木自平矣。今立黄耆湯瀉火補 金益土，爲神治之法。用炙黄耆二錢，人參一錢，炙甘草五分，白芍藥五 分，水一大盞，煎半盞，温服。【機曰】蕭山 魏直著博愛心鑑三卷，言 小兒痘瘡，惟有順、逆、險三證。順者爲吉，不用藥。逆者爲凶，不必用 藥。惟險乃悔吝之象，當以藥轉危爲安，宜用保元湯加减主之。此方原出 東垣治慢驚土衰火旺之法。今借而治痘，以其内固營血，外護衛氣，滋助 陰陽，作爲膿血。其證雖異，其理則同。去白芍藥，加生薑，改名曰保元 湯。炙黄耆三錢 ， 人參二錢 ， 炙甘草一錢 ， 生薑一片 ， 水煎服之。險證 者 ， 初出圓暈乾紅少潤也 ， 將長光澤 ， 頂陷不起也 ， 既出雖起慘色不明 也，漿行色灰不榮也，漿定光潤不消也，漿老濕潤不斂也，結痂而胃弱内 虚也，痂落而口渴不食也，痂後生癰腫也，癰腫潰而斂遲也。凡有諸證， 並宜此湯。或加芎藭，加官桂，加糯米以助之。詳見本書。【嘉謨曰】人 參補中 ， 黄耆實表。凡内傷脾胃 ， 發熱惡寒 ， 吐泄怠卧 ， 脹滿痞塞 ， 神 短脉微者 ， 當以人參爲君 ， 黄耆爲臣 ； 若表虚自汗亡陽 ， 潰瘍痘疹陰瘡 者，當以黄耆爲君，人參爲臣，不可執一也。 Explication. [Tao] Hongjing: [Huang qi] coming from Long xi warms and supplements. That originating in Bai shui cools and supplements. There are also kinds of red color; they can be made to ointments/plasters and are used to dissolve swelling

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associated with an obstruction-illness.49 [Chen] Cangqi: For depletion and visitor heat use huang qi from Bai shui. For depletion and visitor cold, use huang qi from Long xi. Da Ming: Huang qi is among pharmaceutical substances the one that supplements and boosts; it is called “mutton.” [Huang qi from] Bai shui is cool and nonpoisonous. It serves to eliminate pus. It cures blood and heat poison associated with vexation and heart-pressure, as well as bone steaming50 with exhaustion. [Huang] qi from Chi shui is cool and nonpoisonous. It serves to cure blood. It removes heat poison. All its further [therapeutic] potential is identical [with that of huang qi from Bai shui]. Wood qi is cool and nonpoisonous. Its strength to cure vexation and eliminate pus is weaker than that of huang qi. If one encounters a situation of [huang qi] shortness, a doubled dosage [of wood qi] is advisable. [Zhang] Yuansu: Huang qi is sweet, warm and pure yang. It has five usages. First, it supplements all conditions of depletion and insufficiency. Second, it boosts the original qi. Third, it strengthens spleen and stomach. Fourth, it removes heat from the muscles. Fifth, it removes pus and ends pain, it quickens blood and generates blood, it ends internal impediment-illness.51 and is a sage-like pharmaceutical substance used by sore/wound experts. [Zhang Yuansu] also says: It supplements all kinds of depletion in the five long-term depots. It serves to cure spontaneous sweating from the vessel strings. It drains yin fire. It eliminatess depletion heat. If there is no sweating [when patients should sweat], it will let [sweat] effuse. If there is sweating [when there should be no sweating], it ends it. [Wang] Haogu: Huang qi serves to cure qi depletion and robber sweating,52 and also spontaneous sweating and skin pain. It is a pharmaceutical substance for the skin and the external section. It serves to cure blood spitting and softens spleen and stomach. It is a pharmaceutical substance for the central region. It serves to cure harm caused by cold and absence of [a movement in the] vessels at the “foot” [section of the wrists]. It supplements the original qi in the kidney long-term depot. It is a pharmaceutical substance for the interior. That is, it is a pharmaceutical substance for [diseases affecting] the upper, central and lower, 49 Yong 癰, “obstruction-illness,”refers to an obstruction of vessels or other ducts inside the body. Qi rushing against the obstruction may cause a local swelling and eventually break through the surface to cause an abscess. BCGM Dict I, 641.

50 Gu zheng 骨蒸, “bone steaming,” ① a condition of an infectious consumptive disease with a development of vexing heat in the afternoon. ② An illness sign of heat and vexation with a feeling as if this originated in the bones. BCGM Dict I, 197.

51 Ju 疽, “impediment-illness,” refers to an obstruction of vessels or other ducts inside the body. Qi rushing against the impediment may cause a local swelling and eventually break through the surface to cause an abscess. BCGM Dict I, 277. 52 Dao han 盗汗, “robber sweating,” (1) an illness sign of a profuse sweating during sleep that ends when one wakes up. (2) A pathological condition with robber sweating as major sign. BCGM Dict I, 122.



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inner and outer [sections, as well as] the Triple Burner. [Li] Gao: The Ling shu states: “The guard qi serve to warm the partings of the flesh. They fill the skin, fatten the skin structures, and are responsible for their opening and closing.” That is, huang qi supplements the Triple Burner and replenishes the guard qi. Its [therapeutic] potential is identical to that of cassia bark. The difference is that in comparison with cassia bark it is sweet and balanced, rather than acrid and hot. However, cassia bark is able to penetrate blood vessels. It can break through blood [accumulations] and replenishes the guard qi, while [huang] qi boosts the qi. Also, when huang qi is given together with ginseng [root] and gan cao, these three substances constitute a sage-like medication that eliminates heat associated with restlessness and heat in the muscles. In the case of depletion affecting both spleen and stomach, the qi in the lung have been cut off first. [For such a condition] it is essential to resort to huang qi to warm the partings of the flesh, to boost skin and hair and to replenish the interstice structures lest they release sweat. This serves to boost the original qi and to supplement the Triple Burner. [Zhu] Zhenheng: Huang qi supplements the original qi. It is advisable [to give it to patients] that are fat and white and sweat profusely. When persons with a black face and a replete physical appearance that are emaciated ingest it, it will cause a sensation of fullness in their chest. This is to be drained with the “decoction of three broken [ingredients].” [Kou] Zongshi: Saposhnikovia [roots] and huang qi are often used to support each other. When during the Tang dynasty Xu Yinzong began to work as an official in Chen, he served in the army of King Xincai. At that time, the empress dowager Liu taihou suffered from a wind disease and was unable to speak. The [movement in her] vessels was in the depth and she had lockjaw. [Xu] Yinzong said: As she is unable to ingest medication, she must be steamed with the qi of hot water. This will let a medication enter her interstice structures and she will be healed within one day. Then he had several hu of the “decoction with huang qi and saposhnikovia [roots]” prepared and placed it under her bed. The qi rose like fumes and fog, and that same evening she was able to speak. [Li] Gao: Saposhnikovia [roots] are capable of checking huang qi. When huang qi is combined with saposhnikovia [roots], its [therapeutic] potential is increased. That is, [ingested together,] they fear each other and they support each other. [Zhu] Zhenheng: The human mouth corresponds with the earth; the nose corresponds with heaven. The mouth serves to nourish the yin; the nose serves to nourish the yang. Heaven controls clarity. Hence the nose does not take in that which has a physical appearance; it only takes in what is without physical appearance. The earth controls turbidity. Hence the mouth takes in what has a physical appearance and also that which has no physical appearance. When the empress dowager Liu taihou suffered from being unable to speak, if she had been given as a decoction something with a physical ap-

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pearance, this would have been too slow [a treatment], unable to fulfill its task. Here [the physician] filled her room with the qi of a decoction of two items. They were taken in by both her mouth and her nose. If [Xu Yinzong] had not been someone whose wisdom corresponds with that of spirits, he would not have been able to bring her back to life. [Li] Gao: When a child is frightened by some item from outside, it is advisable to use the “pills with coptis [rhizome] that pacify the spirit” as a medication to calm down the heart. In the case of cold and moisture affecting the spleen and the stomach, with vomiting and abdominal pain, and a greenish-white outflow and free-flux illness, it is advisable to use the “powder medication to boost the yellow [soil, i. e., spleen and stomach].” In the case of hidden fire in spleen and stomach, i. e., a condition of insufficient [qi] resulting from exhaustion with labor, and when someone has ingested croton seeds or similar items, causing stomach depletion and chronic fright, if one were to use medication serving to “boost the yellow [soil, i. e., spleen and stomach]” and to “put in order the center,” this would be harmful to that person’s life. For such conditions it is essential to approach the heart conduit to supplement the source of the soil (i. e., spleen and stomach) with sweet and warming [substances], and furthermore to drain from within the spleen, i. e., the soil, the fire by means of sweet and cold [substances], as well as to supplement the metal (i. e., the lung qi) with sour and cool [substances], as this serves to let the metal [qi] flourish and the fire weaken. As a result, the wind associated with the [phase] wood will be brought back to normal. In the present case, [Xu Yingzong] set up a “decoction with huang qi” to drain the fire, to supplement the metal and to boost the soil. This is a divinely curative method. He had two qian of roasted huang qi, one qian of ginseng [root], five fen of roasted glycyrrhiza [root], and five fen of paeonia [root] boiled in one large cup down to half a cup and [let the patient] ingest the liquid warm. [Wang] Ji: Wei Zhi from Mount Xiao shan wrote the Bo ai xin jian in three chapters. He says, when children suffer from smallpox sores, there may be one of only three conditions: normal, contrary to normal, and dangerous. Normal conditions are auspicious; they need no pharmaceutical treatment. Conditions developing contrary to normal are inauspicious; they must not be treated with pharmaceuticals substances. Only dangerous conditions may result in disgrace if a critical situation is not reverted to good health again by means of medication. This can be controlled by an application of the “decoction to protect the original [qi],” with [ingredients] added or omitted [depending on an individual condition]. This recipe originates in [Li] Dongyuan’s method to cure chronic fright associated with a weakness of [the phase] soil and flourishing of [the phase] fire. Today it is resorted to to cure smallpox. This makes use of its [ability to] internally solidify camp [qi, i. e.,] blood, to externally protect the guard qi, and to nourish and support yin and yang, causing [smallpox to



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be converted to] pus and blood. The conditions are different, but the [therapeutic] principle remains the same. When paeonia [root] is omitted and fresh ginger is added instead, the name [of the medication] is changed to “decoction to protect the original [qi].” Boil in water three qian of roasted huang qi, two qian of ginseng [root], one qian of roasted glycyrrhiza [root] and one slice of fresh ginger and [let the patient] ingest this. Dangerous conditions [of smallpox may appear as follows]. In the beginning, the [pox] are round, not well identified, dry, red and a little moist. When they grow, they become shiny. They sink down and do not rise. They may have appeared but their color is indistinct and not clear. The thick liquid is of ash-grey color that is not lustrous. The thick liquid has a stable, moist shine that fails to dissolve. The thick liquid is moistened continuously, and fails to withdraw. When scabs form with stomach weakness and internal depletion. When the scabs fall off, the mouth is thirsty but does not eat. When after the scabs [have fallen off ] a swelling associated with an obstruction-illness53 develops. When the swelling associated with an obstruction-illness festers and a closure is delayed. For all these kinds of conditions, [an application of ] this decoction is advisable. In some cases one may add asarum heteropoides [root], in others cassia bark, and in still others glutinous rice to support it. For details, see the original text [of the Bo ai xin jian]. [Chen] Jiamo: Ginseng [root] supplements the center. Huang qi replenishes the exterior. For all conditions of spleen and stomach harmed internally, with an effusion of heat and an aversion to cold, with vomiting and outflow and a desire to rest and lie down, with [abdominal] distension, [a sensation of ] fullness, obstacle-illness and constipation, lack of spirit and minimal [movement in the] vessels, ginseng [root] is to be resorted to as ruler and huang qi as its minister. If it is a condition of exterior depletion with spontaneous sweating and loss of yang [qi], with festering ulcers, pox macules and sores in the yin [(i. e., genital) region], huang qi is to be applied as ruler, and ginseng [root] as minister. 【附方】舊五，新九。 Added Recipes. Five of old. Nine newly [recorded]. 小便不通。綿黄耆二錢，水二盞，煎一盞，温服。小兒减半。總微論。 Blocked urination. Boil two qian of huang qi from Mian [shang] in two small cups of water down to one cup and ingest [the liquid] warm. The dosage for children is to be reduced by one half. Zong wei lun. 53 Yong 癰, “obstruction-illness,”refers to an obstruction of vessels or other ducts inside the body. Qi rushing against the obstruction may cause a local swelling and eventually break through the surface to cause an abscess. BCGM Dict I, 641.

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酒疸黄疾。心下懊痛 ， 足脛滿 ， 小便黄 ， 飲酒發赤黑黄斑 ， 由大醉當 風，入水所致。黄耆二兩，木蘭一兩，爲末。酒服方寸匕，日三服。肘後 方。 Dan-illness/jaundice caused by wine, with an annoying pain below the heart, a sensation of fullness in feet and shanks, yellow urine, and an effusion of red, black and yellow spots following the consumption of wine. This is the result of a wind exposure while being heavily intoxicated [with wine] and then going into the water.54 [Grind] two liang of huang qi and one liang of Chinese indigo plant to powder and ingest with wine the amount held by a square cun spoon. To be ingested three times a day. Zhou hou fang. 氣虚白濁。黄芪鹽炒半兩，伏苓一兩，爲末。每服一錢，白湯下。經驗良 方。 Qi depletion with white and turbid [urine]. [Grind] half a liang of huang qi, fried with salt, and one liang of poria to powder. Each time ingest one qian, to be sent down with clear, boiled water. Jing yan liang fang. 治渴補虚。男子婦人諸虚不足 ， 煩悸焦渴 ， 面色萎黄 ， 不能飲食 ， 或先 渴而後發瘡癤 ， 或先癰疽而後發渴 ， 並宜常服此藥 ， 平補氣血 ， 安和臟 腑，終身可免癰疽之疾。用綿黄耆箭簳者去蘆六兩，一半生焙，一半以鹽 水潤濕 ， 飯上蒸三次 ， 焙剉 ， 粉甘草一兩 ， 一半生用 ， 一半炙黄爲末。 每服二錢，白湯點服，早晨、日午各一服，亦可煎服，名黄芪六一湯。外 科精要。 To cure thirst and supplement a depletion. When males or females are affected by any type of depletion and insufficiency, with vexation, palpitation, scorching and thirst, with a withered, yellow facial complexion and an inability to drink and eat, or when one eats first and then develops sores and pimples, or if one is affected by an obstruction-illness and an impediment-illness55 first and has thirst afterward, for all these conditions alike it is advisable to regularly ingest this medication. It serves to balance and supplement qi and blood, to pacify and harmonize the long-term depots and short-term repositories, thereby preventing one from obstruction-illness and impediment-illness for his entire life. Take six liang of huang qi from Mian [shang, as hard as] an arrow shaft, one half baked unprocessed over a slow fire, one half soaked in brine, steam them over cooked rice three times, bake them over a 54 Ru shui 入水, “to enter water,” is also a reference to “having sexual intercourse.”

55 Yong ju 癰疽, “obstruction-illness, impediment-illness.” refers to two vaguely distinguished obstructions/impediments of vessels or other ducts inside the body. Qi rushing against the obstruction may cause a local swelling and eventually break through the surface to cause an abscess. BCGM Dict I, 642.



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slow fire and cut them [to fine pieces]. [Mix them with] one liang of glycyrrhiza [root] powder, one half to be used unprocessed, one half roasted until it has turned yellow, and [grind all this to] powder. Each time ingest two qian, dripped into clear, boiled water. To be ingested once in the early morning and once at noon. It can also be ingested boiled [in the water]. It is called the “decoction with huang qi [combined in a proportion] of six [parts huang qi] to one [part glycyrrhiza root].” Wai ke jing yao. 老人閟塞。綿黄耆、陳皮去白各半兩，爲末。每服三錢，用大麻仁一合， 研爛， 以水濾漿， 煎至乳起， 入白蜜一匙， 再煎沸， 調藥空心服， 甚者 不過二服。此藥不冷不熱，常服無秘塞之患，其效如神。和劑局方。 Old persons with constipation. [Grind] half a liang each of huang qi from Mian [shang] and tangerine peels, with the white parts discarded, to powder. Each time ingest three qian. Grind one ge of hemp seeds to a pulp, soak it in water and give this through a sieve to obtain a thick liquid. Boil it until a milk-like liquid appears. Add a spoonful of honey and boil it again to bubbling. Mix this with the medication and ingest it on an empty stomach. Even serious cases require no more than two ingestions. This medication is neither cold nor hot. When it is ingested regularly one will never suffer from constipation. Its effects are divine. He ji ju fang. 腸風瀉血。黄耆、黄連等分 ， 爲末 ， 麪糊丸緑豆大。每服三十丸 ， 米飲 下。孫用和秘寶方。 Intestinal wind and outflow with blood. [Grind] equal amounts of huang qi and coptis [rhizome] to powder and form with a wheat dough paste pills the size of mung beans. Each time ingest 30 pills, to be sent down with water used to wash rice. Sun Yonghe, Mi bao fang. 尿血沙淋，痛不可忍。黄耆、人參等分，爲末。以大蘿蔔一個，切一指厚 大四五片， 蜜二兩， 淹炙令盡， 不令焦， 點末， 食無時， 以鹽湯下。永 類方。 Urination with blood, dripping with sand, with an unbearable pain. [Grind] equal amounts of huang qi and ginseng [root] to powder. Then cut one large radish into four or five pieces the size of a finger. Soak them in two liang of honey and roast them until all [the honey] has disappeared, but see to it that they are not scorched. Dip them into the powder and eat them any time, to be sent down with a salt decoction. Yong lei fang. 吐血不止。黄耆二錢半，紫背浮萍五錢，爲末。每服一錢，薑蜜水下。聖 濟總録。

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Unending vomiting of blood. [Grind] two and a half qian of huang qi and five qian of purple back ducksmeat to powder. Each time ingest one qian, to be sent down with a ginger-honey water. Sheng ji zong lu. 欬嗽膿血，咽乾。乃虚中有熱，不可服凉藥。以好黄耆四兩，甘草一兩， 爲末。每服二錢，點湯服。席延賞方。 Cough with pus and blood, and a dry throat. This is a condition of depletion including heat where cooling medication must not be ingested. [Grind] four liang of good quality huang qi and one liang of glycyrrhiza [root] to powder. Each time ingest two qian. To be ingested poured in boiled water. Xi Yanshan fang. 肺癰得吐。黄耆二兩 ， 爲末。每服二錢 ， 水一中盞 ， 煎至六分 ， 温服 ， 日三四服。聖惠方。 Lung obstruction-illness56 with vomiting. [Grind] two liang of huang qi to powder. Each time ingest two qian. Boil them in one small cup of water down to 60% and ingest [the liquid] warm. To be ingested three or four times a day. Sheng hui fang. 甲疽瘡膿。生足趾甲邊，赤肉突出，時常舉發者。黄耆二兩，䕡茹一兩， 醋浸一宿 ， 以猪脂五合 ， 微火上煎取二合 ， 絞去滓 ， 以封瘡口上 ， 日三 度，其肉自消。外臺秘要。 Impediment-illness57 sores with pus at the [toe] nails. When they develop on both sides of the toenails, with red flesh protruding and frequent, repeated outbreaks, soak two liang of huang qi and one liang of spurge in vinegar, add five ge of lard and boil this over a mild fire down to two ge. Wring this to discard the dregs and use [the resulting juice] to seal the openings of the sores, three times a day, and the flesh will dissolve as a result. Wai tai mi yao. 胎動不安 ， 腹痛 ， 下黄汁。黄耆、川芎藭各一兩 ， 糯米一合 ， 水一升 ， 煎半升，分服。婦人良方。 A fetus moves and finds no rest, with abdominal pain and a discharge of yellow juice. Boil one liang each of huang qi and ligusticum chuanxiong [root] with one ge of glutinous rice in one sheng of water down to half a sheng, and [let the woman] ingest this in several portions. Fu ren liang fang. 陰汗濕痒。綿黄耆，酒炒爲末，以熟猪心點喫，妙。趙真人濟急方。 56 Fei yong 肺癰, “lung obstruction-illness,” also: fei yong 肺壅, “lung obstruction,” a condition of abscesses in the lung, with fever, chest pain, and vomiting of bad-smelling pus and blood. BCGM Dict I, 156.

57 Ju 疽, “impediment-illness,” refers to an obstruction of vessels or other ducts inside the body. Qi rushing against the impediment may cause a local swelling and eventually break through the surface to cause an abscess. BCGM Dict I, 277.



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Sweating, moisture and itch in the yin [(i. e., genital) region]. [Grind] huang qi from Mian [shang], fried in wine, to powder. Drip it into a cooked pig heart and eat this. Wondrous. Zhao zhenren fang. 癰疽内固。黄耆、人參各一兩，爲末，入真龍腦一錢，用生藕汁和丸緑豆 大。每服二十丸，温水下，日三服。本事方。 Obstruction-illness and impediment-illness58 that have solidified internally. [Grind] one liang each of huang qi and ginseng [root] to powder, add one qian of genuine borneol, mix this with fresh lotus juice and prepare pills the size of munk beans. Each time ingest 20 pills, to be sent down with warm water. To be ingested three times a day. Ben shi fang. 12-02-02 莖。Jing. 葉。Ye. Stem, leaf [of huang qi]

【主治】療渴及筋攣，癰腫疽瘡。别録。 Control. They serve to heal thirst and sinew cramp, swelling associated with obstruction-illness, and impediment-illness sores. Bie lu. 12-03 人參本經上品 Ren shen, FE Ben jing, upper rank. Panax ginseng C. A. Meyer. Ginseng [root].

【釋名】人薓音參， 或省作蓡、黄參吴普、血參别録、人衘本經、鬼盖本 經、神草别録、土精别録、地精廣雅、海腴、皺面還丹廣雅。【時珍曰】人 薓年深，浸漸長成者，根如人形，有神，故謂之人薓、神草。薓字從 ， 亦浸漸之義。 即浸字，後世因字文繁，遂以參星之字代之，從簡便爾。 然承誤日久，亦不能變矣，惟張仲景傷寒論尚作薓字。别録一名人微，微 乃薓字之訛也。其成有階級，故曰人衘。其草背陽向陰，故曰鬼盖。其在 五參 ， 色黄屬土 ， 而補脾胃 ， 生陰血 ， 故有黄參、血參之名。得地之精 靈，故有土精、地精之名。廣五行記云：隋文帝時，上黨有人宅後每夜聞 人呼聲，求之不得。去宅一里許，見人參枝葉異常，掘之入地五尺，得人 薓，一如人體，四肢畢備，呼聲遂絶。觀此，則土精之名尤可證也。禮斗

58 Yong ju 癰疽, “obstruction-illness, impediment-illness.” refers to two vaguely distinguished obstructions/impediments of vessels or other ducts inside the body. Qi rushing against the obstruction may cause a local swelling and eventually break through the surface to cause an abscess. BCGM Dict I, 642.

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威儀云：下有人參，上有紫氣。春秋運斗樞云：摇光星散而爲人參。人君 廢山瀆之利，則摇光不明，人參不生。觀此，則神草之名又可證矣。 Explanation of Names. Ren shen 人薓, read shen 參, sometimes abbreviated to shen 蓡; huang shen 黄參, Wu Pu. Xue shen 血參, Bie lu. Ren xian 人衘, Ben jing. Gui gai 鬼盖, Ben jing. Shen cao 神草, Bie lu. Tu jing 土精, Bie lu. Di jing 地精, Guang ya. Hai yu 海腴, “sea fat.” Zou mian huan dan 皺面還丹, “wrinkle faced elixir that returns [life],” Guang ya. [Li] Shizhen: When ginseng gradually develops over many years it forms a root with a physical appearance resembling a human person, ren 人, endowed with a spirit, shen 神. Hence it is called ren shen 人薓 and shen cao 神草, “spirit herb.” The character shen 薓 is based on [the character] , meaning “gradual immersion.” is jin 浸, “to immerse.” Because this character is so complicated, in later times it was replaced with the character shen 參, referring to [one of the 28] constellations, to simplify its writing. This error has lasted for a long time now, and cannot be changed again. Only Zhang Zhongjing in his Shang han lun still writes the character shen 薓. The Bie lu has ren wei 人微 as an alternative name. Wei 微 is an erroneous version of the character shen 薓. [Ginseng] is present in different classes. Hence it is called ren jian 人衘, “human rank.” This herb turns its back on the yang and reaches out toward the yin. Hence it is called “demon’s canopy,” gui gai 鬼盖. As there are five [different herbs called] shen 參, [ginseng [root] with its yellow color associated with the [phase] soil, and supplementing spleen and stomach and generating yin blood, is called huang shen 黄參, “yellow shen,” and xue shen 血參, “blood shen.” It is endowed with the miraculous essence power of the earth, hence it is called tu jing 土精, “essence of the soil,” and di jing 地精, “essence of the earth.” The Guang wu xing ji states: “At the time of Emperor Wen of the Sui [dynasty], in Shang dang people heard voices behind their house during the night. They searched but did not find anything. More than one li away from the house, they observed abnormal ginseng branches and leaves. When they dug into the ground five chi deep, they found a ginseng [root] entirely shaped like a human body, with four complete limbs. From then on, the voices fell silent.” In view of this, the name “essence of the soil” appears to be more than appropriate. The Li dou wei yi states: “Where there is ginseng [root] below, there are purple qi above.” The Chun qiu yun dou shu states: “[Light] dispersed by the yao guang star59 becomes ginseng [root]. When the rulers of mankind disregard mountains and channels, the yao guang [star] loses its brightness, and ginseng does not grow.” Seen from this, the name “spirit herb” is legitimate.

59 The last star in the Big Dipper.



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【集解】【别録曰】人參生上黨山谷及遼東 ， 二月、四月、八月上旬采 根，竹刀刮，暴乾，無令見風。根如人形者有神。【弘景曰】上黨在冀州 西南，今來者形長而黄，狀如防風，多潤實而甘。俗乃重百濟者，形細而 堅白 ， 氣味薄於上黨者。次用高麗者 ， 高麗即是遼東 ， 形大而虚軟 ， 不 及百濟，并不及上黨者。其草一莖直上，四五葉相對生，花紫色。高麗人 作人參讚云 ： 三椏五葉 ， 背陽向陰。欲來求我 ， 椵樹相尋。椵 ， 音賈 ， 樹似桐 ， 甚大。陰廣則多生 ， 采作甚有法。今近山亦有 ， 但作之不好。 【恭曰】人參見用多是高麗、百濟者。潞州 太行 紫團山所出者，謂之紫團 參。【保昇曰】今心州、遼州、澤州、箕州、平州、易州、檀州、幽州、 嬀州、并州並出人參， 盖其山皆與太行連亘相接故也。【珣曰】新羅國所 貢者 ， 有手足 ， 狀如人形 ， 長尺餘 ， 以杉木夾定 ， 紅絲纏飾之。又沙州 參，短小不堪用。【頌曰】今河東諸州及泰山皆有之，又有河北 榷場及 閩中來者名新羅人參，俱不及上黨者佳。春生苗，多於深山背陰，近椵、 漆下濕潤處。初生小者三四寸許，一椏五葉。四五年後生兩椏五葉，未有 花莖。至十年後生三椏，年深者生四椏，各五葉。中心生一莖，俗名百尺 杵。三月、四月有花 ， 細小如粟 ， 蕊如絲 ， 紫白色。秋後結子 ， 或七八 枚 ， 如大豆 ， 生青熟紅 ， 自落。根如人形者神。泰山出者 ， 葉幹青 ， 根 白，殊别。江 淮間出一種土人參，苗長一二尺，葉如匙而小，與桔梗相 似 ， 相對生 ， 生五七節。根亦如桔梗而柔 ， 味極甘美。秋生紫花 ， 又帶 青色。春秋采根，土人或用之。相傳欲試上黨參，但使二人同走，一含人 參 ， 一空口 ， 度走三五里許 ， 其不含人參者必大喘 ， 含者氣息自如 ， 其 人參乃真也。【宗奭曰】上黨者根頗纖長，根下垂，有及一尺餘者，或十 岐者，其價與銀等，稍爲難得。土人得一窠，則置板上，以新綵絨飾之。 【嘉謨曰】紫團參，紫大稍扁。百濟參，白堅且圓，名白條參，俗名羊角 參。遼東參，黄潤纖長有鬚，俗名黄參，獨勝。高麗參，近紫體虚。新羅 參，亞黄味薄。肖人形者神，其類鷄腿者力洪。【時珍曰】上黨，今潞州 也。民以人參爲地方害， 不復采取。今所用者皆是遼參。其高麗、百濟、 新羅三國 ， 今皆屬於朝鮮矣。其參猶來中國互市。亦可收子 ， 於十月下 種，如種菜法。秋冬采者堅實，春夏采者虚軟，非地産有虚實也。遼參連 皮者黄潤，色如防風，去皮者堅白如粉。僞者皆以沙參、薺苨、桔梗采根 造作亂之。沙參體虚無心而味淡，薺苨體虚無心，桔梗體堅有心而味苦。 人參體實有心而味甘 ， 微帶苦 ， 自有餘味 ， 俗名金井玉闌也。其似人形 者，謂之孩兒參，尤多贋僞。宋 蘇頌圖經本草所繪潞州者，三椏五葉， 真人參也。其滁州者，乃沙參之苗葉。心州、兖州者，皆薺苨之苗葉。其 所云江 淮土人參者，亦薺苨也。並失之詳審。今潞州者尚不可得，則他 處者尤不足信矣。近又有薄夫以人參完浸取汁自啜，乃晒乾復售，謂之湯 參 ， 全不任用 ， 不可不察。考月池翁諱言聞 ， 字子郁 ， 衘太醫吏目 ， 嘗 著人參傳上下卷，甚詳，不能備録，亦略節要語於下條云耳。

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Collected Explanations. Bie lu: Ren shen grows in the mountain valleys of Shang dang and in Liao dong. The root is collected in the first ten day period of the second, the fourth and the eighth month. It is scraped with a bamboo knife and dried in the sun. It must not be exposed to wind. When the root has a human physical appearance, it is endowed with a spirit. [Tao] Hongjing: Shang dang is located in the South-West of Ji zhou. The specimens coming from there these days have a lengthy physical appearance and are yellow. Their shape resembles that of saposhnikovia [roots]. They are quite moist, solid and sweet. Specimens from Bai ji are widely highly valued. Their physical appearance is fine, hard and white. Their qi and flavor are weak in comparison with those of [ren shen from] Shang dang. Second in use is [ren shen from] Gao li. Gao li is Liao dong. [This type] has a large physical appearance, it is hollow and soft and does not reach [the quality of the specimens from] Bai ji, and also not [that of the specimens from] Shang dang. The herb grows straight upward with one stem and with four or five leaves opposite to each other. It has flowers of purple color. A “Ginseng eulogy” composed by a person from Gao li states: “Three forks and five leaves. The back is turned on the yang, the face is toward the yin. If you wish to come by and search for me, seek me close to the jia trees.” Jia 椵 is read jia 賈. These are trees resembling vermicia trees; they are very tall. They often grow in yin/shady locations. To collect them, one has to follow certain rules. Nowadays, they are also found in nearby mountains, albeit of inferior quality. [Su] Gong: Ren shen in use is mainly that from Gao li and Bai ji. Specimens originating in Lu zhou, on Mount Zi tuan in Tai hang, are called Zi tuan shen 紫團 參. [Han] Baosheng: Nowadays, ren shen comes from Qin zhou, Liao zhou, Ze zhou, Qi zhou, Ping zhou, Yi zhou, Tan zhou, You zhou, Gui zhou and Bing zhou. This is because these mountains form a range toward the East that is connected with [Mount Zi tuan in] Tai hang. [Li] Xun: Those marketed by the country of Xin luo have hands and feet. They have a human physical appearance and are more than one chi long. They are fixed to pieces of cunninghamia wood, and red ribbons are tied around them for decoration. Also, there is a [ren] shen from Sha zhou. It is short and small, and is not suitable for [therapeutic] use. [Su] Song: Today it can be found in all the zhou of He dong and on Mount Tai shan. Also, [ren shen] coming from Que chang in He bei and from Min zhong is called Xin luo ren shen 新羅人參, “ren shen from Xin luo.” All these [kinds] do not reach [the quality of ren shen from] Shang dang. The seedlings growing in spring are often found in the yin/shady back of mountains; close to linden trees and lacquer trees, at moist locations. In the beginning of their growth, they are small and reach a length of three to four cun, with one fork and five leaves. Four to five years later, they have devel0ped two forks with five leaves [each], but no flowers and no [central] stalk yet. After ten years, they have



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developed three forks, and after several years more they have developed four forks, each of them with five leaves. In their center they develop one stalk, commonly called the “pestle of one hundred chi.” In the third and fourth month it has flowers, fine and small like millet seeds. The stamen is like a silk thread of purple-white color. Beginning with the end of autumn, seeds form. These may be seven or eight, and they are shaped like soybeans. They are greenish as long as they grow, and they are red when they are ripe. They fall off by themselves. When the root assumes a human physical appearance it has a spirit. Those originating in Mount Tai shan have greenish leaves and trunks and white roots. They are remarkably different. In the region between [the rivers] Jiang and Huai a type of “local ren shen” originates. Its seedlings reach a length of one to two chi. Its leaves are shaped like small spoons, similar to those of platycodon [seedlings]. They grow opposite to each other, with five or seven knots. Its root, too, resembles that of platycodon, but is soft. It has an extremely sweet and delicious flavor. In autumn it develops purple flowers, some with a greenish color. The root is collected in spring and autumn for occasional use by the local people. A tradition has it that to test whether it is [ren] shen from Shang dang, one lets two persons run together, one holding in his mouth ren shen, the other with nothing in his mouth. If when they have run for more than three or five li the person without ren shen in his mouth wheezes heavily while the one who holds [ren shen] in his mouth breathes normally, the ren shen is genuine. [Kou] Zongshi: The roots of [ren shen from] Shang dang are very fine and long. The roots hang downward. Some are more than one chi long. Some have ten branch roots. Their price equals that of silver, and they are hard to come by. When the local people find a [ren shen] burrow, they place [the root] on a board and decorate it with new variegated silk or cloth. [Chen] Jiamo: [Ren] shen from Zi tuan is purple, big and slightly flat. [Ren] shen from Bai ji is white, hard and round; it is called tiao shen 條參, “lengthy [ren] shen.” A common name is yang jiao shen 羊角參, “sheep horn [ren] shen.” [Ren] shen from Liao dong is yellow, moist, thin and long, with whisker-like divergences. It is commonly called huang shen 黄參, “yellow [ren] shen.” It is the very best. [Ren] shen from Gao li is almost purple and has a hollow body. [Ren] shen from Xin luo is slightly yellow and has a weak flavor. [Ren shen] resembling the physical appearance of humans is divine. Those resembling chicken legs are of encompassing strength. [Li] Shizhen: Shang dang is today’s Lu zhou. The people there consider ren shen to cause harm to their ground and they no longer collect it. All specimens in use today are [ren] shen from Liao [dong]. The three countries Gao li, Bai ji and Xin luo all belong to Chao xian today. Its [ren] shen is still brought to Chinese markets. It is also possible to keep the seeds and plant them in the tenth month. The method of planting [ren shen] is identical to that of planting vegetables. [The roots] collected

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in autumn and winter are hard and solid. Those collected in spring and summer are hollow and soft. It is not the earth bringing them forth that is responsible for whether they are hollow or solid. As long as [ren] shen from Liao still has its bark, it is yellow and moist, with a color like saposhnikovia [root]. When the bark is removed, it is hard and white like powder. Fakes are made with roots of adenophora stricta [herb], adenophora trachelioides [herb], and platycodon [herb]. Adenophora stricta [root] has a hollow body without a core, and a bland flavor. The body of adenophora trachelioides [root] is hollow and lacks a core. The body of platycodon [root] is hard with a core, but its flavor is bitter. Ren shen has a solid body with a core and is of sweet flavor, with some bitter traces. As it has an aftertaste, it is commonly called “gold well with a jade railing.” [Roots] resembling a human physical appearance are called “child [ren] shen.” They are especially often fakes. Those from Lu zhou drawn in the Tu jing ben cao of Su Song of the Song dynasty show three forks with five leaves. This is genuine ren shen. Those [drawn as ren shen] from Chu zhou are in fact the leaves of seedlings of adenophora stricta [herb]. Those [drawn as ren shen] from Qin zhou60 and Yan zhou are the leaves of seedlings of adenophora trachelioides [herb]. Those said to be local ren shen from the Jiang and the Huai, they, too, are adenophora trachelioides [roots]. All [these illustrations were drawn] without detailed research. Nowadays, [ren shen] from Lu zhou is no longer available, and [the roots] from other locations are particularly unreliable. Recently, frivolous men have soaked complete [ren shen roots] to remove their juice for their own perusal, and then they have dried them again for resale. They are called “boiled [ren] shen,” and are entirely useless. One must carefully inspect [the roots available for purchase]. Mr. Yue chi,61 with a family elder name Yanwen and a style name Ziyu, served as clerk in the imperial medical office. He once wrote an account of ren shen in two juan. It is too detailed to be quoted here in full, but excerpts from it are included in the statements in the entries below. 【修治】【弘景曰】人參易蛀蚛 ， 唯納新器中密封 ， 可經年不壞。【炳 曰】人參頻見風日則易蛀。惟用盛過麻油瓦罐，泡净焙乾，入華陰細辛與 參相間收之，密封，可留經年。一法：用淋過竈灰晒乾罐收亦可。【李言 聞曰】人參生時背陽，故不喜見風日，凡生用宜㕮咀，熟用宜隔紙焙之， 或醇酒潤透，㕮咀，焙熟用。並忌鐵器。 60 Xin zhou 心州. This place name is also seen in the section “Collected Explanations” of the present entry in an erroneous quote from “[Han] Boasheng.” The Zhong guo li shi di ming da ci dian 中國歷史地名大辭典, “Comprehensive lexikon of Historical Chinese Place Names,” lists no Xin zhou 心州. It lists a Qin zhou 沁州. The administrative center of Qin zhou 沁州 during the Ming dynasty was at Tong di xian 銅鞮縣, today’s Qin xian 沁縣 in Shan xi. Presumably, Xin zhou 心州 is an erroneous writing of Qin zhou 沁州.

61 Li Shizhen`s father.



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Pharmaceutical Preparation. [Tao] Hongjing: Ren shen is easily infested with moths. Only when it is filled into a new container that is then closely sealed it may last for years without rotting. When ren shen is repeatedly exposed to wind and sun light it is easily infested with moths. The only way [to avoid this] is to wash clean and dry over a slow fire a clay jar that had been filled with sesame oil before, and give both asarum heteropoides [herb] from Hua yin and [ren] shen into it to be stored there separate from each other. Then tightly seal [the jar]. This way [the ren shen] may be kept safe for years. Another method: Soak the ashes from a furnace [in water, filter the liquid], dry [the dregs] in the sun and store them [together with ren shen]. This is possible, too. Li Yanwen: When ren shen grows it turns its back to the yang. Hence it does not like to see wind and sunlight. When it is used unprocessed, pound it. When it is used processed, bake it over a slow fire, separated [from the bottom of the pan] by a sheet of paper. Or moisten it with pure wine, pound it, bake it over a slow fire until it is done and use it [for therapeutic purposes]. The use of iron utensils is always to be avoided. 12-03-01 根。Gen.

[Ginseng] root. 【氣味】甘 ， 微寒 ， 無毒。【别録曰】微温。【普曰】神農 ： 小寒。桐 君、雷公 ： 苦。黄帝、岐伯 ： 甘 ， 無毒。【元素曰】性温 ， 味甘、微 苦 ， 氣味俱薄 ， 浮而升 ， 陽中之陽也。又曰 ： 陽中微陰。【之才曰】伏 苓、馬藺爲之使 ， 惡溲疏、鹵鹹 ， 反藜蘆。一云 ： 畏五靈脂 ， 惡皂莢、 黑豆，動紫石英。【元素曰】人參得升麻引用，補上焦之元氣，瀉肺中之 火；得伏苓引用，補下焦之元氣，瀉腎中之火。得麥門冬則生脉，得乾薑 則補氣。【杲曰】得黄耆、甘草，乃甘温除大熱，瀉陰火，補元氣，又爲 瘡家聖藥。【震亨曰】人參入手太陰。與藜蘆相反，服參一兩，入藜蘆一 錢，其功盡廢也。【言聞曰】東垣 李氏理脾胃，瀉陰火，交泰丸内用人 參、皂莢，是惡而不惡也。古方療月閉四物湯加人參、五靈脂，是畏而不 畏也。又療痰在胸膈，以人參、藜蘆同用而取涌越，是激其怒性也。此皆 精微妙奥，非達權衡者不能知。 Qi and Flavor. Sweet, slightly cold, nonpoisonous. Bie lu: Slightly warm. [Wu] Pu: Shen nong: Slightly cold. Tong jun, Lei gong: Bitter. Huang Di, Qi Bo: Sweet, nonpoisonous. [Zhang] Yuansu: Nature warm, flavor sweet, slightly bitter. Qi and flavor are weak. It rises to float on the surface. It is yang in yang. It is also said: Slight yin in yang. [Xu] Zhicai: Poria and Chinese iris serve as its guiding substances. [Ingested together,] it abhors deutzia shrubs and bittern. It is opposed to veratrum [root]. It is also said: It fears the droppings of flying squirrels; it abhors

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gleditsia [pods/seeds] and black beans. It excites [the effects of ] fluorite. [Zhang] Yuansu: If ren shen is used together with cimicifuga [rhizome] as its guide it serves to supplement the original qi of the Upper Burner and to drain fire in the lung. If it is used together with poria as its guide, it supplements the original qi of the Lower Burner and drains fire in the kidneys. Together with ophiopogon [tuber] it serves to generate vessels; together with dried ginger it supplements qi. [Li] Gao: Together with astragalus [root] and glycyrrhiza [root] its sweet [flavor] and warm [qi] serve to eliminate strong heat, to drain a yin fire and to supplement the original qi. Also, it is a sage-like medication of the specialists of sore/wound [treatment]. [Zhu] Zhenheng: Ren shen enters the hand major yin [conduits]. It is opposed to veratrum [root]. If one ingests one liang of [ren] shen together with one qian of veratrum [root], the [therapeutic] potential [of ren shen] is wiped out entirely. [Li] Yanwen: Mr. Li Dongyuan regulates spleen and stomach and drains yin fire with the “pills for a peaceful interaction.” They include ren shen and gleditsia [pods/seeds] that sometimes abhor each other, and then also do not abhor each other. In ancient recipes of the “decoction with four items to heal blocked menstruation,” ginseng [root] and the droppings of flying squirrels are used. They sometimes fear each other and then also do not fear each other. Also, to cure a condition of phlegm in chest and diaphragm, ren shen and veratrum [root] are used together to cause a gushing drainage. This is to avail oneself of their nature of being furious at each other. All these are examples of essential subtleties and wondrous difficulties. They cannot be grasped by those who simply handle the scales [of an apothecary]. 【主治】補五臟 ， 安精神 ， 定魂魄 ， 止驚悸 ， 除邪氣 ， 明目開心益智。 久服輕身延年。本經。療腸胃中冷，心腹鼓痛，胸脅逆滿，霍亂吐逆，調 中 ， 止消渴 ， 通血脉 ， 破堅積 ， 令人不忘。别録。主五勞七傷 ， 虚損痰 弱 ， 止嘔噦 ， 補五臟六腑 ， 保中守神。消胸中痰 ， 治肺痿及癇疾 ， 冷氣 逆上，傷寒不下食，凡虚而多夢紛紜者加之。甄權。止煩躁，變酸水。李 珣。消食開胃，調中治氣，殺金石藥毒。大明。治肺胃陽氣不足，肺氣虚 促，短氣少氣，補中緩中，瀉心肺脾胃中火邪，止渴生津液。元素。治男 婦一切虚證， 發熱自汗， 眩運頭痛， 反胃吐食， 痎瘧， 滑瀉久痢， 小便 頻數淋瀝 ， 勞倦内傷 ， 中風中暑 ， 痿痺 ， 吐血嗽血、下血血淋血崩 ， 胎 前産後諸病。時珍。 Control. It supplements the five long-term depots, pacifies the essence-spirit, stabilizes the hun-soul and the po-soul, ends fright palpitation, eliminates evil qi, clears the eyes, opens one’s heart and boosts wisdom. Ingested over a long time it relieves the body of its weight and extends the years [of life]. Ben jing. It serves to heal conditions of cold in the intestines and the stomach, painful drum-like distension of



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the central and abdominal region, [qi] counterflow with a sensation of fullness affecting the chest and the flanks, and cholera with vomiting because of counterflow. It regulates the center, ends melting with thirst,62 opens the blood vessels, breaks open hardenings and accumulations, and prevents one from becoming forgetful. Bie lu. It controls the five kinds of exhaustion and the seven kinds of harm, depletion injury and phlegm weakness. It ends vomiting, supplements the five long-term depots and six short-term repositories, protects the center and guards the spirit. It dissolves phlegm in the chest, and serves to cure lung dysfunction and epilepsy illness, cold qi rising in counterflow, harm caused by cold with an inability to eat. Add it to all [medications aimed at] depletion, much dreaming and confusion. Zhen Quan. It ends vexation and restlessness and transforms [counterflow of ] sour water. Li Xun. It dissolves food and opens the stomach. It regulates the center and serves to cure the qi. It abates the poison of metal and mineral medication. Da Ming. It serves to cure insufficient yang qi in lung and stomach, hurried [qi movement and qi] depletion in the lung, with shortness of [breath] qi and diminished qi. It supplements the center and slows down [qi movements] in the center. It drains fire evil from within the heart, the lung, the spleen and the stomach. It ends thirst and generates body liquids. [Zhang] Yuansu. It serves to cure all conditions of depletion of males and women, associated with heat effusion and spontaneous sweating, dizziness, [brain] movement and headache, turned over stomach and vomiting of food, malaria, soft outflow and long-lasting free-flux illness, frequent and dripping urination, exhaustion and internal harm, being struck by wind and being struck by summerheat, dysfunction with blockage, blood spitting and blood cough, discharge with blood, dripping [urine] with blood and blood collapse,63 as well as all kinds of disease prior to and following birth. [Li] Shizhen. 【發明】【弘景曰】人參爲藥切要，與甘草同功。【杲曰】人參甘温，能 補肺中元氣，肺氣旺則四臟之氣皆旺，精自生而形自盛，肺主諸氣故也。 張仲景云：病人汗後身熱、亡血脉沉遲者，下痢身凉脉微血虚者，並加人 參。古人血脱者益氣，盖血不自生，須得生陽氣之藥乃生，陽生則陰長， 血乃旺也。若單用補血藥 ， 血無由而生矣。素問言 ： 無陽則陰無以生 ， 無陰則陽無以化。故補氣須用人參，血虚者亦須用之。本草十劑云：補可 去弱 ， 人參、羊肉之屬是也。盖人參補氣 ， 羊肉補形。形氣者 ， 有無之 象也。【好古曰】潔古老人言，以沙參代人參，取其味甘也。然人參補五 臟之陽 ， 沙參補五臟之陰 ， 安得無異 ？ 雖云補五臟 ， 亦須各用本臟藥相 佐使引之。【言聞曰】人參生用氣凉，熟用氣温。味甘補陽，微苦補陰。 62 Xiao ke 消渴, “melting with thirst,” most likely including cases of diabetes. BCGM Dict Vol I, 567.

63 [Xue] beng [血]崩, “[blood] collapse,” is excessive vaginal bleeding. BCGM Dict I, 594.

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氣主生物 ， 本乎天 ； 味主成物 ， 本乎地。氣味生成 ， 陰陽之造化也。凉 者， 高秋清肅之氣， 天之陰也， 其性降； 温者， 陽春生發之氣， 天之陽 也， 其性升。甘者， 濕土化成之味， 地之陽也， 其性浮； 微苦者， 火土 相生之味，地之陰也，其性沈。人參氣味俱薄。氣之薄者，生降熟升；味 之薄者 ， 生升熟降。如土虚火旺之病 ， 則宜生參 ， 凉薄之氣 ， 以瀉火而 補土 ， 是純用其氣也。脾虚肺怯之病 ， 則宜熟參 ， 甘温之味 ， 以補土而 生金 ， 是純用其味也。東垣以相火乘脾 ， 身熱而煩 ， 氣高而喘 ， 頭痛而 渴，脉洪而大者，用黄蘗佐人參。孫真人治夏月熱傷元氣，人汗大泄，欲 成痿厥，用生脉散以瀉熱火而救金水。君以人參之甘寒，瀉火而補元氣； 臣以麥門冬之苦甘寒，清金而滋水源；佐以五味子之酸温，生腎津而收耗 氣。此皆補天元之真氣，非補熱火也。白飛霞云：人參煉膏服，回元氣於 無何有之鄉。凡病後氣虚及肺虚嗽者，並宜之。若氣虚有火者，合天門冬 膏對服之。 Explication. [Tao] Hongjing: Ren shen is a most important pharmaceutical drug. Its [therapeutic] potential is identical to that of glycyrrhiza [root]. [Li] Gao: Ren shen is sweet and warm. It is able to supplement the original qi in the center. When the lung qi prosper, the qi of the [remaining] four long-term depots prosper. As a result, essence is generated and the physical appearance abounds. This is so because the lung controls all the qi. Zhang Zhongjing states: “When patients following a sweating have a hot body, when they have lost blood and the [movement in their] vessels is in the depth and retarded, when they have a discharge with free-flux illness and with a cold body, and a weak [movement in the] vessels, with a blood depletion, ren shen is always added [to medication].” For blood loss the ancients boosted the qi. The fact is, blood is not generated spontaneously. For its generation it requires medication that generates yang qi. When yang is generated, then yin grows and blood prospers. If one were to use only medication to supplement blood, the blood would have no origin from which to emerge. The Su wen says: “Where there is no yang, yin cannot emerge. Where there is no yin, yang cannot emerge.”64 Hence to supplement the qi, one must resort to ren shen, and in the case of blood depletion one also must resort to it. The Ben cao shi ji states: “Through supplementation, weakness can be eliminated. [Substances] such as ren shen and mutton are appropriate.” The fact is, ren shen supplements qi, mutton supplements the physical appearance. The physical appearance and the qi are the visible and the invisible aspects [of human existence]. [Wang] Haogu: Old man Jiegu says: “When adenophora stricta [root] is used instead of ren shen, this is to avail oneself of its sweet flavor.” However, ren shen supplements the yang [qi] of the five long-term depots, while adenophora stricta [root] supplements the yin [qi] of the five long-term depots. How could it be that 64 Not a literal quote that can be traced back to a particular passage in the Su wen.



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they do not differ?! Although it is said that they supplement the five long-term depots, it is essential to use for each long-term depot the appropriate pharmaceutical substances that lend support and guidance. [Li] Yanwen: When ren shen is used unprocessed, its qi are cool. Used prepared with heat its qi are warm. Sweet flavor supplements yang [qi]; a slightly bitter [flavor] supplements yin [qi]. The qi control the generation of items; they are based in heaven. Flavors control the completion of items; they are based in the earth. Generation and completion by qi and flavors, this is the creation and transformation by yin and yang. Cool [qi] are the clear and stern qi of mid-autumn. They are the yin [qi] of heaven. Their nature is to descend. Warm [qi] are the generating and effusing qi of spring. They are the yang [qi] of heaven. Their nature is to rise. Sweet [flavor] is the flavor of moist soil that transforms and generates. It is the yang [qi] of the earth. Its nature is to float on the surface. Slightly bitter [flavor] is the flavor resulting from an interaction of fire and soil. It is the yin [qi] of the earth. Its nature is to sink into the depth. The qi and the flavor of ren shen are weak. That which is of weak qi descends as long as it is unprocessed and rises when it is prepared with heat. That which is of weak flavor rises as long as it is unprocessed and descends when it is prepared with heat. For example, in the case of diseases with soil (i.e., spleen qi) depletion and fire (i.e,. heart qi) abundance, it is advisable to use unprocessed [ren] shen with its weakly pronounced cool qi to drain the fire and supplement the soil. This is to exclusively make use of its qi. In the case of a disease of spleen depletion and lung timidity, it is advisable to use [ren] shen prepared with heat. Its sweet flavor and warm [qi] will supplement the soil (i.e., spleen qi) and generate metal (i.e., lung qi). This is to exclusively make use of its flavor. [Li] Dongyuan for treating a situation where the minister fire has availed itself of the spleen, with a hot body and vexation, qi having risen high with panting, headache and thirst, and an overflowing and massive [movement in the] vessels, resorts to phellodendron [bark] to assist ren shen. Sun zhenren in curing original qi damaged by heat in the summer months, with profuse sweating and a tendency to develop a dysfunction with receding [qi], uses the “powder to generate [movement in the] vessels” to drain the hot fire and rescue metal (i.e., lung qi) and water (i.e., kidney qi). As a ruler [drug in that recipe] he uses ren shen with its sweet [flavor] and cold [qi] to drain the fire and supplement the original qi. As a minister [drug] he uses ophiopogon [tuber] with its bitter and sweet [flavor] and its cold [qi] to clear the metal and nourish the source of water. This was assisted by the sour [flavor] and warm [qi] of schisandra seeds to generate kidney liquid and keep the dwindling qi. All these approaches serve to supplement the original and true qi of heaven; they are not meant to supplement heat and fire. Bai Feixia states: “When ren shen is ingested prepared with heat to a paste, it can let the original qi return to any place.

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Whenever following a disease [patients] have a qi depletion and a lung depletion and cough, it is always advisable [to use it]. In the case of qi depletion and fire, it should be ingested combined with an asparagus [root] paste.” 【正誤】【斅曰】夏月少使人參，發心痃之患。【好古曰】人參甘温，補 肺之陽 ， 泄肺之陰。肺受寒邪 ， 宜此補之。肺受火邪 ， 則反傷肺 ， 宜以 沙參代之。【王綸曰】凡酒色過度，損傷肺腎真陰，陰虚火動，勞嗽吐血 欬血等證，勿用之。盖人參入手太陰能補火，故肺受火邪者忌之。若誤服 參、耆甘温之劑，則病日增。服之過多，則死不可治。盖甘温助氣，氣屬 陽，陽旺則陰愈消。惟宜苦甘寒之藥，生血降火。世人不識，往往服參、 耆爲補而死者多矣。【言聞曰】孫真人云：夏月服生脉散、腎瀝湯三劑， 則百病不生。李東垣亦言生脉散、清暑益氣湯， 乃三伏瀉火益金之聖藥。 而雷斅反謂發心痃之患，非矣。痃乃臍旁積氣，非心病也。人參能養正破 堅積 ， 豈有發痃之理 ？ 觀張仲景治腹中寒氣上衝 ， 有頭足 ， 上下痛 ， 不 可觸近，嘔不能食者，用大建中湯，可知矣。又海藏 王好古言人參補陽泄 陰，肺寒宜用，肺熱不宜用。節齋 王綸因而和之，謂參、耆能補肺火， 陰虚火動失血諸病，多服必死。二家之説皆偏矣。夫人參能補元陽，生陰 血而瀉陰火，東垣 李氏之説也明矣。仲景 張氏言：亡血、血虚者，並加 人參。又言：肺寒者，去人參加乾薑，無令氣壅。丹溪 朱氏亦言：虚火 可補，參、耆之屬；實火可瀉，芩、連之屬。二家不察三氏之精微，而謂 人參補火，謬哉。夫火與元氣不兩立，元氣勝則邪火退。人參既補元氣而 又補邪火，是反復之小人矣，何以與甘草、苓、术謂之四君子耶？雖然， 三家之言不可盡廢也。惟其語有滯，故守之者泥而執一，遂視人參如蛇蝎 則不可也。凡人面白、面黄、面青黧悴者，皆脾肺腎氣不足，可用也；面 赤、面黑者，氣壯神强，不可用也。脉之浮而芤濡虚大遲緩無力、沉而遲 濇弱細結代無力者，皆虚而不足，可用也。若弦長緊實滑數有力者，皆火 鬱内實， 不可用也。潔古謂”喘嗽勿用”者， 痰實氣壅之喘也。若腎虚氣短 喘促者， 必用也。仲景謂”肺寒而欬勿用”者， 寒束熱邪壅鬱在肺之欬也。 若自汗惡寒而欬者， 必用也。東垣謂”久病鬱熱在肺勿用”者， 乃火鬱于内 宜發不宜補也。若肺虚火旺氣短自汗者 ， 必用也。丹溪言”諸痛不可驟用” 者，乃邪氣方鋭，宜散不宜補也。若裏虚吐利及久病胃弱虚痛喜按者，必 用也。節齋謂陰虚火旺勿用者 ， 乃血虚火亢能食 ， 脉弦而數 ， 凉之則傷 胃，温之則傷肺，不受補者也。若自汗氣短肢寒脉虚者，必用也。如此詳 審，則人參之可用不可用，思過半矣。【機曰】節齋 王綸之説，本於海 藏 王好古，但綸又過於矯激。丹溪言：虚火可補，須用參、芪。又云： 陰虚潮熱，喘嗽吐血，盗汗等證，四物加人參、黄蘗、知母。又云：好色 之人 ， 肺腎受傷 ， 欬嗽不愈 ， 瓊玉膏主之。又云 ： 肺腎虚極者 ， 獨參膏 主之。是知陰虚勞瘵之證，未嘗不用人參也。節齋，私淑丹溪者也，而乃 相反如此。斯言一出，印定後人眼目。凡遇前證，不問病之宜用不宜，輒



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舉以藉口。致使良工掣肘，惟求免夫病家之怨。病家亦以此説横之胸中， 甘受苦寒 ， 雖至上嘔下泄 ， 去死不遠 ， 亦不悟也。古今治勞 ， 莫過於葛 可久 ， 其獨參湯、保真湯 ， 何嘗廢人參而不用耶 ？ 節齋之説 ， 誠未之深 思也。【楊起曰】人參功載本草，人所共知。近因病者吝財薄醫，醫復算 本惜費，不肯用參療病，以致輕者至重，重者至危。然有肺寒、肺熱、中 滿、血虚四證，只宜散寒、消熱、消脹、補營，不用人參，其説近是。殊 不知各加人參在内，護持元氣，力助群藥，其功更捷。若曰氣無補法則謬 矣。古方治肺寒以温肺湯 ， 肺熱以清肺湯 ， 中滿以分消湯 ， 血虚以養營 湯 ， 皆有人參在焉。所謂邪之所輳 ， 其氣必虚。又曰養正邪自除 ， 陽旺 則生陰血，貴在配合得宜爾。庸醫每謂人參不可輕用，誠哉庸也。好生君 子，不可輕命薄醫，醫亦不可計利不用。書此奉勉，幸勿曰迂。 Correction of Errors. [Lei] Xiao: During summer months ren shen is used only rarely lest it cause one to suffer from heart string-illness.65 [Wang] Haogu: Ren shen is sweet and warm; it supplements the yang [qi] of the lung and drains the yin [qi] of the lung. When the lung is affected by a cold evil it is advisable to supplement its [qi with ren shen]. When the lung is affected by fire evil, then this harms the lung, and contrary to [the harm by cold] it is advisable to use adenophora stricta [root] instead. Wang Lun: Whenever one has excessively indulged in wine and sex, with damage done to the true yin [qi] of the lung and the kidneys, with a yin [qi] depletion and an excited fire, exhaustion cough, blood spitting and blood cough, he must not use it! The fact is, ren shen enters the hand major yin [conduits] and is able to supplement fire. Hence it is to be avoided when the lung has received fire. If one were to erroneously ingest sweet and warm preparations of [ren] shen and astragalus [root], the disease would increase in severity. If too much is ingested, [the patient] dies and cannot be cured. The fact is, sweet [flavor] and warm [qi] support the qi. The qi belong to yang. When yang prospers, yin will be increasingly dissolved. [In such a situation] only bitter, sweet and cold medication is advisable. It generates blood and lets fire descend. The general populace is not aware of this. They again and again ingest [ren] shen and astragalus [root] for supplementation, and those who die are many. [Li] Yanwen: Sun zhenren states: “If during the summer months three preparations of the ‘powder to generate [a movement in the] vessels’ and the ‘decoction for dripping kidneys’ are ingested, this will prevent all diseases.” Li Dongyuan, too, mentions “the ‘powder to generate [a movement in the] vessels’ and the ‘decoction to cool summerheat and to boost qi’ as sage-like medications to drain fire and boost metal during the three ten-day periods of the hot season.” When Lei Xiao, contrary to these recommendations, states that “[such medication] causes one to 65 Xuan 痃, “string-illness,” a condition of acute pain located in the abdomen to the left and right of the umbilicus. BCGM Dict I, 591.

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suffer from heart string-illness,” then he is wrong. String-illness is an accumulation of qi to the side of the navel. It is not a heart disease. Ren shen is able to nourish the proper [qi] and to break open hard accumulations. How could there be a principle letting it cause a string-illness? Look at Zhang Zhongjing when he cures cold qi rushing upward in the abdomen, with pain from head to feet, from above to below, so that one cannot get close to and touch [the patients] who vomit and cannot eat, he uses the “major decoction to strengthen the center.” This is the evidence. Also, Haicang Wang Haogu says that “since ren shen supplements yang [qi] and drains yin [qi] it may be used for lung cold, but should not be used for lung heat.” Jiezhai Wang Lun combines these [views] and says: “[Ren] shen and astragalus [root] can nourish lung fire and [if it is used for] diseases such as yin depletion, excited fire and blood loss, [the patient] must die.” The sayings of these two experts are very one-sided. Now, ren shen can supplement the original yang [qi]. It generates yin blood and drains yin fire. Mr. Li Dongyuan’s statement is very clear. Mr. Zhang Zhongjing says: “In the case of blood loss and blood depletion, always add ren shen [to a medication].” He also says: “In the case of lung cold, omit ren shen and add dried ginger lest a qi obstruction occur.” Mr. Zhu Danxi, too, says: “In the case of depletion fire one can supplement with [substances] such as [ren] shen and astragalus [root]. In the case of depletion fire one can drain with [substances] such as scutellaria [root] and coptis [rhizome].” These two experts have not carefully studied the essential subtleties [in the statements] of the three persons [quoted above] and when they say “ren shen supplements fire,” they are wrong. Now, fire and original qi are not separate from each other. When the original qi dominate, evil fire retreats. Ren shen supplements the original qi and it also supplements evil qi, just like a simple person who acts contradictively. How could one mention it together with glycyrrhiza [root], poria and atractylodes [rhizome] as one of the “four rulers”?66 And yet, the sayings of these three experts are not to be dismissed entirely. What they say [on ren shen] is simply incomplete. Hence those who closely stick [to their statements] and consider them to be complete, they regard ren shen as some vicious snake or scorpion, and that is simply not true. Persons with a white face, a yellow face or a greenish-sallow face, associated with a distressed appearance are affected by an insufficiency of spleen, lung and kidney qi. For them, [ren shen] may be used [as medication]. Persons with a red face and those with a black face have strong qi and a powerful spirit. For them it must not be used. Those with a floating and hollow [movement in the vessels], that is retarded and has no strength, and those with a [movement] in the depth, that is retarded, rough, weak, fine and intermittend and has no strength, 66 A reference to the “Decoction with Four Rulers,” combining ren shen with glycyrrhiza root, poria and largehead atractylodes rhizome.



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they are affected by depletion and insufficiency. For them, [ren shen] may be used [as medication]. Those with a string-like [movement in the vessels] that is extended, firm, solid, soft and accelerated, and has strength, they all are affected by a blazing fire and internal repletion. For them [ren shen] must not be used. [Zhang] Jiegu says “it must not be used [to treat persons] who pant and cough,” as such cough results from phlegm repletion and qi obstruction. If one suffers from kidney depletion, shortness of qi and hectic panting, [ren shen] must be used [to treat him]. When [Zhang] Zhongjing says that “for [persons suffering from] lung cold and cough it must not be used,” this is so because such cough is associated with an accumulation of heat evil bound in the lung by cold. In the case of spontaneous sweating, and an aversion to cold and cough, [ren shen] must be used. When [Li] Dongyuan says that those who have suffered for a long time from pent-up heat must not use it, the reason is that internally pent-up heat should be dispersed rather than supplemented. In the case of lung depletion, vigorous fire, shortness of qi and spontaneous sweating, it must be used. When [Zhu] Danxi says that “for all kinds of pain [ren shen] must not be used right away,” this is so because [pain is evidence] of evil qi just launching a sharp attack. [In such a situation] it is advisable to disperse, rather than to supplement. In the case of internal depletion, with vomiting and free flow, and also in the case of a chronic suffering from stomach weakness and depletion with pain that one wishes to press against, [ren shen] must be used. When Jiezhai [Wang Lun] says that in the case of yin depletion and vigorous fire it must not be used, this is so because if in a situation of blood depletion and strong fire with an ability to eat, when the [movement in the] vessels is string-like and accelerated, one were to cool [the patient], this would harm his stomach, and to warm him would harm his lung. So, he should not be given a supplementing [medication]. In the case of spontaneous sweating, shortness of qi, cold limbs and a depleted [movement in the] vessels, [ren shen] must be used. If one is to always apply careful considerations [as listed above], a decision whether to use or not to use ren shen is quite easy. [Wang] Ji: The sayings of Jiezhai Wang Lun are based on those of Haicang Wang Haogu, but he overextended them. [Zhu] Danxi says: “In the case of a depletion fire, it is possible to supplement, and [ren] shen and astragalus [root] are to be used.” He also states: “For conditions such as yin depletion with surging heat, panting, cough and blood spitting and robber sweating, add ginseng [root], phellodendron [bark] and anemarrhena [root] to the [decoction with] the four substances [paeonia root bark, processed Chinese foxglove rhizome, Chinese angelica root and ligusticum chuanxiong root].” He further states: “When someone as a consequence of indulging in sex has his lung and liver harmed, and has a cough that cannot be cured [otherwise],

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this is controlled by the ‘fine jade paste’.”67 He also says: “An extreme depletion of lung and kidney [qi] is controlled by the ‘paste with only [ren] shen’.” From these [statements] it is obvious that in the case of yin depletion and exhaustion consumption-illness ren shen is always to be resorted to. Jiezhai [Wang Lun] was personally on good terms with [Zhu] Danxi, and still the two contradicted each other as shown above. Once he had released his sayings, they were imprinted on the views of later people. Whenever they encounter conditions as the ones listed above, they do not ask whether [ren shen] might be appropriate or not for a specific disease, they always use [Wang Lun’s statements] as an excuse [for not resorting to ren shen]. The hands of good physicians are tied, and all they aspire to is to avoid the chagrin of the patient’s family. Patients, too, keep these misleading views in their mind. They prefer to accept bitter and cold [medication] even when they vomit above and have outflow below, with death coming close, and do not realize [how serious their condition is]. To cure exhaustion, then and now nothing has been more appropriate than Ge Kejiu’s [treatments based on] the “decoction with only [ren] shen” and the “decoction to guard the true [qi].” Why should anyone omit ren shen and fail to use it? The sayings of Jiezhai [Wang Lun] are not based on throrough consideration. Yang Qi: The [therapeutic] potential of ren shen is listed in the materia medica works. Everybody is aware of them. In recent times, patients have been stingy and have come to despise physicians, while physicians in turn have kept expenditures in mind and have minimized their costs. This has lowered the willingness to use [ren] shen to heal diseases, with the result that light [illnesses] increase in severity, and severe [diseases] end in crisis. Still, in the case of the four conditions of lung cold, lung heat, central fullness and blood depletion, the only advisable therapy is to disperse the cold, dissolve the heat, dissolve the swelling and supplement the guard [qi, i.e., the blood], rather than to use ren shen. Such a saying is quite correct. But [those who advocate such a therapy] they do not know that adding ren shen [to a medication] only serves to protect and maintain the original qi. Its strength supports all the other pharmaceutical substances, thereby strengthening their [therapeutic] potential. If it is said that there is no method available to supplement the qi, then this is wrong. When ancient recipes [recommended to] cure lung cold with the “decoction to warm the lung,” [cure] lung heat with “the decoction to cool the lung,” [cure] central fullness with the “decoction to divide and dissolve,” and [cure] blood depletion with the “decoction to nourish the guard [qi, i.e., the blood],” they all included ren shen. This is [what is meant by the Su wen when it] says: “When evil [qi] have 67 A medication prepared with unprocessed Chinese foxglove rhizome, poria, honey and ginseng root.



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collected, [proper] qi must be depleted.”68 It is also said: When the proper [qi] are nourished, the evil [qi] will recede. When yang [qi] prosper, yin blood is generated. Most important [in a treatment with ren shen] is to design a combination [of pharmaceutical substances] that are appropriate [for the case to be treated]. All the mediocre physicians say “ren shen must not be used lightly.” This is truly their mediocrity. A gentleman who loves life will not treat life lightly and despise physicians, just as physicians must not refrain from using [ren shen] out of considerations of their profits. In writing this, I have contributed my share [to this issue]; I should be happy if I were not considered to be too pedantic. 【附方】舊九，新六十八。 Added Recipes. Nine of old. 68 newly [recorded]. 人參膏。用人參十兩細切，以活水二十盞浸透，入銀石器内，桑柴火緩緩 煎取十盞， 濾汁， 再以水十盞， 煎取五盞， 與前汁合煎成膏， 瓶收， 隨 病作湯使。丹溪云：多慾之人，腎氣衰憊，欬嗽不止，用生薑、橘皮煎湯 化膏服之。浦江 鄭兄，五月患痢，又犯房室，忽發昏運，不知人事，手 撒目暗 ， 自汗如雨 ， 喉中痰鳴如拽鋸聲 ， 小便遺失 ， 脉大無倫 ， 此陰虧 陽絶之證也。予令急煎大料人參膏，仍與灸氣海十八壯，右手能動，再三 壯 ， 唇口微動 ， 遂與膏服一盞 ， 半夜後服三盞 ， 眼能動。盡三斤 ， 方能 言而索粥。盡五斤而痢止，至十斤而全安。若作風治則誤矣。一人背疽， 服内托十宣藥 ， 已多膿出 ， 作嘔發熱 ， 六脉沉數有力 ， 此潰瘍所忌也。 遂與大料人參膏，入竹瀝飲之。參盡一十六斤，竹伐百餘竿而安。後經旬 餘， 值大風拔木， 瘡起有膿， 中有紅線一道， 過肩胛， 扺右肋。予曰： 急作參膏，以芎、歸、橘皮作湯，入竹瀝、薑汁飲之。盡三斤而瘡潰，調 理乃安。若癰疽潰後 ， 氣血俱虚 ， 嘔逆不食 ， 變證不一者 ， 以參、耆、 歸、术等分，煎膏服之，最妙。 Ren shen paste. Cut ten liang of ren shen into fine slices, soak them in 20 small cups of running water in a vessel made of silver or stone, slowly boil them on a mulberry fire down to ten small cups and filter this to obtain the juice. Boil the [ren shen] again, this time with ten small cups of water down to five small cups. Then boil [these five small cups] together with the previous juice to generate a paste and keep it in a jar. Whenever required by a disease apply it as a decoction. [Zhu] Danxi states: For persons who often indulge in sex and suffer from kidney qi weakness and exhaustion, with unending cough, boil [ren shen] with unprocessed ginger and tangerine peels to form a paste to be ingested [by the patient]. My friend Zheng from 68 Quotes from ch. 33 of Huang Di Nei jing suwen. Paul U. Unschuld and Hermann Tessenow, 2011, Vol. I, 524-525.

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Pu jiang in the fifth month suffered from free-flux illness, and still he enganged in sexual intercourse. Suddenly he was affected by clouding with dizziness and did not recognize persons and other things. He lost control over his hands and his eyesight was dimmed. He spontaneously sweated like rain and in his throat phlegm caused sounds as if someone pulled a saw. He involuntarily passed urine and [the movement in his] vessels was massive beyond comparison. This was a condition of yin [qi] loss and yang [qi] interruption. I ordered to quickly boil a large quantity of ren shen paste and then burned 18 cones to cauterize his “sea of qi.”69 As a result he could move his right hand again. After three more cauterizations, his lips and his mouth began to slightly move. Then I administered one small cup of the [ren shen] paste, and after midnight let him ingest three small cups. This let his eyes move again. After an ingestion of three jin, he was able to speak and asked for a congee. After an ingestion of five jin the free-flux illness ended. After ten jin he was perfectly cured. If this had been treated as if it were a case of being struck by wind, that would have been wrong. Another person had an impediment-illness70 on his back. He had ingested ten medications to drain [the pus], and much pus had been released already. Then he vomited and developed heat. The [movement in his] vessels at all six locations was in the depth, accelerated and forceful. This was a critical condition in view of a festering ulcer. Hence I administered a large dose of ren shen paste and let him drink it with bamboo stem juice. After he had ingested 16 jin of [ren] shen and after more than 100 stems of bamboo had been felled [to obtain their juice], he was cured. A little more than ten days later, a storm uprooted trees and [the patient] developed sores with pus. They were linked by a red line extending from the shoulder blade to his right ribs. I said: Quickly prepare a [ren] shen paste, boil it with ligusticum chuanxiong [root], Chinese angelica [root] and tangerine peels, and add bamboo stem juice and ginger juice to drink it. After he had ingested three jin the sores festered. He was given special nursing care and was cured. If following a festering associated with an obstruction-illness and an impediment-illness71 qi and blood are all depleted, with vomiting, counterflow and an inability to eat, and changing pathological conditions, to boil the [ren shen] with astragalus [root], Chinese angelica [root] and atractylodes [root] to a paste and ingest it, is very wondrous. 69 Qi hai 氣海, “sea of qi,” name of an acupuncture needle insertion hole (CV-6, also CV-4) located in the center of the lower abdomen.

70 Ju 疽, “impediment-illness,” refers to an obstruction of vessels or other ducts inside the body. Qi rushing against the impediment may cause a local swelling and eventually break through the surface to cause an abscess. BCGM Dict I, 277. 71 Yong ju 癰疽, “obstruction-illness, impediment-illness.” refers to two vaguely distinguished obstructions/impediments of vessels or other ducts inside the body. Qi rushing against the obstruction may cause a local swelling and eventually break through the surface to cause an abscess. BCGM Dict I, 642.



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治中湯。頌曰 ： 張仲景治胸痺 ， 心中痞堅 ， 留氣結胸 ， 胸滿 ， 脇下逆氣 搶心，治中湯主之。即理中湯，人參、术、乾薑、甘草各三兩，四味以水 八升，煮三升，每服一升，日三服，隨證加减。此方自晉 宋以後至唐名 醫 ， 治心腹病者 ， 無不用之。或作湯 ， 或蜜丸 ， 或爲散 ， 皆有奇效。胡 洽居士治霍亂 ， 謂之温中湯。陶隱居百一方云 ： 霍亂 ， 餘藥乃或難求 ， 而治中方、四順湯、厚朴湯不可暫缺，常須預合自隨也。唐 石泉公 王方慶 云：數方不惟霍亂可醫，諸病皆療也。四順湯，用人參、甘草、乾薑、附 子炮各二兩，水六升，煎二升半，分四服。 The “decoction to cure the center.” [Su] Song: When Zhang Zhongjing cured chest blockage with an obstacle-illness72 in the heart and bound chest73 because of abiding qi, a sensation of fullness in the chest and qi counterflow from below the flanks knocking at the heart, he controlled this with the “decoction to cure the center.” This is the “decoction to order the center.” [It is prepared as follows.] Three liang each of the four substances ren shen, atractylodes [root], dried ginger and glycyrrhiza [root] are boiled in eight sheng of water down to three sheng. Each time ingest one sheng, to be ingested three times a day. Add to or decrease the dosage in accordance with the [severity of the] condition. From the Jin and Song dynasties on to the Tang dynasty, renowned physicians always used [this recipe] when they cured diseases affecting the central and abdominal region. Some had it prepared as decoction, or with honey as pills, or as a powder. It always was extraordinarily effective. When Hu Qia jushi cured cholera, he called it the “decoction to warm the center.” Tao Yinju in his Bai yi fang states: For cholera, other pharmaceutical substances may be difficult to obtain, but [the substances required for] the “recipe to cure the center,” the “decoction with the four [substances] to cause a smooth passage [of qi],” and the “decoction with magnolia bark” must never be out of store. They are to be prepared continuously so that they are conveniently at hand when required. During the Tang, the Duke of Shi quan Wang Fangqing stated: “These various recipes do not only serve to cure cholera, they heal all kinds of diseases.” For the “decoction with the four [substances] to cause a smooth passage [of qi],” boil two liang each of ren shen, glycyrrhiza [root], dried ginger and aconitum [accessory tuber], roasted in a pan, in six sheng of water down to two and a half sheng and [let the patient] ingest this divided into four portions. 72 Pi 痞, “obstacle-illness,” (1) a feeling of uncomfortable fullness and distension, (2) a pathological condition of uncomfortable distension and fullness in the chest and abdominal region. When pressed there is no pain. BCGM Dict I, 371.

73 Jie xiong 結胸, “bound chest,” a condition brought forth by internal evil qi “binding” the chest, with the chest and abdomen experiencing distension, hardening and pain to a degree that one does not wish to apply pressure. BCGM Dict I, 252-253.

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四君子湯。治脾胃氣虚，不思飲食，諸病氣虚者，以此爲主。人參一錢， 白术二錢， 白伏苓一錢， 炙甘草五分， 薑三片， 棗一枚， 水二鍾， 煎一 鍾，食前温服，隨證加减。和濟局方。 The “decoction with four rulers.” It serves to cure spleen and stomach qi depletion, with loss of appetite. For all diseases of qi depletion, this [decoction] is the first to turn to. Boil one qian of ren shen, two qian of atractylodes [rhizome], one qian of poria, five fen of roasted glycyrrhiza [root], three slices of ginger, and one Chinese date in two handleless cups of water down to one cup, and [let the patient] ingest this warm before meals, with the dosage increased or diminished in accordance with the individual condition. He ji ju fang. 開胃化痰。不思飲食，不拘大人小兒，人參焙二兩，半夏薑汁浸焙五錢， 爲末，飛羅麪作糊，丸緑豆大。食後薑湯下三五十丸，日三服。聖惠方。 To whet the appetite and transform phlegm. For patients with a lack of appetite, regardless of whether these are adults or children, [grind] two liang of ren shen, baked over a slow fire, and five qian of pinellia [root], soaked in ginger juice and baked over a slow fire, to powder and form with finest wheat flour paste pills the size of munk beans. [Let the patient] send down after meals 35 pills with a ginger decoction, to be ingested three times a day. Sheng hui fang. 74 加陳橘皮五錢。經驗方。 Add five qian of long-stored tangerine peels. Jing yan fang. 胃寒氣滿，不能傳化，易飢不能食。人參末二錢，生附子末半錢，生薑二 錢，水七合，煎二合，雞子清一枚，打轉空心服之。聖濟總録。 Stomach cold and a sensation of qi fullness, with an inability to digest, a tendency to be hungry and yet an inability to eat. Boil two qian of ren shen powder, half a qian of unprocessed aconitum [accessory tuber] powder and two qian of unprocessed ginger in seven ge of water down to two ge. Stir the white [contents] of one chicken egg into [the liquid] and ingest it on an empty stomach. Sheng ji zong lu. 脾胃虚弱，不思飲食。生薑半斤取汁，白蜜十兩，人參末四兩，銀鍋煎成 膏，每米飲調服一匙。普濟方。 Depletion and weakness of spleen and stomach, with a lack of appetite. Boil the juice obtained from half a jin of unprocessed ginger together with ten liang of white honey and four liang of ren shen powder in a silver pot to generate a paste. Each time ingest mixed with a rice beverage the amount held by a spoon. Pu ji fang. 74 According to Zheng lei ch. 6, ren shen 人參, “ginseng,” this recipe is listed in the Jing yan hou fang, not the Sheng hui fang.



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胃虚惡心 ， 或嘔吐有痰。人參一兩 ， 水二盞 ， 煎一盞 ， 入竹瀝一盃 ， 薑 汁三匙，食遠温服，以知爲度，老人尤宜。簡便方。 Stomach depletion and nausea. In some cases associated with vomiting of phlegm. Boil one liang of ren shen in two small cups of water down to one cup. Add one up of bamboo stem juice and three spoonfuls of ginger juice and ingest this warm between meals until a cure is achieved. This is especially suitable for the elderly. Jian bian fang. 胃寒嘔惡，不能腐熟水穀，食即嘔吐。人參、丁香、藿香各二錢半，橘皮 五錢，生薑三片，水二盞，煎一盞，温服。拔萃方。 Stomach cold, vomiting and nausea, with an inability to digest liquid and solid food. The moment something is eaten, it is thrown up again. Boil two and a half qian of ren shen, cloves and agastache [herb] together with five qian of tangerine peels and three slices of fresh ginger in two small cups of water down to one cup and ingest this warm. Ba cui fang. 反胃嘔吐 ， 飲食入口即吐 ， 困弱無力 ， 垂死者。上黨人參三大兩拍破 ， 水一大升 ， 煮取四合 ， 熱服 ， 日再。兼以人參汁 ， 入粟米、雞子白、薤 白，煮粥與噉。李直方司勳於漢南患此，兩月餘，諸方不瘥。遂與此方， 當時便定。後十餘日，遂入京師。絳每與名醫論此藥，難可爲儔也。李絳 兵部手集。 Turned-over stomach and vomiting. Beverages and food are thrown up the moment they have entered the mouth, with sleepiness, weakness and lack of strength; a situation close to dying. Boil three liang of ren shen from Shang dang, broken to pieces, in one generous sheng of water down to four ge and [let the patient] ingest this hot. Twice a day. Also, add millet, egg white and Chinese chives to ren shen juice and boil this to a congee to be eaten [by the patient]. Li Zhifang, a Director of Merit Awards in Han nan, once suffered from this [illness]. For more than two months all kinds of recipes remained without effect. Then [I] gave him this recipe and his condition was stabilized within short time. More than ten days later, [I] travelled to the capital where I discussed this medication with some renowned physicians, but it was difficult to convince them. Li Jiang, Bing bu shou ji. 食入即吐。人參半夏湯 ： 用人參一兩 ， 半夏一兩五錢 ， 生薑十片 ， 水一 斗 ， 以杓揚二百四十遍 ， 取三升 ， 入白蜜三合 ， 煮一升半 ， 分服。張仲 景金匱方。 Vomiting immediately after eating. The “decoction with ren shen and pinellia [root].” Give one liang of ren shen, one liang and five qian of pinellia [root] and ten slices of fresh ginger into one dou of water and stir this with a spoon 240 times. Then take

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three sheng [of the liquid], add three ge of white honey and boil it down to one and a half sheng, to be ingested in several portions. Zhang Zhongjing, Jin kui fang. 霍亂嘔惡。人參二兩，水一盞半，煎汁一盞，入雞子白一枚，再煎温服。 一加丁香。衛生家寶方。 Cholera with vomiting and nausea. Boil ren shen in one and a half small cups of water down to a juice of one small cup, add the white [contents] of one egg and boil this again, to be ingested warm. Another [recipe] adds clove. Wei sheng jia bao fang. 霍亂煩悶。人參五錢，桂心半錢，水二盞，煎服。聖惠方。 Cholera with vexation and heart-pressure. Boil five qian of ren shen and half a qian of shaved cinnamom bark in two small cups of water and [let the patient] ingest this. Sheng hui fang. 霍亂吐瀉 ， 煩躁不止。人參二兩 ， 橘皮三兩 ， 生薑一兩 ， 水六升 ， 煮三 升，分三服。聖濟總録。 Cholera with vomiting and outflow, and unending vexation and restlessness. Boil two liang of ren shen, three liang of tangerine peels and one liang of fresh ginger in six sheng of water down to three sheng and ingest this divided into three portions. Sheng ji zong lu. 妊娠吐水，酸心腹痛，不能飲食。人參、乾薑炮等分，爲末，以生地黄汁 和丸梧子大。每服五十丸，米湯下。和劑局方。 Vomiting of sour water during pregnancy, with abdominal pain and an inability to drink and eat. [Grind] equal amounts of ren shen and dried ginger, roasted in a pan, to powder. Mix it with the juice of fresh Chinese foxglove [rhizome] and prepare pills the size of wu seeds. Each time ingest 50 pills, to be sent down with a rice decoction. He ji ju fang. 陽虚氣喘，自汗盗汗，氣短頭運。人參五錢，熟附子一兩，分作四帖。每 帖以生薑十片，流水二盞，煎一盞，食遠温服。濟生方。 Yang [qi] depletion and panting [breath] qi, spontaneous sweating and robber sweating, shortness of qi and movement in the head. Prepare four portions [of a mixture] of five qian of ren shen and one liang of aconitum [accessory tuber], boiled until done. Boil each portion with ten slices of fresh ginger in two small cups of running water down to one small cup, and ingest them warm between meals. Ji sheng fang. 喘急欲絶，上氣鳴息者。人參末，湯服方寸匕，日五六服效。肘後方。



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Hectic panting, with a threat of a cut off [of breath qi], rising qi with ringing sounds. Ingest with hot water the amount held by a square cun spoon of ren shen powder. When this is ingested five or six times a day, it will be effective. Zhou hou fang. 産後發喘。乃血入肺竅，危症也。人參末一兩，蘇木二兩，水二盌，煮汁 一盌，調參末服，神效。聖惠方。 Panting following birth. This is a critical condition as blood has entered the lung apertures. Boil one liang of ren shen powder, two liang of sappan wood in two bowls of water down to a juice of one bowl, and ingest [the liquid] together with one liang of ren shen powder. Divinely effective. Sheng hui fang. 産後血運。人參一兩 ， 紫蘇半兩 ， 以童尿、酒、水三合 ， 煎服。醫方摘 要。 Blood [induced brain] movement after birth. Boil one liang of ren shen and half a liang of purple perilla [herb] in three ge of boys‘ urine, wine and water, and [let the patient] ingest this. Yi fang zhai yao. 産後不語。人參、石菖蒲、石蓮肉等分，每服五錢，水煎服。婦人良方。 Inability to speak following birth. For each dose boil five qian of equal amounts of ren shen, acorus [root] and Indian lotus seed germs in water and [let the patient] ingest this. Fu ren liang fang. 産後諸虚，發熱自汗。人參、當歸等分，爲末，用猪腰子一個，去膜切小 片， 以水三升， 糯米半合， 葱白二莖， 煮米熟， 取汁一盞， 入藥煎至八 分，食前温服。永類方。 All kinds of [qi] depletion following birth, with heat effusion and spontaneous sweating. [Grind] equal amounts of ginseng [root] and Chinese angelica [root] to powder. Then remove the membrane from one kidney of a pig, and cut it into small slices. Boil them in three sheng of water with half a ge of glutinous rice and two onion stems until the rice is done. Take one small bowl of the juice, add the medication [powder] and boil this down to 80%, to be ingested warm before meals. Yong lei fang. 産後秘塞，出血多。以人參、麻子仁、枳殻麩炒，爲末，煉蜜丸梧子大。 每服五十丸，米飲下。濟生方。 Constipation following birth, with much blood loss. [Grind] ren shen, hemp seeds and unripe oranges, fried with bran, to powder. Heat it with honey and prepare pills the size of wu seeds. Each time [let the patient] ingest 50 pills, to be sent down with a rice beverage. Ji sheng fang.

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横生倒産。人參末、乳香末各一錢，丹砂末五分，研匀，雞子白一枚，入 生薑自然汁三匙，攪匀，冷服，即母子俱安。神效，此施漢卿方也。婦人 良方。 Transverse and footling presentation. Grind one qian each of ren shen powder, frankincense powder and cinnabar powder to achieve an even mixture. Add the white [contents] of one egg and three spoonfulls of the natural juice of fresh ginger. Stir this to an even mixture to be ingested cold. Mother and child will be safe. Divinely effective. This is a recipe of Shi Hanqing. Fu ren liang fang. 開心益智。人參末一兩，鍊成豶猪肥肪十兩，以淳酒和匀。每服一盃，日 再服。服至百日 ， 耳目聰明 ， 骨髓充盈 ， 肌膚潤澤 ， 日記千言 ， 兼去風 熱痰病。千金方。 To open one’s mind and boost wisdom. Prepare an equal mixture of one liang of ren shen powder, ten liang of lard from a castrated pig, refined with heat, and pure wine. Each time ingest one cup, to be ingested several times a day. When this has been ingested for up to 100 days, the ears will be sharp, the eyes will be clear, the bone marrow will be filled and the muscles and the flesh will be moist. Everyday one can memorize 1000 words. At the same time, this serves to eliminate diseases associated with wind, heat and phlegm. Qian jin fang. 聞雷即昏。一小兒七歲，聞雷即昏倒，不知人事，此氣怯也。以人參、當 歸、麥門冬各二兩 ， 五味子五錢 ， 水一斗 ， 煎汁五升 ， 再以水五升 ， 煎 滓取汁二升，合煎成膏。每服三匙，白湯化下。服盡一斤，自後聞雷自若 矣。楊起簡便方。 Dizziniess at the sound of thunder. A child of seven years heard a thunder, became dizzy and fell to the ground. It did no longer recognize persons or anything else. This was a condition of qi timidity. [The recipe to cure this child was as follows]. Boil two liang each of ginseng [root], Chinese angelica [root] and ophiopogon [tuber], with five qian of schisandra seeds in one dou of water to a juice of five sheng. Then boil the dregs again with five sheng of water down to a juice of two sheng. Combine the two juices and boil them until a paste has formed. Each time [let the patient] ingest one entire jin [of that paste]. Henceforth when [the child] heard a thunder it was no longer disturbed. Yang Qi, Jian bian fang. 忽喘悶絶。方見大黄下。 Sudden panting and heart pressure, threatening to cut off [the flow of qi]. For a recipe, see under the entry rhubarb root. (17-01)



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離魂異疾。有人卧則覺身外有身 ， 一樣無别 ， 但不語。盖人卧則魂歸于 肝 ， 此由肝虚邪襲 ， 魂不歸舍 ， 病名曰離魂。用人參、龍齒、赤伏苓各 一錢 ， 水一盞 ， 煎半盞 ， 調飛過朱砂末一錢 ， 睡時服。一夜一服 ， 三夜 後，真者氣爽，假者即化矣。夏子益怪證奇疾方。 Departed hun-soul, an unusual illness. As someone lies down, he feels that there is another body outside of his body that is identical to himself, but is silent. The fact is, as one lies down, the hun-soul turns to the liver. In the present case, because of a liver with depleted [proper qi] was invaded by evil [qi], the hun-soul has nowhere to turn to and rest. This disease is called “departed hun-soul.” Boil one qian each of ren shen, dragon teeth and reddish poria [tubers] in one small cup of water down to half a cup. Mix [the liquid] with one qian of cinnabar powder, prepared with sublimation, and [let the patient] ingest this at the time he goes to sleep. To be ingested once every night. After three nights the proper qi will be clear again and the false [qi] will have transformed. Xia Ziyi, Guai zheng qi ji fang. 怔忡自汗。心氣不足也。人參半兩，當歸半兩，用豶猪腰子二個，以水二 盌 ， 煮至一盌半 ， 取腰子細切 ， 人參、歸同煎至八分 ， 空心喫腰子 ， 以 汁送下。其滓焙乾爲末，以山藥末作糊，丸緑豆大，每服五十丸，食遠棗 湯下，不過兩服即愈。此昆山 神濟大師方也。一加乳香二錢。王璆百一選 方。 Fearsome throbbing and spontaneous sweating. This is a condition of insufficient heart qi. Boil half a liang of ren shen and half a liang of Chinese angelica [root] with two kidneys of castrated pigs in two bowls of water down to one and a half bowls. Cut the kidneys into fine slices and boil them with the ren shen and the Chinese angelica [root] down to 80% [of the liquid]. Eat the kidneys on an empty stomach and send them down with the juice. Bake the dregs over a slow fire until they are dry and [grind them to] powder. Prepare this with Chinese yam [and a liquid] to a paste and form pills the size of munk beans. Each time [let the patient] ingest 50 pills, to be sent down with a Chinese date decoction between meals. After two ingestions a cure will be achieved. This is a recipe of the Great Master of Divine Assistance of Mount Kun shan. Another [recipe] adds two qian of frankincense. Wang Qiu, Bai yi xuan fang. 心下結氣。凡心下硬 ， 按之則無 ， 常覺膨滿 ， 多食則吐 ， 氣引前後 ， 噫 呃不除，由思慮過多，氣不以時而行則結滯，謂之結氣。人參一兩，橘皮 去白四兩，爲末，煉蜜丸梧子大，每米飲下五六十丸。聖惠方。

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Bound qi75 below the heart. When there is a hardening below the heart that disappears when it is pressed, with a constant sensation of swelling and fullness, vomiting after one has eaten much, qi being drawn through front and back, belching and hiccup without end, then this results from excessive pondering. The passage of qi loses its normal rhythm. [The qi] bind and stagnate. This [disease] is called “bound qi.” [Grind] one liang of ren shen and four liang of tangerine peels, with their white parts discarded, to powder and prepare it with heat refined honey to pills the size of wu seeds. Each time send down with a rice beverage 50 to 60 pills. Sheng hui fang. 房後困倦。人參七錢 ， 陳皮一錢 ， 水一盞半 ， 煎八分 ， 食前温服 ， 日再 服，千金不傳。趙永菴方。 Being tired to sleepiness following sexual intercourse. Boil seven qian of ren shen and one qian of tangerine peels in one and a half small cups of water down to 80% and ingest this warm before meals. To be ingested twice a day. This [recipe] is not transmitted for a 1000 pieces of gold. A recipe of Zhao Yong’an. 虚勞發熱。愚魯湯 ： 用上黨人參、銀州柴胡各三錢 ， 大棗一枚 ， 生薑三 片，水一鍾半，煎七分，食遠温服，日再服，以愈爲度。奇效良方。 Depletion exhaustion with heat effusion. The “stupid decoction.” Boil three qian each of ginseng [root] from Shan dang und bupleurum [root] from Yin zhou together with one large Chinese date and three slices of fresh ginger in one and a half zhong of water down to 70% and ingest [the liquid] warm between meals. To be ingested twice a day until a cure is achieved. Qi xiao liang fang. 肺熱聲啞。人參二兩，訶子一兩，爲末噙嚥。丹溪摘玄。 A hoarse voice associated with lung heat. Grind two liang of ren shen und one liang of terminalia fruit to powder, hold it in the mouth and swallow [the resulting liquid]. [Zhu] Danxi, Zhai xuan. 肺虚久欬。人參末二兩 ， 鹿角膠炙研一兩。每服三錢 ， 用薄荷、豉湯一 盞 ， 葱少許 ， 入銚子煎一二沸 ， 傾入盞内。遇欬時 ， 温呷三五口 ， 甚 加。食療本草。 Chronic cough associated with a lung [qi] depletion. Two liang of ren shen and one liang of deer horn glue, roasted and ground, are boiled in a pot with one small cup of a decoction of mint and [soybean] relish and a small amount of onion [stalks] to boiling twice. Pour [the decoction] into a small cup and sip three to five mouthfuls warm at the moment of an onset of the cough. Very helpful. Shi liao ben cao. 75 Jie qi 結氣, “bound qi,” 1.) an etiological agent of pathological qi halting and congealing at any place in the body. 2.) A condition brought forth by bound qi. BCGM Dict I, 240.



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止嗽化痰。人參末一兩，明礬二兩，以釅醋二升，熬礬成膏，人參末煉蜜 和收。每以豌豆大一丸放舌下，其嗽即止，痰自消。簡便方。 To end cough and transform phlegm. Simmer two liang of alum in two sheng of viscous vinegar until the alum forms a paste. Then mix one liang of ren shen powder with the paste and heat refined honey and store this. Every time place a pill the size of a pea under the tongue and the cough will end. The phlegm dissolves. Jian bian fang. 小兒喘欬 ， 發熱自汗 ， 吐紅 ， 脉虚無力者。人參、天花粉等分 ， 每服半 錢，蜜水調下，以瘥爲度。經濟方。 Panting and cough of children, with heat effusion, spontaneous sweating, vomiting of red [substance], and a hollow [movement in the] vessels with lack of strength. [Let the child] each time ingest half a qian of equal amounts of ren shen and trichosanthes [root] powder, to be sent down with honey water for as long as it takes to achieve a cure. Jing ji fang.76 喘欬嗽血。欬喘上氣，喘急，嗽血吐血，脉無力者。人參末每服三錢，雞 子清調之 ， 五更初服便睡 ， 去枕仰卧 ， 只一服愈。年深者 ， 再服。咯血 者，服盡一兩甚好。一方以烏雞子水磨千遍，自然化作水，調藥尤妙。忌 醋鹹腥醬、麪鮓醉飽，將息乃佳。沈存中靈苑方。 Panting with cough and and cough with blood. Cough, panting and rising qi. Hectic panting. Cough with blood, blood spitting. When the [movement in the vessels] has no strength. For each application the dosage is three qian of ren shen powder. Mix it with the white [contents] of an egg. Ingest a first dosage early in the morning and lie down to sleep again. Remove the pillow and lie flat on your back. A cure will be achieved after only one ingestion. When [the disease] has lasted for more than a year, ingest [the same dosage] a second time. [Patients] who spit blood must ingest one complete liang [of ren shen]. This is best. Another recipe [recommends to] rub in water an egg of a black[-bone] chicken 1000 times until it dissolves to water. It is then mixed with the [ren shen] medication and [the effects are] particularly wondrous. Vinegar, salty food, fishy smelling broth, noodles and preserved fish, alcohol abuse and eating to repletion are to be avoided [during such a therapy]. To take a rest is fine. Shen Cunzhong, Ling yuan fang. 欬嗽吐血。人參、黄耆、飛羅麪各一兩，百合五錢，爲末，水丸梧子大。 每服五十丸 ， 食前茅根湯下。朱氏集驗方用人參、乳香、辰砂等分 ， 爲 末，烏梅肉和丸彈子大。每白湯化下一丸，日一服。 76 The ascription of this recipe to the Jing ji fang is incorrect. It was first recorded in the Yi fang ji jie, available today in Ming fang lei zheng yi shu da quan 名方類證醫書大全, ch. 23.

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Cough with blood spitting. [Grind] one liang each of ren shen, astragalus [root] and very fine wheat flour together with five qian of Brown’s lily [bulbs] to powder to be prepared with water to pills the size of wu seeds. Each time ingest 50 pills, to be sent down with an imperata root decoction prior to meals. The Zhu shi ji yan fang [recommends to grind] equal amounts of ren shen, frankincense and cinnabar to powder and to prepare it with the meat of smoked plums to pills the size of bullets. Each time send down one pill dissolved in clear, boiled water. To be ingested once a day. 虚勞吐血甚者。先以十灰散止之 ， 其人必困倦 ， 法當補陽生陰 ， 獨參湯 主之。好人參一兩 ， 肥棗五枚 ， 水二鍾 ， 煎一鍾服 ， 熟睡一覺 ， 即减五 六，繼服調理藥。葛可久十藥神書。 Depletion exhaustion with extreme blood spitting. This is to be ended first with the “powder of ten ashes.”77 A person [affected by this illness] must be tired to sleepiness. The rules require that his yang [qi] are supplemented so that his yin [qi] are generated. This is controlled by the “decoction with only [ren] shen.” Boil one liang of ren shen and five fat Chinese dates in two zhong of water down to one zhong and [let the patient] ingest this. Then let him sleep a long time and he will feel much better. He should continue [the therapy] and ingest adjusting medication. Ge Kejiu, Shi yao shen shu. 吐血下血。因七情所感 ， 酒色内傷 ， 氣血妄行 ， 口鼻俱出 ， 心肺脉破 ， 血如涌泉 ， 須臾不救。用人參焙 ， 側柏葉蒸焙 ， 荆芥穗燒存性 ， 各五 錢，爲末。用二錢入飛羅麪二錢，以新汲水調如稀糊服，少傾再啜，一服 立止。華佗中藏經。 Blood spitting and discharge with blood. [Patients are] affected by any of the seven emotions, or they are harmed internally by wine and sex. As a result, their qi and blood move disorderly and leave through mouth and nose. The vessels of heart and lung are broken, the bleeding resembles a gushing spring. After a short while, a rescue is no longer possible. [Grind] five qian each of ren shen, baked over a slow fire, platycladus leaves, steamed and baked over a slow fire, and schizonepeta spikes, burned with their nature retained, to powder. Mix two qian of it and two qian of finest wheat flour with newly drawn water to prepare a thin paste. Ingest it and after a short while sip from it again. After one ingestion [the illness] will end immediately. Hua Tuo, Zhong zang jing. 衄血不止。人參、柳枝寒食采者，等分爲末。每服一錢，東流水服，日三 服。無柳枝，用蓮子心。聖濟總録。 77 A medication including the ashes of Peking spurge root, cat thistle, Indian lotus leaves, platycladus leaves, imperata root, madder root, gardenia fruit, rhubarb root, paeonia root bark and trachycarpus palm bark.



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Unending nosebleed. [Grind] equal amounts of ren shen and willow twigs, collected during the “cold food [day],”78 to powder. Each time ingest one qian. To be ingested with water flowing eastward. To be ingested three times a day. If no willow twigs are at hand, use lotus plumule. Sheng ji zong lu. 齒縫出血。人參、赤伏苓、麥門冬各二錢，水一鍾，煎七分，食前温服， 日再。蘇東坡得此 ， 自謂神奇。後生小子多患此病 ， 予累試之 ， 累如所 言。談埜翁試效方。 Bleeding from the seams of the teeth. Boil two qian each of ren shen, red poria and ophiopogon [tuber] in one zhong of water down to 70% and ingest [the liquid] warm prior to meals. Twice a day. Once when Su Dongpo [suffered from this illness and] obtained this recipe, he termed it “divinely effective.” Later my own children often suffered from this disease, and I repeatedly tried it on them. The effects were as he had said. Tan Yeweng, Shi xiao fang. 陰虚尿血。人參焙，黄耆鹽水炙，等分，爲末。用紅皮大蘿蔔一枚，切作 四片 ， 以蜜二兩 ， 將蘿蔔逐片蘸炙令乾 ， 再炙 ， 勿令焦 ， 以蜜盡爲度。 每用一片，蘸藥食之，仍以鹽湯送下，以瘥爲度。三因方。 Yin [qi] depletion and urination with blood. [Grind] equal amounts of ren shen, baked over a slow fire, and astragalus [root], roasted with brine, to powder. Then cut one large red skin radish into four pieces, dip them one after another into two liang of honey and roast them until they are dry. Then roast them again but avoid scorching them. Continue this until all the honey is used up. For each application dip one piece into the medicinal [powder] and eat it. It is sent down with a salt decoction. Continue [the treatment] until a cure is achieved. San yin fang. 沙淋石淋。方同上。 [Urinary] dripping with sand. [Urinary] dripping with stones. Recipe identical with the one above. 消渴引飲。人參爲末，雞子清調服一錢，日三四服。 Melting with thirst79 and an urge to drink. [Grind] ren shen to powder and ingest, mixed with egg white, one qian. To be ingested three to four times a day. 78 The “Cold Food Day:” Jie [Zi] tui 介子推 served King Wen of the State of Jin, 5th c. BCE. Eventually he withdrew with his mother to the forests. King Wen summoned him to his court to show his gratitude. When Jie Zitui refused to appear, the king had the forest set on fire to force him to leave his abode. Jie and his mother died in the fire in 476 BCE. The king ordered that no fires were allowed on that day in future, and food was to be consumed cold. Hence the name of that day, han shi 寒食, “cold food.” BCGM Dict III, 224-225.

79 Xiao ke 消渴, “melting with thirst,” most likely including cases of diabetes. BCGM Dict Vol I, 567.

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集驗用人參、栝樓根等分，生研爲末，煉蜜丸梧子大。每服百丸，食前麥 門冬湯下。日二服，以愈爲度，名玉壺丸。忌酒麪炙煿。 The Ji yan [recommends to] grind equal amounts of fresh ren shen und trichosanthes root to powder and form with honey, refined with heat, pills the size of wu seeds. Each time ingest 100 pills, to be sent down with an ophiopogon [tuber] decoction prior to meals. To be ingested twice a day until a cure is achieved. [This recipe] is called “jade flask pills.” [During the treatment] wine, noodles, roasted and baked items are to be avoided. 鄭氏家傳消渴方 ： 人參一兩 ， 粉草二兩 ， 以雄豬膽汁浸炙 ， 腦子半錢 ， 爲末，蜜丸芡子大。每嚼一丸，冷水下。 A recipe for melting with thirst transmitted in Mr. Zheng’s family. Soak one liang of ren shen and two liang of the fen cao 粉草 [type of glycyrrhiza root] in a male pig’s bile and then roast them. Add half a qian of camphor and [grind all this to] powder to be prepared with honey to pills the size of qian seeds. Each time chew one pill, to be sent down with cold water. 聖濟總録用人參一兩，葛粉二兩，爲末。發時以燖猪湯一升，入藥三錢， 蜜二兩 ， 慢火熬至三合 ， 狀如黑餳 ， 以瓶收之 ， 每夜以一匙含嚥 ， 不過 三服取效也。 The Sheng ji zong lu [recommends to grind] one liang of ren shen and two liang of pueraria powder to powder. At the moment of an outbreak [of the disease] add three qian of the medication [powder] and two liang of honey to one sheng of a decoction of reheated pork and simmer this over a slow fire down to three ge, shaped like black malt-sugar. Store it in a jar. Every night hold one spoonful in the mouth and swallow [the resulting liquid]. An effect will show after no more than three ingestions. 虚瘧寒熱。人參二錢二分，雄黄五錢，爲末，端午日用糉尖搗丸梧子大。 發日侵辰，井華水吞下七丸，發前再服，忌諸般熱物，立效。一方加神麯 等分。丹溪纂要。 Depletion malaria with [alternating sensations of ] cold and heat. [Grind] two qian and two fen of ren shen and five qian of realgar to powder. On the fifth day of the fifth month pound [the powder] together with tips of glutinous rice dumplings and form pills the size of wu seeds. On the day of an outbreak swallow with the first water drawn from a well seven pills. Ingest [seven pills] again shortly prior to an outbreak. [During the treatment] all kinds of hot items are to be avoided. Immediately effective. Another recipe adds an equal amount of yeast. Danxi zuan yao.



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冷痢厥逆，六脉沉細。人參、大附子各一兩半。每服半兩，生薑十片，丁 香十五粒，粳米一撮，水二盞，煎七分，空心温服。經驗方。 Free-flux illness associated with cold, recession and counterflow, with [movements in the] six vessels that are in the depth and fine. Mix half a liang each of ren shen and aconitum [accessory tuber]. Each time ingest half a liang boiled in two small cups of water down to 70% together with ten slices of fresh ginger, 15 clove grains and one pinch of non-glutinous rice. Ingest [the resulting liquid] warm on an empty stomach. Jing yan fang. 下痢禁口。人參、蓮肉各三錢，以井華水二盞，煎一盞，細細呷之。或加 薑汁炒黄連三錢。經驗良選方。 Discharge with free-flux illness resulting in a closed mouth [making it impossible to eat and drink]. Boil three qian each of ren shen and lotus seeds in two small cups of the first water drawn from a well and [let the patient] sip [the liquid] in small amounts. Or add three qian of coptis [rhizome] fried in ginger juice. Jing yan liang xuan fang.80 老人虚痢不止，不能飲食。上黨人參一兩，鹿角去皮炒研五錢，爲末。每 服方寸匕，米湯調下，日三服。十便良方。 Old persons with depletion, unending free-flux illness and an inability to drink and eat. [Grind] one liang of ren shen from Shang dang and five qian of deer horn, with its skin removed, fried and ground, to powder. Each time [let the patient] ingest the amount held by a square cun spoon, to be sent down mixed with a rice decoction. To be ingested three times a day. Shi bian liang fang. 傷寒壞證。凡傷寒時疫 ， 不問陰陽 ， 老幼妊婦 ， 誤服藥餌 ， 困重垂死 ， 脉沉伏， 不省人事， 七日以後， 皆可服之， 百不失一， 此名奪命散， 又 名復脉湯。人參一兩 ， 水二鍾 ， 緊火煎一鍾 ， 以井水浸冷服之 ， 少頃鼻 梁有汗出，脉復立瘥。蘇韜光侍郎云：用此救數十人。予作清流宰，縣倅 申屠行輔之子婦患時疫三十餘日，已成壞病，令服此藥而安。王璆百一選 方。 Harm caused by cold resulting in a bad condition. Whenever in the case of harm caused by cold and seasonal epidemics, regardless of whether these are [diseases of a] yin or yang type, and whether they affect the old or the young or pregnant women, [also, when patients] have erroneously ingested some medicated cake, resulting in an extreme fatigue bringing one close to dying, with a [movement in the vessels that is] in the depth and hidden und [patients] failing to recognize other persons 80 A title Jing yan liang xuan fang 經驗良選方 is not recorded anywhere. This recipe is quited from Chen Shixian’s 陳仕賢 Jing yan ji shi liang fang 經驗濟世良方.

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and items, this [medication] can always be ingested seven days later and there will be not a single failure in 100 applications. It is called the “powder to seize life.” It is also called the “decoction to restitute the [movement in the] vessels.” Boil one liang of ren shen in two zhong of water over a strong fire down to one zhong. Then soak [the ren shen] in well water to let it cool down and [let the patient] ingest it. A short while later, sweat will leave from his nose bridge. His vessel [movement] will be restored, and he will be cured immediately. Vice Director Su Taoguang states: “[I] have used this and have rescued tens of persons.” When I worked for the goverment in Qing liu, the daughter-in-law of one of my county deputies, Shentu Xingfu, suffered from a seasonal epidemic for more than 30 days. It had already developed to a bad disease. I let her ingest this medication, and she was saved. Wang Qiu, Bai yi xuan fang. 傷寒厥逆 ， 身有微熱 ， 煩燥 ， 六脉沉細微弱 ， 此陰極發躁也。無憂散 ： 用人參半兩，水一鍾，煎七分，調牛膽南星末二錢，熱服立甦。三因方。 Harm caused by cold, with [qi] recession and counterflow, with the body being slightly hot, with vexation and restlessness and the [movement in the] six vessels being deep, fine, feeble and weak. This is [a condition of an] extreme presence of yin [qi] resulting in restlessness. The “powder admitting no worries:” Boil half a liang of ren shen in one zhong of water down to 70%. Add two qian of arisaema [root] powder mixed with ox bile and [let the patient] ingest this hot. He will return to life immediately. San yin fang. 夾陰傷寒。先因慾事 ， 後感寒邪 ， 陽衰陰盛 ， 六脉沉伏 ， 小腹絞痛 ， 四 肢逆冷，嘔吐清水，不假此藥，無以回陽。人參、乾薑炮各一兩，生附子 一枚 ， 破作八片 ， 水四升半 ， 煎一升 ， 頓服 ， 脉出身温即愈。吴綬傷寒 藴要。 Sex life related harm caused by cold. The yang [qi] are weak and the yin [qi] abound because [the patient] first indulged in sex and was then affected by cold evil. The [movement in his] six vessels is deep and hidden, in his abdomen he feels a twisting pain, his four limbs are cold with [qi] counterflow, he vomits and spits clear water, and if he does not resort to this medication, there is no chance that his yang [qi] return. Boil one liang each of ren shen and ginger, roasted in a pan, and one fresh aconitum [accessory tuber], broken to eight pieces, in four and a half sheng of water down to one sheng and ingest it all at once. Once the [movement in the] vessels appears again and the body is warm, a cure is achieved. Wu Shou, Shang han yun yao. 筋骨風痛。人參四兩 ， 酒浸三日 ， 晒乾 ， 土伏苓一斤 ， 山慈姑一兩 ， 爲 末，煉蜜丸梧子大。每服一百丸，食前米湯下。經驗方。



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Sinews and bones affected by wind pain. [Grind] four liang of ren shen, soaked in wine for three days and dried in the sun, one jin of smilax [root] and one liang of edible tulip [root] to powder to be formed with heat refined honey to pills the size of wu seeds. Each time ingest 100 pills, to be sent down with a rice decoction prior to meals. Jing yan fang. 小兒風癇瘛瘲。用人參、蛤粉、辰砂等分 ， 爲末 ， 以猳猪心血和丸緑豆 大。每服五十丸，金銀湯下，一日二服，大有神效。衛生寶鑑。 Wind epilepsy with clonic spasms of children. [Grind] equal amounts of ren shen, clam shell powder and cinnabar to powder to be formed, with blood from the heart of a male pig, to pills the size of mung beans. Each time [let the patient] ingest 50 pills, to be sent down with water in which gold and silver have been boiled. To be ingested twice on one day. Very divinely effective. Wei sheng bao jian. 脾虚慢驚。黄耆湯，見黄耆發明下。 Spleen [qi] depletion with chronic fright. The “ astragalus [root] decoction.” See “Explication” in the entry astragalus [root]. (12-02) 痘疹險證。保元湯，見黄耆”發明”下。 Critical conditions associated with smallpox papules. The “decoction to guard the original [qi].” See “Explication” in the entry astragalus [root]. (12-02) 驚後瞳斜。小兒驚後瞳人不正者。人參、阿膠糯米炒成珠，各一錢，水一 盞，煎七分，温服，日再服，愈乃止，效。直指方。 Slanted pupils following fright. When the pupils of a child following an exposure to fright are no longer straight. [Boil] one qian each of ren shen and donkey hide glue, fried in glutinous rice until pearls have formed, in one small cup of water down to 70% and [let the patient] ingest this warm. To be ingested twice a day. End [the treatment] once a cure is achieved. Effective. Zhi zhi fang. 小兒脾風，多困。人參、冬瓜仁各半兩，南星一兩，漿水煮過，爲末。每 用一錢，水半盞，煎二三分，温服。本事方。 Spleen wind of children, with much fatigue. [Grind] half a liang each of ren shen and wax gourd seeds, with one liang of arisaema [root], boiled in fermented water of foxtail millet,81 to powder. For each application, boil one qian in half a small cup of water down to 20 or 30% and [let the patient] ingest it warm. Ben shi fang. 酒毒目盲。一人形實 ， 好飲熱酒 ， 忽病目盲而脉濇 ， 此熱酒所傷 ， 胃氣 污濁，血宛其中而然。以蘇木煎湯，調人參末一錢服，次日鼻及兩掌皆紫 81 For jiang shui 漿水, “fermented water of foxtail millet,” see BCGM 05-33.

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黑 ， 此滯血行矣。再以四物湯 ， 加蘇木、桃仁、紅花、陳皮 ， 調人參末 服，數日而愈。丹溪纂要。 Blindness caused by wine poison. There was a person with a solid physical appearance who loved to drink hot wine. Suddenly he suffered from blindness, associated with a rough [movement in the] vessels. This was a harm caused by hot wine. His condition reflected his muddy stomach qi and an amassment of blood in his center. [To cure him he was given] to ingest one qian of ren shen powder mixed with a decoction of sappan wood. The next day, his nose and both his hands had turned purple-black, reflecting the passage of stagnating blood. Then he [was given] to ingest the “decoction with the four items”82 to which were added sappan wood, peach seeds, safflower and tangerine peels mixed with ren shen powder. After several days he was cured. Danxi zuan yao. 酒毒生疽。一婦嗜酒，腦生一疽，脉緊而濇。用酒炒人參、酒炒大黄，等 分爲末，薑湯服一錢，得睡，汗出而愈，效。丹溪醫案。 An impediment-illness83 caused by wine poison. There was a woman who loved to drink wine. In her brain she developed an impediment-illness. The [movement in her] vessels was tight and rough. [The following recipe] was used [to cure her]. Equal amounts of ren shen and rhubarb root, fried in wine, were ground to powder. [The patient was asked] to ingest one qian with a ginger decoction and go to sleep. Once [the patient began to] sweat, her cure was achieved. Danxi yi an. 狗咬風傷腫痛。人參置桑柴炭上燒存性 ， 以盌覆定 ， 少頃爲末 ， 摻之立 瘥。經驗後方。 Painful dog bite with a swelling as a harm caused by wind. Burn ren shen above a mulberry twig fire with its nature retained. Firmly cover it with a bowl. After a short while [grind it to] powder and apply it to [the affected region]. Immediately effective. Jing yan hou fang. 蜈蚣咬傷。嚼人參塗之。醫學集成。 Harm caused by a centipede. Chew ren shen and apply it [to the affected region]. Yi xue ji cheng. 蜂蠆螫傷。人參末傅之。證治要訣。 82 The “four items” include paeonia root skin, processed Chinese foxglove, angelica root and asarum heteropoides root.

83 Ju 疽, “impediment-illness,” refers to an obstruction of vessels or other ducts inside the body. Qi rushing against the impediment may cause a local swelling and eventually break through the surface to cause an abscess. BCGM Dict I, 277.



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Harm caused by stings of bees/wasps and scorpions. Apply ren shen powder [to the affected region]. Zheng zhi yao jue. 脇破腸出。急以油抹入，煎人參、枸杞汁淋之，内喫羊腎粥，十日愈。危 氏得效方。 Intestines coming out of flanks broken open. Quickly apply oil [to the protruding intestine and push it back] into [the body]. Boil ren shen and lycium [root] and drip the juice [on the wound]. For an internal [treatment let the patient] eat a gruel made of sheep kidneys. A cure will be achieved within ten days. Wei shi, De xiao fang. 氣奔怪疾。方見虎杖。 An unusual illness of a qi run. For a recipe, see [the entry on] hu zhang / arisaema [root] (16-57). 12-03-02 蘆。Lu.

Rhizome [of ren shen].

【氣味】苦，温，無毒。 Qi and Flavor. Bitter, warm, nonpoisonous. 【主治】吐虚勞痰飲。時珍。 Control. Vomiting with depletion exhaustion and phlegm rheum. [Li] Shizhen. 【發明】【吴綬曰】人弱者 ， 以人參蘆代瓜蒂。【震亨曰】人參入手太 陰 ， 補陽中之陰 ， 蘆則反能瀉太陰之陽。亦如麻黄 ， 苗能發汗 ， 根則止 汗。穀屬金而糠之性熱，麥屬陽而麩之性凉。先儒謂物物具一太極，學者 可不觸類而長之乎。一女子性躁味厚 ， 暑月因怒而病呃 ， 每作則舉身跳 動，昏冒不知人。其形氣俱實，乃痰因怒鬱，氣不得降，非吐不可。遂以 人參蘆半兩 ， 逆流水一盞半 ， 煎一大盌飲之 ， 大吐頑痰數盌 ， 大汗 ， 昏 睡一日而安。又一人作勞發瘧，服瘧藥變爲熱病，舌短痰嗽，六脉洪數而 滑 ， 此痰蓄胸中 ， 非吐不愈。以參蘆湯加竹瀝 ， 二服 ， 涌出膠痰三塊 ， 次與人參、黄耆、當歸煎服，半月乃安。 Explication. Wu Shou: When a person is weak, ren shen rhizome may be used instead of muskmelon fruit base. [Zhu] Zhenheng: Ren shen enters the hand major yin [conduits]. It supplements the yin in the yang. In contrast, its rhizome is able to drain the yang of the major yin. Comparable to ephedra [herb], its seedling can cause sweating, while its root ends sweating. Grain is associated with [the phase] metal; the nature of its chaff is hot. Wheat is associated with yang, and wheat bran

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is by nature cool. The former ru scholars said that every item partakes in the one single tai ji. Scholars [of today] may widen its scope without breaking it up into different groups. There was a woman with a restless nature who [preferred to consume food with] a pronounced flavor. During one of the summerheat months she became angry and suffered from hiccough. Each episode let her entire body move. She suffered from clouding with indistinct vision and did not recognize other persons. Both her physical appearance and her qi were replete. Now, when phlegm abounds because of anger, the qi are unable to descend. The only possibility is to [let the patient] vomit. Hence half a liang of ren shen rhizome was boiled in one and a half small cups of counterflow water down to fill one large bowl, which she was given to drink. She massively vomited stubborn phlegm filling several bowls, and she sweated profusely. Then she slept one night and was saved. Also, there was a person who was affected by exhaustion and developed malaria. When he ingested a malaria medication, it turned into a heat disease. His tongue contracted, he coughed phlegm, and the [movement in the] six vessels was overflowing, increased and smooth. This was a case of phlegm amassing in the chest that could be cured only by [letting the patient] vomit. He ingested twice a [ren] shen rhizome decoction with bamboo stem juice and gushed out three lumps of glue-like phlegm. Next he was given to ingest a decoction of ginseng [root], astragalus [root] and Chinese angelica [root], and he was saved after half a month. 12-04 沙參本經上品 Sha shen, FE Ben jing, upper rank. Adenophora stricta Miq. Upright ladybell. 【校正】併入别録 有名未用部羊乳。 Editorial Correction. Yang ru listed in the Bie lu as “known by name but not in use” is included [in the present entry]. 【釋名】白參吴普、知母别録、羊乳别録、羊婆奶綱目、鈴兒草别録、虎 鬚别録、苦心别録，又名文希，一名識美，一名志取。【弘景曰】此與人 參、玄參、丹參、苦參，是爲五參，其形不盡相類而主療頗同，故皆有參 名。又有紫參 ， 乃牡蒙也。【時珍曰】沙參白色 ， 宜於沙地 ， 故名。其 根多白汁，俚人呼爲羊婆奶，别録 有名未用 羊乳，即此也。此物無心味 淡，而别録一名苦心，又與知母同名，不知所謂也。鈴兒草，象花形也。 Explanation of Names. Bai shen 白參, Wu Pu. Zhi mu 知母, Bie lu. Yang ru 羊乳, Bie lu. Yang po nai 羊婆奶, Gang mu. Ling er cao 鈴兒草, Bie lu. Hu xu 虎鬚, Bie lu. Ku xin 苦心, Bie lu. Alternative names wen xi 文希， shi mei 識美， and zhi qu



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志取. [Tao] Hongjing: This [sha shen] forms together with ren shen 人參, xuan shen 玄參, dan shen 丹參 and ku shen 苦參 the “five shen 參.” Their physical appearances are not entirely identical but their major healing [effects] are quite the same. Hence they are all called shen 參. There is in addition a zi shen 紫參，”purple shen,” which is actually paris [root]. [Li] Shizhen: Sha shen 沙參 is of white, bai 白, color, and sandy, sha 沙, ground is best suited for it to grow. Hence the names [bai shen 白參 and sha shen 沙參]. It’s roots have much white juice which is called by the common people “old sheep-woman’s milk,” yang po nai 羊婆奶. This is the “sheep milk,” yang ru 羊乳, listed in the Bie lu as “known by name but not in use.” This item has no core, and its flavor is bland. The Bie lu lists ku xin 苦心, “bitter heart/core,” as an alternative name, and it also names it zhi mu. But [I] do not know what it is meant to say. [It is also named] “bell herb,” ling er cao 鈴兒草, to reflect the physical appearance of its flowers. 【集解】【别録曰】沙參生河内川谷及冤句 般陽 續山，二月、八月采根， 暴乾。又曰：羊乳一名地黄，三月采，立夏後母死。【恭曰】出華山者爲 善。【普曰】二月生苗如葵 ， 葉青色 ， 根白 ， 實如芥 ， 根大如蕪菁 ， 三 月采。【弘景曰】今出近道，叢生，葉似枸杞，根白實者佳。【保昇曰】 其根若葵根、其花白色。【頌曰】今淄、齊、潞、隨、江、淮、荆、湖州 郡皆有之。苗長一二尺以來，叢生厓壁間，葉似枸杞而有叉丫，七月開紫 花 ， 根如葵根 ， 大如指許 ， 赤黄色 ， 中正白實者佳 ， 二月、八月采根。 南土生者葉有細有大，花白，瓣上仍有白粘，此爲小異。【藏器曰】羊乳 根如薺苨而圓 ， 大小如拳 ， 上有角節 ， 折之有白汁 ， 人取根當薺苨。苗 作蔓，折之有白汁。【時珍曰】沙參處處山原有之。二月生苗，葉如初生 小葵葉而團扁不光。八九月抽莖， 高一二尺。莖上之葉則尖長如枸杞葉而 小， 有細齒。秋月葉間開小紫花， 長二三分， 狀如鈴鐸， 五出， 白蕊， 亦有白花者。並結實，大如冬青實，中有細子。霜後苗枯。其根生沙地者 長尺餘，大一虎口，黄土地者則短而小。根莖皆有白汁。八九月采者白而 實，春月采者微黄而虚。小人亦往往紥蒸壓實以亂人參，但體輕鬆，味淡 而短耳。 Collected Explanations. Bie lu: Sha shen grows in the river valley of He nei and also in Yuan ju, in Ban yang and on Mount Xu shan. Its root is collected in the second and in the eighth month. It is dried in the sun. It also says: Yang ru 羊乳 is also called di huang 地黄. It is collected in the third month. After [the solar term] Summer Begins, the mother [herb] dies. [Su] Gong: Those coming from Mount Hua shan are good. [Wu] Pu: In the second month it develops seedlings resembling Chinese mallows Its leaves are of greenish color. Its root is white. Its fruits resemble mustard seeds. The root is as big as that of a turnip. It is collected in the

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third month. [Tao] Hongjing: Nowadays it comes from nearby regions. It grows in thickets. Its leaves resemble those of lycium. Those with a white and solid root are fine. [Han] Baosheng: Its root resembles the root of Chinese mallow. Its flowers are of white color. [Su] Song: Nowadays it can be found everywhere in the prefectures of Zi [zhou], Qi [zhou], Lu [zhou], Sui [zhou], Jiang [zhou], Huai [zhou], Jing [zhou] and Hu zhou. The seedlings are one to two chi long. [Sha shen] grows in thickets on the walls of cliffs. Its leaves resemble those of lycium, but they are forked. In the seventh month [sha shen] opens purple flowers. Its root resembles the root of Chinese mallow. It is a little bigger than a finger, and of red-yellow color. Those that in their center are white and solid are fine. The root is collected in the second and eighth month. [Sha shen] growing on southern soil has fine and large leaves. The flowers are white. Sections of them carry a sticky, white paste. This is a minor difference [in comparison with sha shen from the North]. [Chen] Cangqi: The root of yang ru resembles that of apricot-leaved adenophora [root], but is round. It has the size of a fist, with edges on its surface. When it is broken open there is a white juice. People take the root as apricot-leaved adenophora [root]. The seedlings grow as a vine. When they are broken, they have a white juice. [Li] Shizhen: Sha shen is present everywhere on mountains and in the plains. It develops seedlings in the second month. Its leaves resemble small Chinese mallow leaves that have just grown, but they are round, flat and have no shine. In the eighth and ninth month the stem appears with a height of one to two chi. The leaves on the stem are pointed and long, resembling the leaves of lycium, but they are smaller and have fine teeth. During the autumn months small, purple flowers open between the leaves, with a length of two to three fen and shaped like bells. They have five petals and white pistils. There are also specimens with white flowers. All of them bear fruit the size of ilex fruit, with small seeds inside. After an exposure to frost, the seedlings wither. Those [sha shen kinds] that grow on sandy ground have a root of one chi or even longer; they are as big as a tiger mouth.84 [Kinds growing on] yellow soil have short und small [roots]. Root and stem are both filled with a white juice. When they are collected during the eighth and ninth month, they are white and solid. Those collected during spring months are slightly yellow and hollow. Persons of a vile character often bind them together, steam them, and squeeze them to let them appear solid and then falsely present them as ren shen. Still, their physical body is light and soft, the flavor is bland and of short duration.

84 That is the span between the tips of thumb and forefinger.



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12-04-01 根。Gen. [Sha shen] root.

【氣味】苦，微寒，無毒。【别録曰】羊乳，温，無毒。【普曰】沙參。 岐伯：鹹。神農、黄帝、扁鵲：無毒。李當之：大寒。【好古曰】甘、微 苦。【之才曰】惡防已，反藜蘆。 Qi and Flavor. Bitter, slightly cold, nonpoisonous. Bie lu: Yang ru is warm and nonpoisonous. [Wu] Pu: Sha shen [is identified by] Qi Bo: Salty. Shen nong, Huang Di, Bian Que: Nonpoisonous. Li Dangzhi: Very cold. [Wang] Haogu: Sweet, slightly bitter. [Xu] Zhicai: [Ingested together,] it abhors stephania tetandry [root] and opposes veratrum [root]. 【主治】血結驚氣 ， 除寒熱 ， 補中益肺氣。本經。療胸痺 ， 心腹痛 ， 結 熱邪氣頭痛 ， 皮間邪熱 ， 安五臟。久服利人。又云 ： 羊乳主頭腫痛 ， 益 氣 ， 長肌肉。别録。去皮肌浮風 ， 疝氣下墜 ， 治常欲眠 ， 養肝氣 ， 宣 五臟風氣。甄權。補虚 ， 止驚煩 ， 益心肺 ， 并一切惡瘡疥癬及身癢 ， 排 膿，消腫毒。大明。清肺火，治久欬肺痿。時珍。 Control. Bound85 blood and fright qi. It removes [alternating sensations of ] cold and heat. It supplements the center and boosts the lung qi. Ben jing. It heals chest blockage,86 heart and abdominal pain, bound heat, evil qi and headache, and evil heat in the skin. It pacifies the five long-term depots. To ingest it over a long time is beneficial. It is also stated: Yang ru controls painful swelling87 of the head. It boosts the qi and stimulates the growth of muscles and flesh. Bie lu. It removes wind floating in the skin and the muscles, and elevation-illness88 qi that has sunken down [into the testicles]. It serves to cure continuing sleepiness, nourishes the liver qi, and stimulates the movement of wind qi away from the five long-term depots. Zhen Quan. It supplements depletion, ends fright vexation and boosts [the qi of ] heart and lung. It also [serves to cure] all kinds of malign sores, jie-illness and xuan-ill-

85 Instead of xue jie 血結, “bound blood,” Zheng lei ch. 7, sha shen 沙參, writes xue ji 血積, “blood accumulation.”

86 Instead of xiong 胸, “chest,” Zheng lei ch. 7, sha shen 沙參, writes wei 胃, “stomach.”

87 Instead of zhong 腫, “swelling,” Zheng lei ch. 30, section “known by name but not in use,” writes xuan 眩, “vertigo.”

88 Shan qi 疝氣, “elevation-illness qi,” a pathological condition of (1) an item having entered the scrotum, with pain, sometimes ascending, sometimes descending, (2) a condition affecting the scrotum or a testicle, (3) of violent abdominal pain, in some cases associated with constipation and anuria. BCGM Dict I, 419, 417.

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ness89 and body itch, discharges pus and dissolves swelling with poison. Da Ming. It cools lung fire and serves to cure chronic cough and lung dysfunction. [Li] Shizhen. 【發明】【元素曰】肺寒者用人參 ， 肺熱者用沙參代之 ， 取其味甘也。 【好古曰】沙參味甘微苦，厥陰本經之藥，又爲脾經氣分藥。微苦補陰， 甘則補陽，故潔古取沙參代人參。盖人參性温，補五臟之陽；沙參性寒， 補五臟之陰。雖云補五臟，亦須各用本臟藥相佐使，隨所引而相輔之可也。 【時珍曰】人參甘苦温，其體重實，專補脾胃元氣，因而益肺與腎，故内 傷元氣者宜之。沙參甘淡而寒，其體輕虚，專補肺氣，因而益脾與腎，故 金能受火剋者宜之。一補陽而生陰，一補陰而制陽，不可不辨之也。 Explication. [Zhang] Yuansu: In the case of lung cold, resort to ginseng [root]. In the case of lung heat, resort to sha shen instead. [In both cases] make use of their sweet flavor. [Wang] Haogu: Sha shen has a sweet and slightly bitter flavor. It is a medication for the ceasing yin conduits, and it is also a medication for the qi section of the spleen conduits. A slightly bitter [flavor] supplements yin [qi]. A sweet [flavor] supplements yang [qi]. This is why [Zhang] Jiegu resorted to sha shen instead of ginseng [root]. The fact is, ginseng [root] is by nature warm and supplements the yang [qi] of the five long-term depots. Sha shen is by nature cold and supplements the yin [qi] of the five long-term depots. Even if it is stated [of ginseng root] and sha shen] that they supplement the [qi of the] five long-term depots, it is still necessary to add to them assistant [drugs] and guiding substances suitable for the specific long-term depot in question so that they lead and mutually support each other. [Li] Shizhen: Ginseng [root] has a sweet and bitter flavor and is warm. Its physical body is heavy and solid, and it especially supplements the original qi of spleen and stomach. Because it boosts the [qi of ] lung and kidneys, it is to be used when the original qi are harmed internally. Sha shen has a sweet and bland [flavor] and is cold. Its physical body is light and hollow, and it especially supplements the qi of the lung. Because it boosts the [qi of ] spleen and kidneys, it is to be used when the metal [i.e., the lung] is to be enabled to withstand an aggressive encroachment by fire. One [of the two] serves to supplement yang [qi] and to generate yin [qi]; the other serves to supplement yin [qi] and checks yang [qi]. It is essential to distinguish among their [potentials when using them].

89 Xuan 癬, “xuan-illness.” Conditions of dermal lesions with initially erythema, papules, and itching gradually extending in all directions to form an irregular ring with clear boundaries. The skin is slightly elevated with small papules, blisters, and/or scales and scraps. The central lesion may appear to heal spontaneously, and it may reappear. Also, a designation of local lesions with itching, release of liquid and shedding of scabs. BCGM Dict I, 591.



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【附方】舊一，新二。 Added Recipes. One of old. Two newly [recorded]. 肺熱欬嗽。沙參半兩，水煎服之。衛生易簡方。 Lung heat and cough. Boil half a liang of sha shen in water and ingest this. Wei sheng yi jian fang. 卒得疝氣，小腹及陰中相引痛如絞，自汗出，欲死者。沙參搗篩爲末，酒 服方寸匕，立瘥。肘後方。 Sudden affliction with elevation-illness90 qi. For a condition with a constricting pain gripping the lower abdomen and the yin [(i. e., genital) region], spontaneous sweating and a sensation as if one were to die. Pound sha shen, sieve it to obtain a powder and [let the patient] ingest with wine the amount held by a square cun spoon. A cure is achieved immediately. Zhou hou fang. 婦人白帶。多因七情内傷或下元虚冷所致。沙參爲末，每服二錢，米飲調 下。證治要訣。 White [discharge from below the] belt of women. This is often associated with internal harm caused by any of the seven emotions or a depletion with cold of the original [qi] in the lower [body part]. [Grind] sha shen to powder. Each time [let the woman] ingest two qian, to be sent down mixed with a rice beverage. Zheng zhi yao jue. 12-05 薺苨音齊尼並上聲别録中品 Qi ni, read qi ni, both with rising tone. FE Bie lu, middle rank. Adenophora trachelioides Maxim. Apricot leaf ladybell. 【校正】併入圖經 杏參。 Editorial Correction. Xing shen [separately] listed in the Tu jing is included [in the present entry].

【釋名】杏參圖經、杏葉沙參救荒、菧苨菧音底， 爾雅、甜桔梗綱目、白 麪根救荒。苗名隱忍。【時珍曰】薺苨多汁，有濟𦰫之狀，故以名之。濟 𦰫，濃露也。其根如沙參而葉如杏，故河南人呼爲杏葉沙參。蘇頌圖經杏 參即此也。俗謂之甜桔梗。爾雅云：𦰫，菧苨也。郭璞云：即薺苨也。隱 忍，説見下文。 90 Shan qi 疝氣, “elevation-illness qi,” a pathological condition of (1) an item having entered the scrotum, with pain, sometimes ascending, sometimes descending, (2) a condition affecting the scrotum or a testicle, (3) of violent abdominal pain, in some cases associated with constipation and anuria. BCGM Dict I, 419, 417.

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Explanation of Names. Xing shen 杏參, Tu jing. Xing ye sha shen 杏葉沙參, “apricot -leaved sha shen,” Jiu huang. Di ni 菧苨, di 菧 read di 底, Er ya. Tian jie geng 甜桔 梗, “sweet platycodon [root],” Gang mu. Bai mian gen 白麪根, “white flour root,” Jiu huang. The seedlings are called yin ren 隱忍, “secret endurance.” [Li] Shizhen: Qi ni 薺苨 has much juice and is shaped like ji ni 濟𦰫. Hence the name. Ji ni 濟𦰫 is “thick dew.” Its root resembles that of sha shen, and its leaves resemble those of apricots. This is why the people in Henan call it “apricot-leaved sha shen.” This is the xing shen 杏參 listed by Su Song in his Tu jing. A common name is tian jie geng 甜桔梗, “sweet platycodon [root].” The Er ya states: “Ni 𦰫 is di ni 菧苨.” Guo Pu states: “This is qi ni 薺苨.” For an explanation of yin ren 隱忍, “secret endurance,” see the text below. 【集解】【弘景曰】薺苨根莖都似人參而葉小異，根味甜絶，能殺毒。以 其與毒藥共處，毒皆自然歇，不正入方家用也。又曰：魏文帝言薺苨亂人 參 ， 即此也。薺苨葉甚似桔梗 ， 但葉下光明滑澤無毛爲異 ， 又不如人參 相對耳。【恭曰】人參苗似五加而闊短，莖圓有三四椏，椏頭有五葉。陶 引薺苨亂人參 ， 誤矣。且薺苨、桔梗又有葉差互者 ， 亦有葉三四對者 ， 皆一莖直上。葉既相亂，惟以根有心爲别爾。【頌曰】今川 蜀、江 浙皆 有之。春生苗莖，都似人參而葉小異，根似桔梗，但無心爲異。潤州、陝 州尤多 ， 人家收以爲果 ， 或作脯啖 ， 味甚甘美 ， 兼可寄遠。二月、八月 采根，暴乾。【承曰】今人多以蒸過壓扁亂人參，但味淡爾。【宗奭曰】 陶以根言，故云薺苨亂人參。蘇以苗言，故以陶爲誤也。【機曰】薺苨苗 莖與桔梗相似，其根與人參相亂。今言苗莖都似人參，近於誤也。當以人 參、薺苨、桔梗三註參看自明矣。【時珍曰】薺苨苗似桔梗，根似沙參， 故姦商往往以沙參、薺苨通亂人參。蘇頌圖經所謂杏參， 周憲王救荒本草 所謂杏葉沙參，皆此薺苨也。圖經云：杏參生淄州田野，根如小菜根。土 人五月采苗葉，治欬嗽上氣。救荒本草云：杏葉沙參，一名白麪根，苗高 一二尺，莖色青白。葉似杏葉而小，微尖而背白，邊有叉牙。杪間開五瓣 白盌子花。根形如野胡蘿蔔，頗肥，皮色灰黝，中間白色。味甜微寒。亦 有開碧花者。嫩苗煠熟水淘，油鹽拌食。根换水煮，亦可食，人以蜜煎充 果。又陶弘景註桔梗，言其葉名隱忍，可煮食之，治蠱毒。謹按爾雅云： 蒡，隱忍也。郭璞註云：似蘇，有毛。江東人藏以爲葅，亦可瀹食。葛洪 肘後方云：隱忍草，苗似桔梗，人皆食之。搗汁飲，治蠱毒。據此則隱忍 非桔梗，乃薺苨苗也。薺苨苗甘可食，桔梗苗苦不可食，尤爲可證。神農 本經無薺苨，止有桔梗，一名薺苨。至别録始出薺苨。盖薺苨、桔梗乃一 類，有甜、苦二種，則其苗亦可呼爲隱忍也。 Collected Explanations. [Tao] Hongjing: Both the root and the stem of qi ni resemble those of ginseng, but the leaves are smaller and look different. The flavor of



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the root is very sweet; it can kill poison. As it can be found at the same locations as poisonous medicinal [herbs], its nature is used to knock off all poison. Recipe experts do not regularly use it. It is also said: When Emperor Wen said that “qi ni is mistaken for ginseng,” the [qi ni discussed] here was meant. The leaves of qi ni are very similar to those of platycodon [root]. But there is a difference. [Qi ni leaves] on their lower side are shiny, smooth and moist and have no hair. Also, different from those of ginseng, they do not grow opposite to each other. [Su] Gong: The seedlings of ginseng are similar to those of acanthopanax [shrubs], but they are wider and shorter. The stem is round with three to four forks. There are five leaves at the ends of the forks. What Tao [Hongjing] relates in view of the confusion of qi ni with ginseng, is wrong. Also, [some kinds of ] qi ni and platycodon [flower] have different leaves, and there are some with three or four leaves standing opposite to each other. Both have one stem growing straight upward. If the leaves [of qi ni] can be mistaken [for those of ginseng], the only real difference is that the [qi ni] root has no core. [Su] Song: Nowadays it can be found in Chuan, Shu, Jiang and Zhe. In spring [qi ni] develops seedlings and stems. Both are similar to those of ginseng, but the leaves are smaller and look different. The roots resemble those of platycodon [flower], but they are different because they have no core. They are especially ubiquitous in Run zhou and Shaan zhou. The people collect them as fruit, or they preserve them as delicacies. Their flavor is very sweet and delicious, and they can be sent over long distances. The roots are collected in the second and eighth month, and they are dried in the sun. [Chen] Cheng: Nowadays, many people steam and squeeze them flat to falsely offer them as ginseng [root]. But their flavor remains bland. [Kou] Zongshi: Tao [Hongjing] speaks about the root. This is why he says that qi ni is mistaken for ginseng [root]. Su [Gong] speaks about the seedlings. Hence he considers Tao [Hongjing’s statement] as wrong. [Wang] Ji: The seedlings and stems of qi ni are similar to those of platycodon [flower]. The root is mistaken for that of ginseng. When today it is said that both the seedlings and the stem resemble those of ginseng, then this is quite wrong. It is essential to carefully study all three, ginseng, qi ni and platycodon [herb], and [the differences and resemblances] will be clear. [Li] Shizhen: The seedlings of qi ni resemble those of platycodon [herb]. The root resembles that of sha shen. This is why fraudulent merchants again and again falsely offer sha shen and qi ni as ginseng [root]. The xing shen 杏參 mentioned by Su Song in his Tu jing, and the xing ye sha shen 杏葉沙參 mentioned by Zhou Xian wang in his Jiu huang ben cao, are both the qi ni [discussed] here. The Tu jing states: “Xing shen grows in the open country of Zi zhou. Its root is similar to that of small vegetables. The local people collect the seedlings and the leaves in the fifth month to cure cough and rising qi.” The Jiu huang ben cao states: “Xing ye sha shen is also

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called ‘white flour root.’ The seedlings reach a height of one to two chi. The stems are of greenish-white color. The leaves resemble apricot leaves, but are smaller. They are slightly pointed and their back is white. On their margins they are forked like teeth. At the tips [of these teeth] flowers open. They have five petals and are shaped like bowls. The physical appearance of the roots is similar to that of wild carrots. It is quite fat. Its skin is of ash-black color, and inside it is white. The flavor is sweet and they are slightly cold. There are also kinds that open bluish-green flowers. The tender leaves are fried in fat, rinsed in water and eaten with oil and salt. When the root is boiled in water that is exchanged [several times], it can be eaten, too. The people boil it in honey and serve it as fruit.” Also, in his comments on platycodon [herb], Tao Hongjing says that “its leaves are named yin ren 隱忍. They can be boiled to be eaten, and they serve to cure gu-poisoning.91” According to the Er ya, “bang 蒡 is yin ren 隱忍.” In his comment, Guo Pu states: “It resembles perilla [herb] and has hair. The people in Jiang dong use it to make a prepared vegetable. After it is boiled, it is edible.” Ge Hong in his Zhou hou fang states: “The herb yin ren has seedlings similar to those of platycodon [herb], and all the people eat it. They pound it and drink the juice. It serves to cure gu-poisoning.” Based on these [statements it is clear that] yin ren is not platycodon [herb]. Rather it is the seedling of qi ni. The seedlings of qi ni are sweet and edible. The seedlings of platycodon [herb] are bitter and cannot be eaten. This should be the proof in particular. The Shen nong ben jing does not mention qi ni. It only lists platycodon [root], with an alternative name qi ni. It is beginning with the Bie lu that qi ni appears [as a separate listing]. The fact is, qi ni and platycodon [flower] are of the same group. These are two kinds, one sweet, one bitter. Hence the seedlings of [both of them] can be called yin ren. 12-05-01 根。Gen. [Qi ni] root.

【氣味】甘，寒，無毒。 Qi and Flavor. Sweet, cold, nonpoisonous. 【主治】解百藥毒。别録。殺蠱毒 ， 治蛇蟲咬 ， 熱狂温疾 ， 罯毒箭。大 明。利肺氣 ， 和中 ， 明目止痛。蒸切作羹粥食 ， 或作虀葅食。昝殷。食 之，壓丹石發動。孟詵。主欬嗽消渴强中，瘡毒丁腫，辟沙蝨短狐毒。時 珍。 91 Gu du 蠱毒, “gu-poison[ing].” (1) A poison emitted by certain worms/snakes with an ability to cause varying pathological changes in a person who has taken it in by means of wine or food. (2) Abdominal fullness, in some cases with blood spitting, and blood in the stool and urine. BCGM Dict I, 192 - 193. See BCGM 42-22.



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Control. It resolves the poison of all the hundreds of medications. Bie lu. It kills gu-poison.92 It serves to cure snake and worm/bug bites, madness associated with heat, and warmth illness. It checks [the effects of ] poisoned arrows. Da Ming. It benefits the qi of the lung, harmonizes the center, clears the eyes and ends pain. Steamed and cut to pieces it is prepared as a thick soup or gruel to be eaten. Or it is eaten prepared with minced pickles. Zan Yin. To eat it serves to oppress excitement caused by elixir minerals. Meng Shen. It controls cough and melting with thirst.93 It strengthens the center. [It serves to cure] sores with poison and pin[-illness]94 with swelling. It eliminates sand lice and cuts the poison of fox [bites]. [Li] Shizhen. 【發明】【時珍曰】薺苨寒而利肺，甘而解毒，乃良品也，而世不知用， 惜哉。按葛洪肘後方云：一藥而兼解衆毒者，惟薺苨汁濃飲二升，或煮嚼 之，亦可作散服。此藥在諸藥中，毒皆自解也。又張鷟朝野僉載云：名醫 言”虎中藥箭，食清泥而解；野豬中藥箭，豗薺苨而食”，物猶知解毒，何 况人乎？又孫思邈千金方治强中爲病，莖長興盛，不交精出。消渴之後， 發爲癰疽，有薺苨丸、豬腎薺苨湯方，此皆本草所未及者。然亦取其解熱 解毒之功爾，無他義。 Explication. [Li] Shizhen: Qi ni is cold and stimulates the flow of lung [qi]. It is sweet and resolves poison. Hence it is a good article. But nobody knows how to use it. What a pity! According to Ge Hong’s Zhou hou fang, “the only medication that serves to resolve a large number of poisons is to drink two sheng of thick qi ni juice. Or one boils and chews it. It is also possible to ingest it prepared as a powder. When this medication is given to other medications, their poisons are all resolved.” Also, Zhang Zhuo in his Chao ye qian yan states: “Famous physicians say: When a tiger is struck by a medicated arrow, it eats clear mud and [the poison] is resolved. When a wild boar is struck by a medicated arrow, it rushes to dig up qi ni from the ground and eats it. If these beings know how to resolve poison, how much more should this apply to humans!” Also, Sun Simiao in his Qian jin fang [resorts to qi ni] to cure the disease of stiff center, that is, when the penis extends in an erection, filled with essence/sperm, and ejaculates without intercourse. For an outbreak of 92 Gu du 蠱毒, “gu-poison[ing].” (1) A poison emitted by certain worms/snakes with an ability to cause varying pathological changes in a person who has taken it in by means of wine or food. (2) Abdominal fullness, in some cases with blood spitting, and blood in the stool and urine. BCGM Dict I, 192 - 193. See BCGM 42-22.

93 Xiao ke 消渴, “melting with thirst,” most likely including cases of diabetes. BCGM Dict Vol I, 567. 94 Ding 丁, “pin[-illness],” also ding 疔, “pin-illness,” refers to a deep-reaching and festering hardness in a tissue, eventually rising above the skin like a pinhead. BCGM Dict I, 127129.

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obstruction-illness and impediment-illness95 after melting with thirst96 recipes such as the “pills with qi ni” and the “decoction with pig kidney and qi ni” are available. None of them had been listed in previous ben cao works. Here now they are listed simply to make use of their potential to resolve heat and to resolve poison. There is no other agenda involved. 【附方】舊四，新三。 Added Recipes. Four of old. Three newly [recorded]. 强中消渴。猪腎薺苨湯，治强中之病，莖長興盛，不交精液自出，消渴之 後，即發癰疽。皆由恣意色慾，或餌金石所致，宜此以制腎中熱也。用豬 腎一具，薺苨、石膏各三兩，人參、伏苓、磁石、知母、葛根、黄芩、栝 樓根、甘草各二兩，黑大豆一升，水一斗半，先煮豬腎、大豆取汁一斗、 去滓下藥，再煮三升，分三服。後人名爲石子薺苨湯。 Stiff center and melting with thirst. The “decoction with pig kidneys and qi ni” serves to cure the disease of “stiff center,” when the penis extends in an erection, filled with essence/sperm, and ejaculates without an intercourse, and outbreaks of obstruction-illness and impediment-illness after an episode of melting with thirst. All these are consequences of a reckless indulgence in sex, or they are caused by consuming metal and mineral [elixirs]; they require [medication] to check the heat in the kidneys. [The ingredients of this recipe are the following.] One kidney of a pig, three liang each of qi ni and gypsum, two liang each of ginseng [root], poria, magnetite, anemarrhena [root], pueraria root, scutellaria [root], trichosanthes root and glycyrrhiza [root]. One sheng of black soybeans, one and a half dou of water. First boil the pig kidneys and the soybeans to generate as much as one dou juice. Remove the dregs and add the medicinal substances. Then boil [the liquid] again until three sheng are left and ingest this divided into three portions. In later times, the people named [this medication] the “decoction with minerals and qi ni.” 又薺苨丸 ： 用薺苨、大豆、伏神、磁石、栝樓根、熟地黄、地骨皮、玄 參、石斛、鹿茸各一兩，人參、沈香各半兩，爲末。以豬肚治净煮爛，杵 和丸梧子大。每服七十丸，空心鹽湯下。並千金方。

95 Yong ju 癰疽, “obstruction-illness, impediment-illness.” refers to two vaguely distinguished obstructions/impediments of vessels or other ducts inside the body. Qi rushing against the obstruction may cause a local swelling and eventually break through the surface to cause an abscess. BCGM Dict I, 642.

96 Xiao ke 消渴, “melting with thirst,” most likely including cases of diabetes. BCGM Dict Vol I, 567.



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Also, the “pills with qi ni.” [Grind] one liang of qi ni, soybeans, poria, magnetite, trichosanthes root, prepared Chinese foxglove [rhizome], lycium [root-bark], scrophularia [root], dendrobium [stem] and hairy deer horn together with half a liang each of ginseng [root] and aloes wood to powder. Wash clean and boil a pig stomach until it has become pulpy, pound it together with [the powder] and prepare pills the size of wu seeds. Each time ingest 70 pills, to be sent down with a salt decoction on a02n empty stomach. Both [these recipes quoted] from the Qian jin fang. 丁瘡腫毒。生薺苨根搗汁，服一合，以滓傅之，不過三度。千金翼。 Pin[-illness]97 sores with swelling and poison. Pound a fresh qi ni root to obtain its juice and ingest one ge. The dregs are applied [to the affected region]. No more than three [applications required]. Qian jin yi. 面上皯皰。薺苨、肉桂各一兩，爲末。每用方寸匕，酢漿服之，日一服。 又滅瘢痣。聖濟總録。 Facial blisters. [Grind] one liang each of qi ni and unscraped bark of the cinnamom tree to powder. Each time ingest the amount held by a square cun spoon with vinegar and fermented water of foxtail millet.98 To be ingested once a day. It also serves to diminish scars and moles. Sheng ji zong lu. 解諸蠱毒。薺苨根搗末，飲服方寸匕，立瘥。陳延之小品方。 To resolve all kinds of gu-poison.99 Pound a qi ni root to powder and ingest with a beverage the amount held by a square cun spoon. Immediately effective. Chen Yanzhi, Xiao pin fang. 解鉤吻毒。鈎吻葉與芹葉相似，誤食之殺人。惟以薺苨八兩，水六升，煮 取三升，每服五合，日五服。仲景金匱玉函。 To resolve the poison of gelsemium [herb]. The leaves of gelsemium [herb] and those of celery are quite similar. When [the former] are eaten mistakenly, they kill one. The only possibility [to rescue a person is to] boil eight liang of qi ni in six sheng of water down to three sheng. Each time [let the patient] ingest five ge. To be ingested five times a day. [Zhang] Zhongjing, Jin kui yu han. 97 Ding 丁, “pin[-illness],” also ding 疔, “pin-illness,” refers to a deep-reaching and festering hardness in a tissue, eventually rising above the skin like a pinhead. BCGM Dict I, 127129.

98 For jiang [shui] 漿[水], “fermented water of foxtail millet,” see BCGM 05-33.

99 Gu du 蠱毒, “gu-poison[ing].” (1) A poison emitted by certain worms/snakes with an ability to cause varying pathological changes in a person who has taken it in by means of wine or food. (2) Abdominal fullness, in some cases with blood spitting, and blood in the stool and urine. BCGM Dict I, 192 - 193. See BCGM 42-22.

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解五石毒。薺苨生搗汁，多服之。立瘥。蘇頌圖經。 To resolve the poison of the five stone/mineral [drugs]. Pound fresh qi ni to obtain its juice and ingest large amounts of it. Immediately effective. Su Song, Tu jing. 12-05-02 隱忍葉。Yin ren ye.

Yin ren leaf. Leaf of adenophora trachelioides.

【氣味】甘、苦，寒，無毒。

Qi and Flavor. Sweet, bitter, cold, nonpoisonous. 【主治】蠱毒腹痛，面目青黄，林露骨立，煮汁一二升飲。時珍。主腹臟 風壅，欬嗽上氣。蘇頌。 Control. For gu-poison100 with abdominal pain, face and eyes assuming a greenish-yellow complexion, forest dew101 and bones visible under the skin, boil [the leaves] to obtain a juice and drink one or two sheng. [Li] Shizhen. It controls abdomen and long-term depots obstructed by wind, and cough associated with rising qi. Su Song. 12-06 桔梗本經下品 Jie geng, FE Ben jing, lower rank. Platycodon grandiflorum (Jacq.) A.DC. Balloon-flower.

【釋名】白藥别録、梗草别録、薺苨本經。【時珍曰】此草之根結實而梗 直，故名。吴普本草一名利如，一名符扈，一名房圖。方書並無見，盖亦 廋詞爾。桔梗、薺苨乃一類，有甜、苦二種，故本經桔梗一名薺苨，而今 俗呼薺苨爲甜桔梗也。至别録始出”薺苨”條， 分爲二物， 然其性味功用皆 不同，當以别録爲是。 Explanation of Names. Bai yao 白藥, “white medication,” Bie lu. Geng cao 梗草, “stem herb,” Bie lu. Qi ni 薺苨, Ben jing. [Li] Shizhen: The root of this herb is solid, jie shi 結實, and straight as a stem, geng zhi 梗直. Hence the name [jie geng 結梗]. The Wu Pu ben cao has as alternative names li ru 利如, fu hu 符扈 and fang tu 房 圖. They are not listed in recipe books, and their meaning remains unclear. Jie geng 100 Gu du 蠱毒, “gu-poison[ing].” (1) A poison emitted by certain worms/snakes with an ability to cause varying pathological changes in a person who has taken it in by means of wine or food. (2) Abdominal fullness, in some cases with blood spitting, and blood in the stool and urine. BCGM Dict I, 192 - 193. See BCGM 42-22.

101 Lin lu 林露, “forest dew,” is attested in the BCGM only once. It appears to be a scribal error for lin lu 淋露, “[sweat] dripping [like] dew drops.” BCGM Dict I, 318.



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桔梗 and qi ni 薺苨 form one group with two kinds, one being sweet, one being bitter. This is why the Ben jing lists as an alternative name qi ni 薺苨, and why qi ni 薺苨 is commonly called “sweet jie geng” today. A first qi ni entry appears in the Bie lu, separating [qi ni and jie geng] as two different items. Their natures, flavors and [therapeutic] potentials differ. That is, the [separate entry in the] Bie lu is correct. 【集解】【别録曰】桔梗生嵩高山谷及冤句，二月采根，暴乾。【普曰】 葉如薺苨 ， 莖如筆管 ， 紫赤色 ， 二月生苗。【弘景曰】近道處處有 ， 二 三月生苗，可煮食之。桔梗療蠱毒甚驗，俗方用此，乃名薺苨。今别有薺 苨 ， 能解藥毒 ， 可亂人參 ， 葉甚相似。但薺苨葉下光明滑澤無毛爲異 ， 葉生又不如人參相對耳。【恭曰】薺苨、桔梗，葉有差互者，亦有葉三四 對者 ， 皆一莖直上 ， 葉既相亂 ， 惟以根有心爲别耳。【頌曰】今在處有 之。根如指大，黄白色。春生苗，莖高尺餘。葉似杏葉而長橢，四葉相對 而生，嫩時亦可煮食。夏開小花紫碧色，頗似牽牛花，秋後結子。八月采 根，其根有心。若無心者爲薺苨。關中所出桔梗，根黄皮，似蜀葵根。莖 細，青色。葉小，青色，似菊葉也。 Collected Explanations. Bie lu: Jie geng grows in the valleys of Mount Song gao and in Yuan ju. The root is collected in the second month; it is dried in the sun. [Wu] Pu: The leaves resemble those of qi ni. The stem resembles a writing brush handle; it is of purple-red color. Its seedlings grow in the second month. [Tao] Hongjing: It can be found all over nearby. In the second and third month it develops seedlings that can be boiled to be eaten. Jie geng has proven to be very effective in healing gu-poisoning.102 When it is [recommended for] use in recipes of the common people, it is called qi ni. Nowadays there is another [substance called] qi ni; it is able to resolve the poison of medication. It can be mistaken for ginseng [herb], as the leaves are very similar. However, the leaves of qi ni differ in that on their lower side they lack a shine and are smooth, moist and have no hair. Also, different from those of ren shen, the leaves do not grow opposite to each other. [Su] Gong: [Some kinds of ] qi ni and jie geng have different leaves, and there are some with three or four leaves standing opposite to each other. Both have one stem growing straight upward. If the leaves [of qi ni] can be mistaken [for those of ginseng herb], the only real difference is that the [qi ni] root has no core. [Su] Song: Nowadays, it can be found everywhere. The root is as big as a finger, and it is of yellow-white color. In spring the seedlings grow. The stem reaches a height of more than one chi. The leaves resemble apricot leaves but are longer and oval. Four leaves grow opposite to each 102 Gu du 蠱毒, “gu-poison[ing].” (1) A poison emitted by certain worms/snakes with an ability to cause varying pathological changes in a person who has taken it in by means of wine or food. (2) Abdominal fullness, in some cases with blood spitting, and blood in the stool and urine. BCGM Dict I, 192 - 193. See BCGM 42-22.

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other. As long as they are tender, they can be boiled to be eaten. In summer, small flowers of a purple and bluish-green color open. They are somewhat similar to the flowers of pharbitis [herb]. After autumn they form seeds. The root is collected in the eighth month. The root has a core. If it has no core, it is qi ni. The jie geng coming from Guan zhong has a root with a yellow bark. It resembles the root of Chinese mallows from Shu. The stem is fine and of greenish color. The leaves are small and of greenish color, resembling the leaves of chrysanthemums. 12-06-01 根。Gen. [Jie geng] root.

【修治】【斅曰】凡使勿用木梗，真似桔梗，只是咬之腥澀不堪。凡用桔 梗，須去頭上尖硬二三分已來，并兩畔附枝。於槐砧上細剉，用生百合搗 膏，投水中浸一伏時，濾出，緩火熬令乾用。每桔梗四兩，用百合二兩五 錢。【時珍曰】今但刮去浮皮，米泔水浸一夜，切片，微炒用。 Pharmaceutical Preparation. [Lei] Xiao: Whenever [jie geng] is applied, do not [erroneously] use mu geng.103 It is truly similar to jie geng, but when it is chewed, it tastes fishy and astringent, and is not suitable [for therapeutic use]. For all [therapeutic] uses of jie geng, remove two or three fen of the hard tips from the end [of the root], and also the twigs growing on its side, and cut it on a chopping block made of sophora japonica into fine slices. Then pound fresh Brown’s lily [bulbs] to a pulp, soak [the pulp with the jie geng slices] in water for one full day, take [the medication] out [of the water], let the liquid drip off,104 fry [the medicaton] over a slow fire until it has dried and then it is ready to be used. For each four liang of jie geng, use two liang and five qian of Brown’s lily [bulbs]. [Li] Shizhen: Nowadays, they only scrape off the superficial bark, soak [the root] for one night in water that has been used to wash rice, cut it into slices and slightly fry them. Then they are ready to be used. 【氣味】辛，微温，有小毒。【普曰】神農、醫和：苦，無毒。黄帝、扁 鵲：辛、鹹。岐伯、雷公：甘，無毒。李當之：大寒。【權曰】苦、辛。 【時珍曰】當以苦、辛、平爲是。【之才曰】節皮爲之使。畏白及、龍膽 草，忌猪肉。得牡蠣、遠志，療恚怒。得消石、石膏，療傷寒。白粥解其 簽味。【時珍曰】伏砒。徐之才所云”節皮”，不知何物也。

103 Mu geng 木梗 is botanically unidentifiable.

104 The technical phrase lü chu 濾出 is read here li chu. It does not refer, as is common usage of the term today, to passing a liquid through a sieve. The substance after having been soaked is taken out of the liquid and the liquid is to drip off before the substance is processed further.



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Qi and Flavor. Acrid, slightly warm, a little poisonous. [Wu] Pu: Shen nong, Yi He: Acrid, nonpoisonous. Huang Di, Bian Que: Acrid, salty. Qi Bo, Lei gong: Sweet, nonpoisonous. Li Dangzhi: Very cold. [Zhen] Quan: Bitter, acrid. [Li] Shizhen. To identify it as bitter, acrid and balanced is correct. [Xu] Zhicai: Jie pi105 serves as its guiding substance. [Ingested together,] it fears common bletilla [root] and gentiana herb. [During a treatment with jie geng,] pork is to be avoided. In combination with oyster shells and polygala [root], it heals rage and fury. In combination with niter and gypsum, it heals harm caused by cold. White congee resolves its piercing flavor. [Li] Shizhen: It oppresses [the effects of ] arsenic. An item named jie pi, as mentioned by Xu Zhicai, is unkown. 【主治】胸脅痛如刀刺，腹滿腸鳴幽幽，驚恐悸氣。本經。利五臟腸胃， 補血氣 ， 除寒熱風痺 ， 温中消穀 ， 療喉咽痛 ， 下蠱毒。别録。治下痢 ， 破血積氣 ， 消聚痰涎 ， 去肺熱氣促嗽逆 ， 除腹中冷痛 ， 主中惡及小兒驚 癇。甄權。下一切氣 ， 止霍亂轉筋 ， 心腹脹痛 ， 補五勞 ， 養氣 ， 除邪 辟温 ， 破癥瘕肺癰 ， 養血排膿 ， 補内漏及喉痺。大明。利竅 ， 除肺部風 熱，清利頭目咽嗌，胸膈滯氣及痛，除鼻塞。元素。治寒嘔。李杲。主口 舌生瘡，赤目腫痛。時珍。 Control. Pain in the chest and the ribs as if one had been stabbed with a knife. A sensation of fullness in the abdomen, faint sounds in the intestines, palpitating qi caused by fright and fear. Ben jing. It frees the passage through the five long-term depots, the intestines and the stomach. It supplements blood and qi. It eliminates [alternating sensations of ] cold and heat and blockage caused by wind. It warms the center and serves to dissolve grain. It heals throat pain and serves to discharge gu-poison.106 Bie lu. It serves to cure discharge with free-flux illness. It breaks open [stagnating] blood and accumulated qi. It dissolves collections of phlegm and saliva. It removes lung heat, hurried [breath] qi and cough with [qi] counterflow. It removes painful cold from within the abdomen. It controls being struck by the malign and fright epilepsy of children. Zhen Quan. It serves to discharge all kinds of [evil] qi. It ends cholera with contorted sinews, and painful swelling in the region of the central and abdominal region. It supplements the five exhaustions, nourishes the qi, removes evil and repudiates warmth [disease]. It breaks open concretion-ill-

105 Jie pi 節皮, botanically unidentifiable.

106 Gu du 蠱毒, “gu-poison[ing].” (1) A poison emitted by certain worms/snakes with an ability to cause varying pathological changes in a person who has taken it in by means of wine or food. (2) Abdominal fullness, in some cases with blood spitting, and blood in the stool and urine. BCGM Dict I, 192 - 193. See BCGM 42-22.

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ness and conglomeration-illness,107 and lung obstruction-illness.108 It nourishes the blood and removes pus. It supplements in the case of internal leakage and throat closure. Da Ming. It frees the orifices, removes wind and heat from the lung section, cools and frees the passage through the head, the eyes and the throat. [It serves to cure] stagnating qi and pain in the chest and the diaphragm. It clears a stuffy nose. [Zhang] Yuansu. It serves to cure vomiting associated with cold. Li Gao. It controls the growth of sores in the mouth and on the tongue, and red eyes with a painful swelling. [Li] Shizhen. 【發明】【好古曰】桔梗氣微温，味苦辛，味厚氣輕，陽中之陰，升也。 入手太陰肺經氣分及足少陰經。【元素曰】桔梗清肺氣 ， 利咽喉 ， 其色 白 ， 故爲肺部引經。與甘草同行 ， 爲舟楫之劑。如大黄苦泄峻下之藥 ， 欲引至胸中至高之分成功，須用辛甘之劑升之。譬如鐵石入江，非舟楫不 載。所以諸藥有此一味， 不能下沈也。【時珍曰】朱肱活人書治胸中痞滿 不痛，用桔梗、枳殻，取其通肺利膈下氣也。張仲景傷寒論治寒實結胸， 用桔梗、貝母、巴豆，取其温中消穀破積也。又治肺癰唾膿，用桔梗、甘 草，取其苦辛清肺，甘温瀉火，又能排膿血、補内漏也。其治少陰證，二 三日咽痛，亦用桔梗、甘草，取其苦辛散寒，甘平除熱。合而用之，能調 寒熱也。後人易名甘桔湯， 通治咽喉口舌諸病。宋仁宗加荆芥、防風、連 翹，遂名如聖湯，極言其驗也。按王好古醫壘元戎載之頗詳，云失音加訶 子 ， 聲不出加半夏 ， 上氣加陳皮 ， 涎嗽加知母、貝母 ， 欬渴加五味子 ， 酒毒加葛根 ， 少氣加人參 ， 嘔加半夏、生薑 ， 唾膿血加紫菀 ， 肺痿加阿 膠 ， 胸膈不利加枳殻 ， 心胸痞滿加枳實 ， 目赤加巵子、大黄 ， 面腫加伏 苓，膚痛加黄耆，發斑加防風、荆芥，疫毒加鼠粘子、大黄，不得眠加巵 子。【震亨曰】乾欬嗽乃痰火之邪鬱在肺中， 宜苦梗以開之。痢疾腹痛乃 肺金之氣鬱在大腸，亦宜苦梗開之，後用痢藥。此藥能開提氣血，故氣藥 中宜用之。 Explication. [Wang] Haogu: The qi of jie geng are slightly warm, the flavor is bitter-acrid. The flavor is strongly pronounced; the qi are light. This is a yin in yang item; it rises. It enters the qi section of the hand major yin lung conduits and the foot minor yin conduits. [Zhang] Yuansu: Jie geng clears [the passage of ] the lung qi, and it opens the passage through the throat. Its color is white. Hence it serves 107 Zheng jia 癥瘕, “concretion-illness and conglomeration-illness.” The two terms are often used interchangeably and do not signify two distinctly different conditions. Concretion-illness and conglomeration-illness result from a disharmony of cold and warmth resulting in a failure to transform beverages and food. Nodes form when the clash with the qi of the long-term depots. BCGM Dict I, 677.

108 Fei yong 肺癰, “lung obstruction-illness,” also: fei yong 肺壅, “lung obstruction,” a condition of abscesses in the lung, with fever, chest pain, and vomiting of bad-smelling pus and blood. BCGM Dict I, 156.



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as a guide into the lung conduits. When in a preparation it acts together with glycyrrhiza [root], it is the boat [ferrying something to a desired designation]. This is comparable to rhubarb root, a medication with a bitter [flavor] and a strongly discharging effect. If one wishes it to reach into the chest, to the highest sections, to realize its [therapeutic] potential, he must combine it with acrid and sweet preparations to let it rise. This is like transporting iron and stones on a river, Without boats this is impossible. That is, any medication combined with this flavor [of jie geng] will be unable to sink into the depth [as iron and stones would if they were not in a boat]. [Li] Shizhen: When Zhu Gong in his Huo ren shu [lists recipes to] cure obstacle-illness109 in the chest and a sensation of fullness without pain, he uses jie geng and unripe oranges, availing himself of their ability to free the passage through the lung, to open the passage through the diaphragm and thereby to discharge [evil] qi. When Zhang Zhongjing in his Shang han lun [lists recipes to] cure cold repletion with bound [qi]110 in the chest, he uses jie geng, fritillaria [root] and croton seeds, availing himself of their ability to warm the center, dissolve grain and break open acccumulations. Also, to cure lung obstruction-illness111 and thick saliva, he uses jie geng and glycyrrhiza [root] and avails himself of their bitter and acrid [flavor] to clear the [passage through the] lung, and of their sweet [flavor] and warm [qi] to drain fire. They are also able to dispel pus and [stagnating] blood, and to supplement in the case of internal leakage. When he cures conditions associated with the minor yin [conduits], with a painful throat for two or three days, he also resorts to jie geng and glycyrrhiza [root], availing himself of their bitter and acrid [flavor] to disperse cold, and their sweet and balanced [flavor] to eliminate heat. Used in combination, they can balance cold and heat. In later times, the people changed the name [of this recipe] to “decoction with gan [cao] and jie [geng].” It serves to cure all kinds of diseases affecting the throat, the mouth and the tongue. During the Song dynasty, Emperor Ren zong added schizonepeta [spikes], saposhnikovia [root] and forsythia [fruit], and then gave it the name “sage-like decoction” to most explicitly state its effects. Wang Haogu in his Yi lei yuan rong listed rather detailed modifications, stating: “For loss of voice, add terminalia fruit. For an inability to speak, add pinellia [root]. For rising qi, add tangerine peels. For cough associated with a generation 109 Pi 痞, “obstacle-illness,” (1) a feeling of uncomfortable fullness and distension, (2) a pathological condition of uncomfortable distension and fullness in the chest and abdominal region. When pressed there is no pain. BCGM Dict I, 371.

110 Jie qi 結氣, “bound qi,” 1.) an etiological agent of pathological qi halting and congealing at any place in the body. 2.) A condition brought forth by bound qi. BCGM Dict I, 240.

111 Fei yong 肺癰, “lung obstruction-illness,” also: fei yong 肺壅, “lung obstruction,” a condition of abscesses in the lung, with fever, chest pain, and vomiting of bad-smelling pus and blood. BCGM Dict I, 156.

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of saliva, add anemarrhena [root] and fritillaria [root]. For cough associated with thirst, add schisandra seeds. For wine poisoning add pueraria root. For shortness of [breath] qi, add ginseng [root]. For vomiting, add pinellia [root] and fresh ginger. For thick pus and blood, add purple aster [root]. For lung dysfunction, add donkey hide glue. For blocked passage through chest and diaphragm, add unripe oranges. For obstacle-illness112 in the chest with a sensation of fullness, add bitter orange fruit, immature and dried. For red eyes, add gardenia [fruit] and rhubarb [root]. For a bloated face add poria. For a painful skin, add astragalus [root]. For an effusion of macules, add saposhnikovia [root] and schizonepeta [spikes]. For epidemic poison, add arctium seeds and rhubarb [root]. For an inability to sleep, add gardenia [fruit].” [Zhu] Zhenheng: Dry cough is an amassment of the evil [qi] of phlegm and fire in the lung. The bitter [flavor of jie] geng is suitable for opening [the lung]. A free-flux illness with abdominal pain is an amassment of the qi of the lung, [i.e., the phase] metal, in the large intestine. Here, too, the bitter [flavor of jie] geng is suitable for opening it. Later on, use free-flux illness medication. This [jie geng] medication can open [the passageways] and support [the flow of ] qi and blood. Hence it is suitable for use as a qi medication. 【附方】舊十，新七。 Added Recipes. Ten of old. Seven newly [recorded]. 胸滿不痛。桔梗、枳殻等分，水二鍾，煎一鍾，温服。南陽活人書。 A sensation of fullness in the chest without pain. Boil equal amounts of jie geng and unripe oranges in two zhong of water down to one zhong and ingest it warm. Nan yang huo ren shu. 傷寒腹脹。陰陽不和也，桔梗半夏湯主之。桔梗、半夏、陳皮各三錢，薑 五片，水二鍾，煎一鍾服。南陽活人書。 Harm caused by cold with abdominal bloating. When yin and yang [qi] have lost their harmony, the “decoction with jie geng and pinellia [root] “ controls it. Boil three qian each of jie geng, pinellia [root] and tangerine peels and five slices of ginger in two zhong of water down to one zhong and ingest this. Nan yang huo ren shu. 痰嗽喘急。桔梗一兩半，爲末，用童子小便半升，煎四合，去滓温服。簡 要濟衆方。 112 Pi 痞, “obstacle-illness,” (1) a feeling of uncomfortable fullness and distension, (2) a pathological condition of uncomfortable distension and fullness in the chest and abdominal region. When pressed there is no pain. BCGM Dict I, 371.



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Phlegm cough and hectic panting. [Grind] one and a half liang of jie geng to powder, boil it in half a sheng of boys‘ urine down to four ge, discard the dregs and drink [the liquid] warm. Jian yao ji zhong fang. 肺癰欬嗽。胸滿振寒 ， 脉數咽乾 ， 不渴 ， 時出濁唾腥臭 ， 久久吐膿如粳 米粥者 ， 桔梗湯主之。桔梗一兩 ， 甘草二兩 ， 水三升 ， 煮一升 ， 分温再 服。朝暮吐膿血則瘥。張仲景金匱玉函方。 Lung obstruction-illness113 and cough. When this is associated with a sensation of fullness in the chest and shivering with cold, accelerated [movement in the] vessels, a dry throat with no thirst, an occasional release of turbid saliva with a fishy stench and a long-lasting vomiting of pus resembling non-glutinous rice congee, this is controlled by the “decoction with jie geng.” Boil one liang of jie geng and two liang of glycyrrhiza [root] in three sheng of water down to one sheng, to be ingested warm in two portions. When [the patient] vomits pus and blood in the morning and in the evening, he is cured. Zhang Zhongjing, Jin kui yu han fang. 喉痺毒氣。桔梗二兩，水三升，煎一升，頓服。千金方。 Throat closure by poison qi. Boil two liang of jie geng in three sheng of water down to one sheng, and ingest it at once. Qian jin fang. 少陰咽痛。少陰證二三日咽痛者，可與甘草湯。不瘥者，與桔梗湯主之。 桔梗一兩，甘草二兩，水三升，煮一升，分服。張仲景傷寒論。 Painful throat associated with a minor yin [ailment]. When a minor yin condition persists for two or three days with a painful throat, the “decoction with glycyrrhiza [root]” may be administered. If this does result in a cure, add jie geng to the decoction to control the [disease]. One liang of jie geng and two liang of glycyrrhiza [root] are boiled in three sheng of water down to one sheng, to be ingested in separate portions. Zhang Zhongjing, Shang han lun. 口舌生瘡。方同上。 Sores developing in the mouth and on the tongue. Recipe identical with the one above. 齒𧏾腫痛。桔梗、薏苡仁等分，爲末服。永類方。 Painful swelling with hidden worms/bugs affecting the teeth. [Grind] equal amounts of jie geng and Job’s tears to powder and ingest it. Yong lei fang. 113 Fei yong 肺癰, “lung obstruction-illness,” also: fei yong 肺壅, “lung obstruction,” a condition of abscesses in the lung, with fever, chest pain, and vomiting of bad-smelling pus and blood. BCGM Dict I, 156.

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骨槽風痛，牙根腫痛。桔梗爲末，棗瓤和丸皂子大，綿裹咬之。仍以荆芥 湯漱之。經驗後方。 Bone socket wind114 pain, painful swelling at the roots of the teeth. [Grind] jie geng to powder and form with date pulp pills the size of gleditsia seeds. Wrap them in silk floss and bite on this. In addition, rinse [the teeth] with a schizonepeta [spike] decoction. Jing yan hou fang. 牙疳臭爛。桔梗、茴香等分，燒研傅之。衛生易簡方。 Dental gan-illness115 with malodorous festering. Burn equal amounts of jie geng and fennel, grind [the residue to powder] and apply it to [the affected region]. Wei sheng yi jian fang. 肝風眼黑。目睛痛 ， 肝風盛也 ， 桔梗丸主之。桔梗一斤 ， 黑牽牛頭末三 兩，爲末，蜜丸梧子大。每服四十丸，温水下，日二服。保命集。 Blackened eyes caused by liver wind. When the eyeballs ache, this is an abundance of wind in the liver. The “pills with jie geng” control it. [Grind] one jin of jie geng and three liang of pharbitis [seed] powder to powder to be prepared with honey to pills the size of wu seeds. Each time ingest 40 pills, to be sent down with warm water. To be ingested twice a day. Bao ming ji. 鼻出衄血。桔梗爲末，水服方寸匕，日四服。一加生犀角屑。普濟方。 Nosebleed. [Grind] jie geng to powder and ingest with water the amount held by a square cun spoon. To be ingested four times a day. Another [recipe recommends to] add fresh rhinoceros horn crumbs. Pu ji fang. 吐血下血。方同上。 Vomiting of blood; discharge of blood. Recipe identical with the one above. 打擊瘀血在腸内，久不消，時發動者。桔梗爲末，米飲下一刀圭。肘後要方。 Stagnant blood inside the intestines resulting from a blow. When for a long time it fails to dissolve and repeatedly causes outbreaks [of pain], [grind] jie geng to powder and send the amount held by a knife blade down with a rice beverage. Zhou hou yao fang. 中蠱下血如雞肝，晝夜出血石餘，四臟皆損，惟心未毁，或鼻破將死者。 苦桔梗爲末，以酒服方寸匕，日三服。不能下藥，以物抅口灌之。心中當 114 Gu cao feng 骨槽風, “bone socket wind,” a condition of festering gums eventually harming the premolar teeth. BCGM Dict I, 192.

115 Ya gan 牙疳, “dental gan-illness,” with teeth and the gums festering and emitting a bad stench, the teeth aching and becoming lose, and the appearance of pus and blood. BCGM Dict I, 605.



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煩，須臾自定，七日止。當食豬肝肺以補之，神良。一方加犀角等分。初 虞古今録驗。 A discharge of blood resembling a chicken liver caused by being struck by gu.116 More than a dan of blood is released day and night. Four long-term depots are injured, only the heart is not damaged yet. In some cases the nose is broken and death is imminent. [Grind] bitter jie geng to powder and ingest with wine the amount held by a square cun spoon. To be ingested three times a day. If [the patient] is unable to take a medication, keep his mouth open with some item and force him to ingest it. He will feel a vexation in his heart which subsides after a short time. End [the treatment] after seven days. He should be given to eat pig liver and lung as a supplementation. Divinely good. Another recipe adds an equal quantity of rhinoceros horn. Chu Yu117, Gu jin lu yan. 妊娠中惡 ， 心腹疼痛。桔梗一兩剉 ， 水一鍾 ， 生薑三片 ， 煎六分 ， 温 服。聖惠方。 Nausea during pregnancy, with pain affecting the central and abdominal region. Boil one liang of jie geng, cut [to pieces], in one zhong of water together with three slices of fresh ginger down to 60% and [let the patient] ingest this. Sheng hui fang. 小兒客忤，死不能言。桔梗燒研三錢，米湯服之。仍吞麝香豆許。張文仲 備急方。 Children visited by the hostile,118 when they [seem] dead and cannot speak. [Let the patient] ingest with a rice decoction three qian of jie geng, burned and the residue ground [to powder], and also let it swallow musk, about the size of a bean. Zhang Wenzhong, Bei ji fang. 12-06-02 蘆頭。Lu tou.

Root base119 [of jie geng].

【主治】吐上膈風熱痰實，生研末，白湯調服一二錢，探吐。時珍。 116 Gu du 蠱毒, “gu-poison[ing].” (1) A poison emitted by certain worms/snakes with an ability to cause varying pathological changes in a person who has taken it in by means of wine or food. (2) Abdominal fullness, in some cases with blood spitting, and blood in the stool and urine. BCGM Dict I, 192 - 193. See BCGM 42-22.

117 This is presumably Chu Yushi 初虞世 who is erroneously mentioned here as the author of the Gu jin lu yan fang 古今録驗方.

118 Ke wu 客忤, “visitor‘s hostility.” A sudden twisting pain, encountered outside one’s home, in the central and abdominal region thought to result from the hostile acts of demons “visiting” the human body. BCGM Dict I, 282. 119 Root base: The top section of a root, just below the surface of the ground.

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Control. To let [a patient] throw up from his diaphragm region a repletion associated with wind, heat and phlegm, grind it fresh to powder and [let him] ingest mixed with clear, boiled water one or two qian. Then reach into [his throat with brine or a feather] to induce vomiting. 12-07 長松拾遺 Chang song, FE Shi yi. Pinus pumila (Pall.) Regel. Siberian pine.

【釋名】仙茆。【時珍曰】其葉如松，服之長年，功如松脂及仙茆，故有 二名。 Explanation of Names. Xian mao 仙茆. [Li] Shizhen: Its leaves resemble those of pines, and to ingest them extends the years [of life]. Its [therapeutic] potential is similar to colophony, song zhi 松脂, and xian mao 仙茆. 120 Hence it has two names. 【集解】【藏器曰】長松生關内山谷中 ， 草似松 ， 葉上有脂 ， 山人服 之。【時珍曰】長松生古松下 ， 根色如薺苨 ， 長三五寸 ， 味甘微苦 ， 類 人參 ， 清香可愛。按張天覺文集云 ： 僧普明居五臺山 ， 患大風 ， 眉髮俱 墮，哀苦不堪。忽遇異人，教服長松，示其形狀。明采服之，旬餘毛髮俱 生，顔色如故。今并、代間土人多以長松雜甘草、山藥爲湯煎，甚佳。然 本草及方書皆不載，獨釋慧祥清凉傳始敘其詳如此。韓𢘅醫通云：長松産 太行西北諸山，根似獨活而香。 Collected Explanations. [Chen] Cangqi: Chang song grows in the mountain valleys of Guan nei. The herb resembles a pine, with resine on the surface of its leaves. The mountain people ingest it. [Li] Shizhen: Chang song grows underneath old pines. The color of its root resembles that of adenophora. It reaches a length of three to five cun. Its flavor is sweet and slightly bitter. It belongs to the same group as ginseng. It has a clear, amiable aroma. According to the Zhang Tianjue wen ji, “a monk named Pu Ming lived on Mount Wu tai shan and suffered from massive wind.121 All his eyebrows and hair had fallen out. He suffered extremely. All of a sudden he met a strange person who taught him to ingest chang song and described to him its physical appearance. [Pu] Ming gathered and ingested it. After a little more than ten days, his hair grew again, and his facial complexion was as before. Today, in Bing and Dai the people often boil chang song with glycyrrhiza [root] and Chinese yam to prepare a decoction that is very fine.” However, [chang song] is recorded neither 120 Xian mao 仙茆 is also the name of rhizoma curculiginis, although the second character in later times was written mao 茅.

121 Da feng 大風, “massive wind,” may refer to sores caused by a massive intrusion of wind evil and also to conditions of leprosy. BCGM Dict I, 111.



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in the ben cao nor in the recipe literature. Shi Huixiang in his Qing liang chuan is the first and only one to describe it in detail. The Han mao yi tong states: “Chang song grows in the mountains north-west of Tai hang. The root is similar to that of angelica biserrata, but it is fragrant.” 12-07-01 根。Gen. Root [of chang song].

【氣味】甘，温，無毒。 Qi and Flavor. Sweet, warm, nonpoisonous.

【主治】風血冷氣宿疾，温中去風。藏器。治大風惡疾，眉髮墮落，百骸 腐潰。每以一兩，入甘草少許，水煎服，旬日即愈。又解諸蟲毒。補益長 年。時珍。 Control. Abiding illnesses of blood affected by wind, and cold qi. It warms the center and eliminates wind. [Chen] Cangqi. It cures malign illnesses of massive wind122, with eyebrows and hair falling out, and all the hundred bones rotting and festering. For each application, add a little gan cao to one liang [of chang song root], boil this in water and [let the patient] ingest it. A cure will be achieved within ten days. Also, it resolves all kinds of worm/bug poison, supplements and boosts [the qi] and extends the years [of life]. [Li] Shizhen. 【附方】新一。 Added Recipes. One newly [recorded]. 長松酒。滋補一切風虚，乃廬山 休休子所傳。長松一兩五錢，狀似獨活 而香 ， 乃酒中聖藥也。熟地黄八錢 ， 生地黄、黄芪蜜炙、陳皮各七錢 ， 當歸、厚朴、黄蘗各五錢，白芍藥煨、人參、枳殻各四錢，蒼术米泔制、 半夏制、天門冬、麥門冬、砂仁、黄連各三錢， 木香、蜀椒、胡桃仁各二 錢 ， 小紅棗肉八個 ， 老米一撮 ， 燈心五寸長一百二十根 ， 一料分十劑 ， 絹袋盛之。凡米五升，造酒一尊，煮一袋，窨久乃飲。韓氏醫通。 The “wine with chang song.” It nourishes all kinds of conditions when wind [has availed itself of a] depletion. [This recipe] was transmitted by Xiu Xiuzi from Mount Lu shan. One liang and five qian of chang song, shaped like du huo and in addition being fragrant, is [suited to prepare] a sage-like medication among wines. [The additional ingredients are as follows.] Eight qian of prepared Chinese foxglove [rhizome], seven qian each of astragalus [root], roasted with honey, and tangerine 122 Da feng 大風, “massive wind,” may refer to sores caused by a massive intrusion of wind evil and also to conditions of leprosy. BCGM Dict I, 111.

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peels. Five qian each of Chinese angelica [root], magnolia bark and phellodendron [bark]. Four qian each of paeonia [root], cooked over a small fire, ginseng [root], and unripe oranges. Three qian each of black atractylodes [rhizome], prepared with water in which rice was washed, prepared pinellia [root], asparagus [root], ophiopogon [tuber], amomum villosum [fruit] and coptis [rhizome]. Two qian each of aucklandia [root], Si chuan pepper and walnut kernels, the meat of eight small, red Chinese dates, one pinch of old rice, and 120 five cun long roots of rushes. Divide all these ingredients into ten portions and fill them into silk bags. Then brew one vessel of wine with five sheng of rice, boil one of the bags in it and drink [the liquid] after an extended period of storage. Han shi yi tong. 12-08 黄精别録上品 Huang jing, FE Bie lu, upper rank. Polygonatum sibiricum Delar. ex Redoute. Solomon’s seal.

【校正】併入拾遺 救荒草。

Editorial Correction. Jiu huang cao, listed [separately] in the Shi yi, is included [in the present entry]. 【釋名】黄芝瑞草經、戊己芝五符經、菟竹别録、鹿竹别録、仙人餘粮弘 景、救窮草别録、米餔蒙筌、野生薑蒙筌、重樓别録、雞格别録、龍衘廣 雅、垂珠。【頌曰】隋時羊公服黄精法云 ： 黄精是芝草之精也 ， 一名葳 蕤， 一名白及， 一名仙人餘粮， 一名苟格， 一名馬箭， 一名垂珠， 一名 菟竹。【時珍曰】黄精爲服食要藥，故别録列于草部之首，仙家以爲芝草 之類 ， 以其得坤土之精粹 ， 故謂之黄精。五符經云黄精獲天地之淳精 ， 故名爲戊己芝，是此義也。餘粮、救窮，以功名也。鹿竹、菟竹，因葉似 竹，而鹿、兔食之也。垂珠，以子形也。陳氏拾遺救荒草即此也，今併爲 一。【嘉謨曰】根如嫩薑 ， 俗名野生薑。九蒸九曝 ， 可以代粮 ， 又名米 餔。 Explanation of Names. Huang zhi 黄芝, “yellow [type of ] zhi [herbs],” Rui cao jing. Wu ji zhi 戊己芝, “soil [type of ] zhi [herbs],” Wu fu jing. Tu zhu 菟竹, “rabbit’s/ hare’s bamboo,” Bie lu. Lu zhu 鹿竹, “deer’s bamboo,” Bie lu. Xian ren yu liang 仙 人餘粮, “left over provisions of hermits/immortals,” [Tao] Hongjing. Jiu qiong cao 救窮草, “herb that rescues the poor,” Bie lu. Mi pu 米餔, “rice store,” Meng quan. Ye sheng jiang 野生薑, “wild grown ginger,” Meng quan. Chong lou 重樓, “double tiered,” Bie lu. Ji ge 雞格, “chicken railing,” Bie lu. Long xian 龍衘, “a dragon’s snaffle,” Guang ya. Chiu zhu 垂珠, “hanging pearls.” [Su] Song: During Sui times, Yang gong stated on the method to ingest huang jing: “Huang jing is the essence of gan-



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oderma herb [fungi], zhi cao 芝草. Alternative names are wei rui 葳蕤, bai ji 白及, xian ren yu liang 仙人餘粮, ‘leftover provisions of hermits/immortals,’ gou ge 苟 格,ma jian 馬箭，chui zhu 垂珠 and tu zhu 菟竹.” [Li] Shizhen: Huang jing is an important medication for those who ingest [longevity elixirs] as food. Hence the Bie lu lists it at the beginning of the section “herbs.” The hermit/longevity experts regard it as one of the group of zhi herbs, as it has obtained the pure essence of female soil. Hence they name it huang jing 黄精, “essence of the yellow [soil].” The Wu fu jing states: “Huang jing harbors the pure essence of the earth, kun tu 坤土. Hence it is named wu ji zhi 戊己芝, ‘central region zhi’.” The underlying idea is the same. Yu liang 餘粮, “left over provisions,” and jiu qiong 救窮, “to rescue the poor,” are names based on its [therapeutic/dietetic] potential. Lu zhu 鹿竹, “deer‘s bamboo,” and tu zhu 菟竹, “rabbit’s/hare’s bamboo,” [are names] based on the similarity of its leaves with those of bamboo. They are eaten by deer and rabbits/hares. Chui zhu 垂 珠, “hanging pearls,” [is a name] based on the physical appearance of its seeds. The jiu huang cao 救荒草, “herb to rescue in times of famine,” [recorded by] Mr. Chen [Cangqi] in his Shi yi is this [substance]. Here now they are combined in one entry. [Chen] Jiamo: The root resembles tender ginger; a common name is “wild grown ginger.” After steaming it nine times and then drying it in the sun nine times, it may be used to substitute grain. [Hence] it is also named “rice store.” 【集解】【别録曰】黄精生山谷，二月采根，陰乾。【弘景曰】今處處有 之。二月始生，一枝多葉，葉狀似竹而短。根似萎蕤。萎蕤根如荻根及菖 蒲，概節而平直；黃精根如鬼臼、黃連，大節而不平。雖燥，並柔有脂 潤。俗方無用此，而爲仙經所貴，根、葉、花、實皆可餌服，酒散隨宜， 具在斷穀方中。其葉乃與鈎吻相似，惟莖不紫、花不黃爲異，而人多惑 之。其類乃殊，遂致死生之反，亦爲奇事。【斅曰】鉤吻真似黄精，只是 葉頭尖有毛鉤子二箇，若誤服之害人。黄精葉似竹也。【恭曰】黄精肥地 生者即大如拳，薄地生者猶如拇指。萎蕤肥根頗類其小者，肌理形色大都 相似。今以鬼臼、黄連爲比，殊無仿佛。黄精葉似柳及龍膽、徐長卿輩而 堅。其鉤吻蔓生，葉如柿葉，殊非比類。【藏器曰】黄精葉偏生不對者名 偏精，功用不如正精。正精葉對生。鉤吻乃野葛之别名，二物殊不相似， 不知陶公憑何説此。【保昇曰】鉤吻一名野葛，陶説葉似黄精者當是。蘇 説葉似柿者，當别是一物。【頌曰】黄精南北皆有，以嵩山、茅山者爲 佳。三月生苗，高一二尺以來。葉如竹葉而短，兩兩相對。莖梗柔脆，頗 似桃枝，本黄末赤。四月開青白花，狀如小豆花。結子白如黍粒，亦有無 子者。根如嫩生薑而黄色，二月采根，蒸過暴乾用。今通八月采，山中人 九蒸九暴作果賣，黄黑色而甚甘美。其苗初生時，人多采爲菜茹，謂之畢 菜，味極美。江南人説黄精苗葉稍類鉤吻，但鉤吻葉頭極尖而根細。而蘇 恭言鉤吻蔓生，恐南北所産之異耳。【時珍曰】黄精野生山中，亦可劈根

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長二寸，稀種之，一年後極稠，子亦可種。其葉似竹而不尖，或兩葉、三 葉、四五葉，俱對節而生。其根横行，狀如葳蕤。俗采其苗煠熟，淘去苦 味食之，名筆管菜。陳藏器本草言青黏是萎蕤，見萎蕤發明下。又黄精、 鉤吻之説，陶弘景、雷斅、韓保昇皆言二物相似。蘇恭、陳藏器皆言不相 似。蘇頌復設兩可之辭。今考神農本草、吴普本草，並言鉤吻是野葛，蔓 生，其莖如箭，與蘇恭之説相合。張華博物志云：昔黄帝問天老曰：天地 所生，有食之令人不死者乎？天老曰：太陽之草名黄精，食之可以長生。 太陰之草名鉤吻，不可食之，入口立死。人信鉤吻殺人，不信黄精之益 壽，不亦惑乎。按此，但以黄精、鉤吻相對待而言，不言其相似也。陶氏 因此遂謂二物相對，與神農所説鉤吻不合，恐當以蘇恭所説爲是。而陶、 雷所説别一毒物，非鉤吻也。歷代本草惟陳藏器辨物最精審，尤當信之。 餘見”鉤吻”條。 Collected Explanations. Bie lu: Huang jing grows in mountain valleys. The roots are collected in the second month; they are dried in the shade. [Tao] Hongjing: Nowadays, [huang jing] can be found everywhere. In the second month it begins to grow. Each twig has many leaves. The leaves are shaped like those of bamboo, but they are shorter. The root resembles polygonatum odoratum [root]. The root of polygonum odoraturm is similar to the root of phragmites [herb], and also to acorus [root]. It has many knots but its surface [in between knots] is even and staight. The root of huang jing resembles dysosma [root] and coptis [rhizome]. It has large knots and its surface is not even. Even when it is dry, it is still soft and has the moisture of fat. It is not resorted to by common [physicians in their] recipes. But it is highly valued in the classics of hermits/immortals. The root, the leaves, the flowers and the fruit can all be consumed as wine or powder, just as is appropriate. They all appear in recipes advising one on how to stop [the intake of ] grain. Its leaves are similar to those of gelsemium [herb]. The only difference is that the stalk is not purple, and the flowers are not yellow. Still many people are not sure [which is which]. They belong to different groups, and they have opposite potentials when it comes to let one die or survive. This is remarkable. [Lei] Xiao: Gelsemium [herb], indeed, is similar to huang jing. The only [difference is,] the leaves are short and have pointed ends with two hairy hooks. If mistakenly ingested, they will hurt one. The leaves of huang jing resemble those of bamboo. [Su] Gong: The [roots of ] huang jing growing on fat ground are as big as a fist. Those growing on barren land resemble a thumb. Fat roots of polygonatum odoratum [root] are somewhat similar to the small ones [of huang jing]. Their texture, physical appearance and color are all alike. If they are compared with dysosma [root] and coptis [rhizome], the difference is obvious. The leaves of huang jing closely resemble those of willows and gentiana herb. They are of equal size, but they are harder. Gelsemium [herb] grows as a vine; the leaves resemble per-



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simmon leaves. This is a very different group. [Chen] Cangqi: Those kinds of huang jing that have flat leaves that do not grow opposite to each other, they are called pian jing 偏精,”flat [huang] jing.” Their [therapeutic] potential and usage are not as good as those of proper [huang] jing. The leaves of proper [huang] jing grow opposite to each other. Gou wen (gelsemium herb) is an alternative name of ye ge 野葛. These two items are different; they do not resemble each other. I have no idea what Mr. Tao [Hongjing] had relied on when he made his statement. [Han] Baosheng: Gou wen (gelsemium herb) is also named ye ge. When Tao [Hongjing] says that the leaves resemble those of huang jing, he is right. When Su [Gong] says that the leaves resemble persimmon leaves, he must have referred to a different item. [Su] Song: Huang jing can be found everywhere in the North and in the South. That originating on Mount Song shan and Mount Mao shan is fine. It develops seedlings in the third month; they reach a height of one to two chi. The leaves resemble bamboo leaves, but are shorter. Two and two grow opposite to each other. The stalk is soft and brittle. It reminds one a bit of peach tree twigs. The base is yellow; the end is red. In the fourth month it opens greenish-white flowers, shaped like the flowers of red mung beans. The seeds are white like millet grains. Some kinds do not have seeds. The root resembles tender, fresh ginger, but is of yellow color. The root is collected in the second month. It is steamed and dried in the sun to be prepared for [therapeutic] use. Today, [the roots] are always collected in the eighth month. The mountain people steam them nine times and they dry them in the sun nine times, and then they sell them. They are of a yellow-black color and very sweet and delicious. When their seedlings have just begun to grow, the people often collect them as green vegetables. They call them “perfect vegetables.” Their flavor is extremely delicious. The people of Jiang nan say that the leaves of huang jing seedlings are somewhat similar to those of gelsemium [herb]. However, the leaves of gelsemium [herb] are very pointed at their end and the root is fine. When Su Gong says that “it grows as a vine,” this may be due to differences between those growing in the South and in the North. [Li] Shizhen: Huang jing grows wild in the mountains. It is also possible to cut [the root] into pieces of a length of two cun and plant them in some distance from each other. After one year extreme thickets will have formed. The seeds can also be used for planting. The leaves resemble those of bamboo, but they are not pointed. The leaves, two, three, four or five of them, grow opposite to each other at the knots. The root grows horizontally; it is shaped like that of polygonatum odoratum. The common [people] gather the seedlings. They fry them in oil until done and wash them to remove the bitter flavor and eat them. This is called “writing brush handle vegetable.” Chen Cangqi in his Ben cao says that qing nian 青黏 is polygonatum odoratum 萎 蕤. See under “Explication” in the entry on polygonatum odoratum. (12-09) As for

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statements on huang jing and gelsemium [herb], Tao Hongjing, Lei Xiao and Han Baosheng, they all say that these two items are reminiscent of each other. Su Gong and Chen Cangqi say they are not reminiscent of each other. Su Song agreed with both of them. A look at the Shen nong ben cao and at the Wu Pu ben cao shows that both say gou wen (gelsemium herb) is ye ge. It grows as a vine, its stalk is as straight as an arrow shaft. This is in agreement with wat Su Gong says. Zhang Hua in his Bo wu zhi states: “In ancient times, Huang Di asked the Celestial Elder: Among items that grow between heaven and earth, is there anything that, if eaten, prevents one from dying? The Celestial Elder replied: An herb of major yang named huang jing, when this is eaten, it prolongs one’s life. An herb of major yin named gou wen (gelsemium herb), it must not be eaten. Once it has entered one’s mouth, he will die. The people believe that gelsemium [herb] kills one. They do not believe that huang jing boosts longevity. Isn’t that strange?!” This quote speaks of the opposite faculties of huang jing and gelsemium [herb]; it does not say anything about their similarities. When Mr. Tao [Hongjing] spoke of the opposite123 nature of these two items, this was not in agreement with the statement by Shen Nong. Maybe the statement by Su Gong is to be accepted as correct, while Tao [Hongjing] and Lei [Xiao] spoke of some other poisonous item rather than of gelsemium [herb]. Among [the authors of all] the ben cao texts throughout the times, Chen Cangqi was the only one who very carefully identified the items [he described]. He is particularly worth to be believed. For more, see the entry on gelsemium [herb] (17-47). 12-08-01 根。Gen. [Huang jing] root.

【修治】【斅曰】凡采得 ， 以溪水洗净蒸之 ， 從巳至子 ， 薄切暴乾用。 【頌曰】羊公服黄精法：二月、三月采根，入地八九寸爲上。細切一石， 以水二石五斗 ， 煮去苦味 ， 漉出 ， 囊中壓取汁 ， 澄清再煎 ， 如膏乃止。 以炒黑黄豆末相和得所，捏作餅子如錢大，初服二枚，日益之。亦可焙乾 篩末 ， 水服。【詵曰】餌黄精法 ： 取甕子去底 ， 釜内安置得所 ， 入黄精 令滿，密盖，蒸至氣溜即暴之。如此九蒸九暴，若生則剌人咽喉。若服生 者，初時只可一寸半，漸漸增之。十日不食，服止三尺五寸。三百日後， 盡見鬼神，久必昇天。根、葉、花、實皆可食之，但以相對者是正，不對 者名偏精也。 Pharmaceutical Preparation. [Lei] Xiao: When collected, first wash it clean with rivulet water and steam it from si (9-11 hours) to zi (23-1). Cut it into thin slices, dry 123 Given the meaning of the preceding text, rather than xiang dui 相對, “opposed to each other,” this should be xiang si 相似, “resemble each other.”



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it in the sun and then use it [for therapeutic purposes]. [Su] Song: Yang gong [says the following about] the method to ingest huang jing: Collect the root in the second and third month. Those that have penetrated the earth eight to nine cun deep are best. Cut one dan into fine [slices] and boil them in one dan and five dou of water to remove the bitter flavor. Take [the huang jing slices] out of the liquid and let it drip off. Then fill them into a bag and squeeze it to obtain the juice. Once the liquid has become clear, boil it again. Stop when it has assumed the consistency of a paste. Mix it with the powder of fried, black soybeans and knead with your fingers cakes the size of a coin. In the beginning [let a patient] ingest two of them. This dosage is increased daily. It is also possible to bake it over a slow fire until it is dry, [grind it] and give the powder through a sieve, to be ingested with water. [Meng] Shen: The method to consume huang jing. Remove the bottom of a jar and place it into a cauldron. Then fill [the jar] with huang jing and firmly close it. Steam it until a stream of qi develops and then dry it in the sun. Steam it like this nine times and dry it in the sun nine times. As long as it is fresh/unprocessed, it will pierce one’s throat. If one chooses to eat it fresh, in the beginning a piece of only one and a half cun [can be ingested]. This is gradually increased. [Users] will not eat for ten days and all they ingest is [a root] as long as three chi and five cun. 300 days later, they see demons and spirits, and after an extended period of time they inevitably will rise to heaven. The root, the leaves, the flowers and the fruits are all edible. However, only those with leaves growing opposite to each other are proper [huang jing]. If they do not grow opposite to each other, [the herb] is named “flat [huang] jing.” 【氣味】甘，平，無毒。【權曰】寒。【時珍曰】忌梅實，花、葉、子並 同。 Qi and Flavor. Sweet, balanced, nonpoisonous. [Zhen] Quan: Cold. [Li] Shizhen: [While ingesting huang jing] avoid the fruits, flowers, leaves and seeds of plums all alike. 【主治】補中益氣，除風濕，安五臟。久服輕身延年不飢。别録。補五勞 七傷 ， 助筋骨 ， 耐寒暑 ， 益脾胃 ， 潤心肺。單服九蒸九暴食之 ， 駐顔斷 穀。大明。補諸虚，止寒熱，填精髓，下三尸蟲。時珍。 Control. It supplements the center and boosts the qi. It eliminates wind and moisture. It pacifies the five long-term depots. Ingested over a long time, it relieves the body of its weight, extends the years [of life] and lets one not become hungry. Bie lu. It supplements in the case of the five kinds of exhaustion and seven kinds of harm. It supports sinews and bones, helps to endure cold and summerheat, boosts [the qi of ] spleen and stomach and moistens heart and lung. Ingested alone it is eaten after being steamed nine times and dried in the sun nine times. It serves to

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maintain a [youthful] complexion and to stop the consumption of grain. Da Ming. It supplements all kinds of [qi] depletion. It ends [alternating sensations of ] cold and heat. It supplies essence/sperm and marrow. It serves to discharge the three kinds of corpse worms/bugs. 【發明】【時珍曰】黄精受戊己之淳氣， 故爲補黄宫之勝品。土者萬物之 母 ， 母得其養 ， 則水火既濟 ， 木金交合 ， 而諸邪自去 ， 百病不生矣。神 仙芝草經云 ： 黄精寬中益氣 ， 使五臟調良 ， 肌肉充盛 ， 骨髓堅强 ， 其力 增倍，多年不老，顔色鮮明，髮白更黑，齒落更生。又能先下三尸蟲。上 尸名彭質， 好寶貨， 百十日下； 中尸名彭矯， 好五味， 六十日下； 下尸 名彭居 ， 好五色 ， 三十日下 ， 皆爛出也。根爲精氣 ， 花實爲飛英 ， 皆可 服食。又按雷氏炮炙論 序云：駐色延年，精蒸神錦。註云：以黄精自然汁 拌研細神錦，于柳木甑中蒸七日，以木蜜丸服之。木蜜，枳椇也。神錦不 知是何物，或云朱砂也。【禹錫曰】按抱朴子云：黄精服其花，勝其實； 服其實 ， 勝其根。但花難得 ， 得其生花十斛 ， 乾之纔可得五六斗爾 ， 非 大有力者不能辦也。日服三合，服之十年，乃得其益。其斷穀不及术。术 餌令人肥健，可以負重涉險，但不及黄精甘美易食。凶年可與老少代粮， 謂之米脯也。【慎微曰】徐鉉稽神録云：臨川士家一婢，逃入深山中，久 之見野草枝葉可愛，取根食之，久久不飢。夜息大樹下，聞草中動，以爲 虎，戄而上樹避之。及曉下地，其身欻然凌空而去，若飛鳥焉。數歲家人 采薪見之，捕之不得，臨絶壁下網圍之，俄而騰上山頂。或云此婢安有仙 骨，不過靈藥服食爾。遂以酒餌置往來之路。果來，食訖，遂不能去。擒 之，具述其故。指所食之草，即是黄精也。 Explication. [Li] Shizhen: Huang jing is endowed with the pure qi of the soil. Hence it occupies a superior rank among those [substances] that supplement the Yellow Palace [of spleen and stomach]. The soil is the mother of the ten thousand items. When they receive nourishment by their mother, water and fire will be of help, wood and metal will interact and combine. As a result, all kinds of evil will leave and none of the hundreds of diseases will emerge. The Shen xian zhi cao jing states: Huang jing relieves the center and boosts the qi; it serves to achieve a good balance among the five long-term depots, to fill the muscles and the flesh, and to harden and strengthen the bones and their marrow. The strength of a [person ingesting it] will double, he will not age for many years, his complexion will remain fresh and shiny, white hair will turn black again and where teeth had fallen out they will grow again. Also, it is able to discharge the three corpse worms/bugs. The upper corpse [worm/bug] is called Pengzhi 彭質. It loves luxury wares. It is discharged [by huang jing] within 110 days. The central corpse [worm/bug] is called Pengjiao 彭矯. It loves the five flavors. It is discharged [by huang jing] within 60 days. The lower



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corpse [worm/bug] is called Pengju 彭居. It loves the five colors [associated with sex]. It is discharged [by huang jing] within 30 days. All [three] of them are released as a pulpy substance. The root is “essence qi;” the flowers and the seeds are “flying blossoms.” They are all edible. Also, according to the Preface to Mr. Lei [Xiao’s] Pao zhi lun, “to preserves one’s complexion and extend the years [of life], steam [huang] jing and shen jin 神錦.” A comment states: “Mix the natural juice of polygonatum sibiricum [root] with finely ground shen jin 神錦 and steam [this mixture] in a steamer made of willow wood for seven days. Prepare with mu mi 木蜜 pills and ingest them.” Mu mi 木蜜 is hovenia [fruit]; it is not known what item shen jin 神 錦 is. Some say it is cinnabar. [Zhang] Yuxi: According to Baopu zi, “to ingest the flowers of huang jing is better than [to ingest its] seeds. To ingest its seeds is better than [to ingest its] root.” However, it is very difficult to obtain its flowers. If one acquires ten hu of fresh flowers, after they are dried only five to six dou will be left. That is, only very powerful persons can get a hold of them. If one ingests three ge a day, and ingests them for ten years, they will boost [the qi]. Their potential to let one end eating grain does not reach that of atractylodes [rhizome]. The consumption of atractylodes [rhizome] lets one become fat and strong. It allows one to carry heavy burdens through risky terrain. But it does not reach huang jing in terms of its sweet and delicious flavor and its easy availability for consumption. In a year of famine it can be given to the old and the young to replace grain. It is called “substitute for rice.” [Tang] Shenwei: Xu Xuan in his Ji shen lu states: “A servant-girl of a scholar’s household in Lin chuang escaped into the depth of the mountains. After a long time, she saw a wild herb with amiable twigs and leaves. She took the root, ate it and did not feel any hunger for a very long time. One night, when she rested under a big tree, she heard some commotion among the herbs. She thought this might be a tiger and fearfully climbed on the tree to escape it. The next morning when she got down to the ground, her body all of a sudden soared into the air and she disappeared, flying like a bird. Several years later members of the family [she had escaped from] went out to gather firewood and saw her. They tried to grasp her, but did not get her. They placed a net at the bottom of a steep cliff to seize her, but she managed to ascend to the top of the mountain. Someone said: That this servant-girl has the bones of an hermit/immortal must have resulted from her ingesting some magic herb. So they placed wine and delicacies on the road she often passed through. Eventually she came by, consumed them and was unable to leave. She was caught and told the reason [of her ability to fly]. When she pointed to the herb she had eaten, it was huang jing.”

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服食法。聖惠方用黄精根莖不限多少，細剉陰乾搗末。每日水調末服，任 多少。一年内變老爲少，久久成地仙。 Method to ingest [a huang jing preparation] as food. The Sheng hui fang [recommends to] cut any quantity of huang jing root and stalk into thin slices, dry them in the shade and grind them to powder. Each day ingest mixed with water an amount at your convenience. Within one year this will change an old person into a young one. After a very long time it lets one become an immortal on the earth. 臞仙神隱書以黄精細切一石，用水二石五斗煮之，自旦至夕，候冷，以手 挼碎 ， 布袋榨取汁煎之。渣晒乾 ， 爲末 ， 同入釜中 ， 煎至可丸 ， 丸如雞 子大。每服一丸，日三服。絶粮輕身，除百病。渴則飲水。 The Qu xian shen yin shu [recommends the following]. Cut one dan of huang jing into thin slices, boil them in two dan and five dou of water from dawn to dusk, wait until they have cooled down and rub them with your hands to fine pieces. Squeeze them in a cloth bag to obtain a juice and boil it. Dry the dregs in the sun and [grind them to] powder. Fill [the powder] together [with the juice] into a cauldron, and boil it until it has reached a consistency to make pills the size of chicken eggs. Each time ingest one pill. To be ingested three times a day. This will end one’s dependence on grain, relieve the body of its weight and eliminate the hundreds of diseases. If you are thirsty, drink water. 補肝明目。黄精二斤，蔓菁子一升淘，同和，九蒸九晒，爲末。空心每米 飲下二錢，日二服，延年益壽。聖惠方。 To supplement the liver and clear the eyes. Mix two jin of huang jing and one sheng of turnips, washed in a pan. Steam [this mixture] nine times and dry it in the sun nine times, and then [grind it to] powder. Each time send down on an empty stomach with a rice beverage two qian. To be ingested twice a day. This extends the years [of life] and boosts longevity. Sheng hui fang. 大風癩瘡。營氣不清，久風入脉，因而成癩，鼻壞色敗。用黄精根去皮， 洗净，二斤，暴，納粟米飯中，蒸至米熟，時時食之。聖濟總録。 Sores associated with a massive wind [i. e.,] repudiation-illness.124 When the camp qi are not clear and wind enters the vessels for a long time, a repudiation-illness results. The nose is destroyed and the complexion is lost. Remove the skin from huang 124 Lai 癩, “repudiation-illness,” most likely referring to leprosy, “Aussatz.” BCGM Dict I, 111, and 293-294.



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jing roots, wash them clean and dry two jin in the sun. Mix them with corn and cooked rice and steam this until the rice is done. Frequently eat this. Sheng ji zong lu. 補虚精氣。黄精、枸杞子等分，搗作餅，日乾爲末，煉蜜丸梧子大。每湯 下五十丸。奇效良方。 To supplement an essence qi depletion. Pound equal amounts of huang jing and lycium seeds to prepare cakes. Dry them in the sun, [grind them to] powder and prepare with heat refined honey pills the size of wu seeds. Each time send 50 pills down with boiled water. Qi xiao liang fang. 12-09 萎蕤音威緌本經上品 Wei rui, read wei rui, FE Ben jing, upper rank. Polygonatum odoratum (Mill.) Druce. Fragrant solomon’s seal.

【釋名】女萎本經、葳蕤吴普、萎䔟音威移、委萎爾雅、萎香綱目、熒爾 雅音行、玉竹别録、地節别録。【時珍曰】按黄公紹古今韻會云：葳蕤， 草木葉垂之貌。此草根長多鬚，如冠纓下垂之緌而有威儀，故以名之。凡 羽盖旌旗之纓緌，皆象葳蕤是矣。孫氏瑞應圖云：王者禮備，則葳蕤生于 殿前，一名萎香。則威儀之義，於此可見。别録作萎蕤，有文也。説文作 萎䔟，音相近也。爾雅作委萎，字相近也。其葉光瑩而象竹，其根多節， 故有熒及玉竹、地節諸名。吴普本草又有烏萎、蟲蟬之名。宋本一名馬 薰，即烏萎之訛者也。

Explanation of Names. Nü wei 女萎, Ben jing. Wei rui 葳蕤, Wu Pu. Wei yi 萎䔟, read wei yi 威移; wei wei 委萎, Er ya. Wei xiang 萎香, Gang mu. Xing 熒, Er ya, read xing 行. Yu zhu 玉竹, Bie lu. Di jie 地節, Bie lu. [Li] Shizhen: According to Huang Gongshao’s Gu jin yun hui, “wei rui 葳蕤 is an herb with drooping leaves. The root of this herb has long hair, hanging down just like the tassels, rui 緌, from a crown adorned with ribbons, giving it a dignified manner, wei yi 威儀. Hence the name. The tassels of banners and flags covered with feathers are reminiscent of the appearance of wei rui.” Mr. Sun [Rouzhi’s] Rui ying tu states: “When the king performs the rites as required, wei rui 葳蕤 grows in front of the palace. Another name is wei xiang 萎香, ‘wei incense’.” That is, the idea of a “dignified manner” is apparent in all these [statements and comparisons]. The Bie lu writes wei rui 萎蕤, stating that it has a line design. The Shuo wen writes wei yi 萎䔟. The reading is similar. The Er ya writes wei wei 委萎. The writing is similar. The leaves are shiny and resemble those of bamboo. The root has many knots. Hence all the names like xing 熒, “glimmering,” yu zhu 玉竹, “jade bamboo,” and di jie 地節, “earth knots.” The Wu Pu ben cao in addition lists as its names wu wei 烏萎 and chong chan 蟲蟬. In a Song edition,

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ma xun 馬薰 is given as an alternative name. But this is an erroneous designation of wu wei 烏萎. 【正誤】【弘景曰】本經有女萎無萎蕤 ， 别録無女萎有萎蕤 ， 而功用正 同，疑女萎即萎蕤，惟名異爾。【恭曰】女萎功用及苗蔓與萎蕤全别。今 本經朱書是女萎功效， 故别録墨書乃萎蕤功效也。【藏器曰】本草女萎、 委蕤同傳。陶云是一物。蘇云二物不同，於”中品”别出”女萎”一條。然其主 霍亂洩痢腸鳴，正與上品女蕤相合，則是更非二物矣。【頌曰】觀古方書 所用，胡洽治時氣洞下有女萎丸，治傷寒冷下結腸丸中用女萎，治虚勞下 痢小黄耆酒中加女萎，詳此數方所用，乃似中品女萎。緣其性温、主霍亂 洩痢故也。又治賊風，手足枯痺，四肢拘攣，茵蕷酒中用女萎。初虞世治 身體癧瘍斑駁有女萎膏，乃似上品本經朱書女萎，緣其主中風不能動摇及 去皯好色故也。又治傷寒七八日不解續命鼈甲湯，及治脚弱鼈甲湯，並用 萎蕤，及延年方治風熱項急痛、四肢骨肉煩熱有萎蕤飲，又主虚風熱發即 頭痛，有萎蕤丸，乃似上品别録墨書萎蕤，緣其主虚熱濕毒腰痛故也。三 者既白 ， 則非一物明矣 ， 且萎蕤甘平 ， 女萎甘温 ， 安得爲一物 ？ 【時珍 曰】本經女萎，乃爾雅委萎二字，即别録萎蕤也，上古鈔寫訛爲女萎爾。 古方治傷寒風虚用女萎者，即萎蕤也，皆承本草之訛而稱之。諸家不察， 因中品有女萎名字相同 ， 遂致費辯如此。今正其誤 ， 只依别録書萎蕤爲 綱，以便尋檢。其治泄痢女萎，乃蔓草也，見本條。 Correction of Errors. [Tao] Hongjing: The Ben jing lists nü wei, it does not list wei rui. The Bie lu does not list nü wei, it lists wei rui. The [therapeutic] potentials ascribed to them are identical. Hence, nü wei may be wei rui. Only the names differ. [Su] Gong: The [therapeutic] potential and usage of nü wei, and also its seedlings and vine are entirely different from those of wei rui. In the Ben jing available today, the [therapeutic] potential and the effects of nü wei are written in red. Hence, the writing in black in the Bie lu is a reference to the [therapeutic] potential and the effects of wei rui. [Chen] Cangqi: The Ben cao works have records of both nü wei and wei rui. Tao [Hongjing] states that they are one and the same item. Su [Gong] states that they are two different items. Hence he prepared a separate entry of nü wei among the [substances of ] “middle rank.” Still, its control over cholera, with outflow and free-flux illness as well as intestinal sounds, is truly identical with that of the nü rui listed among the [substances of ] “upper rank.” Hence they are all the more one and the same item. [Su] Song: If one takes the usages recommended by ancient recipes into consideration, Hu Qia listed nü wei pills to cure free-flux discharge caused by seasonal qi. The “pills to cure cold discharge and bound intestines associated with harm caused by cold” use nü wei. To the “minor wine with astragalus [root] to cure depletion exhaustion with discharge and free-flux illness” he added



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nü wei. A close look at the usages recommended by so many recipes suggests that this is a “middle rank nü wei.” Because of its warm nature it controls cholera with outflow and free-flux illness. Also, to cure robber wind,125 withering and blockage of hands and feet, with the four limbs cramping and contracting, he uses nü wei in the “wine with soft-stemmed bulrush.” When Chu Yushi [recommends to] cure pervasion-illness126 with ulcers and variegated macules with a nü wei ointment, this seems to be the nü wei listed in red as [a substance of ] upper rank because it controls paralysis caused by being struck by wind and removes facial gloom and restores a good complexion. Also, the “decoction with fresh-water turtle carapace to continue one’s [heavenly] mandate” serving to cure a harm caused by cold that has not been resolved for seven or eight days, and the “decoction with fresh-water carapace” to cure weakened legs, they both use wei rui. Also, the Yan nian fang lists a “beverage with wei rui” to cure acute pain in the neck resulting from wind and heat, and vexation and heat affecting the bones and the flesh of the four limbs. Furthermore, to control headache resulting from wind and heat availing themselves of a state of depletion, the “pills with wei rui” are listed. This seems to be the wei rui written in black among the [substances of ] upper rank in the Bie lu because it controls lower back pain caused by the poison of heat and moisture that have availed themselves of a condition of depletion. It is clear then that these three are not one and the same item. Also, [the flavor of ] wei rui is sweet-balanced, that of nü wei is sweet warm. How could they be one and the same item? [Li] Shizhen: The nü wei listed in the Ben jing and the wei wei 委萎 listed in the Er ya are the wei rui listed in the Bie lu. Nü wei is the result of a scribal error in high antiquity. When ancient recipes [recommended to] cure harm caused by cold associated with wind and depletion with nü wei, this was wei rui. In all cases they took over the erroneous writing from the Ben cao. Not a single author examined this. As a substance of the same name nü wei was listed among those of middle rank, an endless debate emerged. Here now their errors are corrected. The wei rui listed in the Bie lu is the one one should be concerned with. The nü wei recommended for curing outflow and free-flux illness is a vine. See the respective entry (18-29). 【集解】【别録曰】萎蕤生太山山谷及丘陵，立春後采，陰乾。【普曰】 葉青黄色，相值如薑葉，二月、七月采。【弘景曰】今處處有之。根似黄 精， 小異。服食家亦用之。【頌曰】今滁州、舒州及漢中、均州皆有之。 125 Zei feng 賊風, “robber wind.” A swift wind arriving from the South on the day of winter solstice. It “steals and harms the qi of central harmony,” causing pain without heat and various further pathological conditions. BCGM Dict I, 667.

126 Luo li 瘰癧, “scrofula pervasion-illness,” when two or more connected swellings of the size of plum or date kernels appear either on the neck or in the armpits, or somewhere else on the body. BCGM Dict I. 329.

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莖幹强直，似竹箭簳，有節。葉狹而長，表白裏青，亦類黄精。根黄而多 鬚，大如指，長一二尺，或云可啖。三月開青花，結圓實。【時珍曰】處 處山中有之。其根横生似黄精差小，黄白色，性柔多鬚，最難燥。其葉如 竹，兩兩相值。亦可采根種之，極易繁也。嫩葉及根並可煮淘食茹。 Collected Explanations. Bie lu: Wei rui grows in the mountain valleys of Mount Tai shan and on hills. It is collected after [the solar term] Spring Begins (4th/5th February). It is dried in the shade. [Wu] Pu: The leaves are of greenish-yellow color. They stand straight and are positioned opposite to each other, similar to the leaves of ginger. [Wei rui] is collected in the second and the seventh month. [Tao] Hongjing: Nowadays it can be found everywhere. The root resembles polygonatum sibiricum [root], it is only slightly different. It, too, is resorted to by the experts who ingest [longevity elixirs] as food. [Su] Song: Nowadays it can be found in Chu zhou, Shu zhou and also in Han zhong and Jun zhou. The stalk is rigid and straight, similar to a bamboo arrow shaft, but with knots. The leaves are narrow and long. They are white outside and greenish inside, and they, too, resemble those of polygonatum sibiricum [herbs]. The root is yellow and has many hairs. It is as big as a finger, with a length of one to two chi. Some say it is edible. [Wei rui] opens greenish flowers in the third month that eventually form round seeds. [Li] Shizhen: It can be found everywhere in mountainous regions. The yellow root grows horizontally and is similar to polygonatum sibiricum [root], but smaller. It is of a yellow-white color. It is by nature soft and has many hairs. It is very difficult to dry it. The leaves are similar to those of bamboo. Always two and two grow directly opposite to each other. [As with polygonatum sibiricum root], the root [of polygonatum odoratum], too, can be collected and [used to] plant [the herb]. This way it is very easy to obtain large quantities. Its tender leaves and the root can all be washed and boiled in a pan for consumption as vegetables. 12-09-01 根。Gen. Root [of wei rui].

【修治】【斅曰】凡使勿用黄精并鉤吻，二物相似。萎蕤節上有鬚毛，莖 斑，葉尖處有小黄點，爲不同。采得以竹刀刮去節皮，洗净，以蜜水浸一 宿，蒸了，焙乾用。 Pharmaceutical Preparation. [Lei] Xiao: For all [therapeutic preparations/applications of the root of wei rui] do not use [the roots of ] polygonatum sibiricum and gelsemium [herb]. These two items look similar [to the root of wei rui]. Wei rui is different because it has hairs on its knots, the stem is speckled and the tips of the leaves have some small yellow dots. When [the root] is collected scrape off with a bamboo



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knife its knots and the bark, wash it clean, soak it in honey water for one night, steam it, bake it over a slow fire to dry it, and then use it [for therapeutic purposes]. 【氣味】甘 ， 平 ， 無毒。【普曰】神農 ： 苦。桐君、雷公、扁鵲 ： 甘 ， 無毒。黄帝：辛。【之才曰】畏鹵鹹。 Qi and Flavor. Sweet, balanced, nonpoisonous. [Wu] Pu: Shen nong: Bitter. Tong jun, Lei gong, Bian Que: Sweet, nonpoisonous. Huang Di: Acrid. [Xu] Zhicao: [Ingested together,] it fears bittern salt. 【主治】女萎：主中風暴熱，不能動摇，跌筋結肉，諸不足。久服去面黑 䵟，好顔色潤澤，輕身不老。本經。萎蕤：主心腹結氣，虚熱濕毒腰痛， 莖中寒及目痛，眦爛淚出。别録。時疾寒熱，内補不足，去虚勞客熱。頭 痛不安，加而用之良。甄權。補中益氣。蕭炳。除煩悶，止消渴，潤心 肺，補五勞七傷虚損，腰脚疼痛。天行熱狂，服食無忌。大明。服諸石人 不調和者，煮汁飲之。弘景。主風温自汗灼熱及勞瘧寒熱，脾胃虚乏，男 子小便頻數，失精，一切虚損。時珍。 Control. Nü wei: It controls being struck by wind with sudden heat, an inability to move, [ruptured] sinews and clotted flesh caused by a fall, and all kinds of insufficient [qi]. Ingested over a long time, it removes facial gloom, improves one’s complexion and generates a moist luster. It relieves the body of its weight and prevents aging. Ben jing. Wei rui: It controls bound qi127 in the heart and in the abdomen, a painful lower back resulting from heat and moisture poison that have availed themselves of a depletion. Cold in the penis and painful eyes. Festering canthi and tearflow. Bie lu. Seasonal illness and [alternating sensations of ] cold and heat. It supplements internal insufficiency. It removes depletion exhaustion and visitor heat. In the case of headache and restlessness, it is good as an additive [to medication]. Zhen Quan. It supplements the center and boosts the qi. Xiao Bing. It removes vexation and heart-pressure. It ends melting with thirst.128 It moistens the heart and the lung. It supplements in the case of the five exhaustions, the seven harms and depletion injury. [It serves to cure] painful lower back and legs, and epidemic heat with madness. To ingest it as food is not linked to any taboos. Da Ming. In the case of problems arising from ingesting [for longevity] any type of minerals/stones as food, boil it and drink the juice obtained. [Tao] Hongjing. It controls spontaneous sweating and scorching heat [caused by] wind and warmth, as well as [alternating sensations of ] cold and heat associated with exhaustion and malaria, depletion of 127 Jie qi 結氣, “bound qi,” 1.) an etiological agent of pathological qi halting and congealing at any place in the body. 2.) A condition brought forth by bound qi. BCGM Dict I, 240.

128 Xiao ke 消渴, “melting with thirst,” most likely including cases of diabetes. BCGM Dict Vol I, 567.

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spleen and stomach, frequent urination of males, involuntary loss of essence/sperm, and all kinds of depletion injury. [Li] Shizhen. 【發明】【杲曰】萎蕤能升能降，陽中陰也。其用有四：主風淫四末，兩 目淚爛，男子濕注腰痛，女子面生黑䵟。【時珍曰】萎蕤性平味甘，柔潤 可食。故朱肱南陽活人書治風温自汗身重，語言難出，用萎蕤湯，以之爲 君藥。予每用治虚勞寒熱痁瘧及一切不足之證，用代參、耆，不寒不燥， 大有殊功，不止于去風熱濕毒而已，此昔人所未闡者也。【藏器曰】陳壽 魏志 樊阿傳云：青黏，一名黄芝，一名地節。此即萎蕤，極似偏精。本 功外 ， 主聰明 ， 調血氣 ， 令人强壯。和漆葉爲散服 ， 主五臟益精 ， 去三 蟲，輕身不老，變白，潤肌膚，暖腰脚，惟有熱不可服。晉 嵇紹有胸中 寒疾 ， 每酒後苦唾 ， 服之得愈。草似竹 ， 取根、花、葉陰乾用。昔華佗 入山見仙人所服，以告樊阿，服之壽百歲也。【頌曰】陳藏器以青黏即葳 蕤。世無識者，未敢以爲信然。【時珍曰】蘇頌註黄精，疑青黏是黄精， 與此説不同。今攷黄精、萎蕤性味功用大抵相近， 而萎蕤之功更勝。故青 黏一名黄芝，與黄精同名；一名地節，與萎蕤同名。則二物雖通用亦可。 Explication. [Li] Gao: Wei rui can rise and it can descend. It is a yin in yang [substance]. It has four usages. It cures wind excess affecting the four limbs, tearflow and festering affecting both eyes, painful lower back of males affected by moisture, and facial gloom affecting women. [Li] Shizhen: Wei rui, its nature is balanced, its flavor is sweet. It is soft and moist and can be eaten. Hence when Zhu Gong in his Nan yang huo ren shu [listed recipes to] cure spontaneous sweating and a heavy body, with a difficulty to speak, in his “decoction with wei rui” he resorted to it as the ruler drug. I myself used it to cure depletion exhaustion with [alternating sensations of ] cold and heat, [i.e.,] malaria, and all kinds of conditions of an insufficiency. I resorted to it as a substitute for ginseng [root] and astragalus [root]. It is neither cold nor dry, and has an extraordinary [therapeutic] potential that is by no means limited to removing the poison of wind, heat and moisture. The ancients were not aware of this. [Chen] Cangqi: In Chen Shou’s Wei zhi, the biography of Fan A states: “Qing nian is also called huang zhi and di jie.” This is wei rui. It is very similar to flat [leaf ] polygonatum sibiricum. In addition to its [therapeutic] potential, it controls one’s intelligence, regulates blood and qi, and lets one be strong and sturdy. Ingested as a powder mixed with the leaves of the lacquer tree, it controls the five long-term depots and boosts the essence/sperm. It removes the three worms/bugs, relieves the body of its weight, prevents aging, changes white [hair to black], moistens muscles and skin, and warms up the lower back and the legs. Only [patients] with heat must not ingest it. The herb resembles bamboo. Gather its root, flowers and leaves, and use them after drying them in the shade. In ancient times, Hua Tuo once went



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into the mountains where he saw an hermit/immortal ingesting [this drug]. He told this to Fan A who ingested it and enjoyed a long life of 100 years. [Su] Song: Chen Cangqi assumed qing nian to be wei rui. As no one knows this for sure, it is hard to believe him. [Li] Shizhen: In his comment on polygonatum sibiricum, Su Song doubts that qing nian is polygonatum sibiricum. This is different from what [Chen Cangqi] says. Today’s examination of polygonatum sibiricum [root] and wei rui shows that their nature, their flavor, their [therapeutic] potential and their usage are quite similar, with the potential of wei rui being superior [to that of polygonatum sibiricum root]. Hence the alternative name huang zhi of qing nian is also the name of polygonatum sibiricum [root], and the alternative name di jie is also the name of wei rui. That is, [qing nian] can be used instead of both [di jie and wei rui]. 【附方】舊一，新六。 Added Recipes. One of old. Six newly [recorded]. 服食法。二月、九月采萎蕤根，切碎一石，以水二石煮之，從旦至夕，以 手挼爛 ， 布囊榨取汁 ， 熬稠。其渣晒 ， 爲末 ， 同熬至可丸 ， 丸如雞頭子 大。每服一丸 ， 白湯下 ， 日三服。導氣脉 ， 强筋骨 ， 治中風濕毒 ， 去面 皺顔色，久服延年。臞仙神隱書。 The method to ingest [wei rui as a longevity elixir for] food. Collect the roots of wei rui in the second and ninth month. Cut as much as one dan to pieces, boil them in two dan of water, from dawn to dusk, and rub them until they form a pulpy mass. Squeeze [this mass] in a cloth bag to obtain its juice and boil it until it has turned into a paste. Dry the dregs in the sun and [grind them to] powder. Prepare this with the boiled [paste] to pills, with one pill as big as the head of a chicken. Each time ingest one pill, to be sent down with clear, boiled water. To be ingested three times a day. This will guide the qi through the vessels. It strengthens sinews and bones. It serves to cure being struck by wind and the poison of moisture. It removes facial wrinkles and [improves] the complexion. Ingested over a long time, it extends the years [of life]. Quxian, Shen yin shu. 赤眼濇痛。萎蕤、赤芍藥、當歸、黄連等分，煎湯熏洗。衛生家寶方。 Rough and painful red eyes. Prepare a decoction by boiling equal amounts of wei rui, red paeonia [root], Chinese angelica [root] and coptis [rhizome] and use it to steam and rinse [the affected region]. Wei sheng jia bao fang. 眼見黑花 ， 赤痛昏暗。甘露湯 ： 用萎蕤焙四兩 ， 每服二錢 ， 水一盞 ， 入 薄荷二葉 ， 生薑一片 ， 蜜少許 ， 同煎七分 ， 卧時温服 ， 日一服。聖濟總 録。

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Black flowers seen in front of one’s eyes, with [the eyes] being red and painful, and vision dimmed. The “sweet dew decoction.” Bake four liang of wei rui over a slow fire and boil for each application two qian in one small cup of water, together with two mint leaves and one slice of fresh ginger as well as a little honey down to 70%. Ingest this warm when going to bed. Once a day. Sheng ji zong lu. 小便卒淋。萎蕤一兩 ， 芭蕉根四兩 ， 水二大盌 ， 煎一盌半 ， 入滑石二 錢，分三服。太平聖惠方。 Sudden onset of urinary dripping. Boil one liang of wei rui and four liang of banana plant root in two large bowls of water down to one and a half bowls. Add two qian of talcum, and ingest this divided into three portions. Tai ping sheng hui fang. 發熱口乾，小便濇。用萎蕤五兩，煎汁飲之。外臺秘要。 Heat effusion and dry mouth, with rough urination. Boil five liang of wei rui and drink the juice. Wai tai mi yao. 乳石發熱。萎蕤三兩 ， 炙甘草二兩 ， 生犀角一兩 ， 水四升 ， 煮一升半 ， 分三服。聖惠方。 Heat effusion caused by [an intake of ] stalactite minerals. Boil three liang of wei rui, two liang of roasted glycyrrhiza [root] and one liang of fresh rhinoceros horn in four sheng of water down to one and a half sheng, and drink this in three portions. Sheng hui fang. 癇後虚腫。小兒癇病瘥後 ， 血氣上虚 ， 熱在皮膚 ， 身面俱腫。萎蕤、葵 子、龍膽、伏苓、前胡等分，爲末。每服一錢，水煎服。聖濟總録。 A depletion swelling following an episode of epilepsy. When a child has been cured of an epilepsy disease, blood and qi are depleted in the upper [part of the body]. Heat is in the skin, and the body and the face are all swollen. [Grind] equal amounts of wei rui, mallow seeds, gentiana [herb], poria and peucedanum [root] to powder. Each time [let the patient] ingest one qian, to be ingested boiled in water. Sheng ji zong lu.



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【附録】 Appendix 12-09-A01 鹿藥開寶。 Lu yao, FE Kai bao.

Smilacina japonica A.Gray129. Snow dragon.

【志曰】鹿藥 ： 甘 ， 温 ， 無毒。主風血 ， 去諸冷 ， 益老起陽 ， 浸酒服 之。生姑臧已西，苗根並似黄精，鹿好食其根。【時珍曰】胡洽居士言鹿 食九種解毒之草，此其一也。或云即是萎蕤，理亦近之。姑附以俟。 [Ma] Zhi: Lu yao: Sweet, warm, nonpoisonous. It controls blood affected by wind. It removes all kinds of cold. It boosts [the qi of ] the elderly and raises the yang [i. e., sexual potential of males]. Soak it in wine and drink the [liquid]. It grows to the West of Gu zang. The seedlings and the root resemble those of polygonatum [herbs]. Deer love to eat the root. [Li] Shizhen: Hu Qia jushi says: Deer eat nine kinds of herbs that resolve poison. This is one of them. It is also said that this is wei rui. This is plausible. Hence it is added here. 12-09-A02 委蛇音威貽。 Wei yi, read wei yi.

Unidentified.

【别録曰】味甘 ， 平 ， 無毒。主消渴少氣 ， 令人耐寒。生人家園中 ， 大 枝長鬚，多葉而兩兩相值，子如芥子。【時珍曰】此亦似是萎蕤，併俟考 訪。 Bie lu: Flavor sweet, balanced, nonpoisonous. It controls melting with thirst130 and lack of [breath] qi. It lets one endure cold. It grows in the gardens of private households. It has big twigs with long hair. The many leaves grow in pairs of two and two opposite to each other. The seeds resemble those of mustard seeds. [Li] Shizhen: This, too, appears to be wei rui. It is added here for further studies.

129 Lu yao 鹿藥, lit.: “deer medication.”

130 Xiao ke 消渴, “melting with thirst,” most likely including cases of diabetes. BCGM Dict Vol I, 567.

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12-10 知母本經中品 Zhi mu, FE Ben jing, middle rank. Anemarrhena asphodeloides Bunge. Common anemarrhena.

【釋名】蚔母本經、音遲 ， 説文作芪。連母本經、蝭母、蝭音匙 ， 又音 提 ， 或作𦳚。貨母本經、地參本經、水參、又名水須、水浚。𧂇爾雅音 覃、莐藩音沈煩、苦心别録、兒草别録。又名兒踵草、女雷、女理、鹿 列、韭逢、東根、野蓼、昌支。【時珍曰】宿根之旁，初生子根，狀如蚳 蝱之狀，故謂之蚳母。訛爲知母、蝭母也。餘多未詳。 Explanation of Names. Chi mu 蚔母, Ben jing, read chi 遲. The Shuo wen writes qi 芪. Lian mu 連母, Ben jing. Chi mu 蝭母, with 蝭 read chi 匙, also read ti 提, sometimes written 𦳚. Huo mu 貨母, Ben jing. Di shen 地參, Ben jing. Shui shen 水參, also named shui xu 水須 and shui jun 水浚。Qin 𧂇, Er ya, read qin 覃. Chen fan 莐藩, read chen fan 沈煩; ku xin 苦心, Bie lu. Er cao 兒草, Bie lu. It is also named er zhong cao 兒踵草, nü lei 女雷, nü li 女理, lu lie 鹿列, jiu feng 韭逢, dong gen 東根, ye liao 野蓼 and chang zhi 昌支. [Li] Shizhen: Secondary roots grow from the side of the main root. Their shape is reminiscent of the shape of hairy chi mang 蚳蝱 worms/ bugs. Hence [the root] is called chi mu 蚔母, “mother of chi [mang].” This has been changed by mistake to zhi mu 知母 and chi mu 蝭母. The meaning of all the other names is not clear. 【集解】【别録曰】知母生河内川谷 ， 二月、八月采根 ， 暴乾。【弘景 曰】今出彭城。形似菖蒲而柔潤 ， 葉至難死 ， 掘出隨生 ， 須枯燥乃止。 【禹錫曰】按范子云：提母出三輔，黄白者善。郭璞釋爾雅云：𧂇，蝭母 也。生山上，葉如韭。【頌曰】今瀕河 懷、衛、彰德諸郡及解州、滁州亦 有之。四月開青花如韭花，八月結實。 Collected Explanations. Bie lu: Zhi mu grows in the river valleys of He nei. The root is collected in the second and eigth month; it is dried in the sun. [Tao] Hongjing: Nowadays it comes from Peng cheng. Its physical appearance is similar to that of acorus [root], except for that it is soft and moist. The leaves do not die so easily. When [zhi mu] is dug out, it will continue to grow [when planted elsewhere]. It has to be very dry to stop [its growth]. [Zhang] Yuxi: According to Fan zi, “ti mu 提母 comes from San fu. Those of yellow-white color are good.” Guo Pu commenting on the Er ya states: “Qin 𧂇 is chi mu 蝭母. It grows on mountains; the leaves resemble those of Chinese leek.” [Su] Song: Nowadays, it is also found close to the [Huang] he and in all the prefectures of Huai, Wei and Zhang de, as well as in Xie zhou and Chu zhou. In the fourth month it develops greenish flowers reminiscent of the flowers of Chinese leek. In the eighth month it forms seeds.



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12-10-01 根。Ge. Root [of zhi mu].

【修治】【斅曰】凡使，先於槐砧上剉細。焙乾，木臼杵擣，勿犯鐵器。 【時珍曰】凡用，揀肥潤裏白者，去毛切。引經上行則用酒浸焙乾，下行 則用鹽水潤焙。 Pharmaceutical Preparation. [Lei] Xiao: For all [therapeutic] applications, first cut it into fine slices on a chopping block made of sophora japonica wood. Bake [these slices] over a slow fire until they are dry, and pound them in a wooden mortar. They must not come into contact with iron utensils. [Li] Shizhen: For all [therapeutic] usages, select [specimens] that are fat, moist and white inside. Remove the hair and cut [the root into slices]. If they are to be guided through the conduits into the upper [body part], soak them in wine and bake them over a slow fire until they are dry. If they are supposed to move into the lower [body parts], they are moistened with brine and then baked over a slow fire. 【氣味】苦，寒，無毒。【大明曰】苦、甘。【權曰】平。【元素曰】氣 寒 ， 味大辛、苦。氣味俱厚 ， 沉而降 ， 陰也。又云 ： 陰中微陽 ， 腎經本 藥 ， 入足陽明、手太陰經氣分。【時珍曰】得黄蘗及酒良 ， 能伏鹽及蓬 砂。 Qi and Flavor. Bitter, cold, nonpoisonous. Da Ming: Bitter, sweet. [Zhen] Quan: Balanced. [Zhang] Yuansu: Qi cold, flavor very acrid and bitter. Qi and flavor are both strongly pronounced. It sinks into the depth and is a yin [substance]. It is also stated: It is a slight yang in yin [substance]; a basic medication for the kidney conduits. It enters the qi section of the foot yang brilliance and the hand major yin conduits. [Li] Shizhen: It benefits from being combined with phellodendron [bark] and wine, and it is able to subdue the effects of salt and borax. 【主治】消渴熱中 ， 除邪氣 ， 肢體浮腫 ， 下水 ， 補不足 ， 益氣。本經。 療傷寒久瘧煩熱，脇下邪氣，膈中惡及風汗，内疸。多服令人洩。别録。 心煩躁悶，骨熱勞往來，産後蓐勞，腎氣勞，憎寒虚煩。甄權。熱勞傳尸 疰痛， 通小腸， 消痰止嗽， 潤心肺， 安心， 止驚悸。大明。凉心去熱， 治陽明火熱，瀉膀胱、腎經火，熱厥頭痛，下痢腰痛，喉中腥臭。元素。 瀉肺火，滋腎水，治命門相火有餘。好古。安胎,止子煩，辟射工、溪毒。 時珍。 Control. Melting with thirst131 and heat in the center. It removes evil qi and superficial swelling of the limbs and the body. It serves to discharge water and supplements

131 Xiao ke 消渴, “melting with thirst,” most likely including cases of diabetes. BCGM Dict Vol I, 567.

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[qi] insufficiency. It boosts the qi. Ben jing. It heals vexation and heat associated with harm caused by cold and long-lasting malaria, evil qi underneath the flanks, nausea in the diaphragm region, sweating associated with wind and internal dan-illness.132 An ingestion of large quantities causes outflow. Bie lu. Heart vexation, restlessness and heart-pressure, bone heat and recurring exhaustion, childbed exhaustion after birth, kidney qi exhaustion, an aversion to cold with depletion and vexation. Zhen Quan. Painful attachment-illness133 of corpse [evil] transmission134 associated with heat and exhaustion. It penetrates the small intestine, dissolves phlegm, ends cough, moistens heart and lung, pacifies the heart and ends fright palpitation. Da Ming. It cools down the heart and removes heat. It serves to cure fire heat in the yang brilliance [conduits], drains fire from the urinary bladder and the kidney conduits, and [serves to cure] headache associated with heat and recession [of yin qi], as well as discharge with free-flux illness, a painful lower back, and a fishy stench in one’s throat. [Zhang] Yuansu: It drains fire from the lung, nourishes the water of the kidneys, and serves to cure conditions of an excess of minister fire affecting the Gate of Life. [Wang] Haogu. It pacifies a fetus and ends child-related vexation. It repels the archer135 and rivulet poison.136 [Li] Shizhen.

【發明】【權曰】知母治諸熱勞患，人虚而口乾者，加用之。【杲曰】知 母入足陽明、手太陰, 其用有四：瀉無根之腎火，療有汗之骨蒸，止虚勞 之熱，滋化源之陰。仲景用此入白虎湯治不得眠者，煩躁也。煩出於肺， 躁出於腎 ， 君以石膏 ， 佐以知母之苦寒 ， 以清腎之源 ， 緩以甘草、粳 米，使不速下也。又凡病小便閟塞而渴者，熱在上焦氣分，肺中伏熱不能 生水，膀胱絶其化源，宜用氣薄味薄淡滲之藥，以瀉肺火、清肺金而滋水 之化源。若熱在下焦血分而不渴者，乃真水不足，膀胱乾涸，乃無陰則陽 無以化，法當用黄蘗、知母大苦寒之藥，以補腎與膀胱，使陰氣行而陽自 化， 小便自通。方法詳載”木部黄蘗”下。【時珍曰】腎苦燥， 宜食辛以潤 之。肺苦逆，宜食辛以瀉之。知母之辛苦寒凉，下則潤腎燥而滋陰，上則

132 Dan 疸, “dan-illness,” identical with huang dan 疸疸, “yellow dan-illness,” “jaundice.” BCGM Dict I, 118.

133 Zhu 疰, also zhu 注, “attachment-illness,” “influx-illness,” reflects a notion of a foreign pathogenic agent, originally of demonic nature, having attached itself to the human organism. BCGM Dict I, 688-695.

134 Chuan shi 傳尸, “corpse [evil] transmission. An infectious consumptive disease. BCGM Dict I, 97.

135 She gong 射工, “archer,” (1) a small bug in ancient times believed to live in water and be capable of “shooting” poison from its mouth at people, thereby cauing disease; (2) a condition caused by the archer’s poison. BCGM Dict. I, 432. See 42-15. 136 Xi du 溪毒, “rivulet poison,”(1) a tiny bug assumed to live in bodies of water and supposedly capable of striking humans when they enter the water, thereby causing disease; (2) a condition resulting from being struck by rivulet poison. BCGM Dict I, 548.



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清肺金而瀉火， 乃二經氣分藥也。黄蘗則是腎經血分藥。故二藥必相須而 行，昔人譬之蝦與水母，必相依附。補陰之説，詳”黄蘗”條。 Explication. [Zhen] Quan: Zhi mu serves to cure all kinds of suffering from heat and exhaustion. When a person is affected by depletion and his mouth is dry, it should be resorted to as an additive [to any medication]. [Li] Gao: Zhi mu enters the foot yang brilliance and the hand major yin [conduits]. It has four usages. It drains a fire in the kidneys that has no [spleen and stomach qi supporting it as its] root. It heals bone steaming137 associated with sweating. It ends the heat associated with depletion exhaustion. It nourishes the yin [qi] of the source of all transformations. When [Zhang] Zhongjing uses it as a constituent of the “white tiger decoction” to cure sleeplessness, this is aimed at vexation and restlessness. Vexation originates in the lung. Restlessness originates in the kidneys. Gypsum is the ruler [substance in his recipe]; it is assisted by the bitter [flavor] and cold [nature] of zhi mu to clear the kidneys as the source [of all transformations]. [The effects of zhi mu] are slowed down by glycyrrhiza [root] and nonglutinous rice lest they cause too rapid a discharge. Also, in the case of all diseases of blocked urination with thirst, when heat is present in the qi section of the Upper Burner, when heat is subdued in the lung so that it cannot generate water, and the urinary bladder is severed from the source of transformation, in this case it is appropriate to resort to bland and draining medication of weakly pronounced qi and flavor to drain the lung fire, to clear the lung metal and to nourish the source of transformations of water. If heat is in the Lower Burner’s blood section and [the patient] does not feel thirsty, this is a condition of insufficient genuine water. The urinary bladder is dry. An absence of yin [qi] prevents the transformation of yang [qi], and the rules require an application of very bitter and cold medication, such as phellodendron [bark] and zhi mu, to supplement the [qi of the] kidneys and the urinary bladder. They cause the yin qi to move and the yang qi to transform as a result, which will free the passage of urination. This rule is recorded in detail in the entry on phellodendron [bark] in the section “woods.” [Li] Shizhen: When the kidneys suffer from dryness, it is advisable to eat acrid [substances] to moisten them. When the lung suffers from counterflow, it is advisable to eat acrid [substances] to drain it. The acrid-bitter [flavor] and cold-cooling [nature] of zhi mu move down where they moisten the kidneys and nourish the yin [qi], and they rise to clear the metal of the lung and to drain its fire. That is, it is a medication for the qi sections of two conduits. Phellodendron [bark] is a medication for the blood section of the kidney conduits. Hence these two medications must 137 Gu zheng 骨蒸, “bone steaming,” ① a condition of an infectious consumptive disease with a development of vexing heat in the afternoon. ② An illness sign of heat and vexation with a feeling as if this originated in the bones. BCGM Dict I, 197.

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support each other in their activities. The ancients compared them to shrimp and jelly fish that are inextricably linked to each other. For a detailed statement on the supplementation of yin [qi], see the entry on phellodendron [bark]. (35-01) 【附方】舊二，新五。 Added Recipes. Two of old. Five newly [recorded]. 久近痰嗽。自胸膈下塞停飲 ， 至於臟腑。用知母、貝母各一兩 ， 爲末 ， 巴豆三十枚去油 ， 研匀。每服一字 ， 用薑三片 ， 二面蘸藥 ， 細嚼嚥下便 睡，次早必瀉一行，其嗽立止。壯人乃用之。一方不用巴豆。醫學集成。 Long-lasting and recent cough with phlegm, with stagnating rheum blocking the region from chest and diaphragm downward to the long-term depots and shortterm repositories. [Grind] one liang each of zhi mu and fritillaria [root] to powder. Remove the oil from 30 croton seeds and grind them [with the powder] to an even mixture. For each ingestion absorb one zi [of the powder] on both sides of three slices of ginger, chew them finely, swallow them and go to sleep. The next morning one passage of outflow will occur, and the cough ends immediately. This is a [medication] for use by strong persons. Another recipe does not make use of croton seeds. Yi xue ji cheng. 久嗽氣急。知母去毛切五錢，隔紙炒，杏仁薑水泡去皮尖焙五錢，以水一 鍾半 ， 煎一鍾 ， 食遠温服。次以蘿蔔子、杏仁等分 ， 爲末 ， 米糊丸 ， 服 五十丸，薑湯下，以絶病根。鄧筆峰雜興方。 Long-lasting cough with hectic [breath] qi. Remove the hair from five qian of zhi mu, cut them into slices and fry them on a sheet of paper. Soak five qian of bitter apricot seeds in ginger water, remove their skin and their tips and bake them over a slow fire. Boil [both the zhi mu and the apricot seeds] in one and a half zhong of water down to one zhong, and ingest this warm between meals. Then [grind] equal amounts of radish seeds and bitter apricot seeds to powder and form with a rice paste pills. Ingest 50 pills, to be sent down with a ginger decoction. This will sever the root of the disease. Deng Bifeng, Za xing fang. 妊娠子煩。因服藥致胎氣不安，煩不得卧者。知母一兩，洗焙爲末，棗肉 丸彈子大。每服一丸，人參湯下。醫者不識此病，作虚煩治，反損胎氣。 産科鄭宗文得此方於陳藏器本草拾遺中，用之良驗。楊歸厚産乳集驗方。 Vexation during pregnancy. The qi of the fetus are unquiet because of an ingestion of medication [by the mother]. She is agitated and cannot lie down to sleep. Wash one liang of zhi mu, bake it over a slow fire and [grind it to] powder. Prepare this



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with the meat of Chinese dates to pills the size of bullets. Each time [let the patient] ingest one pill, to be sent down with a ginseng [root] decoction. When a physician is not familiar with this disease and administers a cure for an agitation associated with depletion, contrary [to his intentions] he will injure the qi of the fetus. Zheng Zongwen, an expert in obstetrics, learned of this recipe in Chen Cangqi’s Ben cao shi yi and used it with good results. Yang Guihou’s Chan ru ji yan fang. 妊娠腹痛。月未足，如欲産之狀。用知母二兩爲末，蜜丸梧子大，每粥飲 下二十丸。陳延之小品方。 Abdominal pain during pregnancy. Prior to the due date [the woman] feels as if she were about to give birth. [Grind] two liang of zhi mu to powder, prepare with honey pills the size of wu seeds and each time [let the patient] send down 20 pills with a congee as beverage. Chen Yanzhi, Xiao pin fang. 溪毒射工。凡中溪毒，知母連根葉搗作散服，亦可投水搗絞汁飲一二升。 夏月出行，多取其屑自隨。欲入水，先取少許投水上流，便無畏。兼辟射 工。亦可煮湯浴之，甚佳。肘後良方。 Rivulet poison138 and archer.139 Whenever one is struck by rivulet poison, pound zhi mu with its root and leaves and prepare a powder to be ingested [by the victim]. It is also possible to give it into water, pound it [to a pulp], squeeze it to obtain a juice and [let the patient] drink one or two sheng. Whenever one leaves for a trip during the summer months, he should take a large amount of crumbs with him. Before entering a water, he should throw a small amount upstream into the water, and he can then [cross the water] without fear. This [medication] also repels the archer. It can also be boiled in water to prepare a bath. Very fine. Zhou hou liang fang. 紫癜風疾。醋磨知母擦之，日三次。衛生易簡方。 Purple patches wind140 illness. Rub zhi mu in vinegar and apply this [to the affected region]. Three times a day. Wei sheng yi jian fang. 嵌甲腫痛。知母燒存性，研，摻之。多能方。

138 Xi du 溪毒, “rivulet poison,”(1) a tiny bug assumed to live in bodies of water and supposedly capable of striking humans when they enter the water, thereby causing disease; (2) a condition resulting from being struck by rivulet poison. BCGM Dict I, 548.

139 She gong 射工, “archer,” (1) a small bug in ancient times believed to live in water and be capable of “shooting” poison from its mouth at people, thereby cauing disease; (2) a condition caused by the archer’s poison. BCGM Dict. I, 432. See 42-15. 140 Zi dian feng 紫癜風, “purple patches wind,” a condition of purple skin macules or dots without pain or itching. BCGM Dict I, 700.

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Painful swelling associated with an embedded nail.141 Burn zhi mu with its nature retained, grind [the residue to powder] and apply it [to the affected region]. Duo neng fang. 12-11 肉蓯蓉本經上品 Rou cong rong, FE Ben jing, upper rank. Cistanche deserticola Y. C. Ma. Desert broomrape.

【釋名】肉松容吴普、黑司命吴普。【時珍曰】此物補而不峻， 故有從容 之號。從容，和緩之貌。 Explanation of Names. Rou song rong 肉松容, Wu Pu. Hei si ming 黑司命, “black fate governance,” Wu Pu. [Li] Shizhen: This item supplements but it does not act violently. Hence the designation “relaxed,” cong rong 從容. Cong rong 從容 is behaving in a leisured manner. 【集解】【别録曰】肉蓯蓉生河西山谷及代郡 雁門，五月五日采，陰乾。 【普曰】生河西山陰地，叢生，二月至八月采。【弘景曰】代郡 雁門屬 并州，多馬處便有之，言是野馬精落地所生。生時似肉，以作羊肉羹補虚 乏極佳 ， 亦可生噉 ， 河南間至多。今第一出隴西 ， 形扁廣 ， 柔潤多花而 味甘。次出北國者，形短而少花。巴東 建平間亦有而不嘉也。【恭曰】此 乃論草蓯蓉也，陶未見肉者。今人所用亦草蓯蓉刮去花，代肉蓯蓉，功力 稍劣。【保昇曰】出肅州 福禄縣沙中。三月、四月掘根，長尺餘，切取 中央好者三四寸，繩穿陰乾，八月始好，皮有松子鱗甲。其草蓯蓉四月中 旬采，長五六寸至一尺以來，莖圓紫色。【大明曰】生㪍落樹下，并土塹 上 ， 此即非馬交之處 ， 陶説誤爾。又有花蓯蓉 ， 即暮春抽苗者 ， 力較微 爾。【頌曰】今陝西州郡多有之，然不及西羌界中來者，肉厚而力緊。舊 説是野馬遺瀝所生，今西人云大木間及土塹垣中多生，乃知自有種類爾。 或疑其初生於馬瀝，後乃滋殖，如茜根生於人血之類是也。五月采取，恐 老不堪，故多三月采之。【震亨曰】河西混一之後，今方識其真形，何嘗 有所謂鱗甲者？盖蓯蓉罕得，人多以金蓮根用鹽盆制而爲之，又以草蓯蓉 充之，用者宜審。【嘉謨曰】今人以嫩松梢鹽潤僞之。 Collected Explanations. Bie lu: Rou cong rong grows in the mountain valleys of He xi and in Yan men of Dai jun. It is collected on the fifth day of the fifth month; it is dried in the shade. [Wu] Pu: It grows in yin/shady locations in the mountains 141 Qian jia 嵌甲, “embedded nail,” a condition of chuang 瘡, “sores,” with a flaming, painful swelling developing when fingernails or toenails grow too long and enter the flesh, or when one cuts the nails and injures the flesh. Serious cases are associated with putrescence. BCGM Dict I, 390.



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of He xi. It grows in thickets. It is collected from the second to the eighth month. [Tao] Hongjing: Yan men of Dai jun is part of Bing zhou. It can be found in places where there are many horses. It is said that it grows where the essence/sperm of wild horses has fallen on the ground. As long as it is fresh, it looks like meat. When it is prepared with mutton to a gruel it is of very fine quality to supplement a depletion and fatigue. It can also be consumed raw. Very much of it can be found in He nan. Nowadays it usually comes from Long xi. The physical appearance [of its leaves] is flat and broad. [The plant] is soft and moist with many flowers and a sweet flavor. Ranked second place are specimens coming from the northern part of the country. They have a short physical appearance and few flowers. [The plant] is also found in Jian ping of Ba dong, but is not as good. [Su] Gong: The previous discussion focusses on skyblue bloomrape, “herbal cong rong;” Tao [Hongjing] has not seen rou [cong rong], “fleshy cong rong.” Actually, the people today use skyblue bloomrape. They remove the flowers and substitute it for rou cong rong, even though its [therapeutic] potential is somewhat weaker. [Han] Baosheng: It comes from the sands of Fu lu county in Su zhou. The root is undug in the third and fourth month; it is more than one chi long. The [ends] are cut off to obtain a three to four cun long central section of good quality. It is pierced and a thread is pulled through. This is hung up to dry in the shade until the eighth month. Then it is suited [for therapeutic use]. The bark has scales like that of a pine. Skyblue bloomrape is collected during the middle ten days period of the fourth month. [The root] is five or six cun, or even one chi long. The stem is round and of purple color. Da Ming: [The plant] grows under bo luo trees142 and also in trenches/moats dug in the soil. These are not places where horses mate. What Tao [Hongjing] says is wrong. Furthermore, there is also hua cong rong, “flower cong rong.” Its seedlings appear in late spring; its [therapeutic] strength is rather weak. [Su] Song: Nowadays, it can be found in many places in the zhou and prefectures of Shaan xi. But it is not as good as that coming from the Xi qiang region. It has thick flesh and a strong [therapeutic] power. In former times it was said that it grows where the essence/sperm lost by wild horses drops [on the ground]. Nowadays, the people in the West say that it mostly grows between tall trees and on the walls of trenches/moats dug in the soil. Apparently, there exist different kinds. Some [authors] wonder whether at first [this plant] has grown where [the essence/ sperm of ] horses has dripped [on the ground] and that later on it has multiplied all over, similar to the root of madder that has grown [first] where human blood [was shed]. If it is collected in the fifth month it may be too old to be suitable [for a therapeutic application]. Hence it is collected in the third month. [Zhu] Zhenheng: Since the unification of He xi, the true physical appearance of this [plant] is known. 142 Bo luo shu 㪍落樹: an unidentified tree.

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How could it be said that it has scales?! The fact is, cong rong is difficult to obtain. Hence the people often use the root of nymphoides [herb], process it with salt in basins and give it out [as rou cong rong]. Or they substitute it with skyblue bloomrape. Before using it, one should carefully examine it. [Chen] Jiamo: Nowadays, there are people who prepare fake [rou cong rong] by processing tender pine twigs with brine. 【修治】【斅曰】凡使先須清酒浸一宿，至明以椶刷去沙土浮甲，劈破中 心，去白膜一重，如竹絲草樣。有此能隔人心前氣不散，令人上氣也。以 甑蒸之，從午至酉取出，又用酥炙得所。 Pharmaceutical Preparation. [Lei] Xiao: Before any [therapeutic] application, it should first be soaked in clear wine for one night. By daybreak use a palm tree brush to remove sand, soil and any scales. Then cut it open and remove from its center a white membrane, similar to zhu si cao.143 If one were to leave this [in a medication] it would block the qi in front of one’s heart so that they fail to disperse. This in turn causes the qi to rise. Steam [the drug] from the wu 午 hours (11-13 hrs.) to the you 酉 hours (17-19 hrs.), take it out and fry it with butter to complete [the pharmaceutical processing]. 【氣味】甘 ， 微温 ， 無毒。【别録曰】酸、鹹。【普曰】神農、黄帝 ： 鹹。雷公：酸。李當之：小温。 Qi and Flavor. Sweet, slightly warm, nonpoisonous. Bie lu: Sour, salty. [Wu] Pu: Shen nong, Huang di: Salty. Lei gong: Sour. Li Dangzhi: Slightly warm. 【主治】五勞七傷， 補中， 除莖中寒熱痛， 養五臟， 强陰， 益精氣， 多 子，婦人癥瘕。久服輕身。本經。除膀胱邪氣腰痛，止痢。别録。益髓， 悦顔色 ， 延年 ， 大補壯陽 ， 日御過倍 ， 治女人血崩。甄權。男子絶陽不 興，女子絶陰不産，潤五臟，長肌肉，暖腰膝，男子洩精，尿血遺瀝， 女子帶下陰痛。大明。 Control. The five kinds of exhaustion and the seven kinds of harm. It supplements the center. It removes painful [alternating sensations of ] cold and heat from within the penis. It nourishes the five long-term depots. It stiffens the yin [(i. e.) male member], it boosts the essence/sperm qi and lets one have many children. [It serves to cure] concretion-illness and conglomeration-illness144 of women. Ingested over a long time it relieves the body of its weight. Ben jing. It removes evil qi from the 143 Zhu si cao 竹絲草, lit.: “bamboo silk thread herb,” an herb of unclear identity.

144 Zheng jia 癥瘕, “concretion-illness and conglomeration-illness.” The two terms are often used interchangeably and do not signify two distinctly different conditions. Concretion-illness and conglomeration-illness result from a disharmony of cold and warmth resulting in a failure to transform beverages and food. Nodes form when they clash with the qi of the long-term depots. BCGM Dict I, 677.



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urinary bladder associated with lower back pain. It ends free-flux illness. It boosts the marrow, cheers up one’s complexion, extends the years [of life], massively supplements and strengthens the yang [qi, (i. e. male sexual strength)] and more than doubles the daily performance of sexual intercourse. It serves to cure women affected by blood collapse.145 Zhen Quan. When in males the [flow of ] yang [qi, (i. e. male sexual strength)] is severed and [the member] fails to rise, and when in females the [flow of ] yin [qi] is severed and they cannot give birth, it moistens the five longterm depots, stimulates the growth of muscles and flesh and warms the lower back and the knees. It [serves to cure] males affected by a spontaneous outflow of the essence/sperm and suffering from an involuntary loss of urine with blood. [It serves to cure] women affected by pain in the yin [(i. e., genital) region] below the belt. Da Ming. 【發明】【好古曰】命門相火不足者 ， 以此補之 ， 乃腎經血分藥也。凡 服蓯蓉以治腎， 必妨心。【震亨曰】峻補精血。驟用反動大便滑也。【斅 曰】强筋健髓 ， 以蓯蓉、鱓魚二味爲末 ， 黄精汁丸服之 ， 力可十倍。此 説出乾寧記。【頌曰】西人多用作食。只刮去鱗甲，以酒浸洗去黑汁，薄 切 ， 合山芋、羊肉作羹 ， 極美好 ， 益人 ， 勝服補藥。【宗奭曰】洗去黑 汁，氣味皆盡矣。然嫩者方可作羹，老者味苦。入藥少則不效。 Explication. [Wang] Haogu: If the minister fire in the Gate of Life is insufficient, supplement it with this [medication] as it is a medication for the blood section of the kidney conduits. Whenever cong rong is ingested to cure the kidneys, this must have a hampering effect on the heart. [Zhu] Zhenheng: Sour [flavor] supplements essence and blood. An abrupt application may inadvertently stimulate a loose bowel movement. [Lei] Xiao: To strengthen sinews and invigorate the marrow, [grind] the two substances cong rong and mud eel to powder, and ingest it as pills prepared with polygonatum sibiricum [root] juice. This can give one a tenfold strength. This statement is quoted from the Qian ning ji. [Su] Song: The people in the West often use it to prepare food. They only scrape off the scales, soak it in wine, wash it to remove any black juice, cut it into thin slices, and prepare together with Chinese yam and mutton a congee. It is very delicious. It boosts one’s [qi] and is superior to ingesting a supplementing medication. [Kou] Zongshi: If it is washed to discard its black juice, the qi and the flavor are all gone. Still, the tender specimens lend themselves to prepare a congee; older specimens have a bitter flavor. If it is added to medication in small amounts, it will remain without effect.

145 [Xue] beng [血]崩, “[blood] collapse,” is excessive vaginal bleeding. BCGM Dict I, 594.

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補益勞傷。精敗面黑，用蓯蓉四兩，水煮令爛，薄切細研，精羊肉分爲四 度，下五味，以米煮粥，空心食。藥性論。 To supplement and boost [the qi] in cases of exhaustion and harm. When the essence/sperm is lost and the face is black. Boil four liang of cong rong in water until a pulpy paste has formed. Cut it into thin slices, grind them, and with exquisite mutton divide this into four portions. Add the five spices and boil this with rice to a gruel, to be eaten on an empty stomach. Yao xing lun. 腎虚白濁。肉蓯蓉、鹿茸、山藥、白伏苓等分，爲末，米糊丸梧子大，每 棗湯下三十丸。聖濟總録。 Kidney depletion with a [release of ] white and turbid [urine]. [Grind] equal amounts of rou cong rong, deer horn, Chinese yam and white poria to powder, form with a rice paste pills the size of wu seeds, and each time send down with a Chinese date decoction 30 pills. Sheng ji zong lu. 汗多便閟。老人虚人皆可用。肉蓯蓉酒浸焙二兩 ， 研 ， 沈香末一兩 ， 爲 末，麻子仁汁打糊丸梧子大。每服七十丸，白湯下。濟生方。 Profuse sweating associated with constipation. [This medication] can be resorted to by elderly persons and by persons suffering from depletion. A powder of two liang of rou cong rong, soaked in wine, baked over a slow fire and ground, and one liang of aloes wood powder is formed with the juice of hemp seeds to a paste to form pills the size of wu seeds. Each time ingest 70 pills, to be sent down with clear, boiled water. Ji sheng fang. 消中易飢。肉蓯蓉、山茱萸、五味子爲末 ， 蜜丸梧子大 ， 每鹽酒下二十 丸。醫學指南。 Melting center146 and a tendency to be hungry. [Grind] rou cong rong, Asiatic cornelian cherries and schisandra seeds to powder and form with honey pills the size of wu seeds. Each time send down with salt and wine 20 pills. Yi xue zhi nan. 破傷風病。口禁身强。肉蓯蓉切片晒乾，用一小盞，底上穿定，燒烟于瘡 上熏之，累效。衛生總微。

146 Xiao zhong 消中, identical with zhong xiao 中消, “central melting,” a condition of xiao ke 消渴, “melting with thirst,” associated with a diseased Central Burner. Major signs: patients are constantly hungry and drink and eat much. BCGM Dict I, 687,



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Wound wind147 disease, with clenched jaw and a stiff body. Cut rou cong rong into slices and dry them in the sun. Place them on a hole pierced through the bottom of a small cup, heat it and let the fumes steam the wound. Always effective. Wei sheng zong wei. 12-12 列當宋開寶 Lie dang, FE Song, Kai bao. Orobanche coerulescens Steph. Skyblue broomrape. 【釋名】栗當開寶、草蓯蓉開寶、花蓯蓉日華。 Explanation of Names. Li dang 栗當, Kai bao. Cao cong rong 草蓯蓉, “herbal cong rong,” Kai bao. Hua cong rong 花蓯蓉, “flower cong rong,” Rihua. 【集解】【志曰】列當生山南巖石上，如藕根，初生掘取，陰乾。【保昇 曰】原州、秦州、渭州、靈州皆有之。暮春抽苗，四月中旬采取，長五六 寸至一尺以來，莖圓紫色，采取壓扁日乾。【頌曰】草蓯蓉根與肉蓯蓉極 相類，刮去花壓扁以代肉者，功力殊劣。即列當也。 Collected Explanations. [Ma] Zhi: Lie dang grows on cliff rocks on the south side of mountains. It resembles lotus roots. It is undug when it has just begun to grow, and is dried in the shade. [Han] Baosheng: It can be found in Yuan zhou, Qin zhou, Wei zhou and Ling zhou. Its seedlings emerge in late spring and are collected in the middle ten days period of the fourth month. [The plant] reaches a length of five to six cun and even up to one chi. The stem is round and of purple color. After collecting it, press it flat and dry it in the sun. [Su] Song: As the root of cao cong rong and that of rou cong rong are very much alike, [some people] discard the flowers, press [the root] flat and substitute it for rou [cong rong]. The [therapeutic] strength is very much weaker because [in fact] it is lie dang. 12-12-01 根。Gen. Root [of lie dang].

【氣味】甘，温，無毒。 Qi and Flavor. Sweet, warm, nonpoisonous.

147 Po shang feng 破傷風, “wound wind,” wind stroke via wounds inflicted by metal objects/ weapons. A condition of lockjaw, arched back rigidity and convulsions. BCGM Dict I, 379.

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【主治】男子五勞七傷，補腰腎，令人有子，去風血，煮酒浸酒服之。開 寶。 Control. The five kinds of exhaustion and seven kinds of harm affecting males. It supplements [the qi of ] the lower back and the kidneys. It lets one have children. It removes blood affected by wind. Boil it in wine or soak it in wine and ingest the [liquid]. Kai bao. 【附方】舊一。 Added Recipes. One of old. 陽事不興。栗當好者二斤，即列當，擣篩畢，以好酒一斗浸之經宿，隨性 日飲之。昝殷食醫心鏡。 Failure of the yang affair (i. e., the penis) to rise. Grind two jin of good quality li dang, that is, lie dang, and pass [the powder] through a sieve. Soak it in one dou of good wine for one night, and then drink [the liquid] on a day when you have sex. Zan Yin, Shi yi xin jing. 12-13 鎖陽補遺 Suo yang, FE Bu yi. Cynomorium songaricum Rupr. Songaria cynomorium herb.

【集解】【時珍曰】鎖陽出肅州。按陶九成輟耕録云：鎖陽生韃靼田地， 野馬或與蛟龍遺精入地 ， 久之發起如笋 ， 上豐下儉 ， 鱗甲櫛比 ， 筋脉連 絡 ， 絶類男陽 ， 即肉蓯蓉之類。或謂里之淫婦 ， 就而合之 ， 一得陰氣 ， 勃然怒長。土人掘取洗滌 ， 去皮薄切,晒乾 ， 以充藥貨 ， 功力百倍於蓯蓉 也。時珍疑此自有種類，如肉蓯蓉、列當，亦未必盡是遺精所生也。 Collected Explanations. [Li] Shizhen: Suo yang comes from Su zhou. According to Tao Jiucheng’s Chuo geng lu, “suo yang grows on fields in the Tartar region. When the essence/sperm of wild horses or flood dragons drops down and enters the ground, after a long time [suo yang] develops and rises like bamboo shoots. It is rich/thick above and frugal/thin below. It has scales lying close to each other and interconnected sinew vessels. It very much resembles a male yang [member (i. e., penis)]. It belongs to the same group as cistanche deserticola. Some say, when it is inserted into a lustful woman’s [vagina] it will unite with her and she is given yin qi and will experience a violent, lengthy orgasm. The locals dig up [the root], wash it, remove the skin, cut it into thin slices, dry them in the sun and offer them as a pharmaceutical ware. Its [therapeutic] strength is a hundred times superior to that of



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cistanche [root].” [I, Li] Shizhen suspect that it is just one kind within a group that also includes cistanche deserticola and skyblue bloomrape, and it does not necessarily grow where [horses and flood dragons] lose their essence/sperm. 【氣味】甘，温，無毒。 Qi and Flavor. Sweet, warm, nonpoisonous. 【主治】大補陰氣，益精血，利大便。虚人大便燥結者，啖之可代蓯蓉， 煮粥彌佳。不燥結者勿用。震亨。潤燥養筋，治痿弱。時珍。 Control. It massively supplements yin qi. It boosts essence/sperm and blood. It frees the flow of defecation. When persons affected by a depletion, with dry and knotted bowel movements, eat it, they can very well use it instead of cong rong to boil a congee. Persons whose [fecal matter] is not dry and knotted must not use it. [Zhu] Zhenheng. It moistens dryness and nourishes the sinews. It serves to cure [sexual] dysfunction and weakness. [Li] Shizhen. 12-14 赤箭 本經上品 Chi jian, FE Ben jing, upper rank. 148

天麻宋開寶 Tian ma, FE Song, Kai bao. Gastrodia elata BL. Tall gastrodia.

【校正】天麻係宋本重出，今併爲一。

Editorial Correction. Tian ma was listed in the Song edition in a separate entry. Here now [chi jian and tian ma] are combined in one entry. 【釋名】赤箭芝藥性、獨摇芝抱朴子、定風草藥性、離母本經、合離草抱 朴子、神草吴普、鬼督郵本經。【弘景曰】赤箭亦是芝類。其莖如箭簳， 赤色 ， 葉生其端。根如大魁 ， 又云如芋 ， 有十二子爲衛。有風不動 ， 無 風自摇。如此，亦非俗所見。而徐長卿亦名鬼督郵。又有鬼箭，莖有羽， 其主療並相似，而益人乖異，並非此赤箭也。【頌曰】按抱朴子云：仙方 有合離草，一名獨摇芝，一名離母。所以謂之合離、離母者，此草下根如 芋魁，有游子十二枚周環之，以倣十二辰也。去大魁數尺，皆有細根如白 髮，雖相須而實不相連，但以氣相屬爾。如兔絲之草，下有伏菟之根。無 此則絲不得上，亦不相屬也。然則赤箭之異，陶隱居已云非俗所見。兔絲 之下有伏菟， 亦不聞有見者。殆其種類時有神異者而如此爾。【時珍曰】 148 Chi jian 赤箭, lit.: “red arrow.”

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赤箭以狀而名，獨摇、定風以性異而名，離母、合離以根異而名，神草、 鬼督郵以功而名。天麻即赤箭之根，開寶本草重出一條，詳後集解下。 Explanation of Names. Chi jian zhi 赤箭芝, “red arrow zhi plant,” Yao xing. Du yao zhi 獨摇芝, “independently shaking zhi plant,” Baopu zi. Ding feng zi 定風草, “the herb that halts wind,” Yao xing. Li mu 離母, “away from its mother,” Ben jing. He li cao 合離草, “the herb that unites what is separate,” Baopu zi. Shen cao 神草, “divine herb,” Wu Pu. Gui du you 鬼督郵, “the demon supervisor’s post,” Ben jing. [Tao] Hongjing: Chi jian 赤箭, too, belongs to the group of zhi plants. Its stem resembles an arrow shaft, and it is of red color. The leaves grow at its end. The root resembles a big head;149 it is also said it resembles [the stem tubers] of taro. It has 12 offspring [roots] for protection. If there is wind, it does not move. If there is no wind, it moves spontaneously. If this were indeed so, it may be difficult to observe it. Xu chang qing, cynanchum paniculatum [herb], too, is called gui du you 鬼督郵. Then there is [an herb called] gui jian 鬼箭, “demon feather.” Its stem has feathers, and its controlling and healing functions are similar [to those of chi jian]. Still, it boosts one’s [qi] in a very different way and is not the chi jian discussed here. [Su] Song: According to the Baopu zi, “the recipes of hermits/immortals include an ‘herb that unites what is separate,’ he li cao 合離草. Alternative names are ‘independently shaking zhi plant,’ du yao zhi 獨摇芝, and ‘away from the mother,’ li mu 離母.” The reason why it is said to “unite what is separate”, he li 合離, and to be “away from its mother,” li mu 離母, is as follows. This herb sends a root downward resembling the stem tuber of taro. It is surrounded by twelve “travellers away from home.” They reflect the twelve two hour periods of a day. In a distance of several chi from the big head [stem tuber] there are fine roots resembling white hair. They seem to be interconnected but, in fact, they are not linked to each other. Without them, there are no thin threads enabling [the plant] to creep upward, and there is nothing permitting [the plant] to attach itself to. Still, as Tao Yinju has said already, “this is difficult to observe.” Below cuscuta seed [herbs] is poria, and I have not heard that anybody has ever seen it. This is just one example of mysterious kinds that occasionally are present among things. [Li] Shizhen: The name “red arrow” results from its shape. The names “independently shaking” and “halts wind” are based on its unique nature. The names “away from mother” and “uniting what is separate” are based on the peculiarity of its root. “Divine herb” and “demon supervisor’s post” are names based on [the herb’s therapeutic] potential. Tian ma 天麻 is the root of chi jian 赤箭. It is given a separate entry in the Kai bao ben cao. See “Collected Explanations” below. 149 Instead of da kui 大魁, “big head,” Zheng lei ch. 6, chi jian 赤箭, writes da zu 大足, “big foot.”



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【集解】【别録曰】赤箭生陳倉川谷、雍州及太山、少室， 三月、四月、 八月采根，暴乾。【弘景曰】陳倉今屬雍州 扶風郡。【志曰】天麻生鄆 州、利州、太山、勞山諸處 ， 五月采根暴乾。葉如芍藥而小 ， 當中抽一 莖 ， 直上如箭簳。莖端結實 ， 狀若續隨子。至葉枯時 ， 子黄熟。其根連 一十二枚，猶如天門冬之類。形如黄瓜，亦如蘆菔，大小不定。彼人多生 噉，或蒸煮食之。今多用鄆州者佳。【恭曰】赤箭是芝類。莖似箭簳，赤 色。端有花 ， 葉赤色 ， 遠看如箭有羽。四月開花 ， 結實似枯苦楝子 ， 核 作五六稜 ， 中有肉如麪 ， 日暴則枯萎。其根皮肉汁 ， 大類天門冬 ， 惟無 心脉爾。去根五六寸 ， 有十餘子衛之 ， 似芋 ， 可生噉之 ， 無乾服之法。 【頌曰】赤箭今江 湖間亦有之，然不中藥用。其苗如蘇恭所説，但本經云 三月、四月、八月采根，不言用苗。而今方家乃三月、四月采苗，七月、 八月、九月采根，與本經參差不同，難以兼著，故但從今法。又曰：天麻 今汴京東西、湖南、淮南州郡皆有之。春生苗，初出若芍藥，獨抽一莖直 上， 高三四尺， 如箭簳狀， 青赤色， 故名赤箭芝。莖中空， 依半以上， 貼莖微有尖小葉。稍頭生成穗 ， 開花結子 ， 如豆粒大。其子至夏不落 ， 却透虚入莖中 ， 潜生土内。其根形如黄瓜 ， 連生一二十枚 ， 大者至重半 斤，或五六兩。其皮黄白色，名曰龍皮。肉名天麻，二月、三月、五月、 八月内采。初得乘潤刮去皮，沸湯略煮過，暴乾收之。嵩山、衡山人，或 取生者蜜煎作果食，甚珍之。【宗奭曰】赤箭，天麻苗也。與天麻治療不 同，故後人分爲二條。【承曰】今醫家見用天麻，即是赤箭根。開寶本草 又於中品出天麻一條，云出鄆州。今之赤箭根苗，皆自齊 鄆而來者爲上。 蘇頌圖經所載天麻之狀，即赤箭苗之未長大者也。赤箭用苗，有自表入裏 之功；天麻用根，有自内達外之理。根則抽苗徑直而上，苗則結子成熟而 落，返從簳中而下，至土而生，此粗可識其外内主治之理。今翰林沈括最 爲博識 ， 常云 ： 古方用天麻不用赤箭 ， 用赤箭不用天麻 ， 則天麻、赤箭 本爲一物明矣。【機曰】赤箭、天麻一物也，經分爲二，以根與苗主治不 同也。産不同地者，各有所宜也。【時珍曰】本經止有赤箭，後人稱爲天 麻。甄權藥性論云赤箭芝一名天麻，本自明白。宋人馬志重修本草，重出 天麻，遂致分辯如此。沈括筆談云：神農本草明言赤箭采根。後人謂其莖 如箭 ， 疑當用莖 ， 盖不然也。譬如鳶尾、牛膝 ， 皆因莖葉相似 ， 其用則 根，何足疑哉？上品五芝之外，補益上藥，赤箭爲第一。世人惑於天麻之 説，遂止用之治風，良可惜哉。沈公此説雖是，但根莖並皆可用。天麻子 從莖中落下 ， 俗名還筒子。其根暴乾 ， 肉色堅白 ， 如羊角色 ， 呼羊角天 麻。蒸過黄皺如乾瓜者，俗呼醬瓜天麻，皆可用者。一種形尖而空，薄如 玄參狀者，不堪用。抱朴子云：獨摇芝生高山深谷之處，所生左右無草。 其莖大如手指，赤如丹素。葉似小莧。根有大魁如斗，細者如雞子十二枚 繞之。人得大者，服之延年。按此乃天麻中一種神異者，如人參中之神參

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也。【斅曰】凡使天麻勿用御風草，二物相似，只是葉莖不同。御風草根 莖斑，葉背白有青點。使御風草即勿使天麻。若同用，令人有腸結之患。 Collected Explanations. Bie lu: Chi jian grows in the river valleys of Chen cang in Yong zhou, on Mount Tai shan and on [Mount] Shao shi. It is collected in the third, fourth and eighth month. It is dried in the sun. [Tao] Hongjing: Chen cang nowadays belongs to the prefecture of Fu feng in Yong zhou. [Ma] Zhi: Tian ma grows in Yun zhou, Li zhou, on Mount Tai shan and on Mount Lao shan. The root is collected in the fifth month, and it is dried in the sun. The leaves resemble those of paeonia [herbs], but are smaller. In the center a stem emerges that rises like the shaft of an arrow. The seeds form at the end of the stem; they are shaped like the seeds of caper spurge. By the time the leaves wither, the seeds turn yellow and are ripe. The root has twelve items adjoined, similar to that of asparagus [root]. They are shaped like cucumber, and they also resemble bottle gourds and Chinese radish. The size differs. The people there often eat them raw, or they steam them and consume them as food. Nowadays, mostly those from Jun zhou are preferred. [Su] Gong: Chi jian belongs to the group of zhi 芝 plants. The stem resembles the shaft of an arrow; it is of red color. It has flowers at its end. The leaves are of red color. From a distance it looks like an arrow with feathers. The flowers open in the fourth month. The fruits look like withered Persian lilac fruit, with five or six edges. The meat inside resembles flour. When they are dried in the sun they wither. The bark, the meat and the juice of the root are very much similar to those of asparagus [root], except that [chi jian] has no heart/core and vessels. In a distance of five to six cun from the root there are more than ten offspring [roots] to protect it. They resemble taro stem-tubers and can be eaten raw. There is no rule to ingest them dried. [Su] Song: Nowadays, chi jian is also found in the Jiang hu region. But this is not used for medication. The seedlings are as Su Gong has outlined, but the Ben jing states that the root is gathered in the third, fourth and eighth month. It says nothing of the seedlings. In recent times, recipe experts collect the seedlings in the third and fourth month, and they collect the root in the seventh, eighth and ninth month. This is different from the contents of the Ben jing, and since these differences are difficult to reconcile, only the modern method is followed. It is also said that tian ma nowadays can be found in the East and West of Bian jing, and in all the zhou and prefectures of Hu nan and Huai nan. It develops seedlings in spring that look, at their earliest appearance, like those of paeonia [herbs]. They send one straight stem upward, reaching a height of three to four cun. It is shaped like the shaft of an arrow, and it is of greenish-red color. Hence it is called “red arrow zhi plant.” The stem is hollow inside. In its upper half small, pointed leaves are attached to the stem. At its top it develops a fruiting spike where flowers open and seeds form, as big as beans. The seeds do not fall off until summer. They



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enter the hollow stem and pass hidden into the soil where they grow. The root is shaped like a cucumber, and it develops ten to 20 adjoining [roots], with large specimens weighing half a jin, or five to six liang. The bark is of yellow-white color; it is called “dragon skin.” The flesh is called tian ma. [The root] is collected in the second, third, fifth and eighth month. A first step is to discard the bark while [the root] is still moist. Then boil it in water for a little while, dry it in the sun and store it. People on Mount Song shan and Mount Heng shan sometimes boil the fresh [root] in honey to prepare fruits that are eaten. They highly value them. [Kou] Zongshi: Chi jian is the seedling of tian ma, and its therapeutic [potential] differs from that of tian ma. Hence later people listed them in two separate entries. [Chen] Cheng: When nowadays physicians appear to use tian ma, this is in fact the root of chi jian. The Kai bao ben cao lists tian ma in a separate entry among the [drugs of ] “middle rank,” stating that it comes from Yun zhou. Today the root and the seedlings of chi jian coming from Qi [zhou] and Yun [zhou] are best. The shape of tian ma described by Su Song in his Tu jing refers to the seedlings of chi jian at an early stage of growth. The use of chi jian seedlings is based on its potential to enter the [body’s] interior from the exterior. The use of the tian ma root is based on the principle of reaching the exterior starting from the interior. The root sends out a seedling that moves straight upward. When the seedling eventually has formed seeds, they ripen and fall off. Following the inside of the stem, they return downward to the soil and grow. This provides a rough understanding of the principles underlying its controlling and curative [effects] in the exterior and interior. Now, the most learned Han lin scholar Shen Gua has stated repeatedly: “When ancient recipes [recommended to] use tian ma, they did not [recommend to] use chi jian. When they [recommended to] use chi jian, they did not [recommend to] use tian ma. Obviously, tian ma and chi jian are one and the same item.” [Wang] Ji: Chi jian and tian ma are one identical item. They have been separated into two items because the controlling and curative [potentials of ] root and seedling differ. When they grow in different regions, they have their characteristic [therapeutic indications] for which they are suitable. [Li] Shizhen: The Ben jing lists only chi jian. Later on it was called tian ma. Zhen Quan in his Yao xing lun states: “An alternative name of chi jian zhi 赤箭芝 is tian ma 天麻.” This is very clear. Ma Zhi, a Song person, in his Chong xiu ben cao listed tian ma separately. Since then such separate discourses have continued. Shen Gua in his Bi tan states: “The Shen nong ben cao clearly states that ‘of chi jian the root is collected.’ Later on, people claimed that since the stem resembles an arrow, the stem should be used. But this is not so. Take for example yuan wei, ‘hawk tail,’150 and niu xi ‘ox knee.’151 Both [herbs] 150 Yuan wei 鳶尾, i. e., Iris tectorum Maxim.

151 Niu xi 牛膝, i. e., Achyranthes bidentata Bl.

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are named because of a similarity of their stem and leaves [with a bird’s tail and an ox’s knees], but it is their root that is used [for therapeutic purposes]. How could there be any doubt?! Apart from the five zhi 芝 plants listed among upper rank [items], among the medications that supplement and boost [the qi], chi jian is the number one substance. The common people are misled by statements on tian ma and use it for nothing else than to cure wind [diseases]. This is truly sad!” Mr. Shen [Kuo’s] statement is correct but root and stem can be used. The seeds of tian ma fall down inside the stem. This is commonly called “to return through the tube.” When the root has been dried in the sun, the meat is firm and of white color, similar to a sheep’s horn. Hence it is called “sheep horn tian ma.” When it is steamed, it assumes a yellow color and develops wrinkles like a dried gourd. Then it is commonly called “pickled gourd tian ma.” Both can be used [for therapeutic ends]. There is one type that has a pointed physical appearance and is hollow, and it is thin like scrophularia [root]. It is not suitable for a [therapeutic] application. The Baopu zi states: Where the “independently shaking zhi plant,” du yao zhi 獨摇芝, grows in deep valleys, there grow no herbs in its vicinity. The stem is as big as a finger, and it is as red as cinnabar. The leaves resemble those of small amaranthus [leaves]. The root is a large head, the size of a dou; fine [roots] are as big as a chicken head. Twelve [adjoining roots] surround them. If one manages to obtain a large specimen and ingests it, this extends the years [of his life]. That is, among the tian ma is a sort of divine peculiarity, just as among the [various sorts of ] ginseng/ren shen there is “divine [ren] shen.” [Lei] Xiao: Whenever tian ma is to be applied, do not [mistakenly] use yu feng cao.152 The two items resemble each other, except for that their leaves and stems differ. The root and the stem of yu feng cao are dotted; the back of its leaves is white and has greenish dots. When yu feng cao is to be applied, do not use it together with tian ma. If they were used together, this would cause that person to suffer from knotted intestines. 【正誤】【藏器曰】天麻生平澤，似馬鞭草，節節生紫花。花中有子，如 青葙子，子性寒，作飲去熱氣。莖葉搗傅癰腫。【承曰】藏器所説，與赤 箭不相干，乃别一物也。【時珍曰】陳氏所説，乃一種天麻草，是益母草 之類是也。嘉祐本草誤引入”天麻”下耳。今正其誤。 Correction of Errors. [Chen] Cangqi: Tian ma grows in the plains and in marshlands. It resembles vervain. All its knots grow purple flowers, and within these flowers are seeds resembling the seeds of celosia [herb]. The nature of the seeds is cold; they are prepared as a beverage to dissipate heat qi. The stem and the leaves are pounded [to a pulp] that is applied to swelling associated with an obstruction-ill152 Yu feng cao 御風草, lit.: the “herb to manage wind,” an herb of unknown identity.



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ness.153 [Chen] Cheng: What [Chen] Cangqi describes has nothing to do with chi jian; it is another item. [Li] Shizhen: What Mr. Chen [Cangqi] describes is a sort of tian ma cao;154 it belongs to the group of leonurus [herb]. The Jia you ben cao erroneously inserted it into the tian ma entry. This error is corrected here. 【修治】【斅曰】修事天麻 ， 十兩剉 ， 安于瓶中。用蒺藜子一鎰 ， 緩火 熬焦 ， 盖于天麻上 ， 以三重紙封繫 ， 從巳至未 ， 取出蒺藜炒過 ， 盖繫如 前 ， 凡七遍。用布拭上氣汗 ， 刀劈焙乾 ， 單搗用。若用御風草 ， 亦同此 法。【時珍曰】此乃治風痺藥，故如此修事也。若治肝經風虚，惟洗净， 以濕紙包，於煻火中煨熟，取出切片，酒浸一宿，焙乾用。 Pharmaceutical Preparation. [Lei] Xiao: To prepare tian ma [one proceeds as follows]. Cut ten liang to small pieces and place them into a jar. Burn one yi of tribulus seeds over a slow fire until scorched and cover the tian ma with the residue. Then firmly seal [the jar] with three layers of paper. Wait from the si 巳 hours [9-11 hrs.] to the wei 未 hours [13-15 hrs.]. Remove the tribulus [seeds], fry them and use them to cover [the tian ma] as before. Do this seven times. Take a piece of cloth to wipe off the qi that have perspired on the surface. Cut [the tian ma] with a knife and bake it over a slow fire until it has dried. Then pound it and it is ready for a [medicinal] application. If yu feng cao155 is to be used, the same procedure applies. [Li] Shizhen: This is a medication to cure blockage caused by wind. Hence this preparation. If one were to cure a wind that has entered a depletion in the liver conduits, [tian ma] is simply washed clean, wrapped in moist paper and cooked over a slow fire until it is hot. Then it is taken out [of the paper], cut into slices, soaked in wine for one night and baked over a slow fire until it has dried. Then it is ready to be used [for therapeutic ends]. 12-14-01 赤箭。Chi jian.

【氣味】辛 ， 温 ， 無毒。【志曰】天麻 ， 辛、平 ， 無毒。【大明曰】 甘 ， 暖。【權曰】赤箭芝一名天麻。味甘 ， 平 ， 無毒。【好古曰】苦 ， 平，陰中之陽也。 Qi and Flavor. Acrid, warm, nonpoisonous. [Ma] Zhi: Tian ma is acrid, balanced, nonpoisonous. Da Ming: Sweet, warming. [Zhen] Quan: Chi qian zhi, alternative 153 Yong 癰, “obstruction-illness,”refers to an obstruction of vessels or other ducts inside the body. Qi rushing against the obstruction may cause a local swelling and eventually break through the surface to cause an abscess. BCGM Dict I, 641.

154 Tian ma cao 天麻草, a plant of unclear identity.

155 Yu feng cao 御風草, lit.: the “herb to manage wind,” an herb of unknown identity.

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name tian ma. Flavor sweet, balanced, nonpoisonous. [Wang] Haogu: Bitter, balanced, a yang in yin [substance]. 【主治】殺鬼精物 ， 蠱毒惡氣。久服益氣力 ， 長陰肥健。本經。輕身增 年，消癰腫，下支滿，寒疝下血。别録。 Control. It kills demons and essence items, gu-poison156 and malign qi. Ingested over a long time, it boosts the strength of qi. It stimulates yin [qi], and makes one fat and sturdy. Ben jing. It relieves the body of its weight and extends the years [of life]. It dissolves swelling associated with obstruction-illness,157 fullness affecting the lower limbs and elevation-illness158 caused by cold, associated with a discharge of blood. Bie lu. 12-14-02 天麻。Tian ma.

主諸風濕痺 ， 四肢拘攣 ， 小兒風癇驚氣 ， 利腰膝 ， 强筋力。久服益氣 ， 輕身長年。開寶。治冷氣𤸷痺，攤緩不隨，語多恍惚，善驚失志。甄權。 助陽氣，補五勞七傷，鬼疰，通血脉，開竅。服食無忌。大明。治風虚眩 運頭痛。元素。 It controls all kinds of blockage caused by wind and moisture, cramps and contractions affecting the four limbs, and wind epilepsy and fright qi of children. It frees the passage through the lower back and the knees and strengthens the sinews. Ingested over a long time it boosts the qi, relieves the body of its weight and extends the years [of life]. Kai bao. It serves to cure cold qi numbness blockage and paralysis, much absent-mindedness while one speaks, a tendency to be frightened and a loss of mind. Zhen Quan. It supports the yang qi, supplements the five kinds of exhaustion and seven kinds of harm, [serves to cure] demon attachment-illness,159 frees the passage through the blood vessels and opens the orifices. When it is ingested as 156 Gu du 蠱毒, “gu-poison[ing].” (1) A poison emitted by certain worms/snakes with an ability to cause varying pathological changes in a person who has taken it in by means of wine or food. (2) Abdominal fullness, in some cases with blood spitting, and blood in the stool and urine. BCGM Dict I, 192 - 193. See BCGM 42-22.

157 Yong 癰, “obstruction-illness,”refers to an obstruction of vessels or other ducts inside the body. Qi rushing against the obstruction may cause a local swelling and eventually break through the surface to cause an abscess. BCGM Dict I, 641.

158 Shan qi 疝氣, “elevation-illness qi,” a pathological condition of (1) an item having entered the scrotum, with pain, sometimes ascending, sometimes descending, (2) a condition affecting the scrotum or a testicle, (3) of violent abdominal pain, in some cases associated with constipation and anuria. BCGM Dict I, 419, 417. 159 Zhu 疰, also zhu 注, “attachment-illness,” “influx-illness,” reflects a notion of a foreign pathogenic agent, originally of demonic nature, having attached itself to the human organism. BCGM Dict I, 688-695.



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food, no taboos are to be observed. Da Ming. It serves to cure wind that has entered a depletion, with dizziness, [brain] movement and headache. [Zhang] Yuansu. 【發明】【杲曰】肝虚不足者，宜天麻、芎藭以補之。其用有四：療大人 風熱頭痛，小兒風癇驚悸，諸風麻痺不仁，風熱語言不遂。【時珍曰】天 麻乃肝經氣分之藥。素問云：諸風掉眩，皆屬于木。故天麻入厥陰之經而 治諸病。按羅天益云：眼黑頭旋，風虚内作，非天麻不能治。天麻乃定風 草，故爲治風之神藥。今有久服天麻藥，遍身發出紅丹者，是其祛風之驗 也。【宗奭曰】天麻須别藥相佐使，然後見其功，仍須加而用之。人或蜜 漬爲果，或蒸煮食，當深思則得矣。 Explication. [Li] Gao: In the case of a liver [qi] depletion and insufficiency, tian ma and ligusticum chuanxiong [root] are suitable to supplement the [qi]. The usage of [tian ma] is fourfold. It serves to heal headache of adults caused by wind and heat; wind epilepsy and fright palpitation of children; all kinds of hemp[-like] numbness blockage, [i. e.,] loss of sensitivity; and an inability to speak caused by wind and heat. [Li] Shizhen: Tian ma is a medication for the qi section of the liver conduits. The Su wen states: “All [diseases associated with] wind [causing] swaying and dizziness, without exception they are associated with the liver.” 160 Since tian ma enters the ceasing yin conduits, it is able to cure all [these] kinds of disease. According to Luo Tianyi, “in the case of darkened eyes and head spinning, this is caused internally by wind entering a depletion. It is only with tian ma that such a condition can be cured. Tian ma is the ‘herb that halts the wind.’ Hence it is a divine medication to cure wind [diseases]. Nowadays it happens that when someone has ingested a tian ma medication for a long time, red dots effuse all over his entire body. This shows how effective it is to disperse the wind.” [Kou] Zongshi: Tian ma requires additional medication to assist it. Only then its [therapeutic] potential is realized. It is to be used as an additive [to other medication]. People sometimes prepare it with honey as fruit, or they steam it to consume it as food. One should carefully consider [these different usages] to benefit from its effects.

160 Quote from ch. 74 of Huang Di Nei jing suwen. Paul U. Unschuld and Hermann Tessenow, 2011, Vol. II, 626.

164

The Ben Cao Gang Mu 【附方】新二。 Added Recipes. Two newly [recorded].

天麻丸。消風化痰 ， 清利頭目 ， 寬胸利膈。治心忪煩悶 ， 頭運欲倒 ， 項 急，肩背拘倦，神昏多睡，肢節煩痛，皮膚瘙痒，偏正頭痛，鼻齆，面 目虚浮，並宜服之。天麻半兩，芎藭二兩，爲末，煉蜜丸如芡子大。每食 後嚼一丸，茶酒任下。普濟方。 Pills with tian ma. They clear the head and the eyes. They widen the chest and free the passage through the diaphragm. They serve to cure heart restlessness, vexation and heart-pressure, [wind induced] movement of the [brain in the] head with a tendency to fall to the ground, tension affecting the neck, cramps with fatigue affecting the shoulder and the back, clouded spirit and sleepiness, limbs and sinews affected by vexation and pain, skin itch, unilateral or ordinary headache, nosebleed, bloated face and eyes – for all these [diseases/ailments] it is suitable to ingest the [pills with tian ma]. [Grind] half a liang of tian ma and two liang of asarum heteropoides [root] to powder and form with heat refined honey pills the size of qian seeds. Each time chew one pill after a meal and send it down with tea or wine, whichever you like. Pu ji fang. 腰脚疼痛。天麻、半夏、細辛各二兩，絹袋二箇，各盛藥令匀，蒸熱交互 熨痛處，汗出則愈。數日再熨。衛生易簡方。 Painful lower back and legs. Fill two liang each of tall gastrodia, pinellia [root] and asarum heteropoides [root] evenly distributed into two silk bags. Steam them until they are hot and alternatingly press them onto the aching region. Once [the patient] sweats a cure is achieved. Exert the pressure again after several days. Wei sheng yi jian fang. 12-14-03 還筒子。Huan tong zi.

The seeds that return [to the ground] through a tube.

【主治】定風補虚，功同天麻。時珍。

Control. They halt the wind and supplement a [qi] depletion. Their [therapeutic] potential is identical with that of tian ma.



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【附方】新一。 Added Recipes. One newly [recorded]. 益氣固精 ， 補血黑髮益壽 ， 有奇效。還同子半兩 ， 芡實半兩 ， 金銀花二 兩 ， 破故紙酒浸春三、夏一、秋二、冬五日 ， 焙 ， 研末二兩 ， 各研末 ， 蜜糊丸梧子大。每服五十丸， 空心鹽湯、温酒任下。鄭西泉所傳方。鄧才 雜興方。 They boost the qi and stabilize the essence/sperm. They supplement blood, blacken the hair and boost longevity. They are extraordinarily effective. Grind [the following items] to powder: Half a liang of huan tong zi, half a liang of euryale seeds, two liang of honeysuckle flowers and two liang of psoralea [seeds] that have been soaked in wine during spring for three, during summer for one, during autumn for two and during winter for five days, and were then baked over a slow fire and ground to powder. [The total powder] is then prepared with honey to a paste and formed to pills the size of wu seeds. Each time ingest 50 pills. To be sent down on an empty stomach with a salt decoction or warm wine, whichever is preferred. This is a recipe transmitted by Zheng Xiquan. Deng Cai, Za xing fang. 12-15 术直律切本經上品 Zhu, split reading zhi – lü. FE Ben jing, upper rank. Atractylodes macrocephala Koidz. Largehead atractylodes. 【釋名】山薊本經、楊枹音孚、枹薊爾雅、馬薊綱目、山薑别録、山連别 録、吃力伽日華。【時珍曰】按六書本義 ， 术字篆文 ， 象其根幹枝葉之 形。吴普本草一名山芥， 一名天薊。因其葉似薊而味似薑、芥也。西域謂 之吃力伽，故外臺秘要有吃力伽散。楊州之域多種白术，其狀如枹，故有 楊枹及枹薊之名，今人謂之吴术是也。枹乃鼓槌之名。古方二术通用，後 人始有蒼、白之分，詳見下。 Explanation of Names. Shan ji 山薊, “mountain thistle,” Ben jing. Yang fu 楊枹, “poplar drumstick,” read fu 孚; bao ji 枹薊, “drumstick thistle,” Er ya. Ma ji 馬薊, “horse thistle,” Gang mu. Shan jiang 山薑, “mountain ginger,” Bie lu. Shan lian 山連, Bie lu. Chi li jia 吃力伽, Rihua. [Li] Shizhen: According to the Liu shu ben yi, the character zhu 术 is seal script reflecting the physical appearance of [the herb’s] root, stem, branches and leaves. In Wu Pu’s Ben cao, it is also named shan jie 山芥, “mountain mustard,” and tian ji 天薊, “heavenly thistle,” because its leaves resemble those of thistles, su 薊, and the flavor resembles that of ginger, jiang 薑, and mustard, jie 芥. In the western regions they call it chi li jia 吃力伽. This is why the Wai tai mi yao lists a “powder with chi li jia 吃力伽.” Much white zhu grows in the region of Yang

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zhou. Its shape resembles a drumstick, bao 枹, hence it is named yang bao 楊枹, “poplar drumstick,” and bao ji 枹薊, “drumstick thistle.” Nowadays, the people call it wu zhu 吴术, “zhu from Wu.” Bao 枹 is the name of drumsticks. Ancient recipes resorted to the two kinds of zhu alike. Later people began to distinguish between a cang 蒼, “dark green/grey,” and a bai 白, “white,” type. For details see below. 【集解】【别録曰】术生鄭山山谷、漢中、南鄭， 二月、三月、八月、九 月采根，暴乾。【弘景曰】鄭山，即南鄭也。今處處有，以蔣山、白山、 茅山者爲勝。十一月、十二月采者好 ， 多脂膏而甘。其苗可作飲 ， 甚香 美。术有兩種 ： 白术葉大有毛而作椏 ， 根甜而少膏 ， 可作丸散用 ； 赤术 葉細無椏，根小苦而多膏，可作煎用。東境术大而無氣烈，不任用。今市 人賣者 ， 皆以米粉塗令白 ， 非自然矣 ， 用時宜刮去之。【頌曰】术 ， 今 處處有之，以茅山、嵩山者爲佳。春生苗，青色無椏。莖作蒿幹狀，青赤 色，長三二尺以來。夏開花，紫碧色，亦似刺薊花，或有黄白色者。入伏 後結子，至秋而苗枯。根似薑而旁有細根，皮黑，心黄白色，中有膏液紫 色。其根乾濕並通用。陶隱居言术有二種，則爾雅所謂枹薊，即白术也。 今白术生杭、越、舒、宣州高山崗上，葉葉相對，上有毛，方莖，莖端生 花，淡紫碧紅數色，根作椏生。二月、三月、八月、九月采，暴乾用，以 大塊紫花爲勝。古方所用术者，皆白术也。【宗奭曰】蒼术長如大小指， 肥實 ， 皮色褐 ， 其氣味辛烈 ， 須米泔浸洗去皮用。白术粗促 ， 色微褐 ， 其氣亦微辛苦而不烈。古方及本經止言术，不分蒼、白二種，亦宜兩審。 【時珍曰】蒼术，山薊也，處處山中有之。苗高二三尺，其葉抱莖而生， 稍間葉似棠梨葉，其脚下葉有三五叉，皆有鋸齒小刺。根如老薑之狀，蒼 黑色，肉白有油膏。白术，枹薊也，吴 越有之。人多取根栽蒔，一年即 稠。嫩苗可茹，葉稍大而有毛。根如指大，狀如鼓槌，亦有大如拳者。彼 人剖開暴乾，謂之削术，亦曰片术。陳自明言白而肥者，是浙术；瘦而黄 者，是幕阜山所出，其力劣。昔人用术不分赤白。自宋以來，始言蒼术苦 辛氣烈，白术苦甘氣和，各自施用，亦頗有理。並以秋采者佳，春采者虚 軟易壞。嵇含南方草木狀云：藥有乞力伽，即术也。瀕海所産，一根有至 數斤者，采餌尤良。【嘉謨曰】浙术俗名雲頭术，種平壤，頗肥大，由糞 力也 ， 易潤油。歙术俗名狗頭术 ， 雖瘦小 ， 得土氣充也 ， 甚燥白 ， 勝于 浙术，寧國、昌化、池州者，並同歙术，境相鄰也。 Collected Explanations. Zhu grows in the mountain valleys of Mount Zheng shan, and in Han zhong and Nan zheng. It is collected in the second, third, eighth and ninth month. It is dried in the sun. [Tao] Hongjing: Mount Zheng shan is Nan zheng. Nowadays, it can be found everywhere; that [growing] on Mount Jiang shan, Mount Bai shan and Mount Mao shan is superior; that collected in the eleventh and twelfth month is good. It has much fat and is sweet. The seedlings can be pre-



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pared to a very fragrant and delicious beverage. There are two kinds of zhu. Bai zhu, “white zhu,” has large, hairy leaves with forks. The root is sweet and less oily. It can be prepared to pills and powders for [medicinal] applications. Chi zhu, “red zhu,” has fine leaves that are not forked. The root is small, bitter and quite oily. It can be prepared to decoctions for [medicinal] application. Zhu from Dong jing is big and lacks a violent qi. It is not used [for therapeutic purposes]. Today’s merchants apply rice powder to it to let it appear white. But this is not as it is [naturally]. When one is about to resort to [zhu for a therapy, the white power] should be scraped off. [Su] Song: Nowadays, zhu can be found everywhere. That from Mount Mao shan and Mount Song shan is fine. It develops seedlings in spring. They are of greenish color and are not forked. The shape of the stem resembles the stem of artemisia carvifolia. It is of greenish-red color and reaches a length of two or three chi. In summer its flowers open. They are of purple-bluish-green color. They, too, resemble the flowers of thistles. There are some of yellow-white color. After the hottest period of summer is over, seeds form. By the time of autumn, the seedlings wither. The root resembles that of ginger and it has fine roots on its side. The bark is black and the heart/core is of yellow-white color. Inside it has an oily liquid of purple color. The root is used both dry and moist. Tao Yinju says that there are two kinds of zhu. And, what the Er ya calls bao ji 枹薊, that is bai zhu, “white zhu.” Nowadays, bai zhu grows on the high mountains and hills of Hang [zhou], Yue [zhou], Shu [zhou] and Xuan [zhou]. Its leaves are positioned opposite to each other; they have hair on their surface. The stem is rectangular. The flowers grow at the end of the stem and may be of numerous colors: pale, purple, bluish-green and red. The root develops forks. It is collected in the second, third, eighth and ninth month and dried in the sun before it is used [for therapeutic ends]. Those are best that have large [root] lumps and purple flowers. The zhu [recommended for] use in ancient recipes was always bai zhu. [Kou] Zongshi: Atractylodes [rhizome] reaches a length of a thumb or small finger. It is fat and solid, with a skin of brown color. Its qi and flavor are acrid and violent. It is essential to first soak it in water in which rice was washed, and then to wash it and remove the bark, before using it [for therapeutic purposes]. Bai zhu is coarse and short, and of a slightly brown color. Its qi are a little acrid-bitter, but not violent. Ancient recipes and the Ben jing only mention zhu. They do not distinguish between two kinds cang [zhu] and bai [zhu]. Both must be carefully examined [before using them]. [Li] Shizhen: Atractylodes [rhizome] is shan ji 山薊. It can be found everywhere in the mountains. The seedlings are two or three chi high. The leaves enclose the stem while it grows. The leaves at the tip [of the stem] resemble the leaves of pyrus betuliaefolia. Down at its lower end the leaves grow with three to five forks, and they all have saw teeth and small thorns. The root is shaped like old ginger. It

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is of a grey-black color. Its flesh is white and has oil. Bai zhu is bao ji 枹薊. It can be found in Wu and in Yue. People often remove the root to replant it elsewhere; it forms a thicket within one year. The tender seedlings are edible. The leaves are big and hairy. The root has the size of a finger; it is shaped like a drumstick. Some are as big as a fist. The locals cut them open, dry them in the sun and call tem “cut zhu” and “sliced zhu.” Those said by Chen Ziming to be “white and fat are zhu from Zhe [jiang]. Those that are lean and yellow, they come from Mount Mu fu shan. Their [medicinal] strength is inferior. When the ancients used zhu, they did not distinguish between red and white [kinds]. It is only since the Song dynasty that cang zhu is said to be bitter-acrid with violent qi, while bai zhu [is said to] be bitter-sweet with harmonious qi. Each is to be used for its specific potential, and this is quite reasonable. Also, those collected in autumn are fine; while those collected in spring are hollow, soft and easily decay.” Ji Han’s Nan fang cao mu zhuang states: “Among pharmaceutical drugs is chi li jia 乞力伽. This is zhu. [Zhu] growing near the sea coast with roots weighing several jin are collected and prepared as pastry. They are especially good.” [Chen] Jiamo: Zhu from Zhe [jiang] is commonly called “cloud zhu.” It is planted on plains. It is quite fat and big because of the strength of the manure it is fertilized with. It easily assumes a wet and oily appearance. Zhu from She is commonly called “dog head zhu.” Even though it is lean and small it is entirely endowed with the qi of soil. It is extremely dry and white, and it is superior to zhu from Zhe [jiang]. The [zhu] from Ning guo, Chang hua and Chi zhou are all identical with the zhu from She. These regions are all in the vicinity [of She]. 12-15-01 术。白术也。 Zhu, this is bai zhu, “white zhu.”

【氣味】甘，温，無毒。【别録曰】甘。【權曰】甘、辛。【杲曰】味苦 而甘 ， 性温 ， 味厚氣薄 ， 陽中陰也 ， 可升可降。【好古曰】入手太陽、 少陰， 足太陰、陽明、少陰、厥陰六經。【之才曰】防風、地榆爲之使。 【權曰】忌桃、李、菘菜、雀肉、青魚。【嘉謨曰】咀後人乳汁潤之， 制 其性也。脾病以陳壁土炒過，竊土氣以助脾也。 Qi and Flavor. Sweet, warm, nonpoisonous. Bie lu: Sweet. [Zhen] Quan: Sweet, acrid. [Li] Gao: Flavor bitter and sweet. Nature warm. Flavor strongly pronounced; qi weak. A yin in yang [substance]. It can rise and it can descend. [Wang] Haogu: It enters the following six conduits: hand major yang and minor yin, foot major yin, yang brilliance, minor yin and ceasing yin. [Xu] Zhicai: Saposhnikovia [root] and sanguisorba [root] serve as its guides. [Zhen] Quan: [During its application] avoid peaches, plums, Chinese cabbage, sparrow meat and black carps. [Chen] Jiamo:



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Chew it first and then moisten it with human milk. This serves to check its [violent] nature. If it is to be used for a spleen disease, fry it with the soil of an old wall. This is to avail oneself of the soil qi to support the spleen. 【主治】風寒濕痺 ， 死肌痙疸 ， 止汗 ， 除熱 ， 消食。作煎餌久服 ， 輕身 延年不飢。本經。主大風在身面，風眩頭痛，目淚出，消痰水，逐皮間風 水結腫 ， 除心下急滿 ， 霍亂吐下不止 ， 利腰臍間血 ， 益津液 ， 暖胃消穀 嗜食。别録。治心腹脹滿 ， 腹中冷痛 ， 胃虚下利 ， 多年氣痢 ， 除寒熱 ， 止嘔逆。甄權。止反胃 ， 利小便 ， 主五勞七傷 ， 補腰膝 ， 長肌肉 ， 治冷 氣 ， 痃癖氣塊 ， 婦人冷癥瘕。大明。除濕益氣 ， 和中補陽 ， 消痰逐水 ， 生津止渴 ， 止瀉痢 ， 消足脛濕腫 ， 除胃中熱、肌熱。得枳實 ， 消痞滿氣 分。佐黄芩 ， 安胎清熱。元素。理胃益脾 ， 補肝風虚。主舌本强 ， 食則 嘔，胃脘痛，身體重，心下急痛，心下水痞，衝脉爲病，逆氣裏急，臍 腹痛。好古。 Control. Blockage caused by wind, cold and moisture. It kills muscle spasms and dan-illness.161 It ends sweating. It dispels heat. It dissolves food. Prepared as a decoction for a pastry and ingested over a long time, it relieves the body of its weight, extends the years [of life] and prevents hunger. Ben jing. It controls massive wind affecting the face, wind dizziness and headache, as well as tearflow. It dissolves phlegm to water. It dispels wind and water that have formed knots in the skin with swelling. It removes from below the heart tensions and a sensation of fullness. [It serves to cure] cholera with unending vomiting and discharge. It frees the passage of blood from the region of lower back and navel. It boosts the body fluids. It warms the stomach, dissolves grain and stimulates the appetite. Bie lu. It serves to cure bloating and a sensation of fullness in the heart and abdominal region, pain associated with cold in the abdomen, stomach depletion with discharge and free-flux, and chronic qi free-flux illness. It eliminates [alternating sensations of ] cold and heat. It ends vomiting with counterflow. Zhen Quan. It ends a turned over stomach, frees the flow of urine, controls the five kinds of exhaustion and the seven kinds of harm, supplements the lower back and the knees, stimulates the growth of muscles and flesh, and serves to cure cold qi, qi lumps resulting from string-illness162 and

161 Dan 疸, “dan-illness,” identical with huang dan 疸疸, “yellow dan-illness,” “jaundice.” BCGM Dict I, 118.

162 Xuan 痃, “string-illness,” a condition of acute pain located in the abdomen to the left and right of the umbilicus. BCGM Dict I, 591.

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aggregation-illness,163 as well as concretion-illness and conglomeration-illness164 of women associated with cold. Da Ming. It removes moisture and boosts the qi, harmonizes the center and supplements yang [qi], dissolves phlegm and dispels water, generates body fluid and ends thirst, dissolves water swelling affecting the feet and the shanks, and eliminates heat from within the stomach, and muscle heat. Combined with bitter orange fruit, immature and dried, it serves to dissolve an obstacle illness165 and a sensation of fullness in the qi section. Assisted by scutellaria [root], it pacifies a fetus and cools down heat. [Zhang] Yuansu. It regulates the stomach and boosts the [qi of the] spleen. It supplements the liver in the case of a depletion entered by wind. It controls a stiff base of the tongue, when food that has been eaten is thrown up again, with pain in the stomach duct, a sensation of a heavy body, and tension and pain below the heart, with an obstacle-illness caused by water below the heart, when disease has affected the throughway vessel, with qi counterflow and internal tension, as well as pain in the navel and abdominal region. [Wang] Haogu. 【發明】【好古曰】本草無蒼、白术之名。 近世多用白术治皮間風 ， 止汗消痰 ， 補胃和中 ， 利腰臍間血 ， 通水道。 上而皮毛， 中而心胃， 下而腰臍， 在氣主氣， 在血主血， 無汗則發， 有 汗則止，與黄耆同功。【元素曰】白术除濕益燥，和中補氣。其用有九： 温中，一也；去脾胃中濕，二也；除胃中熱，三也；强脾胃，進飲食， 四也；和胃生津液，五也；止肌熱，六也；治四肢困倦，嗜卧，目不能 開，不思飲食，七也；止渴，八也；安胎，九也。凡中焦不受，濕不能 下利 ， 必須白术以逐水益脾。非白术不能去濕 ， 非枳實不能消痞 ， 故枳 术丸以之爲君。【機曰】脾惡濕，濕勝則氣不得施化，津何由生？故曰膀 胱者，津液之府，氣化則能出焉。用白术以除其濕，則氣得周流而津液生 矣。 Explication. [Wang] Haogu: The Ben cao does not have the names cang [zhu] and bai zhu. In recent times, bai zhu is frequently resorted to to cure wind in the skin, to end sweating and dissolve phlegm, to supplement the stomach and harmonize the center, to free the flow of blood in the region of the lower back and the navel, and 163 Pi 癖, “aggregation-illness,” of painful lumps emerging from time to time in both flanks. BCGM Dict I, 371.

164 Zheng jia 癥瘕, “concretion-illness and conglomeration-illness.” The two terms are often used interchangeably and do not signify two distinctly different conditions. Concretion-illness and conglomeration-illness result from a disharmony of cold and warmth resulting in a failure to transform beverages and food. Nodes form when they clash with the qi of the long-term depots. BCGM Dict I, 677. 165 Pi 痞, “obstacle-illness,” (1) a feeling of uncomfortable fullness and distension, (2) a pathological condition of uncomfortable distension and fullness in the chest and abdominal region. When pressed there is no pain. BCGM Dict I, 371.



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to open the passage through the water paths. Whether it is the skin and the hair above, the heart and the stomach in the center, or the lower back and the navel below, when it is required by the qi, [zhu] controls qi; when it is required by the blood, [zhu] controls the blood. If [the body] fails to sweat, [zhu] effuses sweat, and if the [body] sweats, [zhu] ends it. Its [therapeutic] potential is identical with that of astragalus [root]. [Zhang] Yuansu: Bai zhu eliminates moisture and boosts dryness. It harmonizes the center and supplements the qi. Its usages number nine. It warms the center, this is the first. It removes moisture from within spleen and stomach, this is the second. It removes heat from within the stomach, this is the third. It strengthens spleen and stomach so that they accept beverages and food, this is the fourth. It harmonizes the stomach and generates body fluids, this is the fifth. It ends muscle heat, this is the sixth. It serves to cure fatigue affecting the four limbs, with sleepiness, an inability to open the eyes and lack of appetite, this is the seventh. It ends thirst, this is the eighth. It pacifies a fetus, this is the ninth. When the Central Burner is not supplied [with qi by the spleen], it is unable to freely pass moisture down. In such a case, bai zhu is required to expel water and boost the spleen. Without bai zhu, it is impossible to remove moisture and without bitter orange fruit, immature and dried, it is impossible to dissolve an obstacle-illness.166 Hence the “pills with bitter orange fruit and largehead atractylodes [rhizome]” resort to them as “rulers.” [Wang] Ji: The spleen abhors moisture. When moisture gains the upper hand, the [spleen] is unable to send out transformed qi. So, wherefrom could the body liquids be generated? Hence it is said: The urinary bladder is the short-term repository of body liquids. They can be released as long as qi are transformed. If bai zhu is applied to remove the moisture, the qi can flow everywhere and the body liquids are generated. 【附方】舊七，新二十四。 Added Recipes. Seven of old. 24 newly [recorded]. 枳术丸。消痞强胃 ， 久服令人食自不停也。白术一兩 ， 黄壁土炒過 ， 去 土，枳實麩炒去麩一兩，爲末，荷葉包飯燒熟，搗和丸梧子大。每服五十 丸， 白湯下。氣滯加橘皮一兩。有火加黄連一兩。有痰加半夏一兩。有寒 加乾薑五錢，木香三錢。有食加神麴、麥糵各五錢。潔古家珍。 The “pills with bitter orange fruit and [bai] zhu.” They dissolve obstacle-illnesses and strengthen the stomach. Ingested over a long time they prevent food from staying [in the body for an extended period of time]. [Grind] one liang of bai zhu, fried 166 Pi 痞, “obstacle-illness,” (1) a feeling of uncomfortable fullness and distension, (2) a pathological condition of uncomfortable distension and fullness in the chest and abdominal region. When pressed there is no pain. BCGM Dict I, 371.

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in the yellow soil from a wall, with the soil removed again, and one liang of bitter orange fruit, immature, dried and fried with wheat bran, with the bran removed again, to powder. Wrap rice with lotus leaves and heat it until it is done. Pound it together [with the powder to pulp] and form pills the size of wu seeds. Each time ingest 50 pills, to be sent down with clear, boiled water. If this is a case of stagnating qi, add one liang of tangerine peels. If this is a case of [internal] fire, add one liang of coptis [rhizome]. If phlegm is present, add one liang of pinellia [root]. If this is a case of cold, add five qian of dried ginger and three qian of aucklandia [root]. If this is a case of [stagnating] food, add five qian each of yeast and malt. Jiegu jia zhen. 枳术湯。心下堅 ， 大如盤 ， 邊如旋盃 ， 水飲所作。寒氣不足 ， 則手足厥 逆，腹滿脅鳴相逐。陽氣不通即身冷，陰氣不通即骨疼。陽前通則惡寒， 陰前通則痺不仁。陰陽相得 ， 其氣乃行。大氣一轉 ， 其氣乃散。實則失 氣， 虚則遺尿， 名曰氣分， 宜此主之。白术一兩， 枳實七個， 水五升， 煮三升，分三服。腹中軟即散。仲景金匱玉函。 The “decoction with zhi [shi] and [bai] zhu.” When there is a hardening, the size of a plate, below the heart, with the edges [bent] like a turned-over bowl, this is a water rheum. In the case of an insufficiency of cold qi, the hands and the feet are affected by a [qi] recession with counterflow. This is accompanied by a sensation of abdominal fullness and sounds in the flanks. When the passage of yang qi is blocked, the body turns cold. When the yin qi are blocked, the bones ache. When the yang qi move freely in the front part [of the body], this results in an aversion to cold. When the yin qi move freely in the front part, this results in numbness, [i. e.,] a loss of sensitivity. When yin and yang interact, the qi can move. As long as the Grand Qi revolve, the qi disperse. In the case of a repletion, one loses [flatus] qi; in the case of a depletion, one loses urine. This is called “qi section;” it lends itself to be controlled by this [recipe]. Boil one liang of bai zhu and seven pieces of bitter orange fruit, immature and dried, in five sheng of water down to three sheng and ingest [the liquid] divided into three portions. The soft [obstacle] in the abdomen will be dispersed. [Zhang] Zongjing, Jin kui yu han. 白术膏。服食滋補，止久泄痢。上好白术十斤，切片，入瓦鍋内，水淹過 二寸，文武火煎至一半，傾汁入器内，以渣再煎，如此三次。乃取前後汁 同熬成膏，入器中一夜，傾去上面清水，收之。每服二三匙，蜜湯調下。 千金良方。 The “paste with bai zhu.” Ingested as food it nourishes and supplements, and it ends long-lasting outflow and free-flux illness. Cut ten jin of prime quality zhu into slices, fill them into an earthenware pot, add water to rise two cun above [the zhu slices] and boil this over a mild fire first and then a strong fire down to one half



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[of the water]. Pour the juice into another container and boil the dregs again. Do this altogether three times. Then simmer the combined juices to a paste. Leave [the paste] in the vessel for one night and remove the clear water from its surface [the next morning]. Then store it. For each application ingest two or three spoonfuls, to be sent down mixed with a honey decoction. Qian jin liang fang. 參术膏。治一切脾胃虚損，益元氣。白术一斤，人參四兩，切片，以流水 十五碗浸一夜，桑柴文武火煎取濃汁熬膏，入煉蜜收之，每以白湯點服。 集簡方。 The “paste with ginseng [root] and [bai] zhu.” It serves to cure all kinds of depletion injuries affecting spleen and stomach, and it boosts the original qi. Cut one jin of bai zhu and four liang of ginseng [root] into slices and soak them in bowls of running water for one night. Then boil this over a mild fire, fuelled by mulberry wood, first and a strong fire later until a thick juice has formed that is then simmered to a paste. Add heat refined honey and store this. For each application prepare an infusion with clear, boiled water and ingest it. Ji jian fang. 胸膈煩悶。白术末，水服方寸匕。千金方。 Vexation affecting chest and diaphragm, with heart-pressure. Ingest bai zhu powder, the amount held by a square cun spoon, with water. Qian jin fang. 心下有水。白术三兩，澤瀉五兩，水三升，煎一升半，分三服。梅師方。 Water below the heart. Boil three liang of bai zhu and five liang of alisma [rhizome] in three sheng of water down to one and a half sheng. To be ingested divided into three portions. Mei shi fang. 五飲酒癖。一留飲 ， 水停心下 ； 二癖飲 ， 水在兩脅下 ； 三痰飲 ， 水在胃 中 ； 四溢飲 ， 水在五臟間 ； 五流飲 ， 水在腸間。皆由飲食冒寒 ， 或飲茶 過多致此。倍术丸：用白术一斤，乾薑炮、桂心各半斤，爲末，蜜丸梧子 大，每温水服二三十丸。惠民和劑局方。 The five rheums and wine aggregation-illness.167 The first [rheum] is an “abiding rheum,” that is, when water stagnates below the heart. The second is the “rheum of an aggregation-illness,” when water is present below the two flanks. The third is “phlegm rheum,” that is water in the stomach. The fourth is “spilling rheum,” when water spills into the region of the five long-term depots. The fifth is a “flowing rheum,” when water spills into the intestines. All these conditions are caused by an exposure of beverages and food to cold, or by drinking too much tea. The “pills to double [the effects of bai] zhu.” [Grind] one jin of bai zhu, and half a jin each of

167 Pi 癖, “aggregation-illness,” of painful lumps emerging from time to time in both flanks. BCGM Dict I, 371.

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dried ginger, roasted in a pan, and shaved cinnamom bark to powder and form with honey pills the size of wu seeds. Each time ingest with warm water 20 to 30 pills. Hui min he ji ju fang. 四肢腫滿。白术三兩 ， 㕮咀 ， 每服半兩 ， 水一琖半 ， 大棗三枚 ， 煎九 分，温服，日三四服，不拘時候。本事方。 Swelling and a sensation of fullness in the four limbs. Pound three liang of bai zhu. For each application boil in one and a half cups of water half a liang [of the bai zhu] together with three Chinese dates down to 90% and ingest this warm. To be ingested three to four times a day, at any time. Ben shi fang. 中風口噤，不知人事。白术四兩，酒三升，煮取一升，頓服。千金方。 Struck by wind with clenched jaw. [Patients] recognize neither other persons nor anything else. Boil four liang of bai zhu in three sheng of wine down to one sheng and [let the patient] ingest this all at once. Qian jin fang. 産後中寒。遍身冷直 ， 口噤 ， 不識人。白术一兩 ， 澤瀉一兩 ， 生薑五 錢，水一升，煎服。産寶。 Struck by cold after a birth. The entire body is cold and and straight. Clenched jaw. [Patients] do not recognize other persons. Boil one liang of bai zhu, one liang of alisma [rhizome] and five qian of fresh ginger in one sheng of water and [let the patient] ingest this. Chan bao. 頭忽眩運 ， 經久不瘥 ， 四體漸羸 ， 飲食無味 ， 好食黄土。用术三斤 ， 麴 三斤，搗篩，酒和丸梧子大。每飲服二十丸，日三服。忌菘菜、桃、李、 青魚。外臺秘要。 Sudden dizziness and [brain] movement in the head. When this is not cured for a long time, the four limbs gradually emaciate, beverages and meals appear to have no flavor, and [patients] love to eat yellow soil. Pound three jin of zhu and three jin of yeast and pass [this through a sieve]. Mix it with wine and form pills the size of wu seeds. Each time [let the patient] ingest with a beverage 20 pills. To be ingested three times a day. [During such a treatment patients must] avoid Chinese cabbage, peaches, plums and black carps. Wai tai mi yao. 濕氣作痛。白术切片，煎汁熬膏，白湯點服。集簡方。 Pain caused by moisture qi. Cut bai zhu into slices, boil them to obtain a juice and simmer [the juice] to obtain a paste. Prepare an infusion with clear, boiled water and ingest it. Ji jian fang.



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中濕骨痛。术一兩，酒叄盞，煎一盞，頓服。不飲酒，以水煎之。三因良 方。 Aching bones resulting from being struck by moisture. Boil one liang of zhu in three small cups of wine down to one cup and ingest this all at once. For [patients] who do not drink wine, boil [the zhu] in water. San yin liang fang. 婦人肌熱血虚者。吃力伽散 ： 用白术、白伏苓、白芍藥各一兩 ， 甘草半 兩，爲散，薑、棗煎服。王燾外臺秘要。 Women with muscle heat and blood depletion. The “powder with chi li jia.” [Grind] one liang each of bai zhu, white poria and paeonia [root] and half a liang of glycyrrhiza [root] to powder and [let the patient] ingest it boiled with ginger and Chinese dates. Wang Dao, Wai tai mi yao. 小兒蒸熱，脾虚羸瘦，不能飲食。方同上。 Children affected by steaming heat, with a spleen depletion and emaciation as they are unable to drink and eat. Recipe identical with the one above. 風瘙癮疹。白术爲末，酒服方寸匕，日二服。千金方。 Wind itch and hidden papules. [Grind] bai zhu to powder and ingest with wine the amount held by a square cun spoon. To be ingested twice a day. Qian jin fang. 面多䵟𪒟，雀卵色。苦酒漬术，日日拭之，極效。肘後方。 Dermal dark spots of sparrow egg color covering the face. Soak zhu in bitter wine and wipe the [affected region] every day. Extremely effective. Zhou hou fang. 自汗不止。白术末，飲服方寸匕，日二服。千金方。 Unending spontaneous sweating. Ingest with a beverage bai zhu powder, the amount held by a square cun spoon. To be ingested twice a day. Qian jin fang. 脾虚盗汗。白术四兩，切片，以一兩同黄耆炒，一兩同牡蠣炒，一兩同石 斛炒，一兩同麥麩炒，揀术爲末。每服三錢，食遠粟米湯下，日三服。丹 溪方。 Spleen depletion and robber sweating.168 Cut four liang of bai zhu into slices and [grind] them together with one liang of fried astragalus [root], one liang of fried oyster shells, one liang of fried dendrobium [stem], and one liang of fried wheat bran to powder. Each time ingest three qian, to be sent down between meals with a millet decoction. To be ingested three times a day. Danxi fang. 168 Dao han 盗汗, “robber sweat,” a profuse sweating during sleep that ends when one wakes up. BCGM Dict I, 122.

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老小虚汗。白术五錢，小麥一撮，水煮乾，去麥爲末，用黄耆湯下一錢。 全幼心鑑。 Depletion sweating of elderly and young persons. Boil five qian of bai zhu with one pinch of wheat in water until it has dried up. Remove the wheat and [grind the bai zhu] to powder. [Let the patient] send down with a astragalus [root] decoction one qian. Quan you xin jian. 産後嘔逆，别無他疾者。白术一兩二錢，生薑一兩五錢，酒水各二升，煎 一升，分三服。婦人良方。 Vomiting and counterflow [of qi] after birth, with no further illnesses involved. Boil one liang and two qian of bai zhu with one liang and five qian of fresh ginger in one sheng of both wine and water down to one sheng and [let the patient] ingest it divided into three portions. Fu ren liang fang. 脾虚脹滿。脾氣不和，冷氣客于中，壅遏不通，是爲脹滿。寬中丸：用白 术二兩 ， 橘皮四兩 ， 爲末 ， 酒糊丸梧子大 ， 每食前木香湯送下三十丸 ， 效。指迷方。 Spleen depletion with swelling and a sensation of fullness. The spleen qi are not balanced. Hence cold qi reside in the center, blocking the free flow [of qi] and this way causing swelling and a sensation of fullness. The “pills to widen the center.” [Grind] two liang of bai zhu and four liang of tangerine peels to powder, prepare with wine a paste and form it to pills the size of wu seeds. Each time prior to a meal send down 30 pills with an aucklandia [root] decoction. Effective. Zhi mi fang. 脾虚洩瀉。白术五錢，白芍藥一兩，冬月用肉豆蔻煨，爲末，米飯丸梧子 大。每米飲下五十丸，日二。丹溪心法。 Spleen depletion with outflow. [Grind] five qian of bai zhu and one liang of paeonia [root], in winter add nutmeg baked over a slow fire, to powder and form with cooked rice pills the size of wu seeds. Each time ingest with a rice beverage 50 pills, twice a day. Danxi xin fa. 濕瀉暑瀉。白术、車前子等分，炒，爲末，白湯下二三錢。簡便方。 Dampness outflow and summerheat outflow. Fry equal amounts of bai zhu and plantago seeds, [grind] them to powder and send down with clear, boiled water two to three qian. Jian bian fang. 久瀉滑腸。白术炒、伏苓各一兩，糯米炒二兩，爲末，棗肉拌食，或丸服 之。簡便方。



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Long-lasting outflow with a smooth intestinal passage. [Grind] one liang each of fried bai zhu and poria, with two liang of fried glutinous rice to powder and eat it mixed with the flesh of Chinese dates. Or ingest it as pills. Jian bian fang. 老小滑瀉。白术半斤黄土炒過，山藥四兩炒，爲末，飯丸。量人大小，米 湯服。或加人參三錢。瀕湖集簡方。 Smooth outflow of elderly and young persons. [Grind] half a jin of bai zhu fried with yellow soil and four liang of fried Chinese yam to powder and prepare with cooked rice pills to be ingested with a rice decoction. The dosage is to be adapted to the [patient’s] age. Sometimes three qian of ginseng [root] are added. Binhu ji jian fang. 老人常瀉。白术二兩 ， 黄土拌蒸 ， 焙乾去土 ， 蒼术五錢 ， 泔浸炒 ， 伏苓 一兩，爲末，米糊丸梧子大，每米湯下七八十丸。簡便方。 Permanent outflow affecting elderly persons. Steam two liang of bai zhu with yellow soil, bake it over a slow fire until it is dry and discard the soil. [Grind] this together with five qian of cang zhu, first soaked in water in which rice was washed, and then fried, and one liang of poria to powder to be prepared with a rice paste to pills the size of wu seeds. Each time send down with a rice decoction 70 to 80 pills. Jian bian fang. 小兒久瀉。脾虚，米穀不化，不進飲食。温白丸：用白术炒二錢半，半夏 麴二錢半，丁香半錢，爲末，薑汁麪糊丸黍米大，每米飲隨大小服之。全 幼心鑑。 Children with long-lasting outflow. The spleen is depleted, rice and grain fail to be transformed/digested. They accept neither beverage nor food. The “pills with warming bai [zhu].” [Grind] two and a half qian of fried bai zhu, two and a half qian of pinellia [root] leaven and half a qian of clove to powder to be formed with a paste made of ginger juice and flour to pills the size of millet grains. Each time [let the child] ingest [several pills] according to its age. Quan you xin jian. 瀉血萎黄。腸風痔漏 ， 脱肛瀉血 ， 面色萎黄 ， 積年不瘥者。白术一斤 ， 黄土炒過， 研末， 乾地黄半斤， 飯上蒸熟， 搗和， 乾則入少酒， 丸梧子 大。每服十五丸，米飲下，日三服。普濟方。 Outflow with blood, associated with a wilting, yellow complexion, intestinal wind and leaking piles, anal prolapse and outflow with blood and a wilting, yellow facial complexion that have not been cured for several years. Grind one jin of bai zhu, fried with yellow soil, to powder. Pound it together with half a jin of dry Chinese foxglove [rhizome], steamed above cooked rice until done, to prepare an even mix-

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ture. When it has dried, add a small amount of wine and form pills the size of wu seeds. Each time ingest 15 pills, to be sent down with a rice beverage. To be ingested three times a day. Pu ji fang. 孕婦束胎。白术、枳殻麩炒等分，爲末，燒飯丸梧子大。入月一日，每食 前温水三十丸，胎瘦則易産也。保命集。 Fetus bound in a woman. [Grind] equal amounts of bai zhu and unripe oranges, fried with wheat bran, to powder and form with heated rice pills the size of wu seeds. On the first day of the month [of the due date let the woman] ingest prior to a meal and with warm water 30 pills. The fetus remains lean and birth is easy. Bao ming ji. 牙齒日長，漸至難食，名髓溢病。白术煎湯，漱服取效，即愈也。張鋭雞 峰備急良方。 The teeth grow longer every day, gradually making it difficult to eat. This is called the “disease of spilling marrow.” Rinse [the mouth] with a bai zhu decoction until an effect shows. This is the cure. Zhang Rui, Ji feng bei ji liang fang. 12-15-02 蒼术。Cang zhu.

Atractylodes lancea (Thunb.) DC. Black atractylodes.

【釋名】赤术别録、山精抱朴、仙术綱目、山薊。【時珍曰】異術言”术 者， 山之精也， 服之令人長生辟穀， 致神仙”， 故有山精、仙术之號。术 有赤、白二種 ， 主治雖近 ， 而性味止發不同。本草不分蒼、白 ， 亦未可 據。今將本經并别録、甄權、大明四家所説功用，參攷分别，各自附方， 庶使用者有所依憑。 Explanation of Names. Chi zhu 赤术, “red zhu,” Bie lu. Shan jing 山精, “mountain essence,” Baopu. Xian zhu 仙术, “hermit’s/immortal’s zhu,” Gang mu. Shan ji 山薊, “mountain thistle.” [Li] Shizhen: The Yi shu says: “Zhu is the essence of the mountains.” To ingest it lets one enjoy a long life and allows one to abstain from eating cereals until eventually he turns into a spirit hermit/immortal.” Hence it is named “mountain essence” and “hermit’s/immortal’s zhu.” There are two zhu kinds, one red and one white. Their controlling and curative potentials closely resemble each other, but they differ in terms of their nature and their flavor, and what they end and effuse. The Ben cao does not distinguish between cang [zhu] and bai [zhu], and hence cannot be relied on. Here now we have based a differentiation of [cang zhu and bai zhu] on what the four experts, [i. e., the authors of the] Ben jing and the Bie lu, and Zhen Quan and Da Ming, say in terms of their [therapeutic] potential and usage,



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and we have added recipes for both [cang zhu and bai zhu] to offer reliable data to those who resort to them. 【修治】【大明曰】用术以米泔浸一宿，入藥。【宗奭曰】蒼术辛烈，須 米泔浸洗，再换泔浸二日，去上粗皮用。【時珍曰】蒼术性燥，故以糯米 泔浸去其油，切片焙乾用。亦有用脂麻同炒，以制其燥者。 Pharmaceutical Preparation. Da Ming: Soak zhu for one night in water in which rice was washed and then add it to a medication. [Kou] Zongshi: Cang zhu has a violent acrid [flavor]. It must first be soaked in water in which rice was washed and then it has to be washed. Change the water in which rice was washed twice within two days. Discard the coarse bark from the surface before using it. [Li] Shizhen: Cang zhu is by nature dry. To remove the oil it is soaked in water in which glutinous rice was washed. Then it is cut into slices and dried before it is used [for therapeutic ends]. It can also be fried together with sesame seeds to check its dryness. 【氣味】苦、温， 無毒。【别録曰】甘。【權曰】甘、辛。【時珍曰】白 术甘而微苦 ， 性温而和。赤术甘而辛烈 ， 性温而燥 ， 陰中陽也 ， 可升可 降，入足太陰、陽明、手太陰、陽明、太陽之經。〇忌同白术。 Qi and Flavor. Bitter, warm, nonpoisonous. Bie lu: Sweet. [Zhen] Quan: Sweet, acrid. [Li] Shizhen: Bai zhu is sweet and slightly bitter. Its nature is warm and harmonious. Chi zhu is sweet and violently acrid. Its nature is warm and dry. It is a yang in yin [substance]. It can rise and it can descend. It enters the foot major yin and yang brilliance [conduits] and the hand major yin, yang brilliance and major yang conduits. [During a treatment with chi zhu], the same prohibitions apply as for bai zhu. 【主治】風寒濕痺，死肌痙疸。作煎餌，久服輕身延年不飢。本經。主頭 痛，消痰水，遂皮間風水結腫，除心下急滿及霍亂吐下不止，暖胃消穀嗜 食。别録。除惡氣，弭灾沴。弘景。主大風𤸷痺，心腹脹痛，水腫脹滿， 除寒熱 ， 止嘔逆 ， 下泄冷痢。甄權。治筋骨軟弱 ， 痃癖氣塊 ， 婦人冷氣 癥瘕，山嵐瘴氣温疾。大明。明目，暖水臟。劉完素。除濕發汗，建胃安 脾，治痿要藥。李杲。散風益氣，總解諸鬱。震亨。治濕痰留飲，或挾瘀 血成窠囊，及脾濕下流，濁瀝帶下，滑瀉腸風。時珍。 Control. For blockage caused by wind, cold and moisture, for dead muscles and spasms with dan-illness,169 prepare it with heat to a cake. When this is ingested over a long time, it will relieve the body of its weight, extend the years [of life] and prevent hunger. Ben jing. It masters headache, dissolves phlegm to water, dispels 169 Dan 疸, “dan-illness,” identical with huang dan 疸疸, “yellow dan-illness,” “jaundice.” BCGM Dict I, 118.

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from within the skin nodes and swelling caused by wind and water, eliminates from below the heart tension and a sensation of fullness, as well as cholera with unending vomiting and discharge, warms the stomach, dissolves grain and stimulates the appetite. Bie lu. It dispels malign qi and ends disastrous disharmony [of yin and yang qi]. [Tao] Hongjing. It controls numbness and blockage associated with massive wind, bloating and pain in the central and abdominal region, water swelling with bloating and a sensation of fullness. It eliminates [alternating sensations of ] cold and heat, ends vomiting with counterflow, discharge with outflow and free-flux illness caused by cold. Zhen Quan. It serves to cure softness and weakness of sinews and bones, qi lumps associated with string-illness170 and aggregation-illness,171 also cold qi concretion-illness and conglomeration-illness172 of women, and warmth illnesses caused by mountain haze and miasmatic qi. Da Ming. It clears the eyes and warms the water long-term depot (i.e., the kidneys). Li Gao. It disperses wind and boosts the qi. It resolves all kinds of depressed [qi]. [Zhu] Zhenheng. It serves to cure abiding rheum associated with moisture and phlegm, and bags enclosing stagnating blood, also a downward movement of spleen moisture with a turbid [urinary] dripping from below the belt, a smooth outflow and intestinal wind. [Li] Shizhen. 【發明】【宗奭曰】蒼术氣味辛烈，白术微辛苦而不烈。古方及本經止 言术，未分蒼、白。只緣陶隱居言术有兩種，自此人多貴白者，往往將 蒼术置而不用。如古方平胃散之類，蒼术爲最要藥，功效尤速。殊不詳本 草原無白术之名。嵇康曰：聞道人遺言，餌术、黄精，令人久壽。亦無 白字，用宜兩審。【杲曰】本草但言术，不分蒼、白。而蒼术别有雄壯上 行之氣，能除濕，下安太陰，使邪氣不傳入脾也。以其經泔浸火炒，故 能出汗，與白术止汗特異，用者不可以此代彼。盖有止發之殊，其餘主 治則同。【元素曰】蒼术與白术主治同，但比白术氣重而體沈，若除上濕 發汗，功最大。若補中焦，除脾胃濕，力少不如白术。腹中窄狹者，須 用之。【震亨曰】蒼术治濕，上中下皆有可用。又能總解諸鬱。痰、火、 濕、食、氣、血六鬱，皆因傳化失常，不得升降。病在中焦，故藥必兼升 降。將欲升之，必先降之；將欲降之，必先升之。故蒼术爲足陽明經藥， 170 Xuan 痃, “string-illness,” a condition of acute pain located in the abdomen to the left and right of the umbilicus. BCGM Dict I, 591.

171 Pi 癖, “aggregation-illness,” of painful lumps emerging from time to time in both flanks. BCGM Dict I, 371. 172 Zheng jia 癥瘕, “concretion-illness and conglomeration-illness.” The two terms are often used interchangeably and do not signify two distinctly different conditions. Concretion-illness and conglomeration-illness result from a disharmony of cold and warmth resulting in a failure to transform beverages and food. Nodes form when they clash with the qi of the long-term depots. BCGM Dict I, 677.



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氣味辛烈，强胃强脾，發穀之氣，能徑入諸經，疏洩陽明之濕，通行斂 濇。香附乃陰中快氣之藥，下氣最速。一升一降，故鬱散而平。【楊士瀛 曰】脾精不禁，小便漏，濁淋不止，腰背酸疼，宜用蒼术以斂脾精，精生 于穀故也。【弘景曰】白术少膏，可作丸散；赤术多膏，可作煎用。昔劉 涓子挼取其精而丸之，名守中金丸，可以長生。【頌曰】服食多單餌术， 或合白伏苓，或合石菖蒲，並擣末，旦日水服，晚再進，久久彌佳。斸取 生术，去土水浸，再三煎如飴糖，酒調飲之，更善。今茅山所造术煎，是 此法也。陶隱居言取其精丸之，今乃是膏煎，恐非真也。【慎微曰】梁 庾 肩吾荅陶隱居賚术煎啓云：緑葉抽條，紫花標色。百邪外禦，六府内充。 山精見書，華神在録。木榮火謝，盡采擷之難。啓旦移申，窮淋漉之劑。 又謝术蒸啓云：味重金漿，芳踰玉液。足使坐致延生，伏深銘感。又葛 洪抱朴子 内篇云：南陽 文氏，漢末逃難壺山中，飢困欲死。有人教之食 术，遂不飢。數十年乃還鄉里，顔色更少，氣力轉勝。故术一名山精，神 農藥經所謂”欲長生，常服山精”是也。【時珍曰】按吐納經云：紫微夫人 术序云：吾察草木之勝速益于己者，並不及术之多驗也。可以長生久視， 遠而更靈。山林隱逸得服术者，五嶽比肩。又神仙傳云：陳子皇得餌术要 方，其妻姜氏得疲病，服之自愈，顔色氣力如二十時也。時珍謹案：上諸 説，皆似蒼术，不獨白术。今服食家亦呼蒼术爲仙术，故皆列於蒼术之 後。又張仲景辟一切惡氣，用赤术同猪蹄甲燒烟。陶隱居亦言术能除惡 氣，弭灾沴。故今病疫及歲旦，人家往往燒蒼术以辟邪氣。類編載越民高 氏妻病恍惚譫語，亡夫之鬼憑之。其家燒蒼术烟，鬼遽求去。夷堅志載江 西一士人，爲女妖所染。其鬼將别曰：君爲陰氣所浸，必當暴泄，但多服 平胃散爲良，中有蒼术能去邪也。許叔微本事方云：微患飲癖三十年。始 因少年夜坐寫文，左向伏几，是以飲食多墜左邊。中夜必飲酒數盃，又向 左卧。壯時不覺，三五年後，覺酒止從左下有聲，脅痛食减嘈雜，飲酒半 盃即止。十數日，必嘔酸水數升。暑月止右邊有汗，左邊絶無。遍訪名醫 及海上方，間或中病，止得月餘復作。其補如天雄、附子、礜石輩，利如 牽牛、甘遂、大戟，備嘗之矣。自揣必有澼囊，如水之有科臼，不盈科不 行。但清者可行，而濁者停滯，無路以决之，故積至五七日必嘔而去。脾 土惡濕，而水則流濕，莫若燥脾以去濕，崇土以填科臼。乃悉屏諸藥，只 以蒼术一斤，去皮切片爲末，油麻半兩，水二盞，研濾汁，大棗五十枚， 煮去皮核，搗和丸梧子大。每日空腹温服五十丸，增至一二百丸。忌桃、 李、雀肉。服三月而疾除。自此常服，不嘔不痛，胸膈寬利，飲啖如故， 暑月汗亦周身，燈下能書細字，皆术之力也。初服時必覺微燥，以山巵子 末沸湯點服解之，久服亦自不燥矣。 Explication. [Kou] Zongshi. Cang zhu has an acrid flavor with violent qi. Bai zhu is slightly acrid and bitter, and [its qi are] not violent. Ancient recipes and the Ben jing mention only zhu. They do not yet distinguish between cang [zhu] and bai [zhu]. It

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is only since Tao Yinju said “there exist two kinds of zhu” that people mostly prefer the bai [zhu] type. They always put cang zhu aside and do not use it. For example, among ancient recipes, in the “powder to balance the stomach” 173 cang zhu is the most important drug. Its therapeutic effects are very fast. Interestingly, the original Ben cao does not mention the name bai zhu. Ji Kang says: “I heard a Daoist with his last words say: ‘To consume zhu and polygonatum sibiricum [root] lets one enjoy a long life’.” He did not use the term bai. But when [zhu] is used, both [kinds] are to be taken into account. [Li] Gao: The Ben cao speaks only of zhu, it does not distinguish between cang and bai [kinds]. Now, cang zhu has vigorously rising qi and can eliminate moisture [above]. Below it serves to pacify the major yin [region] and it prevents evil qi from entering the spleen. Once it has undergone a soaking in water in which rice was washed and was roasted over a fire, it can stimulate sweating, while bai zhu is exceptionally good at ending sweating. That is, for [therapeutic] applications one of the two cannot be used to substitute the other. The fact is, just as they differ in terms of ending and effusing [sweating], they also differ in all other controlling and curative [effects]. [Zhang] Yuansu: The controlling and curative [effects] of cang zhu and bai zhu are identical. However, in comparison with [the qi of bai zhu] the qi of cang zhu are heavy and its physical body sinks down [in the human organism]. If the task is to eliminate moisture from the upper [body parts] and to effuse sweat, its [therapeutic] potential is very strong. When it comes to supplementing the Central Burner and to eliminate moisture from the spleen and the stomach, its strength is weaker than that of bai zhu. In the case of a narrowing pressure in the abdomen, [cang zhu] is to be resorted to. [Zhu] Zhenheng: Cang zhu serves to cure moisture. It can be used for [moisture in] the upper, middle and lower [body parts]. In addition, it can resolve all kinds of depressed [qi]. The six kinds of depressed [qi] may result from a failure of a regular transformation of phlegm, fire, moisture, food, qi and blood, resulting in their inability to rise and descend. The disease is situated in the Central Burner and this is why medication must rise and descend. If one wishes to let [the depressed qi] rise, [the medication] must first descend. If one intends to let [the depressed qi] descend, [the medication] must first rise. Cang zhu is a medication for the foot yang brilliance conduits. Its flavor is acrid and its qi are violent. They strengthen the stomach and they strengthen the spleen. The qi [effused by cang zhu] can directly enter any of the conduits. They can drain the moisture out of the yang brilliance [conduits] and free passages where they are restrained and rough. Cyperus [root] is a medication that speeds up the movement of qi in the yin section. It serves to discharge qi very quickly. One [substance] rises 173 Ingredients of the ping wei san 平胃散, “powder to balance the stomach,” include magnolia bark, fresh ginger juice, tangerine peels, glycyrrhiza root, atractylodes rhizome, fresh ginger and Chinese dates.



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and one descends. Hence depressed [qi] are dispersed and a balanced condition is achieved. Yang Shiying: When the essence of the spleen is not restrained, when urine leaks uncontrolled, in the case of an unending turbid [urinary] dripping, with pain in the lower back and the back, it is suitable to resort to cang zhu to restrain the essence of the spleen because the essence grows from grain. [Tao] Hongjing: Bai zhu is slightly pasty; it can be prepared to pills and powders. Chi zhu is very pasty; it can be resorted to to prepare decoctions. In antiquity, Liu Juanzi extracted its essence and prepared it to pills, naming them the “pills worth gold to guard the center.” They can be used to extend the years [of life]. [Su] Song: To ingest it as [a life prolonging] food, zhu may be consumed alone or together with white poria, or together with acorus [root]. [The substances] are to be pounded to powder. They are ingested with water in the early morning and then again in the evening. If this is continued for a long time, it is all the better. Obtain freshly cut zhu, remove the soil, soak it in water, boil it two or three times until it has assumed the consistency of malt sugar, mix it with wine and drink this. This is even better. The zhu nowadays prepared on Mount Mao shan is processed in accordance with this method. Tao Yinju says that “the essence [of zhu] is used to prepare the pills.” Nowadays, though, a paste is simmered. Maybe this is not the real thing. [Tang] Shenwei: Yu Jianwu of the Liang era in his “Letter to Tao Yinju bestowing me with a zhu decoction” states: “A stem rises from green leaves, with purple flowers of a beautiful color. Outside, the hundreds of evils are held back; inside, the six short-term repositories are filled. The essence of the mountains is seen in the literature; it is recorded by Hua [Tuo] and Shen [Nong]. The luxuriance of wood and a diminishing fire are [similarly] difficult to collect in their entirety; an entire day from early morning to late afternoon is required to thoroughly process [this substance].” Also, in a “letter thanking for a steamed zhu,” he states: “Its flavor is stronger than that of gold juice. Its fragrance exceeds that of jade liquid. It is capable of letting one extend his life in ease; I bow deeply to express my gratitude.” Also, Ge Hong in his Baopu zi, Nei pian, states: “A Mr. Wen of Nan yang at the end of the Han dynasty fled the turmoil and sought refuge on Mount Hu shan where he almost starved to death. Someone taught him to eat zhu, and he never felt hungry again. Decades later he returned to his home village. His complexion appeared younger than [when he had left] and the strength of his qi had reached new heights. This is why ‘mountain essence’ is an alternative name of zhu. It is the substance referred to in the medication classic of Shen Nong when he says that if one wishes to live long, he should regularly ingest mountain essence.” [Li] Shizhen: In her preface to the Tu na jing, [the hermit] Ziwei furen states: “When I examined which of the herbs and trees were superior and faster than others in their ability to boost my own [qi], there was none that came close to

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the many effects reached with zhu. It is able to extend one’s life for a long time. The longer [the herb grows] the clearer its wondrous effects are. When hermits living secluded in the mountains and forests manage to ingest it, [their long live] parallels that of the five mountain ranges.” Also, the Shen xian chuan states: “Chen Zihuang had obtained a recipe how to consume zhu. When his wife, a Mrs. Qiang, suffered from fatigue he let her ingest it and she was cured. Her complexion and the strength of her qi resembled those of her when she was aged 20.” [My, Li] Shizhen’s careful comment: All the statements quoted above refer to cang zhu, not only to bai zhu. Today’s experts in ingesting [longevity elixirs as] food call cang zhu the “zhu of hermits/immortals.” Hence all [the descriptions of the effects of zhu] are listed with cang zhu. Also, when Zhang Zhongjing [recommends to] ward off all kinds of malign qi, he resorts to a fumigation with vapors generated by burning red zhu together with the nails of pig trotters. Tao Yinju, too, states that “zhu is able to remove malign qi and free one from a disastrous disharmony [of yin and yang qi].” Hence, nowadays, at the occasion of epidemics and on New Year’s day, people often burn cang zhu to ward off evil qi. The Lei bian records that “the widow of a Mr. Gao from the Yue people was absent-minded and spoke deliriously when the spirit of her deceased husband availed itself of her. Her family burned cang zhu to generate fumes, and the demon hurriedly left her.” The Yi jian zhi records the case of “a scholar from Jiang xi who was infested by a female goblin. When it was about to part, it told him: ‘Sir, you are infiltrated by yin qi. They have to be drained quickly. You only need to ingest much of the powder to balance the stomach174 as a good [remedy].’ It includes cang zhu that is able to remove evil [qi].” Xu Shuwei in his Ben shi fang states: “I had suffered from a rheum aggregation-illness175 for 30 years. It began when as a youth I sat down all night to write essays. Toward the left I leaned on the desk and as a result the beverages and the food [I consumed] mostly ended up in me on my left side. By midnight I felt forced to drink several cups of wine, went to bed and slept on my left side. As long as I was of robust health I did not feel anything. But after three to five years I heard a sound of wine descending from the left. My flanks ached, I ate less and I felt a clamoring [stomach]. This ended when I drank half a cup of wine. For more than ten years I inevitably vomited several sheng of sour water. During the months of summerheat I sweated on my right sight; there was no [sweat] on my left side. I consulted renowned physicians and recipes from 174 Ingredients of the ping wei san 平胃散, “powder to balance the stomach,” include magnolia bark, fresh ginger juice, tangerine peels, glycyrrhiza root, atractylodes rhizome, fresh ginger and Chinese dates.

175 Pi 癖, “aggregation-illness,” of painful lumps emerging from time to time in both flanks. BCGM Dict I, 371.



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overseas,176 and occasionally the disease appeared struck, but after a month or a little longer it was active again. Whether these were supplementing [drugs] like aconitum [root], aconitum [accessory tuber] and alum or those that free a passage, such as pharbitis [seed], kansui [root] and Peking spurge [root], I tried them all. Eventually I thought there are bags [in my body], just like potholes [on a road, filled] with water. As long as these potholes are not filled, the water will not flow further on. [Once they are filled] the clear water flows on, while the turbid parts remain [in the pothole], and there is no way for them to leave. Hence [when turbid stuff ] had accumulated [in my clean bags] for five to seven days I was forced to vomit and [the turbid stuff ] was removed. The spleen, i. e., the soil, abhors moisture. Water, though, is flowing moisture, and [it occurred to me that] there is no better way than to dry the spleen and to remove the moisture, and to pile up soil to close off the pothole. Hence I laid aside all medication, except for one jin of cang zhu. I removed the skin, cut it into slices and [ground them to] powder. This I gave together with half a liang of sesame oil into two small cups of water, ground [the cang zhu] and passed [the liquid] through a sieve to obtain a juice. Then I boiled 50 large Chinese dates, removed their skin and pits, pounded them [to a pulp] and formed it together with [the juice] to pills the size of wu seeds. Every day on an empty abdomen I ingested with a warm [liquid] 50 pills, and I gradually increased the dosage to one and even two hundred pills. [During the treatment] I avoided peaches, plums and sparrow meat. After ingesting [the pills] for three months my illness was cured. From then on, I regularly ingested [cang zhu pills]. I neither vomited nor did I feel pain. My chest and the diaphragm were widened and the passage was freed. I could drink and eat as normal. During the summerheat months sweat was released from all over my body, and under a lamp I was able to write fine characters. All this was the result of the strength of zhu. When it is ingested, there will be a slight dryness at the very beginning. This can be resolved by ingesting some mountain gardenia [fruit] powder boiled in bubbling water. After ingesting [the pills] for a long time there will be no more dryness.”

176 Ever since the Tang physician Sun Simiao (581 – 682?) claimed to have received “from overseas” (hai shang 海上) a recipe secretly kept in the Dragon Palace, the term “recipe from overseas,” hai shang fang 海上方, has been used to refer to an exceptionally effective recipe.

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The Ben Cao Gang Mu 【附方】舊三，新三十。 Added Recipes. Three of old. 30 newly [recorded].

服术法。烏髭髮， 駐顔色， 壯筋骨， 明耳目， 除風氣， 潤肌膚， 久服令 人輕健。蒼术不計多少，米泔水浸三日，逐日换水，取出刮去黑皮，切片 暴乾，慢火炒黄，細擣爲末。每一斤，用蒸過白伏苓末半斤，煉蜜和丸梧 子大，空心卧時熱水下十五丸。别用术末六兩，甘草末一兩，拌和作湯點 之，吞丸尤妙。忌桃、李、雀、蛤及三白、諸血。經驗方。 The method to ingest zhu. It blackens beard and hair. It maintains a [youthful] complexion, strengthens sinews and bones, clears ears and eyes, removes wind qi and moistens muscles and skin. Ingested over a long time it relieves one’s body of its weight and stabilizes health. Soak any amount of cang zhu for three days in water which was used to wash rice and change the water every day. Then take it out and remove the black skin. Cut it into slices, dry it in the sun, fry it above a slow fire until it turns yellow, mix it with heat refined honey and form pills the size of wu seeds. Send 50 pills down, before going to bed, with hot water on an empty stomach. Another [method recommends to] mix six liang of zhu powder with one liang of glycyrrhiza [root], boil water and prepare an infusion with clear, boiled water. If it were swallowed as pills, this would be especially wondrous. [During an ingestion] peaches, plums, sparrow [meat] and clams are to be avoided, and also the three whites177 and all kinds of blood. Jing yan fang. 蒼术膏。鄧才筆峰雜興方 ： 除風濕 ， 健脾胃 ， 變白駐顔 ， 補虚損 ， 大有 功效。蒼术新者 ， 刮去皮 ， 薄切 ， 米泔水浸二日 ， 一日一换 ， 取出 ， 以井華水浸過二寸 ， 春、秋五日 ， 夏三日 ， 冬七日 ， 漉出 ， 以生絹袋盛 之 ， 放在一半原水中 ， 揉洗津液出 ， 紐乾。將渣又搗爛 ， 袋盛于一半原 水中，揉至汁盡爲度。將汁入大砂鍋中，慢火熬成膏。每一斤，入白蜜四 兩，熬二炷香。每膏一斤，入水澄白伏苓末半斤，攪匀瓶收。每服三匙， 侵早、臨卧各一服， 以温酒送下。忌醋及酸物、桃、李、雀、蛤、菘菜、 青魚等物。 Cang zhu paste. Deng Cai, Bi feng za xing fang: It removes wind and moisture, strengthens spleen and stomach, changes white [hair to black hair], maintains a [youthful] complexion and supplements depletion injury, with a massive [therapeutic] potential and effect. Remove the skin from fresh cang zhu, cut it into fine [slices] and soak it for two days in water which was used to wash rice. Change [the water] once per day. Then take [the drug] out [of the water] and soak it, two cun deep, in 177 The Yang yi da quan identifies the “three whites” as “onions, garlic and radish.” Following a discussion with Prof. Wang Jiakui 王家葵 of Chengdu, Prof. Zheng Jinsheng concluded that the “three whites” include fresh coriander, fresh garlic and fresh cabbage.



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the first water drawn from a well, in spring and autumn for five days, in summer and winter for seven days. Then let the liquid drip off and fill [the cang zhu] into a new silk bag. Place [the bag] into half of the original water and knead it until all its juice has left [the bag and has entered the water]. Give the juice into a large earthenware pot and simmer it above a slow fire to a paste. For each jin add four liang of white honey and simmer this to a paste for as long as it takes for two incense sticks to burn down. For each liang of the paste add half a jin of white poria, refined with water, stir this to generate an even mixture and store it in a jar. Each time ingest three spoonfuls in the early morning and at bedtime, and send them down with warm wine. [During such a therapy], vinegar and sour items, as well as peaches, plums, sparrow [meat], clams, Chinese cabbage and black carps are to be avoided. 吴球活人心統蒼术膏 ： 治脾經濕氣 ， 少食 ， 足腫無力 ， 傷食 ， 酒色過 度 ， 勞逸有傷 ， 骨熱。用鮮白蒼术二十斤 ， 浸刮去粗皮 ， 晒切 ， 以米泔 浸一宿 ， 取出 ， 同溪水一石 ， 大砂鍋慢火煎半乾 ， 去渣。再入石南葉三 斤，刷去紅衣，楮實子一斤，川當歸半斤，甘草四兩，切，同煎黄色， 濾去滓，再煎如稀粥，乃入白蜜三斤，熬成膏。每服三五錢，空心好酒調 服。 The cang zhu paste [recommended in] Wu Rui’s Huo ren xin tong. It serves to cure moisture qi that has invaded the spleen conduits, loss of appetite, swollen feet without strength, harm caused by food, [consequences of ] overindulgence in wine and sex, harm caused by [an imbalance of ] work and rest, and bone heat. Soak 20 jin of fresh, white cang zhu [in water], remove the coarse skin, dry it in the sun and cut it [into slices]. Soak them for one night in water which was used to wash rice, take it out again and boil it in one dan of water from a rivulet in a large earthenware pot over a slow fire until it is half dry. Then remove the dregs and add three jin of photinia leaves, with the red dress removed, one jin of paper mulberry tree fruits, half a jin of [Si] chuan Chinese angelica [root], and four liang of glycyrrhiza [root], cut [to pieces]. Boil all this until it has assumed a yellow color, pass it through a sieve to remove the dregs, and fry this again until it has assumed the consistency of porridge. Then add three jin of white honey and simmer this to a paste. Each time ingest three to five qian, to be ingested mixed with good wine on an empty stomach. 蒼术丸。薩謙齋瑞竹堂方云：清上實下，兼治内外障眼。茅山蒼术洗刮净 一斤 ， 分作四分 ， 用酒、醋、糯泔、童尿各浸三日 ， 一日一换 ， 取出 ， 洗搗晒焙，以黑脂麻同炒香，共爲末，酒煮麪糊丸梧子大，每空心白湯下 五十丸。 Cang zhu pills. Sa Qianzhai in his Rui zhu tang fang states: It clears [heat] above and replenishes below, and in addition it serves to cure both internally and exter-

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nally obstructed eyes. Wash clean and remove the skin of one jin of cang zhu from Mount Mao shan. Divide it into four portions and soak each part separately in wine, vinegar, water which was used to wash rice and boys‘ urine for three days, with the liquids changed once a day. Then remove [the four portions from the liquids], wash them, pound them, dry them in the sun and bake them over a slow fire. Fry them with black sesame seeds until a fragrant smell is generated, and grind all of them to powder. Boil it with wine and prepare with wheat flour a paste to form pills the size of wu seeds. Each time ingest with clear, boiled water 50 pills on an empty stomach. 李仲南永類方八制蒼术丸：疏風順氣養腎，治腰脚濕氣痺痛。蒼术一斤， 洗刮净 ， 分作四分 ， 用酒、醋、米泔、鹽水各浸三日 ， 晒乾。又分作四 分，用川椒紅、茴香、補骨脂、黑牽牛各一兩，同炒香，揀去不用，只取 术研末，醋糊丸梧子大。每服五十丸，空心鹽酒送下。五十歲後，加沉香 末一兩。 The “pills with cang zhu that has undergone an eightfold check” [recommended by] Li Zhongnan in his Yong lei fang. It dispels wind, frees the flow of qi and nourishes the kidneys. It serves to cure painful blockage in the lower back and the legs caused by moisture qi. Wash clean one jin of cang zhu, remove the skin and divide it into four portions that are then separately soaked for three days in wine, vinegar, water which was used to wash rice and brine. Then dry them in the sun, again divide them into four portions and fry each portion separately with ripe fruit of Chinese pepper, fennel [fruit], psoralea [seeds] and black pharbitis [seeds] until a fragrant smell is generated. Remove these [four substances], they are no longer required, and grind only the zhu to powder. It is prepared with vinegar to a paste that is formed to pills the size of wu seeds. Each time ingest 50 pills, to be sent down with brine or wine on an empty stomach. For [patients] more than 50 years old add one liang of aloes wood powder. 蒼术散。治風濕，常服壯筋骨，明目。蒼术一斤，粟米泔浸過，竹刀刮去 皮。半斤以無灰酒浸，半斤以童子小便浸，春五、夏三、秋七、冬十日， 取出。净地上掘一坑 ， 炭火煅赤 ， 去炭 ， 將浸藥酒傾入坑内 ， 却放术在 中，以瓦器盖定，泥封一宿，取出爲末。每服一錢，空心温酒或鹽湯下。 Cang zhu powder. It serves to cure wind and moisture. Regularly ingested it strengthens sinews and bones, and clears the eyes. Soak one jin of cang zhu in water in which millet was washed and cut off the skin with a bamboo knife. Soak half a jin in ash-free wine and the other half in boys‘ urine, in spring for five days, in summer for three days, in autumn for seven days and in winter for ten days. Then take [the two portions out of the liquids]. Dig in clean ground a pit and calcine it with



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a charcoal fire until it has turned red. Remove the charcoal and pour the medicated wine [and the boys‘ urine] into the pit. Then place the zhu into the middle and close [the pit] with a pottery lid. Keep it sealed with mud for one night, then take [the zhu] out again and grind it to powder. Each time ingest one qian, to be sent down on an empty stomach with warm wine or a salt decoction. 萬表積善堂方六制蒼术散：治下元虚損，偏墜莖痛。茅山蒼术净刮六斤， 分作六分。一斤，倉米泔浸二日，炒；一斤，酒浸二日，炒；一斤，青 鹽半斤炒黄， 去鹽； 一斤， 小茴香四兩炒黄， 去茴； 一斤， 大茴香四兩 炒黄， 去茴； 一斤， 用桑椹子汁浸二日， 炒。取术爲末， 每服三錢， 空 心温酒下。 The “powder with cang zhu that has undergone a sixfold check” [as recommended by] Wan Biao in his Ji shan tang fang. It serves to cure depletion injury of the original [qi] in the lower [body part], with a unilateral drop [of the scrotum] and a painful penis. Wash six jin of cang zhu from Mount Mao shan clean and remove [the skin]. Divide them into six portions. Soak one jin in water in which rice was washed for two days and then fry it. Soak one jin in wine for two days and then fry it. Fry one jin with half a jin of halite until it has turned yellow and remove the halite. Fry one jin with four liang of fennel until it has turned yellow and remove the fennel. Fry one jin with four liang of star anise until it has turned yellow and remove the star anise. Soak one jin with mulberry seeds for two days and then fry it. Then [grind all] the zhu to powder. Each time ingest three qian, to be sent down on an empty stomach with warm wine. 固真丹。瑞竹堂方固真丹：燥濕養脾，助胃固真。茅山蒼术刮净一斤，分 作四分。一分青鹽一兩炒，一分川椒一兩炒，一分川楝子一兩炒，一分小 茴香、破故紙各一兩炒。並揀术研末，酒煮麪糊丸梧子大，每空心米飲下 五十丸。 The “elixir to solidify the true [qi].” The “elixir to solidify the true [qi]” [as recommended in the] Rui zhu tang fang. It dries moisture and nourishes the spleen. It supports the stomach and solidifies the true [qi]. Divide one jin of cang zhu from Mount Mao shan, with its skin removed and washed clean, into four portions. Fry one portion with one liang of halite. Fry one portion with one liang of Chinese pepper. Fry one portion with one liang of Persian lilac fruit. Fry one liang with one liang each of fennel and psoralea [seeds]. Then combine all the [six portions of ] zhu and grind them to powder. Boil it in wine and prepare with wheat flour a paste that is formed to pills the size of wu seeds. Each time send down on an empty stomach with a rice beverage 50 pills.

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乾坤生意平補固真丹 ： 治元臟久虚 ， 遺精白濁 ， 婦人赤白帶下 ， 崩漏。 金州蒼术刮净一斤，分作四分。一分川椒一兩炒，一分破故紙一兩炒，一 分茴香、食鹽各一兩炒，一分川楝肉一兩炒。取净术爲末，入白伏苓末二 兩，酒洗當歸末二兩，酒煮麪糊丸梧子大，每空心鹽酒下五十丸。 The “elixir that balances, supplements and solidifies the true [qi” as recommended in the] Qian kun sheng yi. It serves to cure long-lasting depletion in the long-term depot of original [qi], with spontaneous loss of essence/sperm and white, turbid [urine]. Red and white discharge from below the belt of women, collapse and leaking.178 Divide one jin of cang zhu from Jin zhou, with its skin removed and washed clean, into four portions. Fry one portion with one liang of Chinese pepper. Fry one portion with one liang of psoralea [seeds]. Fry one portion with one liang each of fennel and table salt. Fry one portion with one liang of Persian lilac fruit. Remove the zhu [from all six portions], wash it clean and [grind it to] powder. Add two liang of white poria powder and two liang of Chinese angelica [root] washed with wine. Boil this in wine, prepare with wheat flour a paste and form pills the size of wu seeds. Each time send down on an empty stomach 50 pills with brine or wine. 固元丹。治元臟久虚，遺精白濁，五淋及小腸膀胱疝氣，婦人赤白帶下， 血崩，便血等疾，以小便頻數爲效。好蒼术刮净一斤，分作四分。一分小 茴香、食鹽各一兩同炒，一分川椒、補骨脂各一兩同炒，一分川烏頭、川 楝子肉各一兩同炒，一分用醇醋、老酒各半升，同煮乾，焙，連同炒藥通 爲末，用酒煮糊丸梧子大。每服五十丸，男以温酒，女以醋湯，空心下。 此高司法方也。王璆百一選方。 The “elixir to solidify the original [long-term depot].” It serves to cure a long-lasting depletion of the long-term depot of original [qi], with a spontaneous loss of essence/sperm and white, turbid urine, the five kinds of [urinary] dripping and elevation qi affecting the small intestine and the urinary bladder. Red and white discharge from below the belt of women, blood collapse179 and urine with blood, all such illnesses. Once urination occurs frequently again, this is the effect. Divide one jin of good quality cang zhu, with its skin removed and washed clean, into four portions. Fry one portion together with one liang each of fennel [fruit] and table salt. Fry one portion together with one liang each of Chinese pepper and psoralea [seeds]. Fry one portion with one liang each of aconitum [main tuber] and Persian lilac fruit. Fry one portion together with half a sheng each of pure vinegar and old wine. Then boil all of these substances together, dry them, bake them over a slow fire 178 Beng lou 崩漏, “collapse and leaking,” a condition of beng zhong 崩中, “collapsing center,” and lou xia 漏下, “leaking discharge.” Collapsing center is often followed by leaking downflow. In some cases they appear alternatingly. BCGM Dict I, 58.

179 [Xue] beng [血]崩, “[blood] collapse,” is excessive vaginal bleeding. BCGM Dict I, 594.



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and [grind] them, including the drugs required for the frying, to powder. Boil it in wine to prepare a paste that is formed to pills the size of wu seeds. Each time ingest 50 pills. Males send them down on an empty stomach with warm wine, females with a vinegar decoction. This is a recipe of Gao Sifa. Wang Qiu, Bai yi xuan fang. 少陽丹。蒼术米泔浸半日 ， 刮皮晒乾爲末一斤 ， 地骨皮温水洗净 ， 去心 晒研一斤 ， 熟桑椹二十斤 ， 入瓷盆揉爛 ， 絹袋壓汁 ， 和末如糊 ， 傾入盤 内 ， 日晒夜露 ， 采日精月華 ， 待乾研末 ， 煉蜜和丸赤小豆大。每服二十 丸 ， 無灰酒下 ， 日三服。一年變髮返黑 ， 三年面如童子。劉松石保壽堂 方。 Minor yang elixir. One jin of cang zhu soaked for half a day in water in which rice was washed, with the skin removed, is dried in the sun and ground to powder. One jin of lycium root bark, washed clean with warm water, with its core removed, is dried in the sun and ground [to powder]. 20 jin of cooked mulberry fruit are given into a porcelain basin and kneaded to a pulp. This is filled into a silk bag where it is pressed to obtain its juice. [The juice] is mixed with the powders to form a paste which is then poured on a plate and left exposed to the drying sun during daytime and to moist dew during the night. This way it receives the essence of the sun and the splendor of the moon. Then let it dry and grind it to powder. Mix it with heat refined honey to form pills the size of red mung beans. Each time ingest 20 pills, to be sent down with ash-free wine. To be ingested three times a day. Within one year it will change [white] hair to turn black again, and within three years the face will be that of a boy. Liu Songshi, Bao shou tang fang. 交感丹。補虚損，固精氣，烏髭髮，此鐵甕城 申先生方也，久服令人有 子。茅山蒼术刮净一斤，分作四分，用酒、醋、米泔、鹽湯各浸七日，晒 研，川椒紅、小茴香各四兩，炒研，陳米糊和丸梧子大。每服四十丸，空 心温酒下。聖濟總録。 The “elixir to stimulate feelings for each other.” It supplements depletion injury, solidifies essence/sperm qi and blackens beard and hair. This is a recipe of Mr. Shen of Tie weng cheng. When it is ingested for a long time, it lets one have children. Divide one jin of cang zhu from Mount Mao shan into four portions and soak them separately in wine, vinegar, water in which rice was washed and salt decoction for seven days. Then dry [the cang zhu] in the sun and grind [it to powder]. [Mix it with] four liang each of ripe fruit of Chinese pepper and fennel, fry this and grind [it to powder]. Mix it with long-stored rice to a paste and prepare pills the size of wu seeds. Each time ingest 40 pills, to be sent down on an empty stomach with warm wine. Sheng ji zong lu.

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交加丸。升水降火，除百病。蒼术刮净一斤，分作四分，一分米泔浸炒， 一分鹽水浸炒 ， 一分川椒炒 ， 一分破故紙炒。黄蘗皮刮净一斤 ， 分作四 分 ， 一分酒炒 ， 一分童尿浸炒 ， 一分小茴香炒 ， 一分生用。揀去各藥 ， 只取术、蘗爲末，煉蜜丸梧子大。每服六十丸，空心鹽湯下。鄧才筆峰雜 興方。 The “pills with an added [substance to stimulate feelings for] each other.” They let water rise and bring fire down. They remove the hundreds of diseases. Divide one jin of cang zhu, with its skin removed and washed, into four portions. One portion is soaked in water in which rice was washed and then fried. One portion is soaked in brine and then fried. One portion is fried with Chinese pepper. One portion is fried with psoralea [seeds]. Divide one jin of phellodendron [bark], with its skin removed, into four portions. Fry one portion in wine. Soak in boys’ urine and fry one portion. Fry one portion with fennel. Use one portion unprocessed. Then discard all the medical drugs and [grind] only zhu and phellodendron [bark] to powder. Prepare it with heat refined honey to pills the size of wu seeds. Each time ingest 60 pills, to be sent down on an empty stomach with a salt decoction. Deng Cai, Bi feng za xing fang. 坎離丸。滋陰降火，開胃進食，强筋骨，去濕熱。白蒼术刮净一斤，分作 四分，一分川椒一兩炒，一分破故紙一兩炒，一分五味子一兩炒，一分川 芎藭一兩炒，只取术研末。川蘗皮四斤，分作四分，一斤酥炙，一斤人乳 汁炙 ， 一斤童尿炙 ， 一斤米泔炙 ， 各十二次 ， 研末。和匀 ， 煉蜜丸梧子 大。每服三十丸，早用酒，午用茶，晚用白湯下。積善堂方。 The “pills [combining] kan 坎 (i. e., water/yin) and li 離 (i. e., fire/yang).” They nourish yin [qi] and bring down fire, open the stomach and stimulate appetite, strengthen sinews and bones and remove moisture and heat. Divide one jin of white cang zhu, with its skin removed and washed, into four portions. Fry one portion with one liang of Chinese pepper. Fry one portion with one jin of psoralea [seeds]. Fry one portion with one liang of schisandra seeds. Fry one portion with one liang of ligusticum chuanxiong [root]. Then grind only the [cang] zhu to powder. Divide four jin of Si chuan phellodendron root bark into four portions. Roast one jin in butter. Roast one jin in human milk. Roast one jin in boys‘ urine. Roast one jin in water in which rice was washed. Do this for each portion twelve times. Grind [the cang zhu and the phellodendron bark] to powder, prepare an even mixture and form with heat refined honey pills the size of wu seeds. Each time ingest 30 pills, to be sent down in the morning with wine, at noon with tea and in the evening with clear, boiled water. Ji shan tang fang.



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不老丹。補脾益腎，服之七十亦無白髮。茅山蒼术刮净，米泔浸軟，切片 四斤，一斤酒浸焙，一斤醋浸焙，一斤鹽四兩炒，一斤椒四兩炒。赤、白 何首烏各二斤 ， 泔浸 ， 竹刀刮切 ， 以黑豆、紅棗各五升 ， 同蒸至豆爛 ， 曝乾。地骨皮去骨一斤。各取净末 ， 以桑椹汁和成劑 ， 鋪盆内 ， 汁高三 指 ， 日晒夜露 ， 取日月精華 ， 待乾 ， 以石臼搗末 ， 煉蜜和丸梧子大。每 空心酒服一百丸。此皇甫敬之方也。王海藏醫壘元戎。 The “anti-aging elixir.” It supplements the [qi of the] spleen and boosts the [qi of the] kidneys. To ingest it lets even someone aged 70 not have white hair. Cut into slices four jin of cang zhu from Mount Mao shan, with its skin removed and washed, and soaked in water that was used to wash rice to let it soften. Soak one jin in wine and bake it over a slow fire. Soak one jin in vinegar and bake it over a slow fire. Fry one jin with four liang of salt. Fry one jin with four liang of pepper. Soak two jin each of red and white polygonum multiflorum [root] in water in which rice was washed, remove with a bamboo knife its skin and cut it into slices. Boil them together with five sheng each of black soybeans and red Chinese dates until the bones have formed a pulpy paste. One jin of lycium root bark, with the nodes removed. Clean all [these substances and grind them to] powder. Mix it with mulberry juice and give it into a basin. Let the juice rise to a height of three fingers and expose it to the drying sun during daytime and to the dew during the night. This way it receives the essence and splendor of sun and moon. Wait until it has dried and pound it in a stone mortar to powder. Prepare this with heat refined honey to pills the size of wu seeds. Each time ingest on an empty stomach with wine 100 pills. This is a recipe of Huangfu Jing. Wang Haicang, Yi lei yuan rong. 靈芝丸。治脾腎氣虚，添補精髓，通利耳目。蒼术一斤，米泔水浸，春、 夏五日， 秋、冬七日， 逐日换水， 竹刀刮皮切晒， 石臼爲末， 棗肉蒸， 和丸梧子大。每服三五十丸，棗湯空心服。奇效良方。 The “pills [as effective as] magic zhi-plants.” They serve to cure qi depletion of spleen and kidneys, and increase and supplement essence/sperm and marrow. They open and free the passage through the ears and the eyes. Soak one jin of cang zhu in water which was used to wash rice, in spring and summer for five days, in autumn and winter for seven days, with the water changed every day. Then remove with a bamboo knife the skin, cut [the cang zhu into slices], dry them in the sun and grind them in a stone mortar to powder. Mix it with steamed Chinese date meat and prepare pills the size of wu seeds. Each time ingest 30 to 50 pills, to be ingested on an empty stomach with a Chinese date decoction. Qi xiao liang fang.

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補脾滋腎。生精强骨，真仙方也。蒼术去皮五斤，爲末，米泔水漂，澄取 底用。脂麻二升半 ， 去殻研爛 ， 絹袋濾去渣 ， 澄漿拌术 ， 暴乾。每服三 錢，米湯或酒空心調服。孫氏集效方。 To supplement the spleen [qi] and to nourish the kidney [qi]. To generate essence/ sperm and to strengthen the bones. A genuine recipe of hermits/immortals. Grind five jin of cang zhu, with its skin removed, to powder and give it into water in which rice was washed. Wait until it has cleared and remove the [cang zhu dregs from the] bottom for further use. Remove the shell from two and a half jin of sesame seeds and grind them to a pulpy paste. Fill it into a silk bag, squeeze it [to obtain a juice] and discard the dregs. Once the thick liquid has cleared mix it with the [cang] zhu and dry it in the sun. Each time ingest three qian. To be ingested on an empty stomach either with a rice decoction or mixed with wine. Sun shi, Ji xiao fang. 面黄食少。男婦面無血色，食少嗜卧。蒼术一斤，熟地黄半斤，乾薑炮， 冬一兩 ， 春、秋七錢 ， 夏五錢 ， 爲末 ， 糊丸梧子大 ， 每温水下五十丸。 濟生拔萃方。 A yellow face and loss of appetite. The facial complexion of both males and females lacks blood. A loss of appetite is associated with a desire to lie down and sleep. [Grind] one jin of cang zhu, half a jin of prepared Chinese foxglove [rhizome] and roasted ginger, one liang in winter, seven qian in spring and autumn, five qian in summer, to powder and make a paste to prepare pills the size of wu seeds. Each time send down with warm water 50 pills. Ji sheng ba cui fang. 小兒癖疾。蒼术四兩 ， 爲末 ， 羊肝一具 ， 竹刀批開 ， 撒术末線縛 ， 入砂 鍋煮熟，搗作丸服。生生編。 Aggregation-illness180 of children. [Grind] four liang of cang zhu to powder. Cut open one sheep liver with a bamboo knife, sprinkle the [cang] zhu powder [into the open liver] and bind it together with a thread. Give it into an earthenware cauldron and boil it until done. Pound it [to a pulp] to prepare pills and [let the patient] ingest them. Sheng sheng bian. 好食生米。男子、婦人因食生熟物留滯腸胃，遂至生蟲，久則好食生米， 否則終日不樂 ， 至憔悴萎黄 ， 不思飲食 ， 以害其生。用蒼术米泔水浸一 夜，剉焙爲末，蒸餅丸梧子大。每服五十丸，食前米飲下，日三服。益昌 伶人劉清嘯，一娼名曰花翠，年逾笄病此。惠民局監趙尹以此治之，兩旬 而愈。盖生米留滯，腸胃受濕，則穀不磨而成此疾，蒼术能去濕暖胃消穀 也。楊氏家藏經驗方。 180 Pi 癖, “aggregation-illness,” of painful lumps emerging from time to time in both flanks. BCGM Dict I, 371.



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A preference to eat raw rice. When males or females eat raw and cooked items together they will abide in the intestines and the stomach. Eventually this results in a generation of worms/bugs and, after a long time, [such persons] prefer to eat raw rice. If they do not [eat raw rice] they are unhappy all day long. Eventually they turn thin and pallid, with a withered, yellow [complexion]. They no longer wish to drink and eat, and they jeopardize their life. Soak cang zhu for one night in water in which rice was washed, cut it into slices, bake it over a slow fire and [grind it to] powder to be prepared with steam cakes to pills the size of wu seeds. Each time ingest 50 pills, to be sent down prior to meals with a rice beverage. To be ingested three times a day. In Yi chang, Liu Qingsu, an actor, had in his troupe a female performer named “blossom of emerald green.” She was a little over 15 years old and suffered from this disease. Zhao Yin, head of the [public pharmacy] “Office to Benefit the People,” treated her with this [medication]. She was cured within 20 days. The fact is, when raw rice abides in the intestines and the stomach and is exposed there to moisture, the grain cannot be ground and this illness emerges. Cang zhu can remove moisture, warm the stomach and dissolve grain. Yang shi jia cang jing yan fang. 腹中虚冷 ， 不能飲食 ， 食輒不消 ， 羸弱生病。术二斤 ， 麴一斤 ， 炒爲 末，蜜丸梧子大。每服三十丸，米湯下，日三服。大冷加乾薑三兩，腹痛 加當歸三兩，羸弱加甘草二兩。肘後方。 Abdominal depletion cold. [Patients] cannot drink and eat. Food regularly remains undigested. [Patients] are emaciated, weak and generate diseases. Fry two jin of zhu and one jin of yeast and [grind them to] powder to be prepared with honey to pills the size of wu seeds. Each time ingest 30 pills, to be sent down with a rice decoction. To be ingested three times a day. In the case of a massive [depletion] cold, add three liang of dried ginger. In the case of abdominal pain, add three liang of Chinese angelica [root]. In the case of emaciation and weakness, add two liang of glycyrrhiza [root]. Zhou hou fang. 脾濕水瀉注下 ， 困弱無力 ， 水穀不化 ， 腹痛甚者。蒼术二兩 ， 白芍藥一 兩， 黄芩半兩， 淡桂二錢， 每服一兩， 水一盞半， 煎一盞， 温服。脉弦 頭微痛，去芍藥，加防風二兩。保命集。 Spleen moisture causing a watery outflow gushing down, associated with fatigue, weakness, lack of strength, a failure to digest water and grain, and extreme abdominal pain. For each dosage boil one liang of a mixture of two liang of cang zhu, one liang of paeonia [root], half a liang of scutellaria [root] and two qian of bland cassia in one and a half small cups of water down to one cup and ingest [the liquid] warm. In the case of a string-like [movement in the] vessels and slight headache, discard

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the [white] paeonia [root] and add two liang of saposhnikovia [roots] instead. Bao ming ji. 暑月暴瀉。壯脾温胃，飲食所傷。麴术丸：用神麴炒，蒼术米泔浸一夜， 焙，等分爲末，糊丸梧子大。每服三五十丸，米飲下。和劑局方。 Sudden outflow during summerheat months. To strengthen the spleen and warm the stomach when they are harmed by beverages and food. The “pills with yeast and zhu.” [Grind] equal amounts of fried yeast and cang zhu, soaked for one night in water in which rice was washed, and baked over a slow fire, to powder. Make a paste and prepare pills the size of wu seeds. Each time ingest 30 to 50 pills, to be sent down with a rice beverage. He ji ju fang. 飧瀉久痢。椒术丸：用蒼术二兩，川椒一兩，爲末，醋糊丸梧子大。每服 二十丸，食前温水下。惡痢久者，加桂。保命集。 Outflow of undigested food and long-lasting free-flux illness. The “pills with Chinese pepper and zhu.” [Grind] two liang of cang zhu and one liang of Chinese pepper to powder, prepare with vinegar a paste and form pills the size of wu seeds. Each time ingest 20 pills, to be sent down with warm water prior to meals. In the case of a long-lasting malign free-flux illness, add cassia. Bao ming ji. 脾濕下血。蒼术二兩 ， 地榆一兩 ， 分作二服 ， 水二盞 ， 煎一盞 ， 食前温 服。久痢虚滑，以此下桃花丸。保命集。 Spleen moisture causing a discharge of blood. Divide two liang of cang zhu and one liang of sanguisorba [root] into two portions. Boil each of them in two small cups of water down to one cup and ingest [the liquid] warm prior to meals. In the case of a long-lasting free-flux illness with depletion and smooth [defecation], use this [liquid] to send down the “pills with peach blossoms.” Bao ming ji. 腸風下血。蒼术不拘多少 ， 以皂角挼濃汁浸一宿 ， 煮乾 ， 焙 ， 研爲末 ， 麪糊丸如梧子大。每服五十丸，空心米飲下，日三服。婦人良方。 Intestinal wind causing a discharge of blood. Soak any amount of cang zhu in thick juice pressed out of gleditsia [pods/seeds] for one night, boil it until it has dried, bake it over a slow fire and grind it to powder to be formed with a wheat flour paste to pills the size of wu seeds. Each time ingest 50 pills, to be sent down on an empty stomach with a rice beverage. To be ingested three times a day. Fu ren liang fang. 濕氣身痛。蒼术泔浸切，水煎，取濃汁熬膏，白湯點服。簡便方。 Moisture qi letting the entire body ache. Soak cang zhu in water in which rice was washed, cut it [into slices], boil them in water to obtain a thick juice and simmer



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this to obtain a paste. Pour clear, boiled water on it [to generate an infusion] and ingest it. Jian bian fang. 補虚明目，健骨和血。蒼术泔浸四兩，熟地黄焙二兩，爲末，酒糊丸梧子 大。每温酒下三五十丸，日三服。普濟方。 To supplement a [qi] depletion and to clear the eyes, to strengthen the bones and to harmonize blood. [Grind] four liang of cang zhu, soaked in water in which rice was washed, and two liang of prepared Chinese foxglove [rhizome], baked over a slow fire, to powder, prepare with wine a paste and form pills the size of wu seeds. Each time with warm wine send down 30 to 50 pills. To be ingested three times a day. Pu ji fang. 青盲雀目。聖惠方用蒼术四兩，泔浸一夜，切焙研末。每服三錢，猪肝二 兩，批開摻藥在内，扎定，入粟米一合，水一碗，砂鍋煮熟，熏眼，臨 卧食肝飲汁，不拘大人、小兒皆治。 Green blindness181 and sparrow eyes.182 The Sheng hui fang [recommends to] soak four liang of cang zhu for one night in water in which rice was washed, cut [the cang zhu into slices], bake them over a slow fire and grind them to powder. For each application prepare a dosage of three qian. Open two pig livers, give the medication into them and bind them firmly with a thread. Give them together with one ge of millet and one bowl of water into an earthenware cauldron and boil this until done. Steam the [patient’s] eyes [with the liquid] and prior to going to bed let him eat the livers and drink the juice. Regardless of whether [the patients] are adults or children, they are all cured. 又方 ： 不計時月久近。用蒼术二兩 ， 泔浸 ， 焙 ， 搗爲末 ， 每服一錢 ， 以好羊子肝一斤 ， 竹刀切破 ， 摻藥在内 ， 麻扎 ， 以粟米泔煮熟 ， 待冷食 之，以愈爲度。 Another recipe. No matter for how long [the illness] has lasted. Soak two liang of cang zhu in water in which rice was washed, bake it over a slow fire, and pound it to powder. For each application prepare a dosage of one qian. Cut open with a bamboo knife a sheep liver weighing one jin, fill it with the medication and bind it with a hemp string. Boil this in water in which millet was washed, wait until [the liquid] has cooled and eat [the liver]. Continue this until a cure is achieved. 181 Qing mang 青盲, “green blindness,” a condition of shi ming 失明, “loss of vision,” with no externally apparent changes in the eye and a clear distinction of the dark and white parts of the eye, while patients nevertheless are unable to see. BCGM Dict I, 391.

182 Que mu 雀目, “sparrow eye,” a condition with unimpaired vision during daylight and significantly decreased vision after nightfall. BCGM Dict I, 394.

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眼目昏濇。蒼术半斤，泔浸七日，去皮切焙，蛤粉、木賊各二兩，爲末。 每服一錢，茶酒任下。聖惠方。 Dimmed vision and a sensation of roughness in the eyes. Soak half a jin of cang zhu for seven days in water in which rice was washed, remove the skin and bake it over a slow fire. [Grind] it together with two liang each of clam shell powder and scouring rush to powder. Each time ingest one qian. To be sent down with tea or wine, whichever is preferred. Sheng hui fang. 嬰兒目濇不開，或出血。蒼术二錢，入猪膽中扎煮。將藥氣熏眼後，更嚼 取汁與服，妙。幼幼新書。 Rough eyes of children that fail to open, in some cases releasing blood. Give two qian of cang zhu into a pig’s gall bladder, tie it up and boil it. After having steamed the [child’s] eyes with the medicinal qi, chew [the filled gall bladder] to obtain a juice and feed [it to the child]. Wondrous. You you xin shu. 風牙腫痛。蒼术鹽水浸過，燒存性，研末揩牙，去風熱。普濟方。 Painful swelling of teeth caused by wind. Soak cang zhu in brine and burn it with its nature retained. Grind it to powder and rub it on the teeth. This dispels the wind and the heat. Pu ji fang. 臍蟲怪病。腹中如鐵石，臍中水出，旋變作蟲行，遶身匝痒難忍，撥掃不 盡。用蒼术濃煎湯浴之。仍以蒼术末，入麝香少許，水調服。夏子益奇疾 方。 A strange disease of worms/bugs in the navel. There is a sensation in the abdomen as if there was iron or a stone. Water is released through the navel. Eventually this changes to a movement of worms/bugs. They surround the body, causing an unbearable itch. It is impossible to wipe them all away. Wash [the affected body] with a thick decoction of cang zhu. In addition, ingest mixed with water cang zhu powder to which a small amount of musk is added. Xia Ziyi, Qi ji fang. 12-15-03 苗。Miao. [Cang zhu] seedling.

【主治】作飲甚香，去水。弘景。亦止自汗。 Control. It is made to a very fragrant beverage that eliminates water. [Tao] Hongjing. It also ends spontaneous sweating.



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12-16 狗脊本經中品 Gou ji, FE Ben jing, middle rank. Cibotium barometz ( L.) J. Smith. Golden chicken fern.183 【釋名】强膂别録、扶筋别録、百枝本經、狗青吴普。【恭曰】此藥苗似 貫衆，根長多歧，狀如狗之脊骨，而肉作青緑色，故以名之。【時珍曰】 强膂、扶筋 ， 以功名也。别録又名扶盖 ， 乃扶筋之誤。本經狗脊一名百 枝，别録萆薢一名赤節，而吴普本草謂百枝爲萆薢，赤節爲狗脊，皆似誤 也。 Explanation of Names. Qiang lü 强膂, “stiffens the spine,” Bie lu. Fu jin 扶筋, “supports sinews,” Bie lu. Bai zhi 百枝, “hundreds of twigs,” Ben jing. Gou qing 狗青, “dog’s greenish [flesh],” Wu Pu. [Su] Gong: This medicinal seedling resembles that of dryopteris [ferns]. It has a long root and many branches. It is shaped like the backbone of a dog. The flesh is of greenish-green color. Hence the names. [Li] Shizhen: Qiang lü 强膂, “stiffens the spine,” and fu jin 扶筋, “supports sinews,” are names reflecting the [therapeutic] potential [of gou ji]. The Bie lu also names it fu gai 扶盖, but this is a scribal error of fu jin 扶筋. In the Ben jing, gou ji 狗脊 is also named bai zhi 百枝. In the Bie lu, bi xie 萆薢, dioscorea [root], is also named chi jie 赤節. But according to the Wu Pu ben cao, bai zhi 百枝 is bi xie 萆薢 and chi jie 赤節 is gou ji 狗脊. All these appear to be erroneous designations. 【集解】【别録曰】狗脊生常山川谷，二月、八月采根，暴乾。【普曰】 狗脊如萆薢 ， 莖節如竹有刺 ， 葉圓赤 ， 根黄白 ， 亦如竹根 ， 毛有刺。岐 伯經云：莖無節，葉端圓、青赤，皮白有赤脉。【弘景曰】今山野處處有 之 ， 與菝葜相似而小異。其莖葉小肥 ， 其節疏 ， 其莖大直 ， 上有刺 ， 葉 圓有赤脉， 根凸凹巃嵸如羊角强細者是。【頌曰】今太行山、淄、温、眉 州亦有之。苗尖細碎青色，高一尺以來，無花，其莖葉似貫衆而細。其根 黑色，長三四寸，多歧，似狗之脊骨，大有兩指許。其肉青緑色。春秋采 根暴乾。今方亦有用金毛者。陶氏所説乃有刺萆薢，非狗脊也，今江左俗 猶用之。【斅曰】凡使狗脊，勿用透山藤根，形狀一般，只是入頂苦，不 可餌也。【時珍曰】狗脊有二種：一種根黑色如狗脊骨，一種有金黄毛如 狗形，皆可入藥。其莖細而葉花兩兩對生，正似大葉蕨，比貫衆葉有齒， 面背皆光。其根大如拇指， 有硬黑鬚簇之。吴普、陶弘景所説根苗皆是菝 葜；蘇恭、蘇頌所説即真狗脊也。按張揖廣雅云：菝葜，狗脊也。張華博 物志云：菝葜與萆薢相亂，一名狗脊。觀此則昔人以菝葜爲狗脊，相承之 誤久矣。然菝葜、萆薢、狗脊三者，形狀雖殊，而功用亦不甚相遠。

183 Gou ji 狗脊, lit.: “dog spine.”

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Collected Explanations. Bie lu: Gou ji grows in the river valleys of Mount Chang shan. The root is collected in the second and eighth month. It is dried in the sun. [Wu] Pu: Similar to dioscorea [herbs], the stem of gou ji has knots with thorns like bamboo. Its leaves are round and red. The root is yellow-white. It, too, resembles the root of bamboo; its hair has thorns. The Qi Bo jing states: “Its stem has no knots. Its leaves have a round tip, they are greenish red. The skin is white with red vessels.” [Tao] Hongjing: Nowadays [gou ji] can be found everywhere in the mountains and in the open country. It resembles smilax [herbs], with some minor differences. The stem and the leaves are smaller and fatter; its knots are further apart from each other. Its stem is very straight. Above it has thorns. The leaves are round, with red vessels. The root has protuberances and indentations, resembling the stiffness and slenderness of sheep horns. [Su] Song: Nowadays, it is also found on Mount Tai xing shan and in Zi [zhou], Wen [zhou] and Mei zhou. Its seedlings are pointed, slender, fragmented and of greenish color. They reach a height of one chi or more and have no flowers. The leaves and the stem resemble those of dryopteris fern, but are finer. Its root is of black color, with a length of three to four cun and many branches, just like the backbone of a dog. It is approximately two fingers thick. The meat is of greenish-green color. The root is collected in spring and autumn, and it is collected in the sun. In recipes of today, the use of [gou ji with] golden hair [is recommended,] too. The substance described by Mr. Tao [Hongjing] as having thorns, this is bi xie; it is not gou ji. It is still commonly used in Jiang zuo. [Lei] Xiao: Whenever gou ji is to be applied, do not use the root of tou shan teng.184 Its physical appearance and shape are identical. The only difference is: [the latter] tastes extremely bitter; it cannot be ingested. [Li] Shizhen: There are two kinds of gou ji. The root of one type is black and resembles the backbone of a dog. The other type has golden-yellow hair similar to the physical appearance of a dog. Both can be added to medication. The stem is slender. The leaves and the flower grow in pairs opposite to each other. This is truly similar to large leaf pteridium vegetables. In comparison with dryopteris fern, its leaves have teeth, and they are shiny on both sides. The root is as thick as a thumb and it is covered with stiff, black hair. The root and the seedling described by Wu Pu and Tao Hongjing are those of smilax [herbs]. The substances described by Su Gong and Su Song are genuine gou ji. According to Zhang Ji’s Guang ya, “smilax [herb] is gou ji.” Zhang Hua in his Bo wu zhi states: “Smilax [herbs] have been mistaken for bi xie; its alternative name is gou ji.” In view of this, people in antiquity have identified smilax [herb] as gou ji, and this error has been transmitted for a long time. Still, the physical appearances and shapes of the three items smilax [root], dioscorea [root] 184 Tou shan teng 透山藤, lit.: “creeper jumping across mountains,” a plant of unclear identification.



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and gou ji may differ. But their [therapeutic] potentials and usages are not very far apart from each other. 12-16-01 根。Gen. [Gou ji] root.

【修治】【斅曰】凡修事 ， 火燎去鬚 ， 細剉了 ， 酒浸一夜 ， 蒸之 ， 從巳 至申，取出晒乾用。【時珍曰】今人惟剉炒去毛鬚用。 Pharmaceutical Preparation. For a pharmaceutical preparation, remove the hair with fire. Then cut it into fine slices, soak them in wine for one night, steam them from si 巳 (9 – 11 hrs.) to shen 申 (15 – 17 hrs.) and dry them in the sun before using them. [Li] Shizhen: Nowadays, the people simply cut [the root] into slices, fry them to remove the hair and then use them [for therapeutic ends]. 【氣味】苦 ， 平 ， 無毒。【别録曰】甘 ， 微温。【普曰】神農 ： 苦。桐 君、黄帝、岐伯、雷公、扁鵲：甘，無毒。李當之：小温。【權曰】苦、 辛，微熱。【之才曰】萆薢爲之使，惡敗醬、莎草。 Qi and Flavor. Bitter, acrid, nonpoisonous. Bie lu: Sweet, slightly warm. [Wu] Pu: Shen Nong: Bitter. Tong jun, Huang Di, Qi Bo, Lei gong, Bian Que: Sweet, nonpoisonous. Li Dangzhi: Slightly warm. [Zhen] Quan: Bitter, acrid, slightly hot. [Xu] Zhicai: Dioscorea [root] serves as its guiding substance. [Ingested together,] it abhors patrinia [root] and cyperus [root]. 【主治】腰背强 ， 關機緩急 ， 周痺 ， 寒濕膝痛。頗利老人。本經。療失 溺不節， 男女脚弱腰痛， 風邪淋露， 少氣目闇， 堅脊， 利俛仰， 女子傷 中，關節重。别録。男子女人毒風軟脚，腎氣虚弱，續筋骨，補益男子。 甄權。强肝腎，健骨，治風虚。時珍。 Control. Stiffness of the lumbar region and back. Tight joints and muscles. General blockage. Aching knees caused by cold and moisture. It is quite useful for elderly persons. Ben jing. It serves to heal involuntary loss of urine, weak legs and aching lower back of males, [urinary] dripping like drops of dew caused by wind evil, shortness of [breath] qi and dim vision. It strengthens the spine and frees one’s movements of lowering and raising the head. [It controls] harmed center of women and a feeling of heaviness in the joints. Bie lu. Softened legs because of poison wind affecting males and females. Depletion weakness of kidney qi. It reconnects sinews and bones. It supplements and boosts [the qi of ] males. Zhen Quan. It strengthens liver and kidneys. It builds up the bones. It serves to cure wind [that has availed itself of a] depletion. [Li] Shizhen.

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The Ben Cao Gang Mu 【附方】新四。 Added Recipes. Four newly [recorded].

男子諸風。四寶丹：用金毛狗脊，鹽泥固濟，煅紅去毛，蘇木、萆薢、川 烏頭生用等分，爲末，米醋和丸梧子大。每服二十丸，温酒、鹽湯下。普 濟方。 All kinds of [diseases of ] males [caused by] wind. The “four jewels elixir.” Firmly enclose golden hair gou ji with salt mud, calcine it until it has turned red and remove the hair. [Grind the gou ji] together with equal amounts of sappan wood, dioscorea [root] and unprocessed aconitum [main tuber] to powder. Mix it with rice vinegar to form pills the size of wu seeds. Each time ingest 20 pills, to be sent down with warm wine or a salt decoction. Pu ji fang. 室女白帶，衝任虚寒。鹿茸丸：用金毛狗脊燎去毛、白斂各一兩，鹿茸酒 蒸焙二兩，爲末，用艾煎醋汁打糯米糊，丸梧子大。每服五十丸，空心温 酒下。濟生方。 White [discharge from below the] belt of a virgin, with both the throughway and the controller [vessel affected by] depletion cold. The “pills with pilose deer antlers.” [Grind] one liang each of golden hair gou ji, with the hair removed by flaming, and ampelopsis [root], and two liang of pilose deer antlers, steamed with wine and baked over a slow fire, to powder. Boil it with common mugwort [leaves] in vinegar to obtain a juice that is prepared with glutinous rice to a paste to be formed to pills the size of wu seeds. Each time [let the patient] ingest 50 pills, to be sent down on an empty stomach with warm wine. Ji sheng fang. 固精强骨。金毛狗脊、遠志肉、白伏神、當歸身等分，爲末，煉蜜丸梧子 大。每酒服五十丸。集簡方。 To solidify the essence/sperm and strengthen the bones. [Grind] equal amounts of golden hair gou ji, polygala [root] meat, white poria and Chinese angelica [root] body to powder. With heat refined honey form pills the size of wu seeds. Each time ingest with wine 50 pills. Ji jian fang. 病後足腫。但節食以養胃氣，外用狗脊煎湯漬洗。吴綬藴要。 Swollen feet following a disease. All that is required is to limit one’s consumption of food so as to nourish the qi of the stomach. Externally soak and wash [the affected region] with a gou ji decoction. Wu Shou, Yun yao.



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12-17 貫衆本經下品 Guan zhong, FE Ben jing, lower rank. Dryopteris crassirhizoma Nakai. Thick stemmed wood fern.

【釋名】貫節本經、貫渠本經、百頭本經、又名虎卷、扁府。草鴟頭别 録、黑狗脊綱目、鳳尾草圖經。【時珍曰】此草葉莖如鳳尾， 其根一本而 衆枝貫之。故草名鳳尾，根名貫衆、貫節、貫渠。渠者，魁也。吴普本草 作貫中 ， 俗作貫仲、管仲者 ， 皆謬稱也。爾雅云 ： 濼 ， 音灼。貫衆 ， 即 此也。别録一名伯萍，一名藥藻，皆字訛也。金星草，一名鳳尾草，與此 同名，宜互考之。【弘景曰】近道皆有之。葉如大蕨。其根形色毛芒，全 似老鴟頭，故呼爲草鴟頭。 Explanation of Names. Guan jie 貫節, Ben jing. Guan qu 貫渠, Ben jing. Bai tou 百 頭, Ben jing. It is also named hu juan 虎卷 and bian fu 扁府.185 Cao chi tou 草鴟頭, Bie lu. Hei gou ji 黑狗脊, Gang mu. Feng wei cao 鳳尾草, Tu jing. [Li] Shizhen: The leaves and the stem of this herb resemble the tail, wei 尾, of a phoenix, feng 鳳. It has one central root with many, zhong 衆, branches pervading it, guan 貫. Hence the herb is named feng wei 鳳尾, “phoenix tail,” and the root is called guan zhong 貫衆, “pervaded by many,” guan jie 貫節, and guan qu 貫渠. Qu 渠 means “head,” “leader.” The Wu Pu ben cao writes guan zhong 貫中. This is an erroneous designation, as are the common writings guan zhong 貫仲 and guan zhong 管仲. The Er ya states: “Zhuo 濼, read zhuo 灼, is guan zhong 貫衆.” This is the [substance discussed] here. The Bie lu lists bo ping 伯萍 and yao zhuo 藥186藻 as alternative names. All these are erroneous writings. The jin xing cao 金星草 has feng wei cao 鳳尾草 as an alternative name. The name is identical with that [of the herb discussed] here. It is advisable to compare them with each other. [Tao] Hongjing: It can be found everywhere nearby. The leaves resemble those of large [leaf ] pteridium vegetables. The physical appearance, the color, the hair and the spikes of the root perfectly resemble the head, tou 頭, of a black kite, lao chi 老鴟 (49-24). Hence it is called cao chi tou 草鴟頭, “herbal black kite head.” 【集解】【别録曰】貫衆生玄山山谷及冤句 少室山，二月、八月采根， 陰乾。【普曰】葉青黄色 ， 兩兩相對。莖有黑毛叢生 ， 冬夏不死。四月 花白 ， 七月實黑 ， 聚相連卷旁生。三月、八月采根 ， 五月采葉。【保昇 曰】苗似狗脊 ， 狀如雉尾 ， 根直多枝 ， 皮黑肉赤 ， 曲者名草鴟頭 ， 所在 山谷陰處則有之。【頌曰】今陝西、河東州郡及荆、襄間多有之， 而少有 185 Instead of 府, the Yuan dynasty edition of Zheng he zheng lei ch. 10, guan zhong 貫衆, writes fu 苻. Qian jin yi ch. 3 guan zhong 貫衆, writes 符.

186 Instead of yao 藥, the Yuan dynasty edition of Zheng he zheng lei writes le 樂. Both Qian jin yi and Da guan zheng lei have yao 藥.

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花者。春生苗，赤。葉大如蕨。莖幹三稜，葉緑色似雞翎，又名鳳尾草。 其根紫黑色 ， 形如大瓜 ， 下有黑鬚毛 ， 又似老鴟。郭璞注爾雅云 ： 葉員 鋭，莖毛黑，布地，冬不死。廣雅謂之貫節是矣。【時珍曰】多生山陰近 水處。數根叢生，一根數莖，莖大如筯，其涎滑。其葉兩兩對生，如狗脊 之葉而無鋸齒，青黄色，面深背淺。其根曲而有尖觜，黑鬚叢族，亦似狗 脊根而大，狀如伏鴟。 Collected Explanations. Bie lu: Guan zhong grows in the mountain valleys of Mount Xuan shan and also on Mount Shao shi shan in Yuan ju. The root is collected in the second and eighth month; it is dried in the shade. [Wu] Pu: The leaves are of greenish-yellow color. They grow in pairs of two opposite to each other. The stem is densely covered with black hair. [The plant] does not die in winter or summer. In the fourth month it develops white flowers. In the seventh month black seeds form. [Inside one pericarp] several [seeds] grow next to each other to the side of many curled [fruit stems]. The root is collected in the third and eighth month. The leaves are collected in the eighth month. [Han] Baosheng: The seedlings resemble those of cibotium fern. They are shaped like a pheasant tail. The root is straight and has many branches. The skin is black; the meat is red. When it is bent, it is called cao zhi tou. It can be found in yin/shady locations in mountain valleys. [Su] Song: Nowadays, it can be found at many places in the zhou and prefectures of Shaan xi and He dong, and also in the region of Jing and Xiang. They only rarely have flowers. In spring seedlings grow; they are red. The leaves are as big as those of large [leaf ] pteridium vegetables. The stem has three edges. The leaves are of green color and they resemble chicken feathers. [The plant] is also called “phoenix tail herb.” Its root is of purple-black color; its physical appearance resembles that of a big gourd.187 It has black hair covering its lower part, and resembles a black kite. Guo Pu in his comments on the Er ya states: “The leaves are round and pointed. The stem has black hair. It covers the ground and does not die in winter.” This is the substance called guan jie 貫節 in the Guang ya. [Li] Shizhen: It often grows on the yin/shady side of mountains close to a water. It develops thickets of several roots, and one root has several stems. Each stem is as thick as a chopstick. They contain a slippery saliva. The leaves grow opposite in pairs of two, similar to the leaves of cibotium fern, but without teeth. They are of greenish-yellow color, with [the color] dark on the face and light on the back [of the leaves]. The root is bent and has a pointed end. It is densely covered with black hair. It, too, resembles that of cibotium fern, but is thicker. It is shaped like a black kite.

187 The Da guan ben cao instead of gua 瓜, “gourd,” writes zhao 爪, “claw.”



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12-17-01 根。Gen. [Guan zhong] root.

【氣味】苦，微寒，有毒。【之才曰】雚菌、赤小豆爲之使，伏石鍾乳。 Qi and Flavor. Bitter, slightly cold, poisonous. [Xu] Zhicai: Guan jun188 and red mung beans serve as its guiding substances. It oppresses [the effects of ] stalactites. 【主治】腹中邪熱氣 ， 諸毒 ， 殺三蟲。本經。去寸白 ， 破癥瘕 ， 除頭 風，止金瘡。别録。爲末，水服一錢，止鼻血有效。蘇頌。治下血崩中滯 下，産後血氣脹痛，斑疹毒，漆毒，骨哽。解豬病。時珍。 Control. Evil heat qi in the abdomen. All kinds of poison. It kills the three worms/ bugs. Ben jing. It eliminates tapeworms. It breaks open concretion-illness and conglomeration-illness.189 It dispels head wind.190 It ends wounds caused by metal objects/weapons. Bie lu. Ground to powder an amount of one qian ingested with water effectively ends nosebleed. Su Song. It serves to cure discharge with blood and collapsing center191 from below the belt [of women], as well as painful swelling caused by blood and qi after birth. The poison of macules and papules. The poison of lacquer. Choking on a bone. It dissolves diseases resulting from a contact with pigs. [Li] Shizhen. 【發明】【時珍曰】貫衆大治婦人血氣 ， 根汁能制三黄 ， 化五金 ， 伏鍾 乳，結砂制汞，且能解毒軟堅。王海藏治夏月豆出不快，快斑散用之。云 貫衆有毒，而能解腹中邪熱之毒，病因内感而發之於外者多效，非古法之 分經也。又黄山谷煮豆帖言，荒年以黑豆一升挼净，入貫衆一斤，剉如骰 子大 ， 同以水煮 ， 文火斟酌至豆熟 ， 取出日乾 ， 覆令展盡餘汁 ， 簸去貫 衆，每日空心啗豆五七粒，能食百草木枝葉，有味可飽。又王璆百一選方 言，滁州 蔣教授因食鯉魚玉蟬羹，爲肋肉所哽，凡藥皆不效。或令以貫衆 濃煎汁一盞，分三服，連進至夜，一咯而出。亦可爲末，水服一錢。觀此 可知其軟堅之功，不但治血治瘡而已也。 188 Guan jun 雚菌, presumably fungi of unknown identity.

189 Zheng jia 癥瘕, “concretion-illness and conglomeration-illness.” The two terms are often used interchangeably and do not signify two distinctly different conditions. Concretion-illness and conglomeration-illness result from a disharmony of cold and warmth resulting in a failure to transform beverages and food. Nodes form when they clash with the qi of the long-term depots. BCGM Dict I, 677.

190 Tou feng 頭風, “head wind.” Condition of wind evil attacking the head followed by pain, dizziness, itching. BCGM Dict I, 509. 191 Beng zhong 崩中, “collapsing center,” excessive vaginal bleeding outside of a menstruation period. BCGM Dict I, 58.

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Explication. [Li] Shizhen: Guan zhong effectively serves to cure [diseases of ] women caused by blood and qi. The juice of the root can check the three [substances with names including the character] “yellow.”192 It transforms the five metals.193 It suppresses [the effects of ] stalactites. It binds cinnabar and checks mercury. In addition, it can resolve poison and soften hardenings. Wang Haicang uses it in the “powder to speed up the emergence of macules” to cure the slow development of smallpox [macules] during summer months. He states: “Guan zhong is poisonous and yet it can resolve the poison of evil heat in the abdomen. It is often effective for diseases that occur because of an internal affection and effuse toward the outside. This is unrelated to the ancient method of [curing disease by] differentiating among conduits.” Also, Huang Shangu in his Zhu dou tie says the following: “In years of famine, cut and wash clean one sheng of black soybeans, add one jin of guan zhong, cut to pieces the size of a dice, and boil [the two substances] together in water with a mild fire until the beans are done. Then take [the substances out of the water] and dry them in the sun. Turn them around until all their juice is gone. Then remove the guan zhong. Each day on an empty stomach eat five to seven of the beans. This enables one to eat any of the hundreds of herbs and trees, their branches and leaves. Their flavor lets one feel as if he had eaten to his fill.” Also, Wang Qiu in his Bai yi xuan fang says: “In Chu zhou a Professor Jiang choked on rib meat after he had eaten a ‘thick soup with carp and jade cicadas.’ All medications tried on him remained without effect. Someone suggested to boil guan zhong to obtain one small cup of a viscous liquid and let him ingest three portions one after the other until nightfall. He coughed [the foreign item] up and it was released [from his throat]. It can also be prepared as a powder, with one qian ingested with water.” This shows that [guan zhong] has the potential to soften hardenings. It does not only serve to cure [diseases associated with] blood, and wounds [caused by metal objects/weapons or lacquer]. 【附方】新一十五。 Added Recipes. 15 newly [recorded]. 鼻衄不止。貫衆根末，水服一錢。普濟方。 Unending nosebleed. Ingest with water one qian of guan zhong root powder. Pu ji fang.

192 These are xiong huang 雄黄, realgar; ci huang 雌黄, orpiment, liu huang 硫磺, sulphur.

193 They include gold, silver, copper, iron and lead.



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諸般下血。腸風、酒痢、血痔、鼠痔下血。黑狗脊，黄者不用，須内肉赤 色者，即本草貫衆也。去皮毛，剉焙爲末。每服二錢，空心米飲下。或醋 糊丸梧子大，每米飲下三四十丸。或燒存性，出火毒爲末，入麝香少許， 米飲服二錢。普濟方。 Any type of discharge with blood. Intestinal wind. Free-flux illness caused by wine. Bleeding piles. Mouse piles194 with blood discharge. Do not use black cibotium [root], or that with yellow [hair]. [A suitable root] must have red meat inside, and this is the guan zhong recorded in the Ben cao. Remove the skin and the hair, cut it [into pieces], bake them over a slow fire and [grind them to] powder. Each time ingest two qian, to be sent down on an empty stomach with a rice beverage. Or prepare [the powder] with vinegar to a paste and form pills the size of wu seeds. Each time send down with a rice beverage 30 to 40 pills. Or burn [the guan zhong] with its nature retained, let the fire poison leave and [grind it to] powder. Add a small amount of musk and ingest two qian with a rice beverage. Pu ji fang. 女人血崩。貫衆半兩，煎酒服之，立止。集簡方。 Blood collapse195 of women. Boil half a liang of guan zhong in wine and [let the patient] ingest it. [The collapse] ends immediately. Ji jian fang. 産後亡血過多 ， 心腹徹痛者。用貫衆狀如刺猬者一個 ， 全用不剉 ， 只揉 去毛及花萼 ， 以好醋蘸濕 ， 慢火炙令香熟 ， 候冷爲末 ， 米飲空心每服二 錢，甚效。婦人良方。 Excessive loss of blood after a birth, with a penetrating pain in the central and abdominal region. Take a guan zhong shaped like a hedgehog, leave it complete, do not cut it. Only rub off the hair and the calyx. Dip it into good vinegar to absorb its moisture and roast it above a slow fire until it develops a fragrance and is done. Once it has cooled [grind it to] powder. [Let the women] ingest two qian on an empty stomach with a rice beverage. Very effective. Fu ren liang fang. 赤白帶下，年深，諸藥不能疗者。用上方治之亦驗，名獨聖湯。方同上。 Red and white outflow from below the belt. When it has lasted for years, with all kinds of medication unable to heal it. The preceding recipe has proved to cure this, too. It is called the “decoction with a single sage-like [substance].” The [source of the] recipe is identical with the one above. 194 Shu zhi 鼠痔, “mouse piles,” a condition of zhi chuang 痔瘡, “piles sores,” which develop inside the anus with many tumorous flesh-growths resembling breast nipples. BCGM Dict I, 467. 195 [Xue] beng [血]崩, “[blood] collapse,” is excessive vaginal bleeding. BCGM Dict I, 594.

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年深欬嗽 ， 出膿血。貫衆、蘇方木等分 ， 每服三錢 ， 水一盞 ， 生薑三 片，煎服，日二服。久欬，漸成勞瘵。鳳尾草爲末，用魚鮓蘸食之。聖惠 方。 Chronic cough, with a release of pus and blood. For each application boil three qian of a mixture of equal amounts of guan zhong and sappan wood in one small cup of water together with three slices of fresh ginger and ingest [the liquid]. To be ingested twice a day. For long-lasting cough that gradually develops into an exhaustion consumption [grind] feng wei cao to powder, dip preserved fish into it and eat this. Sheng hui fang. 豆瘡不快。快斑散：用貫衆、赤芍藥各一錢，升麻、甘草各五分，入淡竹 葉三片，水一盞半，煎七分，温服。王海藏方。 Slow emergence of smallpox [macule] sores. The “powder to speed up [the emergence of ] macules.” Boil one qian each of guan zhong and red paeonia [root], five fen each of cimicifuga [rhizome] and glycyrrhiza [root], and three slices of bamboo leaves in one and a half small cups of water down to 70 % and [let the patient] ingest the warm [liquid]. A recipe of Wang Haicang. 頭瘡白秃。貫衆、白芷爲末，油調塗之。又方：貫衆燒末，油調塗。聖惠 方。 Head sores and white baldness. [Grind] guan zhong and angelica dahurica [root] to powder, mix it with oil and apply it to [the affected region]. Another recipe: Burn guan zhong to powder, mix it with oil and apply it [to the affected region]. Sheng hui fang. 漆瘡作癢。油調貫衆末塗之。千金方。 Itching sores caused by lacquer. Mix guan zhong powder with oil and apply it [to the affected region]. Qian jin fang. 雞魚骨哽。貫衆、縮砂、甘草等分，爲粗末，綿包少許，含之嚥汁，久則 隨痰自出。普濟方。 Choking on a chicken or fish bone. [Grind] equal amounts of guan zhong, amomum villosum [seeds] and glycyrrhiza [root] to a coarse powder, wrap a small amount in silk, [let the patient] hold it in the mouth and swallow the resulting juice. After a lengthy time [the bone] will be released with phlegm. Pu ji fang. 解輕粉毒。齒縫出血，臭腫。貫衆、黄連各半兩，煎水，入冰片少許，時 時漱之。陸氏積德堂方。



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To resolve the poison of calomel. When the seams of the teeth bleed, associated with a malodorous swelling. Boil half a liang each of guan zhong and coptis [rhizome] in water, add a small amount of borneol and repeatedly rinse [the affected region]. Lu shi, Ji de tang fang. 血痢不止。鳳尾草根，即貫衆，五錢，煎酒服。陳解元 方。

吉言所傳。集簡

Unending blood free-flux illness. Boil five qian of feng wei cao root, i. e., guan zhong, in wine and ingest [the liquid]. [Recipe] transmitted by First Place candidate Chen Jiyan. Ji jian fang. 便毒腫痛。貫衆，酒服二錢，良。多能鄙事。 Poison in the region of [urination] relief, with a painful swelling. Ingest with wine two qian of guan zhong. Good. Duo neng bi shi. 12-17-02 花。Hua. [Guan zhong] flower.

【主治】惡瘡，令人洩。别録。 Control. Malign sores/wounds. It lets one have outflow. Bie lu. 12-18 巴戟天本經上品 Ba ji tian, FE Ben jing, upper rank. Morinda officinalis How. Indian mulberry. 【釋名】不凋草日華、三蔓草。【時珍曰】名義殊不可曉。 Explanation of Names. Bu diao cao 不凋草, “an herb that does not wither,” Rihua. San man cao 三蔓草, “triple creeper herb.” [Li] Shizhen: The meaning of the name [ba ji tian 巴戟天] is totally incomprehensible. 【集解】【别録曰】巴戟天生巴郡及下邳山谷，二月、八月采根，陰乾。 【弘景曰】今亦用建平、宜都者 ， 根狀如牡丹而細 ， 外赤内黑 ， 用之打 去心。【恭曰】其苗俗名三蔓草。葉似茗，經冬不枯。根如連珠，宿根青 色，嫩根白紫，用之亦同，以連珠多、肉厚者爲勝。【大明曰】紫色如小 念珠，有小孔子，堅硬難擣。【宗奭曰】巴戟天本有心，乾縮時偶自落， 或抽去 ， 故中心或空 ， 非自有小孔也。今人欲要中間紫色 ， 則多僞以大 豆汁沃之，不可不察。【頌曰】今江、淮、河東州郡亦有，但不及蜀州者 佳，多生山林内。内地生者，葉似麥門冬而厚大，至秋結實。今方家多以

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紫色爲良。蜀人云：都無紫色者。采時或用黑豆同煮，欲其色紫，殊失氣 味，尤宜辨之。又有一種山葎根，正似巴戟，但色白。土人采得，以醋水 煮之，乃以雜巴戟，莫能辨也。但擊破視之，中紫而鮮潔者，僞也。其中 雖紫，又有微白，糝有粉色而理小暗者，真也。真巴戟嫩時亦白，乾時亦 煮治使紫，力劣弱耳。 Collected Explanations. Bie lu: Ba ji tian grows in the mountain valleys of Ba jun and Xia pi. The root is collected in the second and eighth month; it is dried in the shade. [Tao] Hongjing: Nowadays [ba ji tian] originating in Jian pin and Yi is used, too. The root is shaped like that of paeonia [root bark], but it is finer. It is red outside and black inside. Before it is used [for therapeutic ends], the core is discarded. [Su] Gong: The seedlings [of ba ji tian] are commonly called san man cao 三蔓草. The leaves resemble those of tender tea. They remain without withering throughout winter. The root resembles a string of pearls. Its perennial root is of greenish color; its tender roots are white-purple. Their usages are identical. Those are superior that have strings with many pearls and thick meat. Da Ming: It is of purple color and resembles [strings of ] small beads. It has small holes and it is very hard and difficult to pound. [Kou] Zongshi: Originally ba ji tian has a core. It may fall out when [the drug] dries and shrinks. Or it is removed. Hence the center may be hollow, and the small holes are not present from the beginning. Nowadays, people request specimens with a purple center. Hence many fakes are produced in that they are filled with soybean juice. It is mandatory to carefully examine [those specimens one intends to use for therapeutic purposes]. [Su] Song: Nowadays, [ba ji tian] is also found in the zhou and prefectures of Jiang, Huai and He dong. However, [specimens coming from there] do not reach the good quality of those from Shu zhou. They often grow in mountain forests. Those growing inland have leaves resembling those of ophiopogon [herbs], but they are thicker and larger. By autumn they form seeds. Nowadays, recipe experts mostly consider those of purple color as good. The people in Shu state: [Ba ji tian] is never purple. When it has been collected, it is sometimes boiled together with black soybeans to let it assume a purple color. This way it very much loses its [original] qi and flavor. It is essential to carefully examine [specimens one wishes to use for therapeutic purposes]. In addition, there is a root of shan lü 山葎.196 It looks exactly like ba ji, but is of white color. The locals collect is, boil it in vinegar and water, and then mix it with ba ji. It is impossible to distinguish [the two]. However, when it is broken open and the inside looks purple and fresh and clean, then it is a fake. When its center is purple but with a little white interspersed, mixed with some pink color and small dark structures, then it is gen196 Shan lü 山葎, a plant of unknown identity.



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uine. Genuine ba ji is white as long as it is tender. When it is dry and boiled, it, too, assumes a purple color. This reduces it [therapeutic] strength. 12-18-01 根。Gen.

Root [of ba ji tian].

【修治】【斅曰】凡使須用枸杞子湯浸一宿 ， 待稍軟漉出 ， 再酒浸一伏 時 ， 漉出 ， 同菊花熬焦黄 ， 去菊花 ， 以布拭乾用。【時珍曰】今法 ： 惟 以酒浸一宿，剉焙入藥。若急用，只以温水浸軟去心也。 Pharmaceutical Preparation. [Lei] Xiao: Prior to any [therapeutic] application, soak it in a lycium seed decoction for one night until it softens a bit. Then let the liquid drop off and soak it again, this time in wine and for one full day and night. Again let the liquid drop off and boil [the root in water] together with chrysanthemum flower until it has turned yellow. Discard the chrysanthemum flower and wipe [the root] dry with a piece of cloth. [It is ready now for therapeutic] application. [Li] Shizhen: The method applied today is as follows. [The root] is simply soaked in wine for one night, then it is cut into slices, baked over a slow fire and added to medication. If a fast application is required, simply soak it in warm water until it softens and remove the core. 【氣味】辛、甘、微温 ， 無毒。【大明曰】苦。【之才曰】覆盆子爲之 使，惡雷丸、丹參、朝生。 Qi and Flavor. Acrid, sweet, slightly warm, nonpoisonous. Da Ming: Bitter. [Xu] Zhicai: Rubus seed serves as its guiding substance. [Ingested together,] it abhors thunderball fungus, salvia [root] and coprinus fungus. 【主治】大風邪氣，陰痿不起，强筋骨，安五臟，補中增志益氣。本經。 療頭面遊風，小腹及陰中相引痛，補五勞，益精，利男子。别録。治男子 夜夢鬼交精洩，强陰下氣，治風癩。甄權。治一切風，療水脹。日華。治 脚氣，去風疾，補血海。時珍。出仙經。 Control. Massive wind and evil qi. Dysfunction of the yin [(i. e., genital) member]; it fails to rise. It strengthens sinews and bones. It pacifies the five long-term depots. It supplements the center, adds to one’s mind and boosts the qi. Ben jing. It heals wind roaming in one’s face, and pain in the lower abdomen pulling on the yin [(i. e., genital) member] and vice versa. It supplements the five kinds of exhaustion, boosts essence/sperm and benefits males. Bie lu. It serves to cure intercourse with demons and outflow of essence/sperm of males during nightly dreams. It stiffens the yin [(i. e., genital) member] and serves to discharge qi. It serves to cure repudiation-ill-

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ness197 caused by wind. It serves to cure all kinds of wind. It heals water swelling. Rihua. It serves to cure leg qi,198 removes wind illness and supplements the sea of blood.199 [Li] Shizhen, quoted from the classics of the hermits/immortals. 【發明】【好古曰】巴戟天，腎經血分藥也。【權曰】病人虚損，加而用 之。【宗奭曰】有人嗜酒 ， 日須五七盃。後患脚氣甚危 ， 或教以巴戟半 兩，糯米同炒，米微轉色，去米不用，大黄一兩，剉炒，同爲末，熟蜜 丸，温水服五七十丸，仍禁酒，遂愈。 Explication. [Wang] Haogu: Ba ji tian is a medication for the blood section of the kidney conduits. [Zhen] Quan: When the patient is affected by a depletion injury, add it [to medication for a therapeutic] use. [Kou] Zongshi: Someone was addicted to wine. He required five to seven cups per day. Eventually he suffered from leg qi, and his condition became very critical. Someone taught him to fry half a liang of ba ji together with glutinous rice until the rice began to slightly change its color, and to discard the rice. Then [to grind] it together with one liang of rhubarb root, cut and fried, to powder to be prepared with heated honey to pills and ingest with warm water 50 to 70 pills. Wine was forbidden to him and he was cured. 【附録】 Appendix 12-18-A01 巴棘。Ba ji. Unidentified.

【别録曰】味苦 ， 有毒。主惡疥瘡出蟲。生高地 ， 葉白有刺 ， 根連數十 枚。一名女木。 Bie lu: Flavor bitter, poisonous. It controls malign jie-illness200 sores from which worms/bugs are released. It grows on high elevations. The leaves are white and have thorns. Several tens of roots are linked to each other. An alternative name is “female wood/tree.”

197 Lai 癩, “repudiation-illness,” most likely referring to leprosy, “Aussatz.” BCGM Dict I, 293-294.

198 Jiao qi 脚氣, “leg qi.” Painful, weak, swollen legs. BCGM Dict I, 248.

199 Xue hai 血海, “sea of blood,” is a reference to the “throughway vessel,” chong mai 衝脈. 200 Jie-illness 疥, vaguely identifiable skin ailment. BCGM Dict I, 249.



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12-19 遠志本經上品 Yuan zhi, FE Ben jing, upper rank. Polygala tenuifolia Willd. Chinese senega. 【釋名】苗名小草本經、細草本經、棘菀本經、葽繞本經。【時珍曰】此 草服之能益智强志，故有遠志之稱。世説載謝安云：”處則爲遠志，出則爲 小草。”記事珠謂之醒心杖。 Explanation of Names. The seedlings are named xiao cao 小草, “little herb,” Ben jing. Xi cao 細草, “delicate herb,” Ben jing. Ji wan 棘菀, “thorny luxuriance,” Ben jing. Yao rao 葽繞, “circling yao herb,” Ben jing. [Li] Shizhen: To ingest this herb can boost wisdom and strengthen the mind, zhi 志. Hence its designation as yuan zhi 遠志, “extending the mind.” The Shi shuo records a saying of Xie An: “If you stay home, you will be someone with a farreaching mind. When you leave, you will be a small herb.”201 In the Ji shi zhu it is called xing xin zhang 醒心杖, the “cane to arouse the heart.” 【集解】【别録曰】遠志生太山及冤句川谷，四月采根、葉，陰乾。【弘 景曰】冤句屬兖州濟陰郡 ， 今此藥猶從彭城北蘭陵來。用之去心取皮 ， 一斤止得三兩爾。亦入仙方用。小草狀似麻黄而青。【志曰】莖葉似大青 而小。比之麻黄 ， 陶不識也。【禹錫曰】按爾雅云 ： 葽繞 ， 棘菀。郭璞 注云 ： 今遠志也。似麻黄 ， 赤華 ， 葉鋭而黄。其上謂之小草。【頌曰】 今河、陝、洛西州郡亦有之。根形如蒿根 ， 黄色。苗似麻黄而青 ， 又如 畢豆。葉亦有似大青而小者。三月開白花。根長及一尺。泗州出者花紅， 根葉俱大於他處。商州出者根又黑色。俗傳夷門出者最佳。四月采根， 晒 乾。古方通用遠志、小草。今醫但用遠志， 稀用小草。【時珍曰】遠志有 大葉、小葉二種。陶弘景所説者小葉也 ， 馬志所説者大葉也 ， 大葉者花 紅。 Collected Explanations. Bie lu: Yuan zhi grows on Mount Tai shan and in the mountain valleys of Yuan ju. The root and the leaves are collected in the fourth month. They are dried in the shade. [Tao] Hongjing: Yuan ju belongs to Ji yin jun in Yan zhou. Today this medication comes from Lan ling, north of Peng cheng. For its [therapeutic] application, discard the core and keep the bark. One jin yields only three liang. It is also used as an additive to the recipes of hermits/immortals. The seedlings resemble those of ephedra [herb], but are greenish. [Ma] Zhi: The stem and the leaves resemble those of the indigo plant, but are smaller. When Tao [Hongjing] compares it with ephedra [herb], this shows his ignorance. [Zhang] 201 For the context of this saying of Hao Long 郝隆 (incorrectly attributed to Xie An 謝安 here), see BCGM Dict III, 538, entry Xie An (320 – 385).

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Yuxi: The Er ya says “yao rao 葽繞 is ji wan 棘菀.” Guo Pu in his comment states: “This is today’s yuan zhi. It resembles ephedra [herb]. It has red flowers. Its leaves are pointed and yellow. Its upper section is called xiao cao, ‘little herb’.” [Su] Song: Nowadays it is also found in the zhou and prefectures of He, Shaan and Luo xi. The physical appearance of the root resembles that of the root of artemisia herb. Its color is yellow. Its seedlings resemble those of ephedra [herb], but are greenish. They may also be compared with those of sativum pea herbs. Also, its leaves resemble those of indigo plants, but are smaller. It opens white flowers in the third month. The root reaches a length of up to one chi. The flowers of specimens coming from Si zhou are red. Their root and leaves are bigger than those from other places. Those coming from Shang zhou have black roots. A common tradition has it that those coming from Yi men are especially fine. The root is collected in the fourth month; it is dried in the sun. In ancient recipes yuan zhi and xiao cao, [i. e., the seedling of yuan zhi], were all used. Today, physicians only resort to yuan zhi; xiao cao [i. e., the seedling of yuan zhi,] is rarely used. [Li] Shizhen: There are two kinds of yuan zhi. One has big leaves, the other has small leaves. The type described by Tao Hongjing is the one with small leaves. The one described by Ma Zhi is the one with large leaves. That with large leaves has red flowers. 12-19-01 根。Gen. Root [of yuan zhi].

【修治】【斅曰】凡使須去心，否則令人煩悶。仍用甘草湯浸一宿，暴乾 或焙乾用。 Pharmaceutical Preparation. [Lei] Xiao: Prior to all [therapeutic] applications remove its core, lest it cause one to experience vexation and heart-pressure. Then let it soak in a glycyrrhiza [root] decoction for one night and dry it in the sun, or bake it over a slow fire, until it is dry. Then it may be used [for therapeutic ends]. 【氣味】苦，温，無毒。【之才曰】遠志、小草，得伏苓、冬葵子、龍骨 良。畏珍珠、藜蘆、蜚蠊、齊蛤。【弘景曰】藥無齊蛤， 恐是百合也。【 權曰】是蠐螬也。【恭曰】藥録下卷有齊蛤，陶説非也。 Qi and Flavor. Bitter, warm, nonpoisonous. [Xu] Zhicai: Yuan zhi and xiao cao [i. e., the seedling of yuan zhi,] benefit when they are combined with poria, winter mallow seeds and dragon bones. [Ingested together,] they fear pearls, veratrum [root], cockroaches and qi ge. [Tao] Hongjing: There is no such medical drug as qi ge; this [name] may refer to Brown’s lily [bulbs]. [Zhen] Quan: This is qi hao, scarab larva.



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[Su] Gong: The final chapter of the Yao lu mentions qi ge, razor clams. What Tao [Hongjing] says is wrong. 【主治】欬逆傷中 ， 補不足 ， 除邪氣 ， 利九竅 ， 益智慧 ， 耳目聰明 ， 不忘 ， 强志倍力。久服輕身不老。本經。利丈夫 ， 定心氣 ， 止驚悸 ， 益 精，去心下膈氣，皮膚中熱，面目黄。别録。殺天雄、附子、烏頭毒，煎 汁飲之。之才。治健忘，安魂魄，令人不迷，堅壯陽道。甄權。長肌肉， 助筋骨 ， 婦人血噤失音 ， 小兒客忤。日華。腎積奔豚。好古。治一切癰 疽。時珍。 Control. Cough with [qi] counterflow and a damaged center. It supplements insufficient [qi]. It dispels evil qi. It frees the passage through the nine orifices. It boosts wisdom. It clears the ears and brightens the eyes. It prevents forgetfulness. It strengthens the mind and multiplies one’s power. Ingested over a long time, it relieves the body of its weight and prevents aging. Ben jing. It benefits males, stabilizes the qi of the heart, ends fright palpitation and boosts essence/sperm. It removes qi from the diaphragm below the heart, heat in the skin, and yellow face and eyes. Bie lu. [Ingested together,] it kills the poison of aconitum root, accessory tuber and main tuber. Boil it and drink the resulting juice. [Xu] Zhicai. It serves to cure forgetfulness, pacifies the hun-soul and the po-soul, prevents dementia, and hardens the yang path (i. e., male genital member). Zhen Quan. It stimulates the growth of muscles and flesh and supports sinews and bones. [It serves to cure] women with blood lockjaw202 and loss of voice, as well as children visited by the hostile.203 Rihua. Kidney accumulation, [i. e.,] running piglets.204 [Wang] Haogu. It serves to cure all kinds of obstruction-illness and impediment-illness.205 [Li] Shizhen. 12-19-02 葉。Ye. Leaf [of yuan zhi].

【主治】益精補陰氣，止虚損夢洩。别録。 202 Xue jin 血噤, “blood lockjaw,” a condition of women having lost their voice with a clenched mouth following delivery. BCGM Dict I, 596.

203 Ke wu 客忤, “visitor‘s hostility.” A sudden twisting pain, encountered outside one’s home, in the central and abdominal region thought to result from the hostile acts of demons “visiting” the human body. BCGM Dict I, 282. 204 Ben tun 賁豚, “running piglet,” a condition of an accumulation in the kidneys assuming the shape of a piglet moving up and down at irregular intervals. BCGM Dict I, 57.

205 Yong ju 癰疽, “obstruction-illness, impediment-illness.” refers to two vaguely distinguished obstructions/impediments of vessels or other ducts inside the body. Qi rushing against the obstruction may cause a local swelling and eventually break through the surface to cause an abscess. BCGM Dict I, 642.

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Control. It boosts essence/sperm and supplements yin qi. It ends depletion injury with leakage [of sperm] during a dream. Bie lu. 【發明】【好古曰】遠志 ， 腎經氣分藥也。【時珍曰】遠志入足少陰腎 經 ， 非心經藥也。其功專於强志益精 ， 治善忘。盖精與志皆腎經之所藏 也。腎精不足則志氣衰 ， 不能上通于心 ， 故迷惑善忘。靈樞經云 ： 腎藏 精，精舍志。腎盛怒而不止則傷志，志傷則喜忘其前言，腰脊不可以俛仰 屈伸 ， 毛悴色夭。又云 ： 人之善忘者 ， 上氣不足 ， 下氣有餘 ， 腸胃實而 心肺虚，虚則營衛留於下，久之不以時上，故善忘也。陳言三因方遠志酒 治癰疽，云有奇功，盖亦補腎之力爾。葛洪抱朴子云：陵陽 子仲服遠志二 十年，有子三十七人，能坐在立亡也。 Explication. [Wang] Haogu: Yuan zhi is a medication for the qi section of the kidney conduits. [Li] Shizhen: Yuan zhi enters the foot minor yin kidney conduits. It is not a medication for the heart conduits. Its [therapeutic] potential is focussed on strengthening the mind and boosting essence/sperm. It serves to cure forgetfulness. The fact is, essence/sperm and [the qi of the] mind are stored in the kidney conduits. When the kidney essence is insufficient, the qi of the mind are weak and unable to rise and pass on to the heart. Hence one turns dement and forgetful. The Ling shu jing states: “The kidneys store the essence/sperm. The essence/sperm houses the mind. … Profuse rage that fails to end harms the mind. Once the mind is harmed, [patients] tend to forget what they just said. Their lower back and spine can no longer be bent and stretched. The body hair burns and the complexion fades.”206 It also states: “When someone is forgetful, the qi above are insufficient and the qi below have a surplus. Intestines and stomach are in a condition of repletion; heart and lung are in a condition of depletion. In a condition of depletion, the camp and the guard qi remain below. For a long time they do not ascend, even when it is their time. Hence [such persons] tend to be forgetful.”207 Chen Yan in his San yin fang lists a yuan zhi wine as a cure for obstruction-illness and impediment-illness.208 He states that it has an outstanding [therapeutic] potential. The fact is, this, too, is based on its power to supplement kidney [qi]. Ge Hong in his Baopu zi states: “Lingyang Zizhong ingested yuan zhi for 20 years. He had 37 childen. He was able to sit upright until he passed away.” 206 Ling shu, ch. 8.

207 Ling shu, ch. 80.

208 Yong ju 癰疽, “obstruction-illness, impediment-illness.” refers to two vaguely distinguished obstructions/impediments of vessels or other ducts inside the body. Qi rushing against the obstruction may cause a local swelling and eventually break through the surface to cause an abscess. BCGM Dict I, 642.



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【附方】舊三，新四。 Added Recipes. Three of old. Four newly [recorded]. 心孔惽塞 ， 多忘善誤。丁酉日密自至市買遠志 ， 着巾角中 ， 還 ， 爲末服 之，勿令人知。肘後方。 Confusion because of blocked heart orifices, with advanced forgetfulness and a tendency to act mistakenly. Secretly go to the market on a ding you 丁酉 day and buy yuan zhi. Wrap it in a piece of cloth, return home, grind it to powder and [let the patient] ingest it. But do not let anybody know about it. Zhou hou fang. 胸痺心痛。逆氣膈中，飲食不下。小草丸：用小草、桂心、乾薑、細辛、 蜀椒出汗各三分，附子二分炮，六物搗下篩，蜜和丸梧子大。先食米汁下 三丸，日三服，不知稍增，以知爲度。忌猪肉、冷水、生葱菜。范汪東陽 方。 Blocked chest with heart pain. Qi counterflow in the diaphragm. Beverages and food fail to descend. The “pills with xiao cao.” Pound six items, namely three fen each of xiao cao [i. e., the seedling of yuan zhi,], shaved cinnamom bark, dried ginger, asarum heteropoides [root] and Chinese pepper with its sweat released, and two fen of aconitum [accessory tuber], roasted in a pan, and give [the powder] through a sieve. With honey form pills the size of wu seeds. Prior to meals send down with rice juice three pills. To be ingested three times a day. If no effect is noticed, slightly increase [the dosage] until an effect shows. [During this treatment the following items are] to be avoided: pork, cold water and raw onions and further vegetables. Fan Wang, Dong yang fang. 喉痺作痛。遠志肉爲末，吹之，涎出爲度。直指方。 Painful blocked throat. [Grind] yuan zhi meat to powder and blow it [into the patient’s throat] until saliva is released. Zhi zhi fang. 腦風頭痛不可忍。遠志末㗜鼻。宣明方。 Unbearable headache caused by brain wind. Inhale yuan zhi powder with the nostrils. Xuan ming fang. 吹乳腫痛。遠志焙，研，酒服二錢，以滓傅之。袖珍方。 Inflated breast209 with painful swelling Bake yuan zhi over a slow fire, grind it and ingest with wine two qian. Also, apply the dregs to [the affected region]. Xiu zhen fang. 209 Chui ru 吹乳, “inflated breast.” Identical with chui nai 吹奶, “inflated breast.” A condition with milk blocked after delivery and the breasts turning red and swelling. BCGM Dict I, 101.

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一切癰疽。遠志酒：治一切癰疽發背癤毒，惡候侵大。有死血陰毒在中則 不痛，傅之即痛。有憂怒等氣積怒攻則痛不可忍，傅之即不痛。或藴熱在 内，熱逼人手不可近，傅之即清凉。或氣虚冷，潰而不斂，傅之即斂。此 本韓大夫宅用以救人方，極驗。若七情内鬱，不問虚實寒熱，治之皆愈。 用遠志不以多少 ， 米泔浸洗 ， 搥去心 ， 爲末。每服三錢 ， 温酒一盞調 ， 澄少頃，飲其清，以滓傅患處。三因方。 All kinds of obstruction-illness and impediment-illness.210 The “yuan zhi wine.” It serves to cure all kinds of obstruction-illness and impediment-illness poison effusing on the back and pimples with poison, with a malign condition ever increasing. When it includes dead blood and yin poison, this is not painful. Once [this wine] is applied, it aches. When the qi of sorrow and rage accumulate and rage attacks, an unbearable pain results. Once [this wine] is applied, the pain ends. In some cases heat collects internally. If the heat overcomes that person to an extent that one cannot touch him with the hand, once [this wine] is applied [the body] will be cooled down. Or, if there is an outflow because cold [qi] has availed itself of a depletion, and [the opening] fails to close, apply [this wine] and it will close. This was originally a recipe of Dr. Han to save members of his own family. It is very effective. In the case of internal amassments of [the qi of ] the seven emotions, regardless of whether it is a condition of depletion, repletion, cold or heat, all cures undertaken [with this wine] result in a cure. Soak any amount of yuan zhi in water in which rice was washed and wash it clear afterwards. Remove the core and [grind it to] powder. Each time ingest three qian, mixed with a small cup of warm wine. When after a short time [the dregs] have settled, drink the clear liquid and apply the dregs to the affected region. San yin fang. 小便赤濁。遠志，甘草水煮半斤，伏神、益智仁各二兩，爲末，酒糊丸梧 子大，每空心棗湯下五十丸。普濟。 Red and turbid urine. Grind half a jin of yuan zhi and glycyrrhiza [root], boiled in water, and one liang each of poria and alpinia fruit to powder, prepare with wine a paste and form pills the size of wu seeds. Each time send down on an empty stomach with a Chinese date decoction 50 pills. Pu ji.

210 Yong ju 癰疽, “obstruction-illness, impediment-illness.” refers to two vaguely distinguished obstructions/impediments of vessels or other ducts inside the body. Qi rushing against the obstruction may cause a local swelling and eventually break through the surface to cause an abscess. BCGM Dict I, 642.



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12-20 百脉根唐本草 Bai mai gen, FE Tang ben cao. Lotus corniculatus L. Birdsfoot trifoil.

【集解】【恭曰】出肅州、巴西。葉似苜蓿，花黄，根如遠志。二月、八 月采根，日乾。【時珍曰】按唐書作柏脉根，肅州歲貢之。千金、外臺大 方中亦時用之。今不復聞此，或者名稱又不同也。 Collected Explanations. [Su] Gong: It comes from Su zhou and Ba xi. Its leaves resemble those of alfalfa. The flowers are yellow. The root resembles that of yuan zhi. The root is collected in the second and eighth month; it is dried in the sun. [Li] Shizhen: The Tang shu writes bai mai gen 柏脉根. Su zhou had sent it as its annual tribute. The Qian jin and the Wai tai also occasionally [recommend to] use it in their recipes with large [numbers of substances]. Today one no longer hears of it. Maybe the name has changed. 12-20-01 根。Gen. Root [of bai mai gen].

【氣味】苦，微寒，無毒。 Qi and Flavor. Bitter, slightly cold, nonpoisonous. 【主治】下氣，止渴去熱，除虚勞，補不足。酒浸或水煮，丸散兼用。唐 本。 Control. It serves to discharge qi. It ends thirst and dispels heat. It eliminates depletion exhaustion. It supplements [qi] insufficiency. Soak it in wine or boil it in water, and apply it as pills or powder. Tang ben. 12-21 淫羊藿本經中品 Yin yang huo, FE Ben jing, middle rank. Epimedium brevicornum Maxim.211 Horny goat weed. 【釋名】仙靈脾唐本、放杖草日華、棄杖草日華、千兩金日華、乾雞筋日 華、黄連祖日華、三枝九葉草圖經、剛前本經。【弘景曰】服之使人好爲 陰陽。西川北部有淫羊，一日百遍合，盖食此藿所致，故名淫羊藿。【時 珍曰】豆葉曰藿，此葉似之，故亦名藿。仙靈脾、千兩金、放杖、剛前，

211 Yin yang huo 淫羊藿 , lit.: “horny sheep soybean leaves.”

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皆言其功力也。雞筋、黄連祖，皆因其根形也。柳子厚文作仙靈毗，人臍 曰毗，此物補下，於理尤通。 Explanation of Names. Xian ling pi 仙靈脾, Tang ben. Fang zhang cao 放杖草, Rihua. Qi zhang cao 棄杖草, Rihua. Qian liang jin 千兩金, Rihua. Gan ji jin 乾雞筋, Rihua. Huang lian zu 黄連祖, Rihua. San zhi jiu ye cao 三枝九葉草, Tu jing. Gang qian 剛前, Ben jing. [Tao] Hongjing: When this is ingested, it lets people find more pleasure in yin yang [exchange (i. e., sexual intercourse)]. In the northern region of Xi chun there are randy sheep, yin yang 淫羊, that mate a hundred times a day. The fact is, this is a result of their eating soybean leaves, huo 藿. Hence [this herb] is called yin yang huo 淫羊藿, “randy sheep soybean leaves.” [Li] Shizhen. The leaves of soybeans are called huo 藿 and the leaves of this [plant] resemble them. Hence, they, too, are called huo 藿. Xian ling pi 仙靈脾, “an hermit’s/immortal’s magic spleen,” qian liang jin 千兩金, “[leaves] worth a 1000 liang of gold,” fang zhang 放 杖, “[leaves] setting free one’s stick,” and gang qian 剛前, “[leaves] hardening one’s front,” are references to the [therapeutic] potential and strength [of these leaves]. Ji jin 雞筋, “chicken sinews,” and huang lian zu 黄連祖, “ coptis ‘s ancestor,” refer to the physical appearance of the root. The Liu Zihou wen writes [the name as] xian ling pi 仙靈毗. The human navel is called pi 毗. This item serves to supplement [qi in] the lower body region. Hence the reason for naming it is all the more understandable. 【集解】【别録曰】淫羊藿生上郡 陽山山谷。【恭曰】所在皆有。葉形似 小豆而圓薄，莖細亦堅，俗名仙靈脾是也。【頌曰】江東、陝西、泰山、 漢中、湖、湘間皆有之。莖如粟稈，葉青似杏，葉上有刺，根紫色有鬚。 四月開白花，亦有紫花者，碎小獨頭子。五月采葉，晒乾。湖、湘出者， 葉如小豆，枝莖緊細，經冬不凋，根似黄連。關中呼爲三枝九葉草。苗高 一二尺許，根葉俱堪用。蜀本草言：生處不聞水聲者良。【時珍曰】生大 山中。一根數莖，莖粗如線，高一二尺。一莖二椏，一椏三葉。葉長二三 寸，如杏葉及豆藿，面光背淡，甚薄而細齒，有微刺。 Collected Explanations. Bie lu: Yin yang huo grows in Shang jun and in the mountain valleys of Mount Yang. [Su] Gong: It can be found everywhere. The physical appearance of its leaves resembles those of red mung beans, but they are round and thin. The stem is delicate but hard. This is the substance commonly called xian ling pi. [Su] Song: It can be found in Jiang dong, Shaan xi, on Mount Tai shan, in Han zhong, Hu and Xiang. The stem resembles that of millet. The leaves are greenish, similar to those of apricot trees; they have thorns on their upper side. The root is of purple color and has hair. [The plant] opens white flowers in the fourth month. There are also specimens with purple flowers. They have only one fragmented, small efflorescence. The leaves are collected in the fifth month. They are dried in the sun.



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Specimens originating in Hu and Xiang have leaves similar to those of red mung beans. The branches and the stem are firm and yet delicate. They do not wither all winter long. The root resembles that of coptis [rhizome]. In Guan zhong, [the herb] is called “herb with three branches and nine leaves.” The seedlings reach a height of more than one or two chi. Both the root and the leaves can be used [for therapeutic ends]. The Shu ben cao says: Those are good that grow in a location where no sounds of water are heard. [Li] Shizhen: It grows on high mountains. One root has several stems. The stem is coarse, like a rope. It reaches a height of one to two chi. One stem is forked twice. Each fork has three leaves. The leaves are two to three cun long. They resemble the leaves of apricot trees and the leaves of soybeans. They are shiny on their front side and pale on the back. They are very thin and have delicate teeth, and they have fine thorns. 12-21-01 根。Gen. 葉。Ye.

Root, leaf [of yin yang huo].

【修治】【斅曰】凡使時呼仙靈脾，以夾刀夾去葉四畔花枝，每一斤用羊 脂四兩拌炒。待脂盡爲度。 Pharmaceutical Preparation. [Lei] Xiao: When they are applied [with a therapeutic purpose], they are called xian ling pi. With a double-edge knife remove the flowers and branches on all four sides of the leaves. For one jin [of leaves] use four liang of sheep fat to prepare a mixture that is then fried for as long as it takes for the entire fat to have vanished. 【氣味】辛，寒，無毒。【普曰】神農、雷公：辛。李當之：小寒。【權 曰】甘，平。可單用。【保昇曰】性温。【時珍曰】甘、香、微辛，温。 【之才曰】薯蕷、紫芝爲之使，得酒良。 Qi and Flavor. Acrid, cold, nonpoisonous. [Wu] Pu: Shen Nong, Lei gong: Acrid. Li Dangzhi: Slightly cold. [Zhen] Quan: Sweet, balanced. It can be used as a single substance. [Han] Baosheng: Its nature is warm. [Li] Shizhen: Sweet, fragrant, slightly acrid, warm. [Xu] Zhicai: Dioscorea [root] and ganoderma fungus serve as its guiding substances. A combination with wine is good for it. 【主治】陰痿絶傷 ， 莖中痛 ， 利小便 ， 益氣力 ， 强志。本經。堅筋骨 ， 消瘰癧赤癰，下部有瘡，洗出蟲。丈夫久服，令人無子。别録。【機曰】” 無子”字誤，當作”有子”。丈夫絶陽無子，女人絶陰無子，老人昏耄，中年 健忘，一切冷風勞氣，筋骨攣急，四肢不仁，補腰膝，强心力。大明。 Control. Dysfunction of the yin [(i. e., genital) member] with harm caused by a cut [flow of qi]. Pain in the penis. It frees the flow of urine, boosts the force of qi and

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strengthens the mind. Ben jing. It hardens sinews and bones. It dissolves scrofula pervasion-illnss212 and red obstruction-illness.213 [It controls] sores in the lower body parts, and serves to wash away worms/bugs. When a male ingests it for a long time, he will have no children. Bie lu. [Wang] Ji: “Will have no children” is a scribal error. It must be “will have children.” [It is a suitable medication] when in males the [flow of ] yang [qi] is cut and they have no children, when in females the [flow of ] yin [qi] is cut and they have no children, when elderly persons are confused in their high age and when those in their middle years are forgetful, and in all cases of affections by cold, wind, as well as qi exhaustion, with sinews and bones cramped and tense and a numbness of the four limbs. It serves to supplement [qi in the] lower back and the knees, and to reinforce the heart [qi]. Da Ming. 【發明】【時珍曰】淫羊藿味甘氣香 ， 性温不寒 ， 能益精氣 ， 乃手足陽 明、三焦、命門藥也，真陽不足者宜之。 Explication. [Li] Shizhen: Yin yang huo has a sweet flavor and fragrant qi. Its nature is warm, not cold. It can boost the essence/sperm qi. It is a medication for the hand and foot yang brilliance [conduits], the Triple Burner, and the Gate of Life. It is suitable for those affected by a genuine insufficiency of yang [qi]. 【附方】舊三，新五。 Added Recipies. Three of old. Five newly [recorded]. 仙靈脾酒。益丈夫 ， 興陽 ， 理腰膝冷。用淫羊藿一斤 ， 酒一斗 ， 浸三 日，逐時飲之。食醫心鏡。 The “xian ling pi wine.” It boosts males, and lets their yang (i. e., sexual potency) rise. It regulates a condition of cold in the lower back and the knees. Soak one jin of yin yang huo in one dou of wine for three days, and drink this gradually over time. Shi yi xin jing. 偏風不遂 ， 皮膚不仁 ， 宜服仙靈脾酒。仙靈脾一斤 ， 細剉 ， 生絹袋盛 ， 于不津器中，用無灰酒二斗浸之，重封，春夏三日、秋冬五日後，每日暖 212 Luo li 瘰癧, “scrofula pervasion-illness,” a condition whereby two or three connected swellings of the size of plum or date kernels appear either on the neck or in the armpits, or somewhere else in the body. In some cases this is accompanied by fever and an aversion to cold, as well as a headache and vexation. As long as the swelling has not opened to fester it is quite hard. This stage is called jie he 結核, “nodular kernel”. After an extended period of time it generates pus and festers. BCGM Dict I, 329.

213 Yong 癰, “obstruction-illness,”refers to an obstruction of vessels or other ducts inside the body. Qi rushing against the obstruction may cause a local swelling and eventually break through the surface to cause an abscess. BCGM Dict I, 641.



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飲，常令醺然，不得大醉，酒盡再合，無不效驗。合時切忌雞犬婦人見。 聖惠方。 For unilateral wind [stroke] with paralysis, when the skin is numb, it is suitable to ingest the “wine with xian ling pi.” Finely cut one jin of xian ling pi and fill it into a new silk bag. Give it into a dry vessel and soak it in two dou of ash-free wine. Firmly seal it. In spring and summer after three days and in autumn and winter after five days drink [the liquid] warm until you are drunk, but avoid being massively intoxicated. Once the wine is finished, prepare it again. This is always effective. While [the wine] is prepared, it is strictly forbidden to let chicken, dogs and women watch. Sheng hui fang. 三焦欬嗽，腹滿，不飲食，氣不順。仙靈脾、覆盆子、五味子炒各一兩， 爲末，煉蜜丸梧子大，每薑茶下二十丸。聖濟録。 Cough from the Triple Burner, with a sensation of abdominal fullness, an inability to drink and eat and a failure of qi to pass along their proper paths. [Grind] one liang each of xian ling pi, rubus seeds and fried schisandra seeds to powder, prepare with heat refined honey pills the size of wu seeds, and each time send down with a ginger tea 20 pills. Sheng ji lu. 目昏生翳。仙靈脾，生王瓜即小栝樓紅色者，等分，爲末。每服一錢，茶 下，日二服。聖濟總録。 Dim vision with a growth of shades. [Grind] equal amounts of xian ling pi and sheng wang gua, i. e., small trichosanthes [root] of red color, to powder. Each time ingest one qian, to be sent down with tea. To be ingested twice a day. Sheng ji zong lu. 病後青盲。日近者可治。仙靈脾一兩 ， 淡豆豉一百粒 ， 水一盌半 ， 煎一 盌，頓服即瘳。百一選方。 Green blindness214 following a disease. When this happened only recently, it can be cured. Boil one liang of xian ling pi and 100 kernels of [soybean] relish in one and a half bowls of water down to one bowl. Ingest this in one draught and [the illness] is cured. Bai yi xuan fang. 小兒雀目。仙靈脾根、晚蠶蛾各半兩，炙甘草、射干各二錢半，爲末。用 羊子肝一枚， 切開摻藥二錢， 紥定， 以黑豆一合， 米泔一盞， 煮熟， 分 二次食，以汁送之。普濟方。

214 Qing mang 青盲, “green blindness,” a condition of shi ming 失明, “loss of vision,” with no externally apparent changes in the eye and a clear distinction of the dark and white parts of the eye, while patients nevertheless are unable to see. BCGM Dict I, 391.

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Sparrow eyes215 of children. [Grind] half a liang each of xian ling pi root and second generation silkworms, and two and a half qian of roasted glycyrrhiza [root] and blackberry lily [root] to powder. Then open one sheep liver and fill it with two qian of the medication. Bind it firmly and boil it together with one ge of black soybeans in one small cup of water in which rice was washed until [the beans are] done. Eat it divided into two portions, and send it down with the juice [resulting from the boiling]. Pu ji fang. 痘疹入目。仙靈脾、威靈仙等分，爲末。每服五分，米湯下。痘疹便覽。 Smallpox macules that enter the eyes. [Grind] equal amounts of xian ling pi and Chinese clematis to powder. Each time ingest five fen, to be sent down with a rice decoction. Dou zhen bian lan. 牙齒虚痛。仙靈脾爲粗末，煎湯頻漱，大效。奇效方。 Dental depletion pain. [Grind] xian ling pi to a coarse powder, boil it to make a decoction and repeatedly rinse [the affected region with it]. Very effective. Qi xiao fang. 12-22 仙茅宋開寶 Xian mao, FE Song, Kai bao. Curculigo orchioides Baertn. Golden eye grass.

【釋名】獨茅開寶、茅爪子開寶、婆羅門參。【珣曰】其葉似茅， 久服輕 身，故名仙茅。梵音呼爲阿輸乹陁。【頌曰】其根獨生。始因西域 婆罗门 僧獻方於唐玄宗，故今江南呼爲婆羅門參，言其功補如人參也。

Explanation of Names. Du mao 獨茅, Kai bao. Mao zhao zi 茅爪子, Kai bao. Po luo men shen 婆羅門參. [Li] Xun: Its leaves resemble those of floss grass, mao 茅. Ingested over a long time they relieve the body of its weight. Hence the name “hermit’s/immortal’s floss grass.” In Sanskrit texts it is called ashuqiantuo 阿輸乹 陁, a transcription of the [Sanskrit] sound [with Chinese characters]. [Su] Song: The root grows, sheng 生, independently, du 獨. The beginnings [of its use in China] date back to a Brahman, po luo men 婆羅門, priest from the Western lands who presented a recipe to Tang Emperor Xuan zong. Hence in today’s Jiang nan it is called po luo men shen 婆羅門參, the “Brahman’s ginseng [root].” That is to say, its [therapeutic] potential as a supplementing [medication] resembles that of ginseng [root]. 215 Que mu 雀目, “sparrow eye,” a condition with unimpaired vision during daylight and significantly decreased vision after nightfall. BCGM Dict I, 394.



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【集解】【珣曰】仙茅生西域，葉似茅，其根粗細有筋，或如筆管，有節 文理，黄色多涎。自武城來，蜀中諸州亦皆有之。【頌曰】今大庾嶺、蜀 川、江湖、兩浙諸州亦有之。葉青如茅而軟，且略闊，面有縱文。又似初 生椶櫚秧，高尺許。至冬盡枯，春初乃生。三月有花如梔子花，黄色，不 結實。其根獨莖而直，大如小指，下有短細肉根相附，外皮稍粗褐色，内 肉黄白色。二月、八月采根，暴乾用。衡山出者花碧，五月結黑子。【時 珍曰】蘇頌所説詳盡得之。但四五月中抽莖四五寸，開小花深黄色六出， 不似巵子。處處大山中有之，人惟取梅嶺者用，而會典成都歲貢仙茅二十 一斤。 Collected Explanations. [Li] Xun: Xian mao grows in the western territories. The leaves resemble those of mao 茅, floss grass. Its root, regardless of whether it is coarse or delicate, has sinews. Sometimes it resembles the tube of a writing brush. It has knots and a line design structure. It is of yellow color and includes much saliva. It originates in Wu cheng, but it is also found in all the zhou of Shu zhong. [Su] Song: Nowadays, it is also found in all the zhou of Da yu ling, Shu chuan, Jiang hu and Liang zhe. The leaves are greenish like those of floss grass, but they are softer. They are also a bit wider and on their surface they have a vertical line design. They also resemble seedlings of trachycarpus [palms] that have just grown. They are about one chi high. By the time of winter they wither entirely and they begin to grow at the beginning of spring. In the third month they have flowers resembling gardenia flowers. They are yellow and do not form seeds. The root is a singular, straight stem. It is as thick as a small finger. At its lower end it has short, delicate meat roots attached to it. The bark is slightly coarse and of brown color. The meat inside is of a yellow-white color. The root is collected in the second and eighth month; it is dried in the sun before it is used. [Xian mao] kinds from Mount Heng shan have bluish-green flowers; they form black seeds in the fifth month. [Li] Shizhen: The statement of Su Song is very detailed. However, during the fourth and fifth month four to five cun long stems branch out from the middle. They open six small flowers of a deep red color that do not resemble those of gardenia. [This plant] can be found everywhere in the big mountains. People use only those obtained in the Mei ling mountain range. According to the Hui dian, “Cheng du each year sends 21 jin of xian mao as a tribute to the capital.” 12-21-01 根。Gen. Root [of xian mao].

【修治】【斅曰】采得以清水洗，刮去皮，於槐砧上用銅刀切豆許大，以 生稀布袋盛，於烏豆水中浸一宿，取出用酒拌濕蒸之，從巳至亥，取出暴

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乾。勿犯鐵器及牛乳，斑人鬢鬚。【大明曰】彭祖單服法：以竹刀刮切， 糯米泔浸去赤汁，出毒後無妨損。 Pharmaceutical Preparation. [Lei] Xiao: When it has been collected, wash it clean with clear water. Scrape off its bark. On a chopping block made of sophoraa tree wood cut it with a copper knife into pieces the size of beans. Fill them into a bag made of new, thin cloth. Soak it in black soybean water for one night, take it out again and steam it with a mixture of wine and water from si 巳 (9 – 11 hrs) to hai 亥 (21 – 23 hrs). Then remove it and dry it in the sun. It must not come into contact with iron utensils and cow milk, lest it cause white speckles in one’s hair on the temples and in the beard. Da Ming: Peng Zu’s method to ingest it as a single substance: Scrape and cut it with a bamboo knife. Soak it in water in which glutinous rice was washed and discard the resulting red juice. This serves to get the poison out of it, and after that no harm is to be expected. 【氣味】辛，温，有毒。【珣曰】甘，微温，有小毒。又曰：辛，平， 宣而復補，無大毒，有小熱、小毒。 Qi and Flavor. Acrid, warm, poisonous. [Li] Xun: Sweet, slightly warm, a little poisonous. It is also said: Acrid, balanced. It disperses and re-supplements. It is not very poisonous. It is slightly hot, and slightly poisonous. 【主治】心腹冷氣不能食，腰脚風冷攣痺不能行，丈夫虚勞，老人失溺， 無子 ， 益陽道。久服通神强記 ， 助筋骨 ， 益肌膚 ， 長精神 ， 明目。開 寶。治一切風氣，補暖腰脚，清安五臟。久服輕身，益顔色。丈夫五勞七 傷，明耳目，填骨髓。李珣。開胃，消食下氣，益房事，不倦。大明。 Control. The central and abdominal region affected by cold qi, with an inability to eat. Blockage cramps caused by wind and cold affecting the lower back and the legs, with an inability to walk. Depletion exhaustion of males. Spontaneous loss of urine of elderly persons. Childlessness. It boosts the yang path (i. e., male sexuality). Ingested for a long time it lets one communicate with spirits and strengthens the memory. It boosts muscles and skin, lets the essence spirit grow and clears the eyes. Kai bao. It serves to cure all kinds of wind qi [diseases]. It supplements and warms the lower back and the legs. It clears and pacifies the five long-term depots. Ingested for a long time, it relieves the body of its weight and boosts the complexion. [It serves to cure] the five kinds of exhaustion and seven kinds of harm affecting males. It clears ears and eyes. It fills the bones with marrow. Li Xun. It opens the stomach. It dissolves food and discharges qi. It boosts bedroom activities and prevents fatigue. Da Ming.



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【發明】【頌曰】五代 唐 筠州刺史 王顔著續傳信方，因國書編録西域 婆 羅門僧服仙茅方，當時盛行。云五勞七傷，明目益筋力，宣而復補。云十 斤乳石不及一斤仙茅， 表其功力也。本西域道人所傳。開元元年婆羅門僧 進此藥，明皇服之有效，當時禁方不傳。天寶之亂，方書流散，上都 僧 不空 三藏始得此方，傳與司徒李勉、尚書路嗣恭、給事齊杭、僕射張建封 服之 ， 皆得力。路公久服金石無效 ， 得此藥 ， 其益百倍。齊給事守縉雲 日 ， 少氣力 ， 風疹繼作 ， 服之遂愈。八九月采得 ， 竹刀刮去黑皮 ， 切如 豆粒，米泔浸兩宿，陰乾搗篩，熟蜜丸梧子大，每旦空心酒飲任便下二十 丸。忌鐵器，禁食牛乳及黑牛肉，大减藥力。【機曰】五臺山有仙茅，患 大風者，服之多瘥。【時珍曰】按許真君書云：仙茅久服長生。其味甘能 養肉， 辛能養節， 苦能養氣， 鹹能養骨， 滑能養膚， 酸能養筋， 宜和苦 酒服之，必效也。又范成大虞衡志云：廣西 英州多仙茅，其羊食之，舉 體悉化爲筋 ， 不復有血肉 ， 食之補人 ， 名乳羊。沈括筆談云 ： 夏文莊公 禀賦異於人，但睡則身冷如逝者，既覺須令人温之，良久乃能動。常服仙 茅、鍾乳、硫黄，莫知紀極。觀此則仙茅盖亦性熱，補三焦命門之藥也， 惟陽弱精寒、禀賦素怯者宜之。若體壯相火熾盛者服之， 反能動火。按張 杲醫説云：一人中仙茅毒，舌脹出口，漸大與肩齊。因以小刀剺之，隨破 隨合，剺至百數，始有血一點出，曰可救矣。煮大黄、朴硝與服，以藥摻 之，應時消縮。此皆火盛性淫之人過服之害也。弘治間，東海 張弼梅嶺仙 茅詩有使君昨日纔持去，今日人來乞墓銘之句。皆不知服食之理，惟藉藥 縱恣以速其生者，於仙茅何尤。 Explication. [Su] Song: During the Tang dynasty, one of the Five Dynasties, Wang Yan, prefect of Yun zhou, wrote in his Xu chuan xin fang that in official communications it was reported that a Brahman priest in the western territories had ingested a recipe with xian mao, which at the time was en vogue. It said [it serves to cure] the five kinds of exhaustion and the seven kinds of harm, clears the eyes, boosts the force of sinews, disperses and re-supplements. It is said that “ten jin of stalactites are not equivalent to one jin of xian mao,” and this may indicate its [therapeutic] potential and strength. Originally [this recipe] was transmitted by a Daoist from the western territories. During the first year of the kai yuan reign period (713 – 741), a Brahman priest submitted this medication [to the throne]. Emperor Ming Huang ingested it, and it was effective. At the time, the recipe was kept secret; it was not transmitted further. During the turmoil of the tian bao reign period (742 – 756), the recipe books were widely distributed. A monk named Bukong Sanzang acquired this recipe and handed it on to the Minister of Education Li Mian, to the Minister Lu Sigong, to the Executive Assistant Qi Kang and to the Vice-Director Zhang Jianfeng to ingest it. They all were affected by its force. Lu Gong had ingested metal and mineral [elixirs] for a long time, but without effect. Once he had obtained this

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medication, it boosted [his qi] a hundredfold. During his time as an official in Jin yun, Executive Assistant [Qi Kang] had experienced a depletion of his qi strength and he continuously suffered from wind papules. He ingested this [medication] and was cured. Collect [xian mao] in the eighth and ninth month, scrape off with a bamboo knife its black bark, cut it into pieces the size of beans, soak them for two full days in water in which rice was washed, dry them in the shade, pound them, [pass the powder] through a sieve, and form with heat refined honey pills the size of wu seeds. Every early morning on an empty stomach drink as much wine as you like and send down 20 pills. Contact with iron objects is to be avoided. Cow milk and the meat of black oxen are forbidden. They would massively decrease the strength of this medication.” [Wang] Ji: Xiao mao can be found on Mount Wu tai shan. Many patients affected by massive wind216 are cured after ingesting it. [Li] Shizhen: According to the Xu zhen jun shu, “xian mao ingested over a long time extends life. Its sweet flavor can nourish the skin. Its acrid [flavor] can nourish the joints. Its bitter [flavor] can nourish the qi. Its salty [flavor] can nourish the bones. As it is smooth[ing], it can nourish the skin. Its sour [flavor] can nourish the sinews. It should be ingested mixed with bitter wine, and it will certainly be effective.” Also, Fen Chengda in his Yu heng zhi states: “Much xian mao can be found in Ying zhi in Guang xi. The sheep there eat it and their entire body is transformed to sinews. They no longer have blood and meat. To eat them supplements human [qi]. They are called ‘breast feeding sheep’.” Shen Gua in his Meng xi bi tan states: “Mr. Xia Wenzhuang was an unusually endowed person. When he slept his body cooled down as if he had died. When he woke up he had to ask someone to warm him up and it took a long time before he could move. Then he regularly ingested xian mao, stalactites and sulphur and the effects were extreme.” This shows that xian mao has a hot nature and is a medication to boost the Triple Burner and the Gate of Life. It is suitable only for those with a yang [qi] weakness and cold essence/sperm, and who are endowed with a frail and timid constitution. If those ingest it who have a robust body and whose minister fire flourishes, contrary [to their intentions] it may excite the fire. According to Zhang Gao’s Yi shuo, “there was a person who was poisoned by xian mao. His tongue was bloated and came out of his mouth. It gradually increased in size until it had reached the level of his shoulders. [A physician] used a small knife to cut a mark into it. The moment it was cut open, it immediately closed again. After more than a hundred such marks had been cut, eventually a little blood came out, and [the physician] said that [the patient] could be saved. He boiled rhubarb root and mirabilite and let him ingest the decoction. In addition, he applied 216 Da feng 大風, “massive wind,” may refer to sores caused by a massive intrusion of wind evil and also to conditions of leprosy. BCGM Dict I, 111.



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medication [to the tongue. The swelling] dissolved and [the tongue] shrank immediately. Such disasters always affect lustful persons with abounding fire who ingest [xian mao]. During the hong zhi reign period (1487 – 1505), Zhang Bi of Donghai wrote a poem on xian mao from the Mei ling mountain range and he referred to a person who had sent someone out to ingest it only yesterday, and already today someone came to ask for a sentence to be engraved on his tombstone.” Such people do not know the principles of ingesting [life prolonging elixirs as] food. When they use a medication to indulge in sex and thereby shorten their life, how could this be blamed on xian mao? 【附方】新二。 Attached Recipes. Two newly [recorded]. 仙茅丸。壯筋骨 ， 益精神 ， 明目 ， 黑髭鬚。仙茅二斤 ， 糯米泔浸五日 ， 去赤水 ， 夏月浸三日 ， 銅刀刮剉陰乾 ， 取一斤 ； 蒼术二斤 ， 米泔浸五 日， 刮皮焙乾， 取一斤； 枸杞子一斤； 車前子十二兩； 白伏苓去皮， 茴 香炒，柏子仁去殻，各八兩；生地黄焙，熟地黄焙，各四兩；爲末，酒 煮糊丸如梧子大。每服五十丸，食前温酒下，日二服。聖濟總録。 The “pills with xian mao.” They strengthen sinews and bones, boost the essence spirit, clear the eyes and blacken the beard. Soak two jin of xian mao for five days in water in which glutinous rice was washed and discard the red water. During summer months soak [the xian mao] for three days. Cut it with a copper knife to pieces and dry them in the shade to obtain one jin. Soak two jin of cang zhu/ black atractylodes [rhizome] for five days in water in which rice was washed, scrape off the bark and bake it over a slow fire until it has dried to obtain one jin. Furthermore, one jin of lycium seeds and 12 liang of plantago seeds. Eight liang each of white poria with the skin removed, fried fennel, and platycladus seed kernels, with the shell removed. Four liang each of unprepared Chinese foxglove [rhizome], baked over a slow fire, and prepared Chinese foxglove [rhizome], baked over a slow fire. [Grind all these substances to] powder. Boil it in wine and form [with wheat flour] a paste to be prepared to pills the size of wu seeds. Each time ingest 50 pills. To be sent down prior to meals with warm wine. To be ingested twice a day. Sheng ji zong lu. 定喘下氣 ， 補心腎。神秘散 ： 用白仙茅半兩 ， 米泔浸三宿 ， 晒炒 ； 團參 二錢半； 阿膠一兩半， 炒； 雞膍胵一兩， 燒； 爲末。每服二錢， 糯米飲 空心下，日二。三因方。 To stop panting and send down qi. To supplement heart and kidney [qi]. The “powder of divine mystery.” Soak half a liang of white xian mao for three nights in water

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in which rice was washed, dry it in the sun and fry it. Two and a half qian of ginseng [root] from [Zi] tuan. One and a half liang of fried donkey hide glue. One liang of chicken gizzard, burned. [Grind these substances to] powder. Each time ingest two qian, to be sent down on an empty stomach with a glutinous rice beverage, twice a day. San yin fang. 12-23 玄參本經中品 Xuan shen, FE Ben jing. Middle rank. Scrophularia ningpoensis Hemsl. Ningpo figwort. 【釋名】黑參綱目、玄臺吴普、重臺本經、鹿腸吴普、正馬别録、逐馬藥 性、馥草開寶、野脂麻綱目、鬼藏吴普。【時珍曰】玄， 黑色也。别録一 名端，一名咸，多未詳。【弘景曰】其莖微似人參，故得參名。【志曰】 合香家用之，故俗呼馥草。 Explanation of Names. Hei shen 黑參, “black shen,” Gang mu. Xuan tai 玄臺, Wu Pu. Chong tai 重臺, Ben jing. Lu chang 鹿腸, “deer intestine,” Wu Pu. Zheng ma 正 馬, “regulation of horses,” Bie lu. Zhu ma 逐馬, “pursuit of horses,” Yao xing. Fu cao 馥草, Kai bao. Ye zhi ma 野脂麻, “wild sesame seeds,” Gang mu. Gui cang 鬼藏, Wu Pu. [Li] Shizhen: It is of black color. The Bie lu lists as alternative names duan 端 and xian 咸. Their meaning is unclear. [Tao] Hongjing: The stem slightly resembles that of ginseng, ren shen 人參. Hence it was named “[black] shen 參.” [Ma] Zhi: Experts preparing incense use it. Hence it is commonly called “fragrance herb,” fu cao 馥草. 【集解】【别録曰】玄參生河間川谷及冤句，三月、四月采根，暴乾。【 普曰】生冤句山陽。二月生苗 ， 其葉有毛 ， 四四相值 ， 似芍藥。黑莖 ， 莖方，高四五尺。葉亦生枝間。四月實黑。【弘景曰】今出近道，處處有 之。莖似人參而長大，根甚黑，亦微香。道家時用，亦以合香。【恭曰】 玄參根苗並臭 ， 莖亦不似人參 ， 未見合香。【志曰】其莖方大 ， 高四五 尺 ， 紫赤色而有細毛。葉如掌大而尖長。根生青白 ， 乾即紫黑 ， 新者潤 膩。陶云莖似人參，蘇言根苗並臭，似未深識。【頌曰】二月生苗。葉似 脂麻對生，又如槐柳而尖長有鋸齒，細莖青紫色，七月開花青碧色，八月 結子黑色。又有白花者，莖方大，紫赤色而有細毛，有節若竹者，高五六 尺。其根一根五七枚，三月、八月采，暴乾。或云蒸過日乾。【時珍曰】 今用玄參，正如蘇頌所説。其根有腥氣，故蘇恭以爲臭也。宿根多地蠶食 之，故其中空。花有紫白二種。 Collected Explanations. Bie lu: Xuan shen grows in the river valleys of He jian and also in Yuan ju. The root is collected in the third and fourth month. It is dried in



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the sun. [Wu] Pu: It grows on the yang (i. e., sunny) side of the mountains in Yuan ju. Its seedlings grow in the second month. The leaves have hair, with four [leaves growing] opposite to each other, similar to those of paeonia. The stem is black and rectangular; it reaches a height of four to five chi. The leaves also grow from the twigs. The seeds turn black during the fourth month. [Tao] Hongjing: Nowadays [xuan shen] comes from nearby regions; it is present everywhere. Daoists occasionally use it; it is also used to prepare incense. [Su] Gong: the root and the seedling of xuan shao smell bad, and the stem does not resemble that of ginseng. It has not been seen to be prepared to incense. [Ma] Zhi: Its stem is rectangular and big. It reaches a height of four to five chi. It is of purple-red color and has fine hair. The leaves are as big as a palm; they have a lengthy tip. The root is greenish-white. When it is dried it turns purple-black. Fresh specimens are moist and greasy. Tao [Hongjing] states: The stem resembles that of ginseng. When Su [Gong] says: “The root and the seedling smell bad,” it seems, he did not know enough. [Su] Song: It develops seedlings in the second month. The leaves grow opposite to each other, resembling those of sesame [herbs]. They also resemble those of sophora and willow [trees] in that they have long tips and saw-like teeth. The delicate stem is of greenish-purple color. Flowers of a greenish-bluish color open in the seventh month. In the eighth month black seeds form. There are also specimens with white flowers and a rectangular, thick stem of purple-red color and with fine hair. Some have nodes similar to bamboo and reach a height of five to six chi. Each single root has five to seven branches. They are collected in the third and eighth months, to be dried in the sun. Some state that they are steamed first and then dried in the sun. [Li] Shizhen: Today xuan shen is used just as Su Song says. The root has stinking qi. Hence Su Gong considered it to smell bad. The perennial root is often eaten by “ground silkworms,” (scarab larvae, 41-01). Hence its core is hollow. The flowers are of two kinds, purple and white. 12-23-01 根。Gen. Root [of xuan shen].

【修治】【斅曰】凡采得後 ， 須用蒲草重重相隔 ， 入甑蒸兩伏時 ， 晒乾 用。勿犯銅器，餌之噎人喉，喪人目。 Pharmaceutical Preparation. [Lei] Xiao: When collected, place it layer above layer into a steamer with each layer separated from the next layer by cattail. Then steam it for two full days and dry it in the sun before using it. It must not come into contact with copper utensils. Otherwise, consuming it lets one be speechless and harms the eyes.

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【氣味】苦，微寒，無毒。【别録曰】鹹。【普曰】神農、桐君、黄帝、 雷公 ： 苦 ， 無毒。岐伯 ： 寒。【元素曰】足少陰腎經君藥也 ， 治本經須 用。【之才曰】惡黄耆、乾薑、大棗、山茱萸，反藜蘆。 Qi and Flavor. Bitter, slightly cold, nonpoisonous. Bie lu: Salty. [Wu] Pu: Shen Nong, Tong jun, Huang Di, Lei gong: Bitter, nonpoisonous. Qi Bo: Cold. [Zhang] Yuansu: It is a ruler drug for the foot minor yin kidney conduits. Its application is required to cure [diseases associated with] these conduits. [Xu] Zhicai: [Ingested together,] it abhors astragalus [root], dried ginger, Chinese dates and Asiatic cornelian cherries, and is opposed to veratrum [root]. 【主治】腹中寒熱積聚，女子産乳餘疾，補腎氣，令人明目。本經。主暴 中風傷寒， 身熱支滿， 狂邪忽忽不知人， 温瘧洒洒， 血瘕， 下寒血， 除 胸中氣，下水，止煩渴，散頸下核，癰腫，心腹痛，堅癥。定五臟，久 服補虚明目，强陰益精。别録。熱風頭痛，傷寒勞復。治暴結熱，散瘤瘻 瘰癧。甄權。治遊風，補勞損，心驚煩躁，骨蒸傳尸邪氣。止健忘，消腫 毒。大明。滋陰降火，解斑毒，利咽喉，通小便血滯。時珍。 Control. Accumulations and collections of cold and heat in the abdomen. Illnesses of women following birth and nursing. It supplements kidney qi and clears the eyes. Ben jing. It controls sudden wind stroke217 and harm caused by cold. The body is hot and there is a sensation of fullness in the limbs. [Patients] are mad and do not recognize other persons. Warmth malaria with shivering. Blood conglomeration-illness. It serves to discharge cold blood, disperses qi from within the chest, discharges water, ends vexation and thirst, disperses kernels growing below the neck and swelling associated with an obstruction-illness,218 heart and abdominal pain, and hard concretion-illness. It stabilizes the five long-term depots. Ingested for a long time it supplements [qi] depletion and clears the eyes. It stiffens the yin [(i. e., genital) member of males] and boosts essence/sperm. Bie lu. Headache caused by heat and wind. Harm caused by cold recurrence because of exhaustion. It serves to cure sudden onset of bound heat. It disperses tumorous fistula and scrofula perva-

217 Zhong feng 中風, “wind stroke, struck by wind,” a condition of a) sudden loss of consciousness, sometimes accompanied by wry mouth and eyes, unilateral paralysis, and impeded speech, and b) of external affection brought about by wind evil. BCGM Dict I, 683.

218 Yong 癰, “obstruction-illness,” refers to an obstruction of vessels or other ducts inside the body. Qi rushing against the obstruction may cause a local swelling and eventually break through the surface to cause an abscess. BCGM Dict I, 641.



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sion-illness.219 Zhen Quan. It serves to cure roaming wind220 and supplements [qi in the case of ] exhaustion injury. [It serves to cure] heart fright with vexation and restlessness, bone steaming221 and evil qi transmitted from a corpse. It ends forgetfulness and dissolves a swelling with poison. Da Ming. It nourishes yin [qi] and puts down fire, resolves macula poison, frees the throat and opens the passage of urine and stagnating blood. [Li] Shizhen. 【發明】【元素曰】玄參乃樞機之劑，管領諸氣上下，清肅而不濁，風藥 中多用之。故活人書治傷寒陽毒 ， 汗下後毒不散 ， 及心下懊憹 ， 煩不得 眠 ， 心神顛倒欲絶者 ， 俱用玄參。以此論之 ， 治胸中氤氲之氣 ， 無根之 火，當以玄參爲聖劑也。【時珍曰】腎水受傷，真陰失守，孤陽無根，發 爲火病，法宜壯水以制火，故玄參與地黄同功。其消瘰癧亦是散火，劉守 真言結核是火病。 Explication. [Zhang] Yuansu: Xuan shen is a remedy of pivotal importance. It controls all ascending and descending movements of qi. It is of a pure solemnity and lacks any turbidity. It is often used as part of medication for wind. Hence the Huo ren shu recommends the use of xuan shen to cure all [the following diseases]: Harm caused by cold with yang poison, when the poison fails to disperse after a therapy inducing sweating and discharge was applied, and when an uncomfortable feeling below the heart is associated with vexation and an inability to sleep, with the spirit of the heart turned upside down and close to being cut off entirely. Based on this it may be said that xuan shen is to be considered a sage-like remedy when it comes to curing condensed qi in the chest and a fire without [support from a spleen/stomach qi] root. [Li] Shizhen: When the kidney-water is harmed, when the true yin has lost its guard, when a solitary yang has no root [to feed it] and when this effuses as a fire disease, the rules require to reinvigorate the water to check the fire. Hence xuan shen has the same [therapeutic] potential as Chinese foxglove [rhizome]. It

219 Luo li 瘰癧, “scrofula pervasion-illness,” a condition whereby two or three connected swellings of the size of plum or date kernels appear either on the neck or in the armpits, or somewhere else in the body. In some cases this is accompanied by fever and an aversion to cold, as well as a headache and vexation. As long as the swelling has not opened to fester it is quite hard. This stage is called jie he 結核, “nodular kernel”. After an extended period of time it generates pus and festers. BCGM Dict I, 329.

220 You feng 游風, “roaming wind,” a condition of roaming and sudden pain and itching brought about by feng xie 風邪, “wind evil.” BCGM Dict I, 645.

221 Gu zheng 骨蒸, “bone steaming,” ① a condition of an infectious consumptive disease with a development of vexing heat in the afternoon. ② An illness sign of heat and vexation with a feeling as if this originated in the bones. BCGM Dict I, 197.

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dissolves scrofula pervasion-illness222 because [such a therapy], too, is a dispersion of fire. The “nodular kernels” mentioned by Liu Shouzhen are a fire disease. 【附方】舊二，新七。 Added Recipes. Two of old. Seven newly [recorded]. 諸毒鼠瘻。玄參漬酒，日日飲之。開寶本草。 Mouse fistula223 caused by all kinds of poison. Steep xuan shen in wine and drink this every day. Kai bao ben cao. 年久瘰癧。生玄參搗傅之，日二易之。廣利方。 Scrofula pervasion-illness lasting years. Pound fresh xuan shen and apply it [to the affected region]. To be changed twice a day. Guang li fang. 赤脉貫瞳。玄參爲末，以米泔煮猪肝，日日蘸食之。濟急仙方。 Red vessels pervading the pupils. [Grind] xuan shen to powder and boil a pig liver in water in which rice was washed. Dip [the liver into the powder] every day and then eat it. Ji ji xian fang. 發斑咽痛。玄參升麻湯 ： 用玄參、升麻、甘草各半兩 ， 水三盞 ， 煎一盞 半，温服。南陽活人書。 An effusion of dermal spots and throat pain. The “decoction with xuan shen and cimicifuga [rhizome].” Boil half a liang each of xuan shen, cimicifuga [rhizome] and glycyrrhiza [root] in three small cups of water down to one and a half cups and ingest [the liquid] warm. Nan yang huo ren shu. 急喉痺風。不拘大人小兒。玄參、鼠粘子半生半炒，各一兩，爲末，新水 服一盞，立瘥。聖惠方。 Acute throat blockage wind. Regardless of whether [the patients are] adults or children. [Grind] one liang each of xuan shen and arctium seeds, one half fresh, one half fried, to powder. Ingest with newly drawn water one small cup [of the powder]. A cure is achieved immediately. Sheng hui fang. 鼻中生瘡。玄參末塗之。或以水浸軟塞之。衛生易簡方。

222 Luo li 瘰癧, “scrofula pervasion-illness,” when two or more connected swellings of the size of plum or date kernels appear either on the neck or in the armpits, or somewhere else on the body. BCGM Dict I. 329.

223 Shu lou 鼠瘻, “mouse fistula,” BCGM Dict I, 466, identical with luo li 瘰癧, “scrofula pervasion-illnes.”



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Sores developing in the nose. Apply xuan shen powder to [the affected region]. Or soak [xuan shen] in water until it has softened and stuff it [into the nose]. Wei sheng yi jian fang. 三焦積熱。玄參、黄連、大黄各一兩，爲末，煉蜜丸梧子大。每服三四十 丸，白湯下。小兒丸粟米大。丹溪方。 Heat accumulation in the Triple Burner. [Grind] one liang each of xuan shen, coptis [rhizome] and rhubarb root to powder and form with heat refined honey pills the size of wu seeds. Each time ingest 30 to 40 pills, to be sent down with clear, boiled water. Children [ingest] pills the size of millet seeds. Danxi fang. 小腸疝氣。黑參㕮咀，炒，爲丸。每服一錢半，空心酒服，出汗即效。孫 天仁集效方。 Small intestinal elevation qi. Pound hei shen, fry it and form pills. Each time ingest one and a half qian. To be ingested with wine on an empty stomach. Once sweat is released, [this shows the treatment] is effective. Sun Tianren, Ji xiao fang. 燒香治癆。經驗方用玄參一斤，甘松六兩，爲末，煉蜜一斤和匀，入瓶中 封閉，地中埋罯十日取出。更用灰末六兩，煉蜜六兩，同和入瓶，更罯五 日取出。燒之 ， 常令聞香 ， 疾自愈。頌曰 ： 初入瓶中封固 ， 煮一伏時 ， 破瓶取搗入蜜，别以瓶盛，埋地中罯過用。亦可熏衣。 To burn incense to cure exhaustion-illness. The Jing yan fang [recommends to grind] one jin of xuan shen and six liang of nardostachys [root] to powder and evenly mix it with heat refined honey. Give this into a jar, tightly seal it and bury it in the ground. After ten days take it out, mix it with six liang of [charcoal] ash powder and six liang of heat refined honey and give it into a jar. Bury it again and remove it after five days. Burn it and let [the patient] continuously inhale the fumes. The illness will be cured as a result. [Su] Song says: First give [the drug] into a jar, seal it closely and boil it for one full day and night. Break the jar, remove [the drug], pound it together with honey and fill it into another jar. Bury it in the ground for a while and then it may be used. It may also be used to steam clothes. 12-24 地榆本經中品 Di yu, FE Ben jing, middle rank. Sanguisorba officinalis L. Great burnet. 【校正】併入别録 有名未用 酸赭。

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Editorial Correction. Suan zhe listed in the Bie lu as “known by name but not in use” is included [in the present entry]. 【釋名】玉豉、酸赭。【弘景曰】其葉似榆而長，初生布地，故名。其花 子紫黑色如豉，故又名玉豉。【時珍曰】按外丹方言地榆一名酸赭，其味 酸、其色赭故也。今蘄州俚人呼地榆爲酸赭，又訛赭爲棗，則地榆、酸赭 爲一物甚明，其主治之功亦同，因併别録 有名未用 酸赭爲一云。 Explanation of Names. Yu chi 玉豉, suan zhe 酸赭. [Tao] Hongjing: Its leaves resemble those of sanguisorba [herb], yu 榆, but are longer. When it begins to grow it covers the ground, di 地. Hence the name. Its flowers are of purple-black color, resembling that of fermented beans, chi 豉. Hence another name: yu chi 玉豉, “jade[like] fermented beans.” [Li] Shizhen: According to the Wai dan fang, “an alternative name of di yu is suan zhe 酸赭” because its flavor is sour, suan 酸, and its color is brown, zhe 赭. Nowadays, the common people in Qi zhou call di yu 地榆 suan zhe 酸赭, and they erroneously transform zhe 赭 to zao 棗. It is quite obvious that di yu 地榆 and suan zhe 酸赭 are one and the same item. Their therapeutic potentials are identical, too. Hence suan zhe 酸赭, separately listed in the Bie lu as “known by name but not in use,” is listed here together with [di yu]. 【集解】【别録曰】地榆生桐柏及冤句山谷，二月、八月采根，暴乾。又 曰 ： 酸赭生昌陽山 ， 采無時。【頌曰】今處處平原川澤皆有之。宿根三 月内生苗 ， 初生布地 ， 獨莖直上 ， 高三四尺 ， 對分出葉。葉似榆葉而稍 狹，細長似鋸齒狀，青色。七月開花如椹子，紫黑色。根外黑裏紅，似柳 根。【弘景曰】其根亦入釀酒。道方燒作灰，能爛石，故煮石方用之。其 葉山人乏茗時，采作飲亦好，又可煠茹。 Collected Explanations. Bie lu: Di yu grows in the mountain valleys of Tong bai and Yuan ju. The root is collected in the second and eighth month. It is dried in the sun. It is also said, suan zhe grows on Mount Chang yang; it is collected any time. [Su] Song: Nowadays it can be found everywhere in the marshes of the plains. The perennial root develops seedlings in the third month. In their early growth, they cover the ground. A single stem rises straight upward and reaches a height of three to four chi. The leaves grow from it opposite in pairs. The leaves resemble the leaves of sanguisorba [herbs], but are a bit narrower. They are delicately long and are shaped like saw teeth. They are of greenish color. In the seventh month flowers open resembling those of mulberry. They are of a purple-black color. The root is black outside and red inside. It resembles the root of willows. [Tao] Hongjing: The root can also be used to make wine. In Daoist recipes it is burned to ashes as it is able to soften actinolite. Hence it is resorted to in recipes [recommending to] prepare decoctions of stones. When the mountain people have no tea at hand, they collect the leaves



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to prepare a beverage that is agreeable, too. They can also be used to fry them in oil in a pan to be eaten. 12-24-01 根。Gen. Root [of di yu].

【氣味】苦 ， 微寒 ， 無毒。【别録曰】甘、酸。【權曰】苦 ， 平。【元 素曰】氣微寒 ， 味微苦 ， 氣味俱薄 ， 其體沉而降 ， 陰中陽也 ， 專主下焦 血。【杲曰】味苦、酸，性微寒，沉也，陰也。【之才曰】得髮良，惡麥 門冬，伏丹砂、雄黄、硫黄。 Qi and Flavor. Bitter, slightly cold, nonpoisonous. Bie lu: Sweet, sour. [Zhen] Quan: Bitter, balanced. [Zhang] Yuansu: Qi slightly cold. Flavor slightly bitter. Qi and flavor both weak. The body [of the root] sinks into the depth; it descends. It is a yang in yin substance. In particular it serves to control the blood of the lower [section of the Triple] Burner. [Li] Gao: Flavor bitter, sour. Nature slightly cold, sinking into the depth. It is a yin substance. [Xu] Zhicai: When it is combined with human hair, this is good. [Ingested together,] it abhors ophiopogon [tuber] and subdues [the effects] of cinnabar, realgar and sulphur. 【主治】婦人乳産痓痛 ， 七傷 ， 帶下五漏 ， 止痛止汗 ， 除惡肉 ， 療金 瘡。本經。止膿血 ， 諸瘻惡瘡熱瘡 ， 補絶傷 ， 産後内塞 ， 可作金瘡膏 ， 消酒，除渴，明目。别録。止冷熱痢、疳痢，極效。開寶。止吐血鼻衄腸 風 ， 月經不止 ， 血崩 ， 産前後諸血疾 ， 并水瀉。大明。治膽氣不足。李 杲。汁釀酒治風痺，補腦。擣汁塗虎犬蛇蟲傷。時珍。酸赭：味酸。主内 漏，止血不足。别録。 Control. Spasm and pain of women associated with nursing and birth. The seven kinds of harm. The five kinds of leaking from below the belt. It ends pain and sweating. It removes malign flesh. It serves to heal wounds caused by metal objects/ weapons. Ben jing. It ends bleeding with pus, and all kinds of fistula, malign sores and heat sores. It boosts [qi] in the case of cut off and harmed [qi. It serves to cure] internal blockage following a birth, and can be made to ointments for wounds caused by metal objects/weapons. It dissolves [the poison of ] wine, ends thirst and clears the eyes. Bie lu. It very effectively ends free-flux illness associated with cold and heat, and gan-illness224 with free-flux illness. Kai bao. It ends spitting of blood, nosebleed and intestinal wind. [It serves to cure] endless menstruation, blood col224 Gan 疳, “gan-illness,” also: “sweets-illness,” involves several complaints that affect children and adults, with causes and conditions too different to fall into a known disease category. BCGM Dict I, 180-188.

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lapse,225 and all kinds of blood illnesses prior to and following birth, as well as a watery outflow. Da Ming. It serves to cure an insufficiency of gall bladder qi. Li Gao. The juice prepared to wine serves to cure blockage caused by wind and supplements the brain. Pound it to obtain a juice that is applied to harm/wounds caused by tigers, dogs, snakes and worms/bugs. [Li] Shizhen. Suan zhe: Flavor sour. It controls internal leaking and ends bleeding that has lead to an insufficiency. Bie lu. 【發明】【頌曰】古者斷下多用之。【炳曰】同樗皮治赤白痢。【宗奭 曰】其性沉寒，入下焦。若熱血痢則可用。若虚寒人及水瀉白痢，即未可 輕使。【時珍曰】地榆除下焦熱， 治大小便血證。止血取上截切片炒用。 其稍則能行血，不可不知。楊士瀛云：諸瘡，痛者加地榆，癢者加黄芩。 Explication. [Su] Song: The ancients often used it to end [uncontrolled] discharge. [Xiao] Bing: Together with ailanthus tree bark it serves to cure red and white freeflux illness. [Kou] Zongshi: Its nature is sinking into the depth, and it is cold. It enters the Lower Burner. It can be used for a blood free-flux illness caused by heat. It must not be used lightly by persons with a depletion that has been availed of by cold, and those with a watery outflow and white free-flux illness. [Li] Shizhen: Di yu removes heat from the Lower Burner. It serves to cure conditions of major [defecation] and minor [urination] relief with blood. To end bleeding, cut the upper part into slices and fry them. The tip serves to stimulate blood flow. It is essential to keep this in mind. Yang Shiying states: For all kinds of sores/wounds, if they ache add di yu [to a medication]; if they itch, add scutellaria [root]. 【附方】舊八，新六。 Added Recipes. Eight of old. Six newly [recorded]. 男女吐血。地榆三兩，米醋一升，煮十餘沸，去滓，食前稍熱服一合。聖 惠方。 Blood spitting of males and females. Boil three liang of di yu in one sheng of rice vinegar ten times or more to bubbling. Remove the dregs and [let the patient] ingest, prior to meals, one ge, slightly hot. Sheng hui fang. 婦人漏下，赤白不止，令人黄瘦。方同上。 Unending red and white leaking and discharge of women, letting them appear yellow and emaciated. Recipe identical with the one above.

225 [Xue] beng [血]崩, “[blood] collapse,” is excessive vaginal bleeding. BCGM Dict I, 594.



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血痢不止。地榆晒研，每服二錢，摻在羊血上，炙熟食之，以捻頭煎湯送 下。一方：以地榆煮汁似飲226，每服三合。聖濟。 Unending blood free-flux illness. Dry di yu in the sun and grind it [to powder] Each time ingest two qian. Mix it with sheep blood, roast it until done and eat this, to be sent down with a nian tou decoction.227 Another recipe: Boil di yu to obtain a juice resembling a beverage. Each time ingest three ge. Sheng ji. 赤白下痢骨立者。地榆一斤 ， 水三升 ， 煮一升半 ， 去滓 ， 再煎如稠餳 ， 絞濾，空腹服三合，日再服。崔元亮海上方。 Red and white discharge and free-flux illness with an emaciation to the bones. Boil one jin of di yu in three sheng of water down to one and a half sheng. Remove the dregs and boil [the liquid] again until it has taken on a consistency that is as viscous as malt sugar. Wring it [in a piece of cloth] to filter the liquid. Ingest on an empty abdomen three ge. To be ingested twice a day. Cui Yuanliang, Hai shang fang. 久病腸風 ， 痛痒不止。地榆五錢 ， 蒼术一兩 ， 水二鍾 ， 煎一鍾 ， 空心 服，日一服。活法機要。 Intestinal wind as a chronic disease, with unending pain and itch. Boil five qian of di yu and one liang of black atractylodes [rhizome] in two zhong of water down to one zhong, to be ingested on an empty stomach, once a day. Huo fa ji yao. 下血不止二十年者。取地榆、鼠尾草各二兩，水二升，煮一升，頓服。若 不斷，以水漬屋塵，飲一小盃投之。肘後方。 Blood discharge that has not ended for 20 years. Boil two liang each of di yu and salvia japonica herb in two sheng of water down to one sheng and [let the patient] drink this all at once. If [the bleeding] fails to end, soak room dusk in water and drink [the medicinal decoction] together with a small cup [of the liquid in which the dust was soaked]. Zhou hou fang. 結陰下血 ， 腹痛不已。地榆四兩 ， 炙甘草三兩 ， 每服五錢 ， 水三盞 ， 入 縮砂四七枚，煎一盞半，分二服。宣明方。 Blood discharge caused by bound yin [qi], with an unending abdominal pain. For each dose give five qian of a mixture of four liang of di yu and three liang of roasted glycyrrhiza [root] into three small cups of water, add four times seven pieces of amomum villosum [seeds] and boil it down to one and a half small cups, to be ingested divided into two portions. Xuan ming fang. 226 This recipe originates in juan 212, xue li 血痢, “blood free-flux illness,” of the Pu ji fang 普 濟方. The original line reads 煮令似飴糖, “boil it until it resembles malt sugar.”

227 Nian tou 捻頭, better known as han ju 寒具 (see 25-11), is a kind of pasta made with glutinous rice flour and wheat flour and fried in hemp oil.

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小兒疳痢。地榆煮汁，熬如飴糖，與服便已。肘後方。 Gan-illness228 and free-flux illness of children. Boil di yu to obtain a juice and simmer it to a paste of the consistency of malt sugar. Give this [to the child] to ingest and [the disease] will end. Zhou hou fang. 毒蛇螫人。新地榆根擣汁飲，兼以漬瘡。肘後方。 For humans bitten by a poisonous snake. Let them drink the juice pressed out of fresh di yu, and in addition soak the wound in it. Zhou hou fang. 虎犬咬傷。地榆煮汁飲，并爲末傅之。亦可爲末，白湯服，日三。忌酒。 梅師方。 Harm caused by tiger and dog bites. Boil di yu and [let the patient] drink the juice. In addition [grind it to] powder and apply this [to the wound]. It can also be [ground to] powder that is ingested with clear, boiled water, three times a day. [During the treatment] wine is to be avoided. Mei shi fang. 代指腫痛。地榆煮汁漬之，半日愈。千金翼。 Painful swelling associated with finger replacement.229 Boil di yu and soak [the affected region] in the juice. A cure will be achieved within half a day. Qian jin yi. 小兒濕瘡。地榆煮濃汁，日洗二次。千金方。 Moist sores of children. Boil di yu to obtain a thick juice and wash [the affected region] twice a day. Qian jin fang. 小兒面瘡 ， 焮赤腫痛。地榆八兩 ， 水一斗 ， 煎五升 ， 温洗之。衛生總微 方。 Facial sores of children, with a painful swelling that is red because of heat. Boil eight liang of di yu in one dou of water down to five sheng and wash [the affected region] with the warm [liquid]. Wei sheng zong wei fang. 煮白石法。七月七日取地榆根 ， 不拘多少 ， 陰乾 ， 百日燒爲灰。復取生 者，與灰合搗萬下。灰三分，生末一分，合之。若石二三斗，以水浸過三 寸，以藥入水攪之，煮至石爛可食乃已。臞仙神隱書。 Method to boil actinolite. On the seventh day of the seventh month take any amount of di yu root, dry it in the shade and after 100 days burn it to ashes. Then 228 Gan 疳, “gan-illness,” also: “sweets-illness,” involves several complaints that affect children and adults, with causes and conditions too different to fall into a known disease category. BCGM Dict I, 180-188.

229 Dai zhi 代指, “painful finger replacement.” A condition of sores developing at the margins of one’s fingernails with the edges being inflamed, swollen and painful. BCGM Dict I, 117.



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take fresh [di yu powder], mix it with the ashes and pound the mixture 10 000 times. [The mixture should include] three parts of the ashes and one part of the fresh powder. Then soak two to three dou of actinolite in water with a level three cun above [the level of the mineral], give the [di yu] medication into the water and stir it. Then boil it until the actinolite has turned pulpy and can be eaten. This is the end [of the preparation]. Quxian, Shen yin shu. 12-24-02 葉。Ye. Leaf [of di yu]

【主治】作飲代茶，甚解熱。蘇恭。 Control. When they are prepared as a beverage to substitute tea they are extremely able to dissolve heat. Su Gong. 12-25 丹參本經上品 Dan shen, FE Ben jing, upper rank. Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge. Chinese sage.

【釋名】赤參别録、山參日華、郄蟬草本經、木羊乳吴普、逐馬弘景、奔 馬草。【時珍曰】五參五色配五臟。故人參入脾曰黄參 ， 沙參入肺曰白 參 ， 玄參入腎曰黑參 ， 牡蒙入肝曰紫參 ， 丹參入心曰赤參 ， 其苦參則右 腎命門之藥也。古人捨紫參而稱苦參， 未達此義爾。【炳曰】丹參治風軟 脚，可逐奔馬，故名奔馬草，曾用實有效。 Explanation of Names. Chi shen 赤參, “red shen,” Bie lu. Shan shen 山參, “mountain shen,” Rihua. Xi can cao 郄蟬草, “cracked cicada herb,” Ben jing. Mu yang ru 木羊 乳, “wooden sheep milk,” Wu Pu. Zhu ma 逐馬, “pursuit of horses,” [Tao] Hongjing. Ben ma cao 奔馬草, “running horse herb.” [Li] Shizhen: The five kinds of shen [herbs] appear in five colors matched with the five long-term depots. Hence ren shen enters the spleen and is called “yellow shen.” Sha shen enters the lung and is called “white shen.” Xuan shen enters the kidneys and is called “black shen.” Common bistort (12-26) enters the liver and is called “purple shen.” Dan shen enters the heart and is called “red shen.” Ku shen is a medication associated with the right kidney, the Gate of Life. The ancients gave up [the name] zi shen, “purple shen,” and called it ku shen, “bitter shen.” But this does not agree with the idea [underlying the old name]. [Xiao] Bing: Dan shen serves to cure legs softened by wind. It can enable one to pursue a running horse. Hence it is called “running horse herb.” It has been used with good effects, indeed.

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【集解】【别録曰】丹參生桐柏川谷及太山 ， 五月采根 ， 暴乾。【弘景 曰】此桐柏在義陽，是淮水發源之山，非江東 臨海之桐柏也。今近道處處 有之。莖方有毛，紫花，時人呼爲逐馬。【普曰】莖葉小房如荏有毛，根 赤色，四月開紫花，二月、五月采根，陰乾。【頌曰】今陝西、河東州郡 及隨州皆有之。二月生苗，高一尺許。莖方有稜，青色。葉相對，如薄荷 而有毛。三月至九月開花成穗 ， 紅紫色 ， 似蘇花。根赤色 ， 大者如指 ， 長尺餘，一苗數根。【恭曰】冬采者良，夏采者虚惡。【時珍曰】處處山 中有之。一枝五葉，葉如野蘇而尖，青色皺毛。小花成穗如蛾形，中有細 子。其根皮丹而肉紫。 Collected Explanations. Bie lu: Dan shen grows in the mountain valleys of Tong bai and on Mount Tai shan. The root is collected in the fifth month. It is dried in the sun. [Tao] Hongjun: This Tong bai is Yi yang. It is the mountain where the Huai shui springs. It is not the Tong bai of Jiang dong, near the sea. Nowadays it can be found everywhere nearby. The stem has hair. The flowers are purple. The people today call it “pursuit of horses.” [Wu] Pu: The stem and the leaves have small chambers230 like those of perilla [herbs]; they have hair. The root is of red color. Purple flowers open in the fourth month. The root is collected in the second and fifth month. It is dried in the shade. [Su] Song: Nowadays, it can be found in the zhou and prefectures of Shaan xi and He dong and also in Sui zhou. It develops seedlings in the second month; they reach a height of more than one chi. The stem is rectangular, with edges. It is of greenish color. The leaves grow opposite to each other. They resemble those of mint and have hair. From the third to the ninth month they develop spikes on which flowers of a red-purple color open. They resemble perilla flowers. The root is of red color. Large specimens are as big as a finger and reach a length of a chi or more. One seedling has several roots. [Su] Gong: Those collected in winter are good. Those collected in summer are hollow and malign. [Li] Shizhen: They can be found everywhere in the mountains. One branch has five leaves. The leaves resemble those of wild perilla, but are pointed. They are of greenish color, are wrinkled and have hair. The small flowers develop spikes reminiscent of moths, with delicate seeds inside. The skin of the root is cinnabar-red and the meat is purple.

230 Xiao fang 小房, “small chambers.” The Yu lan, ch. 991, dan shen 丹參, quoting Wu shi ben cao writes xiao fang 小方, “small and rectangular,” instead.



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12-25-01 根。Gen. Root [of dan shen].

【氣味】苦 ， 微寒 ， 無毒。【普曰】神農、桐君、黄帝、雷公 ： 苦 ， 無 毒。岐伯：鹹。李當之：大寒。【弘景曰】久服多眼赤，故應性熱，今云 微寒，恐謬也。【權曰】平。【之才曰】畏鹹水，反藜蘆。 Qi and Flavor. Bitter, slightly cold, nonpoisonous. [Wu] Pu: Shen Nong, Tong jun, Huang Di, Lei gong: Bitter, nonpoisonous. Qi Bo: Salty. Li Dangzhi: Very cold. [Tao] Hongjing: Ingested over a long time, the [root] often lets the eyes turn red. This is a reaction to its hot nature. When nowadays it is said that is is slightly cold, this may be an error. [Zhen] Quan: Balanced. [Xu] Zhicai: [Ingested together,] it fears brine and is opposed to veratrum [root]. 【主治】心腹邪氣 ， 腸鳴幽幽如走水 ， 寒熱積聚 ， 破癥除瘕 ， 止煩滿 ， 益氣。本經。養血，去心腹痛疾結氣，腰脊强，脚痺，除風邪留熱。久服 利人。别録。漬酒飲，療風痺足軟。弘景。主中惡及百邪鬼魅，腹痛氣作 聲音鳴吼，能定精。甄權。主中惡及百邪鬼魅，腹痛氣作聲音鳴吼，能定 精。甄權。養神定志 ， 通利關脉 ， 治冷熱勞 ， 骨節疼痛 ， 四肢不遂 ， 頭 痛赤眼，熱温狂悶，破宿血，生新血，安生胎，落死胎，止血崩帶下， 調婦人經脉不匀 ， 血邪心煩 ， 惡瘡疥癬 ， 癭贅腫毒丹毒 ， 排膿止痛 ， 生 肌長肉。大明。活血，通心包絡，治疝痛。時珍。 Control. Evil qi affecting the central and abdominal region. Intestinal sounds like those of running water. Accumulations and collections of cold and heat. It breaks open concretion-illness and dispels aggregation-illness,231 ends vexation with a sensation of fullness and boosts the qi. Ben jing. It nourishes blood. It removes from the central and abdominal region painful illnesses232 of bound qi,233 stiffness of lower back and spine, and blockage affecting the legs. It disperses wind evil and abiding heat. Ingested over a long time it benefits one. Bie lu. To drink wine in which [the root] was soaked serves to heal wind blockage and soft feet. [Tao] Hongjing. It controls being struck by the malign and by the hundreds of evil demons and goblins, with abdominal pain and sounds resembling the howling of animals. It can stabilize essence/sperm. Zhen Quan. It nourishes the spirit, stabilizes the mind and frees the passage through joints and vessels. It serves to cure cold and heat exhaustion, pain231 Pi 癖, “aggregation-illness,” of painful lumps emerging from time to time in both flanks. BCGM Dict I, 371.

232 Instead of tong ji 痛疾, Zheng lei ch. 7, dan shen 丹參, quoting Bie lu writes gu ji 痼疾, “obstinacy-illness.”

233 Jie qi 結氣, “bound qi,” 1.) an etiological agent of pathological qi halting and congealing at any place in the body. 2.) A condition brought forth by bound qi. BCGM Dict I, 240.

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ful bones and joints, when the four limbs fail to follow one’s intentions, headache and red eyes, and madness and heart-pressure associated with heat and warmth. It breaks through residual blood. It generates new blood. It pacifies a living fetus, and causes loss of a dead fetus. It ends blood collapse234 from below the belt. It regulates disharmony of menstruation and [movements in the] vessels, evil that has entered the blood with heart vexation, malign sores, jie-illness235 and xuan-illness, goiter redundancy,236 swelling with poison and cinnabar poison.237 It eliminates pus and ends pain. It serves to grow muscles and flesh. Da Ming. It quickens the blood. It frees the heart enclosing network. It serves to cure painful elevation-illness.238 [Li] Shizhen. 【發明】【時珍曰】丹參色赤味苦，氣平而降，陰中之陽也。入手少陰、 厥陰之經，心與包絡血分藥也。按婦人明理論云：四物湯治婦人病，不問 産前産後，經水多少，皆可通用。惟一味丹參散，主治與之相同。盖丹參 能破宿血， 補新血， 安生胎， 落死胎， 止崩中帶下， 調經脉， 其功大類 當歸、地黄、芎藭、芍藥故也。 Explication. [Li] Shizhen: Dan shen is of red color and bitter flavor. Its qi are balanced and sink. It is a yang in yin substance. It enters the hand minor yin and ceasing yin conduits. It is a medication for the blood section of the heart and its enclosing network. According to the Fu ren ming li lun, “the ‘decoction with four items’239 serves to cure the diseases of women, both prior to and after birth and regardless of copious or scant menstruation. It can be used for all [these problems] alike. Only the ‘powder with dan shen as its only ingredient’ equals it in its controlling and curative [effects]. The fact is, dan shen can break through residual blood, supplements new blood, pacifies a living fetus, brings down a dead fetus, ends col-

234 [Xue] beng [血]崩, “[blood] collapse,” is excessive vaginal bleeding. BCGM Dict I, 594.

235 Jie-illness 疥, vaguely defined skin ailments BCGM Dict I, 249.

236 Ying zui 癭贅, “goiter redundancy,” a condition identical with ying 癭, “goiter”. BCGM Dict I. 641.

237 Dan du 丹毒, “cinnabar poisoning,” a condition of skin ailments brought forth by heat poison, manifesting themselves as red rashes as if from burns, as if cinnabar had been pasted there. BCGM Dict I, 118. 238 Shan qi 疝氣, “elevation-illness qi,” a pathological condition of (1) an item having entered the scrotum, with pain, sometimes ascending, sometimes descending, (2) a condition affecting the scrotum or a testicle, (3) of violent abdominal pain, in some cases associated with constipation and anuria. BCGM Dict I, 419, 417. 239 Ingredients are paeonia root, Chinese foxglove rhizome, Chinese angelica root and ligusticum root.



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lapsing center240 from below the belt, and regulates menstruation and [movement in the] vessels. This is so because its [therapeutic] potential is very similar to that of Chinese angelica [root], Chinese foxglove [rhizome], ligusticum chuanxiong [root] and paeonia [root].” 【附方】舊三，新四。 Added Recipes. Three of old. Four newly [recorded]. 丹參散。治婦人經脉不調，或前或後，或多或少，産前胎不安，産後惡血 不下，兼治冷熱勞，腰脊痛，骨節煩疼。用丹參洗净，切晒爲末。每服二 錢，温酒調下。婦人明理方。 Dan shen powder. It serves to cure irregular menstruation and [movements in the] vessels of women, with the [period] starting premature or delayed, and being increased or decreased. When the fetus prior to birth is restless, or when the malign blood is not discharged following birth. At the same time it serves to cure exhaustion associated with either cold or heat, painful lower back and spine, and vexation and pain affecting bones and joints. Wash dan shen clean, cut it [into slices], dry them in the sun and [grind them to] powder. Each time [let the patient] ingest two qian; to be sent down mixed with warm wine. Fu ren ming li fang. 落胎下血。丹參十二兩，酒五升，煮取三升，温服一升，一日三服。亦可 水煮。千金方。 To abort a fetus and to discharge blood. Boil 12 liang of dan shen in five sheng of wine down to three sheng and [let the patient] ingest one sheng [of the liquid] warm. To be ingested three times a day. It can also be boiled in water. Qian jin fang. 寒疝腹痛。小腹陰中相引痛 ， 白汗出 ， 欲死。以丹參一兩爲末。每服二 錢，熱酒調下。聖惠方。 Cold elevation-illness241 with abdominal pain. The pain pulls from the lower abdomen into the yin [(i. e., genital) region] and vice versa. White sweat is released; [patients] are about to die. [Grind] one liang of dan shen to powder. Each time [let the patient] ingest two qian, to be sent down mixed with hot wine. Sheng hui fang. 240 Beng zhong 崩中, “collapsing center,” excessive vaginal bleeding outside of a menstruation period. BCGM Dict I, 58.

241 Shan qi 疝氣, “elevation-illness qi,” a pathological condition of (1) an item having entered the scrotum, with pain, sometimes ascending, sometimes descending, (2) a condition affecting the scrotum or a testicle, (3) of violent abdominal pain, in some cases associated with constipation and anuria. BCGM Dict I, 419, 417.

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小兒身熱，汗出拘急，因中風起。丹參半兩，鼠屎炒三十枚，爲末。每服 三錢，漿水下。聖濟總録。 Children with a hot body, with sweating and spasms. This is caused by a wind stroke. [Grind] half a liang of dan shen and 30 pieces of rat/mice feces to powder. Each time [let the children] ingest three qian, to be sent down with fermented water of foxtail millet.242 Sheng ji zong lu. 驚癇發熱。丹參摩膏：用丹參、雷丸各半兩，猪膏二兩，同煎七上七下， 濾去滓盛之。每以摩兒身上，日三次。千金方。 Fright epilepsy with heat effusion. Massage ointment with dan shen. Boil together half a liang each of dan shen and thunderball fungus and two liang of lard seven times [to bubbling] up and let them seven times [cool] down. Filter this to remove the dregs and ladle off [the resulting ointment]. Each time use it to massage the child’s body. Three times a day. Qian jin fang. 婦人乳癰。丹參、白芷、芍藥各二兩，㕮咀，以醋淹一夜，猪脂半斤，微 火煎成膏，去滓傅之。孟詵必效方。 Breast obstruction-illness243 of women. Pound two liang each of dan shen, angelica dahurica [root] and paeonia [root]. Soak it in vinegar for one night, add half a jin of lard and boil this on a small fire to an ointment. Remove the dregs and apply it [to the affected region]. Meng Shen, Bi xiao fang. 熱油火灼。除痛生肌。丹參八兩剉 ， 以水微調 ， 取羊脂二斤 ， 煎三上三 下，以塗瘡上。肘後方。 Scalds from hot oil. To eliminate the pain and generate muscles. Cut eight liang of dan shen [into slices] and mix them with a little water. Then boil this with two jin of sheep fat three times [to bubbling] up and let it three times [cool] down, and apply [the resulting ointment] to the sores. Zhou hou fang.

242 For jiang shui 漿水, “fermented water of foxtail millet,” see BCGM 05-33.

243 Ru yong 乳癰, “breast obstruction-illness,” a condition of acute putrefication of a woman’s breast. Often encountered if a woman, following delivery, experiences chui nai 吹奶, “inflated breast,” or du ru 妒乳, “jealousy breast.”



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12-26 紫參本經中品 Zi shen, FE Ben jing, middle rank. Polygonum bistorta L. Common bistort. 【釋名】牡蒙本經、童腸别録、馬行别録、衆戎别録、五鳥花綱目。【時 珍曰】紫參、王孫， 並有牡蒙之名。古方所用牡蒙多是紫參也。按錢起詩 集云：紫參，幽芳也。五葩連萼，狀如飛禽羽舉，故俗名五鳥花。 Explanation of Names. Mu meng 牡蒙, Ben jing. Tong chang 童腸, “boy’s intestine,” Bie lu. Ma xing 馬行, Bie lu. Zhong rong 衆戎, Bie lu. Wu niao hua 五鳥花, Gang mu. [Li] Shizhen: Both zi shen 紫參 and wang sun 王孫 are named mu meng 牡蒙. The mu meng 牡蒙 [recommended for] use in ancient recipes is mostly zi shen 紫 參. According to the Qian Qi shi ji, “zi shen 紫參 is you fang 幽芳. The calyxes of the five flowers are linked to each other; they are shaped like birds raising their wings to fly.” Hence the commonly used name “five birds flower,” wu niao hua 五鳥花。 【集解】【别録曰】紫參生河西及冤句山谷 ， 三月采根 ， 火炙使紫色。 【普曰】紫參一名牡蒙 ， 生河西或商山。圓聚生根 ， 黄赤有文 ， 皮黑中 紫 ， 五月花紫赤 ， 實黑大如豆。【弘景曰】今方家皆呼爲牡蒙 ， 用之亦 少。【恭曰】紫參葉似羊蹄 ， 紫花青穗。其根皮紫黑 ， 肉紅白 ， 肉淺皮 深。所在有之。長安見用者，出蒲州。牡蒙乃王孫也，葉似及己而大，根 長尺餘，皮肉亦紫色，根苗不相似。【頌曰】今河中、晉、解、齊及淮、 蜀州郡皆有之。苗長一二尺，莖青而細。其葉青似槐葉，亦有似羊蹄者。 五月開花白色，似葱花，亦有紅紫而似水葒者。根淡紫黑色，如地黄狀， 肉紅白色，肉淺而皮深。三月采根，火炙紫色。又云：六月采，晒乾用。 【時珍曰】紫參根乾紫黑色，肉帶紅白，狀如小紫草。范子計然云：紫參 出三輔，有三色，以青赤色爲善。 Collected Explanations. Bie lu: Zi shen grows in the mountain valleys of He xi and Yuan ju. The root is collected in the third month. It is roasted over a fire until it assumes a purple color. [Wu] Pu: Zi shen is also called mu meng. It grows in He xi and on Mount Shang shan. It forms a circular thicket of roots. They are yellow-red and have a line design. The skin is black; inside they are purple. In the fifth month purple-red flowers open. The seeds are black and have the size of soybeans. [Tao] Hongjing: Nowadays all the recipe experts call it mu meng 牡蒙; they only seldom use it. [Su] Gong: The leaves of zi shen resemble those of Japanese dock. The flowers are purple, emerging from greenish spikes. The skin of the root is purple-black. The meat is red-white. The [color of the] meat is weak; that of the skin is dark. [Zi shen] can be found everywhere. Specimens that have been seen to be used in Chang an come from Pu zhou. Mu meng 牡蒙 is wang sun 王孫. Its leaves resemble those of

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chloranthus [herbs], but they are larger. The root is more than a chi long; skin and meat are purple, too. But the root and the seedling differ. [Su] Song: Nowadays [zi shen] can be found in He zhong, Jin, Xie, Qi and in all the zhou and prefectures of Huai and Shu. The seedling grows to a height of one to two chi. The stem is greenish and delicate. The leaves are greenish and resemble the leaves of sophora [trees]. Some resemble those of Japanese dock. During the fifth month they open flowers of white color, resembling onion flowers. There are others that are red-purple and resemble red knotweed [flowers]. The root is of a pale-purple-black color; it is shaped like that of Chinese foxglove [rhizome]. The meat is of red-white color. The [color of the] meat is weak; that of the skin is dark. The root is collected in the third month. When it is roasted over a fire it assumes a purple color. It is also said: Collect [the root] in the sixth month and dry it in the sun before using it [for therapeutic ends]. [Li] Shizhen: The dried root of zi shen is of a purple-black color. The meat inside is red-white. It is shaped like that of small arnebia herbs. The Fan zi Jiran states: Zi shen comes from San fu. It may be of any of three colors. Specimens of a greenish-red color are good. 12-26-01 根。Gen. Root [of zi shen]

【氣味】苦，寒，無毒。【别録曰】微寒。【普曰】牡蒙：神農、黄帝： 苦。李當之：小寒。【之才曰】畏辛夷。 Qi and Flavor. Bitter, cold, nonpoisonous. Bie lu: Slightly cold. [Wu] Pu: Mu meng: Shen Nong, Huang Di: Bitter. Li Dangzhi: Slightly cold. [Xu] Zhicai: [Ingested together,] it fears magnolia [flower buds]. 【主治】心腹積聚，寒熱邪氣，通九竅，利大小便。本經。療腸胃大熱， 唾血衄血，腸中聚血，癰腫諸瘡，止渴益精。别録。治心腹堅脹，散瘀 血，治婦人血閉不通。甄權。主狂瘧瘟瘧，鼽血汗出。好古。治血痢。好 古。牡蒙：治金瘡，破血，生肌肉，止痛，赤白痢，補虚益氣，除脚腫， 發陰陽。蘇恭。 Control. Accumulations and collections in the central and abdominal region. Cold and heat evil qi. It opens the nine orifices. It frees the passage of major [defecation] and minor [urination] relief. Ben jing. It serves to heal massive heat that affects the intestines and the stomach, spitting of blood and nosebleed, collections of blood in the intestines, and swelling and all kinds of sores associated with obstruction-illness.244 It ends thirst and boosts the essence/sperm. Bie lu. It serves to cure

244 Yong 癰, “obstruction-illness,” refers to an obstruction of vessels or other ducts inside the body. Qi rushing against the obstruction may cause a local swelling and eventually break



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hardenings and distensions affecting the central and abdominal region. It disperses stagnating blood. It serves to cure blocked menstruation of women. Zhen Quan. It controls malaria associated with madness, and epidemic malaria; nosebleed and sweating. [Wang] Haogu. It serves to cure blood free-flux illnes. [Wang] Haogu. Mu meng. It serves to cure wounds caused by metal objects/weapons, breaks open [stagnating] blood, generates muscles and flesh, ends pain and red and white freeflux illness, supplements depletion and boosts the qi, eliminates swelling of legs and effuses yin and yang [qi to let one have children]. Su Gong. 【發明】【時珍曰】紫參色紫黑 ， 氣味俱厚 ， 陰也 ， 沉也。入足厥陰之 經， 肝臟血分藥也。故治諸血病及寒熱瘧痢、癰腫積塊之屬厥陰者。古方 治婦人腸覃病烏啄丸所用牡蒙，即此物也。唐 蘇恭註王孫引陳延之小品方 牡蒙所主之證，正是紫參。若王孫則止治風濕痺證，不治血病。故今移附 于此。 Explication. [Li] Shizhen: Zi shen is of purple-black color. Its qi and flavor are strongly pronounced; it is a yin substance. It enters the foot ceasing yin conduits; it is a drug associated with the blood section of the long-term depot liver. Hence it serves to cure all kinds of blood diseases, malaria with [alternating sensations of ] cold and heat, and free-flux illness, as well as swelling and accumulation lumps caused by obstruction-illness, as these are all associated with the ceasing yin [conduits]. When the “pills pecked by crows”245 listed in ancient recipes to cure intestinal tan disease246 of women [recommend to] use mu meng, then it is this item. When the Tang author Su Gong commented on wang sun (paris bashanensis, see below 1227) he quoted the pathological conditions listed in Chen Yanzhi’s Xiao pin fang as controlled by mu meng. This was really zi shen. If it were wang sun, it would simply serve to cure blockage conditions caused by wind and moisture. It does not serve to cure blood diseases. Hence its description has been moved here now.

through the surface to cause an abscess. BCGM Dict I, 641.

245 San yin fang ch. 18, Fu ren nü zi chong bing lun zheng zhi fa, “Methods to cure all diseases of women and girls based on discussing their pathological signs,” lists the wu hui wan 烏 喙丸, “crow beak pills,” to cure chang tan 腸覃, “intestinal tan.” Hence this should be wu hui wan 烏喙丸 instead of wu zhuo wan 烏啄丸.

246 Chang tan 腸覃, “intestinal tan,” a condition with a swelling and lump present in a woman’s lower abdomen despite normal arrival of menstruation. BCGM Dict I, 80.

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The Ben Cao Gang Mu 【附方】舊一，新二。 Added Recipes. One of old. Two newly [recorded].

紫參湯。治痢下。紫參半斤 ， 水五升 ， 煎二升 ， 入甘草二兩 ， 煎取半 升，分三服。張仲景金匱玉函。 Zi shen decoction. It serves to cure free-flux illness discharge. Boil half a jin of zi shen in five sheng of water down to two sheng. Add two liang of glycyrrhiza [root] and boil it down to half a sheng, to be ingested in three portions. Zhang Zhongjing, Jin kui yu han. 吐血不止。紫參、人參、阿膠炒 ， 等分爲末 ， 烏梅湯服一錢。一方去人 參，加甘草，以糯米湯服。聖惠方。 Unending blood spitting. [Grind] equal amounts of zi shen, ginseng [root] and fried donkey hide glue to powder and [let the patient] ingest one qian with a smoked plum decoction. Another method omits the ginseng [root] and adds glycyrrhiza [root] and [lets the patient] ingest this with a glutinous rice decoction. Sheng hui fang. 面上酒刺。五參丸：用紫參、丹參、人參、苦參、沙參各一兩，爲末，胡 桃仁杵和丸梧子大。每服三十丸，茶下。普濟。 Facial wine thorns. The “pills with the five shen [substances].” [Grind] one liang each of zi shen, dan shen, ren shen, ku shen and sha shen to powder. Add a small amount of walnut kernels and prepare pills the size of wu seeds. Each time ingest 30 pills, to be sent down with tea. Pu ji. 12-27 王孫本經中品 Wang sun, FE Ben jing, middle rank. Paris bashanensis Wang et Tang. 【校正】併入拾遺旱藕。

Editorial Correction. Han ou 旱藕, listed [separately] in the Shi yi, is included [in the present entry]. 【釋名】牡蒙弘景、黄孫别録、黄昏别録、旱藕。【普曰】楚名王孫。齊 名長孫，又名海孫。吴名白功草，又名蔓延。【時珍曰】紫參一名牡蒙， 木部合歡一名黄昏，皆與此名同物異。 Explanation of Names. Mu meng 牡蒙, [Tao] Hongjing. Huang sun 黄孫, Bie lu. Huang hun 黄昏, Bie lu. Han ou 旱藕. [Wu] Pu: In Chu it is called wang sun 王孫. In Qi it is called chang sun 長孫, and also hai sun 海孫. In Wu it is called bai gong



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cao 白功草, also man yan 蔓延. [Li] Shizhen: Zi shen 紫參 is also named mu meng 牡蒙. He huan 合歡 in the section “wood” is also called huang hun 黄昏. The names are identical but the items differ. 【集解】【别録曰】王孫生海西川谷， 及汝南城郭垣下。【普曰】蔓延赤 文 ， 莖葉相當。【弘景曰】今方家皆呼爲黄昏 ， 云牡蒙 ， 市人少識者。 【恭曰】按陳延之小品方， 述本草牡蒙一名王孫。徐之才藥對有牡蒙無王 孫。此則一物明矣。牡蒙葉似及己而大，根長尺餘，皮肉皆紫色。【藏器 曰】旱藕生太行山中，狀如藕。【時珍曰】王孫葉生顛頂，似紫河車葉。 按神農及吴普本草，紫參一名牡蒙。陶弘景亦曰，今方家呼紫參爲牡蒙。 其王孫並無牡蒙之名，而陶氏于王孫下乃云，又名牡蒙，且無形狀。唐 蘇 恭始以紫參、牡蒙爲二物，謂紫參葉似羊蹄，王孫葉似及己。但古方所用 牡蒙皆爲紫參，後人所用牡蒙乃王孫，非紫參也。不可不辨。唐玄宗時， 隱民姜撫上言：終南山有旱藕，餌之延年，狀類葛粉。帝取作湯餅，賜大 臣。右驍騎將軍甘守誠曰 ： 旱藕者 ， 牡蒙也 ， 方家久不用 ， 撫易名以神 之爾。據此牡蒙乃王孫也。盖紫參止治血證積聚瘧痢， 而王孫主五臟邪氣 痺痛療百病之文，自可推也。蘇恭引小品方牡蒙所主之證，乃紫參，非王 孫，故今移附”紫參”之下。 Collected Explanations. Bie lu: Wang sun grows in the river valleys of Hai xi and also at the foot of the city walls of Ru nan. [Wu] Pu: Man yan has a red line design on both the stem and the leaves. [Tao] Hongjing: Nowadays, all recipe experts call it huang hun. They state that it is little known that it is identical with mu meng. [Su] Gong: According to Chen Yanzhi’s Xiao pin fang, the mu meng described in the Ben cao is also called wang sun. Xu Zhicai in his Yao dui lists mu meng, but not wang sun. Hence it should be clear that [both names refer] to one and the same item. The leaves of mu meng resemble those of chloranthus [herbs], but are larger. The root is more than one chi long. Skin and meat are both purple. [Chen] Cangqi: Han ou grows in the Tai hang mountains; it is shaped like lotus. [Li] Shizhen: The leaves of wang sun grow at the top [of the stem]; they resemble the leaves of paris polyphylla. According to Shen Nong [ben cao] and Wu Pu ben cao, “zi shen is also called mu meng.” Tao Hongjing, too, says that “nowadays recipe specialists call zi shen mu meng.” Hence, the wang sun discussed here is not an alternative name of mu meng. Also, Mr. Tao [Hongjing] says about wang sun: “it is also called mu meng.” But he fails to mention its physical appearance and shape. During the Tang dynasty, Su Gong was the first to identify zi shen and mu meng as two items, stating that “the leaves of zi shen resemble those of Japanese dock, while the leaves of wang sun resemble those of chloranthus [herbs].” Still, the mu meng [recommended for] use by ancient recipes is always zi shen, while the mu meng used by people in later times is wang sun, not zi

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shen. They must be differentiated. At the time of Tang emperor Xuan zong, Jiang Fu, a man living in seclusion, reported to the throne that on Mount Zhong nan han ou can be found and that to consume it extends the years [of life]. It is shaped like pueraria powder. The Emperor had a decoction and cakes prepared and offered them to his major ministers. The Valiant Cavalry General of the Right Gan Shoucheng said: “Han ou is mu meng. Recipe specialists have not resorted to it for a long time already. [ Jiang] Fu changed the name to make it appear as something divine.” That is, mu meng is wang sun. The fact is, those texts can be disregarded that state that zi shen only serves to cure blood conditions, accumulations and congregations, as well as malaria and free-flux illness, while wang sun controls painful blockage in the five long-term depots caused by evil qi and serves to heal the hundreds of diseases. The substance quoted by Su Gong from the Xiao pin fang as controlling the same conditions as mu meng is zi shen, not wang sun. Hence here it is removed to the entry zi shen. 12-27-01 根。Gen. Root [of wang sun].

【氣味】苦 ， 平 ， 無毒。【普曰】神農、雷公 ： 苦 ， 無毒。黄帝 ： 甘。 【藏器曰】旱藕：甘，平，無毒。 Qi and Flavor. Bitter, balanced, nonpoisonous. [Wu] Pu: Shen Nong, Lei gong: Bitter, nonpoisonous. Huang Di: Sweet. [Chen] Cangqi: Han ou: Sweet, balanced, nonpoisonous. 【主治】五臟邪氣，寒濕痺，四肢疼酸，膝冷痛。本經。療百病，益氣。 别録。旱藕：主長生不飢，黑毛髮。藏器 Control. Evil qi in the five long-term depots. Blockage resulting from cold and moisture. Pain in the four limbs. Cold pain in the knees. Ben jing. It serves to heal the hundreds of diseases and boosts the qi. Bie lu. Han ou: It controls the prolongation of life and prevents hunger. It blackens the hair. [Chen] Cangqi.



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12-28 紫草本經中品 Zi cao, FE Ben jing, middle rank. Arnebia euchroma (Royle) Johnst. Pink arnebia.247

【釋名】紫丹别録、紫芺音襖、茈䓞廣雅音紫戾、藐爾雅音邈、地血吴 普、鴉衘草。【時珍曰】此草花紫根紫，可以染紫，故名。爾雅作茈草。 徭徸人呼爲鴉衘草。 Explanation of Names: Zi dan 紫丹, Bie lu. Zi ao 紫芺, read ao 襖. Zi li 茈䓞, Guang ya, read zi li 紫戾. Miao 藐, Er ya, read miao 邈. Di xue 地血, “blood on the ground,” Wu Pu. 吴普. Ya xian cao 鴉衘草, “crow bit herb.” [Li] Shizhen: This herb, cao 草, has purple, zi 紫, flowers and a purple root. It can be used as a purple dye. Hence the name [“purple herb,” zi cao 紫草]. The Er ya writes ci cao 茈草. The Yao and the Dong people call it ya xian cao 鴉衘草. 【集解】【别録曰】紫草生碭山山谷及楚地 ， 三月采根 ， 陰乾。【弘景 曰】今出襄陽，多從南陽 新野來，彼人種之，即是今染紫者，方藥都不 復用。博物志云：平氏 陽山紫草特好，魏國者染色殊黑。比年東山亦種 之，色小淺於北者。【恭曰】所在皆有，人家或種之。苗似蘭香，莖赤節 青，二月開花紫白色，結實白色，秋月熟。【時珍曰】種紫草，三月逐壟 下子，九月子熟時刈草，春社前後采根陰乾，其根頭有白毛如茸。未花時 采則根色鮮明， 花過時采則根色黯惡。采時以石壓扁曝乾。收時忌人溺及 驢馬糞并烟氣，皆令草黄色。 Collected Explanations. Bie lu: Zi cao grows in the mountain valleys of Mount Dan shan and on the territory of Chu. The root is collected in the third month. It is dried in the shade. [Tao] Hongjing: Nowadays, it comes from Xiang yang. Much of it comes from Xin ye in Nan yang. The local people plant it. Today it is a dye; it is no longer used as a recipe medication. The Bo wu zhi states: “The zi cao of Mount Yang shan near Ping shi is especially good. That from Wei guo serves to dye black. In recent years it is also planted on Mount Dong shan. The color is a little weaker than that from the North.” [Su] Gong: It can be found everywhere. Some people plant it. The seedlings resemble those of sweet basil. The stem is red with greenish joints. Flowers of a purple-white color open in the second month. They form white fruits that ripen in autumn. [Li] Shizhen: Zi zao is planted in the third month below the ridges in the fields. The herb is cut in the ninth month when the seeds are ripe. In spring around the day when sacrifices are offered to the god of the land the root is collected and dried in the shade. The root at its end has white hair like a pilose antler. When it is collected prior to the opening of the flowers, the root has a fresh and 247 Zi cao 紫草, lit.: “purple herb.”

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brilliant color. When it is collected after the flowers have opened, the color of the root is dark and bad. When [the root] is collected it is pressed flat with a stone and dried in the sun. While it is collected, it must not come into contact with human urine and the excrements of donkeys and horses, as well as smoke. All these let the herb assume a yellow color. 12-28-01 根。Gen. Root [of zi cao].

【修治】【斅曰】凡使，每一斤用蠟二兩溶水拌蒸之，待水乾，取去頭并 兩畔髭，細剉用。 Pharmaceutical Preparation. [Lei] Xiao: For all applications, dissolve two liang of beeswax in water and use it to steam one jin [of zi cao root] until all the water has dried up. Remove the tip and the hair on both sides. Cut it into fine slices and use it. 【氣味】苦 ， 寒 ， 無毒。【權曰】甘 ， 平。【元素曰】苦 ， 温。【時珍 曰】甘、鹹，寒。入手、足厥陰經。 Qi and Flavor. Bitter, cold, nonpoisonous. [Zhen] Quan: Sweet, balanced. [Zhang] Yuansu: Bitter, warm. [Li] Shizhen: Sweet, salty, cold. It enters the hand and foot ceasing yin conduits. 【主治】心腹邪氣 ， 五疸 ， 補中益氣 ， 利九竅。本經。通水道 ， 療腹腫 脹滿痛。以合膏， 療小兒瘡及面皶。别録。治惡瘡瘑癬。甄權。治斑疹痘 毒，活血凉血，利大腸。時珍。 Control. Evil qi in the central and abdominal region. The five kinds of dan-illness.248 It supplements the center and boosts the qi. It opens the nine orifices. Ben jing. It frees the passage through the water paths. It serves to heal abdominal swelling and distension with a painful sensation of fullness. Prepared as an ointment it serves to heal sores and facial sediments of children. Bie lu. It serves to cure malign sores, lair-illness249 and xuan-illness.250 Zhen Quan. It serves to cure macules and papules 248 Dan 疸, “dan-illness,” identical with huang dan 疸疸, “yellow dan-illness,” “jaundice.” BCGM Dict I, 118.

249 Guo 瘑, “laird-illness,” refers to sores affecting both hands and feet, with pain, itching and gradual extension. In some cases crumbs are shed off. BCGM Dict. I, 203.

250 Xuan 癬, “xuan-illness.” Conditions of dermal lesions with initially erythema, papules, and itching gradually extending in all directions to form an irregular ring with clear boundaries. The skin is slightly elevated with small papules, blisters, and/or scales and scraps. The central lesion may appear to heal spontaneously, and it may reappear. Also, a designation of local lesions with itching, release of liquid and shedding of scabs. BCGM Dict I, 591.



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associated with smallpox poison. It quickens blood, cools blood and frees the passage through the large intestine. [Li] Shizhen. 【發明】【頌曰】紫草古方稀用。今醫家多用治傷寒時疾 ， 發瘡疹不出 者，以此作藥，使其發出。韋宙獨行方治豌豆瘡，煮紫草湯飲，後人相承 用之，其效尤速。【時珍曰】紫草味甘鹹而氣寒，入心包絡及肝經血分。 其功長於凉血活血 ， 利大小腸。故痘疹欲出未出 ， 血熱毒盛 ， 大便閉濇 者，宜用之。已出而紫黑便閉者，亦可用。若已出而紅活，及白陷大便利 者，切宜忌之。故楊士瀛直指方云：紫草治痘，能導大便，使發出亦輕。 得木香、白术佐之，尤爲有益。又曾世榮活幼心書云：紫草性寒，小兒脾 氣實者猶可用，脾氣虚者反能作瀉。古方惟用茸，取其初得陽氣，以類觸 類，所以用發痘瘡。今人不達此理，一概用之，非矣。 Explication. [Su] Song: Zi cao was rarely used in ancient recipes. Today, physicians often use it to cure harm caused by cold and seasonal illnesses when sores and papules fail to appear. This [root] prepared as a medication stimulates their effusion. To cure pea-size smallpox sores, Wei Zhou in his Du xing fang boiled zi cao and [let patients] drink it. Later people followed him and used it [for the same purpose]. Its effects are very fast. [Li] Shizhen: Zi cao has a sweet and salty flavor and cold qi. It enters the blood section of the heart enclosing network and liver conduits. Its [therapeutic] potential is particularly effective in quickening blood and cooling blood. It frees the passage through the large and the small intestine. Hence it is advisable to resort to it when smallpox papules should appear but fail to appear, in the case of abounding heat poison in the blood, and when defection is blocked or rough. When purple-black [papules] have emerged and defecation is blocked, it can also be used. But if they have emerged and are of a red and lively color, or if they are white and sunken, with a free flow of defecation, it must not be resorted to. Hence Yang Shiying in his Zhi zhi fang states: “Zi cao serves to cure smallpox. It can promote defecation and it mitigates the effusion/appearance [of papules]. If it is combined with aucklandia [root] and atractylodes [rhizome] to assist it, it is particularly helpful.” Also, Zeng Shirong in his Huo you xin shu states: “The nature of zi cao is cold. It can be used [to cure] spleen qi repletion of children. In the case of spleen qi depletion it can cause, quite to the contrary, outflow.” Ancient recipes [recommended to] use only the pilose part as it is the first to receive yang qi. Similarity serves to hit what is similar. Hence it is used to let smallpox sores effuse. Today’s people do not know such principles. They use it indiscriminately and this is wrong.

256

The Ben Cao Gang Mu 【附方】舊三，新六。 Added Recipes. Three of old. Six newly [recorded].

消解痘毒。紫草一錢，陳皮五分，葱白三寸，新汲水煎服。直指方。 To resolve smallpox poison. Boil one qian of zi cao, five fen of tangerine peels and a three cun long onion white [stem] in newly drawn water and [let the patient] ingest this. Zhi zhi fang. 嬰童疹痘三四日，隱隱將出未出，色赤便閉者。紫草二兩剉，以百沸湯一 盞泡，封勿泄氣，待温時服半合，則瘡雖出亦輕。大便利者勿用。煎服亦 可。經驗後方。 The [smallpox] papules of newborns three or four days of age are hidden and should appear but fail to appear. They are of red color, and defecation is blocked. Cut two liang of zi cao and soak it, tightly sealed lest qi flow off, in one small cup of water that has been boiled to bubbling a hundred times. Wait until it has cooled down and [let the newborn] ingest half a ge. The sores will emerge, but only mildly. If [the patient’s] defecation flows freely, do not use it. To prepare a decoction and [let the patient] ingest it, this is possible, too. Jing yan hou fang. 痘毒黑疔。紫草三錢 ， 雄黄一錢 ， 爲末 ， 以胭肢汁調 ， 銀簪挑破 ， 點之 極妙。集簡方。 Smallpox poison with a black pin-illness.251 [Grind] three qian of zi cao and one qian of realgar to powder and mix it with rouge juice. Open [the affected region] with a silver hairpin and drop [the liquid there]. Very effective. Ji jian fang. 癰疽便閉。紫草、瓜蔞實等分，新水煎服。直指方。 Obstruction-illness and impediment-illness252 associated with blocked defecation. Boil equal amounts of zi cao and trichosanthes [root] fruit in fresh water and ingest this. Zhi zhi fang. 小兒白秃。紫草煎汁塗之。聖惠方。 White baldness of children. Boil zi cao to obtain a juice and apply this [to the affected region]. Sheng hui fang. 251 Ding 丁, “pin[-illness],” also ding 疔, “pin-illness,” refers to a deep-reaching and festering hardness in a tissue, eventually rising above the skin like a pinhead. BCGM Dict I, 127129.

252 Yong ju 癰疽, “obstruction-illness, impediment-illness.” refers to two vaguely distinguished obstructions/impediments of vessels or other ducts inside the body. Qi rushing against the obstruction may cause a local swelling and eventually break through the surface to cause an abscess. BCGM Dict I, 642.



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小便卒淋。紫草一兩，爲散，每食前用井華水服二錢。千金翼。 Urinary dripping. [Grind] one liang of zi cao to powder. Each time ingest prior to meals two qian with the first water drawn from a well. Qian jin yi. 産後淋瀝。方同上。産寶。 [Urinary] dripping after birth. Recipe identical with the one above. Chan bao. 惡蟲咬人。紫草煎油塗之。聖惠方。 When malign worms/bugs have bitten one. Boil zi cao in oil and apply this [to the affected region]. Sheng hui fang. 火黄身熱，午後却凉，身有赤點或黑點者，不可治。宜烙手足心、背心、 百會、下廉，内服紫草湯。紫草、吴藍各一兩，木香、黄連各一兩，水煎 服。三十六黄方。 A hot body that is yellow because of [an internal] fire. In the afternoon [the body] cools down. When the body is covered with red dots or black dots, [the disease] is incurable. It is advisable to brand the palms of the [patient’s] hands and the soles of the feet, the center of his back and the “hundred convergences” (GV-20) and “lower ridge” (Li-8) [needle insertion holes]. For an internal [treatment, the patient is to] ingest a zi cao decoction. Boil in water one liang each of zi cao and Chinese indigo plant leaves from Wu, and one liang each of aucklandia [root] and coptis [rhizome] and [let the patient] ingest it. San shi liu huang fang. 12-29 白頭翁本經下品 Bai tou weng, FE Ben jing, lower rank. Pulsatilla chinensis (Bge.) Rgl. Chinese pulsatilla.253

【釋名】野丈人本經、胡王使者本經、奈何草别録。【弘景曰】處處有 之。近根處有白茸，狀似白頭老翁，故以爲名。【時珍曰】丈人、胡使、 奈何，皆狀老翁之意。 Explanation of Names. Ye zhang ren 野丈人, “rude father-in-law,” Ben jing. Hu wang shi zhe 胡王使者, “envoy sent by the king of the Hu,” Ben jing. Nai he cao 奈何 草, “the herb that is to no avail,” Bie lu. [Tao] Hongjing: It can be found everywhere. Close to the root it has white hairy regions, shaped like the white head, bai tou 白 頭, of an old man, lao weng 老翁. Hence it was given this name [bai tou weng 白頭 翁, “old man with a white head”]. [Li] Shizhen: Zhang ren 丈人,”father-in-law,” hu 253 Bai tou weng 白頭翁, lit.: “white-headed old man.”

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shi 胡使, “Hu envoy,” and nai he 奈何, “to no avail,” are all based on the idea that its shape resembles an old man. 【集解】【别録曰】白頭翁生高山山谷及田野， 四月采。【恭曰】其葉似 芍藥而大 ， 抽一莖。莖頭一花 ， 紫色 ， 似木槿花。實大者如雞子 ， 白毛 寸餘 ， 皆披下似纛頭 ， 正似白頭老翁 ， 故名焉。陶言近根有白茸 ， 似不 識也。太常所貯蔓生者， 乃是女萎。其白頭翁根似續斷而扁。【保昇曰】 所在有之。有細毛 ，， 不滑澤 ， 花蕊黄。二月采花 ， 四月采實 ， 八月采 根，皆日乾。【頌曰】處處有之。正月生苗，作叢生，狀似白薇而柔細稍 長。葉生莖頭，如杏葉，上有細白毛而不滑澤，近根有白茸。根紫色，深 如蔓菁。其苗有風則静，無風而摇，與赤箭、獨活同也。陶註未述莖葉， 蘇註言葉似芍藥，實如雞子，白毛寸餘者，皆誤矣。【宗奭曰】白頭翁生 河南 洛陽界，其新安山野中屢嘗見之，正如蘇恭所説。至今本處山中人賣 白頭翁丸，言服之壽考，又失古人命名之義。陶氏所説，失於不審，宜其 排叱也。【機曰】寇宗奭以蘇恭爲是，蘇頌以陶説爲是。大抵此物用根， 命名取象，當准蘇頌圖經，而恭説恐别是一物也。 Collected Explanations. Bie lu: Bai tou weng grows in the valleys of high mountains and also in the open country. [Su] Gong: Its leaves resemble those of paeonia [herbs], but are bigger. It develops one stem, and one purple flower at the end of the stem, similar to the flowers of hibiscus [herb]. Its fruit may be as big as chicken eggs. It has white hair and is more than one cun long. It looks like a head draped over with a banneret, just like the white head of an old man. Hence the name. Tao [Hongjing] says “close to the root it has white hairy regions.” Apparently he did not know [the root]. The creeper kept in the tai chang 太常 [food storage] is in fact the clematis creeper. The root of bai tou weng resembles dipsacus [root], but is flat. [Han] Baosheng: It can be found everywhere. It has fine hair. It is not smooth and moist. The stamen is yellow. The flowers are collected in the second month; the fruits are collected in the fourth month; the root is collected in the eighth month. All are dried in the sun. [Su] Song: It can be found everywhere. It develops seedlings in the first month; they grow as clusters. They are shaped like those of cynanchum atratum [herbs], but are soft, delicate and a little longer. The leaves grow at the end of the stem, similar to apricot leaves. They have fine, white hair on their surface and are neither smooth nor moist. Close to the root is a white hairy region. The root is of purple color. It reaches into the depth like a turnip. The seedling remains unmoved when there is wind. It sways when there is no wind. This is similar to gastrodia [herbs] and angelica biserrata [herbs]. Tao [Hongjing] failed to describe the stem and the leaves. Su [Gong] in his comment says that “the leaves resemble those of paeonia [herbs],” and that “the fruits are [as big] as chicken eggs and have white



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hair more than a cun long.” This is all wrong. [Kou] Zongshi: Bai tou weng grows in the border region of Luo yang in He nan and it has repeatedly been seen in the wilderniss of the mountains in Xin an. Just as Su Gong says. The mountain people there sell “bai tou weng pills” to this day. They say that to ingest them extends life, but this does not agree with the meaning of the name given [to this substances] by the ancients. What Tao [Hongjing] says lacks a careful examination; it needs to be contradicted. [Wang] Ji: Kou Zongshi believes that Su Gong is right. Su Song believes that Tao [Hongjing’s] statement is right. Generally speaking, the root of this item is used [for medicinal purposes]. Its name reflects its appearance. The description in Su Song’s Tu jing is reliable. The item described by [Su] Gong may be something different. 12-29-01 根。Gen. Root [of bai tou weng].

【氣味】苦，温，無毒。【别録曰】有毒。【吴綬曰】苦、辛，寒。【權 曰】甘、苦， 有小毒。豚實爲之使。【大明曰】得酒良。花、子、莖、葉 同。 Qi and Flavor. Bitter, warm, nonpoisonous. Bie lu: Poisonous. Wu Shou: Bitter, balanced, cold. [Zhen] Quan: Sweet, bitter, slightly poisonous. Tun shi254 serves as its guiding substance. Da Ming: When it is combined with wine, this is good. The same applies to the flowers, seeds, stem and leaves. 【主治】温瘧，狂犭昜 寒熱，癥瘕積聚，癭氣，逐血，止腹痛，療金瘡。 本經。鼻衄。别録。止毒痢。弘景。赤痢腹痛，齒痛，百節骨痛，項下瘤 癧。甄權。一切風氣，暖腰膝，明目消贅。大明。 Control. Warmth malaria. Madness and [alternating sensations of ] cold and heat. Concretion-illness and conglomeration-illness,255 accumulation and collection. Goiter qi. It dispels [stagnating] blood, ends abdominal256 pain and serves to heal wounds caused by metal objects/weapons. Ben jing. Nosebleed. Bie lu. It ends free-flux illness caused by a poison. [Tao] Hongjing. Red free-flux illness with 254 No pharmaceutical substance of this name is known. Tao Hongjing suspects it is li shi 蠡 實, Chinese iris. Iris lactea Pall. var. chinensis (Fisch.) Koidz.

255 Zheng jia 癥瘕, “concretion-illness and conglomeration-illness.” The two terms are often used interchangeably and do not signify two distinctly different conditions. Concretion-illness and conglomeration-illness result from a disharmony of cold and warmth resulting in a failure to transform beverages and food. Nodes form when they clash with the qi of the long-term depots. BCGM Dict I, 677. 256 Zheng lei ch. 11, bai tou weng 白頭翁, quoting this passage from the Ben jing, does not have the character fu 腹, “abdominal.”

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abdominal pain. Toothache. Aching in all the joints and bones. Tumor and pervasion-illness257 below the neck. Zhen Quan. All kinds of [diseases caused by] wind qi. It warms the lower back and the knees, clears the eyes and dissolves [tumor] redundancies. Da Ming. 【發明】【頌曰】俗醫合補下藥甚驗，亦衝人。【杲曰】氣厚味薄，可升 可降，陰中陽也。張仲景治熱痢下重，用白頭翁湯主之。盖腎欲堅，急食 苦以堅之。痢則下焦虚，故以純苦之劑堅之。男子陰疝偏墜，小兒頭秃膻 腥，鼻衄，無此不效，毒痢有此獲功。【吴綬曰】熱毒下痢、紫血鮮血者 宜之。 Explication. [Su] Song: Common physicians use it with great success to prepare supplementing and discharging medication. It passes through the human [body]. [Li] Gao: Its qi are strongly pronounced; its flavor is weak. It can ascend and it can descend. It is a yang in yin substance. To cure free-flux illness caused by heat and a feeling of heaviness in the lower body, Zhang Zhongjing applies a bai tou weng decoction to control this. The fact is, when the kidneys require a hardening, quickly consume bitter [flavor] to harden it. In the case of free-flux illness, the Lower Burner is depleted. Hence it is hardened by means of a purely bitter remedy. For an elevation-illness258 in the yin [(i. e., genital) region] of males, with unilateral descend of a testicle, for baldness of the head of children associated with a malodorous smell of mutton, and also for nosebleed, [an application of this drug] is always effective. With this [drug] a successful cure of free-flux illness caused by poison can be achieved. Wu Shou: It should be used for discharge and free-flux illness caused by heat poison, with purple blood and fresh blood. 【附方】舊二，新三。 Added Recipes. Two of old; three newly [recorded]. 白頭翁湯。治熱痢下重。用白頭翁二兩。黄連、黄蘗、秦皮各三兩， 水七 升，煮二升，每服一升，不愈更服。婦人産後痢虚極者，加甘草、阿膠各 二兩。仲景金匱玉函方。 257 Li 癧, “pervasion-illness,” condition identical with luo li 瘰癧, “scrofula pervasion-illness,” when two or more connected swellings of the size of plum or date kernels appear either on the neck or in the armpits, or somewhere else on the body. BCGM Dict I. 312, 329.

258 Shan qi 疝氣, “elevation-illness qi,” a pathological condition of (1) an item having entered the scrotum, with pain, sometimes ascending, sometimes descending, (2) a condition affecting the scrotum or a testicle, (3) of violent abdominal pain, in some cases associated with constipation and anuria. BCGM Dict I, 419, 417.



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Decoction with bai tou weng. It serves to cure free-flux illness caused by heat with a feeling of heaviness in the lower body. Boil two liang of bai tou weng and three liang each of coptis [rhizome], phellodendron [bark] and fraxinus bark in seven sheng of water down to two sheng. Each time ingest one sheng. If no cure results, ingest it again. When women following birth suffer from extreme conditions of free-flux illness and depletion, add two liang each of glycyrrhiza [root] and donkey hide glue. [Zhang] Zhongjing, Jin kui yu han fang. 下痢咽腫。春夏病此，宜用白頭翁、黄連各一兩，青木香二兩，水五升， 煎一升半，分三服。聖惠方。 Discharge with free-flux illness and throat swelling. If it is in spring and summer that one suffers from this disease, it is advisable to boil one liang each of bai tou weng and coptis [rhizome] and two liang of inula [root] in five sheng of water down to one and a half sheng, and to ingest this divided into three portions. Sheng hui fang. 陰㿗偏腫。白頭翁根生者 ， 不限多少 ， 搗傅腫處。一宿當作瘡 ， 二十日 愈。外臺秘要。 Breakdown-illness affecting the yin259 [(i. e., genital) region)] with a unilateral swelling. Pound any amount of fresh bai tou weng root [to a pulp] and apply this to the swelling. Within one night a sore must develop. After 20 days a cure is achieved. Wai tai mi yao. 外痔腫痛。白頭翁草 ， 一名野丈人 ， 以根搗塗之 ， 逐血止痛。衛生易簡 方。 External hemorrhoids with a painful swelling. Pound the root of the herb bai tou weng, also named ye zhang ren, [to a pulp] and apply it to [the affected region]. This dispels the blood and ends the pain. Wei sheng yi jian fang. 小兒秃瘡。白頭翁根搗傅，一宿作瘡，半月愈。肘後方。 Baldness sores of children. Pound the root of bai tou weng [to a pulp] and apply [it to the affected region]. Within one night sores will develop. A cure is achieved within half a month. Zhou hou fang. 12-29-02 花。Hua. Flower [of bai tou weng].

【主治】瘧疾寒熱，白秃頭瘡。時珍。 259 Yin tui 陰㿗, “yin breakdown-illness,” identical with yin tui 陰㿉, “yin (i.e. scrotal) prominence-illness,” a condition of local swelling and pain affecting a male’s private parts. BCGM Dict I, 637/638.

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Control. [alternating sensations of ] cold and heat associated with a malaria illness. White baldness and head sores. [Li] Shizhen. 12-30 白及本經下品 Bai ji, FE Ben jing, lower rank. Bletilla striata (Thunb.) Reichb.f. Common bletilla.

【校正】併入别録 白給。

Editorial Correction. Bai gei 白給, [listed separately] in the Bie lu, is included in [the present entry]. 【釋名】連及草本經、甘根本經、白給。【時珍曰】其根白色 ， 連及而 生 ， 故曰白及。其味苦 ， 而曰甘根 ， 反言也。吴普作白根 ， 其根有白 ， 亦通。金光明經謂之罔達羅喝悉多。又别録 有名未用白給即白及也，性味 功用皆同，係重出，今併爲一。 Explanation of Names. Lian ji cao 連及草, Ben jing. Gan gen 甘根, Ben jing. Bai gei 白給. [Li] Shizhen: This root is of white, bai 白, color. [Several] grow together, lian ji 連及. Hence it is called bai ji 白及, “white and together.” Its flavor is bitter, and still it is called gan gen 甘根, “sweet root.” This is a contradiction. Wu Pu writes bai gen 白根, “white root.” As the root is white, this makes sense. The Jin guang ming jing calls it wangdaluohexiduo 罔達羅喝悉多. Also, the bai jii 白給 listed in the Bie lu in the section “known by name but not in use” is in fact bai ji 白及. Their natures, flavors, [therapeutic] potentials and usages are all identical. This is a repetitive listing [in the Bie lu]. Here now they have been included in one [entry]. 【集解】【别録曰】白及生北山川谷及冤句及越山。又曰：白給生山谷， 葉如藜蘆，根白相連，九月采。【普曰】莖葉如生薑、藜蘆，十月花，直 上，紫赤色，根白連，二月、八月、九月采。【弘景曰】近道處處有之。 葉似杜若，根形似菱米，節間有毛。方用亦稀，可以作糊。【保昇曰】今 出申州。葉似初生椶苗葉及藜蘆。三四月抽出一薹，開紫花。七月實熟， 黄黑色。冬凋。根似菱 ， 有三角 ， 白色 ， 角頭生芽。八月采根用。【頌 曰】今江、淮、河、陝、漢、黔諸州皆有之，生石山上。春生苗，長一尺 許。葉似栟櫚，兩指大，青色。夏開紫花。二月、七月采根。【時珍曰】 韓保昇所説形狀正是 ， 但一科止抽一莖。開花長寸許 ， 紅紫色 ， 中心如 舌。其根如菱米，有臍，如鳧茈之臍，又如扁扁螺旋紋。性難乾。 Collected Explanations. Bie lu: Bai ji grows in the river valleys of Mount Bei shan, in Yuan ju and also on Mount Yue shan. It is also said: Bai ji grows in mountain valleys. Its leaves resemble those of veratrum [root]. The roots are white and several



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are attached to each other. They are collected in the ninth month. [Wu] Pu: Stem and leaves resemble those of fresh ginger and veratrum [root], with flowers [opening] in the tenth month. They rise straight upward and are of purple-red color. The root is white, with several attached to each other. They are collected in the second, eighth and ninth month. [Tao] Hongjing: It can be found everywhere nearby. The leaves resemble those of pollia japonica [herbs]. The physical appearance of the root resembles that of water chestnuts. It has hair between the knots. It is rarely used in recipes, but can be made to a paste. [Han] Baosheng: Nowadays it comes from Shen zhou. Its leaves resemble the leaves of trachycarpus seedlings that have just grown, and also those of veratrum [herbs]. In the third and fourth month it generates something like a rape bolt and opens purple flowers. In the seventh month the seeds are ripe; they are of a yellow-black color. In winter [the plant] withers. The root resembles that of water chestnuts; it has three edges and is of white color. The buds grow from in front of the edges. The root is collected for [medicinal] use in the eighth month. [Su] Song: Nowadays it can be found in all the zhou of Jiang, Huai, He, Shaan and Han. It grows on rocky mountains. The seedlings grow in spring; they reach a length of more than one chi. The leaves resemble those of trachycarpus [palms]. They are as wide as two fingers, and of greenish color. Purple flowers open in summer. The root is collected in the second and seventh month. [Li] Shizhen: Han Baosheng’s description of its physical appearance and shape is correct. However, one plant generates only one stem. The open flowers are more than one cun long and of red-purple color. Its central [pistil] resembles a tongue. The root resembles that of water chestnuts and has a navel, similar to the navel of eleocharis [fruit]. It may also be compared to the circling lines of flat spiral shells. By its nature it is difficult to dry it. 12-30-01 根。Gen. Root [of bai ji].

【氣味】苦， 平， 無毒。【别録曰】辛， 微寒。白給： 辛， 平， 無毒。 【普曰】神農 ： 苦。黄帝 ： 辛。李當之 ： 大寒。雷公 ： 辛 ， 無毒。【大 明曰】甘、辛。【杲曰】苦、甘，微寒，性濇，陽中之陰也。【之才曰】 紫石英爲之使，惡理石，畏李核、杏仁，反烏頭。 Qi and Flavor. Bitter, balanced, nonpoisonous. Bie lu: Acrid, slightly cold. Bai ji: Acrid, balanced, nonpoisonous. [Wu] Pu: Shen Nong: Bitter. Huang Di: Acrid. Li Dangzhi: Very cold. Lei gong: Acrid, nonpoisonous. Da Ming: Sweet, acrid. [Li] Gao: Bitter, sweet, slightly cold, with a rough nature. A yin in yang substance. [Xu] Zhicai: Amethysts serve as its guiding substance. [Ingested together,] it ab-

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hors mineral gypsum, fears plum seeds and apricot seeds and is opposed to aconitum [main tuber]. 【主治】癰腫，惡瘡敗疽，傷陰死肌，胃中邪氣，賊風鬼擊，痱緩不收。 本經。除白癬疥蟲。結熱不消，陰下痿，面上皯皰，令人肌滑。甄權。止 驚邪血邪，血痢，癇疾，風痺，赤眼，癥結，温熱瘧疾，發背瘰癧，腸 風痔瘻，撲損，刀箭瘡，湯火瘡，生肌止痛。大明。止肺血。李杲。 Control. Swelling associated with obstruction-illness.260 Malign sores and rotting impediment-illness,261 harmed yin, dead muscles, evil qi in the stomach, robber wind262 and demonic assault, disablement with flaccidity, when [sores/wounds] fail to close. Ben jing. It eliminates worms/bugs from white xuan-illness263 and jie-illness,264 bound heat that fails to dissolve, dysfunction of the yin [(i. e., genital) member] in the lower body part and facial gloom and blisters. It makes the muscles smooth. Zhen Quan. It ends fright evil and blood evil, blood free-flux illness, epilepsy illness, wind blockage, red eyes, conglomeration-illness nodes, warmth and heat malaria illness, scrofula pervasion-illness265 effusing on the back, intestinal wind and piles fistula, injuries resulting from an attack, wounds caused by a knife or an arrow, and sores resulting from hot water and fire. It generates muscles and ends pain. Da Ming. It ends bleeding from the lung. Li Gao. 12-30-02 白給。Bai ji.

主伏蟲，白癬腫痛。别録。 260 Yong 癰, “obstruction-illness,”refers to an obstruction of vessels or other ducts inside the body. Qi rushing against the obstruction may cause a local swelling and eventually break through the surface to cause an abscess. BCGM Dict I, 641.

261 Ju 疽, “impediment-illness,” refers to an obstruction of vessels or other ducts inside the body. Qi rushing against the impediment may cause a local swelling and eventually break through the surface to cause an abscess. BCGM Dict I, 277. 262 Zei feng 賊風, “robber wind.” A swift wind arriving from the South on the day of winter solstice. It “steals and harms the qi of central harmony,” causing pain without heat and various further pathological conditions. BCGM Dict I, 667.

263 Xuan 癬, “xuan-illness.” Conditions of dermal lesions with initially erythema, papules, and itching gradually extending in all directions to form an irregular ring with clear boundaries. The skin is slightly elevated with small papules, blisters, and/or scales and scraps. The central lesion may appear to heal spontaneously, and it may reappear. Also, a designation of local lesions with itching, release of liquid and shedding of scabs. BCGM Dict I, 591. 264 Jie-illness 疥, vaguely defined skin ailment. BCGM Dict I, 591.

265 Luo li 瘰癧, “scrofula pervasion-illness,” when two or more connected swellings of the size of plum or date kernels appear either on the neck or in the armpits, or somewhere else on the body. BCGM Dict I. 329.



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It controls hidden worms/bugs and painful swelling associated with white xuan-illness. Bie lu. 【發明】【恭曰】山野人患手足皸拆者 ， 嚼以塗之有效。爲其性粘也。 【頌曰】今醫家治金瘡不瘥及癰疽方多用之。【震亨曰】凡吐血不止， 宜 加白及。【時珍曰】白及性濇而收，得秋金之令，故能入肺止血，生肌治 瘡也。按洪邁夷堅志云：台州獄吏憫一大囚，囚感之。因言：吾七次犯死 罪 ， 遭訊拷 ， 肺皆損傷 ， 至于嘔血。人傳一方 ， 只用白及爲末 ， 米飲日 服，其效如神。後其囚凌遲，劊者剖其胸，見肺間竅穴數十處，皆白及填 補，色猶不變也。洪貫之聞其説，赴任洋州，一卒忽苦咯血甚危，用此救 之 ， 一日即止也。摘玄云 ： 試血法 ， 吐在水盌内 ， 浮者肺血也 ， 沉者肝 血也，半浮半沉者心血也。各隨所見，以羊肺、羊肝、羊心煮熟，蘸白及 末，日日食之。 Explication: [Su] Gong: When the people living in the wilderness of the mountains have their hands and feet chapped or opened, they chew it and then apply it [to the affected region], and this is effective because its nature is sticky. [Su] Song: Today’s physicians often resort to it to cure wounds caused by metal objects/weapons that fail to heal and also for obstruction-illness and impediment-illness.266 [Zhu] Zhenheng: Whenever [a patient] unendingly spits blood, bai ji is to be added [to his medication]. [Li] Shizhen: Bai ji by its nature is rough and astringent. It is endowed with the orders of autumn-metal. Hence it can enter the lung and end bleeding there, and it lets muscles grow and serves to cure wounds. According to Hong Mai’s Yi jian zhi, “once in Tai zhou a prison warden felt pity with a convict and the convict was grateful to him. Hence he told him: ‘I have been convicted to capital sentence seven times and was tortured during the interrogations. My lung was heavily injured and I vomited blood. Then someone gave me a recipe. All it required was to [grind] bai ji to powder and to ingest it with a rice beverage every day. The effect was divine.’ Later, after the convict had been put to death and was dismembered, his chest was cut open to inspect his lung. It had several tens of holes and all were filled with bai ji. The color had not changed. Hong Guanzhi had heard of this story. When he travelled to his post in Yang zhou, one of his servants suddenly suffered from a very critical condition of spitting blood. He used this [recipe] and saved him. [The spitting of blood] ended within one day.” The Zhai xuan states: “The method to test blood [is as follows. Let the patient] spit into a bowl with water, When it floats on the surface, it is lung blood. When it sinks down, it is liver 266 Yong ju 癰疽, “obstruction-illness, impediment-illness.” refers to two vaguely distinguished obstructions/impediments of vessels or other ducts inside the body. Qi rushing against the obstruction may cause a local swelling and eventually break through the surface to cause an abscess. BCGM Dict I, 642.

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blood. When it half floats and half sinks, it is heart blood. In accordance with such evidence, [patients spitting lung blood, liver blood or heart blood are to] daily eat either sheep lung, sheep liver or sheep heart, boiled in water until done and dipped into bai ji powder.” 【附方】舊一，新八。 Added Recipes. One of old. Eight newly [recorded]. 鼻衄不止。津調白及末，塗山根上，仍以水服一錢，立止。經驗方。 Unending nosebleed. Mix bai ji powder with saliva and apply it to the bridge of the nose. In addition, ingest with water one qian. [The nosebleed] will end immediately. Jing yan fang. 心氣疼痛。白及、石榴皮各二錢，爲末，煉蜜丸黄豆大。每服三丸，艾醋 湯下。生生編。 Painful heart affected by qi. [Grind] two qian each of bai ji and pomegranate rind to powder and prepare with heat refined honey pills the size of soybeans. Each time ingest three pills, to be sent down with a decoction of common mugwort [leaves] in vinegar. Sheng sheng bian. 重舌鵝口。白及末，乳汁調塗足心。聖惠方。 Heavy tongue and goose mouth.267 Mix bai ji powder with a nursing mother’s milk and apply this to the soles of the [patient’s] feet. Sheng hui fang. 婦人陰脱。白及、川烏頭等分，爲末，絹裹一錢納陰中，入三寸，腹内熱 即止，日用一次。廣濟方。 Yin (i. e., uterus) prolapse of women. [Grind] equal amounts of bai ji and aconitum [main tuber] to powder, wrap one qian in thin silk and insert it into the yin (i. e., vagina), three cun deep, until she feels heat inside her abdomen. To be applied once a day. Guang ji fang. 疔瘡腫毒。白及末半錢，以水澄之，去水，攤於厚紙上貼之。袖珍方。 Pin-illness268 sores with swelling and poison. Soak half a qian of bai ji powder in water and wait for it to settle. Remove the water and spread [the dregs] on a piece of thick paper which is then attached [to the affected region]. Xiu zhen fang. 267 E kou 鵝口, “goose mouth,” refers to a white layer covering the mucous membranes and top of the tongue in a child’s mouth making it resemble a goose-mouth. BCGM Dict I, 141.

268 Ding 丁, “pin[-illness],” also ding 疔, “pin-illness,” refers to a deep-reaching and festering hardness in a tissue, eventually rising above the skin like a pinhead. BCGM Dict I, 127129.



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打跌骨折。酒調白及末二錢服，其功不减自然銅、古銖錢也。永類方。 Bone fracture resulting from a blow or fall. Ingest two qian of bai ji powder mixed with wine. Its [therapeutic] potential is not weaker than that of natural copper/ pyrite and ancient coins. Yong lei fang. 刀斧傷損。白及、石膏煅，等分爲末。摻之，亦可收口。濟急方。 Injury caused by a knife or an axe. [Grind] equal amounts of bai ji and calcined gypsum to powder and apply it [to the affected region]. It can also serve to close an open [wound]. Ji ji fang. 手足皸裂。白及末水調塞之，勿犯水。濟急方。 Chapped hands and feet. Fill [the chapped region] with bai ji powder mixed with water. [The chapped hands and feet] must not be exposed to water [alone]. Ji ji fang. 湯火傷灼。白及末油調傅之。趙真人方。 Scalds and burns. Mix bai ji powder with oil and apply this [to the affected region]. Zhao zhenren fang. 12-31 三七綱目 San qi, FE Gang mu. Panax notoginseng (Burk.) F.H. Chen ex C. Chow. Pseudoginseng.

【釋名】山漆綱目、金不换。【時珍曰】彼人言其葉左三右四 ， 故名三 七，盖恐不然。或云本名山漆，謂其能合金瘡，如漆粘物也，此説近之。 金不换，貴重之稱也。 Explanation of Names. Shan qi 山漆, “mountain lacquer,” Gang mu. Jin bu huan 金 不换, “not exchanged for gold.” [Li] Shizhen: The local people say that it has three leaves on the right and four leaves on the left side and hence is called san qi 三七, “three seven.” The fact is, this may not be so. Others say that the original name is “mountain lacquer,” because allegedly it can close wounds caused by metal objects/ weapons. This saying may come close to it. “Not exchanged for gold” is a designation reflecting how highly valued it is. 【集解】【時珍曰】生廣西 南丹諸州番峒深山中，采根暴乾，黄黑色、團 結者 ， 狀略似白及 ， 長者如老乾地黄 ， 有節。味微甘而苦 ， 頗似人參之 味。或云 ： 試法 ， 以末摻猪血中 ， 血化爲水者乃真。近傳一種草 ， 春生 苗，夏高三四尺。葉似菊艾而勁厚，有歧尖。莖有赤稜。夏秋開黄花，蕊 如金絲 ， 盤紐可愛 ， 而氣不香 ， 花乾則吐絮如苦蕒絮。根葉味甘 ， 治金

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瘡折傷出血及上下血病甚效。云是三七，而根大如牛蒡根，與南中來者不 類，恐是劉寄奴之屬，甚易繁衍。 Collected Explanations. [Li] Shizhen: It grows deep in the mountains in all the zhou of Nan dan in Guang xi where the natives live in caves. The root is collected and dried in the sun. With its yellow-black color, and its round and knotted shape it is a bit similar to [the root of ] common bletilla. Long specimens resemble old, dried Chinese foxglove [rhizome] with knots. The flavor is a bit sweet and bitter, quite similar to the flavor of ginseng [root]. Some state: A method to check [a sample for authenticity is as follows]. Mix the powder with pig blood. If the blood transforms to water, it is genuine [san qi powder]. Recently, another type of the herb has been reported. It develops a seedling in spring that reaches a height of three to four chi in summer. The leaves resemble those of chrysanthemum and common mugwort, but are sturdier and thicker, and have a forked tip. The stem has red edges. Yellow flowers open in summer and autumn. The stamen resembles gold threads; it is coiled and lovely. But its qi are not fragrant. When the flowers drie up, faments are released, resembling the faments of ixeris [herbs]. The flavor of the root and the leaves is sweet. It is very effective in curing wounds caused by metal objects/weapons, fractures with bleeding and blood diseases in the upper and lower [body parts]. It is said that this is san qi. But its root is as big as the root of arctium [herb]. It is not related to [the san qi] coming from Nan zhong. It may be related to artemisia anomala [herbs]. It very easily multiplies. 12-31-01 根。Gen. Root [of san qi].

【氣味】甘，微苦，温，無毒。 Qi and Flavor. Sweet, slightly bitter, warm, nonpoisonous. 【主治】止血散血定痛，金刃箭傷、跌撲杖瘡血出不止者，嚼爛塗，或爲 末摻之 ， 其血即止。亦主吐血衄血 ， 下血血痢 ， 崩中 ， 經水不止 ， 産後 惡血不下，血運血痛，赤目癰腫，虎咬蛇傷諸病。時珍。 Control. To end bleeding, disperse blood and end pain, [to cure] harm caused by metal objects/weapons, knives and arrows, as well as unendingly bleeding wounds caused by falls, blows and flogging, chew it until it is pulpy and apply [it to the affected region]. Or [grind it to] powder and apply this [to the affected region]. This will end the bleeding. It also serves to control blood spitting and nosebleed,



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discharge with blood, and blood free-flux illness, collapsing center269 and incessant menstruation, also, when following birth the lochia are not discharged, [brain] movement caused by blood, and pain caused by blood, red eyes associated with an obstruction-illness270 swelling, bites by tigers and harm caused by snakes, all such diseases. [Li] Shizhen. 【發明】【時珍曰】此藥近時始出，南人軍中用爲金瘡要藥，云有奇功。 又云 ： 凡杖撲傷損淤血淋漓者 ， 隨即嚼爛 ， 罨之即止 ， 青腫者即消散。 若受杖時，先服一二錢，則血不衝心。杖後尤宜服之，産後服亦良。大抵 此藥氣温、味甘微苦，乃陽明、厥陰血分之藥，故能治一切血病，與騏驎 竭、紫𨥥相同。 Explication. [Li] Shizhen: This medication has been discovered for the first time only recently. The people in the South use it in their military as an important medication for wounds caused by metal objects/weapons. It is said to have an extraordinary [therapeutic] potential. It is also said: For all injuries resulting from flogging and blows, when stagnating blood is set free, it should be chewed until it is pulpy. Once this is applied [to the affected region, the bleeding] ends. Greenish swellings are dissolved. If one is to be flogged, let him ingest beforehand one or two qian and his blood will not rush to his heart. After a flogging it is even more advisable to ingest it. To ingest it after a birth is good, too. Generally speaking, this medication has warm qi and a sweet and slightly bitter flavor. Hence it is a medication for the blood section of the yang brilliance and ceasing yin [conduits] and can serve to cure all kinds of blood diseases, similar to dragon’s blood and shellac. 【附方】新八。 Added Recipes. Eight newly [recorded]. 吐血衄血。山漆一錢，自嚼，米湯送下。或以五分，加入八核湯。瀕湖集 簡方。 Blood spitting, nosebleed. Chew one qian of shan qi and send it down with a rice decoction. Or add five fen to the “decoction with the eight kernels.” Binhu ji jian fang. 赤痢血痢。三七三錢，研末，米泔水調服，即愈。同上。 269 Beng zhong 崩中, “collapsing center,” excessive vaginal bleeding outside of a menstruation period. BCGM Dict I, 58.

270 Yong 癰, “obstruction-illness,”refers to an obstruction of vessels or other ducts inside the body. Qi rushing against the obstruction may cause a local swelling and eventually break through the surface to cause an abscess. BCGM Dict I, 641.

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Red free-flux illness, blood free-flux illness. Grind three qian of san qi to powder and ingest it mixed with water in which rice was washed. This results in a cure. [Source] identical with the one above. 大腸下血。三七研末，同淡白酒調一二錢服，三服可愈。加五分入四物湯 亦可。同上。 Discharge of blood from the large intestine. Grind san qi to powder and ingest, mixed with bland white wine, one to two qian. Three ingestions can achieve a cure. To add five fen to the “decoction with four items”271 is possible, too. [Source] identical with the one above. 婦人血崩。方同上。 Blood collapse272 of women. Recipe identical with the one above. 産後血多。山漆研末，米湯服一錢。同上。 Profuse bleeding after childbirth. Grind shan qi to powder and [let the patient] ingest with a rice decoction one qian. [Source] identical with the one above. 男婦赤眼十分重者。以山漆根磨汁塗四圍，甚妙。同上。 Very serious cases of red eyes of men and women. Rub shan qi root [in water] and apply the resulting juice to all four sides [of the affected eyes]. Very wondrous. [Source] identical with the one above. 無名癰腫。疼痛不止，山漆磨米醋調塗即散。已破者，研末乾塗。 Nameless obstruction-illness273 with swelling and an unending pain. Grind shan qi, mix it with rice vinegar and apply [it to the affected region]. This will disperse [the swelling]. When it is already open, grind it to powder and apply it dry. 虎咬蛇傷。山漆研末，米飲服三錢，仍嚼塗之。並同上。 Tiger bite and harm caused by a snake. Grind shan qi to powder and [let the patient] ingest with a rice beverage three qian. Also, chew it and apply it [to the affected region]. [Source of ] both [recipes] identical with the one above.

271 Ingredients include paeonia root, Chinese foxglove rhizome, Chinese angelica root and ligusticum root. 272 [Xue] beng [血]崩, “[blood] collapse,” is excessive vaginal bleeding. BCGM Dict I, 594.

273 Yong 癰, “obstruction-illness,”refers to an obstruction of vessels or other ducts inside the body. Qi rushing against the obstruction may cause a local swelling and eventually break through the surface to cause an abscess. BCGM Dict I, 641.



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12-31-02 葉。Ye. [San qi] leaf.

【主治】折傷跌撲出血，傅之即止，青腫經夜即散，餘功同根。時珍。 Control. Bleeding fracture and harm caused by falls and blows. Apply them [to the affected region] and [the bleeding] ends. A greenish swelling will have dispersed in the course of one night. Their further [therapeutic] potential is identical with that of the root. [Li] Shizhen.

本草綱目 Ben cao gang mu 草部目録 Section Herbs, Contents 第十三卷 Chapter 13

草之二 Herbs II 山草類下三十九種 Mountain Herbs Group, Final, 39 kinds 13-01 Huang lian 黄連, golden thread. FE Ben jing 本經 13-02 Hu huang lian 胡黄連, the Hu people’s coptis [rhizome]. FE Kai bao 開 寶 13-03 Huang qin 黄芩, skullcap. FE Ben jing 本經 13-04 Qin jiao 秦艽, large gentiana [root]. FE Ben jing 本經 13-05 Chai hu 柴274胡, sickle leaved hare’s ear. FE Ben jing 本經 13-06 Qian hu 前胡, hog’s fennel. FE Ben jing 本經275 13-07 Fang feng 防風, siler. FE Ben jing 本經 13-08 Du huo, qiang huo 獨活羌活276, doubleteeth pubescent angelica. FE Ben jing 本經 13-09 Tu dang gui 土當歸, mountain asparagus. FE Gang mu 綱目 13-10 Du guan cao 都管草, Japanese angelica. FE Tu jing 圖經 13-11 Sheng ma 升麻, bugbane. FE Ben jing 本經 13-12 Ku shen 苦參, shrubby sophora. FE Ben jing 本經 274 275 276

Entry 13-05 writes the name ci hu 茈胡 instead of chai hu 柴胡. Entry 13-06 names the Bie lu as first evidence of this name.

Entry 13-08 lists du huo 獨活 as name, and qiang huo 羌活 as alternative name.



Chapter 13 13-13 Bai xian 白鮮, dittany. FE Ben jing 本經 13-14 Yan hu suo 延胡索, Chinese fumewort. FE Kai bao 開寶 13-15 Bei mu 貝母, Sichuan fritillaria. FE Ben jing 本經 13-16 Shan ci gu 山慈姑, edible tulip. FE Jia you 嘉祐 13-17 Shi suan 石蒜, red spider lily. FE Tu jing 圖經 13-18 Shui xian 水仙, Chinese sacred lily. FE Hui bian 會編 13-19 Bai mao 白茅, floss grass. FE Ben jing 本經 13-20 Di jin 地筋, tanglehead. FE Bie lu 别録, i. e., juan mao 即菅茅 13-21 Mang 芒, miscanthus reed. FE Shi yi 拾遺 13-22 Long dan 龍膽, gentiana herb. FE Ben jing 本經 13-23 Xi xin 細辛, Chinese wild ginger. FE Ben jing 本經 13-24 Du heng 杜衡, Forbes wildginger. FE Ben jing 本經277 13-24-A01 Mu xi xin 木細辛, unidentified 13-25 Ji ji 及己, serrate chloranthus. FE Bie lu 别録 13-26 Gui du you 鬼督郵, macroclinidium verticillatum. FE Tang ben 唐本 13-27 Xu chang qing 徐長卿, paniculate swallowwort. FE Ben jing 本經 13-28 Bai wei 白微, blackend swallowort. FE Ben jing 本經 13-29 Bai qian 白前, willow leaf swallowwort. FE Bie lu 别録 13-30 Cao xi 草犀, unidentified. FE Shi yi 拾遺 13-31 Chai zi gu 釵子股, velvet orchid. FE Hai yao 海藥 13-32 Ji li cao 吉利草, unidentified. FE Gang mu 綱目 13-33 Bai liang jin 百兩金, coral ardisia. FE Tu jing 圖經 , 13-34 Zhu sha gen 朱砂根, coral ardisia. FE Gang mu 綱目 13-35 Bi hui lei 辟虺雷, cinnabar aristolochia. FE Shi yi 拾遺278 13-36 Jin di luo 錦地羅, Burman’s sundew. FE Gang mu 綱目 13-37 Zi jin niu 紫金牛, Japanese ardisia. FE Tu jing 圖經 13-38 Quan shen 拳參, bistort. FE Tu jing 圖經 13-39 Tie xian cao 鐵線草, Bermuda grass. FE Tu jing 圖經 13-40 Jin si cao 金絲草, rough melic. FE Gang mu 綱目

右附方舊七十一，新二百一十四。 Recipes added to the entries above: 71 of old. 214 newly [recorded].

277 278

Entry 13-24 names the Bie lu as first evidence.

Entry 13-35 names the Tang ben as first evidence.

273

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本草綱目 Ben cao gang mu 草部第十三卷 Section Herbs. Chapter 13

草之二 Herbs II 山草類下三十九種 Mountain Herbs Group, Final. 39 Kinds. 13-01 黄連本經上品 Huang lian, FE Ben jing, upper rank. Coptis chinensis Franch. Golden thread.

【釋名】王連本經、支連藥性。【時珍曰】其根連珠而色黄，故名。 Explanation of Names. Wang lian 王連, zhi lian 支連, Yao xing. [Li] Shizhen: The root is a “link”, lian 連, of pearls, and its color is “yellow”, huang 黄. Hence the name.

【集解】【别録曰】黄連生巫陽川谷及蜀郡 太山之陽，二月、八月采根。 【弘景曰】巫陽在建平。今西間者色淺而虚， 不及東陽、新安諸縣最勝。 臨海諸縣者不佳。用之當布裹挼去毛，令如連珠。【保昇曰】苗似茶，叢 生 ， 一莖生三葉 ， 高尺許 ， 凌冬不凋 ， 花黄色。江左者 ， 節高若連珠。 蜀都者 ， 節下不連珠。今秦地及杭州、柳州者佳。【頌曰】今江、湖、 荆、夔州郡亦有，而以宣城九節堅重、相擊有聲者爲勝，施、黔者次之， 東陽、歙州、處州者又次之。苗高一尺以來，葉似甘菊，四月開花黄色， 六月結實似芹子，色亦黄。江左者根若連珠，其苗經冬不凋，葉如小雉尾 草，正月開花作細穗，淡白微黄色。六七月根緊，始堪采。【恭曰】蜀道 者粗大 ， 味極濃苦 ， 療渴爲最。江東者節如連珠 ， 療痢大善。澧州者更



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勝。【時珍曰】黄連，漢末李當之本草惟取蜀郡黄肥而堅者爲善，唐時以 澧州者爲勝。今雖吴、蜀皆有， 惟以雅州、眉州者爲良。藥物之興廢不同 如此。大抵有二種：一種根粗無毛有珠，如鷹雞爪形而堅實，色深黄；一 種無珠多毛而中虚，黄色稍淡。各有所宜。 Collected Explanations. Bie lu: Huang lian grows in the river valleys of Wu yang and on the yang (i.e., sunny) side of Mount Tai shan in Shu jun. The roots are gathered in the second and eighth month. [Tao] Hongjing: Wu yang is located in Jian ping. Today, specimens from the West are of bland color and hollow. They do not reach the very best [quality of specimens coming from] all the counties in Dong yang and Xin an. Those [coming from] any of the counties of Lin hai are not good. For an application [of huang lian, the roots] are to be wrapped in cloth to rub them and remove the hair. This then will let them appear as linked up pearls. [Han] Baosheng: The seedlings resemble tea and grow thickly. One stem brings forth three leaves. It reaches a height of more than a chi. It does not wither even during extreme winter [cold]. Nowadays, specimens from Qin di, as well as those from Hang zhou and Liu zhou are good. [Su] Song: Today, [huang lian] is present also in the zhou and prefectures of Jiang, Hu, Jing and Kui, with the best specimens coming from Xuan cheng. They have nine knots, are hard and heavy, and when they are struck against each other they release a sound. They are followed by [huang lian] from Shi and Qian, that in turn are followed [in quality] by specimens from Dong yang, She zhou and Chu zhou. The seedlings are about one chi tall; the leaves resemble those of sweet chrysanthemum. In the fourth month yellow flowers open. In the sixth month fruit form similar to the seeds of celery. They, too, are of yellow color. The root of specimens from Jiang zuo resembles linked up pearls. Their seedlings do not wither throughout winter. The leaves resemble those of the oenichium ferns. Their flowers open in the first month, forming thin spikes of a bland white and slightly yellow color. The root hardens in the six and seventh month and may then be collected. [Su] Gong: Specimens from Shu dao are crude and big. They have an extremely concentrated bitter flavor. They are best suited for healing thirst. Specimens from Jiang dong have knots resembling linked up pearls. They are very good to heal free-flux illness. Those from Li zhou are even better. [Li] Shizhen: Of huang lian, the Han era Li Dangzhi ben cao selected as superior only specimens from Shu jun that are yellow, fat and hard. During the Tang era, those from Li zhou were considered superior. Today, even though they are present in Wu and Shu, only those from Ya zhou and Mei zhou are considered to be good. This is an example of how the appreciation of a pharmaceutical substance differs as it may rise or vanish. Generally speaking, there are two kinds [of huang lian]. One kind has crude roots without hair, with [knots resembling] linked up pearls. They are shaped like the

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claws of goshawks, and they are hard and solid. The other kind has no [knots resembling] pearls. It has much hair and is hollow inside. Its yellow color is rather bland. Both kinds have their advantages. 13-01-01 根。Gen. Root [of huang lian].

【修治】【斅曰】凡使以布拭去肉毛，用漿水浸二伏時，漉出，于柳木火 上焙乾用。【時珍曰】五臟六腑皆有火 ， 平則治 ， 動則病 ， 故有君火相 火之説，其實一氣而已。黄連入手少陰心經，爲治火之主藥。治本臟之火 則生用之。治肝膽之實火則以豬膽汁浸炒， 治肝膽之虚火則以醋浸炒。治 上焦之火則以酒炒，治中焦之火則以薑汁炒，治下焦之火則以鹽水或朴硝 炒。治氣分濕熱之火則以茱萸湯浸炒。治血分塊中伏火則以乾漆水炒。治 食積之火則以黄土炒。諸法不獨爲之引導，蓋辛熱能制其苦寒，鹹寒能制 其燥性，在用者詳酌之。 Pharmaceutical Preparation. [Lei] Xiao: For all applications, rub [the roots] with a piece of cloth to remove the fleshy hair. Then soak them in fermented water of foxtail millet279 for two full days, filter the liquid off, remove [the roots] and bake them over a slow fire of willow wood. Then they may be used [for therapeutic purposes]. [Li] Shizhen: All the five long-term depots and six short-term repositories have a fire. For as long as it is balanced, [the depots and repositories] will be in order. Once [the fire in any of the depots or repositories] is excited, this results in/ signals disease. Hence, even though one speaks of a “ruler fire” and of a “minister fire,” they are, in fact, identical qi. Huang lian is the chief pharmaceutical substance serving to enter the hand minor yin conduits of the heart and to regulate fire. If it is applied to regulate the fire in the [heart] long-term depot itself, it is to be applied without further pharmaceutical preparation. If it is applied to regulate a depletion fire in liver and gallbladder, it is to be fried after having been soaked in pig bile. If it is applied to regulate a depletion fire in the liver and gallbladder, it is to be fried after having been soaked in vinegar. If it is applied to regulate a fire of the Upper Burner, it is to be fried [after having been soaked] in wine. If it is applied to regulate a fire of the Central Burner, it is to be fried [after having been soaked] in ginger juice. For an application to regulate a fire of the Lower Burner, it is to be fried [after having been soaked] in brine or in [an aqueous preparation of ] mirabilite. If it is applied to regulate a fire of dampness and heat in the qi section, it is to be fried after having been soaked in an evodia [fruit] decoction. If it is applied to regulate a fire hidden in [blood] lumps in the blood section, it is to be fried [after having 279 For jiang shui 漿水, “fermented water of foxtail millet,” see BCGM 05-33.



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been soaked] in an aqueous preparation of dried lacquer. If it is applied to regulate a fire of food accumulation, it is to be fried [after having been soaked in an aqueous preparation of ] loess. All these methods [of a pharmaceutical preparation of huang lian] do not only serve to guide [the drug to a specific location]. The fact is, acrid and hot [substances] can check the bitter and cold [properties of huang lian], while salty and cold [substances] can check its dry nature. When [huang lian] is used [for therapeutic purposes] this must be taken into detailed consideration. 【氣味】苦，寒，無毒。【别録曰】微寒。【普曰】神農、岐伯、黄帝、 雷公：苦，無毒。李當之：小寒。【之才曰】黄芩、龍骨、理石爲之使， 惡菊花、玄參、白鮮皮、芫花、白殭蠶，畏款冬、牛膝，勝烏頭，解巴豆 毒。【權曰】忌豬肉，惡冷水。【斅曰】服此藥至十兩，不得食豬肉。若 服至三年，一生不得食也。【時珍曰】道書言服黄連犯豬肉令人泄瀉，而 方家有豬肚黄連丸、豬臟黄連丸，豈只忌肉而不忌臟腑乎？ Qi and Flavor. Bitter, cold, nonpoisonous. Bie lu: Slightly cold. [Wu] Pu: Shen nong, Qi Bo, Huang Di and Lei gong: Bitter, nonpoisonous. Li Dangzhi: Slightly cold. [Xu] Zhicai: Scutellaria [root], dragon bones and fibrous gypsum serve as its guiding substances. [Ingested together,] it abhors chrysanthemum flowers, Ningpo figwort [root], dictamnus [root] bark, daphne [herb] and white, stiff silkworms. It fears coltsfoot and achyranthes [root]. It overcomes aconitum [main tuber]. It resolves the poison of croton seeds. [Zhen] Quan: [While huang lian is ingested,] pork is forbidden. It abhors cold water. [Lei] Xiao: [Patients] who ingest up to ten liang of this pharmaceutical drug must not eat pork [at the same time. Patients] who ingest [huang lian] for three years must not eat [pork] again for their entire life. [Li] Shizhen: The Daoist scriptures state that “if an ingestion of huang lian is offended by pork, this will result in outflow.” However, recipe experts have “pills with pig stomach and huang lian” and also “pills with pig long-term depot and huang lian.” Why is only the meat prohibited, not the long-term depots and shortterm repositories? 【主治】熱氣目痛，眥傷泣出。明目，腸澼、腹痛下痢，婦人陰中腫痛。 久服令人不忘。本經。主五臟冷熱，久下洩澼膿血，止消渴大驚，除水， 利骨， 調胃， 厚腸， 益膽， 療口瘡。别録。治五勞七傷， 益氣， 止心腹 痛 ， 驚悸煩躁 ， 潤心肺 ， 長肉止血 ， 天行熱疾 ， 止盗汗并瘡疥。豬肚蒸 爲丸，治小兒疳氣，殺蟲。大明。羸瘦氣急。藏器。治鬱熱在中，煩躁惡 心，兀兀欲吐，心下痞滿。元素。主心病逆而盛，心積伏梁。好古。去心 竅惡血， 解服藥過劑煩悶及巴豆、輕粉毒。時珍。 Control. Heat qi with painful eyes. Harmed canthi with tearflow. It brightens the eyes. Intestinal flush. Abdominal pain with free-flux illness discharge. Painful swell-

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ing in the yin [(i.e., genital) region] of women. Ingested over a long time it lets humans not become forgetful. Ben jing. It controls cold and heat in the five longterm depots, long lasting outflow and [intestinal] flush with pus and blood. It ends melting with thirst280 and massive fright. It eliminates water, frees the movement of bones, harmonizes the stomach, adds to the thickness of the intestines, boosts the gallbladder/bile [qi], and heals oral sores. Bie lu. It serves to cure the five types of exhaustion and seven types of harm. It boosts the qi. It ends heart and abdominal pain, as well as fright palpitation with vexation and agitation, moistens heart and lung, lets flesh grow and stops bleeding, and [serves to cure] epidemic heat illness. It ends robber sweat281 and at the same time heals sores and jie-illness.282 Steamed with pig stomach and prepared to pills, it serves to cure gan-illness283 qi of children. It kills worms/bugs. Da ming. Emaciation and hectic [breath] qi. [Chen] Cangqi. It serves to cure pent-up heat [qi] in the center, vexation with agitation and nausea, retching and an urge to vomit, obstacle-illness284 and a feeling of fullness below the heart. [Zhang] Yuansu. It controls diseases resulting from counterflow [of qi] filling the heart, [qi] accumulations below the heart with hidden beams.285 [Wang] Haogu. It removes malign blood from the heart orifices, and resolves vexation with heart-pressure resulting from an overdose of medication, as well as the poison of croton seeds and calomel. [Li] Shizhen. 【發明】【元素曰】黄連性寒味苦，氣味俱厚，可升可降，陰中陽也，入 手少陰經。其用有六：瀉心臟火一也，去中焦濕熱二也，諸瘡必用三也， 去風濕四也，赤眼暴發五也，止中部見血六也。張仲景治九種心下痞，五 等瀉心湯，皆用之。【成無己曰】苦入心，寒勝熱，黄連、大黄之苦寒， 以導心下之虚熱。蚘得甘則動，得苦則安，黄連、黄蘗之苦，以安蚘也。 【好古曰】黄連苦燥，苦入心，火就燥。瀉心者其實瀉脾也，實則瀉其子 也。【震亨曰】黄連去中焦濕熱而瀉心火 ， 若脾胃氣虚 ， 不能轉運者 ， 280 Xiao ke 消渴, “melting with thirst,” most likely including cases of diabetes. BCGM Dict Vol I, 567.

281 Dao han 盗汗, “robber sweat,” a profuse sweating during sleep that ends when one wakes up. BCGM Dict I, 122. 282 Jie-illness 疥, vaguely identifiable skin ailment. BCGM Dict I, 249.

283 Gan 疳, “gan-illness,” also: “sweets-illness,” involves several complaints that affect children and adults, with causes and conditions too different to fall into a known disease category. BCGM Dict I, 180-188. 284 Pi 痞, “obstacle-illness,” (1) a feeling of uncomfortable fullness and distension, (2) a pathological condition of uncomfortable distension and fullness in the chest and abdominal region. When pressed there is no pain. BCGM Dict I, 371.

285 Fu liang 伏梁, “hidden beam,” a pathological accumulation shaped like a lower arm. It rises from the navel and reaches to below the heart. In serious cases, patients spit blood. BCGM Dict I, 175.



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則以伏苓、黄芩代之。以豬膽汁拌炒，佐以龍膽草，則大瀉肝膽之火。下 痢胃口熱禁口者，用黄連、人參煎湯，終日呷之。如吐再强飲，但得一呷 下咽便好。【劉完素曰】古方以黄連爲治痢之最。蓋治痢惟宜辛苦寒藥， 辛能發散 ， 開通鬱結。苦能燥濕 ， 寒能勝熱 ， 使氣宣平而已。諸苦寒藥 多泄，惟黄連、黄蘗性冷而燥，能降火去濕而止瀉痢，故治痢以之爲君。 【宗奭曰】今人多用黄連治痢，蓋執以苦燥之義。下俚但見腸虚滲泄，微 似有血，便即用之，又不顧寒熱多少，惟欲盡劑，由是多致危困。若氣實 初病，熱多血痢，服之便止，不必盡劑。虚而冷者，慎勿輕用。【杲曰】 諸痛痒瘡瘍，皆屬心火。凡諸瘡宜以黄連、當歸爲君，甘草、黄芩爲佐。 凡眼暴發赤腫，痛不可忍者，宜黄連、當歸以酒浸煎之。宿食不消，心下 痞滿者，須用黄連、枳實。【頌曰】黄連治目方多，而羊肝丸尤奇異。今 醫家洗眼，以黄連、當歸、芍藥等分，用雪水或甜水煎湯熱洗之，冷即再 温，甚益眼目。但是風毒赤目花翳，用之無不神效。蓋眼目之病。皆是血 脉凝滯使然 ， 故以行血藥合黄連治之。血得熱則行 ， 故乘熱洗也。【韓[ 矛/心]曰】火分之病，黄連爲主，不但瀉心火，而與芩、蘗諸苦藥例稱者 比也。目疾人，以人乳浸蒸，或點或服之。生用爲君，佐以官桂少許，煎 百沸，入蜜空心服之，能使心腎交於頃刻。入五苓、滑石，大治夢遺。以 黄土、薑汁、酒、蜜四炒爲君，以使君子爲臣，白芍藥酒煮爲佐，廣木香 爲使 ， 治小兒五疳。以茱萸炒者 ， 加木香等分 ， 生大黄倍之 ， 水丸 ， 治 五痢。此皆得制方之法也。【時珍曰】黄連治目及痢爲要藥。古方治痢， 香連丸用黄連、木香，薑連散用乾薑、黄連，變通丸用黄連、茱萸，薑黄 散用黄連、生薑。治消渴，用酒蒸黄連。治伏暑，用酒煮黄連。治下血， 用黄連、大蒜。治肝火，用黄連、茱萸。治口瘡，用黄連、細辛。皆是一 冷一熱， 一陰一陽， 寒因熱用， 熱因寒用， 君臣相佐， 陰陽相濟， 最得 制方之妙，所以有成功而無偏勝之害也。【弘景曰】俗方多用黄連 治痢及 渴，道方服食長生。【慎微曰】劉宋 王微黄連讚云：黄連味苦，左右相 因。斷凉滌暑，闡命輕身。縉雲昔御，飛蹕上旻。不行而至，吾聞其人。 又梁 江淹黄連頌云：黄連上草，丹砂之次。禦孽辟妖，長靈久視。驂龍行 天，馴馬匝地。鴻飛以儀，順道則利。【時珍曰】本經、别録並無黄連久 服長生之説，惟陶弘景言道方久服長生。神仙傳載封君達、黑穴公，並服 黄連五十年得仙。竊謂黄連大苦大寒之藥，用之降火燥濕，中病即當止。 豈可久服，使肅殺之令常行，而伐其生發冲和之氣乎？素問載岐伯言：五 味入胃，各歸所喜攻。久而增氣，物化之常也。氣增而久，夭之由也。王 冰註云 ： 酸入肝爲温 ， 苦入心爲熱 ， 辛入肺爲清 ， 鹹入腎爲寒 ， 甘入脾 爲至陰而四氣兼之，皆增其味而益其氣，故各從本臟之氣爲用。所以久服 黄連、苦參反熱，從火化也。餘味皆然。久則臟氣偏勝，即有偏絶，則有 暴夭之道。是以絶粒服餌之人不暴亡者， 無五味偏助也。又秦觀與喬希聖 論黄連書云 ： ”聞公以眼疾餌黄連 ， 至十數兩猶不已 ， 殆不可也。醫經有

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久服黄連、苦參反熱之説。此雖大寒，其味至苦，入胃則先歸於心，久而 不已，心火偏勝則熱，乃其理也。况眼疾本於肝熱，肝與心爲子母。心火 也 ， 肝亦火也 ， 腎孤臟也 ， 人患一水不勝二火。豈可久服苦藥 ， 使心有 所偏勝， 是以火救火， 其可乎？ ”秦公此書， 蓋因王公之説而推詳之也。 我明 荆端王素多火病，醫令服金花丸，乃芩、連、巵、蘗四味，餌至數 年 ， 其火愈熾 ， 遂至内障喪明。觀此則寒苦之藥 ， 不但使人不能長生 ， 久則氣增偏勝，速夭之由矣。當以素問之言爲法，陶氏道書之説，皆謬談 也。楊士瀛云：黄連能去心竅惡血。 Explication. [Zhang] Yuansu: Huang lian is of cold nature and has a bitter flavor. Qi and flavor are strongly pronounced. It can rise and it can descend. It is a yang in yin [substance] that enters the hand minor yin conduit. It has six usages: It drains fire in the heart long-term depot. That is the first. It removes moisture and heat from the Central Burner. That is the second. It is to be used for all kinds of sores. That is the third. It removes wind and moisture. That is the fourth. [It serves to cure] a sudden effusion of redness in the eyes. That is the fifth. It ends the appearance of blood in the central section. That is the sixth. Zhang Zhongjing used [huang lian] in all his five “decoctions to drain the heart” that served to cure the nine kinds of obstacle-illness286 below the heart. Cheng Wuji: Bitter [flavor] enters the heart. Cold [qi] overcome heat [qi]. The bitter and cold [nature] of huang lian and rhubarb root reach to depletion heat below the heart. When a tapeworm gets sweet [flavor] it will move. When it gets bitter [flavor] it will be pacified. The bitter [flavor] of huang lian and phellodendron bark serve to pacify tapeworms. [Wang] Haogu: Huang lian is bitter and dry. Its bitter [flavor] enters the heart. Fire approaches what is dry. A drainage of the heart [requires] in fact a drainage of the spleen. This is [an example of ] a drainage of the child (i.e., the soil/spleen) in the case of a repletion [of the mother (i. e., the fire/heart)]. [Zhu] Zhenhong: Huang lian removes moisture and heat from the Central Burner and drains heart fire. When the spleen and stomach qi are depleted and [spleen and stomach] are unable to further transport [food and beverages, huang lian] is to be substituted with poria and scutellaria [root]. [Huang lian] is fried mixed with pig bile juice, and it is assisted by gentiana herb. This will result in a massive outflow of fire from the liver and the gallbladder. In the case of free-flux illness discharge with heat at the stomach orifice and clenched jaw, apply the “decoction with huang lian and ginseng [root],” to be gradually sipped in the course of an entire day. If [the patient] throws it up, let him drink it vigorously again. Once he is able to take a sip, he will feel better. Liu Wansu: In ancient recipes 286 Pi 痞, “obstacle-illness,” (1) a feeling of uncomfortable fullness and distension, (2) a pathological condition of uncomfortable distension and fullness in the chest and abdominal region. When pressed there is no pain. BCGM Dict I, 371.



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to cure free-flux illness, huang lian was the substance used most often. The fact is, to cure free-flux illness all that is required is an acrid, bitter and cold medication. Acrid [flavor] is able to disperse. It opens and penetrates pent-up and knotted [qi]. Bitter [flavor] is able to dry moisture. Cold [qi] can overcome heat [qi. All these together] serve to achieve a cure in that they distribute and balance the qi. All bitter and cold pharmaceutical drugs cause much outflow. Only huang lian and phellodendron bark with their cold and dry nature are able to make fire descend, eliminate moisture and end outflow. Hence they are the “ruler [substances]” when it comes to curing freeflux illness. [Kou] Zongshi: Nowadays, the people often turn to huang lian to cure free-flux illness. Their intention is to avail themselves of [huang lian’s] bitter and dry [nature]. A low class [healer] only needs to be confronted with an intestinal depletion with outflow, and a slight hint at blood, and he will immediately apply [huang lian]. He does not check whether [the patient] has much or little heat or cold. All he is interested in is to have him ingest the entire dose. This all too often results in a grave situation. If the disease begins as long as [the patient’s] qi are replete, and if there is much heat and a bleeding free-flux illness, to ingest [huang lian] may easily end [the outflow] and there is no need to finish the entire dose. However, in the case of a [qi] depletion and the presence of cold, one must be careful and [huang lian] should not be used lightheartedly. Li Gao: All types of pain, itch, sores and ulcers are related to heart fire. All [treatments of ] sores should employ huang lian and Chinese angelica [root] as ruler [drugs], glycyrrhiza [root] and scutellaria [root] as assistants. All [treatments of ] sudden redness and swelling of the eyes, when the pain is unbearable, should employ huang lian and Chinese angelica [root] soaked and boiled in wine. In the case of meals remaining undigested, with obstacle-illness287 and a feeling of fullness, one should resort to huang lian and unripe bitter oranges. [Su] Song: Huang lian is often used in recipes to cure [ailments of ] the eyes, and the “pills with sheep/goat liver” are especially unique. When today’s physicians rinse the eyes, they use snow water or sweet water to boil equal amounts of huang lian, Chinese angelica [root] and paeonia [root] to prepare a decoction to rinse the [eyes]. Once it has turned cold it is warmed again. This is extremely beneficial for the eyes. When wind poison has made the eyes red, with the formation of flowers and shades, the application [of such rinsing] is always divinely effective. The fact is, all diseases affecting the eyes are caused by a blockage of the flow in the blood vessels. Hence they are cured by combining medication stimulating blood flow with huang lian. Hence a hot [decoction] is used to rinse the [eyes]. 287 Pi 痞, “obstacle-illness,” (1) a feeling of uncomfortable fullness and distension, (2) a pathological condition of uncomfortable distension and fullness in the chest and abdominal region. When pressed there is no pain. BCGM Dict I, 371.

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Han Mao: For diseases of the fire section, huang lian is the main [pharmaceutical drug]. Not only when the task is to drain heart fire, [huang lian] is to be combined with such bitter pharmaceutical drugs as scutellaria [root] and phellodendron bark, to name some examples. When someone suffers from an ailment of the eyes, [huang lian] is to be soaked or steamed in human milk that is then dripped [into the affected eye] or ingested. Boil the raw substance as ruler [drug] assisted by a small amount of government certified cassia a hundred times to bubbling, add honey and [let the patient] ingest this on an empty stomach. This will stimulate communication between the heart and the kidneys within a moment. If the “[powder with] five [ingredients, including] polyporus sclerotium”288 and talcum are added, it is greatly useful to cure dream emission [of sperm]. [Huang lian] fried four times in an [aqueous preparation of ] loess, in ginger juice, in wine and in honey as ruler [drug], with quisqualis [fruit] as minister [drug], white paeonia [root] boiled in wine as assistant and aucklandia [root] from Guang as guiding substance serves to cure the five gan-illnesses289 of children. [Huang lian] fried with evodia [fruit], with an equal amount of aucklandia [root] added and the amount doubled by fresh da huang, prepared with water to pills, serves to cure the five types of free-flux illness. All these are methods how to prepare recipes. [Li] Shizhen: Huang lian is an important pharmaceutical drug to cure [ailments of ] the eyes and free-flux illness. [Examples of ] ancient recipes to cure free-flux illness [are the following]. The “pills with aucklandia [root] and [huang] lian” use huang lian and aucklandia [root]. The “powder with ginger and [huang] lian” uses dried ginger and huang lian. The “pills to stimulate change and free passages” use huang lian and evodia [fruit]. The “powder with ginger and [huang] lian” uses huang lian and fresh ginger. [Examples of ancient recipes] to cure melting with thirst290 use huang lian steamed with wine. Those to cure hidden summerheat use huang lian boiled in wine. Those to cure discharge with blood use huang lian and garlic. Those [ancient recipes designed] to cure liver fire, they use huang lian and evodia [fruit]. Those to cure oral sores, they use huang lian and asarum heteropoides [root]. All these [recipes] consist of one cold and one heat [ingredient], of one yin and one yang [ingredient], with cold resorted to because of heat, and heat resorted to because of cold. [They include] ruler, minister, assistant, and guiding [drugs], with yin and yang supporting each other, this way applying the 288 The five ingredients are: Polyporus sclerotium, poria, alisma rhizome, cassia twigs, and atractylodes rhizome.

289 Gan 疳, “gan-illness,” also: “sweets-illness,” involves several complaints that affect children and adults, with causes and conditions too different to fall into a known disease category. BCGM Dict I, 180-188. 290 Xiao ke 消渴, “melting with thirst,” most likely including cases of diabetes. BCGM Dict Vol I, 567.



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wondrous [methods] of preparing recipes. Hence they are effective and do not cause harm resulting from a one-sided effect. [Tao] Hongjing: Common recipes often use huang lian to cure free-flux illness and [melting with] thirst. Daoist recipes [advise to] ingest it as food to prolong life. [Tang] Shenwei: During the Liu Song [dynasty (420 – 479)], Wang Wei in his Huang lian zan (”Huang lian eulogy”) wrote: “Huang lian has a bitter flavor. Left and right it acts in mutual accordance. It cuts cold and cleanses summerheat. It makes one’s fate accessible and relieves the body of its weight. [Like the Yellow Thearch] Emperor Jin yun travelling. As if flying through the streets cleared for him. As if rising to heaven. He did not move himself and still arrived. I heard the people telling this.” Also, in Liang, Jiang Yan in his Huang lian song (“Huang lian ode”) wrote: “Huang lian is an upper class herb, surpassed only by cinnabar. It serves to resist evil and repels demons. Its miraculous effects are long-lasting and have been realized for a long time. A harnessed dragon passing in the sky. A tamed horse covering wide grounds. A goose flying in an arrangement. They make their way and this results in benefit.” [Li] Shizhen: Neither the Ben jing nor the Bie lu have records of a long-term ingestion of huang lian to prolong life. Only Tao Hongjing speaks of “Daoist recipes [advising one] to ingest [huang lian] to prolong life.” According to the Shen xian zhuan, “Feng Junda and Hei xue gong ingested huang lian for 50 years and became immortals.” I dare to say, huang lian is a pharmaceutical drug with a massively bitter [flavor] and a massively cold [nature]. It is applied to let fire descend and to dry moisture. When it has struck a disease, [its ingestion] must end. How could it be ingested for a long time, which would mean that its stern command of killing is perpetuated, resulting in an elimination of the qi responsible for generation and harmonization? The Su wen records a saying of Qi Bo: “The five flavors enter the stomach, [whence] each of them turns to its preferred [long-term depot]. If [one flavor is consumed] over an extended period, thereby increasing [its particular] qi, this is a regularity in the transformation of things. If this increase of qi continues over an extended period, this is the origin of early death.”291 Wang Bing in a comment states: “Sour [flavor] enters the liver and causes warmth. Bitter [flavor] enters the heart and causes heat. Acrid [flavor] enters the lung and causes coolness. Salty [flavor] enters the kidneys and causes cold. Sweet [flavor] enters the spleen where it generates extreme yin [qi] accompanied by the four [other] qi. In all [long-term depots] the respective flavor is increased to boost their qi. Hence all [flavors] are of benefit for the qi of their respective longterm depot. When huang lian and sophora [root] are applied to counter heat, this is so because of [their potential to] transform fire. The same applies to the remaining 291 Quote from ch. 74 of Huang Di Nei jing suwen. Paul U. Unschuld and Hermann Tessenow, 2011, Vol. II, 641.

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flavors. If [ingested] for a long time, the qi of a particular long-term depot will dominate unilaterally, which means that another will be severed unilaterally. This, then, is the path toward sudden early death. People who stop eating cereals and ingest [elixirs for] food, they do not die all of a sudden because they do not unilaterally assist [any particular qi] by any of the five flavors.” Also, in his Yu Qiao Xi sheng lun huang lian shu (“Letter on sagely discussions of huang lian with Qiao Xi”) Qin Guan wrote: “I have heard that you, Sir, have ingested several tens of liang of huang lian for an ailment of the eyes and [the ailment] has not come to an end. This is quite dangerous. The medical classics speak of huang lian and sophora [root] as opposing heat. Now, despite their massively cold [nature], when they are ingested, they first turn to the heart. If [the disease] has not ended for a long time, this is because of the heat resulting from a unilateral dominance of heart fire. Also, ailments of the eyes have their origin in liver heat. Liver and heart are related like child and mother. The heart is fire, and the liver, too, is fire. The kidneys are the sole longterm depot [of water]. If someone suffers from one water being unable to subdue two fires, how could it be permissible to ingest bitter medication for a long time resulting in a unilateral dominance of the heart [fire]? That would be to support fire with fire! Can this be right?!” This letter of Sir Qin is a more detailed explication based on the statement of Sir Wang [Bing]. In our Ming [dynasty], King Jing duan after consuming many vegetables suffered from a fire disease. The physicians ordered him to ingest the “golden flower pills”, including the four substances scutellaria [root], [huang] lian, gardenia [fruit] and phellodendron bark. He took them for many years and his fire blazed up more and more. Eventually, he developed an inner shade and lost his eyesight. Seen from this, cold and bitter medication is not only unable to prolong life. [Ingested] for a long time, it increases qi to a unilateral dominance, and this is the origin of a sudden early death. The statement in the Su wen should be accepted as a guideline. The statements by Mr. Tao [Hongjing] and those of Daoist books are all erroneous chats. Yang Shiying states: Huang lian is capable of eliminating malign blood from the heart orifice. 【附方】舊二十二，新四十。 Added Recipes: 22 of old; 40 newly [recorded]. 心經實熱。瀉心湯：用黄連七錢，水一琖半，煎一琖，食遠温服。小兒减 之。和劑局方。 Repletion heat in the heart conduit. The “decoction to drain the heart [fire].” Boil seven qian of huang lian in one and a half wine cups of water down to one cup and



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ingest [the decoction] warm between meals. For children the dose is to be diminished. He ji ju fang. 卒熱心痛。黄連八錢，㕮咀，水煎熱服。外臺秘要。 Sudden [effusion of ] heat with heart pain. Pound eight qian of huang lian, boil [the chewed drug] in water and ingest this warm. Wai tai mi yao. 肝火爲痛。黄連薑汁炒，爲末，粥糊梧子大。每服三十丸，白湯下。 Liver fire causing pain. Fry huang lian in ginger juice, [grind it to] powder and with gruel paste [form pills] the size of wu seeds. Each time ingest 30 pills, to be sent down with clear, boiled water. 左金丸 ： 用黄連六兩 ， 茱萸一兩 ， 同炒 ， 爲末 ， 神麴糊丸梧子大。每服 三四十丸，白湯下。丹溪方。 The “pills to assist the metal (i. e., the lung).” Fry six liang of huang lian together with one liang of evodia [fruit] and [grind this to] powder. Then prepare with medicated leaven a paste to form pills the size of wu seeds. Each time ingest 30 to 40 pills, to be sent down with clear, boiled water. Danxi fang. 伏暑發熱， 作渴嘔惡， 及赤白痢， 消渴， 腸風酒毒， 泄瀉諸病， 並宜酒 煮黄龍丸主之。川黄連一斤切，以好酒二升半，煮乾焙研，糊丸梧子大。 每服五十丸，熟水下，日三服。和劑局方。 Hidden summerheat causing an effusion of heat, with thirst, vomiting and nausea, as well as red and white free-flux illness, melting with thirst,292 intestinal wind with alcohol poison, and outflow, all such diseases are controlled by “yellow dragon” pills boiled in wine. Cut one jin of huang lian from Sichuan to pieces, boil them in two and a half sheng of good wine until the liquid has dried, bake [the residue] over a slow fire and [grind this to] powder. Prepare a paste to form pills the size of wu seeds. Each time [let the patient] ingest 50 pills, to be sent down with hot water. To be ingested three times a day. He ji ju fang. 陽毒發狂，奔走不定。宣黄連、寒水石等分，爲末。每服三錢，濃煎甘草 湯下。易簡方。 Yang poison causing outbreaks of madness. [Patients] run around incessantly. [Grind] equal amounts of huan lian from Xuan and fibrous gypsum to powder. Each time [let the patient] ingest three qian, to be sent down with a glycyrrhiza [root] decoction boiled down to a viscous liquid. Yi jian fang. 292 Xiao ke 消渴, “melting with thirst,” most likely including cases of diabetes. BCGM Dict Vol I, 567.

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骨節積熱，漸漸黄瘦。黄連四分切，以童子小便五大合浸經宿，微煎三四 沸，去滓，分作二服。廣利方。 Heat accumulation in bone joints causing a gradual emaciation with a yellow complexion. Cut four fen of huang lian to pieces and soak them in five generous ge of a boy’s urine for one night. Boil [the urine] with a mild fire three or four times to bubbling, remove the dregs and ingest [the liquid] divided into two portions. Guang li fang. 小兒疳熱。流注遍身瘡蝕，或潮熱，肚脹作渴，豬肚黄連丸。用豬肚一箇 洗净 ， 宣黄連五兩 ， 切碎水和 ， 納入肚中縫定 ， 放在五升粳米上蒸爛 ， 石臼搗千杵，或入少飯同杵，丸緑豆大。每服二十丸，米飲下。仍服調血 清心之藥佐之。蓋小兒之病，不出于疳，則出于熱，常須識此。直指方。 Gan-illness293 with heat [effusion] of children. The entire body is covered with sores and erosion, sometimes with heat waves and an enlarged abdomen with thirst. The “pills with pig stomach and huang lian.” Take one pig stomach and wash it clean. Then cut five liang of huang lian from Xuan to pieces, mix them with water and fill them into the [pig] stomach. Sew the stomach up and place it above five sheng of non-glutinous rice to have it steamed until it turns into a pulpy substance. Pound this in a stone mortar one thousand times. One may also add a little cooked rice and pound it together [with the pulpy substance]. Then form pills the size of mung beans. Each time [let the child] ingest 20 pills, to be sent down with a rice beverage. In addition [the child] is to ingest medication to regulate the blood and cool the heart, that is, to assist [the pills]. The fact is, such diseases of children do not develop out of a gan-illness. They develop out of heat. This should always be known. Zhi zhi fang. 三消骨蒸。黄連末 ， 以冬瓜自然汁浸一夜 ， 晒乾又浸 ， 如此七次 ， 爲 末，以冬瓜汁和丸梧子大。每服三四十丸，大麥湯下。尋常渴，只一服見 效。易簡方。 Bone steaming294 causing a three-fold melting. Soak huang lian powder in the natural juice of Chinese wax gourds for one night. Dry it in the sun and soak it again. Do this seven times. Then [grind it to] powder and with wax gourd juice form pills the size of wu seeds. Each time [let the patient] ingest 30 to 40 pills, to be sent down 293 Gan 疳, “gan-illness,” also: “sweets-illness,” involves several complaints that affect children and adults, with causes and conditions too different to fall into a known disease category. BCGM Dict I, 180-188. 294 Gu zheng 骨蒸, “bone steaming,” ① a condition of an infectious consumptive disease with a development of vexing heat in the afternoon. ② An illness sign of heat and vexation with a feeling as if this originated in the bones. BCGM Dict I, 197.



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with a barley decoction like an ordinary beverage. A single ingestion has an effect. Yi jian fang. 消渴尿多。肘後方用黄連末，蜜丸梧子大。每服三十丸，白湯下。 Melting with thirst295 and much urination. The Zhou hou fang resorts to huang lian powder prepared with honey to pills the size of wu seeds. Each time [patients are to] ingest 30 pills, to be sent down with clear, boiled water. 寶鑑用黄連半斤 ， 酒一升浸 ， 重湯内煮一伏時 ， 取晒 ， 爲末 ， 水丸梧子 大。每服五十丸，温水下。 The Bao jian uses half a jin of huang lian, soaked in one sheng of wine and boiled in a hot water bath for an entire day. The [drug] is removed [from the liquid], dried in the sun and [ground to] powder to be prepared with water to pills the size of wu seeds. Each time [let the patient] ingest 50 pills, to be sent down with warm water. 崔氏治消渴，小便滑數如油。黄連五兩，栝樓根五兩，爲末，生地黄汁丸 梧子大。每牛乳下五十丸，日二服。忌冷水、豬肉。 Mr. Cui’s cure of melting with thirst, with a frequent, smooth passage of urine resembling oil. [Grind] five liang of huang lian and five liang of trichosanthes root to powder and form this with unprepared Chinese foxglove [rhizome] juice to pills the size of wu seeds. Each time send 50 pills down with cow milk. To be ingested twice a day. [During the treatment] cold water and pork are to be avoided. 總録用黄連末，入豬肚内蒸爛，搗丸梧子大，飯飲下。 The Zong lu resorts to huang lian powder stuffed into a pig stomach to be steamed until it has turned into a pulpy substance. This is to be pounded to form pills the size of wu seeds, to be sent down with water in which rice was cooked. 濕熱水病。黄連末，蜜丸梧子大。每服二丸至四五丸，飲下，日三四服。 范汪方。 Moisture and heat causing a water [retention] disease. Form huang lian powder with honey to pills the size of wu seeds. Each time ingest two pills, or up to four or five pills. To be ingested three or four times a day. Fan Wang fang. 破傷風病。黄連五錢，酒二盞，煎七分，入黄蠟三錢，溶化熱服之。高文 虎蓼花洲閑録。

295 Xiao ke 消渴, “melting with thirst,” most likely including cases of diabetes. BCGM Dict Vol I, 567.

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Wound wind296 disease. Boil five qian of huang lian in two cups of wine down to 70%. Add two liang of yellow beeswax, melt it and [let the patient] ingest this hot. Gao Wenhu, Liao hua zhou xian lu. 小便白淫。因心腎氣不足，思想無窮所致。黄連、白伏苓等分，爲末，酒 糊丸梧子大。每服三十丸，煎補骨脂湯下，日三服。普濟方。 White overflow of urine caused by an insufficiency of heart and kidney qi resulting from an excessive [sexual] longing. [Grind] equal parts of huang lian and white poria to powder and prepare with wine a paste to form pills the size of wu seeds. Each time ingest 30 pills, to be sent down with a psoralea [seeds] decoction. To be ingested three times a day. Pu ji fang. 熱毒血痢。宣黄連一兩 ， 水二升 ， 煮取半升 ， 露一宿 ， 空腹熱服 ， 少卧 將息，一二日即止。千金方。 Heat poison causing bleeding free-flux illness. Boil one liang of huang lian from Xuan in two sheng of water down to half a sheng. Let it stand in the open for one night and ingest it hot on an empty stomach. [The patient] is to lie down to get some rest, and [the disease] will end within one or two days. Qian jin fang. 赤痢久下 ， 累治不瘥。黄連一兩 ， 雞子白和爲餅 ， 炙紫爲末 ， 以漿水三 升 ， 慢火煎成膏。每服半合 ， 温米飲下。一方只以鷄子白和丸服。勝金 方。 Long lasting red free-flux illness discharge, with repeated curative attempts remaining without success. Prepare a cake from a mixture of one liang of huang lian and the white contents of an egg. Roast this until it has assumed a purple color and [grind it to] powder. This is boiled in three sheng of fermented water of foxtail millet297 over a mild fire until it has formed a paste. Each time ingest half a ge, to be sent down with a warm rice beverage. Another recipe advises to ingest pills formed simply by a mixture of [huang lian] with the white contents of an egg. Sheng jin fang. 熱毒赤痢。黄連二兩切，瓦焙令焦，當歸一兩焙，爲末，入麝香少許。每 服二錢，陳米飲下。佛智和尚在閩，以此濟人。本事方。 Red free-flux illness caused by heat poison. Grind two liang of huang lian, cut to pieces that have been baked over a slow fire on a tile until scorched, and one liang of Chinese angelica [root], also baked over a slow fire, to powder. Add a small amount of musk. Each time ingest two qian, to be sent down with a decoction in which 296 Po shang feng 破傷風, “wound wind,” wind stroke via wounds inflicted by metal objects/ weapons. A condition of lockjaw, arched back rigidity and convulsions. BCGM Dict I, 379.

297 For jiang shui 漿水, “fermented water of foxtail millet,” see BCGM 05-33.



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long-stored rice has been cooked. The Buddhist monk Fozhi in Min used this to help the people. Ben shi fang. 赤白久痢。並無寒熱，只日久不止。用黄連四十九箇，鹽梅七箇，入新瓶 内燒烟盡，熱研。每服二錢，鹽米湯下。楊子建護命方。 Red and white long-lasting free-flux illness, with neither a sensation of cold nor [an effusion of ] heat. It just continues for days without ending. Fill 49 pieces298 of huang lian and seven salted plums into a new bottle and heat it until no more smoke develops. Grind the hot [residue to powder]. Each time ingest two qian, to be sent down with a salted rice decoction. Yang Zijian, Hu ming fang. 赤白暴痢，如鵝鴨肝者，痛不可忍。用黄連、黄芩各一兩，水二升，煎一 升，分三次熱服。經驗方。 Sudden/violent red and white free-flux illness, with [the fecal matter] resembling a goose or duck liver. Boil one liang each of huang lian and scutellaria [root] in two sheng of water down to one sheng and ingest this hot divided into three portions. Jing yan fang. 冷熱諸痢 ， 胡洽九盞湯 ： 治下痢 ， 不問冷熱赤白 ， 穀滯休息久下 ， 悉主 之。黄連長三寸三十枚，重一兩半，龍骨如棋子大四枚，重一兩，大附子 一枚 ， 乾薑一兩半 ， 膠一兩半 ， 細切。以水五合着銅器中 ， 去火三寸 ， 煎沸便取下 ， 坐土上 ， 沸止 ， 又上水五合 ， 如此九上九下。納諸藥入水 内， 再煎沸， 輒取下， 沸止又上， 九上九下， 度可得一升， 頓服即止。 圖經本草。 All types of free-flux illness, regardless of their being associated with cold or heat. Hu Qia’s “nine cups decoction.” It serves to cure discharge with free-flux illness, regardless of whether it is associated with cold or heat and appears red or white. Cereals may stagnate and remain dormant and then be discharged [with free-flux] for a long time. [Hu Qia’s decoction] controls all these conditions. 30 pieces of huang lian of a length of three cun weighing one and a half liang, four dragon bones the size of a chess piece weighing one liang. One piece of large aconitum [accessory tuber], one and a half liang of dried ginger and one and a half liang of [donkey hide] glue are cut to fine pieces. Give them with five ge of water into a copper pot and boil it, with the fire in a distance of three cun [from the bottom of the pot], to bubbling. Then remove [the pot from the fire] and place it on the ground. Once the bubbling has ended add another five ge of water and do this placing it on the fire and taking it down from the fire nine times. Then take all the pharmaceutical substances, give 298 Today’s edition of the Pu ji fang, ch. 211, Xie li men 泄痢門, “section outflow and freeflux illness,” has si shi jiu zhi 四十九枝, “49 twigs,” instead of si shi jiu ge 四十九箇, “49 pieces.”

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them into water and once again boil it to bubbling. Repeat the process of removing it and, once the bubbling has ended, placing it on top of the fire again, and do this nine times. Eventually, one sheng [of the decoction] is obtained. This is to be ingested all at once and [the disease] will end. Tu jing ben cao. 下痢腹痛。赤白痢下 ， 令人下部疼重 ， 故名重下 ， 日夜數十行 ， 臍腹絞 痛。以黄連一升，酒五升，煮取一升半，分再服，當止絞痛也。肘後方。 Discharge with free-flux illness and abdominal pain. When a red and white freeflux illness discharge lets a person’s lower body part ache and feel heavy, this is called “heavy discharge.” [Patients experience bowel] movements tens of times during day and night, with a twisting pain at the navel and in the abdomen. Boil one sheng of huang lian in five sheng of wine down to one and a half sheng. This is ingested divided into two portions. The twisting pain will end. Zhou hou fang. 治痢香連丸。李絳兵部手集治赤白諸痢，裏急後重，腹痛。用宣黄連、青 木香等分 ， 擣篩 ， 白蜜丸梧子大。每服二三十丸 ， 空腹飲下 ， 日再服 ， 其效如神。久冷者，以煨蒜擣和丸之。不拘大人嬰孺皆效。 The “pills with inula [root] and [huang] lian to cure free-flux illness.” [They are employed by] Li Jiang in his Bing bu shou ji to cure all kinds of red and white freeflux illness with internal tension and a feeling of a heavy behind, and abdominal pain. Pound equal amounts of huang lian from Xuan and inula [root] and give [the powder] through a sieve. With white honey form pills the size of wu seeds. Each time ingest 20 to 30 pills, to be sent down with a beverage on an empty stomach. To be ingested twice a day. The effects are divine. Patients with long-lasting cold mix [the huang lian] with simmered garlic that has been pounded [to a paste] and form pills. Regardless of whether [these pills are applied to] adults or children, they are always effective. 易簡方：黄連茱萸炒過四兩，木香麪煨一兩，粟米飯丸。 Yi jian fang: Four liang of huang lian and evodia [fruit], both fried, and one liang of aucklandia [root], simmered with wheat flour, are prepared with cooked millet to pills. 錢仲陽香連丸：治小兒冷熱痢，加煨熟訶子肉。 Qian Zhongyang’s “pills with aucklandia [root] and [huang] lian: To cure free-flux illness of children associated either with cold or with heat, add terminalia fruit meat, simmered until done, 又治小兒瀉痢，加煨熟肉豆蔻。 Also, to cure outflow and free-flux illness of children, add nutmeg, simmered until done.



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又治小兒氣虚瀉痢腹痛，加白附子尖。 Also, to cure outflow and free-flux illness with abdominal pain of children with a qi depletion: Add tips of white aconitum [accessory tuber]. 劉河間治久痢，加龍骨。 Liu Hejian cures long-lasting free-flux illness by adding dragon bone. 朱丹溪治禁口痢，加石蓮肉。 Zhu Danxi cures free-flux illness with clenched jaws by adding Indian lotus seed germs. 王氏治痢渴，加烏梅肉，以阿膠化和爲丸。 Mr. Wang cures free-flux illness with [melting and] thirst by adding smoked plums. This is to be prepared mixed with melted donkey hide glue to pills. 五疳八痢。四治黄連丸：用連珠黄連一斤，分作四分，一分用酒浸炒，一 分用自然薑汁炒，一分用吴茱萸湯浸炒，一分用益智仁同炒，去益智，研 末。白芍藥酒煮切焙四兩，使君子仁焙四兩，廣木香二兩，爲末。蒸餅和 丸緑豆大。每服三十丸，米飲食前下，日三服。忌豬肉冷水。韓氏醫通。 The five types of gan-illness299 and the eight types of free-flux illness. The “four-fold curative pills with huang lian.” Divide one jin of huang lian with the appearance of a pearl string into four parts. One part is to be fried after having been soaked in wine. One part is to be fried after having been soaked in the natural juice of ginger. One part is to be fried after having been soaked in an evodia [fruit] decoction. One part is to be fried together with alpinia fruit. Remove the alpinia fruit again and grind the rest to powder. Also, [grind] four liang of white paeonia [root], cut to pieces and baked over a slow fire, four liang of quisqualis [fruit] and two liang of aucklandia [root] from Guang to powder. Prepare this [and the other powder] mixed with steamed cakes to pills the size of mung beans. Each time [let the patient] ingest 30 pills, to be sent down with a rice beverage prior to meals. To be ingested three times a day. [During this therapy] pork and cold water are prohibited. Han shi yi tong. 傷寒下痢不能食者。黄連一升 ， 烏梅二十枚去核 ， 炙燥爲末 ， 蠟一棋子 大，蜜一升、合煎，和丸梧子大。一服二十丸，日三服。 Discharge with free-flux illness associated with harm caused by cold and an inability to eat. Roast one sheng of huang lian with 20 smoked plums, their pits removed, and [grind] the dry residue to powder. Boil [the powder] together with a chess piece 299 Gan 疳, “gan-illness,” also: “sweets-illness,” involves several complaints that affect children and adults, with causes and conditions too different to fall into a known disease category. BCGM Dict I, 180-188.

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size piece of yellow beeswax and one sheng of honey and prepare pills the size of wu seeds. One dose of 20 pills is to be ingested three times a day. 又方 ： 黄連二兩 ， 熟艾如鴨子大一團 ， 水三升 ， 煮取一升 ， 頓服立止。 並肘後方。 Another recipe. Two liang of huang lian and one duck egg size ball of prepared common mugwort leaves are boiled in three sheng of water down to one sheng. This is to be ingested all at once, and [the free-flux illness] will end immediately. Both [this and the previous recipe are quoted from the] Zhou hou fang. 氣痢後重 ， 裏急或下泄。杜壬方薑連散 ： 用宣連一兩 ， 乾薑半兩 ， 各爲 末，收。每用連一錢，薑半錢，和匀，空心温酒下，或米飲下，神妙。 Free-flux illness with [loss of flatulent] qi and a heavy behind, internal tension or outflow discharge. The “powder with ginger and [huang] lian” of Du Ren fang. Grind one liang of [huang] lian from Xuan and half a liang of dried ginger separately to powder and store them. Each time evenly mix one qian of the [huang] lian [powder] and half a qian of the ginger [powder] and send this down with warm wine on an empty stomach, or send it down with a rice beverage. Divinely wondrous. 濟生方秘傳香連丸 ： 用黄連四兩 ， 木香二兩 ， 生薑四兩 ， 以薑鋪砂鍋 底，次鋪連，上鋪香，新汲水三盌，煮焙研，醋調倉米糊爲丸，如常， 日服五次。 The “secretly transmitted pills with aucklandia [root] and huang lian” of the Ji sheng fang. Required are four liang of huang lian, two liang of aucklandia [root], and four liang of fresh ginger. Place the ginger on the bottom of an earthenware pot. On top of it place the [huang] lian. On top of this place the aucklandia [root]. Boil this with three bowls of freshly drawn water, bake [the substances] over a slow fire and grind them to powder. Then form pills with a mixture of vinegar and a paste of longstored rice and [ingest them] as normal, five times a day. 小兒下痢，赤白多時，體弱不堪。以宣連用水濃煎，和蜜，日服五六次。 子母秘録。 Discharge with frequently repeated, red and white free-flux illness of children. Their body is emaciated and unbearably weak. Boil [huang] lian from Xuan with water to obtain a thick liquid, mix it with honey and [let the child] ingest this five to six times a day. Zi mu mi lu. 諸痢脾泄 ， 臟毒下血。雅州黄連半斤 ， 去毛切 ， 裝肥豬大腸内 ， 紥定 ， 入砂鍋中 ， 以水酒煮爛 ， 取連焙 ， 研末 ， 搗腸和丸梧子大。每服百丸 ， 米湯下，極效。直指方。



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All kinds of free-flux illness with spleen outflow, long-term depot poison and discharge of blood. Remove the hair from half a jin of huang lian from Ya zhou, cut it to pieces and fill it into the large intestine of a fat pig. Sew it up, give it into an earthenware pot and boil it with water and wine until it has formed a pulpy substance. Remove the [huang] lian, bake it over a slow fire and grind it to powder. Pound the intestine and mix it [with the powder] to form pills the size of wu seeds. Each time [let the patient] ingest 100 pills, to be sent down with a rice decoction. Extremely effective. Zhi zhi fang. 濕痢腸風。百一選方變通丸：治赤白下痢，日夜無度，及腸風下血。用川 黄連去毛 ， 吴茱萸湯泡過 ， 各二兩 ， 同炒香 ， 揀出各爲末 ， 以粟米飯和 丸梧子大 ， 各收。每服三十丸 ， 赤痢甘草湯下黄連丸 ， 白痢薑湯下茱萸 丸，赤白痢各用十五丸，米湯下。此乃浙西 何山純老方，救人甚效。 Moisture free-flux illness and intestinal wind. The “pills to stimulate change and free passages” of the Bai yi xuan fang. They serve to cure red and white free-flux illness, incessantly occurring during day and night, as well as intestinal wind with a discharge of blood. Fry two liang each of huang lian from Chuan with the hair removed and evodia [fruit], soaked in hot water, and fry them until a fragrant smell develops. Remove the two substances and separately [grind them to] powder. Then mix the [two powders separately] with cooked millet and form pills the size of wu seeds. Store them separately. Each time ingest 30 pills. In the case of red free-flux illness send the huang lian pills down with a glycyrrhiza [root] decoction. In the case of white free-flux illness send the evodia pills down with a ginger decoction. In the case of red and white free-flux illness, take 15 pills each and send them down with a rice decoction. This is an old recipe of He Shanchun of Western Zhe [jiang]. It very effectively helps the people. 局方戊己丸：治脾胃受濕，下痢腹痛，米穀不化。用二味加白芍藥，同炒 研，蒸餅和丸服。 The “wu ji300 pills” of the Ju fang: They serve to cure spleen and stomach affected by moisture, with a free-flux illness discharge, abdominal pain and a failure to digest cereals. Add paeonia [root] to the two substances [huang] lian and aucklandia [root], fry them together and grind [the residue to powder]. Mix it with steam cakes and form pills to be ingested. 積熱下血。聚金丸治腸胃積熱，或因酒毒下血，腹痛作渴，脉弦數。黄連 四兩，分作四分。一分生用，一分切炒，一分炮切，一分水浸晒研末。條 300 Wu ji 戊己 refers to the “center”. In the Five Phases doctrine, the “center” is associated with the phase soil. Spleen and stomach also are associated with the phase soil.

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黄芩一兩，防風一兩，爲末，麪糊丸如梧子大。每服五十丸，米泔浸枳殻 水，食前送下。冬月加酒蒸大黄一兩。楊氏家藏方。 Discharge of blood associated with a heat accumulation. The “pills of gathered gold” serve to cure heat accumulation in the intestines and the stomach, in some cases with a discharge of blood resulting from wind poison, with abdominal pain causing thirst, and a string-like, frequent [movement in the] vessels. Divide four liang of huang lian into four parts. One part is to be used fresh. One part is to be cut to pieces that are then fried. One part is to be roasted in a pan and cut to pieces. One part is to be soaked in water, dried in the sun, and ground to powder. Also, one liang of scutellaria [root] and one liang of saposhnikovia [root] are [ground to] powder. This is formed with a wheat paste to pills the size of wu seeds. Each time ingest 50 pills, to be sent down prior to meals with water obtained from soaking unripe oranges in water that has been used to wash rice. Yang shi jia cang fang. 臟毒下血。黄連爲末 ， 獨頭蒜煨研 ， 和丸梧子大 ， 每空心陳米飲下四十 丸。濟生方。 Poison in the long-term depots with discharge of blood. Mix huang lian powder and single-clove garlic simmered and ground [to powder] and form pills the size of wu seeds. Each time send down on an empty stomach 40 pills with a long-stored rice beverage. Ji sheng fang. 酒痔下血。黄連酒浸 ， 煮熟爲末 ， 酒糊丸梧子大。每服三四十丸 ， 白湯 下。 Piles resulting from wine [abuse] with a discharge of blood. Soak huang lian in wine, boil it until done, [grind it to] powder and generate with wine a paste to form pills the size of wu seeds. Each time ingest 30 to 40 pills, to be sent down with clear, boiled water. 一方用自然薑汁浸焙炒。醫學集成。 Another recipe uses natural juice of ginger to soak [the huang lian] and then fry it. Yi xue ji cheng. 雞冠痔疾。黄連末傅之。加赤小豆末尤良。斗門方。 Cockscomb piles illness. Apply huang lian powder to the [affected region]. If red mung beans are added, [this therapy will be] especially good. Dou men fang. 痔病秘結。用此寬腸。黄連、枳殻等分 ， 爲末 ， 糊丸梧子大。每服五十 丸，空心米飲下。醫方大成。



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Piles disease with constipation.301 Apply the following recipe to widen the intestine. [Grind] equal amounts of huang lian and unripe bitter oranges to powder and generate a paste to form pills the size of wu seeds. Each time ingest 50 pills, to be sent down with a rice beverage on an empty stomach. Yi fang da cheng. 痢痔脱肛。冷水調黄連末塗之，良。經驗良方。 Free-flux illness with piles and anal prolapse. Apply huang lian powder mixed with cold water to the [affected region]. Good. Jing yan liang fang. 脾積食泄。川黄連二兩 ， 爲末 ， 大蒜搗和丸梧子大。每服五十丸 ， 白湯 下。活人心統。 Spleen accumulation of food with outflow. [Grind] two liang of huang lian from Chuan to powder. Pound a large garlic clove, mix it [with the powder] and form pills the size of wu seeds. Each time ingest 50 pills. To be sent down with clear, boiled water. Huo ren xin tong. 水泄脾泄。神聖香黄散：宣連一兩，生薑四兩，同以文火炒至薑脆，各自 揀出爲末。水泄用薑末，脾泄用連末，每服二錢，空心白湯下。甚者不過 二服。亦治痢疾。博濟方。 Watery outflow, spleen outflow. The “divine sage‘s powder with aucklandia [root] and huang lian.” Fry one liang of [huang] lian from Xuan and four liang of fresh ginger together over a mild fire until the ginger has assumed a brittle consistency. Then remove [the two drugs] separately and [grind them to] powder. In the case of a watery outflow, use the ginger powder. In the case of a spleen outflow, use the [huang] lian powder. Each time ingest two qian, to be sent down with clear, boiled water on an empty stomach. Even severe cases [are cured] after no more than two ingestions. [These powders] also serve to cure free-flux illness. Bo ji fang. 吐血不止。黄連一兩 ， 搗散。每服一錢 ， 水七分 ， 入豉二十粒 ， 煎至五 分，去滓温服。大人、小兒皆治。簡要濟衆方。 Unending vomiting of blood. Pound one liang of huang lian to powder. Each time ingest one qian. Give twenty fermented soy beans [together with the powder] into seven fen of water and boil this down to five fen. Remove the dregs and ingest the warm [liquid]. Adults and children will all be cured. Jian yao ji zhong fang. 眼目諸病。勝金黄連丸：用宣連不限多少，槌碎，以新汲水一大盌，浸六 十日 ， 綿濾取汁 ， 入原盌内 ， 重湯上熬之 ， 不住攪之 ， 候乾。即穿地坑 301 Mi jie 秘結, lit.: “closed and bound.” A condition identical with da bian mi 大便秘, “constipation.” BCGM Dict I, 339.

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子可深一尺，以瓦鋪底，將熟艾四兩坐在瓦上，以火然之。以藥盌覆上， 四畔泥封，開孔出烟盡，取刮下，丸小豆大，每甜竹葉湯下十丸。 For all kinds of eye diseases. The “pills with huang lian surpassing the value of gold.” Grind any amount of [huang] lian from Xuan to pieces and soak them in a large bowl of freshly drawn water for 60 days. Then filter [the liquid] through a piece of silk floss, bring [the liquid] back into the original bowl and simmer it above a water bath. Stir [the liquid] continuously until it has dried. Then dig a pit in the ground, about one chi deep and place a tile on its bottom. Spread four liang of prepared common mugwort leaves on the tile and heat it with fire. Place the bowl with the pharmaceutical substances face down on [the tile] and closely seal the seams with mud. Leave a hole open for the smoke to escape. Eventually scrape the [drugs from the inside of the bowl] and form pills the size of red mung beans. Each time send ten pills down with a decoction of sweet bamboo leaves. 劉禹錫傳信方羊肝丸：治男女肝經不足，風熱上攻，頭目昏暗羞明，及障 瞖青盲。用黄連末一兩，羊子肝一具，去膜，擂爛和丸梧子大。每食後暖 漿水吞十四丸，連作五劑瘥。昔崔承元活一死囚，囚後病死。一旦崔病内 障逾年 ， 半夜獨坐 ， 聞堦除悉窣之聲 ， 問之。答曰 ： 是昔蒙活之囚 ， 今 故報恩。遂告以此方而没。崔服之，不數月，眼復明。因傳於世。 The “pills with sheep/goat liver” of Liu Yuxi’s Chuan xin fang. They serve to cure insufficient [qi in the] liver conduits, with wind and heat rising to attack above. The eyes have only dim vision and shy light, resulting in screens and green blindness.302 Pound one liang of huang lian powder with one sheep/goat liver, the membrane removed, to a pulpy substance and form pills the size of wu seeds. Each time, following a meal, swallow 14 pills with warm fermented water of foxtail millet.303 A cure will be achieved after five consecutive doses. Formerly, Cui Chengyuan pardoned a prisoner convicted to death. Later, the prisoner died of a disease. One morning, Cui suffered from an internal [eye] screen that lasted for more than a year. Once at midnight when he sat all by himself he heard steps as if someone was rushing on the stairs. He asked who this was and the answer was: “I am the formerly pardoned prisoner. Today I wish to pay my debt of gratitude.” Then he informed him of this recipe and disappeared. Cui ingested it. After only a few months he had regained his eyesight. Hence he shared it with the world.

302 Qing mang 青盲, “green blindness,” a condition of shi ming 失明, “loss of vision,” with no externally apparent changes in the eye and a clear distinction of the dark and white parts of the eye, while patients nevertheless are unable to see. BCGM Dict I, 391.

303 For jiang shui 漿水, “fermented water of foxtail millet,” see BCGM 05-33.



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暴赤眼痛。宣黄連剉，以雞子清浸，置地下一夜，次早濾過，雞羽蘸滴目 内。 Sudden redness of the eyes and pain. File scraps from huang lian from Xuan, soak them in the clear contents of a chicken egg, bury them underground for one night and filter the liquid the next morning. Dip a chicken feather [into the liquid] and drip it into the [affected] eye. 又方 ： 苦竹兩頭留節 ， 一頭開小孔 ， 入黄連片在内 ， 油紙封 ， 浸井中一 夜。次早服竹節内水，加片腦少許，外洗之。 Another recipe. Take a piece of bitter bamboo with the knots left on both ends. Pierce a mall hole into one end and fill huang lian pieces into it. Then seal it with oil paper and let it soak in a well for one night. The next morning ingest the water inside the bamboo knots. Add a small amount of borneol and rinse the [eyes] from outside. 海上方用黄連、冬青葉煎湯洗之。 The Hai shang fang advises to boil a decoction with huang lian and ilex leaves and to rinse the [affected eyes with it]. 選奇方用黄連、乾薑、杏仁等分，爲末，綿包浸湯，閉目乘熱淋洗之。 The Xuan qi fang advises to [grind] equal amounts of huang lian, dried ginger and apricot kernels to powder, wrap it in silk floss and soak it in hot water. [Let the patient] have his eyes closed while they are rinsed with the hot liquid. 小兒赤眼。水調黄連末，貼足心，甚妙。全幼心鑑。 Red eyes of children. Mix huang lian powder with water and apply it to the soles of the [patient’s] feet. Very wondrous. Quan you xin jian. 爛弦風眼。黄連十文 ， 槐花、輕粉少許 ， 爲末 ， 男兒乳汁和之 ， 飯上蒸 過，帛裹，熨眼上，三四次即效，屢試有驗。仁存方。 Wind eye with festering eyelid rims. [Grind] ten wen of huang lian and small amounts of sophora flowers and calomel to powder. Mix it with a nursing mother’s milk for a male child, steam it above cooked rice, wrap it in silk floss and apply this as a compress on the [affected] eye. An effect will be achieved after three or four applications. This has been tested numerous times with good effect. Rencun fang. 目卒痒痛。乳汁浸黄連，頻點眥中。抱朴子云：治目中百病。外臺秘要。 Sudden/violent itch and pain in the eyes. Frequently drip huang lian, soaked in a nursing mother’s milk sap, into the [affected eye’s] canthi. Baopu zi states: [This recipe] serves to cure all the hundred eye diseases. Wai tai mi yao.

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淚出不止。黄連浸濃汁漬拭之。肘後方。 Unending tearflow. Soak huang lian to obtain a thick juice and wipe [with it the affected eye]. Zhou hou fang. 牙痛惡熱。黄連末摻之，立止。李樓奇方。 Toothache with an aversion to heat. Apply huang lian powder to the [affected region] and [the pain] will end immediately. Li Lou qi fang. 口舌生瘡。肘後用黄連煎酒，時含呷之。 Mouth and tongue develop sores. The Zhou hou [advises] to boil huang lian in wine, hold [the liquid] in the mouth and sip it. 赴筵散：用黄連、乾薑等分，爲末摻之。 The “powder letting one attend a feast.” [Grind] equal amounts of huang lian and dried ginger to powder and apply it to [the affected region]. 小兒口疳。黄連、蘆薈等分，爲末，每蜜湯服五分。 Oral gan-illness304 of children. [Grind] equal amounts of huang lian and aloe [leaves] to powder. Each time [let the child] ingest five fen with a honey decoction. 走馬疳，入蟾灰等分，青黛减半，麝香少許。簡便方。 Running horse gan-illness. Add [to the ingredients of the previous recipe] equal amounts of toads burned to ashes, half that amount of indigo and a small amount of musk. Jian bian fang. 小兒鼻䘌。鼻下兩道赤色 ， 有疳。以米泔洗净 ， 用黄連末傅之 ， 日三四 次。張傑子母秘録。 A child’s nose with hidden worms, with the two paths below the nose assuming a red color. [The child] has a gan-illness. Wash it clean with water in which rice has been washed. Then apply huang lian powder [to the affected region]. Three to four times a day. Zhang Jie, Zi mu mi lu. 小兒月蝕。生於耳後。黄連末傅之。同上。 Lunar eclipse305 of children. It grows behind the ears. Apply huang lian powder [to the affected region]. [Source] identical with the one above. 小兒食土。取好黄土，煎黄連汁搜之，晒乾與食。姚和衆童子秘訣。 304 Gan 疳, “gan-illness,” also: “sweets-illness,” involves several complaints that affect children and adults, with causes and conditions too different to fall into a known disease category. BCGM Dict I, 180-188. 305 Yue ge 月蝕, “lunar eclipse,” refers to sores developing at the ears. BCGM Dict I, 654.



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Children eat soil. Take good yellow soil/loess. Boil huang lian and give the [soil] into the resulting juice. Dry it in the sun and let [the child] eat it. Yao Hezhong, Tong zi mi jue. 預解胎毒。小兒初生，以黄連煎湯浴之，不生瘡及丹毒。 To preventively resolve fetal poison. Bathe a newborn child in a hot huang lian decoction to prevent the generation of sores and cinnabar poisoning.306 又方：未出聲時，以黄連煎汁灌一匙，令終身不出斑。已出聲者灌之，斑 雖發亦輕。此祖方也。王海藏湯液本草。 Another recipe. Before [the child] has voiced its first sound, force-feed it with a spoon of a huang lian decoction. This will prevent an outbreak of macules for its entire life. If it is force-fed [such a decoction] after it has voiced a first sound, the macules may effuse, but only lightly. This is a recipes of our forefathers. Wang Haicang, Tang ye ben cao. 腹中兒哭。黄連煎濃汁，母常呷之。熊氏補遺。 A fetus in the abdomen cries. Let the mother repeatedly sip a thick juice obtained by boiling huang lian. Xiong shi bu yi. 因驚胎動出血。取黄連末酒服方寸匕，日三服。子母秘録。 Fetal movement and bleeding caused by fright. [Let the mother] ingest huang lian powder with wine, the amount held by a square cun spoon. To be ingested three times a day. Zi mu mi lu 妊娠子煩，口乾不得卧。黄連末每服一錢，粥飲下。或酒蒸黄連丸亦妙。 婦人良方。 Vexation during pregnancy, with a dry mouth and an inability to sleep. Each time ingest one qian of huang lian powder, to be sent down with a congee beverage. Or [ingest] huang lian pills steamed with wine. This, too, is wondrous. Fu ren liang fang. 癰疽腫毒。已潰末潰皆可用。黄連、檳榔等分，爲末，以雞子清調搽之。 王氏簡易方。 Obstruction-illness and impediment-illness307 with a poison swelling. [The following recipe] can be used regardless of whether [an abscess] has broken open already or not. [Grind] equal amounts of huang lian and areca [nuts] to powder. Mix it with 306 Dan du 丹毒, “cinnabar poisoning,” a condition of skin ailments brought forth by heat poison, manifesting themselves as red rashes as if from burns, as if cinnabar had been pasted there. BCGM Dict I, 118.

307 Yong ju 癰疽, “obstruction-illness, impediment-illness.” refers to two vaguely distinguished obstructions/impediments of vessels or other ducts inside the body. Qi rushing

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the clear contents of an egg and apply this [to the affected region]. Wang shi, Jian yi fang. 中巴豆毒，下利不止。黄連、乾薑等分，爲末，水服方寸匕。肘後方。 Struck by croton poison, with an unending free-flux. [Grind] equal amounts of huang lian and dried ginger to powder and ingest with water the amount held by a square cun spoon. Zhou hou fang. 13-02 胡黄連宋開寶 Hu huang lian, FE Song, Kai bao. Picrorhiza scrophulariiflora Pennell. The Hu people’s coptis [rhizome].

【釋名】割孤露澤。【時珍曰】其性味功用似黄連。故名。割孤露澤， 胡 語也。 Explanation of Names. Geguluze 割孤露澤. [Li] Shizhen: [Hu huang lian] has a nature, effects and application similar to those of coptis. Geguluze is the language of the Hu. 【集解】【恭曰】胡黄連出波斯國，生海畔陸地。苗若夏枯草，根頭似鳥 嘴， 折之内似鸜鵒眼者良。八月上旬采之。【頌曰】今南海及秦隴間亦有 之。初生似蘆，乾則似楊柳枯枝，心黑外黄，不拘時月收采。【承曰】折 之塵出如煙者乃爲真也。 Collected Explanations. [Su] Gong: Hu huang lian comes from the country Po si/ Persia. It grows on the dry lands adjacent to the sea. Its seedlings resemble those of common selfheal. The tip of the root resembles the beak of a bird. Those are good that when broken reveal an interior similar to the eyes of the crested mynah. [Hu huang lian] is collected during the first 10 days period of the eighth month. [Su] Song: Today, it is present also in the region between the Nan hai and Qin long. When it has just begun to grow it resembles reed. Dried, it resembles withered willow twigs. Its core is black; outside it is yellow. It can be collected anytime. [Chen] Cheng: When it is broken and dust is emitted like smoke, then it is genuine.

against the obstruction may cause a local swelling and eventually break through the surface to cause an abscess. BCGM Dict I, 642.



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13-02-01 根。Gen. Root [of hu huang lian].

【氣味】苦，平，無毒。【恭曰】大寒。惡菊花、玄參、白鮮皮，解巴豆 毒。忌豬肉，令人漏精。 Qi and Flavor. Bitter, balanced, nonpoisonous. [Su] Gong: Very cold. [Ingested together,] it abhors chrysanthemum flowers, scrophularia [root] and dictamnus [root] bark. It resolves the poison of croton [seeds]. [During a treatment with hu huang lian the consumption of ] pork is to be avoided. It lets one have an uncontrolled loss of essence/sperm. 【主治】補肝膽， 明目， 治骨蒸勞熱， 三消， 五心煩熱， 婦人胎蒸， 虚 驚，冷熱洩痢，五痔。厚腸胃，益顔色。浸人乳汁，點目甚良。蘇恭。治 久痢成疳， 小兒驚癇， 寒熱不下食， 霍亂下痢， 傷寒欬嗽， 温瘧， 理腰 腎，去陰汗。開寶。去果子積。震亨。 Control. It supplements [the qi of ] liver and gallbladder, clears the eyes and serves to cure bone steaming308 exhaustion heat, the three types of melting,309 vexing heat in the five centers,310 fetal steam of women,311 depletion fright, outflow and free-flux illness with cold and/or heat, and the five types of piles. It strengthens [the walls of ] the intestines and the stomach, and boosts the complexion. Soaked in human milk sap and dripped into the eyes it has very good [effects]. Su Gong. It serves to cure long-lasting free-flux illness eventually resulting in gan-illness,312 fright epilepsy of children and [alternating sensations of ] cold and heat with an inability to eat. Further: Cholera with free-flux illness discharge, harm caused by cold with cough 308 Gu zheng 骨蒸, “bone steaming,” ① a condition of an infectious consumptive disease with a development of vexing heat in the afternoon. ② An illness sign of heat and vexation with a feeling as if this originated in the bones. BCGM Dict I, 197.

309 San xiao 三消, “three types of melting,” identical with san jiao xiao ke 三焦消渴, “triple burner‘s melting with thirst.” BCGM Dict I, 414, 415.

310 Wu xin fan re 五心煩熱, “vexing heat in the five centers.” An illness sign of a feeling of vexation-agitation with fever at the five “xin 心, center” locations, namely: xin kou 心 口, heart opening/upper stomach opening; the two palm centers of the hands, and the centers of the two soles of the feet. BCGM Dict I, 545. 311 Tai zheng 胎蒸, “fetal steam,” a condition with a pregnant woman’s red and swollen face, a bitter taste in her mouth and a dry throat, as well as fever and emaciation. BCGM Dict I, 489.

312 Gan 疳, “gan-illness,” also: “sweets-illness,” involves several complaints that affect children and adults, with causes and conditions too different to fall into a known disease category. BCGM Dict I, 180-188.

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and warmth malaria. It regulates the lower back and the kidneys, and eliminates yin sweating.313 Kai bao. It removes accumulation of fruit. [Zhu] Zhenheng. 【附方】舊二，新一十三。 Added Recipes. Two of old. 13 newly [recorded]. 傷寒勞復。身熱，大小便赤如血色。用胡黄連一兩，山巵子二兩，去殻， 入蜜半兩 ， 拌和 ， 炒令微焦爲末 ， 用豬膽汁和丸梧子大。每服十丸 ， 用 生薑二片 ， 烏梅一箇 ， 童子小便三合 ， 浸半日去滓 ， 食後暖小便令温吞 之，卧時再服，甚效。蘇頌圖經本草。 Relapse of “harm caused by cold” because of exhaustion. The body is hot. Large [defecation] and minor [urination] relief is red like the color of blood. Give one liang of hu huang lian and two liang of mountain gardenia [fruit], with the peel removed, into half a liang of honey and mix this. Fry this until it is slightly scorched and [grind it to] powder. Mix this with pig bile sap and form pills the size of wu seeds. Each time to ingest ten pills take two pieces of fresh ginger and one smoked plum. Soak them in three ge of a boy’s urine for half a day. Remove the dregs and wash [the pills] down with the warm urine. Ingest this a second time when going to bed. Very effective. Su Song, Tu jing ben cao. 小兒潮熱，往來盗汗。用南番胡黄連、柴胡等分，爲末。煉蜜丸芡子大。 每服一丸至五丸 ， 安器中 ， 以酒少許化開 ， 更入水五分 ， 重湯煮二三十 沸，和滓服。孫兆秘寶方。 Heat waves of children, with episodes of robber sweat.314 [Grind] equal amounts of hu huang lian from Nan fan and bupleurum [root] to powder and form with heat refined honey pills the size of qian seeds. Each time ingest one pill or up to five pills. Place them into a container and dissolve them in a small amount of wine. Then add an additional five fen of water and heat this in a water bath 20 to 30 times to bubbling. Ingest [the liquid] with the dregs. Sun Zhao, Mi bao fang. 小兒疳熱。肚脹潮熱髮焦，不可用大黄、黄芩傷胃之藥，恐生别證。以胡 黄連五錢，靈脂一兩，爲末，雄猪膽汁和丸緑豆大。米飲服，每服一二十 丸。全幼心鑑。

313 Yin han 陰汗, “yin sweating,” an illness sign of sweating in the frontal “yin region,” at the scrotum and at the perineum. BCGM Dict I, 634.

314 Dao han 盗汗, “robber sweat,” a profuse sweating during sleep that ends when one wakes up. BCGM Dict I, 122.



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Gan-illness315 with heat of children. The abdomen is distended with waves of heat and scorched hair. Rhubarb root and scutellaria [root], i.e., pharmaceutical drugs that harm the stomach, must not be used as they might cause additional pathological conditions. [Grind] five qian of hu huang lian and one liang of flying squirrel droppings to powder and form with the bile sap of a boar pills the size of mung beans, to be ingested with a rice beverage. Each time ingest 10 to 20 pills. Quan you xin jian. 肥熱疳疾。胡黄連丸：用胡黄連、黄連各半兩，朱砂二錢半，爲末，入猪 膽内扎定，以杖子釣懸於砂鍋内，漿水煮一炊久，取出研爛，入蘆薈、射 香各一分，飯和丸麻子大。每服五七丸至一二十丸，米飲下。錢乙小兒方 訣。 Gan-illness of a fat [child] with heat. The “pills with hu huang lian.” [Grind] half a liang each of hu huang lian and coptis [rhizome], and two and a half liang of cinnabar to powder. Give this into a pig’s gallbladder and tie it. Hang this with a stick with a hook into an earthenware pot and boil it with fermented water of foxtail millet316 for as long as it takes to cook a meal. Then take it out and grind it until it has assumed a pulpy consistency. Add one fen each of aloe [leaves] and musk, mix this with cooked rice and prepare pills the size of hemp seeds. Each time [let] the child ingest five or seven, up to ten or 20 pills, to be sent down with a rice beverage. Qian Yi, Xiao er fang jue. 五心煩熱。胡黄連末，米飲服一錢。易簡方。 Vexing heat in the five centers.317 Ingest one qian of hu huang lian powder with a rice beverage. Yi jian fang. 小兒疳瀉，冷熱不調。胡黄連半兩，綿薑一兩炮，爲末。每服半錢，甘草 節湯下。衞生總微論。 Gan-illness of children with outflow, and irregular episodes of cold and heat. [Grind] half a liang of hu huang lian and one liang of prime quality ginger, roasted in a pan, to powder. Each time [let the child] ingest half a qian, to be sent down with a glycyrrhiza [root] node decoction. Wei sheng zong wei lun. 315 Gan 疳, “gan-illness,” also: “sweets-illness,” involves several complaints that affect children and adults, with causes and conditions too different to fall into a known disease category. BCGM Dict I, 180-188. 316 For jiang shui 漿水, “fermented water of foxtail millet,” see BCGM 05-33.

317 Wu xin fan re 五心煩熱, “vexing heat in the five centers.” An illness sign of a feeling of vexation-agitation with fever at the five “xin 心, center” locations, namely: xin kou 心 口, heart opening/upper stomach opening; the two palm centers of the hands, and the centers of the two soles of the feet.

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小兒自汗盗汗，潮熱往來。胡黄連、柴胡等分，爲末，蜜丸芡子大。每用 一二丸，水化開，入酒少許，重湯煮一二十沸，温服。保幼大全。 Spontaneous sweating and robber sweat318 of children. With episodes of heat waves. [Grind] equal amounts of hu huang lian and bupleurum [root] to powder and form with honey pills the size of qian seeds. Each time take one or two pills, dissolve them in hot water, add a little wine, boil this to bubbling in a water bath ten or 20 times and ingest this warm. Bao you da quan. 小兒黄疸。胡黄連、川黄連各一兩，爲末，用黄瓜一箇，去瓤留蓋，入藥 在内合定，麪裹煨熟，去麪，搗丸緑豆大，每量大小温水下。總微論。 Yellow dan-illness/jaundice. [Grind] one liang each of hu huang lian and coptis [rhizome] from Chuan to powder. Take one yellow cucumber, remove the pulp and retain the shell, give the medication into it and close it tightly. Cook this wrapped in flour over a slow fire until it is done, remove the flour and pound [the cucumber with the medication] to form pills the size of mung beans. Each time measure the [patient’s] age/size and [let him] send [an appropriate number of pills] down with warm water. Zong wei lun. 吐血衄血。胡黄連、生地黄等分，爲末，豬膽汁丸梧子大，卧時茅花湯下 五十丸。普濟方。 Vomiting of blood, nosebleed. [Grind] equal amounts of hu huang lian and fresh Chinese foxglove [rhizome] to powder and form with a pig’s bile sap pills the size of wu seeds. At bedtime send down 50 pills with an imperata floss grass decoction. Pu ji fang. 血痢不止。胡黄連、烏梅肉、竈下土等分，爲末，臘茶清下。普濟方。 Unending bleeding free-flux illness. [Grind] equal amounts of hu huang lian, smoked plums and soil from below a furnace to powder and send this down mixed with tea of the 12th month.319 Pu ji fang. 熱痢腹痛。胡黄連末，飯丸梧子大。每米湯下三十丸。鲜于枢鉤玄。 Free-flux illness with heat and abdominal pain. Prepare with hu huang lian powder and cooked rice pills the size of wu seeds. Each time send down with a rice decoction 30 pills. Xianyu Shu, Gou xuan. 兒赤目。茶調胡黄連末，塗手足心，即愈。濟急仙方。 318 Dao han 盗汗, “robber sweat,” a profuse sweating during sleep that ends when one wakes up. BCGM Dict I, 122.

319 La tea, la cha 臘茶, lit: “tea of the 12th month,” mentioned by Ouyang Xiu and Shen Kua during the Song era. As it is colored like melted wax it is also called la cha 蠟茶, “wax tea.”



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Red eyes of children. Mix tea with hu huang lian powder and apply this to the center of the [palms and soles of the child’s] hands and feet. This will result in a cure. Ji ji xian fang. 癰疽瘡腫。已潰未潰皆可用之。胡黄連、穿山甲燒存性，等分爲末，以茶 或雞子清調塗。簡易方。 Sores and swelling associated with obstruction-illness and impediment-illness.320 [This recipe] can be applied regardless of whether [an abscess] has alread broken open or not. [Grind] equal amounts of hu huang lian and pangolin scales, burned with their nature retained, to powder and apply it, mixed either with tea or the clear contents of an egg, to [the affected region]. Jian yi fang. 痔瘡疼腫不可忍者。胡黄連末，鵝膽汁調搽之。孫氏集效方。 Swollen piles with an unbearable pain. Mix hu huang lian powder with goose bile sap and apply this [to the affected region]. Sun shi, Ji xiao fang. 血餘怪病。方見木部伏苓下。 The strange disease of “blood surplus.”321 For recipes see under the entry “poria” in the section “trees” (37-01). 13-03 黄芩本經中品 Huang qin, FE Ben jing, middle rank. Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi. Skullcap.

【釋名】腐腸本經、空腸别録、内虚别録、妬婦吴普、經芩别録、黄文别 録、印頭吴普、苦督郵記事。内實者名子芩弘景、條芩綱目、㹠尾芩唐 本、鼠尾芩。【弘景曰】圓者名子芩，破者名宿芩，其腹中皆爛，故名腐 腸。【時珍曰】芩，《説文》作菳，謂其色黄也。或云芩者黔也，黔乃黄 黑之色也。宿芩乃舊根 ， 多中空 ， 外黄内黑 ， 即今所謂片芩 ， 故又有腐 腸、妬婦諸名。妬婦心黯，故以比之。子芩乃新根，多内實，即今所謂條 芩。或云西芩多中空而色黔，北芩多内實而深黄。 Explanation of Names. Fu chang 腐腸, “rotten intestine,” Ben jing. Kong chang 空 腸, “hollow intestine,” Bie lu. Nei xu 内虚, “internal hollowness,” Bie lu. Zhi fu 妬 320 Yong ju 癰疽, “obstruction-illness, impediment-illness.” refers to two vaguely distinguished obstructions/impediments of vessels or other ducts inside the body. Qi rushing against the obstruction may cause a local swelling and eventually break through the surface to cause an abscess. BCGM Dict I, 642.

321 Xue yu 血餘, “blood surplus,” a rarely seen condition of worms growing from the wounds of severed fingers. BCGM Dict I, 601.

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婦, “jealous housewife,” Wu Pu. Jing qin 經芩, Bie lu. Huang wen 黄文, “yellow line design,” Bie lu. Yin tou 印頭, “seal tip,” Wu Pu. Ku du you 苦督郵, “bitter supervisor post,” Ji shi. The solid matter inside is called zi qin 子芩, [Tao] Hongjing. Tiao qin 條芩, “lenghty [huang] qin,” Gang mu. Tun wei qin 㹠尾芩, “piglet tail qin,” Tang ben. Shu wei qin 鼠尾芩, “rat/mouse tail qin.” [Tao] Hongjing: Round ones are called zi qin 子芩. Broken ones are called su qin 宿芩, “old qin.” Their interior is always pulpy. Hence the name fu chang 腐腸, “rotten intestine.” [Li] Shizhen: Qin 芩 is written in the Shuo wen qin 菳, stating that its color is yellow. Elsewhere it is said, qin 芩 is qian 黔, and qian 黔 is a yellow-black color. Su qin 宿芩 is the old root. It is mostly hollow inside. It is yellow outside and black inside. This is today’s so called pian qin 片芩, “flat [huang] qin.” Formerly there were also names such as “rotten intestine” and “jealous housewife.” A jealous housewife has a black heart. Hence [the root] is compared to her. Zi qin 子芩 refers to a fresh root. It is mostly solid inside. It is today’s so called tiao qin 條芩. Some say that Western qin is mostly hollow inside and of black color, while Northern qin is mostly solid inside and of a deep yellow color. 【集解】【别録曰】黄芩生秭歸川谷及冤句 ， 三月三日采根 ， 陰乾。 【弘景曰】秭歸屬建平郡。今第一出彭城 ， 鬱州亦有之。惟深色堅實者 好。俗方多用 ， 道家不須。【恭曰】今出宜州、鄜州、涇州者佳。兖州 大實亦好 ， 名㹠尾芩。【頌曰】今川蜀、河東、陝西近郡皆有之。苗長 尺餘 ， 莖幹粗如筯 ， 葉從地四面作叢生 ， 類紫草 ， 高一尺許 ， 亦有獨莖 者， 葉細長青色， 兩兩相對， 六月開紫花， 根如知母粗細， 長四五寸， 二月、八月采根，暴乾。吴普本草云：二月生赤黄葉，兩兩四四相值。其 莖空中，或方圓，高三四尺。四月花紫紅赤。五月實黑根黄。二月至九月 采。與今所説有小異也。 Collected Explanations. Bie lu: Huang qin grows in the river valleys of Zi gui and in Yuan ju. The root is collected on the third day of the third month. It is dried in the shade. [Tao] Hongjing: Zi gui is part of Jian ping prefecture. Today, the number one [quality] comes from Peng cheng. It is also present in Yu zhou. Only those are good that have a deep color and that are hard and solid. [Huang qin] is often resorted to in common recipes. The Daoists do not approve of it. [Su] Gong: Nowadays, those coming from Yi zhou, Fu zhou and Jing zhou are fine, too. Large, solid specimens from Yan zhou are good, too. They are called “piglet tail qin.” [Su] Song: Nowadays, all the prefectures in the vicinity of Chuan shu, He dong and Shaan xi have it. The seedlings are more than one chi long. The stem is as thick as chopsticks. The leaves grow from the ground forming thickets on all four sides, resembling arnebia herb. It reaches a hight of more than one chi. There are also those with a single stem, and



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fine, long leaves of a greenish color growing in opposits pairs of two. The purple flower opens in the sixth month. The size of the root resembles that of anemarrhena [root]. It is four to five cun long. The root is collected in the second and eighth month. It is dried in the sun. Wu Pu ben cao states: “In the second month [huang qin] develops red-yellow leaves growing opposite to each other in pairs of two or four. The stem is hollow inside, and may be square or round. It reaches a hight of three to four chi. In the fourth month purple-red flowers open. In the fifth month, the fruits are black and the roots are yellow. They are collected from the second to the ninth month.” This is a little different from what is reported today. 13-03-01 根。Gen. [Huang qin] root.

【氣味】苦，平，無毒。【别録曰】大寒。【普曰】神農、桐君、雷公： 苦，無毒。李當之：小温。【杲曰】可升可降，陰也。【好古曰】氣寒， 味微苦而甘 ， 陰中微陽 ， 入手太陰血分。【元素曰】氣凉 ， 味苦、甘 ， 氣厚味薄 ， 浮而升 ， 陽中陰也 ， 入手少陽、陽明經。酒炒則上行。【之 才曰】山茱萸、龍骨爲之使，惡葱實，畏丹砂、牡丹、藜蘆。得厚朴、黄 連，止腹痛。得五味子、，令人有子。得黄耆、白歛、赤小豆，療鼠瘻。 【時珍曰】得酒 ， 上行。得豬膽汁 ， 除肝膽火。得柴胡 ， 退寒熱。得芍 藥，治下痢。得桑白皮，瀉肺火。得白术，安胎。 Qi and Flavor. Bitter, balanced, nonpoisonous. Bie lu: Very cold. [Wu] Pu: Shen nong, Tong jun, Lei gong: Bitter, nonpoisonous. Li Dangzhi: Slightly warm. [Li] Gao: It can rise and it can descend. It is a yin [substance]. [Wang] Haogu: The qi are cold. The flavor is slightly bitter and sweet. It is a slight yang in yin [substance]. It enters the blood section of the hand major yin [conduits]. [Zhang] Yuansu: The qi are cool; the flavor is bitter, sweet. The qi are strongly pronounced; the flavor is weak. It floats at the surface and rises. It is a yin in yang [substance]. It enters the hand minor yang and yang brilliance conduits. When it is fried with wine it will move upward. [Xu] Zhicai: The Asiatic cornelian cherry and dragon bones serve as its guiding substances. [Ingested together,] it abhors onion seeds and it fears cinnabar, paeonia [root bark] and veratrum [root]. Supported by magnolia bark and coptis [rhizome] it ends abdominal pain. Supported by schisandra seeds and oysters it lets one have children. Supported by astragalus [root], ampelopsis [root] and red mung beans, it serves to heal mouse fistula.322 [Li] Shizhen: Supported by wine it moves upward. Supported by pig bile sap it removes liver and gallbladder fire. Supported 322 Shu lou 鼠瘻, “mouse fistula,” BCGM Dict I, 466, identical with luo li 瘰癧, “scrofula pervasion-illnes.”

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by bupleurum [root] it pushes back cold and heat sensations. Supported by paeonia [root] it serves to cure discharge with free-flux illness. Supported by mulberry tree bark it drains lung fire. Supported by atractylodes [rhizome] it pacifies a fetus. 【主治】諸熱黄疸 ， 腸澼洩痢 ， 逐水 ， 下血閉 ， 惡瘡疽蝕 ， 火瘍。本 經。療痰熱 ， 胃中熱 ， 小腹絞痛 ， 消穀 ， 利小腸 ， 女子血閉 ， 淋露下 血 ， 小兒腹痛。别録。治熱毒骨蒸 ， 寒熱往來 ， 腸胃不利 ， 破擁氣 ， 治 五淋 ， 令人宣暢 ， 去關節煩悶 ， 解熱渴。甄權。下氣 ， 主天行熱疾 ， 丁瘡排膿 ， 治乳癰發背。大明。凉心 ， 治肺中濕熱 ， 瀉肺火上逆 ， 療上 熱， 目中腫赤， 瘀血壅盛， 上部積血， 補膀胱寒水， 安胎， 養陰退陽。 元素。治風熱濕熱頭痛，奔豚熱痛，火欬肺痿喉腥，諸失血。時珍。 Control. All types of yellow dan-illness/jaundice associated with heat, intestinal flush and outflow free-flux illness. It expels water and discharges blood blockage. [It serves to cure] malign sores, impediment-illness323 erosion and fire ulcers.324 Ben jing. It serves to heal phlegm with heat, heat in the stomach and a twisting pain in the lower abdomen. It serves to digest grain and frees the passage through the small intestine and blood blockage of females. [It serves to cure] a discharge of blood dripping like dew [drops] and abdominal pain of children. Bie lu. [It serves to] cure heat poison with bone steaming,325 episodes of cold and warmth sensation, blocked passage through the intestines and the stomach. It breaks through qi obstructions and serves to cure the five types of urinary dripping. It lets one feel uninhibited, removes [pain in the] joints causing vexing heart-pressure, and dissolves thirst associated with heat. Zhen Quan. It discharges qi. It controls epidemic heat illness, and eliminates the pus from pin[-illness]326 sores. It serves to cure breast obstruction-illness327 and effusions on the back. Da Ming. It cools the heart. It serves to cure moisture and heat in the lung. It drains lung fire that rises with a [qi] counterflow. It serves to heal rising heat, swelling and redness in the eyes, stagnant blood 323 Ju 疽, “impediment-illness,” refers to an obstruction of vessels or other ducts inside the body. Qi rushing against the impediment may cause a local swelling and eventually break through the surface to cause an abscess. BCGM Dict I, 277.

324 Huo yang 火瘍, “fire ulcers,” a condition of ulcerating sores brought forth by tang huo shang 湯火傷, “harm caused by boiling water and fire.” BCGM Dict I, 235.

325 Gu zheng 骨蒸, “bone steaming,” ① a condition of an infectious consumptive disease with a development of vexing heat in the afternoon. ② An illness sign of heat and vexation with a feeling as if this originated in the bones. BCGM Dict I, 197.

326 Ding 丁, “pin[-illness],” also ding 疔, “pin-illness,” refers to a deep-reaching and festering hardness in a tissue, eventually rising above the skin like a pinhead. BCGM Dict I, 127129.

327 Ru yong 乳癰, “breast obstruction-illness,” a condition of acute putrefication of a woman’s breast. Often encountered if a woman, following delivery, experiences chui nai 吹奶, “inflated breast,” or du ru 妒乳, “jealousy breast.”



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congestion, and blood accumulation in the upper [body] part. It supplements [qi] in the case of cold water in the urinary bladder, pacifies a fetus, nourishes yin [qi] and pushes back yang [qi]. [Zhang] Yuansu. It [serves to] cure headache associated with wind and heat, or moisture and heat, running piglets328 with heat and pain, fire cough with lung dysfunction and a fishy smell from the throat, as well as all types of blood loss. [Li] Shizhen. 【發明】【杲曰】黄芩之中枯而飄者，瀉肺火，利氣消痰，除風熱，清肌 表之熱 ； 細實而堅者 ， 瀉大腸火 ， 養陰退陽 ， 補膀胱寒水 ， 滋其化源。 高下之分與枳實、枳殻同例。【元素曰】黄芩之用有九：瀉肺一也，上焦 皮膚風熱風濕二也，去諸熱三也，利胸中氣四也，消痰膈五也，除脾經諸 濕六也，夏月須用七也，婦人産後養陰退陽八也，安胎九也。酒炒上行， 主上部積血 ， 非此不能除。下痢膿血 ， 腹痛後重 ， 身熱久不能止者 ， 與 芍藥、甘草同用之。凡諸瘡痛不可忍者，宜芩、連苦寒之藥，詳上下分身 稍及引經藥用之。【震亨曰】黄芩降痰，假其降火也。凡去上焦濕熱，須 以酒洗過用。片芩瀉肺火，須用桑白皮佐之。若肺虚者，多用則傷肺，必 先以天門冬保定肺氣而後用之。黄芩、白术乃安胎聖藥， 俗以黄芩爲寒而 不敢用，蓋不知胎孕宜清熱凉血。血不妄行，乃能養胎。黄芩乃上中二焦 藥 ， 能降火下行 ， 白术能補脾也。【羅天益曰】肺主氣 ， 熱傷氣 ， 故身 體麻木。又五臭入肺爲腥 ， 故黄芩之苦寒 ， 能瀉火補氣而利肺 ， 治喉中 腥臭。【頌曰】張仲景治傷寒心下痞滿瀉心湯，凡四方皆用黄芩，以其主 諸熱、利小腸故也。又太陽病下之利不止，喘而汗出者，有葛根黄芩黄連 湯，及主妊娠安胎散，亦多用之。【時珍曰】潔古 張氏言黄芩瀉肺火， 治脾濕；東垣 李氏言片芩治肺火，條芩治大腸火；丹溪 朱氏言黄芩治上 中二焦火。而張仲景治少陽證小柴胡湯，太陽少陽合病下利黄芩湯，少陽 證下後心下滿而不痛瀉心湯，並用之。成無己言黄芩苦而入心，泄痞熱。 是黄芩能入手少陰陽明、手足太陰少陽六經矣。蓋黄芩氣寒味苦， 色黄帶 緑， 苦入心， 寒勝熱， 瀉心火， 治脾之濕熱， 一則金不受刑， 一則胃火 不流入肺 ， 即所以救肺也。肺虚不宜者 ， 苦寒傷脾胃 ， 損其母也。少陽 之證， 寒熱， 胸脇痞滿， 默默不欲飲食， 心煩嘔， 或渴或否， 或小便不 利。雖曰病在半表半裏，而胸脇痞滿，實兼心肺上焦之邪。心煩喜嘔，默 默不欲飲食，又兼脾胃中焦之證。故用黄芩以治手足少陽相火，黄芩亦少 陽本經藥也。成無已注傷寒論，但云柴胡、黄芩之苦，以發傳邪之熱，芍 藥、黄芩之苦，以堅歛腸胃之氣，殊昧其治火之妙。楊士瀛直指方云：柴 胡退熱 ， 不及黄芩。蓋亦不知柴胡之退熱 ， 乃苦以發之 ， 散火之標也 ； 黄芩之退熱，乃寒能勝熱，折火之本也。仲景又云：少陽證腹中痛者，去 黄芩，加芍藥。心下悸，小便不利者，去黄芩，加伏苓。似與别録治少腹 328 Ben tun 賁豚, “running piglet,” a condition of an accumulation in the kidneys assuming the shape of a piglet moving up and down at irregular intervals. BCGM Dict I, 57.

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絞痛、”利小腸”之文不合。成氏言黄芩寒中，苦能堅腎，故去之，蓋亦不 然。至此當以意逆之，辨以脉證可也。若因飲寒受寒，腹中痛，及飲水心 下悸，小便不利，而脉不數者，是裏無熱證，則黄芩不可用也。若熱厥腹 痛 ， 肺熱而小便不利者 ， 黄芩其可不用乎 ？ 故善觀書者 ， 先求之理 ， 毋 徒泥其文。昔有人素多酒慾，病少腹絞痛不可忍，小便如淋，諸藥不效。 偶用黄芩、木通、甘草三味煎服，遂止。王海藏言有人因虚服附子藥多， 病小便閟，服芩、連藥而愈。此皆熱厥之痛也，學者其可拘乎？予年二十 時 ， 因感冒欬嗽既久 ， 且犯戒 ， 遂病骨蒸發熱 ， 膚如火燎 ， 每日吐痰盌 許。暑月煩渴，寢食幾廢，六脉浮洪。遍服柴胡、麥門冬、荆瀝諸藥，月 餘益劇，皆以爲必死矣。先君偶思李東垣治肺熱如火燎，煩躁引飲而晝盛 者，氣分熱也。宜一味黄芩湯，以瀉肺經氣分之火。遂按方用片芩一兩， 水二鍾，煎一鍾，頓服。次日身熱盡退，而痰嗽皆愈。藥中肯綮，如鼓應 枹。醫中之妙，有如此哉。 Explication. [Li] Gao: Huang qin specimens that are withered inside and flexible serve to drain lung fire. They free the passage of qi and dissolve phlegm. They eliminate wind heat and they cool heat that has gathered in the outer sphere of the muscles. Those that are fine, solid and hard, they drain large intestine fire. They nourish yin [qi] and push back yang [qi]. They supplement [qi] in the case of cold water in the urinary bladder and thereby open the flow from the source of transformation. [These two types of huang qin are active] in the upper and lower [body] section similar to [the different effects exerted by] immature and dried bitter oranges and cut in half and dried bitter oranges. [Zhang]Yuansu: There are nine usages of huang qin. It drains the lung. That is the first. [It drains] wind heat and moisture heat from the Upper Burner and the skin. That is the second. It removes all types of heat. That is the third. It frees the passage of qi in the chest. That is the fourth. It dissolves phlegm in the diaphragm region. That is the fifth. It removes all types of moisture from the spleen conduits. That is the sixth. It is advisable to resort to it during the summer months. That is the seventh. It nourishes yin [qi] and pushes back yang [qi] in women after birth. That is the eighth. It pacifies a fetus. That is the ninth. Fried with wine it moves upward. It controls blood accumulation in the upper [body] part. Without [huang qin such accumulation] cannot be eliminated. For discharge with free-flux illness of pus and blood, abdominal pain and a feeling of heaviness at the behind, and if body heat cannot be ended for a long time, it it used together with paeonia [root] and glycyrrhiza [root]. For all types of sores with an unbearable pain it is advisable to resort to bitter and cold pharmaceutical substances such as [huang] qin and coptis [rhizome]. They are to be used in accordance with the [location of the disease in the] upper or lower body part, and together with pharmaceutical substances guiding them into the [appropriate] conduits. [Zhu]



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Zhenheng: Huang qin brings down phlegm. This is based on its ability to bring down fire. Whenever it is [used] to remove moisture heat from the Upper Burner, it is necessary to use [huang qin] washed with wine. For draining lung fire with flat [huang] qin, it is necessary to resort to mulberry tree bark to assist it. If used often in the case of lung depletion it will harm the lung. In such a situation one must first protect and stabilize the lung qi with asparagus [root] and only then resort to [huang qin]. Huang qin and atractylodes [rhizome] are sage-like medications to pacify a fetus. There is a widespread fear to use huang qin because of its cold [nature]. The fact is, [these people] do not know that during pregnancy the heat and the blood of a fetus must be cooled. Once the blood no longer moves erratically, one can nourish the fetus. Huang qin is a pharmaceutical substance for both the upper and the central section of the [Triple] Burner. It is able to cause fire to descend. Atractylodes [rhizome] is able to supplement spleen [qi]. Luo Tianyi: The lung controls the qi. Heat harms the qi. As a result the body is [insensitive like] hemp and wood. Also, the five bad odors enter the lung and cause a fishy smell. Hence, huang qin’s bitter [flavor] and cold [qi] are capable of draining the fire, supplementing the qi and freeing the passage through the lung, and also of curing the fishy smell in the throat. [Su] Song: All the four recipes of decoctions recorded by Zhang Zhongjing to drain the heart to cure obstruction-illness329 below the heart resulting from harm caused by cold, resort to huang qin because of its potential to control all types of heat and to free the passage through the small intestine. Also, in the case of a free flow associated with a major yang disease, with panting and sweating, the “decoction with pueraria [root], huang qin and coptis [rhizome]” and his “powder to pacify a fetus during pregnancy” often resort to it. [Li] Shizhen: Mr. Zhang Jiegu states: “Huang qin drains lung fire and serves to cure spleen moisture.” Mr. Li Dongyuan states: “Flat [huang] qin serves to cure lung fire. Lenghty [huang] qin serves to cure large intestine fire.” Mr. Zhu Danxi states: “Huang qin serves to cure the fire in the upper and central sections of the [Triple] Burner,” and Zhang Zhongjing resorts to it all alike in the “minor decoction with bupleurum [root] to cure minor yang conditions,” in the “decoction with huang qin for discharge with free-flux illness associated with a disease affecting both the major yang and the minor yang [conduits],” and in the “decoction to drain the heart in the case of minor yang conditions with a feeling of fullness below, at the behind and underneath the heart, but without pain’.” Cheng Wuji states: “Huang qin is bitter and enters the heart. It drains the heat associated

329 Yong 癰, “obstruction-illness,”refers to an obstruction of vessels or other ducts inside the body. Qi rushing against the obstruction may cause a local swelling and eventually break through the surface to cause an abscess. BCGM Dict I, 641.

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with an obstacle-illness.”330 This is so because huang qin can enter the six hand minor yin and yang brilliance, as well as the hand and foot major yin and minor yang conduits. The fact is, the qi of huang qin are cold and the flavor is bitter. The color is yellow with some green. Bitter [flavor] enters the heart. Cold overcomes heat and drains the heart fire. It serves to cure moisture heat of the spleen. For one, the metal is not punished, and also the fire of the stomach does not flow into the lung. Hence it serves to rescue the lung. It is not advisable in the case of lung depletion because the bitter [flavor] and the cold [qi] harm spleen and stomach, that is, they injure the mother [depots of the lung]. In the case of minor yang conditions, [patients] have alternating cold and heat sensations, and there is a feeling of obstacle-illness fullness in the chest and flanks. [Patients are] quiet and do not wish to eat. They vomit from an irritated stomach, they may be thirsty or not, and sometimes urine does not flow freely. Even though it is said that such a disease is half in the exterior and half in the interior, the feeling of an obstacle-illness fullness is in fact an evil affecting heart and lung in the Upper Burner. When the stomach is irritated and tends to vomit, and [patients are] quiet and do not wish to eat, this in turn is a condition of spleen and stomach in the central [section of the Triple] Burner. Hence when huang qin is resorted to to cure the minister fire associated with the hand and foot minor yang [conduits], this is so because huang qin is also a pharmaceutical substance for the minor yang conduits themselves. In his commentary on the Shang han lun, Cheng Wuji speaks only of the bitter [flavor] of bupleurum [root] and huang qin to effuse the heat transmitted as an evil, and of the bitter [flavor of ] paeonia [root] and huang qin to solidify the qi of spleen and stomach. He is entirely ignorant of its wondrous potential of curing fire. Yang Shiying in his Zhi zhi fang states: “Bupleurum [root] pushes back heat, but it does not reach [the strength of ] huang qin.” The fact is, he does not know that the potential of bupleurum [root] to push back heat is based on the [potential of its] bitter [flavor] to effuse [the heat]. This is why it has been assigned the lable “disperser of fire.” That huang qin pushes back heat is based on the potential of cold to overcome heat; it breaks the foundation of fire. [Zhang] Zhongjing also states: “In the case of minor yang conditions with abdominal pain, remove huang qin and add paeonia [root].” This seems not to agree with the text of the Bie lu advising how “to cure twisting pain in the lower abdomen by freeing the passage through the small intestine.” When Mr. Cheng [Wuji] states that “huang qin lets the center be cold and that its bitter [flavor] is capable of hardening the kidneys, and hence removes it,” then this, too, is not correct. This issue must be approached with reason, based on a differentiation of 330 Pi 痞, “obstacle-illness,” (1) a feeling of uncomfortable fullness and distension, (2) a pathological condition of uncomfortable distension and fullness in the chest and abdominal region. When pressed there is no pain. BCGM Dict I, 371.



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[movements in the] vessels and pathological conditions. For example, if one has received cold because of cold beverages, with pain in the abdomen. When [the patient] drinks water he has palpitation below the heart, the urine fails to flow freely and the [movement in the] vessels is not frequent. Then this is a condition where there is no heat in the interior and huang qin must not be used. But if the heat causes [qi] recession and abdominal pain, with lung heat and blocked passage of urine, how could it be that huang qin is not resorted to? Hence to carefully read the texts requires first to approach their underlying principles and not to strictly cling to the written words. Formerly there was a person who habitually had a passion for wine. He fell ill with unbearable twisting pains in the abdomen. His urine dripped and all medication remained without effect. Eventually he resorted to a decoction of the three substances huang qin, akebia [herb] and glycyrrhiza [root] and [the disease] ended. Wang Haicang states: “Someone, because of a condition of depletion, ingested much aconitum [accessory tuber] and fell ill with a blocked urination. He ingested [huang] qin and coptis [rhizome] and was cured.” All these are pains associated with a heat recession. Why should learned persons not be flexible? When I myself was 20 years old, because of an affection by the malicious I suffered from cough for a long time. Also, I violated the rules [of an appropriate therapy] and eventually suffered from bone steaming331 and heat effusion. My skin was like a blazing fire. Each time the phlegm I threw up filled more than a bowl. This was during the hot summer months. I felt vexation and thirst, and I could neither sleep nor eat. The [movements in the] six vessels were floating and vast. I ingested all medication such as bupleurum [root], ophiopogon [tuber] and schizonepeta sap, but [the disease] became more serious month after month. Everybody thought I was going to die. Then my father thought of Li Dongyuan’s therapy for lung heat resembling blazing fire, associated with restlessness, thirst and a peak during daytime indicating heat in the qi section. [He recommended as] suitable a decoction with huang qin as its sole ingredient; it was to drain the fire from the qi section of the lung conduits. According to the recipe, one liang of flat [huang] qin was boiled in two zhong of water down to one zhong, and [I] ingested this all at once. The next day, the body heat had completely disappeared. Phlegm and cough had been cured. When a medication is aimed at the heart of the matter, [its effects will follow as promptly as] a drum reacts to the drumstick. This is an example of the wondrous [abilities] of medicine.

331 Gu zheng 骨蒸, “bone steaming,” ① a condition of an infectious consumptive disease with a development of vexing heat in the afternoon. ② An illness sign of heat and vexation with a feeling as if this originated in the bones. BCGM Dict I, 197.

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The Ben Cao Gang Mu 【附方】舊三，新一十四。 Added Recipes. Three of old. 14 newly [recorded].

三黄丸。孫思邈千金方云：巴郡太守奏，加减三黄丸療男子五癆七傷，消 渴， 不生肌肉， 婦人帶下， 手足寒熱， 瀉五臟火。春三月， 黄芩四兩， 大黄三兩， 黄連四兩； 夏三月， 黄芩六兩， 大黄一兩， 黄連七兩； 秋三 月，黄芩六兩，大黄三兩，黄連三兩；冬三月，黄芩三兩，大黄五兩， 黄連二兩。三物隨時合擣下篩 ， 蜜丸烏豆大。米飲每服五丸 ， 日三。不 知，增至七丸。服一月病愈，久服走及奔馬，人用有驗。禁食豬肉。圖經 本草。 The “pills with three [ingredients with the character huang] ‚yellow‘ [in their name].” 332 Sun Simiao in his Qian jin fang states: “The governor of Ba jun sent a memorial to the Emperor stating that the ‚pills with three [ingredients with the character huang] ‘yellow’ [in their name, with their ingredients] increased or decreased [in accordance with individual requirements]‘ serve to heal the five types of exhaustion and seven types of harm of males, melting with thirst,333 failure to grow muscles and flesh, women’s [diseases] below the belt, and [alternating sensations of ] cold and heat of hands and feet, as they are able to drain the fire of the five long-term depots. [The recipe is to be prepared in the course of the seasons differently as follows.] During the three months of spring: four liang of huang qin, three liang of rhubarb root, four liang of coptis [rhizome]. During the three months of summer: six liang of huang qin, one liang of rhubarb root, seven liang of coptis [rhizome]. During the three months of fall: six liang of huang qin, three liang of rhubarb root, three liang of coptis [rhizome]. During the three months of winter: three liang of huang qin, five liang of rhubarb root, two liang of coptis [rhizome]. When they are required, the three substances are to be pounded and passed through a sieve, to be prepared with honey to pills the size of black beans. Each time ingest with a rice beverage five pills, three times a day. If there is no effect, increase the dose to seven pills. To ingest [this medication] for a month will result in a cure of the disease. If it is ingested for a long time you will run fast enough to catch up with a galloping horse. The people have applied [this medication] and it proved to have these effects. [During such a therapy] a consumption of pork is forbidden.” Tu jing ben cao. 三補丸。治上焦積熱，瀉五臟火。黄芩、黄連、黄蘗等分，爲末，蒸餅丸 梧子大，每白湯下二三十丸。丹溪纂要。 332 These are xiong huang 雄黄, realgar; ci huang 雌黄, orpiment, liu huang 硫磺, sulphur.

333 Xiao ke 消渴, “melting with thirst,” most likely including cases of diabetes. BCGM Dict Vol I, 567.



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The “pills for triple supplementation.” They serve to cure heat accumulation in the upper [section of the Triple] Burner. They drain the fire of the five long-term depots. [Grind] equal amounts of huang qin, coptis [rhizome] and phellodendron bark to powder and form with steam cakes pills the size of wu seeds. Each time send down with clear, boiled water 20 to 30 pills. Danxi zuan yao. 肺中有火。清金丸 ： 用片芩炒爲末 ， 水丸梧子大。每服二三十丸 ， 白湯 下。同上。 Fire in the lung. The “pills to cool the metal.” [Grind] flat [huang] qin to powder and form with water pills the size of wu seeds. Each time ingest 20 to 30 pills, to be sent down with clear, boiled water. [Source] identical with the one above. 膚熱如燎。方見發明下。 The skin is hot like a blazing fire. For a recipe, see unter “Explication.” 小兒驚啼。黄芩、人參等分，爲末。每服一字，水飲下。普濟方。 Wailing of children because of fright. [Grind] equal amounts of huang qin and ginseng [root] to powder. Each time [let the child] ingest one zi, to be sent down with a water beverage. Pu ji fang. 肝熱生翳，不拘大人小兒。黄芩一兩，淡豉三兩，爲末。每服三錢，以熟 豬肝裹喫，温湯送下，日二服。忌酒麪。衞生家寶方。 A shade grows [in the eyes] because of liver heat, regardless of whether adults are concerned or children. [Grind] one liang of huang qin and three liang of bland [soybean] relish to powder. Each time ingest three qian to be eaten wrapped in cooked pork liver and to be sent down with warm boiled water. To be ingested twice a day. [During such a therapy,] wine and noodles are to be avoided. Wei sheng jia bao fang. 少陽頭痛。亦治太陽頭痛，不拘偏正。小清空膏：用片黄芩酒浸透，晒乾 爲末。每服一錢，茶酒任下。東垣蘭室秘藏。 Headache associated with the minor yang [conduits]. It also serves to cure headache associated with the major yang [conduits], regardless of whether this is a lateral or ordinary [headache]. The “minor paste to cool a hollow space.” Thoroughly soak flat huang qin in wine. Dry it in the sun and [grind it to] powder. Each time ingest one qian, to be sent down with tea or wine, just as you wish. [Li] Dongyuan, Lan shi mi cang. 眉眶作痛，風熱有痰。黄芩酒浸、白芷等分，爲末。每服二錢，茶下。潔 古家珍。

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Painful eyebrow ridge, associated with wind and heat and phlegm. [Grind] equal amounts of huang qin, soaked in wine, and angelica dahurica [root] to powder. Each time ingest two qian, to be sent down with tea. Jiegu jia zhen. 吐血衄血。或發或止，積熱所致。黄芩一兩，去中心黑朽者，爲末。每服 三錢，水一盞，煎六分，和滓温服。聖惠方。 Blood spitting and nosebleed, with alternating outbreaks and periods of rest, caused by heat accumulation. [Grind] one liang of huang qin, with the black and rotten parts in its core discarded, to powder. Each time ingest three qian. They are to be boiled in one bowl of water down to 60%. This is to be ingested warm with the dregs. Sheng hui fang. 吐衄下血。黄芩三兩 ， 水三升 ， 煎一升半 ， 每温服一琖。亦治婦人漏下 血。龐安時總病論。 Blood spitting. Discharge of blood. Boil three liang of huang qin in three sheng of water down to one and a half sheng. Each time ingest warm the amount held by one wine cup. It also serves to cure leaking discharge of blood of women. Pan Anshi, Zong bing lun. 血淋熱痛。黄芩一兩，水煎熱服。千金方。 Painful [urinary] dripping with blood, with heat. Boil one liang of huang qin in water and ingest this hot. Qian jin fang.334 經水不斷。芩心丸：治婦人四十九歲已後，天癸當住，每月却行，或過多 不止。用條芩心二兩 ， 米醋浸七日 ， 炙乾又浸 ， 如此七次 ， 爲末 ， 醋糊 丸梧子大。每服七十丸，空心温酒下，日二次。瑞竹堂方。 Unending menstruation. The “pills with [huang] qin core.” They serve to cure women who have passed the age of 49 years when their menstruation should have ended, but continues every month. Or, excessive, unending menstruation. Soak two liang of the core of tiao [huang] qin in rice vinegar for seven days. Then roast it until it is dry and soak it again. Do this seven times and eventually [grind it to] powder. With vinegar prepare a paste and form pills the size of wu seeds. Each time ingest 70 pills, to be sent down with warm wine on an empty stomach. Twice a day. Rui zhu tang fang. 崩中下血。黄芩爲細末，每服一錢，霹靂酒下。以秤錘燒赤，淬酒中也。 許學士云：崩中多用止血及補血藥。此方乃治陽乘於陰，所謂天暑地熱， 經水沸溢者也。本事方。 334 This recipe is quoted from ch. 19, lin bing 淋病, “urinary dripping disease,” of Qian jin yi fang 千金翼方. Hence the character yi 翼 may have been erroneously omitted here.



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Collapsing center335 with blood discharge. [Grind] huang qin to fine powder. Each time ingest one qian, to be sent down with “thunderbolt wine.” [“Thunderbolt wine” is made] by dipping a steelyard weight, heated until it has turned red, into wine. Scholar Xu states: For collapsing center often medication is used that serves to stop bleeding and to supplement blood. The present recipe cures a situation where yang [qi] have availed themselves of a yin [depletion]. This is the so called “heaven’s hot weather and the earth’s heat cause menstruation to boil and overflow.” Ben shi fang. 安胎清熱。條芩、白术等分，炒爲末，米飲和丸梧子大。每服五十丸，白 湯下。或加神麴。凡妊娠調理，以四物去地黄，加白术、黄芩爲末，常服 甚良。丹溪纂要。 To pacify a fetus and cool heat. Fry equal amounts of tiao [huang] qin and atractylodes [rhizome] and [grind them to] powder. With a rice beverage form pills the size of wu seeds. Each time ingest 50 pills. To be sent down with clear, boiled water. Or add some medicated leaven. For all approaches to regulate a pregnancy, use the “[decoction with] four items”336 but omit the Chinese foxglove [rhizome]. Add atractylodes [rhizome] and huang qin, and [grind this to] powder. If this is ingested continuously, it will be very good. Danxi zuan yao. 産後血渴 ， 飲水不止。黄芩、麥門冬等分 ， 水煎温服 ， 無時。楊氏家藏 方。 Bleeding after birth with thirst and an unending quest for water. Boil equal amounts of huang qin and ophiopogon [tuber] in water and [let the woman] ingest this warm. Any time. Yang shi jia cang fang. 灸瘡血出。一人灸火至五壯，血出不止如尿，手冷欲絶。以酒炒黄芩二錢 爲末，酒服即止。李樓怪證奇方。 Bleeding sores resulting from cauterization therapy. Someone was cauterized at five locations. Blood came out [of these sores] without end, as if he were passing urine. His hands were cold and [the flow of his qi] was about to be interrupted. [He was given] two qian of huang qin, roasted in wine and ground to powder. He ingested this with wine and [the bleeding] ended. Li Lou, Guai zheng qi fang. 老小火丹。黄芩末，水調塗之。梅師方。

335 Beng zhong 崩中, “collapsing center,” excessive vaginal bleeding outside of a menstruation period. BCGM Dict I, 58.

336 Ingredients include paeonia root, Chinese foxglove rhizome, Chinese angelica root and ligusticum root.

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Fire cinnabar337 affecting old and yang [persons alike]. Mix huang qin powder with water and apply this [to the affected region]. Mei shi fang. 13-03-03 子。Zi. Seed [of huang qin]. 【主治】腸澼膿血。别録。 Control. Intestinal flush with pus and blood. Bie lu. 13-04 秦艽音交本經中品 Qin jiao, read jiao. Ben jing, middle rank. Gentiana macrophylla Pall. Large gentiana [root].

【釋名】秦糺唐本、秦爪蕭炳。【恭曰】秦艽俗作秦膠，本名秦糺，與糾 同。【時珍曰】秦艽出秦中，以根作羅紋交糾者佳，故名秦艽、秦糺。 Explanation of Names. Qin jiu 秦糺, Tang ben. Qin zhua 秦爪, Xiao bing. [Su] Gong: Qin jiu 秦艽 is commonly written qin jiao 秦膠. The original name is qin jiu 秦糺, [the latter character] identical with jiu 糾.[Li] Shizhen: Qin jiao comes from Qin zhong. Those are fine that have roots intertwining, jiao jiu 交糾, like a net. Hence the names qin jiu 秦艽 and qin jiu 秦糺. 【集解】【别録曰】秦艽生飛鳥山谷，二月八月采根，暴乾。【弘景曰】 今出甘松、龍洞、蠶陵 ， 以根作羅紋相交 ， 長大黄白色者爲佳。中多銜 土， 用宜破去。【恭曰】今出涇州、鄜州、岐州者良。【頌曰】今河、陝 州郡多有之。其根土黄色而相交糾，長一尺以來，粗細不等。枝幹高五六 寸。葉婆娑，連莖梗俱青色，如萵苣葉。六月中開花紫色，似葛花，當月 結子。每於春秋采根，陰乾。 Collected Explanations. Bie lu: Qin jiao grows in the valleys of Mount Fei niao shan. It is collected in the second and the eighth month. It is dried in the sun. [Tao] Hongjing: Today it comes from Gan song, Long dong, and Can ling. Those are fine that have long, massive roots of a yellow-white color that intertwine forming a net. They often have soil inside. To make use of them, they are to be broken open so that [the soil] can be removed. [Su] Song: Today large quantities are found in the zhou and prefectures of Shaan. Their roots are of a soil-yellow color, and they are intertwined. They are about one chi long. Some are crude, others are fine. The 337 Huo dan 火丹, “fire cinnabar,” a condition of dan du 丹毒, “cinnabar-red poison,” displaying a color like fire that rushes through the skin, spreading with great speed. BCGM Dict I. 232.



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stem reaches a height of five to six cun. The leaves whirl [in the air] like dancing; the stalks linking them [to the stem] are all of greenish color. This is similar to the leaves of garden lettuce. In the sixth month flowers of a purple color open, similar to those of pueraria [herb]. Seeds form in the same month. The root is always collected in spring and autumn. It is dried in the shade. 13-04-01 根。Gen. Root [of qin jiao].

【修治】【斅曰】秦艽須於脚文處認取。左文列爲秦 ， 治疾 ； 右文列爲 艽，即發脚氣。凡用秦，以布拭去黄白毛，乃用還元湯浸一宿，日乾用。 【時珍曰】秦艽但以左文者爲良，分秦與艽爲二名，謬矣。 Pharmaceutical Preparation. [Lei] Xiao: The root of qin jiao is to be used in accordance with the location of a recognizable line design. If the arrangement is toward the left, this is qin, and it serves to cure illnesses. If it is toward the right, this is jiao, and it may cause leg qi.338 For all applications of qin [jiao] remove the yellow-white hair with a piece of cloth. Then soak it in a “decoction that lets the original [qi] return” (i.e., human urine) for one night. After it has been dried in the sun, it may be used. [Li] Shizhen: Only qin jiu with a left-winding line pattern is good. It is wrong to distinguish between qin 秦 and jiao 艽 as if these were the names of two [different items]. 【氣味】苦，平，無毒。【别録曰】辛，微温。【大明曰】苦，冷。【元 素曰】氣微温 ， 味苦、辛 ， 陰中微陽 ， 可升可降 ， 入手陽明經。【之才 曰】菖蒲爲之使，畏牛乳。 Qi and Flavor. Bitter, balanced, nonpoisonous. Bie lu: Acrid, slightly warm. Da Ming: Bitter, cold. [Zhang] Yuansu: Its qi are slightly warm. Its flavor is bitter and acrid. It is a slight yang in yin [substance]. It can rise and it can descend. It enters the hand yang brilliance conduits. [Xu] Zhicai: Acorus [root] serves as its guiding substance. [If ingested together,] it fears cow‘s milk. 【主治】寒熱邪氣 ， 寒濕風痺 ， 肢節痛 ， 下水 ， 利小便。本經。療風 ， 無問久新，通身攣急。别録。傳尸骨蒸，治疳及時氣。大明。牛乳點服， 利大小便，療酒黄黄疸，解酒毒，去頭風。甄權。除陽明風濕，及手足不 遂，口噤，牙痛口瘡，腸風瀉血，養血榮筋。元素。泄熱益膽氣。好古。 治胃熱，虚勞發熱。時珍。 Control. Alternating cold and heat sensations caused by evil qi. Blockage caused by cold, moisture and wind [intrusion]. Painful joints of the extremities. It causes 338 Jiao qi 脚氣, “leg qi.” Painful, weak, swollen legs. BCGM Dict I, 248.

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the discharge of water. It frees the flow of urine. Ben jing. It heals wind, regardless of whether [such a disease] has lasted for long or was acquired recently, with the entire body suffering from contraction and tension. Bie lu. Corpse [evil] transmission339 and bone steaming. 340 It serves to cure gan-illness341 and [epidemic] seasonal qi. Da Ming. If ingested dripped into cow’s milk, it frees the passage of major [i. e., defecation] and minor [i. e., urination] relief. It heals jaundice caused by wine and yellow dan-illness/jaundice. It resolves the poison of wine and eliminates head wind.342 Zhen Quan. It eliminates wind and moisture from the yang brilliance [conduits], and [serves to cure a condition] when the hands and feet no longer follow one’s will, [also] lockjaw, toothache and oral sores, intestinal wind and outflow of blood. It nourishes the blood and supports the sinews. [Zhang] Yuansu. It drains heat and boosts the gallbladder qi. [Wang] Haogu. It serves to cure stomach heat, and depletion exhaustion with the effusion of heat. [Li] Shizhen. 【發明】【時珍曰】秦艽，手足陽明經藥也，兼入肝膽，故手足不遂，黄 疸煩渴之病須之，取其去陽明之濕熱也。陽明有濕，則身體酸疼煩熱；有 熱，則日晡潮熱骨蒸。所以聖惠方治急勞煩熱，身體酸疼，用秦艽、柴胡 各一兩 ， 甘草五錢 ， 爲末 ， 每服三錢 ， 白湯調下。治小兒骨蒸潮熱 ， 减 食瘦弱，用秦艽、炙甘草各一兩，每用一二錢，水煎服之。錢乙加薄荷葉 五錢。 Explication. [Li] Shizhen: Qin jiao is a pharmaceutical substance active in the hand and foot yang brilliance conduits. It simultaenously enters the liver and the gallbladder. Hence its application is required when hands and feet do no long follow one’s will and in the case of yellow dan-illness/jaundice, vexation and thirst, because one makes use of its potential to eliminate moisture and heat from the yang brilliance [conduits]. When there is moisture in the yang brilliance [conduits], the entire body feels sour and painful, with vexation and heat. When there is heat [in the yang brilliance conduits, patients will suffer from] heat waves in the late after-

339 Chuan shi 傳尸, “corpse [evil] transmission. An infectious consumptive disease. BCGM Dict I, 97.

340 Gu zheng 骨蒸, “bone steaming,” (1) a pathological condition of an infectious consumptive disease with a development of vexing heat in the afternoon. (2) An illness sign of heat and vexation with a feeling as if this originated in the bones. BCGM Dict I, 197.

341 Gan 疳, “gan-illness,” also: “sweets-illness,” involves several complaints that affect children and adults, with causes and conditions too different to fall into a known disease category. BCGM Dict I, 180-188.

342 Tou feng 頭風, “head wind.” Condition of wind evil attacking the head followed by pain, dizziness, itching. BCGM Dict I, 509.



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noon and bone steaming.343 This is why the Sheng hui fang [recommends to] cure [bodily] tension, exhaustion, vexation and heat, when the entire body suffers from sour pain, to [grind to] powder one liang each of qin jiao and bupleurum [root] and five qian of glycyrrhiza [root]. [Patients are advised] each time to ingest three qian, to be sent down mixed with clear, boiled water. To cure bone steaming and heat waves affecting children, with insufficient eating and emaciation, [the Sheng hui fang recommends to] apply one liang each of qin jiao and roasted glycyrrhiza [root]. For each [application] one or two qian are to be boiled in water which is then to be ingested. Qian Yi adds five qian of mint leaves. 【附方】舊五，新六。 Added Recipes. Five of old. Six newly [recorded]. 五種黄疸。崔元亮海上方云：凡黄有數種。傷酒發黄，誤食鼠糞亦作黄。 因勞發黄，多痰涕，目有赤脉，益憔悴，或面赤惡心者是也。用秦艽一大 兩，剉作兩帖。每帖用酒半升，浸絞取汁，空腹服，或利便止。就中飲酒 人易治，屢用得力。 The five types of yellow dan-illness/jaundice. Cui Yuanliang in his Hai shang fang states: There are many types of jaundice. Harm caused by wine may cause jaundice. Mistakenly eating mouse/rat droppings also causes jaundice. Jaundice caused by exhaustion is associated with much phlegm and snivel, and red vessels in the eyes. [Patients] look increasingly haggard and distressed. In some cases their face is red and they suffer from nausea. Cut a generous liang of qin jiao into pieces and divide them into two portions. Each portion is soaked in half a sheng of wine. [The roots are] squeezed to obtain the juice. This is ingested on an empty stomach. If this results in free-flow of [defecation/urination] relief, [the ingestion] is to be stopped. It offers an easy cure to persons struck by drinking wine. It has often been applied and was always helpful. 貞元廣利方治黄病内外皆黄，小便赤，心煩口乾者。以秦艽三兩，牛乳一 大升，煮取七合，分温再服。此方出於許仁則。又孫真人方加芒硝六錢。 The Zhen yuan guang li fang cures jaundice disease with inside and outside all turning yellow, urine assuming a red color, heart vexation and dry mouth as follows. Three liang of qin jiao are boiled in one generous sheng of cow’s milk down to seven ge. Ingest this warm divided into two portions. This recipe originates from Xu Renze. The Sun zhenren fang adds six qian of mirabilite.

343 Gu zheng 骨蒸, “bone steaming,” ① a condition of an infectious consumptive disease with a development of vexing heat in the afternoon. ② An illness sign of heat and vexation with a feeling as if this originated in the bones. BCGM Dict I, 197.

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暴瀉引飲。秦艽二兩，甘草炙半兩。每服三錢，水煎服。聖惠方。 Sudden outflow with a desire to drink. For each ingestion boil two liang of qin jiao and half a liang of roasted glycyrrhiza [root] in water and ingest this. Sheng hui fang. 傷寒煩渴，心神躁熱。用秦艽一兩，牛乳一大盞，煎六分，分作二服。太 平聖惠方。 Harm caused by cold with vexation and thirst, and a restlessness of the heart spirit, as well as heat. Boil one liang of qin jiao in one large bowl of cow’s milk down to 60% and ingest this divided into two portions. Tai ping sheng hui fang. 急勞煩熱。方見發明下。 Tension, exhaustion, vexation, and heat. For recipes, see under “Explication.” 小兒骨蒸。同上。 Bone steaming344 of children. [Recipe] identical with the one above. 小便艱難， 或轉胞， 腹滿悶， 不急療， 殺人。用秦艽一兩， 水一盞， 煎 六分，分作二服。 Difficult urination. In some cases the bladder is contorted and the abdomen feels filled with heart-pressure. If this is not healed immediately, that person will be killed. Boil one liang of qin jiao in one bowl of water down to 60% and ingest this in two portions. 又方：加冬葵子等分，爲末，酒服一匕。聖惠方。 Another recipe. Add an equal amount of mallow seeds, [grind this to] powder and ingest with wine [the amount held by] one spoon. Sheng hui fang. 胎動不安。秦艽、甘草炙、鹿角膠炒，各半兩，爲末。每服三錢，水一大 盞，糯米五十粒，煎服。 A fetus moves and fails to calm down. [Grind] half a liang each of qin jiao, roasted glycyrrhiza [root] and deer horn glue to powder. Each time ingest three qian. Ingest them boiled in one large bowl of water together with 50 grains of polished glutinous rice. 又方：秦艽、阿膠炒、艾葉等分，如上煎服。聖惠方。 Another recipe. Boil equal amounts of qin jiao, fried donkey hide glue and common mugwort leaves in the same manner as outlined above and [let the woman] ingest this. Sheng hui fang. 344 Gu zheng 骨蒸, “bone steaming,” ① a condition of an infectious consumptive disease with a development of vexing heat in the afternoon. ② An illness sign of heat and vexation with a feeling as if this originated in the bones. BCGM Dict I, 197.



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發背初起疑似者。便以秦艽、牛乳煎服，得快利三五行，即愈。崔元亮海 上集驗方。 Effusion on the back, or an indication that it is in its early stage. Simply ingest qin jiao boiled in cow’s milk. This will soon result in three to five bowel movements, and this is the cure. Cui Yuanliang, Hai shang ji yan fang. 瘡口不合。一切皆治。秦艽爲末摻之。直指方。 Oral sores that fail to close. This will cure all such [cases]. Apply qin jiao powder to [the affected region]. Zhi zhi fang. 13-05 茈胡本經上品 Chai hu, FE Ben jing, upper rank. Bupleurum falcatum L. Sickle-leaved hare’s ear. 【釋名】地薰本經、芸蒿别録、山菜吴普、茹草吴普。【恭曰】茈是古柴 字。上林賦云茈薑及爾雅云茈草， 並作此”茈”字。此草根紫色， 今太常用 茈胡是也。又以木代 ， 系相承呼爲柴胡。且檢諸本草無名此者。【時珍 曰】茈字有柴、紫二音。茈薑、茈草之茈皆音紫， 茈胡之茈音柴。茈胡生 山中，嫩則可茹，老則采而爲柴，故苗有芸蒿、山菜、茹草之名，而根名 柴胡也。蘇恭之説殊欠明。古本張仲景傷寒論尚作茈字也。 Explanation of Names. Di xun 地薰, “ground fragrance,” Ben jing. Yun hao 芸蒿, Bie lu. Shan cai 山菜, “mountain vegetable,” Wu Pu. Ru cao 茹草, Wu Pu. [Su] Gong: Ci 茈 is the ancient writing of chai 柴. When the Shang lin fu speaks of ci jiang 茈薑, and the Er ya speaks of ci zao 茈草, they always use the character ci 茈. The root of this herb is of purple, zi 紫, color. It is today’s commonly used ci hu 茈胡. Then [the radical cao 屮屮] was replaced by [the radical] mu 木 und ever since it was called chai hu 柴胡. [I have] examined all ben cao works, but this name is used nowhere. [Li] Shizhen: The character 茈 may be read chai 柴 and zi 紫. The 茈 in zi jiang 茈 薑 and zi cao 茈草 is always read zi 紫, while the 茈 in chai hu 茈胡 is read chai 柴. Chai hu 茈胡 grows in the mountains. As long as it is tender, it can be eaten as a vegetable, ru 茹. When it is old, it is collected to serve as firewood, chai 柴. Hence the seedlings are called yun hao 芸蒿, shan cai 山菜 and ru cao 茹草, while the root is called chai hu 柴胡. Su Gong’s statement is not clear on this. The ancient versions of Zhang Zhongjing’s Shang han lun still have the character ci 茈. 【集解】【别録曰】茈胡葉名芸蒿 ， 辛香可食 ， 生弘農川谷及冤句 ， 二 月、八月采根，暴乾。【弘景曰】今出近道，狀如前胡而强。博物志云： 芸蒿葉似邪蒿，春秋有白蒻，長四五寸，香美可食，長安及河内並有之。

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【恭曰】傷寒大小柴胡湯，爲痰氣之要。若以芸蒿根爲之，大謬矣。【頌 曰】今關陝、江湖間近道皆有之， 以銀州者爲勝。二月生苗甚香。莖青紫 堅硬 ， 微有細線。葉似竹葉而稍緊小 ， 亦有似斜蒿者 ， 亦有似麥門冬葉 而短者。七月開黄花。根淡赤色，似前胡而强。生丹州者結青子，與他處 者不類。其根似蘆頭，有赤毛如鼠尾，獨窠長者好。【斅曰】茈胡出在平 州 平縣，即今銀州 銀縣也。西畔生處，多有白鶴、緑鶴于此飛翔，是茈 胡香直上雲間，若有過往聞者，皆氣爽也。【承曰】柴胡以銀夏者最良， 根如鼠尾，長一二尺，香味甚佳。今圖經所載，俗不識其真，市人以同、 華者代之 ， 然亦勝於他處者。蓋銀夏地方多沙 ， 同、華亦沙苑所出也。 【機曰】解散用北柴胡， 虚熱用海陽軟柴胡爲良。【時珍曰】銀州即今延 安府 神木縣，五原城是其廢蹟。所産柴胡長尺餘而微白且軟，不易得也。 北地所産者，亦如前胡而軟，今人謂之北柴胡是也，入藥亦良。南土所産 者，不似前胡，正如蒿根，强硬不堪使用。其苗有如韭葉者、竹葉者，以 竹葉者爲勝。其如邪蒿者最下也。按夏小正 月令云：仲春芸始生。倉頡解 詁云 ： 芸 ， 蒿也。似邪蒿 ， 可食。亦柴胡之類 ， 入藥不甚良 ， 故蘇恭以 爲非柴胡云。近時有一種，根似桔梗、沙參，白色而大，市人以僞充銀柴 胡，殊無氣味，不可不辨。 Collected Explanations. Bie lu: Chai hu leaves are called yun hao 芸蒿. They are acrid, fragrant and edible. They grow in the river valleys of Hong nong, and in Yuan ju. Their roots are collected in the second and eighth month. They are dried in the sun. [Tao] Hongjing: Today they come from nearby places. They are shaped like peucedanum [roots], but are sturdier. The Bo wu zhi states: “The leaves of yun hao resemble those of libanotis [herb]. In spring and autumn they have white [roots like] rushes. They reach a length of four to five cun. They are fragrant and delicious; they are edible. They are present in both Chang an and He nei.” [Su] Gong: The major and the minor decoctions with chai hu345 for harm caused by cold are important [medications] for phlegm qi. If they were prepared with yun hao root, that would be a grave mistake. [Su] Song: Today they are present in places near the region between Guan shaan and Jiang hu. Those from Yin zhou are best. In the second month [the herb] develops very fragrant seedlings. The stem is greenish-purple, hard and solid, with some fine threads. The leaves resemble those of bamboo, but are a little smaller. There are also those with leaves resembling those of ophiopogon [herbs], but are shorter. In the seventh month they open yellow flowers. The root is of a pale-red color. It resembles peucedanum [roots], but is sturdier. Those growing 345 The “major decoction with chai hu” has the following ingredients: chai hu, scutellaria root, rhubarb rhizome, unripe bitter orange, pinellia tuber, white paeonia root, fresh ginger, and Chinese date. The “minor decoction with chai hu” has the following ingredients: chai hu, scutellaria root, ginseng root, pinellia tuber, prepared glycyrrhiza root, fresh ginger, and Chinese date.



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in Dan zhou, they form greenish seeds. They differ from those from other places. Their root resembles the tip of reed. It has red hair, like the tail of a mouse/rat. Those with a long [root consisting of ] only one single stalk are good. [Lei] Xiao: Ci hu comes from Ping zhou and Ping xian; these are today’s Yin zhou and Yin xian. At the places where they grow on the Western banks, there are many white and green cranes. They fly circling above this region where the fragrance of ci hu ascends into the clouds. It appears as if [the cranes] came to smell all these pleasant qi. [Chen] Cheng: The best chai hu are those from Yin xia. The root resembles the tail of a mouse/rat. It is one to two chi long, and its fragrant smell is very fine. Based on the record in today’s Tu jing, the genuine ware is commonly not recognized. The vendors on the market replace it with ware from Tong and Hua. But [these specimens] are still better than those from other places. The fact is, the region of Yin xia has much sand. [The roots] coming from Tong and Hua also grow in sandy gardens. [Wang] Ji. To resolve and disperse one resorts to chai hu. For depletion heat tender chai hu [roots] from Hai yang are good. [Li] Shizhen: Yin zhou is today’s Shen mu xian in Yan an fu. Its remains are found in Wu yuan cheng. The chai hu [root] grown there is more than a chi long and of a pale white color; it is tender. It is not easily obtainable. Those from the northern regions, they also resemble those of peucedanum, but are softer. They are the ones called by the people “northern chai hu” today. They, too, are good medication. [The roots of ] those grown in southern soil do not resemble those of peucedanum. They are like the roots of common mugwort. They are sturdy and solid, and are not suited for [therapeutic] use. The seedlings of some have leaves resembling those of Chinese leek and others resembling those of bamboo leaves. Those with bamboo leaves are best. Those resembling libanotis [herb] are of lowest rank. According to the Monthly Ordinances from the Small Calendar of Xia, “Yun 芸 begins to grow in the middle period of spring.” The Cang Jie jie gu states: “Yun 芸 is hao 蒿. It resembles xie hao 邪蒿, libanotis [herb], and is edible. It is of the same group as chai hu, but does not lend itself very well for therapeutic application.” This is why Su Gong states that it is not [genuine] chai hu. Today there is a variety with a white and big root resembling those of platycodon [herb] and adenophora stricta [herb]. The vendors on the market sell them as fake Yin [zhou] chai hu [roots], but they lack qi and flavor. It is essential to distinguish [between genuine and fake specimens].

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13-05-01 根。Gen. Root [of chai hu].

【修治】【斅曰】凡采得銀州柴胡，去鬚及頭，用銀刀削去赤薄皮少許， 以粗布拭净，剉用。勿令犯火，立便無效也。 Pharmaceutical Preparation. [Lei] Xiao: Whenever chai hu collected in Yin zhou is obtained, the hair and the tip [of the root] are to be removed. Then scratch off, with a silver knife, a little of the red, thin skin and rub it clean with a coarse cloth. Chop it and use it. Do not allow it to be offended by fire. It would be ineffective immediately. 【氣味】苦，平，無毒。【别録曰】微寒。【普曰】神農、岐伯、雷公： 苦 ， 無毒。【大明曰】甘。【元素曰】氣味俱輕 ， 陽也 ， 升也 ， 少陽經 藥 ， 引胃氣上升。苦寒以發散表熱。【杲曰】升也 ， 陰中之陽 ， 手足少 陽、厥陰四經引經藥也。在臟主血，在經主氣。欲上升則用根，以酒浸。 欲中及下降則用稍。【之才曰】半夏爲之使 ， 惡皂莢 ， 畏女菀、藜蘆。 【時珍曰】行手足少陽，以黄芩爲佐；行手足厥陰，以黄連爲佐。 Qi and Flavor. Bitter, acrid, nonpoisonous. Bie lu: Slightly cold. [Wu] Pu: Shen nong, Qi Bo, Lei gong: Bitter, nonpoisonous. Da Ming: Sweet. [Zhang] Yuansu: Its qi and flavor are all light; it is a yang [substance]. It rises [in the body]. It is a pharmaceutical drug for the minor yang conduits. It leads stomach qi to rise. Its bitter [flavor] and cold [qi] effuse and disperse heat from the [body’s] outer regions. [Li] Gao: It rises. It is a yang in yin [substance]. It is a pharmaceutical drug for the four hand and foot minor yang and ceasing yin conduits. In the long-term depots it controls the blood. In the conduits it controls the qi. If one wishes it to rise, he resorts to the root soaked in wine. If one wishes it to act in the center and to descend, use the smaller [parts of the root]. [Xu] Zhicai: Pinellia [root] serves as its guiding substance. [Ingested together,] it abhors gleditsia [pods/seeds], and fears turczaninowia [root] and veratrum [root]. [Li] Shizhen: When it is supposed to move to the hand and foot minor yang [conduits], it is assisted by scutellaria [root]. When it is supposed to move to the hand and foot ceasing yin [conduits], it is assisted by coptis [rhizome]. 【主治】心腹腸胃中結氣，飲食積聚，寒熱邪氣，推陳致新。久服輕身， 明目益精。本經。除傷寒心下煩熱 ， 諸痰熱結實 ， 胸中邪氣 ， 五臟間遊 氣，大腸停積，水脹及濕痺拘攣，亦可作浴湯。别録。治熱勞骨節煩疼， 熱氣肩背疼痛 ， 勞乏羸瘦 ， 下氣消食 ， 宣暢氣血 ， 主時疾内外熱不解 ， 單煮服之良。甄權。補五勞七傷 ， 除煩止驚 ， 益氣力 ， 消痰止嗽 ， 潤心



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肺， 添精髓， 健忘。大明。除虚勞， 散肌熱， 去早辰潮熱， 寒熱往來， 膽癉，婦人産前産後諸熱，心下痞，胸脇痛。元素。治陽氣下陷，平肝膽 三焦包絡相火 ， 及頭痛眩運 ， 目昏赤痛障翳 ， 耳聾鳴 ， 諸瘧 ， 及肥氣寒 熱，婦人熱入血室，經水不調，小兒痘疹餘熱，五疳羸熱。時珍。 Control. Bound qi346 in heart, abdomen, intestines and stomach. Accumulations of beverages and food. Alternating sensations of cold and qi [resulting from an intrusion of ] evil qi. It pushes away what is old and lets arrive what is new. Ingested for a long time, it relieves the body of its weight. It clears the eyes and boosts the essence/sperm. Ben jing. It removes vexing heat from below the heart in association with harm caused by cold, all bound and solid accumulations of phlegm and heat, evil qi in the chest, qi roaming in between the five long-term depots, accumulations stagnating in the large intestine, water swelling and cramps and contractions resulting from blockages caused by moisture. It can also be used for a hot bath. Bie lu. It serves to cure heat exhaustion and vexing pain in the bone joints, heat qi causing pain in the shoulders and the back, as well as emaciation resulting from exhaustion and weariness. It discharges qi and dissolves food. It facilitates the passage of qi and blood. It controls inner and outer heat caused by seasonal ailments that have not been resolved. When it is boiled as a single substance and ingested, this is good. Zhen Quan. It supplements the five types of exhaustion and the seven types of harm. It eliminates vexation and ends fright. It boosts the strength of the qi. It dissolves phlegm and ends cough. It moistens the heart and the lung, increases essence/sperm and marrow, and acts against forgetfulness. Da Ming. It eliminates depletion exhaustion, disperses sinew heat, and removes heat waves early in the day. [It serves to cure] [alternating sensations of ] cold and heat, gallbladder solitary [heat-]illness, all types of heat of women prior to and following birth, obstacle-illness below the heart, and pain in chest and flanks. [Zhang] Yuansu. It serves to cure descending yang qi, and it levels the [qi] of liver, gallbladder, Triple Burner and [heart] enclosing network, and the minister fire. Also, [it serves to cure] headache with vertigo, eyes that are dizzy, red, painful and have screens and shades, sounds in the ears, all types of malaria. Also, fat qi347 and [alternating sensations of ] cold and heat, in women the intrusion of heat into the blood chamber, with irregular menstruation, in children surplus heat associated with smallpox macula, and the five types of gan-illness348 with emaciation and heat. [Li] Shizhen. 346 Jie qi 結氣, “bound qi,” 1.) an etiological agent of pathological qi halting and congealing at any place in the body. 2.) A condition brought forth by bound qi. BCGM Dict I, 240.

347 Fei qi 肥氣, “fat qi,” a condition of pathological ji ju 積聚, “accumulation and collection,” below the flanks brought forth by liver qi lumps. BCGM Dict I, 155.

348 Gan 疳, “gan-illness,” also: “sweets-illness,” involves several complaints that affect children and adults, with causes and conditions too different to fall into a known disease

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【發明】【之才曰】茈胡得桔梗、大黄、石膏、麻子仁、甘草、桂， 以水 一斗 ， 煮取四升 ， 入消石三方寸匕 ， 療傷寒寒熱頭痛 ， 心下煩滿。【頌 曰】張仲景治傷寒，有大小柴胡，及柴胡加龍骨、柴胡加芒消等湯，故後 人治寒熱，此爲最要之藥。【杲曰】能引清氣而行陽道，傷寒外，諸有熱 則加之，無熱則不加也。又能引胃氣上行，升騰而行春令者宜加之。又凡 諸瘧，以柴胡爲君，隨所發時所在經分，佐以引經之藥。十二經瘡疽中， 須用柴胡以散諸經血結氣聚， 功與連翹同也。【好古曰】柴胡能去臟腑内 外俱乏，既能引清氣上行而順陽道，又入足少陽。在經主氣，在臟主血。 前行則惡熱，却退則惡寒，惟氣之微寒，味之薄者，故能行經。若佐以三 稜、廣荗、巴豆之類，則能消堅積，是主血也。婦人經水適來適斷，傷寒 雜病 ， 易老俱用小柴胡湯 ， 加以四物之類 ， 并秦艽、牡丹皮輩 ， 爲調經 之劑。又言婦人産後血熱必用之藥也。【宗奭曰】柴胡， 本經並無一字治 勞，今人治勞方中鮮有不用者。嗚呼！凡此誤世甚多。嘗原病勞，有一種 其臟虚損，復受邪熱，因虚而致勞，故曰勞者牢也，當須斟酌用之。如經 驗方中治勞熱青蒿煎之用柴胡，正合宜爾，服之無不效，熱去即須急止。 若或無熱，得此愈甚，雖至死，人亦不怨，目擊甚多。日華子又謂補五勞 七傷 ， 藥性論亦謂治勞乏羸瘦。若此等病 ， 苟無實熱 ， 醫者執而用之 ， 不死何待 ？ 注釋本草 ， 一字亦不可忽。蓋萬世之後 ， 所誤無窮 ， 可不謹 哉？如張仲景治寒熱往來如瘧狀，用柴胡湯，正合其宜也。【時珍曰】勞 有五勞，病在五臟。若勞在肝、膽、心及包絡有熱，或少陽經寒熱者，則 柴胡乃手足厥陰、少陽必用之藥。勞在脾胃有熱，或陽氣下陷，則柴胡乃 引清氣、退熱必用之藥。惟勞在肺、腎者，不用可爾。然東垣 李氏言諸有 熱者宜加之，無熱則不加。又言諸經之瘧，皆以柴胡爲君。十二經瘡疽， 須用柴胡以散結聚。則是肺瘧、腎瘧，十二經之瘡，有熱者皆可用之矣。 但要用者精思病原，加减佐使可也。寇氏不分臟腑經絡有熱無熱，乃謂柴 胡不治勞乏 ， 一概擯斥 ， 殊非通論。如和劑局方治上下諸血 ， 龍腦雞蘇 丸，用銀柴胡浸汁熬膏之法，則世人知此意者鮮矣。按龐元英談藪云：張 知閣久病瘧，熱時如火，年餘骨立。醫用、附諸藥，熱益甚。召醫官孫琳 胗之。琳投小柴胡湯一帖，熱减十之九，三服脱然。琳曰：此名勞瘧，熱 從髓出，加以剛劑，氣血愈虧，安得不瘦？蓋熱有在皮膚、在臟腑、在骨 髓，非柴胡不可。若得銀柴胡，只須一服；南方者力减，故三服乃效也。 觀此則得用藥之妙的矣。寇氏之説，可盡憑乎。 Explication. [Xu] Zhicai: Chai hu boiled down to four sheng in one hu of water together with platycodon [root], rhubarb root, gypsum, hemp seeds, glycyrrhiza [root] and cassia, with the amount of nitrokalite held by a three square cun spoon added, heals [alternating sensations of ] cold and heat and headache associated with harm caused by cold, and a vexing feeling of fullness below the heart. [Su] Song: In his category. BCGM Dict I, 180-188.



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therapy of harm caused by cold, Zhang Zhongjing resorted to the major and the minor [decoction with] chai hu, and to decoctions of chai hu with dragon bones, as well as of chai hu with mirabilite. Hence, to people in later times, when they cured harm caused by cold these were the most essential medications. [Li] Gao: It can lead clear qi to move into the yang paths. Apart from harm caused by cold, for all types of heat [chai hu] is added. If no heat is present, it is not added. Also, it is able to lead stomach qi to move upward. When the order of spring lets [yang qi] vigorously ascend, it should be added. Furthermore, for all types of malaria, chai hu is the ruler [substance in a recipe]. It is to be assisted by conduit guiding pharmaceutical drugs as required by the location [of a disease] in a conduit in accordance to the time of its effusion. For sores caused by impediment-illness349 in any of the 12 conduits, chai hu is to be applied to disperse all types of conduit blood and of bound qi350 amassments. The potential is identical with that of forsythia [fruit]. [Wang] Haogu: Chai hu is able to remove from inside and outside of the long-term depots and short-term repositories all types of weariness, and it is able to guide clear qi to ascend and follow the yang paths. Also, it enters the foot minor yang [conduits]. In the conduits it controls the qi. In the long-term depots it controls the blood. When [a disease] progresses, [patients] abhor heat. When it retreats, [patients] abhor cold. Hence only [medications] with slightly cold qi and a weak flavor are able to pass through the conduits. When [chai hu root] is are assisted by [substances] such as sparganium [root], zedoary root, and croton [seeds], it is able to dissolve hard accumulations. This is its control of blood. For a woman whose menstruation at times comes and at times is interrupted, and for various diseases of harm caused by cold, Yi lao always uses the “minor decoction with chai hu.” If [substances of ] the group of the “[decoction with] four items”351 or [substances] such as gentian [root] and paeonia [root bark] are added, then these are preparations to regulate menstruation. It is also said that it is a pharmaceutical drug that must be used by women with blood heat following birth. [Kou] Zongshi: The Ben jing has not a single character devoted to chai hu’s ability to cure exhaustion. In the recipes of the people today aimed at curing exhaustion, it is rarely not resorted to. Alas! This has led to so much malpractice in the world! Given that the original disease was exhaustion, there is one type where a depletion injured long-term depot repeatedly has received evil 349 Ju 疽, “impediment-illness,” refers to an obstruction of vessels or other ducts inside the body. Qi rushing against the impediment may cause a local swelling and eventually break through the surface to cause an abscess. BCGM Dict I, 277.

350 Jie qi 結氣, “bound qi,” 1.) an etiological agent of pathological qi halting and congealing at any place in the body. 2.) A condition brought forth by bound qi. BCGM Dict I, 240.

351 Ingredients include paeonia root, Chinese foxglove [rhizome], Chinese angelica root and ligusticum root.

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heat. Because of the [already existing] depletion, this resulted in exhaustion. That is, lao 勞, “exhaustion,” is lao 牢, “distressed.” In such a situation, [chai hu] may be used only after careful consideration. The cure of exhaustion heat by means of an artemisia carvifolia decoction as recommended in the Jing yan fang is quite appropriate. Its ingestion is always effective. Once the heat is eliminated [the treatment] must be ended immediately. If it is ingested once there is no heat, [the original disease] will become more serious. But even if it ends in death, the people do not complain. I have witnessed very many [such cases]. Rihua zi says that it serves to supplement the five types of exhaustion and seven types of harm. The Yao xing lun, too, says that “it cures exhaustion, weariness, and emaciation.” If such diseases are not associated with a repletion heat and physicians nevertheless resort to [chai hu], how could it be that [patients] will not die? Of the commentaries in the ben cao works, not a single character must be ignored. Otherwise for ten thousand generations to come, innumerable errors will be committed. How can one not be careful! For example, when Zhang Zhongjing cures malaria-like [alternating sensations of ] cold and heat, he uses decoctions with chai hu in exactly the right way. [Li] Shizhen: There are five types of exhaustion; the disease is in the long-term depots. If an exhaustion is associated with heat in the liver, the gallbladder, the heart and the [heart] enclosing network, or if there is alternating cold and heat in the minor yang conduits, then chai hu is a pharmaceutical drug that must be used to approach the hand and foot ceasing yin and minor yang conduits. If an exhaustion is associated with heat in the spleen and the stomach, and if yang qi descend, then chai hu is a pharmaceutical drug that must be used to guide clear qi and push back the heat. Only in the case of exhaustion affecting lung and kidneys, it cannot be used. Still, Mr. Li Dongyuan says that “it is appropriate to add [chai hu to medication] for all cases with heat, and that it should be omitted if there is no heat.” He also says that “[in recipes] for all types of malaria in the conduits, chai hu should be the ruler [drug]. For sores resulting from impediment-illness352 affecting any of the 12 conduits, chai hu must be used to disperse collections of bound [qi]353.” That is, it can be used for all cases such as lung malaria and kidney malaria as well as sores related to the 12 conduits as long as they are associated with heat. However, if one intends to use [chai hu], it is essential to consider the origin of the disease and to decide which substance can be added or omitted, which serves as assistant and which as guide. Mr. Kou [Zongshi] does not distinguish whether there is heat or not in the long-term depots, the short352 Ju 疽, “impediment-illness,” refers to an obstruction of vessels or other ducts inside the body. Qi rushing against the impediment may cause a local swelling and eventually break through the surface to cause an abscess. BCGM Dict I, 277.

353 Jie qi 結氣, “bound qi,” 1.) an etiological agent of pathological qi halting and congealing at any place in the body. 2.) A condition brought forth by bound qi. BCGM Dict I, 240.



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term repositories, the conduits and the network [vessel]. He says that “chai hu does not cure exhaustion and weariness.” But this is to be rejected; it is certainly not a commonly accepted position. For example, when the He ji ju fang [recommends to] cure all types of blood [disorders] in the upper and lower sections [of the body], the “pills with borneol and Japanese betony” use chai hu from Yin [zhou] that has been soaked to prepare a juice that was then boiled to prepare a paste. Only a few people today are familiar with the underlying meaning of this method. According to Pan Yuanying’s Tan sou, “Zhang Zhige for a long time suffered from malaria. At times, his heat was hot like fire. After more than a year, he was emaciated to the bone. The physicians resorted to a stag’s pilose antlers and to aconitum accessory tubers, but the heat just got bigger. Eventually, the medical official Sun Lin was consulted to examine him. [Sun] Lin gave him a dose of a decoction with chai hu, and the heat decreased by 90%. After three ingestions [the patient] was free from all worries. [Sun] Lin: ‘This is called exhaustion-malaria. The heat comes out of the marrow. If violent preparations are added, qi and blood will increasingly be harmed. How could this not result in emaciation?!’ The fact is, when heat is in the skin, in the longterm depots and short-term repositories, and in the bone marrow, only chai hu can [help]. If one resorts to Yin [zhou] chai hu, only one ingestion is required. [Chai hu] from the South is weaker. Hence three ingestions are necessary to reach an effect.” This shows the wondrous potential of an [adequate] application of pharmaceutical drugs. What Mr. Kou [Zongshi] said is not entirely reliable. 【附方】舊一，新五。 Added Recipes. One of old. Five newly [recorded]. 傷寒餘熱。傷寒之後，邪入經絡，體瘦肌熱，推陳致新，解利傷寒時氣伏 暑 ， 倉卒並治 ， 不論長幼。柴胡四兩 ， 甘草一兩 ， 每服三錢 ， 水一盞煎 服。許學士本事方。 Remaining heat associated with harm caused by cold. When following a harm caused by cold evil [qi] enter the conduits and network [vessels], the body will lose weight and the muscles become hot. To push back the old and let the new arrive, to resolve harm caused by cold, seasonal [epidemic] qi and hidden summerheat, to cure all these different [ailments], regardless of [the patient’s] age, [the following recipe will help]. For each dose four liang of chai hu and one liang of glycyrrhiza [root] are boiled in one bowl of water and ingested. Xu xueshi, Ben shi fang.

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小兒骨熱。十五歲以下 ， 遍身如火 ， 日漸黄瘦 ， 盗汗欬嗽煩渴。柴胡四 兩 ， 丹砂三兩 ， 爲末 ， 豶豬膽汁拌和 ， 飯上蒸熟 ， 丸緑豆大。每服一 丸，桃仁、烏梅湯下，日三服。聖濟總録。 Bone heat of children aged 15 or younger. The entire body is hot like fire. Day after day they increasingly assume a yellow complexion and lose weight. They suffer from robber sweating,354 cough and vexing thirst. [Grind] four liang of chai hu and three liang of cinnabar to powder. Mix this with bile of a castrated pig, steam this above cooked rice until done, and form pills the size of mung beans. Each time ingest one pill, to be sent down with a decoction of peach kernels and smoked plums. To be ingested three times a day. Sheng ji zong lu. 虚勞發熱。柴胡、人參等分，每服三錢，薑、棗同水煎服。澹寮方。 Depletion exhaustion and effusion of heat. Boil equal amounts of chai hu and ginseng [root], for each dose amounting to three qian, in water together with ginger and Chinese dates and ingest [the liquid]. Dan liao fang. 濕熱黄疸。柴胡一兩 ， 甘草二錢半 ， 作一劑 ， 以水一盌 ， 白茅根一握 ， 煎至七分，任意時時服，一日盡。孫尚藥秘寶方。 Yellow dan-illness/jaundice associated with moisture and heat. Prepare a dose of one liang of chai hu and two and a half qian of glycyrrhiza [root] and boil this in one bowl of water with a handful of imperata root down to 70%. Ingest this as you wish from time to time. The total dose should be finished within one day. Sun Shangyao, Mi bao fang. 眼目昏暗。柴胡六銖 ， 决明子十八銖 ， 治篩 ， 人乳汁和 ， 傅目上 ， 久久 夜見五色。千金方。 Dim vision. Sift [a powder of ] six zhu of chai hu and 18 zhu of fetid cassia seeds, mix it with human milk sap and apply this to the eyes. If this is continued for long, you will be able to see all five colors at night. Qian jin fang. 積熱下痢。柴胡、黄芩等分 ， 半酒半水煎七分 ， 浸冷 ， 空心服之。濟急 方。 Discharge with free-flux illness associated with heat accumulation. Boil a mixture of one half of wine and one half of water down to 70%, steep equal amounts of chai hu and scutellaria [root in the hot liquid] until it has become cold and ingest [the liquid] on an empty stomach. Ji ji fang. 354 Dao han 盗汗, “robber sweat,” a profuse sweating during sleep that ends when one wakes up. BCGM Dict I, 122.



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13-05-02 苗。Miao. Seedling [of chai hu].

【主治】卒聾，擣汁頻滴之。千金。 Control. Sudden deafness. Pound [chai hu seedlings] to obtain a juice and repeatedly drip it [into the affected ear]. Qian jin. 13-06 前胡别録中品 Qian hu, FE Bie lu, middle rank. Peucedanum praeruptorum Dunn. Hog’s fennel.

【釋名】【時珍曰】按孫愐唐韻作湔胡，名義末解。 Explanation of Names. [Li] Shizhen: According to Sun Mian’s Tang yun, this is written qian hu 湔胡. The meaning of the name is unclear. 【集解】【别録曰】前胡二月、八月采根，暴乾。【弘景曰】近道皆有， 生下濕地，出吴興者爲勝。根似柴胡而柔軟，爲療殆微同之，本經上品有 茈胡而無此，晚來醫乃用之。【大明曰】越、衢、婺、睦等處者皆好，七 八月采之， 外黑裏白。【頌曰】今陝西、梁漢、江淮、荆襄州郡及相州、 孟州皆有之。春生苗，青白色，似斜蒿。初出時有白茅，長三四寸，味甚 香美，又似芸蒿。七月内開白花，與葱花相類。八月結實。根青紫色。今 鄜、延將來者，大與柴胡相似。但柴胡赤色而脆，前胡黄而柔軟，爲不同 爾。一説今諸方所用前胡皆不同。汴京北地者，色黄白枯脆，絶無氣味。 江東乃有三四種：一種類當歸，皮斑黑，肌黄而脂潤，氣味濃烈。一種色 理黄白，似人參而細短，香味都微。一種如草烏頭，膚赤而堅，有兩三歧 爲一本 ， 食之亦戟人咽喉 ， 中破以薑汁漬 ， 擣服之 ， 甚下膈解痰實。然 皆非真前胡也。今最上者出吴中。又壽春生者，皆類柴胡而大，氣芳烈， 味亦濃苦，療痰下氣，最勝諸道者。【斅曰】凡使勿用野蒿根，緣真似前 胡，只是味粗酸。若誤用之，令人反胃不受食。若是前胡，味甘微苦也。 【時珍曰】前胡有數種，惟以苗高一二尺，色似斜蒿，葉如野菊而細瘦， 嫩時可食，秋月開黲白花，類蛇牀子花，其根皮黑肉白，有香氣爲真。大 抵北地者爲勝，故方書稱北前胡云。 Collected explanations. Bie lu: The root of qian hu is collected in the second and eighth month. It is dried in the sun. [Tao] Hongjing: It can be found everywhere in nearby places. It grows on low and moist ground. That coming from Wu xing is best. The root resembles that of bupleurum [herb], but it is softer. It has almost the same therapeutic value [as has bupleurum root]. Among [pharmaceutical drugs of ]

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upper rank, the Ben jing lists ci hu 茈胡; it does not list the [qian hu discussed] here. Physicians began to use it in later times. Da Ming: [Qian hu] from Yue, Qu, Wu and Mu are all good. [The root] is collected in the seventh and eighth month. It is black outside and white inside. [Su] Song: Today, [qian hu] is present in the zhou and prefectures of Shaan xi, Liang han, Jiang huai, and Jing xiang, and also in Xiang zhou and Meng zhou. It develops seedlings in spring. They are of a greenish-white color and resemble those of libanotis [herbs]. When they have just appeared, they have white hair of three to four cun. The smell/flavor is very fragrant and delicious, similar to that of bupleurum [herbs]. White flowers open from inside in the seventh month; they are similar to onion flowers. Seeds form in the eighth month. The root is of greenish-purple color. Today, [qian hu roots] coming from Fu and Yan are quite similar to bupleurum [roots]. However, bupleurum [roots] are red and crispy while those of qian hu [from Fu and Yan] are yellow and soft. This is the difference. Some say that the qian hu resorted to in all the regions differ. [Qian hu] from Bian jing in the North is yellow-white, withered and crispy; it has neither qi nor flavor. [Qian hu roots] from Jiang dong may appear in three or four variations. One type resembles [the roots of ] Chinese angelica. The root is covered with black dots. The inside is yellow with an oily moisture. Its qi are strong and violent. Another type is yellow-white inside. It resembles ginseng [root], but is fine and short. Smell and flavor all all weak. A third type resembles aconitum [main tuber]. Its skin is red and firm, with two or three accessory roots forming one base. To eat them causes a piercing sensation in the throat. Break it open and soak it in ginger juice, pound this and ingest it to very effectively dissolve phlegm repletion and discharge it from the diaphragm. Still, all these variations are not genuine qian hu. Today, [roots] of top quality come from Wu zhong. Also, [roots] grown in Shou chun are all similar to chai hu [roots], but they are bigger and their qi are fragrant and violent. The flavor, too, is strong and bitter. They serve to heal phlegm and to discharge qi. They are the best from all places. [Lei] Xiao: For all applications, be sure not to use the root of common mugwort growing in the wilderness. It is truly similar to [the root of ] qian hu, but its flavor is coarse and sour. If it is used mistakenly, it causes the stomach to turn over and not to accept food. Qian hu [root, in contrast] has a sweet and slightly bitter flavor. [Li] Shizhen: There are several variations of qian hu. Only those can be consumed, as long as they are tender, that have seedlings reaching a height of one to two chi, with a color resembling [the seedlings of ] libanotis [herb], and with leaves similar to those of winter aster, but finer and thinner. During the autumn months they open grey-white flowers, similar to the seed flowers of common cnidium [herbs]. The skin of the root is black, the meat inside is white. In spring its qi



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are truly fragrant. Generally speaking, those from the North are superior. Hence the recipe books speak of “Northern qian hu.” 13-06-01 根。Gen. Root [of qian hu].

【修治】【斅曰】修事先用刀刮去蒼黑皮并髭土了，細剉，以甜竹瀝浸令 潤，日中曬乾用。 Pharmaceutical Preparation. [Lei] Xiao: To prepare [this substance for therapeutic use] first use a knife to scrape off the grey-black skin, the fine hair and the soil. Then cut it into fine pieces and soak it in sweet bamboo stem juice until it is completely moistened. Dry it in the sun and it can be used. 【氣味】苦 ， 微寒 ， 無毒。【權曰】甘、辛、平。【之才曰】半夏爲之 使，惡皂莢，畏藜蘆。 Qi and Flavor. Bitter, slightly cold, nonpoisonous. [Zhen] Quan: Sweet, acrid, balanced. [Xu] Zhicai: Pinellia [root] serves at its guiding substance. [Ingested together,] it abhors gleditsia [pods/seeds], and fears veratrum [root]. 【主治】痰滿 ， 胸脇中痞 ， 心腹結氣 ， 風頭痛 ， 去痰下氣 ， 治傷寒寒 熱 ， 推陳致新 ， 明目益精。别録。能去熱實 ， 及時氣内外俱熱 ， 單煮服 之。甄權。治一切氣 ， 破癥結 ， 開胃下食 ， 通五臟 ， 主霍亂轉筋 ， 骨節 煩悶 ， 反胃嘔逆 ， 氣喘欬嗽 ， 安胎 ， 小兒一切疳氣。大明。清肺熱 ， 化 痰熱，散風邪。時珍。 Control. Phlegm and a feeling of fullness; obstacle-illness355 in chest and flanks. Bound qi356 in heart/stomach and abdomen. Headache caused by wind. It removes phlegm and discharges qi. It serves to cure harm caused by cold with [alternating sensations of ] cold and heat. It pushes back the old and lets the new arrive. It clears the eyes and boosts the essence/sperm. Bie lu. It is able to eliminate heat repletion, and heat, associated with seasonal [epidemic qi] affecting both inner and outer [body] regions. Boil it as a single substance and ingest it. Zhen Quan. It serves to cure all types of [evil] qi. It breaks through concretion-illness nodes, opens the stomach and discharges food. It opens the passage through the five long-term depots. It controls cholera with twisted sinews, [pain in the] joints causing vexing heart-pressure, 355 Pi 痞, “obstacle-illness,” (1) a feeling of uncomfortable fullness and distension, (2) a pathological condition of uncomfortable distension and fullness in the chest and abdominal region. When pressed there is no pain. BCGM Dict I, 371.

356 Jie qi 結氣, “bound qi,” 1.) an etiological agent of pathological qi halting and congealing at any place in the body. 2.) A condition brought forth by bound qi. BCGM Dict I, 240.

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turned over stomach with vomiting and [qi] counterflow, qi panting and cough. It pacifies a fetus, and [heals] all types of gan-illness357 of children. Da Ming. It cools lung heat, transforms phlegm heat and disperses wind evil. [Li] Shizhen. 【發明】【時珍曰】前胡味甘、辛 ， 氣微平 ， 陽中之陰 ， 降也。乃手足 太陰、陽明之藥，與柴胡純陽上升，入少陽、厥陰者不同也。其功長于下 氣，故能治痰熱喘嗽、痞膈嘔逆諸疾，氣下則火降，痰亦降矣。所以有推 陳致新之績，爲痰氣要藥。陶弘景言其與柴胡同功，非矣。治證雖同，而 所入所主則異。 Explication: [Li] Shizhen: The flavor of qian hu is sweet and acrid. Its qi are slightly balanced. It is a yin in yang [substance]. It descends [in the body]. That is, it is a pharmaceutical substance for the hand and foot major yin and yang brilliance [conduits], and it differs from bupleurum [root] which is a pure yang and ascending drug that enters the minor yang and ceasing yin [conduits]. Its therapeutic potential is particularly pronounced in the discharge of qi. Hence it can cure all illnesses such as phlegm heat, panting and cough, obstacle-illness358 in the diaphragm region, as well as vomiting with [qi] counterflow. When the qi is discharged, the fire descends and hence the phlegm descends, too. Hence it successfully pushes back the old and lets the new arrive, and is an essential pharmaceutical drug for phlegm qi. Tao Hongjing says: “Its [therapeutic] potential is identical” with that of bupleurum [root]. That is not the case. The pathological conditions it cures are indeed identical, but [the conduits] it enters and [the ailments] it controls differ. 【附方】舊一。 Added Recipes. One of old. 小兒夜啼。前胡擣篩，蜜丸小豆大。日服一丸，熟水下，至五六丸，以瘥 爲度。普濟方。 Children crying at night. Pound qian hu [root] and pass [the powder] through a sieve. Prepare with honey pills the size of red mung beans. Each time [let the child] ingest one pill, to be sent down with boiled water. This may be increased to five or six pills until a cure is achieved. Pu ji fang. 357 Gan 疳, “gan-illness,” also: “sweets-illness,” involves several complaints that affect children and adults, with causes and conditions too different to fall into a known disease category. BCGM Dict I, 180-188. 358 Pi 痞, “obstacle-illness,” (1) a feeling of uncomfortable fullness and distension, (2) a pathological condition of uncomfortable distension and fullness in the chest and abdominal region. When pressed there is no pain. BCGM Dict I, 371.



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13-07 防風本經上品 Fang feng, FE Ben jing, upper rank. Saposhnikovia divaricata (Turcz.). Siler. 【釋名】銅芸本經、回芸吴普、回草别録、屏風别録、蕳根别録、百枝别 録、百蜚吴普。【時珍曰】防者，禦也。其功療風最要，故名。屏風者， 防風隱語也。曰芸、曰茴、曰蕳者，其花如茴香，其氣如芸蒿、蕳蘭也。 Explanation of Names. Tong yun 銅芸, Ben jing. Hui yun 回芸, Wu Pu. Hui cao 回 草, Bie lu. Ping feng 屏風, Bie lu. Jian gen 蕳根, Bie lu. Bai zhi 百枝, Bie lu. Bai fei 百蜚, Wu Pu. [Li] Shizhen: Fang 防 is yu 禦, “to defend/resist.” Its most important [therapeutic] ability is to heal wind. Hence the name. Ping feng 屏風, “wind screen,” is a camouflage term for fang feng 防風. “wind resistance.” It is called yun 芸, hui 茴, or jian 蕳, because its flowers resemble those of fennel, and its qi are similar to those of bupleurum [root], yun hao 芸蒿, and jian lan 蕳蘭. 【集解】【别録曰】防風生沙苑川澤及邯鄲、琅琊、上蔡， 二月、十月采 根 ， 暴乾。【普曰】正月生葉細圓 ， 青黑黄白。五月黄花。六月結實黑 色。【弘景曰】郡縣無名”沙苑”。今第一出彭城 蘭陵，即近琅琊者。鬱州 百市亦有之。次出襄陽、義陽縣界，亦可用。惟以實而脂潤，頭節堅如蚯 蚓頭者爲好。【恭曰】今出齊州 龍山最善，淄州、兖州、青州者亦佳。葉 似牡蒿、附子苗等。沙苑在同州南，亦出防風，輕虚不如東道者。陶云”無 沙苑”，誤矣。【頌曰】今汴東、淮、浙州郡皆有之。莖葉俱青緑色，莖深 而葉淡，似青蒿而短小。春初時嫩紫紅色，江東 宋、亳人采作菜茹，極爽 口。五月開細白花，中心攢聚作大房，似蒔蘿花。實似胡荽子而大。根土 黄色，與蜀葵根相類，二月、十月采之。關中生者，三月、六月采之，然 輕虚不及齊州者良。又有石防風，出河中府，根如蒿根而黄，葉青花白， 五月開花，六月采根暴乾，亦療頭風脹痛。【時珍曰】江淮所産多是石防 風 ， 生于山石之間。二月采嫩苗作菜 ， 辛甘而香 ， 呼爲珊瑚菜。其根粗 醜，其子亦可種。吴綬云：凡使以黄色而潤者爲佳，白者多沙條，不堪。 Collected Explanations. Bie lu: Fang feng grows in the river wetlands of Sha yuan, and in Han dan, Lang ye, and Shan cai. The root is collected in the second and tenth month. It is dried in the sun. [Wu] Pu: In the first month, [fang feng] develops fine, round leaves of a greenish-black-yellow color. In the fifth month yellow flowers [open]. In the sixth month black seeds form. [Tao] Hongjing: No prefecture or county of the name Sha yuan is known. Today, the best quality comes from Lan ling in Peng cheng, which is close to Lang ye. It is also found in Bai shi in Yu zhou. A second best quality comes from Xiang yang and Yi yang. It, too, can be used [for therapeutic ends]. Only those are good that are solid and oily moist, and with nodes

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at the end that are as hard as the head of earthworms. [Su] Gong: Today [fang feng] coming from Mount Long shan in Qi zhou is good, and specimens from Zi zhou, Yan zhou and Qing zhou are fine, too. The leaves resemble those of Japanese artemisia and the seedlings of aconitum. Sha yuan is in southern Tong zhou. From there originates a variety of fang feng that is light and hollow, unlike that from the East. When Tao [Hongjing] states “there is no Sha yuan,” he is mistaken. [Su] Song: Today it can be found in all the zhou and prefectures of Bian dong, Huai and Zhe. Stalks and leaves are of greenish-green color. They resemble those of artemisia herbs, but are shorter and smaller. In the beginning of spring, they are tender and of a purple-red color. In Song and Bo in Jiang dong the people collect them to prepare green vegetables. They are extremely delicious. In the fifth month they open fine, white flowers. They gather in the center to form a large chamber, resembling the flowers of dill. The seeds resemble those of coriander seeds, but are bigger. The root has the color of yellow soil. It is similar to the root of althaea [herbs]. It is collected in the second and tenth month. Those growing in Guan zhong are collected in the third and sixth month. However, they are light and hollow and they are not as good as those from Qi zhou. In addition, there is shi fang feng 石防風 (lit.: “rock fang feng). It comes from He zhong fu. The root resembles artemisia root but is yellow. The leaves are greenish. The flowers are white. Its flowers open in the fifth month. The root is collected in the sixth month; it is dried in the sun. It heals head wind359 with a painful swelling. [Li] Shizhen: That growing in Jiang huai is mostly shi fang feng. It grows between mountain rocks. The tender seedlings are collected in the second month and prepared to vegetables. They are acrid, sweet and fragrant. They are called “coral vegetables.” The root is coarse and ugly. The seeds can be planted. Wu Shou states: “For all usages, those are fine that are yellow and moist. White ones often have no firm consistency; they cannot be used.” 【氣味】甘，温，無毒。【别録曰】辛，無毒。叉頭者令人發狂，叉尾者 發人痼疾。【普曰】神農、黄帝、岐伯、桐君、雷公、扁鵲：甘，無毒。 李當之 ： 小寒。【元素曰】味辛而甘 ， 氣温 ， 氣味俱薄 ， 浮而升 ， 陽 也。手足太陽經之本藥。【好古曰】又行足陽明、太陰二經， 爲肝經氣分 藥。【杲曰】防風能制黄耆，黄耆得防風其功愈大，乃相畏而相使者也。 【之才曰】得葱白能行周身 ， 得澤瀉、藁本療風 ， 得當歸、芍藥、陽起 石、禹餘粮療婦人子臟風。畏萆薢，殺附子毒，惡藜蘆、白歛、乾薑、芫 花。 Qi and Flavor. Sweet, warm, nonpoisonous. Bie lu: Acrid, nonpoisonous. Those forked at their top let persons turn mad. Those forked at the tail let one develop 359 Tou feng 頭風, “head wind.” Condition of wind evil attacking the head followed by pain, dizziness, itching. BCGM Dict I, 509.



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an obstinacy-illness. [Wu] Pu: Shen nong, Huang di, Qi Bo, Tong jun, Lei gong, Bian Que: Sweet, nonpoisonous. Li Dangzhi: Slightly cold. [Zhang] Yuansu: Of acrid and sweet flavor. The qi are warm. Qi and flavor are all weak. [This substance] floats and rises. It is yang. It is the basic drug of the hand and foot major yang conduits. [Zhang] Yuansu: Flavor: Acrid and sweet. Warm qi. Qi and flavor are all weak. [Fang feng] floats and rises. It is yang. It is the basic drug of the hand and foot major yang conduits. [Wang] Haogu: It also moves through the two foot yang brilliance and major yin conduits. It is a drug of the qi section of the liver conduit. [Li] Gao: Fang feng is able to check [the effects of ] astragalus [root]. If astragalus [root] is administered together with fang feng, its therapeutic potential will significantly increase. That is, these are [drugs] that fear each other and also support each other. [Xu] Zhicai: If it is administered together with onions it will pass through the entire body. Together with alisma [root] and ligusticum sinense [root] it heals wind. Together with Chinese angelica [root], paeonia [root], actinolite and limonite, it heals wind affecting the womb of women. [Ingested together,] it fears dioscorea [root] and kills the poison of aconitum [accessory tuber]. It abhors veratrum [root], ampelopsis [root], dried ginger, and daphne [herb]. 【主治】大風 ， 頭眩痛 ， 惡風 ， 風邪目盲無所見 ， 風行周身 ， 骨節疼 痛。久服輕身。本經。煩滿脇痛 ， 風頭面去來 ， 四肢攣急 ， 字乳金瘡内 痙。别録。治三十六般風，男子一切勞劣，補中益神，風赤眼，止冷淚及 癱痪， 通利五臟關脉， 五勞七傷， 羸損盗汗， 心煩體重， 能安神定志， 匀氣脉。大明。治上焦風邪，瀉肺實，散頭目中滯氣，經絡中留濕，主上 部見血。元素。搜肝氣。好古。 Control. Massive wind.360 Dizzy, painful head. Malign wind [intrusion]. Blindness with an inability to see caused by wind evil. Wind passing through the entire body. Painful bone joints. Ingested over a long time it relieves the body of its weight. Ben jing. Vexing fullness and pain in the flanks. Wind head361 and face that come and go. [It controls] cramps affecting the four limbs, as well as internal spasms brought about by parturition or wounds inflicted by metal objects. Bie lu. It serves to cure the 36 types of wind, and all types of exhaustion diminution of males. It supplements the center and boosts the spirit. [It cures] red eyes caused by wind. It ends cold tears and paralysis, frees the passage through the five long-term depots and opens the vessels. [It cures] the five types of exhaustion and seven types of harm, emaciation, 360 Da feng 大風, “massive wind,” may refer to sores caused by a massive intrusion of wind evil and also to conditions of leprosy. BCGM Dict I, 111.

361 Feng tou 風頭, “wind head,” a condition of wind evil attacking the head followed by pain, or dizziness, or itching. BCGM Dict I, 509.

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injuries and robber sweating,362 as well as heart vexation and a heavy body. It is able to pacify the spirit and to stabilize the mind. It balances the qi and the [movement in the] vessels. Da Ming. It serves to cure wind evil [intrusion] into the upper [section of the Triple] Burner. It drains lung repletion. It dispels stagnant qi from inside the head and the eyes, as well as abiding moisture from the conduits and network [vessels]. It controls the appearance of blood in the upper [body] section. [Zhang] Yuansu. It serves to recover liver qi. [Wang] Haogu. 13-07-01 葉。Ye. Leaf [of fang feng]

【主治】中風，熱汗出。别録。【頌曰】江東一種防風，茹其嫩苗，云動 風，與此文相反，豈别是一物耶？ Control. Struck by wind. Heat and sweating. Bie lu. [Su] Song: There is a type of fang feng in Jiang dong that when its tender seedlings are consumed allegedly excites wind. This is opposite to what has been said here. Maybe this is something different? 13-07-02 花。Hua. Flower [of fang feng]

【主治】四肢拘急，行履不得，經脉虚羸，骨節間痛，心腹痛。甄權。 Control. The four limbs cramp and are tense. Walking is impossible. The conduit vessels are depleted, with emaciation. Pain in the bone joints. Pain in the heart/ stomach and abdominal region. Zhen Quan. 13-07-03 子。Zi. Seed [of fang feng]

【主治】療風更優，調食之。蘇恭。 Control. It is even better suited to heal wind. Eat it mixed [with other substances]. Su Gong. 【發明】【元素曰】防風，治風通用，身半已上風邪用身，身半已下風邪 用稍 ， 治風去濕之仙藥也 ， 風能勝濕故爾。能瀉肺實 ， 誤服瀉人上焦元 氣。【杲曰】防風治一身盡痛，乃卒伍卑賤之職，隨所引而至，乃風藥中 362 Dao han 盗汗, “robber sweat,” a profuse sweating during sleep that ends when one wakes up. BCGM Dict I, 122.



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潤劑也。若補脾胃，非此引用不能行。凡脊痛項强，不可回顧，腰似折， 項似拔者，乃手足太陽證，正當用防風。凡瘡在胸膈已上，雖無手足太陽 證 ， 亦當用之 ， 爲能散結 ， 去上部風。病人身體拘倦者 ， 風也 ， 諸瘡見 此證亦須用之。錢仲陽瀉黄散中倍用防風者，乃於土中瀉木也。 Explication. [Zhang] Yuansu: Fang feng is generally applicable to cure wind [intrusion]. If the upper half of the body is affected, use the body [of the root]. If the lower half of the body is affected, use the small [ends of the root]. It is an immortal’s drug to cure wind [intrusion] and eliminate moisture. This is so because wind is able to overcome moisture. It can drain a lung repletion. If it is ingested erroneously, it will drain the original qi from the upper [section of the Triple] Burner. [Li] Gao: Fang feng serves to end pain affecting the entire body. It works as dutifully as a group of lowest grade soldiers that go wherever it is led to go. Among the pharmaceutical drugs for wind [intrusion] it is a moistening preparation. If one intends to supplement spleen and stomach [qi], without its lead [other substances] will never be able to move there. All types of back pain and stiff neck, when one is unable to look back, when the lower back appears to be twisted, and the neck seems to have been pulled, these are illness signs associated with the hand and foot major yang [conduits], and the only correct [therapy] is to apply fang feng. For all sores above the chest and diaphragm, even though there are no illness signs associated with the hand and foot major yang [conduits], [fang feng] must be resorted to, too, because of its ability to disperse [qi] nodes and to remove wind from the upper [body] section. Whenever a patient’s body suffers from cramps and fatigue, it is a case of wind [intrusion], and for all sores associated with such signs [fang feng] is to be used, too. Qian Zhongyang in his “powder to drain the yellow [soil]”363 uses a doubled dosage of fang feng because [fang feng is applied here] to drain wood [i.e., liver qi] from within the soil [i. e., spleen]. 【附方】舊二，新九。 Added Recipes. Two of old. Nine newly [recorded]. 自汗不止。防風去蘆，爲末，每服二錢，浮麥煎湯服。朱氏集驗方：防風 用麩炒，豬皮煎湯下。 Unending spontaneous sweating. [Grind] fang feng [root], after removing the fine hair, to powder. Each time ingest two qian. To be ingested with a wheat bran decoction. A Zhu shi ji yan fang [recipe]: Fry fang feng [root] with wheat bran, and send it down boiled with a pig skin decoction. 363 Ingredients of the xie huang san 瀉黄散 include: fang feng, agastache herb, gardenia fruit, gypsum, and glycyrrhiza root.

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睡中盗汗。防風二兩 ， 芎藭一兩 ， 人參半兩 ， 爲末。每服三錢 ， 臨卧飲 下。易簡方。 Robber sweating364 during sleep. [Grind] two liang of fang feng [root], one liang of ligusticum chuanxiong [root], and half a liang of ginseng [root] to powder. Each time ingest three qian. To be sent down with a beverage when going to bed. Yi jian fang. 消風順氣。老人大腸秘濇，防風、枳殻麩炒一兩，甘草半兩，爲末，每食 前白湯服二錢。簡便方。 To regulate qi [flow] with fang feng [root]. For old persons with a blocked large intestine. [Grind] one liang [each] of fang feng [root] and unripe oranges, fried with wheat bran, and half a liang of glycyrrhiza [root] to powder. Each time ingest with clear, boiled water prior to a meal two qian. Jian bian fang. 偏正頭風。防風、白芷等分，爲末，煉蜜丸彈子大。每嚼一丸，茶清下。 普濟方。 Lateral and ordinary head wind.365 [Grind] equal amounts of fang feng [root], and angelica dahurica [root] to powder and form with heat refined honey pills the size of a bullet. Each time chew one pill and send it down with tea. Pu ji fang. 破傷中風。牙關緊急，天南星、防風等分，爲末。每服二三匙，童子小便 五升，煎至四升，分二服，即止也。經驗後方。 Open wounds struck by wind.366 For tightly closed jaws. [Grind] equal amounts of arisaema [root] and fang feng [root] to powder. Each time ingest two or three spoonfuls. Boil them in five sheng of boys’s urine down to four sheng, ingest them divided into two portions and [the disease] will end. Jing yan hou fang. 小兒解顱。防風、白及、柏子仁等分，爲末。以乳汁調塗，一日一换。養 生主論。 Open skull of children. [Grind] equal amounts of fang feng [root], common bletilla [root], and platycladus seed kernels to powder and apply this, mixed with [a nursing mother’s] milk sap to [the affected region]. Change [the application] once a day. Yang sheng zhu lun.

364 Dao han 盗汗, “robber sweat,” a profuse sweating during sleep that ends when one wakes up. BCGM Dict I, 122.

365 Tou feng 頭風, “head wind.” Condition of wind evil attacking the head followed by pain, dizziness, itching. BCGM Dict I, 509. 366 Po shang zhong feng 破傷中風, “open wounds struck by wind.” A condition of lockjaw, arched back rigidity, and convulsions. BCGM Dict I, 379.



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婦人崩中。獨聖散 ： 用防風去蘆頭 ， 炙赤爲末。每服一錢 ， 以麪糊酒調 下，更以麪糊酒投之，此藥累經效驗。一方加炒黑蒲黄等分。經驗後方。 Collapsing center367 of women. The “single sage powder.” Remove the tip of the root of fang feng, roast it until it turns red and [grind it] to powder. Each time ingest one qian, to be sent down with wine mixed with wheat flour, and send it further down with more wine mixed with wheat flour. This medication has continuously proved to be effective. Another [version of this] recipe adds an equal amount of cattail pollen that have been fried until they turned black. Jing yan hou fang. 解烏頭毒，附子、天雄毒。並用防風煎汁飲之。千金方。 To resolve the poison of aconitum [main tuber], accessory tuber, and root. For all these purposes drink the juice obtained by boiling fang feng [root]. Qian jin fang. 解芫花毒。同上。 To resolve the poison of daphne [flowers]. [Recipe] identical with the one above. 解野菌毒。同上。 To resolve the poison of wild mushrooms. [Recipe] identical with the one above. 解諸藥毒。已死，只要心間温暖者，乃是熱物犯之，只用防風一味，擂冷 水灌之。萬氏積善堂方。 To resolve all types of poison, when [the patients] have died. For as long as there is some warmth in the heart/stomach region, this can be opposed by some hot item. Resort to fang feng as a single substance, pound it in cold water and force-feed this [to the patient]. Wan shi ji shan tang fang. 13-08 獨活本經上品 Du huo. FE Ben jing, upper rank. Angelica biserrata Shan et Yuan. Doubleteeth pubescent angelica. 【釋名】羌活本經、羌青本經、獨摇草别録、護羌使者本經、胡王使者吴 普、長生草。【弘景曰】一莖直上，不爲風摇，故曰獨活。【别録曰】此 草得風不摇 ， 無風自動 ， 故名獨摇草。【大明曰】獨活 ， 是羌活母也。 【時珍曰】獨活以羌中來者爲良，故有羌活、胡王使者諸名，乃一物二種 也。正如川芎、撫芎、白术、蒼术之義 ， 入用微有不同 ， 後人以爲二物 者，非矣。 367 Beng zhong 崩中, “collapsing center,” excessive vaginal bleeding outside of a menstruation period. BCGM Dict I, 58.

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Explanation of Names. Qiang huo 羌活, Ben jing. Qiang qing 羌青, Ben jing. Du yao cao 獨摇草, Bie lu. Hu qiang shi zhe 護羌使者, Ben jing. Hu wang shi zhe 胡王使 者, Wu Pu. Chang sheng cao 長生草, “longevity herb.” [Tao] Hongjing: This is one stalk rising straight upward. It is not shaken by wind. Hence it is called du huo 獨活, “[herb] moving independently.” Bie lu: This herb is not shaken by wind. When there is no wind it moves spontaneously. Hence it is called du yao cao 獨摇草, “herb swaying independently.” Da Ming: Du huo 獨活 is the mother of qiang huo.[Li] Shizhen: Du huo coming from Qiang zhong is the best. Hence it was given names such as qiang huo 羌活, “a product of Qiang,” and hu wang shi zhe 胡王使者, “sent by the king of the Hu.” Now, these are two varieties of one identical item. The underlying idea is the same as with chuang xiong 川芎 and fu xiong 撫芎,368 or bai zhu 白术 and cang zhu 蒼术.369 When they are applied there may be some minor differences. In later times, people considered them to be two different items. That is not the case. 【集解】【别録曰】獨活生雍州川谷，或隴西 南安，二月、八月采根，暴 乾。【弘景曰】此州郡縣並是羌地。羌活形細而多節軟潤， 氣息極猛烈。 出益州北都西川者爲獨活，色微白，形虚大，爲用亦相似而小不如。至易 蛀， 宜密器藏之。【頌曰】獨活、羌活今出蜀漢者佳。春生苗葉如青麻。 六月開花作叢，或黄或紫。結實時葉黄者，是夾石上所生；葉青者，是土 脉中所生。本經云二物同一類。今人以紫色而節密者爲羌活， 黄色而作塊 者爲獨活。而陶隱居言獨活色微白，形虚大，用與羌活相似。今蜀中乃有 大獨活，類桔梗而大，氣味亦不與羌活相類，用之微寒而少效。今又有獨 活， 亦自蜀中來， 類羌活， 微黄而極大， 收時寸解乾之， 氣味亦芳烈， 小類羌活。又有槐葉氣者，今京下多用之，極效驗，意此爲真者。而市人 或擇羌活之大者爲獨活，殊未爲當。大抵此物有兩種。西蜀者，黄色，香 如蜜。隴西者，紫色，秦隴人呼爲山前獨活。古方但用獨活，今方既用獨 活而又用羌活，兹爲謬矣。【機曰】本經獨活一名羌活，本非二物。後人 見其形色氣味不同，故爲異論。然物多不齊，一種之中自有不同。仲景治 少陰所用獨活，必緊實者；東垣治太陽所用羌活，必輕虚者。正如黄芩取 枯飄者名片芩治太陰， 條實者名子芩治陽明之義同也。况古方但用獨活無 羌活 ， 今方俱用 ， 不知病宜兩用耶 ？ 抑未之考耶 ？ 【時珍曰】獨活、羌 活乃一類二種，以中國者爲獨活，西羌者爲羌活，蘇頌所説頗明。按王貺 易簡方云：羌活須用紫色有蠶頭鞭節者。獨活是極大羌活有臼如鬼眼者， 尋常皆以老宿前胡爲獨活者，非矣。近時江淮山中出一種土當歸，長近尺 許， 白肉黑皮， 氣亦芬香， 如白芷氣， 人亦謂之水白芷， 用充獨活， 解 散亦或用之，不可不辨。 368 See BCGM 14-02. 369 See BCGM 12-15.



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Collected Explanations. Bie lu: Du huo grows in the river valleys of Yong zhou, and also in Nan an of Long xi. The root is collected in the second and eighth month. It is dried in the sun. [Tao] Hongjing: All these zhou, prefectures and counties are in the Qiang territory. Qiang huo is of a slender physical appearance with many knots. It is soft and moist. It emits qi of a very violent smell. Specimens coming from Xi chuan in the northern parts370 of Yi zhou are du huo. They are somewhat white, and their body is hollow and big. Their usage is similar, with only a minor difference. They are easily eaten by insects and must be stored in tightly sealed containers. [Su] Song: Today, du huo and qiang huo coming from Shu han are fine. In spring they grow seedlings with leaves similar to those of hemp. In the sixth month a bunch of flowers opens. They may be yellow or purple. Those with leaves turning yellow at the time the seeds develop, they grow on rocks. Those with leaves remaining greenish, they grow from within soil veins. According to the Ben jing, these two items are of one identical kind. Today, people consider those to be qiang huo that have a purple color and nodes situated closely to each other. They consider those to be du huo that are yellow and have a lumpy [root]. Still, Tao Yinju states that du huo is somewhat white, with a hollow and big body and a [therapeutic] usage similar to that of qiang huo. Today, in Shu zhong a big type of du huo grows. It resembles platycodon [root], but is bigger. Its qi and flavor, too, are not similar to those of qiang huo. When they are applied [in therapy] they have some cold and only a little effect. Today, there is also a du huo [root] coming from Shu zhong that is similar to qiang huo [root]. It is yellow and very big. At the time it is collected it is cut into one cun long pieces that are then dried. They, too, emit rather violent fragrant qi with a minor similarity to those of qiang huo. There are still others with qi of sophora japonica [tree] leaves. They are now in frequent use in the capital and they are very effective. It is assumed that these are genuine [du huo] specimens. But merchants sometimes offer large qiang huo [roots] as du huo [roots], and this is definitely not correct. Generally speaking, this item appears in two kinds. Those from Xi shu are yellow, and smell like honey. Those from Long xi are purple. The people of Qin long call them shan qian du huo 山前獨活, “du huo [root] from in front of the mountains.” Ancient recipes used only du huo. Nowadays, recipes use [the roots of ] either du huo or qiang huo. That is a mistake. [Wang] Ji: The Ben jing lists qiang huo as an alternative name of du huo. That is, these are not two different items. In later times, people realized that their physical appearance, their color and their qi are not identical, hence they discussed them separately. However, all things are not alike. Among items of one type there may be variations. When [Zhang] Zhongjing resorted to du huo [root] to treat the 370 For an identification of bei du 北都 as bei bu 北部, “northern parts,” see BCGM Dict II, 61-62.

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minor yin [conduits], he required firm and solid specimens. When [Li] Dongyuan used qiang huo [root] to treat the major yang [conduits], he required light and hollow specimens. This is just like the application of scutellaria [root]. One resorts to withered and flexible specimens named pian qin 片芩 to treat the major yin [conduits], while those with a solid body are called zi qin 子芩 and serve to treat the yang brilliance [conduits]. Also, ancient recipes made use only of du huo [root], not of qiang huo [root], while in today’s recipes both are used. Maybe they do not know that for [different] diseases only the one variety suited is to be used. Or this is not based on necessary considerations? [Li] Shizhen: Du huo and qiang huo are two types of one variety. That which comes from China is du huo; that which comes from the western Qiang is qiang huo. Su Song has stated this with sufficient clarity. According to Wang Kuang’s Yi jian fang, “of qiang huo those roots are to be used that are of purple color and have flagella like the head of an earthworm. Du huo [root] is significantly bigger than qiang huo [root] and has indentations resembling demon eyes. It is commonly believed that old peucedanum praeruptorum [root] eventually becomes du huo. That is not the case. In recent times a type of aralia [root] has come from the mountains of Jiang huai. It is more than one chi long, with a white meat and a black skin. Its qi, too, are fragrant, similar to the qi of angelica dahurica [root], and it is also called ‘water angelica dahurica [root]’.” It is offered as du huo [root], and occasionally it is used to resolve and disperse. It is essential to distinguish [between genuine du huo root and such alternatives].” 13-08-01 根。Gen. Root [of du huo]

【修治】【斅曰】采得細剉 ， 以淫羊藿拌裛二日 ， 暴乾去藿用 ， 免煩人 心。【時珍曰】此乃服食家治法，尋常去皮或焙用爾。 Pharmaceutical Preparation. [Lei] Xiao: After collecting it, it is cut into fine piecees. It is then soaked together with epimedium [herb] for two days and dried in the sun. The epimedium [herb] is discarded, and the [du huo root] can be used. This is to prevent a person’s heart from excitement. [Li] Shizhen: This is the method applied by experts ingesting [elixirs for] food. Usually [du huo root] is used baked over a slow fire with its skin removed. 【氣味】苦、甘，平，無毒。【别録曰】微温。【權曰】苦、辛。【元素 曰】獨活微温 ， 甘、苦、辛 ， 氣味俱薄 ， 浮而升 ， 陽也 ， 足少陰行經氣 分之藥。羌活性温 ， 辛、苦 ， 氣味俱薄 ， 浮而升 ， 陽也 ， 手足太陽行經



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風藥， 並入足厥陰、少陰經氣分。【之才曰】豚實爲之使。【弘景曰】藥 無豚實，恐是蠡實也。 Qi and Flavor. Bitter, sweet, balanced, nonpoisonous. Bie lu: Slightly warm. [Zhen] Quan: Bitter, acrid. [Zhang] Yuansu: Du huo [root] is slightly warm, sweet, bitter and acrid. Its qi and its flavors are weak. It floats and rises. It is a yang [substance]. It is a pharmaceutical drug passing through the foot minor yin conduits. Qiang huo has a warm nature. It is acrid and bitter. Its qi and flavor are weak. It floats and rises. It is a yang [substance]. It is a pharmaceutical drug passing through the hand and foot major yang conduits. It also enters the qi section of the foot ceasing yin and minor yin conduits. [Xu] Zhicai: Tun shi 豚實 serves as its guiding substance. [Tao] Hongjing: There is no such drug as tun shi 豚實. This may be li shi 蠡實, Chinese iris. 【主治】風寒所擊，金瘡止痛，奔豚癇痓，女子疝瘕。久服輕身耐老。本 經。療諸賊風 ， 百節痛風 ， 無問久新。别録。獨活 ： 治諸中風濕冷 ， 奔 喘逆氣 ， 皮膚苦痒 ， 手足攣痛 ， 勞損 ， 風毒齒痛。羌活 ： 治賊風失音不 語， 多痒， 手足不遂， 口面喎斜， 遍身𤸷痺， 血癩。甄權。羌獨活： 治 一切風并氣 ， 筋骨攣拳 ， 骨節酸疼 ， 頭旋目赤疼痛 ， 五勞七傷 ， 利五臟 及伏梁水氣。大明。治風寒濕痺 ， 酸痛不仁 ， 諸風掉眩 ， 頸項難伸。李 杲。去腎間風邪，搜肝風，瀉肝氣，治項强腰脊痛。好古。散癰疽敗血。 元素。 Control. Wind and cold attack. It ends the pain of sores/wounds caused by metal objects/weapons. Elevation-illness371 and conglomeration-illness372 of women. Ingested over a long time, it relieves the body of its weight and helps to endure aging. Ben jing. It heals all types of robber wind,373 pain in the hundred joints caused by wind [intrusion], regardless of how long this has lasted. Bie lu. Du huo [root]: It serves to cure all types of being struck by wind, moisture and cold, with racing, panting and countermoving qi. The skin itches. Hands and feet cramp and ache. Exhaustion injury. Toothache caused by wind poison. Qiang huo [root]: It serves to cure robber wind with loss of one’s voice and an inability to speak. Much itching. Hands and feet do not follow [one’s intentions]. Mouth and face are slanted. The 371 Shan qi 疝氣, “elevation-illness qi,” a pathological condition of (1) an item having entered the scrotum, with pain, sometimes ascending, sometimes descending, (2) a condition affecting the scrotum or a testicle, (3) of violent abdominal pain, in some cases associated with constipation and anuria. BCGM Dict I, 419, 417.

372 Shan jia 疝瘕, “elevation-illness with conglomeration-illness.” A lump-like swelling in the abdomen that alternately collects and then dissolves again. BCGM Dict I, 418.

373 Zei feng 賊風, “robber wind.” A swift wind arriving from the South on the day of winter solstice. It “steals and harms the qi of central harmony,” causing pain without heat and various further pathological conditions. BCGM Dict I, 667.

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entire body is numb and swollen. Blood repudiation-illness.374 Zhen Quan. Qiang [huo] and du huo [root] serve to cure all types of wind [intrusion] and [evil] qi with sinew and bone cramps, and bone joint soreness, a dizzy head with red eyes and pain, the five types of exhaustion and seven types of harm. They free the passage through the five long-term depots and hidden beams375 associated with water and qi. Da Ming. [Du huo root] serves to cure blockage caused by wind, cold, and moisture, with soreness, pain and numbness, all types of wind causing swaying and dizziness, and difficulties to stretch the neck. Li Gao. It eliminates wind evil from the kidney region, takes care of liver wind, drains liver qi and serves to cure a stiff neck and painful lower back and spine. [Wang] Haogu. It disperses obstruction-illness and impediment-illness376 and decayed blood. [Zhang] Yuansu. 【發明】【恭曰】療風宜用獨活， 兼水宜用羌活。【劉完素曰】獨活不摇 風而治風，浮萍不沉水而利水，因其所勝而爲制也。【張元素曰】風能勝 濕，故羌活能治水濕。獨活與細辛同用，治少陰頭痛。頭運目眩，非此不 能除。羌活與川芎同用，治太陽、少陰頭痛，透關利節，治督脉爲病，脊 强而厥。【好古曰】羌活乃足太陽、厥陰、少陰藥， 與獨活不分二種。後 人因羌活氣雄，獨活氣細。故雄者治足太陽風濕相摶，頭痛、肢節痛、一 身盡痛者，非此不能除，乃却亂反正之主君藥也。細者治足少陰伏風，頭 痛、兩足濕痺、不能動止者，非此不能治，而不治太陽之證。【時珍曰】 羌活、獨活皆能逐風勝濕 ， 透關利節 ， 但氣有剛劣不同爾。素問云 ： 從 下上者 ， 引而去之。二味苦辛而温 ， 味之薄者 ， 陰中之陽 ， 故能引氣上 升，通達周身而散風勝濕。按史系曰：唐 劉師貞之兄病風，夢神人曰， 但取胡王使者浸酒服便愈。師貞訪問皆不曉。復夢其母曰 ： 胡王使者 ， 即羌活也。求而用之， 兄疾遂愈。【嘉謨曰】羌活本手足太陽表裏引經之 藥，又入足少陰、厥陰。名列君部之中，非比柔懦之主。小無不入，大無 不通。故能散肌表八風之邪，利周身百節之痛。 374 Xue lai 血癩, “blood repudiation-illness,” identical with chi lai 赤癩, “red repudiation-illness.” A condition of lai 癩, “repudiation-illness,” where the skin itches as if bugs/worms were crawling in it. Also, lumps the size of peach or plum kernels rise from the skin, with red and black papules. In front of their eyes patients perceive items as if there were drooping silk threads. The heart is shocked and fearful. The hands and feet are numb and feel no pain if pierced. BCGM Dict I, 539, 597,

375 Fu liang 伏梁, “hidden beam,” a condition of ji 積, “accumulation,” associated with the heart. It is shaped like a lower arm. Below it rises from the navel; above it reaches to below the heart. It is accompanied by vexation. In serious cases patients spit blood. They cannot be cured for an extended period of time.

376 Yong ju 癰疽, “obstruction-illness, impediment-illness.” refers to two vaguely distinguished obstructions/impediments of vessels or other ducts inside the body. Qi rushing against the obstruction may cause a local swelling and eventually break through the surface to cause an abscess. BCGM Dict I, 642.



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Explication. [Su] Gong: To heal wind [intrusion] an application of du huo [root] is advisable. If [a wind intrusion] is associated with water, the use of qiang huo [root] is advisable. Liu Wansu: Du huo does not sway in the wind, it serves to cure [diseases associated with] wind. Ducksmeat does not sink into the water, and it frees the passage of water. [ Just like ducksmeat, du huo root] is used to check what it overcomes. Zhang Yuansu: Wind can overcome moisture. Hence qiang huo [root] can cure [diseases associated with] water and moisture. The usage of du huo [root] is identical with that of asarum heteropoides [root] in that it serves to cure headache associated with the minor yin [conduits]. Nothing else can eliminate vertigo and dizzy eyes. The usage of qiang huo [root] and ligusticum chuanxiong [root] is identical in that it serves to cure headache associated with the major yang and minor yin [conduits]. It passes through closures and frees the movement of/through the joints. It serves to cure diseases associated with the supervisor vessel, and stiffness of the spine with [yang qi] recession. [Wang] Haogu: Qiang huo [root] is a pharmaceutical substance to treat [diseases associated with] the foot major yang, ceasing yin, and minor yin [conduits]. [In ancient times] it was not distinguished from du huo [root] as a separate type. In later times, because the qi of qiang huo [root] are strong, while the qi of du huo [root] are fine, the people used the strong [qi of qiang huo root] to cure struggles between wind and moisture in the foot major yang [conduits], with headache, painful limbs and joints, and pain affecting the entire body and it was assumed that all these [diseases] could not be eliminated any other way. Hence this is the ruling drug to repulse disorder and to resurrect what is correct. The fine [qi of du huo root] served [later people] to cure hidden wind in the foot minor yin [conduit] with headache, and moisture blockage in both feet resulting in an inability to move or stand still. Without [the fine qi of du huo root] all this cannot be cured, but they fail to cure illness signs associated with the major yang [conduits]. [Li] Shizhen: Both qiang huo [root] and du huo [root] can drive out wind and overcome moisture, open closures and free the movement of/through the joints. Still their qi are not equally strong. The Su wen states: “What has arisen from below, lead it [out] to remove it.”377 Both these substances have a bitter and acrid [flavor] and warm [qi]. Those with weak flavors are yang in yin. Hence they are able to lead qi to rise, to penetrate the entire body and to disperse wind and overcome moisture. According to the Shi xi: “The brother of Liu Shizhen fell ill because of a wind [intrusion]. He dreamed of a spirit person informing him: ‘You only need to soak hu wang shi zhe in wine and ingest this. And [your brother] will be cured.’ [Liu] Shizhen enquired about [this substance] but nobody knew of it. Then he dreamed again and this time his mother told him: ‘Hu wang shi zhe is qian huo.’ He got a hold of it and used it, and the illness of his brother was 377 Not a literal quote that can be traced back to a particular passage in the Su wen.

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healed.” [Chen] Jiamo: Qiang huo [root] essentially is a pharmaceutical drug that is a guiding substance for both the outer and inner sections of the hand and foot major yang [conduits]. In addition, it enters the foot minor yin and ceasing yin [conduits]. It occupies a position among the rulers; it is not like the governors of weakness. There is nothing too small for it to enter, and there is nothing too big for it to penetrate. Hence it is able to disperse the evil [qi] of the eight types of wind from the muscles in the [body’s] exterior, and to relieve pain in the hundred joints of the entire body. 【附方】舊七，新七。 Seven newly recorded. 中風口噤，通身冷，不知人。獨活四兩，好酒一升，煎半升服。千金方。 Struck by wind with clenched jaws. The entire body is cold. [Patients] do not recognize persons. Boil four liang of du huo [root] in one sheng of good wine down to half a sheng and [let the patient] ingest this. Qian jin fang. 中風不語。獨活一兩 ， 酒二升 ， 煎一升 ， 大豆五合 ， 炒有聲 ， 以藥酒熱 投，蓋之良久，温服三合，未瘥再服。陳延之小品方。 Struck by wind with an inability to speak. Boil one liang of du huo [root] in two sheng of wine down to one sheng. Roast five ge of soybeans until they crack with a sound. Pour the hot medicated wine [on the roasted soybeans] and cover [the vessel] for an extended period of time. Then [let the patient] ingest three ge [of the liquid] warm. If this does not result in a cure, let him ingest this again. Chen Yanzhi, Xiao pin fang.378 熱風癱痪常舉發者。羌活二斤 ， 構子一升 ， 爲末。每酒服方寸匕 ， 日三 服。廣濟方。 Frequent episodes of paralysis caused by heat and wind [intrusion]. [Grind] two jin of qiang huo [root] and one sheng of paper mulberry tree seeds to powder. Each time ingest the amount held by a square cun spoon. To be ingested three times a day. Guang ji fang. 産後中風 ， 語濇 ， 四肢拘急。羌活三兩 ， 爲末。每服五錢 ， 酒、水各一 盞，煎减半服。小品方。 Struck by wind following delivery, with difficult speech and the four limbs cramping and being tense. [Grind] three liang of qiang huo [root]. Each time ingest five qian. Boil [the root] in one small cup each of wine and water down to one half and [let the woman] ingest it. Xiao pin fang. 378 According to the Zheng lei, ch. 6, Du huo 獨活, this recipe is quoted from the Jing yan hou fang.



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産後風虚。獨活、白鮮皮各三兩，水三升，煮取一升半，分三服。耐酒者 入酒同煮。小品方。 Wind [intrusion into a qi] depletion following delivery. Boil three liang each of du huo [root] and dictamnus [root] bark in three sheng of water down to one and a half sheng and [let the woman] ingest this divided into three portions. For those used to wine, boil [the drugs] in wine. Xiao pin fang. 産後腹痛。羌活二兩，煎酒服。必效方。 Abdominal pain following delivery. Boil two liang of qiang huo [root] in wine and [let the woman] ingest this. Bi xiao fang. 産腸脱出。方同上。子母秘録。 Prolapse of the uterus. Recipe identical with the one above. Zi mu mi lu. 妊娠浮腫。羌活、蘿蔔子同炒香，只取羌活爲末。每服二錢，温酒調下， 一日一服，二日二服，三日三服。乃嘉興主簿 張昌時所傳。許學士本事 方。 Swelling during pregnancy. Fry qiang huo [root] and radish seeds until they emit a fragrant odor. Then [grind] only the qiang huo [root] to powder. Each time [let the woman] ingest two qian. To be ingested mixed with warm wine. On the first day, let her ingest this once. On the second day, let it ingest her twice. On the third day, let it ingest her three times. This has been transmitted by Zhang Changshi, Assistant Magistrate in Jia xing. Xu xueshi, Ben shi fang. 風水浮腫。方同上。 Swelling caused by wind [intrusion] and water. Recipe identical with the one above. 歷節風痛。獨活、羌活、松節等分，用酒煮過，每日空心飲一盃。外臺秘 要。 Pain in the joints caused by wind [intrusion]. Boil equal amounts of du huo [root], qiang huo [root], and pine twig joints in wine. Drink a cupful on an empty stomach each day. Wai tai mi yao. 風牙腫痛。肘後方用獨活煮酒熱漱之。文潞公藥準用獨活、地黄各三兩， 爲末。每服三錢，水一盞煎，和滓温服，卧時再服。 Swollen and painful teeth caused by wind [intrusion]. The Zhou hou fang [recommends to] rinse [the teeth] with hot wine in which du huo [root] was boiled. Wen Lugong’s Yao zhun [recommends to grind] three liang each of du huo [root] and Chinese foxglove [rhizome] to powder. Each time ingest three qian. Boil them in one bowl, and ingest [the liquid] warm with the dregs. At bedtime ingest this a second time.

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喉閉口噤。羌活三兩，牛蒡子二兩，水煎一鍾，入白礬少許，灌之取效。 聖濟録。 Blocked throat and clenched jaw. Boil three liang of qiang huo [root] and two liang of arctium seeds in one zhong of water. Add a small amount of alum and force-feed this [to the patient] to achieve an effect. Sheng ji lu. 睛垂至鼻。人睛忽垂至鼻，如黑角色，痛不可忍，或時時大便血出痛，名 曰肝脹。用羌活煎汁，服數盞自愈。夏子益奇疾方。 The eyeballs protrude to reach the nose. When suddenly someone’s eyeballs protrude to reach the nose, assuming the appearance of black horns, with an unbearable pain, in some cases accompanied by painful blood stool, this is called liver distension. Boil qiang huo [root] and drink several cups of the resulting liquid. This will result in a cure. Xia Ziyi, Qi ji fang. 太陽頭痛。羌活、防風、紅豆等分，爲末，㗜鼻。玉機微義。 Headache associated with the major yang [conduits]. [Grind] equal amounts of qiang huo [root], saposhnikovia [root] and red mung beans to powder and [let the patient] inhale this into the nose. Yu ji wei yi. 13-09 土當歸綱目 Tu dang gui, FE Gang mu. Aralia cordata Thunb. Mountain asparagus. 【集解】 Collected Explanations. (missing) 13-09-01 根。Gen. Root [of aralia cordata]

【氣味】辛，温，無毒。 Qi and Flavor. Acrid, warm, nonpoisonous.

【主治】除風和血，煎酒服之。閃拗手足，同荆芥、葱白煎湯淋洗之。時 珍。出衞生易簡方。 Control. To expel wind and harmonize the blood, ingest it boiled in wine. For twisted and broken hands and feet, boil it together with schizonepeta [spikes] and onions, and wash [the affected body parts with the liquid]. [Li] Shizhen, quoted from the Wei sheng yi jian fang.



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13-10 都管草宋圖經 Du guan cao. FE Song, Tu jing. Angelica kiusiana Maxim. Japanese angelica.379

【集解】【頌曰】都管草生宜州田野，根似羌活，頭歲長一節，苗高一尺 許 ， 葉似土當歸 ， 有重臺 ， 二月、八月采根 ， 陰乾。施州生者作蔓 ， 又 名香毬。蔓長丈餘 ， 赤色 ， 秋結紅實 ， 四時皆有 ， 采其根枝 ， 淋洗風毒 瘡腫。【時珍曰】按范成大桂海志云：廣西出之，一莖六葉。 Collected Explanations. [Su] Song: Du guan cao grows in the open country of Yi zhou. The root resembles that of angelica biserrata. Its tip grows by one knot annually. The seedlings reach a height of more than one chi. The leaves resemble those of aralia [herb]. It has two petals. The root is collected in the second and eighth month. It is dried in the shade. [Du guan cao] growing in Shi zhou has vines. It is also called xiang qiu 香毬, “fragrant ball.” Its vines reach a length of more than a zhang, they are of red color. In autumn, [du guan cao] forms fruits of a medium-deep red color. They are present throughout the four seasons. The root and the twigs are collected and rinsed. [They serve to cure] sores and swelling caused by wind poison. [Li] Shizhen: According to Fan Chengda’s Gui hai zhi, “they come from Guang xi. They have one stem and six leaves.” 13-10-01 根。Gen. Root [of du guan cao].

【氣味】苦、辛，寒，無毒。 Qi and Flavor. Bitter, acrid, cold, nonpoisonous. 【主治】風腫癕毒赤疣，以醋摩塗之。亦治咽喉腫痛，切片含之，立愈。 蘇頌。解蜈蚣、蛇毒。時珍。 Control. Swelling caused by wind, obstruction-illness380 with poison, and red warts. Grate it in vinegar and apply [the liquid to the affected region]. It also serves to cure painful, swollen throat. Cut it into pieces and hold them in your mouth. This will result in an immediate healing. Su Song. It resolves the poison of centipedes and snakes. [Li] Shizhen.

379 Du guan cao 都管草, lit.: “herb in general charge.”

380 Yong 癰, “obstruction-illness,”refers to an obstruction of vessels or other ducts inside the body. Qi rushing against the obstruction may cause a local swelling and eventually break through the surface to cause an abscess. BCGM Dict I, 641.

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13-11 升麻本經上品 Sheng ma. FE Ben jing, upper rank. Cimicifuga foetida L. Bugbane.

【釋名】周麻。【時珍曰】其葉似麻，其性上升，故名。按張揖廣雅及吴 普本草並云， 升麻一名周升麻。則”周”或指周地， 如今人呼川升麻之義。 今别録作周麻，非省文，即脱誤也。 Explanation of Names. Zhou ma 周麻. [Li] Shizhen: Its leaves are similar to those of hemp. By its nature it rises, sheng 升. Hence the name. According to Zhang Ji’s Guang ya and Wu Pu’s Ben cao, sheng ma 升麻 is also called zhou sheng ma 周升麻. The “zhou” may refer to a region “Zhou.” Just like today people speak of a chuan sheng ma 川升麻, “Si chuan sheng ma.” When today’s version of the Bie lu speaks of a zhou ma 周麻, this is not an abbreviation [of zhou sheng ma 周升麻]; it is an erroneous omission. 【集解】【别録曰】升麻生益州山谷 ， 二月、八月采根 ， 日乾。【弘景 曰】舊出寧州者第一，形細而黑，極堅實。今惟出益州，好者細削，皮青 緑色，謂之雞骨升麻。北部亦有而形虚大，黄色。建平亦有而形大味薄， 不堪用。人言是落新婦根 ， 不然也。其形相似 ， 氣色非也。落新婦亦解 毒，取葉挼作小兒浴湯，主驚忤。【藏器曰】落新婦今人多呼爲小升麻， 功用同於升麻，亦大小有殊也。【志曰】升麻，今嵩高出者色青，功用不 如蜀者。【頌曰】今蜀漢、陝西、淮南州郡皆有之， 以蜀川者爲勝。春生 苗，高三尺以來。葉似麻葉，並青色。四月、五月着花，似粟穗，白色。 六月以後結實，黑色。根如蒿根，紫黑色，多鬚。 Collected Explanations. Bie lu: Sheng ma grows in the mountain valleys of Yi zhou. The root is collected in the second and eighth month. It is dried in the sun. [Tao] Hongjing: Formerly the best quality came from Ning zhou. Its physical appearance was small and black. It was very hard and solid. Today it only comes from Yi zhou. Good specimens are cut into small pieces. The skin is greenish-green. It is called “chicken bone sheng ma.” It is also found in the North. Specimens there are hollow and big, and of yellow color. It is also found in Jian ping with a big body and a weak flavor. It is not suited for [therapeutic] use. People say it is the root of luo xin fu 落 新婦, but this not the case. Their physical appearances are similar, but not their qi and color. Luo xin fu, too, resolves poison. Knead the leaves and prepare a decoction to bathe children. It cures [children] frightened by [a demon’s] hostility. [Chen] Cangqi: Luo xin fu is called today “small sheng ma.” The [therapeutic] potential and usages are identical with those of sheng ma. But their sizes differ. [Ma] Zhi: Sheng ma coming today from Song gao is of greenish color. Its [therapeutic] potential and



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usages are not identical with [the potential and usages of ] those from Shu. [Su] Song: Nowadays, it can be found in all the zhou and prefectures of Shu han, Shaan xi, and Huai nan, with those coming from Shu chuan being superior. In spring [sheng ma] develops seedlings; they reach a height of three chi. The leaves resemble those of hemp; they are of greenish color. In the fourth and fifth month it opens flowers resembling those of millet spikes. They are white. Beginning with the sixth month [sheng ma] forms black seeds. The root is similar to the root of artemisia herb; it is purple-black and has many small hairs. 13-11-01 根。Gen. Root [of sheng ma].

【修治】【斅曰】采得刮去粗皮，用黄精自然汁浸一宿，暴乾，剉，蒸再 暴用。【時珍曰】今人惟取裏白外黑而緊實者，謂之鬼臉升麻，去鬚及頭 蘆，剉用。 Pharmaceutical Preparation. [Lei] Xiao: After collecting it, remove its coarse skin and soak it] in the natural juice of polygonatum sibiricum [root] for one night. Then dry it in the sun, cut it to pieces, steam it and dry it again before using it [for therapeutic purposes]. [Li] Shizhen: Today’s people use only hard and solid specimens that are white inside and black outside. They call them “demon face sheng ma [root].” Remove the fine hairs and the tip, cut it to pieces and use it [for therapeutic purposes]. 【氣味】甘、苦，平、微寒，無毒。【元素曰】性温，味辛微苦，氣味俱 薄 ， 浮而升 ， 陽也 ， 爲足陽明、太陰引經的藥。得葱白、白芷 ， 亦入手 陽明、太陰。【杲曰】引葱白，散手陽明風邪。引石膏，止陽明齒痛。人 參、黄耆，非此引之，不能上行。【時珍曰】升麻，同柴胡，引生發之氣 上行；同葛根，能發陽明之汗。 Qi and Flavor. Sweet, bitter, balanced, slightly cold, nonpoisonous. [Zhang] Yuansu: Slightly warm. Flavor: Acrid, slightly bitter. Qi and flavors are all weak. [The substance] floats and rises. It is a yang [substance]. It is a pharmaceutical drug for the foot yang brilliance and major yin [conduits]. If its use is combined with onions and angelica dahurica [root], it also enters the hand yang brilliance and major yin [conduits]. [Li] Gao: [Sheng ma root] leads onions to disperse wind evil in the hand yang brilliance [conduits]. It leads gypsum to end toothache related to the yang brilliance [conduits]. Ginseng [root] and astragalus [root] are unable to rise if they are not led by this [substance]. [Li] Shizhen: Sheng ma in the same way as bupleu-

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rum [root] leads qi to rise and move upward. In the same way as pueraria root it is able to effuse sweat from the yang brilliance [conduits]. 【主治】解百毒 ， 殺百精老物殃鬼 ， 辟瘟疫瘴氣、邪氣蠱毒 ， 入口皆吐 出 ， 中惡腹痛 ， 時氣毒癘 ， 頭痛寒熱 ， 風腫諸毒 ， 喉痛口瘡。久服不 夭 ， 輕身長年。本經。安魂定魄 ， 鬼附啼泣 ， 疳䘌 ， 遊風腫毒。大明。 小兒驚癇，熱壅不通。療癰腫，豌豆瘡，水煎綿沾拭瘡上。甄權。治陽明 頭痛 ， 補脾胃 ， 去皮膚風邪 ， 解肌肉間風熱 ， 療肺痿欬唾膿血 ， 能發浮 汗。元素。牙根浮爛惡臭，太陽鼽衄，爲瘡家聖藥。好古。消斑疹，行瘀 血， 治陽陷眩運， 胸脇虚痛， 久泄下痢， 後重遺濁， 帶下崩中， 血淋下 血，陰痿足寒。時珍。 Control. It resolves the hundreds of poisons. It kills disaster demons associated with the hundreds of old essence/spirit items. It averts warmth epidemics and miasmatic qi, evil qi and gu-poison.381 It lets one spit out what has entered his mouth, and [serves to cure] being struck by the malign with abdominal pain, epidemic disease caused by the poison of seasonal qi, headache and [alternating sensations of ] cold and heat, and all types of poison associated with swelling caused by wind, pain in the throat and oral sores. Ingested over a long time it prevents early death. It relieves the body of its weight and extends the years of life. Ben jing. It pacifies the hun-soul and stabilizes the po-soul. [It serves to cure] weeping as if this were a demon attachment,382 sweets-illness with hidden worms/bugs383 and swelling with poison associated with roaming wind. Da Ming. Fright epilepsy of children. Impenetrable heat obstruction. To heal swelling associated with an obstruction-illness384 and pea sores,385 boil it in water, moisten a piece of cloth [with the liquid] and wipe the sores with it. Zhen Quan: It serves to cure headache associated with the yang brilliance [conduits]. It supplements [the qi of ] spleen and stomach. It re381 Gu du 蠱毒, “gu-poison[ing].” (1) A poison emitted by certain worms/snakes with an ability to cause varying pathological changes in a person who has taken it in by means of wine or food. (2) Abdominal fullness, in some cases with blood spitting, and blood in the stool and urine. BCGM Dict I, 192 - 193.

382 Zhu 疰, also zhu 注, “attachment-illness,” “influx-illness,” reflects a notion of a foreign pathogenic agent, originally of demonic nature, having attached itself to the human organism. BCGM Dict I, 688-695.

383 Gan ni 疳䘌, “sweets-illness with hidden worms,” a disease brought forth by frequent consumption of sweet items, with the teeth turning black and rotting, or ulcers developing in the anal and genital areas, and festering with stench. BCGM Dict I, 184. 384 Yong 癰, “obstruction-illness,”refers to an obstruction of vessels or other ducts inside the body. Qi rushing against the obstruction may cause a local swelling and eventually break through the surface to cause an abscess. BCGM Dict I, 641. 385 Wan dou chuang 豌豆瘡, “pea sores,” identical with dou chuang 痘瘡, “smallpox sores.” BCGM Dict I, 523.



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moves wind evil from the skin. It resolves wind and heat from the region of muscles and flesh. It heals lung dysfunction with spitting of pus and blood. It is able to effuse surface sweat. [Zhang] Yuansu. Festering tooth roots with a malign stench. Congested nose and nosebleed associated with the major yang [conduits]. It is a sagelike drug of the sore experts. [Wang] Haogu. It dissolves macules and stimulates the movement of stagnant blood. It serves to cure vertigo caused by descending yang [qi], depletion pain in chest and flanks, long-lasting outflow and discharge with free-flux illness, a feeling of heaviness in the behind with an involuntary release of turbid [urine], collapsing center386 from below the belt, dripping [urine] with blood and blood discharge, dysfunction [of one’s yin (i. e., sexual) member] and cold feet. [Li] Shizhen. 【發明】【元素曰】補脾胃藥非此爲引用不能取效， 脾痺非此不能除。其 用有四：手足陽明引經一也，升陽氣於至陰之下二也，去至高之上及皮膚 風邪三也，治陽明頭痛四也。【杲曰】升麻發散陽明風邪，升胃中清氣， 又引甘温之藥上升，以補衞氣之散而實其表。故元氣不足者，用此於陰中 升陽，又緩帶脉之縮急。此胃虚傷冷，鬱遏陽氣於脾土者，宜升麻、葛根 以升散其火鬱。【好古曰】升麻葛根湯乃陽明發散藥。若初病太陽證便服 之 ， 發動其汗 ， 必傳陽明 ， 反成其害也。朱肱活人書言瘀血入裏 ， 吐血 衄血者，犀角地黄湯乃陽明經聖藥。如無犀角，以升麻代之。二物性味相 遠，何以代之？蓋以升麻能引地黄及餘藥同入陽明也。【時珍曰】升麻引 陽明清氣上行，柴胡引少陽清氣上行。此乃稟賦素弱，元氣虚餒，及勞役 饑飽生冷内傷， 脾胃引經最要藥也。升麻葛根湯乃發散陽明風寒藥也。時 珍用治陽氣鬱遏，及元氣下陷諸病，時行赤眼，每有殊效。神而明之，方 可執泥乎 ？ 一人素飲酒 ， 因寒月哭母受冷 ， 遂病寒中 ， 食無薑蒜 ， 不能 一啜。至夏酷暑，又多飲水，兼懷怫鬱。因病右腰一點脹痛，牽引右脇， 上至胸口 ， 則必欲卧。發則大便裏急後重 ， 頻欲登圊 ， 小便長而數 ， 或 吞酸， 或吐水， 或作瀉， 或陽痿， 或厥逆， 或得酒少止， 或得熱稍止。 但受寒食寒 ， 或勞役 ， 或入房 ， 或怒 ， 或饑 ， 即時舉發。一止則諸證泯 然，如無病人，甚則日發數次。服温脾、勝濕、滋補、消導諸藥，皆微止 隨發。時珍思之 ， 此乃飢飽勞逸 ， 内傷元氣 ， 清陽陷遏 ， 不能上升所致 也。遂用升麻葛根湯合四君子湯，加柴胡、蒼术、黄耆煎服，服後仍飲酒 一二盃助之。其藥入腹 ， 則覺清氣上行 ， 胸膈爽快 ， 手足和煖 ， 頭目精 明，神采迅發，諸證如掃。每發一服即止，神驗無比。若减升麻、葛根， 或不飲酒 ， 則效便遲。大抵人年五十以後 ， 其氣消者多 ， 長者少 ； 降者 多，升者少；秋冬之令多，而春夏之令少。若禀受弱而有前諸證者，並宜 此藥活法治之。素問云：陰精所奉其人壽，陽精所降其人夭。千古之下， 386 Beng zhong 崩中, “collapsing center,” excessive vaginal bleeding outside of a menstruation period. BCGM Dict I, 58.

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窺其奥而闡其微者， 張潔古、李東垣二人而已。外此則著參同契、悟真篇 者，旨與此同也。又升麻能解痘毒，惟初發熱時，可用解毒。痘已出後， 氣弱或泄瀉者，亦可少用。其升麻葛根湯，則見斑後必不可用，爲其解散 也。本草以升麻爲解毒、吐蠱毒要藥， 蓋以其爲陽明本經藥。而性又上升 故也。按范石湖文集云：李燾爲雷州推官，鞠獄得治蠱方：毒在上用升麻 吐之，在腹用鬱金下之，或合二物服之，不吐則下。此方活人甚多也。 Explication. [Zhang] Yuansu: If this [substance sheng ma] is not used as a guide, pharmaceutical drugs aimed at supplementing spleen and stomach [qi] will remain without effect. Without this [substance] nothing can be removed from spleen and stomach. Its usages are four. It is a guiding substance for the hand and food yang brilliance conduits. That is the first. It lets yang qi rise even from the [lowermost] extreme yin region. That is the second. It removes wind evil from the uppermost region and the skin. That is the third. It serves to cure headache associated with the yang brilliance [conduits]. That is the fourth. [Li] Gao: Sheng ma effuses and disperses wind evil from the yang brilliance [conduits]. It lets clear qi in the stomach ascend. Also, it leads sweet and warm pharmaceutical drugs to move upward, this way supplementing the spread of guardian qi and solidifying the outer [body region]. Hence, in the case of insufficient original qi, use this [drug] to let the yang rise in the yin, and to relax contracture and tension. In the case of a stomach depletion harmed by [an intrusion of ] cold, with yang qi pent up in the spleen, [i. e., the phase of ] soil, it is required to resort to sheng ma [root] and pueraria root to disperse the pent up fire. [Wang] Haogu: The “decoction with sheng ma [root] and pueraria root”387 is a medication to effuse and disperse [evil qi] from the yang brilliance [conduits]. If it is ingested when major yang signs appear at the beginning of a disease, with a stimulation to effuse sweat, then this will be transferred to the yang brilliance [conduits] and contrary [to one’s intentions] this generates harm. Zhu Gong in his Huo ren shu states: “When stagnant blood enters the interior, with blood spitting and nosebleed, the ‘decoction with rhinoceros horn and Chinese foxglove [rhizome]’388 is a sage-like medication for the yang brilliance [conduits].” If no rhinoceros horn is available, use sheng ma [root] instead. These two items have very different qi and flavor. How can it be that [rhinoceros horn] is replaced [with sheng ma root]? The fact is, sheng ma [root] is able to lead Chinese foxglove [rhizome] and other pharmaceutical drugs into the yang brilliance [conduits]. [Li] Shizhen: 387 Ingredients include sheng ma root, pueraria root, paeonia root, and prepared glycyrrhiza root. This passage is quoted in the Tang ye ben cao, ch. 2: sheng ma 升麻, as “Dong yuan states,” Dongyuan yun 東垣云. However, it is a discourse on individual pharmaceutical substances, not on recipes. Hence the character tang 湯 may be a later addition.

388 Ingredients include rhinoceros horn, Chinese foxglove rhizome, paeonia root and paeonia root bark.



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Sheng ma [root] leads the clear qi of the yang brilliance [conduits] to move upward. Bupleurum [root] leads clear qi of the minor yang [conduits] to move upward. These are most important spleen and stomach guiding pharmaceutical drugs in the case of a weak natural constitution with the original qi depleted and internal harm caused by a generation of cold resulting from exhaustion and hunger or overeating. The “decoction with sheng ma [root] and grass cloth rhizome” is a medication to disperse wind and cold from the yang brilliance [conduits]. [I, Li] Shizhen use [this recipe] to cure pent-up yang qi and all types of diseases associated with a sinking down of original qi, with epidemic red eyes, and this has always been effective. Anybody with a clear vision [on the nature of disease], how could he cling to [established] recipes? There was a person addicted to drinking wine. During the cold months he wept because [of the loss] of his mother and was entered by cold. As a consequence, he suffered from a disease of cold center. He could eat only when his food included ginger and garlic. When summer came, he drank a lot of water and he felt grievous and depressed. Because he suffered from painful distension at some location in his right lower back that drew on his right flanks, and above reached his chest and mouth, he felt he always wanted to sleep. When [his disease] was active, he felt an urge to defecate with a feeling of heaviness in his behind, and often went to the latrine. He frequentely urinated for a long time. Sometimes he suffered from sour regurgitation, or threw up water, or he experienced outflow, or his yang [(i. e. sexual) member] did not function, or there was [yang qi] recession with counterflow, and occasionally all this ended when he was given wine, or [the disease signs] subsided a little when he was exposed to heat. But once he was exposed to cold or consumed cold food, or when he overexerted himself, had sex, got angry or was hungry, [the disease signs] returned. When the disease signs were all swept away, it was as if he had no disease. When they were extremely active, they broke out several times a day. He ingested all types of medication to warm the spleen, to conquer moisture, to nourish and supplement, and to melt and lead off [evil qi]. They caused a little standstill before [the disease] effused again. [I, Li] Shizhen thought about this. This [disease] was caused by irregular eating and exhaustion that had internally harmed the original qi. The clear yang [qi] had descended and were held back so that they were unable to ascend again. As a consequence [I] resorted to the “decoction with sheng ma [root] and pueraria root” together with the “four rulers decoction,” added bupleurum [root], black atractylodes [rhizome], and astragalus [root], and [let the patient] ingest this decoction. After he had ingested it, he drank one or two cups of wine to assist the medication. Once it had entered his abdomen, he felt the clear [yang] qi rise, and he experienced a pleasant sensation in his chest and diaphragm region. His hands and feet became warm. His head and his eyes cleared up and

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his spirit quickly recovered. It was as if all his disease signs had been swept away. Whenever [the disease] effused again, it ended after only one ingestion. This was a divine effect, beyond any comparison. If sheng ma [root] or pueraria root had been diminished, or if he had not drunk the wine, the results would have been slow. In general, after the age of 50, one’s qi increasingly melt away, and there is little growth. Most [qi] descend, only a few ascend. The orders of autumn and winter (that is, of collecting and storing) are many; the orders of spring and summer (that is, of coming to life and blossoming) are few. If someone has a weak constitution and shows the aforementioned disease signs, this medication, based on a flexible pattern [of adding and omitting individual ingredients], will cure him. The Su wen states: “Where yin essence is presented [from below], the people enjoy longevity. Where yang essence is bestowed [from above], the people experience early death.”389 In the course of the past millennium, there have been only two persons, Zhang Jiegu and Li Dongyuan, who have perceived the profound nature [of this therapy] and who were able to disclose it to others. Apart from them, the authors of the Can tong qi and the Wu zhen pian equalled them. Also, sheng ma [root] can resolve smallpox poison. When it has just begun to effuse heat, it can be applied to resolve the poison. Once the pox have come out, and if [the patient’s] qi are weak or if he suffers from outflow, it may also be applied in small amounts. The “decoction with sheng ma [root] and pueraria root” must not be used after macules have appeared because this would resolve and disperse them. In the materia medica literature, sheng ma [root] is listed as an important pharmaceutical drug for resolving poison and having gu [poison]390 thrown up because it is a drug for the yang brilliance conduit itself. And another reason is that by its nature it ascends. According to Fan Shihu’s Wen ji, “Li Tao, a judge in Lei zhou, upon interrogation of a prisoner, obtained a recipe to cure gu [poison]. If the poison is in the upper [body part] use sheng ma [root] to have it thrown up. If it is in the abdomen, wild tumeric will discharge it. If the two items are ingested together, [patients] may either vomit or discharge [the poison]. This recipe saved many people’s lives.”

389 Quote from ch. 70 of Huang Di Nei jing suwen. Paul U. Unschuld and Hermann Tessenow, 2011, Vol. II, 326. 390 Gu du 蠱毒, “gu-poison[ing].” (1) A poison emitted by certain worms/snakes with an ability to cause varying pathological changes in a person who has taken it in by means of wine or food. (2) Abdominal fullness, in some cases with blood spitting, and blood in the stool and urine. BCGM Dict I, 192 - 193.



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【附方】舊五，新八。 Added Recipes. Five of old. Eight newly [recorded]. 服食丹砂。石泉公 王方慶嶺南方云：南方養生治病，無過丹砂。其方用升 麻末三兩，研鍊過，光明砂一兩，以蜜丸梧子大，每日食後服三丸。蘇頌 圖經本草。 Cinnabar ingested as food. Wang Fangqing, Duke of Shi quan, in his Ling nan fang states: In the South, to nourish life and cure diseases, there is nothing better than cinnabar. This recipe uses three liang of sheng ma [root] powder, ground and prepared with heat, and one liang of cinnabar to prepare with honey pills the size of wu seeds. Each day ingest three pills after meals. Su Song, Tu jing ben cao. 豌豆斑瘡。比歲有病天行發斑瘡，頭面及身須臾周匝，狀如火燒瘡，皆戴 白漿 ， 隨决隨生 ， 不治數日必死。瘥後瘢黯 ， 彌歲方减 ， 此惡毒之氣所 爲。云晉元帝時，此病自西北流起，名虜瘡。以蜜煎升麻，時時食之。并 以水煮升麻，綿沾拭洗之。葛洪肘後方。 Smallpox macules and sores. In recent years an epidemic disease has spread effusing as macules and sores. Head and face and the entire body are covered after a short while. [The patients] look like burned by fire. [The sores] carry a thick white liquid. They recede and then grow again. If this is not cured for several days [patients] must die. After a cure is achieved, dark scars remain and will vanish after one year. This [disease] is caused by malign poison qi. It is said that since the time of [Emperor] Yuan di of the Jin this disease has begun in the North-West, and it is called “Lu sores.”391 [To cure this disease] boil sheng ma [root] with honey and eat this regularly. Also, boil sheng ma [root] in water, moisten a piece of cloth [with this liquid] and wash [the affected region]. Ge Hong, Zhou hou fang. 辟瘴明目。七物升麻丸：升麻、犀角、黄芩、朴硝、巵子、大黄各二兩， 豉二升 ， 微熬同搗末 ， 蜜丸梧子大。覺四肢大熱 ， 大便難 ， 即服三十 丸，取微利爲度。若四肢小熱，只食後服二十丸。非但辟瘴，甚能明目。 王方慶嶺南方。 To ward off miasma and clear the eyes. The “pills with seven items and sheng ma [root].” Slightly heat sheng ma [root], rhinoceros horn, scutellaria [root], mirabilite, gardenia fruit, and rhubarb root and pound them to powder. With honey form pills the size of wu seeds. If [the patient] feels massive heat in his four limbs and suffers from difficult defecation, he is to ingest 30 pills until he has a slight free-flux. If

391 Ge Hong in his Zhou hou fang may have been the first to record incidences of smallpox in China. He spoke of “Lu sores”, Lu chuang 虜瘡, because the disease was acquired by Chinese troops fighting the Lu, alledgedly during the jian wu 建武 reign period, i. e., in 304.

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the four limbs show only minor heat, he is to eat only 20 pills after meals. This not only serves to ward off miasma, it is also very much able to clear the eyes. Wang Fangqing, Ling nan fang. 卒腫毒起。升麻磨醋頻塗之。肘後方。 Sudden emergence of swelling with poison. Rub sheng ma [root] in vinegar and apply this [to the affected region]. Zhou hou fang. 喉痺作痛。升麻片含嚥。或以半兩煎服，取吐。直指方。 Painful throat blockage. Hold sheng ma pieces in the mouth and swallow [the resulting liquid.]. Or boil half a liang [of sheng ma in water] and ingest [the liquid] to stimulate vomiting. Zhi zhi fang. 胃熱齒痛。升麻煎湯飲，熱漱嚥之，解毒。或加生地黄。直指方。 Stomach heat and toothache. Drink a decoction of sheng ma boiled [in water] and rinse [the teeth] with the hot [decoction] to resolve the poison. Or add some Chinese foxglove [rhizome]. Zhi zhi fang. 口舌生瘡。升麻乙兩，黄連三分，爲末，綿裹含嚥。本事方。 Sores grow in the mouth and on the tongue. [Grind] one liang of sheng ma [root] and three fen of coptis [rhizome] to powder. Wrap it in silk, hold it in the mouth and swallow [the resulting liquid]. Ben shi fang. 熱疿瘙痒。升麻煎湯飲，并洗之。千金方。 Seething rash and itch associated with heat. Boil sheng ma [root] and drink the decoction. In addition, wash [the affected region with the decoction]. Qian jin fang. 小兒尿血。蜀升麻五分，水五合，煎一合，服之。一歲兒一日一服。姚和 衆至寶方。 Children urinate blood. Boil five fen of sheng ma [root] from Shu in five ge of water down to one ge and [let the child] ingest this. A child of one year ingests this once on one day. Yao Hezhong, Zhi bao fang. 産後惡血不盡，或經月半年。以升麻三兩，清酒五升，煮取二升，分半再 服。當吐下惡物，極良。千金翼方。 Unending malign bleeding after delivery, lasting for months or half a year. Boil three liang of sheng ma [root] in five sheng of clear wine down to two sheng. Divide this in two portions and [let the woman] ingest them separately. This will cause vomiting or discharge of malign items. Extraordinarily good. Qian jin yi fang. 解莨菪毒。升麻煮汁，多服之。外臺秘要。



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To resolve henbane poison. Boil sheng ma [root] to obtain a juice and ingest this often. Wai tai mi yao. 挑生蠱毒，野葛毒，並以升麻多煎，頻飲之。直指方。 To pull out gu-poison392 and gelsemium [herb] poison. For both these purposes boil sheng ma [root] and repeatedly drink [the resulting liquid]. Zhi zhi fang. 射工溪毒。升麻、烏翣煎水服，以滓塗之。肘後方。 Archer393 and rivulet poison.394 Boil sheng ma [root] and blackberry lily in water and ingest this. Apply the dregs [to the affected region]. Zhou hou fang. 13-12 苦參本經中品 Ku shen. FE Ben jing, upper rank. Sophora flavescens Ait. Shrubby sophora. 【釋名】苦𧄹本經、苦骨綱目、地槐别録、水槐本經、菟槐别録、驕槐别 録、野槐綱目、白莖别録。又名岑莖、禄白、陵郎、虎麻。【時珍曰】苦 以味名，參以功名，槐以葉形名也。苦𧄹與菜部苦𧄹同名異物。 Explanation of Names. Ku shi 苦𧄹, Ben jing. Ku gu 苦骨, “bitter bone,” Gang mu. Di huai 地槐, Bie lu. Shui huai 水槐, Ben jing. Tu huai 菟槐, Bie lu. Jiao huai 驕槐, Bie lu. Ye huai 野槐, Gang mu. Bai jing 白莖, “white stem,” Bie lu. It is also named qin jing 岑莖, lu bai 禄白, ling lang 陵郎, hu ma 虎麻. [Li] Shizhen: It is named ku 苦, “bitter,” because of its flavor, shen 參 because of its therapeutic potential [similar to that of ren shen 人參 / ginseng root], and huai 槐 because of the shape of its leaves [resembling those of huai trees / sophora japonica tree]. Ku shi 苦𧄹 is a name identical with that of a vegetable ku shi 苦𧄹. (see 16-19) These are two different items with an identical name. 【集解】【别録曰】苦參生汝南山谷及田野，三月、八月、十月采根，暴 乾。【弘景曰】近道處處有之。葉極似槐葉，花黄色，子作莢，根味至苦 392 Gu du 蠱毒, “gu-poison[ing].” (1) A poison emitted by certain worms/snakes with an ability to cause varying pathological changes in a person who has taken it in by means of wine or food. (2) Abdominal fullness, in some cases with blood spitting, and blood in the stool and urine. BCGM Dict I, 192 - 193.

393 She gong 射工, “archer,” (1) a small bug in ancient times believed to live in water and be capable of “shooting” poison from its mouth at people, thereby cauing disease; (2) a condition caused by the archer’s poison. BCGM Dict. I, 432. See 42-15. 394 Xi du 溪毒, “rivulet poison,”(1) a tiny bug assumed to live in bodies of water and supposedly capable of striking humans when they enter the water, thereby causing disease; (2) a condition resulting from being struck by rivulet poison. BCGM Dict I, 548.

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惡。【頌曰】其根黄色，長五七寸許，兩指粗細。三五莖並生，苗高三四 尺以來。葉碎，青色，極似槐葉，春生冬凋。其花黄白色，七月結實如小 豆子。河北生者無花子。五月、六月、十月采根， 暴乾。【時珍曰】七八 月結角如蘿蔔子，角内有子二三粒，如小豆而堅。 Collected Explanations. Bie lu: Ku shen grows in the mountain valleys and open country of Ru nan. The root is collected in the third, eighth and tenth month. It is dried in the sun. [Tao] Hongjing: It can be found everywhere in nearby places. The leaves are very similar to those of sophora japonica [trees]. The flowers are yellow. The seeds form pods. The flavor of the root is extremely bitter and abhorrent. [Su] Song: The root is yellow and reaches a length of a little more than five to seven cun. It is two fingers thick. Three to five stems grow together, with their seedlings reaching a height of three to four chi. The leaves are fragmented, very much resembling the leaves of sophora japonica [trees]. They grow in summer and wither in winter. The flowers are of a yellow-white color. In the seventh month they form seeds like red mung beans. Those growing in He bei have neither flowers nor seeds. The root is collected in the fifth, sixth and tenth month. It is dried in the sun. [Li] Shizhen: In the seventh and eighth month [ku shen] forms [seed] pots resembling radish seeds. Within each pod are two or three seed kernels. They resemble red mung beans but are harder. 13-12-01 根。Gen. Root [of sophora flavescens]

【修治】【斅曰】采根，用糯米濃泔汁浸一宿，其腥穢氣並浮在水面上， 須重重淘過，即蒸之，從巳至申，取晒切用。 Pharmaceutical Preparation. [Lei] Xiao: Collect the root and soak it for one night in a thick liquid of water in which glutinous rice has been washed. Its fishy, abominable qi will rise from the surface of the water. Then [the root] must be repeatedly washed and is to be steamed from the si hours (9 – 11) to the shen hours (15- 17). Then it is dried in the sun and cut [into pieces] for therapeutic use. 【氣味】苦，寒，無毒。【之才曰】玄參爲之使，惡貝母、兔絲、漏蘆， 反藜蘆。【時珍曰】伏汞，制雌黄、焰硝。 Qi and Flavor. Bitter, cold, nonpoisonous. [Xu] Zhicai: Scrophularia [root] serves as its guiding substance. [Ingested together,] it abhors fritillaria [root], cuscuta [seeds], and stemmacantha [herb/root]. It is opposed to veratrum [root]. [Li] Shizhen: It brings down mercury, and checks [the effects of ] orpiment and nitrokalite.



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【主治】心腹結氣 ， 癥瘕積聚 ， 黄疸 ， 溺有餘瀝 ， 逐水 ， 除癰腫 ， 補 中 ， 明目止淚。本經。養肝膽氣 ， 安五臟 ， 平胃氣 ， 令人嗜食。輕身 ， 定志益精 ， 利九竅 ， 除伏熱腸澼 ， 止渴醒酒 ， 小便黄赤 ， 療惡瘡、下部 䘌。别録。漬酒飲，治疥殺蟲。弘景。治惡蟲、脛酸。蘇恭。治熱毒風， 皮肌煩躁生瘡，赤癩眉脱，除大熱嗜睡，治腹中冷痛，中惡腹痛。甄權。 殺疳蟲。炒存性，米飲服，治腸風瀉血并熱痢。大明。 Control. Bound qi395 in heart/stomach and abdomen. Concretion-illness and conglomeration-illness,396 accumulations and collections, yellow dan-illness/jaundice, and urinary dripping. It dispels water, eliminates swelling associated with an obstruction-illness,397 supplements the center, brightens the eyes and ends tearflow. Ben jing. It nourishes the liver and gallbladder qi, pacifies the five long-term depots, balances the stomach qi and lets people long for food. It relieves the body of its weight, stabilizes the mind and boosts the essence/sperm. It frees the passage through the nine orifices, brings down heat to end intestinal flush, stops thirst and sobers up. [It serves to cure] yellow-red urine and heals malign sores, as well as hidden worms/bugs in the lower body parts. Bie lu. Soak [ku shen root] in wine and drink the liquid. This will cure jie-illness398 and kill worms/bugs. [Tao] Hongjing. It serves to cure malign worms/bugs and soreness of shins. Su Gong. It serves to cure heat poison and wind [intrusion], vexation with restlessness in the skin and muscles resulting in a growth of sores, and red repudiation-illness399 with loss of eyebrows. It eliminates massive heat with a desire to sleep. It serves to cure painful cold in the abdomen, and abdominal pain resulting from being struck by the malign. Zhen Quan. It kills gan-illness400 worms/bugs. Fry [ku shen root] by retaining its nature 395 Jie qi 結氣, “bound qi,” 1.) an etiological agent of pathological qi halting and congealing at any place in the body. 2.) A condition brought forth by bound qi. BCGM Dict I, 240.

396 Zheng jia 癥瘕, “concretion-illness and conglomeration-illness.” The two terms are often used interchangeably and do not signify two distinctly different conditions. Concretion-illness and conglomeration-illness result from a disharmony of cold and warmth resulting in a failure to transform beverages and food. Nodes form when they clash with the qi of the long-term depots. BCGM Dict I, 677. 397 Yong 癰, “obstruction-illness,”refers to an obstruction of vessels or other ducts inside the body. Qi rushing against the obstruction may cause a local swelling and eventually break through the surface to cause an abscess. BCGM Dict I, 641. 398 Jie-illness 疥, vaguely identifiable skin ailment. BCGM Dict I, 249.

399 Lai 癩, “repudiation-illness,” most likely referring to leprosy, “Aussatz.” BCGM Dict I, 293-294. 400 Gan 疳, “gan-illness,” also: “sweets-illness,” involves several complaints that affect children and adults, with causes and conditions too different to fall into a known disease category. BCGM Dict I, 180-188.

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and ingest it with a rice beverage. This serves to cure intestinal wind, outflow with blood and free-flux illness associated with heat. Da Ming. 【發明】【元素曰】苦參味苦，氣沉純陰，足少陰腎經君藥也。治本經須 用， 能逐濕。【頌曰】古今方用治風熱瘡疹最多。【宗奭曰】沈存中筆談 載其苦腰重 ， 久坐不能行。有一將佐曰 ： 此乃病齒數年 ， 用苦參揩齒 ， 其氣味入齒傷腎所致也。後有太常少卿舒昭亮，亦用苦參揩齒，歲久亦病 腰。自後悉不用之， 腰疾皆愈。此皆方書不載者。【震亨曰】苦參能峻補 陰氣，或得之而致腰重者，因其氣降而不升也，非傷腎之謂也。其治大風 有功，况風熱細疹乎？【時珍曰】子午乃少陰君火對化，故苦參、黄蘗之 苦寒皆能補腎，蓋取其苦燥濕、寒除熱也。熱生風，濕生蟲，故又能治風 殺蟲。惟腎水弱而相火勝者 ， 用之相宜。若火衰精冷 ， 真元不足 ， 及年 高之人， 不可用也。素問云： ”五味入胃， 各歸其所喜攻。久而增氣， 物 化之常也。氣增而久，夭之由也。”王冰註云：”入肝爲温，入心爲熱，入 肺爲清 ， 入腎爲寒 ， 入脾爲至陰而兼四氣 ， 皆爲增其味而益其氣 ， 各從 本臟之氣。故久服黄連、苦參而反熱者，此其類也。氣增不已，則臟氣有 偏勝 ， 偏勝則臟有偏絶 ， 故有暴夭。是以藥不具五味 ， 不備四氣 ， 而久 服之， 雖且獲勝， 久必暴夭。但人疏忽， 不能精候爾。”張從正亦云： 凡 藥皆毒也。雖甘草、苦參，不可不謂之毒。久服則五味各歸其臟，必有偏 勝氣增之患。諸藥皆然， 學者當觸類而長之可也。至於飲食亦然。又按史 記云：太倉公 淳于意醫齊大夫病齲齒，灸左手陽明脉，以苦參湯日漱三 升，出入五六日，其風愈。此亦取其去風氣濕熱、殺蟲之義。 Explication. [Zhang] Yuansu: Ku shen [root] is of bitter flavor. Its qi sink down and are pure yin. It is a pharmaceutical ruler drug for the hand minor yin kidney conduits. It must be used for cures aimed at this particular conduit. It can dispel moisture. [Su] Song: In the past and presently recipes designed to cure sores related to wind [intrusion] and heat resort to [ku shen root] most often. [Kou] Zongshi: Shen Cunzhong in his Bi tan records “[a case of a person] who suffered from a sensation of heaviness in his lower back. He sat for a long time and was unable to move. An assistant to a commander said: This is related to a tooth disease that has lasted for many years. The reason is, [the patient] has wiped his teeth with ku shen [root] and the qi and flavor [of the root] have entered his teeth from where they have harmed his kidneys. Later there was Shu Zhaoliang, Chamberlain for Ceremonies and Vice-Minister, who also wiped his teeth with ku shen [root]. After some years, he, too, suffered from a sick lower back. Henceforth they no longer used [ku shen root to wipe their teeth] and the ailment affecting their lower back was cured. All these cases are not recorded in recipe texts.” [Zhu] Zhenheng: Ku shen [root] is able to massively supplement yin qi. In some cases, its intake may cause a feeling



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of heaviness in the lower back. The reason is, the qi have sunk down and fail to rise. It would be wrong to speak of “harm caused to the kidneys.” It effectively cures massive wind,401 and should this not all the more apply to small macules resulting from wind [intrusion] and heat? [Li] Shizhen: Zi 子 and wu 午 are the opposite transformation products of the ruler fire of minor yin. Hence the bitter [flavor] and cold [qi] of ku shen [root] and phellodendron bark can supplement the kidney [qi]. The fact is, one resorts to the bitter [flavor] to dry the moisture, and to the cold [qi] to eliminate heat. Heat generates wind; moisture generates worms/bugs. Hence [these substances] are also able to cure wind and kill worms/bugs. Their application is suited only for persons with kidney water weakness and excessive minister fire. Persons whose [minister] fire is weak and whose essence/sperm is cold, whose genuine, original [qi] are insufficient, and who are of an advanced age, they must not use them. The Su wen states: “The five flavors enter the stomach, [whence] each of them turns to its preferred [place of ] activity. … If [one flavor is consumed] over an extended period of time, thereby increasing [its particular] qi, this is a regularity in the transformation of things. If this increase of qi continues over an extended period, this is the origin of early death.”402 Wang Bing commented on this as follows: “When it enters the liver, it generates warmth. When it enters the heart, it generates heat. When it enters the lung, it generates clear [qi]. When it enters the kidneys, it generates cold. When it enters the spleen it generates extreme yin associated with the four [remaining types of ] qi. In each case, the respective flavor is increased, and the respective qi are boosted. This is always depending on the qi of the respective long-term depot. Hence, if coptis [rhizome] and ku shen [root] are ingested for an extended period and contrary to one’s expectation heat is generated, then this is because of such group correspondence. If the increase of qi is not ended, the qi of the respective long-term depot will unilaterally dominate. Once they unilaterally dominate, the respective long-term depot will be unilaterally cut [from the movements of qi] and hence this results in sudden death. That is, if a medication does not include all five flavors and is not unilaterally marked by only one of the four qi, and if such a medication is ingested for a long time, even though for the time being it may overcome [the disease], after an extended period of time it must cause sudden death.” And yet, the people do not pay attention and are unable to carefully consider this. Zhang Congzheng, too, states: “All medications are poisonous. Even of glycyrrhiza [root] and ku shen [root] one cannot say that they have no poison. If ingested for a long time, the five flavors all turn to their respective long-term depot, 401 Da feng 大風, “massive wind,” may refer to sores caused by a massive intrusion of wind evil and also to conditions of leprosy. BCGM Dict I, 111.

402 Quotes from ch. 74 of Huang Di Nei jing suwen. Paul U. Unschuld and Hermann Tessenow, 2011, Vol. II, 641.

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and inevitably they will cause a suffering of unilaterally dominant qi. This applies to all pharmaceutical drugs. Students must seek to base their understanding of all of them on their knowledge of individual examples.403 The same applies to beverages and food.” Also, the Shi ji states: “Chunyu Yi, Director of the Imperial Granaries, once treated an official in Qi who suffered from tooth decay. He cauterized the yang brilliance vessel on his left hand and let him rinse [the teeth] with three sheng of a ku shen [root] decoction every day. After five or six days, the wind [disease] was cured.” This [therapy], too, was based on the notion of [ku shen root’s ability to] eliminate wind qi, and moisture and heat, as well as to kill worms/bugs. 【附方】舊九，新一十九。 Added recipes. Nine of old. 19 newly [recorded]. 熱病狂邪。不避水火，欲殺人。苦參末，蜜丸梧子大。每服十丸，薄荷湯 下。亦可爲末，二錢，水煎服。千金方。 Heat disease with mad and evil behavior. [Patients] are not frightened by water and fire, and wish to kill people. Prepare with ku shen [root] powder and honey pills the size of wu seeds and [let the patient] everytime ingest ten pills, to be sent down with a mint decoction. It is also possible to prepare a powder, boil two qian in water and [let him] ingest his. Qian jin fang. 傷寒結胸。天行病四五日，結胸滿痛壯熱。苦參一兩，以醋三升，煮取一 升二合，飲之取吐即愈。天行毒病，非苦參、醋藥不解，及温覆取汗良。 外臺秘要。 Bound chest following harm caused by cold.404 An epidemic disease lasting four to five days, with bound chest, a sensation of fullness and pain, and strong heat. Boil one liang of ku shen [root] in three sheng of vinegar down to one sheng and two ge. [Let the patient] drink this. Once he vomits he will be cured. Diseases associated with epidemic poison will be resolved only by means of a ku shen [root] and vinegar medication. Also, it is good to cover [patients] warm so that they sweat. Wai tai mi yao. 403 A famous quote from the Yi jing, Xi ce 系辞, shang 上, suggesting an understanding of the multitude of things by analogy based on a detailed knowledge of some of them: 引而 伸之，觸類而長之，天下之能事畢矣. 404 Shang han jie xiong 傷寒結胸,”bound chest following harm caused by cold,” identical with jie xiong 結胸, “bound chest,” a condition brought forth by internal evil qi “binding” the chest, with the chest and abdomen experiencing distension, hardening and pain to a degree that one does not wish to apply pressure. BCGM Dict I, 252-253.



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穀疸食勞。頭旋，心怫鬱不安而發黄，由失饑大食，胃氣冲薰所致。苦參 三兩，龍膽一合，爲末，牛膽丸梧子大。生大麥苗汁服五丸，日三服。肘 後方。 Grain related dan-illness405 associated with food exhaustion. [Patients] are grievous and depressed and develop a yellow [complexion]. The reason is, they have massively eaten before they were hungry, and hence the stomach qi have rushed upward enveloping [the upper body part]. [Grind] three liang of ku shen [root] and one ge of gentiana [herb] to powder and form with ox bile pills the size of wu seeds. Ingest with the juice of fresh barley seedlings five pills. To be ingested three times a day. Zhou hou fang. 小兒身熱。苦參煎湯浴之良。外臺秘要。 Children with a hot body. It is good to wash them with a ku shen [root] decoction. Wai tai mi yao. 毒熱足腫，作痛欲脱者。苦參煮酒漬之。姚僧垣集驗方。 Swollen foot caused by poison heat, painful to a degree that one wished [the foot] to fall off. Soak [the foot] in wine in which ku shen [root] has been boiled. Yao Sengtan, Ji yan fang. 夢遺食减。白色苦參三兩 ， 白术五兩 ， 牡蠣粉四兩 ， 爲末。用雄豬肚一 具 ， 洗净 ， 砂罐煮爛 ， 石臼擣和藥 ， 乾則入汁 ， 丸小豆大。每服四十 丸，米湯下，日三服。久服身肥食進而夢遺立止。劉松石保壽堂方。 Dream emission and reduced intake of food. [Grind] three liang of white ku shen [root], five liang of atractylodes [rhizome] and four liang of oyster shell powder to powder. Then wash a stomach of a male pig clean, boil it in a clay pot until it has turned pulpy, and pound it together with the medication. When it has dried, add the juice [from boiling the pig stomach], and form pills the size of red mung beans. Each time ingest 40 pills, to be sent down with a rice decoction. To be ingested three times a day. Ingested over a long time, this lets the body become fat and the dream emission will end immediately. Liu Songshi, Bao shou tang fang. 小腹熱痛 ， 青黑或赤色 ， 不能喘者。苦參一兩 ， 醋一升半 ， 煎八合 ， 分 二服。張傑子母秘録。 Painful heat in the lower abdomen, with [the skin assuming] a greenish-black or red color, and an inability to pant. Boil one liang of ku shen [root] in one and a half 405 Dan 疸, “dan-illness,” identical with huang dan 疸疸, “yellow dan-illness,” “jaundice.” BCGM Dict I, 118.

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sheng of vinegar down to eight ge, and ingest this divided into two portions. Zhang Jie, Zi mu mi lu. 中惡心痛。苦參三兩，苦酒一升半，煮取八合，分二服。肘後方。 Struck by the malign with heart pain. Boil three liang of ku shen [root] in one and a half sheng of bitter wine down to eight ge and [let the patient] ingest this divided into two portions. Zhou hou fang. 飲食中毒。魚肉菜等毒，上方煎服，取吐即愈。梅師方。 Struck by a poison of a beverage or food. The poison of fish, meat or vegetables. [Let the patient] ingest a decoction based on the previous recipe until he vomits, and he will be cured. Mei shi fang. 血痢不止。苦參炒焦爲末，水丸梧子大。每服十五丸，米飲下。孫氏仁存 堂方。 Unending free-flux illness with blood. Fry ku shen [root] until scorched and [grind it to] powder. With water form pills the size of wu seeds. Each time ingest 15 pills. To be sent down with a rice beverage. Sun shi, Ren cun tang fang. [大腸脱肛。苦參、五倍子、陳壁土等分，煎湯洗之，以木賊末傅之。醫方 摘要。 Anal prolapse of the large intestine. Boil equal amounts of ku shen [root], Chinese sumac gallnuts and soil from an old wall and use the liquid to wash [the affected region]. Then apply scouring rush powder to it. Yi fang zhai yao. 妊娠尿難。方見貝母下。 Difficulties to let urine during a pregnancy. For the recipe, see under the entry fritillaria [root]. (13-15). 産後露風，四肢苦煩熱。頭痛者，與小柴胡。頭不痛者，用苦參二兩，黄 芩一兩，生地黄四兩，水八升，煎二升，分數服。 Exposure to and affection by wind following delivery, with the four limbs suffering from vexing heat. When [the woman] has headache give her the “small [decoction with] bupleurum [root].”406 If [the patient] has no headache boil two liang of ku shen [root], one liang of scutellaria [root] and four liang of fresh Chinese foxglove [rhizome] in eight sheng of water down to two sheng and [let the woman] ingest this divided into several portions. 406 Ingredients include: Bupleurum root, scutellaria root, ginseng root, pinellia tuber, prepared glycyrrhiza root, and fresh ginger and Chinese dates.



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齒縫出血。苦參一兩，枯礬一錢，爲末，日三揩之，立驗。普濟方。 Blood coming out of the seams of the teeth. [Grind] one liang of ku shen [root] and one qian of prepared alum to powder and rub [the seams] with it three times a day. This will be effective immediately. Pu ji fang. 齲齒風痛。方見發明下。 Painful wind [intrusion] and tooth decay. For a recipe, see under “Explication.” 鼻瘡膿臭。有蟲也。苦參、枯礬一兩，生地黄汁三合，水二盞，煎三合， 少少滴之。普濟方。 Nasal sores with pus and malodorous stench, with a presence of worms/bugs. Boil one liang of ku shen [root] and prepared alum with three ge of fresh Chinese foxglove [rhizome] juice in two bowls of water down to three ge, and little by little drip the liquid [into the nostrils]. Pu ji fang. 肺熱生瘡，遍身皆是。用苦參末，粟米飯丸梧子大。每服五十丸，空心米 飲下。御藥院方。 Sores resulting from lung heat, covering the entire body. Form with ku shen [root] powder and cooked millet pills the size of wu seeds. Each time ingest 50 pills, to be sent down with a rice beverage on an empty stomach. Yu yao yuan fang. 遍身風疹，癢痛不可忍，胸頸臍腹及近隱皆然者，亦多涎痰，夜不得睡。 用苦參末一兩，皂角二兩，水一升，揉濾取汁。石器熬成膏，和末丸梧子 大。每服三十丸，食後温水服，次日便愈。寇宗奭衍義。 Macules caused by wind [intrusion] covering the entire body, with an unbearable itch and pain, affecting chest, neck, navel and abdomen and the adjacent intimate regions, with much salivation and phlegm and an inability to sleep during the night. Knead one liang of ku shen [root] and two liang of gleditsia [pods/seeds] in one sheng of water, pass this through a filter, and heat the juice in a stoneware container until it has turned into a paste. Mix it with the powder [of the pharmaceutical drugs] and form pills the size of wu seeds. Each time ingest 30 pills. Ingest them after meals with warm water. The next day healing is achieved. Kou Zongshi, Yan yi. 大風癩疾。頌曰：用苦參五兩切，以好酒三斗漬三十日。每飲一合，日三 服，常服不絶。若覺痺即瘥。 Massive wind, [i. e.,] repudiation-illness.407 [Su] Song: Soak five liang of ku shen [root] cut to pieces in three dou of good wine for 30 days. Each time drink one ge, to 407 Da feng lai 大風癩, “massive wind [i. e.,] repudiation-illness,” most likely referring to leprosy, “Aussatz.” BCGM Dict I, 111, and 293-294.

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be ingested three times a day. Ingest this continuously, without interruption. Once [the patient] has a feeling of numbness, he will be healed. 張子和儒門事親用苦參末二兩，以豬肚盛之，縫合煮熟，取出去藥。先餓 一日，次早先飲新水一盞，將豬肚食之，如吐再食。待一二時，以肉湯調 無憂散五七錢服，取出大小蟲一二萬爲效。後以不蛀皂角一斤，去皮子， 煮汁，入苦參末調糊。下何首烏末二兩，防風末一兩半，當歸末一兩，芍 藥末五錢 ， 人參末三錢 ， 丸梧子大。每服三五十丸 ， 温酒或茶下 ， 日三 服。仍用麻黄、苦參、荆芥煎水洗之。 Zhang Zihe in his Ru men shi qin [recommends to] fill two liang of ku shen [root] powder into the stomach of a pig, sew it up and boil this until done. Then take the drug out [of the stomach] and let the patient remain hungry for one day. The following day he is to first drink one cup of fresh water and then eat the pig stomach. If he throws it up, he is to eat it again. Then wait for some hours and let him ingest five to seven qian of the “powder freeing one from worries”408 mixed with a meat decoction. The effect shows in an excretion of 10 000 to 20 000 large and small worms/bugs. Then remove the skin from one jin of gleditsia [pods/seeds] uninfested by worms/bugs, boil them to obtain a juice and add ku shen [root] powder to obtain a paste. Add to it two liang of polygonum multiflorum [root], one and a half liang of saposhnikovia [root], one liang of Chinese angelica [root] powder, five qian of paeonia [root] powder and three qian of ginseng [root] powder and form pills the size of wu seeds. Each time [let the patient] ingest 30 to 50 pills, to be sent down with warm wine or tea. To be ingested three times a day. Furthermore, boil ephedra [herb], ku shen [root], and schizonepetra [spikes] in water and wash [the affected region] with it. 聖濟總録苦參丸：治大風癩及熱毒風瘡疥癬。苦參九月末掘取去皮暴乾， 取粉一斤，枳殻麩炒六兩，爲末，蜜丸。每温酒下三十丸，日二夜一服。 一方去枳殻。 Sheng ji zong lu, the “pills with ku shen [root].” They serve to cure massive wind, [i.e.], repudiation-illness409 as well as sores, jie-illness and xuan-illness410 associated with heat poison and wind [intrusion]. Undig ku shen [root] in the ninth month, remove the skin and dry it in the sun. [Grind it to] obtain one jin of its powder, [grind this] together with six liang of unripe oranges, fried with wheat bran, to powder and 408 Ingredients include: Astragalus root, akebia herb, white mulberry root bark, tangerine peels, black pepper, atractylodes rhizome, aucklandia root, pharbitis seeds, and fresh ginger juice.

409 Lai 癩, “repudiation-illness,” most likely referring to leprosy, “Aussatz.” BCGM Dict I, 293-294. 410 Jie-illness 疥, vaguely defined skin ailment. BCGM Dict I, 249.



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form with honey pills. Each time send down with warm wine 30 pills, to be ingested twice during daytime and once during the night. Another variety of this recipe omits the unripe oranges. 腎臟風毒 ， 及心肺積熱 ， 皮膚生疥癩 ， 疼痒時出黄水 ， 及大風手足壞 爛，一切風疾。苦參三十一兩，荆芥穗一十六兩，爲末，水糊丸梧子大。 每服三十丸，茶下。和劑局方。 Wind poison affecting the kidney long-term depot, and also heat accumulation in heart and lung, jie-illness411 and repudiation-illness growing from the skin, with pain and itch and an occasional emission of yellow water, and also massive wind412 letting hands and feet rot, all these are wind [intrusion] illnesses. [Grind] 31 liang of ku shen [root] and 16 liang of schizonepeta spikes to powder and generate with water a paste and use this to form pills the size of wu seeds. Each time ingest 30 pills, to be sent down with tea. He ji ju fang. 上下諸瘻 ， 或在項 ， 或在下部。用苦參五升 ， 苦酒一斗 ， 漬三四日服 之，以知爲度。肘後方。 All types of fistula in the upper and lower [body parts]. They may appear on the neck, or in the lower [body] parts. Soak five sheng of ku shen [root] in one dou of bitter wine for three to four days and ingest [the liquid] for as long as it takes to see an effect. Zhou hou fang. 鼠瘻惡瘡。苦參二斤， 露蜂房二兩， 麴二斤， 水二斗， 漬二宿， 去滓， 入黍米二升，釀熟，稍飲，日三次。肘後方。 Mouse fistula413 and malign sores. Two jin of ku shen [root] and two liang of hornet/ wasp nests are soaked in two dou of water for two nights. Remove the dregs, add two sheng of glutinous millet and wait for the fermentation process to finish. Drink [the liquid] in small amounts, three times a day. Zhou hou fang.

411 Xuan 癬, “xuan-illness.” Conditions of dermal lesions with initially erythema, papules, and itching gradually extending in all directions to form an irregular ring with clear boundaries. The skin is slightly elevated with small papules, blisters, and/or scales and scraps. The central lesion may appear to heal spontaneously, and it may reappear. Also, a designation of local lesions with itching, release of liquid and shedding of scabs. BCGM Dict I, 591.

412 Da feng 大風, “massive wind,” may refer to sores caused by a massive intrusion of wind evil and also to conditions of leprosy. BCGM Dict I, 111. 413 Shu lou 鼠瘻, “mouse fistula,” BCGM Dict I, 466, identical with luo li 瘰癧, “scrofula pervasion-illnes.”

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下部漏瘡。苦參煎湯，日日洗之。直指方。 Leaking sores in the lower [body] parts. Boil ku shen [root] to obtain a decoction and use it to wash [the affected region] every day. Zhi zhi fang. 瘰癧結核。苦參四兩，牛膝汁丸緑豆大。每煖水下二十丸。張文仲備急方。 Scrofula pervasion-illness414 forming nodes. Form four liang of ku shen [root] with the juice of achyranthes [roots] to pills the size of mung beans. Each time send down with warm water 20 pills. Zhang Wenzhong, Bei ji fang. 湯火傷灼。苦參末油調傅之。衞生寶鑑。 Injuries from scalding or fire. Mix ku shen [root] powder with oil and apply this [to the affected region]. Wei sheng bao jian. 赤白帶下：苦參二兩，牡蠣粉一兩五錢，爲末。以雄猪肚一箇，水三盌煮 爛，搗泥和丸梧子大。每服百丸，温酒下。陸氏積德堂方。 Red and white discharge from below the belt. [Grind] two liang of ku shen [root] and one liang, five qian of oyster shell powder to powder. Boil one stomach of a male pig in three bowls of water until it has assumed a pulpy condition, pound it to a pulp and mix it [with the powder] to form pills the size of wu seeds. Each time ingest 100 pills, to be sent down with warm wine. Lu shi, Ji de tang fang. 13-12-02 實。Shi. Fruit [of ku shen]. 十月收采。 To be collected in the tenth month. 【氣味】同根。 Qi and Flavor. Identical with the root [of ku shen]. 【主治】久服輕身不老，明目。餌如槐子法，有驗。蘇恭。 Control. Ingested over a long time, it relieves the body of its weight and prevents aging. It clears the eyes. Prepare and eat [ku shen fruits] in the same way as sophora japonica [tree] seeds. This is effective. Su Gong. 414 Luo li 瘰癧, “scrofula pervasion-illness,” a condition whereby two or three connected swellings of the size of plum or date kernels appear either on the neck or in the armpits, or somewhere else in the body. In some cases this is accompanied by fever and an aversion to cold, as well as a headache and vexation. As long as the swelling has not opened to fester it is quite hard. This stage is called jie he 結核, “nodular kernel”. After an extended period of time it generates pus and festers. BCGM Dict I, 329.



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13-13 白鮮音仙。本經中品 Bai xian, read xian. FE Ben jing, middle rank. Dictamnus angustifolius G. Don ex Sweet. Dittany. 【釋名】白羶弘景、白羊鮮弘景、地羊鮮圖經、金雀兒椒日華。【弘景 曰】俗呼爲白羊鮮。氣息正似羊羶，故又名白羶。【時珍曰】鮮者，羊之 氣也。此草根白色，作羊羶氣，其子纍纍如椒，故有諸名。 Explanation of Names. Bai shan 白羶, [Tao] Hongjing. Bai yang xian 白羊鮮, [Tao] Hongjing. Di yang xian 地羊鮮, Tu jing. Jin que er jiao 金雀兒椒, Rihua. [Tao] Hongjing: It is commonly called bai yang xian 白羊鮮. It emits qi very similar to the odor of sheep, yang shan 羊羶. Hence it is also called bai shan 白羶, “white sheep odor.” [Li] Shizhen: Xian 鮮 are the qi of sheep, yang 羊. The root of this herb is white and produces sheep odor qi. Its seeds are very many, similar to Chinese pepper, jiao 椒. Hence all these names. 【集解】【别録曰】白鮮皮生上谷川谷及冤句，四月、五月采根，陰乾。 【弘景曰】近道處處有 ， 以蜀中者爲良。【恭曰】其葉似茱萸 ， 苗高尺 餘，根皮白而心實，花紫白色。根宜二月采，若四月、五月采便虚惡矣。 【頌曰】今河中、江寧府、滁州、潤州皆有之。苗高尺餘 ， 莖青 ， 葉稍 白，如槐，亦似茱萸。四月開花淡紫色，似小蜀葵花。根似小蔓菁，皮黄 白而心實。山人采嫩苗爲菜茹。 Collected Explanations. Bie lu: The [root] bark of bai xian grows in the river valleys of Shang gu and in Yuan ju. The root is collected in the fourth and fifth month. It is dried in the shade. [Tao] Hongjing: It can be found everywhere in nearby places. That from Shu zhong is considered good. [Su] Gong: The leaves resemble those of evodia herb.415 The seedlings reach a height of more than a chi. The root has a white bark and a solid center. The flowers are puple-white. The root should be collected in the second month. If it is collected in the fourth and fifth month, it is hollow inside and bad. [Su] Song: Today it can be found in He zhong, Jiang ning fu, Chu zhou and Run zhou. The seedlings are more than a chi high. The stem is greenish; the leaves are a little white, like those of sophora japonica [trees]. They also resemble those of evodia [herb]. In the fourth month, [bai xian] opens flowers of a pale purple color, resembling small althaea flowers. The root resembles small turnip [roots], with a yellow-white bark and a solid center. The people in the mountains collect the tender seedlings and use them as vegetables. 415 Zhu yu 茱萸 may refer to (1) wu zhu yu 吴茱萸, evodia rutaecarpa ( Juss.) Benth., (2) shan zhu yu 山茱萸, cornus officinalis Sieb. et Zucc., and (3) shi zhu yu 食茱萸, zanthoxylum ailanthoides Sieb. et Zucc.

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13-13-01 根皮。Gen pi.

Root bark [of bai xian].

【氣味】苦 ， 寒 ， 無毒。【别録曰】鹹。【之才曰】惡螵蛸、桔梗、伏 苓、萆薢。 Qi and Flavor. Bitter, cold, nonpoisonous. Bie lu: Salty. [Xu] Zhicai: [Ingested together,] it abhors mantis larvae, platycodon [root], poria, and dioscorea [root]. 【主治】頭風黄疸，欬逆淋瀝，女子陰中腫痛，濕痺死肌，不可屈伸起止 行步。本經。療四肢不安，時行腹中大熱飲水，欲走大呼，小兒驚癇，婦 人産後餘痛。别録。治一切熱毒風、惡風，風瘡疥癬赤爛，眉髮脱脆，皮 肌急，壯熱惡寒，解熱黄、酒黄、急黄、穀黄、勞黄。甄權。通關節，利 九竅及血脉，通小腸水氣，天行時疾，頭痛眼疼。其花同功。大明。治肺 嗽。蘇頌。 Control. Head wind416 and yellow dan-illness/jaundice. Cough with [qi] counterflow and urinary dripping. Painful swelling in the yin (i. e., genital) region of women. Numbness resulting from moisture and dead muscles, making it impossible to bend or stretch [the limbs], to rise and stand still, and to walk. Ben jing. It heals restlessness of the four limbs, and an epidemic massive heat in the abdomen making one wish to drink water. Patients with an urge to run and shout loudly. Fright epilepsy of children. Women with continuing pain after delivery. Bie lu. It serves to cure all types of heat poison and wind [intrusion], aversion to wind, wind sores and jie-illness417 and xuan-illness418 resulting in red festering, loss of eyebrows and hair. The skin and muscles are tense. Episodes of strong heat and aversion to cold. It resolves jaundice caused by heat, wine, tension, grain and exhaustion. Zhen Quan. It penetrates joints, and opens the nine orifices and the blood vessels. It opens the small intestine for the passage of water and qi. Epidemic, seasonal illness. Headache and aching eyes. The flowers [of bai xian] have the same therapeutic potential. Da Ming. It serves to cure lung cough. Su Song. 416 Tou feng 頭風, “head wind.” Condition of wind evil attacking the head followed by pain, dizziness, itching. BCGM Dict I, 509.

417 Jie-illness 疥, vaguely defined skin ailment. BCGM Dict I, 249.

418 Xuan 癬, “xuan-illness.” Conditions of dermal lesions with initially erythema, papules, and itching gradually extending in all directions to form an irregular ring with clear boundaries. The skin is slightly elevated with small papules, blisters, and/or scales and scraps. The central lesion may appear to heal spontaneously, and it may reappear. Also, a designation of local lesions with itching, release of liquid and shedding of scabs. BCGM Dict I, 591.



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【發明】【時珍曰】白鮮皮氣寒善行，味苦性燥，足太陰、陽明經去濕熱 藥也，兼入手太陰、陽明，爲諸黄風痺要藥。世醫止施之瘡科，淺矣。 Explication. [Li] Shizhen: The [root] bark of bai xian has cold qi and and moves freely [through the human body]. The flavor is bitter; by its nature it is dry. It is a pharmaceutical substance for the yang brilliance conduits and eliminates moisture and heat. It also enters the hand major yin and yang brilliance conduits. It is a pharmaceutical drug for all types of jaundice and numbness caused by wind [intrusion]. Today’s physicians use it only in the treatment of sores. That is poor. 【附方】舊一，新一。 Added Recipes. One of old. One newly [recorded]. 鼠瘻已破，出膿血者。白鮮皮煮汁，服一升，當吐若鼠 子也。肘後方。 Mouse fistula419 that have broken open, releasing pus and blood. Boil [root] bark of bai xian and ingest one sheng of the resulting juice. [The patient] will vomit something resembling small mice. Zhou hou fang. 産後中風 ， 人虚不可服他藥者。一物白鮮皮湯 ， 用新汲水三升 ， 煮取一 升，温服。陳延之小品方。 Struck by wind following delivery. When that person experiences depletion to a degree that she is unable to ingest any other medication than the “decoction with bai xian [root] bark as its sole ingredient.” Boil [bai xian root bark] in three sheng of newly drawn water down to one sheng and [let the woman] ingest this warm. Chen Yanzhi, Xiao pin fang. 13-14 延胡索宋開寶 Yan hu suo, FE Song, Kai bao. Corydalis yanhusuo W. T. Wang. Chinese fumewort.

【釋名】玄胡索。【好古曰】本名玄胡索，避宋真宗諱，改玄爲延也。 Explanation of Names. Xuan hu suo 玄胡索. [Wang] Haogu: Originally it was named xuan hu suo 玄胡索. Because of a taboo on the personal name of Song [Emperor] Zhen zong, the character xuan 玄 was changed to yan 延.

419 Shu lou 鼠瘻, “mouse fistula,” BCGM Dict I, 466, identical with luo li 瘰癧, “scrofula pervasion-illnes.”

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【集解】【藏器曰】延胡索生奚國 ， 從安東來。根如半夏 ， 色黄。【時 珍曰】奚乃東北夷也。今二茅山西上龍洞種之。每年寒露後栽， 立春後生 苗，葉如竹葉樣，二月長三寸高，根叢生如芋卵樣，立夏掘起。 Collected Explanations. [Chen] Cangqi: Yan hu suo grows in the country of the Xi; it comes from An dong. The root resembles that of pinellia. It is yellow. [Li] Shizhen: The Xi are a tribe in the North-East. Today [yan hu suo] is planted in Shang long dong to the West of Mount Er mao shan. It is collected every year after the solar term “Cold Dew” (8th/9th October). The leaves are like bamboo leaves. [The herb] in the second month grows three cun high. The roots grow in clusters, similar to those of taro. They are undug beginning with the solar term “Summer Begins” (5th May). 13-14-01 根。Gen. Root [of yan hu suo].

【氣味】辛，温，無毒。【珣曰】苦、甘。【杲曰】甘、辛，温，可升可 降，陰中陽也。【好古曰】苦、辛，温，純陽，浮也。入手、足太陰經。 Qi and Flavor. Acrid, warm, nonpoisonous. [Li] Xun: Bitter, sweet. [Li] Gao: Sweet, acrid, warm. It can rise and descend. It is a yang in yin [substance]. [Wang] Haogu: Bitter, acrid, warm, pure yang, floating. It enters the hand and foot major yin conduits. 【主治】破血 ， 婦人月經不調 ， 腹中結塊 ， 崩中淋露 ， 産後諸血病 ， 血 運，暴血衝上，因損下血。煮酒或酒磨服。開寶。除風治氣，暖腰膝，止 暴腰痛，破癥癖，撲損瘀血，落胎。大明。治心氣小腹痛，有神。好古。 散氣，治腎氣，通經絡。李珣。活血利氣，止痛，通小便。時珍。 Control. It breaks through [stagnating] blood. Irregular female menstruation. Bound lumps in the abdomen. Collapsing center420 with liquid dripping like dew [drops]. All types of blood diseases following delivery. Blood [induced] vertigo. Sudden rushing up of blood. Loss of blood following an injury. Boil [yan hu suo root] in wine, or grate it in wine and ingest [the liquid]. Kai bao. It dispels wind and serves to cure qi [disorders]. It warms the lower back and the knees. It breaks through concretion-illness and aggregation-illness421 and stagnating blood resulting from blows or injury. It causes premature loss of a fetus. Da Ming. It serves to cure pain in the lower abdomen associated with the qi of the heart/stomach. It is divinely 420 Beng zhong 崩中, “collapsing center,” excessive vaginal bleeding outside of a menstruation period. BCGM Dict I, 58.

421 Pi 癖, “aggregation-illness,” of painful lumps emerging from time to time in both flanks. BCGM Dict I, 371.



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[effective]. [Wang] Haogu. It disperses qi, serves to cure kidney qi and penetrates the conduits and network [vessels]. Li Xun. It quickens blood and frees the passage of qi. It ends pain. It frees the passage of urine. [Li] Shizhen. 【發明】【珣曰】主腎氣及破産後惡露或兒枕。與三稜、龞甲、大黄爲散 甚良 ， 蟲蛀成末者尤良。【時珍曰】玄胡索味苦微辛 ， 氣温 ， 入手足太 陰、厥陰四經，能行血中氣滯，氣中血滯，故專治一身上下諸痛，用之中 的，妙不可言。荆穆王妃胡氏，因食蕎麥麪着怒，遂病胃脘當心痛，不可 忍。醫用吐下行氣化滯諸藥，皆入口即吐，不能奏功，大便三日不通。因 思雷公炮炙論云：心痛欲死，速覓延胡。乃以玄胡索末三錢，温酒調下， 即納入。少頃，大便行而痛遂止。又華老年五十餘，病下痢腹痛垂死，已 備棺木。予用此藥三錢，米飲服之，痛即减十之五，調理而安。按方勺泊 宅編云：一人病遍體作痛，殆不可忍。都下醫或云中風，或云中濕，或云 脚氣，藥悉不效。周離亨言：是氣血凝滯所致。用玄胡索、當歸、桂心等 分 ， 爲末 ， 温酒服三四錢 ， 隨量頻進 ， 以止爲度 ， 遂痛止。蓋玄胡索能 活血化氣，第一品藥也。其後趙待制 霆因導引失節，肢體拘攣，亦用此數 服而愈。 Explication. [Li] Xun: It controls the kidney qi and it breaks through malign lochia following delivery and an unborn infant’s [blood] headrest [in its mother’s uterus]. If applied as a powder together with sparganium [root], turtle shell and rhubarb root it is very good. The powder generated through worm/bug infestation [of yan hu suo root] is especially good. [Li] Shizhen: Xuan hu suo is of bitter and slightly acrid flavor. Its qi are warm. It enters the four hand and foot major yin and ceasing yin conduits. It is able to stimulate the movement of stagnating qi in blood, and of stagnating blood in qi. Hence it is especially resorted to to cure all types of pain in the upper and lower [body parts]. The hits achieved with its application are wondrous beyond words. A Mrs. Hu, concubine of King Jing mu, once ate buckwheat noodles and became angry. As a consequence, she suffered from unbearable pain in her stomach duct. The physicians applied all types of medication aiming at stimulating her qi to move and transform a stagnation and letting her vomit or discharge [the results]. However, as soon as [these medications] had entered her mouth, she threw them up again. She was unable to perform, and for three days failed to defecate. [Then I] thought of the Lei gong pao zhi lun where it is said: “If there is heart/stomach pain so severe that one wishes to die, quickly resort to yan hu.” Hence she was asked to ingest three qian of yan hu suo [root] powder mixed with warm wine. After only a short time, she had a bowel movement and the pain ended. Also, old [Mr.] Hua, at the age of more than 50, suffered from discharge with free-flux illness and abdominal pain, and was about to die. His coffin had already been prepared. I [recommended to] ingest three qian

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of this pharmaceutical drug with a rice beverage. This decreased the pain by one half. [Further medication served to] bring order and he found peace. According to Fang Shao’s Bo zhi bian, “once someone suffered from pain all over his body. It was virtually unbearable. Some of the physicians in the capital declared him to be struck by wind, others said he was struck by moisture, and still others identified it as leg qi.422 All medications resorted to remained without effect. Zhou Liheng stated: ‘This condition results from a qi and blood stagnation. [Grind] equal amounts of xuan hu suo, Chinese angelica [root] and shaved cinnamom bark to powder and ingest with warm wine three to four qian, Ingest this frequently in varying quantities until [the pain] ends.’ The fact is, among all medications xuan hu suo is the number one with an ability to quicken blood and transform qi. Later, Zhao Ting, Edict Attendant, immoderately practiced gymnastic exercises and as a result his limbs and his body suffered from contraction and spasm. He, too, used this and was cured after several ingestions.” 【附方】舊三，新一十二。 Added Recipes. Three of old. 12 newly [recorded]. 老小欬嗽。玄胡索一兩 ， 枯礬二錢半 ， 爲末。每服二錢 ， 軟餳一塊和含 之。仁存堂方。 Cough regardless of age. [Grind] one liang of xuan hu suo [root] and two and a half qian of prepared alum to powder. Each dose is two qian. Mix it with one piece of soft malt-sugar, hold this in the mouth [and swallow the resulting liquid]. Ren cun tang fang. 鼻出衄血。玄胡索末綿裹塞耳内，左衄塞右，右衄塞左。普濟方。 Nosebleed. Wrap xuan hu suo [root] powder in silk floss and stuff this into the nostrils. If the bleeding is from the left [nostril], stuff it into the right [nostril]. If the bleeding is from the right [nostril], stuff it into the left [nostril]. Pu ji fang. 小便尿血。玄胡索一兩 ， 朴硝七錢半 ， 爲末。每服四錢 ， 水煎服。活人 書。 Urine with blood. [Grind] one liang of xuan hu suo [root] and seven and a half qian of mirabilite to powder. Each time ingest four qian. To be ingested boiled with water. Huo ren shu. 小便不通。捻頭散：治小兒小便不通。用延胡索、川苦楝子等分，爲末。 每服半錢或一錢，白湯滴油數點調下。錢仲陽小兒直訣。 422 Jiao qi 脚氣, “leg qi.” Painful, weak, swollen legs. BCGM Dict I, 248.



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Blocked urination. The “powder to tweak the head.” It serves to cure blocked urination of children. [Grind] equal amounts of yan hu suo [root] and Persian lilac fruit from Chuan to powder. Each time [let the patient] ingest half a qian or one qian. It is to be sent down with clear, boiled water into which several drops of oil were given. Qian Zhongyang, Xiao er zhi jue. 膜外氣疼及氣塊。延胡索不限多少，爲末，豬胰一具，切作塊子，炙熟蘸 末，頻食之。勝金方。 Qi pain and qi lumps outside of the membrane. [Grind] any amount of yan hu suo [root] to powder. Cut one pancreas of a pig into pieces. Roast it until done, dip it into the powder and repeatedly eat it. Sheng jin fang. 熱厥心痛，或發或止，久不愈，身熱足寒者。用玄胡索去皮，金鈴子肉等 分，爲末，每温酒或白湯下二錢。聖惠方。 Heat recession [from the feet] and heart pain, sometimes active, sometimes pausing. When this has lasted for a long time, with the body being hot and the feet being cold. [Grind] xuan hu suo [root] with the bark removed and Persian lilac fruit to powder. Each time send down two qian with warm wine or clear, boiled water. Sheng hui fang. 下痢腹痛。方見發明下。 Discharge with free-flux illness and abdominal pain. For a recipe, see under “Explication.” 婦女血氣，腹中刺痛，經候不調。用玄胡索去皮醋炒，當歸酒浸炒各一 兩，橘紅二兩，爲末，酒煮米糊丸梧子大。每服一百丸，空心艾醋湯下。 濟生方。 Whenever blood and qi in a woman cause a piercing abdominal pain, with irregular menstruation, [grind] one liang each of xuan hu suo [root], with its bark removed and fried in vinegar, and Chinese angelica [root], soaked in wine and fried, and two liang of [external] red [layers of ] tangerine peels to powder. Boil it in wine, and with a rice paste form pills the size of wu seeds. Each time [let the woman] ingest 100 pills, to be sent down on an empty stomach with a vinegar decoction of common mugwort leaves. Ji sheng fang. 産後諸病。凡産後穢污不盡，腹滿，及産後血運，心頭硬，或寒熱不禁， 或心悶、手足煩熱、氣力欲絶諸病。並用延胡索炒研，酒服二錢，甚效。 聖惠方。 All types of disease after delivery. For all diseases such as unending discharge of foul liquid following delivery and a feeling of abdominal fullness, blood induced vertigo

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following delivery, hardening at the top of the heart/stomach, unceasing [alternating sensations of ] cold and heat, or heat-pressure, vexing heat affecting hands and feet, and impending interruption of the strength of qi, grind fried yan hu suo [root to powder] and ingest with wine two qian. Very effective. Sheng hui fang. 小兒盤腸氣痛。延胡索、茴香等分，炒研，空心米飲，量兒大小與服。衞 生易簡方。 Children with pain caused by qi in twisted intestines. Fry equal amounts of yan hu suo [root] and fennel and grind [this to powder]. [Let the child] ingest with a rice beverage on an empty stomach an amount congruent with its age. Wei sheng yi jian fang. 疝氣危急。玄胡索鹽炒，全蠍去毒生用，等分爲末。每服半錢，空心鹽酒 下。直指方。 Elevation-illness423 qi causing a dangerous state. [Grind] equal amounts of xuan hu suo [root] fried in salt and a complete scorpion with its poison removed to powder. Each time ingest half a qian, to be sent down on an empty stomach with salted wine. Zhi zhi fang. 冷氣腰痛。玄胡索、當歸、桂心三味，方見發明下。 Lower back pain caused by cold qi. For a recipe with the three substances xuan hu suo [root], Chinese angelica [root] and shaved cinnamom bark, see under “Explication.” 肢體拘痛。方同上。 Limbs and body with cramps and pain. Recipe identical with the one above. 偏正頭痛不可忍者。玄胡索七枚，青黛二錢，牙皂二箇去皮子，爲末，水 和丸如杏仁大。每以水化一丸，灌入病人鼻内，隨左右，口咬銅錢一箇， 當有涎出成盆而愈。永類方。 Unbearable unilateral or ordinary headache. [Grind] seven xuan hu suo [roots], two qian of Chinese indigo, and two small gleditsia pods, with the skin and seeds removed, to powder and form with water pills the size of apricot seeds. Each time let the patient ingest one pill dissolved in water by force-feeding it into his left or right nostril, depending on [the location of the headache]. He is also to hold a copper coin in his mouth. This will cause a secretion of as much saliva as fills a bowl, and he is healed. Yong lei fang. 423 Shan qi 疝氣, “elevation-illness qi,” a pathological condition of (1) an item having entered the scrotum, with pain, sometimes ascending, sometimes descending, (2) a condition affecting the scrotum or a testicle, (3) of violent abdominal pain, in some cases associated with constipation and anuria. BCGM Dict I, 419, 417.



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墜落車馬，筋骨痛不止。延胡索末，豆淋酒服二錢，日二服。聖惠方。 Unending painful sinews and bones resulting from a fall from a cart or horse. Ingest two qian of yan hu suo [root] powder with a wine filtrate prepared from soybeans. To be ingested twice a day. Sheng hui fang. 13-15 貝母本經中品 Bei mu, FE Ben jing, middle rank. Fritillaria unibracteata Hsiao et K.C. Hsia. Sichuan fritillaria. 【釋名】莔爾雅音萌、勤母别録、苦菜别録、苦花别録、空草别録、藥 實。【弘景曰】形似聚貝子，故名貝母。【時珍曰】詩云”言采其莔”，即 此。一作䖟，謂根狀如䖟也。苦菜、藥實，與野苦蕒、黄藥子同名。 Explanation of Names. Meng 莔, Er ya, read meng 萌. Qin mu 勤母, “industrious mother,” Bie lu. Ku cai 苦菜, “bitter vegetable,” Bie lu. Ku hua 苦花, “bitter flower,” Bie lu. Kong cao 空草, “hollow herb.” Yao shi 藥實. [Tao] Hongjing: Its physical appearance resembles clusters of small cowries, ju bei zi 聚貝子. Hence the name bei mu 貝母, “cowry mother.” [Li] Shizhen: The Shi states: “And there [I shall] collect this meng 莔.”424 That is the [substance discussed] here. It is also written meng 䖟. That is to say, the root is shaped like a gadfly, meng 䖟. Ku cai 苦菜 and yao shi 藥實 are names identical with those of wild ixeris [herb], ye ku mai 野苦蕒, and polygonum [root], huang yao zi 黄藥子. 【集解】【别録曰】貝母生晉地，十月采根，暴乾。【恭曰】其葉似大 蒜。四月蒜熟時采之良。若十月苗枯，根亦不佳也。出潤州、荆州、襄 州者最佳，江南諸州亦有。【頌曰】今河中、江陵府、郢、壽、隨、鄭、 蔡、潤、滁州皆有之。二月生苗，莖細，青色。葉亦青，似蕎麥葉，隨苗 出。七月開花，碧緑色，形如鼓子花。八月采根，根有瓣子，黄白色，如 聚貝子。此有數種。陸機詩疏云：莔，貝母也。葉如栝樓而細小。其子在 根下，如芋子，正白，四方連累相着，有分解。今近道出者正類此。郭璞 注爾雅言白花，葉似韭，此種罕復見之。【斅曰】貝母中有獨顆團不作兩 片無皺者，號曰丹龍精，不入藥用。誤服令人筋脉永不收，惟以黄精、小 藍汁服之，立解。 Collected Explanations. Bie lu: Bei mu grows in the Jin region. The root is collected in the tenth month. It is dried in the sun. [Su] Gong: The leaves resemble those of garlic. In the fourth month, when garlic is ripe, it is good to collect [the root of 424 The entire phrase in Shi jing, Pt. I, Bk. IV, Ode X/3 is: Zhi bi e qiu yan cai qi meng 陟彼阿 丘。言采其莔, “[I] will climb on that mound with the steep side, and there I will collect [the herb] meng.”

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bei mu]. In the tenth month, when the seedlings wither, the root is also no longer in top condition. Those coming from Run zhou, Jing zhou and Xiang zhou are the very best. It is also found in all the zhou of Jiang nan. [Su] Song: Nowadays, it can be found everywhere in He zhong, Jing ling fu, Ying, Sui, Zheng, Cai, Run and Chu zhou. It develops seedlings in the second month with a thin, greenish stem. The leaves, too, are greenish, resembling the leaves of buckwheat. They appear with the seedlings. Flowers open in the seventh month. They are of bluish-green color, and they are shaped like hedge bindweed flowers. The root is collected in the eighth month. The root has cloves of yellow-white color, resembling small cowry clusters. There are several types of this [plant]. Lu Ji’s Shi shu states: “Meng is bei mu. The leaves resemble those of trichosanthes [herb], but are smaller. The seeds (i. e., bulbs) are under the root, similar to those of taro. They are pure white. They are connected to all four sides [of the root] and can be separated individually.” Those coming today from nearby places are all of this kind. Guo Pu in his comment on the Er ya says: “White flowers, with leaves similar to those of Chinese leek.” This type has rarely been seen in recent times. [Lei] Xiao: There is one type of bei mu that has only a single bulb without two divided parts, and no wrinkles. It is called “cinnabar-red dragon essence.” It is not used for pharmaceutical purposes. If ingested erroneously, it will let one’s sinews and vessels relax forever. It is only with an ingestion of polygonatum sibiricum [root] and indigo plant juice that this is immediately resolved. 13-15-01 根。Gen. Root [of bei mu]. 【修治】【斅曰】凡使，先於柳木灰中炮黄，擘去内口鼻中有米許大者心 一顆，後拌糯米於鏊上同炒。待米黄，去米用。 Pharmaceutical Preparation. [Lei] Xiao: For all [therapeutic] applications, first roast it in the ashes of willow wood until it has assumed a yellow color. Break [the bulb] open and remove a germ, a little bigger than a rice grain, from [a crevice on its top looking like a] mouth and nose. This is then fried on a griddle together with polished glutinous rice until the rice has turned yellow. The rice is removed and [the piece from the core of the root] is used [for therapeutic purposes] 【氣味】辛，平，無毒。【别録曰】苦，微寒。【恭曰】味甘、苦，不 辛。【之才曰】厚朴、白微爲之使，惡桃花，畏秦艽、莽草、礜石，反烏 頭。 Qi and Flavor. Acrid, balanced, nonpoisonous. Bie lu: Bitter, slightly cold. [Su] Gong: The flavor is sweet and bitter, not acrid. [Xu] Zhicai: Magnolia bark and



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cynanchum atratum [root] serve as its guiding [substances]. [Ingested together,] it abhors peach blossoms, and it fears large gentiana [roots], illiceum [leaves] and arsenolite. It is opposed to aconitum [main tuber]. 【主治】傷寒煩熱，淋瀝邪氣，疝瘕，喉痺，乳難，金瘡風痙。本經。療 腹中結實，心下滿，洗洗惡風寒，目眩項直，欬嗽上氣，止煩熱渴，出 汗，安五臟，利骨髓。别録。服之不饑斷穀。弘景。消痰，潤心肺。末和 沙糖丸含，止嗽。燒灰油調，傅人畜惡瘡，歛瘡口。大明。主胸脇逆氣， 時疾黄疸。研末點目，去膚瞖。以七枚作末酒服，治産難及胞衣不出。與 連翹同服，主項下瘤癭疾。甄權。 Control. Vexing heat following harm caused by cold. Urinary dripping with evil qi. Elevation-illness and conglomeration-illness.425 Throat blockage. Difficulty to let milk. Spasms because of wind [intrusion into] wounds caused by metal objects/ weapons. Ben jing. It heals bound [qi]426 repletion in the abdomen, a feeling of fullness below the heart/stomach, while bathing an aversion to wind and cold, visual dizziness, and stiff neck, cough with rising qi. It ends vexing heat with thirst. It causes sweating. It pacifies the five long-term depots. It benefits bones and marrow. Bie lu. To eat this prevents hunger and lets one end the intake of grain. [Tao] Hongjing. It dissolves phlegm. It moistens heart and lung. The powder prepared with fried sugar to pills and held in the mouth ends cough. Burn it to ashes, mix it with oil and apply it to a person’s or animal’s malign sores. This will close the opening of the sores. Da Ming. It cures counterflow of qi in chest and flanks, and epidemic seasonal yellow dan-illness/jaundice. Ground to powder and dripped into the eyes it removes membrane films. Seven pieces ground to powder and ingested with wine serve to cure difficult delivery and failure of the placenta to come out. Ingested together with forsythia [fruit], it controls goiter ailments below the neck. Zhen Quan. 【發明】【承曰】貝母能散心胸鬱結之氣，故詩云”言采其莔”是也。作詩 者本以不得志而言，今用治心中氣不快、多愁鬱者，殊有功，信矣。【好 古曰】貝母乃肺經氣分藥也。仲景治寒實結胸外無熱證者，三物小陷胸湯 主之，白散亦可，以其内有貝母也。成無己云：辛散而苦泄，桔梗、貝母 之苦辛，用以下氣。【機曰】俗以半夏有毒，用貝母代之。夫貝母乃太陰 肺經之藥，半夏乃太陰脾經、陽明胃經之藥，何可以代？若虚勞欬嗽、吐 血咯血、肺痿肺癰、婦人乳癰、癰疽及諸鬱之證，半夏乃禁忌，皆貝母爲 向導，猶可代也。至於脾胃濕熱，涎化爲痰，久則生火。痰火上攻，昏憒 425 Shan jia 疝瘕, “elevation-illness with conglomeration-illness.” A lump-like swelling in the abdomen that alternately collects and then dissolves again. BCGM Dict I, 418.

426 Jie qi 結氣, “bound qi,” 1.) an etiological agent of pathological qi halting and congealing at any place in the body. 2.) A condition brought forth by bound qi. BCGM Dict I, 240.

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僵仆蹇濇諸證，生死旦夕，亦豈貝母可代乎？【頌曰】貝母治惡瘡。唐人 記其事云：江左嘗有商人，左膊上有瘡如人面，亦無他苦。商人戲以酒滴 口中，其面赤色。以物食之，亦能食，多則膊内肉脹起。或不食，則一臂 痺焉。有名醫教其歷試諸藥，金石草木之類，悉無所苦。至貝母，其瘡乃 聚眉閉口。商人喜，因以小葦筒毁其口灌之，數日成痂遂愈，然不知何疾 也。本經言主金瘡，此豈金瘡之類與？ Explication. Chen Cheng: Bei mu can disperse pent-up qi from heart and chest. Hence it is correct when the Shi states: “There I will collect the herb meng 莔.” The poet said so because he was frustrated. When nowadays it is used to cure unhappy qi in the heart, and those affected by worries and depression, it has an outstanding [therapeutic] potential. Trustworthy! [Wang] Haogu: Bei mu is a pharmaceutical drug for the qi section of the lung conduits. When [Zhang] Zhongjing cures illness signs of cold repletion and bound [qi]427 outside the chest with no heat, [he recommends] the “decoction with three items for a chest slightly sunken in”428 to control them. however, the “white powder”429 is possible, too, as it includes bei mu. Cheng Wuyi states: “Acrid [flavor] disperses, while bitter [flavor] drains, The bitter and acrid [flavor] of platycodon [root] and bei mu is used to discharge qi.” [Wang] Ji: Because pinellia [root] is poisonous, bei mu is commonly resorted to as a substitute. Now, bei mu is a pharmaceutical substance for the major yin lung conduits. Pinellia [root] is a pharmaceutical substance for the major yin conduits of the spleen and the yang brilliance conduits of the stomach. How could it be substituted [with bei mu]? In the case of illness signs such as depletion exhaustion with cough, blood spitting and coughing up of blood, lung dysfunction and lung obstruction-illness,430 breast obstruction-illness431 of women, obstruction-illness and impediment-illness432 and all types of pent-up [qi], [to ingest] pinellia [root] is strictly forbidden. All these conditions are approached by bei mu, and it may serve as a substitute [for pinellia 427 Jie qi 結氣, “bound qi,” 1.) an etiological agent of pathological qi halting and congealing at any place in the body. 2.) A condition brought forth by bound qi. BCGM Dict I, 240.

428 Ingredients include: Coptis rhizome, pinellia root and trichosanthes root.

429 Ingredients include: Platycodon root, fritillaria root and croton seeds.

430 Fei yong 肺癰, “lung obstruction-illness,” also: fei yong 肺壅, “lung obstruction,” a condition of abscesses in the lung, with fever, chest pain, and vomiting of bad-smelling pus and blood. BCGM Dict I, 156.

431 Ru yong 乳癰, “breast obstruction-illness,” a condition of acute putrefication of a woman’s breast. Often encountered if a woman, following delivery, experiences chui nai 吹奶, “inflated breast,” or du ru 妒乳, “jealousy breast.” 432 Yong ju 癰疽, “obstruction-illness, impediment-illness.” refers to two vaguely distinguished obstructions/impediments of vessels or other ducts inside the body. Qi rushing against the obstruction may cause a local swelling and eventually break through the surface to cause an abscess. BCGM Dict I, 642.



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root]. But when it comes to illness signs such as spleen and stomach affected by moisture and heat, saliva transforming to phlegm, and a generation of fire - if this continues for long, with the phlegm fire attacking upward, and muddle-headedness, falls to the ground and paralysis, when the time between being alive and having died is just the time from morning to evening, how could bei mu serve as a substitute? [Su] Song: Bei mu serves to cure malign sores. An event during the Tang dynasty was recorded as follows. “A merchant in Jiang zuo on his left arm had a sore resembling a human face. He did not have any other complaint. When the merchant made a fun of it to drop wine into the [face’s] mouth, the face turned red. When he fed it with food, it was able to eat. When it was fed a lot, the flesh in the arm swell and rose. If it was given nothing to eat, then the entire arm turned numb. A renowned physician advised him to apply all types of pharmaceutical drugs, but neither metals, nor stones or herbs and trees caused the face any hardship. Eventually bei mu was administered, and the sore pulled together its eyebrows and closed its mouth. The merchant rejoyced and with a small reed he pierced the mouth and force-fed it [with bei mu]. After a few days, scars formed and [the arm] was healed. Still, it is unknown what illness that may have been.” The Ben jing says that “[bei mu] controls wounds caused by metal objects/weapons.” Perhaps this was something like a wound caused by a metal object/weapon? 【附方】新一十七。 Added Recipes. 17 newly [recorrded]. 憂鬱不伸，胸膈不寬。貝母去心，薑汁炒研，薑汁麪糊丸。每服七十丸， 征士鎖甲煎湯下。集效方。 Grief with pent-up qi and an inability to escape blame. Chest and diaphragm are tense. Remove the core of a bei mu [bulb], roast it with ginger juice and grind it [to powder]. Mix it with ginger juice to a paste and form pills. Each time ingest 70 pills, to be sent down with a decoction prepared by boiling a military personel’s chain armour. Ji xiao fang. 化痰降氣，止欬解鬱，消食除脹，有奇效。用貝母去心一兩，薑制厚朴半 兩，蜜丸梧子大，每白湯下五十丸。筆峰方。 To transform phlegm and send down qi, to end cough and resolve pent-up qi, to melt food and eliminate swelling, this is extraordinarily effective. One liang of bei mu [bulbs] with the core discarded and half a liang of magnolia bark, with its effects checked by ginger, are formed with honey to pills the size of wu seeds. Each time send down with clear, boiled water 50 pills. Bi feng fang.

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小兒晬嗽。百日内欬嗽痰壅，貝母五錢，甘草半生半炙二錢，爲末，沙糖 丸芡子大，每米飲化下一丸。全幼心鑑。 Brittle days cough433 of children. A cough with phlegm obstruction within [a child’s first] 100 days. [Grind] five qian of bei mu and two qian of glycyrrhiza [root], one half fresh, one half roasted, to powder and form with sugar pills the size of qian seeds. Each time [let the child] ingest one pill dissolved in a rice beverage. Quan you xin jian. 孕婦欬嗽。貝母去心，麩炒黄爲末，沙糖拌丸芡子大。每含嚥一丸，神 效。救急易方。 Cough of pregnant women. Remove the core from bei mu [bulbs] and grind them with bran, fried until it has assumed a yellow color, to powder. Mix it with sugar and prepare pills the size of qian seeds. Each time [let the woman] hold in her mouth one pill and swallow [the resulting liquid]. Divinely effective. Jiu ji yi fang. 妊娠尿難，飲食如故。用貝母、苦參、當歸各四兩，爲末，蜜丸小豆大， 每飲服三丸至十丸。金匱要略。 Difficult urination during pregnancy, with drinking and eating as usual. [Grind] four liang each of bei mu [bulbs], sophora [root] and Chinese angelica [root] to powder and form with honey pills the size of red mung beans. Each time ingest, with a beverage, three up to ten pills. Jin kui yao lüe. 乳汁不下。二母散：貝母、知母、牡蠣粉等分，爲細末，每豬蹄湯調服二 錢，此祖傳方也。王海藏湯液本草。 Inability of a nursing mother to let milk sap. The “powder with the two [ingredients named mu 母] ‚mother‘.” [Grind] equal amounts of bei mu [bulbs], anemarrhena [root, zhi mu] and oyster powder to fine powder. Each time [let the woman] ingest two qian mixed with a pig trotter decoction. This is a recipe transmitted by the ancestors. Wang Haicang, Tang ye ben cao. 冷淚目昏。貝母一枚，胡椒七粒，爲末點之。儒門事親方。 Cold tears and dim vision. [Grind] one bei mu [bulb] and seven black pepper grains to powder and drip it [into the affected eyes]. Ru men shi qin fang.

433 Zui sou 晬嗽, “brittle days cough,” a condition of cough in children within the first 100 days of their life. BCGM Dict I, 705.



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目生弩肉。肘後用貝母、真丹等分爲末，日點。摘玄方用貝母、丁香等分 爲末，乳汁調點。 Tumorous flesh growth in an eye. The Zhou hou [recommends to grind] equal amounts of bei mu [bulbs] and genuine cinnabar to powder, and to drip [it into the affected region] every day. The Zhai xuan fang [recommends to] grind equal amounts of bei mu [bulbs] and cloves to powder, mix it with a nursing mother’s milk sap and drip [this into the affected region]. 吐血不止。貝母炮，研，温漿水服二錢。聖惠方。 Unending spitting of blood. Roast bei mu [bulbs] in a pan, grind [them to powder] and ingest with warm fermented juice of foxtail millet434 two qian. Sheng hui fang. 衄血不止。貝母炮，研末，漿水服二錢，良久再服。普濟方。 Unending nosebleed. Roast bei mu [bulbs] in a pan, grind them to powder and ingest with fermented juice of foxtail millet two qian. After a rather long time, ingest this again. Pu ji fang. 小兒鵝口，滿口白爛。貝母去心爲末，半錢，水五分，蜜少許，煎三沸， 繳净抹之，日四五度。聖惠方。 Goose mouth of children,435 the entire mouth is white and rotten. Boil half a qian of bei mu [bulbs] with the core removed, in five fen of water and a little honey three times to bubbling. Wrap [a wooden stick with silk floss, wipe the interior of the mouth] clean and apply the [liquid to the affected region],436 four to five times a day. Sheng hui fang. 吹奶作痛。貝母末吹鼻中，大效。危氏得效方。 Painful inflated breast.437 Blow bei mu [bulb] powder into [the affected woman’s] nose. Greatly effective. Wei shi de xiao fang. 434 For jiang shui 漿水, “fermented water of foxtail millet,” see BCGM 05-33.

435 E kou 鵝口, “goose-mouth,” a chuang 瘡, “sores,” condition with a white layer covering the mucous membranes and top of the tongue in a child’s mouth making it resemble a goose-mouth. BCGM Dict I, 141. 436 A more detailed description of a comparable treatment is recorded in one of the recipes added to entry 15-27, hong lan hua 紅藍花, safflower: 以綿杖繳净吹之,”wrap silk floss around a wooden stick, wipe [the interior of the affected ear] clean and blow the [powder into it].”

437 Chui ru 吹乳, “inflated breast.” Identical with chui nai 吹奶, “inflated breast.” A condition with milk blocked after delivery and the breasts turning red and swelling. BCGM Dict I, 101.

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乳癰初腫。貝母末，酒服二錢，仍令人吮之，即通。仁齋直指方。 Beginning swelling related to a breast obstruction-illness.438 [Let the woman] ingest with wine two qian of bei mu [bulb] powder. Then let someone suck the [location of the swelling]. This will open it. Renzhai zhi zhi fang. 便癰腫痛。貝母、白芷等分爲末，酒調服或酒煎服，以滓貼之。永類鈐方。 Obstruction-illness in the [region of urination and defecation] relief, with swelling and pain. [Grind] equal amounts of bei mu and angelica dahurica [root] to powder and ingest it mixed with wine or boiled in wine. Apply the dregs to [the affected region]. Yong lei qian fang. 紫白癜斑。貝母、南星等分爲末，生薑帶汁擦之。 Purple and white patches and macules. [Grind] equal amounts of bei mu and arisaema [root] to powder. [Mix it] with fresh ginger juice and rub it [on the affected region]. 德生堂方用貝母、乾薑等分爲末，如澡豆，入密室中浴擦，得汗爲妙。 The De sheng tang fang [recommends to grind] equal amounts of bei mu and dried ginger to powder to be used as washing agent. Enter the bath room and wash and rub [the body with it]. Once a sweating sets in, [the effects are] wondrous. 談埜翁方以生薑擦動，醋磨貝母塗之。 The Tan Yeweng fang [recommends to] rub and excite [the affected region] with fresh ginger. Then apply vinegar in which bei mu was rubbed [to the affected region]. 聖惠方用貝母、百部等分爲末，自然薑汁調搽。 The Sheng hui fang [recommends to] grind equal amounts of bei mu [bulbs] and stemona [root] to powder, mix it with natural ginger juice and apply it [to the affected region]. 蜘蛛咬毒。縛定咬處，勿使毒行。以貝母末酒服半兩，至醉。良久酒化爲 水，自瘡口出。水盡，仍塞瘡口，甚妙。仁齋直指方。 Poisonous spider bites. Firmly bind the location of the bite so as to avoid further movement of the poison. [Let the patient] ingest half a liang of bei mu [bulb] powder wine until he is drunk. After an extended period of time the wine will have transformed to water and leaves [the body] through the opening of the wound. 438 Ru yong 乳癰, “breast obstruction-illness,” a condition of acute putrefication of a woman’s breast. Often encountered if a woman, following delivery, experiences chui nai 吹奶, “inflated breast,” or du ru 妒乳, “jealousy breast.”



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Once all the water has left, close the wound opening. Very wondrous. Renzhai zhi zhi fang. 蛇蠍咬傷。方同上。 Harm caused by a snake or scorpion bite. Recipe identical with the one above. 13-16 山慈姑宋嘉祐 Shan ci gu,439 FE Song, Jia you. Tulipa edulis (Miq.) Baker . Edible tulip. 【釋名】金燈拾遺、鬼燈檠綱目、朱姑綱目、鹿蹄草綱目、無義草。【時 珍曰】根狀如水慈姑，花狀如燈籠而朱色，故有諸名。段成式酉陽雜俎 云：金燈之花與葉不相見，人惡種之，謂之無義草。又有試劍草，亦名鹿 蹄草，與此同名，見後草之五。 Explanation of Names. Jin deng 金燈, “golden lamp,” Shi yi. Gui deng qing 鬼燈 檠, “demon lantern,” Gang mu. Zhu gu 朱姑, “red aunt,” Gang mu. Lu ti cao 鹿蹄草, “deer hoof herb,” Gang mu. Wu yi cao 無義草, “immoral herb.” [Li] Shizhen: The root is shaped like the [root of the] water [plant] arrowhead, ci gu 慈姑, “loving aunt.” The flowers are shaped like a lantern, and they are red. Hence all these names. Duan Chengshi in his You yang za zu states: “The flowers and the leaves of ‚golden lantern‘ [herb] do not appear at the same time. The people hate to plant them. They call it an ‚immoral herb‘, wu yi cao 無義草.” There is a shi jian cao 試劍草, the “herb to test a sword,” which is also called lu ti cao 鹿蹄草, “deer hoof herb.” The names are identical. See below, the fifth of herbs. (16-18) 【集解】【藏器曰】山慈姑生山中濕地，葉似車前，根如慈姑。【大明 曰】零陵間有一種團慈姑，根如小蒜，所主略同。【時珍曰】山慈姑處處 有之。冬月生葉，如水仙花之葉而狹。二月中抽一莖如箭簳，高尺許。莖 端開花白色，亦有紅色、黄色者，上有黑點，其花乃衆花簇成一朶，如絲 紐成，可愛。三月結子，有三稜，四月初苗枯，即掘取其根，狀如慈姑及 小蒜，遲則苗腐難尋矣。根苗與老鴉蒜極相類，但老鴉根無毛，慈姑有毛 殻包裹爲異爾。用之去毛殻。 Collected Explanations. [Chen] Cangqi: Shan ci gu grows on moist land in the mountains. The leaves resemble those of plantago herb. The root is similar to that of arrowhead. Da Ming: In the region of Ling ling a tuan ci gu 團慈姑, “ball shape ci gu,” can be found. Its roots resemble small garlic cloves. Its [therapeutic] control is somewhat similar [to that of shan ci gu]. [Li] Shizhen: Shan ci gu can be found ev439 Shan ci gu 山慈姑, lit.: “tender-loving aunt of the mountains.”

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erywhere. Its leaves grow in winter. They are similar to the leaves of Chinese sacred lily, but they are narrower. In the second month a stem rises from the ground like an arrow shaft, reaching a height of more than a chi. At the end of the stem white flowers open, with some red and some yellow ones. On their upper side they have black dots. Many flowers are close to each other and form a cluster, as if silk threads had been tied together. Lovely. In the third month triangular seeds form. At the beginning of the fourth month, the shoots wither. At this time the root is undug. It is shaped like that of arrowhead and small garlic cloves. If the right time is missed, the shoots are rotten and [the root] is difficult to find. The root and the shoot are very similar to those of red spider lily, but the root of red spider lily has no hair. The [root] of shan ci gu is enclosed by a hair shell. Before using it [for therapeutic purposes], remove the hair shell. 13-16-01 根。Gen. Root [of shan ci gu]. 【氣味】甘、微辛，有小毒。 Qi and Flavor. Sweet, slightly acrid. Slightly poisonous. 【主治】癰腫瘡瘻、瘰癧結核等，醋磨傅之。亦剥人面皮，除皯䵴。藏 器。主疔腫，攻毒破皮，解諸毒蠱毒，蛇蟲狂犬傷。時珍。 Control. [To treat] swelling, sores and fistula associated with an obstruction-illness,440 node kernels associated with scrofula and pervasion-illness,441 rub [shan ci gu root] in vinegar and apply [the liquid to the affected region]. It also removes one’s facial gloom and speckles. [Chen] Cangqi. It controls pin-illness442 swelling, attacks poison and breaks open the skin and resolves all types of poison and gu-poison.443 [It heals] harm caused by snakes, worms/bugs and mad dogs. [Li] Shizhen. 440 Yong 癰, “obstruction-illness,” refers to an obstruction of vessels or other ducts inside the body. Qi rushing against the obstruction may cause a local swelling and eventually break through the surface to cause an abscess. BCGM Dict I, 641.

441 Luo li 瘰癧, “scrofula pervasion-illness,” when two or more connected swellings of the size of plum or date kernels appear either on the neck or in the armpits, or somewhere else on the body. BCGM Dict I. 329. 442 Ding 丁, “pin[-illness],” also ding 疔, “pin-illness,” refers to a deep-reaching and festering hardness in a tissue, eventually rising above the skin like a pinhead. BCGM Dict I, 127129.

443 Gu du 蠱毒, “gu-poison[ing].” (1) A poison emitted by certain worms/snakes with an ability to cause varying pathological changes in a person who has taken it in by means of wine or food. (2) Abdominal fullness, in some cases with blood spitting, and blood in the stool and urine. BCGM Dict I, 192 - 193.



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【附方】新五。 Added Recipes. Five newly [recorded]. 粉滓面䵟。山慈姑根夜塗旦洗。普濟方。 Facial dregs and gloom. Apply [to the affected region] at night the liquid [obtained by boiling the root of ] shan ci gu and wash it off in the morning. Pu ji fang. 牙齦腫痛。紅燈籠枝根煎湯漱吐。孫天仁集效方。 Painful swelling of dental gums. Boil the twigs and root of red lantern [herb] to prepare a decoction. Rinse [the affected region with the decoction] and spit it out again. Sun Tianren, Ji xiao fang. 癰疽疔腫，惡瘡及黄疸。慈姑連根同蒼耳草等分，搗爛，以好酒一鍾，濾 汁温服。或乾之爲末，每酒服三錢。乾坤生意。 Swelling associated with obstruction-illness and impediment-illness,444 and pin-illness.445 Malign sores and yellow dan-illness/jaundice. Pound [shan] ci gu with its root and xanthium [stem and leaves] to a pulpy substance. [Steep it] in one zhong of good wine, filter it and ingest the warm juice. Or dry it and [grind it to] powder. Each time ingest three qian with wine. Qian kun sheng yi. 風痰癇疾。金燈花根似蒜者一箇，以茶清研如泥，日中時以茶調下，即卧 日中，良久，吐出雞子大物，永不發。如不吐，以熱茶投之。奇效良方。 Epileptic illness associated with wind [intrusion] and phlegm. One gold lantern herb root resembling garlic is soaked in tea and ground to pulp. At midday [let the patient] send it down mixed with tea. Then he is to lie in the sunshine. After quite a while he will throw up items as big as chicken eggs, and [his disease] will never break out again. If he does not throw up [such items] let him drink hot tea. Qi xiao liang fang. 萬病解毒丸。一名太乙紫金丹，一名玉樞丹。解諸毒，療諸瘡，利關節， 治百病，起死回生，不可盡述。凡居家遠出，行兵動衆，不可無此。 The “pills to resolve poison associated with a myriad diseases.” Alternative name: “Tai yi’s purple gold elixir.” Alternative name: “Jade pivot elixir.” It resolves all types of poison. It heals all types of sores. It frees the movement of the joints. It serves to 444 Yong ju 癰疽, “obstruction-illness, impediment-illness.” refers to two vaguely distinguished obstructions/impediments of vessels or other ducts inside the body. Qi rushing against the obstruction may cause a local swelling and eventually break through the surface to cause an abscess. BCGM Dict I, 642.

445 Ding 丁, “pin[-illness],” also ding 疔, “pin-illness,” refers to a deep-reaching and festering hardness in a tissue, eventually rising above the skin like a pinhead. BCGM Dict I, 127129.

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cure the hundreds of diseases. It raises the dead and brings them back to life. [Its effects] are too many to tell. Whether one stays at home or goes on a long journey, and if soldiers are sent to action, these [pills] must never be out of sight. 山慈姑去皮洗極净焙，二兩，川五倍子洗刮焙，二兩，千金子仁白者研， 紙壓去油，一兩，紅芽大戟去蘆洗焙，一兩半，麝香三錢，以端午、七 夕、重陽，或天德、月德黄道上吉日，預先齋戒盛服，精心治藥，爲末， 陳設拜禱，乃重羅令匀，用糯米濃飲和之，木臼杵千下，作一錢一錠。病 甚者連服，取利一二行，用温粥補之。 [The following ingredients are required.] Shan ci gu [root], with the bark removed, washed extremely clear and baked over a slow fire. Two liang. Chinese sumac gallnut from [Si] chuan, washed, cut to pieces and baked over a slow fire. Two liang. Caper spurge white seed kernels ground and squeezed in paper to remove their oil. One liang. Red bud Peking spurge [root], the [root] reed removed, washed and baked over a slow fire, one and a half liang. Musk, three qian. [To prepare the pills, proceed as follows.] On the fifth day of the fifth month, on the seventh evening of the seventh month, on the ninth day of the ninth month, or on an auspicious day, such as tian de 天德, “heaven’s virtue,” yue de 月德, “the moon’s virtue,” or huang dao 黄道, “the yellow path,” abstain from meat, wear a splendid attire and with utmost care prepare the pharmaceutical drugs to powder. While doing this, pray to the gods. Repeatedly [give the powder] through a sieve until [the ingredients] are completely evenly dispersed. Then mix [the powder] with a viscous liquid of polished glutinous rice and pound it with a pestle in a wooden mortar one thousand times. Eventually prepare ingot-shaped [pills] weighing one qian each. In the case of a serious disease, [let the patient] ingest [these pills] one after another until he experiences one or two free-flows [of defecation] and give him a warm congee to supplement [his qi]. [The pills are applied as follows.] 凡一切飲食藥毒，蠱毒瘴氣，河豚、土菌、死牛馬等毒，並用凉水磨服一 錠，或吐或利即愈。 For all poison of beverages, food, and medication, gu-poison446 and miasma qi, and the poison of globefish, fungi, and dead oxen and horses, rub one ingot-shaped [pill] in cold water [and let the patient] ingest [the liquid]. Once he vomits or experiences free-flow [defecation] he will be healed.

446 Gu du 蠱毒, “gu-poison[ing].” (1) A poison emitted by certain worms/snakes with an ability to cause varying pathological changes in a person who has taken it in by means of wine or food. (2) Abdominal fullness, in some cases with blood spitting, and blood in the stool and urine. BCGM Dict I, 192 - 193.



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癰疽發背，疔腫楊梅等，一切惡瘡，風𤺋赤遊，痔瘡，並用凉水或酒磨 塗，日數次，立消。 For obstruction-illness and impediment-illness447 effusing on the back, pin-illness448 swelling, and red bayberry sores, as well as for all malign sores, red roaming wind macules, and piles sores, rub [the pills] in cold water or wine and apply [the liquid to the affected region]. Several times a day. This will dissolve [poison and swelling] immediately. 陰陽二毒，傷寒狂亂，瘟疫，喉痺喉風，並用冷水入薄荷汁數匙化下。 For the two poisons, yin [poison] and yang [poison, both being] harm caused by cold.449 Madness with disorderly [behavior], warmth epidemics, throat closure and throat wind, add several spoonfuls of mint juice to cold water, dissolve the pill[s] in it and send it down. 心氣痛并諸氣，用淡酒化下。 For painful heart qi and all other types of qi [ailments] send [the pill/s] down dissolved in light wine. 泄瀉痢下，霍亂絞腸沙，用薄荷湯下。 For outflow and free-flux illness discharge, and cholera as twisting intestinal sand.450 Send [the pill/s] down with a mint decoction. 中風中氣，口緊眼歪，五癲五癇，鬼邪鬼胎，筋攣骨痛，並暖酒下。 For being struck by wind and being struck by qi, with a tight mouth and slanted eyes, the five types of peak-illness451 and the five types of epilepsy, demon evil and demon fetus, twisted sinews and painful bones, send [the pill/s] down with warm wine. 447 Yong ju 癰疽, “obstruction-illness, impediment-illness.” refers to two vaguely distinguished obstructions/impediments of vessels or other ducts inside the body. Qi rushing against the obstruction may cause a local swelling and eventually break through the surface to cause an abscess. BCGM Dict I, 642.

448 Ding 丁, “pin[-illness],” also ding 疔, “pin-illness,” refers to a deep-reaching and festering hardness in a tissue, eventually rising above the skin like a pinhead. BCGM Dict I, 127129. 449 For yin du 陰毒 see BCGM Dict I, 633. For yang du 陽毒 see BCGM Dict I, 616.

450 Jiao chang sha 絞腸沙, “twisting-intestines sand,” a condition identical with gan huo luan 乾霍亂, “dry cholera.” BCGM Dict I, 247.

451 Dian 癲, “peak-illness,” BCGM Dict I, 123, identical with dian ji 癲疾, “peak ailment,” a condition of a mental disturbance, occasionally associated with xian 癇, “epilepsy.” BCGM Dict I, 125.

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自縊、溺水、鬼迷，心頭温者，冷水磨灌之。 For suicidal hanging, drowning in water, demon enchantment and a sensation of warmth in heart and head, rub [the pill/s] in cold water and force-feed [the liquid to that person]. 傳尸癆瘵，凉水化服，取下惡物蟲積爲妙。 Corpse [evil] transmission452 and exhaustion consumption. Ingest [the pill/s] dissolved in cold water. This wondrously removes through discharge malign items and worm/bug accumulations. 久近瘧疾，將發時東流水煎桃枝湯化服。 Long-lasting or recent malaria ailment. Dissolve [the pill/s] in a decoction prepared by boiling peach twigs in water flowing toward the East and ingest [the liquid] at the time of an impending outbreak. 女人經閉，紅花酒化服。 For blocked female menstruation, [let the woman] ingest [the pill/s] dissolved in safflower wine. 小兒驚風，五疳五痢，薄荷湯下。 For fright wind of children, the five types of gan-illness,453 and the five types of freeflux illness, send [the pill/s] down with a mint decoction. 頭風頭痛，酒研貼兩太陽上。 For head wind454 and headache, grind [the pill/s] in wine and apply [the liquid] to the two temples. 諸腹鼓脹，麥芽湯化下。 For all types of abdominal drum-like distensions. Send [the pill/s] down with a malt decoction.

452 Chuan shi 傳尸, “corpse [evil] transmission. An infectious consumptive disease. BCGM Dict I, 97.

453 Gan 疳, “gan-illness,” also: “sweets-illness,” involves several complaints that affect children and adults, with causes and conditions too different to fall into a known disease category. BCGM Dict I, 180-188.

454 Tou feng 頭風, “head wind.” Condition of wind evil attacking the head followed by pain, dizziness, itching. BCGM Dict I, 509.



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風蟲牙痛，酒磨塗之。亦吞少許。 For toothache associated with wind and worms/bugs. Rub [the pill/s] in wine and apply [the liquid to the affected region]. Also, swallow a small portion. 打撲傷損，松節煎酒下。 For injuries caused by blows and attacks. Send [the pill/s] down with a decoction in wine of pine twig joints. 湯火傷，毒蛇惡犬，一切蟲傷，並冷水磨塗，仍服之。王璆百一選方。 For harm caused by hot water and fire, poisonous snakes and malign dogs, and all types of harm caused by worms/bugs, rub [the pill/s] in cold water and apply [the liquid to the affected region]. In addition, ingest it. Wang Qiu, Bai yi xuan fang. 13-16-02 葉。Ye. Leaf [of shan ci gu]. 【主治】瘡腫，入蜜擣塗瘡口，候清血出，效。慎微。塗乳癰、便毒尤 妙。時珍。 Control. For a sore with a swelling, give the leaves into honey, pound this and apply it to the opening of the sore. Wait until clear blood is emitted. This is [proof of a therapeutic] effect. [Tang] Shenwei. Applied to breast obstruction-illness455 and poison in the region of [defecation/urination] relief it is particularly wondrous. [Li] Shizhen. 【附方】新一。 Added Recipes. One newly [recorded]. 中溪毒生瘡。朱姑葉搗爛塗之。生東間，葉如蒜葉。外臺秘要。 Generation of sores resulting from being struck by rivulet poison.456 Pound zhu gu leaves until they are pulpy and apply this [to the affected region]. It grows in the East, with leaves similar to the leaves of garlic. Wai tai mi yao.

455 Ru yong 乳癰, “breast obstruction-illness,” a condition of acute putrefication of a woman’s breast. Often encountered if a woman, following delivery, experiences chui nai 吹奶, “inflated breast,” or du ru 妒乳, “jealousy breast.”

456 Xi du 溪毒, “rivulet poison,”(1) a tiny bug assumed to live in bodies of water and supposedly capable of striking humans when they enter the water, thereby causing disease; (2) a condition resulting from being struck by rivulet poison. BCGM Dict I, 548.

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13-16-03 花。Hua. Flower [of shan ci gu]. 【主治】小便血淋濇痛，同地蘗花陰乾，每用三錢，水煎服。聖惠。 Control. Rough and painful urinary dripping with blood. Dry them in the shade together with di bai 地蘗457 flowers. Each time ingest three qian boiled in water. Sheng hui. 13-17 石蒜宋圖經 Shi suan. FE Song, Tu jing. Lycoris radiata L’Herit. Red spider lily. 【釋名】烏蒜綱目、老鴉蒜救荒、蒜頭草綱目、婆婆酸綱目、一枝箭綱 目、水麻圖經。【時珍曰】蒜以根狀名，箭以莖狀名。 Explanation of Names. Wu suan 烏蒜, “black/crow garlic,” Gang mu. Lao ya suan 老 鴉蒜, “old crow garlic,” Jiu huang. Suan tou cao 蒜頭草, “garlic tip herb,” Gang mu. Po po suan 婆婆酸, “mother-in-law sour,” Gang mu. Yi zhi jian 一枝箭, “one arrow twig,” Gang mu. Shui ma 水麻, “water hemp,” Tu jing. [Li] Shizhen: It is named “garlic,” suan 蒜, because of the shape of the root, and “arrow,” jian 箭, because of the shape of the stem. 【集解】【頌曰】水麻生鼎州、黔州，其根名石蒜，九月采之。或云金燈 花根亦名石蒜，即此類也。【時珍曰】石蒜處處下濕地有之，古謂之烏 蒜，俗謂之老鴉蒜、一枝箭是也。春初生葉，如蒜秧及山慈姑葉，背有劍 脊，四散布地。七月苗枯，乃于平地抽出一莖如箭簳，長尺許。莖端開花 四五朶，六出紅色，如山丹花狀而瓣長，黄蕊長鬚。其根狀如蒜，皮色紫 赤，肉白色。此有小毒，而救荒本草言其可煠熟水浸過食，蓋爲救荒爾。 一種葉如大韭，四五月抽莖，開花如小萱花黄白色者，謂之鐵色箭，功與 此同。二物並抽莖開花，後乃生葉，葉花不相見，與金燈同。 Collected Explanations. [Su] Song: Shui ma grows in Ding zhou and Qian zhou. Its root is named shi suan 石蒜, “stone garlic.” It is collected in the ninth month. Some say: The root of red lamp flower [herb] is also called “stone garlic.” They are very similar. [Li] Shizhen: Shi suan can be found in moist places everywhere. In antiquity it was called “black/crow garlic,” and it is the [herb] commonly called “old crow garlic” and “one arrow twig.” In the beginning of spring it develops leaves. 457 Di bai 地蘗, botanical identification unclear. Li Shizhen in BCGM 21-12 appendix describes it as “similar to juan bai 卷柏, Selaginella involvens Spr.”



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They are similar to the leaves of garlic sprouts and edible tulip. Its back has a spine like a sword. [The leaves] spread in all four directions and cover the ground. In the seventh month, the seedlings wither and from the flat ground a stem rises resembling an arrowshaft. It reaches a length of more than a chi. At the end of the stem four or five red flowers open with six petals. They are shaped like the flowers of wild scarlet lilies, but with longer petals, yellow pistils and long whisker-like threads. Its root is shaped like garlic. The bark is purple-red, and the meat is white. It is slightly poisonous but the Jiu huang states “it can be eaten after it has been fried in fat or oil and soaked in water.” Evidently, this applies to requirements of famine relief. There is one type with leaves similar to those of large Chinese leek. A stem emerges in the fourth and fifth month, and the flowers it opens are yellow-white and resemble those of small blackberry lilies. It is called “iron color arrow.” Its [therapeutic] potential is identical with the [shi suan discussed] here. Both these two items develop stems and open flowers, and only later develop leaves, with the leaves and the flowers not be seen at the same time. This is identical with edible tulip [herb]. 13-17-01 根。Gen. Root [of shi suan]. 【氣味】辛，甘，温，有小毒。 Qi and Flavor. Acrid, sweet, warm, slightly poisonous. 【主治】傅貼腫毒。蘇頌。疔瘡惡核，可水煎服取汗及擣傅之。又中溪毒 者，酒煎半升服。取吐良。時珍。 Control. Apply it to a swelling with poison. Su Song. For pin-illness458 sores and malign kernels it can be ingested boiled in water until [the patient] sweats, and it is pounded [to generate a pulp] that is applied [to the affected region]. Also, if someone was struck by rivulet poison,459 he is to ingest it boiled in half a sheng of wine. Once he vomits, he will be fine. [Li] Shizhen.

458 Ding 丁, “pin[-illness],” also ding 疔, “pin-illness,” refers to a deep-reaching and festering hardness in a tissue, eventually rising above the skin like a pinhead. BCGM Dict I, 127129.

459 Xi du 溪毒, “rivulet poison,”(1) a tiny bug assumed to live in bodies of water and supposedly capable of striking humans when they enter the water, thereby causing disease; (2) a condition resulting from being struck by rivulet poison. BCGM Dict I, 548.

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便毒諸瘡。一枝箭，擣爛塗之即消。若毒太甚者，洗净，以生白酒煎服， 得微汗即愈。王永輔濟世方。 Poison [in the region of urination/defecation] relief. Yi zhi jian is ground to pulp and applied [to the affected region]. This will dissolve [the poison]. If the poison is too serious, wash [the root] clean, boil it in fresh white wine and [let the patient] ingest it. Once he begins to sweat a little, he will be cured. Wang Yongfu, Ji shi fang.460 産腸脱下。老鴉蒜即酸頭草一把，以水三盌，煎一盌半，去滓熏洗，神 效。危氏得效方。 Prolapse of the birth intestine. Boil one handful of lao ya suan, i. e., “sour tip herb,” in three bowls of water down to one and a half bowls. Remove the dregs and steam and wash [the affected region with the liquid]. Divinely effective. Wei shi de xiao fang. 小兒驚風，大叫一聲就死者，名老鴉驚。以散麻纏住脇下及手心足心，以 燈火爆之。用老鴉蒜晒乾、車前子等分，爲末，水調貼手足心。仍以燈心 焠手足心及肩膊、眉心、鼻心，即醒也。王日新小兒方。 Fright wind of children who died after voicing one loud cry is called “old crow fright.” Firmly tie with hemp fibers the region below the ribs and the palms and soles and heat [the child] with lamp fire. [Grind] equal amounts of lao ya suan, dried in the sun, and polygonum seeds to powder, mix it with water and apply it to the palms/soles of [the child’s] hands and feet. Then heat the palms/soles of hands and feet, as well as its shoulders and arms, the space between the eyebrows, and the center of the nose, and [the child] will regain its consciousness. Wang Rixin, Xiao er fang. 13-18 水仙會編 Shui xian. FE Hui bian. Narcissus tacetta L. var. chinensis Roem. Chinese sacred lily. 【釋名】金盞銀臺。【時珍曰】此物宜卑濕處，不可缺水，故名水仙。金 盞銀臺，花之狀也。 Explanation of Names. Jin zhan yin tai 金盞銀臺, “silver stand of a golden cup.” [Li] Shizhen: This item grows best in low-lying moist places; it cannot exist without 460 According to the bibliography in ch. 1, the title of the source named here Ji shi fang 濟世 方 should be Hui ji fang 惠濟方.



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water. Hence the name shui xian 水仙, “water hermit/immortal.” “Silver stand of a golden cup” refers to the shape of the flower. 【集解】【機曰】水仙花葉似蒜，其花香甚清。九月初栽于肥壤則花茂 盛，瘦地則無花。五月初收根，以童尿浸一宿，晒乾，懸火煖處。若不移 宿根更旺。【時珍曰】水仙叢生下濕處。其根似蒜及薤而長，外有赤皮裹 之。冬月生葉，似薤及蒜。春初抽莖如葱頭。莖頭開花數朶，大如簪頭， 狀如酒盃，五尖上承，黄心，宛然盞樣，其花瑩韻，其香清幽。一種千葉 者，花皺，下輕黄而上淡白，不作盃狀。人重之，指爲真水仙。蓋不然， 乃一物二種爾。亦有紅花者。按段成式酉陽雜俎云：捺祗出拂林國，根大 如鷄卵，葉長三四尺，似蒜，中心抽條，莖端開花六出，紅白色，花心黄 赤，不結子，冬生夏死。取花壓油，塗身去風氣。據此形狀，與水仙仿 佛，豈外國名謂不同耶？ Collected Explanations. [Wang] Ji: The flower and the leaves resemble those of garlic. The flower is very fragrant. When [the herb] is planted at the beginning of the ninth month in fertile soil its flowers will blossom exuberantly. [Planted in] barren land, it remains without flowers. The root is collected at the beginning of the fifth month. It is soaked in boys’ urine for one night, dried in the sun, and hung above a fire or at a warm place. If it is not removed [from the soil in the first year, its therapeutic potential] as a biannual root will be even stronger. [Li] Shizhen: Shui xian grows as thickets in low-lying moist places. The root resembles that of garlic and Chinese chives, but is longer. It is covered with a red skin. During the winter months it develops leaves, resembling those of both Chinese chives and garlic. At the beginning of spring a stem comes out of the ground similar to the tip of onions. At the top of the stem several flowers open as big as hairpin tips and shaped like a wine cup. They hold five pointed [petals] with yellow stamens461 as if these were small cups. The flowers are lustrous and charming; their fragrance is pure and mysterious. There is yet another type, the “one thousand leaves” [shui xian]. Its flowers are creased, with a light yellow color below and a bland white color above. They are not shaped like cups. People greatly value it, pointing out that it is “genuine shui xian.” The fact is, this is not so. These are two types of one identical item. There are also those with red flowers. According to Duan Chengshi’s You yang za zu, nai zhi “捺祗 from Fu lin country has roots as big as chicken eggs and leaves that are three to four chi long, similar to those of garlic. From the center [of the root] a cane rises, and at the end of this stem six flowers open. They are red-white, and in their center they are yellow-red. They do not form seeds. They grow in winter and die in summer. Oil pressed out of these flowers and applied to the body eliminates wind qi.” 461 Xin 心 is used here for hua rui 花蕊, “stamen.”

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Judging from its physical appearance, [nai zhi 捺祗] seems to be quite the same as shui xian. Maybe it is only named differently in a foreign country? 13-18-01 根。Gen. Root [of shui xian] 【氣味】苦、微辛，滑，寒，無毒。【土宿真君曰】取汁伏汞，煮雄黄， 拒火。 Qi and Flavor. Bitter, slightly acrid, smooth, cold, nonpoisonous. Tusu zhenjun: Its juice suppresses [the effects of ] mercury. When it is boiled with realgar, it holds back the fire. 【主治】癰腫及魚骨哽。時珍。 Control. Swelling associated with obstruction-illness462 and choking on a fish bone. [Li] Shizhen. 13-18-02 花。Hua. Flower [of shui xian]. 【氣味】缺。 Qi and Flavor. Missing. 【主治】作香澤，塗身理髮，去風氣。又療婦人五心發熱，同乾荷葉、赤 芍藥等分，爲末，白湯每服二錢，熱自退也。時珍。出衞生易簡方。 Control. Prepare a scented lotion, apply it on the body and to arrange the hair, and it will eliminate wind qi. Also, to heal heat effusing in the five centers (i. e., chest, palms of both hands and soles of both feet) of women [grind it] together with equal amounts of dried mint leaves and paeonia [root] to powder. Each time ingest with clear, boiled water two qian. This will cause the heat to retreat. [Li] Shizhen, quoted from Wei sheng yi jian.

462 Yong 癰, “obstruction-illness,”refers to an obstruction of vessels or other ducts inside the body. Qi rushing against the obstruction may cause a local swelling and eventually break through the surface to cause an abscess. BCGM Dict I, 641.



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13-19 白茅本經中品 Bai mao, FE Ben jing, middle rank. Imperata cylindrica (L.) Beauv. var. major (Nees) C. E. Hubb. Floss grass. 【釋名】根名茹根本經、蘭根本經、地筋别録。【時珍曰】茅葉如矛，故謂 之茅。其根牽連，故謂之茹，易曰”拔茅連茹”是也。有數種：夏花者爲茅， 秋花者爲菅。二物功用相近而名謂不同，詩云”白華菅兮，白茅束兮”是也。 别録不分茅菅乃二種，謂茅根一名地菅，一名地筋，而”有名未用”又出地 筋，一名菅根。蓋二物之根狀皆如筋，可通名地筋，不可並名菅也，正之。 Explanation of Names. The root is named ru gen 茹根. Ben jing. Lan gen 蘭根, Ben jing. Di jin 地筋, Bie lu. [Li] Shizhen: The leaves of [bai] mao 茅 resemble a spear, mao 矛. Hence it is called mao 茅. Its roots are tied to each other. Hence the name ru 茹, “enfolding.” This is meant when the Yi says: “Pull up the [plant bai] mao, the enfolding [root] is linked to it.” There are numerous types. Those with flowers blossoming in summer, they are the mao 茅; those with flowers blossoming in autumn, they are the jian 菅. The [therapeutic] potentials of these two items are very much the same, only the names differ. This is meant when the Shi states: “The fibers from the white flowered rush [jian 菅] are bound with the white floss grass (bai mao 白茅).”463 The Bie lu does not distinguish between mao 茅 and jian 菅 as two different types. It says: “Mao 茅 root. Alternative name di jian 地菅, alternative name di jin 地筋.” The section “known by name but not in use” also lists a di jin 地筋, alternative name jian gen 菅根. The fact is, the root of both items is shaped like a sinew, jin 筋. Hence they may all be named di jin 地筋, “ground sinew,” they cannot both be named jian 菅. This is corrected here. 【集解】【别録曰】茅根生楚地山谷田野，六月采根。【弘景曰】此即今 白茅菅，詩云露彼菅茅是也。其根如渣芹甜美。【頌曰】處處有之。春生 芽，布地如針，俗謂之茅針，亦可噉，甚益小兒。夏生白花茸茸然，至秋 而枯。其根至潔白，六月采之。又有菅，亦茅類也。陸機草木疏云：菅似 茅而滑無毛，根下五寸中有白粉者，柔韌宜爲索，漚之尤善。其未漚者名 野菅，入藥與茅功等。【時珍曰】茅有白茅、菅茅、黄茅、香茅、芭茅數 種，葉皆相似。白茅短小，三四月開白花成穗，結細實。其根甚長，白軟 如筋而有節，味甘，俗呼絲茅，可以苫蓋及供祭祀苞苴之用，本經所用茅 根是也。其根乾之，夜視有光，故腐則變爲螢火。菅茅只生山上，似白茅 而長，入秋抽莖，開花成穗如荻花，結實尖黑，長分許，粘衣刺人。其根 短硬如細竹根，無節而微甘，亦可入藥，功不及白茅。爾雅所謂”白華野菅” 是也。黄茅似菅茅而莖上開葉，莖下有白粉，根頭有黄毛，根亦短而細硬 463 Shi jing Pt. II. BK. VIII Ode V/1. Translation by j. Legge, modified.

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無節，秋深開花重穗如菅，可爲索綯，古名黄菅，别録所用菅根是也。香 茅一名菁茅，一名璚茅，生湖南及江淮間，葉有三脊，其氣香芬，可以包 藉及縮酒，禹貢所謂荆州苞匭，菁茅是也。芭茅叢生，葉大如蒲，長六七 尺，有二種，即芒也。見後”芒”下。 Collected Explanations. Bie lu: The root of [bai] mao grows in mountain valleys and the open country of the Chu region. The root is collected in the sixth month. [Tao] Hongjing: This is today’s bai mao jian 白茅菅. It is [the herb] referred to in the Shi as “dew falls on jian mao 菅茅.”464 The root is as sweet and delicious as that of zha qin 渣 芹465. [Su] Song: It can be found everywhere. It develops sprouts in spring. They spread across and cover the ground like needles. They are commonly called “mao 茅 needles.” They are edible, and they very much boost [the qi of ] children. In summer [the plant] develops densely arranged flowers. By the time of autumn, it withers. The root is spotlessly white; it is collected in the sixth month. There is also [a plant named] jian 菅. It is related to [bai] mao. Lu Ji in his Ben cao shu states: “Jian 菅 resembles mao 茅 but has a smooth surface and no hair. Five cun down from the surface of the ground, there is a white powder in the root. [This part of the root] is pliable but tough and can be used to prepare a rope. When it is soaked in water it is even better suited [for such a purpose]. For as long as it has not been soaked yet it is called ‘wild jian 菅’.” Its medicinal potential is identical with that of [bai] mao [root]. [Li] Shizhen: There are several types of mao , they include bai mao 白茅, jian mao 菅茅, huang mao 黄茅, xiang mao 香茅 and ba mao 芭茅. They all have similar leaves. Those of bai mao are shorter and smaller. [Bai mao] opens white flowers with spikes in the third and fourth month. They form fine seeds. The root is very long. It is white and soft like a sinew, and has knots. It is of sweet flavor and is commonly called si mao 絲茅, “silk thread mao.” It can be used to prepare straw mats and covers, and thick sack cloth required for sacrifices. This is the mao 茅 root described in the Ben jing. When the root has been dried, it emits light rays at night. Hence it turns into fireflies when it has rotted. Jian mao 菅茅 grows only on mountains. It is similar to bai mao, but longer. By the time of autumn, a stem rises [from the ground]. It opens flowers with spikes similar to the flowers of reed. It forms pointed, black seeds, more than a fen long. They stick to garments and pierce one. The root is short and hard, like the root of fine bamboo; it has no knots and is a little sweet. It can be used for medicinal purposes, but its potential does not equal that of bai mao. This is [the item] referred to in the Er ya as “wild jian 菅 with white flowers.” Huang/ yellow mao 茅 resembles jian mao 菅茅 but leaves open on its stem and there is white powder in the lower part of the stem. The tip of the root has yellow hair. The root, too, is short, fine and hard, and has no knots. In late autumn flowers open with spikes 464 Shi jing Pt II. BK VIII. Ode V/1.

465 Zha qin 渣芹: an unidentified plant.



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like jian 菅. It can be used to prepare braided ropes. Its ancient name is huang/yellow jian. This is the “jian 菅 root” [recommended for] use in the Bie lu. Xiang mao 香茅, “fragrant mao,” is also called jing mao 菁茅, “luxuriant mao.” It is also called 璚茅 qiong mao, “splendid mao.” It grows in the region of Hu nan and Jiang huai. Its leaves have three spines/veins, and it emits a qi of sweet fragrance. It can be woven to mats and strained with wine.466 These are the “bundles in cases and luxuriant mao of Jing zhou” mentioned in the Yu gong [chapter in the Shang shu]. Ba mao 芭茅 grows in clusters. Its leaves are as big as those of cattail. It reaches a height of six to seven chi. There are two types of it; they are mang 芒. See below under mang 芒. (13-21) 13-19-01 茅根。Mao gen.

Root [of bai] mao.

【氣味】甘，寒，無毒。 Qi and Flavor. Sweet, cold, nonpoisonous. 【主治】勞傷虚羸，補中益氣，除瘀血、血閉、寒熱，利小便。本經。下 五淋，除客熱在腸胃，止渴堅筋，婦人崩中。久服利人。别録。主婦人月 經不匀，通血脉淋瀝。大明。止吐衄諸血，傷寒噦逆，肺熱喘急，水腫黄 疸，解酒毒。時珍。 Control. Harm related to exhaustion, emaciation related to depletion. It supplements the center and boosts the qi/sperm. It removes stagnating blood, [menstrual] blood blockage, and [alternating sensations of ] cold and heat. It frees the passage of urine. Ben jing. It ends the five types of [urinary] dripping, and removes visitor heat from the intestines and the stomach. It ends thirst and hardens the sinews. [It serves to cure] collapsing center467 of women. Ingested over an extended period of time it is beneficial. Bie lu. It controls uneven menstruation of women, penetrates the blood vessels and [serves to cure] urinary dripping. Da Ming. It ends vomiting [of blood], nosebleed and all other types of bleeding, harm caused by cold with retching and [qi] counterflow, lung heat and hectic panting, water swelling and yellow dan-illness/jaundice. It resolves the poison of wine. [Li] Shizhen. 466 This is a worshiping method called suo jiu 縮酒. A xiang mao plant is hung above a spirit figurine. Then wine is poured from above on the plant to flow down past the spirit to create an illusion of the spirit drinking the wine. Personal communication by Zheng Jinsheng. James Legge in his comments on his translation of this passage in the Shang shu writes: “The rush here spoken of was used for straining the wine at the imperial sacrifices. It was packed in small cases, which again were covered over, showing the value of the article by the care which was taken of it.” 467 Beng zhong 崩中, “collapsing center,” excessive vaginal bleeding outside of a menstruation period. BCGM Dict I, 58.

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【發明】【弘景曰】茅根服食斷穀甚良。俗方稀用，惟煎汁療淋及崩中 爾。【時珍曰】白茅根甘，能除伏熱，利小便，故能止諸血噦逆，喘急消 渴，治黄疸水腫，乃良物也。世人因微而忽之，惟事苦寒之劑，致傷冲和 之氣，烏足知此哉。 Explication. [Tao] Hongjing: The root of [bai] mao is very well suited to be ingested as food so as to end the intake of grain. It is rarely used in common recipes, except for the juice, obtained by boiling it in water, which is resorted to for urinary dripping and collapsing center. [Li] Shizhen: The root of bai mao is sweet. It can eliminate hidden heat and free the passage of urine. Hence it is able to end all types of bleeding, retching and [qi] counterflow, hectic panting and melting with thirst.468 It serves to cure yellow dan-illness469 and water swelling. It is a good item. But it is neglected by today’s people because of its insignificance. They only apply bitter [flavor] and cold [qi] preparations that may rush against and harm harmonious qi. How could they be sufficiently informed about this? 【附方】舊二，新一十二。 Added Recipes. Two of old. 12 newly [recorded]. 山中辟穀。凡辟難無人之境，取白茅根洗净，咀嚼，或石上晒焦搗末，水 服方寸匕，可辟穀不饑。肘後方。 To abstain from eating cereals in the mountains. Whenever someone escapes from disaster and stays in a region without other people, he is to obtain bai mao root, wash it clean and chew it. Or he may heat it under the sun on a stone and pound it to powder and ingest with water the amount held by a square cun spoon. This serves to abstain from cereals and prevents hunger. Zhou hou fang. 温病冷啘，因熱甚飲水成暴冷啘者。茅根切，枇杷葉拭去毛炙香，各半 斤，水四升，煎二升，去滓，稍熱飲之。龐安常傷寒總病論。 Warmth disease and cold retching. If because of extreme heat one has drunk water resulting in a sudden cold retching. Boil half a jin each of [bai] mao root, cut to pieces, and loquat, with the hair wiped off and roasted until it is fragrant, in four sheng of water down to two sheng, discard the dregs and drink this warm. Pang Anchang, Shang han zong bing lun.

468 Xiao ke 消渴, “melting with thirst,” most likely including cases of diabetes. BCGM Dict Vol I, 567.

469 Dan 疸, “dan-illness,” identical with huang dan 疸疸, “yellow dan-illness,” “jaundice.” BCGM Dict I, 118.



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温病熱噦。乃伏熱在胃，令人胸滿則氣逆，逆則噦，或大下，胃中虚冷， 亦致噦也。茅根切，葛根切，各半斤，水三升，煎一升半。每温飲一盞， 噦止即停。同上。 Warmth disease and hot retching. This is heat hidden in the stomach. It lets one feel fullness in the chest resulting in qi counterflow. Once such counterflow happens, the retching follows. Or if following a massive discharge the stomach is depleted and cold, this, too, may lead to retching. Boil half a jin each of cut [bai] mao root and cut pueraria root in three sheng of water down to one and a half sheng. Each time ingest warm one bowl and end this when the retching has ended. [Source of this recipe] identical with the one above. 反胃上氣，食入即吐。茅根、蘆根二兩，水四升，煮二升，頓服得下， 良。聖濟總録。 Turned over stomach and rising qi. Ingested food is vomited immediately. Boil two liang [each] of [bai] mao root and the root of common reed in four sheng of water down to two sheng and drink them all at once to cause a discharge. Good. Sheng ji zong lu. 肺熱氣喘。生茅根一握，㕮咀，水二盞，煎一盞，食後温服。甚者三服 止，名如神湯。聖惠方。 Lung heat with qi panting. Pound a handful of raw [bai] mao roots and boil them in two small cups of water down to one cup. Ingest [the liquid] warm after a meal. Severe cases will end after three ingestions. [The recipe] is called “spirit-like decoction.” Sheng hui fang. 虚後水腫。因飲水多，小便不利。用白茅根一大把，小豆三升，水三升， 煮乾，去茅食豆，水隨小便下也。肘後方。 Water swelling in the aftermath of a depleton. Urination is blocked as a result of drinking much water. Boil one large handful of bai mao root and three sheng of red mung beans in three sheng of water until [the water] has dried. Discard the [bai] mao [root] and eat the beans. The water [of the water swelling] will be discharged with the urine. Zhou hou fang. 五種黄病。黄疸、穀疸、酒疸、女疸、勞疸也。黄汗者，乃大汗出入水所 致，身體微腫，汗出如黄蘗汁。用生茅根一把，細切，以豬肉一斤，合作 羹食。肘後方。 Five types of jaundice. They include yellow dan-illness, grain dan-illness, wine dan-illness, women dan-illness,470 and exhaustion dan-illness. Yellow sweat results 470 Nü dan 女疸, “female dan-illness,” identical with nü lao dan 女勞疸, “dan-illness resulting from exhaustion with women,” a condition of resulting from excessive sexual intercourse. BCGM Dict I, 361, 262.

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from massive sweating and repeatedly entering and leaving water.471 The body is slightly bloated and sweat leaves similar to the juice of phellodendron [root]. Prepare a gruel from a handful of fresh [bai] mao root, cut into small pieces, and one jin of pork and ingest this. Zhou hou fang. 解中酒毒。恐爛五臟。茅根汁，飲一升。千金方。 To resolve being struck by wine poison, threatening to destroy the five long-term depots. Drink one sheng of [bai] mao root juice. Qian jin fang. 小便熱淋。白茅根四升，水一斗五升，煮取五升，適冷暖飲之。日三服。 肘後方。 Hot urinary dripping. Boil four sheng of bai mao root in one dou and five sheng of water down to five sheng and drink this at a comfortable temperature. To be ingested three times a day. Zhou hou fang. 小便出血。茅根煎湯，頻飲爲佳。談埜翁方。 Blood released with urination. To frequently drink a decoction obtained by boiling [bai] mao root is fine. Tan Yeweng fang. 勞傷溺血。茅根、乾薑等分，入蜜一匙，水二鍾，煎一鍾，日一服。 Harm related to exhaustion and urination with blood. Boil equal amounts of [bai] mao root and dried ginger with one spoonful of honey in two zhong of water down to one zhong, and ingest this once a day. 鼻衄不止。茅根爲末，米泔水服二錢。聖惠方。 Unending nosebleed. [Grind bai] mao root to powder and ingest, with water that has been used to wash rice, two qian. Sheng hui fang. 吐血不止。千金翼用白茅根一握，水煎服之。 Unending blood spitting. The Qian jin yi [recommends to] boil a handful of bai mao root in water and ingest this. 婦人良方用白茅根洗搗汁，日飲一合。 The Fu ren liang fang [recommends to] wash a bai mao root, pound it to obtain its juice, and to drink one ge a day. 竹木入肉。白茅根燒末，豬脂和塗之。風入成腫者亦良。肘後方。 A bamboo or wood splinter has penetrated one’s flesh. Burn bai mao root to powder and apply it mixed with lard [to the affected region]. When wind has entered [the wound] and caused a swelling, [this recipe] is good, too. Zhou hou fang. 471 A metaphor used for sexual intercourse.



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13-19-02 茅針。Mao zhen.

[Bai] mao needle.

即初生苗也拾遺。 These are the seedlings that have just begun to grow. FE Shi yi. 【氣味】甘，平，無毒。【大明曰】凉。 Qi and Flavor. Sweet, balanced, nonpoisonous. Da Ming: Cool. 【主治】下水。别録。治消渴，能破血。甄權。通小腸，治鼻衄及暴下 血，水煮服之。惡瘡癰腫、軟癤未潰者，以酒煮服，一針一孔，二針二 孔。生挼，傅金瘡止血。藏器。 Control. It serves to discharge water. Bie lu. It serves to cure melting with thirst.472 It can break through [stagnating] blood. Zhen Quan. It penetrates the small intestine. To cure nosebleed and sudden discharge of blood ingest it boiled in water. For malign sores, swelling related to obstruction-illness473 and for soft pimples that have not yet started to fester, ingest it boiled in wine. [Use] one [bai mao] needle to open one hole, and a second [bai mao] needle to open a second hole [in pimples that have not yet started to fester]. Rub the fresh [substance in liquid] and apply it on wounds caused by metal objects/weapons. [Chen] Cangqi. 13-19-03 花。Hua. [Bai mao] flower. 【氣味】甘，温，無毒。 Qi and Flavor. Sweet, warm, nonpoisonous. 【主治】煎飲，止吐血衄血，并塞鼻。又傅灸瘡不合。罯刀箭金瘡，止血 并痛。大明。 Control. Boiled in water and drunk it ends spitting of blood and nosebleed. In addition, stuff it into [the patient’s] nose. Also, it is applied to sores resulting from cauterization that fail to close. Placed on sores/wounds caused by a metal objects/ weapons such as knife and arrow, it ends bleeding and pain. Da Ming. 472 Xiao ke 消渴, “melting with thirst,” most likely including cases of diabetes. BCGM Dict Vol I, 567.

473 Yong 癰, “obstruction-illness,”refers to an obstruction of vessels or other ducts inside the body. Qi rushing against the obstruction may cause a local swelling and eventually break through the surface to cause an abscess. BCGM Dict I, 641.

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13-19-04 屋上敗茅。Wu shang bai mao. Decayed [bai] mao on a roof. 【氣味】苦，平，無毒。 Qi and Flavor: Bitter, balanced, nonpoisonous. 【主治】卒吐血，剉三升，酒浸煮一升服。和醬汁研，傅斑瘡及蠶囓瘡。 藏器。屋四角茅，主鼻洪。大明。 Control. For sudden spitting of blood. Cut three sheng into fine pieces, soak them in wine, boil them down to one sheng, and ingest this. Or mix it with ginger juice and apply it to macule sores and sores caused by silkworm gnawing. [Chen] Cangqi. [Bai] mao from the four corners [of a house] controls massive nosebleed. Da Ming. 【發明】【時珍曰】按陳文中小兒方治痘瘡潰爛，難黶不乾。多年墻屋上 爛茅，擇洗焙乾，爲末摻之。此蓋取其性寒而解毒，又多受雨露霜雪之 氣，兼能燥濕也。 Explication. [Li] Shizhen: According to Chen Wenzhong’s Xiao er fang, it serves to cure festering pox sores and difficult to heal moles that fail to dry. Wash decayed [bai] mao that has been on the wall of a house for many years, bake it over a slow fire until it is dry, grind it to powder and apply this [to the affected region]. This is to make use of its cold nature and ability to resolve poison. Also, because it has received so many qi of rain, dew, frost and snow, it is able to dry moisture. 【附方】新三。´ Added Recipes. Three newly [recorded]. 婦人陰痒。墻頭爛茅、荆芥、牙皂等分，煎水頻熏洗之。摘玄方。 Itching yin [(i. e., genital) region] of women. Boil equal amounts of rotten [bai] mao from the top of a wall, schizonepeta [spikes] and small gleditsia pods/seeds in water, and use it to repeatedly steam and wash the [affected region]. Zhai xuan fang. 大便閉塞，服藥不通者。滄鹽三錢，屋簷爛草節七箇，爲末。每用一錢， 竹筒吹入肛内一寸即通，名提金散。聖濟録。 Blocked defecation, with an ingestion of medication being unable to free its passage. [Grind] three qian of dark blue salt and seven nodes of rotten [bai mao] herbs from the eaves of a roof to powder. Each time blow through a bamboo tube one qian seven cun deep into the [patient’s] anus and the passage will be freed. This [recipe] is called. “powder promoting gold.” Sheng ji lu.



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卒中五尸。其狀腹痛脹急，不得氣息，上冲心胸，旁攻兩脇，或磈礧涌 起，或牽引腰脊，此乃身中尸鬼接引爲害。取屋上四角茅入銅器中，以三 赤帛覆腹，着器布上，燒茅令熱，隨痛追逐，跖下痒即瘥也。肘後方。 Suddenly being struck by the five types of corpse [qi].474 This manifests itself as abdominal pain, bloating and tension, with an inability to breathe. [The qi] rush up toward heart and chest, and on the sides they strike against the two flanks. In some cases they vigorously gush upward, in other cases they pull on the lower back and spine. This is harm caused by corpse demons inside the body. Give [bai] mao from the four corners of a roof into a copper vessel. Cover [the patient] with three layers of red silk fabric. Then place the vessel on the fabric. Burn the [bai] mao to heat it and move [the container] to the location of the pain. Once [the patient] feels an itch in the soles of his feet, he will be healed. Zhou hou fang. 13-20 地筋别録有名未用 Di jin. FE Bie lu. [Section] Known by name, but not in use. Heteropogon contortus (L.) Beuav. ex Roem. et Schult. Tanglehead.475 【釋名】菅根别録、土筋同。 Explanation of Names. Jian gen 菅根, Bie lu. Tu jin 土筋, “soil sinew.” Identical [source, Bie lu]. 【集解】【别録曰】地筋生澤中，根有毛，三月生，四月實白，三月三日 采根。【弘景曰】疑此即是白茅而小異也。【藏器曰】地筋如地黄，根葉 並相似而細，多毛，生平澤，功用亦同地黄，李邕方中用之。【時珍曰】 此乃黄、菅茅之根也，功與白茅根相同，詳見”白茅”下。陳藏器所説别是一 物，非菅根也。 Collected Explanations. Bie lu: Di jin grows in marshlands. The root has hair. It grows in the third month. The fruits turn white in the fourth month. The root is collected on the third day of the third month. [Tao] Hongjing. Presumably this is bai mao with only a minor difference. [Chen] Cangqi: The root and the leaves of di jing are similar to those of Chinese foxglove [rhizome], just smaller and with more hair, and [di jing] grows in the plains and marshlands. The [therapeutic] potential, too, is identical with that of Chinese foxglove [rhizome]. Li Yong resorts to it in his recipes. [Li] Shizhen: This is the root of huang/yellow jian mao 菅茅. Its [therapeutic] potential is identical with that of bai/white mao. For details, see under imperata 474 Wu shi 五屍, “five types of corpse [qi],” a reference to the five diseases attributed to corpse evil qi. BCGM Dict I, 543.

475 Di jin 地筋, lit.: “ground sinew.”

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[root] (13-19). The item referred to by Chen Cangqi is something different. It is not the root of jian [mao] 菅[茅]. 【氣味】甘，平，無毒。 Qi and Flavor. Sweet, balanced, nonpoisonous. 【主治】益氣止渴，除熱在腹臍，利筋。别録。根、苗、花，功與白茅 同。時珍。 Control. It boosts the qi and ends thirst. It eliminates heat from abdomen and navel. It frees the movement of sinews. Bie lu. The [therapeutic] potential of root, seedling and flower is identical with that of imperata [root, seedling and flower]. [Li] Shizhen. 13-21 芒拾遺 Mang, FE Shi yi. Miscanthus sinensis Anders. Miscanthus reed. 【校正】併入拾遺 石芒、敗芒箔。 Editorial Correction. Shi mang 石芒 and bai mang bo 敗芒箔 from the Shi yi are added [to this entry]. 【釋名】杜榮爾雅、芭芒寰宇志、芭茅。【時珍曰】芒，爾雅作莣。今俗 謂之芭茅，可以爲籬笆故也。 Explanation of Names. Du rong 杜榮, Er ya. Ba mang 芭芒, Huan yu zhi. Ba mao 芭茅. [Li] Shizhen: Instead of mang 芒, the Er ya writes wang 莣. Today, it is commonly called ba mao 芭茅 because it can be used to build fences, ba 笆. 【集解】【藏器曰】爾雅：莣，杜榮。郭璞注云：草似茅，皮可爲繩索履 屩也。今東人多以爲箔。又曰：石芒生高山，如芒而節短，江西呼爲折 草，六七月生穗如荻。【時珍曰】芒有二種，皆叢生，葉皆如茅而大，長 四五尺，甚快利，傷人如鋒刃。七月抽長莖，開白花成穗，如蘆葦花者， 芒也。五月抽短莖，開花如芒者，石芒也。並於花將放時剥其籜皮，可爲 繩箔草履諸物，其莖穗可爲掃帚也。 Collected Explanations. [Chen] Cangqi: The Er ya [writes]: “Mang 莣 is du rong 杜 榮.” In his comment, Guo Pu states: “This herb resembles imperata, [bai] mao. Its skin can be used to prepare ropes to tie shoes and sandals. Nowadays, the people in the East make mats with it.” It is also said: Shi mang grows on high mountains, it is similar to mang, but with knots situated in shorter distance. In Jiang xi it is called zhe cao 折草, “broken herb.” In the sixth and seventh month it develops spikes



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resembling reed. [Li] Shizhen: There are two types of mang. Both grow as clusters. Their leaves resemble those of imperata floss grass, but are bigger, with a length of four to five chi. They are very sharp and can harm one just like the cutting edge of a sword or knife. Those emerging from the ground in the seventh month as a long stem, that open white flowers eventually forming spikes, similar to reed flowers, they are the mang 芒. Those emerging from the ground in the fifth month as a short stem, and that open flowers resembling those of mang, they are shi mang. Of both kinds when the flowers are about to be released, the peel is removed. It can be made into all types of things, such as ropes, mats, and herbal sandals. Stem and spikes can be used to make brooms. 13-21-01 莖。Jing. Stem [of mang]. 【氣味】甘，平，無毒。 Qi and Flavor. Sweet, balanced, nonpoisonous. 【主治】人畜爲虎狼等傷，恐毒入内，取莖雜葛根濃煮汁服，亦生取汁 服。藏器。煮汁服，散血。時珍。 Control. Harm caused to humans and animals by tigers and wolves, when it is to be feared that poison has entered [the victim’s body]. Boil a mixture of [mang] stems with pueraria [root] and prepare a thick juice for ingestions. Also, ingest the juice obtained from a raw specimen. [Chen] Cangqi. To ingest the juice obtained from boiling [the substance in water] disperses blood. [Li] Shizhen. 13-21-02 敗芒箔。Bai mang bo. Decayed mang mat.

【主治】産婦血滿，腹脹血渴，惡露不盡，月閉，止好血，下惡血，去鬼 氣疰痛癥結，酒煮服之。亦燒末，酒下。彌久着煙者佳。藏器。 Control. A sensation of fullness related to blood [disorder] noticed by women giving birth. The abdomen is bloated, with bleeding and thirst. Unending flow of lochia. Blocked menstruation. It ends loss of good blood and serves to discharge malign blood. It removes lumped qi, pain related to attachment-illness476 and concretion-illness nodes. [For all such ailments] ingest [such mats] boiled in wine. 476 Zhu 疰, also zhu 注, “attachment-illness,” “influx-illness,” reflects a notion of a foreign pathogenic agent, originally of demonic nature, having attached itself to the human organism. BCGM Dict I, 688-695.

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They are also burned to powder to be sent down with wine. [Mats] that have been exposed to smoke for a long time are fine. [Chen] Cangqi. 13-22 龍膽本經中品 Long dan, FE Ben jing, middle rank. Gentiana scabra Bunge. Gentiana herb.477 【釋名】陵游。【志曰】葉如龍葵，味苦如膽，因以爲名。 Explanation of Names. Ling you 陵游, “hill walker.” [Ma] Zhi: Its leaves resemble those of common night shade. It is as bitter as bile. Hence the name. 【集解】【别録曰】龍膽生齊朐山谷及冤句，二月、八月、十一月、十二 月采根，陰乾。【弘景曰】今出近道，以吴興者爲勝。根狀似牛膝，其味 甚苦。【頌曰】宿根黄白色，下抽根十餘條，類牛膝而短。直上生苗，高 尺餘。四月生葉如嫩蒜，細莖如小竹枝。七月開花，如牽牛花，作鈴鐸 狀，青碧色。冬後結子，苗便枯。俗呼草龍膽。又有山龍膽，味苦濇，其 葉經霜雪不凋。山人用治四肢疼痛，與此同類而别種也。采無時候。 Collected Explanations. Bie lu: Long dan grows in the mountain valleys of Qi qu and Yuan ju. The root is collected in the second, eighth, eleventh and twelfth month. It is dried in the yin (i. e., shade). [Tao] Hongjing: Today it comes from nearby places, with those from Wu xing being superior. The root is shaped like achyranthes [root]. Its flavor is extremely bitter. [Su] Song: The perennial root is of yellow-white color. It sends down more than ten root twigs. It resembles a short achyranthes [root]. The seedling grows straight upward and reaches a height of more than a chi. In the fourth month, [long dan] develops leaves resembling tender garlic [leaves] and a thin stem resembling small bamboo twigs. In the seventh month it opens flowers resembling pharbitis flowers. They are shaped like bells of greenish-bluish jade color. After winter has arrived they form seeds, and then the seedlings wither. [Long dan] is commonly called cao long dan 草龍膽, “herbal dragon bile.” There is also a “mountain dragon bile,” shan long dan 山龍膽. Its flavor is bitter and astringent. Neither frost nor snow let its leaves wither. The mountain people use them to cure pain in the four limbs. It is of the same group as the [long dan discussed] here, but it is a different type. It can be collected anytime.

477 Long dan 龍膽, lit.: “dragon bile.”



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13-22-01 根。Gen. Root [of long dan]. 【修治】【斅曰】采得陰乾。用時，銅刀切去鬚上頭子，剉細，甘草湯浸 一宿，漉出，暴乾用。 Pharmaceutical Preparation. [Lei] Xiao: Once it has been collected it is dried in the yin (i. e., shade). When it is to be applied [for therapeutic purposes], remove with a copper knife the hair, cut it into small pieces, soak it in a glycyrrhiza [root] decoction for one night, seep the liquid through a filter to take [the root] out and dry it in the sun before making use of it. 【氣味】苦、濇，大寒，無毒。【斅曰】空腹餌之，令人溺不禁。【之才 曰】貫衆、小豆爲之使，惡地黄、防葵。 Qi and Flavor: Bitter, astringent, massively cold, nonpoisonous. [Lei] Xiao: Consumed on an empty stomach it causes urine incontinence. [Xu] Zhicai: Dryopteris fern [root] and red mung beans serve as its guiding substances. [Ingested together,] it abhors Chinese foxglove [rhizome] and peucedanum japonicum [root]. 【主治】骨間寒熱，驚癇邪氣，續絶傷，定五臟，殺蠱毒。本經。除胃中 伏熱，時氣温熱，熱泄下痢，去腸中小蟲，益肝膽氣，止驚惕。久服益智 不忘，輕身耐老。别録。治小兒壯熱骨熱，驚癇入心，時疾熱黄，癰腫口瘡 。甄權。客忤疳氣，熱狂，明目止煩，治瘡疥。大明。去目中黄及睛赤腫 脹，瘀肉高起，痛不可忍。元素。退肝經邪熱，除下焦濕熱之腫，瀉膀胱 火。李杲。療咽喉痛，風熱盗汗。時珍。 Control. [alternating sensations of ] cold and heat in the bones. Fright epilepsy with evil qi. It serves to reconnect severed and harmed [items]. It stabilizes the five long-term depots. It kills gu-poison.478 Ben jing. It removes hidden heat from the stomach, seasonal qi causing warmth or heat, hot outflow and discharge with free-flux illness. It removes small bugs/worms from inside the intestines. It boosts the qi of liver and gallbladder. It ends fearfulness. Ingested over a long time, it boosts knowledge and prevents forgetfulness. It relieves the body of its weight and prevents aging. Bie lu. It serves to cure strong heat and bone heat of children, and fright epilepsy entering the heart, heat [effusion] and jaundice associated with sea-

478 Gu du 蠱毒, “gu-poison[ing].” (1) A poison emitted by certain worms/snakes with an ability to cause varying pathological changes in a person who has taken it in by means of wine or food. (2) Abdominal fullness, in some cases with blood spitting, and blood in the stool and urine. BCGM Dict I, 192 - 193.

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sonal [epidemic] illnesses, swelling associated with obstruction-illness479 and oral sores. Zhen Quan. Visitor’s hostility480 and gan-illness481 qi. Heat with madness. It clears the eyes and ends vexation. It serves to cure sores and jie-illness.482 Da Ming. It removes yellow from within the eyes and redness, swelling and distension from the eyeballs, and rising excessive flesh with an unbearable pain. [Zhang] Yuansu. It drives back evil heat [qi] from the liver conduits, and removes swelling caused by moisture and heat in the lower [section of the Triple] Burner. It drains fire from the urinary bladder. Li Gao. It heals throat pain and robber sweat483 related to wind and heat. [Li] Shizhen. 【發明】【元素曰】龍膽味苦性寒，氣味俱厚，沉而降，陰也，足厥陰、少 陽經氣分藥也。其用有四：除下部風濕一也，及濕熱二也，臍下至足腫痛三 也，寒濕脚氣四也。下行之功與防己同，酒浸則能上行，外行以柴胡爲主， 龍膽爲使。治眼中疾必用之藥。【好古曰】益肝膽之氣而泄火。【時珍曰】 相火寄在肝膽，有瀉無補，故龍膽之益肝膽之氣，正以其能瀉肝膽之邪熱 也。但大苦大寒，過服恐傷胃中生發之氣，反助火邪，亦久服黄連反從火化 之義。别録久服輕身之説，恐不足信。 Explication. [Zhang] Yuansu: Long dan is of bitter flavor; its nature is cold. Its qi and flavor are all strongly pronounced. [Long dan] sinks into the depth; it is a yin [substance]. It is a pharmaceutical drug for the qi sections of the food ceasing yin and minor yang conduits. It has four usages: It eliminates wind and moisture from the lower [body] part. That is the first. And [it eliminates] moisture and heat. That is the second. [It eliminates] painful swelling from the navel down to the feet. That is the third. [It eliminates] leg qi484 caused by cold and moisture. That is the fourth. Its potential of downward movement is identical with that of stephania tetandra [root]. After being soaked in wine it is able to move upward. To let it move toward the outside, bupleurum [root] is required as ruler [drug] and long dan serves as its 479 Yong 癰, “obstruction-illness,”refers to an obstruction of vessels or other ducts inside the body. Qi rushing against the obstruction may cause a local swelling and eventually break through the surface to cause an abscess. BCGM Dict I, 641.

480 Ke wu 客忤, “visitor‘s hostility.” A sudden twisting pain, encountered outside one’s home, in the central and abdominal region thought to result from the hostile acts of demons “visiting” the human body. BCGM Dict I, 282. 481 Gan 疳, “gan-illness,” also: “sweets-illness,” involves several complaints that affect children and adults, with causes and conditions too different to fall into a known disease category. BCGM Dict I, 180-188. 482 Jie-illness 疥, vaguely identifiable skin ailment. BCGM Dict I, 249.

483 Dao han 盗汗, “robber sweat,” a profuse sweating during sleep that ends when one wakes up. BCGM Dict I, 122. 484 Jiao qi 脚氣, “leg qi.” Painful, weak, swollen legs. BCGM Dict I, 248.



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guiding substance. It is an indispensable pharmaceutical drug to cure ailments in the eyes. [Wang] Haogu: It boosts the qi of liver and gallbladder and drains fire. [Li] Shizhen: Minister fire is situated in the liver and the gallbladder. Hence when long dan is applied to boost the qi of liver and gallbladder, this is based on its ability to drain evil heat from the liver and the gallbladder. However, when massive bitter [flavor] and massive cold [qi] are excessively ingested, they may harm the potential of the stomach to generate qi and contrary [to one’s intentions] support the evil fire [qi]. This is the idea behind the [warning against] long-term ingestion of coptis [rhizome] because contrary [to one’s] intentions it serves to generate fire. What the Bie lu says on “a long-term ingestion relieving the body of its weight,” may not be sufficiently reliable. 【附方】舊四，新六。 Added Recipes. Four of old. Six newly [recorded]. 傷寒發狂。草龍膽爲末，入雞子清、白蜜，化凉水服二錢。傷寒藴要。 Harm caused by cold followed by an effusion of madness. [Grind] herbal long dan to powder, add the clear contents of an egg and white honey, dissolve this in cool water and ingest two qian. Shang han yun yao. 四肢疼痛。山龍膽根細切，用生薑自然汁浸一宿，去其性，焙乾搗末，水 煎一錢匕，温服之。此與龍膽同類别種，經霜不凋。蘇頌圖經本草。 The four limbs ache. Cut the root of mountain long dan into fine pieces and soak them in the natural juice of fresh ginger for one night. This serves to eliminate the [strong] nature [of mountain long dan]. Then bake it over a slow fire, pound it to powder, boil as much as is held by a one qian spoon in water and ingest this warm. This is a different type from the same group as long dan. It does not wither even following frost. Su Song, Tu jing ben cao. 穀疸勞疸。穀疸因食而得，勞疸因勞而得。用龍膽一兩，苦參三兩，爲 末，牛膽汁和丸梧子大。先食以麥飲服五丸，日三服，不知稍增。勞疸加 龍膽一兩，巵子仁三七枚，以豬膽和丸。删繁方。 Grain dan-illness and exhaustion dan-illness.485 Grain dan-illness results from food. Exhaustion dan-illness results from exhaustion. [Grind] one liang of long dan and three liang of sophora [root] to powder and with ox bile form pills the size of wu seeds. Ingest prior to meals five pills with a wheat beverage. To be ingested three times a day. If no effect sets in, slightly increase the dose. For exhaustion dan-illness 485 Dan 疸, “dan-illness,” identical with huang dan 疸疸, “yellow dan-illness,” “jaundice.” BCGM Dict I, 118.

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add one liang of long dan and three times seven gardenia fruits, and form pills with pig bile. Shan fan fang. 一切盗汗。婦人、小兒一切盗汗，又治傷寒後盗汗不止。龍膽草研末，每 服一錢，豬膽汁三兩點，入温酒少許調服。楊氏家藏方。 All types of robber sweat.486 For robber sweat of women and children alike. It also serves to cure unending robber sweat following a harm caused by cold. Grind long dan herb to powder. Each time ingest one qian. Add two or three drops of pig bile and ingest this mixed with a little warm wine. Yang shi jia cang fang. 小兒盗汗，身熱。龍膽草、防風各等分，爲末。每服一錢，米飲調下。亦 可丸服及水煎服。嬰童百問。 Robber sweat of children, with a hot body. [Grind] equal amounts of long dan herb and saposhnikovia [root] to powder. Each time ingest one qian, to be sent down mixed with a rice beverage. It can also be ingested as pills or boiled in water. Ying tong bai wen. 咽喉熱痛。龍膽擂水服之。集簡方。 Painful heat affecting the throat. Pestle long dan in water and ingest it. Ji jian fang. 暑行目澀。生龍膽搗汁一合，黄連浸汁一匙，和點之。危氏得效方。 The eyes are rough during summerheat. Pound fresh long dan to obtain one ge of its juice. Mix it with one spoonful of coptis [rhizome] juice and drop this [into the affected eyes]. Wei shi de xiao fang. 眼中漏膿。龍膽草、當歸等分，爲末。每服二錢，温水下。鴻飛集。 Pus leaking from inside the eyes. [Grind] equal amounts of long dan herb and Chinese angelica [root] to powder. Each time ingest two qian, to be sent down with warm water. Hong fei ji. 蛔蟲攻心。刺痛，吐清水。龍膽一兩，去頭剉，水二盞，煮一盞，隔宿勿 食，平旦頓服之。聖惠方。 Roundworms attacking the heart. [Patients feel] a piercing pain and spit clear water. Boil one liang of long dan [root], with the tip removed, in two bowls of water down to one bowl. Do not let [the patient] eat anything for the duration of one night. The next morning he is to ingest [this medication] all at once. Sheng hui fang. 卒然尿血不止。龍膽一虎口，水五升，煮取二升半，分爲五服。姚僧坦集 驗方。 486 Dao han 盗汗, “robber sweat,” a profuse sweating during sleep that ends when one wakes up. BCGM Dict I, 122.



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Sudden and unending urination487 with blood. Boil one handful of long dan in five sheng of water down to two and a half sheng and ingest this divided into five portions. Yao Sengtan, Ji yan fang. 13-23 細辛本經上品 Xi xin, FE Ben jing, upper rank. Asarum heteropoides Fr. Schmidt var. manshuricum (Maxim.) Kitag. 【釋名】小辛本經、少辛。【頌曰】華州真細辛，根細而味極辛，故名之 曰細辛。【時珍曰】小辛、少辛，皆此義也。按山海經云浮戲之山多少 辛。管子云”五沃之土，群藥生少辛”是矣。 Explanation of Names. Xiao xin 小辛, Ben jing. Shao xin 少辛. [Su] Song: The genuine xi xin 細辛 from Hua zhou has a thin/fine, xi 細, root and an extremely acrid, xin 辛, flavor. Hence it is called xi xin 細辛, “thin/fine and acrid.” [Li] Shizhen: Xiao xin 小辛, “small and acrid,” and shao xin 少辛, “slightly acrid,” are all of this meaning. According to the Shan hai jing, “Mount Fu xi has much shao xin 少辛.” The Guan zi states: “In the five types of fertile soil, among all the pharmaceutical drugs shao xin 少辛 grows.” These are [references to the substance discussed here.] 【集解】【别録曰】細辛生華陰山谷，二月、八月采根，陰乾。【弘景 曰】今用東陽、臨海者，形段乃好，而辛烈不及華陰、高麗者。用之去 其頭節。【當之曰】細辛如葵赤黑，一根一葉相連。【頌曰】今處處有 之，皆不及華陰者爲真，其根細而極辛。今人多以杜衡爲之。杜衡根似飯 帚密鬧，細長四五寸，微黄白色，江淮呼爲馬蹄香，不可誤用。【宗奭 曰】細辛葉如葵，赤黑色，非此則杜衡也。杜衡葉如馬蹄之下，故俗名馬 蹄香。蓋根似白前，又似細辛。按沈括夢溪筆談云：細辛出華山，極細 而直，柔韌，深紫色，味極辛，嚼之習習如椒而更甚於椒。本草云，細辛 水漬令直，是以杜衡僞爲之也。東南所用細辛皆杜衡也。杜衡黄白色， 拳曲而脆，乾則作團，又謂之馬蹄。襄汉間又有一種細辛，極細而直，色 黄白，乃是鬼督郵，亦非細辛也。【時珍曰】博物志言杜衡亂細辛，自古 已然矣。沈氏所説甚詳。大抵能亂細辛者，不止杜衡，皆當以根苗色味細 辨之。葉似小葵，柔莖細根，直而色紫，味極辛者，細辛也。葉似馬蹄， 莖微粗，根曲而黄色，味亦辛者，杜衡也。一莖直上，莖端生葉如繖，根 似細辛，微粗直而黄白色，味辛微苦者，鬼督郵也。似鬼督郵而色黑者， 及己也。葉似小桑，根似細辛，微粗長而黄色，味辛而有臊氣者，徐長卿 487 Zheng lei, ch. 6, xi xin 細辛, quoting Wai tai mi yao fang, writes xia xue 下血, “discharge of blood,” instead of niao xue 尿血, “urination with blood.”

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也。葉似柳而根似細辛，粗長黄白色而味苦者，白微也。似白微而白直味 甘者，白前也。 Collected Explanations. Bie lu: Xi xin grows in the valleys of Mount Hua yin shan. The root is collected in the second and eighth month. It is dried in the shade. [Tao] Hongjing: Those from Dong yang and Lin hai in use today have a good outer appearance, but the vigor of their acrid [flavor] does not reach that of [xi xin] from Hua yin and Gao li. For its application [for therapeutic purposes] remove its tip and nodes. [Li] Dangzhi: Xi xin is red-black like Chinese mallows. One root has one leaf linked to it. [Su] Song: Today it can be found everywhere. But nothing comes close to genuine [xi xin] from Hua yin. The root [of xi xin from Hua yin] is small and extremely acrid. Nowadays, asarum caulescens [root] is often given out as [xi xin root]. Asarum caulescens root looks like a dense rice broom, it is thin and four to five cun long, and of a light yellow-white color. In Jiang huai they call it “horse hoof incense.” It must not be used by mistake! [Kou] Zongshi: The leaves of xi xin resemble those of Chinese mallows. They are red-black. If they are not of this [color], then it is asarum caulescens [herb]. The leaves of asarum caulescens are like the bottom of horse hoofs. Hence they are commonly called “horse hoof fragrance.” The fact is, the root resembles that of cynanchum stauntonii [herb] and it also resembles that of asarum heteropoides. According to Shen Gua’s Meng xi bi tan, “Xi xin [root] comes from Mount Hua shan. It is extremely thin and straight, pliable and tough, and of a deep purple color. Its flavor is extremely acrid. When it is chewed, it tastes like pepper, and is even stronger than pepper. The Ben cao states: ‘Xi xin [root] soaked in water straightens.’ This is asarum caulescens [root] faked to be [xi xin root]. The xi xin [roots] used in the South-East are all asarum caulescens [roots]. Asarum caulescens [root] is yellow-white. It is bent and brittle. When it is dried it forms a circle. It is also called ‘horse hoof.’ In the Xiang han region is yet another type of xi xin [root]. It is extremely thin and straight, and of yellow-white color. This is macroclinidium [root]. It, too, is not xi xin [root].” [Li] Shizhen. When the Bo wu zhi refers to “the confusion of asarum caulescens [root] with xi xin [root],” this has continued since ancient times. Mr. Shen [Gua] has stated this quite clearly. Generally speaking, substances mistaken for xi xin are not just asarum caulescens. In all cases it is essential to carefully check the root, the seedling, the color and the flavor. When the leaves resemble those of small Chinese mallows, when it has a soft stem and a thin root that is straight and of purple color, and when it has an extremely acrid flavor, it is xi xin. When the leaves resemble a horse hoof, when the stem is slightly coarse, when the root is bent and yellow, and when the flavor, too, is acrid, then it is asarum caulescens. When one single stem has risen straight, when at the end of the stem leaves grow similar to an umbrella, when the root resembles that of xi xin,



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is coarse, straight and yellow-white, and when the flavor is acrid with some bitter note in it, this is macroclinidium [root]. When it resembles macroclinidium [root] but is black, it is chloranthus [root]. When the leaves resemble those of small mulberry [trees] and when the root resembles that of xi xin, is somewhat coarse, long, and of yellow color, and when the flavor is acrid with some foul odor qi, this is cynanchum paniculatum [herb]. When the leaves resemble willow [leaves], and when the root resembles that of xi xin, is coarse, long, of yellow-white color and has a bitter flavor, then it is cynanchum atratum [root]. Those that resemble cynanchum atratum [root], are white and straight und have a sweet flavor, they are cynanchum stauntonii [roots]. 13-23-01 根。Gen. Root [of xi xin]. 【修治】【斅曰】凡使細辛，切去頭子，以瓜水浸一宿，暴乾用。須揀去 雙葉者，服之害人。 Pharmaceutical Preparation. [Lei] Xiao: For all applications of xi xin [root], cut off and discare the tips, soak it in melon juice for one night, dry it in the sun and make use of it. Those with double leaves must be picked up and discarded. To ingest them is harmful. 【氣味】辛，温，無毒。【普曰】神農、黄帝、雷公、桐君：小温。岐 伯：無毒。李當之：小寒。【權曰】苦、辛。【之才曰】曾青、棗根爲之 使。得當歸、芍藥、白芷、芎藭、牡丹、藁本、甘草，共療婦人。得决 明、鯉魚膽、青羊肝，共療目痛。惡黄耆、狼毒、山茱萸。忌生菜、狸 肉。畏消石、滑石。反藜蘆。 Qi and Flavor. Acrid, warm, nonpoisonous. [Wu] Pu: Shen nong, Huang Di, Lei gong, Tong jun: A little warm. Qi Bo: Nonpoisonous. Li Dangzhi: A little cold. [Zhen] Quan: Bitter, acrid. [Xu] Zhicai: Lamellar malachite and the roots of Chinese dates serve as its guiding substances. Together with Chinese angelica [root], paeonia [root], angelica dahurica [root], ligusticum chuanxiong [root], paeonia [root bark], ligusticum sinense [root], and glycyrrhiza [root] it serves to heal [the diseases of ] women. Together with fetid cassia seeds, carp gallbladder/bile, and greenish sheep liver, it serves to heal eye pain. [Ingested together,] it abhors astragalus [root], wolfsbane, and Asiatic cornelian cherry. [During a treatment with xi xin] raw vegetables and leopard cat meat are to be avoided. [Ingested together, xi xin] fears nitrokalite and talcum. It is opposed to veratrum [root]. 【主治】欬逆上氣，頭痛腦動，百節拘攣，風濕痺痛死肌。久服明目，利 九竅，輕身長年。本經。温中下氣，破痰利水道，開胸中滯結，除喉痺，

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齆鼻不聞香臭，風癇癲疾，下乳結，汗不出，血不行。安五臟，益肝膽， 通精氣。别録。添膽氣，治嗽，去皮風濕痒，風眼淚下，除齒痛，血閉， 婦人血瀝腰痛。甄權。含之，去口臭。弘景。潤肝燥，治督脉爲病，脊强 而厥。好古。治口舌生瘡，大便燥結，起目中倒睫。時珍。 Cough with qi rising in counterflow, headache and a sensation of brain movement. The hundred joints cramped, and painful blockage caused by wind [intrusion] and moisture, with dead muscles. Ingested for a long time it clears the eyes, opens the nine orifices, relieves the body of its weight and extends the years [of life]. Ben jing. It warms the center and discharges qi. It breaks through phlegm [accumulation] and frees the passage through the pathways of water. It opens sluggish and bound [qi]488 in the chest and eliminates throat blockage, stuffed nose unable to smell fragrant or malodorous [qi], wind epilepsy and peak-illness.489 It serves to discharge breast nodes, and [cures conditions of ] an inability to sweat, and failure of blood to move. It pacifies the five long-term depots, boosts liver and gallbladder [qi], and opens the pathways of essence qi. Bie lu. It increases gallbladder qi (i. e., courage), serves to cure cough, eliminates itch caused by wind [intrusion] and moisture in the skin, and tearflow related to wind [intrusion] in the eyes. It ends toothache, blood blockage, and dripping blood and lower back pain of women. Zhen Quan. Held in the mouth it eliminates bad breath. [Tao] Hongjing. It moistens liver dryness, and serves to cure diseases associated with the supervisor vessel, with stiff spine and ceasing [yang qi in the legs]. [Wang] Haogu. It serves to cure sores growing in one’s mouth, and dry and bound defecation, and lifts inverted eyelashes that have entered the eyes. [Li] Shizhen. 【發明】【宗奭曰】治頭面風痛，不可缺此。【元素曰】細辛氣温，味大 辛，氣厚于味，陽也，升也，入足厥陰、少陰血分，爲手少陰引經之藥。 香味俱細，故入少陰，與獨活相類。以獨活爲使，治少陰頭痛如神。亦止 諸陽頭痛，諸風通用之。味辛而熱，温少陰之經，散水氣以去内寒。【成 無己曰】水停心下不行，則腎氣燥，宜辛以潤之。細辛之辛，以行水氣 而潤燥。【杲曰】膽氣不足，細辛補之。又治邪氣自裏之表，故仲景少陰 證用麻黄附子細辛湯。【時珍曰】氣之厚者能發熱，陽中之陽也。辛温能 散，故諸風寒風濕、頭痛痰飲、胸中滯氣、驚癇者，宜用之。口瘡、喉 痺、䘌齒諸病用之者，取其能散浮熱，亦火鬱則發之之義也。辛能泄肺， 故風寒欬嗽上氣者，宜用之。辛能補肝，故膽氣不足，驚癇眼目諸病， 488 Jie qi 結氣, “bound qi,” 1.) an etiological agent of pathological qi halting and congealing at any place in the body. 2.) A condition brought forth by bound qi. BCGM Dict I, 240.

489 Dian 癲, “peak-illness,” BCGM Dict I, 123, identical with dian ji 癲疾, “peak ailment,” a condition of a mental disturbance, occasionally associated with xian 癇, “epilepsy.” BCGM Dict I, 125.



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宜用之。辛能潤燥，故通少陰及耳竅，便濇者宜用之。【承曰】細辛非華 陰者不得爲真。若單用末，不可過一錢。多則氣悶塞，不通者死，雖死無 傷。近年開平獄中嘗治此，不可不記。非本有毒，但不識多寡耳。 Explication. [Kou] Zongshi: To cure pain caused by wind [intrusion] in head and face, one cannot do without this [substance]. [Zhang] Yuansu: Xi xin has warm qi. Its flavor is massively acrid. The qi are heavily pronounced and so is the flavor. It is a yang [substance]. It rises. It enters the blood section of the foot ceasing yin and minor yin [conduits]. It is a pharmaceutical drug guiding [other qi] into the hand minor yin conduits. The scent and flavor are both fine. Hence it enters the minor yin [conduits], similar to angelica biserrata [root]. With angelica biserrata [root] as its guiding substance it serves to divinely cure headache related to the minor yin [conduits]. It also ends all types of headache related to the yang [conduits]. It is resorted to for all [ailments resulting from] wind penetration. It is of acrid flavor, it is hot, and it warms the minor yin conduits. It disperses water qi and removes internal cold. Cheng Wuji: When water stagnates below the heart and fails to move, the kidney qi are dry and acrid [flavor] is required to moisten them. As the acrid [flavor] of xi xin stimulates the movement of water qi it is able to moisten dryness. [Li] Gao: When gallbladder qi are insufficient, xi xin supplements them. It also cures evil qi moving from the interior to the exterior. This is why [Zhang] Zhongjing for illness signs related to the minor yin [conduits] used a decoction with ephedra [herb], aconitum [accessory tuber] and xi xin. [Li] Shizhen: [Substances with] strongly pronounced qi can cause heat effusion. They are yang in yang. Acrid [flavor] and warm [qi] can disperse. Hence they are to be used for all types of wind cold and wind moisture, headache and phlegm rheum, sluggish qi in the breast, and fright epilepsy. When they are resorted to for oral sores, throat blockage, and hidden worm/bug teeth, one makes use of their ability to dispel floating heat. The same idea underlies the effusion of pent-up fire [qi]. Acrid [flavor] is able to drain the lung. Hence it should be resorted to for [diseases such as] cough related to rising qi caused by wind [intrusion] and cold. Acrid [flavor] is able to supplement liver [qi]. Hence it should be resorted to for insufficient gallbladder qi, fright epilepsy and all types of eye diseases. Acrid [flavor] is able to moisten dryness. Hence it should be resorted to to penetrate the minor yin [conduits] and the orifices of the ears, and also when [urination/defecation] relief is rough. [Chen] Cheng: If xi xin is not obtained from Hua yin, it is not genuine. If it is applied as a single substance powder, it must not be [ingested in a dose of ] more than one qian. [An ingestion of ] more [than one qian] causes qi blockage with heart-pressure. If [such a blockage] is not penetrated, it will result in death. [The patient] dies without apparent harm. Such [overdoses] have been used in treatments in the Kai ping prison in recent years. [The fatalities]

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that had to be recorded there did not result from the poison [of xi xin] but from an unawareness of the correct dosage. 【附方】舊二，新六。 Added Recipes. Two of old. Six newly [recorded]. 暗風卒倒，不省人事。細辛末，吹入鼻中。危氏得效方。 Dim vision wind with a sudden fall to the ground and an inability to recognize persons or anything else. Blow xi xin powder into [the patient’s] nose. Wei shi de xiao fang. 虚寒嘔噦，飲食不下。細辛去葉半兩，丁香二錢半，爲末。每服一錢，柿 蒂湯下。 Vomiting and retching associated with depletion and cold, with an inability to ingest beverages and food. [Grind] half a liang of xi xin, the leaves removed, and two and a half qian of cloves to powder. Each time ingest one qian, to be sent down with a decoction of the calyxes of persimmon fruit. 小兒客忤，口不能言。細辛、桂心末等分，以少許内口中。外臺秘要。 Children visited by the hostile,490 with an inability to speak. Give small amounts of equal amounts of xi xin and shaved cinnamomum bark powder into [the child’s] mouth. Wai tai mi yao. 小兒口瘡。細辛末醋調貼臍上。衞生家寶方。 Oral sores of children. Mix xi xin powder with vinegar and apply this to the [child’s] navel. Wei sheng jia bao fang. 口舌生瘡。細辛、黄連等分，爲末摻之，漱涎甚效，名兼金散。一方用細 辛、黄蘗。三因方。 Sores growing in the mouth on the tongue. [Grind] equal amounts of xi xin and coptis [rhizome] to powder and apply this [to the affected region]. Also, rinse [the inside of the mouth to generate] saliva. Very effective. This [recipe] is called “powder twice the value in gold.” Another recipe includes xi xin and phellodendron bark. San yin fang. 口臭䘌齒腫痛。細辛煮濃汁，熱含冷吐，取瘥。聖惠方。 490 Ke wu 客忤, “visitor‘s hostility.” A sudden twisting pain, encountered outside one’s home, in the central and abdominal region thought to result from the hostile acts of demons “visiting” the human body. BCGM Dict I, 282.



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Bad breath, hidden worms/bugs teeth, swelling and pain. Boil xi xin to obtain a thick juice. Hold it in the mouth for as long as it is hot and spit it out when it gets cold. This will result in a cure. Sheng hui fang. 鼻中息肉。細辛末時時吹之。聖惠方。 Tumorous flesh growth in the nose. Repeatedly blow xi xin powder [into the affected nostril]. Sheng hui fang. 諸般耳聾。細辛末，溶黄蠟丸鼠屎大，綿裹一丸塞之，一二次即愈。須戒 怒氣，名聰耳丸。龔氏經驗方。 All types of deaf ears. Dissolve xi xin powder in yellow wax and form pills the size of rat/mouse droppings. Wrap one pill in silk fabric and stuff it [into the affected ear]. A cure will be achieved after one or two such [treatments]. [Patients] are to avoid anger [during the treatment]. [This recipe] is called “the pills to return to the ears their faculty of hearing.” Gong shi jing yan fang. 13-24 杜衡别録中品 Du heng, FE Bie lu, middle rank. Asarum caulescens Maxim. Forbes wildginger. 【釋名】杜葵綱目、馬蹄香唐本、土鹵爾雅、土細辛綱目。【恭曰】杜衡 葉似葵，形似馬蹄，故俗名馬蹄香。【頌曰】爾雅：杜，又名土鹵。然杜 若亦名杜衡，或疑是杜若。而郭璞注云”似葵”，當是杜衡也。 Explanation of Names. Du kui 杜葵, Gang mu. Ma ti xiang 馬蹄香, “horse hoof fragrance,” Tang ben. Tu lu 土鹵, Er ya. Tu xi xin 土細辛, Gang mu. [Su] Gong: The leaves of du heng resemble those of Chinese mallows, and their physical appearance is similar to a horse hoof. This is why it is called “horse hoof fragrance.” [Su] Song: The Er ya [states]: “Du 杜 is also called tu lu 土鹵.” Now, du ruo 杜若, pollia japonica, too, is called du heng 杜衡. Some wonder whether it is du ruo 杜若. Guo Pu in his comment states: “It resembles Chinese mallows.” So, it must be du heng 杜衡. 【集解】【别録曰】杜衡生山谷，三月三日采根，熟洗暴乾。【弘景曰】 根葉都似細辛，惟氣小異爾。處處有之。方藥少用，惟道家服之。令人身 衣香。【恭曰】生山之陰，水澤下濕地。葉似葵，形如馬蹄。根似細辛、 白前等。今俗以及己代之，謬矣。及己獨莖，莖端四葉，葉間白花，殊無 芳氣。有毒，服之令人吐，惟療瘡疥，不可亂杜衡也。【頌曰】今江淮間 皆有之。春初於宿根上生苗，葉似馬蹄下狀，高二三寸，莖如麥蒿粗細， 每窠上有五七葉，或八九葉，别無枝蔓。又於莖葉間罅内蘆頭上貼地生紫

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花，其花似見不見，暗結實如豆大，窠内有碎子，似天仙子。苗葉俱青， 經霜即枯，其根成空，有似飯帚密鬧，細長四五寸，粗於細辛，微黄白 色，味辛，江淮俗呼爲馬蹄香。謹按山海經云：天帝之山有草焉。狀如 葵，其臭如蘼蕪，名曰杜衡。可以走馬，食之已癭。郭璞注云：帶之可以 走馬。或曰：馬得之而健走也。【宗奭曰】杜衡用根似細辛，但根色白， 葉如馬蹄之下。市人往往, 以亂細辛，將二物相對，便見真僞。况細辛惟出 華州者良。杜衡色黄，拳局而脆，乾則作團。詳”細辛”下。【時珍曰】 Collected Explanations. Bie lu: Du heng grows in mountain valleys. The root is collected in the second and third month. It is washed with hot water and dried in the sun. [Tao] Hongjing: Its root and leaves resemble those of asarum heteropoides. Only the qi are a little different. It can be found everywhere. It is rarely used as an ingredient in pharmaceutical recipes. Only the Daoists ingest it. It provides fragrance to one’s body and garments. [Su] Gong: It grows on the yin/shady side of mountains, on lowlying, moist ground. The leaves are similar to those of Chinese mallows. They are shaped like horse hoofs. The root resembles that of asarum heteropoides and cynanchum stauntonii. Today, chloranthus [root] is commonly used as a substitute. This is a mistake. Chloranthus has one single stem, with four leaves at the end of the stem and white flowers with no fragrance at all between these leaves. It is poisonous and causes vomiting. It only serves to heal sores and jie-illness.491 It must not be mistaken for du heng. [Su] Song: Today it can be found everywhere in the Jiang huai region. At the beginning of spring seedlings grow from the perennial root. The leaves resemble the bottom of horse hoofs. [Du heng] reaches a height of two to three cun. The stem is coarse and thin like wheat straw. On each [flower] burrow are five to seven leaves, sometimes eight or nine leaves. They have no veins branching out [from a central vein]. From a rift between stem and leaves, on the top of a reed stalk purple leaves grow close to the ground. The flowers are hardly visible. The fruits are as big as beans, but they, too, are hidden. Inside the burrows are broken seeds, resembling henbane seeds. Seedling and leaves are greenish. Once they have encountered frost, they wither and the root becomes hollow. It resembles a rice broom with dense hair. It is thin and four to five cun long, but cruder than that of asarum heteropoides. It is yellow-white, with an acrid flavor. In Jiang huai it is commonly called “horse hoof fragrance.” According to the Shan hai jing, “there is an herb on the mountain of the heavenly thearch shaped like Chinese mallows and with a bad odor similar to that of the young leaves of ligusticum chuanxiong. It is called du heng, and it is able to make horses run. To eat it ends goiter.” Guo Pu in his comment states: “To carry it on one’s body can make horses run.” It is also said: “When it is given to horses, they will run strong.” [Kou] Zongshi: The root used 491 Jie-illness 疥, vaguely identifiable skin ailment. BCGM Dict I, 249.



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of du heng resembles that of asarum heteropoides. However, the root is white, and the leaves resemble the bottom of a horse hoof. The market people often confuse it with asarum heteropoides. But when the two items are placed next to each other, it is immediately obvious which one is genuine and which one is fake. Also, of asarum heteropoides only those are good that come from Huai yin. Du heng [root] is yellow. It curls up like a fist and is brittle. When it dries it forms a circle. For details see under the entry asarum heteropoides (13-23). [Li] Shizhen: According to the Tu su ben cao, “du xi xin 杜細辛 has leaves that are round like a horse hoof. If they have a purple spine, it is of good quality. It can be found in Jiang nan, Jing, Hu, Chuan, Shaan, Min and Guang. Its natural juice is able to suppress [the effects of ] sulphur, arsenic and mercury.” 13-24-01 根。Gen. Root [of du heng]. 【氣味】辛，温，無毒。 Qi and Flavor. Acrid, warm, nonpoisonous. 【主治】風寒欬逆。作浴湯，香人衣體。别録。止氣奔喘促，消痰飲，破 留血，項間癭瘤之疾。甄權。下氣殺蟲。時珍。 Control. Cough with [qi] counterflow caused by wind [intrusion] and cold. A hot bath provides one’s garments and body with a fragrant scent. Bie lu. It ends hectic [breath] qi and panting. It dissolves phlegm rheum. It breaks through abiding blood and illnesses of goiter tumor in the neck. Zhen Quan. It discharges qi and kills worms/bugs. [Li] Shizhen. 【發明】【時珍曰】古方吐藥往往用杜衡者，非杜衡也，乃及己也。及己 似細辛而有毒，吐人。昔人多以及己當杜衡，杜衡當細辛，故爾錯誤也。 杜衡則無毒，不吐人，功雖不及細辛，而亦能散風寒，下氣消痰，行水破 血也。 Explication. [Li] Shizhen: When ancient recipes with pharmaceutical drugs for vomiting regularly resorted to du heng [root], this was by no means du heng [root], it was chloranthus [root]. Chloranthus [root] is similar to that of asarum heteropoides. It is poisonous and causes vomiting. In former times, people often used asarum heteropoides for du heng and du heng for asarum heteropoides. Naturally, this led to errors. Du heng is nonpoisonous, and does not cause vomiting. Its [therapeutic] potential does not reach that of asarum heteropoides but it, too, is able to disperse wind and cold, to discharge qi and melt phlegm, to stimulate the movement of water and to break through [stagnating] blood.

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The Ben Cao Gang Mu 【附方】新六。 Added Recipes. Six newly [recorded].

風寒頭痛。傷風傷寒，頭痛發熱，初覺者。馬蹄香爲末，每服一錢，熱酒 調下，少頃飲熱茶一盌，催之出汗即愈，名香汗散。王英杏林摘要。 Headache caused by wind [intrusion] and cold. When the first signs of a harm caused by wind or a harm caused by cold, that is, headache and heat effusion, are noticed. [Grind] horse hoof fragrance to powder. Each time ingest one qian, to be sent down mixed with hot wine. After a short while drink one cup of hot tea to stimulate sweating. This will result in a cure. [The recipe] is named “powder for fragrant sweating.” Wang Ying, Xing lin zhai yao. 飲水停滯。大熱行極及食熱餅後，飲冷水過多，不消，停滯在胸，不利呼 吸喘息者。杜衡三分，瓜蒂二分，人參一分，爲末。湯服一錢，日二服， 取吐爲度。肘後方。 Drunk water stagnates [in the body]. When following a massive heat or after having eating hot pies, one has drunk too much cold water that has not dissolved but has stagnated in the chest, with an inability to freely breath, and panting. [Grind] three parts of du heng [root], two parts of musk melon fruit base, and one part of ginseng [root] to powder. [Let the patient] ingest with hot water one qian. He is to ingest this twice a day until he vomits. Zhou hou fang. 痰氣鼻孝 喘。馬蹄香焙研，每服二三錢，正發時淡醋調下，少頃吐出痰涎爲 驗。普濟方。 Wheezing panting related to phlegm qi. Bake horse hoof fragrance over a slow fire and each time ingest two to three qian, to be sent down, mixed with bland vinegar, right at the time of an outbreak. When after a short while [the patient] throws up phlegm and saliva, this is evidence of an effect. Pu ji fang. 噎食膈氣。馬蹄香四兩，爲末，好酒三升，熬膏。每服二匙，好酒調下， 日三服。孫氏集效方。 Gullet occluding food, and occlusion qi. [Grind] four liang of horse hoof fragrance to powder, boil it with three sheng of good wine to a paste, and each time ingest two spoonfuls, to be sent down mixed with good wine. To be ingested three times a day. Sun shi, Ji xiao fang. 吐血瘀聚。凡吐血後，心中不悶者必止。若煩躁悶亂刺脹者，尚有瘀血在 胃，宜吐之。方同飲水停滯。 Spitting of blood with stagnant [blood] collection. If following a spitting of blood there is no heart-pressure felt in the heart, it has definitely come to an end. If, how-



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ever, there is still a vexing restlessness, heart-pressure disorder, and a distention with piercing [pain], there is still blood stagnation in the stomach, and it is advisable to throw it up. The recipe is identical with the one for drunk water stagnating in the body. 喉閉腫痛。草藥金鎖匙，即馬蹄草，以根搗，井華水調下即效。救急方。 Blocked throat with swelling and pain. Pound the root of the herbal drug [named] “metal key,” that is, horse hoof herb, [to powder] and send it down mixed with the first water drawn from a well. This will be effective. Jiu ji fang. 【附録】 Appendix. 13-24-A01 木細辛。Mu xi xin. Unidentified. 【藏器曰】味苦，温，有毒。主腹内結聚癥瘕，大便不利，推陳去惡，破 冷氣。未可輕服，令人利下至困。生終南山，冬月不凋，苗如大戟，根似 細辛。 [Chen] Cangqi: Flavor bitter, warm, poisonous. It controls nodular collection, concretion-illness and conglomeration-illness492 in the abdomen, and blocked defecation. It pushes out the old and removes the malign. It breaks through cold qi [accumulation]. It must not be ingested carelessly lest it cause extremely problematic free-flux discharge. It grows on Mount Zong nan shan. It does not wither during the winter months. The seedlings resemble those of Peking spurge. The root resembles asarum root. 13-25 及己别録下品 Ji ji, FE Bie lu, lower rank. Chloranthus serratus (Thunb.) Reom. et Schult. Serrate chloranthus. 【釋名】獐耳細辛。【時珍曰】及己名義未詳。二月生苗，先開白花，後 方生葉三片，狀如獐耳，根如細辛，故名獐耳細辛。 492 Zheng jia 癥瘕, “concretion-illness and conglomeration-illness.” The two terms are often used interchangeably and do not signify two distinctly different conditions. Concretion-illness and conglomeration-illness result from a disharmony of cold and warmth resulting in a failure to transform beverages and food. Nodes form when they clash with the qi of the long-term depots. BCGM Dict I, 677.

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Explanation of Names. Zhang er xi xin 獐耳細辛, “river deer ear xi xin.” [Li] Shizhen: The meaning of the name ji ji 及己 is not clear. It develops seedlings in the second month. At first it opens white flowers. Then it develops three leaves shaped like the ears of the river deer. The root resembles that of asarum heteropoides, xi xin 細辛. Hence the name “river deer ear xi xin.” 【集解】【恭曰】及己生山谷陰虚軟地。其草一莖，莖頭四葉，隙着白 花。根似細辛而黑，有毒。今人以當杜衡，非也。二月采根，日乾。 Collected explanations. [Su] Gong: Ji ji grows in mountain valleys in yin/shady areas on hollow, soft ground. This is an herb with one stem and four leaves at the end of the stem. White flowers are situated in the gaps between [the leaves]. The root resembles an asarum heteropoides root, but is black and poisonous. Today, people use it to replace asarum caulescens [root]. That is wrong. The root is collected in the second month. It is dried in the sun. 13-25-01 根。Gen. Root [of ji ji]. 【氣味】苦，平，有毒。【恭曰】入口使人吐血。 Qi and Flavor. Bitter, balanced, poisonous. [Su] Gong: When it enters one’s mouth, it lets him spit blood. 【主治】諸惡瘡疥痂瘻蝕，及牛馬諸瘡。唐本。頭瘡白秃，風瘙皮膚蟲 痒，可煎汁浸并傅之。大明。殺蟲。時珍。 Control. All types of malign sores, jie-illness493 with a crust, and fistula with erosion. Also all types of sores of oxen and horses. Tang ben. For sores on the head and white baldness, wind itching, and skin itch related to worms/bugs, it can be boiled to obtain a juice that is used to soak [the affected region] and may also be applied to it. Da Ming. It kills worms/bugs. [Li] Shizhen. 【發明】【弘景曰】今人以合瘡疥膏，甚驗。【時珍曰】今人不知及己， 往往以當杜衡，却以杜衡當細辛，故杜衡諸方多是及己也。辯見”細辛”、” 杜衡”二條。 Explication. [Tao] Hongjing: Today people use it to prepare ointments to close sores and [cure] jie-illness. Very effective. [Li] Shizhen: Today’s people do not know ji ji. They often use it as a substitute for asarum caulescens, and they use asarum caulescens as a substitute for asarum heteropoides. Hence, asarum caulescens [recom493 Jie-illness 疥, vaguely identifiable skin ailment. BCGM Dict I, 249.



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mended] in all the recipes is mostly asarum heteropoides. For a discussion, see the entry xi xin. (13-23) 【附方】新一。 Added Recipes. One newly [recorded]. 頭瘡白秃。獐耳細辛，其味香辣，爲末，以槿木煎油調搽。活幼全書。 Head sores and white baldness. [Grind] chloranthus [root] with a fragrant and peppery flavor to powder. Boil it together with hibiscus [wood], and apply this mixed with oil [to the affected region]. Huo you quan shu. 13-26 鬼督郵唐本草 Gui du you, FE Tang ben Macroclinidium verticillatum Frau. 【釋名】獨摇草唐本。【時珍曰】此草獨莖而葉攢其端，無風自動，故曰 鬼獨摇草，後人訛爲鬼督郵爾。因其專主鬼病，猶司鬼之督郵也。古者傳 舍有督郵之官主之。徐長卿、赤箭皆治鬼病，故並有鬼督郵之名，名同而 物異。 Explanation of Names. Du yao cao 獨摇草, Tang ben. [Li] Shizhen: This herb has one single stem and bushes of leaves at its end. Even if there is no wind, it will move spontaneously. Hence it is called gui du yao cao 鬼獨摇草, “herb that moves by itself [as if touched by a] demon.” Later on, people erroneously changed this to gui du you 鬼督郵, “demon supervisor post.” As it is particulary suited to cure demonic diseases, it looks as if it were the post of the supervisor in charge of demons. Ancient records tell that it controls these [demonic diseases] because it is the official residing in the supervisor post, du you 督郵. Substances like cynanchum paniculatum [herb] and gastrodia [root] serve to cure demon diseases. Hence, they, too, are called gui du you 鬼督郵. These are different items known by the same name. 【集解】【恭曰】鬼督郵所在有之。有必叢生，苗惟一莖，莖端生葉若 繖狀，根如牛膝而細黑。今人以徐長卿代之，非也。【保昇曰】莖似細 箭簳，高二尺以下。葉生莖端，狀如傘。花生葉心，黄白色。根横生而無 鬚，二月、八月采根。徐長卿、赤箭並有鬼督郵之名，而主治不同，宜審 用之。【時珍曰】鬼督郵與及己同類，根苗皆相似。但以根如細辛而色黑 者爲及己，根如細辛而色黄白者爲鬼督郵。

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Collected Explanations. [Su] Gong: Gui du you can be found everywhere. It grows in thickets. The seedling has only one stem. At the end of the stem leaves grow forming an umbrella. The root resembles achyranthes [root], but is smaller and black. Today’s people substitute it with [the root of ] cynanchum paniculatum [herb]. That is wrong. [Han] Baosheng: The stem resembles a thin arrow shaft. It is less than two chi high. The leaves grow at the end of the stem; they are shaped like an umbrella. The flowers grow in the center of the leaves; they are yellow-white. The root grows horizontally; it has no hair. The root is collected in the second and eighth month. Cynanchum paniculatum [herb] and gastrodia [herb] are both also named gui du you, but the [ailments they] control are not identical. It is essential to examine which is which before using them [for therapeutic purposes]. [Li] Shizhen: Macroclinidium [herb] and chloranthus [herb] are of the same group. Their roots and seedlings are all similar. Still, specimens are chloranthus [herb] when they have a black root resembling that of asarum heteropoides. If the root resembles that of asarum heteropoides but is yellow-white, it is macroclinidium [herb]. 13-26-01 根。Gen. Root [of gui du you] 【修治】【斅曰】凡采得細剉，用生甘草水煮一伏時，日乾用。 Pharmaceutical Preparation. [Lei] Xiao: When collected, cut it into small pieces, and boil it for an entire day together with fresh glycyrrhiza [root] in water. Then dry it in the sun before using it [for therapeutic purposes]. 【氣味】辛、苦，平，無毒。【時珍曰】有小毒。 Qi and Flavor. Acrid, bitter, balanced, nonpoisonous. [Li] Shizhen: Mildly poisonous. 【主治】鬼疰，卒忤中惡，心腹邪氣，百精毒，温瘧疫疾，强腰脚，益膂 力。唐本。 Control. Demon attachment-illness.494 Sudden encounter with the hostile, being struck by the malign. Evil qi in the central and abdominal region. The poison of the hundreds of essence/spirits. Warmth malaria and epidemic illnesses. Stiff lower back and legs. It boosts the strength of the spine. Tang ben.

494 Zhu 疰, also zhu 注, “attachment-illness,” “influx-illness,” reflects a notion of a foreign pathogenic agent, originally of demonic nature, having attached itself to the human organism. BCGM Dict I, 688-695.



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【發明】【時珍曰】按東晉深師方，治上氣欬嗽，邪嗽、鱢嗽、冷嗽四滿 丸，用鬼督郵同蜈蚣、芫花、躑躅諸毒藥爲丸，則其有毒可知矣。非毒藥 不能治鬼疰邪惡之病，唐本云無毒，蓋不然。 Explication. [Li] Shizhen: According to the Shen shi fang of Eastern Jin, for the “pills for four conditions of fullness” to cure rising qi with cough, evil cough, dryness cough and cold cough, prepare pills with poisonous pharmaceutical substances such as gui du you, centipedes, daphne [flowers], and rhododendron [flowers]. From this it is obvious that gui du you is poisonous. Only poisonous drugs can serve to cure diseases of demon attachment and [being struck by] the evil and the malign. When the Tang ben states that is is nonpoisonous, then this is not so. 13-27 徐長卿本經上品 Xu chang qing, FE Ben jing, upper rank. Cynanchum paniculatum (Bunge) Kitag. Paniculate swallowwort. 【校正】今據吴氏本草，併入石下長卿。 Editorial Correction. Based on [its separate entry in] the Wu shi ben cao, shi xia chang qing 石下長卿 is included here. 【釋名】鬼督郵本經、别仙蹤蘇頌。【時珍曰】徐長卿，人名也，常以此 藥治邪病，人遂以名之。名醫别録於有名未用復出”石下長卿”條，云一名 徐長卿。陶弘景注云：此是誤爾。方家無用，亦不復識。今攷二條功療相 似。按吴普本草云：徐長卿一名石下長卿。其爲一物甚明，但石間生者爲 良。前人欠審，故爾差舛。【弘景曰】鬼督郵之名甚多。今俗用徐長卿 者，其根正如細辛，小短扁扁爾，氣亦相似。今狗脊散用鬼督郵者，取其 强悍宜腰脚，故知是徐長卿，而非鬼箭、赤箭。 Explanation of Names. Gui du you 鬼督郵, “demon supervisor’s post,” Ben jing. Bie xian zong 别仙蹤, “another hermit’s/immortal’s footprint,” Su Song. [Li] Shizhen: Xu Changqing 徐長卿 is the name of a person. He often used this drug to cure evil diseases. Hence it was later named after him. The Ming yi bie lu in its “known by name, but not in use” section has an entry shi xia chang qing 石下長卿, stating “alternative name: Xu Changqing 徐長卿.” Tao Hongjing commented: “This is an error. The recipe experts do not use it, and it is not any longer known. Recent research indicates that both items have a similar therapeutic potential.” According to the Wu Pu ben cao, “xu chang qing is also named shi xia chang qing.” Hence it is quite clear that [both names refer to] one item. However, specimens growing between stones are good. This was not carefully investigated by people in former times. Hence these different statements. [Tao] Hongjing: Very many [substances] are named gui du

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you 鬼督郵. The root of xu chang qing widely used today resembles that of asarum [herbs]; it is small and flat. Their qi, too, are similar. When nowadays the “powder with cibotium [root]” includes gui du you 鬼督郵, it resorts to its ability to strengthen lower back and legs. Hence it is obvious that this is [the root of ] cynanchum paniculatum [herb] and not gui jian 鬼箭 or chi jian 赤箭/gastrodia [root]. 【集解】【别録曰】徐長卿生泰山山谷及隴西，三月采。又曰：石下長卿 生隴西山谷池澤，三月采。【恭曰】所在川澤有之。葉似柳，兩葉相當， 有光澤。根如細辛，微粗長，黄色而有臊氣。今俗以代鬼督郵，非也。鬼 督郵自有本條。【保昇曰】生下濕川澤之間。苗似小桑，兩葉相對。三月 苗青，七月、八月着子，似蘿藦子而小。九月苗黄，十月凋，八月采根， 日乾。【頌曰】今淄、齊、淮、泗間皆有之，三月、四月采，謂之别仙 蹤。【時珍曰】鬼督郵、及己之亂杜衡，其功不同，苗亦不同也。徐長卿 之亂鬼督郵，其苗不同，其功同也。杜衡之亂細辛，則根苗功用皆仿佛， 乃彌近而大亂也。不可不審。 Collected Explanations. Bie lu: Xu chang qing grows in the valleys of Mount Tai shan, and also in Long xi. It is collected in the third month. It is also said: Shi xia chang qing grows in the ponds and marshlands in the mountain valleys of Long xi. It is collected in the third month. [Su] Gong: It can be found everywhere in river marshlands. The leaves resemble those of willows, with two glossy leaves situated opposite to each other. The root resembles that of asarum heteropoides [herbs]. It is somewhat coarse and long. It is yellow and emits a smell of foul qi. Nowadays it is often used as a substitute for macroclinidium [root]. This is wrong. Macroclinidium [root] is treated in an entry of its own. [Han] Baosheng: It grows in low-lying marshlands and river marshlands. The seedlings resemble small mulberry [plants] with two leaves situated opposite to each other. The seedlings turn greenish in the third month; they develop seeds in the seventh and eighth month. They resemble the seeds of metaplexis [herbs], but are smaller. The seedlings turn yellow in the ninth month; they wither in the tenth month. The root is collected in the eighth month; it is dried in the sun. [Su] Song: Today it can be found in all the regions of Zi, Qi, Huai and Si. It is collected in the third and fourth month. It is called “another hermit’s/immortal’s footprint.” [Li] Shizhen: Macroclinidium [root] and chloranthus [root] are mixed up with asarum caulescens [root], even though their [therapeutic] potentials differ, and their seedlings differ, too. When [the root of ] cynanchum paniculatum [herb] is mixed up with macroclinidium [root], the seedlings differ but their [therapeutic] potentials are similar. When asarum caulescens [herb] is mixed up with asarum heteropoides [herb], their roots, seedlings and [therapeutic]



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potentials are all more or less the same. So, they appear to be similar and still it is a significant confusion. One must be careful! 13-27-01 根。Gen. Root [of xu chang qing]. 【修治】【斅曰】凡采得粗杵，拌少蜜令遍，以瓷器盛，蒸三伏時，日乾 用。 Pharmaceutical Preparation. [Lei] Xiao: When collected, [the root is ground to a] coarse [powder]. This is thoroughly mixed with a little honey. This is then stored in an earthware vessel and steamed for three full days. Then it is dried in the sun and can be used. 【氣味】辛，温，無毒。【别録曰】石下長卿：鹹、平，有毒。【普曰】 徐長卿，一名石下長卿。神農、雷公：辛。【時珍曰】治鬼之藥多有毒， 當從别録。 Qi and Flavor. Acrid, warm, nonpoisonous. Bie lu: Shi xia chang qing: Salty, balanced, poisonous. [Wu] Pu: Xu chang qing is also named shi xia chang qing. Shen nong, Lei gong: Acrid. [Li] Shizhen: Pharmaceutical drugs serving to cure demonic [diseases] are mostly poisonous. One should follow the [statement in the] Bie lu. 【主治】鬼物百精蠱毒，疫疾邪惡氣，温瘧。久服强悍輕身。本經。益氣 延年。又曰：石下長卿主鬼疰精物，邪惡氣，殺百精蠱毒老魅，注易，亡 走啼哭，悲傷恍惚。别録。 Control. Demonic items, the hundreds of essence [spirits], gu-poison.495 Epidemics with evil and malign qi. Warmth malaria. Ingested over a long time it provides strength and relieves the body of its weight. Ben jing. It boosts the qi and extends the years [of life]. It is also said, shi xia chang qing controls demon attachment-illness496 and essence [spirit] items, as well as evil and malign qi. It kills the hundreds of essence [spirits], gu-poison and old goblins, [diseases] that have poured from one person into another, making them run meaningless and cry. [It ends] sadness and absentmindedness. Bie lu. 495 Gu du 蠱毒, “gu-poison[ing].” (1) A poison emitted by certain worms/snakes with an ability to cause varying pathological changes in a person who has taken it in by means of wine or food. (2) Abdominal fullness, in some cases with blood spitting, and blood in the stool and urine. BCGM Dict I, 192 - 193.

496 Zhu 疰, also zhu 注, “attachment-illness,” “influx-illness,” reflects a notion of a foreign pathogenic agent, originally of demonic nature, having attached itself to the human organism. BCGM Dict I, 688-695.

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【發明】【時珍曰】抱朴子言上古辟瘟疫有徐長卿散，良效。今人不知用 此。 Explication. [Li] Shizhen: The Baopu zi says: “In ancient times the powder with xu chang qing served to repudiate warmth-illness epidemics with good effects. Today’s people do not know of it.” 【附方】新二。 Added Recipes. Two newly [recorded]. 小便關格。徐长卿汤：治氣壅，關格不通，小便淋結，臍下妨悶。徐長卿 炙半兩，茅根三分，木通、冬葵子一兩，滑石二兩，檳榔一分，瞿麥穗半 兩，每服五錢，水煎，入朴硝一錢，温服，日二服。聖惠方。 Blocked urination. The “decoction with xu chang qing.” It serves to cure qi obstruction, with inpenetrable blockage, nodes leading to dripping urine, barrier below the navel leading to heart-pressure. [Grind the following items to powder:] Half a liang of roasted xu chang qing, three fen of imperata [root], one liang [each of ] akebia [herb] and winter mallow seeds, two liang of talcum, one fen of areca [nuts], and half a liang of fringed pink spikes. For each dose to be ingested take five qian. Boil this in water, add a little mirabilite and ingest this warm. To be ingested twice a day. Sheng hui fang. 注車注船。凡人登車船煩悶，頭痛欲吐者，宜用徐長卿、石長生、車前 子、車下李根皮各等分，搗碎，以方囊繫半合于衣帶及頭上，則免此患。 肘後方。 Motion sickness on a car or boat. Whenever someone on a car or boat experiences vexing heart-pressure, headache and an urge to vomit, it is advisable to use [the following medication]. Pound equal amounts of xu chang qing, cliff maidenhair, plantago seeds and the bark of oriental bush cherry roots to pieces and give half a ge into a bag. Wear this on your garment or on the head, and such suffering will be averted. Zhou hou fang.



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13-28 白微本經中品 Bai wei, FE Ben jing, middle rank. Cynanchum atratum Bunge. Blackend swallowwort. 【釋名】薇草别録、白幕别録、春草本經、葞音尾、骨美。【時珍曰】 微，細也。其根細而白也。按爾雅：葞，春草也。微、葞音相近，則白微 又葞音之轉也。别録以葞爲莽草之名，誤矣。 Explanation of Names. Wei cao 薇草, Bie lu. Bai mu 白幕, “white screen,” Bie lu. Chun cao 春草, “spring herb,” Ben jing. Wei 葞, read wei 尾, gu mei 骨美. [Li] Shizhen: Wei 微 is xi 細, “small/fine.” The root is small/fine and white. According to the Er ya, “Wei 葞 is chun cao 春草, ‚spring herb’.” The pronunciations of wei 微 and wei 葞 are quite similar. Hence bai wei 白微 is a transfer of the reading of wei 葞. The Bie lu assumes wei 葞 to be a name of mang cao 莽草, illiceum herb. That is a mistake. 【集解】【别録曰】白微生平原川谷，三月三日采根，陰乾。【弘景曰】 近道處處有之。【頌曰】今陝西諸郡及舒、滁、潤、遼州亦有之。莖葉俱 青，頗類柳葉。六七月開紅花，八月結實。其根黄白色，類牛膝而短小， 今人八月采之。 Collected Explanations. Bie lu: Bai wei grows in the river valleys of Ping yuan. The root is collected in the third month on the third day. It is dried in the shade. [Tao] Hongjing: It can be found everywhere in nearby places. [Su] Song: Today it can be found in all the prefectures of Shaan xi and also in Shu, Chu, Run and Liao zhou. The stem and the leaves are all green, very much resembling willow leaves. [Bai wei] opens red flowers in the sixth and seventh month. It forms fruit in the eighth month. The root is yellow-white. It resembles achyranthes [root], but is short and small. Today’s people collect it in the eighth month. 13-28-01 根。Gen. Root [of bai wei]. 【修治】【斅曰】凡采得，以糯米泔汁浸一宿，取出去髭，於槐砧上細 剉，蒸之，從申至巳，晒乾用。【時珍曰】後人惟以酒洗用。 Pharmaceutical Preparation. [Lei] Xiao: When collected it is first soaked for one night in water that has been used to wash glutinous rice. Then take it out [of the liquid], remove the fine hair and cut it into fine pieces on a sophora wood chopping board. Then steam it from the shen hours (9 – 11 hrs.) to the si hours (15 – 17 hrs.), dry it in the sun and use [it for therapeutic purposes]. [Li] Shizhen: People of later times simply washed it with wine and than made use of it.

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【氣味】苦、鹹、平，無毒。【别録曰】大寒。【之才曰】惡黄耆、大 黄、大戟、乾薑、大棗、乾漆、山茱萸。 Qi and Flavor. Bitter, salty, balanced, nonpoisonous. Bie lu: Massively cold. [Xu] Zhicai: [Ingested together,] it abhors astragalus [root], rhubarb root, Peking spurge, dried ginger, Chinese dates, dried lacquer and Asiatic cornelian cherry. 【主治】暴中風，身熱肢滿，忽忽不知人，狂惑邪氣，寒熱酸疼，温瘧洗 洗，發作有時。本經。療傷中淋露，下水氣，利陰氣，益精。久服利人。 别録。治驚邪風狂痓病，百邪鬼魅。弘景。風温灼熱多眠，及熱淋遺尿， 金瘡出血。時珍。 Control. Suddenly being struck by wind, with a hot body, a feeling of fullness in the limbs, and mental confusion including an inability to recognize other people. Madness and delusion associated with evil qi, [alternating sensations of ] cold and heat, and pain. Warmth malaria with shivering, and regular outbreaks. Ben jing. It heals harm caused to the center with [lochia/urine/sweat] dripping like dew [drops]. It discharges water and qi, it frees the passage of yin qi and boosts one’s essence/ sperm. Ingested over a long time it is beneficial. Bie lu. It serves to cure madness and spasms related to fright and evil wind, and the one hundred evil demons and goblins. [Tao] Hongjing. Warmth and fire heat with drowsiness caused by wind, as well as heat with urinary dripping and uncontrolled loss of urine. Bleeding wounds caused by metal objects/weapons. [Li] Shizhen. 【發明】【好古曰】古方多用治婦人，以本草有療傷中淋露之故也。【時 珍曰】白微古人多用，後世罕能知之。按張仲景治婦人産中虚煩嘔逆，安 中益氣，竹皮丸方中，用白微一分，同桂枝一分，竹皮、石膏三分，甘草 七分，棗肉爲大丸，每以飲化一丸服。云有熱者倍白微，則白微性寒，乃 陽明經藥也。徐之才藥對言白微惡大棗，而此方又以棗爲丸，蓋恐諸藥寒 凉傷脾胃爾。朱肱活人書治風温發汗後，身猶灼熱，自汗身重多眠，鼻息 必鼾，語言難出者，萎蕤湯中亦用之。孫真人千金方有詔書發汗白微散焉。 Explication. [Wang] Haogu: Ancient recipes often resorted to it to cure females because the ben cao [texts recommend it] to heal harm caused to the center and [lochia/urine/sweat] dripping like dew [drops]. [Li] Shizhen: Bai wei was used often in ancient times. Later on, only few people knew of it. According to Zhang Zhongjing, the recipe with bamboo bark to cure women giving birth experiencing a depletion with vexation, vomiting and [qi] counterflow, to pacify the center and boost their qi, [recommends to] use one part bai wei, one part cassia bark, three parts [each] of bamboo bark and gypsum and seven parts of glycyrrhiza [root] to prepare with Chinese date meat large pills, and each time to ingest one such pill dissolved in a beverage. He states that “in the case of [body] heat the portion of bai wei is to



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be doubled.” That is, the nature of bai wei is cold and it is a pharmaceutical drug for the yang brilliance conduits. Xu Zhicai in his Yao dui says that “bai wei abhors [being ingested together with] Chinese dates”, but this recipe suggests to prepare pills with Chinese dates. The fact is, [Zhang Zhongjing] feared that the cold nature of all the pharmaceutical drugs involved might harm spleen and stomach. Zhu Gong in his Huo ren shu has a “decoction with polygonatum odoratum [root]” also making use of it to cure following an episode of warmth perspiration caused by wind a body that is hot like fire with spontaneous sweating, a sensation of bodily heaviness and drowsiness, snoring breathing through the nose and difficult speaking. Sun zhenren in his Qian jin fang has a “powder with bai wei to cause sweating as if it were an Imperial Edict.” 【附方】新五。 Added Recipes. Five newly [recorded]. 肺實鼻塞，不知香臭。白微、貝母、款冬花各一兩，百部二兩，爲末。每 服一錢，米飲下。普濟方。 Lung repletion causing stuffed nose, with an inability to distinguish fragrant and malodorous smells. [Grind] one liang each of bai wei, fritillaria [root] and coltsfoot and two liang of stemona [root] to powder. Each time ingest one qian, to be sent down with a rice beverage. Pu ji fang. 婦人遺尿。不拘胎前産後。白微、芍藥各一兩，爲末。酒服方寸匕，日三 服。千金方。 Uncontrolled loss of urine of women, regardless of whether this occurs prior to or following a birth. [Grind] one liang each of bai wei and paeonia [root] to powder and ingest with wine the amount held by a square cun spoon. To be ingested three times a day. Qian jin fang. 血淋熱淋。方同上。 Dripping [urine] with blood, dripping [urine] with heat. Recipe identical with the one above. 婦人血厥。人平居無疾苦，忽如死人，身不動摇，目閉口噤，或微知人， 眩冒，移時方寤，此名血厥，亦名鬱冒。由汗過多，血少，陽氣獨上，氣 塞不行，故身如死。氣過血還，陰陽復通，故移時方寤。婦人尤多此證。 宜服白微湯：用白微、當歸各一兩，人參半兩，甘草一錢半。每服五錢， 水二盞，煎一盞，温服。本事方。

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Blood recession497 of women. When a person leads a normal life and has no ailments. Suddenly she seems to be dead. The body no longer moves, the eyes are closed and she has clenched jaws. In some cases she may still somewhat recognize other persons and experiences only a veiled eyes dizziness. After a while she will wake up again. This [disease] is called “blood recession.” It is also called “pent-up malicious [qi].” The body appears to be dead because of excessive sweating [resulting in] blood insufficiency and only yang qi rising. The qi are blocked and fail to move. Once a surplus of qi lets the blood circulate again, and yin and yang [qi] resume their penetration [of the entire body], she will wake up again after some time. Especially females have this condition, and they need to ingest the “decoction with bai wei.” Prepare [a powder of the following substances]. One liang each of bai wei and Chinese angelica [root]. Half a liang of ginseng [root]. One and a half qian of glycyrrhiza [root]. For each ingestion boil five qian in two small cups of water down to one cup and [let the patient] ingest this warm. Ben shi fang. 金瘡血出。白微爲末，貼之。儒門事親。 Bleeding wound caused by a metal object/weapon. [Grind] bai wei to powder and apply it [to the wound]. Ru men shi qin. 13-29 白前别録中品 Bai qian, FE Bie lu, middle rank. Cynanchum stauntonii (Decne.) Schltr. ex Lèvl. Willow leaf swallowwort. 【釋名】石藍唐本、嗽藥同上。【時珍曰】名義未詳。 Explanation of Names. Shi lan 石藍, “stone indigo,” Tang ben. Sou yao 嗽藥, “cough drug,” [source] identical with that of the previous [name]. [Li] Shizhen: The meaning of these names is not clear. 【集解】【弘景曰】白前出近道，根似細辛而大，色白不柔易折，氣嗽方 多用之。【恭曰】苗高尺許，其葉似柳，或似芫花，根長于細辛，白色， 生州渚沙磧之上，不生近道。俗名石藍，又名嗽藥。今用蔓生者味苦，非 真也。【志曰】根似白微、牛膝輩，二月、八月采，陰乾用。【嘉謨曰】 似牛膝，粗長堅直易斷者，白前也。似牛膝，短小柔軟能彎者，白微也， 近道俱有，形色頗同，以此别之，不致差誤。

497 Xue jue 血厥, “blood recession,” a condition of women who, without apparent reason, experience profuse sweating and sudden loss of consciousness. The body is as dead, and after a while they wake up again. BCGM Dict I, 597.



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Collected Explanations. [Tao] Hongjing: Bai qian comes from nearby regions. The root resembles asarum heteropoides [root], but is bigger. It is white and hard, and can be broken easily. It is often used in recipes for qi cough. [Su] Gong: The seedlings reach a height of more than a chi. Their leaves resemble those of willows, or those of daphne [herbs]. The root is longer than asarum heteropoides [roots]. It is white and grows on small islands and sandy places. It does not grow in nearby regions. A common name is “stone indigo.” Another name is “cough drug.” [Under these names] today a creeping plant with a bitter flavor is used. This is not the genuine [bai qian]. [Ma] Zhi: The root resembles that of cynanchum atratum and that of achyranthes bidentata. It is collected in the second and eighth month. It is dried in the shade for use [as a pharmaceutical drug]. [Chen] Jiamo: If [its root] resembles that of achyranthes bidentata, is coarse, long, hard, straight and can easily be broken, it is [the root of ] bai qian. If [its root] resembles that of achyranthes bidentata, is short, soft and can be bent, it is [the root of ] cynanchum atratum. Both are found everywhere in nearby regions. As their physical appearance and color are quite the same, they are to be distinguished based on these characteristics to prevent mistakes through confusion. 13-29-01 根。Gen. Root [of bai qian]. 【修治】【斅曰】凡用，以生甘草水浸一伏時，漉出，去頭鬚了，焙乾收 用。 Pharmaceutical Preparation. [Lei] Xiao: For all [therapeutic] applications, soak [the root] in an aqueous [decoction of ] fresh glycyrrhiza [root] for one entire day. Then seep it through a filter to remove [the root], discard its tips and fine hair, bake it over a slow fire, dry it, and store it for later use. 【氣味】甘，微温，無毒。【權曰】辛。【恭曰】微寒。 Qi and Flavor. Sweet, slightly warm, nonpoisonous. [Zhen] Quan: Acrid. [Su] Gong: Slightly cold. 【主治】胸脇逆氣，欬嗽上氣，呼吸欲絶。别録。主一切氣，肺氣煩悶， 賁豚腎氣。大明。降氣下痰。時珍。 Control. Qi counterflow affecting chest and flanks. Cough with rising qi, and breathing threatening to be interrupted. Bie lu. It controls all qi, lung qi with vexing

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heart-pressure, running piglet498 with kidney qi. Da Ming. It lets the qi descend and discharges phlegm. [Li] Shizhen. 【發明】【宗奭曰】白前能保定肺氣，治嗽多用，以温藥相佐使尤佳。 【時珍曰】白前色白而味微辛甘，手太陰藥也。長於降氣，肺氣壅實而有 痰者宜之。若虚而長哽氣者，不可用也。張仲景治嗽而脉浮，澤漆湯中亦 用之。其方見金匱要略，藥多不録。 Explication. [Kou] Zongshi: Bai qian is capable of protecting and stabilizing lung qi. It is often used to cure cough, and it is particulary fine if applied combined with warming drugs as assistants and guiding substances. [Li] Shizhen: Bai qian is white; its flavor is slightly acrid and sweet. It is a pharmaceutical drug for the hand major yin [conduits]. It is best to let qi descend, and it is well suited for lung qi obstruction and repletion and the presence of phlegm. [Patients] with a depletion and long-lasting choking on qi, they must not use it. For curing cough with a floating [movement in the] vessels,499 Zhang Zhongjing used it in his “decoction to moisten lacquer.” For the recipe consult the Jin kui yao lüe. Its many pharmaceutical ingredients are not listed here. 【附方】舊二，新一。 Added Recipes. Two of old. One newly [recorded]. 久嗽唾血。白前、桔梗、桑白皮三兩，炒，甘草一兩，炙，水六升，煮一 升，分三服。忌豬肉、菘菜。外臺。 Long-lasting cough and spitting of blood. Boil three liang [each] of bai qian, platycodon [root] and white mulberry [root] bark, [all] fried, and one liang of glycyrrhiza [root], fried, in six sheng of water down to one sheng and ingest this divided into three portions. [During this treatment] pork and Chinese cabbage are to be avoided. Wai tai.

498 Ben tun 奔豚, “running piglet,” a condition of a ji 積, accumulation of qi, associated with the kidneys. It assumes the shape of a piglet and affects the lower abdomen. It may ascend to below the heart, and it moves upward and downward at irregular intervals. It is accompanied by panting with counterflow, a feeling of fullness and pain, and cannot be cured for an extended period of time. BGM Dict I, 57.

499 Instead of mai fou 脉浮, “floating [movement in the] vessels,” Jin kui ch. 1, fei wei fei yong ke sou shang qi mai zheng bing zhi 肺痿肺癰咳嗽上氣脉證並治, “Vessel [movements], illness signs and cure of lung dysfunction, lung obstruction-illness, cough and rising qi,” writes mai chen 脉沉, “deep [movement in the] vessels.”



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久欬上氣，體腫，短氣脹滿，晝夜倚壁不得卧，常作水雞聲者，白前湯主 之。白前二兩，紫菀、半夏各三兩，大戟七合，以水一斗，漬一宿，煮取 三升，分作數服。禁食羊肉、餳餹，大佳。深師方。 Long-lasting cough and rising qi. When the body feels heavy, with short [breath] qi, and a sensation of bloating and fullness, and [patients] during day and night need to lean against a wall and cannot lie down to sleep, often emitting frog-like sounds, this is controlled by the “decoction with bai qian.” Soak two liang of bai qian, three liang each of purple aster [root] and pinellia [root], and seven ge of Peking spurge [root] in one dou of water for one night. Then boil it down to three sheng and ingest [the liquid] divided into several portions. [During such a treatment] mutton and malt-sugar are to be avoided. Shen shi fang. 久患㗇呷欬嗽，喉中作聲，不得眠。取白前焙搗爲末，每温酒服二錢。深 師方。 Long-lasting gulping cough. [Patients] emit sounds from their throat and are unable to sleep. Bake bai qian over a slow fire and pound it to powder. Each time [let the patient] ingest with warm wine two qian. Shen shi fang.500

Unidentified.

13-30 草犀拾遺 Cao xi, FE Shi yi

【釋名】【時珍曰】其解毒之功如犀角，故曰草犀。 Explanation of Names. [Li] Shizhen: Its potential of resolving poison is similar to that of rhinoceros horn. Hence it is called cao xi 草犀, “herbal rhinoceros.” 【集解】【藏器曰】草犀生衢、婺、洪、饒間。苗高二三尺，獨莖，根如 細辛。生水中者名水犀。【珣曰】廣州記云：生嶺南及海中，獨莖對葉而 生，如燈臺草，根若細辛。 Collected Explanations. [Chen] Cangqi: Cao xi grows in the regions of Qu, Wu, Hong and Rao. Its seedlings have a single stem and reach a height of two to three chi. The root is similar to that of asarum heteropoides. When it grows in water it is called “aqueous rhinoceros.” [Li] Xun: The Guang zhou ji states: It grows in Ling nan and in the sea. It grows with a single stem and leaves situated opposite to each

500 Instead of Shen shi fang 深師方, Zheng lei ch. 9, bai qian 白前, writes Mei shi fang 梅師 方.

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other, similar to “the lampstand herb.”501 The root is similar to that of asarum heteropoides. 13-30-01 根。Gen. Root [of cao xi]. 【氣味】辛，平，無毒。 Qi and Flavor. Acrid, balanced, nonpoisonous. 【主治】解一切毒氣，虎狼蟲虺所傷，溪毒野蠱惡刺等毒，並宜燒研服 之，臨死者亦得活。李珣。天行瘧瘴寒熱，欬嗽痰壅，飛尸，喉痺，瘡 腫，小兒寒熱丹毒，中惡注忤，痢血等病，煮汁服之。嶺南及睦、婺間中 毒者，以此及千金藤並解之。藏器。 Control. It resolves all types of poison qi. [It serves to cure] harm caused by tigers, wolves, worms/bugs and poisonous snakes. [It resolves] rivulet poison,502 wilderness gu,503 and the poison of malign piercing. For all these issues it is to be burned, ground [to powder] and ingested. Those already close to dying can be brought back to life. Li Xun. Epidemic malaria, miasma and [alternating sensations of ] cold and heat. Cough with phlegm obstruction. Flying corpse [qi],504 throat closure, sores with swelling, cinnabar poisoning505 of children with alternating cold and heat [sensations]. Being struck by the malign. Hostiliy influx.506 Free-flux illness with blood. For all such diseases, boil it to obtain a juice and ingest this. Those struck by poison 501 Deng tai cao 燈臺草, “lampstand herb,” a plant of unknown identity.

502 Xi du 溪毒, “rivulet poison,”(1) a tiny bug assumed to live in bodies of water and supposedly capable of striking humans when they enter the water, thereby causing disease; (2) a condition resulting from being struck by rivulet poison. BCGM Dict I, 548.

503 Gu du 蠱毒, “gu-poison[ing].” (1) A poison emitted by certain worms/snakes with an ability to cause varying pathological changes in a person who has taken it in by means of wine or food. (2) Abdominal fullness, in some cases with blood spitting, and blood in the stool and urine. BCGM Dict I, 192 - 193. 504 Fei shi 飛屍,” flying corpse [qi],” a condition with sudden outbreaks and frequently changing appearances that do not show a regular pattern. BCGM Dict I, 155.

505 Dan du 丹毒, “cinnabar poisoning,” a condition of skin ailments brought forth by heat poison, manifesting themselves as red rashes as if from burns, as if cinnabar had been pasted there. BCGM Dict I, 118. 506 Zhu wu 注忤, “influx of the hostile,” identical with zhu wu 疰忤, “attachment-illness and [presence of ] the hostile.” A condition of sudden piercing pain in the heart and abdomen, sometimes accompanied by nausea and trepidation. It comes and goes for a while, and cannot be cured over an extended period of time. BCGM Dict I, 694.



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in Ling nan and in the regions of Mu and Wu, they resolve it with this [root] and stephania japonica [root]. [Chen] Cangqi. 13-31 釵子股海藥 Chai zi gu, FE Hai yao Luisia morsei Rolfe ex Forbes et Hemsley. Velvet orchid. 【校正】併入拾遺 金釵股 Editorial Correction. Jin chai gu 金釵股 listed [separately] in the Shi yi, is included [in the present entry]. 【釋名】金釵股。【時珍曰】石斛名金釵花，此草狀似之，故名。 Explanation of Names. Jin chai gu 金釵股, “golden hairpin thigh.” [Li] Shizhen: Dendrobium nobile is also called jin chai hua. The present herb resembles it. Hence its name. 【集解】【藏器曰】金釵股生嶺南及南海山谷，根如細辛，每莖三四十 根。【珣曰】忠州、萬州者亦佳，草莖功力相似。緣嶺南多毒，家家貯 之。【時珍曰】按嶺表録云：廣中多蠱毒，彼人以草藥金釵股治之，十救 八七，其狀如石斛也。又忍冬藤解毒，亦號金釵股，與此同名云。 Collected Explanations. [Chen] Cangqi: Jin chai gu grows in Ling nan and in mountain valleys of Nan hai. The root resembles that of cynanchum stauntonii. Each stem has 30 to 40 roots. [Li] Xun: Those from Zhong zhou and Wan zhou are fine, too. The [therapeutic] potential of the herb and stem are similar [to those from other regions]. Because there is so much poison present in Ling nan, every household stores it. [Li] Shizhen: According to the Ling biao lu, “in Guang zhong is much gu-poison.507 The people there cure it with an herbal pharmaceutical drug, [i. e., the root of ] jin chai gu. Out of ten cases, eight or seven can be rescued. [The root of jin chai gu] is shaped like that of dendrobium nobile.” There is also a [pharmaceutical drug named] ren dong teng 忍冬藤, “creeper withstanding winter” (i.e. honeysuckle), that resolves poison. It, too, is named jin zhai gu. Both have the same name.

507 Gu du 蠱毒, “gu-poison[ing].” (1) A poison emitted by certain worms/snakes with an ability to cause varying pathological changes in a person who has taken it in by means of wine or food. (2) Abdominal fullness, in some cases with blood spitting, and blood in the stool and urine. BCGM Dict I, 192 - 193.

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13-31-01 根。Gen. Root [of chai zi gu]. 【氣味】苦，平，無毒。 Qi and Flavor. Bitter, balanced, nonpoisonous. 【主治】解毒癰疽神驗，以水煎服。李珣。解諸藥毒，煮汁服。亦生研， 更烈，必大吐下。如無毒，亦吐去熱痰，瘧瘴天行，蠱毒喉痺。藏器。 Control. To resolve the poison of obstruction-illness and impediment-illness508 with a divine effect, boil it in water and ingest it. Li Xun. A pharmaceutical drug to resolve all types of poison. Boil it to obtain a juice and ingest it. It is also possible to grind it raw [to powder]. This makes it even more violent, definitely resulting in massive vomiting and discharge. Even if no poison is involved, it may still be applied to cause vomiting to dissipate heat phlegm, epidemic malaria and miasma, as well as gu-poison and throat blockage. [Chen] Cangqi.

Unidentified.

13-32 吉利草綱目 Ji li cao. FE Gang mu.

【集解】【時珍曰】按嵇含南方草木狀云：此草生交、廣，莖如金釵股， 形類石斛，根類芍藥。吴 黄武中，江夏 李俣徙合浦遇毒，其奴吉利偶得此 草，與服遂解，而吉利即遁去。俣以此濟人，不知其數也。又高凉郡産良 耀草，枝葉如麻黄，花白似牛李，秋結子如小栗，煨食解毒，功亞于吉利 草。始因梁耀得之，因以爲名，轉梁爲良耳。 Collected Explanations. [Li] Shizhen: According to Ji Han’s Nan fang cao mu zhuang, this herb grows in Jiao and Guang. Its stem resembles that of luisia morsei. Its physical appearance is similar to that of dendrobium nobile. The root is similar to paeonia [root]. In [the state of ] Wu, during the huang wu reign period (222 – 229), Li Yu from Jiang xia was affected by poison when he moved to He pu. His servant Ji li happened to get hold of this herb and offered it to him. As a result [the poison] was resolved. Ji li then disappeared and [Li] Yu used this [herb] to help others. Their numbers are unknown. Also, in Gao liang prefecture, a liang yao 良耀 herb grows with branches and leaves resembling those of ephedra [herb]. Its flowers are white 508 Yong ju 癰疽, “obstruction-illness, impediment-illness.” refers to two vaguely distinguished obstructions/impediments of vessels or other ducts inside the body. Qi rushing against the obstruction may cause a local swelling and eventually break through the surface to cause an abscess. BCGM Dict I, 642.



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like those of niu li 牛李509, and in autumn it forms seeds like small millet grains. Ingested simmered they resolve poison. Their [therapeutic] potential is inferior to that of ji li cao. The first to obtain it was Liang Yao 梁耀. Hence it was named after him, with the character liang 梁 changed to liang 良, “good.” 13-32-01 根。Gen. Root [of ji li cao]. 【氣味】苦，平，無毒。 Qi and Flavor. Bitter, balanced, nonpoisonous. 【主治】解蠱毒，極驗。時珍。 Control. It resolves gu-poison510 extremely effectively. [Li] Shizhen. 13-33 百兩金宋圖經 Bai liang jin, FE Song, Tu jing. Ardisia crispa (Thunb.) A. DC. Coral ardisia.511 【集解】【頌曰】百兩金生戎州、雲安軍。苗高二三尺，有幹如木。葉似 荔枝，初生背面俱青，結花實後背紫面青，凌冬不凋。初秋開花，青碧 色。結實大如豆，生青熟赤。采根入藥，搥去心。河中府出者，根如蔓菁 赤色，莖細青色，四月開碎黄花，似星宿花。五月采根，長及一寸，晒乾 用。 Collected Explanations. [Su] Song: Bai liang jin grows in Rong zhou and Yun an jun. Its seedlings reach a height of two to three chi. They have a trunk like a tree. The leaves resemble those of lychee [herbs]. When they just begin to grow they are greenish on their back and their face. After they have formed flowers and seeds, the back turns purple and the face remains greenish. Even in a severe winter they do not wither. At the beginning of autumn they open flowers of greenish-jade-blue color. Their seeds have the size of beans. They are greenish as long as they are raw, and they turn red when they are boiled. When the root is collected for medicinal purposes, pound it to remove its core. Those coming from He zhong fu have roots like red 509 Niu li 牛李, an herb of unknown identity.

510 Gu du 蠱毒, “gu-poison[ing].” (1) A poison emitted by certain worms/snakes with an ability to cause varying pathological changes in a person who has taken it in by means of wine or food. (2) Abdominal fullness, in some cases with blood spitting, and blood in the stool and urine. BCGM Dict I, 192 - 193.

511 Bai liang jin 百兩金, lit.: “[worth] 200 liang of gold.”

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turnips, with a slender stem of greenish color. During the fourth month they open fragmented yellow flowers similar to lysimachia flowers. The root is collected in the fifth month. It reaches a length of one cun. It is dried in the sun and then used [for therapeutic ends]. 13-33-01 根。Gen. Root [of bai liang jin]. 【氣味】苦，平，無毒。 Qi and Flavor. Bitter, balanced, nonpoisonous. 【主治】壅熱咽喉腫痛，含一寸，嚥津。又治風涎。蘇頌。 Control. For obstruction of the throat caused by heat, with swelling and pain, hold a one cun-long piece in the mouth and swallow the resulting body liquid. It also serves to cure wind drool. Su Song. 13-34 朱砂根綱目 Zhu sha gen, FE Gang mu. Ardisia crenata Sims. Coral ardisia.512 【集解】【時珍曰】朱砂根生深山中，今惟太和山人采之。苗高尺許，葉 似冬青葉，背甚赤，夏月長茂。根大如筯，赤色，此與百兩金仿佛。 Collected Explanations. [Li] Shizhen: Zhu sha gen grows deep in the mountains. Today, it is collected only by the Mount Tai he shan people. The seedlings reach a height of more than one chi. The leaves resemble Chinese ilex leaves; they have a distinctly red back. During the summer months they reach an exuberant growth. The roots are as big as chop sticks, and of red color. This [plant] is more or less identical with Ardisia crispa (13-33). 13-34-01 根。Gen. Root [of zhu sha gen]. 【氣味】苦，凉，無毒。 Qi and Flavor. Bitter, cool, nonpoisonous. 【主治】咽喉腫痺，磨水或醋嚥之，甚良。時珍。 512 Zhu sha gen 朱砂根, lit.: “cinnabar red root.”



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Control. For swollen and blocked throat, rub [the root] in water or vinegar and swallow [the liquid]. Very good. [Li] Shizhen. 13-35 辟虺雷唐本草 Bi hui lei, FE Tang ben cao. Aristolochia cinnabarina C. Y. Cheng et j. L. Wu. Cinnabar aristolochia.

【釋名】辟蛇雷綱目。【時珍曰】此物辟蛇虺有威，故以雷名之。

Explanation of Names. Bi she lei 辟蛇雷, “thunder repudiating snakes,” Gang mu. [Li] Shizhen: This item has the strength to repudiate poisonous snakes. Hence it is named a “thunder,” lei 雷. 【集解】【恭曰】辟虺雷狀如粗塊蒼术，節中有眼。【時珍曰】今川中 峨 眉、鶴鳴諸山皆有之。根狀如蒼术，大者若拳。彼人以充方物，苗狀當俟 訪問。 Collected Explanations. [Su] Gong: Bi hui lei is shaped like a coarse black atractylodes [rhizome], with eyes in the nodes. [Li] Shizhen: Today it can be found in all the mountains of E mei and He ming in Chuan zhong. The root is shaped like a black atractylodes [rhizome]. Big specimens may reach the size of a fist. The locals serve it as a local item. The shape of the seedlings needs to be researched in future. 13-35-01 根。Gen. Root [of bi hui lei]. 【氣味】苦，大寒，無毒。 Qi and Flavor. Bitter, very cold, nonpoisonous. 【主治】解百毒，消痰，祛大熱、頭痛，辟瘟疫。唐本。治咽喉痛痺，解 蛇虺毒。時珍。 Control. It resolves the hundreds of poisons, melts phlegm, removes massive heat and headache, and repels warmth-illness epidemics. Tang ben. It serves to cure painful throat blockage and resolves the poison of venomous snakes. [Li] Shizhen.

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13-36 錦地羅綱目 Jin di luo, FE Gang mu. Drosera Burmanni Vahl. Burman’s sundew.513 【集解】【時珍曰】錦地羅出廣西 慶遠山巖間，鎮安、歸順、柳州皆有 之。根似萆薢及栝樓根狀。彼人頗重之，以充方物。 Collected Explanations. [Li] Shizhen: Jin di luo comes from the mountain rocks of Qing yuan in Guang xi. It can be found in Zhen an, Gui shun and Liu zhou. The shape of the root resembles that of dioscorea and trichosanthes roots. The local people appreciate it very much and offer it as a local item. 13-36-01 根。Gen. Root [of jin di luo]. 【氣味】微苦，平，無毒。 Qi and Flavor: Slightly bitter, balanced, nonpoisonous. 【主治】山嵐瘴毒，瘡毒，并中諸毒，以根研生酒服一錢匕，即解。時珍。 Control. For mountain haze and miasma poison, sores with poison, and also for being struck by all types of poison, rub the root [to powder] and ingest with fresh wine the amount held by a one qian spoon. This will resolve [the poison]. [Li] Shizhen. 13-37 紫金牛宋圖經 Zi jin niu, FE Song, Tu jing. Ardisia japonica Bl. Japanese ardisia.514 【集解】【頌曰】生福州。葉如茶葉，上緑下紫。結實圓，紅色如丹朱。 根微紫色，八月采根，去心暴乾，頗似巴戟。 Collected Explanations. [Su] Song: It grows in Fu zhou. The leaves are similar to tea leaves. They are green above and purple below. The seeds are round, and of red color like cinnabar. The root is slightly purple. The root is collected in the eighth month. One removes its core and dries it in the sun. It looks quite similar to morinda [roots]. 【氣味】辛，平，無毒。 Qi and Flavor. Acrid, balanced, nonpoisonous.

513 Jin di luo 錦地羅, lit.: “brocade spread on the ground.”

514 Zi jin niu 紫金牛, lit.: “purple gold ox.”



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【主治】時疾膈氣，去風痰。蘇頌。解毒破血。時珍。 Control. Seasonal illness with occlusion qi.515 It removes wind and phlegm. Su Song. It resolves poison and breaks through [accumulations of stagnating] blood. [Li] Shizhen. 13-38 拳參宋圖經 Quan shen, FE Song, Tu jing. Polygonum bistorta L. Bistort. 【集解】【頌曰】生淄州田野，葉如羊蹄，根似海鰕，黑色，土人五月采 之。 Collected Explanations. [Su] Song: It grows in the open country of Zi zhou. The leaves resemble those of Japanese dock. The root resembles a lobster of black color. The locals collect it in the fifth month. 【氣味】缺。 Qi and Flavor. Missing. 【主治】爲末，淋渫腫氣。蘇頌。 Control. [Ground to] powder it serves to eliminate qi swelling. Su Song. 13-39 鐵線草宋圖經 Tie xian cao, FE Song, Tu jing. Adiantum flabellatum L. Bermuda grass.516 【集解】【頌曰】生饒州，三月采根，陰乾。【時珍曰】今俗呼萹蓄爲鐵 線草，蓋同名耳。 Collected Explanations. [Su] Song: It grows in Rao zhou. The root is collected in the second month. It is dried in the shade. [Li] Shizhen: Today, knotgrass is commonly called tie xian cao. That is, they have the same name. 【氣味】微苦，平，無毒。 Qi and Flavor. Slightly bitter, balanced, nonpoisonous. 515 Ge qi 膈氣, “occlusion qi,” a condition of a ye ge 噎膈, “gullet occlusion,” a disease situated in the chest and diaphragm region with a sensation of an obstacle in the chest, heart-pressure, and pain, and a failure of beverages and food to move through a blocked esophagus. BCGM Dict I, 189.

516 Tie xian cao 鐵線草, lit.: “Iron thread herb.”

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【主治】療風消腫毒，有效。蘇頌。 Control. It effectively heals wind with melting [and thirst]517 and swelling with poison. Su Song. 【附方】新一。 Added Recipes. One newly recorded. 男女諸風。産後風尤妙。鐵線草根五錢，五加皮一兩，防風二錢，爲末。 以烏骨雞一斤重者，水内淹死，去毛、腸，砍作肉生，入藥刴匀，下麻油 些少，炒黄色，隨人量入酒煮熟。先以排風藤煎濃湯，沐浴頭身，乃飲酒 食雞，發出粘汗即愈。如不沐浴，必發出風丹乃愈。滑伯仁攖寧心要。 All types of wind [intrusions] affecting both males and females. It is particularly wondrous for wind [intrusion] following a delivery. [Grind] five qian of tie xian cao root, one liang of acanthopanax [root] bark, and two qian of saposhnikovia [root] to powder. Drown a black bone chicken weighing one jin in water, remove its feathers and intestines, chop [it into small pieces] and add to the raw meat the pharmaceutical drugs and pound this to have them evenly mixed. Then add a little sesame oil and fry this until it has turned yellow. This is then boiled, in accordance with the weight of the [sick] person, in wine until done. First boil climbing nightshade until a viscous decoction has formed and use it to wash [the patient’s] head and body. Then [let the patient] drink the wine and eat the chicken. When he effuses a sticky sweat, he will be cured. Hua Boren, Ying ning xin yao. 13-40 金絲草綱目 Jin si cao, FE Gang mu. Pogonatherum crinitum (Thunb.) Kunth. Rough melic.518 【集解】【時珍曰】金絲草出慶陽山谷，苗狀當俟訪問。 Collected Explanations. [Li] Shizhen: Jin si cao comes from the mountain valleys of Qing yang. The shape of its seedlings requires further research. 【氣味】苦，寒，無毒。 Qi and Flavor. Bitter, cold, nonpoisonous.

517 Xiao ke 消渴, “melting with thirst,” most likely including cases of diabetes. BCGM Dict Vol I, 567.

518 Jin si cao 金絲草, lit.: “golden thread herb.”



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【主治】吐血欬血，衄血下血，血崩，瘴氣，解諸藥毒，療癰疽丁腫惡 瘡，凉血散熱。時珍。 Control. Blood spitting, blood cough. Nosebleed and discharge of blood. Blood collapse.519 Miasmatic qi. It resolves all types of medicinal poison. It heals swelling and malign sores associated with obstruction-illness and impediment-illness520 and pin[-illness].521 It cools the blood and disperses heat. [Li] Shizhen. 【附方】新三。 Added Recipes. Three newly [recorded]. 婦人血崩。金絲草、海柏枝、砂仁、花椒、蠶退紙、舊錦灰，等分爲末， 煮酒空心服。陳光述傳。談埜翁方。 Blood collapse of women. [Grind] equal amounts of jin si cao, polyope twigs, bastard cardomon, Chinese pepper, egg shells of mulberry silkworms, and ashes of old silk fabric to powder. Boil it in wine and [let the patient] ingest this on an empty stomach. Transmitted by Chen Guangshu. Tan Yeweng fang. 癰疽丁腫，一切惡瘡。金絲草、忍冬藤、五葉藤、天蕎麥等分，煎湯温 洗。黑色者，加醋。 Swelling associated with obstruction-illness and impediment-illness and pin[-illness], and all types of malign sores. Boil equal amounts of jin si cao, honeysuckle, fox grape creeper and buckwheat [rhizome in water] to obtain a decoction and use it to wash [the affected region]. If it is black, add vinegar. 又鐵箍散：用金絲草灰二兩，醋拌晒乾，貝母五兩去心，白芷二兩，爲 末，以凉水調貼瘡上，香油亦可。或加龍骨少許。 Also, the “iron hoop powder.” [Grind] two liang of jin si cao ashes, mixed with vinegar and dried in the sun, five liang of fritillaria [root], with its core removed, and two liang of angelica dahurica [root] to powder, mix it with cool water and apply this to the sores. [Instead of cool water,] sesame oil may be used, too. Or add a small amount of dragon bones. 519 [Xue] beng [血]崩, “[blood] collapse,” is excessive vaginal bleeding. BCGM Dict I, 594.

520 Yong ju 癰疽, “obstruction-illness, impediment-illness.” refers to two vaguely distinguished obstructions/impediments of vessels or other ducts inside the body. Qi rushing against the obstruction may cause a local swelling and eventually break through the surface to cause an abscess. BCGM Dict I, 642.

521 Ding 丁, “pin[-illness],” also ding 疔, “pin-illness,” refers to a deep-reaching and festering hardness in a tissue, eventually rising above the skin like a pinhead. BCGM Dict I, 127129.

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天蛇頭毒。落蘇即金絲草、金銀花藤、五葉紫葛、天蕎麥等分，切碎，用 絶好醋濃煎，先熏後洗。救急方。 Celestial snake head poison.522 Cut equal amounts of luo su, i. e., jin si cao, honeysuckle, wu ye zi ge523 and buckwheat [rhizome] to small pieces and boil them in best quality vinegar to a viscous fluid. Use it to first steam [the affected region] and then wash it. Jiu ji fang.

522 Tian she tou 天蛇頭, “celestial snake head,” a chuang 瘡, “sore,” condition developing at the fingertips, with the finger tips burning and turning red and swollen and painful as the major characteristic. BCGM Dict I, 504. 523 Wu ye zi ge 五葉紫葛, lit.: “purple pueraria with five leaves,” an unidentifiable plant.

本草綱目 Ben cao gang mu 草部目録 Section Herbs, Contents 第十四卷 Chapter 14

草之三 Herbs III 芳草類五十六種 Fragrant Herbs Group, 56 kinds 14-01 Dang gui 當歸, Chinese angelica. FE Ben jing 本經 14-02 Xiong qiong 芎藭, Sichuan lovage. FE Ben jing 本 經 14-03 Mi wu 蘼蕪, young leaves of Sichuan lovage. FE Ben jing 本 經 14-04 She chuang 蛇牀, cnidium [seed]. FE Ben jing 本 經 14-05 Gao ben 藁本, Chinese ligusticum. FE Ben jing 本經 14-05-A01 Xu huang 徐黄, unidentified. 14-06 Zhi zhu xiang 蜘蛛香, common broadleaf valeriana. FE Gang mu 綱目 14-07 Bai zhi xiang 白芷香, dahurian angelica. FE Ben jing 本經 14-08 Shao yao 芍藥, Chinese peony. FE Ben jing 本經 14-09 Mu dan 牡丹, tree peony. FE Ben jing 本經 14-09-A01 Shu gu 鼠姑, unidentified. 14-10 Mu xiang 木香, costus. FE Ben jing 本經 14-11 Gan song xiang 甘松香, Chinese spikenard. FE Kai bao 開寶 14-12 Shan nai 山柰, galgant. FE Gang mu 綱目 14-13 Lian jiang 廉薑, Chinese galangal. FE Shi yi 拾遺 14-14 Du ruo 杜若, East Asian pollia. FE Ben jing 本經 14-15 Shan jiang 山薑, wild ginger. FE Yao xing 藥性

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14-16 Gao liang jiang 高良薑, lesser galangal. FE Bie lu 别録, i. e., hong dou kou 紅豆 14-17 Hong dou kou 紅豆蔻, fruit/seed of lesser galangal. FE Kai bao 開寶 14-18 Dou kou 豆蔻, Chinese cardamom. FE Bie lu 别録, i. e., cao guo 草果 14-19 Bai dou kou 白豆蔻, round Siam cardamom. FE Kai bao 開寶 14-20 Suo sha mi 縮砂蔤, bastard cardamom. FE Kai bao 開寶 14-21 Yi zhi zi 益智子, black cardamom. FE Kai bao 開寶 14-22 Bi ba 蓽茇, long pepper. FE Kai bao 開寶 14-23 Ju jiang 蒟醬, betel pepper. FE Tang ben 唐本 14-24 Rou dou kou 肉豆蔻, nutmeg. FE Tang ben 唐本 14-25 Bu gu zhi 補骨脂, scurfy pea. FE Kai bao 開寶, i. e., po gu zhi 破故紙 14-26 Jiang huang 薑黄, turmeric. FE Tang ben 唐本 14-27 Yu jin 鬱金, wild turmeric. FE Tang ben 唐本 14-28 Peng e shu 蓬莪蒁, zedoary. FE Kai bao 開寶 14-29 Jing san leng 荆三棱, river bulrush. FE Kai bao 開寶 14-30 Suo cao 莎草, xiang fu zi 香附子, nutgrass. FE Bie lu 别録 14-31 Rui xiang 瑞香, winter daphne. FE Gang mu 綱目 14-32 Mo li 茉莉, night blooming jasmine. FE Gang mu 綱目 14-32-A01 Su xin 素馨, Spanish jasmine. 14-32-A02 Zhi jia hua 指甲花, henna shrub. 14-33 Yu jin xiang 鬱金香, common tulip. FE Kai bao 開寶 14-34 Mao xiang 茅香, lemon grass. FE Kai bao 開寶 14-35 Bai mao xiang 白茅香, vanilla grass. FE Shi yi 拾遺 14-36 Pai cao xiang 排草香, thick-leaf lavender. FE Gang mu 綱目 14-37 Mi die xiang 迷迭香, rosemary. FE Shi yi 拾遺 14-38 Jie che xiang 䔾車香, unidentified. FE Shi yi 拾遺 14-39 Ai na xiang 艾納香, balsamiferous blumea. FE Kai bao 開寶 14-40 Dou na xiang 兜納香, unidentified. FE Hai yao 海藥 14-41 Xian xiang 線香, incense stick. FE Gang mu 綱目 14-42 Huo xiang 藿香, wrinkled giant hyssop. FE Jia you 嘉祐 14-43 Xun cao 薰草, ling ling xiang 零陵香, sweet basil. FE Bie lu 别録 14-44 Lan cao 蘭草, eupatorium. FE Ben jing 本經 14-45 Ze lan 澤蘭, bugleweed. FE Ben jing 本經 14-46 Ma lan 馬蘭, purple chrysanthemum. FE Rihua 日華 14-46-A01 Ma bai 麻伯, unidentified. 14-46-A02 Xiang wu 相烏, unidentified. 14-46-A03 Tian xiong cao 天雄草, unidentified. 14-46-A04 Yi nai cao 益嬭草拾遺, unidentified.



Chapter 14 14-47 14-48 14-49 14-50

Xiang rou 香薷, elsholtzia herb. FE Bie lu 别録 Shi xiang rou 石香葇. Chinese mosla herb. FE Kai bao 開寶 Jue chuang 爵牀, creeping rostellularia. FE Ben jing 本經 Chi che shi zhe 赤車使者, trailing water melon begonia. FE Tang ben 唐本 14-51 Jia su 假蘇, jing jie 荆芥, schizonepeta [spike]. FE Ben jing 本經 14-52 Bo he 薄荷, Mint. FE Tang ben 唐本 14-53 Ji xue cao 積雪草, Asiatic pennywort. FE Ben jing 本經 14-54 Su 蘇, perilla. FE Bie lu 别録 00-00 Ren 荏.524 FE Bie lu 别録, i. e., bai su 白蘇 14-55 Shui su 水蘇, water perilla. 本經, i. e., ji su 即雞蘇 14-56 Qi ning 薺薴, mosla grosserrata. FE Shi yi 拾遺 14-56-A01 Shi qi ning 石薺薴, rough mosla. 右附方舊八十一，新三百七十一。 Recipes added to the entries above: 81 of old. 371 newly [recorded]

524 This substance is listed in the table of contents, but has no entry of its own.

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本草綱目 Ben cao gang mu 草部 Section Herbs 第十四卷 Chapter 14

草之三 Herbs III 芳草類五十六種 Fragrant Herbs Group, 56 kinds 14-01 當歸本經中品 Dang gui, FE Ben jing, middle rank. Angelica sinensis (Oliv.) Diels. Chinese angelica. 【釋名】乾歸本經、山蘄爾雅、白蘄爾雅、文無綱目。【頌曰】按爾雅： 薜，山蘄。又云：薜，白蘄。薜音百，蘄即古芹字。郭璞註云：當歸也， 似芹而粗大。許慎説文云：生山中者名薜，一名山蘄。然則當歸，芹類 也。在平地者名芹，生山中粗大者名當歸也。【宗奭曰】今川蜀皆以畦 種，尤肥好多脂，不以平地、山中爲等差也。【時珍曰】當歸本非芹類， 特以花葉似芹，故得芹名。古人娶妻爲嗣續也，當歸調血爲女人要藥，有 思夫之意，故有當歸之名。正與唐詩”胡麻好種無人種，正是歸時又不歸”之 旨相同。崔豹古今注云：古人相贈以勺藥，相招以文無。文無一名當歸， 芍藥一名將離故也。【承曰】當歸治妊婦産後惡血上衝，倉卒取效。氣血 昏亂者，服之即定。能使氣血各有所歸，恐當歸之名必因此出也。 Explanation of Names. Gan gui 乾歸, Ben jing. Shan qi 山蘄, Er ya. Bai qi 白蘄, Er ya. Wen wu 文無, Gang mu. [Su] Song: According to the Er ya, bai 薜 is shan qi



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山蘄. It is also said: Bai 薜 is bai qi 白蘄. Bi 薜 is read bai 百. Qi 蘄 is the ancient character qin 芹. Guo Pu in his commentary states: “Dang gui 當歸 resembles qin 芹, but is coarse and larger.” Xu Shen in his Shuo wen states: “When it grows in the mountains it is called bai 薜, with an alternative name shan qi 山蘄.” That is, dang gui belongs to the same group as qin 芹. Those specimens growing in the flatlands, they are called qin 芹. Those growing in the mountains and being coarse and big, they are called dang gui 當歸. [Kou] Zongshi: Nowadays in Chuan shu, they are all cultivated in special fields. These [fields] are especially fertile and good, and [the plants] have much fat. They are not as deficient as those growing in the flatlands and in the mountains. [Li] Shizhen: Dang gui originally did not belong to the same group as qin 芹. It was named qin 芹 only because its flowers and leaves resemble those of qin 芹. In ancient times males married a wife to have offspring to continue [the family line]. Dang gui is an important pharmaceutical drug for regulating blood. Hence the meaning of the name dang gui, “must return,” reflects the longing of a husband. This is identical with the meaning expressed in a Tang poen: “Sesame is easy to plant, but nobody plants it. Just like when someone could return, but fails to return.” Cui Bao in his Gu jin zhu states: “In ancient times, when the people departed, they presented each other paeonia as gifts. When they invited each other they resorted to wen wu 文無.” Wen wu is also called dang gui 當歸. Shao yao 芍 藥/ paeonia is also named jiang li 將離, “about to depart.” Chen Cheng: Dang gui serves to cure malign blood rushing upward in a woman that had just given birth. Once it is consumed, there will be an immediate effect. To ingest it in a situation of chaotic qi and blood will result in an immediate stabilization. It is capable of letting qi and blood return to where they belong. The name dang gui should probably have this origin. 【集解】【别録曰】當歸生隴西川谷，二月、八月采根，陰乾。【弘景 曰】今隴西 四陽 黑水當歸多肉少枝氣香，名馬尾當歸。西川北部當歸多 根枝而細。歷陽所出者色白而氣味薄，不相似，呼爲草當歸，缺少時亦用 之。【恭曰】今出當州、宕州、翼州、松州，以宕州者最勝。有二種。一 種似大葉芎藭者，名馬尾當歸，今人多用。一種似細葉芎藭者，名蠶頭當 歸，即陶稱歷陽者，不堪用，莖葉並卑下於芎藭。【頌曰】今川蜀、陝西 諸郡及江寧府、滁州皆有之，以蜀中者爲勝。春生苗，緑葉有三瓣。七八 月開花似蒔蘿，淺紫色，根黑黄色，以肉厚而不枯者爲勝。【時珍曰】今 陝、蜀、秦州、汶州諸處人多栽蒔爲貨。以秦歸頭圓尾多、色紫氣香、肥 潤者，名馬尾歸，最勝他處。頭大尾粗、色白堅枯者，爲鑱頭歸，止宜入 發散藥爾。韓𢘅言”川産者力剛而善攻，秦産者力柔而善補”，是矣。

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Collected Explanations. Bie lu: Dang gui grows in the mountain valleys of Long xi. The root is collected in the second and eighth month. It is dried in the yin (i. e., shade). [Tao] Hongjing: Dang gui coming from Long xi, Si yang and Hei shui today has much meat, few branches and fragrant qi. It is called “horse tail dang gui.” The dang gui from the North of Xi chuan has many root branches and is slim. That coming from Li yang is white, and both its qi and flavor are rather weak. It is not comparable [to genuine dang gui] and is called “herbal dang gui.” When [genuine dang gui] is in short supply, it, too, is resorted to. [Su] Gong: Today it comes from Dang 當 zhou, Dang 宕 zhou, Yi zhou and Song zhou, with that from Dang 宕 zhou being superior. There are two types. One type resembles large-leaf ligusticum [herbs]. It is called “horse tail dang gui.” It is often used today. Another type resembles small-leaf ligusticum [herbs]. It is called “silkworm head dang gui.” This is the one referred to by Tao [Hongjing] as Li yang type. It is not suitable for [medicinal] use. Stem and leaves are all inferior to those of ligusticum [herbs]. [Su] Song: Today it can be found in all the prefectures of Chuan shu and Shaan xi, and also in Jiang ning fu and Chu zhou, with that from Shu zhong being superior. It develops a seedling in spring. It has green leaves with three segments. Its flowers open in the seventh and eighth month; they resemble those of dill, but are of a light purple color. The root is black-yellow. Those with much meat that have not withered are best. [Li] Shizhen: Today the people everywhere in Shaan, Shu, Qin zhou and Wen zhou cultivate and sell it as a commodity. The [dang] gui from Qin [zhou] that has a round head and many tails, is of purple color and has fragrant qi, and that is fat and moist, it is called “horse tail [dang] gui.” It has the best local conditions. Specimens with a large head and coarse tails, that are white, hard and withered, they are the “spade head [dang] gui.” They are suitable only for being added to a medication serving to stimulate perspiration. When Han Mao says: “Those produced in Chuan have a firm strength and are good at attacking, while those produced in Qin have a weak strength and are good at supplementing,” this is correct. 14-01-01 根。Gen. Root [of dang gui]. 【修治】【斅曰】凡用去蘆頭，以酒浸一宿入藥。止血破血，頭、尾效各 不同。若要破血，即使頭一節硬實處。若要止痛止血，即用尾。若一併 用，服食無效，不如不使，惟單使妙也。【元素曰】頭止血，尾破血，身 和血，全用即一破一止也。先以水洗净土。治上酒浸，治外酒洗過，或火 乾、日乾入藥。【杲曰】頭止血而上行，身養血而中守，梢破血而下流， 全活血而不走。【時珍曰】雷、張二氏所説頭尾功效各異。凡物之根，身



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半已上，氣脉上行，法乎天；身半已下，氣脉下行，法乎地。人身法象天 地，則治上當用頭，治中當用身，治下當用尾，通治則全用，乃一定之理 也。當以張氏之説爲優。凡晒乾，乘熱紙封甕收之，不蛀。 Pharmaceutical Preparation. [Lei] Xiao: Whenever [dang gui] is to be used [for therapeutic purposes] remove the reed/rhizomes and the head and soak it in wine for one night before supplying it as a pharmaceutical drug. The abilities of its head and end in stopping bleeding and breaking through [accumulations of stagnating] blood differ. If one intends to break through [an accumulation of ] blood, he should apply a hard and solid section from the head. If one intends to end pain and to stop bleeding, he should use the tail. If both [head and tail] are used together, they remain without effect even if consumed as food. Then it is better not to use them at all. Their wondrous effects are achieved only if [head and tail] are used separately. [Zhang] Yuansu: The head [of dang gui] stops bleeding. The tail breaks through [accumulations of stagnating] blood. The body harmonizes blood. When it is used in its entirety, it both breaks through [accumulations of blood] and stops [bleeding]. First wash off with water the soil. To cure [diseases in] the upper section [of the human body] soak it in wine. To cure [diseases in] the outer section it is to be washed with wine. It may be dried over a fire or in the sun, and is then added to medication. [Li] Gao: The head ends bleeding and moves upward. The body nourishes the blood and protects the center. The tip breaks through [accumulations of ] blood and flows down. The complete [root] quickens the blood and does not move. [Li] Shizhen: The statements of Lei [Xiao] and Zhang [Yuansu] on the potential and effect of [the root’s] head and tail differ. For the roots of all items [the following applies]. The upper half moves upward in the qi vessels; it is modelled after heaven. The lower half moves downward in the qi vessels; it is modelled after the earth. The human body is modelled after heaven and earth. Hence, to cure [diseases in] the upper section requires to use the head [of a root]. To cure [diseases in] the central section requires to use the body [of a root]. To cure [diseases in] the lower section requires to use the tail [of a root]. If a cure is directed at the entire [body], the entire [root] is to be used. This is a firm principle. What Mr. Zhang [Yuansu] says is to be considered excellent. Whenever [the root] has been dried in the sun, it should be wrapped in paper as long as it is hot and stored in an earthenware jar. This prevents moth infestation. 【氣味】苦，温，無毒。【别録曰】辛，大温。【普曰】神農、黄帝、 桐君、扁鵲：甘，無毒。岐伯、雷公：辛，無毒。李當之：小温。【杲 曰】甘、辛、温，無毒。氣厚味薄，可升可降，陽中微陰，入手少陰、足

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太陰、厥陰經血分。【之才曰】惡䕡茹、濕麪，畏菖蒲、海藻、牡蒙、生 薑，制雄黄。 Qi and Flavor. Bitter,525 warm, nonpoisonous. Bie lu: Acrid, very warm. [Wu] Pu: Shen nong, Huang di, Tong jun, Bian Que: Sweet, nonpoisonous. Qi Bo, Lei gong: Acrid, nonpoisonous. Li Dangzhi: slightly warm. [Li] Gao: Sweet, acrid, warm, nonpoisonous. The qi are strongly pronounced, the flavor is weak. It can rise and it can descend. It is a weak yin in yang [substance] and enters the blood section of the hand minor yin and foot major yin and ceasing yin conduits. [Xu] Zhicai: [Ingested together,] it abhors spurge and moist noodles. It fears acorus [root], sargassum [herb], paris [root], and fresh ginger. It checks [the strength] of realgar. 【主治】咳逆上氣，温瘧寒熱，洗洗在皮膚中，婦人漏下絶子，諸惡瘡 瘍，金瘡，煮汁飲之。本經。温中止痛，除客血内塞，中風痓汗不出，濕 痺中惡，客氣虚冷，補五臟，生𦠄肉。别録。止嘔逆，虚勞寒熱，下痢腹 痛，齒痛，女人瀝血腰痛，崩中，補諸不足。甄權。治一切風、一切血， 補一切勞，破惡血，養新血，及主癥癖，腸胃冷。大明。治頭痛，心腹諸 痛，潤腸胃筋骨皮膚，治癰疽，排膿止痛，和血補血。時珍 。主痿癖嗜 卧，足下熱而痛。衝脉爲病，氣逆裏急。帶脉爲病，腹痛，腰溶溶如坐水 中。好古。 Control. For cough with rising qi, warmth malaria with [alternating sensations of ] cold and heat, as if water were spilled in the skin, [blood] leakage of women and childlessness, all types of malign sores and ulcers, as well as wounds caused by metal objects/weapons, boil [the root] to obtain a juice and drink it. Ben jing. It warms the center and ends pain. It eliminates abiding blood causing internal blockage, and [cures] being struck by wind with a failure to sweat, moisture blockage and being struck by the malign, [evil] visitor qi and depletion cold. It supplements the five long-term depots and stimulates the growth of muscles and flesh. Bie lu. It ends vomiting with [qi] counterflow, depletion exhaustion and [alternating sensations of ] cold and heat, discharge with free-flux illness and abdominal pain, toothache, dripping blood of women and lower back pain, as well as collapsing center.526 It serves to supplement all types of insufficiency. Zhen Quan. It serves to cure all types of wind and all types of bleeding. It supplements all types of exhaustion. It breaks through [accumulations of stagnating] malign blood. It nourishes new blood, and

525 Instead of ku 苦, “bitter,” Zheng lei ch. 8, dang gui 當歸, quoting the Ben jing writes gan 甘, “sweet.”

526 Beng zhong 崩中, “collapsing center,” excessive vaginal bleeding outside of a menstruation period. BCGM Dict I, 58.



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it controls concretion-illness and aggregation-illness,527 as well as stomach cold. Da Ming. It serves to cure headache, and all types of pain in the central and abdominal region. It moistens the intestines, the stomach, the sinews, the bones and the skin. It serves to cure obstruction-illness and impediment-illness,528 removes pus and ends pain, harmonizes blood and supplements blood. [Li] Shizhen. It controls dysfunction with aggregation-illness529 and a desire to lie down. The soles of the feet are hot and painful. When the throughway vessel is affected by a disease, the qi move in counterflow with internal tension. When the belt vessel is affected by a disease, the lower back is flabby as if one were sitting in water. [Wang] Haogu. 【發明】【權曰】患人虚冷者，加而用之。【承曰】世俗多謂惟能治血， 而金匱、外臺、千金諸方皆爲大補不足、决取立效之藥。古方用治婦人産 後惡血上衝，取效無急於此。凡氣血昏亂者，服之即定。可以補虚，備産 後要藥也。【宗奭曰】藥性論補女子諸不足一説，盡當歸之用矣。【宗奭 曰】藥性論補女子諸不足一説，盡當歸之用矣。【成無己曰】脉者，血 之府，諸血皆屬心。凡通脉者，必先補心益血。故張仲景治手足厥寒、脉 細欲絶者，用當歸之苦温以助心血。【元素曰】其用有三：一心經本藥， 二和血，三治諸病夜甚。凡血受病，必須用之。血壅而不流則痛，當歸之 甘温能和血，辛温能散内寒，苦温能助心散寒，使氣血各有所歸。【好古 曰】入手少陰，以其心生血也；入足太陰，以其脾裹血也；入足厥陰，以 其肝藏血也。頭能破血，身能養血，尾能行血。全用，同人參、黄耆，則 補氣而生血；同牽牛、大黄則行氣而補血。從桂、附、茱萸則熱，從大 黄、芒硝則寒。佐使分定，用者當知。酒蒸治頭痛，諸頭痛皆屬木，故以 血藥主之。【機曰】治頭痛，酒煮服清，取其浮而上也。治心痛，酒調末 服，取其濁而半沈半浮也。治小便出血，用酒煎服。取其沈入下極也。自 有高低之分如此。王海藏言：當歸血藥，如何治胸中欬逆上氣？按當歸其 味辛散，乃血中氣藥也。况欬逆上氣，有陰虚陽無所附者，故用血藥補 陰，則血和而氣降矣。【韓[矛/心]曰】當歸主血分之病。川産力剛可攻， 秦産力柔宜補。凡用，本病宜酒制，有痰以薑制，導血歸源之理。血虚以 人參、石脂爲佐，血熱以生地黄、條芩爲佐，不絶生化之源。血積配以大 黄。要之，血藥不容舍當歸。故古方四物湯以爲君，芍藥爲臣，地黄爲 佐，芎藭爲使也。 527 Pi 癖, “aggregation-illness,” of painful lumps emerging from time to time in both flanks. BCGM Dict I, 371.

528 Yong ju 癰疽, “obstruction-illness, impediment-illness.” refers to two vaguely distinguished obstructions/impediments of vessels or other ducts inside the body. Qi rushing against the obstruction may cause a local swelling and eventually break through the surface to cause an abscess. BCGM Dict I, 642.

529 Wei pi 痿癖, “dysfunction with aggregation-illness,” BCGM Dict I, 529.

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Explication. [Zhen] Quan: When someone suffers from depletion cold, he should add [dang gui to his medication]. [Chen] Cheng: It is commonly said that [dang gui] is able only to cure blood [related diseases]. But all recipes in the Jin kui, the Wai tai and the Qian jin resort to it as an immediately effective pharmaceutical drug that massively supplements any insufficiency. When ancient recipes applied it to cure malign blood rushing upward in women following a delivery, its effects were unparalleled. Whenever qi and blood are confused and in chaos, they will be stabilized once [dang gui] is ingested. It can supplement depletion. It is an important drug to be prepared for conditions following a delivery. [Kou] Zongshi: Whenever the Yao xing lun discusses how “to supplement any type of insufficiency of women,” it always resorts to dang gui. Cheng Wuyi: The vessels are the short-term repositories of blood, and all blood is related to the heart. Whenever one intends to free the passage through the vessels, he must first supplement the heart [qi] and boost the blood. This is why Zhang Zhongjing when he cured ceasing [yang qi] cold in hands and feet, with the [movement in the] vessels about to end, resorted to the bitter and warm qualities of dang gui to assist the [patient’s] heart and blood. [Zhang] Yuansu: Its usages are three. First, as a fundamental drug for the heart conduits. Second, to harmonize blood. Third, to cure all types of diseases that are serious at night. Whenever the blood is affected by a disease, it must be used. When the flow of blood is obstructed and pain results, the sweet and warm qualities of dang gui are able to harmonize the blood. Its acrid and warm qualities can disperse internal cold. Its bitter and warm qualities can assist the heart and disperse the cold, so that the qi and the blood all return to where they belong. Wang Hao gu: It enters the hand minor yin [conduits] because the heart that is related to them generates the blood. It enters the foot major yin [conduits] because the spleen that is related to them binds the blood. It enters the foot ceasing yin [conduits] because the liver that is related to them stores the blood. The tip [of dang gui root] can break open [stagnating] blood. The body [of the root] can nourish the blood. The tail can quicken the blood. When used in its entirety, similar to ginseng [root] and astragalus [root], it supplements the qi and generates blood. And similar to pharbitis [seeds] and rhubarb root it stimulates the passage of qi and supplements530 blood. Together with cassia and evodia [fruit] it is hot. Together with rhubarb root and mirabilite it is cold. When using [dang gui root] one should be familiar with the [appropriate] assistant and guiding [drugs to accompany it] and know the suitable proportions. Steamed with wine it serves to cure headache. All types of headache belong to “wood” (i. e., the liver). Hence they are controlled by pharmaceutical drugs [controlling] blood. 530 Instead of bu 補, “to supplement,” Tang ye ben cao ch. 2, dang gui 當歸, quoting an Yi lao yun 易老云, writes po 破, “to break through.”



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[Wang] Ji: To cure headache, boil [the root] in wine and ingest the clear [liquid]. This is to avail oneself of its floating and rising [nature]. To cure heart pain, [grind it to] powder and ingest this mixed with wine. This is to avail oneself of its turbid nature with one half sinking into the depth and one half floating above. To cure urination with blood, it is ingested after it was boiled in wine. This is to avail oneself of its ability to sink down to the very bottom. It has such different effects on high and below. Wang Haicang states: “Dang gui is a blood drug, how can it be that it serves to cure chest cough with rising qi?” Now, the acrid flavor of dang gui serves to disperse. Hence it is a pharmaceutical drug for qi in blood. Also, a case of cough with a counterflow of rising qi is a yin [qi] depletion and the yang [qi] has nothing to attach itself to. Hence one uses a blood drug to supplement the yin qi, and as a result the blood will be harmonized and the qi sink down. Han Mao: Dang gui controls diseases in the blood section. That produced in Chuan is strong and can attack. That produced in Qin is soft and suitable for supplementation. For all its applications the following applies. For the disease itself it is to be processed with wine. If there is phlegm, it is to be processed with ginger. This is based on the principle of guiding blood to return to its origin. In the case of blood depletion, ginseng [root] and halloysite serve as assistant [substances]. In the case of blood heat, unprocessed Chinese foxglove [rhizome] and scutellaria [root] serve as assistants. This protects the source of all generation and transformation. In the case of blood accumulations, add rhubarb root. It is important to note that in all blood medication you can never do without dang gui. Hence ancient recipes used [dang gui] as ruler [drug] in the “decoction with four items,” paeonia [root] as minister, Chinese foxglove [rhizome] as assistant, and ligusticum chuanxiong [root] as guiding substance. 【附方】舊八，新一十九。 Added Recipes. Eight of old. 19 newly [recorded]. 血虚發熱。當歸補血湯：治肌熱躁熱，困渴引飲，目赤面紅，晝夜不息， 其脉洪大而虚，重按全無力，此血虚之候也。得於飢困勞役，證象白虎， 但脉不長實爲異耳。若誤服白虎湯即死，宜此主之。當歸身酒洗二錢，綿 黄芪蜜炙一兩，作一服。水二鍾，煎一鍾，空心温服，日再服。東垣蘭室 秘藏。 Blood heat with heat effusion. The “decoction with dang gui to supplement blood.” It serves to cure muscle heat, and restlessness with heat, serious thirst and a desire to drink, red eyes and face, with no pause during day or night. The [movement in the] vessels is vast and big, and also depleted. Even if pressed forcefully it remains without strength. These are signs of blood depletion. They are caused by hunger

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and exhaustion. The illness signs resemble [those to be cured with] the “white tiger [decoction].”531 But they differ in that the [movement in the] vessels is not extended and replete. If a “white tiger decoction” is ingested [for such a disease] erroneously, [the patient] will die. It is to be controlled with the following [recipe]. Prepare a dose of two qian of dang gui [root] body washed with wine, and one liang of soft astragalus [root] fried in honey. Boil this in two zhong of water down to one zhong and ingest it warm on an empty stomach. To be ingested twice a day. Dongyuan, Lan shi mi cang. 失血眩運。凡傷胎去血，産後去血，崩中去血，金瘡去血，拔牙去血，一 切去血過多，心煩眩運，悶絶不省人事。當歸二兩，芎藭一兩，每用五 錢，水七分，酒三分，煎七分，熱服，日再。婦人良方。 Blood loss and dizziness. For all types of excessive blood loss, when blood is lost because a fetus was harmed, when blood is lost following a delivery, when blood is lost as collapsing center,532 when blood is lost because of wounds caused by metal objects/weapons, or when blood is lost because a tooth was extracted, resulting in heart vexation and confusion, as well as heart-pressure and an interruption [of qi flow] so that [a patient] recognizes neither other persons nor anything else. For one dose use five qian of a mixture of two liang of dang gui and one liang of ligusticum chuanxiong [root]. Boil it in seven parts water and three parts wine down to 70% and ingest this hot. Twice a day. Fu ren liang fang. 衄血不止。當歸焙，研末，每服一錢，米飲調下。聖濟總録。 Unending nosebleed. Grind dang gui, baked over a slow fire, to powder. Each time ingest one qian, to be sent down mixed with a rice beverage. Sheng ji zong lu. 小便出血。當歸四兩，剉，酒三升，煮取一升，頓服。肘後方。 Urination with blood. Boil four liang of dang gui, cut to pieces, in three sheng of wine down to one sheng and ingest this all at once. Zhou hou fang. 頭痛欲裂。當歸二兩，酒一升，煮取六合，飲之，日再服。外臺秘要。 Headache as if it were to burst. Boil two liang of dang gui in one sheng of wine down to six ge and drink this. To be ingested twice a day. Wai tai mi yao. 内虚目暗。補氣養血，用當歸生晒六兩，附子火炮一兩，爲末。煉蜜丸梧 子大。每服三十丸，温酒下，名六一丸。聖濟總録。 531 ”White tiger decoction,” bai hu tang 白虎湯, has the following ingredients: Gypsum, anemarrhena root, glycyrrhiza rhizome, and non-glutinous rice.

532 Beng zhong 崩中, “collapsing center,” excessive vaginal bleeding outside of a menstruation period. BCGM Dict I, 58.



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Internal depletion with dim vision. To boost the qi and nourish the blood, [grind] six liang of unprocessed dang gui, dried in the sun, and one liang of aconitum [accessory tuber], roasted in a pan, to powder. Prepare with heat refined honey pills the size of wu seeds and each time ingest 30 pills, to be sent down with warm wine. They are called “six and one pills.” Sheng ji zong lu. 心下痛刺。當歸爲末，酒服方寸匕。必效方。 Piercing pain below the heart. [Grind] dang gui to powder and ingest with wine the amount held by a square cun spoon. Bi xiao fang. 手臂疼痛。當歸三兩切，酒浸三日，温飲之。飲盡，别以三兩再浸，以瘥 爲度。事林廣記。 Painful hands and arms. Soak three liang of dang gui, cut to pieces, in wine for three days and drink this warm. When this has been completely drunk, soak another three liang [of dang gui and drink this] until a cure is achieved. Shi lin guang ji. 温瘧不止。當歸一兩，水煎飲，日一服。聖濟總録。 Unending warmth malaria. Boil one liang of dang gui in water and drink this once a day. Sheng ji zong lu. 久痢不止。當歸二兩，吴茱萸一兩，同炒香，去茱不用，黄連三兩爲末， 蜜丸梧子大。每服三十丸，米飲下，名勝金丸。普濟方。 Long-lasting, unending free-flux illness. Fry two liang of dang gui and one liang of evodia [fruit] together until they develop a fragrant scent. Then discard the evodia [fruit and grind the dang gui] with three liang of coptis [rhizome] to powder. This is prepared with honey to pills the size of wu seeds. Each time ingest 30 pills, to be sent down with a rice beverage. They are called “pills superior to gold.” Pu ji fang. 大便不通。當歸、白芷等分，爲末。每服二錢，米湯下。聖濟總録。 Constipation. [Grind] equal amounts of dang gui and angelica dahurica [root] to powder. Each time ingest two qian, to be sent down with a rice decoction. Sheng ji zong lu. 婦人百病，諸虚不足者。當歸四兩，地黄二兩，爲末，蜜丸梧子大。每食 前，米飲下十五丸。太醫支法存方。 The hundreds of women’s diseases. For all types of depletion and insufficiency. [Grind] four liang of dang gui and two liang of Chinese foxglove [rhizome] to powder and form with honey pills the size of wu seeds. Each time prior to a meal send down with a rice beverage 15 pills. Tai yi Zhi Facun fang.

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月經逆行，從口鼻出。先以京墨磨汁服，止之。次用當歸尾、紅花各三 錢，水一鍾半，煎八分，温服，其經即通。簡便方。 Menstruation moving in counterflow, and leaving [the body] from mouth and nose. First grind capital ink [in water] to obtain a juice and [let the woman] drink this. This will stop it. Then boil tree qian each of the tail of a dang gui [root] and safflowers in one and a half zhong of water down to 80% and [let her] drink this warm. This will open the regular passage of menstruation. Jian bian fang. 室女經閉。當歸尾、没藥各一錢，爲末，紅花浸酒，面北飲之，一日一 服。普濟方。 Blocked menstruation of virgin girls. [Grind] one qian each of dang gui and myrrh to powder and soak it with safflower in wine. Then [let the girl] drink this with her face toward the North. To be ingested once every day. Pu ji fang. 婦人血氣。臍下氣脹，月經不利，血氣上攻欲嘔，不得睡。當歸四錢，乾 漆燒存性二錢，爲末，煉蜜丸梧子大。每服十五丸，温酒下。永類方。 Blood and qi [disorder] of women. An [abdominal] bloating below the navel caused by qi. Blocked menstruation. Blood and qi rise and attack above making one wish to vomit. Failure to fall asleep. [Grind] four qian of dang gui and two qian of dry lacquer, burned with its nature retained, to powder and form with heat refined honey pills the size of wu seeds. Each time [let the patient] ingest 15 pills, to be sent down with warm wine. Yong lei fang. 墮胎下血不止。當歸焙一兩，葱白一握，每服五錢，酒一盞半，煎八分， 温服。聖濟總録。 Unending bleeding following an abortion. Mix one liang of dang gui, baked over a slow fire, and one handful of onion white. For one dose boil five qian [of this mixture] in one and a half cups of wine down to 80% and [let the woman] ingest this warm. Sheng ji zong lu. 妊娠胎動。神妙佛手散：治婦人妊娠傷動，或子死腹中，血下疼痛，口噤 欲死，服此探之，不損則痛止，已損便立下，此乃徐王神驗方也。當歸二 兩，芎藭一兩，爲粗末，每服三錢，水一盞，煎令泣泣欲乾，投酒一盞， 再煎一沸，温服，或灌之，如人行五里，再服，不過三五服便效。張文仲 備急方。 Movement of a fetus in a pregnant woman. The “powder as divinely wondrous as Buddha’s hands.” It serves to cure women with a harmed or moving [fetus], or when the child has died in the abdomen, with a painful blood discharge and clenched jaws bringing her close to death. She is to ingest this to find out [her child’s condition].



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If it is not injured, the pain will end. If it is already injured, it will be discharged immediately. This is King Xu‘s recipe of divine success. [Grind] two liang of dang gui and one liang of ligusticum chuanxiong [root] to a coarse powder. Each time [let the woman] ingest three qian. Boil them in one cup of water until [the liquid] has almost dried. Then add one cup of wine and boil it once more to bubbling. [Let the woman] ingest this warm or force-feed it to her. After the time required for someone to walk as far as five li let her ingest it again. An effect will be achieved after no more three three to five ingestions. Zhang Wenzhong, Bei ji fang. 産難胎死。横生倒生。用當歸三兩，芎藭一兩，爲末，先以大黑豆炒焦， 入流水一盞，童便一盞，煎至一盞，分爲二服，未效再服。婦人良方。 A difficult birth with the fetus having died. Transverse presentation, footling presentation. [Grind] three liang of dang gui and one liang of ligusticum chuanxiong [root] to powder. First fry one large black soybean until it is scorched. Then give it into one cup of flowing water and one cup of boys’s urine and boil this down to one cup. Divide it into two portions and [let the woman] ingest [the powder with this liquid]. If no effect results, [let the woman] ingest it again. Fu ren liang fang. 倒産子死不出。當歸末，酒服方寸匕。子母秘録。 A footling presentation of a dead child that fails to come out. [Let the woman] ingest with wine as much dang gui powder as is held by a square cun spoon. Zi mu mi lu. 産後血脹，腹痛引脇。當歸二錢，乾薑炮五分，爲末，每服三錢，水一 盞，煎八分，入鹽、酢少許，熱服。婦人良方。 A blood bloating following a delivery, with abdominal pain pulling on the flanks. [Grind] two qian of dang gui and five fen of dried ginger, roasted in a pan, to powder. Each time [let the woman] ingest three qian boiled in a cup of water down to 80%. Add small amounts of salt and vinegar and let her ingest this warm. Fu ren liang fang. 産後腹痛如絞。當歸末五錢，白蜜一合，水一盞，煎一盞，分爲二服，未 效再服。婦人良方。 Abdominal pain as if twisted following birth. Boil five qian of dang gui powder and one ge of white honey in one cup of water, without reducing the filling of the cup, and [let the woman] ingest this divided into two portions. If no effect shows, [let her] ingest it again. Fu ren liang fang. 産後自汗，壯熱氣短，腰脚痛不可轉。當歸三錢，黄芪合芍藥酒炒各二 錢，生薑五片，水一盞半，煎七分，温服。和劑局方。

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Spontaneous sweating following a delivery, with strong heat and short [breath] qi, as well as lower back and leg pain making it impossible to turn around. Boil three qian of dang gui and two qian each of astragalus [root] and paeonia [root, the latter two] fried together in wine, and five slices of fresh ginger in one and a half cups of water down to 70% and [let the patient] ingest this warm. He ji ju fang. 産後中風。不省人事，口吐涎沫，手足瘛瘲。當歸、荆芥穗等分，爲末， 每服二錢，水一盞，酒少許，童尿少許，煎七分，灌之。下咽即有生意， 神效。聖惠方。 Being struck by wind following delivery. [The woman] is unable to recognize other persons or anything else. She spits saliva foam from her mouth. Hands and feet are affected by clonic spasm. [Grind] equal amounts of dang gui and schizonepeta spikes to powder. Each time [let the woman] ingest two qian to be boiled in one cup of water, with a little wine and a little boys’ urine added, down to 70%, and force-feed this [to the patient]. Once this has passed down her throat she will regain her consciousness. Divinely effective. Sheng hui fang. 小兒胎寒，好啼，晝夜不止，因此成癇。當歸末一小豆大，以乳汁灌之， 日夜三四度。肘後方。 A child tends to cry day and night without end because of cold that had affected it as a fetus, and this then develops to epilepsy. Force-feed to it with its nursing mother’s milk dang gui powder, the amount of a red mung bean. Three or four times during day and night. Zhou hou fang. 小兒臍濕。不早治，成臍風，或腫赤，或出水。用當歸末傅之。一方入麝 香少許，一方用胡粉等分，試之最驗。若愈後因尿入復作，再傅即愈。聖 惠方。 Navel moisture of children. If this is not cured early, it will develop into navel wind, sometimes with swelling and redness, sometimes with the release of water. Apply dang gui powder [to the affected region]. Another recipe adds a little musk. Still another recipe adds an equal amount of lead carbonate. It was tested and proved to be effective. If after this was healed urine enters [the navel region and the disease] is active again, apply this again and it will be cured. Sheng hui fang. 湯火傷瘡。焮赤潰爛，用此生肌，拔熱止痛。當歸、黄蠟各一兩，麻油四 兩，以油煎當歸焦黄，去滓，納蠟攪成膏，出火毒，攤貼之。和劑局方。 For sores resulting from harm caused by scalding and fire, with redness and festering, apply this to generate muscles, to extract the heat and to end the pain. Boil one liang each of dang gui and yellow wax in four liang of sesame oil until the dang gui



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has assumed a yellow color. Remove the dregs and mix it with beeswax to form a paste. Wait until the fire poison has left, spread it [on a piece of paper] and apply this [to the sores]. He ji ju fang. 白黄色枯，舌縮，恍惚，若語亂者死。當歸、白术各二兩，水煎，入生芐 汁、蜜和服。三十六黄方。 Withering with white-yellow color. The tongue is drawn in. Patients are confused, and once their speaking is disorderly they die. Boil two liang each of dang gui and atractylodes [rhizome] in water, add Chinese foxglove [rhizome] juice and honey, and [let the patient] ingest this. San shi liu huang fang. 14-02 芎藭音穹窮本經上品 Xiong qiong, read xiong qiong. FE Ben jing, upper rank. Ligusticum chuanxiong Hort. Sichuan lovage. 【釋名】胡藭别録、川芎綱目、香果别録、山鞠窮綱目。【時珍曰】芎本 作營，名義未詳。或云：人頭穹窿窮高，天之象也。此藥上行，專治頭腦 諸疾，故有芎藭之名。以胡戎者爲佳，故曰胡藭。古人因其根節狀如馬 銜，謂之馬銜芎藭。後世因其狀如雀腦，謂之雀腦芎。其出關中者呼爲京 芎，亦曰西芎。出蜀中者爲川芎，出天台者爲台芎，出江南者爲撫芎，皆 因地而名也。左傳：楚人謂蕭人曰：有麥麴乎？有山鞠窮乎？河魚腹疾奈 何？二物皆禦濕，故以諭之。丹溪 朱氏治六鬱越鞠丸中用越桃、鞠窮，故 以命名。金光明經謂之闍莫迦。 Explanation of Names. Hu qiong 胡藭, Bie lu. Chuan xiong 川芎, Gang mu. Xiang guo 香果, Bie lu. Shan ju qiong 山鞠窮, Gang mu. [Li] Shizhen: Xiong 芎 was originally written ying 營, but the meaning of this name is unclear. Some say: The human head is the highest dome, qiong long qiong gao 穹窿窮高, reflecting the image of heaven. This pharmaceutical drug moves upward, and it is particularly suited to cure all types of diseases affecting the head and the brain. Hence it is called xiong qiong 芎藭. Because specimens from the regions of the Hu and the Rong are particularly fine, they are called hu qiong 胡藭. Because the root with its nodes resembles an iron bridle of a horse, ma xian 馬銜, the ancients called it “horse bridle xiong qiong,” ma xian xiong qiong 馬銜芎藭. Later on it was called que nao xiong 雀腦芎, because it is shaped like a “sparrow brain,” que nao 雀腦. Specimens coming from Guan zhong are called jing xiong 京芎, and also xi xiong 西芎. Those coming from Shu zhong are [called] chuan xiong 川芎. Those coming from Tian tai are [called] tai xiong 台 芎. Those coming from Jiang nan are [called] fu xiong 撫芎. They are all named after the place [of their origin]. Zuo zhuan: “A man from Chu asked the man from

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of Xiao: ‘Do you have wheat/barley leaven?‘ ‚Do you have shan ju xiong 山鞠窮?‘ ‘When the fish in the river will cause you an abdominal illness, what will you do?’”533 Both [wheat/barley leaven, mai ju 麥麴, and shan ju xiong 山鞠窮] protect against moisture. Hence he instructed him about [their use]. Mr. Zhu Danxi in his “pills with yue 越 [tao] and ju 鞠 [qiong] for the six types of pent-up [qi]” resorted to yue tao 越桃 and ju qiong 鞠窮; hence the name [of the recipe]. The Jin guang ming jing 金光明經 calls it shemojia 闍莫迦。 【集解】【别録曰】芎藭葉名蘼蕪，生武功川谷、斜谷西嶺，三月、四月 采根，暴乾。【普曰】芎藭或生胡無桃山陰，或泰山。葉細、香、青黑， 文赤如藁本，冬夏叢生，五月花赤，七月實黑，附端兩葉。三月采根， 有節如馬銜。【弘景曰】武功、斜谷西嶺，俱近長安。今出歷陽，處處 亦有，人家多種之。葉似蛇牀而香，節大莖細，狀如馬銜，謂之馬銜芎 藭。蜀中亦有而細。【恭曰】今出秦州，其歷陽出者不復用。其人間種者 形塊大，重實多脂。山中采者瘦細，味苦辛。以九月、十月采之爲佳，若 三月、四月虚惡，非時也。【頌曰】關陝、川蜀、江東山中多有之，而以 蜀川者爲勝。四五月生葉，似水芹、胡荽、蛇牀輩，作叢而莖細。其葉倍 香，江東、蜀人采葉作飲。七八月開碎白花，如蛇牀子花。根堅瘦，黄黑 色。關中出者形塊重實，作雀腦狀者爲雀腦芎，最有力。【時珍曰】蜀地 少寒，人多栽蒔，深秋莖葉亦不萎也。清明後宿根生苗，分其枝横埋之， 則節節生根。八月根下始結芎藭，乃可掘取，蒸暴貨之。救荒本草云：葉 似芹而微細窄，有丫叉。又似白芷，葉亦細。又似胡荽葉而微壯。一種似 蛇牀葉而亦粗。嫩葉可煠食。【宗奭曰】凡用，以川中大塊，裏色白，不 油，嚼之微辛甘者佳。他種不入藥，止可爲末，煎湯沐浴而已。 Collected Explanations. Bie lu: The leaves of xiong qiong are called mi wu 蘼蕪. [Xiong qiong] grows in the river valleys of Wu gong, and in the Xie gu xi lin mountain range. The root is collected in the third and fourth month. It is dried in the sun. [Wu] Pu: Xiong qiong may grow on the yin/shady side of Mount Tao shan in the Hu region, and also on Mount Tai shan. Its leaves are small, fragrant and greenish-black. They have a red line decor similar to ligusticum sinense. In winter and in summer it grows in clusters. It has red flowers in the fifth month; in the seventh month the seeds turn black. Two leaves are attached to the top [of the plant]. The root is collected in the third month. With its nodes it resembles a horse bridle. [Tao] Hongjing: Wu gong and Xie gu xi lin are located close to Chang an. Nowadays it comes from Li yang, but it is also found everywhere else. Many households plant it. The leaves resemble those of cnidium [herbs], but are fragrant. It has massive nodes on a slim stem, resembling a horse bridle. It is called “horse bridle 533 For the entire story, see Zuo zhuan, Xuan gong 宣公, VII, 12th year.



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xiong qiong.” In Shu zhong it can be found, too, but with an even slimmer [stem]. [Su] Gong: Today it comes from Qin zhou. Specimens coming from Li yang are no longer in use. Those planted by the people there have a [root] shaped like a big lump. It is heavy, solid and has much fat. Specimens from the mountains are thin and slim, with a bitter-acrid flavor. They are fine when they have been collected in the ninth and tenth month. If they were [collected] in the third and fourth month they would be hollow and bad. This is not their time. [Su] Song: There are plenty of them in the mountains of Guan, Shaan, Chuan shu and Jiang dong, but those from Shu chuan are superior. They grow leaves in the fourth and fifth month, similar to Chinese celery, coriander and cnidium [herbs]. Slim stems form clusters. The leaves are very fragrant. The people in Shu collect the leaves to prepare a beverage. In the seventh and eighth month fragmented, white flowers open, resembling cnidium flowers. The root is hard and thin, and of yellow-black color. Those coming from Guan zhong have [roots] shaped like a lump; they are heavy and solid. Those resembling the shape of a sparrow brain are [called] “sparrow brain xiong.” They are the most powerful. [Li] Shizhen: In Shu it is rarely cold and the people there often cultivate it as vegetable. Even deep in autumn the stem and the leaves do not wither. After the solar term of Pure Brightness (April 5), the perennial root develops a seedling. Take away its branches and bury them horizontally and each node will grow a root. In the eighth month xiong qiong begins to form below the root, and then it can be undug. It is steamed, dried in the sun and then sold as a commodity. The Jiu huang ben cao states: “The leaves resemble those of celery, but are smaller and narrower. [The plant] has forks and resembles angelica dahurica. The leaves, too, are small. They also resemble the leaves of coriander [herbs], but are a little thicker. There is one type that is similar to cnidium [herbs]; it is coarse, too. It has tender leaves that can be eaten fried in oil.” [Kou] Zongshi: For all [therapeutic] usages, those are fine that come as a massive lump from Chuan zhong, with a white color inside and not being oily, and that taste acrid and sweet when chewed. Other types are not used as medication. They are only suitable for grinding them to powder that is boiled in water and used for bathing. 14-02-01 根。Gen. Root [of xiong qiong] 【氣味】辛，温，無毒。【普曰】神農、黄帝、岐伯、雷公：辛，無毒。 扁鵲：酸，無毒。李當之：生温，熟寒。【元素曰】性温，味辛、苦，氣 厚味薄，浮而升，陽也。少陽本經引經藥，入手、足厥陰氣分。【之才

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曰】白芷爲之使，畏黄連，伏雌黄。得細辛，療金瘡止痛。得牡蠣，療頭 風吐逆。 Qi and Flavor. Acrid, warm, nonpoisonous. [Wu] Pu: Shen nong, Huang di, Qi Bo, Lei gong: Acrid, nonpoisonous. Bian Que: Sour, nonpoisonous. Li Dangzhi: Unprepared warm. Prepared cold. [Zhang] Yuansu: Its nature is warm; its flavor is acrid, bitter. Its qi are strongly pronounced; its flavor is weak. It floats and rises. It is a yang [substance]. It is a pharmaceutical drug guiding [others] into the minor yang conduits. It enters the qi section of the hand and foot ceasing yin [conduits]. [Xu] Zhicai: Angelica dahurica [root] serves as its guiding substance. [Ingested together] it fears coptis [rhizome]. It subdues [the effects of ] orpiment. Together with asarum heteropoides [root] it serves to heal wounds caused by metal objects/weapons and ends pain. Together with oyster shell [powder] it serves to heal head wind534 with vomiting and [qi] counterflow. 【主治】中風入腦頭痛，寒痺筋攣緩急，金瘡，婦人血閉無子。本經。除 腦中冷動，面上遊風去來，目淚出，多涕唾，忽忽如醉，諸寒冷氣，心 腹堅痛，中惡卒急腫痛，脇風痛，温中内寒。别録。腰脚軟弱，半身不 遂，胞衣不下。甄權。一切風，一切氣，一切勞損，一切血。補五勞，壯 筋骨，調衆脉，破癥結宿血，養新血，吐血鼻血溺血，腦癰發背，瘰癧癭 贅，痔瘻瘡疥，長肉排膿，消瘀血。大明。搜肝氣，補肝血，潤肝燥，補 風虚。好古。燥濕，止瀉痢，行氣開鬱。時珍。蜜和大丸，夜服，治風痰 殊效。蘇頌。齒根出血，含之多瘥。弘景。 Control. Being struck by wind that has entered the brain and causes headache, cold blockage, sinew contraction with alternating episodes of slackening and tension. Wounds caused by metal objects/weapons. Blood blockage and childlessness of women. Ben jing. It eliminates cold from within the brain that makes one move, and alternatingly coming and leaving roaming wind on the face. Tears leaving the eyes. Much nasal mucus. Mental confusion as if intoxicated by wine. All types of cold qi. Painful hardening of the central and abdominal region. Painful swelling caused by being struck by the malign and sudden tension. Wind pain in the flanks. It warms cold in the center. Bie lu. Soft and weak lower back and legs. One half of the body does not follow one’s intentions. The placenta fails to be discharged. Zhen Quan. All types of wind. All types of qi [disorder]. All types of exhaustion injuries. All types of blood [related diseases]. It supplements the five types of exhaustion. It strengthens sinews and bones. It regulates all vessel [movements]. It breaks through concretion-illness nodes and abiding blood. It nourishes new blood. [It serves to 534 Tou feng 頭風, “head wind.” Condition of wind evil attacking the head focllowed by pain, dizziness, itching. BCGM Dict I, 509.



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cure] blood spitting, nosebleed and urination with blood, brain obstruction-illness535 and effusion on the back. Scrofula pervasion-illness536 and goiter redundancy.537 Piles fistula, sores and jie-illness.538 It makes flesh grow and drives out pus. It dissolves stagnating blood. Da Ming. It serves to recover liver qi, supplements liver blood and moistens liver dryness. It supplements wind depletion. [Wang] Haogu: It dries moisture. It ends outflow and free-flux illness. It stimulates the movement of qi and opens pent-up [qi]. [Li] Shizhen. Formed with honey to large pills and ingested at night, it very effectively cures wind phlegm. Su Song. With blood coming out of the tooth roots, it is often effective when it is held in the mouth. [Tao] Hongjing. 【發明】【宗奭曰】今人用此最多，頭面風不可缺也。然須以他藥佐之。 【元素曰】川芎上行頭目，下行血海，故清神及四物湯皆用之。能散肝經 之風，治少陽厥陰經頭痛及血虚頭痛之聖藥也。其用有四：爲少陽引經一 也，諸經頭痛二也，助清陽之氣三也，去濕氣在頭四也。【杲曰】頭痛必 用川芎。如不愈，加各引經藥。太陽羌活，陽明白芷，少陽柴胡，太陰蒼 术，厥陰吴茱萸，少陰細辛，是也。【震亨曰】鬱在中焦，須撫芎開提其 氣以升之，氣升則鬱自降。故撫芎總解諸鬱，直達三焦，爲通陰陽氣血之 使。【時珍曰】芎藭，血中氣藥也。肝苦急，以辛補之，故血虚者宜之。 辛以散之，故氣鬱者宜之。左傳言麥麴、鞠窮禦濕，治河魚腹疾。予治濕 瀉每加二味，其應如響也。血痢已通而痛不止者，乃陰虧氣鬱，藥中加芎 爲佐。氣行血調，其病立止。此皆醫學妙旨，圓機之士，始可語之。【宗 奭曰】沈括筆談云：一族子舊服芎藭，醫鄭叔熊見之云：芎藭不可久服， 多令人暴死。後族子果無疾而卒。又朝士張子通之妻病腦風，服芎藭甚 久，一旦暴亡。皆目見者。此皆單服既久，則走散真氣。若使他藥佐使， 又不久服，中病便已，則焉能至此哉？【虞摶曰】骨蒸多汗，及氣弱之 人，不可久服。其性辛散，令真氣走洩而陰愈虚也。【時珍曰】五味入 胃，各歸其本臟。久服則增氣偏勝，必有偏絶，故有暴夭之患。若藥具五 味，備四氣，君臣佐使配合得宜，豈有此害哉？如芎藭，肝經藥也，若單 服既久，則辛喜歸肺，肺氣偏勝，金來賊木，肝必受邪，久則偏絶，豈不 夭亡？故醫者貴在格物也。 535 Yong 癰, “obstruction-illness,”refers to an obstruction of vessels or other ducts inside the body. Qi rushing against the obstruction may cause a local swelling and eventually break through the surface to cause an abscess. BCGM Dict I, 641.

536 Luo li 瘰癧, “scrofula pervasion-illness,” when two or more connected swellings of the size of plum or date kernels appear either on the neck or in the armpits, or somewhere else on the body. BCGM Dict I. 329. 537 Ying zui 癭贅, “goiter redundancy,” a condition identical with ying 癭, “goiter”. BCGM Dict I. 641. 538 Jie-illness 疥, vaguely identifiable skin ailment. BCGM Dict I, 249.

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Explication. [Kou] Zongshi: Today the people use it very often. For wind affecting head and face it is indispensable. However, it must be assisted by other pharmaceutical drugs. [Zhang] Yuansu: Chuan xiong rises into the head to the eyes, and it descends into the sea of blood. Hence to clear the spirit and as an element of the “decoction with four items”539 it is always resorted to. It is able to disperse wind in the liver conduit. It is a sage-like pharmaceutical drug to cure headache related to the minor yang and ceasing yin conduits, and headache associated with blood depletion. It has four usages. It is [a substance] guiding [others] into the minor yang conduits. That is the first [usage]. It [serves to cure] all types of headache related to a conduit. That is the second [usage]. It serves to assist clear yang qi. That is the third [usage]. It removes moisture qi from the head, that is the fourth [usage]. [Li] Gao: For headache chuan xiong is indispensable. If no cure is achieved, add a conduit guiding drug [depending on the conduit related to the headache. These are] angelica biserrata [root] for the major yang [conduits], angelica dahurica [root] for the yang brilliance [conduits], bupleurum [root] for the minor yang [conduits], black atractylodes [rhizome] for the minor yin [conduits], evodia [fruit] for the ceasing yin [conduits]. This is correct. [Zhu] Zhenheng: In the case of pent-up [qi] in the central [section of the Triple] Burner, fu xiong must be resorted to to open and support the qi to make them rise. When the qi rise, the pent-up [qi] will descend as a result. That is, fu xiong serves to dissolve all types of pent-up [qi]. It directly advances toward the Triple Burner. It is a guiding substance for qi and blood to pass through yin and yang [conduits]. [Li] Shizhen: Xiong qiong is a pharmaceutical drug for the qi in the blood. When the liver suffers from tension, use acrid [flavor] to supplement it. Hence [xiong qiong] is suitable for [curing] blood depletion. Acrid [flavor] serves to disperse. Hence in the case of pent-up qi it is a suitable [remedy]. The Zuo zhuan says wheat/barley yeast and ju qiong 鞠窮 (i. e., xiong qiong) check moisture; they serve to cure illnesses of the abdomen caused by fish. When I cure moisture outflow I always add these two substances. The reaction is as immidiate as a sound [made by a metal when hit]. In the case of an acute blood free-flux illness with unending pain, that is, when the yin [i. e., blood] is lost and the qi are pent-up, xiong qiong is to be added to the medication. It will stimulate the movement of the qi and regulate the blood. The disease will end immediately. All these are wondrous meanings underlying medical learning. They can be told only to scholars with a complete understanding. [Kou] Zongshi: Shen Gua in his Bi tan states: “A young person of his clan had ingested xiong qiong for a long time when Zheng Shuxiong, a physician, became aware of this and stated: ‘Xiong qiong must not be ingested for 539 Ingredients include paeonia root, Chinese foxglove rhizome, Chinese angelica root and ligusticum root.



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a long time. If [ingested] in large quantities, it will let one suddenly die.’ Later on, this young person of his clan died even though he had no illness.” Also, the wife of Zhang Zitong, a government official, suffered from brain wind disease. She ingested xiong qiong for a very long time. One morning she suddenly died. These are cases I have seen with my own eyes. In all these cases [xiong qiong] was ingested as a single substance for a long time, and this served to let the genuine qi disperse. If other pharmaceutical drugs are included as assistants and guiding substances, and if this is not ingested for a long time, with [the treatment] ended once the disease was struck, how could such [fatal outcomes] result? Yu Tuan: Persons experiencing bone steaming540 and massive sweating, and also having weak qi, they must not ingest it for long. By its nature, its acrid flavor serves to disperse. It lets the genuine qi flow off and causes an increasing yin [i. e., blood] depletion. [Li] Shizhen: The five flavors enter the stomach, and from there each [flavor] turns to its respective longterm depot. If [one flavor] is ingested for a long time, it increases this particular qi so that a one-sided dominance results. This must be followed by a one-sided cut off [of other qi]. Hence the suffering from a sudden death results. If a medication includes all five flavors, and is equipped with the four qi, and if the structure of ruler, minister, assistant and guiding substances is appropriate, how could there be such calamity? For example, xiong qiong is a pharmaceutical drug for the liver conduit. If it is ingested as a single substance for a long time, its acrid [flavor qi] will turn to the lung, and the lung qi will dominate one-sidedly. The metal (i. e. the lung qi) will harm the wood (i. e., the liver qi), and as a result the liver will accept evil [qi]. After an extended period of time, [the liver qi] is unilaterally cut off. How could this not lead to premature death? It is for this reason that physicians should study [the nature of ] things. 【附方】舊七，新一十七。 Added Recipes. Seven of old. 17 newly [recorded]. 生犀丸。宋真宗賜高相國去痰清目進飲食生犀丸。用川芎十兩，緊小者， 粟米泔浸，二日换，切片子，日乾爲末。分作兩料。每料入麝、腦各一 分，生犀半兩，重湯煮，蜜和丸小彈子大。茶、酒嚼下一丸。痰，加朱砂 半兩。膈痰，加牛黄一分，水飛鐵粉一分。頭目昏，加細辛一分。口眼喎 斜，加炮天南星一分。御藥院方。

540 Gu zheng 骨蒸, “bone steaming,” ① a condition of an infectious consumptive disease with a development of vexing heat in the afternoon. ② An illness sign of heat and vexation with a feeling as if this originated in the bones. BCGM Dict I, 197.

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The “pills with unprepared rhinoceros [horn].” [Emperor] Zhen zong of the Song once gave his Counselor-in-Chief Gao the “pills with unprepared rhinoceros [horn]” serving to eliminate phlegm, clear the eyes, and stimulate the consumption of beverages and food. Soak ten liang of chuan xiong, hard and small specimens, in water in which millet was washed, for two days. Cut them into slices, dry them in the sun and [grind them to] powder. Divide [the powder] into two portions, and to each portion add one fen each of musk and borneol, as well as half a liang of unprepared rhinoceros [horn]. Boil them repeatedly in hot water and form with honey pills the size of a small bullet. Chew one pill and send it down with tea or wine. For phlegm, add half a liang of cinnabar. For diaphragm phlegm, add one fen of cow-bezoar and one fen of water sublimed iron powder. For dizziness of head and eyes, add one fen of asarum heteropoides [root]. For slanted mouth and eyes, add one fen of arisaema [root]. Yu yao yuan fang. 氣虚頭痛。真川芎藭爲末，臘茶調服二錢，甚捷。曾有婦人産後頭痛，一 服即愈。集簡方。 Qi depletion with headache. [Grind] genuine xiong qiong from Chuan to powder, mix it with la tea541 and ingest two qian. Very fast [results]. Once a woman following delivery had headache. She ingested this once and was cured. Ji jian fang. 氣厥頭痛。婦人氣盛頭痛及産後頭痛。川芎藭、天台烏藥等分，爲末。每 服二錢，葱茶調下。 Qi recession with headache. For women experiencing headache associated with abounding qi, and headache following delivery. [Grind] equal amounts of xiong qiong from Chuan and lindera [root] from Tian tai to powder. Each time [have the patient] ingest two qian, to be sent down mixed with an onion tea. 御藥院方加白术，水煎服。 The Yu yao yuan fang adds atractylodes [rhizome] and has it ingested boiled in water. 風熱頭痛。川芎藭一錢，茶葉二錢，水一鍾，煎五分，食前熱服。簡便方。 Headache caused by wind and heat. Boil one qian of chuan xiong qiong and two qian of tea leaves in one zhong of water down to 50% and ingest this prior to a meal. Jian bian fang. 頭風化痰。川芎洗切，晒乾爲末，煉蜜丸如小彈子大。不拘時嚼一丸，茶 清下。經驗後方。 541 La tea, la cha 臘茶, lit: “tea of the 12th month,” mentioned by Ouyang Xiu and Shen Kua during the Song era. As it is colored like melted wax it is also called la cha 蠟茶, “wax tea.”



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Head wind542 with a transformation to phlegm. Wash chuan xiong, cut it to pieces, dry them in the sun and [grind them to] powder. With heat refined honey form pills the size of small bullets and chew one pill whenever convenient, to be sent down with clear543 tea. Jing yan hou fang. 偏頭風痛。京芎細剉浸酒，日飲之。斗門方。 Unilateral head wind and pain. Cut jing xiong into fine pieces and soak it in wine, to be drunk daily. Dou men fang. 風熱上衝，頭目運眩，或胸中不利。川芎、槐子各一兩，爲末。每服三 錢，用茶清調下。胸中不利，以水煎服。張潔古保命集。 Wind and heat rushing upward, with vertigo and dizziness affecting head and eyes, or blocked passage in the chest. [Grind] one liang each of chuan xiong and sophora tree seeds to powder. Each time ingest three qian, to be sent down mixed with clear tea. In the case of blocked chest passage, boil it in water and ingest [the liquid]. Zhang Jiegu, Bao ming ji. 首風旋運，及偏正頭疼，多汗惡風，胸膈痰飲。川芎藭一斤，天麻四兩， 爲末，煉蜜丸如彈子大。每嚼一丸，茶清下。劉河間宣明方。 Head wind and vertigo, and both unilateral and ordinary headache, with much sweating and an aversion to wind, as well as phlegm rheum in chest and diaphragm. [Grind] one jin of xiong qiong from Chuan and four liang of gastrodia [root] to powder and form with heat refined honey pills the size of large bullets. Each time chew one pill, to be sent down with clear544 tea. Liu Hejian, Xuan ming fang. 失血眩運。方見當歸下。 Blood loss resulting in dizziness and vertigo. For a recipe, see under the entry dang gui. (14-01) 一切心痛。大芎一個，爲末，燒酒服之。一個住一年，兩個住二年。孫氏 集效方。 All types of heart pain. [Grind] one large xiong [qiong root] to powder and ingest it with brandy. One dose will last for one year. Two doses will last for two years. Sun shi, Ji xiao fang. 542 Tou feng 頭風, “head wind.” Condition of wind evil attacking the head followed by pain, dizziness, itching. BCGM Dict I, 509.

543 Instead of qing 清, “clear,” the Zheng lei ch. 7, xiong qiong 芎藭, quoting the Jing yan hou fang writes jiu 酒, “wine.”

544 Instead of qing 清, “clear,” the Xuan ming fang ch. 2, shou feng zheng 首風證, “illness signs of head wind,” writes jiu 酒, “wine.”

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經閉驗胎。經水三個月不行，驗胎法，川芎生爲末，空心煎艾湯服一匙。 腹内微動者是有胎，不動者非也。靈苑方。 Pregnancy test when the menstruation is blocked. A method to make a pregnancy test when there has been no menstruation for three months. [Grind] unprepared chuan xiong to powder, boil it with common mugwort and ingest this decoction, as much as is held by a spoon, on an empty stomach. If this stimulates a slight movement in the abdomen, it is a fetus. If no movement results, there is no fetus. Ling yuan fang. 損動胎氣。因跌撲舉重，損胎不安，或子死腹中者，芎藭爲末，酒服方寸 匕，須臾一二服，立出。續十全方。 An injury harms the fetal qi. The fetus is injured and unquiet because of a fall or because [the woman] has lifted something heavy, or the child has died in the abdomen. [Grind] xiong qiong to powder and ingest with wine the amount held by a square cun spoon. Ingest this twice within a short time. [The fetus] will come out immediately. Xu shi quan fang. 崩中下血，晝夜不止。千金方用芎藭一兩，清酒一大盞，煎取五分，徐徐 進之。 Collapsing center545 with blood discharge, unending during day and night. The Qian jin fang [recommends to] boil one liang of xiong qiong in one large cup of wine down to 50% and slow by slow ingest [the liquid]. 聖惠：加生地黄汁二合，同煎。 The Sheng hui [recommends to] add two ge of fresh Chinese foxglove [rhizome] juice, and boil all this together. 酒癖脇脹，時復嘔吐，腹有水聲。川芎藭、三稜炮各一兩，爲末。每服二 錢，葱白湯下。聖濟總録。 Wine aggregation-illness546 with distension at the flanks. Occasionally this includes repeated vomiting, and there are sounds of water in the abdomen. [Grind] one liang each of xiong qiong from Chuan and sparganium [root], roasted in a pan, to powder. Each time ingest two qian, to be sent down with an onion white decoction. Sheng ji zong lu. 545 Beng zhong 崩中, “collapsing center,” excessive vaginal bleeding outside of a menstruation period. BCGM Dict I, 58.

546 Jiu pi 酒癖, “wine aggregation-illness,” a condition of pi 癖, “aggregation-illness,” of wine and other beverages that collect below the flanks and fail to dissipate if, after excessive consumption of wine, one continues to ingest much liquid. Its major sign is an acute pain below the flanks. BCGM Dict I, 274.



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小兒腦熱。好閉目，或太陽痛，或目赤腫。川芎藭、薄荷、朴硝各二錢， 爲末。以少許吹鼻中。全幼心鑑。 Children with brain heat. They love to keep their eyes closed. Sometimes their major yang [region, (i. e., temples)] ache, in some cases their eyes are red and swollen. [Grind] two qian each of xiong qiong from Chuan, mint, and mirabilite to powder and blow small quantities into the [child’s] nose. Quan you xin jian. 齒敗口臭。水煮芎藭含之。廣濟方。 Tooth decay with bad mouth odor. Boil xiong qiong in water and hold [the liquid] in the mouth. Guang ji fang. 牙齒疼痛。大川芎藭一個，入舊糟内藏一月，取焙，入細辛同研末，揩 牙。本事方。 Toothache. Store one large xiong qiong [root] from Chuan in old distiller’s grain for one month. Remove it and bake it over a slow fire. Add asarum heteropoides [root] and grind [the two substances] together to powder. Wipe the teeth [with this powder]. Ben shi fang. 諸瘡腫痛。撫芎煅研，入輕粉，麻油調塗。普濟方。 All types of sores with swelling and pain. Calcine fu xiong and grind [it to powder]. Add calomel, mix this with sesame oil, and apply this [to the affected region]. Pu ji fang. 産後乳懸。婦人産後，兩乳忽長，細小如腸，垂過小肚，痛不可忍，危亡 須臾，名曰乳懸。將芎藭、當歸各一斤，以半斤剉散，於瓦石器内用水濃 煎，不拘多少頻服。仍以一斤半剉塊，於病人桌下燒烟，令將口鼻吸烟。 用盡未愈，再作一料。仍以萆麻子一粒，貼其頂心。夏子益奇疾方。 Hanging breasts following a delivery. When after a delivery both breasts of a woman suddenly grow longer, become thin like an intestine and hang down to the lower abdomen, with an unbearable pain, with a risk of imminent death, this is called “hanging breast.” [Prepare a mixture of ] one jin each of xiong qiong and Chinese angelica [root]. File half a jin to a powder, place it into a stone container covered with a tile and boil this with water to generate a viscous liquid. [The woman] should frequently ingest any quantity. Then cut another half jin to lumps and burn them under the patient’s table to generate fumes. She is then to inhale these fumes through her mouth and nose. Once all is burned completely and a cure is not achieved, repeat this with a second dose. In addition, attach one castor bean to the center on the top of her head. Xia Ziyi, Qi ji fang.

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14-03 蘼蕪本經上品 Mi wu, FE Ben jing, upper rank. Young leaves of ligusticum chuanxiong (14-02) 【釋名】薇蕪别録、蘄茝爾雅、江蘺别録。【頌曰】蘄茝，古芹芷字也。 【時珍曰】蘼蕪，一作蘪蕪，其莖葉靡弱而繁蕪，故以名之。當歸名蘄， 白芷名蘺。其葉似當歸，其香似白芷，故有蘄茝、江蘺之名。王逸云，蘺 草生江中，故曰江蘺，是也。餘見下。 Explanation of Names. Wei wu 薇蕪, Bie lu. Qi chai 蘄茝, Er ya. Jiang li 江蘺, Bie lu. [Su] Song: Qi chai 蘄茝 was in antiquity qin zhi 芹芷. [Li] Shizhen: Mi wu 蘼 蕪 is also written mei wu 蘪蕪. Its stems and leaves are volatile and weak, mi ruo 靡弱, and profuse, fan wu 繁蕪. Hence the name. Chinese angelica, dang gui 當歸, was also named qi 蘄. Angelica dahurica, bai zhi 白芷, was also named li 蘺. [Mi wu] leaves resemble those of Chinese angelica [herbs]. Its fragrance is similar to that of angelica dahurica. Hence it was given the names qi chai and jiang li. Wang Yi states: “Li 蘺 herbs grow in Jiang zhong. Hence they are called jiang li 江蘺.” That is correct. For more, see below. 【集解】【别録曰】芎藭葉名蘼蕪。又曰：蘼蕪，一名江蘺，芎藭苗也。 生雍州川澤及冤句，四月、五月采葉，暴乾。弘景曰】今出歷陽，處處人 家多種之。葉似蛇牀而香，騷人借以爲譬，方藥稀用。【恭曰】此有二 種，一種似芹葉，一種似蛇牀，香氣相似，用亦不殊。【時珍曰】别録言 蘼蕪一名江蘺，芎藭苗也，而司馬相如子虚賦稱芎藭、菖蒲，江蘺、蘼 蕪；上林賦云：被以江蘺，揉以蘼蕪。似非一物，何耶？蓋嫩苗未結根時 則爲蘼蕪，既結根後乃爲芎藭。大葉似芹者爲江蘺，細葉似蛇牀者爲蘼 蕪。如此分别，自明白矣。淮南子云：亂人者，若芎藭之與藁本，蛇牀之 與蘼蕪。亦指細葉者言也。廣志云：蘼蕪香草，可藏衣中。管子云：五沃 之土生蘼蕪。郭璞贊云：蘼蕪香草，亂之蛇牀。不損其真，自烈以芳。又 海中苔髮亦名江蘺，與此同名耳。 Collected Explanations. Bie lu: The leaves of ligusticum chuanxiong are called mi wu 蘼蕪. It is also said: Mi wu 蘼蕪 is also called jiang li 江蘺; these are the seedlings of Ligusticum chuanxiong. They grow in the rivers and marshlands of Yong zhou, and also in Yuan ju. The leaves are collected in the fourth and fifth month. They are dried in the sun. [Tao] Hongjing: Today, they come from Li yang; they are planted there everywhere by many households. The leaves resemble those of cnidium [herbs], but are fragrant. Poets use them for analogies; they are rarely used as a pharmaceutical drug in recipes. [Su] Gong: There are two types of them. One type resembles the leaves of celery. The other type resembles [the leaves of ] cnidium [herbs]. Their



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fragrant qi are similar, and their usage does not differ, either. [Li] Shizhen: The Bie lu says: “An alternative name of mi wu 蘼蕪 is jiang li 江蘺; these are the seedlings of ligusticum chuanxiong.” However, in his [poem] Zi xu fu, Sima Xiangru lists “ligusticum chuanxiong, acorus calamus, jiang li, and mi wu.” And in his Shang lin fu, he states: “Covered with jiang li, rubbed with mi wu.” Apparently, they are not one and the same item. How can this be? The fact is, as long as the seedlings are tender and have not formed a root, they are mi wu. After they have formed a root, they are ligusticum chuanxiong. Those with leaves as big as those of celery, they are jiang li. Those with small leaves resembling those of cnidium [herbs], they are mi wu. Once they are distinguished like this, everything should be clear. The Huai nan zi states: “People are confused when ligusticum chuanxiong [herbs] are compared to ligusticum sinense [herbs], and when cnidium [herbs] are compared to mi wu,” because they [all] are said to have small leaves. The Guang zhi states: “Mi wu is a fragrant herb. It can be kept in one’s garments.” The Guan zi states: “Mi wu grows in the five fertile soils.” Guo Pu in a eulogy says: “Mi wu is a fragrant herb that is mistaken for cnidium [herbs]. This does not do justice to its genuine nature which is extremely fragrant.” Also, there is some hairy moss in the sea that is also called jiang li. It has the same name as [the substance discussed] here. 【氣味】辛，温，無毒。 Qi and Flavor. Acrid, warm, nonpoisonous. 【主治】欬逆，定驚氣，辟邪惡，除蠱毒鬼疰，去三蟲。久服通神。本 經。主身中老風，頭中久風、風眩。别録。作飲，止泄瀉。蘇頌。 Control. Cough with [qi] counterflow. It stabilizes fright qi. It repels evil and malign [qi]. It eliminates gu-poison547 and demon attachment-illness.548 It drives away the three worms/bugs. Ingested over a long time, it enables communication with the spirits. Ben jing. It controls old wind in the body, long-time wind in the head and dizziness caused by wind. Bie lu. Prepared as a beverage it ends outflow. Su Song.

547 Gu du 蠱毒, “gu-poison[ing].” (1) A poison emitted by certain worms/snakes with an ability to cause varying pathological changes in a person who has taken it in by means of wine or food. (2) Abdominal fullness, in some cases with blood spitting, and blood in the stool and urine. BCGM Dict I, 192 - 193. See BCGM 42-22.

548 Zhu 疰, also zhu 注, “attachment-illness,” “influx-illness,” reflects a notion of a foreign pathogenic agent, originally of demonic nature, having attached itself to the human organism. BCGM Dict I, 688-695.

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14-03-01 花。Hua. Flower [of ligusticum chuanxiong]. 【主治】入面脂用。時珍。 Control. It may be used for facial creams. [Li] Shizhen. 14-04 蛇牀本經上品 She chuang, FE Ben jing, upper rank. Cnidium monnieri (L.) Cuss. Common cnidium.549 【釋名】蛇粟本經、蛇米本經、虺牀爾雅、馬牀廣雅、墻蘼别録。又名思 益、繩毒、棗棘。【時珍曰】蛇虺喜卧于下食其子，故有蛇虺、蛇粟諸 名。其葉蘼蕪，故曰墻蘼。爾雅云：盱，虺牀也。 Explanation of Names. She mi 蛇粟, “snake millet,” Ben jing. She mi 蛇米, “snake rice,” Ben jing. Hui chuang 虺牀, “a venomous snake’s bed,” Er ya. Ma chuang 馬牀, “a horse’s bed,” Guang ya 廣雅. Qiang mi 墻蘼, Bie lu. It is also named si yi 思益, “intent on benefit,” sheng du 繩毒, “to restrain poison,” and zao ji 棗棘, “date spike.” [Li] Shizhen: Snakes love to lie below [this herb] and eat its seeds. Hence it is named “snake [bed]”550 and “snake millet.” Its leaves resemble mi wu 蘼蕪 [leaves of ligusticum chuanxiong]. Hence it is called qiang mi 墻蘼, “wall mi [wu].” The Er ya states: “Xu 盱 is she chuang 虺牀.” 【集解】【别録曰】蛇牀生臨淄川谷及田野，五月采實，陰乾。【弘景 曰】田野墟落甚多，花葉正似蘼蕪。【保昇曰】葉似小葉芎藭。花白，子 如黍粒，黄白色，生下濕地，所在皆有。以揚州、襄州者爲良。【頌曰】 三月生苗，高三二尺，葉青碎，作叢似蒿枝。每枝上有花頭百餘，結同一 窠，似馬芹類。四五月乃開白花，又似繖狀。子黄褐色，如黍米，至輕 虚。【時珍曰】其花如碎米攢簇，其子兩片合成，似蒔蘿子而細，亦有細 稜。凡花實似蛇牀者，當歸、芎藭、水芹、藁本、胡蘿蔔是也。 Collected Explanations. Bie lu: She chuang grows in the river valleys of Lin zi, and also in the open country. Its fruits are collected in the fifth month. It is dried in the shade. [Tao] Hongjing: Very many [such plants grow] in ruins and on neglected places. Their flowers and leaves are truly similar to the leaves of ligusticum chuanxiong. [Han] Baosheng: The leaves resemble those of small leaf ligusticum chuanxiong. The flowers are white. The seeds resemble broomcorn millet grains. They are yel549 She chuang 蛇牀, lit.: “a bed for snakes.”

550 The Zhang edition has zhuang 牀, “bed,” instead of hui 虺



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low-white and they grow on low-lying moist ground. They are found everywhere, with those from Yang zhou and Xiang zhou being good. [Su] Song. Seedlings grow in the third month. They reach a height of two to three chi. The leaves are greenish and fragmentated. They form clusters resembling the twigs of artemisia [herbs]. On each twig are more than a hundred flowers; they stick together forming a nest, similar to angelica yabeana [seedlings]. White flowers open in the fourth and fifth month, assuming the shape of an umbrella. The seeds are yellow-brown, similar to millet. They are extremely light and hollow. [Li] Shizhen: The flowers look like clusters of broken rice. The seeds are formed by two pieces stuck together, similar to dill, but smaller. They also have fine spikes. The following are plants with flowers and fruit similar to those of she chuang: Chinese angelica, ligusticum chuanxiong, Chinese celery, ligusticum sinense and carrots. 14-04-01 子。Zi. Seed [of she chuang]. 【修治】【斅曰】凡使，須用濃藍汁并百部草根自然汁，同浸一伏時，漉 出日乾。却用生地黄汁相拌蒸之，從巳至亥，取出日乾用。【大明曰】凡 服食，即挼去皮殻，取仁微炒殺毒，即不辣也。作湯洗浴，則生用之。 Pharmaceutical Preparation. [Lei] Xiao: For all [medicinal] applications they are to be soaked a full day long in both a thick indigo plant juice and the natural juice of stemona roots. Then let the liquid seep through a filter and dry [the seeds] in the sun. Mix them with the juice of fresh Chinese foxglove [rhizome] and steam this from si hours (9 – 11) until hai hours (21 – 23). Remove [the seeds from the liquid], dry them in the sun, and make use of them. Da Ming: Whenever they are to be ingested as food, remove their skin and shell, and slightly fry the kernels to kill their poison. They will no longer taste peppery. If they are to be used for a hot bath, they may be used unprepared. 【氣味】苦，平，無毒。【别録曰】辛、甘，無毒。【權曰】有小毒。 【之才曰】惡牡丹、貝母、巴豆。伏硫黄。 Qi and Flavor. Bitter, acrid, nonpoisonous. Bie lu: Acrid, sweet, nonpoisonous. [Zhen] Quan: Slightly poisonous. [Xu] Zhicai: [Ingested together,] they abhor paeonia [root bark], fritillaria [root] and croton [seeds]. They subdue [the effects of ] sulphur. 【主治】男子陰痿濕癢，婦人陰中腫痛，除痺氣，利關節，癲癇，惡瘡。 久服輕身，好顔色。本經。温中下氣，令婦人子臟熱。男子陰强。久服令 人有子。别録。治男子女人虚，濕痺，毒風𤸷痛，去男子腰痛，浴男子

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陰，去風冷，大益陽事。甄權。暖丈夫陽氣，助女人陰氣，治腰胯酸疼， 四肢頑痺，縮小便，去陰汗濕癬，齒痛，赤白帶下，小兒驚癇，撲損瘀 血。煎湯，浴大風身癢。大明。 Control. Dysfunction of the male yin [organ (i. e., penis)] with moisture and itch. Painful swelling of the yin [(i. e., genital) region] of women. It removes the qi responsible for a blockage. It frees the passage through the joints. [It serves to cure] peak-illness551 and epilepsy, and malign sores. Ingested over a long time, it relieves the body of its weight and improves one’s complexion. Ben jing. It warms the center and discharges qi. It generates heat in a woman’s womb, and gives a man’s yin [organ (i. e., penis)] strength. Bie lu. Ingested over a long time it lets one have children. Bie lu. It serves to cure depletion affecting males and females, blockage caused by moisture, and poison wind causing numbness or pain. It ends lower back pain of males. Use it to wash a male’s yin [organ (i. e., penis)] to remove wind cold. This will greatly boost his yang affair (i. e., sexual potential). Zhen Quan. It warms a husband’s yang qi, and assists a female’s yin qi. It serves to cure lower back and hip pain, and stubborn blockage affecting the four limbs. It restricts urination, eliminates itch and removes moisture sweating from the yin [(i. e., genital) region], toothache, red and white discharge from below the belt, fright epilepsy of children, and stagnant blood resulting from a blow or an injury. Boiled to generate a decoction, it serves to wash a body itching because of massive wind.552 Da Ming. 【發明】【斅曰】此藥令人陽氣盛數，號曰鬼考也。【時珍曰】蛇牀乃右 腎命門、少陽三焦氣分之藥，神農列之上品，不獨補助男子，而又有益婦 人。世人捨此而求補藥於遠域，豈非賤目貴耳乎？ Explication. [Lei] Xiao: This pharmaceutical drug lets one’s yang qi prosper manifold. It is called “tested by demons.” [Li] Shizhen: She chuang is a pharmaceutical drug for the qi section of the right kidney, (i. e.,) the gate of life, the minor yang [conduits] and the Triple Burner. Shen nong listed it as “upper rank.” It not only supplements and assists males, it also boosts [the qi of ] women. The people of today have lost sight of it and seek vigorating drugs from far away. Is not this an example of distrusting what you see with your eyes and value only what you hear with your ears?!

551 Dian 癲, “peak-illness,” BCGM Dict I, 123, identical with dian ji 癲疾, “peak ailment,” a condition of a mental disturbance, occasionally associated with xian 癇, “epilepsy.” BCGM Dict I, 125. 552 Da feng 大風, “massive wind,” may refer to sores caused by a massive intrusion of wind evil and also to conditions of leprosy. BCGM Dict I, 111.



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【附方】舊三，新十一。 Added Recipes. Three of old. 11 newly [recorded]. 陽事不起。蛇牀子、五味子、兔絲子等分，爲末，蜜丸梧子大。每服三十 丸，温酒下，日三服。千金方。 The yang affair (i. e., the penis) fails to rise. [Grind] equal amounts of she chuang seeds, schisandra seeds and cuscuta seeds to powder, and form with honey pills the size of wu seeds. Each time ingest 30 pills, to be sent down with warm wine. To be ingested three times a day. Qian jin fang. 赤白帶下，月水不來。用蛇牀子、枯白礬等分，爲末。醋麪糊丸彈子大， 胭肢爲衣，綿裹，納入陰户。如熱極，再换，日一次。儒門事親方。 Red and white discharge from below the belt, with no menstruation. [Grind] equal amounts of she chuang seeds and prepared alum to powder and form with vinegar and flour a paste to prepare pills the size of bullets. Coat them with rouge, wrap them in silk floss and insert them into the yin gate (i. e., vagina). When the heat (in the vagina) has reached a maxium, exchange it. To be applied once a day. Ru men shi qin recipe. 子宫寒冷。温陰中坐藥蛇牀子散：取蛇牀子仁爲末，入白粉少許。和匀如 棗大，綿裹納之，自然温也。金匱玉函方。 Cold womb. The “powder with she chuang seeds” is a pharmaceutical drug to be left in the yin [gate (i. e., vagina)] to generate warmth. [Grind] she chuang seed kernels to powder, add a little lead carbonate, mix them and form [a pill] the size of a Chinese date. Wrap it in silk and insert it [into the vagina]. This will generate warmth. Jin kui yu han fang. 婦人陰癢。蛇牀子一兩，白礬二錢，煎湯頻洗。集簡方。 Itch in the yin [(i. e., genital) region] of women. Boil one liang of she chuang seeds and two qian of alum and frequently wash [the affected region] with this decoction. Ji jian fang. 産後陰脱。絹盛蛇牀子，蒸熱熨之。又法：蛇牀子五兩，烏梅十四個，煎 水，日洗五六次。千金方。 Prolapse [of the uterus] following delivery. Steam she chuang seeds wrapped in tough silk and press them hot [on the affected region]. Another method: Boil five liang of she chuang seeds and 14 smoked plums in water and wash [the affected region] five to six times a day. Qian jin fang.

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婦人陰痛。方同上。 Painful yin [(i. e., genital) region] of women. Recipe identical with the one above. 男子陰腫脹痛。蛇牀子末，鷄子黄調傅之。永類方。 Painful swelling and distension of the male yin [organ (i. e., penis)]. Mix she chuang seeds with egg yolk and apply this [to the affected region]. Yong lei fang. 大腸脱肛。蛇牀子、甘草各一兩，爲末。每服一錢，白湯下，日三服。并 以蛇牀末傅之。經驗方。 Anal prolapse of the large intestine. [Grind] one liang each of she chuang seeds and glycyrrhiza [root] to powder and each time ingest one qian, to be sent down with clear, boiled water. To be ingested three times a day. In addition, apply she chuang powder [to the affected region]. Jing yan fang. 痔瘡腫痛不可忍。蛇牀子煎湯熏洗。簡便方。 Pile sores with swelling and unbearable pain. Steam and wash [the affected region] with a she chuang seed decoction. Jian bian fang. 小兒癬瘡。蛇牀子杵末，和豬脂塗之。千金方。 Xuan-illness553 sores of children. Pound she chuang seeds to powder, mix it with lard and apply this [to the affected region]. Qian jin fang. 小兒甜瘡。頭面耳邊連引，流水極痒，久久不愈者。蛇牀子一兩，輕粉三 錢，爲末，細調搽之。普濟方。 Sweet sores554 of children, when they grow interrelated on the head, the face and the ears, with a release of water and an extreme itch, and have not been healed for a long time. [Grind] one liang of she chuang seeds and three qian of calomel to fine powder, mix it [with oil] and apply this [to the affected region]. Pu ji fang. 耳内濕瘡。蛇牀子、黄連各一錢，輕粉一字，爲末吹之。全幼心鑑。 Moist sores in the ears. [Grind] one qian each of she chuang seeds and coptis [rhizome] and one zi of calomel to powder and blow this [into the affected ears]. Quan you xin jian. 553 Xuan 癬, “xuan-illness.” Conditions of dermal lesions with initially erythema, papules, and itching gradually extending in all directions to form an irregular ring with clear boundaries. The skin is slightly elevated with small papules, blisters, and/or scales and scraps. The central lesion may appear to heal spontaneously, and it may reappear. Also, a designation of local lesions with itching, release of liquid and shedding of scabs. BCGM Dict I, 591.

554 Tian chuang 甜瘡, “sweet sores,” a condition mostly affecting children, with sores emerging on the head, face and ears, with seeping liquid and itching that cannot be cured for an extended period of time. BCGM Dict I, 502.



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風蟲牙痛。千金用蛇牀子、燭燼同研，塗之。 Toothache caused by wind and worms/bugs. The Qian jin [recommends to] grind she chuang seeds and candle remains together [to powder] and apply this [to the aching teeth]. 集簡方用蛇牀子煎湯，乘熱漱數次，立止。 The Ji jian fang [recommends to] boil she chuang seeds and [let the patient] rinse [his mouth] with the hot decoction several times. [The pain] will end immediately. 冬月喉痺腫痛，不可下藥者。蛇牀子燒烟於瓶中，口含瓶嘴吸烟，其痰自 出。聖惠方。 Blocked throat during winter months with painful swelling and an inability to send down medication. Burn she chuang seeds in a bottle to generate fumes. Hold the mouth of the bottle in your mouth and inhale the fumes. The phlegm will be released as a result. Sheng hui fang. 14-05 藁本本經中品 Gao ben, FE Ben jing, middle rank. Ligusticum sinense Oliv. Chinese ligusticum. 【釋名】藁茇綱目、鬼卿本經、地新本經、微莖别録。【恭曰】根上苗下 似禾藁，故名藁本。本，根也。【時珍曰】古人香料用之，呼爲藁本香。 山海經名藁茇。 Explanation of Names. Gao ba 藁茇, Gang mu. Gui qing 鬼卿, Ben jing. Di xin 地新, Ben jing. Wei jing 微莖, Bie lu. [Su] Gong: The upper part of the root and the lower part of the seedling resemble he gao 禾藁, “withered straw.” Hence it is called gao ben 藁本. Ben 本 is gen 根, “root.” [Li] Shizhen: The ancients used it as a flavorizer, and spoke of it as gao ben xiang 藁本香. “gao ben flavorizer.” In the Shan hai jing it is named gao ba 藁茇. 【集解】【别録曰】藁本生崇山山谷，正月、二月采根，暴乾，三十日 成。【弘景曰】俗中皆用芎藭根鬚，其形氣乃相類。而桐君藥録説芎藭苗 似藁本，論説花實皆不同，所生處又異。今東山别有藁本，形氣甚相似， 惟長大耳。【恭曰】藁本莖葉根味與芎藭小别。今出宕州者佳。【頌曰】 今西川、河東州郡及兖州、杭州皆有之。葉似白芷香，又似芎藭，但芎藭 似水芹而大，藁本葉細爾。五月有白花，七八月結子。根紫色。【時珍 曰】江南深山中皆有之。根似芎藭而輕虚，味麻，不堪作飲也。

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Collected Explanations. Bie lu: Gao ben grows in the valleys of Mount Chong shan. The root is collected in the first and second month. It is dried in the sun. It takes 30 days until it is ready [for medicinal use]. [Tao] Hongjing: The hairy root of ligusticum chuanxiong is generally used [instead of gao ben]. The shape and the qi [of these two plants] are closely related. Still, the Tong jun yao lu says while ligusticum chuanxiong seedlings resemble those of gao ben, it also says that the flowers and the seeds are different, and the places where they grow differ, too. Today, there is yet another type of gao ben in Shan dong. Its shape and qi are similar [to other types], but [its root] is much longer. [Su] Gong: The stem, the leaves, the root and the flavor of gao ben are only slightly different from those of ligusticum chuanxiong. Nowadays, [gao ben] coming from Dang zhou is excellent. [Su] Song: Nowadays it can be found everywhere in the zhou and prefectures of Xi chuan and He dong, and also in Yan zhou and Hang zhou. The leaves resemble those of angelica dahurica, but are fragrant. They also resemble those of ligusticum chuanxiong. However, those of ligusticum chuanxiong resemble those of Chinese celery, except for that they are larger. The leaves of gao ben are small. [Gao ben] has white flowers in the fifth month. It forms seeds in the seventh and eighth month. The root is purple. [Li] Shizhen: It can be found everywhere deep in the mountains of Jiang nan. The root is similar to that of ligusticum chuanxiong, but it is light and hollow. The flavor is tingling. It is not suited for preparing a beverage. 14-05-01 根。Gen . Root [of gao ben] 【氣味】辛，温，無毒。【别録曰】微寒。【權曰】微温。【元素曰】氣 温，味苦、大辛，無毒。氣厚味薄，升也，陽也。足太陽本經藥。【之才 曰】惡䕡茹，畏青葙子。 Qi and Flavor. Acrid, warm, nonpoisonous. Bie lu: Slightly cold. [Zhen] Quan: Slightly warm. [Zhang] Yuansu: Qi warm. Flavor bitter, very acrid. Nonpoisonous. The qi are strongly pronounced. The flavor is weak. It ascends. It is a yang [substance]. It is a pharmaceutical drug for the foot major yang conduit itself. [Xu] Zhicai: [Ingested together,] it abhors spurge. It fears celosia seeds. 【主治】婦人疝瘕，陰中寒，腫痛，腹中急，除風頭痛，長肌膚，悦顔 色。本經。辟霧露，潤澤，療風邪軃曳，金瘡。可作沐藥面脂。别録。 治一百六十種惡風鬼疰，流入腰痛冷，能化小便，通血，去頭風䵟皰。甄 權。治皮膚疵皯，酒齄粉刺，癇疾。大明。治太陽頭痛巔頂痛，大寒犯



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腦，痛連齒頰。元素。頭面身體皮膚風濕。李杲。督脉爲病，脊强而厥。 好古。治癰疽，排膿内塞。時珍。 Control. Elevation-illness with conglomeration-illness555 of women, cold in their yin [body region (i.e. private parts)], with painful swelling and tension in the abdomen. It removes headache caused by wind, stimulates the growth of sinews and skin and lets one’s complexion look pleased. Ben jing. It repels [the intrusion of ] fog and dew, moistens, and serves to heal drooping [hands and feet]556 resulting from wind and evil [qi intrusion], as well as wounds caused by metal objects/ weapons. It can be prepared to medicinal baths and facial cremes. Bie lu. It serves to cure the 160 types of malign wind [intrusion] and demon attachment-illness557 and painful cold that has flowed into the lower back. It is able to transform [qi and generate] urine, frees the flow of blood, and removes facial gloom and blisters associated with head wind.558 Zhen Quan. It serves to cure dermal gloom and blemishes, wine sediments559 and acne, as well as epilepsy ailments. Da Ming. It serves to cure headache at the major yang [conduit region], as well as pain on the top of the head with massive cold offending the brain, and the pain connecting with the teeth and cheeks. [Zhang] Yuansu: Wind and moisture affecting the skin of the head, the face and the entire body. Li Gao. Diseases related to the supervisor vessel, with a stiff spine and ceasing [yang qi]. [Wang] Haogu. It serves to cure obstruction-illness and impediment-illness.560 It eliminates pus and dissolves internal blockage. [Li] Shizhen. 【發明】【元素曰】藁本乃太陽經風藥，其氣雄壯，寒氣鬱於本經，頭痛 必用之藥。顛頂痛非此不能除。與木香同用，治霧露之清邪中於上焦。與 555 Shan jia 疝瘕, “elevation-illness with conglomeration-illness.” A lump-like swelling in the abdomen that alternately collects and then dissolves again. BCGM Dict I, 418.

556 [Shou zu] duo ye [手足]嚲曳, “drooping [hands and feet],” an illness sign of feeble hands and feet that hang down and cannot be raised. BCGM Dict I, 463.

557 Zhu 疰, also zhu 注, “attachment-illness,” “influx-illness,” reflects a notion of a foreign pathogenic agent, originally of demonic nature, having attached itself to the human organism. BCGM Dict I, 688-695.

558 Tou feng 頭風, “head wind.” Condition of wind evil attacking the head followed by pain, dizziness, itching. BCGM Dict I, 509. 559 Jiu zha 酒齇, “wine sediments,” a condition with major signs of a swollen, red nose with papules that may, when squeezed, release white sediments. The condition flares up again and again until eventually the nose has increased in size and has assumed a red color. BCGM Dict I, 275.

560 Yong ju 癰疽, “obstruction-illness, impediment-illness.” refers to two vaguely distinguished obstructions/impediments of vessels or other ducts inside the body. Qi rushing against the obstruction may cause a local swelling and eventually break through the surface to cause an abscess. BCGM Dict I, 642.

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白芷同作面脂。既治風，又治濕，亦各從其類也。【時珍曰】邵氏聞見録 云：夏英公病泄，太醫以虚治不效。霍翁曰：風客于胃也。飲以藁本湯而 止。蓋藁本能去風濕故耳。 Explication. [Zhang] Yuansu: Gao ben is a pharmaceutical drug for wind affecting the major yang conduits. Its qi are very strong. It is a pharmaceutical drug that must be used when cold qi have accumulated in these [i. e., major yang] conduits resulting in headache. Pain on top of the head can only be ended with this [drug]. Used together with costus [root] it serves to cure [diseases] resulting from the clear evil [qi] of fog and dew hitting the upper [section of the Triple] Burner. With angelica dahurica [root] it is prepared to facial cremes. To cure wind and to cure moisture [with this drug] is based on group correspondence. [Li] Shizhen: The Shao shi wen jian lu states: “Duke Xia of Ying once suffered from outflow. The Imperial Physicians considered it to be a case of depletion, and their cures remained without effect. Huo weng said: ‘Wind has settled in his stomach. This will end when he drinks a gao ben decoction’.” The fact is, Gao ben can eliminate wind and moisture. 【附方】新三。 Added Recipes. Three newly [recorded]. 大實心痛。已用利藥，用此徹其毒。藁本半兩，蒼术一兩，作二服。水二 鍾，煎一鍾，温服。活法機要。 Heart pain caused by a massive repletion. To remove the poison present after an application of pharmaceutical drugs causing a free flow. Prepare two doses of half a liang of gao ben and one liang of black atractylodes [rhizome], and boil them in two zhong of water down to one zhong. To be ingested warm. Huo fa ji yao. 乾洗頭屑。藁本、白芷等分，爲末。夜擦旦梳，垢自去也。便民圖纂。 Dry cleaning of dandruff. [Grind] equal amounts of gao ben and angelica dahurica [root]. At night apply [it to the affected region,] in the morning comb it. This will remove the dirt. Bian min tu zuan. 小兒疥癬。藁本煎湯浴之，并以浣衣。保幼大全。 Jie-illness561 and xuan-illness562 of children. Boil gao ben [in water] to prepare a decoction to bathe [the affected regions]. Also, use it to wash the [child’s] clothes. Bao you da quan. 561 Jie-illness 疥, vaguely defined skin ailment. BCGM Dict I, 249.

562 Xuan 癬, “xuan-illness.” Conditions of dermal lesions with initially erythema, papules, and itching gradually extending in all directions to form an irregular ring with clear boundaries. The skin is slightly elevated with small papules, blisters, and/or scales and



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14-05-02 實。Shi. Fruit [of gao ben]. 【主治】風邪流入四肢。别録。 Control. Wind evil [qi] that flowed into the four limbs. Bie lu. 【附録】 Appendix. 14-05-A01

徐黄。Xu huang. Unidentified. 【别録 有名未用曰】味辛，平，無毒。主心腹積瘕。莖，主惡瘡。生澤 中，大莖細葉，香如藁本。 Bie lu, [section] “known by name but not in use”: Flavor acrid, balanced, nonpoisonous. It controls accumulation and conglomeration-illness in the central and abdominal region. The stem controls malign sores. It grows in marshlands. It has a big stem and small leaves. Its fragrance is similar to that of gao ben. 14-06 蜘蛛香綱目 Zhi zhu xiang. FE Gang mu. Valeriana jatamansii Jones. Common broadleaf valeriana.563 【集解】【時珍曰】蜘蛛香，出蜀西 茂州 松潘山中，草根也。黑色有粗 鬚，狀如蜘蛛及藁本、芎藭，氣味芳香，彼人亦重之。或云貓喜食之。 Collected Explanations. [Li] Shizhen: Zhi zhu xiang comes from the mountains of Song pan in Mao zhou in Shu xi. It is the root of an herb. It is of black color and has coarse hair. Its shape resembles [the roots of ] ligusticum sinense and ligusticum chuanxiong. Its qi and flavor are fragrant, and it, too, is valued for this reason. Some say that cats love to eat it.

scraps. The central lesion may appear to heal spontaneously, and it may reappear. Also, a designation of local lesions with itching, release of liquid and shedding of scabs. BCGM Dict I, 591.

563 Zhi zhu xiang 蜘蛛香, lit.: “spider fragrance.”

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14-06-01 根。Gen . Root [of zhi zhu xiang]. 【氣味】辛，温，無毒。 Qi and Flavor. Acrid, warm, nonpoisonous. 【主治】辟瘟疫，中惡邪精，鬼氣尸疰。時珍。 Control. It repels warmth-illness epidemics. Being struck by the malign and evil essence, demon qi and corpse [evil qi] attachment-illness.564 [Li] Shizhen. 14-07 白芷本經上品 Bai zhi, FE Ben jing, upper rank. Angelica dahurica (Fisch. ex Hoffm.) Benth. et Hook f. Dahurian angelica. 【釋名】白茝音止，又昌海切、芳香本經、澤芬别録、苻蘺别録、䖀許驕 切、莞音官。葉名蒚麻音力、葯音約。【時珍曰】徐鍇云，初生根幹爲 芷，則白芷之義取乎此也。王安石字説云：茝香可以養鼻，又可養體，故 茝字從𦣞。𦣞，音怡，養也。許慎説文云：晉謂之䖀，齊謂之茝，楚謂之 蘺，又謂之葯。生於下澤，芬芳與蘭同德，故騷人以蘭茝爲詠，而本草有 芳香、澤芬之名，古人謂之香白芷云。 Explanation of Names. Bai zhi 白茝, read zhi 止, also split reading of chang hai 昌 海. Fang xiang 芳香, Ben jing. Ze fen 澤芬, Bie lu. Fu li 苻蘺, Bie lu. Xiao 䖀, split reading xu jiao 許驕. Guan 莞, read guan 官. The leaves are called li ma 蒚麻, read li 力. Yao 葯, read yao 約. [Li] Shizhen: Xu Kai states: “At the beginning of their growth the root and the trunk are zhi 芷, and the meaning of the name bai zhi 白芷 is based on this.” Wang Anshi in his Zi shuo states: Chi/chai xiang 茝香 can nourish the nose, and it can nourish the entire body. Hence the character chai 茝 is based on [the character] 𦣞. 𦣞 is read yi 怡, it means yang 養, “to nourish.” Xu Shen in his Shuo wen states: “In Jin they call it xiao 䖀. In Qi they it is called chi/chai 茝. In Chu it is called li 蘺.” It is also called yao 葯. It grows in low-lying marshlands. Its fragrance is as strong as that of eupatorium. Hence eupatorium and chi/chai 茝 are mentioned in poetry, while in materia medica texts the names fang xiang 芳香 and ze fen 澤芬 are preferred. The ancients spoke of “fragrant bai zhi,” xiang bai zhi 香白芷. 【集解】【别録曰】白芷生河東川谷下澤，二月、八月采根，暴乾。 【弘景曰】今處處有之，東間甚多。葉可合香。【頌曰】所在有之，吴地 564 Shi zhu 屍疰, “corpse [qi] attachment-illness,” a condition identical with gui zhu 鬼疰, “demon attachment-illness.”



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尤多。根長尺餘，粗細不等，白色。枝幹去地五寸以上。春生葉，相對婆 娑，紫色，闊三指許。花白微黄。入伏後結子，立秋後苗枯。二月、八月 采根暴乾。以黄澤者爲佳。【斅曰】凡采勿用四條一處生者，名喪公藤。 又勿用馬藺根。 Collected Explanations. Bie lu: Bai zhi grows in low-lying marshlands of river valleys in He dong. The root is collected in the second and eighth month. It is dried in the sun. [Tao] Hongjing: Today it can be found everywhere, and there is especially much of it in the East. Its leaves can be prepared to incense. [Su] Song: It can be found everywhere, and there is especially much on the ground in Wu. The roots reach a length of more than a chi; they may be coarse or slim and are of white color. The twigs are five cun above the ground. In spring they develop leaves. They grow opposite to each other in pairs as if dancing. They are of purple color and more than three fingers wide. The flowers are white, with a little yellow. After the hottest season of summer is over, they develop seeds. After the solar term of Autumn Begins (7th/8th August) the seedlings wither. The root is collected in the eighth month and dried in the sun. Specimens that are yellow and moist are fine. [Lei] Xiao. Do not collect those with four [root] stems growing together at one place. They are called “vine causing the father-in-law’s funeral.” Also, do not use the roots of purple chrysanthemum. 14-07-01 根。Gen. Root [of bai zhi] 【修治】【斅曰】采得刮去土皮。細剉，以黄精片等分，同蒸一伏時，曬 乾去黄精用。【時珍曰】今人采根洗刮寸截，以石灰拌匀，晒收，爲其易 蛀，并欲色白也。入藥微焙。 Pharmaceutical Preparation.[Lei] Xiao: After collecting it [from the ground] remove the soil and the bark, and cut it into fine pieces. Then steam it for a full day together with an equal amount of polygonatum sibiricum [root] pieces, dry it in the sun, remove the polygonatum sibiricum [root] and make use of it. [Li] Shizhen: Today, the people collect the root, wash it and cut it into one cun long pieces. Then they mix it with an equal amount of lime, dry it and store it because [otherwise] it is easily infested by moths. Also, this will keep its white color. When eventually it is added to a medication, it is baked over a slow fire. 【氣味】辛，温，無毒。【元素曰】氣温，味苦、大辛，氣味俱輕，陽 也。手陽明引經本藥，同升麻則通行手、足陽明經，亦入手太陰經。【之 才曰】當歸爲之使，惡旋復花，制雄黄、硫黄。

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Qi and Flavor. Acrid, warm, nonpoisonous. [Zhang] Yuansu: Qi warm. Flavor bitter, very acrid. Qi and flavors are all weak. It is a yang [substance]. It is a pharmaceutical drug guiding [the effects of others] especially into the hand yang brilliance conduits. If combined with cimicifuga [rhizome] it enters the hand and foot yang brilliance conduits, and also the hand major yin conduits. [Xu] Zhicai: Chinese angelica [root] serves as its guiding substance. [Ingested together,] it abhors inula flowers. It checks [the effects of ] realgar and sulphur. 【主治】女人漏下赤白，血閉陰腫，寒熱頭風侵目淚出。長肌膚，潤澤顔 色，可作面脂。本經。療風邪，久渴吐嘔，兩脇滿，頭眩目癢。可作膏 藥。别録。治目赤弩肉，去面皯疵瘢，補胎漏滑落，破宿血，補新血，乳 癰，發背，瘰癧，腸風痔瘻，瘡痍疥癬，止痛排膿。大明。能蝕膿，止心 腹血刺痛，女人瀝血腰痛，血崩。甄權。解利手陽明頭痛，中風寒熱，及 肺經風熱，頭面皮膚風痺燥癢。元素。治鼻淵鼻衄，齒痛，眉稜骨痛，大 腸風秘，小便去血，婦人血風眩運，翻胃吐食，解砒毒蛇傷，刀箭金瘡。 時珍。 Control. Red and white dripping discharge of women, blocked bleeding and swollen yin [(i. e., genital) region] of women, alternating cold and heat sensations, with head wind565 that got into the eyes and causes tears to flow. It stimulates the growth of muscles and skin, and moistens the complexion. It can be prepared to facial cremes. Ben jing. It heals wind evil, long-lasting thirst with vomiting, a feeling of fullness in the flanks, head dizziness and itching eyes. It can be prepared to medicinal ointments. Bie lu. It cures eyes that are red and have tumorous flesh growths. It removes facial gloom and blemishes. It supplements [qi] in the case of leaking fetus566 [to prevent] a smooth [premature] release [of the fetus]. It breaks through abiding blood. It supplements new blood. [It serves to cure] breast obstruction-illness,567 effusion on the back, scrofula pervasion-illness,568 intestinal wind with piles

565 Tou feng 頭風, “head wind.” Condition of wind evil attacking the head followed by pain, dizziness, itching. BCGM Dict I, 509.

566 Lou tai 漏胎, “leaking fetus,” a condition of vaginal bleeding during pregnancy. BCGM Dict I, 327.

567 Ru yong 乳癰, “breast obstruction-illness,” a condition of acute putrefication of a woman’s breast. Often encountered if a woman, following delivery, experiences chui nai 吹奶, “inflated breast,” or du ru 妒乳, “jealousy breast.”

568 Luo li 瘰癧, “scrofula pervasion-illness,” when two or more connected swellings of the size of plum or date kernels appear either on the neck or in the armpits, or somewhere else on the body. BCGM Dict I. 329.



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fistula, sores and wounds, as well as jie-illness569 and xuan-illness.570 It ends pain and removes pus. Da Ming. It eats up pus. It ends piercing pain in the central and abdominal region caused by blood, lower back pain with dripping bleeding of women, and blood collapse.571 Zhen Quan. It opens a blocked passage through the hand yang brilliance [conduits] causing headache, [and serves to cure] being struck by wind and [alternating sensations of ] cold and heat, as well as wind heat in the lung conduits, and dry itch affecting the skin of one’s head and face resulting from a blockage caused by wind. [Zhang] Yuansu. It serves to cure nasal deep source [outflow] and nosebleed, toothache, painful bones behind the eyebrows, wind closure of the large intestine, urination with blood, dizziness and vertigo of women caused by blood and wind, and turned over stomach and vomiting of food. It resolves the poison of arsenic and harm caused by snake [poison], and [serves to cure] wounds caused by metal objects/weapons, such as knives and arrows. [Li] Shizhen. 【發明】【杲曰】白芷療風通用，其氣芳香，能通九竅，表汗不可缺也。 【劉完素曰】治正陽明頭痛，熱厥頭痛，加而用之。【好古曰】同辛夷、 細辛用治鼻病，入内托散用長肌肉，則入陽明可知矣。【時珍曰】白芷色 白味辛，行手陽明庚金；性温氣厚，行足陽明戊土；芳香上達，入手太陰 肺經。肺者，庚之弟，戊之子也。故所主之病不離三經。如頭目眉齒諸 病，三經之風熱也；如漏帶癰疽諸病，三經之濕熱也。風熱者辛以散之， 濕熱者温以除之。爲陽明主藥，故又能治血病胎病，而排膿生肌止痛。按 王璆百一選方云：王定國病風頭痛，至都梁求明醫楊介治之。連進三丸， 即時病失。懇求其方，則用香白芷一味，洗晒爲末，煉蜜丸彈子大。每嚼 一丸，以茶清或荆芥湯化下。遂命名都梁丸。其藥治頭風眩運，女人胎前 産後，傷風頭痛，血風頭痛，皆效。戴原禮要訣亦云：頭痛挾熱，項生磊 塊者，服之甚宜。又臞仙神隱書言種白芷能辟蛇，則夷堅志所載治蝮蛇傷 之方，亦制以所畏也，而本草不曾言及。【宗奭曰】藥性論言白芷能蝕 膿，今人用治帶下，腸有敗膿，淋露不已，腥穢殊甚，遂致臍腹冷痛，皆 由敗膿血所致，須此排膿。白芷一兩，單葉紅蜀葵根二兩，白芍藥、白枯 礬各半兩，爲末。以蠟化丸梧子大。每空心及飯前，米飲下十丸或十五 丸。俟膿盡，乃以他藥補之。 569 Jie-illness 疥, vaguely defined skin ailment. BCGM Dict I, 249.

570 Xuan 癬, “xuan-illness.” Conditions of dermal lesions with initially erythema, papules, and itching gradually extending in all directions to form an irregular ring with clear boundaries. The skin is slightly elevated with small papules, blisters, and/or scales and scraps. The central lesion may appear to heal spontaneously, and it may reappear. Also, a designation of local lesions with itching, release of liquid and shedding of scabs. BCGM Dict I, 591. 571 [Xue] beng [血]崩, “[blood] collapse,” is excessive vaginal bleeding. BCGM Dict I, 594.

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Explication. [Li] Gao: Bai zhi is commonly used to heal wind [intrusion]. It has fragrant qi that can penetrate the nine orifices; it is an essential [substance to cause] sweating. Liu Wansu: Use it added [to medication] serving to cure ordinary headache related to the yang brilliance [conduits], and headache associated with heat and ceasing [yang qi in the limbs]. [Wang] Haogu: Combined with magnolia [flower buds] and asarum heteropoides [root] it can cure nasal diseases. Internally it supports dispersal [of evil qi] and stimulates the growth of muscles and flesh, and this is evidence of its ability to enter the yang brilliance [conduits]. [Li] Shizhen: Bai zhi is white and its flavor is acrid. It enters the hand yang brilliance [conduit associated with] the robust metal (i. e., the lung). Its nature is warm; its qi are strongly pronounced. It enters the foot yang brilliance [conduit associated with] the soil in the center (i. e., the spleen). Hence the diseases it controls are all tied to these three conduits. For example, all diseases affecting the head, the eyes, the eyebrows and the teeth are related to wind and heat in these three conduits. Or, all diseases of leaking [blood from below the] belt, they are related to moisture and heat in these three conduits. To disperse wind and heat one resorts to acrid [flavor]. To eliminate moisture and heat, one resorts to warmth. It is a major pharmaceutical drug for the yang brilliance [conduits]. Hence it is able to cure blood diseases and diseases affecting a fetus, and it removes pus, stimulates the growth of muscles and ends pain. According to Wang Qiu’s Bai yi xuan fang, “Wang Dingguo suffered from pain caused by head wind.572 He went to Du liang and asked the renowned physician Yang Jie to cure him. He was given three pills to ingest one after another, and the disease ended in due time. [Wang Dingguo] begged [the physician] to give him the recipe, and [the physician informed him that] he used only one ingredient, that is fragrant bai zhi. [The root] is washed, dried in the sun and [ground to] powder. This is formed with heat refined honey to pills the size of bullets. [Patients] each time are to chew one pill and to send it down dissolved either in clear tea or in schizonepeta [spike] decoction. Henceforth [the recipe] was named ‘Du liang pills.’ This medication serves to cure head wind causing dizziness and vertigo, women, prior to or following delivery, with harm caused by wind resulting in headache, as well as headache caused by blood and wind. For all these [diseases] it is effective.” Dai Yuanli in his Yao jue also states: “In the case of headache caused by confined heat, and when a lump grows in the neck, it is most suitable to ingest it.” Also, Quxian’s Shen yin shu says: “To plant bai zhi can keep snakes away.” That is, the recipe for harm caused by snakes recorded in the Yi jian zhi makes use [of bai zhi] to check [something] with [a substance it] fears. But the ben cao literature has not yet mentioned this. [Kou] 572 Tou feng 頭風, “head wind.” Condition of wind evil attacking the head followed by pain, dizziness, itching. BCGM Dict I, 509.



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Zongshi: The Yao xing lun says that “bai zhi can eat up pus.” Today, the people use it to cure [diseases of women] below the belt, decayed pus in the intestines, unending dripping lochia with an extremely fishy smell, eventually resulting in cold pain in the navel and abdomen. All this is caused by decayed pus and blood, and the following [medication] is required to remove the pus. [Grind] one liang of bai zhi, two liang of the roots of single leaf red althaea, half a liang each of Chinese peony [root] and prepared alum to powder. Dissolve it in beeswax and form pills the size of wu seeds. Each time send down with a rice beverage prior to meals on an empty stomach ten or 15 pills. Once all the pus has left, supplement [the patient’s qi] with other pharmaceutical drugs. 【附方】舊一。新三十三。 Added Recipes. One of old. 33 newly recorded. 一切傷寒。神白散，又名聖僧散：治時行一切傷寒，不問陰陽輕重、老少 男女、孕婦，皆可服之。用白芷一兩，生甘草半兩，薑三片，葱白三寸， 棗一枚，豉五十粒，水二碗，煎服取汗。不汗再服。病至十餘日未得汗 者，皆可服之。此藥可卜人之好惡也。如煎得黑色，或誤打翻，即難愈； 如煎得黄色，無不愈者。煎時要至誠，忌婦人、鷄、犬見。衞生家寶方。 All types of harm caused by cold. “Divine bai zhi,” also called “senior monk’s powder.” It serves to cure all seasonally prevalent types of harm caused by cold, regardless of whether it is of a yin or yang type, light or serious, affecting the old or the young, males or females, and even pregnant women. They all can ingest it. Boil one liang of bai zhi, half a liang of glycyrrhiza [root], three ginger slices, a three cun long segment of an onion white stalk, one Chinese date and 50 fermented soybeans in two bowls of water, and ingest this to stimulate sweating. If no sweating results, ingest it again. Even if the disease has lasted for more than ten days without sweating, [this medication] can be ingested all the time. With this medication it is possible to foretell the auspicious or inauspicious outcome of a patient’s [disease]. If while it is being boiled it turns black or if it was accidentally struck down, [the disease] will be difficult to cure. If while it is being boiled it assumes a yellow color, all [diseases treated with it] will be cured. During the boiling one must be extremely sincere, and the sight of women, chicken and dogs is to be avoided. Wei sheng jia bao fang. 一切風邪。方同上。 All types of wind evil. Recipe identical with the one above.

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風寒流涕。香白芷一兩，荆芥穗一錢，爲末。蠟茶點服二錢。百一選方。 Snivel caused by wind and cold. [Grind] one liang of fragrant bai zhi and one qian of schizonepeta spikes to powder. Drop tea of the 12th month573 on it and ingest two qian. Bai yi xuan fang. 小兒流涕。是風寒也。白芷末、葱白，擣丸小豆大，每茶下二十丸。仍以 白芷末，薑汁調，塗太陽穴，乃食熱葱粥取汗。聖惠方。 Snivel of a child. This is caused by wind and cold. Pound bai zhi powder and onion white stalks [to a pulp] and form pills the size of a red mung bean. Each time [let the child] send down with tea 20 pills. In addition, mix bai zhi powder with ginger juice and apply this to the major yang [needle insertion] hole. Also, give [the child] to eat a hot onion congee to stimulate sweating. Sheng hui fang. 小兒身熱。白芷煮湯浴之，取汗，避風。子母秘録。 Body heat of children. Wash them with a bai zhi decoction until they sweat. [During the treatment] shield [the child] from wind. Zi mu mi lu. 頭面諸風。香白芷切，以蘿蔔汁浸透，日乾爲末，每服二錢，白湯下。或 以㗜鼻。直指方。 All types of wind affecting head and face. Cut fragrant bai zhi into slices, soak it in radish juice, pass the liquid through a sieve, dry [the bai zhi] in the sun and [grind it to] powder. Each time ingest two qian, to be sent down with clear, boiled water. Or inhale it into the nose. Zhi zhi fang. 偏正頭風。百藥不治，一服便可，天下第一方也。香白芷炒二兩五錢，川 芎炒、甘草炒、川烏頭半生半熟各一兩，爲末。每服一錢，細茶、薄荷湯 調下。談埜翁試效方。 Unilateral or ordinary head wind,574 when all the hundred medications fail to achieve a cure, this one will be effective with a single ingestion. It is the number one recipe in the world. [Grind] two liang and five qian of fried fragrant bai zhi, and one liang each of fried ligusticum chuanxiong [root], fried glycyrrhiza [root] and aconitum [main tuber], one half fresh and one half prepared, to powder. Each time ingest one qian and send it down mixed with a decoction of fine tea and mint. Tan Yeweng, Shi xiao fang. 頭風眩運。都梁丸。見”發明”下。 Head wind with dizziness and vertigo. The “Du liang pills.” See under “Explication.”

573 La tea, la cha 臘茶, lit: “tea of the 12th month,” mentioned by Ouyang Xiu and Shen Gua during the Song era. As it is colored like melted wax it is also called la cha 蠟茶, “wax tea.” 574 Tou feng 頭風, “head wind.” Condition of wind evil attacking the head followed by pain, dizziness, itching. BCGM Dict I, 509.



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眉稜骨痛，屬風熱與痰。白芷、片芩酒炒等分，爲末。每服二錢，茶清調 下。丹溪纂要。 Painful bones behind the eyebrows. This is related to wind, heat and phlegm. [Grind] equal amounts of bai zhi and flat scutellaria [root], fried in wine, to powder. Each time ingest two qian, to be sent down mixed with clear tea. Danxi zuan yao. 風熱牙痛。香白芷一錢，朱砂五分，爲末。蜜丸芡子大，頻用擦牙。此乃 濠州一村婦以醫人者。廬州 郭醫云”絶勝他藥也”。或以白芷、吴茱萸等分， 浸水漱涎。醫林集要。 Wind heat causing toothache. [Grind] one qian of bai zhi and five fen of cinnabar to powder, form with honey pills the size of qian seeds, and repeatedly rub the teeth with them. With this [recipe] a woman in a village in Hao zhou has cured others. The physician Guo of Lu zhou states: “It is definitely superior to other medication.” One may also soak equal amounts of bai zhi and evodia [fruit] in water and rinse [the oral cavity] to stimulate salivation. Yi lin ji yao. 一切眼疾。白芷、雄黄爲末，煉蜜丸龍眼大，朱砂爲衣。每服一丸，食後 茶下，日二服。名還睛丸。普濟方。 All types of illnesses of the eyes. [Grind] bai zhi and realgar to powder and form with heat refined honey pills the size of longan seeds. Coat them with cinnabar. Each time ingest one pill, to be sent down with tea after a meal. To be ingested twice a day. They are called “pills to let the eyeballs return.” Pu ji fang. 口齒氣臭。百一選方用香白芷七錢，爲末。食後井水服一錢。 Malodorous qi from mouth and teeth. The Bai yi xuan fang [recommends to grind] seven qian of fragrant bai zhi to powder and to ingest with water from a well one qian after a meal. 濟生方用白芷、川芎等分，爲末，蜜丸芡子大，日噙之。 The Ji sheng fang [recommends to grind] equal amounts of bai zhi and ligusticum chuanxiong [root] to powder, form with honey pills the size of qian seeds and hold them in the mouth every day. 盗汗不止。太平白芷一兩，辰砂半兩，爲末。每服二錢，温酒下。屢驗。 朱氏集驗方。 Unending robber sweating.575 [Grind] one liang of bai zhi from Tai ping and half a liang of cinnabar to powder. Each time ingest two qian, to be sent down with warm wine. This has often been effective. Zhu shi ji yan fang. 575 Dao han 盗汗, “robber sweating,” (1) an illness sign of a profuse sweating during sleep that ends when one wakes up. (2) A pathological condition with robber sweating as major

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血風反胃。香白芷一兩，切片，瓦炒黄爲末。用猪血七片，沸湯泡七次， 蘸末食之。日一次。婦人良方。 Blood wind576 and turned over stomach. Cut one liang of fragrant bai zhi into slices, fry them on a tile until they have turned yellow and [grind them to] powder. Soak seven pieces of [coagulated] pig blood in bubbling hot water seven times, dip the powder into it and eat this. Once a day. Fu ren liang fang. 脚氣腫痛。白芷、芥子等分，爲末，薑汁和，塗之效。醫方摘要。 Leg qi577 with painful swelling. [Grind] equal amounts of bai zhi and mustard seeds to powder, mix it with ginger juice and apply this [to the affected region]. This is effective. Yi fang zhai yao. 婦人白帶。白芷四兩，以石灰半斤，淹三宿，去灰切片炒，研末。酒服二 錢，日二服。醫學集成。 White [outflow from below the] belt of women. Soak four liang of bai zhi and half a jin of lime [in water] for three nights, remove the lime and cut [the bai zhi] into slices. Roast them and grind them to powder. Ingest with wine two qian. To be ingested twice a day. Yi xue ji cheng. 婦人難産。白芷五錢，水煎服之。唐瑶經驗方。 Women with difficult birth. Boil five qian of bai zhi in water and let them ingest this. Tang Yao, Jing yan fang. 胎前産後。烏金散：治胎前産後虚損，月經不調，崩漏及横生逆産。用白 芷、百草霜等分，爲末。以沸湯入童子小便同醋調服二錢。丹溪加滑石， 以芎歸湯調之。普濟方。 Prior to and after delivery. The “black gold powder.” It serves to cure depletion injury prior to and after delivery, irregular menstruation, collapsing [center578 followed by] leaking, and transverse as well as footling presentation. [Grind] equal amounts of bai zhi and soot scratched from within a chimney of a furnace where all types of herbs had been burned to powder. Boil this in water to bubbling, add boys’ urine and ingest two qian mixed with vinegar. [Zhu] Danxi adds talcum and mixes it with the “decoction with ligusticum chuanxiong [root] and Chinese angelica [root].” Pu ji fang. sign. BCGM Dict I, 122.

576 Xue feng 血风, “blood wind,” a condition introduced in Zhu bing yuan hou lun ch. 15 as brought about by an intrusion of wind evil qi into an unbalanced state of qi and blood, mostly in women. BCGM Dict I, 594. 577 Jiao qi 脚氣, “leg qi.” Painful, weak, swollen legs. BCGM Dict I, 248.

578 Beng zhong 崩中, “collapsing center,” excessive vaginal bleeding outside of a menstruation period. BCGM Dict I, 58.



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大便風秘。香白芷炒，爲末。每服二錢，米飲入蜜少許，連進二服。十便 良方。 Constipation caused by wind. [Grind] fragrant bai zhi to powder. Each time ingest two qian with a rice beverage to which was added a small amount of honey. To be ingested twice in a row. Shi bian liang fang. 小便氣淋，結澀不通。白芷醋浸焙乾二兩，爲末。煎木通、甘草，酒調下 一錢，連進二服。普濟方。 Dripping urine caused by bound qi,579 making the passage [of urine] rough or blocking it entirely. Soak bai zhi in vinegar, bake it over a slow fire, dry it and grind two liang to powder. Boil it with akebia [herb] and glycyrrhiza [root] and send down one qian mixed with wine. To be ingested twice in a row. Pu ji fang. 鼻衄不止。就以所出血調白芷末塗山根，立止。簡便方。 Unending nosebleed. Mix bai zhi powder with the blood that had just left [the nose] and apply this to the bridge of the nose. [The nosebleed] will stop immediately. Jian bian fang. 小便出血。白芷、當歸等分，爲末。米飲每服二錢。經驗方。 Urination with blood. [Grind] equal amounts of bai zhi and Chinese angelica [root] to powder. Each time ingest with a rice beverage two qian. Jing yan fang. 腸風下血。香白芷爲末。每服二錢，米飲下，神效。余居士選奇方。 Release of intestinal wind with blood. [Grind] bai zhi to powder. Each time ingest two qian, to be sent down with a rice beverage. Divinely effective. Yu Jushi, Xuan qi fang. 痔漏出血。方同上，并煎湯熏洗。直指方。 Leaking piles with bleeding. Recipe identical with the one above. In addition, boil [the powder] to obtain a decoction and use this to steam and wash [the affected region]. Zhi zhi fang. 痔瘡腫痛。先以皂角烟熏之。後以鵝膽汁調白芷末塗之，即消。醫方摘要。 Piles with painful swelling. First steam [the affected region] with gleditsia fumes. Then apply a mixture of goose bile and bai zhi to it. This will dissolve [the swelling]. Yi fang zhai yao.

579 Jie qi 結氣, “bound qi,” 1.) an etiological agent of pathological qi halting and congealing at any place in the body. 2.) A condition brought forth by bound qi. BCGM Dict I, 240.

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腫毒熱痛。醋調白芷末傅之。衞生易簡方。 Swelling with poison and painful heat. Apply bai zhi powder mixed with vinegar [to the affected region]. Wei sheng yi jian fang. 乳癰初起。白芷、貝母各二錢，爲末。温酒服之。秘傳外科方。 Breast obstruction-illness580 that has just begun to rise. [Grind] two qian each of bai zhi and fritillaria [root] to powder and ingest it with warm wine. Mi chuan wai ke fang. 疔瘡初起。白芷一錢，生薑一兩，擂酒一盞，温服取汗，即散。此陳指揮 方也。袖珍方。 Pin-illness581 sores that have just begun to rise. Pound one qian of bai zhi and one liang of fresh ginger in a small cup of wine and ingest this warm to stimulate sweating. [The pin-illness] will be dispersed. This is a recipe of Commander Chen. Xiu zhen fang. 癰疽赤腫。白芷、大黄等分，爲末，米飲服二錢。經驗方。 Obstruction-illness and impediment-illness582 with a red swelling. [Grind] equal amounts of bai zhi and rhubarb root to powder and ingest with a rice beverage two qian. Jing yan fang. 小兒丹瘤。遊走入腹必死，初發，急以截風散截之。白芷、寒水石爲末。 生葱汁調塗。全幼心鑑。 Vermilion tumor583 of children. If it moves into the abdomen, [the child] will die. When it has just effused, quickly cut [its pathway] with the “powder to cut [the pathway of ] wind.” [Grind] bai zhi and calcite to powder and apply this mixed with fresh onion juice [to the affected region]. Quan you xin jian. 580 Ru yong 乳癰, “breast obstruction-illness,” a condition of acute putrefication of a woman’s breast. Often encountered if a woman, following delivery, experiences chui nai 吹奶, “inflated breast,” or du ru 妒乳, “jealousy breast.”

581 Ding 丁, “pin[-illness],” also ding 疔, “pin-illness,” refers to a deep-reaching and festering hardness in a tissue, eventually rising above the skin like a pinhead. BCGM Dict I, 127129.

582 Yong ju 癰疽, “obstruction-illness, impediment-illness.” refers to two vaguely distinguished obstructions/impediments of vessels or other ducts inside the body. Qi rushing against the obstruction may cause a local swelling and eventually break through the surface to cause an abscess. BCGM Dict I, 642.

583 Dan liu 丹瘤, “vermilion tumor,” a condition of a red kernel-type swelling without a head developing on the head, in the face, or at the throat. The tumor itself does not ache or itch, but is accompanied by fever with an aversion to cold and pain affecting head and body. BCGM Dict I, 119.



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刀箭傷瘡。香白芷嚼爛塗之。集簡方。 Harm and wounds caused by knives and arrows. Chew fragrant bai zhi until it becomes a pulpy substance and apply this [to the affected region]. Ji jian fang. 解砒石毒。白芷末，井水服二錢。事林廣記。 To resolve the poison of arsenic. Ingest two qian of bai zhi powder with water from a well. Shi lin guang ji. 諸骨哽咽。白芷、半夏等分，爲末。水服一錢，即嘔出。普濟方。 Choking on any type of bones. [Grind] equal amounts of bai zhi and pinellia [root] to powder and ingest with water one qian. The [bone] will be thrown up. Pu ji fang. 毒蛇傷螫。臨川有人被蝮傷，即昏死，一臂如股，少頃遍身皮脹，黄黑 色。一道人以新汲水調香白芷末一升，灌之。覺腹中搰搰然，黄水自口 出，腥穢逆人，良久消縮如故。云以麥門冬湯調尤妙，仍以末搽之。又徑 山寺僧爲蛇傷，一脚潰爛，百藥不愈。一遊僧以新水數洗净腐敗，見白 筋，挹乾，以白芷末，入膽礬、麝香少許摻之，惡水涌出。日日如此，一 月平復。洪邁夷堅志。 Harm caused by poisonous snakes. In Lin chuan someone was harmed by a snake. He lost his conscience and died. One of his arms assumed the size of a thigh, and after a short while on his entire body the skin bloated and turned yellow-black. A Daoist force-fed him with fragrant bai zhi mixed with newly drawn water. [The patient] sensed in his abdomen some shaking and yellow water left from his mouth with a fishy and abominable smell. After a considerable length of time, the [skin] had shrunken and returned to its original state. [The Daoist] stated: “Mixed with an ophiopogon [tuber] decoction, this is even more wondrous! Furthermore, apply the powder [to the affected region].” Also, a monk of the Jing shan si temple was harmed by a snake. One of his legs festered; none of the hundreds of pharmaceutical drugs achieved a cure. A travelling monk used fresh water and repeatedly washed clean the putrid and decayed [leg] until eventually the white sinews became visible. Then he wiped it dry and applied a mixture of bai zhi powder and small amounts of chalcanthite and musk [to the affected region]. Malign water gushed out, and this continued day after day. After one month [the patient’s leg] was fully restored. Hong Mai, Yi jian zhi. 14-07-02 葉。Ye. Leaf [of bai zhi]. 【主治】作浴湯，去尸蟲。别録。浴丹毒癮𤺋風瘙。時珍。

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Control. Prepared as decoction to bathe [a patient], it removes corpse worms.584 Bie lu. It serves to bathe [patients] with cinnabar poison,585 dormant papules and wind itch. [Li] Shizhen. 【附方】新一。 Added Recipes. One newly [recorded]. 小兒身熱。白芷苗、苦參等分，煎漿水，入鹽少許洗之。衞生總微論。 Body heat of children. Boil equal amounts of bai zhi seedlings and sophora [root] in fermented water of foxtail millet,586 add a little salt and wash the [child with it]. Wei sheng zong wei lun. 14-08 芍藥芍音杓，又音勺本經中品 Shao yao, shao read biao, also read shao. FE Ben jing, upper rank. Paeonia lactiflora Pall. Chinese peony. 【釋名】將離綱目、犁食别録、白木别録、餘容别録、鋋别録。白者名金 芍藥圖經，赤者名木芍藥。【時珍曰】芍藥，猶婥約也。婥約，美好貌。 此草花容婥約，故以爲名。羅願爾雅翼言：”制食之毒，莫良于勺，故得藥 名。”亦通。鄭風詩云：伊其相謔，贈之以勺藥。韓詩外傳云：勺藥，離草 也。董子云：勺藥一名將離，故將别贈之。俗呼其花之千葉者爲小牡丹， 赤者爲木芍藥，與牡丹同名也。 Explanation of Names. Jiang li 將離, Gang mu. Li shi 犁食, Bie lu. Bai mu 白木, “white tree/wood,” Bie lu. Yu rong 餘容, Bie lu. Chan 鋋, Bie lu. White specimens are called jin shao yao 金芍藥, Tu jing. Red specimens are called mu shao yao 木芍 藥. [Li] Shizhen: Shao yao 芍藥 is equivalent to shao yao 婥約. Shao yao 婥約 is a “beautiful appearance.” This herb has a beautiful appearance, hence the name. Luo Yuan in his Er ya yi says: “To check food poison, there is nothing as good as a spoon. Hence the drug was named [after a spoon, shao 勺].” This makes sense, too. Zheng Feng in one of his poems states: “When they made fun of each other, they presented each other with shao yao.” The Han shi wai zhuan states: “Shao yao 勺藥 is li cao 離 草.“ Dong zi states: “Shao yao 勺藥 is also called jiang li 將離, ‘about to depart’.” Hence it is given as a farewell present. Those whose flowers have a thousand leaves 584 For a detailed account on the three” corpse worms,” see 12-08-01, Explication.

585 Dan du 丹毒, “cinnabar poisoning,” a condition of skin ailments brought forth by heat poison, manifesting themselves as red rashes as if from burns, as if cinnabar had been pasted there. BCGM Dict I, 118.

586 For jiang shui 漿水, “fermented water of foxtail millet,” see BCGM 05-33.



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are commonly called xiao mu dan 小牡丹, small tree peony, and red specimens are called mu shao yao 木芍藥. That is the same name as is given to mu dan 牡丹, tree peony. 【集解】【别録曰】芍藥生中岳川谷及丘陵，二月、八月采根，暴乾。【 弘景曰】今出白山、蔣山、茅山最好，白而長尺許。餘處亦有而多赤，赤 者小利。【志曰】此有赤白兩種，其花亦有赤白二色。【頌曰】今處處有 之，淮南者勝。春生紅芽作叢，莖上三枝五葉，似牡丹而狹長，高一二 尺。夏初開花，有紅白紫數種，結子似牡丹子而小。秋時采根。崔豹古今 注云：芍藥有二種，有草芍藥，木芍藥。木者花大而色深，俗呼爲牡丹， 非矣。安期生服鍊法：芍藥有金芍藥，色白多脂肉；木芍藥，色紫瘦多 脉。【承曰】本經芍藥生丘陵。今世多用人家種植者，乃欲其花葉肥大， 必加糞壤。每歲八九月取根分削，因利以爲藥。今淮南 真陽尤多，根雖 肥大而香味不佳，入藥少效。【時珍曰】昔人言洛陽牡丹、揚州芍藥甲天 下。今藥中所用亦多取揚州者。十月生芽，至春乃長，三月開花。其品凡 三十餘種，有千葉、單葉、樓子之異。入藥宜單葉之根，氣味全厚。根之 赤白隨花之色也。 Collected explanations. Bie lu: Shao yao grows in the river valleys and on the hills of Zhong yue. The root is collected in the second and eighth month. It is dried in the sun. [Tao] Hongjing: Nowadays, [shao yao] coming from Mount Bai shan, Mount Jiang shan and Mount Mao shan is best. [The root is] white and more than a chi long. It is also found at other places where it is mostly red. Red specimens are of little benefit. [Ma] Zhi: It exists in two types, red and white. The flowers, too, may be of red and of white color. [Su] Song: Today, it can be found everywhere. That from Huai nan is superior. In spring red buds grow in dense clusters. The stem has three twigs with five leaves each. They resemble those of tree peony but are narrower and longer. [The stem] reaches a height of one to two chi. Its flowers open at the beginning of summer. There are several types of red, white and purple color. They form seeds similar to those of tree peony, but they are smaller. The root is collected in autumn. Cui Bao in his Gu jin zhu states: “There are two types of shao yao: herbal shao yao and wood shao yao. Wood [shao yao] has large flowers of a deep color.” It is commonly called mu dan 牡丹, tree peony, but that is wrong. According to An Qisheng’s method to ingest and refine [drugs], “shao yao includes a jin shao yao 金芍 藥 [type. Its root is] white and has much fat meat. And a mu shao yao 木芍藥 [type. Its root is] purple, meagre and has many veins.” [Chen] Cheng: According to the Ben jing, “shao yao grows on hills.” Nowadays, many households plant it and because they wish their flowers and leaves to become fat and big, they need to apply manure. Each year in the eighth and ninth month they harvest the roots and cut them into

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pieces to be sold with a profit as pharmaceutical drugs. Today, in Zhen yang of Huai nan there are especially many [offered on the market]. The roots may be fat and big, but their fragrance and flavor are not fine. When used as pharmaceutical drug, they are of little effect. [Li] Shizhen: The ancients said that mu dan 牡丹, paeonia suffruticosa, from Luo yang and shao yao 芍藥, paeonia lactiflora, from Yang zhou are the best in the world. Nowadays, those used for therapeutic purposes are mostly sourced from Yang Zhou. They grow buds in the tenth month. By spring they are fully grown. In the third month they open flowers. The ware is offered in more than 30 types. They differ in that they may have a thousand leaves, or only a single leaf, or many seeds. The root of single leaf [shao yao] is suitable for use as a pharmaceutical drug. Its qi and flavor are all strongly pronounced. Whether the root is red or white depends on the color of the flower. 14-08-01 根。Gen. Root [of shao yao]. 【修治】【斅曰】凡采得，竹刀刮去皮并頭土，剉細。以蜜水拌蒸。從巳 至未，晒乾用。【時珍曰】今人多生用。惟避中寒者以酒炒，入女人血藥 以醋炒耳。 Pharmaceutical Preparation. [Lei] Xiao: Once collected, remove with a bamboo knife the bark and the soil from its tip. Then cut it into fine pieces, mix them with honey water and steam this, from si hours (9 – 11) to wei hours (13 – 15). Then dry them in the sun and they may be used [for therapeutic ends]. [Li] Shizhen: Today’s people often use [the root] unprepared. They only fry them in wine to remove their innate cold. When they are used as medication for blood [diseases] of women, they are fried in vinegar. 【氣味】苦，平，無毒。【别録曰】酸，微寒，有小毒。【普曰】神農： 苦。桐君：甘，無毒。岐伯：鹹。雷公：酸。李當之：小寒。【元素曰】 性寒，味酸，氣厚味薄，升而微降，陽中陰也。【杲曰】白芍藥酸，平， 有小毒，可升可降，陰也。【好古曰】味酸而苦，氣薄味厚，陰也，降 也，爲手、足太陰行經藥，入肝脾血分。【之才曰】須丸爲之使，惡石 斛、芒硝，畏消石、鼈甲、小薊，反藜蘆。【禹錫曰】别本須丸作雷丸。 【時珍】同白术補脾，同芎藭瀉肝，同人參補氣，同當歸補血，以酒炒補 陰，同甘草止腹痛，同黄連止瀉痢，同防風發痘疹，同薑、棗温經散濕。 Qi and Flavor. Bitter, balanced, nonpoisonous. Bie lu: Sour, slightly cold, slightly poisonous. [Wu] Pu: Shen nong: Bitter. Tong jun: Sweet, nonpoisonous. Qi Bo: Salty. Lei gong: Sour. Li Dangzhi: Slightly cold. [Zhang] Yuansu: Nature cold.



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Flavor sour. The qi are strongly pronounced; the flavor is weak. It rises, and also descends a little. It is a yin in yang [substance]. [Li] Gao: White shao yao is sour, balanced and slightly poisonous. It can rise and it can descend. It is a yin [substance]. [Wang] Haogu: Flavor sour and bitter. The qi are weak. The flavor is strongly pronounced. It is a yin [substance]. It descends. It is a pharmaceutical drug moving in the hand and foot major yin conduits. It enters the blood section of liver and spleen. [Xu] Zhicai: Hematite serves as its guiding substance. [Ingested together,] it abhors dendrobium [stem] and mirabilite. It fears nitrokalite, turtle shells and cat thistles. It is opposed to veratrum [root]. [Zhang] Yuxi: Another copy has lei wan 雷丸, thunderball fungus, instead of xu wan, hematite. [Li] Shizhen: Combined with atractylodes [rhizome] it supplements spleen [qi]. Combined with ligusticum chuanxiong it drains liver [qi]. Combined with ginseng [root] is supplements [all] qi. Combined with Chinese angelica [root] it supplements blood. Fried with wine it supplements yin [qi]. Combined with glycyrrhiza [root] it ends abdominal pain. Combined with coptis [rhizome] it ends outflow and free-flux illness. Combined with saposhnikovia [root] it stimulates the effusion of pox macules. Combined with ginger and Chinese dates it warms the conduits and disperses moisture. 【主治】邪氣腹痛，除血痺，破堅積，寒熱疝瘕，止痛，利小便，益氣。 本經。通順血脉，緩中，散惡血，逐賊血，去水氣，利膀胱大小腸，消癰 腫，時行寒熱，中惡腹痛腰痛。别録。治臟腑擁氣，强五臟，補腎氣，治 時疾骨熱，婦人血閉不通，能蝕膿。甄權。女人一切病，胎前産後諸疾， 治風補勞，退熱除煩益氣，驚狂頭痛，目赤明目，腸風瀉血痔瘻，發背瘡 疥。大明。瀉肝，安脾肺，收胃氣，止瀉利，固腠理，和血脉，收陰氣， 斂逆氣。元素。理中氣，治脾虚中滿，心下痞，脇下痛，善噫肺急，脹逆 喘欬，太陽鼽衄，目濇肝血不足，陽維病苦寒熱，帶脉病苦腹痛滿，腰溶 溶如坐水中。好古。止下痢腹痛後重。時珍。 Control. Abdominal pain caused by evil qi. It removes blood blockage. It breaks through hardenings and accumulations. [It serves to cure] [alternating sensations of ] cold and heat, and elevation-illness587 with conglomeration-illness. It ends pain. It frees the flow of urine. It boosts the qi. Ben jing. It stimulates a proper passage in the blood vessels. It relaxes the center, dispels malign blood, drives out bad blood, removes water qi, frees the passage through the urinary bladder, the large and the

587 Shan qi 疝氣, “elevation-illness qi,” a pathological condition of (1) an item having entered the scrotum, with pain, sometimes ascending, sometimes descending, (2) a condition affecting the scrotum or a testicle, (3) of violent abdominal pain, in some cases associated with constipation and anuria. BCGM Dict I, 419, 417.

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small intestine, and dissolves swelling related to an obstruction-illness.588 [It serves to cure] seasonally prevalent [alternating sensations of ] cold and heat, and being struck by the malign resulting in abdominal pain and painful lower back. Bie lu. It serves to cure qi amassments in the long-term depots and short-term repositories. It strengthens the five long-term depots and supplements kidney qi. It serves to cure seasonal illness resulting in bone heat, and bleeding of women. It can eat up pus. Zhen Quan. All diseases of women. All illnesses prior to and following delivery. It serves to cure wind [intrusion] and supplements in the case of exhaustion. It pushes back heat, eliminates vexation and boosts the qi. [It serves to cure] fright, madness and headache. [It heals] red eyes and clears the eyes. [It serves to cure] intestinal wind, outflow with blood, and piles fistula, as well as effusion on the back with sores and jie-illness.589 Da Ming. It drains the liver, pacifies the spleen and the lung, gathers stomach qi, ends outflow and free-flux, stabilizes the interstice structures, harmonizes the blood vessels, gathers yin qi and restrains counterflow qi. [Zhang] Yuansu. It regulates the central qi and serves to cure spleen depletion with central fullness, obstacle-illness below the heart, pain below the flanks, a tendency to hiccups with lung tension, distention with counterflow, panting and cough, nosebleed related to the major yang [conduits], roughness of the eyes with an insufficiency of liver blood, yang rope [conduit] disease with [alternating sensations of ] cold and heat, belt vessel disease with abdominal pain and a sensation of fullness, as well as a lower back that is flabby as if one sat in water. [Wang] Haogu. It ends discharge with free-flux illness, abdominal pain and a feeling of heaviness at the behind. [Li] Shizhen. 【發明】【志曰】赤者利小便下氣，白者止痛散血。【大明曰】赤者補 氣，白者補血。【弘景曰】赤者小利，俗方以止痛，不减當歸。白者道 家亦服食之，及煮石用。【成無己曰】白補而赤瀉，白收而赤散。酸以收 之，甘以緩之，故酸甘相合，用補陰血，逆氣而除肺燥。又云：芍藥之 酸，歛津液而益營血，收陰氣而泄邪熱。【元素曰】白補赤散，瀉肝補脾 胃。酒浸行經，止中部腹痛。與薑同用，温經散濕通塞，利腹中痛，胃氣 不通。白芍入脾經補中焦，乃下利必用之藥。蓋瀉利皆太陰病，故不可缺 此。得炙甘草爲佐，治腹中痛，夏月少加黄芩，惡寒加桂，此仲景神方 也。其用凡六：安脾經一也，治腹痛二也，收胃氣三也，止瀉痢四也，和 血脉五也，固腠理六也。【宗奭曰】芍藥須用單葉紅花者爲佳，然血虚寒 人禁之。古人云：减芍藥以避中寒。誠不可忽。【震亨曰】芍藥瀉脾火， 588 Yong 癰, “obstruction-illness,”refers to an obstruction of vessels or other ducts inside the body. Qi rushing against the obstruction may cause a local swelling and eventually break through the surface to cause an abscess. BCGM Dict I, 641.

589 Jie-illness 疥, vaguely identifiable skin ailment. BCGM Dict I, 249.



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性味酸寒，冬月必以酒炒。凡腹痛多是血脉凝濇，亦必酒炒用。然止能治 血虚腹痛，餘並不治。爲其酸寒收歛，無温散之功也。下痢腹痛必炒用， 後重者不炒。産後不可用者，以其酸寒伐生發之氣也。必不得已，亦酒炒 用之。【時珍曰】白芍藥益脾，能於土中瀉木。赤芍藥散邪，能行血中之 滯。日華子言赤補氣，白治血，欠審矣。産後肝血已虚，不可更瀉，故禁 之。酸寒之藥多矣，何獨避芍藥耶？以此。【頌曰】張仲景治傷寒多用芍 藥，以其主寒熱、利小便故也。【杲曰】或言古人以酸濇爲收，本經何以 言利小便？曰：芍藥能益陰滋濕而停津液，故小便自行，非因通利也。 曰：又言緩中何也？曰：損其肝者緩其中，即調血也，故四物湯用芍藥。 大抵酸濇者爲收歛停濕之劑，故主手、足太陰經收歛之體，又能治血海而 入于九地之下，後至厥陰經。白者色在西方，故補；赤者色在南方，故瀉。 Explication. [Ma] Zhi: Red [shao yao] frees the flow of urine and serves to discharge qi. White [shao yao] ends pain and disperses blood. Da Ming: Red [shao yao] supplements qi; white [shao yao] supplements blood. [Tao] Hongjing: Red [shao yao] causes slight free-flux. Common recipes resort to it to end pain. It is not inferior to Chinese angelica [root]. White [shao yao] is also ingested for food by Daoists, and they use it to boil stones. Cheng Wuji: White [shao yao] supplements; red [shao yao] drains. White [shao yao] collects [qi]; red [shao yao] disperses [qi]. Sour [flavor] serves to collect. Sweet [flavor] serves to relax. Hence, when sour and sweet [flavors] are combined, this serves to supplement yin blood, [to collect] counterflow qi, and to eliminate lung dryness. It is also said, the sour [flavor] of shao yao restrains body liquids and boosts the camp [qi, i. e.,] blood. It collects yin qi and drains evil heat. [Zhang] Yuansu: White [shao yao] collects [qi]; red [shao yao] disperses [qi]. [Shao yao] drains liver [qi] and supplements spleen and stomach [qi]. Soaked in wine it moves in the conduits to end abdominal pain in the central region. Applied together with ginger, it warms the conduits, disperses moisture and opens blockages. It frees the flow of blocked stomach qi responsible for pain in the abdomen. White shao [yao] enters the spleen conduits and supplements the Central Burner. That is, it is an essential pharmaceutical drug for causing unimpeded discharge. The fact is, all outflow and free-flux are major yin diseases. Hence [shao yao] must not be left out [in a treatment]. Fried glycyrrhiza [root] serves as its assistance to cure abdominal pain. In summer a little scutellaria [root] is added. In the case of a [patient’s] aversion to cold, add cassia. These are recipes of [Zhang] Zhongjing. [Shao yao] has six uses. It pacifies the spleen conduits. That is the first. It serves to cure abdominal pain. That is the second. It collects stomach qi. That is the third. It ends outflow and free-flux illness. That is the fourth. It harmonizes blood vessels. That is the fifth. It stabilizes the interstice structures. That is the sixth. [Kou] Zongshi: Of [the various types of ] shao yao those with a single leaf and red flowers must be used; they are

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fine. However, persons with a blood depletion and cold must abstain from it. In ancient times someone stated: “To omit shao yao [from a medication] is to prevent cold in the center.” This must never be forgotten. [Zhu] Zhenheng: Shao yao drains spleen fire. Its nature and flavor are sour and cold. In winter it must be fried in wine. Abdominal pain is most often related to a rough passage and congealing of blood in the vessels. For such [illness], too, [shao yao] must be fried in wine. However, it is suitable only for curing abdominal pain related to blood depletion; other types [of abdominal pain] must not be treated [with shao yao]. Because of its sour [flavor] and cold [nature] it collects and pulls together, and has no potential of warming and dispersing. For discharge with free-flux illness and abdominal pain it is to be applied fried. In the case of a feeling of heaviness at the behind, it is [applied] without being fried. It must not be used following births because its sour [flavor] and cold [nature] attack the qi of generation and effusion. If there is no other way, it can be used fried with wine. [Li] Shizhen: White [shao yao] boosts spleen [qi]. Red shao yao disperses evil [qi]. It is capable of quickening stagnating blood. Rihua zi says: “Red [shao yao] supplements qi. White [shao yao] supplements blood.” That does not really testify to knowledge. When following a birth the blood is depleted, one must not drain it any further, and hence [shao yao] is to be avoided. There are so many sour and cold pharmaceutical drugs. Why should only shao yao be omitted? Exactly for this reason. [Su] Song: “In his treatments of harm caused by cold, Zhang Zhongjing often resorts to shao yao because it controls cold and heat and frees the passage of urine.” [Li] Gao: Someone said: In ancient times they used sour and astringent [shao yao] to collect [qi]. Why would the Ben jing say that it frees the passage of urine? The answer is: Shao yao can boost yin [qi], nourish moisture and stop body liquids. Hence the passage of urine [is freed.] This is not the result of [an ability of shao yao] to free the passage of urine.” Furthermore, it is also said: “How can it relax the center? The answer is: In the case of an injured liver, the center is to be relaxed, and this will regulate the blood.” It is for this reason that the “decoction with four items”590 resorts to shao yao. In general, sour and astringent [substances] are prepared to medication that is to collect [qi] and halt moisture. Hence [shao yao] controls the collecting potential in the hand and foot major yin conduits, and it is further able to cure the sea of blood, to enter the lowest level below the nine lands, and eventually reach the ceasing yin conduits. White is a color related to the West. Hence [white shao yao] supplements. Red is a color related to the South. Hence [red shao yao] drains. 590 Ingredients include paeonia root, Chinese foxglove rhizome, Chinese angelica root and ligusticum root.



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【附方】舊六，新一十。 Added Recipes: Six of old. 11 newly [recorded]. 服食法。頌曰：安期生服鍊芍藥法云：芍藥有二種，救病用金芍藥，色白 多脂肉；其木芍藥色紫瘦多脉。若取審看，勿令差錯。凡采得，净洗去 皮，以東流水煮百沸，陰乾，停三日，又於木甑内蒸之，上覆以净黄土， 一日夜熟，出陰乾，擣末。以麥飲或酒服三錢匕，日三。服滿三百日，可 以登嶺，絶穀不飢。圖經本草。 The method to ingest [shao yao] instead of food. [Su] Song: An Qisheng’s method to prepare a refined shao yao for ingestion states: “There are two types of shao yao. To rescue someone from a disease use jin shao yao. It is white and has much fat and meat. The mu shao yao is purple, thin and has many veins. When any of these is selected they are to be closely inspected lest a mistake is committed. Once [shao yao] has been collected wash it clean and remove the bark. Boil it in eastward flowing water one hundred times to bubbling, and dry it in the shade. Let it rest for three days and steam it in a wooden container, with its opening on top closed with clean, yellow soil. Within one day it will be done. Remove it and dry it in the shade. Pound it to powder and ingest, with a barley beverage or wine, the amount held by a three qian spoon. Three times a day. Once this has been ingested for 300 days, you will be able to climb on summits and end the consumption of grain without feeling hungry.” Tu jing ben cao. 腹中虚痛。白芍藥三錢，炙甘草一錢，夏月加黄芩五分，惡寒加肉桂一 錢，冬月大寒再加桂一錢。水二盞，煎一半，温服。潔古用藥法象。 Pain related to an abdominal depletion. Boil three qian of white shao yao and one qian of glycyrrhiza [root] – in summer add five fen of scutellaria [root], in the case of an aversion to cold add one qian of unscraped bark from smaller, younger branches of cinnamom trees, in winter at the time of great cold add one qian of cassia –in two cups of water down to one half and ingest this warm. [Zhang] Jiegu, Yong yao fa xiang. 風毒骨痛在髓中。芍藥二分，虎骨一兩，炙爲末，夾絹袋盛，酒三升，漬 五日。每服三合，日三服。經驗後方。 Painful bone related to wind poison in the marrow. Fry two fen of shao yao and one liang of tiger bones and [grind this to] powder. Fill it into a silk bag and soak it in three sheng of wine for five days. Each time ingest three ge, to be ingested three times a day. Jing yan hou fang. 脚氣腫痛。白芍藥六兩，甘草一兩，爲末。白湯點服。事林廣記。

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Leg qi591 resulting in painful swelling. [Grind] six liang of white shao yao and one liang of glycyrrhiza [root] to powder, give it into clear, boiled water and ingest this. Shi lin guang ji. 消渴引飲。白芍藥、甘草等分，爲末。每用一錢，水煎服，日三服。鄂 渚 辛祐之患此九年，服藥止而復作。蘇朴授此方，服之七日頓愈。古人處 方，殆不可曉，不可以平易而忽之也。陳日華經驗方。 Melting with thirst592 and an urge to drink. [Grind] equal amounts of white shao yao and glycyrrhiza [root] to powder. Each time boil one qian in water and ingest this. To be ingested three times a day. Xin Youzhi of E zhu suffered from this for nine years. When he ingested medication it ended and then was active again. Su Pu gave him this recipe. He ingested it and on the seventh day he was suddenly cured. The recipes of the ancients are usually difficult to understand, but should not be discarded carelessly. Chen Rihua, Jing yan fang. 小便五淋。赤芍藥一兩，檳榔一箇，麪裹煨，爲末。每服一錢，水一盞， 煎七分，空心服。博濟方。 The five types of urinary dripping. [Grind] one liang of red shao yao and one areca nut, wrapped in flour and simmered, to powder. Each time ingest one qian, to be boiled in one cup of water down to 70%. To be ingested on an empty stomach. Bo ji fang. 衄血不止。赤芍藥爲末，水服二錢匕。事林廣記。 Unending nosebleed. [Grind] red shao yao to powder and ingest with water the amount held by a two qian spoon. Shi lin guang ji. 衄血咯血。白芍藥一兩，犀角末二錢半，爲末。新水服一錢匕，血止爲 限。古今録驗。 Nosebleed and spitting of blood. [Grind] one liang of white shao yao and two and a half qian of rhinoceros horn [scraps] to powder and ingest with fresh water the amount held by a one qian spoon until the bleeding ends. Gu jin lu yan. 崩中下血，小腹痛甚者。芍藥一兩，炒黄色，柏葉六兩，微炒。每服二 兩，水一升，煎六合，入酒五合，再煎七合，空心分爲兩服。亦可爲末， 酒服二錢。聖惠方。 Collapsing center and blood discharge. With an extreme pain in the lower abdomen. Fry one liang of shao yao until it has assumed a yellow color. Slightly fry six 591 Jiao qi 脚氣, “leg qi.” Painful, weak, swollen legs. BCGM Dict I, 248.

592 Xiao ke 消渴, “melting with thirst,” most likely including cases of diabetes. BCGM Dict I, 567.



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liang of platycladus leaves. Each time ingest two liang, boiled in one sheng of water down to six ge. Then add five ge of wine and boil this again down to seven ge, to be ingested on an empty stomach divided into two portions. It is also possible to ingest two qian of it as powder. Sheng hui fang. 經水不止。白芍藥、香附子、熟艾葉各一錢半，水煎服之。熊氏補遺。 Unending menstruation. Boil one and a half qian each of white shao yao, nutgrass and heat prepared common mugwort leaves in water and [let the patient] ingest this. Xiong shi, Bu yi. 血崩帶下。赤芍藥、香附子等分，爲末。每服二錢，鹽一捻，水一盞，煎 七分，温服。日二服，十服見效。名如神散。良方。 Blood collapse593 below the belt. [Grind] equal amounts of red shao yao and nutgrass to powder. Each time [let the patient] ingest two qian. Boil this with a little salt in one cup of water down to 70% and [let the woman] ingest [the resulting decoction] warm. To be ingested twice a day. Ten ingestions will result in an effect. This [recipe] is named “powder with a divine-like [effect].” Liang fang. 赤白帶下，年深月久不瘥者。取白芍藥三兩，并乾薑半兩，剉熬令黄，搗 末，空心水飲服二錢匕，日再服。廣濟方只用芍藥炒黑，研末，酒服之。 貞元廣利方。 Red and white discharge from below the belt that has not been cured for months and years. Cut three liang of white shao yao and half a liang of dried ginger [to pieces], simmer them until they have turned yellow and pound them to powder. Ingest on an empty stomach with a water beverage the amount held by a two qian spoon. To be ingested twice a day. The Guang ji fang simply [recommends to] grind shao yao, fried until it has turned black, to powder and ingest it with wine. Zhen yuan guang li fang. 金瘡血出。白芍藥一兩，熬黄爲末，酒或米飲服二錢，漸加之，仍以末傅 瘡上即止，良驗。廣利方。 Bleeding from a wound caused by metal objects/weapons. Heat white shao yao until it turns yellow and [grind it to] powder. Ingest with wine or a rice beverage two qian, and gradually increase the dosage. Also, apply the powder to the sore and this will end [the bleeding]. Good success. Guang li fang. 痘瘡脹痛。白芍藥爲末，酒服半錢匕。痘疹方。 Pox sores with swelling and pain. [Grind] white shao yao to powder and ingest with wine the amount held by a half qian spoon. Dou zhen fang.

593 [Xue] beng [血]崩, “[blood] collapse,” is excessive vaginal bleeding. BCGM Dict I, 594.

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木舌腫滿，塞口殺人。紅芍藥、甘草煎水熱漱。聖濟總録。 Wooden tongue with a swelling that eventually fills the mouth and kills that person. Boil red shao yao and glycyrrhiza [root] in water and [let the patient] rinse [the mouth] with the hot liquid. Sheng ji zong lu. 魚骨哽咽。白芍藥嚼細嚥汁。事林廣記。 Choking on a fishbone stuck in the throat. Chew white shao yao to a fine [pulp] and swallow the resulting juice. Shi lin guang ji. 14-09 牡丹本經中品 Mu dan, FE Ben jing, middle rank. Paeonia suffruticosa Andr. Tree peony. 【釋名】鼠姑本經、鹿韭本經、百兩金唐本、木芍藥綱目、花王。【時珍 曰】牡丹以色丹者爲上，雖結子而根上生苗，故謂之牡丹。唐人謂之木芍 藥，以其花似芍藥，而宿幹似木也。群花品中，以牡丹第一，芍藥第二， 故世謂牡丹爲花王，芍藥爲花相。歐陽修花譜所載凡三十餘種，其名或以 地，或以人，或以色，或以異，詳見本書。 Explanation of Names. Shu gu 鼠姑, “rat/mouse aunt,” Ben jing. Lu jiu 鹿韭, “deer leek,” Ben jing. Bai liang jin 百兩金, “[worth] one hundred liang of gold,” Tang ben. Mu shao yao 木芍藥, “tree shao yao,” Gang mu. Hua wang 花王, “king of flowers.” [Li] Shizhen: Mu dan 牡丹 with a cinnabar-red, dan 丹, color is best. Although it forms seeds, seedlings grow on the root. Hence it is called mu dan 牡丹 “male vermilion.” The Tang people called it “tree shao yao 木芍藥” because its flowers resemble those of shao yao/ paeonia, and its trunk resembles a tree. Among all items with flowers, this is the number one, and shao yao 芍藥/paeonia is second. Hence mu dan is commonly called “king of flowers,” and shao yao is the “prime minister of flowers.” The more than 30 types listed by Ouyang Xiu in his Hua pu are named after a region, a person or a color, or any special characteristic. For details see his text itself. 【集解】【别録曰】牡丹生巴郡山谷及漢中，二月、八月采根，陰乾。 【弘景曰】今東間亦有，色赤者爲好。【恭曰】生漢中、劍南。苗似羊 桃，夏生白花，秋實圓緑，冬實赤色，凌冬不凋。根似芍藥，肉白皮丹。 土人謂之百兩金，長安謂之吴牡丹者，是真也。今俗用者異於此，别有 臊氣也。【炳曰】今出合州者佳，和州、宣州者並良。白者補，赤者利。 【大明曰】此便是牡丹花根也。巴、蜀、渝、合州者上，海鹽者次之。 【頌曰】今丹、延、青、越、滁、和州山中皆有，但花有黄紫紅白數色。 此當是山牡丹，其莖梗枯燥，黑白色。二月於梗上生苗葉，三月開花。其



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花葉與人家所種者相似，但花瓣止五六葉爾。五月結子黑色，如鷄頭子 大。根黄白色，可長五七寸，大如筆管。近世人多貴重，欲其花之詭異， 皆秋冬移接，培以壤土，至春盛開，其狀百變，故其根性殊失本真，藥中 不可用此，絶無力也。【宗奭曰】牡丹花亦有緋者，深碧色者。惟山中單 葉花紅者，根皮入藥爲佳，市人或以枝梗皮充之，尤謬。【時珍曰】牡丹 惟取紅白單瓣者入藥。其千葉異品，皆人巧所致，氣味不純，不可用。花 譜載丹州、延州以西及褒斜道中最多，與荆棘無異，土人取以爲薪，其根 入藥尤妙。凡栽花者，根下着白歛末辟蟲，穴中點硫黄殺蠹，以烏賊骨鍼 其樹必枯，此物性，亦不可不知也。 Collected Explanations. Bie lu: Mu dan grows in the mountain vallues of Ba jun and in Han zhong. The root is collected in the second and eighth month. It is dried in the yin (i. e., shade). [Tao] Hongjing: Today it is also found in the East. Those of red color are good. [Su] Gong: It grows in Han zhong and Jian nan. The seedling resembles those of carambola; it develops white flowers in summer and round, green fruits in autumn. In winter the fruits assume a red color, and they do not freeze when it is cold in winter. The root resembles that of paeonia lactiflora; it has white meat and a cinnabar-red skin. The locals call it “[worth] one hundred liang of gold.” That called wu mu dan 吴牡丹 in Chang an is genuine [mu dan]. That commonly used today differs from it; it emits distinctly foul qi. [Xiao] Bing: Today [mu dan] coming from He 合 zhou is excellent. Those from He 和 zhou and Xuan zhou are all good. White [specimens] supplement. Red [specimens] free a passage. Da Ming: This is simply the root of mu dan hua. [Specimens] coming from Ba, Shu, Yu and He 合 zhou are top. That from Hai yan is secondary. [Su] Song: Nowadays it can be found in Dan, Yan, Qing, Yue, Chu and He 和 zhou, but with varying colors of yellow, purple, red and white. [In the opinion of most people] it should be mountain mu dan, with a hard and dry stem of black and white color. The leaves of the seedling grow from the stem in the second month. Flowers open in the third month. The leaves of the flowers are similar to those planted by households, but the petals consist of only five or six leaves. In the fifth month fruit of a black color form; they are as big as “chicken head seeds.”594 The root is yellow-white and may reach a length of five to seven cun, assuming the size of a brush pen. Recently, [this kind of mu dan] has been widely appreciated. To let the flowers appear even more variegated, they always replant them in autumn and winter and cover them with soil until spring when [the flowers] bloom in hundreds of variations. Hence their root has very much lost its original genuine nature and cannot be used for medicinal purposes. It has absolutely no [therapeutic] strength. [Kou] Zongshi: Among mu dan flowers are also some with a medium-bright red or a deep jade-green color. 594 Ji tou zi 鷄頭子, “chicken head seeds” are euryale seeds.

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Only those from the mountains with a single red flower leaf have a root the skin/ bark of which is ideal for an application as a pharmaceutical drug. The merchants on the market occasionally add the skin/bark of the twigs and stem. That is a grave mistake. [Li] Shizhen: Of mu dan only those with a single petal flower of red-white color are entered into medication. Those with a thousand leaves of different kinds are all the results of human intervention. Their qi and flavor are not pure, and they must not be used [for therapeutic ends]. The Hua pu records that especially much [mu dan] originates from Dan zhou, Yang zhou and also Bao xie dao, closely resembling thorns and thistles. The locals use them as firewood. To enter their roots into medication yields especially wondrous results. When [mu dan] hua is planted, give some ampelopsis [root] powder under the root to keep worms/bug away, and give sulphur into the pit to kill moths. If the tree is pierced with a sepia bone it will wither. Such is the nature of items; it, too, must be known. 14-09-01 根皮。Gen pi .

Root skin [of mu dan]. 【脩治】【斅曰】凡采得根，日乾，以銅刀劈破去骨，剉如大豆許，用清 酒拌蒸，從巳至未，日乾用。 Pharmaceutical Preparation. [Lei] Xiao: Once the root is collected, it is dried in the sun. Then open it with a copper knife to remove its bone (i. e., its interior), and cut [the skin] into pieces about the size of soybeans. Mix them with clear wine and steam this from the si hours (9 – 11) to the wei hours (13 – 15). Dry [the pieces] in the sun and they can be used [for therapeutic purposes]. 【气味】辛，寒，無毒。【別録曰】苦，微寒。【普曰】神農、岐伯： 辛。雷公、桐君：苦，無毒。黄帝：苦，有毒。【好古曰】氣寒，味苦、 辛，陰中微陽，入手厥陰、足少陰經。【之才曰】畏貝母、大黄、兔絲 子。【大明曰】忌蒜、胡荽，伏砒。 Qi and Flavor. Acrid, cold, nonpoisonous. Bie lu: Bitter, slightly cold. [Wu] Pu: Shen nong, Qi Bo: Acrid. Lei gong, Tong jun: Bitter, nonpoisonous. Huang Di: Bitter, poisonous. [Wang] Haogu: The Qi are cold; the flavor is bitter and acrid. It is a slight yang in yin [substance]. It enters the hand ceasing yin and foot minor yin conduits. [Xu] Zhicai: [Ingested together,] it fears fritillaria [root], rhubarb root and cuscuta seeds. Da Ming: [During a therapy with it] avoid garlic and coriander. It subdues [the effects of ] arsenic. 【主治】寒熱，中風瘛瘲，驚癇邪氣，除癥堅瘀血留舍腸胃，安五臟，療 癰瘡。本經。除時氣頭痛，客熱五勞，勞氣頭腰痛，風噤癩疾。别録。久



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服輕身益壽。吴普。治冷氣，散諸痛，女子經脉不通，血瀝腰痛。甄權。 通關腠血脉，排膿，消撲損瘀血，續筋骨，除風痺，落胎下胞，産後一切 冷熱血氣。大明。治神志不足，無汗之骨蒸，衄血吐血。元素。和血生血 凉血，治血中伏火，除煩熱。時珍。 Control: [Alternating sensations of ] cold and heat. Clonic spasms caused by wind stroke. Fright epilepsy associated with evil qi. It removes concretion-illness hardenings and stagnant blood abiding in the intestines and the stomach. It pacifies the five long-term depots. It heals obstruction-illness sores. Ben jing. It removes seasonal qi causing headache, visitor heat and the five types of exhaustion, headache and lower back pain related to exhaustion qi. Lockjaw caused by wind [stroke] and repudiation-illness595 ailments. Bie lu. Ingested over a long time, it relieves the body of its weight and boosts longevity. Wu Pu. It serves to cure cold qi, and disperses all types of pain. [It serves to cure] blocked conduit-vessels (i. e., menstruation) of women, blood dripping and lower back pain. Zhen Quan. It opens the passage through blocked interstices and blood vessels. It drives out pus. It dissolves stagnating blood resulting from blows and falls. It reconnects sinews and bones. It eliminates wind blockage and stimulates the release of a fetus and the discharge of the placenta. And it [removes] all kinds of cold and hot blood and qi following delivery. Da Ming. It serves to cure mental deficits and bone steaming596 without sweating, nosebleed and blood spitting. [Zhang] Yuansu. It harmonizes blood, generates blood, cools blood and serves to cure fire hidden in the blood. It removes vexing heat. [Li] Shizhen. 【發明】【元素曰】牡丹乃天地之精，爲群花之首。葉爲陽，發生也。花 爲陰，成實也。丹者赤色，火也。故能瀉陰胞中之火。四物湯加之，治婦 人骨蒸。又曰：牡丹皮入手厥陰、足少陰，故治無汗之骨蒸；地骨皮入足 少陰、手少陽，故治有汗之骨蒸。神不足者手少陰，志不足者足少陰，故 仲景腎氣丸用之，治神志不足也。又能治腸胃積血，及吐血、衄血必用 之藥，故犀角地黄湯用之。【杲曰】心虚，腸胃積熱，心火熾甚，心氣不 足者，以牡丹皮爲君。【時珍曰】牡丹皮治手、足少陰、厥陰四經血分伏 火。蓋伏火即陰火也，陰火即相火也。古方惟以此治相火，故仲景腎氣丸 用之。後人乃專以黄蘗治相火，不知牡丹之功更勝也。此乃千載秘奥，人 所不知，今爲拈出。赤花者利，白花者補，人亦罕悟，宜分别之。 Explication: [Zhang] Yuansu: Mu dan is the essence of heaven and earth. It is the head of all flowers. The leaves are yang; they stimulate generation. The flowers are 595 Lai 癩, “repudiation-illness,” most likely referring to leprosy, “Aussatz.” BCGM Dict I, 293-294.

596 Gu zheng 骨蒸, “bone steaming,” ① a condition of an infectious consumptive disease with a development of vexing heat in the afternoon. ② An illness sign of heat and vexation with a feeling as if this originated in the bones. BCGM Dict I, 197.

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yin; they generate fruits. Cinnabar is of red color; it is fire. Hence it is able to drain the fire hidden in a womb. When it is added to the “decoction with the four items” 597, it serves to cure bone steaming of women. It is also said: Mu dan [root] skin enters the hand ceasing yin and foot minor yin [conduits]. Hence it serves to cure bone steaming without sweating. Lycium root bark enters the foot minor yin and hand minor yang [conduits]. Hence it serves to cure bone steaming with sweating. Spirit deficiency is related to the hand minor yin, and mental deficiency is related to the foot minor yin [conduits]. Hence [Zhang] Zhongjing in his “pills for kidney qi” resorted to it to cure mental deficits. It is also able to cure blood accumulation in the intestines and the stomach, and it is a pharmaceutical drug that must be used when it comes to blood spitting and nosebleed. It is for this reason that it is resorted to in the “decoction with rhinoceros horn and Chinese foxglove [rhizome].” [Li] Gao: In the case of heart [qi] depletion, heat accumulation in the intestines and the stomach, blazing heart fire, and heart qi insufficiency, mu dan [root] skin serves as ruler [substance in recipes]. [Li] Shizhen: Mu dan [root] skin serves to cure hidden fire in the blood section of the four conduits of hand and foot minor yin and ceasing yin. The fact is, hidden fire is yin fire, and yin fire is the minister fire. The ancient recipes relied on nothing else to cure minister fire and this is why [Zhang] Zhongjing in his “pills for kidney qi” resorted to it. People in later times exclusively relied on phellodendron [bark] to cure minister fire. They were unaware of the fact that the [therapeutic] potential of mu dan [root skin] is even better. This is a secret that has been kept for a thousand years, and nobody was aware of it. Here now it is disclosed. Those with red flowers free a passage. Those with white flowers supplement. This, too, is known by only very few. It is essential to distinguish [these different kinds]. 【附方】舊三，新三。 Added Recipes. Three of old. Three newly [recorded]. 㿗疝偏墜，氣脹不能動者。牡丹皮、防風等分，爲末，酒服二錢，甚效。 千金方。

597 Ingredients include paeonia root skin, Chinese foxglove rhizome, Chinese angelica root and ligusticum root.



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Prominence-illness,598 elevation-illness,599 hemilateral dropping [of the scrotum], with a qi swelling causing an inability to move. [Grind] equal amounts of mu dan [root] skin and saposhnikovia [root] to powder and ingest with wine two qian. Very effective. Qian jin fang. 婦人惡血，攻聚上面，多怒。牡丹皮半兩，乾漆燒煙盡半兩，水二鍾，煎 一鍾服。諸證辨疑。 Malign blood rising to the face of a woman and attacking and collecting there, related to much anger. Boil half a liang of mu dan [root] skin and half a liang of dried lacquer, heated until no more fumes develop, in two zhong of water down to one zhong and [let the patient] ingest this. Zhu zheng bian yi. 傷損瘀血。牡丹皮二兩，䖟蟲二十一枚，熬過，同搗末。每旦温酒服方寸 匕。血當化爲水下。貞元廣利方。 Stagnant blood resulting from harm caused by an injury. Heat two liang of mu dan [root] skin and 21 gadflies and pound them together to powder. Every morning ingest with warm wine the amount held by a square cun spoon. The blood will be discharged transformed to water. Zhen yuan guang li fang. 金瘡内漏血不出。牡丹皮爲末，水服三指撮，立尿出血也。千金方。 A wound caused by metal objects/weapons with internal bleeding that fails to leave [the body]. [Grind] mu dan [root] skin to powder and ingest three pinches with water. This will cause an immediate discharge of the blood through urination. Qian jin fang. 下部生瘡，已决洞者。牡丹末，湯服方寸匕，日三服。肘後方。 Sores develop in the lower [body] part and have already opened. Ingest mu dan [root] powder, the amount held by a square cun spoon, with boiled water. To be ingested three times a day. Zhou hou fang. 解中蠱毒。牡丹根擣末，服一錢匕，日三服。外臺秘要。

598 Yin tui 陰㿗, “yin breakdown-illness,” identical with yin tui 陰㿉, “yin (i.e. scrotal) prominence-illness,” a condition of local swelling and pain affecting a male’s private parts. BCGM Dict I, 637/638.

599 Shan qi 疝氣, “elevation-illness qi,” a pathological condition of (1) an item having entered the scrotum, with pain, sometimes ascending, sometimes descending, (2) a condition affecting the scrotum or a testicle, (3) of violent abdominal pain, in some cases associated with constipation and anuria. BCGM Dict I, 419, 417.

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To resolve being struck by gu-poison.600 Pound mu dan root to powder and ingest the amount held by a one qian spoon. To be ingested three times a day. Wai tai mi yao. 【附録】 Appendix. 14-09-A01

鼠姑。Shu gu.

601

Unidentified.

【别録曰】味苦，平，無毒。主欬逆上氣，寒熱鼠瘻，惡瘡邪氣。一名 贜，生丹水。【弘景曰】今人不識，而牡丹一名鼠姑，鼠婦亦名鼠姑，未 知孰是？ Bie lu: Flavor bitter, balanced, nonpoisonous. It controls cough with qi rising in counterflow, [alternating sensations of ] cold and heat, mouse fistula,602 malign sores and evil qi. It is also named xue 贜. It grows in Dan shui. [Tao] Hongjing: It is not known today. Another name of mu dan is shu gu 鼠姑, and pill bugs (41-23), too, are called shu gu 鼠姑. It remains unknown what this could be. 14-10 木香本經上品 Mu xiang. FE Ben jing, upper rank. Aucklandia lappa (Franch) Ling. Costus. 【釋名】蜜香别録、青木香弘景、五木香圖經、南木香綱目。【時珍曰】 木香，草類也。本名蜜香，因其香氣如蜜也。緣沈香中有蜜香，遂訛此爲 木香爾。昔人謂之青木香。後人因呼馬兜鈴根爲青木香，乃呼此爲南木 香、廣木香以别之。今人又呼一種薔薇爲木香，愈亂真矣。三洞珠囊云： 五香者，即青木香也。一株五根，一莖五枝，一枝五葉，葉間五節，故名 五香，燒之能上徹九天也。古方治癰疽有五香連翹湯，内用青木香，古樂 府云氍毹㲮㲪五木香，皆指此也。【頌曰】修养书云：正月一日取五木煮 600 Gu du 蠱毒, “gu-poison[ing].” (1) A poison emitted by certain worms/snakes with an ability to cause varying pathological changes in a person who has taken it in by means of wine or food. (2) Abdominal fullness, in some cases with blood spitting, and blood in the stool and urine. BCGM Dict I, 192 - 193. See BCGM 42-22.

601 Shu gu 鼠姑, “rat/mouse aunt.”

602 Shu lou 鼠瘻, “mouse fistula,” BCGM Dict I, 466, identical with luo li 瘰癧, “scrofula pervasion-illnes.”



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湯以浴，令人至老鬚髮黑。徐鍇注云：道家謂青木香爲五香，亦云五木， 多以爲浴是矣。金光明經謂之矩琵佗香。 Explanation of Names. Mi xiang 蜜香, “honey fragrance,” Bie lu. Qing mu xiang 青木香, “greenish wood fragrance,” [Tao] Hongjing. Wu mu xiang 五木香, “Fivefold wood fragrance,” Tu jing. Nan mu xiang 南木香, “southern wood fragrance,” Gang mu. [Li] Shizhen: Mu xiang 木香 belongs to the group of herbs, cao 草. The original name was mi xiang 蜜香, “honey fragrance,” because its qi are as fragrant as honey. Because chen xiang 沈香 includes mi xiang 蜜香, [aucklandia root] was later renamed mu xiang 木香. The ancients called it qing mu xiang 青木香. Because the root of aristolochia contorta is called qing mu xiang 青木香, later people distinguished [aucklandia] by renaming it nan mu xiang 南木香 and guang mu xiang 廣木 香. Today one kind of rosa multiflora is called mu xiang 木香, and the confusion has truly increased. The San dong zhu nang states: “Five-fold fragrance, wu xiang 五香, is qing mu xiang 青木香. One tree trunk has five roots; one stem has five branches. One branch has five leaves, and there are five nodes between the leaves. Hence it is called ‘five-fold fragrance’. When it is burned, [its fragrance] rises into the nine heavens.” Among ancient recipes is a “decoction with wu xiang and forsythia [fruit] to cure obstruction-illness and impediment-illness”603 including qing mu xiang 青 木香. When the Gu yue fu refers to “the Emperor’s worshipping mat prepared from coarse serge and ‘five-fold wood fragrance’,” it always refers to aucklandia. [Su] Song: “The Xiu yang shu states: ‘On the first day of the first month prepare a decoction with wu mu 五木 to be used for bathing. This lets one reach an old age with moustache and hair remaining black.’ Xu Kai commented: ‘The Daoists call qing mu xiang five-fold fragrance, and they also call it wu mu 五木. It is mostly used for bathing’.” The Jin guang ming jing calls it jupituoxiang 矩琵佗 604香。【集解】【别録曰】木香生永昌山谷。【弘景曰】此即青木 香也。永昌不復貢，今皆從外國舶上來，乃云出大秦國。今皆以合香， 不入藥用。【恭曰】此有二種，當以崑崙來者爲佳，西胡來者不善。葉 似羊蹄而長大，花如菊花，結實黄黑，所在亦有之。功用極多。陶云不 入藥用，非也。【權曰】南州異物志云：青木香出天竺，是草根，狀如 甘草也。【頌曰】今惟廣州舶上來，他無所出。根窠大類茄子，葉似羊 蹄而長大，亦有葉如山藥而根大、開紫花者。不拘時月，采根芽爲藥。 603 Yong ju 癰疽, “obstruction-illness, impediment-illness.” refers to two vaguely distinguished obstructions/impediments of vessels or other ducts inside the body. Qi rushing against the obstruction may cause a local swelling and eventually break through the surface to cause an abscess. BCGM Dict I, 642.

604 Instead of jupituo 矩琵佗, the Jin guang ming zui sheng wang jing 金光明最勝王經 ch. 7, da bian cai tian nü pin 大辯才天女品, “items of Sarasvati, the celestial girl,” 15, qing mu 青木, “Explanation of Names,” writes jusetuo 矩瑟侘.

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以其形如枯骨，味苦粘牙者爲良。江淮間亦有此種，名土青木香，不堪藥 用。蜀本草言孟昶苑中亦嘗種之，云苗高三四尺，葉長八九寸，皺軟而 有毛，開黄花，恐亦是土木香種也。【斅曰】其香是蘆蔓根條，左盤旋。 采得二十九日，方硬如朽骨。其有蘆頭丁蓋子色青者，是木香神也。【宗 奭曰】嘗自岷州出塞，得青木香，持歸西洛。葉如牛蒡，但狹長，莖高二 三尺，花黄，一如金錢，其根即香也。生嚼極辛香，尤行氣。【承曰】 木香今皆從外國來，陶説爲是。蘇頌圖經所載廣州者，乃是木類。又載 滁州、海州者，乃是馬兜鈴根。治療冷熱，殊不相似，皆誤圖耳。【時 珍曰】木香，南番諸國皆有。一統志云：葉類絲瓜，冬月取根，晒乾。 Collected Explanations. Bie lu: Mu xiang grows in the mountain valleys of Yong chang. [Tao] Hongjing: This is qing mu xiang. It is no longer supplied by Yong chang. Today it is always brought here by ships from abroad, and it is said to come from Da qin guo. Nowadays it only serves to make incense; it is not entered into medication. [Su] Gong: There are two kinds of it, and that coming from Kun lun is regarded as best. That coming from Xu hu is not good. Its leaves resemble those of Japanese dock, but are longer and bigger. The flowers resemble chrysanthemum flowers. They form yellow-black fruits. They are found everywhere, and their potential has many usages. When Tao [Hongjing] states that it is not entered into medication, he is wrong. [Zhen] Quan: The Nan zhou yi wu zhi states: “Qing mu xiang comes from Tian zhu; it is an herbal root. It is shaped like glycyrrhiza [roots].” [Su] Song: Today it is shipped here only from Guang zhou. It comes from nowhere else. The root, the stem and the branches resemble those of eggplants. The leaves resemble those of Japanese dock but are longer and bigger. There are also specimens with leaves resembling those of Chinese yam, with a big root and purple flowers. The root and the seedlings can be collected at any time and are used as pharmaceutical drugs. Those with an appearance of withered bones, and with a bitter flavor sticking to the teeth are good. This kind is also found in the Jiang huai region. There it is called tu qing mu xiang 土青木香, “local qing mu xiang.” It is not suitable for medicinal use. According to the Shu ben cao, Meng Chang also often planted it in his garden, and it states that “its seedlings reach a height of three to four chi, with leaves eight to nine cun long. They are creased and soft, and they have hairs. They open yellow flowers.” This, too, may be a kind of tu mu xiang 土木香, “local mu xiang.” [Lei] Xiao: This [mu] xiang has a creeping root forming a leftward spiral. 29 days after it is taken [out of the soil] it turns as hard as a withered bone. If the end of the root is greenish, it is a mu xiang divinity. [Kou] Zongshi: Once when I left the frontier fortress at Min zhou, [I] obtained qing mu xiang and took it back to Xi luo. The leaves resemble those of great burdock, but they are narrow and long. The stem reaches a height of two to three chi. It has yellow flowers, reminiscent of gold coins.



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The root is fragrant. When chewed raw it is extremely acrid and fragrant. It is an excellent substance to stimulate qi movement. [Chen] Cheng: Today, all mu xiang comes from abroad. What Tao [Hongjing] says is correct. The [mu xiang] recorded by Su Song in his Tu jing as coming from Guang zhou is a wood/tree. And those specimens recorded as coming from Chu zhou and Hai zhou, they are aristolochia roots. [Their potential to] cure cold and heat differs greatly. All the illustrations are mistaken. [Li] Shizhen: Mu xiang can be found in all Nan fan countries. The Yi tong zhi states: “The leaves resemble those of loofah. The root is collected during winter months; it is dried in the sun.” 14-10-01 根。Gen .

Root [of mu xiang]. 【修治】【時珍曰】凡入理氣藥，只生用，不見火。若實大腸，宜麪煨熟 用。 Pharmaceutical Preparation. [Li] Shizhen: Whenever it is entered into medication aiming at regulating qi, it must be used raw; it must not have been exposed to fire. If [it is used to cure] repletion affecting the large intestine, it must be baked mixed with wheat flour. 【氣味】辛，温，無毒。【元素曰】氣熱，味辛、苦，氣味俱厚，沈而 降，陰也。【杲曰】苦、甘、辛，微温，降也，陰也。【好古曰】辛、 苦，熱，味厚於氣，陰中陽也。 Qi and Flavor. Acrid, warm, nonpoisonous. [Zhang] Yuansu: The qi are hot. The flavor is acrid and bitter. Qi and flavor are all strongly pronounced. It sinks into the depth; it is a yin [substance]. [Li] Gao: Bitter, sweet, acrid. Slightly warm. It descends. It is a yin [substance]. [Wang] Haogu: Acrid, bitter, hot. The flavor is stronger pronounced than the qi. It is a yang in yin [substance]. 【主治】邪氣，辟毒疫温鬼，强志，主淋露。久服不夢寤魘寐。本經。消 毒，殺鬼精物。温瘧蠱毒，氣劣，氣不足，肌中偏寒，引藥之精。别録。 治心腹一切氣，膀胱冷痛，嘔逆反胃，霍亂泄瀉，痢疾，建脾消食，安 胎。大明。九種心痛，積年冷氣，痃癖癥塊脹痛，壅氣上衝，煩悶羸劣， 女人血氣刺心，痛不可忍，末酒服之。甄權。散滯氣，調諸氣，和胃氣， 泄肺氣。元素。行肝經氣。煨熟，實大腸。震亨。治衝脉爲病，逆氣裏 急，主脬滲小便秘。好古。 Control. Evil qi. It repels poison epidemics and warmth demons. It strengthens the mind. It controls dripping [urine] and lochia. Ingested over a long time it prevents nightmares. Ben jing. It dissolves poison and kills demon essence items. Warmth

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malaria and gu-poison.605 Qi weakness. Qi inadequacy. One-sided cold in the muscles. It guides the essence of medication. Bie lu. It serves to cure all types of qi [related diseases] in the central and abdominal region, pain caused by cold in the urinary bladder, vomiting with [qi] counterflow and turned over stomach. Cholera with outflow. Free-flux illness ailments. It strengthens the spleen and dissolves food. It pacifies a fetus. Da Ming. For nine kinds of heart pain, cold qi that have accumulated over a long time, string-illness,606 aggregation-illness607 conditions with lumps and painful swelling, obstructed qi rushing upward, vexation with heart pressure and emaciation, as well as for blood and qi piercing the heart of women, with unbearable pain, [grind] it to powder and ingest it with wine. Zhen Quan: It disperses nodular qi. It balances all types of qi. It harmonizes stomach qi. It drains lung qi. [Zhang] Yuansu. It stimulates the movement of liver conduit qi. Roasted it replenishes the [qi of the] large intestine. [Zhu] Zhenheng. It serves to cure diseases affecting the throughway vessel, with qi counterflow and internal tension. It controls bladder drainage in the case of blocked urination. [Wang] Haogu. 【發明】【弘景曰】青木香，大秦國人以療毒腫、消惡氣有驗。今惟制蛀 蟲丸用之。常以煮汁沐浴大佳。【宗奭曰】木香專泄决胸腹間滯塞冷氣， 他則次之。得橘皮、肉豆蔻、生薑相佐使絶佳，效尤速。【元素曰】木香 除肺中滯氣。若治中下二焦氣結滯及不轉運，須用檳榔爲使。【震亨曰】 調氣用木香，其味辛，氣能上升，如氣鬱不達者宜之。若陰火衝上者，則 反助火邪，當用黄蘗、知母，而少以木香佐之。【好古曰】本草云：主氣 劣，氣不足，補也；通壅氣，導一切氣，破也。安胎，建脾胃，補也； 除痃癖癥塊，破也。其不同如此。潔古 張氏但言調氣，不言補也。【機 曰】與補藥爲佐則補，與泄藥爲君則泄也。【時珍曰】木香乃三焦氣分之 藥，能升降諸氣。諸氣膹鬱，皆屬於肺，故上焦氣滯用之者，乃金鬱則泄 之也。中氣不運，皆屬於脾，故中焦氣滯宜之者，脾胃喜芳香也。大腸氣 滯則後重，膀胱氣不化則癃淋，肝氣鬱則爲痛，故下焦氣滯者宜之，乃塞 者通之也。【權曰】隋書言樊子蓋爲武威太守，車駕入吐谷渾，子蓋以彼 多瘴氣，獻青木香以禦霧露之邪。【頌曰】續傳信方著張仲景青木香丸， 605 Gu 蠱 is an ancient conceptualization of diseases traced to a magic pathogenic agent. Originally it was assumed to be a most poisonous bug, the only creature in a closed jar surviving competition with hundreds of other poisonous bugs. This bug was believed to be instrumentalized by greedy persons to appropriate the belongings of others. The resulting disease was termed gu du 蠱毒, “gu-poison(ing).” BCGM Dict I, 191.BCGM Dict I, 191.

606 Xuan 痃, “string-illness,” a condition of acute pain located in the abdomen to the left and right of the umbilicus. BCGM Dict I, 591.

607 Pi 癖, “aggregation-illness,” of painful lumps emerging from time to time in both flanks. BCGM Dict I, 371.



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主陽衰諸不足。用崑崙青木香、六路訶子皮各二十兩，擣篩，糖和丸梧子 大。每空腹酒下三十丸，日再，其效尤速。鄭駙馬去沙糖用白蜜，加羚羊 角十二兩。用藥不類古方，而云仲景，不知何從而得也？ Explication. [Tao] Hongjing: The people in Da qin guo successfully use qing mu xiang to cure poison swelling and to dissolve malign qi. Today it is used only in the “pills to check woodborer bugs,” and it is commonly boiled to obtain a juice that is excellent for bathing. [Kou] Zongshi: Mu xiang is particularly suited for draining cold qi that has settled in the region of chest and abdomen. Other [medication] is only second to it. When it is combined with tangerine peels, nutmeg and fresh ginger as assistants and guiding substances, it is especially good, and effects will be achieved even faster. [Zhang] Yuansu: Mu xiang removes blocked qi from within the lung. If it is intended to cure qi nodes blocking the central and the lower [sections of the Triple] Burner, with an absence of normal circulatory movement, it must be applied together with areca nuts as its guiding substance. [Zhu] Zhenheng: To balance qi one resorts to mu xiang. Its flavor is acrid, and its qi are able to ascend. In the case of pent-up qi that cannot be reached otherwise, its application is advisable. In the case of yin fire rushing upward, it will, on the contrary, support the fire evil. Here it is necessary to resort to phellodendron bark and anemarrhena [root] and to add a little mu xiang to assist them. [Wang] Haogu: The Ben cao states: “It controls qi weakness, and qi insufficiency,” [that is,] it supplements [qi]. “It opens the passage of obstructed qi, and it guides all types of qi,” [that is,] it breaks [open pent-up qi]. “It pacifies a fetus, and strengthens spleen and stomach,” [that is,] it supplements [qi]. “It removes string-illness608 and aggregation-illness609 conditions with lumps and painful swelling,” [that is,] it breaks [open pent-up qi]. This is how diverse its [usages] are. Mr. Zhang Jiegu only says that it balances qi, he fails to point out that it supplements [qi]. [Wang] Ji: Together with supplementing pharmaceutical drugs as assistants it will supplement. Together with draining pharmaceutical drugs as ruler [drugs in a recipe] it will drain. [Li] Shizhen: Mu xiang is a pharmaceutical drug for the qi section of the Triple Burner. It is able to raise and to send down all types of qi. All pent-up qi are related to the lung. Hence when it is resorted to for sluggish qi in the upper [section of the Triple] Burner, this is so because it is suited to drain pent-up metal [(i. e., lung,) qi]. When the qi in the center fail to move, this is always related to the spleen. Hence when it is resorted to as appropriate for slugglish qi in the central [section of the Triple] Burner, this is because spleen and stomach prefer fragrant [substances]. In the case of sluggish qi in the large intestine 608 Xuan 痃, “string-illness,” a condition of acute pain located in the abdomen to the left and right of the umbilicus. BCGM Dict I, 591.

609 Pi 癖, “aggregation-illness,” of painful lumps emerging from time to time in both flanks. BCGM Dict I, 371.

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causing a feeling of heaviness in the behind, when the qi of the urinary bladder fail to transform resulting in protuberance-illness610 and dripping, and pent-up liver qi causing pain, it is advisable [to use it] for pent-up qi in the lower [section of the Triple] Burner, because it can open blockages. [Zhen] Quan: The Sui shu says: “When the Emperor visited Tu gu yun, Fan Zigai, governor of Wu wei, because of so much miasmatic qi in the region presented him with qing mu xiang to control the evil [qi] in fog and dew.” [Su] Song: The Xu chuan xin fang [recommends] “Zhang Zhongjing’s ‘pills with qing mu xiang.’ They control yang [qi] weakness and all types of insufficiency. [The recipe is as follows.] Pound 20 liang each of qing mu xiang from Kun lun and fruit from terminalia chebula with a hexagonal stem and give this through a sieve [to obtain a powder]. Mix it with sugar and prepare pills the size of wu seeds. Each time ingest on an empty stomach with wine 30 pills, twice a day. Its effects will be especially fast.” Commandant-escort Zheng omitted the sugar and used white honey instead, and he added 12 liang of antilope’s horn. This use of pharmaceutical drugs does not agree with ancient recipes, but he states it [is a recipe of Zhang] Zhongjing. I have no idea where he may have received it from. 【附方】舊二，新一十九。 Added Recipes. Two of old. 19 newly [recorded]. 中氣不省，閉目不語，如中風狀。南木香爲末，冬瓜子煎湯灌下三錢。痰 盛者，加竹瀝、薑汁。濟生方。 Struck by qi with unconsciousness; the eyes are closed and [the patient] does not speak, similar to a wind stroke. [Grind] nan mu xiang to powder, boil it with Chinese wax gourd seeds and force-feed [the patient] with three qian [of the resulting liquid]. If there is much phlegm, add bamboo stem juice and ginger juice. Ji sheng fang. 氣脹懶食。即青木香丸，見”發明”下。熱者牛乳下，冷者酒下。聖惠方。 Qi [abdominal] bloating with failing appetite. This is [to be treated with] the “pills with mu xiang.” See under “Explication.” In the case of heat [qi], ingest them with cow milk. In the case of cold [qi], ingest them with wine. Sheng hui fang. 心氣刺痛。青木香一兩，皂角炙一兩，爲末，糊丸梧桐子大，每湯服五十 丸，甚效。攝生方。

610 Long 癃, protuberance-illness, a condition of a) passing of urine in small amounts; in serious cases passage is completely inhibited. b) Identical with lin 淋, “dripping.”



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Pain caused by piercing heart qi. [Grind] one liang of qing mu xiang and one liang of gleditisia [pods/seeds] to powder, prepare a paste and form pills the size of wu tong seeds. She sheng fang. 一切走注，氣痛不和。廣木香，温水磨濃汁，入熱酒調服。簡便方。 All types of running influx[-illnesses],611 with painful unbalanced qi. Rub guang mu xiang in warm water to obtain a thick juice, mix it with hot wine and ingest this. Jian bian fang. 内釣腹痛。木香、乳香、没藥各五分，水煎服之。阮氏小兒方。 Abdominal pain as if pulled from the inside by a hook. Boil five fen each of mu xiang, frankincense, and myrrh in water and ingest the [liquid]. Ruan shi xiao er fang. 小腸疝氣。青木香四兩，酒三斤，煮過，每日飲三次。孫天仁集效方。 Elevation-illness612 qi affecting the small intestine. Boil four liang of qing mu xiang in three jin of wine and drink this three times a day. Sun Tianren, Ji xiao fang. 氣滯腰痛。青木香、乳香各二錢，酒浸，飯上蒸，均以酒調服。聖惠方。 Lower back pain related to sluggish qi. Soak two qian each of qing mu xiang and frankincense in wine and steam [the substances] above rice. Then ingest them mixed with wine. Sheng hui fang. 耳卒聾閉。崑崙真青木香一兩切，以苦酒浸一夜，入胡麻油一合，微火 煎，三上三下，以綿濾去滓，日滴三四次，以愈爲度。外臺秘要。 Sudden deafness of the ears. Cut genuine qing mu xiang from Kun lun and soak the pieces in bitter wine for one night. Add one ge of sesame oil, boil this over a mild fire to have it bubble three times and cool down again three times. Then give this through a silk filter to discard the dregs and drip [the liquid into the affected ears] three to four times a day until a cure is achieved. Wai tai mi yao. 耳内作痛。木香末，以葱黄染鵝脂，蘸末深納入耳中。聖濟録。 Pain in the ears. Mu xiang powder. Dip a yellow onion [stalk] into goose fat first and then into the [mu xiang] powder, and insert this into the [affected] ear. Sheng ji lu. 611 Zou zhu 走注, “running influx,” alternative name zou zhou 走疰, “running attachment-illness,” a condition of pain moving in the limbs and body so that the exact location of the pain cannot be determined. BCGM Dict I, 704.

612 Shan qi 疝氣, “elevation-illness qi,” a pathological condition of (1) an item having entered the scrotum, with pain, sometimes ascending, sometimes descending, (2) a condition affecting the scrotum or a testicle, (3) of violent abdominal pain, in some cases associated with constipation and anuria. BCGM Dict I, 419, 417.

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霍亂轉筋，腹痛。木香末一錢，木瓜汁一盞，入熱酒調服。聖濟總録。 Cholera with contorted sinews and abdominal pain. Mix one qian of mu xiang powder with one cup of quince fruit juice, and ingest this mixed with hot wine. Sheng ji zong lu. 一切下痢。不拘丈夫婦人小兒，木香一塊，方圓一寸，黄連半兩，二味用 水半升同煎乾，去黄連，薄切木香，焙乾爲末。分作三服：第一服橘皮湯 下，二服陳米飲下，三服甘草湯下。此乃李景純所傳。有一婦人久痢將 死，夢中觀音授此方，服之而愈也。孫兆秘寶方。 All types of discharge with free-flux illness. Regardless of whether this affects a husband, a wife or a child. Boil one lump of mu xiang, with a diameter of one cun, and half a liang of coptis [rhizome] together in half a sheng of water until [the water] has dried. Remove the coptis [rhizome] and cut the mu xiang [lump] into thin slices, bake them over a slow fire until they are dry and [grind them to] powder, to be ingested in three portions. The first portion is to be sent down with a tangerine peel decoction. The second is to be sent down with a long stored rice beverage. The third is to be sent down with a glycyrrhiza [root] decoction. This has been transmitted by Li Jingchun. There was a woman who suffered from a free-flux illness for a long time and was about to die. She dreamed that Guan yin gave her this recipe. She ingested it and was cured. Sun Zhao, Mi bao fang. 香連丸方。方見黄連下。 Recipe of the “pills with [mu] xiang and coptis [rhizome].” For the recipe, see under “coptis [rhizome]” (13-01). 腸風下血。木香、黄連等分，爲末，入肥豬大腸内，兩頭紥定，煮極爛， 去藥食腸。或連藥擣爲丸服。劉松石保壽堂方。 Intestinal wind with blood discharge. [Grind] equal amounts of mu xiang and coptis [rhizome] to powder and fill this into the large intestine of a fat pig. Closely tie the two ends and boil this until it is extremely pulpy. Then remove the pharmaceutical drugs and eat the intestine. Or pound it together with the pharmaceutical drugs and ingest it as pills. Liu Songshi, Bao shou tang fang. 小便渾濁如精狀。木香、没藥、當歸等分，爲末，以刺棘心自然汁和丸梧 子大，每食前鹽湯下三十丸。普濟方。 Turbid urine similar to sperm. [Grind] equal amounts of mu xiang, myrrh, and Chinese angelica [root] to powder and form with the natural juice of ziziphus date spikes pills the size of wu seeds. Each time send down, prior to a meal, with a salt decoction 30 pills. Pu ji fang.



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小兒陰腫。小兒陽明經風熱濕氣相搏，陰莖無故腫，或痛縮，宜寬此一經 自愈。廣木香、枳殻麩炒二錢半，炙甘草二錢，水煎服。曾氏小兒方。 Yin (i. e., genital) swelling of children. When in a child’s yang brilliance conduit heat and moisture qi clash, the yin stalk (i. e., penis) swells without apparent reason, or it aches and shrinks. In this case it is advisable to let this particular conduit relax, and [the swelling etc.] will be cured as a result. Boil two and a half qian of guang mu xiang and unripe oranges, fried with wheat bran, and two qian of fried glycyrrhiza [root] in water and [let the child] ingest [the liquid]. Zeng shi xiao er fang. 小兒天行，壯熱頭痛。木香六分，白檀香三分，爲末。清水和服。仍温水 調塗顖頂上取瘥。聖惠方。 Children affected by an epidemic, with strong heat and headache. [Grind] six fen of mu xiang and three fen of white sandalwood to powder and [let the child] ingest it mixed with clear water. In addition apply it mixed with warm water to its fontanel to achieve a cure. Sheng hui fang. 天行發斑赤黑色。青木香一兩，水二升，煮一升服。外臺秘要。 Epidemic red and black macules. Boil one liang of qing mu xiang in two sheng of water down to one sheng and ingest [the liquid]. Wai tai mi yao. 一切癰疽。瘡癤疳瘻、惡瘡下疰、臁瘡潰後，外傷風寒，惡汁臭敗不歛， 並主之。木香、黄連、檳榔等分，爲末，油調頻塗之，取效。和劑局方。 All types of obstruction-illness and impediment-illness,613 sores, pimples, gan-illness614 and fistula, as well as malign sores and attachment-illness615 in the lower [body parts], shank sores that following a leaking have been harmed from outside by wind and cold, with a malign, malodorous juice released and a damage that does not close. [The following recipe will] control all of these [illnesses]. [Grind] equal amounts of mu xiang, coptis [rhizome] and areca [nuts] to powder, mix it with oil and repeatedly apply it [to the affected region] until an effect is achieved. He ji ju fang. 613 Yong ju 癰疽, “obstruction-illness, impediment-illness.” refers to two vaguely distinguished obstructions/impediments of vessels or other ducts inside the body. Qi rushing against the obstruction may cause a local swelling and eventually break through the surface to cause an abscess. BCGM Dict I, 642.

614 Gan 疳, “gan-illness,” also: “sweets-illness,” involves several complaints that affect children and adults, with causes and conditions too different to fall into a known disease category. BCGM Dict I, 180-188. 615 Zhu 疰, also zhu 注, “attachment-illness,” “influx-illness,” reflects a notion of a foreign pathogenic agent, originally of demonic nature, having attached itself to the human organism. BCGM Dict I, 688-695.

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惡蛇虺傷。青木香不拘多少，煎水服，效不可述。袖珍方。 Harm caused by malign snakes and venomous serpents. Boil any amount of qing mu xiang in water and ingest [the liquid]. Xiu zhen fang. 腋臭陰濕。凡腋下、陰下濕臭，或作瘡，青木香以好醋浸，夾于腋下。陰 下，爲末傅之。外臺秘要。 Malodorous stench in the armpits and moist yin (i. e., genital) region. Whenever there is moisture and malodorous stench below the armpits and below the yin (i. e., genital) region, in some cases resulting in sores, soak qing mu xiang in good vinegar and hold [the substance] underneath the armpits and underneath the yin (i. e., genitals). Also, [grind it to] powder and apply this [to the affected region]. Wai tai mi yao. 牙齒疼痛。青木香末，入麝香少許，揩牙，鹽湯漱之。聖濟録。 Toothache. Add a small amount of musk to qing mu xiang powder and rub the teeth with it. Also, rinse them with a salt decoction. Sheng ji lu. 14-11 甘松香宋開寶 Gan song xiang. FE Song, Kai bao. Nardostachys chinensis Batal. Chinese spikenard. 【釋名】苦彌哆音扯。【時珍曰】産於川西 松州，其味甘，故名。金光明 經謂之苦彌哆。 Explanation of Names. Kumiche 苦彌哆, read che 扯. [Li] Shizhen: It is produced in Song zhou of Chuan xi. Its flavor is sweet. Hence the name [gan song xiang 甘松香, (lit.: “sweet pine fragrance”)]. The Jin guang ming jing names it kumiche 苦彌哆.。 【集解】【志曰】廣志云：甘松出姑臧、凉州諸山，細葉，引蔓叢生，可 合諸香及裛衣。【頌曰】今黔、蜀州郡及遼州亦有之。叢生山野，葉細如 茅草，根極繁密，八月采之，作湯浴令人身香。 Collected Explanations. [Ma] Zhi: The Guang zhi states: Gan song comes from all the mountains of Gu zang and Liang zhou. It has fine leaves and grows as vines in clusters. It can be processed into incense and it is also used to perfume clothes. [Su] Song: Today it is also found in the zhou and prefectures of Qian and Shu zhou, as well as in Liao zhou. It grows as clusters in the wilderness of mountains. The leaves are as fine as those of imperata [floss grass]. The roots grow extremely dense to each other. They are collected in the eighth month. They are prepared to a decoction that is used for washing to perfume the body.



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14-11-01 根。Gen . Root [of gan song xiang]. 【氣味】甘，温，無毒。【好古曰】平。 Qi and Flavor. Sweet, warm, nonpoisonous. [Wang] Haogu: Balanced. 【主治】惡氣，卒心腹痛滿，下氣。開寶。黑皮䵟𪒟，風疳齒䘌，野鷄 痔。得白芷、附子良。藏器。理元氣，去氣鬱。好古。脚氣膝浮，煎湯淋 洗。時珍。 Control. Malign qi. Sudden pain and a feeling of fullness in the central and abdominal region. It serves to discharge qi. Kai bao. Black skin. Dermal dark spots. Wind gan-illness616 and hidden teeth worms. Piles. Combined with angelica dahurica [root] and aconitum [accessory tuber] it yields good results. [Chen] Cangqi. It regulates the original qi and removes pent-up qi. [Wang] Haogu. Leg qi617 with swollen knees. Boil it to prepare a decoction and use it to wash [the affected region]. [Li] Shizhen. 【發明】【時珍曰】甘松芳香能開脾鬱，少加入脾胃藥中，甚醒脾氣。杜 寶拾遺録云：壽禪師妙醫術，作五香飲，更加别藥，止渴兼補益最妙。一 沈香飲，二丁香飲，三檀香飲，四澤蘭飲，五甘松飲也。 Explication. [Li] Shizhen: The fragrance of gan song is capable of opening pent-up [qi in the] spleen. A small amount added to medication aimed at the spleen and the stomach will greatly arouse the spleen qi. Du Bao in his Shi yi lu states: “Zen master Chou was wondrous in the medical arts. He prepared five fragrancy beverages and added further medication to quench thirst and at the same time to supplement and boost [the qi]. This was extremely wondrous. The first was an aloes wood beverage. The second was a cloves beverage. The third was a sandalwood beverage. The fourth was a lycopus [herb] beverage. The fifth was a gan song beverage.” 【附方】新四。 Added Recipes. Four newly [recorded]. 勞瘵熏法。甘松六兩，玄參一斤，爲末。每日焚之。奇效方。

616 Feng gan 風疳, “wind gan-illness,” a condition of swollen and painful gums brought about by wind heat poison, with loose teeth festering, emitting both pus and blood, and lips and cheek swollen and painful. BCGM Dict I, 161.

617 Jiao qi 脚氣, “leg qi.” Painful, weak, swollen legs. BCGM Dict I, 248.

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A method to cure exhaustion by means of steaming. [Grind] six qian of gan song and one jin of scrophularia [root] to powder and burn it every day. Qi xiao fang. 風疳蟲牙，蝕肉至盡。甘松、膩粉各二錢半，蘆薈半兩，豬腎一對，切炙 爲末，夜漱口後貼之，有涎吐出。聖濟總録。 Wind gan-illness618 and worm/bug teeth eating up almost all flesh. Cut into pieces and fry two and a half qian each of gan song and calomel, half a liang of aloe leaves and one pair of pig kidneys and [grind] them to powder. Rinse [the affected region] at night and then apply [the powder]. Spit out the resulting saliva. Sheng ji zong lu. 腎虚齒痛。甘松、硫黄等分，爲末，泡湯漱之，神效。經效濟世方。 Kidney depletion and toothache. [Grind] equal amounts of gan song and sulphur to powder. Soak it in hot water and rinse [the affected teeth] with it. Divinely effective. Jing xiao ji shi fang. 面䵟風瘡。香附子、甘松各四兩，黑牽牛半斤，爲末。日用洗面。婦人良 方。 Facial gloom and sores caused by wind. [Grind] four liang each of nutgrass and gan song, and half a jin of pharbitis [seeds] to powder and everyday use it to wash the face. Fu ren liang fang. 14-12 山柰綱目 Shan nai, FE Gang mu. Kaempferia galanga L. Galgant. 【釋名】山辣綱目、三柰。【時珍曰】山柰俗訛爲三柰，又訛爲三賴，皆 土音也。或云本名山辣，南人舌音呼山爲三，呼辣如賴，故致謬誤，其説 甚通。 Explanation of Names. Shan la 山辣, Gang mu. San nai 三柰. [Li] Shizhen: Shan nai 山柰 is commonly erroneously changed to san nai 三柰, and also to san lai 三賴. All these are local pronunciations. It is also said that “the original name was shan la 山辣. The Southern people pronounce shan 山 as san 三, and they call la 辣 lai 賴. Hence these errors.” That makes sense. 【集解】【時珍曰】山柰生廣中，人家栽之。根葉皆如生薑，作樟木香 氣。土人食其根如食薑，切斷暴乾，則皮赤黄色，肉白色。古之所謂廉 618 Feng gan 風疳, “wind gan-illness,” a condition of swollen and painful gums brought about by wind heat poison, with loose teeth festering, emitting both pus and blood, and lips and cheek swollen and painful. BCGM Dict I, 161.



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薑，恐其類也。段成式酉陽雜俎云：柰祗出拂林國。苗長三四尺，根大如 鴨卵，葉似蒜，中心抽條甚長，莖端有花六出，紅白色，花心黄赤，不結 子，其草冬生夏死。取花壓油，塗身去風氣。按此説頗似山柰，故附之。 Collected Explanations. [Li] Shizhen: Shan nai grows in Guang zhong. Households plant it. Root and leaves resemble fresh ginger. They have fragrant qi like camphor wood. The locals eat the root in the same way as they eat ginger. They cut it into pieces and dry them in the sun so that the skin assumes a red-yellow color. The meat is white. The ancients called it “cheap ginger.” It may belong to the same group. Duan Chengshi in his You yang za zu states: “Nai 柰 comes only from Fu lin guo. The seedlings are three to four chi long. The root is as big as a duck’s egg. The leaves resemble those of garlic. In its center a very long stem emerges. Six red flowers appear at the tip of the stem. The center of the flowers is yellow-red. They do not form seeds. These herbs grow in winter and die in summer. The flowers are gathered to press out their oil. When it is applied to the body it removes wind qi.” Now, what he says is reminicent of Shan nai. Hence it is added here. 14-12-01 根。Gen . Root [of shan nai]. 【氣味】辛，温，無毒。 Qi and Flavor. Acrid, warm, nonpoisonous. 【主治】暖中，辟瘴癘惡氣，治心腹冷氣痛，寒濕霍亂，風蟲牙痛。入合 諸香用。時珍。 Control. It warms the center. It repels miasmatic epidemics and malign qi. It serves to cure pain in the central and abdominal region related to cold qi. Cholera caused by cold and moisture. Toothache caused by wind and worms/bugs. It is used for the production of all types of incense. [Li] Shizhen. 【附方】新六。 Added Recipes. Six newly [recorded]. 一切牙痛。三柰子一錢，麪包煨熟，入麝香二字，爲末。隨左右㗜一字入 鼻内，口含温水漱去，神效。名海上一字散。普濟方。 All types of toothache. Wrap one qian of san nai zi in flour and bake it over a slow fire until done. Add two zi of musk and [grind this to] powder. Depending on whether [the toothache] is on the left or right side, insert one zi into [the left or right] nostril. Also, hold warm water in the mouth to rinse [the affected teeth] and

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discard it again. Divinely successful. [The recipe] is called “powder from overseas619 with one zi.” Pu ji fang. 風蟲牙痛。仁存方用山柰爲末，鋪紙上卷作筒，燒燈吹滅，乘熱和藥吹入 鼻内，痛即止。 Toothache caused by wind and worms/bugs. The Rencun fang [recommends to grind] shan nai to powder, spread it on paper and form a roll. Burn it over a lamp and blow out the flame. As long as it remains hot blow [the fumes] with the medication into the [patient’s] nose. This will end the pain. 攝生方用肥皂一個去穰，入山柰、甘松各三分，花椒、食鹽不拘多少，填 滿，麪包煅紅，取研，日用擦牙漱去。 The She sheng fang [recommends to] remove the interior from the fruit of the Chinese coffee tree and insert into it three fen each of shan nai and nardostachys [root], and any amount of Chinese pepper and table salt until [the bean] is filled. Wrap it in flour and calcine it until it becomes red. Grind it [to powder] and use it daily to rub the teeth. Then rinse them and discard [the liquid]. 面上雀斑。三柰子、鷹糞、密佗僧、蓖麻子等分，研匀，以乳汁調之。夜 塗旦洗去。 Sparrow speckles on the face. Evenly grind equal amounts of san nai zi, goshawk excrements, litharge and castor beans [to powder] and mix it with human milk sap. Apply this [to the affected region] at night and wash it off in the morning. 醒頭去屑。三柰、甘松香、零陵香一錢，樟腦二分，滑石半兩，爲末。夜 擦旦篦去。水雲録。 To clear the head by removing dandruff. [Grind] one qian [each] of san nai, nardostachys [root] and ocimum [root], one fen of camphor and half a liang of talcum to powder. Apply this [to the head] at night and comb it away in the morning. Shui yun lu. 心腹冷痛。三柰、丁香、當歸、甘草等分，爲末，醋糊丸梧子大。每服三 十丸，酒下。集簡方。 Heart and abdominal pain related to cold. [Grind] equal amounts of san nai, cloves, Chinese angelica [root] and glycyrrhiza [root] to powder. With vinegar prepare a 619 Ever since the Tang physician Sun Simiao (581 – 682?) claimed to have received “from overseas (hai shang 海上) a recipe secretly kept in the Dragon Palace, the term “recipe from overseas,” hai shang fang 海上方, has been used to refer to an exceptionally effective recipe.



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paste and form pills the size of wu seeds. Each time ingest 30 pills, to be sent down with wine. Ji jian fang. 14-13 廉薑拾遺 Lian jiang. FE Shi yi. Alpinia chinensis (Retz.) Rosc. Chinese galangal.620 【釋名】薑彙綱目、蔟葰音族綏。 Explanation of Names. Jiang hui 薑彙, Gang mu. Zu sui 蔟葰, read zu sui 族綏. 【集解】【弘景曰】杜若苗似廉薑。【藏器曰】廉薑似薑，生嶺南、劍 南，人多食之。【時珍曰】按異物志云：生沙石中，似薑，大如蠃，氣猛 近於臭。南人以爲虀，其法削皮，以黑梅及鹽汁漬之乃成也。又鄭樵云： 廉薑似山薑而根大。 Collected Explanations. [Tao] Hongjing: The seedlings of pollia japonica resemble those of lian jiang. [Chen] Cangqi: Lian jiang 廉薑 resembles ginger, jiang 薑. It grows in Ling nan and Jian nan. The people often eat it. [Li] Shizhen: According to the Yi wu zhi, “it grows on sand and among rocks. It resembles ginger and has the size of a snail. Its qi are violent, almost malodorous. The people in the South prepare it to minced pickles. The method is as follows. Remove the skin, soak it in salt water with smoked plums and it is ready.” Also, Zheng Qi states: “Lian jiang resembles [the root of ] pollia japonica, but the root is bigger.” 【氣味】辛，熱，無毒。 Qi and Flavor. Acrid, hot, nonpoisonous. 【主治】胃中冷，吐水，不下食。藏器。温中下氣，消食益智。時珍。 Control. Cold in the stomach. Spitting of water. Inability to eat. [Chen] Cangqi: It warms the center and discharges qi. It dissolves food and boosts wisdom. [Li] Shizhen. 14-14 杜若本經上品 Du ruo. FE Ben jing, upper rank. Pollia japonica Hornst. East Asian pollia. 【校正】併入圖經 外類 山薑。 620 Lian jiang 廉薑, lit.: “cheap ginger.”

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Editorial Correction. Shan jiang 山薑, “mountain ginger,” from “outer groups” in the Tu jing has been incorporated here. 【釋名】杜衡本經、杜蓮别録、若芝别録、楚衡廣雅、㺐子薑㺐音爪，藥 性論、山薑。别録云：一名白蓮，一名白芩。【頌曰】此草一名杜衡，而 草部中品自有杜衡條，即爾雅所爲土鹵者也。杜若，即廣雅所謂楚衡者 也。其類自别，古人多相雜引用。故九歌云采芳洲兮杜若，離騷云雜杜衡 與芳芷，王逸輩皆不分别，但云香草，故二名相混。古方或用，今人罕 使，故少有識之者。者也。其類自别，古人多相雜引用。故九歌云采芳洲 兮杜若，離騷云雜杜衡與芳芷，王逸輩皆不分别，但云香草，故二名相 混。古方或用，今人罕使，故少有識之者。 Explanation of Names. Du heng 杜衡, Ben jing. Du lian 杜蓮, Bie lu. Ruo zhi 若芝, Bie lu. Chu heng 楚衡, Guang ya. Zhao zi jiang 㺐子薑, with 㺐 read zhao 爪, Yao xing lun. Shan jiang 山薑, “mountain ginger.” The Bie lu states: Alternative name bai lian 白蓮; alternative name bai qin 白芩. [Su] Song: This herb is also named du heng, and [the Ben cao] among the herbs of middle rank has already a du heng 杜衡 entry. It refers to the tu lu 土鹵 mentioned in the Er ya. Du ruo 杜若 is [the herb] called chu heng 楚衡 in the Guang ya. They belong to different groups, but the ancients often used them interchangeably. Hence the Jiu ge states: “Collect du ruo from Fragrant Island.” The Li sao speaks of “mixed du heng and angelica dahurica,”621 Wang Yi and others fail to distinguish between them and simply speak of “fragrant herbs.” Hence the two names were confused. Ancient recipes sometimes resorted to it; today it is rarely resorted to. Hence it is little known. 【集解】【别録曰】杜若生武陵川澤及冤句，二月、八月采根，曝乾。【弘 景曰】今處處有之。葉似薑而有文理。根似高良薑而細，味辛香。又絶似 旋葍根，殆欲相亂，葉小異爾。楚辭云山中人兮芳杜若是矣。【恭曰】今 江湖多有之，生陰地，苗似廉薑，根似高良薑，全少辛味。陶云”似旋葍根” 者，即真杜若也。【保昇曰】苗似山薑，花黄赤，子赤，大如棘子，中似 豆蔻。今出嶺南、硤州者甚好。范子計然云：杜衡、杜若出南郡、漢中， 大者大善。【頌曰】衞州一種山薑，莖葉如薑。開紫花，不結子，八月 采根入藥。【時珍曰】杜若人無識者，今楚地山中時有之。山人亦呼爲良 薑，根似薑，味亦辛。甄權註豆蔻所謂㺐子薑，蘇頌圖經 外類所謂山薑， 皆此物也。或又以大者爲高良薑，細者爲杜若。唐時峽州貢之。 Collected Explanations. Bie lu: Du ruo grows in the mountain marshlands of Wu ling and in Yuan ju. The root is collected in the second and eighth month. It is dried in the sun. [Tao] Hongjing: Today it can be found everywhere. The leaves resemble 621 Fang zhi 芳芷 combines two names of angelica dahurica: Fang xiang 芳香 and bai zhi 白 芷.



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those of ginger, but have a line design structure. The root resembles that of alpinia officinarum, but is finer. The flavor is acrid; it is fragrant. Also, because it resembles inula roots, they are likely to be confused. The leaves, though, are slightly different. The Chu ci states: “The people in the mountains love fragrant du ruo.” That is correct. [Su] Gong: Today it is often found in Jiang hu. It grows in yin/shady areas. The seedlings resemble those of alpinia chinensis. The root resembles that of alpinia officinarum. The entire [herb] has a slight acrid flavor. When Tao [Hongjing] states “it resembles the root of inula japonica,” he refers to genuine du ruo. [Han] Baosheng: The seedlings resemble those of alpinia japonica. The flowers are yellow-red. The seeds are red and they have the size of those of zizyphus dates. In their center they resemble alpinia katsumadai [seeds]. Today, specimens coming from Ling nan and Jia zhou are very good. The Fan zi Jiran states: “Du heng and du ruo come from Nan jun and Han zhong. The biggest are the best.” [Su] Song: There is a shan jiang, “mountain ginger,” in Wei zhou with stem and leaves resembling those of ginger. It opens purple flowers and does not generate seeds. The root is collected in the eighth month to be added to medication. [Li] Shizhen: Du ruo is unknown to people. Today it is occasionally found in the mountains of Chu. The mountain people also call it “good ginger.” The root resembles that of ginger, and its flavor, too, is acrid. Zhen Quan commented on alpinia katsumadai [seeds] as zhao zi jiang 㺐子薑. Su Song in his Tu jing, outer group, speaks of shan jiang 山薑. All these are the item discussed here. Some consider large specimens to be alpinia officinarum, and small ones to be du ruo. In the Tang era, it was sent by Jia zhou. 【修治】【斅曰】凡使勿用鴨喋草根，真相似，只是味效不同。凡采得 根，以刀刮去黄赤皮，細剉，用三重絹袋陰乾。臨使以蜜浸一夜，漉出用。 Pharmaceutical Preparation. [Lei] Xiao: For all [medicinal] applications do not [erroneously] resort to the root of “duck chatter herb.”622 They are truly similar! Only the flavors differ. When the root is collected, remove the yellow-red skin with a knife, cut it into fine pieces, wrap it in a triple tough silk bag and let it dry on a yin/shady place. When it is to be applied, soak it in honey for one night, remove it by means of a filter and then use it. 14-14-01 根。Gen. Root [of du ruo]. 【氣味】辛，微温，無毒。【之才曰】得辛夷、細辛良，惡柴胡、前胡。 【頌曰】山薑：辛，平，有小毒。 622 Ya die cao 鴨喋草, “duck chatter herb,” is a term presumably introduced by Daoists. A botanical identification is impossible.

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Qi and Flavor. Acrid, slightly warm, nonpoisonous. [Xu] Zhicai: Combined with magnolia flower buds and asarum heteropoides [root] it yields good results. [Ingested together,] it abhors bupleurum [root] and peucedanum praeruptorum [root]. [Su] Song: Shan jiang: Acrid, balanced, slightly poisonous. 【主治】胸脇下逆氣，温中，風入腦户，頭腫痛，多涕淚出。久服益精明 目，輕身，令人不忘。本經。治眩倒目𥉂𥉂，止痛，除口臭氣。别録。山 薑：去皮間風熱，可作煠湯，又主暴冷及胃中逆冷，霍亂腹痛。蘇頌。 Control. It discharges qi reaching chest and flanks in counterflow. It warms the center, and [removes] wind that has entered the brain, resulting in painful swelling of the head, with much snivel and tears. Ingested over a long time it boosts essence/ sperm and clears the eyes. It relieves the body of its weight and prevents forgetfulness. Ben jing. It serves to cure dizziness with a [tendency to] fall, and unclear eyesight. It ends pain and removes malodorous qi from the mouth. Bie lu. Shan jiang: It removes wind heat from within the skin and may be prepared to an oily soup. Also, it controls sudden cold, cold because of [qi] counterflow in the stomach, and cholera with abdominal pain. Su Song. 【發明】【時珍曰】杜若乃神農上品，治足少陰、太陽諸證要藥，而世不 知用，惜哉。 Explication. [Li] Shizhen: Du ruo is listed in the Shen nong [ben cao] as “upper rank.” It is a pharmaceutical drug serving to cure all types of illness signs related to the foot minor yin and major yang [conduits]. And yet, nobody knows how to use it. What a pity! 14-15 山薑藥性 Shan jiang. FE Yao xing.623 Alpinia japonica Thunb. Wild ginger.624 【釋名】美草。【弘景曰】東人呼爲山薑，南人呼爲美草。【時珍曰】與 杜若之山薑，名同物異也。 Explanation of Names. Mei cao 美草, “beautiful/delicious herb.” [Tao] Hongjing: The people in the East call it shan jiang 山薑, “mountain ginger.” The people in the South call it mei cao 美草, “beautiful/delicious herb.” [Li] Shizhen: With “mountain ginger” it has the same name as pollia japonica, du ruo 杜若, but it is a different item. 623 Given all the authors cited in the following entry Tao Hongjing appears to have been the first to discuss shan jiang, not the Yao xing lun.

624 Shan jiang 山薑, lit.: “mountain ginger.”



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【集解】【藏器曰】山薑根及苗，並如薑而大，作樟木臭，南人食之。又 有㺐子薑，黄色而緊，辛辣，破血氣殊强於此薑。【頌曰】山薑出九真、 交阯，今閩、廣皆有之。劉恂嶺表録異云：莖葉皆薑也，但根不堪食。亦 與豆蔻花相似而微小爾。花生葉間，作穗如麥粒，嫩紅色。南人取其未大 開者，謂之含胎花，以鹽水淹藏入甜糟中，經冬如琥珀色，辛香可愛，用 爲鱠，無以加矣。又以鹽殺治暴乾者，煎湯服之，極除冷氣，甚佳。【時 珍曰】山薑生南方，葉似薑，花赤色甚辛，子似草豆蔻，根如杜若及高良 薑。今人以其子僞充草豆蔻，然其氣甚猛烈。 Collected Explanations. [Chen] Cangqi: Root and seedlings of shan jiang are like those of ginger, but they are bigger. It has the malodorous stench of camphor wood. The people in the South eat it. There is also a zhao zi jiang 㺐子625薑, “ginger of the Zhao people.” It is yellow and firm, with an acrid-peppery [flavor]. It breaks open [accumulations of ] blood and qi and is definitely stronger than the present [shan] jiang. [Su] Song: Shan jiang comes from Jiu zhen and Jiao zhi. Today it can be found everywhere in Min and Guang. Liu Xun in his Ling biao lu yi states: “Stem and leaves are all identical with those of ginger. Only the root cannot be eaten. Also, its flower is similar to that of alpinia katsumadai, just a bit smaller. The flowers grow between the leaves, forming a pink spike similar to wheat. The people in the South collect [the flowers] before they have opened and call them ’flowers holding a fetus.’ They soak them in salt water and store them in sweet distillers’ grain. During winter they assume the color of amber, an acrid [flavor] and an amiable fragrance. It is then used as a delicacy, and nothing else needs to be added. It is also soaked in salt, then dried in the sun and boiled in water to obtain a decoction. To ingest this [decoction] serves to completely eliminate cold qi. Very fine.” [Li] Shizhen: Shan jiang grows in the South. The leaves resemble those of ginger. The flowers are red and very acrid. The seeds resemble alpinia katsumadai [seeds]. The root is similar to that of pollia japonica and alpinia officinarum. Nowadays people fraudulently substitute [the seeds of ] pollia japonica with those [of shan jiang] even though its qi are extremely violent. 14-15-01 根。Gen. Root [of shan jiang]. 【氣味】辛，熱，無毒。 Qi and Flavor. Acrid, hot, nonpoisonous. 【主治】腹中冷痛，煮服甚效。作丸散服，辟穀止饑。弘景。去惡氣，温 中，中惡霍亂，心腹冷痛，功用如薑。藏器。 625 Zhao zi 㺐子, also written Liao zi 獠子, an ethnic group in the South West of China.

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Control. For pain in the abdomen because of cold ingest it boiled in water. Very effective. Ingested prepared as pills or powder it ends hunger without a need to eat grain. [Tao] Hongjing. It removes malign qi, warms the center and [serves to cure] being struck by the malign and cholera, as well as pain in the central and abdominal region related to cold. Its [therapeutic] potential is similar to that of ginger. [Chen] Cangqi. 14-15-02 花及子。Hua ji zi.

Flower and seed [of shan jiang]. 【氣味】辛，温，無毒。 Qi and Flavor. Acrid, warm, nonpoisonous. 【主治】調中下氣，破冷氣作痛，止霍亂，消食，殺酒毒。大明。 Control. It balances the center and discharges qi. It breaks through painful [accumulations of ] cold qi. It dissolves food and kills the poison of wine. Da Ming. 14-16 高良薑别録中品 Gao liang jiang, FE Bie lu, middle rank. Alpinia officinarum Hance. Lesser galangal. 【校正】併入開寶本草 紅豆蔻。 Editorial Correction. Hong dou kou, [listed separately] in the Kai bao ben cao, is integrated here. 【釋名】蠻薑綱目。子名紅豆蔻。【時珍曰】陶隱居言此薑始出高良郡， 故得此名。按：高良，即今高州也。漢爲高凉縣，吴改爲郡。其山高而稍 凉，因以爲名，則高良當作高凉也。 Explanation of Names. Man jiang 蠻薑, “fierce ginger,” Gang mu. The seeds are called hong dou kou 紅豆蔻. [Li] Shizhen: Tao Yinju has said that “this type of ginger first came from Gao liang prefecture and hence was given that name.” Comment: Gao liang is today’s Gao zhou. During the Han it was Gao liang county. The Wu changed it to a prefecture. The mountains there are high and quite cold. This is what it was named after. Hence gao liang 高良 should be gao liang 高凉, “high and cold.” 【集解】【時珍曰】出高良郡，二月、三月采根。形氣與杜若相似，而葉 如山薑。【恭曰】出嶺南者，形大虚軟，生江左者細緊，亦不甚辛，其實



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一也。今人呼細者爲杜若，大者爲高良薑，亦非也。【頌曰】今嶺南諸州 及黔、蜀皆有之，内郡雖有而不堪入藥。春生莖葉如薑苗而大，高一二尺 許，花紅紫色，如山薑花。【珣曰】紅豆蔻生南海諸谷，高良薑子也。其 苗如蘆，其葉如薑，花作穗，嫩葉卷之而生，微帶紅色。嫩者入鹽，纍纍 作朶不散落，須以朱槿花染令色深。善醒醉，解酒毒，無他要使也。【時 珍曰】按范成大桂海志云：紅豆蔻花叢生，葉瘦如碧蘆，春末始發。初開 花抽一榦，有大籜包之。籜拆花見。一穗數十蕊，淡紅鮮妍，如桃杏花 色。蕊重則下垂如葡萄，又如火劑瓔珞及剪彩鸞枝之狀。每蕊有心兩瓣， 人比之連理也。其子亦似草豆蔻。 Collected Explanations. [Li] Shizhen: It comes from Gao liang jun. The root is collected in the second and third month. Its physical appearance and qi resemble those of pollia japonica, while its leaves resemble those of alpinia japonica. [Su] Gong: Specimens coming from Ling nan are big, hollow and soft. Those growing in Jiang zuo are small, hard and not very acrid. They are one and the same item. Today, people erroneously call the small ones du ruo and the big ones gao liang jiang. [Su] Song: Today, they are found everywhere in all the zhou of Ling nan and also in Qian and Shu. Those found in the hinterland are not suitable for medicinal use. In spring [gao liang jiang] develops stem and leaves resembling the seedlings of ginger, but they are bigger. They reach a height of one to two chi, with flowers of red-purple color, similar to alpinia japonica flowers. [Li] Xun: Hong dou kou grow in all the valleys of Nan hai; these are the seeds of gao liang jiang. Its seedling resembles that of common reed, its leaves resemble those of ginger. The flowers form spikes. The tender leaves grow curled with a slightly red color. When they are stored in salt as long as they are still tender, they cling together and do not fall apart. They should be dyed with hibiscus flowers to darken their color. They are good at relieving drunkenness by dissolving the wine’s poison. Nothing else is required to achieve this. [Li] Shizhen: According to Fan Chengda’s Gui hai zhi, “the flowers of hong dou kou grow as tufts. The leaves are thin like reed; they begin to unfold at the end of spring. When the flowers open, at first a stick rises enclosed by large sheaths. When these sheaths break open, the flowers are visible. One spike has tens of stamens of a weak red color, appearing fresh and beautiful, similar to the flowers of peaches and apricots. When the stamens become heavy they sink down like grapes, or like a string of gem stones prepared with fire and like the scissor cut [paper] tree twigs where phenixes perch. Each stamen is the center between two petals, and people compare them to a closely interlocked [couple].” The seeds resemble those of alpinia katsumadai. 【脩治】【時珍曰】高凉薑、紅豆蔻，並宜炒過入藥。亦有以薑同吴茱 萸、東壁土炒過入藥用者。

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Pharmaceutical Preparation. [Li] Shizhen: Gao liang jiang, alpinia officinarum [root], and hong dou kou, [fruit/seeds of ] alpinia officinarum, should be fried before they are used for pharmaceutical purposes. They can also be used as pharmaceutical drugs after being fried with ginger, evodia fruit and the soil from a wall facing East. 14-16-01 根。Gen. Root [of gao liang jiang]. 【氣味】辛，大温，無毒。【志曰】辛、苦，大熱，無毒。【張元素曰】 辛，熱，純陽，浮也。入足太陰、陽明經。 Qi and Flavor. Acrid, very warm, nonpoisonous. [Ma] Zhi: Acrid, bitter, very hot, nonpoisonous. Zhang Yuansu: Acrid, hot, pure yang, floating. It enters the foot major yin and yang brilliance conduits. 【主治】暴冷，胃中冷逆，霍亂腹痛。别録。下氣益聲，好顔色。煮飲服 之，止痢。藏器。治風破氣，腹内久冷氣痛，去風冷痺弱。甄權。轉筋瀉 痢，反胃，解酒毒，消宿食。大明。含塊嚥津，治忽然惡心，嘔清水，逡 巡即瘥。若口臭者，同草豆蔻爲末，煎飲。蘇頌。建脾胃，寬噎膈，破冷 癖，除瘴瘧。時珍。 Control. Sudden cold. Cold [qi] counterflow in the stomach. Cholera with abdominal pain. Bie lu. It discharges qi and boosts the voice. It benefits the complexion. Boiled and [the resulting liquid] ingested it ends free-flux illness. [Chen] Cangqi. It serves to cure wind [intrusion] and breaks open qi [accumulations]. [It serves to cure] abdominal pain resulting from long-lasting cold qi. It ends spleen weakness related to wind and cold [intrusion]. Zhen Quan. [It serves to cure] contorted sinews and outflow with free-flux illness and turned over stomach. It resolves the poison of wind. It dissolves abiding food. Da Ming. To hold a lump in the mouth and swallow the resulting liquid serves to cure sudden nausea and vomiting of clear water within short time. In the case of bad mouth odor, [grind it] together with alpinia katsumadai seeds to powder, boil this and drink [the resulting liquid]. Su Song. It strengthens spleen and stomach. It opens gullet occlusion, breaks open cold [qi] aggregation-illness626 and removes miasmatic malaria. [Li] Shizhen. 【發明】【楊士瀛曰】噫逆胃寒者，高良薑爲要藥，人參、伏苓佐之，爲 其温胃，解散胃中風邪也。【時珍曰】孫思邈千金方言：心脾冷痛，用高 良薑，細剉微炒，爲末，米飲服一錢，立止。太祖高皇帝御製周顛仙碑 文，亦載其有驗云。又穢跡佛有治心口痛方云：凡男女心口一點痛者，乃 626 Pi 癖, “aggregation-illness,” of painful lumps emerging from time to time in both flanks. BCGM Dict I, 371.



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胃脘有滯或有蟲也。多因怒及受寒而起，遂致終身。俗言心氣痛者，非 也。用高良薑以酒洗七次焙研，香附子以醋洗七次焙研，各記收之。病因 寒得，用薑末二錢，附末一錢；因怒得，用附末二錢，薑末一錢；寒怒兼 有，各一錢半。以米飲加入生薑汁一匙，鹽一捻，服之立止。韓飛霞醫通 書亦稱其功云。 Explication. Yang Shining: For belching related to [qi] counterflow and stomach cold, gao liang jiang is an indispensable pharmaceutical drug. Assisted by ginseng [root] and poria it warms the stomach and resolves and disperses wind evil in the stomach. [Li] Shizhen: Sun Simiao in his Qian jin fang states: “For pain related to heart and spleen cold use gao liang jiang. Cut it into fine pieces, slightly fry them and [grind them to] powder. Ingest with a rice beverage one qian and [the pain] will end immediately.” Emperor Tai zu Gao huang di issued an imperial decree to erect a stone stele for the immortal Zhou Dian referring to an effective application of this [pharmaceutical drug]. Also, the [deity] Huiji fo had a recipe for pain at the stomach opening stating: “Whenever males or females suffer from pain at the stomach opening, this is because of sluggish [qi] or the presence of worms/bugs. It is often because of anger that [the stomach] received cold and hence [the disease] arises to eventually affect the entire body. When this is commonly called heart qi pain, this is wrong. Wash gao liang jiang seven times with wine, dry it over a slow fire and grind it [to powder]. Wash nutgrass with vinegar seven times, dry it over a slow fire and grind it [to powder]. Mark both and store them. If the disease results from cold, use two qian of the [gao liang] jiang powder and one qian of the nutgrass powder. If it resulted from anger, use two qian of the nutgrass powder and one qian of the [gao liang] jiang powder. If [the disease] resulted from cold and anger, [use] one and a half qian of each. Give a spoonful of fresh ginger juice and a pinch of salt into a rice beverage and ingest [the powders]. This will end [the disease] immediately.” Han Feixia in his Yi tong also called attention to the [therapeutic] potential [of this drug]. 【附方】舊三，新八。 Added Recipes. Three of old. Eight newly [recorded]. 霍亂吐利。火炙高良薑令焦香。每用五兩，以酒一升，煮三四沸，頓服。 亦治腹痛中惡。外臺。 Cholera with vomiting and free flux. Fry gao liang jiang over a fire until it is scorched and releases fragrant [qi]. Each time boil five liang in one sheng of water three or four times to bubbling and ingest [the resulting liquid] all at once. This also serves to cure being struck by the malign resulting in abdominal pain. Wai tai.

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霍亂腹痛。高良薑一兩剉，以水三大盞，煎二盞半，去滓，入粳米一合， 煮粥食之，便止。聖惠方。 Cholera with abdominal pain. Boil one liang of gao liang jiang, cut to pieces, in three large cups of water down to two and a half cups, remove the dregs and add one ge of non-glutinous rice. Boil this to prepare a congee and ingest it. [The disease] will end immediately. Sheng hui fang. 霍亂嘔甚不止。用高良薑生剉二錢，大棗一枚，水煎冷服，立定。名冰壺 湯。普濟方。 Cholera with unending vomiting. Boil two qian of gao liang jiang, cut to pieces while raw, and one Chinese date in water, wait until [the liquid] is cold again and ingest it. [The vomiting] will be brought to an end immediately. [This recipe] is called “ice vase decoction.” Pu ji fang. 脚氣欲吐。蘇恭曰：凡患脚氣人，每旦飽食，午後少食，日晚不食。若 飢，可食豉粥。若覺不消，欲致霍亂者，即以高良薑一兩，水三升，煮一 升，頓服盡，即消。若卒無者，以母薑一兩代之，清酒煎服。雖不及高良 薑，亦甚效也。 Leg qi627 with an urge to vomit. Su Gong: All persons suffering from leg qi must eat to repletion in the morning, eat little at noon, and eat nothing in the evening. When they feel hungry they may eat a congee of [soybean] relish. If they sense a failure to digest and if this seems to result in cholera, they should boil one liang of gao liang jiang in three sheng of water down to one sheng and ingest the entire [liquid] all at once. This will stimulate digestion. If no [gao liang jiang] is at hand for the moment, it may be substituted with one liang of raw ginger rhizome. Boil it in clear wine and ingest [the resulting liquid]. Even though this may not reach [the therapeutic potential of ] gao liang jiang, it is very effective nevertheless. 心脾冷痛。高良薑丸：用高良薑四兩，切片，分作四分。一兩用陳廪米半 合，炒黄去米；一兩用陳壁土半兩，炒黄去土；一兩用巴豆三十四箇，炒 黄去豆；一兩用班蝥三十四箇，炒黄去蝥。吴茱萸一兩，酒浸一夜，同薑 再炒。爲末。以浸茱酒打糊丸梧子大，每空心薑湯下五十丸。 Heart and spleen pain related to cold. The “pills with gao liang jiang.” Cut four liang of gao liang jiang into pieces and divide them into four portions. Fry one liang with half a ge of long-stored rice until it has assumed a yellow color, and discard the rice again. Fry one liang with half a liang of old wall soil until it has assumed a yellow color and discard the soil again. Fry one liang with 34 croton seeds until they have assumed a yellow color and discard the seeds again. Fry one liang with 34 blister 627 Jiao qi 脚氣, “leg qi.” Painful, weak, swollen legs. BCGM Dict I, 248.



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beetles until they have assumed a yellow color and discard the beetles again. Soak one liang of evodia fruits in wine for one night and fry them together with the [four portions of gao liang] jiang. Then [grind this to] powder and prepare, with the wine that had been used to soak the evodia fruits, a paste to form pills the size of wu seeds. Each time send down on an empty stomach with a ginger decoction 50 pills. 永類鈐方用高良薑三錢，五靈脂六錢，爲末。每服三錢，醋湯調下。 The Yong lei qian fang [recommends to grind] three qian of gao liang jiang and six qian of flying squirrel droppings to powder and each time to ingest three qian, sent down with a vinegar decoction. 養脾温胃，去冷消痰，寬胸下氣，大治心脾疼及一切冷物傷。用高良薑、 乾薑等分，炮研末，麪糊丸梧子大，每食後橘皮湯下十五丸。妊婦勿服。 和劑局方。 To nourish the spleen and warm the stomach, to remove cold and dissolve phlegm, to relieve the chest and discharge qi, to massively cure stomach and spleen pain and all types of harm caused by cold items. Bake equal amounts of gao liang jiang and dried ginger and grind this to powder. Form with a wheat flour paste pills the size of wu seeds. Each time send down following a meal 15 pills with a tangerine peel decoction. Pregnant women must not ingest this. He ji ju fang. 脾虚寒瘧。寒多熱少，飲食不思。用高良薑麻油炒、乾薑炮各一兩，爲 末。每服五錢，用豬膽汁調成膏子，臨發時熱酒調服。以膽汁和丸，每服 四十丸，酒下亦佳。吴幵内翰，政和丁酉居全椒縣，歲瘧大作，用此救人 以百計。張大亨病此，甚欲致仕，亦服之愈。大抵寒發於膽，用豬膽引二 薑入膽，去寒而燥脾胃，一寒一熱，陰陽相制，所以作效也。一方只用二 薑，半生半炮各半兩，穿山甲炮三錢，爲末。每服二錢，豬腎煮酒下。朱 氏集驗方。 Spleen depletion and cold malaria, with more sensations of cold than of heat, and loss of appetite. [Grind] one liang each of gao liang jiang, fried in sesame oil, and dried ginger, baked, to powder. Each time ingest five qian. Mix [the powder] with a pig’s bile to form a paste and ingest this mixed with hot wine when an outbreak nears. [Or,] prepare [the powder] with the bile to pills and each time ingest 40 pills. To send them down with wine is fine, too. Wu Qian, a han lin academy scholar, during the zheng he reign period (1111 – 1118), in the year ding you (1117), lived in Quan jiao xian when a massive malaria outbreak occurred. He resorted to this [recipe] and rescued hundreds of people. Zhang Daheng suffered from this [disease], so much so that he planned to retire. He, too, ingested it and was cured. Generally speaking, when cold effuses from the gallbladder one resorts to pig bile to lead the

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two jiang 薑 (i.e, gao liang jiang and jiang/ginger) into the gallbladder where they remove the cold and dry spleen and stomach. One cold and one heat, [this is] the mutual check of yin and yang. Hence this is effective. Another recipe only [recommends to] grind the two jiang 薑 (i.e, gao liang jiang and jiang/ginger) with half a liang of each of them, and one half raw and the other half baked, together with three qian of baked pangolin scales to powder. Each time ingest two qian. Boil a pig kidney in wine and send [the powder] down with the decoction. Zhu shi, Ji yan fang. 妊婦瘧疾，先因傷寒變成者，用高良薑三錢剉，以豶豬膽汁浸一夜，東壁 土炒黑，去土，以肥棗肉十五枚，同焙爲末。每用三錢，水一盞，煎熱， 將發時服，神妙。永類鈐方。 Pregnant women affected by a malaria ailment that has developed out of a previous harm caused by cold. Cut three qian of gao liang jiang to pieces and soak them in pig bile for one night. Then fry them together with the soil from a wall facing East until they have turned black and remove the soil again. Then bake them together with the meat of 15 fat Chinese dates and [grind this to] powder. Each time boil three qian in one bowl of water and let [the patients] ingest this when an outbreak is about to occur. Divinely wondrous. Yong lei qian fang. 暴赤眼痛。以管吹良薑末入鼻取嚏，或彈出鼻血即散。談埜翁試驗方。 Suddenly painful red eyes. Blow [gao] liang jiang powder with a tube into [the patient’s] nose to let him sneeze. Or, squeeze the nose until it bleeds and this will disperse [the evil qi]. Tan Yeweng, Shi yan fang. 風牙痛腫。高良薑二寸，全蠍焙一枚，爲末摻之，吐涎，以鹽湯漱口，此 乃樂清丐者所傳。鮑季明病此，用之果效。王璆百一選方。 Painful teeth with swelling related to wind [intrusion]. [Grind] a two cun long piece of gao liang jiang and one complete scorpion, baked, to powder and rub the [teeth with it]. Spit out the resulting saliva and rinse the mouth with a salt decoction. This has been transmitted by a beggar in Le qing. When Bao Jiming was affected by this disease, he resorted to it and it was effective. Wang Qiu, Bai yi xuan fang. 頭痛㗜鼻。高良薑生研頻㗜。普濟方。 For headache to be inhaled through the nose. Grind raw gao liang jiang [to powder] and repeatedly inhale this [through the nose]. Pu ji fang.



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14-17 紅豆蔻開寶。 Hong dou kou. FE Kai bao. Alpinia officinarum Hance. Fruit/seed of lesser galangal. 【氣味】辛，温，無毒。【權曰】苦、辛，多食令人舌粗，不思飲食。【 時珍曰】辛，熱，陽也，浮也。入手、足太陰經。生生編云：最能動火傷 目致衄，食料不宜用之。 Qi and Flavor. Acrid, warm, nonpoisonous. [Zhen] Quan: Bitter, acrid. Consumed in large quantities it lets the tongue turn rough and ends any appetite. [Li] Shizhen: Acrid, hot, a yang [substance]. It floats. It enters the hand and foot major yin conduits. The Sheng sheng bian states: “It is extremely able to excite fire, harm the eyes and cause nosebleed. It must not be used as a food.” 【主治】腸虚水瀉，心腹絞痛，霍亂嘔吐酸水，解酒毒。開寶。冷氣腹 痛，消瘴霧毒氣，去宿食，温腹腸，吐瀉痢疾。甄權。治噎膈反胃，虚瘧 寒脹，燥濕散寒。時珍。 Control. Intestinal depletion with water outflow, and a twisting pain in the central and abdominal region, cholera with vomiting of sour water. It resolves the poison of wine. Kai bao. Abdominal pain related to cold qi. It dissolves poisonous qi of miasmatic haze, removes abiding food, warms the intestines in the abdomen, and [serves to cure] spitting and outflow with a free-flux illness ailment. Zhen Quan. It serves to cure gullet occlusion and turned over stomach, depletion malaria with [sensations of ] cold and distension. It dries moisture and disperses cold. [Li] Shizhen. 【發明】【時珍曰】紅豆蔻李東垣脾胃藥中常用之，亦取其辛熱芳香，能 醒脾温肺、散寒燥濕、消食之功爾。若脾肺素有伏火者，切不宜用。 Explication. [Li] Shizhen: Li Dongyuan regularly used hong dou kou as a spleen and stomach medication, and he also availed himself of its acrid, hot and fragrant qualities that are able to clear the spleen and warm the lung, to disperse cold and dry moisture, and to dissolve food. If there is permanent hidden fire in the spleen and the lung, it is not advisable to use it. 【附方】新一。 Added Recipes. One newly [recorded]. 風寒牙痛。紅豆蔻爲末，隨左右以少許㗜鼻中，并摻牙取涎。或加麝香。 衞生家寶方。

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Toothache related to wind and cold [intrusion]. [Grind] hong dou kou to powder and inhale small amounts through the [left or right] nostril, depending on whether [the affected tooth] is on the left or right side, and also rub the teeth with it to generate saliva. It is also possible to add musk. Wei sheng jia bao fang. 14-18 豆蔻别録上品 Dou kou. FE Bie lu, upper rank. Alpinia katsumadai Hayata. Chinese cardamom. 【校正】自果部移入此。 Editorial Correction. Moved here from the “fruit” section. 【釋名】草豆蔻開寶、漏蔻異物志、草果鄭樵通志。【宗奭曰】豆蔻，草 豆蔻也，此是對肉豆蔻而名。若作果則味不和。前人編入果部，不知有何 義意？花性熱，淹至京師，味微苦，不甚美，乾則色淡紫。爲能消酒毒， 故爲果爾。【時珍曰】按楊雄方言云；凡物盛多曰蔻。豆蔻之名，或取此 義。豆象形也。南方異物志作漏蔻，蓋南人字無正音也。今雖不專爲果， 猶入茶食料用，尚有草果之稱焉。金光明經三十二品香藥，謂之蘇乞迷羅 細。 Explanation of Names. Cao dou kou 草豆蔻, Kai bao. Lou kou 漏蔻, Yi wu zhi. Cao guo 草果, “herbal fruit,” Zheng Qiao, Tong zhi. [Kou] Zongshi: Dou kou 豆蔻 is cao dou kou 草豆蔻. This name is meant to distinguish it from rou dou kou 肉豆蔻. If it were identified as a fruit, the flavor would not be fitting. In earlier times, people have referred to it in the “fruit” section. I do not know the reason for this. The flower is by nature hot. When it is shipped to the capital, the flavor is a little bitter and not very delicious. When it is dried, the color is light purple. As it is able to dissolve the poison of wine, it was considered a fruit. [Li] Shizhen: According to Yang Xiong’s Fang yan, “all items present in abundance are said to be kou 蔻.” This may have been the reason for naming this substance dou kou 豆蔻, “beans in abundance.” It is shaped like a bean, dou 豆. The Nan fang yi wu zhi writes [the name] lou kou 漏蔻 because the people in the South do not use a correct reading of characters. Although today it is not specifically treated as a fruit, it is used for preparing teas and food, and it is also called cao guo 草果, “herb fruit.” The Jin guang ming jing lists it as one of the 32 types of fragrant medications and refers to it as suqimiluoxi 蘇乞 迷羅細.628 628 Instead of suqimiluoxi 蘇乞迷羅细, the Jin guang ming zui sheng wang jing 金光明最勝 王經 ch. 7, da bian cai tian nü pin 大辯才天女品, 大辯才天女品, “items of Sarasvati, the celestial girl,” 15, xi dou kou 細豆蔻, gives the name as suqimiluo 蘇泣迷羅.



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【集解】【别録曰】豆蔻生南海。【恭曰】苗似山薑，花黄白色，苗根及 子亦似杜若。【頌曰】草豆蔻今嶺南皆有之。苗似蘆，其葉似山薑、杜若 輩，根似高良薑。二月開花作穗，房生於莖下，嫩葉卷之而生，初如芙蓉 花，微紅，穗頭深紅色。其葉漸展，花漸出，而色漸淡。亦有黄白色者。 南人多采花以當果，尤貴其嫩者。并穗入鹽同淹治，疊疊作朶不散。又以 木槿花同浸，欲其色紅爾。其結實若龍眼子而鋭，皮無鱗甲，皮中子如石 榴瓣，夏月熟時采之，暴乾。根苗微作樟木香，根、莖、子並辛香。【珣 曰】豆蔻生交趾。其根似益智，皮殻小厚。核如石榴而辛香，葉如芄蘭而 小。三月采其葉，細破，陰乾用，味近苦而有甘。【時珍曰】草豆蔻、草 果雖是一物，然微有不同。今建寧所産豆蔻，大如龍眼而形微長，其皮黄 白，薄而稜峭，其仁大如縮砂仁而辛香氣和。滇、廣所産草果，長大如訶 子，其皮黑厚而稜密，其子粗而辛臭，正如班蝥之氣。彼人皆用芼茶及作 食料，恒用之物。廣人取生草蔻入梅汁，鹽漬令紅，暴乾薦酒，名紅鹽草 果。其初結小者，名鸚哥舌。元朝飲膳皆以草果爲上供。南人復用一種火 楊梅僞充草豆蔻，其形圓而粗，氣味辛猛而不和，人亦多用之。或云即山 薑實也，不可不辨。 Collected Explanations. Bie lu: Dou kou grows in Nan hai. [Su] Gong: The seedlings resemble those of alpinia japonica. The flowers are yellow-white. Seedlings, root and seeds are also similar to those of pollia japonica. [Su] Song: Nowadays, cao dou kou can be found in Ling nan everywhere. The seedlings resemble reed. Its leaves resemble those of [herbs] like alpinia japonica and pollia japonica. The root resembles that of alpinia officinarum. The flowers open in the second month forming spikes. The capsules grow below the stem. The tender leaves grow curled. The flowers in the beginning look like Indian lotus flowers. They are light red. The end of the spikes is deep red. While the leaves gradually spread, the flowers gradually come out and their color gradually fades. There are also those of a yellow-white color. The southerners often collect the flowers and take them as fruit, and they especially prefer the tender ones. Also, they prepare them by steeping them together with salt in water. This way they are bound together and do not fall apart. Also, they soak them together with hibiscus flowers to let their color turn red. The fruits resemble longan seeds, but are pointed and the skin has no scales. The seeds inside the skin resemble pomegranade seed capsules. They are collected when they have ripened during summer months, and are dried in the sun. The root and the seedling have some slight camphor wood fragrance. Root, stem and seeds are all acrid and fragrant. [Li] Xun: Dou kou grows in Jiao zhi. The root resembles alpinia [fruit]. The skin is a slightly thick shell. The kernels are like pomegranade [kernels], but are acrid and fragrant. The leaves resemble metaplexis [leaves], but are smaller. The leaves are collected in the third month. They are cut into small pieces and dried on a yin/shady place, and

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are then used [for therapeutic purposes]. The flavor is somewhat bitter and has some sweetness. [Li] Shizhen: Although cao dou kou and cao guo are one identical item, there are some minor differences. The dou kou produced in Jian ning today is as big as longan [seeds], just a little longer. Its skin is yellow-white, thin, with sharp edges. The kernels are as big as amomum villosum seed kernels; they are acrid, fragrant and their qi are harmonious.The cao guo produced in Dian and Guang is as long as terminalia fruit. The skin is black, thick and has sharp edges in close distance. The seeds are crude, acrid and malodorous, resembling the qi of blister beetles. The locals there use it to prepare tea and food. It is a commonly used item. The people in Guang take fresh cao kou and give it into plum juice. Then they soak them in salt water until they have turned red. They dry them in the sun and serve them with wine. They call them “red salted cao guo.” In the beginning when they are small, they are called “tongue of the elder brother parrot.” During the Yuan dynasty, cao guo was always served on the highest levels of banquets. The Southerners fraudulently replace cao dou kou with a fire willow plum, huo yang mei. It is round and crude, with qi and flavor acrid, violent and not harmonious. But the people often resort to it. Some say that it is the fruit of alpinia japonica. One must distinguish between them. 【修治】【斅曰】凡使須去蒂，取向裏子及皮，用茱萸同於鏊上緩炒。待 茱萸微黄黑，即去茱萸，取草豆蔻皮及子杵用之。【時珍曰】今人惟以麪 裹煻火煨熟，去皮用之。 Pharmaceutical Preparation. [Lei] Xiao. For all applications the fruit base must be removed. Take the seed and the skin facing the interior and fry this together with evodia fruit in a pan over a slow fire. Wait until the evodia fruit has slightly turned yellow-black and then discard the evodia fruit. Pound the cao dou kou skin and seed and then it may be used. [Li] Shizhen: Today’s people only wrap it in wheat flour and bake it over a slow fire until it is done. Then they discard the skin and use it. 14-18-01 仁。Ren. Kernels [of dou kou]. 【氣味】辛，温，濇，無毒。【好古曰】大辛熱，陽也，浮也。入足太 陰、陽明經。 Qi and Flavor. Acrid, warm, astringent, nonpoisonous. [Wang] Haogu: Very acrid and hot. A yang [substance]. It floats. It enters the foot major yin and yang brilliance conduits. 【主治】温中，心腹痛，嘔吐，去口臭氣。别録。下氣，止霍亂，一切冷 氣，消酒毒。開寶。調中補胃，健脾消食，去客寒，心與胃痛。李杲。治



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瘴癘寒瘧，傷暑吐下洩痢，噎膈反胃，痞滿吐酸，痰飲積聚，婦人惡阻帶 下，除寒燥濕，開鬱破氣，殺魚肉毒。制丹砂。時珍。 Control. It warms the center. [It serves to cure] pain affecting the central and abdominal region. Vomiting. It removes the qi of bad mouth odor. Bie lu. It discharges qi, ends cholera and all types of cold qi. It dissolves the poison of wine. Kai bao. It regulates the center and supplements the stomach [qi], strengthens the spleen and dissolves food. It removes visiting cold and pain affecting heart and stomach. Li Gao. It serves to cure miasmatic epidemics and cold malaria, harm caused by summerheat with vomiting and discharge with free-flow and free-flux illness, gullet occlusion and turned over stomach, obstacle-illness with a feeling of fullness and spitting of sour [liquid], phlegm rheum and [qi] accumulation, and malign obstruction629 of females below the belt. It removes cold and dries moisture. It opens and breaks through pent-up qi. It kills the poison of fish and meat. It checks [the effects of ] cinnabar. [Li] Shizhen. 【發明】【弘景曰】豆蔻辛烈甚香，可常食之。其五和糝中物皆宜人。豆 蔻、廉薑、枸櫞、甘蕉、麂目是也。【宗奭曰】草豆蔻氣味極辛微香，性 温而調散冷氣甚速。虚弱不能飲食者，宜此與木瓜、烏梅、縮砂、益智、 麴糵、甘草、生薑同用也。【杲曰】風寒客邪在胃口之上，當心作疼者， 宜煨熟用之。【震亨曰】草豆蔻性温，能散滯氣，消膈上痰。若明知身受 寒邪，口食寒物，胃脘作疼，方可温散，用之如鼓應桴。或濕痰鬱結成病 者亦效。若熱鬱者不可用，恐積温成熱也，必用巵子之劑。【時珍曰】豆 蔻治病，取其辛熱浮散，能入太陰陽明，除寒燥濕，開鬱化食之力而已。 南地卑下，山嵐烟瘴，飲啖酸鹹，脾胃常多寒濕鬱滯之病。故食料必用， 與之相宜。然過多亦能助脾熱，傷肺損目。或云與知母同用，治瘴瘧寒 熱，取其一陰一陽無偏勝之害。蓋草果治太陰獨勝之寒，知母治陽明獨勝 之火也。 Explication. [Tao] Hongjing: Dou kou is extremely acrid and very fragrant. It can be consumed regularly. The items combined in the “five-fold harmonious powder” are all good for humans. They include dou kou, kaempferia [rhizome], citrus [fruit], bananas and muntjac eyes.630 [Kou] Zongshi: The qi of cao dou kou are slightly fragrant and the flavor is extremely acrid. Its nature is warm and it very quickly regulates and disperses cold qi. [Patients] who are depleted and weak and unable to drink and eat, they should resort to it together with quince, smoked plums, amomum villosum [seeds], galangal [fruit], distiller’s yeast, glycyrrhiza [root] and fresh ginger. [Li] Gao: When wind and cold are present as visitor qi above the stomach opening, and this

629 E zu 惡阻, “malign obstruction,” a condition of frequent nausea and vomiting in the early stages of pregnancy. BCGM Dict I. 145.

630 Ji mu 麂目, “muntjac eyes,” a fruit of unknown botanical identity.

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inevitably causes heart pain, it is advisable to bake it over a slow fire until done and use it [for therapeutic purposes]. [Zhu] Zhenheng: Cao dou kou is of warm nature; it is capable of dispersing sluggish qi and of dissolving phlegm above the diaphragm. If it is very clear that the body has received cold evil, in that one has consumed cold items, and as a result the stomach duct aches, it will be able to warm [the stomach] and disperse [the evil qi]. Its application will be followed by an effect as immediately as the beating of a drum is followed by the sound of the drum. It is also effective when moisture and phlegm are pent-up in nodes causing a disease. If it is a case of pent-up heat [qi], it must not be used, lest its warm [qi] accumulate and generate heat. In such cases a gardenia preparation is to be resorted to. [Li] Shizhen: When diseases are cured with dou kou, one makes use of its being acrid, hot, floating and dispersing, and of its potential to enter the major yin and yang brilliance [conduits], remove cold and dry moisture, open pent-up [qi] and transform food. The land in the South is low-lying. The mountain fog is miasmatic. [The people there] prefer sour and salty [food] and their spleen and stomach are regularly affected by diseases of pent-up and sluggish cold [qi] and moisture. Hence they must consume [dou kou] with their food; it is beneficial. Still, too much of it can support spleen heat, and this will harm the lung and damage the eyes. Some say, when used together with anemarrhena [root] it serves to cure miasmatic malaria with [alternating sensations of ] cold and heat. This is resorting to [a medication combining] one yin and one yang without risking the harm of any onesided dominance. The fact is, cao guo serves to cure cold that unilaterally dominates in the major yin [sphere], while anemarrhena [root] serves to cure fire that unilaterally dominates in the yang brilliance [sphere]. 【附方】舊一，新九。 Added Recipes. One of old. Nine newly [recorded]. 心腹脹滿，短氣。用草豆蔻一兩，去皮爲末。以木瓜生薑湯，調服半錢。 千金方。 Distension and a feeling of fullness in the central and abdominal region, with short [breathing] qi. Remove the skin of one liang of cao dou kou and [grind it to] powder. Mix it with a quince and fresh ginger decoction and ingest half a qian. Qian jin fang. 胃弱嘔逆不食。用草豆蔻仁二枚，高良薑半兩，水一盞，煮取汁，入生薑 汁半合，和白麪作撥刀，以羊肉臛汁煮熟，空心食之。普濟。 Stomach weakness. Vomiting with [qi] counterflow and an inability to eat. Boil two cao dou kou kernels and half a liang of alpinia officinarum [root] in one cup of water to obtain a juice. Add half a ge of fresh ginger juice, mix it with white wheat



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and spread this on a knife. Heat it with mutton syrup until done and eat this on an empty stomach. Pu ji. 霍亂煩渴。草豆蔻、黄連各一錢半，烏豆五十粒，生薑三片，水煎服之。 聖濟總録。 Cholera with vexing thirst. Boil one and a half qian each of cao dou kou and coptis [rhizome], 50 croton [seeds] and three slices of fresh ginger in water and ingest this. Sheng ji zong lu. 虚瘧自汗不止。用草果一枚，麪裹煨熟，連麪研，入平胃散二錢，水煎 服。經效濟世方。 Depletion malaria with spontaneous, unending sweating. Bake one cao guo fruit, wrapped in wheat, over a slow fire until done and grind it together with the wheat. Add two qian of the “powder to balance the stomach,”631 boil this in water and eat it. Jing xiao ji shi fang. 氣虚瘴瘧。熱少寒多，或單寒不熱，或虚熱不寒。用草果仁、熟附子等 分，水一盞，薑七片，棗一枚，煎半盞服。名果附湯。濟生方。 Qi depletion and miasmatic malaria, with [sensations of ] much heat and little cold, or only cold and no heat at all, or a depletion heat without cold. Boil equal amounts of cao guo kernels and prepared aconitum [accessory tuber] in one cup of water with seven slices of ginger and one Chinese date down to half a cup and ingest this. This [recipe] is called “decoction with [cao] guo and aconitum [accessory tuber].” Ji sheng fang. 脾寒瘧疾。寒多熱少，或單寒不熱，或大便洩而小便多，不能食。用草果 仁、熟附子各二錢半，生薑七片，棗肉二枚，水三盞，煎一盞，温服。醫 方大成。 Spleen cold and malaria illness. With [sensations of ] much cold and little heat, or only cold and no heat at all, or profuse outflow of defecation and little urination, with an inability to eat. Boil two and a half qian each of cao guo kernels and prepared aconitum [accessory tuber], seven slices of ginger and the pulp of two Chinese dates in three cups of water down to one cup and ingest this warm. Yi fang da cheng. 脾腎不足。草果仁一兩，以舶茴香一兩炒香，去茴不用；吴茱萸湯泡七 次，以破故紙一兩炒香，去故紙不用；胡盧巴一兩，以山茱萸一兩炒香，

631 Ingredients of the ping wei san 平胃散, “powder to balance the stomach,” include magnolia bark, fresh ginger juice, tangerine peels, glycyrrhiza root, atractylodes rhizome, fresh ginger and Chinese dates.

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去茱萸不用。右三味爲糝，酒糊丸梧子大。每服六十丸，鹽湯下。百一選 方。 Insufficient spleen and kidney [qi]. Fry one liang of cao guo kernels with one liang of fennel fruit until a fragrant smell emerges. Then discard the fennel; it is no longer of use. Soak evodia [fruit] in hot water seven times, roast it with one liang of psoralea [seeds] until it emits a fragrant smell. Then discard the psoralea [seeds]; they are no longer of use. Roast one liang of common fenugreek seeds with one liang of evodia [fruit] until a fragrant smell emerges. Then discard the evodia [fruit]; it is no longer of use. [Grind] the three aforementioned substances to powder, and form with wine and a [wheat flour] paste pills the size of wu seeds. Each time ingest 60 pills, to be sent down with a salt decoction. Bai yi xuan fang. 赤白帶下。連皮草果一枚，乳香一小塊，麪裹煨焦黄，同麪研細。每米飲 服二錢，日二服。衞生易簡方。 Red and white discharge from below the belt. Wrap one cao guo, still with its skin, and one small piece of fankincense in wheat flour and bake this over a slow fire until it is scorched and has assumed a yellow color. Then grind it together with the wheat flour to fine [powder]. Each time [let the patient] ingest with a rice beverage two qian. To be ingested twice a day. Wei sheng yi jian fang. 香口辟臭。豆蔻、細辛爲末，含之。肘後方。 To give the mouth a fragrant smell and eliminate bad odor. [Grind] dou kou and asarum heteropoides [root] to powder and hold it in the mouth. Zhou hou fang. 脾痛脹滿。草果仁二箇，酒煎服之。直指方。 Painful distention of the spleen and a feeling of fullness. Boil two cao guo kernels in wine and ingest the [resulting liquid]. Zhi zhi fang. 14-18-02 花。Hua. Flower [of dou kou]. 【氣味】辛，熱，無毒。 Qi and Flavor. Acrid, hot, nonpoisonous. 【主治】下氣，止嘔逆，除霍亂，調中，補胃氣，消酒毒。大明。 Control. It discharges qi, stops vomiting with [qi] counterflow, ends cholera, regulates the center, supplements the stomach qi and dissolves the poison of wine. Da Ming.



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14-19 白豆蔻宋開寶 Bai dou kou. FE Song, Kai bao. Amomum kravanh Pierre ex Gagnep. Round Siam cardamom. 【釋名】多骨。 Explanation of Names. Duo gu 多骨, “plenty of bones.” 【集解】【志曰】白豆蔻出伽古羅國，呼爲多骨。其草形如芭蕉，葉似杜 若，長八九尺而光滑，冬夏不凋，花淺黄色，子作朶如葡萄，初出微青， 熟則變白，七月采之。【頌曰】今廣州、宜州亦有之，不及番舶來者佳。 【時珍曰】白豆蔻子圓大如白牽牛子，其殻白厚，其仁如縮砂仁，入藥去 皮炒用。 Collected Explanations. [Ma] Zhi: Bai dou kou comes from Ga gu luo guo. It is called duo gu 多骨, “plenty of bones.” The herb is shaped like a banana herb. The leaves resemble those of pollia japonica. They are eight to nine chi long, shiny and smooth. They wither neither in winter nor in summer. The flowers are of a weak yellow color. The seeds form clusters like grapes. When they have just begun to appear they are a little greenish. Once they have ripened, they turn white. They are collected in the seventh month. [Su] Song. Today it is also found in Guang zhou and Yi zhou, but the quality is not as fine as that of imported specimens. [Li] Shizhen: Bai dou kou seeds are round and as big as pharbitis [seeds]. The shell is white and thick. Its kernels resemble amomum villosum seed kernels. For pharmaceutical use remove the skin and fry them. 14-19-01 仁。Ren. Kernels [of bai dou kou]. 【氣味】辛，大温，無毒。【好古曰】大辛熱，味薄氣厚，輕清而升，陽 也，浮也。入手太陰經。 Qi and Flavor. Acrid, very warm, nonpoisonous. [Wang] Haogu: Very acrid and hot. The flavor is weak; the qi are strongly pronounced. It is light and clear and rises; it is a yang [substance]. It floats. It enters the hand major yin conduits. 【主治】積冷氣，止吐逆反胃，消穀下氣。開寶。散肺中滯氣，寬膈進 食，去白睛翳膜。李杲。補肺氣，益脾胃，理元氣，收脱氣。好古。治噎 膈，除瘧疾寒熱，解酒毒。時珍。 Control. Cold qi accumulation. It ends vomiting with [qi] counterflow and turned over stomach. It dissolves grain and discharges qi. Kai bao. It disperses sluggish qi

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in the lung. It frees [gullet] occlusion and allows food to enter. It removes white screen membranes from the pupils. Li Gao. It supplements lung qi, boosts liver and stomach [qi], regulates the original qi and collects lost qi. [Wang] Haogu. It serves to cure gullet occlusion, removes malaria illness with [alternating sensations of ] cold and heat, and resolves the poison of wine. [Li] Shizhen. 【發明】【頌曰】古方治胃冷，喫食即欲吐及嘔吐六物湯，皆用白豆蔻， 大抵主胃冷即相宜也。【元素曰】白豆蔻氣味俱薄，其用有五。專入肺經 本藥一也，散胸中滯氣二也，去感寒腹痛三也，温暖脾胃四也，治赤眼暴 發，去太陽經目内大眦紅筋用少許，五也。【時珍曰】按楊士瀛云：白豆 蔻治脾虚瘧疾，嘔吐寒熱，能消能磨，流行三焦，營衞一轉，諸證自平。 Explication. [Su] Song: When ancient recipes served to cure stomach cold and an urge to vomit once something was eaten, and also the “decoction with six items for vomiting,” they all resorted to bai dou kou. It is generally advisable [as a medication] to control stomach cold. [Zhang] Yuansu: The qi and the flavor of bai dou kou are all weak. It has five usages. It is the basic pharmaceutical drug to enter the lung conduits. That is the first. It disperses sluggish qi in the chest. That is the second. It removes abdominal pain caused by cold. That is the third. It warms spleen and stomach. That is the fourth. It serves to cure sudden effusion of redness in the eyes and is used in small amounts to remove red sinews at the inner canthi in the eyes on the major yang conduits. That is the fifth. [Li] Shizhen: According to Yang Shiying, “Bai dou kou serves to cure malaria illness associated with a spleen depletion, vomiting and alternating cold and heat sensations. It can dissolve and it can grate [food]. It flows through the Triple Burner and as soon as the camp and guardian qi begin to circulate, all signs of illness will subside.” 【附方】舊一，新四。 Added Recipes. One of old. Four newly [recorded]. 胃冷惡心，凡食即欲吐。用白豆蔻子三枚，擣細，好酒一盞，温服，並飲 數服佳。張文仲備急方。 Stomach cold and nausea. Whenever something is eaten, there is an urge to vomit. Pound three bai dou kou seeds to fine [powder] and ingest it with one qian of good, warm wine. To ingest it by drinking several [portions] at a time is fine. Zhang Wenzhong, Bei ji fang. 人忽惡心。多嚼白豆蔻子最佳。肘後方。 A person feels sudden nausea. To often chew bai dou kou seeds is best. Zhou hou fang.



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小兒吐乳胃寒者。白豆蔻仁十四箇，縮砂仁十四箇，生甘草二錢，炙甘草 二錢，爲末，常摻入兒口中。危氏得效方。 When a child because of stomach cold spits out its nursing mother’s milk. [Grind] 14 bai dou kou kernels, 14 amomum villosum seed kernels, two qian of raw glycyrrhiza [root], and two qian of roasted glycyrrhiza [root] to powder and repeatedly apply this inside the child’s mouth. Wei shi de xiao fang. 脾虚反胃。白豆蔻、縮砂仁各二兩，丁香一兩，陳廪米一升，黄土炒焦， 去土研細，薑汁和丸梧子大。每服百丸，薑湯下。名太倉丸。濟生方。 Spleen depletion and turned over stomach. Fry two liang each of bai dou kou and amomum villosum kernels, one liang of cloves, one sheng of long-stored rice and yellow soil until they are scorched. Then discard the soil, grind [the rest] to fine [powder] and form with ginger juice pills the size of wu seeds. Each time ingest 100 pills, to be sent down with a ginger decoction. [This recipe] is called “stomach-granary pills.” Ji sheng fang. 産後呃逆。白豆蔻、丁香各半兩，研細，桃仁湯服一錢，少頃再服。乾坤 生意。 Hiccough with [qi] counterflow following birth. Grind half a liang each of bai dou kou and clove to a fine [powder] and ingest one qian with a peach kernel decoction. A short while later ingest this again. Qian kun sheng yi. 14-20 縮砂蔤宋開寶 Suo sha mi. FE Song, Kai bao. Amomum villosum Lour. Bastard cardamom. 【釋名】【時珍曰】名義未詳。藕下白蒻多蔤，取其密藏之意。此物實在 根下，仁藏殻内，亦或此意與。 Explanation of Names. [Li] Shizhen: The meaning of this name is not clear. Underneath the lotus rhizome there are many outgrowths standing close, mi 蔤, to each other. Maybe the [name suo sha mi 縮砂蔤] reflects this meaning of “density,” mi zang 密藏. The fruits of this item are situated underneath the root; its kernels are “stored,” cang 藏, within a shell. Maybe this meaning, too, is reflected [in the name]. 【集解】【珣曰】縮砂蔤生西海及西戎，波斯諸國。多從安東道來。【志 曰】生南地。苗似廉薑，子形如白豆蔻，其皮緊厚而皺，黄赤色，八月采 之。【頌曰】今惟嶺南山澤間有之。苗莖似高良薑，高三四尺，葉長八 九寸，闊半寸已來。三月、四月開花在根下，五六月成實，五七十枚作

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一穗，狀似益智而圓，皮緊厚而皺，有粟紋，外有細刺，黄赤色。皮間細 子一團，八隔，可四十餘粒，如大黍米，外微黑色，内白而香，似白豆蔻 仁。七月、八月采之。辛香可調食味，及蜜煎糖纏用。 Collected Explanations. [Li] Xun: Suo sha mi grows in Xi hai and Xi rong and in Po se, all these countries. It often comes from An dong dao. [Ma] Zhi: It grows in southern regions. The seedlings resemble those of alpinia chinensis. The seeds are shaped like those of amomum kravanh. Their skin is firm, thick and creased, and of yellow-red color. It is collected in the eighth month. [Su] Song: Today, it can be found only in the marshlands of the Ling nan mountains. Seedlings and stem resemble those of alpinia officinarum. They reach a height of three to four chi. The leaves are eight to nine cun long and about half a cun wide. The flowers open in the third and fourth month underneath the root. They form fruit in the fifth and sixth month. 50 to 70 build one spike, similar to alpinia oxyphylla, but they are round. The skin is firm, thick and creased, and has a millet line design. On its outside it has fine thorns. It is yellow-red. Inside the skin are groups of fine seeds in eight compartments, each with possibly more than 40 grains, similar to glutinous millet. They are slightly black on the outside and white inside, with fragrant [qi], similar to amomum kravanh seed kernels. They are collected in the seventh and eighth month. With their acrid and fragrant [qi] they can serve to season food, and they are used themselves boiled with honey and covered with sugar. 14-20-01 仁。Ren. Kernel [of bastard cardamom]. 【氣味】辛，温，濇，無毒。【權曰】辛、苦。【藏器曰】酸。【珣曰】 辛、鹹，平。得訶子、豆蔻、白蕪荑、鼈甲良。【好古曰】辛，温，陽 也。浮也。入手足太陰、陽明、太陽、足少陰七經。得白檀香、豆蔻爲 使，入肺；得人參、益智爲使，入脾；得黄蘗、伏苓爲使，入腎；得赤、 白石脂爲使，入大小腸也。 Qi and Flavor. Acrid, warm, astringent, nonpoisonous. [Zhen] Quan: Acrid, bitter. [Chen] Cangqi: Sour. [Li] Xun: Acrid, salty, balanced. Combined with terminalia fruit, alpinia katsumadai, white ulmus [fruit] and tortoise carapace it yields good results. [Wang] Haogu: Acrid, warm. It is a yang [substance]. It floats. It enters the seven hand and foot major yin, yang brilliance, major yang and foot minor yin conduits. With sandalwood and alpinia katsumadai [seeds] as guiding substances it enters the lung. Combined with ginseng [root] and alpinia oxyphylla [seeds] as guiding substances, it enters the spleen. Combined with phellodendron [bark] and



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poria as guiding substances it enters the kidneys. Combined with red and white halloysite as guiding substances it enters the large and the small intestines. 【主治】虚勞冷瀉，宿食不消，赤白洩痢，腹中虚痛，下氣。開寶。主冷 氣腹痛，止休息氣痢勞損，消化水穀，温暖肝腎。甄權。上氣欬嗽，奔豚 鬼疰，驚癇邪氣。藏器。一切氣，霍亂轉筋。能起酒香味。大明。和中行 氣，止痛安胎。楊士瀛。治脾胃氣結滯不散。元素。補肺醒脾，養胃益 腎，理元氣，通滯氣，散寒飲脹痞，噎膈嘔吐，止女子崩中，除咽喉口齒 浮熱。化銅鐵骨哽。時珍。 Control. Depletion exhaustion and outflow because of cold [qi intrusion]. Abiding food that fails to dissolve. Red and white spilling free-flux illness. Painful abdominal depletion. It discharges qi. Kai bao. It controls abdominal pain related to cold qi. It ends free-flux illness with exhaustion injuries related to dormant qi. It dissolves and transforms water and grain. It warms liver and kidneys.632 Zhen Quan. Rising qi with cough. Running piglet633 and demon attachment-illness.634 Fright epilepsy with evil qi. [Chen] Cangqi. All types of qi. Cholera with contorted sinews. It is able to raise the fragrant flavor of wine. Da Ming. It harmonizes the center and stimulates the movement of qi. It ends pain and pacifies a fetus. Yang Shiying. It serves to cure nodes of pent-up qi in spleen and stomach that fail to disperse. [Zhang] Yuansu. It supplements lung [qi] and revitalizes the spleen. It nourishes the stomach [qi] and boosts the kidney [qi]. It regulates the original qi and frees the passage of sluggish qi. It disperses cold rheum with distension and obstacle-illness. [It serves to cure] gullet obstruction with vomiting, ends collapsing center635 of women and removes floating heat from the throat, the oral cavity and the teeth. It transforms copper, iron and bones stuck in the throat. [Li] Shizhen. 【發明】【時珍曰】按韓𢘅醫通云：腎惡燥。以辛潤之。縮砂仁之辛，以 潤腎燥。又云：縮砂屬土，主醒脾調胃，引諸藥歸宿丹田。香而能竄，和 合五臟冲和之氣，如天地以土爲冲和之氣，故補腎藥用同地黄丸蒸，取其 達下之旨也。又化骨食草木藥及方士鍊三黄皆用之，不知其性，何以能制 此物也。 632 Zheng lei ch. 9, suo sha mi 縮沙蜜, has pi wei 脾胃, ”spleen and stomach,” instead of gan shen 肝肾, “liver and kidneys.”

633 Ben tun 賁豚, “running piglet,” a condition of an accumulation in the kidneys assuming the shape of a piglet moving up and down at irregular intervals. BCGM Dict I, 57. 634 Zhu 疰, also zhu 注, “attachment-illness,” “influx-illness,” reflects a notion of a foreign pathogenic agent, originally of demonic nature, having attached itself to the human organism. BCGM Dict I, 688-695.

635 Beng zhong 崩中, “collapsing center,” excessive vaginal bleeding outside of a menstruation period. BCGM Dict I, 58.

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Explication. [Li] Shizhen: According to Han Mao‘s Yi tong, the kidneys abhor dryness, acrid [flavor] serves to moisten them. The acrid [flavor] of suo sha kernels serves to moisten the kidneys. It is also said: Suo sha is associated with [the phase] soil. It controls the revitalization of spleen [qi] and regulates stomach [qi]. It leads all types of medication to turn to and abide in the cinnabar field. It is fragrant and can act quickly. It forms a harmonious union with the original qi of the five long-term depots, similar to heaven and earth relying on the soil as qi that rise and harmonize. Hence medications aimed at supplementing kidney [qi] resort to it together with Chinese foxglove [rhizome] as pills or for steaming, so that they can reach down [to the kidneys]. Also, [suo sha kernels] serve to transform bones, food, herbs, wood and pharmaceutical substances, and the recipe experts resort to them to refine the three [substances with the character huang 黄] “yellow” [in their name].636 【附方】舊二，新一十四。 Added Recipes. Two of old. 14 newly [recorded]. 冷滑下痢不禁，虚羸。用縮砂仁熬，爲末，以羊子肝薄切摻之，瓦上焙 乾，爲末，入乾薑末等分，飯丸梧子大，每服四十丸，白湯下，日二服。 Unstoppable smooth discharge with free-flux illness related to cold [qi], with depletion and emaciation. [Grind] suo sha kernels, roasted, to powder and apply it to thin slices cut from a sheep/goat liver. Dry them on a tile over a fire and [grind them to] powder. Add an equal amount of dried ginger powder and form with cooked rice pills the size of wu seeds. Each time ingest 40 pills, to be sent down with clear, boiled water. To be ingested twice a day. 又方：縮砂仁、炮附子、乾薑、厚朴、陳橘皮等分，爲末，飯丸梧子大， 每服四十丸，米飲下，日二服。並藥性論。 Another recipe. [Grind] equal amounts of suo sha kernels, roasted aconitum [accessory tuber], dried ginger, magnolia bark and tangerine peels to powder and form with cooked rice pills the size of wu seeds. Each time ingest 40 pills, to be sent down with a rice beverage. To be ingested twice a day. Both [these recipes quoted from the] Yao xing lun. 大便瀉血，三代相傳者。縮砂仁爲末，米飲熱服二錢，以愈爲度。十便良 方。

636 These are xiong huang 雄黄, realgar; ci huang 雌黄, orpiment, liu huang 硫磺, sulphur.



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Defecation outflow with blood, transmitted to the third generation. [Grind] suo sha kernels to powder and ingest with a hot rice beverage two qian for as long as it takes to achieve a cure. Shi bian liang fang. 小兒脱肛。縮砂去皮爲末，以猪腰子一片，批開擦末在内，縛定，煮熟與 兒食，次服白礬丸。如氣逆腫喘者，不治。保幼大全。 Anal prolapse of children. Remove the skin of suo sha and [grind the kernels to] powder. Open a pig kidney, fill it with the powder and tie it. Boil it until done and let the child eat it. In addition, let it ingest pills with alum. In the case of qi counterflow with swelling and panting, it cannot be cured. Bao you da quan. 遍身腫滿，陰亦腫者。用縮砂仁、土狗一個，等分，研，和老酒服之。直 指方。 Swelling affecting the entire body and a feeling of fullness. The yin [(i. e., genital) region] is swollen, too. Grind equal amounts of suo sha kernels with one mole cricket [to powder] and ingest this together with old wine. Zhi zhi fang. 痰氣膈脹。砂仁擣碎，以蘿蔔汁浸透，焙乾爲末。每服一二錢，食遠沸湯 服。簡便方。 Phlegm and qi occlusion with swelling. Pound [suo] sha kernels to pieces and soak them in radish juice. Then dry them over a fire and [grind them to] powder. Each time ingest one or two qian and ingest them between meals with water boiled to bubbling. Jian bian fang. 上氣欬逆。砂仁洗净炒研、生薑連皮等分，擣爛，熱酒食遠泡服。簡便方。 Rising qi with cough. Wash [suo] sha kernels clean, fry them and grind them [to powder]. Add an equal amount of fresh ginger, still with its skin, and pound this to pulp, to be soaked in hot wine between meals. Jian bian fang. 子癇昏冒。縮砂和皮炒黑，熱酒調下二錢。不飲者，米飲下。此方安胎止 痛皆效，不可盡述。温隱居方。 Infant’s epilepsy637 with clouding and indistinct vision. Fry suo sha with its skin until it turns black and [let the woman] send down two qian mixed with hot wine. If she does not drink [wine], let her send it down with a rice beverage. This recipe is always effective in pacifying a fetus and ending pain. There is more evidence than can be told. Wen Yinju fang.

637 Zi xian 子癇, “infant’s epilepsy,” a spasms disease affecting women during pregnancy. BCGM Dict I, 702.

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妊娠胎動。偶因所觸，或跌墜傷損，致胎不安，痛不可忍者。縮砂熨斗内 炒熱，去皮用仁，擣碎。每服二錢，熱酒調下。須臾覺腹中胎動處極熱， 即胎已安矣。神效。孫尚藥方。 Fetal movement during pregnancy. This may have resulted from a blow, or an injury caused by a fall, resulting in a restlessness of the fetus with an unbearable pain. Fry suo sha in a dipper shaped ironing pan until it is hot, remove the skin and pound the kernels to pieces. Each time [let the woman] ingest two qian, to be sent down mixed with hot wine. After a short while she will have a very hot sensation at the location of the fetus and this is a sign that the fetus is calmed. Divinely effective. Sun Shangyao fang. 婦人血崩。新縮砂仁，新瓦焙，研末，米飲服三錢。婦人良方。 Blood collapse638 of women. Dry newly collected suo sha kernels on a new tile and then grind them to powder. [Let the patient] ingest with a rice beverage three qian. Fu ren liang fang. 熱擁咽痛。縮砂殻爲末，水服一錢。戴原禮方。 Painful throat with heat congestion. [Grind] suo sha [seed] shells to powder and ingest with water one qian. Dai Yuanli fang. 牙齒疼痛。縮砂常嚼之良。直指方。 Toothache. To regularly chew suo sha yields good results. Zhi zhi fang. 口吻生瘡。縮砂殻煅研，擦之即愈。此蔡醫博秘方也。黎居士簡易方。 Mouth and lips develop sores. Calcine suo sha [seed] shells and grind [them to powder]. Apply this [to the affected region] and a cure will be achieved. This is a secret recipe of medical erudite Cai. Li Jushi jian yi fang. 魚骨入咽。縮砂、甘草等分，爲末。綿裹含之嚥汁，當隨痰出矣。王璆百 一選方。 When a fish bone has entered the throat. [Grind] equal amounts of suo sha and glycyrrhiza [root] to powder, wrap it in silk and hold it in the mouth. Swallow the resulting juice. [The fish] bone will come out together with phlegm. Wang Qiu, Bai yi xuan fang. 誤吞諸物。金銀銅錢等物不化者，濃煎縮砂湯飲之，即下。危氏得效方。 All objects that are accidentally swallowed. When objects such as a gold, silver or copper coin fail to transform, drink a thick decoction of suo sha and this will bring them down. Wei shi de xiao fang. 638 [Xue] beng [血]崩, “[blood] collapse,” is excessive vaginal bleeding. BCGM Dict I, 594.



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一切食毒。縮砂仁末，水服一二錢。事林廣記。 All types of food poisoning. Ingest one or two qian of suo sha kernel powder with water. Shi lin guang ji. 14-21 益智子宋開寶 Yi zhi zi. FE Song, Kai bao. Alpinia oxyphylla Miq. Black cardamom. 【釋名】【時珍曰】脾主智，此物能益脾胃故也，與龍眼名益智義同。按 蘇軾記云：海南産益智，花實皆長穗，而分爲三節。觀其上中下節，以候 早中晚禾之豐兇。大豐則皆實，大兇皆不實，罕有三節並熟者。其爲藥只 治水，而無益於智。其得此名，豈以其知歲耶？此亦一説也，終近穿鑿。 Explanation of Names. [Li] Shizhen: The spleen controls wisdom. This item can boost spleen and stomach [qi], hence [its name: yi zhi zi 益智子, “wisdom boosting seeds”]. The underlying meaning is the same as that when longan [seeds] are called yi zhi 益智, “wisdom boosting [seeds].” According to Su Shi’s records, “yi zhi grows in Hai nan. Its flowers and fruit are situated on a long spike that is divided into three sections. The upper, middle and lower section are observed to predict early, midterm or late [ripening] of grain as auspicious and inauspicious signs. In the case of [future] massive abundance they will all have fruit. In the case of misfortune, none will have fruit. Only rarely all three sections ripen at the same time.” [Yi zhi] as a pharmaceutical drug only serves to cure [illnesses related to] water, and it does not boost wisdom at all. Having this name, how could it foretell the harvest? This is one of those sayings that are contrary to all principles. 【集解】【藏器曰】益智出崑崙國及交趾，今嶺南州郡往往有之。顧微廣 州記云：其葉似蘘荷，長丈餘。其根上有小枝，高八九寸，無華萼。莖如 竹箭，子從心出。一枝有十子叢生，大如小棗。其中核黑而皮白，核小者 佳，含之攝涎穢。或四破去核，取外皮蜜煮爲粽食，味辛。晉 盧循遺劉裕 益智粽，是此也。【恭曰】益智子似連翹子頭未開者，苗葉花根與豆蔻無 别，惟子小爾。【時珍曰】按嵇含南方草木狀云：益智二月花，連着實， 五六月熟。其子如筆頭而兩頭尖，長七八分，雜五味中，飲酒芬芳，亦可 鹽曝及作粽食。觀此則顧微言其無華者，誤矣。今之益智子形如棗核，而 皮及仁，皆似草豆蔻云。 Collected Explanations. [Chen] Cangqi: Yi zhi comes from Kun lun guo and Jiao zhi. Today it can be found at many places in the zhou and prefectures of Ling nan. Gu Wei in his Guang zhou ji states: “Its leaves resemble those of zingiber [herb], they are more than one zhang long. On its root are small branches, reaching a height

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of eight to nine cun. There is no calyx. The stem resembles a bamboo arrow shaft. The seeds come out of its center. One branch develops a tussock of ten seeds, the size of small Chinese dates. Within a white skin is a black kernel. Those with small kernels are fine. When they are held in the mouth they stimulate some foul salivation. It is also possible to break [the seed] into four pieces and remove the kernel. Then boil the outer skin in water with honey and use this to make rice dumplings for food, with an acrid flavor.” During the Jin [dynasty], Lu Xun submitted to [Emperor] Liu Yu “yi zhi/wisdom boosting dumplings.” These were the [dumplings just referred to]. [Su] Gong: Yi zhi zi resembles forsythia seeds with a tip that has not yet opened. Its seedling, leaves, flowers and root are not different from alpinia katsumadai [seeds]. Only the seeds are smaller.639 [Li] Shizhen: According to Ji Han’s Nan fang cao mu zhuang, yi zhi flowers open in the second month, and the fruits follow. They ripen in the fifth and sixth month. The seeds look like the tip of a brush; with both of their ends pointed. They are seven to eight fen long. Mixed with any of the five flavors they lend fragrance to wine drinking. They can also be processed with salt and dried in the sun to prepare rice dumplings for food. With this in mind, Gu Wei’s statement that they lack a calyx is wrong. Today’s yi zhi seeds are shaped like a date kernel, and both the skin and the seed kernel are similar to alpinia katsumadai [seeds]. 14-21-01 仁。Ren. Seed kernel [of black cardamom]. 【氣味】辛，温，無毒。 Qi and Flavor. Acrid, warm, nonpoisonous. 【主治】遺精虚漏，小便餘瀝，益氣安神，補不足，利三焦，調諸氣。夜 多小便者，取二十四枚碎，入鹽同煎服，有奇驗。藏器。治客寒犯胃，和 中益氣，及人多唾。李杲。益脾胃，理元氣，補腎虚滑瀝。好古。冷氣腹 痛，及心氣不足，夢洩赤濁，熱傷心系，吐血血崩諸證。時珍。 Control. Involuntary loss of essence/sperm [of males] and depletion [blood] leakage [of women]. Trickling of residual urine. It boosts the qi and pacifies the spirit. It supplements insufficient [qi]. It frees the passage through the Triple Burner and regulates all types of qi. In the case of increased urination during the night, [grind] 24 seed kernels to pieces, boil them with salt and ingest this. This is wondrously 639 Su Gong’s statement is quoted from Zheng lei ch. 13, long yan 龍眼, quoting a commentary to the Tang ben. Long yan 龍眼 is also named yi zhi 益智. That is, longan seeds have the same name as alpinia oxphylla discussed here, but are a different item.



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effective. [Chen] Cangqi.640 It serves to cure visiting cold attacking the stomach. It harmonizes the center and boosts the qi. [It serves to cure] excessive spitting. Li Gao. It boosts spleen and stomach [qi], regulates the original qi and boosts kidney [qi] in the case of smooth urinary dripping related to kidney [qi] depletion. [Wang] Haogu. Abdominal pain caused by cold qi [intrusion], and insufficient heart qi. Spilling red and turbid [sperm] during dreams. Heat that has harmed the heart connection. Blood spitting, blood collapse,641 all such signs of disease. [Li] Shizhen. 【發明】【劉完素曰】益智辛熱，能開發鬱結，使氣宣通。【王好古曰】 益智本脾藥，主君相二火。在集香丸則入肺，在四君子湯則入脾，在大鳳 髓丹則入腎，三藏互有子母相關之義。當於補藥中兼用之，勿多服。【時 珍曰】益智大辛，行陽退陰之藥也，三焦、命門氣弱者宜之。按楊士瀛直 指方云：心者脾之母，進食不止於和脾，火能生土，當使心藥入脾胃藥 中，庶幾相得。故古人進食藥中，多用益智，土中益火也。又按洪邁夷堅 志云：秀州進士陸迎，忽得吐血不止，氣蹷驚顫，狂躁直視，至深夜欲投 户而出。如是兩夕，徧用方藥弗瘳。夜夢觀音授一方，命但服一料，永除 病根。夢覺記之，如方治藥，其病果愈。其方：用益智子仁一兩，生朱砂 二錢，青橘皮五錢，麝香一錢，碾爲細末。每服一錢，空心燈心湯調下。 Explication. Liu Wansu: Yi zhi is acrid and hot. It is able to open and effuse nodes of pent-up [qi], to stimulate qi movement and open their passage. Wang Haogu: Yi zhi is basically a spleen drug. It controls both the ruler and the minister fire. As a constituent of the “pills accumulating fragrancy,” it enters the lung. As a constituent of the “decoction with four rulers,”642 it enters the spleen. As a constituent of the “phenix marrow elixir”643 it enters the kidneys. These three long-term depots are interrelated through the principle of son and mother. [Yi zhi] should be simultaneously applied with all [three] supplementing medications [just mentioned], but must not be ingested excessively. [Li] Shizhen: Yi zhi is very acrid. It is a pharmaceutical drug that stimulates the movement of yang [qi] and pushes back yin [qi]. Its application is advisable when the qi of the Triple Burner and the Gate of Life are weak. According to Yang Shiying’s Zhi zhi fang, the heart is the mother of the spleen. To consume food is not enough to harmonize the spleen. Fire can generate 640 Instead of [Chen] Cangqi 藏器, according to Zheng lei ch. 14, yi zhi zi 益智子, Kai bao 開寶 should be named as quote.

641 [Xue] beng [血]崩, “[blood] collapse,” is excessive vaginal bleeding. BCGM Dict I, 594.

642 Constituents of the “decoction with four rulers” include ginseng root, poria, atractylodes rhizome and glycyrrhiza root.

643 Constituents of the “phenix marrow elixir” include phellodendron bark, bastard cardomom kernels, glycyrrhiza root, pinellia root, polyporus scleotium, poria, lotus flower pistil, and yi zhi.

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soil. Hence it is necessary to add heart drugs to spleen and stomach drugs. They very much profit from each other. This is why the ancients often added yi zhi to medication aimed at increasing appetite. It boosts the fire in the soil. Also, according to Hong Mai’s Yi jian zhi, “Lu Ying, a 3rd degree graduate in Xiu zhou, suddenly suffered from unending spitting of blood. His qi were exhausted and he trembled with fright. He was mad and restless and stared straight ahead. Late at night he wished to leave his family and go out. When this continued into a second evening, all types of medication were applied but no cure was achieved. Then, during the night, he dreamed that Guan yin gave him a recipe and ordered him to ingest one dose that would forever eliminate the root of his disease. He recorded his dream and had a medication prepared on the basis of this recipe. His disease was cured. The recipe: Crush to fine powder one liang of yi zhi seed kernels, two qian of fresh cinnabar, five qian of greenish tangerine peels and one qian of musk. Each time ingest one qian, to be sent down on an empty stomach with a common rush decoction.” 【附方】新八。 Added Recipes. Eight newly [recorded]. 小便頻數。脬氣不足也。雷州益智子鹽炒，去鹽，天台烏藥等分，爲末， 酒煮山藥粉爲糊，丸如梧子大。每服七十丸，空心鹽湯下。名縮泉丸。朱 氏集驗方。 Frequent urination and insufficient bladder qi. [Grind] equal amounts of yi zhi seeds from Lei zhou, fried with salt and the salt discarded again, and lindera [root] from Tian tai to powder, boil it in wine and prepare with Chinese yam powder a paste to form pills the size of wu seeds. Each time ingest 70 pills, to be sent down on an empty stomach with a salt decoction. [This recipe] is called “pills that shrink the source.” Zhu shi ji yan fang. 心虚尿滑，及赤白二濁。益智子仁、白伏苓、白术等分，爲末，每服三 錢，白湯調下。 Heart [qi] depletion with smooth urination of a turbid red and white liquid. [Grind] equal amounts of yi zhi seed kernels, white poria and atractylodes [rhizome] to powder. Each time ingest three qian, to be sent down mixed with clear, boiled water. 白濁腹滿。不拘男婦。用益智仁鹽水浸炒，厚朴薑汁炒等分，薑三片，棗 一枚，水煎服。永類鈐方。 White, turbid [urine] with a feeling of abdominal distension, regardless of whether a male or a female is affected. Boil in water equal amounts of yi zhi kernels, soaked



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in brine and fried, and magnolia bark fried with ginger juice, three slices of ginger and one Chinese date, and ingest [the resulting liquid]. Yong lei qian fang. 小便赤濁。益智子仁、伏神各二兩，遠志、甘草水煮各半斤，爲末，酒糊 丸梧子大，空心薑湯下五十丸。 Red, turbid urination. [Grind] two liang each of yi zhi seed kernels and poria, and half a jin each of polygala [root] and glycyrrhiza [root], boiled in water, to powder and form with wine and a [wheat flour] paste pills the size of wu seeds. Send down on an empty stomach with a ginger decoction 50 pills. 腹脹忽瀉，日夜不止，諸藥不效，此氣脱也。用益智子仁二兩，濃煎飲 之，立愈。危氏得效方。 Abdominal bloating with a sudden outflow that does not end during day and night. When all medication remains without effect, this is a case of qi loss. Boil two liang of yi zhi seed kernels to obtain a thick liquid and drink this to achieve an immediate healing. Wei shi de xiao fang. 婦人崩中。益智子炒碾細，米飲入鹽，服一錢。産寶。 Collapsing center644 of women. Fry yi zhi seed [kernels], crush them to fine [powder], and [let the woman] ingest one qian with a rice beverage to which was added salt. Chan bao. 香口辟臭。益智子仁一兩，甘草二錢，碾粉舐之。經驗良方。 To eliminate bad mouth odor and to achieve a fragrant mouth [odor]. Crush to powder one liang of yi zhi seed kernels and two liang of glycyrrhiza [root] and lick this. Jing yan liang fang. 漏胎下血。益智仁半兩，縮砂仁一兩，爲末。每服三錢，空心白湯下，日 二服。胡氏濟陰方。 Leaking fetus with blood discharge. [Grind] half a liang of yi zhi kernels and one liang of amomum villosum kernels to powder. Each time ingest three qian, to be sent down on an empty stomach with clear, boiled water. To be ingested twice a day. Hu shi ji yin fang.

644 Beng zhong 崩中, “collapsing center,” excessive vaginal bleeding outside of a menstruation period. BCGM Dict I, 58.

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14-22 蓽茇宋開寶 Bi ba. FE Song, Kai bao. Piper longum L. Long pepper. 【釋名】蓽撥。【時珍曰】蓽撥當作蓽茇，出南方草木狀，番語也。陳藏 器本草作畢勃，扶南傳作逼撥，大明會典作畢蕟。又段成式酉陽雜俎云： 摩伽陀國呼爲蓽撥梨，拂菻國呼爲阿梨訶陀。 Explanation of Names. Bi bo 蓽撥. [Li] Shizhen: Bi bo 蓽撥 should be written bi ba 蓽茇. [The name] is mentioned first in the Nan fang cao mu zhuang; it is a foreign language term. The Chen Cangqi ben cao writes bi bo 畢勃. The Fu nan zhuan writes bi bo 逼撥. The Da Ming hui dian writes bi ba 畢蕟. Also, Duan Chenshi in his You yang za zu states: In Mo ji tuo guo it is called bibali 蓽撥梨 and in Fu lin guo it is called aliketuo 阿梨訶陀. 【集解】【恭曰】蓽撥生波斯國。叢生，莖葉似蒟醬，其子緊細，味辛烈 於蒟醬。胡人將來入食味用也。【藏器曰】其根名畢勃莈，似柴胡而黑 硬。【頌曰】今嶺南特有之，多生竹林内。正月發苗作叢，高三四尺，其 莖如筯。葉青圓如蕺菜，闊二三寸如桑，面光而厚。三月開花白色在表。 七月結子如小指大，長二寸已來，青黑色，類子而長。九月收采，灰殺曝 乾。南人愛其辛香，或取葉生茹之。復有舶上來者，更辛香。【時珍曰】 段成式言青州防風子可亂蓽茇，蓋亦不然。蓽茇氣味正如胡椒，其形長一 二寸，防風子圓如胡荽子，大不相侔也。 Collected Explanations. [Su] Gong: Bi bo grows in Po si guo. It grows as dense clusters. Stem and leaves resemble those of betel pepper. The seeds are firm and small. The flavor is acrid and much stronger than that of betel pepper. The foreigners use it as a spice in their food. [Chen] Cangqi: The root is called bi bo mo 畢勃莈. It is similar to bupleurum [root], but it is black and hard. [Su] Song: Today it can be found especially in Ling nan. It often grows in bamboo forests. In the first month it develops clusters of seedlings, reaching a height of three to four chi with their stems resembling chopsticks. The leaves are greenish and round like those of shepherd’s purse, with a width of two to three cun, like that of mulberry tree leaves. They have a shiny surface and are thick. In the third month [bi ba] opens flowers that are white on the outside. Seeds form in the seventh month, the size of a small finger with a length of about two cun. They are greenish-black, just like mulberry fruit. They are collected in the ninth month. Their moisture is extracted with lime, and then they are dried in the sun. The southerners love them for being acrid and fragrant. They may eat them as raw vegetables. There is also [bi ba] shipped here from abroad. It is even more acrid and fragrant. [Li] Shizhen: Duan Chengshi says “saposhnikovia



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seeds from Qing zhou can be mistaken for bi ba.” That is certainly not the case. The qi and flavor of bi ba truly resemble black pepper. They are one to two cun long. Saposhnikovia seeds are round like coriander seeds. They are very different. 【修治】【斅曰】凡使，去挺用頭，以醋浸一宿，焙乾，以刀刮去皮粟子 令净乃用，免傷人肺，令人上氣。 Pharmaceutical Preparation. [Lei] Xiao: For all applications, remove all wooden parts [tied to the seeds] and use only the tips. Soak them in vinegar for one night and dry them over a fire in a pan. Scrub the skin clean with a knife to remove any grains before using them. Otherwise they harm one’s lung and let the qi rise. 【氣味】辛，大温，無毒。【時珍曰】氣熱味辛，陽也，浮也。入手足陽 明經。然辛熱耗散，能動脾肺之火，多用令人目昏，食料尤不宜之。 Qi and Flavor. Acrid, very warm, nonpoisonous. [Li] Shizhen: The qi are hot and the flavor is acrid. It is a yang [substance]. It floats. It enters the hand and foot yang brilliance conduits. However, it is acrid and hot, it diminishes and dispels [qi] and it can excite the fire of spleen and lung. Often used it dims one’s eyesight. It is especially unsuitable as a spice for food. 【主治】温中下氣，補腰脚，殺腥氣，消食，除胃冷，陰疝痃癖。藏器。 霍亂，冷氣心痛，血氣。大明。水瀉虚痢，嘔逆醋心，産後洩痢，與阿魏 和合良。得訶子、人參、桂心、乾薑，治臟腑虚冷，腸鳴洩痢，神效。李 珣。治頭痛，鼻淵，牙痛。時珍。 Control. It warms the center and discharges qi. It supplements lower back and legs. It kills foul qi, dissolves food, and eliminates stomach cold, as well as elevation-illness645 in the yin [(i. e., genital) region], string-illness646 and aggregation-illness.647 [Chen] Cangqi. Cholera. Heart pain related to cold qi. Blood and qi [disorders]. Da Ming. Water outflow and depletion free-flux illness. Vomiting with [qi] counterflow and sour regurgitation. Spilling outflow following birth. Combined with asafetida it yields good results. With terminalia fruit, ginseng [root], shaved cinnamom bark and dried ginger it serves to cure depletion cold of the long-term depots and short-term repositories, intestinal sounds and spilling free-flux illness. 645 Shan qi 疝氣, “elevation-illness qi,” a pathological condition of (1) an item having entered the scrotum, with pain, sometimes ascending, sometimes descending, (2) a condition affecting the scrotum or a testicle, (3) of violent abdominal pain, in some cases associated with constipation and anuria. BCGM Dict I, 419, 417.

646 Xuan 痃, “string-illness,” a condition of acute pain located in the abdomen to the left and right of the umbilicus. BCGM Dict I, 591.

647 Pi 癖, “aggregation-illness,” of painful lumps emerging from time to time in both flanks. BCGM Dict I, 371.

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Divinely effective. Li Xun. It serves to cure headache, nasal deep source [outflow] and toothache. [Li] Shizhen. 【發明】【宗奭曰】蓽茇走腸胃，冷氣嘔吐、心腹滿痛者宜之。多服走泄 真氣，令人腸虚下重。【頌曰】按唐太宗實録云：貞觀中，上以氣痢久未 痊，服名醫藥不應，因詔訪求其方。有衞士進黄牛乳煎蓽茇方，御用有 效。劉禹錫亦記其事云，後累試於虚冷者必效。【時珍曰】牛乳煎詳見獸 部”牛乳”下。蓽茇爲頭痛鼻淵牙痛要藥，取其辛熱，能入陽明經散浮熱也。 Explication. [Kou] Zongshi: Bi ba moves to spleen and stomach. It is suitable for vomiting related to cold qi, and a painful feeling of fullness in the central and abdominal region. Ingested in large amounts it rushes to drain the true qi and lets one’s intestines suffer from depletion and a heavy feeling in the [behind] below. [Su] Song: According to the Tang Tai zong shi lu, “during the zhen guan reign period (627 -649), the emperor suffered from an illness of free-flux qi that could not be cured for a long time. He ingested the medications of renowned physicians without response. Hence he issued an imperial edict requesting a recipe. A guard submitted a recipe with bi ba boiled in the milk of yellow cows. The emperor applied it and it was effective. Liu Yuxi, too, recorded this event. Later on [the recipe] was repeatedly applied for cases of depletion cold and always proved effective.” [Li] Shizhen: For [medication] boiled in cow milk, see the entry “cow milk” (50-05) in the “animals” section. Bi ba is an important pharmaceutical drug for headache, nasal deep source [outflow] and toothache. With its acrid [flavor] and hot [qi] it can enter the yang brilliance conduits and disperse floating heat there. 【附方】舊二，新八。 Added Recipes. Two of old. Eight newly [recorded]. 冷痰惡心。蓽茇一兩，爲末，食前用米湯服半錢。聖惠方。 Cold phlegm and nausea. [Grind] one liang of bi ba to powder and ingest half a qian prior to meals with a rice decoction. Sheng hui fang. 暴泄身冷，自汗，甚則欲嘔，小便清，脉微弱，宜已寒丸治之。蓽茇、肉 桂各二錢半，高良薑、乾薑各三錢半，爲末，糊丸梧子大。每服三十丸， 薑湯送下。和劑局方。 For sudden outflow and bodily cold, spontaneous sweating, in severe cases with an urge to vomit, clear urine, and a weak [movement in the] vessels a cure with the “pills to end cold” is advisable. [Grind] two and a half qian each of bi ba and unscraped bark of the cinnamom tree, and three and a half qian each of alpinia



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officinarum [root] and dried ginger to powder and form with [wheat flour] paste pills the size of wu seeds. Each time ingest 30 pills, to be sent down with a ginger decoction. He ji ju fang. 胃冷口酸，流清水，心下連臍痛。用蓽茇半兩，厚朴薑汁浸炙一兩，爲 末，入熟鯽魚肉，研和丸緑豆大。每米飲下二十丸，立效。余居士選奇方。 Stomach cold and sour regurgitation, with a flow of clear water and pain from the heart down to the navel. [Grind] half a liang of bi ba and magnolia bark, soaked in ginger juice and then fried, to powder. Add boiled crucian carp meat, grind this [to powder] and prepare pills the size of mung beans. Each time send down with a rice beverage 20 pills. Immediately effective. Yu Jushi, Xuan qi fang. 瘴氣成塊，在腹不散。用蓽茇一兩，大黄一兩，並生爲末，入麝香少許， 煉蜜丸梧子大，每冷酒服三十丸。永類鈐方。 Miasmatic qi generating lumps in the abdomen that fail to disperse. [Grind] one liang of bi ba and one liang of rhubarb root, both raw, to powder. Add a little musk and with heat refined honey form pills the size of wu seeds. Each time ingest with cold wine 30 pills. Yong lei qian fang. 婦人血氣作痛及下血無時，月水不調。用蓽茇鹽炒，蒲黄炒，等分爲末， 煉蜜丸梧子大。每空心温酒服三十丸，兩服即止。名二神丸。陳氏方。 Women with blood and qi [disorders] causing pain with an unending discharge of blood, and irregular menstruation. [Grind] equal amounts of bi ba, roasted with salt, and cattail pollen, fried, to powder and form with heat refined honey pills the size of wu seeds. Each time [let the woman] ingest on an empty stomach with warm wine 30 pills. [The disease] will end after two ingestions. [The recipe] is called “two-fold divine pills.” Chen shi fang. 偏頭風痛。蓽茇爲末，令患者口含温水，隨左右痛，以左右鼻吸一字，有 效。經驗後方。 Unilateral headache caused by wind [intrusion]. [Grind] bi ba to powder. Let the patient hold warm water in his mouth. Depending on whether the pain is on the left or right side, let him inhale one zi through the left or right nostril. Effective. Jing yan hou fang. 鼻流清涕。蓽茇末吹之，有效。衞生易簡方。 Clear snivel flowing from the nose. Blow bi ba powder into it. Effective. Wei sheng yi jian fang. 風蟲牙痛。蓽茇末揩之，煎蒼耳湯漱去涎。

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Toothache caused by wind and bugs/worms. Rub [the affected teeth] with bi ba powder, rinse them with a xanthium [stem and leaves] decoction and spit out the [resulting] saliva. 本草權度：用蓽茇末、木鼈子肉，研膏，化開㗜鼻。 The Ben cao quan du [recommends to] grind bi ba powder and Cochinchina momordica seed pulp to a paste, to dissolve [the paste in water] and to suck it up with the nose. 聖濟總録用蓽茇、胡椒等分，爲末，化蠟丸麻子大，每以一丸塞孔中。 The Sheng ji zong lu [recommends to grind] equal amounts of bi ba and black pepper to powder, dissolve it in honey and form pills the size of sesame seeds. Each time insert one pill into a nostril. 14-22-01 蓽勃没。Bi bo mo.

Root of [bi bo].

【氣味】辛，温，無毒。 Qi and Flavor. Acrid, warm, nonpoisonous. 【主治】五勞七傷，冷氣嘔逆，心腹脹滿，食不消化，陰汗寒疝核腫，婦 人内冷無子，治腰腎冷，除血氣。藏器。 Control. The five types of exhaustion and seven types of harm. Cold qi with vomiting and [qi] counterflow. Distension with a feeling of fullness in the central and abdominal region. Failure of food to dissolve and transform. Sweat in the yin [(i. e., genital) region], cold elevation-illness648 and swelling with a kernel. Internal heat in women and inability to have a child. It serves to cure cold affecting lower back and kidneys. It removes blood and qi [disorders]. [Chen] Cangqi.

648 Shan qi 疝氣, “elevation-illness qi,” a pathological condition of (1) an item having entered the scrotum, with pain, sometimes ascending, sometimes descending, (2) a condition affecting the scrotum or a testicle, (3) of violent abdominal pain, in some cases associated with constipation and anuria. BCGM Dict I, 419, 417.



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14-23 蒟醬蒟音矩唐本草 Ju jiang, 蒟 read ju. FE Tang ben cao. Piper betle, L. Betel pepper.

【釋名】蒟子廣志、土蓽茇食療。苗名扶惡士、蔞藤。【時珍曰】按嵇含 云：蒟子可以調食，故謂之醬，乃蓽茇之類也。故孟詵食療謂之土蓽茇。 其蔓葉名扶留藤，一作扶 ，一作浮留，莫解其義。蔞則留字之訛也。

Explanation of Names. Ju zi 蒟子, Guang zhi. Tu bi ba 土蓽茇, Shi liao. The seedling is called fu e shi 扶惡士, “supporting malign militia men/scholars.” Lou teng 蔞藤. [Li] Shizhen: According to Ji Han, with ju zi 蒟子 one can season food. Hence it is called jiang 醬.649 It belongs to the group of long pepper. This is why Meng Shen in his Shi liao calls it tu bi ba 土蓽茇, “local long pepper.” The creeping leaves are called fu liu teng 扶留藤, also fu liu 扶 ，alternatively written fu liu 浮留. The meaning [of these names] cannot be explained. Lou 蔞 is an erroneous writing of the character liu 留. 【集解】【恭曰】蒟醬生巴蜀中，蜀都賦所謂流味於番禺者。蔓生，葉似 王瓜而厚大光澤，味辛香，實似桑椹而皮黑肉白。西戎亦時將來，細而辛 烈。交州、愛州人家多種之，蔓生，其子長大，苗名浮留藤。取葉合檳榔 食之，辛而香也。【頌曰】今夔川、嶺南皆有之。昔漢武帝使唐蒙曉諭南 越。越王食蒙以蒟醬，曰：此出番禺城下。武帝感之，遂開牂牁、越巂 也。劉淵林注蜀都賦云：蒟醬緣木而生，其子如桑椹，熟時正青，長二 三寸。以蜜及鹽藏而食之，辛香。與蘇恭所説大同小異。蓋淵林所云乃蜀 産，蘇恭所云乃海南者爾。今惟貴蓽茇而不尚蒟醬，故鮮有用者。【李珣 曰】廣州記云：出波斯國，實狀若桑椹，紫褐色者爲尚，黑者是老，不 堪。然近多黑色，少見褐者。黔中亦有，形狀滋味一般。【時珍曰】蒟 醬，今兩廣、滇南及川南、渝、瀘、威、茂、施諸州皆有之。其苗謂之蔞 葉，蔓生依樹，根大如筯。彼人食檳榔者，以此葉及蚌灰少許同嚼食之， 云辟瘴癘，去胸中惡氣。故諺曰：檳榔浮留，可以忘憂。其花實即蒟子 也。按嵇含草木狀云：蒟醬即蓽茇也。生於蕃國者大而紫，謂之蓽茇。生 於番禺者小而青，謂之蒟子。本草以蒟爲蔞子，非矣。蔞子一名扶留，其 草形全不相同。時珍竊謂蒟子蔓生，蓽茇草生，雖同類而非一物，然其花 實氣味功用則一也。嵇氏以二物爲一物，謂蒟子非扶留，蓋不知扶留非一 種也。劉欣期交州記云：扶留有三種：一名穫扶留，其根香美；一名扶留 藤，其味亦辛；一名南扶留，其葉青味辛是矣。今蜀人惟取蔞葉作酒麴， 云香美。

649 For jiang shui 漿水, “fermented water of foxtail millet,” see BCGM 05-33.

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Collected Explanations. [Su] Gong: Ju jiang grows in Ba shu. This is the liu wei 流味 from Pan yu referred to in the Shu du fu. It is a creeper. The leaves resemble those of the Japanese snake gourd, but are thicker and very shiny. [Ju jiang] is acrid and fragrant. The fruits resemble mulberry fruits with a black skin and white meat. Occasionally it is sent by the Xi rong [people]. This is a small and extremely acrid [type]. In Jiao zhou and Ai zhou very many households plant [ju jiang]. It grows as a creeper with long, big seeds. The seedling is called fu liu teng 浮留藤. Its leaves are eaten together with areca [nuts] as something acrid and fragrant. [Su] Song. Today it can be found in both Kui zhou and Ling nan. In antiquity, Han emperor Wu di sent Tang Meng with a message to Nan yue. The King of Yue gave [Tang] Meng ju jiang to eat, stating: “This comes from the vicinity of Pan yu.” When Wu di learnt of it he opened Zang ke and Yue sui. Liu Yuanlin in his commentary Shu du fu states: “Ju jiang grows attached to trees. The seeds resemble mulberry fruits. When they are ripe they are genuinely greenish, with a length of two to three cun. They are stored with honey and salt and then eaten, as something acrid and fragrant.” This mostly agrees with what Su Gong says. The fact is, [Liu] Yuanlin states that is is a product of Shu, while Su Gong states that it comes from Nan hai. Nowadays, only long pepper is valued, no longer betel pepper. Hence it is seldom used. Li Xun: The Guang zhou ji states: “It comes from Po si guo. The fruit are shaped like mulberry fruits. Those with a purple-brown color are best. When they are black, they are cold and can no longer be used.” However, nowadays they are often black, and brown ones are rarely seen. They are also found in Qian zhong, but only of mediocre shape and flavor. [Li] Shizhen: Today, ju jiang can be found in Liang guang and Dian nan, and also in all the zhou of Chuan nan, Yu, Lu, Wei, Mao and Shi. Its seedlings are called lou ye 蔞葉; they grow as creepers clinging to trees. The root is as big as a chopstick. When the locals eat areca [nuts], they chew them with the leaves [of ju jiang] and a small amount of powdered shells of fresh water mussels, stating that this repels miasmatic epidemics and eliminates malign qi from the chest. Hence a saying is: “Areca and betel pepper let one forget all sorrow.” The fruits are ju zi 蒟 子. According to Ji Han in his Cao mu zhuang, “ju jiang is long pepper. [Ju jiang] growing in foreign countries is big and purple. It is called bi ba 蓽茇, ‘long pepper.’ That growing in Pan yu is small and greenish. It is called ju zi 蒟子, ‘betel pepper.’ The Ben cao identifies ju 蒟 as lou zi 蔞子. That is wrong. Lou zi 蔞子 are also called fu liu 扶留, and the physical shape of this herb is completely different.” I, [Li] Shizhen, myself say: Ju zi 蒟子 grows as a creeper; long pepper grows as an herb. Even though they belong to the same group, they are not the same item. Still, the qi and flavor and the [therapeutic] potential of their flowers and fruits are identical. Mr. Ji [Han] identified these two items as one item, claiming that ju zi 蒟子 is not



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fu liu 扶留. The fact is, he did not know that there is not only one type of fu liu 扶留. Liu Yinqi in his Jiao zhou ji states: “There are three types of fu liu 扶留. One is called huo fu liu 穫扶留; its root is fragrant and delicious. Another is called fu liu teng 扶 留藤; its flavor, too, is acrid. Still another is called nan fu liu 南扶留. Its leaves are greenish and the flavor is acrid.” Today, the people in Shu only resort to the leaves of lou 蔞 to prepare distillers’ yeast, and they state that it is fragrant and delicious. 【修治】【斅曰】凡采得後，以刀刮上粗皮，擣細。每五兩，用生薑自然 汁五兩拌之，蒸一日，曝乾用。 Pharmaceutical Preparation. [Lei] Xiao: When collected, scrape off the coarse skin and pound it to a fine [powder]. For each five liang mix it with five liang of natural juice of fresh ginger, steam it for one day, dry it in the sun and then use it. 14-23-01 根。Gen., 葉。Ye. 子。Zi. Root, leaf, seed [of ju jiang]. 【氣味】辛，温，無毒。【時珍曰】氣熱味辛，陽也，浮也。 Qi and Flavor. Acrid, warm, nonpoisonous. [Li] Shizhen: Qi hot, flavor acrid. They are yang [substances]. They float. 【主治】下氣，温中，破痰積。唐本。欬逆上氣，心腹蟲痛，胃弱虚瀉， 霍亂吐逆，解酒食味。李珣。散結氣，心腹冷痛，消穀。孟詵。解瘴癘， 去胸中惡邪氣，温脾燥熱。時珍。 Control. They discharge qi, warm the center and break through phlegm accumulation. Tang ben. Cough with qi counterflow. Pain related to the presence of worms/ bugs in the central and abdominal region. Stomach weakness and depletion outflow. Cholera with vomiting and [qi] counterflow. They resolve [the poison of ] wine and serve as spices. Li Xun. They disperse qi nodes, [end] pain related to the presence of cold in the central and abdominal region, and dissolve grain. Meng Shen. They resolve miasmatic epidemics, remove malign and evil qi from within the chest, warm the spleen and provoke heat. [Li] Shizhen. 【附方】新一。 Added Recipes. 牙疼。蒟醬、細辛各半兩，大皂莢五鋌，去子，每孔入青鹽燒存性，同研 末，頻摻吐涎。御藥院方。

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Toothache. Remove the seeds from five gleditsia pods and insert into each opening halite that has been burned while preserving its nature. Grind this together with half a liang each of ju jiang and asarum heteropoides [root] to powder and apply it to [the affected teeth]. Spit out the resulting saliva. Yu yao yuan fang. 14-24 肉豆蔻宋開寶 Rou dou kou. FE Song, Kai bao. Myristica fragrans Houtt. Nutmeg. 【釋名】肉果綱目、迦拘勒。【宗奭曰】肉豆蔻對草豆蔻爲名，去殻只用 肉。肉油色者佳，枯白瘦虚者劣。【時珍曰】花實皆似豆蔻而無核，故名。 Explanation of Names. Rou guo 肉果, Gang mu. Jia ju le 迦拘勒. [Kou] Zongshi: The name rou dou kou 肉豆蔻, “meat/pulp dou kou,” is meant as a contrast to cao dou kou 草豆蔻, “herbal dou kou.” The shell is discarded and only the meat/pulp is used. Those with a meat/pulp with the color of oil are fine. Those that are withered, white, lean and hollow, they are of inferior quality. [Li] Shizhen: Flowers and fruit are all similar to those of alpinia katsumadai, but the latter have no kernel. Hence the name. 【集解】【藏器曰】肉豆蔻生胡國，胡名迦拘勒。大舶來即有，中國無 之。其形圓小，皮紫緊薄，中肉辛辣。【珣曰】生崑崙及大秦國。【頌 曰】今嶺南人家亦種之。春生苗，夏抽莖開花，結實似豆蔻，六月、七月 采。【時珍曰】肉豆蔻花及實狀雖似草豆蔻，而皮肉之顆則不同。顆外有 皺紋，而内有斑纈紋，如檳榔紋。最易生蛀，惟烘乾密封則稍可留。 Collected Explanations. [Chen] Cangqi: Rou dou kou grows in the country of the Hu, and the Hu call it jiajule 迦拘勒. Here it is only available through shipments from abroad; China itself does not have it. Its shape is round and small. The skin is purple, solid and thin, The meat/pulp inside is acrid-peppery. [Li] Xun: It grows in Kun lun and Da qin guo. [Su] Song: Today households in Ling nan, too, plant it. Seedlings grow in spring. In summer a stem rises and flowers open. They form fruits resembling those of alpinia katsumadai [seeds]. They are collected in the sixth and seventh month. [Li] Shizhen: Even though the flowers and fruits of rou dou kou resemble those of cao dou kou/alpinia katsumadai, the consistency of skin and meat/ pulp differs. The outside of the skin has a creased line design. Inside it has a design of dots and knots, similar to areca [nuts]. It most easily generates moths. [Rou dou kou] can be stored for a short while only when they are dry and well sealed.



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14-24-01 實。Shi. Fruit [of rou dou kou]. 【脩治】【斅曰】凡使，須以糯米粉熟湯搜裹豆蔻，於煻灰火中煨熟，去 粉用。勿令犯鐵 Pharmaceutical Preparation. [Lei] Xiao: For all applications mix glutinous rice powder with hot water [to generate a paste] and enclose the [rou] dou kou with it. Bake it in the hot ashes of a fire until it has dried and remove the [rice] powder. [Now the fruits] may be used. Do not let it be offended by iron.650 【氣味】辛，温，無毒。【權曰】苦、辛。【好古曰】入手、足陽明經。 Qi and Flavor. Acrid, warm, nonpoisonous. [Zhen] Quan: Bitter, acrid. [Wang] Haogu: It enters the hand and foot yang brilliance conduits. 【主治】温中，消食止洩，治積冷心腹脹痛，霍亂中惡，鬼氣冷疰，嘔沫 冷氣，小兒乳霍。開寶。調中下氣，開胃，解酒毒。消皮外絡下氣。大 明。治宿食痰飲，止小兒吐逆，不下乳，腹痛。甄權。主心腹蟲痛，脾胃 虚冷氣，併冷熱虚洩、赤白痢，研末，粥飲服之。李珣。暖脾胃，固大 腸，時珍。 Control. It warms the center, dissolves food and ends spilling [urination/defecation]. It serves to cure painful swelling in the central and abdominal region related to cold accumulation, cholera and being struck by the malign, cold attachment-illness related to demon qi, vomiting of foam with cold qi. Cholera of children that are breast-fed. Kai bao. It regulates the center and discharges qi. It opens the stomach and resolves the poison of wine. It dissolves [evil] qi that have descended from the network [vessels] into the outside of the skin. Da Ming. It serves to cure abiding food and phlegm rheum. It ends vomiting of children with [qi] counterflow, an inability to ingest their nursing mother’s milk and abdominal pain. Zhen Quan. It controls pain related to the presence of worms/bugs in the central and abdominal region, spleen and stomach depletion with cold qi, and spilling [urination/defecation] related to both cold and heat depletion, as well as red and white free-flux illness. Grind it to powder and ingest it with a congee or beverage. Li Xun. It warms spleen and stomach and solidifies the large intestine. [Li] Shizhen. 【發明】【大明曰】肉豆蔻調中下氣，消皮外絡下氣，味珍，力更殊。 【宗奭曰】亦善下氣，多服則泄氣，得中則和平其氣。【震亨曰】屬金與 土，爲丸温中補脾。日華子稱其下氣，以脾得補而善運化，氣自下也。非 650 Instead of tie 鐵, “iron,” Zheng lei ch. 9, rou dou kou 肉豆蔻, quoting Lei gong writes tong 銅, “copper.”

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若陳皮、香附之駃泄。寇氏不詳其實，遂以爲不可服也。【機曰】痢痰用 此濇腸，爲傷乳泄瀉之要藥。【時珍曰】土愛煖而喜芳香，故肉豆蔻之辛 温，理脾胃而治吐利。 Explication. Da Ming: Rou dou kou regulates the center and discharges qi. It dissolves [water] enclosures in the outside of the skin and discharges the [responsible] qi. Its flavor is precious, and its [therapeutic] strength is even more remarkable. [Kou] Zongshi: It is also good at discharging qi. Ingested in large amounts it causes a qi outflow. If ingested moderately it harmonizes and balances the qi. [Zhu] Zhenheng: It is associated with [the phases] metal and soil; prepared as pills it warms the center and supplements spleen [qi]. The Rihua zi draws attention to its ability to discharge qi. When the spleen [qi] are supplemented they are able to move [food] and transform it, and its qi will be discharged as a result. This is different from the drastic outflow caused by tangerine peels and nutgrass. Mr. Kou [Zongshi] was not familiar with this fruit. Hence he assumed that it cannot be ingested. [Wang] Ji: For free-flux illness and phlegm this [drug] is used to roughen the intestines. It is an important pharmaceutical drug for outflow [of children] harmed by their nursing mother’s milk. [Li] Shizhen: The [phase] soil (i. e., spleen and stomach) loves to be warmed and prefers fragrant [substances]. This is why the acrid and warm [qualities] of rou dou kou serve to order [the qi of ] spleen and stomach and to cure vomiting and free-flux. 【附方】舊一，新六。 Added Recipes. One of old. Six newly [recorded]. 暖胃除痰，進食消食。肉豆蔻二箇，半夏薑汁炒五錢，木香二錢半，爲 末。蒸餅丸芥子大，每食後津液下五丸、十丸。普濟方。 To warm the stomach and remove phlegm, to stimulate the intake of food and the digestion of food. [Grind] two rou dou kou, five qian of pinellia [root], fried with ginger juice, and two and a half qian of aucklandia [root] to powder and form with steamed cakes pills the size of mustard seeds. Each time [hold] five or ten pills [in your mouth] after a meal and send them down with the resulting [saliva] body liquid. Pu ji fang. 霍亂吐利。肉豆蔻爲末，薑湯服一錢。普濟方。 Cholera with vomiting and free-flux. [Grind] rou dou kou to powder and ingest with a ginger decoction one qian. Pu ji fang.



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久瀉不止。肉豆蔻煨一兩，木香二錢半，爲末。棗肉和丸，米飲服四五十 丸。 Long-lasting, unending outflow. [Grind] one liang of rou dou kou, slowly roasted, and two and a half qian of aucklandia [root] to powder. With Chinese date meat/ pulp form pills and with a rice beverage ingest 40 to 50 pills. 又方：肉豆蔻煨一兩，熟附子七錢，爲末糊丸，米飲服四五十丸。 Another recipe. [Grind] one liang of rou dou kou, slowly roasted, and seven qian of heat prepared aconitum [accessory tuber] to powder and with a [wheat flour] paste form pills. With a rice beverage ingest 40 to 50 pills. 又方：肉豆蔻煨，粟殻炙，等分爲末，醋糊丸，米飲服四五十丸。並百一 選方。 Another recipe. [Grind] equal amounts of rou dou kou, slowly roasted, and poppy capsules, fried, to powder and with vinegar and [wheat flour] paste form pills. Ingest with a rice beverage 40 to 50 pills. All [three recipes quoted from] Bai yi xuan fang. 老人虚瀉。肉豆蔻三錢，麪裹煨熟，去麪研，乳香一兩，爲末。陳米粉糊 丸梧子大。每服五七十丸，米飲下。此乃常州 詹教授所傳方。瑞竹堂方。 Depletion outflow of old people. Wrap three qian of rou dou kou in wheat flour and slowly roast this until done. Then remove the flour and grind [the rou dou kou]. Add one liang of frankincense and grind all this to powder. With long-stored rice powder make a paste and form pills the size of wu seeds. Each time ingest 50 to 70 pills, to be sent down with a rice beverage. This is a recipe transmitted by professor Kou of Chang zhou. Rui zhu tang fang. 小兒泄瀉。肉豆蔻五錢，乳香二錢半，生薑五片，同炒黑色，去薑，研爲 膏收，旋丸緑豆大。每量大小米飲下。全幼心鑑。 Outflow of children. Fry together five qian of rou dou kou, two and a half qian of frankincense and five slices of fresh ginger until they have assumed a black color. Then remove the ginger and grind [the other substances] to a paste that is then stored to prepare pills the size of mung beans. Each time [let the patient] send down with a rice beverage as many pills as fit [the child’s] age. Quan you xin jian. 脾泄氣痢。豆蔻一顆，米醋調麪裹，煨令焦黄，和麪研末。更以欓子炒研 末一兩，相和。又以陳廪米炒焦，爲末和匀。每以二錢煎作飲，調前二味 三錢，旦暮各一服，便瘥。續傳信方。 Spleen outflow and qi free-flux illness. Mix one [rou] dou kou with rice vinegar and wrap it with wheat flour. Slowly roast this until it is scorched and has turned yellow. Grind it together with the wheat flour to powder. Then fry one liang of zanthoxy-

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lum seeds and grind them to powder. Mix [the two powders]. Then fry long-stored rice until it is scorched and [grind it to an] evenly distributed powder. Each time boil two qian in water to prepare a beverage and mix it with three qian of the two substances prepared before. Ingest one dose in the morning and one in the evening. This will result in a cure. Xu chuan xin fang. 冷痢腹痛不能食者。肉豆蔻一兩去皮，醋和麪裹煨，擣末。每服一錢，粥 飲調下。聖惠方。 Free-flux illness related to cold with abdominal pain and an inability to eat. Remove the skin of two liang of rou dou kou, mix it with vinegar, wrap it in wheat flour, slowly roast this and pound it to powder. Each time ingest one qian, to be sent down mixed with a congee or a beverage. Sheng hui fang. 14-25 補骨脂宋開寶 Bu gu zhi. FE Song, Kai bao. Psoralea corylifolia L. Scurfy pea.651 【釋名】破故紙開寶、婆固脂藥性論、胡韭子日華。【時珍曰】補骨脂言 其功也。胡人呼爲婆固脂，而俗訛爲破故紙也。胡韭子，因其子之狀相 似，非胡地之韭子也。 Explanation of Names. Po gu zhi 破故紙, Kai bao. Po gu zhi 婆固脂, Yao xing lun. Hu jiu zi 胡韭子, Rihua. [Li] Shizhen: Bu gu zhi 補骨脂, “[herb] to supplement bone fat/marrow,” refers to its [therapeutic] potential. The Hu people call it po gu zhi 婆固脂, “the fat that keeps an old woman firm,” and this is commonly incorrectly changed to po gu zhi 破故紙, “broken old paper.” [It is called] hu jiu zi 胡韭 子, “leek of the Hu,” because of a similarity [between its seeds and those of Chinese leek]. These are not leek from the land of the Hu. 【集解】【志曰】補骨脂生嶺南諸州及波斯國。【頌曰】今嶺外山坂間多 有之。四川 合州亦有，皆不及番舶者佳。莖高三四尺，葉小似薄荷，花微 紫色，實如麻子，圓扁而黑，九月采。【大明曰】徐表南州記云：是胡韭 子也。南番者色赤，廣南者色緑，入藥微炒用。 Collected Explanations. [Ma] Zhi: Bu gu zhi grows in all the zhou of Ling nan and in Po si guo. [Su] Song: Nowadays it is often found on the mountain slopes of Ling wai. It is also present in He zhou of Si chuan. But none of them reaches the fine quality of that imported from abroad. The stem reaches a height of three to four chi. The leaves are small and resemble those of mint. The flowers are slightly purple. The 651 Bu gu zhi 補骨脂, lit.: “[herb] to supplement bone fat/marrow.”



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fruit resemble sesame seeds. They are round, flat and black. They are collected in the ninth month. Da Ming: Xu Biao in his Nan zhou ji states: “This is hu jiu zi 胡韭 子.” That from the southern foreign lands is red, that from Guang nan is green. It is slightly fried before being used as a pharmaceutical drug. 14-25-01 子。Zi. Seed [of bu gu zhi]. 【脩治】【斅曰】此性燥毒，須用酒浸一宿，漉出，以東流水浸三日夜， 蒸之，從巳至申，日乾用。一法：以鹽同炒過，曝乾用。 Pharmaceutical Preparation. [Lei] Xiao: This [item] is by nature dry and poisonous. It must be soaked in wine for one night. Then the liquid is filtered off and it is soaked for three nights in water flowing eastward. Steam it from the si (9 – 11) hours to the shen hours (15 – 17), dry it in the sun and use it [for medical purposes]. Another method: Fry it together with salt, dry it in the sun and then use it. 【氣味】辛，大温，無毒。【權曰】苦、辛。【珣曰】惡甘草。【時珍 曰】忌芸薹及諸血，得胡桃、胡麻良。 Qi and Flavor. Acrid, very warm, nonpoisonous. [Zhen] Quan: Bitter, acrid. [Li] Xun: [Ingested together,] it abhors glycyrrhiza [root]. [Li] Shizhen: [During a treatment with bu gu zhi] avoid oil rape [seeds] and all types of blood. Combined with walnuts and sesame it yields good results. 【主治】五勞七傷，風虚冷，骨髓傷敗，腎冷精流，及婦人血氣墮胎。開 寶。男子腰疼，膝冷囊濕，逐諸冷痺頑，止小便，利腹中冷。甄權。興陽 事，明耳目。大明。治腎泄，通命門，煖丹田，歛精神。時珍。 Control. The five types of exhaustion and seven types of harm. Depletion cold with wind [intrusion]. Harmed and injured bone marrow. Kidney cold with essence/ sperm flow and premature loss of a fetus because of a woman’s blood and qi [disorder]. Kai bao. Lower back pain of males, cold knees and moist scrotum. It eliminates all types of cold and numbness. It ends urination, and frees the flow of cold [qi] from the abdomen. Zhen Quan. It lifts the yang affair (i. e., penis) and clears ears and eyes. Da Ming. It serves to cure kidney outflow, opens the passage through the Triple Burner, warms the Cinnabar Field and restrains the essence spirit. [Li] Shizhen. 【發明】【頌曰】破故紙今人多以胡桃合服，此法出於唐 鄭相國。自叙 云：予爲南海節度，年七十有五。越地卑濕，傷於内外，衆疾俱作，陽氣 衰絶，服乳石諸藥，百端不應。元和七年，有訶陵國舶主李摩訶，知予病

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狀，遂傳此方并藥。予初疑而未服，摩訶稽首固請，遂服之。經七八日 而覺應驗，自爾常服，其功神效。十年二月，罷郡歸京，録方傳之。用破 故紙十兩，净擇去皮，洗過曝，擣篩令細。胡桃瓤二十兩，湯浸去皮，細 研如泥，更以好蜜和，令如飴餹，瓷器盛之。旦日以煖酒二合，調藥一匙 服之，便以飯壓。如不飲酒人，以暖熟水調之。彌久則延年益氣，悦心明 目，補添筋骨。但禁芸薹、羊血，餘無所忌。此物本自外番隨海舶而來， 非中華所有。番人呼爲補骨脂，語訛爲破故紙也。王紹顔續傳信方載其事 頗詳，故録之。【時珍曰】此方亦可作丸，温酒服之。按白飛霞方外奇方 云：破故紙屬火，收歛神明，能使心包之火與命門之火相通，故元陽堅 固，骨髓充實，濇以治脱也。胡桃屬木，潤燥養血，血屬陰，惡燥，故油 以潤之，佐破故紙有木火相生之妙。故語云：破故紙無胡桃，猶水母之無 鰕也。又破故紙惡甘草，而瑞竹堂方青娥丸内加之。何也？豈甘草能調和 百藥，惡而不惡耶？又許叔微學士本事方云：孫真人言補腎不若補脾，予 曰補脾不若補腎。腎氣虚弱，則陽氣衰劣，不能熏蒸脾胃。脾胃氣寒，令 人胸膈痞塞，不進飲食，遲於運化，或腹脇虚脹，或嘔吐痰涎，或腸鳴泄 瀉。譬如鼎釜中之物，無火力，雖終日不熟，何能消化？濟生二神丸，治 脾胃虚寒泄瀉，用破故紙補腎，肉豆蔻補脾。二藥雖兼補，但無斡旋。往 往常加木香以順其氣，使之斡旋，空虚倉廪。倉廪空虚，則受物矣。屢用 見效，不可不知。 Explication. [Su] Song: Po gu zhi is often ingested with walnuts by people these days. This habit dates back to the minister of the state Zheng of the Tang. He himself noted: “When I served as governor of Nan hai, I was 75 years old. The land of Yue is low-lying and moist, and I was harmed both inside and outside. I had all possible illnesses, and my yang qi weakened and were cut off. I ingested all types of stalactite mineral medicines, but a hundred approaches remained without response. In the seventh year of the yuan he reign period (811), Li Moke, a ship owner from Ke ling guo learned of my disease and he sent this recipe and also the required pharmaceutical drugs. In the beginning I hesitated and did not ingest them. But [Li] Moke kotowed in front of me and strongly requested [that I ingest this medication]. Then I ingested it. After seven, eight days I felt the effects and then I ingested [this medication] continously. Its [therapeutic] potential is divinely effective. In the second month of the tenth year [of the yuan he reign period] (814), I left that prefecture, returned to the capital and transmitted the [following] recipe to others. Take ten liang of po gu zhi, clean it, remove the skin, wash it and dry it in the sun. Pound it and give it through a sieve to obtain a fine [powder]. Soak the interior of 20 walnuts in hot water, remove their skin, and grind [both the po gu zhi and the interior of the walnuts] finely to obtain a pulp. Mix it with good honey until it appears like malt sugar and fill it into a porcelain jar. In the morning mix a spoonful of the medication



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with two ge of warm wine, ingest this and immediately afterwards press it down in the body with a meal. For persons who do not drink wine, mix it with warm boiled water. Ingested for a long time, it extends the years of life and boosts the qi. It delights the heart and clears the eyes. It supplements and strengthens sinews and bones. However [during such a treatment], oil rape and sheep blood are forbidden. Nothing else is to be avoided. This item comes to us from abroad by ship. China herself does not have it. The foreigners call it bu gu zhi 補骨脂652. This has been incorrectly changed to po gu zhi 破故紙.” Wang Shaoyan in his Xu chuan xin fang has documented this in great detail. Hence it is recorded here. [Li] Shizhen: This recipe can also be prepared as pills to be ingested with warm wine. According to Bai Feixia’s Fang wai qi fang, “po gu zhi belongs to [the phase] fire. It collects and restrains the spirit brilliance, and it is able to let the fire of the heart enclosure and the fire of the Gate of Life communicate. Hence it stabilizes one’s original yang [qi] and fills the bone marrow. It is astringent so that it serves to cure loss [of original qi]. Walnuts belong to [the phase] wood. They moisten dryness and nourish the blood. The blood is yin; it abhors dryness. Hence the oil [of walnuts] serves to moisten it. If it is assisted by po gu zhi, wondrous effects of a mutual generation of wood and fire are reached. Hence a saying is: ‘If po gu zhi is left without walnuts, this is like jellyfish prepared without shrimps’.” Also, po gu zhi abhors glycyrrhiza [root], but the “greenish beauty pills” recorded in the Rui zhu tang fang add them [to po gu zhi]. How can this be? Is this because glycyrrhiza [root] can harmonize all the hundreds of pharmaceutical drugs, regardless of whether it is abhorred or not abhorred? Also, scholar Xu Shuwei in his Ben shi fang states: “Sun zhenren says to supplement the spleen is better than to supplement the kidneys.” I say: to supplement the kidneys is better than to supplement the spleen. When the kidney qi are depleted and weak, the yang qi are weak and deficient, and they are unable to send their hot steam to spleen and stomach. When the qi of spleen and stomach are cold, this causes obstacle-illness with blockage in chest and diaphragm so that beverages and food cannot enter, with a slowed down movement and transformation [of food]. This may result in depletion and distension of abdomen and flanks. It may also result in vomiting of phlegm and spitting of saliva. Or in intestinal sounds and outflow. This is comparable to items that ought to be cooked in a big pot with a fire without strength. They will not be well done even at the end of the day. How could the [food] be dissolved and transformed? The “pills with two spirits to assist life” serve to cure outflow related to depletion cold of spleen and stomach. They use po gu zhi to supplement the kidney [qi], and nutmeg to supplement the spleen [qi]. These two pharmaceutical 652 Instead of zhi 脂, “fat,” Zheng lei ch. 9, bu gu zhi 補骨脂, quoting the Tu jing writes chi 鴟, “owl.”

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drugs do both supplement, but they fail to cooperate. Hence aucklandia [root] is regularly added to align their qi, stimulate their cooperation and this way to empty the stomach-granary. Once the stomach-granary is empty, it can accept further items. This has often been resorted to with good effect. It must be known. 【附方】舊二，新一十三。 Added Recipes. Two of old. 13 newly [recorded]. 補骨脂丸。治下元虚敗，脚手沉重，夜多盗汗，縱慾所致。此藥壯筋骨， 益元氣。補骨脂四兩炒香，兔絲子四兩酒蒸，胡桃肉一兩去皮，乳香、没 藥、沉香各研二錢半，煉蜜丸如梧子大。每服二三十丸，空心鹽湯、温酒 任下。自夏至起冬至止，日一服。此乃唐宣宗時，張壽太尉知廣州，得方 于南番人。有詩云： 三年時節向邊隅，人信方知藥力殊， 奪得春光來在手，青娥休笑白髭鬚。 和劑方。 The “pills with bu gu zhi.” They serve to cure depleted and injured original [qi] in the lower [body part], with a feeling of heaviness in legs and hands, and frequent robber sweating653 during the night, all caused by overindulgance in sex. This medication strengthens sinews and bones, and boosts the original qi. Four liang of bu gu zhi, fried until it emits a fragrant smell, four liang of cuscuta [seeds], steamed with wine, one liang of walnut meat, the skin discarded, and two and a half qian each of frankincense, myrrh and aloe [wood], all ground [to powder], are prepared with heat refined honey to pills the size of wu seeds. Each time ingest 20 to 30 pills, with a salt decoction or warm wine, as preferred, on an empty stomach. To be ingested once a day from Summer Solstice (21 June) to Winter Solstice (21 December). This recipe was obtained during the reign of Tang emperor Xuan zong by Zhang Shou, then stationed as supreme military officer in Guang zhou, from a southern foreigner. A poem states: ”For three years he stayed near the borders, trusted recipes and knew medication. He grasped the shine of spring; young beauties stopped laughing at the white moustache.” He ji fang. 653 Dao han 盗汗, “robber sweating,” (1) an illness sign of a profuse sweating during sleep that ends when one wakes up. (2) A pathological condition with robber sweating as major sign. BCGM Dict I, 122.



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男女虚勞。男子女人五勞七傷，下元久冷，一切風病，四肢疼痛，駐顔壯 氣，烏髭鬚。補骨脂一斤，酒浸一宿，晒乾，却用烏油麻一升和炒，令麻 子聲絶，簸去，只取補骨脂爲末，醋煮麪糊丸如梧子大，每服二三十丸， 空心温酒、鹽湯任下。經驗後方。 Depletion exhaustion affecting males and females. The five types of exhaustion and the seven types of harm of males and females, with long-lasting cold of the original [qi] in the lower [body part], all types of wind diseases and the four limbs aching. [This recipe] preserves [a young] complexion, strengthens the qi and blackens beard and hair. Soak one jin of bu gu zhi in wine for one night and dry it in the sun. Fry this with one sheng of black sesame until the sound of cracking sesame seeds ends. Remove the [sesame seeds] and [grind] only the bu gu zhi to powder. Boil it in vinegar and with a wheat flour paste form pills the size of wu seeds. Each time send down 20 to 30 pills, on an empty stomach, with warm wine or salt decoction, as preferred. Jing yan hou fang. 腎虚腰痛。經驗後方用破故紙一兩，炒，爲末，温酒服三錢，神妙。或加 木香一錢。 Kidney depletion and lower back pain. The Jing yan hou fang [recommends to] [grind] one liang of po gu zhi, fried, to powder and ingest, with warm wine, three qian. Divinely effective. Or add one qian of aucklandia [root]. 和劑局方青娥丸：治腎氣虚弱，風冷乘之。或血氣相搏，腰痛如折，俛仰 不利，或因勞役傷腎，或卑濕傷腰，或損墜墮傷，或風寒客搏，或氣滯不 散，皆令腰痛，或腰間如物重墜。用破故紙酒浸炒一斤，杜仲去皮，薑汁 浸炒一斤，胡桃肉去皮二十箇，爲末，以蒜擣膏一兩，和丸梧子大。每空 心温酒服二十丸，婦人淡醋湯下。常服壯筋骨，活血脉，烏髭鬚，益顔色。 The “young beauty pills” of the He ji ju fang. They serve to cure kidney qi depletion and weakness that have been exploited by wind and cold. Or, when blood and qi strike at each other, with a painful lower back as if it were about to break, and an inability to freely stretch and bend. Or, when the kidneys are damaged because of forced labor, or when because of a low-lying [region’s] moisture the lower back is harmed, or in the case of an injury resulting from a fall, or in the case of an attack by visitor wind and cold, or when sluggish qi fail to disperse, all these conditions cause lower back pain, or let one have a feeling as if some heavy item had sunk into the region of the lower back. [Grind] to powder one jin of po gu zhi, soaked in wine, one jin of eucommia [bark], with the skin removed, soaked in ginger juice and fried, and 20 walnuts, with their skin removed, and form with one liang of garlic, ground to a paste, pills the size of wu seeds. Each time ingest on an empty stomach with warm wine 20 pills. Woman are to send them down with bland vinegar. Regularly

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ingested [this medication] strengthens sinews and bones, quickens blood and [the movement in the] vessels, blackens beard and hair, and boosts complexion. 妊娠腰痛。通氣散：用破故紙二兩，炒香爲末，先嚼胡桃肉半箇，空心温 酒調下二錢。此藥神妙。婦人良方。 Lower back pain of pregnant women. The “powder to open the passage of qi.” Fry two liang of po gu zhi until they effuse a fragrant smell and [grind them to] powder. First chew half a walnut and send it down mixed with the powder on an empty stomach with warm wine. This medication is divinely wondrous. Fu ren liang fang. 定心補腎。養血返精丸：破故紙炒二兩，白伏苓一兩，爲末。没藥五錢， 以無灰酒浸高一指，煮化和末丸梧子大。每服三十丸，白湯下。昔有人服 此，至老不衰。蓋故紙補腎，伏苓補心，没藥養血，三者既壯，自然身 安。朱氏集驗方。 To stabilize the heart and supplement kidney [qi]. The “pills to nourish blood and let the essence/sperm return.” [Grind] two liang of po gu zhi, fried, and one liang of white poria to powder. Soak five qian of myrrh in a one finger high amount of ash free wine. Boil this until [the myrrh] has transformed and with the powder form pills the size of wu seeds. Each time ingest 30 pills, to be sent down with clear, boiled water. In former times someone ingested this. He reached old age without weakening. The fact is, [po] gu zhi supplements kidney [qi], poria supplements heart [qi] and myrrh supplements blood. When these three (i. e., kidney, heart and blood) are strong, the body will remain in peace. Zhu shi jing yan fang. 精氣不固。破故紙、青鹽等分，同炒，爲末。每服二錢，米飲下。三因方。 Unstable essence qi. Fry equal amounts of po gu zhi and halite together and [grind them to] powder. Each time ingest two qian, to be sent down with a rice beverage. San yin fang. 小便無度，腎氣虚寒。破故紙十兩酒蒸，茴香十兩鹽炒，爲末。酒糊丸梧 子大。每服百丸，鹽酒下，或以末糝豬腎煨食之。普濟方。 Unending urination, with kidney qi depletion and cold. [Grind] ten liang of po gu zhi, steamed in wine, and ten liang of fennel, fried with salt, to powder and form with wine and a [wheat flour] paste pills the size of wu seeds. Each time ingest 100 pills, to be sent down with salt [water or] wine. Or mix the powder with a pig kidney, roast this slowly and eat it. Pu ji fang. 小兒遺尿，膀胱冷也。夜屬陰，故小便不禁。破故紙炒，爲末，每夜熱湯 服五分。嬰童百問。



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Uncontrolled loss of urine of children, with urinary bladder cold. The night belongs to the yin. Hence urination is unrestrained. Fry po gu zhi and [grind it to] powder. Every night [let the child] ingest with hot, boiled water five fen. Ying tong bai wen. 玉莖不痿，精滑無歇，時時如針刺，捏之則脆，此名腎漏。用破故紙、韭 子各一兩，爲末。每用三錢，水二盞，煎六分服，日三次，愈則止。夏子 益奇方。 The jade stalk (i. e., penis) fails to shrink and the essence/sperm flows inexorably. This is accompanied by a repeated piercing [pain]. When [the penis] is pinched, it appears to be brittle. This is called “kidney leakage.” [Grind] one liang each of po gu zhi and Chinese leek seeds to powder. Each time boil three qian in two cups of water down to 60% and ingest [the liquid] three times a day. End [the treatment] when a cure is achieved. Xia Ziyi, Qi fang. 脾腎虚瀉。二神丸：用破故紙炒半斤，肉豆蔻生用四兩，爲末，肥棗肉， 研膏，和丸梧子大。每空心米飲服五七十丸。本事方加木香二兩，名三神 丸。 Spleen and kidney [qi] depletion with outflow. The “pills with two spirits.” [Grind] half a jin of po gu zhi, fried, and four liang of nutmeg, unprepared, to powder. Grind the meat of fat Chinese dates to a paste and mix it [with the powder] to form pills the size of wu seeds. Each time ingest on an empty stomach with a rice beverage 50 to 70 pills. The Ben shi fang [recommends to] add two liang of aucklandia [root]. This [version] is called “pills with three spirits.” 水瀉久痢。破故紙炒一兩，粟殻炙四兩，爲末，煉蜜丸彈子大。每服一 丸，薑、棗同水煎服。百一選方。 Water outflow with a long-lasting free-flux illness. [Grind] one liang of po gu zhi, fried, and four liang of poppy capsules, roasted, to powder and form with heat refined honey pills the size of bullets. Each time ingest one pill, with a decoction prepared by boiling ginger and Chinese dates together. Bai yi xuan fang. 牙痛日久，腎虚也。補骨脂二兩，青鹽半兩，炒研擦之。御藥院方。 Toothache lasting a day long. This is a kidney [qi] depletion. Fry two liang of bu gu zhi and half a liang of halite together, grind [this to powder] and apply it [to the affected teeth]. Yu yao yuan fang. 風蟲牙痛，上連頭腦。補骨脂炒半兩，乳香二錢半，爲末擦之。或爲丸塞 孔内。自用有效。傳信適用方。 Toothache caused by wind [intrusion] and worms/bugs, above linked to head and brain. [Grind] half a liang of bu gu zhi, fried, and two and a half qian of frankincense

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to powder and apply this [to the affected region]. Or form pills and insert them into the holes. An application has shown to be effective. Chuan xin shi yong fang. 打墜腰痛，瘀血凝滯。破故紙炒、茴香炒、辣桂等分，爲末。每熱酒服二 錢。故紙主腰痛行血。直指方。 Lower back pain caused by a blow or a fall. With stagnant blood congealed and sluggish. [Grind] equal amounts of po gu zhi, fried, fennel, fried, and cassia bark to powder. Each time ingest with hot wine two qian. [Po] gu zhi controls lower back pain and stimulates the flow of blood. Zhi zhi fang. 14-26 薑黄唐本草 Jiang huang. FE Tang ben cao. Curcuma longa L.Turmeric.654 【釋名】蒁音述、寶鼎香綱目。 Explanation of Names. Shu 蒁, read shu 述. Bao ding xiang 寶鼎香, “fragrance of the three-footed precious bronze ritual vessel,” Gang mu. 【集解】【恭曰】薑黄根葉都似鬱金。其花春生於根，與苗並出，入夏花 爛無子。根有黄、青、白三色。其作之方法，與鬱金同。西戎人謂之蒁。 其味辛少苦多，亦與鬱金同，惟花生異耳。【藏器曰】薑黄真者，是經種 三年以上老薑，能生花。花在根際，一如蘘荷。根節堅硬，氣味辛辣，種 薑處有之，終是難得。西番亦有來者。與鬱金、蒁藥相似。如蘇恭所説， 即是蒁藥而非薑黄。又言薑黄是蒁，鬱金是胡蒁。如此則三物無别，遞相 連名，總稱爲蒁，則功狀當不殊。而今鬱金味苦寒，色赤，主馬熱病；薑 黄味辛温，色黄；蒁味苦色青。三物不同，所用各别。【大明曰】海南生 者即名蓬莪蒁，江南生者即爲薑黄。【頌曰】薑黄今江、廣、蜀川多有 之。葉青緑，長一二尺許，闊三四寸，有斜文如紅蕉葉而小。花紅白色， 至中秋漸凋。春末方生，其花先生，次方生葉，不結實。根盤屈黄色，類 生薑而圓，有節。八月采根，片切暴乾。蜀人以治氣脹，及産後敗血攻 心，甚驗。蠻人生噉，云可以祛邪辟惡。按鬱金、薑黄、蒁藥三物相近， 蘇恭不能分别，乃爲一物。陳藏器以色味分别三物，又言薑黄是三年老薑 所生。近年汴都多種薑，往往有薑黄生賣，乃是老薑。市人買噉，云治氣 爲最。大方亦時用之。又有廉薑，亦是其類，而自是一物。【時珍曰】近 時以扁如乾薑形者，爲片子薑黄；圓如蟬腹形者，爲蟬肚鬱金，並可浸水 染色。蒁形雖似鬱金，而色不黄也。

654 Jiang huang 薑黄, lit. “ginger yellow.”



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Collected Explanations.[Su] Gong: The root and leaves of jiang huang resemble those of wild turmeric. In spring flowers grow on the root, and they emerge together with the seedling. In summer, the flowers rot and have no seeds. The root has three colors: yellow, greenish and white. The method to process it is identical with that of wild turmeric. The Xi rong people call it shu 蒁, zedoary. Its flavor is a little acrid and predominantly bitter. It, too, is identical with wild turmeric. Only the growth of flowers differs. [Chen] Cangqi: Genuine jiang huang is old ginger of more than three years that can grow flowers. The flowers are situated at the edge of the root, exactly like in the case of zingiber [roots]. The root has nodes and is solid and hard; its flavor is acrid and peppery. It can be found where ginger is planted, but it is difficult to obtain. It is also brought here from foreign regions in the West. It is similar to wild turmeric and zedoary [root]. As Su Gong has said, this is zedoary [root]; it is not jiang huang. It is also said that jiang huang is zedoary [root], and that wild turmeric is zedoary [root] from the land of the Hu. That would mean that these three items do not differ and share the same name in that all are called shu 蒁, zedoary [root]. If that were the case, their [therapeutic] potential and physical shape should be identical. Today’s wild turmeric has a bitter flavor and cold [qi]; its color is red. It controls heat diseases of horses. Huang jing has an acrid flavor and warm [qi]; its color is yellow. Zedoary [root] has a bitter flavor and its color is greenish. These three items are not identical, and their usages are all different. Da Ming: That which grows in Hai nan is called peng e shu 蓬莪蒁, zedoary. That which grows in Jiang nan is called jiang huang. [Su] Song: Today, jiang huang can be found often in Jiang, Guang and Shu chuan. The leaves are greenish-green and more than one or two chi long, with a width of three to four cun. They have a sliding line design similar to the leaves of red bananas, but are smaller. The flowers are red-white; by mid autum they gradually wither. Toward the end of spring the flowers grow first, followed by the growth of leaves. They do not form fruit. The root is curled and of yellow color; it is similar to fresh ginger, but it is round and has nodes. The root is collected in the eighth month. It is cut to slices that are dried in the sun. The people in Shu resort to them to cure qi distension and when following a birth rotten blood attacks the [mother’s] heart. Very effective. The Man people eat it raw, stating that “it is able to dispel evil [qi] and ward off the malign.” As [the qualities and shapes of ] wild turmeric, jiang huang and zedoary are quite similar, Su Gong was unable to distinguish them, and considered them to be one and the same item. Chen Cangqi based on their colors and flavors distinguishes three items, and he also says that “jiang huang grows from three years old ginger.” In recent years much ginger was planted in Bian du, and often jiang huang grew there and was sold. But that is really old ginger. People buy it on the market and eat it, claiming that it is the very best

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to cure qi [disorders]. Occasionally it is also resorted to in comprehensive recipes. There is also a “cheap ginger.” It, too, belongs to this group, but is something different. [Li] Shizhen: In recent times, a flat ware shaped like dried ginger is “sliced jiang huang.” Round specimens shaped like the abdomen of a cicada are “cicada belly wild turmeric.” Both can be soaked in water to serve as a dye. Zedoary may be shaped like wild turmeric, but its color is not yellow. 14-26-01 根。Gen. Root [of jiang huang]. 【氣味】辛、苦、大寒，無毒。【藏器曰】辛少苦多，性熱不冷。云大 寒，誤矣。 Qi and Flavor. Acrid, bitter, very cold, nonpoisonous. [Chen] Cangqi: A little acrid, predominantly bitter.Its nature is hot, not cold. To state that it is very cold, is wrong. 【主治】心腹結積，疰忤，下氣破血，除風熱，消癰腫，功力烈於鬱金。 唐本。治癥瘕血塊，通月經，治撲損瘀血，止暴風痛冷氣，下食。大明。 祛邪辟惡，治氣脹，産後敗血攻心。蘇頌。治風痺臂痛。時珍。 Control. Accumulation nodes in the central and abdominal region. [Demon-qi] attachment-illness655 and hostility. It discharges qi and breaks through blood [accumulations]. It removes wind and heat and dissolves swelling related to obstruction-illness.656 Its [therapeutic] potential and strength are more violent than that of wild turmeric. Tang ben. It serves to cure qi distension and when following a birth rotten blood attacks the heart. Su Song. It serves to cure wind blockage and pain in the arms. [Li] Shizhen. 【發明】【時珍曰】薑黄、鬱金、蒁藥三物，形狀功用皆相近。但鬱金入 心治血，而薑黄兼入脾、兼治氣，蒁藥則入肝兼治氣中之血，爲不同爾。 古方五痺湯用片子薑黄，治風寒濕氣手臂痛。戴原禮要訣云：片子薑黄能 入手臂治痛。其兼理血中之氣可知。 Explication. [Li] Shizhen: The shape and the usages of the [therapeutic] potential of the three items jiang huang, wild turmeric and zedoary are all similar. However, wild turmeric enters the heart and serves to cure blood, while jiang huang enters the spleen and is also used to cure qi [disorders]. Zedoary enters the liver and at

655 Zhu 疰, also zhu 注, “attachment-illness,” “influx-illness,” reflects a notion of a foreign pathogenic agent, originally of demonic nature, having attached itself to the human organism. BCGM Dict I, 688-695.

656 Yong 癰, “obstruction-illness,”refers to an obstruction of vessels or other ducts inside the body. Qi rushing against the obstruction may cause a local swelling and eventually break through the surface to cause an abscess. BCGM Dict I, 641.



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the same time serves to cure blood within the qi [section]. They are not identical! Among ancient recipes, the “decoction for the five blockages” [recommends to] use “sliced jiang huang” to cure painful hands and arms related to wind, cold and moisture qi [intrusion]. Dai Yuanli’s Yao jue states: “Sliced jiang huang can enter the hands and the arms to cure pain.” From this it is known that it orders the qi in the blood [section]. 【附方】舊二，新二。 Added Recipes. Two of old. Two newly [recorded]. 心痛難忍。薑黄一兩，桂三兩，爲末。醋湯服一錢。經驗後方。 Heart pain that is difficult to endure. [Grind] one liang of jiang huang and three liang of cassia to powder and ingest with a vinegar decoction one qian. Jing yan hou fang. 胎寒腹痛，啼哭吐乳，大便瀉青，狀若驚搐，出冷汗。薑黄一錢，没藥、 木香、乳香各二錢，爲末，蜜丸芡子大。每服一丸，釣藤煎湯化下。和劑 方。 Fetal cold with abdominal pain. [The child] cries and spits out its nursing mother’s milk. Its defecation is a greenish outflow. The [signs are] like those of jerking caused by fright, with cold sweat. [Grind] one liang of jiang huang and two qian each of myrrh, aucklandia [root] and frankincense to powder and form with honey pills the size of qian seeds. Each time [let the child] ingest one pill, to be sent down dissolved in a gambir vine decoction. He ji fang. 産後血痛，有塊。用薑黄、桂心等分，爲末，酒服方寸匕。血下盡即愈。 昝殷産寶。 Pain caused by blood following a birth, with the presence of a lump. [Grind] equal amounts of jiang huang and shaved cinnamom bark to powder and [let the woman] ingest with wine the amount held by a square cun spoon. Once all the blood is discharged, a cure is achieved. Zan Yin, Chan bao. 瘡癬初生。薑黄末摻之妙。千金翼。 Sores and xuan-illness657 in their earliest stage. Apply jiang huang powder to [the affected region]. Wondrous. Qian jin yi. 657 Xuan 癬, “xuan-illness.” Conditions of dermal lesions with initially erythema, papules, and itching gradually extending in all directions to form an irregular ring with clear boundaries. The skin is slightly elevated with small papules, blisters, and/or scales and scraps. The central lesion may appear to heal spontaneously, and it may reappear. Also,

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14-27 鬱金唐本草 Yu jin. FE Tang ben cao. Curcuma longa L. Wild turmeric.658 【釋名】馬蒁。【震亨曰】鬱金無香而性輕揚，能致達酒氣於高遠。古人 用治鬱遏不能升者，恐命名因此也。【時珍曰】酒和鬱鬯，昔人言是大秦 國所産鬱金花香，惟鄭樵通志言即是此鬱金。其大秦三代時未通中國，安 得有此草？羅願爾雅翼亦云是此根，和酒令黄如金，故謂之黄流。其説並 通。此根形狀皆似莪蒁而醫馬病，故名馬蒁。 Explanation of Names. Ma shu 馬蒁, “horse zedoary.” [Zhu] Zhenheng: Yu jin is not fragrant. It has a light and raising nature. It can bring the qi of wine to the highest and most distant points. The ancients resorted to it to cure pent-up, yu 鬱, [qi] that is held back and cannot ascend. Perhaps this is the meaning underlying its name. [Li] Shizhen: Wine is mixed with yu chang 鬱鬯. The people in ancient times said that this is the fragrant flower of yu jin 鬱金 grown in Da qin guo. Only Zheng Qiao in his Tong zhi states that “it is the yu jin 鬱金 discussed here. During the three [ancient] dynasties [of the Xia, Shang and Zhou] no communication existed between Da qin and China. How could they have obtained this herb?” Luo Yuan in his Er ya yi, too, states that “it is this root. Mixed with wine it lets [the liquid] turn yellow like gold. Hence it is called huang liu 黄流, ‘yellow flow’.” These sayings are equally reasonable. The physical shape of this root resembles zedoary and it, too, serves to cure horse diseases. Hence the name “horse zedoary,” ma shu 馬蒁.” 【集解】【恭曰】鬱金生蜀地及西戎。苗似薑黄，花白質紅，末秋出莖心 而無實。其根黄赤，取四畔子根去皮，火乾。馬藥用之，破血而補，胡人 謂之馬蒁。嶺南者有實似小豆蔻，不堪噉。【頌曰】今廣南、江西州郡亦 有之，然不及蜀中者佳。四月初生，苗似薑黄，如蘇恭所説。【宗奭曰】 鬱金不香。今人將染婦人衣，最鮮明而不耐日炙，微有鬱金之氣。【時珍 曰】鬱金有二。鬱金香是用花，見本條。此是用根者。其苗如薑，其根大 小如指頭，長者寸許，體圓有横紋如蟬腹狀，外黄内赤。人以浸水染色， 亦微有香氣。 Collected Explanations. [Su] Gong: Yu jin grows in the region of Shu and in Xi rong. The seedlings resemble those of turmeric. The flowers are white on a red matter. They emerge from the center of the stem and do not develop fruit. The root is yellow-red. Choose roots from all four sides, remove the skin and dry them over a a designation of local lesions with itching, release of liquid and shedding of scabs. BCGM Dict I, 591.

658 Yu jin 鬱金, lit.: “lush gold.”



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fire. Used as a medicine for horses, it serves to break through blood [accumulation] and supplements [qi]. The Hu people call it “horse zedoary.” Those in Ling nan have fruits resembling small alpinia katsumadai [seeds]. They are not suitable for consumption. [Su] Song: Today they are also found in the zhou and prefectures of Guang nan and Jiang xi, but they are not as fine as those from Shu. They begin to grow in the fourth month with seedlings resembling those of turmeric, just as Su Gong has said. [Kou] Zongshi: Yu jin is not fragrant. Today the people use it to dye the clothes of women. This makes them very shiny, they are not bleached by the sun and they obtain a little yu jin qi. [Li] Shizhen There are two types of yu jin. Of yu jin xiang 鬱金香 one uses the flowers; see the respective entry (14-33). Of [yu jin discussed] here one uses the root. Its seedlings resemble those of ginger. The root has the size of a finger, with a maximum length of about one cun. It has a round body with a crosswise line design similar to the shape of a cicada abdomen. It is yellow outside and red inside. The people steep it in water to obtain a dye. It has some mild fragrant qi. 14-27-01 根。Gen. Root [of wild turmeric]. 【氣味】辛、苦，寒，無毒。【元素曰】氣味俱厚，純陰。【独孤滔曰】 灰可結砂子。 Qi and Flavor. Acrid, bitter, cold, nonpoisonous. [Zhang] Yuansu: Qi and flavor are all strongly pronounced, pure yin. Dugu Tao: Its ashes are able to let [certain chemical substances] conglomerate to sand. 【主治】血積下氣，生肌止血，破惡血，血淋尿血，金瘡。唐本。單用治 女人宿血氣心痛，冷氣結聚，温醋摩服之。亦治馬脹。甄權。凉心。元 素。治陽毒入胃，下血頻痛。李杲。治血氣心腹痛，産後敗血衝心欲死， 失心顛狂，蠱毒。時珍。 Control. [It breaks through] blood accumulation, discharges qi, develops muscles, ends bleeding, breaks through malign blood [accumulation, serves to cure urinary] dripping with blood, urination with blood and wounds caused by metal objects/ weapons. Tang ben. Used as a single substance, grate it in warm vinegar and ingest [the liquid] to cure heart pain of women caused by abiding blood and qi, and node collections of cold qi. It also serves to cure [abdominal] bloating of horses. Zhen Quan. It cools the heart. [Zhang] Yuansu: It serves to cure yang poison659 that has 659 Yang du 陽毒, “yang poison,” 1.) a shang han 傷寒, “harm caused by cold,” condition resulting in a flourishing of only yang qi and a diminution of yin qi, with strong heat and restlessness, a red face with streaks, pain in the throat and bloody sputum as major

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entered the stomach, discharge of blood and frequent pain. Li Gao. It serves to cure pain in the central and abdominal region caused by blood and qi [disorders], rotten blood following birth rushing against the heart and making [the woman] wish to die, loss-of-heart [wind] 660 resulting in peak[-illness] and madness,661 as well as gu-poison.662 [Li] Shizhen. 【發明】【震亨曰】鬱金屬火與土，有水，其性輕揚上行，治吐血、衄 血、唾血。血腥及經脉逆行，並宜鬱金末加韭汁、薑汁、童尿同服，其血 自清。痰中帶血者，加竹瀝。又鼻血上行者，鬱金、韭汁加四物湯服之。 【時珍曰】鬱金入心及包絡，治血病。經驗方治失心顛狂，用真鬱金七 兩，明礬三兩，爲末，薄糊丸梧子大。每服五十丸，白湯下。有婦人顛狂 十年，至人授此。初服心胸間有物脱去，神氣洒然，再服而甦。此驚憂痰 血絡聚心竅所致，鬱金入心去惡血，明礬化頑痰故也。龐安常傷寒論云： 斑豆始有白泡，忽搐入腹，漸作紫黑色，無膿，日夜叫亂者。鬱金一枚， 甘草二錢半，水半盌煮乾，去甘草，切片焙，研爲末，入真腦子炒半錢。 每用一錢，以生豬血五七滴，新汲水調下，不過二服。甚者毒氣從手足心 出，如癰狀乃瘥，此乃五死一生之候也。又范石湖文集云：嶺南有挑生之 害，於飲食中行厭勝法，魚肉能反生於人腹中，而人以死，則陰役其家。 初得覺胸腹痛，次日刺人，十日則生在腹中也。凡胸膈痛，即用升麻或膽 礬吐之。若膈下痛，急以米湯調鬱金末二錢服，即瀉出惡物。或合升麻、 鬱金服之，不吐則下。李巽巖侍郎爲雷州推官，鞠獄得此方，活人甚多也。 Explication: [Zhu] Zhenheng: Yu jin belongs to [the phases] fire and soil, and also water. Its nature is light, it raises [other qi] to ascend. It serves to cure vomiting of blood, nosebleed, and blood spitting. In the case of blood [spitting] with a fishy smell and a counterflow passage in the conduit-vessels, it is always suitable to ingest yu jin powder together with Chinese leek juice, ginger juice and boys’s urine, and this will clear the blood. If the phlegm comes with blood, add bamboo stem juice. characteristics. 2.) An etiological agent identical with du qi 毒氣, “poison qi,” with a heat quality. BCGM Dict I, 616-617.

660 For shi xin feng 失心風, “loss-of-heart wind,” see BCGM Dict I, 457.

661 Dian kuang 顛狂, identical with 癲狂, “peak-illness and madness,” conditions of mental disturbance. Based on a patient’s condition of silence or restlessness one may distinguish between the two types of dian 癲, “peak-illness,” and kuang 狂, “madness.” BCGM Dict I, 125.

662 Gu 蠱 is an ancient conceptualization of diseases traced to a magic pathogenic agent. Originally it was assumed to be a most poisonous bug, the only creature in a closed jar surviving competition with hundreds of other poisonous bugs. This bug was believed to be instrumentalized by greedy persons to appropriate the belongings of others. The resulting disease was termed gu du 蠱毒, “gu-poison(ing).” BCGM Dict I, 191.BCGM Dict I, 191.



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Also, when blood ascends in the nose, ingest yu jin with Chinese leek juice and the “decoction with the four items. ”663 [Li] Shizhen: Yu jin enters the heart and the [heart] enclosure. It serves to cure blood diseases. The Jing yan fang [recommends to] cure loss-of-heart [wind] with peak[-illness] and madness664 [as follows. Grind] seven liang of genuine yu jin and three liang of alum to powder and form with thin [wheat flour] paste pills the size of wu seeds. Each time [let the patient] ingest 50 pills, to be sent down with clear, boiled water. There was a woman who suffered from a peak[-illness] with madness for ten years. A morally accomplished person gave her this [medication]. When she began to ingest it, she [felt how] some item left her heart and chest region, and her spirit qi were freed. When she took a second dose, she came to her senses again. This condition results from phlegm and blood collecting, because of fright and grief, in the heart cavity. [A cure is achieved] because yu jin enters the heart and removes malign blood, while alum transforms the stubborn phlegm. Pang Anchang in his Shang han lun states: “In the beginning the macules of pox emerge as white bubbles that may withdraw into the abdomen. They gradually assume a purple-black color, but remain without pus. [Patients] cry day and night. [To treat this] boil one yu jin [root] and two and a half qian of glycyrrhiza [rooot] in a bowl half full of water until [the water] has dried. Remove the glycyrrhiza [root], cut [the yu jin] into slices, dry them over a fire in a pan, and grind them to powder. Add half a qian of fried genuine camphor. For each [application] take one qian, add five to seven drops of fresh pig blood and send this down mixed with newly fetched well water. No more than two ingestions [are required]. In severe cases, the poison qi will leave through the palms of the hands and the soles of the feet. If this assumes the shape of an obstruction-illness,665 a cure is achieved. This is evidence of one case of survival vis-à-vis five cases of death.” Also, the Fan Shihu wen ji states: “In Ling nan they have a destructive practice of ‘poking life’666 in that they [mix poison into a guest’s] beverages and food in a most detestable way. The [poisonous] fish and meat come to life again in the [victim] person’s abdomen. That person will die and [the poison] enters the [bodies of his] entire household. 663 Ingredients include paeonia root bark, Chinese foxglove rhizome, Chinese angelica root and ligusticum root. 664 Dian kuang 顛狂, identical with 癲狂, “peak-illness and madness,” conditions of mental disturbance. Based on a patient’s condition of silence or restlessness one may distinguish between the two types of dian 癲, “peak-illness,” and kuang 狂, “madness.” BCGM Dict I, 125.

665 Yong 癰, “obstruction-illness,”refers to an obstruction of vessels or other ducts inside the body. Qi rushing against the obstruction may cause a local swelling and eventually break through the surface to cause an abscess. BCGM Dict I, 641.

666 Meant to assist a gu demon to enter a living body. The gu demon will pay for this assistance by transferring the belongings of the victim to the person who helped it.

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In the beginning, [a victim] will feel pain in chest and abdomen. The next day he feels a piercing pain. Within ten days [the poisonous fish and meat] come to life in the [victim’s] abdomen causing pain in the entire chest and diaphragm region. [To cure this] induce vomiting with cimicifuga [rhizome] or chalcanthite. If the pain is situated below the diaphragm, quickly ingest two qian of yu jin mixed with a rice decoction. The malign items will be emitted with an outflow. One may also ingest a mixture of cimicifuga [rhizome] and yu jin to cause either vomiting or discharge. Vice Minister Li Xuanyan, a judge in Lei zhou, obtained this recipe from a prisoner. It saved the life of many people.”

【附方】舊三，新十。 Added Recipes. Three of old. Ten newly [recorded]. 失心顛狂。方見發明下。 Loss-of-heart [wind] with peak[-illness] and madness.667 For a recipe, see under “Explication.” 痘毒入心。方見發明下。 Pox poison has entered the heart. For a recipe, see under “Explication.” 厥心氣痛不可忍。鬱金、附子、乾薑等分，爲末。醋糊丸梧子大，朱砂爲 衣。每服三十丸，男酒女醋下。奇效方。 Unbearable pain caused by heart qi recession. [Grind] equal amounts of yu jin, aconitum [accessory tuber] and dried ginger to powder, form with vinegar and a [wheat flour] paste pills the size of wu seeds, coat them with cinnabar and each time ingest 30 pills, to be sent down by males with wine and by females with vinegar. Qi xiao fang. 産後心痛，血氣上衝欲死。鬱金燒存性，爲末，二錢，米醋一呷，調灌即 甦。袖珍方。 Heart pain followig delivery, with blood and qi rushing upward against [the heart] letting one wish to day. [Grind] yu jin, burned with its nature retained, to powder. Mix two qian with a sip of rice vinegar and force-feed this [to the patient]. This will bring her back to life. Xiu zhen fang. 667 Dian kuang 顛狂, identical with 癲狂, “peak-illness and madness,” conditions of mental disturbance. Based on a patient’s condition of silence or restlessness one may distinguish between the two types of dian 癲, “peak-illness,” and kuang 狂, “madness.” BCGM Dict I, 125.



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自汗不止。鬱金末，卧時調塗于乳上。集簡方。 Unending spontaneous sweating. Mix yu jin powder [with a liquid] and apply this to the breast when going to bed. Ji jian fang. 衄血吐血。川鬱金爲末，井水服二錢，甚者再服。黎居士易簡方。 Nosebleed and blood spitting. [Grind] yu jin from [Si] chuan to powder and ingest with well water two qian. In severe cases ingest a second dose. Li Jushi, Yi jian fang. 陽毒下血，熱氣入胃，痛不可忍。鬱金五大箇，牛黄一皂莢子，爲散。每 服用醋漿水一盞，同煎三沸，温服。孫用和秘寶方。 Yang poison668 with blood discharge. Heat qi have entered the stomach causing unbearable pain. [Grind] five big yu jin [roots] and one gleditsia seed pod to powder. For each dose boil [the powder] in one cup of vinegar and fermented water of foxtail millet three times to bubbling and ingest [the resulting liquid] warm. Sun Yonghe, Mi bao fang. 尿血不定。鬱金末一兩，葱白一握，水一盞，煎至三合，温服，日三服。 經驗方。 Urination with blood that cannot be fixed. Boil one liang of yu jin powder and one handful of onion white [stalks] in one cup of water down to three ge and ingest [the liquid] warm. Jing yan fang. 風痰壅滯。鬱金一分，藜蘆十分，爲末。每服一字，温漿水調下。仍以漿 水一盞漱口，以食壓之。經驗後方。 Obstructing sluggishness of wind and phlegm. [Grind] one fen of yu jin and ten fen of veratrum [root] to powder and each time ingest one zi, to be sent down mixed with fermented water of foxtail millet. Also, rinse the mouth with fermented water of foxtail millet and press this down with a meal. Jing yan hou fang. 挑生蠱毒。方見發明下。 Poking life with gu-poison.669 For a recipe, see under “Explication.” 668 Yang du 陽毒, “yang poison,” 1.) a shang han 傷寒, “harm caused by cold,” condition resulting in a flourishing of only yang qi and a diminution of yin qi, with strong heat and restlessness, a red face with streaks, pain in the throat and bloody sputum as major characteristics. 2.) An etiological agent identical with du qi 毒氣, “poison qi,” with a heat quality. BCGM Dict I, 616-617.

669 Gu du 蠱毒, “gu-poison[ing].” 1.) A poison emitted by certain worms/snakes with an ability to cause varying pathological changes in a person who has taken it in by means of wine or food. 2.) Abdominal fullness, in some cases with blood spitting, and blood in the stool and urine. BCGM Dict I, 192 - 193. See BCGM 42-22.

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中砒霜毒。鬱金末二錢，入蜜少許，冷水調服。事林廣記。 Struck by the poison of arsenic. Add a small amount of honey to two qian of yu jin powder and ingest it mixed with cold water. Shi lin guang ji. 痔瘡腫痛。鬱金末，水調塗之，即消。醫方摘要。 Pile sores with a painful swelling. Mix yu jin powder with water and apply this [to the affected region]. Yi fang zhai yao. 耳内作痛。鬱金末一錢，水調，傾入耳内，急傾出之。聖濟總録。 Pain in the ears. Mix one qian of yu jin powder with water and pour this into the [affected] ear. Then quickly turn the head to the side and let it come out again. Sheng ji zhong lu. 14-28 蓬莪荗音述宋開寶 Peng e shu, read shu. FE Song, Kai bao. Curcuma aeruginosa Roxb. Zedoary [root]. 【釋名】蒁藥。 Explanation of Names. Shu yao 蒁藥. 【集解】【志曰】蓬莪荗生西戎及廣南諸州。葉似蘘荷，子似乾椹，荗在 根下並生，一好一惡，惡者有毒。西戎人取之，先放羊食，羊不食者棄 之。【藏器曰】一名蓬莪，黑色；二名蒁，黄色；三名波殺，味甘，有大 毒。【大明曰】即南中薑黄根也。海南生者名蓬莪蒁。【頌曰】今江、浙 或有之。三月生苗，在田野中。其莖如錢大，高二三尺。葉青白色，長一 二尺，大五寸以來，頗類蘘荷。五月有花作穗，黄色，頭微紫。根如生薑 而荗在根下，似鷄鴨卵，大小不常。九月采，削去粗皮，蒸熟暴乾用。 Collected Explanations. [Ma] Zhi: Peng e shu grows in Xi rong and in all the zhou of Guang zhou. The leaves resemble those of Zingiber mioga. The seeds resemble dried mulberry [fruit]. [Two root tubers] grow together from underneath the root. One is good; the other is bad. The bad ones are poisonous. The Xi rong people gather them and first give them to sheep/goats to eat. Those not eaten by the sheep/goats are discarded. [Chen] Cangqi. Another [type] is named peng e 蓬莪. It is black. Still another is named shu 蒁. It is yellow. A third [type] is named bo sha 波殺. Its flavor is sweet, and it is very poisonous. Da Ming: This is the root of turmeric from Nan zhong. Those growing in Hai nan are called peng e shu. [Su] Song: Nowadays they are occasionally found in Jiang and Zhe. They grow seedlings in the third month, in the open country. The stems have the size of a coin, with a height of two to three chi.



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The leaves are of greenish-white color and reach a length of one to two chi, with an approximiate width of five cun. They are related to zingiber mioga. In the fifth month they develop flowers as spikes. They are yellow and their tip is slightly purple. The root resembles that of fresh ginger, with the root tubers growing from underneath the roots and resembling chicken or duck eggs. Their sizes differ. They are collected in the ninth month. For using them [for therapeutic purposes] the coarse skin is removed, they are steamed until done and then dried in the sun. 14-28-01 根。Gen. Root [of peng e shu] 【修治】【斅曰】凡使，於砂盆中以醋磨令盡，然後於火畔㶸乾，重篩過 用。【頌曰】此物極堅硬，難擣治。用時，熱灰火中煨令透，乘熱擣之， 即碎如粉。【時珍曰】今人多以醋炒或煮熟入藥，取其引入血分也。 Pharmaceutical Preparation. [Lei] Xiao: For all applications, first grade them in vinegar in a porcelain bowl until nothing [substantial] remains. Then place [the bowl] next to a fire to let the liquid dry. [Grind the residue to powder], give it repeatedly through a sieve and then use it. [Su] Song: This item is extremely solid and hard. It is difficult to process it by pounding it. When it is to be used, slowly but thoroughly roast it in the hot ashes of a fire and then pound it while it is still hot. This will let it break to pieces like powder. [Li] Shizhen: These days the people often fry it in vinegar or boil it [in water] until it is done before applying it as a medication, making use of its ability to enter the blood section. 【氣味】苦、辛，温，無毒。【大明曰】得酒、醋良。 Qi and Flavor. Bitter, acrid, warm, nonpoisonous. Da Ming: To [ingest it] combined with wine and vinegar yields good results. 【主治】心腹痛，中惡疰忤鬼氣，霍亂冷氣，吐酸水，解毒，食飲不消， 酒研服之。又療婦人血氣結積，丈夫奔豚。開寶。破痃癖冷氣，以酒醋磨 服。甄權。治一切氣，開胃消食，通月經，消瘀血，止撲損痛，下血，及 内損惡血。大明。通肝經聚血。好古。 Control. For a painful central and abdominal region, being struck by the malign, hostile demon qi attachment-illness, cholera with cold qi, spitting of sour water, to resolve poison, and when food and beverages fail to be digested, ingest it ground together with wine. Also, it serves to heal node accumulation of blood and qi in

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women, and running piglets670 in males. Kai bao. To break through string-illness671 and aggregation-illness672 related to cold qi, ingest it graded in wine and vinegar. Zhen Quan. It serves to cure all types of qi [disorders]. It opens the stomach and dissolves food. It frees the passage of menstruation, dissolves stagnant blood, and ends pain caused by a blow or fall, and discharge of blood. [It eliminates] malign blood resulting from internal injuries. Da Ming. It frees the passage of accumulated blood in the liver conduit. [Wang] Haogu. 【發明】【頌曰】蓬莪荗，古方不見用者。今醫家治積聚諸氣，爲最要之 藥。與荆三稜同用之良，婦人藥中亦多使。【好古曰】蓬莪色黑，破氣中 之血，入氣藥發諸香。雖爲泄劑，亦能益氣，故孫尚藥用治氣短不能接 續，及大小七香丸、集香丸、諸湯散多用此也。又爲肝經血分藥。【時珍 曰】鬱金入心，專治血分之病；薑黄入脾，兼治血中之氣；蒁入肝，治氣 中之血，稍爲不同。按王執中資生經云：執中久患心脾疼，服醒脾藥反 脹。用耆域所載蓬莪蒁麪裹炮熟，研末，以水與酒、醋煎服，立愈。蓋此 藥能破氣中之血也。 Explication. [Su] Song: Peng e shu was not used in ancient recipes. Today, physicians consider it as a most important pharmaceutical drug to cure accumulation of any type of qi. Used together with river bulrush stem tuber it yields good results. It is also often applied in medication for women. [Wang] Haogu: Peng e [shu] is black. It breaks through blood in the qi [section]. When added to qi medication, it effuses all possible fragrant [qi]. Even though it serves as a preparation to cause outflow, it also can boost the qi. Hence, when Sun Shangyao cured shortness of [breath] qi, with the risk of discontinued [breathing], and also in the major and minor “pills with seven fragrant [constituents],” the “pills to accumulate fragrant [qi],” and all types of further decoctions and powders, he resorted to it. It is also a pharmaceutical drug for the blood section of the liver conduits. [Li] Shizhen: Wild turmeric enters the heart. It especially serves to cure diseases of the blood section. Turmeric enters the spleen. It, too, serves to cure qi [disorders] in the blood [section]. [Peng e] shu enters the spleen. It serves to cure blood [disorder] in the qi [section]. They are all a little bit different. According to Wang Zhizhong’s Zi sheng jing, “[I, Wang] Zhizhong myself for a long time suffered from stomach and spleen pain. I ingested medication to clear the spleen, but contrary to what was hoped for this resulted in distension. 670 Ben tun 賁豚, “running piglet,” a condition of an accumulation in the kidneys assuming the shape of a piglet moving up and down at irregular intervals. BCGM Dict I, 57.

671 Xuan 痃, “string-illness,” a condition of acute pain located in the abdomen to the left and right of the umbilicus. BCGM Dict I, 591.

672 Pi 癖, “aggregation-illness,” of painful lumps emerging from time to time in both flanks. BCGM Dict I, 371.



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[Eventually, I] wrapped peng e shu from Shi yu in wheat flour, roasted it until done, ground it to powder, boiled it in water, wine and vinegar, and ingested [the resulting liquid. I] was cured immediately.” The fact is, this pharmaceutical drug can break through blood [accumulation] in the qi [section].

【附方】舊一，新七。 Added Recipes. One of old. Seven newly [recorded]. 一切冷氣，搶心切痛，發即欲死。久患心腹痛時發者，此可絶根。蓬莪荗 二兩醋煮，木香一兩煨，爲末。每服半錢，淡醋湯下。衞生家寶方。 All types of cold qi striking at the heart and causing a piercing pain. Outbreaks are such that one wishes to die. When someone has suffered from pain in the central and abdominal region for a long time, [ingested] at the time of an outbreak this [recipe] can sever the root [of the problem]. [Grind] two liang of peng e shu, boiled in vinegar, and one liang of aucklandia [root], slowly roasted, to powder. Each time ingest half a qian, to be sent down with a mild vinegar decoction. Wei sheng jia bao fang. 小腸臟氣 673，非時痛不可忍。蓬莪蒁研末，空心葱酒服一錢。楊子建護命 方。 Qi stuck in the small intestine, with unbearable pain occurring any time. Grind peng e shu to powder and ingest one qian on an empty stomach with a wine in which onions have been soaked.674 Yang Zijian, Hu ming fang. 婦人血氣，遊走作痛及腰痛。蓬莪荗、乾漆各二兩，末，酒服二錢。腰痛 核桃酒下。普濟方。 Blood and qi [disorders] of women. When [such disorders] roam [through their body] causing pain, and also lower back pain. [Grind] two liang each of peng e shu and dried lacquer to powder and ingest with wine two qian. In the case of lower back pain, send [the powder] down with walnut wine. Pu ji fang.

673 Xiao chang cang qi 小腸臟氣, “qi stuck in the small intestine,” is an alternative expression for

674 The nature of rice wine is hot, and the nature of onions is hot, too. When onions are pounded to a pulp that is then given into rice wine, the latter’s ability to generate warmth is further increased.

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小兒盤腸，内釣痛。以莪荗半兩，用阿魏一錢化水浸一日夜，焙研。每服 一字，紫蘇湯下。保幼大全。 Coiled intestines of children, with a pain as if pulled from the inside by a hook. Dry over a fire in a pan half a liang of [peng] e shu and one qian of asafetida, soaked in water for one day and one night, and grind this to powder. Each time [let the child] ingest one zi, to be sent down with a perilla decoction. Bao you da quan. 小兒氣痛。蓬莪蒁炮熟，爲末。熱酒服一大錢。十全博救方。 Pain related to qi [disorder] of children. [Grind] peng e shu, roasted until done, to powder and ingest one generous qian with hot wine. Shi quan bo jiu fang. 上氣喘急。蓬莪荗五錢，酒一盞半，煎八分服。保生方。 Rising qi with hectic panting. Boil five qian of peng e shu in one and a half cups of wine down to 80% and ingest [the resulting liquid]. Bao sheng fang. 氣短不接。正元散：治氣不接續，兼治滑泄及小便數，王丞相服之有驗。 用蓬莪蒁一兩，金鈴子去核一兩，爲末。入蓬砂一錢，煉過研細。每服二 錢，温酒或鹽湯空心服。孫用和秘寶方。 Shortness of [breath] qi, risking discontinuation. The “powder to correct the original [qi].” It serves to cure qi flow which threatens to be interrupted, and also smooth outflow and frequent urination. Grand Councilor Wang ingested it and it proved effective. [Grind] one liang of peng e shu and one liang of Persian lilac fruit, with the kernels removed, to powder. Add one qian of borax, heat refined, and grind [all this] to fine [powder]. Each time ingest two qian, to be ingested with warm wine or a salt decoction on an empty stomach. Sun Yonghe, Mi bao fang. 初生吐乳不止。蓬莪荗少許，鹽一緑豆，以乳一合，煎三五沸，去滓，入 牛黄兩粟大，服之甚效也。保幼大全。 A newborn vomits its nursing mother’s milk without end. Boil a small amount of peng e shu and salt the size of a mung bean with one ge of the nursing mother’s milk three to five times to bubbling. Discard the dregs, add cow bezoar the size of two millet grains and [let the child] ingest this. Very effective. Bao you da quan. 渾身燎泡。方見荆三稜。 The entire body is covered by blisters as if burned. For a recipe, see [the following entry] jing san leng.



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14-29 荆三稜宋開寶 Jing san leng. FE Song, Kai bao. Scirpus Yagara Ohwi. River bulrush stem tuber. 【校正】併入開寶 草三稜。 Editorial Correction. Cao san leng, [listed separately in the] Kai bao, is integrated here. 【釋名】京三稜開寶、草三稜開寶、鷄爪三稜開寶、黑三稜圖經、石三 稜。【頌曰】三稜，葉有三稜也。生荆楚地，故名荆三稜以著其地，開寶 本草作京者誤矣。又出草三稜條，云即鷄爪三稜，生蜀地，二月、八月采 之。其實一類，隨形命名爾，故併見之。 Explanation of Names. Jing san leng 京三稜, “capital city triple edge,” Kai bao. Cao san leng 草三稜, “herbal triple edge,” Kai bao. Ji zhao sanleng 鷄爪三稜, “chicken claw triple edge.” Kai bao. Hei san leng 黑三稜, “black triple edge,” Tu jing. Shi san leng 石三稜, “stone/rock triple edge.” [Su] Song: San leng 三稜, its leaves have three edges, san leng 三稜. It grows in Jing chu 荆楚. Hence the name jing san leng 荆三 稜 refers to this region. When the Kai bao ben cao writes jing 京,”capital city,” that is wrong. There is also an entry [in the Kai bao] on cao san leng 草三稜, stating that “this is ji zhao san leng 鷄爪三稜 from Shu. It is collected in the second and eighth month.” The fact is, they are of one group. It is named so because of its physical appearance. Hence they are presented here together. 【集解】【藏器曰】三稜總有三四種。京三稜黄色體重，狀若鯽魚而小。 又有黑三稜，狀如烏梅而稍大，體輕有鬚，相連蔓延，作漆色，蜀人以織 爲器，一名䔷者是也。療體並同。【頌曰】京三稜舊不著所出地土，今荆 襄、江淮、濟南、河陝間皆有之，多生淺水旁及陂澤中。春生苗，葉似莎 草，極長，高三四尺，又似茭蒲葉而有三稜。五六月抽莖，高四五尺， 大如人指，有三稜如削成。莖端開花，大體皆如莎草而大，黄紫色。苗下 即魁，初生成塊如附子大，或有扁者，其旁有根横貫，一根則連數魁，魁 上亦出苗。其魁皆扁長如小鯽魚，體重者，三稜也。其根末將盡一魁，未 發苗，小圓如烏梅者，黑三稜也。又根之端鈎曲如爪者，鷄爪三稜也。皆 皮黑肌白而至輕。或云：不出苗只生細根者，謂之鷄爪三稜。又不生細根 者，謂之黑三稜，大小不常，其色黑，去皮即白。三者本一種，但力有剛 柔，各適其用。因其形爲名，如烏頭、烏喙、雲母、雲華之類，本非兩物 也。今人乃妄以鳧茈、香附子爲之。又河中府有石三稜，根黄白色，形如 釵股，葉緑如蒲，苗高及尺，葉上亦有三稜，四月開花白色，如蓼葓花， 五月采根，亦消積氣。今舉世所用三稜，皆淮南紅蒲根也。泰州尤多。其

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體至堅重，刻削魚形，葉扁莖圓，不.復有三稜，不知何緣命名爲三稜也？ 雖太醫亦不以爲謬。流習既久，用根者不識其苗，采藥者莫究其用，因緣 差失，不復辨别。今三稜皆獨旁引二根，無直下根，其形大體多如鯽魚。 【時珍曰】三稜多生荒廢陂池濕地。春時叢生，夏秋抽高莖，莖端復生數 葉，開花六七枝，花皆細碎成穗，黄紫色，中有細子。其葉莖花實俱有三 稜，並與香附苗葉花實一樣，但長大爾。其莖光滑三稜，如椶之葉莖。莖 中有白穰，剖之織物，柔韌如藤。吕忱字林云：䔷草生水中，根可緣器。 即此草莖，非根也。抱朴子言䔷根化鱓，亦是此草。其根多黄黑鬚，削去 鬚皮，乃如鯽狀，非本根似鯽也。 Collected Explanations. [Chen] Cangqi: There are three or four types of san leng. Jing san leng 京三稜 is yellow with a heavy body; it is shaped like golden carps, but smaller. There is also a hei san leng. It is shaped like smoked plums, just a little bigger. Its body is light and has hair. [The roots] spread interconnected; they are colored like lacquer. The Shu people weave them to utensils. They are also called qin 䔷. They all have an identical therapeutic [potential] and physical shape. [Su] Song: In older [literature] the places of origin of jing san leng were not recorded. Today, they are found in Jing xiang, Jiang huai, Ji nan and He shaan all alike. They often grow at the banks of shallow waters and in marshy reservoirs. The seedlings grow in spring. Their leaves resemble those of cyperus herbs; they are very long. [The seedling] reaches a height of three to four chi. It also resembles the leaves of water bamboo with three edges. A stem rises in the fifth and sixth month with a height of four to five chi and the size of a human finger. With its three edges it looks like it was cut with a knife. Flowers open at the top of the stem. They are similar to those of cyperus [herbs], but are larger and of yellow-purple color. At the bottom of the stem are root tubers. In the beginning of their growth they are as big as aconitum accessory tubers. Some are flat. From their sides roots grow horizontally, with one root linking several root tubers. From the root tubers, too, seedlings emerge. The root tubers are all flat and long like small golden carps, with a heavy body and three edges. The end of the root consists of one root tuber. As long as it has not emitted a seedling it is small and round like a smoked plum. It is black with three edges. Also, those with the end of the root bent like a hook, resembling a claw, are the “chicken claw triple edges,” ji zhao san leng 鷄爪三稜.They all have a black skin and white flesh, and are extremely light. It is also said: Those that do not emit a seedling, and only grow a fine root, they are called ji zhao san leng. Furthermore, those that do not grow fine roots, they are called hei san lang, “black three edges.” They are of unequal size and black. When their skin is removed, they are white. All three are basically one type. But their [therapeutic] strength differs and they should be used in agreement [with their differing strengths]. Their names reflect their [different] shapes, in



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the same way as “black head,” wu tou 烏頭, [Chinese aconite, is also called] “black beak,” wu hui 烏喙, and “cloud mother,” yun mu 雲母, [mica, is also called] “cloud efflorescence,” yun hua 雲華, but they are not two different items. Today, some people use eleocharis [fruit] and cyperus [root] as substitutes. Also, in He zhong fu, there is a shi san leng 石三稜, “stone/rock triple edge.” Its root is yellow-white, shaped like a hairpin. The leaves are green like those of cattail, and their seedlings may be as high as one chi. Their leaves, too, have three edges. They open white flowers in the fourth month, similar to the flowers of red knotweed. The root is collected in the fifth month. It also serves to dissolve qi accumulation. All the san leng used today are hong pu 紅蒲 roots from Huai nan, with a lot from Tai zhou. Their body is very solid and heavy, as if it had been cut by a knife in the shape of a fish. The leaves are flat and the stem is round; unlike the other types it does not have three edges and it is unclear why it was named san leng 三稜, “three edges.” Even the imperial physicians do not regard this as wrong. It is a practice that has continued for a long time: Those who use the root know nothing about the seedling. And those who gather the drugs [in the wild], they do not care about their application. Hence a mistaken handling results from a lack of differentiation. Today all san leng have two roots to the side; there is no root growing down straight. They are shaped like golden carps. [Li] Shizhen: San leng often grows in wastelands, ponds and marshland. In spring it grows in clusters. In summer and autumn, a tall stem rises. At the end of the stem several leaves emerge, with six to seven flowers. The flowers consist of small elements forming a spike of yellow-purple color with fine seeds in their middle. The leaves, stems, flowers and fruits all have three edges, and this is identical with the seedlings, leaves, flowers and fruits of cyperus rotundus, except that they are longer and larger. Their stems are shiny and smooth, and have three edges, similar to the leaves and stems of trachycarpus [palm]. The stem is filled with fibers. They are removed to weave items. They are as pliable and tough like rattan. Lü Chen in his Zi lin states: “Qin 䔷 herbs grow in water. The root can be made to utensils.” These are the herb and the stem, not the root. The Baopu zi says: “Qin 䔷 roots transform to mud eels.” This, too, refers to the herb [discussed] here. The roots have many yellow-black hairs. When they are removed, [the roots] are shaped like golden carbs. The original root does not resemble a golden carp. 14-29-01 根。Gen. Root [of river jin san leng]. 【修治】【元素曰】入用須炮熟。【時珍曰】消積須用醋浸一日，炒或煮 熟，焙乾，入藥乃良。

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Pharmaceutical Preparation. [Zhang] Yuansu. To apply it it must be thoroughly roasted. [Li] Shizhen: When it is meant to dissolve [qi] accumulation, it must be soaked in vinegar for one day. Then it is fried or boiled until done, and dried over a fire in a pan. When this is added to medication it yields good results. 【氣味】苦，平，無毒。【藏器曰】甘，平，温。【大明曰】甘、濇， 凉。【元素曰】苦、甘，無毒，陰中之陽。能瀉真氣，真氣虚者勿用。 Qi and Flavor. Bitter, balanced, nonpoisonous. [Chen] Cangqi: Sweet, balanced, warm. Da Ming: Sweet, astringent, cool. [Zhang] Yuansu: Bitter, sweet, nonpoisonous. Yang in yin. It can drain genuine qi. [Persons with] genuine qi depletion must not use it. 【主治】老癖癥瘕，積聚結塊，産後惡血血結，通月水，墮胎，止痛利 氣。開寶。治氣脹，破積氣，消撲損瘀血，婦人血脉不調，心腹痛，産後 腹痛血運。大明。心膈痛，飲食不消。元素。通肝經積血，治瘡腫堅硬。 好古。下乳汁。時珍。 Control. Lasting aggregation-, concretion- and conglomeration-illness. Accumulation and collection forming node lumps. Blood lumps of malign blood forming after birth. It opens the passage of menstruation, causes premature abortion, ends pain and frees the flow of qi. Kai bao. It serves to cure qi distension and breaks through qi accumulation. It dissolves stagnant blood resulting from a blow or fall. [It serves to cure] irregular [movement in the] blood vessels of women, pain in the central and abdominal region, as well as abdominal pain and blood induced nausea following delivery. Da Ming. Painful heart and diaphragm region. Failure of beverages and food to be dissolved. [Zhang] Yuansu. It frees the passage of accumulated blood in the liver conduits. It serves to cure sores with solid and hard swelling. [Wang] Haogu. It lets down a nursing mother’s milk sap. [Li] Shizhen. 【發明】【好古曰】三稜色白屬金，破血中之氣，肝經血分藥也。三稜、 莪荗治積塊瘡硬者，乃堅者削之也。【志曰】俗傳昔人患癥癖死，遺言令 開腹取之。得病塊，乾硬如石，文理有五色。以爲異物，削成刀柄。後因 以刀刈三稜，柄消成水，乃知此藥可療癥癖也。【時珍曰】三稜能破氣散 結，故能治諸病。其功可近於香附而力峻，故難久服。按戴原禮證治要訣 云：有人病癥癖腹脹，用三稜、莪荗，以酒煨煎服之，下一黑物如魚而愈 也。 Explication.[Wang] Haogu: San leng is white and belongs to [the phase] metal. As it breaks through qi [accumulation] in the blood [section], it is a pharmaceutical drug for the blood section of the liver conduits. San leng and zedoary [root] serve to cure [qi accumulation] forming lumps and hard sores. This is an example of “what



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is solid, cut it.” [Ma] Zhi: Tradition has it that in former times someone suffered from concretion- and aggregation-illness and died. He left a note asking to open his abdomen and remove the [concretion/aggregation. This was followed and] the lump causing the disease was found. It was dry and hard like a stone and had a line design of all five colors. It was thought to be a strange item, and someone cut it to form the handle of a knife. Later on the knife was used to cut san leng, and the handle dissolved to water. Since then it was known that this drug can heal concretion- and aggregation-illness. [Li] Shizhen: San leng can break through qi [accumulation] and disperse nodes. Hence it is able to cure all types of illness. Its [therapeutic] potential nears that of nutgrass with an extraordinary strength. Hence it is not good to ingest it for a long time. According to Dai Yuanli’s Zheng zhi yao jue, “someone suffered from aggregation- and concretion-illness. He took san leng and zedoary [root], slowly roasted them in wine, boiled them [to prepare a decoction] and ingested [the liquid]. He discharged a black item similar to a fish and was cured.” 【附方】舊三，新五。 Added Recipes. Three of old. Five newly [recorded]. 癥瘕鼓脹。三稜煎：用三稜根切一石，水五石，煮三石，去滓更煎，取三 斗汁入鍋中，重湯煎如稠糖，密器收之。每旦酒服一匕，日二服。千金翼 方。 Concretion- and conglomeration-illness with a drum-like [abdominal] distension. The “san leng decoction.” Cut one dan of san leng root to pieces and boil them in five dan of water down to three dan. Discard the dregs and boil [the liquid] again. Then give three dou of the sap into a cauldron and repeatedly boil it until it forms a thick sugar syrup. Store this tightly sealed. Every morning ingest with wine one spoonful. To be ingested twice a day. Qian jin yi fang. 痃癖氣塊。草三稜、荆三稜、石三稜、青橘皮、陳橘皮、木香各半兩，肉 豆蔻、檳榔各一兩，硇砂二錢，爲末。糊丸梧子大，每薑湯服三十丸。奇 效方。 String-illness675 and aggregation-illness676 associated with qi lumps. [Grind] half a liang each of cao san leng, jing san leng, shi san leng, greenish tangerine peels, longstored tangerine peels, and aucklandia [root], one liang each of nutmeg and areca [nuts], and two qian of sal ammoniac to powder and form with a [wheat flour] paste

675 Xuan 痃, “string-illness,” a condition of acute pain located in the abdomen to the left and right of the umbilicus. BCGM Dict I, 591.

676 Pi 癖, “aggregation-illness,” of painful lumps emerging from time to time in both flanks. BCGM Dict I, 371.

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pills the size of wu seeds. Each time ingest with a ginger decoction 30 pills. Qi xiao fang. 痃癖不瘥，脇下硬如石。京三稜一兩炮，川大黄一兩，爲末，醋熬成膏。 每日空心生薑橘皮湯下一匙，以利下爲度。聖惠方。 String-illness and aggregation-illness that have not been cured, with a stone-like hardening below the flanks. [Grind] one liang of jing san leng, roasted, and one liang of rhubarb root from Chuan to powder, and stew it with vinegar until it forms a paste. Each time send down one spoonful on an empty stomach with a decoction of fresh ginger and tangerine peels until a free-flow discharge results. Sheng hui fang. 小兒氣癖。三稜煮汁作羹粥，與奶母食，日亦以棗許與兒食，小兒新生百 日及十歲以下，無問癇熱痃癖等皆理之。秘妙不可具言，大效。子母秘録。 Qi aggregation-illness of children. Boil san leng and with the juice form a thick soup or congee and give this to the nursing mother to eat. During the day also give this with a small amount of Chinese dates added to the child to eat. When children have passed the first one hundred days of their life and up to an age of ten years this [medication] serves to cure all [ailments] regardless of whether this is an epilepsy, heat, a string-illness, or an aggregation-illness. It is mysteriously indescribably wondrous. Very effective. Zi mu mi lu. 痞氣胸滿，口乾肌瘦，食减，或時壯熱。石三稜、京三稜、鷄爪三稜各一 分並炮，蓬莪荗三枚，檳榔一枚，青橘皮五十片醋浸去白，陳倉米一合醋 浸淘 過，巴豆五十箇去皮，同青皮、倉米炒乾，去豆爲末，糊丸緑豆大。 每米飲下三丸，日一服。聖濟總録。 An obstacle-illness with qi causing a feeling of fullness in the chest. The mouth is dry, emaciation and a decreased intake of food, sometimes with a strong heat. Fry one fen each of shi san leng, jing san leng and ji zhao san leng, all roasted together, three zedoary [roots], one areca [nut], fifty greenish tangerine peels, soaked in vinegar and the white parts removed, one ge of long-stored rice, soaked in vinegar and then rinsed, and five croton [seeds], with the skin removed, together with the unripe tangerine peels and the long-stored rice, until they have dried. Remove the croton and [grind the rest to] powder. Then form with a [wheat flour] paste pills the size of mung beans. Each time send down with a rice beverage three pills. To be ingested once a day. Sheng ji zong lu. 反胃惡心，藥食不下。京三稜炮一兩半，丁香三分，爲末。每服一錢，沸 湯點服。聖濟總録。



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Turned over stomach with nausea. Neither medication nor food can be sent down. [Grind] one and a half liang of jing san leng, roasted, and three fen of clove to powder. Each time ingest one qian, to be ingested soaked in bubbling hot water. Sheng ji zong lu. 乳汁不下。京三稜三箇，水二盌，煎汁一盌，洗奶，取汁出爲度，極妙。 外臺秘要。 Failure of a nursing mother to let milk. Boil three jing san leng [roots] in two bowls of water to obtain a juice of one bowl. Wash the breast with it until a [milk] sap is produced. Very wondrous. Wai tai mi yao. 渾身燎泡如棠梨狀，每箇出水，有石一片，如指甲大，其泡復生，抽盡肌 膚肉即不可治。用荆三稜、蓬莪荗各五兩，爲末。分三服，酒調連進， 愈。危氏得效方。 The entire body is covered by blisters, resembling pyrus [fruit], as if burned. Every single [blister], when its water is released, emits a piece of stone, the size of a fingernail. Then the blister grows again. Once all the muscles and the skin have been used up, a cure is impossible. [Grind] five liang each of jing san leng and zedoary [root] to powder. Divide it into three portions and take them with wine one after another. This will result in a cure. Wei shi de xiao fang. 14-30 莎草香附子别録中品 Suo cao, xiang fu zi, FE Bie lu, middle rank. Cyperus rotundus L. Nutgrass. 【釋名】雀頭香唐本、草附子圖經、水香稜圖經、水巴戟圖經、水莎圖 經、侯莎爾雅、莎結圖經、夫須别録、續根草圖經、地藾根綱目、地毛廣 雅。【時珍曰】别録止云莎草，不言用苗用根。後世皆用其根，名香附 子，而不知莎草之名也。其草可爲笠及雨衣，疏而不沾，故字從草從沙。 亦作蓑字，因其爲衣垂緌，如孝子衰衣之狀，故又從衰也。爾雅云：薃， 音浩。侯莎，其實緹是也。又云：薹，夫須也。薹乃笠名，賤夫所須也。 其根相附連續而生，可以合香，故謂之香附子。上古謂之雀頭香。按江表 傳云，魏文帝遣使于吴求雀頭香，即此。其葉似三稜及巴戟而坐下濕地， 故有水三稜、水巴戟之名。俗人呼爲雷公頭。金光明經謂之月萃哆。記事 珠謂之抱靈居士。 Explanation of Names. Que tou xiang 雀頭香, “sparrow head fragrance,” Tang ben. Cao fu zi 草附子, Tu jing. Shui xiang leng 水香稜, Tu jing. Shui ba ji 水巴戟, Tu jing. Shui suo 水莎, Tu jing. Hou suo 侯莎, Er ya. Suo jie 莎結, Tu jing. Fu xu 夫須,

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Bie lu.677 Xu gen cao 續根草, Tu jing. Di lai gen 地藾根, Gang mu.678 Di mao 地毛, “ground hair,” Guang ya. [Li] Shizhen: The Bie lu lists only a suo cao 莎草. It does not say whether the seedling or the root is used. In later times, always the root was used, and it was called xiang fu zi 香附子; the name suo cao 莎草 was no longer known. This herb can be made to a large straw hat and to rain coats. They let the water flow off and do not get soaked. Hence the character [suo 莎] originates from [the characters] cao 草, “herb,” and sha 沙, “sand.” It is also written with the character suo 蓑 because this garment hangs down like a tassel, similar to the unhemmed hemp bib, shuai 衰, worn by children to show filial piety. Hence [the character suo 蓑 for a raincoat made of grass] is formed by [the characters cao 草, “herb,” and] shuai 衰. The Er ya states: “Hao 薃 is read hao 浩. This is suo 莎, with orange-red fruit.” It also states: “Tai 薹 is fu xu 夫須.” Tai 薹 is the name of broad straw hats as must, xu 須, be worn by poor persons, jian fu 賤夫. The roots grow linked to each other, xiang fu 相附, and can be prepared to incense, xiang 香. Hence they are called xiang fu zi 香 附子. In high antiquity they were called “sparrow head fragrance/incense,” que tou xiang 雀頭香. As the Jiang biao zhuan 江表傳 states: “Emperor Wen di of Wei sent an envoy to Wu to obtain sparrow head fragrance/incense.” That is the [item discussed] here. Its leaves resemble those of river bulrush and morinda officinalis. It can be found in low-lying moist regions. Hence the names shui san leng 水三稜, “water triple edge,” and shui ba ji 水巴戟, “water morinda.” The common people call it Lei gong tou 雷公頭, “thunder dukes’s head.” The Jin guang ming jing calls it yuecuiduo 月679萃哆. The Ji shi zhu refers to it as bao ling ju shi 抱靈居士, “the lay Buddhist who embraces the numinous.” 【集解】【别録曰】莎草生田野，二月、八月采。【弘景曰】方藥不復 用，古人爲詩多用之，而無識者。乃有鼠莎，療體異此。【恭曰】此草 根名香附子，一名雀頭香，所在有之，莖葉都似三稜，合和香用之。【頌 曰】今處處有之。苗葉如薤而瘦，根如筯頭大。謹按唐玄宗天寶單方圖載 水香稜，功狀與此相類。云水香稜原生博平郡池澤中，苗名香稜，根名莎 結，亦名草附子。河南及淮南下濕地即有，名水莎。隴西謂之地藾根。蜀 郡名續根草，亦名水巴戟。今涪都最饒，名三稜草。用莖作鞋履，所在皆 有。采苗及花與根療病。【宗奭曰】香附子今人多用。雖生於莎草根，然 根上或有或無。有薄皸皮，紫黑色，非多毛也，刮去皮則色白。若便以根 677 The Bie lu text preserved in the Zheng lei does not list the name fu xu 夫須. As Li Shizhen points out further down, it was first mentioned in the Er ya.

678 Gang mu 綱目 according to the “Collected Explanations” is wrong and should say Tu jing.

679 Instead of yue 月, the Jin guang ming zui sheng wang jing 金光明最勝王經 ch. 7, da bian cai tian nü pin 大辯才天女品, 大辯才天女品, “items of Sarasvati, the celestial girl,” 15, writes mu 目.



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爲之則誤矣。【時珍曰】莎葉如老韭葉而硬，光澤有劍脊稜。五六月中 抽一莖，三稜中空，莖端復出數葉。開青花成穗如黍，中有細子。其根有 鬚，鬚下結子一二枚，轉相延生，子上有細黑毛，大者如羊棗而兩頭尖。 采得燎去毛，暴乾貨之。此乃近時日用要藥。而陶氏不識，諸註亦略，乃 知古今藥物興廢不同。如此則本草諸藥，亦不可以今之不識，便廢棄不 收，安知異時不爲要藥如香附者乎？ Collected Explanations. Bie lu: Suo cao grows in open lands. It is collected in the second and eighth month. [Tao] Hongjing: It is no longer used as a recipe drug. The ancients referred to in in poems and often resorted to it, but nobody is familiar with it now. There is a shu suo 鼠莎,680 but both its therapeutic [potential] and physical appearance are different from the [item discussed] here. [Su] Gong: The root of this herb is called xiang fu zi 香附子 and also que tou xiang 雀頭香. It can be found everywhere. The stem and the leaves resemble those of river bulrush. They are used to prepare incense. [Su] Song: Today it can be found everywhere. The seedling and the leaves resemble those of Chinese chives, but are thinner. The root is as big as a chopstick. According to Tang Emperor Xuan zong’s Tian bao dan fang tu, “the [therapeutic] potential and shape of shui san leng are similar to those of the [substance discussed] here.” It states: “Shui san leng originally grew in the marshlands of Bo ping jun. The seedling is called xiang leng 香稜, the root is called suo jie 莎結; it is also called cao fu zi 草附子. It is also found in the lowlands and marshlands of He nan and Huai nan, where it is called shui suo 水莎. In Long xi it is called di lai gen 地藾根. In Shu jun it is called xu gen cao 續根草, and also shui ba ji 水巴戟.” Today, it grows most profusely in Fu du where it is called san leng cao 三稜草, “triple edge herb.” The stem is used to prepare sandals. It can be found everywhere. They collect the seedlings with the flowers and the roots to heal diseases. [Kou] Zongshi: Xiang fu zi is often used today. It grows from the roots of suo cao, but it may or may not be found on a root. It has a thin, chapped skin of purple-black color with only few hairs. When the skin is scraped off, [the substance] is white. If one simply resorts to the root, that is a mistake. [Li] Shizhen: The leaves of suo [cao] resemble those of old leek but are hard. They have shiny edges like the back of a sword. A stem rises in the fifth and sixth month. It has three edges and is hollow inside. From the tip of the stem several leaves emerge. It opens a greenish flower that forms spikes like that of glutinous pannicled millet. They have fine seeds in the middle. The root has hairs, and below the hairs one or two [xiang fu] zi form. The [xiang fu] zi extend attached to each other. They are covered by fine, black hairs. Big ones resemble [so-called] “sheep dates” and are pointed at their two ends. After collecting them, they are exposed to fire to remove the hairs. Then they are dried in the sun and 680 Instead of suo 莎, Zheng lei ch. 9, suo cao gen 莎草根, “root of suo cao,” writes shuai 蓑.

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marketed. This is an important pharmaceutical drug that is daily resorted to now. Mr. Tao [Hongjing] was not familiar with it, and hence his commentary was rather deficient. From this it is apparent that pharmaceutical substances may be praised or neglected differently in the course of time. It follows that all drugs listed in the Ben cao that are no longer known today cannot be easily neglected and rejected. How do we know whether or not at another point in time they may become as important as is xiang fu now? 14-30-01 根。Gen.

Root [of suo cao, xiang fu zi].

【修治】【斅曰】凡采得陰乾，於石臼中搗之，切忌鐵器。【時珍曰】凡 采得連苗暴乾，以火燎去苗及毛。用時以水洗浄，石上磨去皮。用童子小 便浸透，洗晒搗用。或生或炒，或以酒、醋、鹽水浸，諸法各從本方，詳 見于下。又稻草煮之，味不苦。 Pharmaceutical Preparation. [Lei] Xiao: When collected, it is always dried on a yin/shady place. Then it is pounded in a stone mortar. It is absolutely forbidden to use iron utensils. [Li] Shizhen: Whenever it is collected, take one with the seedling remaining attached, and dry it in the sun. Then expose it to fire to remove the seedling and the hairs. When it is about to be used wash it clean and rub it on a stone to remove the skin. Then soak it in boys’ urine, wash it, dry it and pound it for a [therapeutic] application. It may be [used] fresh or fried, soaked in wine, vinegar, or brine – all these methods [of pharmaceutical preparation] depend on the respective recipe. For details, see further down. Also, when it is boiled together with rice straw, it will no longer have a bitter flavor. 【氣味】甘，微寒，無毒。【宗奭曰】苦。【頌曰】天寶單方云：辛，微 寒，無毒，性濇。【元素曰】甘、苦，微寒，氣厚於味，陽中之陰，血中 之氣藥也。【時珍曰】辛、微苦、甘，平。足厥陰、手少陽藥也。能兼行 十二經、八脉氣分。得童子小便、醋、芎藭、蒼术良。 Qi and Flavor. Sweet, slightly cold, nonpoisonous. [Kou] Zongshi: Bitter. [Su] Song: The Tian bao dan fang states: “Acrid, slightly cold, nonpoisonous, astringent nature.” [Zhang] Yuansu: Sweet, bitter, slightly cold. The qi are more stongly pronounced than the flavor. It is a yin in yang [substance] and a pharmaceutical drug for qi in the blood. [Li] Shizhen: Acrid, slightly bitter, sweet, balanced. It is a pharmaceutical drug for the foot ceasing yin and hand minor yang [conduits]. It is capable of passing through the qi sections of all 12 conduits and the eight [single conduit] vessels.



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Combined with boys’s urine, vinegar, ligusticum chuanxiong and black atractylodes rhizome it yields good results. 【主治】除胸中熱，充皮毛，久服利人益氣，長鬚眉。别録。治心腹中客 熱，膀胱間連脇下氣妨，常日憂愁不樂，心忪少氣。蘇頌。治一切氣，霍 亂吐瀉腹痛，腎氣膀胱冷氣。李杲。散時氣寒疫，利三焦，解六鬱，消飲 食積聚，痰飲痞滿，胕腫腹脹，脚氣，止心腹、肢體、頭目、齒、耳諸 痛，癰疽瘡瘍，吐血下血尿血，婦人崩漏帶下，月候不調，胎前産後百 病。時珍。 Control. It eliminates heat from inside the chest and fills skin and body hair [with qi]. Ingested over a long time, it is beneficial, boosts the qi and stimulates the growth of beard and eyebrows. Bie lu. It serves to cure visiting heat in the central and abdominal region, as well as obstruction caused by qi in the urinary bladder region extending to below the flanks, and regular grief with an inability to feel joyful, with a restless heart and short [breathing] qi. Su Song. It serves to cure all types of qi [disorder], cholera with vomiting, outflow and abdominal pain, kidney qi [disorder] and cold qi affecting the urinary bladder. Li Gao. It disperses seasonal qi causing cold epidemics. It frees the passage through the Triple Burner, resolves the six types of pent-up [qi], and dissolves accumulations of beverages and food, phlegm rheum and obstacle-illness with a sensation of fullness, as well as fu-swelling681 and abdominal distension, and leg qi.682 It ends all types of pain affecting the central and abdominal region, the limbs and the body, head and eyes, the teeth and the ears, as well as sores and ulcers related to obstruction-illness and impediment-illness,683 blood spitting, bloody discharge and bloody urination, [blood] collapse684 and leakage of women from below the belt, irregular menstruation, and all the hundreds of diseases prior to and following delivery. [Li] Shizhen.

681 Fu zhong 胕腫, “fu-swelling,” a sign of a shui zhong 水腫, “edematose swelling,” with surface swelling of the entire body.

682 Jiao qi 脚氣, “leg qi.” Painful, weak, swollen legs. BCGM Dict I, 248.

683 Yong ju 癰疽, “obstruction-illness, impediment-illness.” refers to two vaguely distinguished obstructions/impediments of vessels or other ducts inside the body. Qi rushing against the obstruction may cause a local swelling and eventually break through the surface to cause an abscess. BCGM Dict I, 642.

684 [Xue] beng [血]崩, “[blood] collapse,” is excessive vaginal bleeding. BCGM Dict I, 594.

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14-30-02 苗及花。Miao ji hua.

Seedling and flower [of suo cao].

【主治】丈夫心肺中虚風及客熱，膀胱連脇下時有氣妨，皮膚瘙痒癮𤺋， 飲食不多，日漸瘦損，常有憂愁、心忪、少氣等證。並收苗花二十餘斤， 剉細，以水二石五斗，煮一石五斗，斛中浸浴，令汗出五六度，其瘙痒即 止。四時常用，癮疹風永除。天寶單方圖。煎飲散氣鬱，利胸膈，降痰 熱。時珍。 Control. Depletion wind and visiting heat in the heart and lung of males, occasional qi obstruction in the urinary bladder extending to below the flanks, itch and dormant papules, with a diminished intake of beverages and food leading to illness signs such as a daily increasing emaciation damage, combined with lasting grief, an irritated heart and shortness of [breath] qi. Take more than 20 jin of both seedlings and flowers, cut them to fine pieces and boil them in two dan and five dou of water down to one dan and five dou. [Then let the patient] bathe in one hu [of the liquid] until he sweats and do this five or six times. This will end the itch. If this is continued throughout the four seasons, the dormant macule wind will be eliminated forever. Tian bao dan fang tu. Boil it [in water] and drink [the liquid] to disperse pent-up qi, free the passage through chest and diaphragm, and let phlegm and heat descend. [Li] Shizhen. 【發明】【好古曰】香附治膀胱兩脇氣妨，心忪少氣，是能益氣，乃血 中之氣藥也。本草不言治崩漏，而方中用治崩漏，是能益氣而止血也。 又能逐去瘀血，是推陳也。正如巴豆治大便不通而又止泄瀉同意。又云： 香附陽中之陰，血中之氣藥，凡氣鬱血氣必用之。炒黑能止血治崩漏， 此婦人之仙藥也。多服亦能走氣。【震亨曰】香附須用童子小便浸過，能 總解諸鬱，凡血氣必用之藥，引至氣分而生血，此正陰生陽長之義。本草 不言補，而方家言於老人有益，意有存焉，蓋於行中有補理。天之所以爲 天者，健而有常也。健運不息，所以生生無窮，即此理爾。今即香中亦 用之。【時珍曰】香附之氣平而不寒，香而能竄，其味多辛能散，微苦能 降，微甘能和。乃足厥陰肝、手少陽三焦氣分主藥，而兼通十二經氣分。 生則上行胸膈，外達皮膚。熟則下走肝腎，外徹腰足。炒黑則止血，得童 溲浸炒則入血分而補虚，鹽水浸炒則入血分而潤燥，青鹽炒則補腎氣，酒 浸炒則行經絡，醋浸炒則消積聚，薑汁炒則化痰飲。得參、术則補氣，得 歸、苄則補血，得木香則流滯和中，得檀香則理氣醒脾，得沈香則升降諸 氣，得芎藭、蒼术則總解諸鬱，得巵子、黄連則能降火熱，得伏神則交濟 心腎，得茴香、破故紙則引氣歸元，得厚朴、半夏則决壅消脹，得紫蘇、 葱白則解散邪氣，得三稜、莪荗則消磨積塊，得艾葉則治血氣暖子宫，乃



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氣病之總司，女科之主帥也。飛霞子韓𢘅云：香附能推陳致新，故諸書 皆云益氣。而俗有耗氣之説，宜于女人不宜于男子者，非矣。蓋婦人以 血用事，氣行則無疾。老人精枯血閉，惟氣是資。小兒氣日充，則形乃日 固。大凡病則氣滯而餒，故香附於氣分爲君藥，世所罕知。臣以參、耆， 佐以甘草，治虚怯甚速也。𢘅游方外時，懸壺輕賫，治百病黄鶴丹，治婦 人青囊丸，隨宜用引，輒有小效。人索不已，用者當思法外意可也。黄鶴 丹乃銖衣翁在黄鶴樓所授之方，故名。其方用香附一斤，黄連半斤，洗晒 爲末，水糊丸梧子大。假如外感，葱薑湯下；内傷，米飲下；氣病，木香 湯下；血病，酒下；痰病，薑湯下；火病，白湯下。餘可類推。青囊丸乃 邵應節真人禱母病，感方士所授者。方用香附略炒一斤，烏藥略炮五兩三 錢，爲末，水醋煮麪糊爲丸。隨證用引，如頭痛，茶下；痰氣，薑湯下。 多用酒下爲妙。 Explication. [Wang] Haogu: Xiang fu serves to cure qi obstruction in the urinary bladder and both flanks, irritated heart and shortness of [breath] qi. It is capable of boosting qi; it is a pharmaceutical drug for the qi in the blood. The Ben cao does not mention that it serves to cure [blood] collapse and leakage,685 but in recipes it is used to cure [blood] collapse and leakage. It can boost the qi and end bleeding. Also, it can remove stagnant blood. That is, it pushes out what has stayed for long. This is exactly the same principle as applies to croton [seeds] that serve to cure blocked defecation and are also capable of stopping outflow. It is also said, xiang fu is a yin in yang [substance], a pharmaceutical drug for the qi in the blood. It must be resorted to for all cases of pent-up qi and blood and qi [disorder]. Fried until it has turned black, it can end bleeding and this way serves to cure [blood] collapse and leakage. It is a pharmaceutical drug of the hermits/immortals for [diseases of ] women. Ingested in large amounts it lets the qi run. [Zhu] Zhenheng: Xiang fu must be soaked in boys’ urine and will then be able to resolve all types of pent-up [qi]. It is a pharmaceutical drug that must be used for blood and qi [disorder] as it pulls into the qi section and generates blood there. This is truly the idea of “when yin grows, yang develops.” The Ben cao does not mention its supplementing [potential] but the recipe experts claim that it boosts [the qi] of old people. That makes sense. The fact is, this is the principle of “supplementation inherent in the stimulation of movement.” Heaven is regarded as heaven because it is stable and follows a regular course. As its movements are stable and never pause, it creates endless growth. That is the principle active here. It is now also used in [preparing] incense. [Li] Shizhen. The qi of xiang fu are balanced; they are not cold. They are fragrant and can move fast. Its flavor is quite acrid and serves to disperse. It is slightly bitter

685 Beng lou 崩漏, “collapse and leaking,” a condition of beng zhong 崩中, “collapsing center,” and lou xia 漏下, “leaking discharge.” Collapsing center is often followed by leaking downflow. In some cases they appear alternatingly. BCGM Dict I, 58.

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and can [let qi] descend. It is slightly sweet and can harmonize. It is an important pharmaceutical drug for the qi section of the foot ceasing yin liver and hand minor yang Triple Burner conduits, and at the same time it passes through the qi section of the 12 conduits. Fresh/unprepared it rises to move into chest and diaphragm; externally it reaches the skin. Prepared it moves down to enter the liver and the kidneys; externally it penetrates lower back and feet. When fried until it has turned black, it ends bleeding. Soaked in boys’ urine und fried it enters the blood section to supplement [qi] depletion there. Soaked in brine and fried it enters the blood section to moisten dryness. Fried with halite, it supplements kidney qi. Soaked in wine and fried it moves into the conduits and network [vessels]. Soaked in vinegar and fried it dissolves accumulations. Fried with ginger juice it transforms phlegm rheum. Combined with ginseng [root] and atractylodes [rhizome] it supplements qi. Combined with Chinese angelica [root] and Chinese foxglove [rhizome] it supplements blood. Combined with aucklandia [root] it stimulates the flow of sluggish [qi] and harmonizes the center. Combined with sandalwood it regulates qi and lifts spleen [qi]. Combined with aloes wood it lets all types of qi rise or descend. Combined with ligusticum chuanxiong and black atractylodes [rhizome] it resolves all types of pent-up [qi]. Combined with tall gardenia [fruit] and coptis [rhizome] it can cause fire heat to descend. Combined with poria it connects and assists heart and kidneys. Combined with fennel and psoralea [seeds], it leads qi to turn to their origin. Combined with magnolia bark and pinellia [root] it opens obstructions and dissolves distension. Combined with perilla [stem/leaf ] and onion white [stalks] it resolves and disperses evil qi. Combined with river bulrush stem tuber and zedoary [root] it dissolves accumulation and rubs away lumps. Combined with common mugwort leaves it serves to cure blood and qi [disorder] and warms the uterus. That is, it controls all qi diseases; it is the primary commander in gynecology. Feixia zi, that is, Han Mao, states: “Xiang fu is able to push back what has stayed for long, and to see to it that what is new will arrive. Hence all books state that it boosts the qi. But there is also a widespread saying that it diminishes qi, and that it is suitable for women only, not for males. That is incorrect. The fact is, female activities rest on blood. As long as their qi move, they have no illness. In old people, the essence/ sperm has withered and the blood is blocked. [Life] support is based solely on their qi. In children, the qi is filled day after day, and their physical appearance is stabilized day after day. Generally speaking, whenever there is a disease, the qi are sluggish and dispirited. This is why xiang fu acts as ruler drug in the qi section, which is known to only a few. When ginseng [root] and astragalus [root] side with [suo cao] as its minister, and glycyrrhiza [root] as its assistant, it will cure cowardice based on depletion very fast. When [I, Han] Mao travelled in distant regions, I had a bottle



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[with medication] hung at my side and freely gave it out [where it was required]. The ‘yellow crane elixir’ cured hundreds of diseases. The ‘greenish bag pills’ cured women. Depending on the requirements [of individual patients] I had guiding [substances] added and always achieved a little effect. The people requested them without end and those who use them must consider which method of application is suitable for an individual case. The ‘yellow crane elixir’ is a recipe given to me by Zhu Yiweng at the Yellow Crane Tower. Hence its name. This recipe [recommends to] wash one jin of xiang fu and half a jin of coptis [rhizome], dry them in the sun and [grind them to] powder. Then form with water and [wheat flour] paste pills the size of wu seeds. If it is a case with an affection from the outside, send them down with an onion and ginger decoction. If it is an internal harm, send them down with a rice beverage. If it is a qi disease, send them down with aucklandia [root]. If it is a blood disease, send them down with wine. If it is a phlegm disease, send them down with a ginger decoction. If it is a fire disease, send them down with clear, boiled water. All other cases can be derived from these examples. As for the ‘greenish bag pills’, they were given to Shao Yingjie, a truly accomplished man, by a recipe expert who was moved by [Shao Yingjie’s] prayers for assistance when his mother was sick. This recipe [rcommends to grind] one jin of slightly fried xiang fu and five liang and three qian of lindera [root] to powder, boil it in water and vinegar and with wheat flour paste form pills. Add guiding substances in accordance with the [illness] signs [of individual patients]. For example, for headache they are sent down with tea. For phlegm qi, they are sent down with ginger decoction. Often they are sent down with wine, yielding wondrous results.” 【附方】舊一，新四十七。 Added Recipes. One of old. 47 newly [recorded]. 服食法。【頌曰】唐玄宗天寶單方圖云：水香稜根名莎結，亦名草附子， 説已見前。其味辛，微寒，無毒。凡丈夫心中客熱，膀胱間連脇下氣妨， 常日憂愁不樂，心忪少氣者，取根二大升，擣熬令香，以生絹袋盛，貯於 三大斗無灰清酒中浸之。三月後，浸一日即堪服。十月後，即七日，近暖 處乃佳。每空腹温飲一盞，日夜三四次，常令酒氣相續，以知爲度。若不 飲酒，即取根十兩，加桂心五兩，蕪荑三兩，和搗爲散，以蜜和爲丸，擣 一千杵，丸如梧子大。每空腹酒及薑蜜湯飲汁等下二十丸，日再服，漸加 至三十丸，以瘥爲度。 The method to ingest it instead of food. [Su] Song: Tang Emperor Xuan zong’s Tian bao dan fang tu states: The root of shui xiang leng is called suo jie 莎結, it is also called cao fu zi 草附子. This has been said above. The flavor is acrid. It is slightly

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cold and nonpoisonous. Whenever a male has visitor heat in his heart, qi obstruction in the region of the urinary bladder extending to below the flanks, continuing grief with an inability to enjoy, irritated heart and shortness of [breath] qi, pound two generous sheng of the root, and heat them until a fragrant smell is effused. Fill it into a bag made of new, tough silk and soak it in three generous dou of ash-free, clear wine. The soaking is to happen after the third month for one day; then [the liquid] can be ingested. After the tenth month [the soaking should last for] seven days. To put it near a warm place is best. Each time drink one cup warm on an empty abdomen, three or four times during day and night so that the qi of the wine are constantly present until eventually an effect is achieved. If [the patient] does not drink wine, take ten liang of the root, add five liang of shaved cinnamom bark and three liang of ulmus [fruit] and pound them to powder to be formed with honey to pills. The pounding must be repeated about 1000 times, and the pills are of the size of wu seeds. Each time send down on an empty abdomen 20 pills with a beverage consisting of wine and a ginger and honey decoction. To be ingested twice a day. Gradually increase the dose to 30 pills, and continue this until a cure is achieved. 交感丹。凡人中年精耗神衰，蓋由心血少，火不下降，腎氣憊，水不上 升，致心腎隔絶，營衞不和。上則多驚，中則塞痞，飲食不下，下則虚冷 遺精。愚醫徒知峻補下田，非惟不能生水滋陰，而反見衰悴。但服此方半 年，屏去一切暖藥，絶嗜欲，然後習秘固泝流之術，其效不可殫述。俞通 奉年五十一，遇鐵甕城 申先生授此，服之老猶如少，年至八十五乃終也。 因普示群生，同登壽域。香附子一斤，新水浸一宿，石上擦去毛，炒黄， 伏神去皮木四兩，爲末。煉蜜丸彈子大。每服一丸，侵早細嚼，以降氣湯 下。降氣湯用香附子如上法半兩，伏神二兩，炙甘草一兩半，爲末。點沸 湯服前藥。薩謙齋瑞竹堂經驗方。 The “elixir of mutual interaction.” Whenever someone in his fifties has his essence/ sperm diminished and his spirit weakened, then this results from diminished heart blood. The fire is unable to descend and the kidney qi are exhausted. The water fails to ascend and the flow of heart and kidney [qi] is interrupted. The camp and the guardian [qi] have lost their harmony. Above, this results in much fright. In the middle, there is blockage and obstacle-illness, with beverages and food unable to move down. Below, this results in depletion cold and uncontrolled loss of essence/ sperm. Ignorant physicians know only how to vigorously supplement the field below. This way they are not only unable to generate water and nourish the yin; on the contrary, they cause weakening and distress. However, to ingest this recipe for half a year and to leave aside all types of warming medication, and at the same time to abstain from sex and practice the secret and mysterious “art of turning against



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the current to reach the source,” the effects [of such a treatment] are undescribable. Yu Tongfeng at the age of 51 was given this [recipe] by Tie weng cheng Shen xiansheng. He ingested it and even when he had turned old he appeared to be young. He died at the age of 85. Because he distributed it so that everybody could live, they all ascended to the realm of longevity. Soak one jin of xiang fu zi in newly fetched water for one night. Rub it on a stone to remove the hairs. Fry it until it turns yellow and [grind] it together with four liang of poria, with the skin and wood discarded, to powder to be formed with heat refined honey to pills the size of bullets. Each time ingest one pill. In the early morning finely chew it and send it down with the “decoction to cause qi to descend.” For the “decoction to cause qi to descend,” [grind] half a liang of xiang fu zi, prepared as outlined above, two liang of poria, and one and a half liang of roasted glycyrrhiza [root] to powder. Give it into boiling water and ingest with it the aforementioned medication. Sa Qianzhai, Rui zhu tang jing yan fang. 一品丸。治氣熱上攻，頭目昏眩，及治偏正頭痛。大香附子去皮，水煮一 時，搗晒焙研，爲末，煉蜜丸彈子大。每服一丸，水一盞，煎八分服。女 人醋湯煎之。奇效良方。 The “one item pills.” They serve to cure hot qi that have risen to attack above, causing clouding with giddiness affecting the head and the eyes. They also serve to cure unilateral and ordinary headache. Boil a big xiang fu zi [root], with the skin removed, in water for a double hour, pound it, dry it in the sun, then dry it in a pan over a fire and grind it to powder to be prepared with heat refined honey to pills the size of a bullet. Each time ingest one pill boiled in one cup of water down to 80%. Women boil it in a vinegar decoction. Qi xiao liang fang. 升降諸氣。治一切氣病，痞脹喘噦，噫酸煩悶，虚痛走注，常服開胃消 痰，散壅思食。早行山行，尤宜服之，去邪辟瘴。香附子炒四百兩，沉香 十八兩，縮砂仁四十八兩。炙甘草一百二十兩，爲末。每服一錢，入鹽少 許，白湯點服。和劑局方。 To let all types of qi either rise or descend. This serves to cure all types of qi diseases, obstacle-illness with swelling, panting and retching, sour regurgitation and vexing heart-pressure, as well as depletion pain and running influx[-illness].686 Continuously ingested it opens the stomach and dissolves phlegm. It disperses obstructions and lets one think of eating. For those who are on the road early in the morning and for those travelling in the mountains, it is especially advisable to ingest this, to 686 Zou zhu 走注, “running influx,” alternative name zou zhou 走疰, “running attachment-illness,” a condition of pain moving in the limbs and body so that the exact location of the pain cannot be determined. BCGM Dict I, 704.

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remove evil [qi] and to keep away miasmatic [qi]. [Grind] 400 xiang fu zi [roots], fried, 18 liang of aloe [wood], 48 liang of amomum villosum kernels and 120 liang of roasted glycyrrhiza [root] to powder. Each time ingest one qian. Add a little salt, drip this into clear, boiled water and ingest it. He ji ju fang. 一切氣疾。心腹脹滿，噎塞，噫氣吞酸，痰逆嘔惡，及宿酒不解。香附子 一斤，縮砂仁八兩，甘草炙四兩，爲末。每白湯入鹽點服，爲粗末煎服亦 可。名快氣湯。和劑局方。 All types of qi illnesses. Distention and a feeling of fullness in the central and abdominal region, gullet occlusion with blockage, belching and sour regurgitation, phlegm with [qi] counterflow and vomiting of malign [items], as well as abiding wine [poison] that fails to resolve. [Grind] one jin of xiang fu zi, eight liang of amomum villosum kernels, and four liang of glycyrrhiza [root], roasted, to powder. Each time ingest this with clear, boiled water in which salt has been dripped. Or boil the coarse powder in water and ingest this. [The recipe] is called “decoction to speed up qi movement.” He ji ju fang. 調中快氣。心腹刺痛，小烏沉湯。香附子擦去毛焙二十兩，烏藥十兩，甘 草炒一兩，爲末。每服二錢，鹽湯隨時點服。和劑局方。 To regulate the center and speed up qi movement, with piercing pain in the central and abdominal region. The “minor decoction with lindera [root] to let [qi] sink down.” [Grind] 20 liang of xiang fu zi, with the hairs rubbed off, ten liang of lindera [root] and one liang of glycyrrhiza [root], fried, to powder. Each time ingest two qian. To be ingested any time if necessary, dripped in a salt decoction. He ji ju fang. 心脾氣痛。白飛霞方外奇方云：凡人胸堂軟處一點痛者，多因氣及寒起， 或致終身，或子母相傳。俗名心氣痛，非也，乃胃脘有滯爾。惟此獨步 散，治之甚妙。香附米醋浸，略炒，爲末，高良薑酒洗七次，略炒，爲 末。俱各封收。因寒者，薑二錢，附一錢；因氣者，附二錢，薑一錢；因 氣與寒者，各等分。和匀，以熱米湯入薑汁一匙，鹽一捻，調下立止。不 過七八次除根。王璆百一方云：内翰吴幵夫人，心痛欲死，服此即愈。類 編云：梁緄心脾痛數年不愈，供事穢跡佛，夢傳此方，一服而愈，因名神 授一匕散。 Painful heart and spleen caused by qi. Bai Feixia’s Fang wai qi fang states: Whenever there is a clearly localized pain at a soft spot in the chest, it is mostly caused by rising qi and cold. Eventually it may affect the entire body. Sometimes it is transferred between child and mother. It is commonly called “heart qi pain.” But this is wrong because it is the presence of sluggish [qi] in the stomach duct. The following “single step powder” is the only [medication] to result in a most wondrous cure. [Grind]



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xiang fu [zi], soaked in rice vinegar and slightly fried, to powder. [Grind] alpinia officinarum [root], washed with wine seven times and then slightly fried, to powder. Keep both [powders] separately. If [the disease] was caused by cold, take two qian of the alpinia officinarum [root] and one qian of the [xiang] fu [zi] powder. If it was caused by qi, take two qian of the [xiang] fu [zi] powder and one qian of the alpinia officinarum [root] powder. If it was caused by both qi and cold, take equal amounts. Mix [the two portions] evenly and send them down with a hot rice decoction to which was added a spoonful of ginger juice and a pinch of salt. The pain will end immediately. After seven or eight [ingestions] the root [of the pain] will have been eliminated. Wang Qiu’s Bai yi fang states: “The wife of the Palace Writer Wu Kai, had heart pain and was close to dying. She ingested this and was cured.” The Lei bian states: “Liang Hun suffered from heart and spleen pain for several years without being cured. He made offerings to the ‘impure remains Buddha’ and in a dream was offered this recipe. After ingesting it once he was cured. Hence it was named the ‘powder offered by a spirit on one spoon’.” 心腹諸痛。艾附丸：治男女心氣痛、腹痛、少腹痛、血氣痛，不可忍者。 香附子二兩，蘄艾葉半兩，以醋湯同煮熟，去艾炒爲末，米醋糊丸梧子 大，每白湯服五十丸。集簡方。 All types of pain in the central and abdominal region. The “pills with common mugwort and [xiang] fu [zi].” They serve to cure males and females affected by heart qi pain, abdominal pain, lower abdomen pain, and pain caused by blood and qi [disorder] that are unbearable. Boil two liang of xiang fu zi and half a liang of common mugwort leaves from Qi in hot vinegar water until done. Then remove the mugwort leaves, fry [the xiang fu zi and grind it to] powder. Form this with rice vinegar and a [wheat flour] paste to pills the size of wu seeds. Each time ingest with clear, boiled water 50 pills. Ji jian fang. 停痰宿飲，風氣上攻，胸膈不利。香附皂莢水浸、半夏各一兩，白礬末半 兩，薑汁麪糊丸梧子大。每服三四十丸，薑湯隨時下。仁存方。 Halting phlegm and abiding rheum, with wind and qi having risen to attack above, and the passage through chest and diaphragm blocked. Prepare one liang each of xiang fu [zi], soaked in gleditsia water, and pinellia [root], and half a liang of alum powder with ginger juice and wheat flour paste to pills the size of wu seeds. Each time ingest 30 to 40 pills, to be sent down any time when necessary with a ginger decoction. Ren cun fang.

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元臟腹冷及開胃。香附子炒爲末。每用二錢，薑、鹽同煎服。普濟方。 For cold in the original long-term depot (i. e., the kidneys) and to open the stomach. [Grind] xiang fu zi, fried, to powder. Each time ingest two qian boiled in water together with ginger and salt. Pu ji fang. 酒腫虚腫。香附去皮，米醋煮乾，焙研爲末，米醋糊丸服。久之敗水從小 便出。神效。經驗良方。 Swelling caused by wind, and depletion swelling. Remove the skin of xiang fu [zi], boil it in rice vinegar until [the liquid] has dried, dry it in a pan over a fire and grind it to powder to be formed with a rice vinegar and [wheat flour] paste to pills. Ingest them and after a while rotten water is released by urination. Divinely effective. Jing yan liang fang. 氣虚浮腫。香附子一斤，童子小便浸三日，焙爲末，糊丸。每米飲下四五 十丸，日二。丹溪心法。 Qi depletion and superficial swelling. Soak one jin of xiang fu zi in boys’ urine for three days, dry it in a pan over a fire, and [grind it to] powder to be formed with a [wheat flour] paste to pills. Each time send down with a rice beverage 40 to 50 pills, twice a day. Danxi xin fa. 老小痃癖，往來疼痛。香附、南星等分，爲末。薑汁糊丸梧子大，每薑湯 下二三十丸。聖惠方。 String-illness687 and aggregation-illness688 affecting the old and the young, with recurring pain. [Grind] equal amounts of xiang fu [zi] and arisaema [root] to powder. Form with a ginger juice and [wheat flour] paste pills the size of wu seeds and each time send down with a ginger decoction 20 to 30 pills. Sheng hui fang. 㿗疝脹痛及小腸氣。香附末二錢，以海藻一錢煎酒，空心調下，并食海 藻。瀕湖集簡方。 Breakdown-illness with elevation-illness,689 painful swelling and small intestine qi [disorder]. Boil two qian of xiang fu [zi] powder and one qian of sargassum herb in water and send it down mixed with wine on an empty stomach. In addition, eat sargassum herb. Binhu ji jian fang. 687 Xuan 痃, “string-illness,” a condition of acute pain located in the abdomen to the left and right of the umbilicus. BCGM Dict I, 591.

688 Pi 癖, “aggregation-illness,” of painful lumps emerging from time to time in both flanks. BCGM Dict I, 371. 689 Tui shan 㿗疝, “breakdown-illness with elevation-illness,” a condition identical with yin tui 陰㿉, “(scrotal) prominence-illness,” of local swelling and pain affecting a male’s private parts BCGM Dict I, 518, 637.



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腰痛揩牙。香附子五兩，生薑二兩，取自然汁浸一宿，炒黄爲末，入青鹽 二錢，擦牙數次，其痛即止。乾坤生意。 To rub the teeth to [cure] lower back pain. Soak five liang of xiang fu zi in the natural juice of two liang of fresh ginger for one night, fry it until it turns yellow and [grind it to] powder. Add two qian of halite and rub the teeth with it several times. The pain will end. Qian kun sheng yi. 血氣刺痛。香附子炒一兩，荔枝核燒存性五錢，爲末。每服二錢，米飲調 下。婦人良方。 Piercing pain related to blood and qi [disorder]. [Grind] one liang of xiang fu zi, fried, and five qian of lychee fruit kernels, heated with their nature maintained, to powder. Each time ingest two qian, to be sent down mixed with a rice beverage. Fu ren liang fang. 女人諸病。瑞竹堂方。四制香附丸：治婦人女子經候不調，兼諸病。大香 附子擦去毛一斤，分作四分，四兩醇酒浸，四兩醇醋浸，四兩鹽水浸，四 兩童子小便浸。春三、秋五、夏一、冬七日。淘洗净，晒乾，搗爛微焙， 爲末，醋煮麪糊丸梧子大，每酒下七十丸。瘦人加澤蘭、赤伏苓末各二 兩，氣虚加四君子料，血虚加四物料。 All types of diseases of women. The Rui zhu tang fang [recommends the following]. The “pills with four-fold prepared xiang fu [zi].” They serve to cure women experiencing irregular menstruation, and all further types of diseases. Divide one jin of large xiang fu zi [roots] into four portions. And soak four liang in pure wine, four liang in pure vinegar, four liang in brine, and four liang in boys’ urine. In spring for three days. In autumn for five days. In summer for one day. In winter for seven days. Then wash them clean, dry them in the sun, pound them to a pulp and slightly dry them in a pan over a fire. Then [grind them to] powder, boil them in vinegar and form with a wheat flour paste pills the size of wu seeds. Each time [let a female patient] send down with wine 70 pills. If she is emaciated, add two liang each of lycopus [herb] and red poria. If it is a case of qi depletion, add the “[decoction with] four rulers”690 preparation. If it is a case of blood depletion, add the “ [decoction with] four items” 691 preparation. 法生堂方煮附濟陰丸：治婦人月經不調，久成癥積，一切風氣。用香附子 一斤，分作四分，以童溲、鹽水、酒、醋各浸三日。艾葉一斤，漿水浸 690 Constituents of the “decoction with four rulers” include ginseng root, poria, atractylodes rhizome and glycyrrhiza root.

691 The “four items” include paeonia root bark, processed Chinese foxglove, angelica root and ligusticum root.

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過，醋糊和作餅，晒乾。晚蠶砂半斤炒，莪荗四兩酒浸，當歸四兩酒浸， 各焙爲末，醋糊丸梧子大。每服七十丸，米飲下，日二。 The Fa sheng tang fang [recommends] the “pills with boiled [xiang] fu [zi] to support the yin.” They serve to cure women experiencing irregular menstruation, eventually causing concretion-illness accumulation, and all types of wind and qi [intrusion disorder]. Divide one jin of xiang fu zi into four portions and soak each of them for three days in boys’ urine, brine, wine and vinegar respectively. Soak one jin of common mugwort leaves in fermented water of foxtail millet and form with a vinegar and [wheat flour] paste a cake that is then dried in the sun. Dry over a fire in a pan half a jin of late generation silkworm feces, fried, four liang of zedoary [root] and four liang of Chinese angelica [root], soaked in wine, and [grind] them to powder. Then form [all the items mentioned above] with a vinegar and [wheat flour] paste to pills the size of wu seeds and each time ingest 70 pills, to be sent down with a rice beverage. Twice a day. 醋附丸：治婦人室女一切經候不調，血氣刺痛，腹脇膨脹，心怔乏力，面 色痿黄，頭運惡心，崩漏帶下，便血，癥瘕積聚，及婦人數墮胎。由氣不 升降，服此尤妙。香附子米醋浸半日，砂鍋煮乾，搗焙，石臼爲末，醋糊 爲丸，醋湯下。 The “pills with vinegar and [xiang] fu [zi].” They serve to cure women and unmarried girls experiencing irregular menstruation of all types, with a piercing pain caused by blood and qi, a bloating of the abdominal and flank region, an irritated heart and lack of strength, as well as a fading yellow facial complexion, vertigo and nausea, [blood] collapse and leakage692 from below the belt, urination with blood, concretion-illness and conglomeration-illness,693 accumulations and collections, and women having experienced several abortions. When all this is related to a failure of qi to rise or descend, to ingest this will yield especially wondrous results. Soak xiang fu zi in rice vinegar for half a day, boil it in a sand cauldron until [the water] has dried, pound it and dry it over a fire in a pan. This then is [ground] in a stone mortar to powder and with a wheat flour paste prepared to pills, to be sent down with a vinegar decoction. 692 Beng lou 崩漏, “collapse and leaking,” a condition of beng zhong 崩中, “collapsing center,” and lou xia 漏下, “leaking discharge.” Collapsing center is often followed by leaking downflow. In some cases they appear alternatingly. BCGM Dict I, 58.

693 Zheng jia 癥瘕, “concretion-illness and conglomeration-illness.” The two terms are often used interchangeably and do not signify two distinctly different conditions. Concretion-illness and conglomeration-illness result from a disharmony of cold and warmth resulting in a failure to transform beverages and food. Nodes form when they clash with the qi of the long-term depots. BCGM Dict I, 677.



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澹寮方艾附丸：治同上。香附子一斤，熟艾四兩醋煮，當歸酒浸二兩，爲 末。如上丸服。 Dan liao fang, the “pills with common mugwort and [xiang] fu [zi].” Their therapeutic [indications] are identical with those of the preceding [recipe]. [Grind] one jin of xiang fu zi, four liang of heat prepared mugwort [leaves], boiled in vinegar, and two liang of Chinese angelica [root], soaked in wine, to powder. To be ingested as pills like the [pills of the] preceding [recipe]. 婦人氣盛血衰，變生諸症，頭運腹滿，皆宜抑氣散主之。香附子四兩炒， 伏苓、甘草炙各一兩，橘紅二兩，爲末。每服二錢，沸湯下。濟生方。 Qi abundance and blood weakness of women, eventually giving rise to all types of illness signs, vertigo and a sensation of abdominal fullness. For all these conditions the “powder to curb qi” is suitable to control them. [Grind] four liang of xiang fu zi, fried, one liang each of poria and glycyrrhiza [root], roasted, and two liang of the [external] red [layers of ] tangerine peels to powder. Each time ingest two qian, to be sent down with water boiled to bubbling. Ji sheng fang. 下血血崩。血如山崩，或五色漏帶，並宜常服，滋血調氣，乃婦人之仙藥 也。香附子去毛炒焦爲末，極熱酒服二錢，立愈。昏迷甚者三錢，米飲 下。亦可加椶灰。許學士本事。 Bloody discharge, blood collapse.694 Bleeding like a mountain slide, in some cases leaking [from below the] belt in all five colors. For all these conditions it is advisable to regularly ingest [the following recipe]. It nourishes blood and regulates qi. Hence it is an hermit’s/immortal’s medication for women. Remove the hairs from xiang fu zi, fry it until it is scorched and [grind it to] powder. Ingest with extremely hot wine two qian. A cure will be achieved immediately. If this is a case of serious dizziness, [let her ingest] three qian, to be sent down with a rice beverage. One may also add charred trachycarpus [palm]. Xu xueshi, Ben shi. 赤白帶下，及血崩不止。香附子、赤芍藥等分，爲末。鹽一捻，水二盞， 煎一盞，食前温服。聖惠方。 Red and white discharge from below the belt, and unending blood collapse. [Grind] equal amounts of xiang fu zi and red paeonia [root] to powder, add a pinch of salt and boil this in two cups of water down to one cup. Ingest the warm [liquid] prior to a meal. Sheng hui fang.

694 [Xue] beng [血]崩, “[blood] collapse,” is excessive vaginal bleeding. BCGM Dict I, 594.

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安胎順氣。鐵罩散：香附子炒爲末，濃煎紫蘇湯服一二錢。一加砂仁。中 藏經。 To pacify a fetus and correct the flow of qi. The “iron hood powder.” Fry xiang fu zi and [grind it to] powder and ingest with a thick decoction of perilla [herb] one or two qian. Another version [of this recipe] adds amomum villosum kernels. Zhong cang jing. 妊娠惡阻。胎氣不安，氣不升降，嘔吐酸水，起坐不便，飲食不美。二香 散：用香附子一兩，藿香葉、甘草各二錢，爲末。每服二錢，沸湯入鹽調 下。聖惠方。 Malign obstruction during pregnancy. Restless fetal qi. The qi neither rise nor descend. Vomiting of sour water. Rising and resting are uncomfortable. Beverages and food do not taste delicious. The “powder with the two fragrant (xiang 香) [ingredients].”695 [Grind] one liang of xiang fu zi and two qian each of agastache [herb] leaves and glycyrrhiza [root] to powder. Each time ingest two qian, to be sent down with water boiled to bubbling to which was added salt. Sheng hui fang. 臨産順胎。九月、十月服此，永無驚恐。福胎飲：用香附子四兩，縮砂仁 炒三兩，甘草炙一兩，爲末。每服二錢，米飲下。朱氏集驗方。 To correct the [position of a] fetus when the birth is imminent. [Let the woman] ingest this in the ninth or tenth month and she will deliver without fright and fear. The “powder for the good fortune of a fetus.” [Grind] four liang of xiang fu zi, three liang of amomum villosum kernels, fried, and one liang of glycyrrhiza [root], roasted, to powder. Each time [let her] ingest two qian, to be sent down with a rice beverage. Zhu shi ji yan fang. 産後狂言，血運，煩渴不止。生香附子去毛爲末。每服二錢，薑、棗水煎 服，同上。 Mad talking following a birth, with vertigo and unending vexation and thirst. [Grind] fresh xiang fu zi, with the hairs removed, to powder. Each time [let the woman] ingest two qian, to be ingested with a ginger and Chinese dates decoction. [The source of this recipe] is identical with the one above. 氣鬱吐血。丹溪用童子小便調香附末二錢服。 Pent-up qi and blood spitting. [Zhu] Danxi [recommends to] ingest two qian of xiang fu [zi] mixed with boys’ urine.

695 E zu 惡阻, “malign obstruction,” a condition of frequent nausea and vomiting in the early stages of pregnancy. BCGM Dict I, 145.



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澹寮方治吐血不止。莎草根一兩，白伏苓半兩，爲末。每服二錢，陳粟米 飲下。 The Dan liao fang’s cure of unending blood spitting. [Grind] one liang of nutgrass root and half a liang of white poria to powder. Each time ingest two qian, to be sent down with a beverage prepared from long-stored millet. 肺破咯血。香附末一錢，米飲下，日二服。百一選方。 Ruptured lung with coughing up of blood. Send one qian of xiang fu [zi] powder down with a rice beverage. To be ingested twice a day. Bai yi xuan fang. 小便尿血。香附子、新地榆等分，各煎湯。先服香附湯三五呷，後服地榆 湯至盡。未效再服。指迷方。 Urination with blood. Prepare separate decoctions of equal amounts of xiang fu zi and newly collected sanguisorba [root]. First take five sips of the xiang fu [zi] decoction, then ingest all the sanguisorba [root] decoction. If this results without effect, ingest them again. Zhi mi fang. 小便血淋，痛不可忍。香附子、陳皮、赤伏苓等分，水煎服。十便良方。 Dripping urination with blood, with unbearable pain. Boil equal amounts of xiang fu zi, tangerine peels and red poria in water and ingest [the liquid]. Shi bian liang fang. 諸般下血。香附童子小便浸一日，搗碎，米醋拌，焙爲末。每服二錢，米 飲下。 All types of blood discharge. Soak xiang fu [zi] in boys’ urine for one day, pound it to pieces, mix them with rice vinegar, and dry them over a fire in a pan. Each time ingest two qian, to be sent down with a rice beverage. 直指方：用香附以醋、酒各半煮熟，焙研爲末。黄秫米糊丸梧子大。每服 四十丸，米飲下，日二服。戴原禮云：只以香附子末二錢，入百草霜、麝 香各少許，同服，效尤速也。 The Zhi zhi fang [recommends to] boil xiang fu [zi] in equal quantities of vinegar and wine, dry [the root] over a fire in a pan and grind it to powder. With a yellow glutinous millet paste form pills the size of wu seeds. Each time ingest 40 pills, to be sent down with a rice beverage. To be ingested twice a day. Dai Yuanli states: Take only two qian of xiang fu zi powder, add small amounts each of soot scratched from within a chimney of a furnace where all types of herbs had been burned and musk, and ingest this together. The effects will come especially fast.

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老小脱肛。香附子、荆芥穗等分爲末，每服一匙，水一大盌，煎十數沸淋 洗。三因方。 Anal prolapse affecting an old or a young person. [Grind] equal amounts of xiang fu zi and schizonepeta spikes to powder. Each time ingest one spoonful. [Also], boil one large bowl of water ten times to bubbling and pour it on [the affected region] to wash it. San yin fang. 偏正頭風。香附子炒一斤，烏頭炒一兩，甘草二兩，爲末，煉蜜丸彈子 大。每服一丸，葱茶嚼下。本事方。 Semilateral and ordinary headache. [Grind] one jin of xiang fu zi, fried, one liang of aconitum [main tuber] and two liang of glycyrrhiza [root] to powder and form with heat refined honey pills the size of a bullet. Each time ingest one pill, to be chewed with onions and sent down with tea. Ben shi fang. 氣鬱頭痛。澹寮方用香附子炒四兩，川芎藭二兩，爲末。每服二錢，臘茶 清調下。常服除根明目。華佗中藏經加甘草一兩，石膏二錢半。 Pent-up qi causing headache. The Dan liao fang [recommends to grind] four liang of xiang fu zi, fried, and two liang of ligusticum chuanxiong [root] to powder. Each time ingest two qian, to be sent down with clear la tea.696 Ingested regularly, this will remove the root [of the disease] and clear the eyesight. Hua Tuo in his Zhong zang jing [recommends to] add one liang of glycyrrhiza [root] and two and a half liang of gypsum. 頭風睛痛。方同妊娠惡阻。 Head wind697 and painful eyeballs. The recipe is identical with the recipe for malign impediment during pregnancy. 女人頭痛。香附子末，茶服三錢，日三五服。經驗良方。 Headache of women. Ingest three qian of xiang fu zi powder with tea. To be ingested three to five times a day. Jing yan liang fang. 肝虚睛痛，冷淚羞明。補肝散：用香附子一兩，夏枯草半兩，爲末。每服 一錢，茶清下。簡易方。 Liver depletion and painful eyeballs. Cold tears and fear of light. The “powder to supplement liver [qi].” [Grind] one liang of xiang fu zi and half a liang of common 696 La tea, la cha 臘茶, lit: “tea of the 12th month,” mentioned by Ouyang Xiu and Shen Gua during the Song era. As it is colored like melted wax it is also called la cha 蠟茶, “wax tea.” 697 Tou feng 頭風, “head wind.” Condition of wind evil attacking the head followed by pain, dizziness, itching. BCGM Dict I, 509.



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selfheal [spikes] to powder. Each time ingest one qian, to be sent down with clear tea. Jian yi fang. 耳卒聾閉。香附子瓦炒研末，蘿蔔子煎湯，早夜各服二錢。忌鐵器。衞生 易簡方。 Sudden closure of the ears with deafness. Fry xiang fu zi on a tile and grind it to powder. In the early morning and at night, each time ingest two qian. Do not let them come into contact with iron utensils. Wei sheng yi jian fang. 聤耳出汁。香附末，以綿杖送入。蔡邦度知府常用，有效。經驗良方。 Purulent ears. Push xian fu [zi] with a silk floss stick into [the affected ear]. Prefect Cai Bangdu regularly used it effectively. Jing yan liang fang. 諸般牙痛。香附、艾葉煎湯漱之。仍以香附末擦之，去涎。普濟方。 All types of toothache. Rinse [the affected teeth] with a xiang fu [zi] and common mugwort leaf decoction. Also, rub them with xiang fu [zi] powder and spit out the resulting saliva. Pu ji fang. 牢牙去風，益氣烏髭，治牙疼牙宣，乃鐵甕先生妙方也。香附子炒存性三 兩，青鹽、生薑各半兩，爲末。日擦。濟生方。 To stabilize the teeth and eliminate wind, boost the qi and blacken the beard, and to cure toothache and tooth exposure, this is a wondrous recipe of the gentleman of Tie weng. [Grind] three liang of xiang fu zi, fried with its nature retained, and half a liang of halite and fresh ginger to powder and every day rub it [on the affected teeth]. Ji sheng fang. 消渴累年不愈。莎草根一兩，白伏苓半兩，爲末。每陳粟米飲服三錢，日 二。 Melting with thirst698 that has remained without cure for several years. [Grind] one liang of amomum villosum root and half a liang of white poria to powder. Each time ingest with a beverage prepared from long-stored millet three qian. Twice a day. 癰疽瘡瘍。曾孚先云：凡癰疽瘡瘍，皆因氣滯血凝而致，宜服諸香藥，引 氣通血。常器之云：凡氣血聞香即行，聞臭即逆。瘡瘍皆由氣濇而血聚， 最忌臭穢不潔，觸之毒必引蔓。陳正節公云：大凡疽疾，多因怒氣而得， 但服香附子藥，進食寬氣，大有效也。 698 Xiao ke 消渴, “melting with thirst,” most likely including cases of diabetes. BCGM Dict Vol I, 567.

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Obstruction-illness and impediment-illness699 with sores and ulcers. Zeng Fuxian states: “All sores and ulcers related to obstruction-illness and impediment-illness result from qi sluggishness and blood clogging and it is advisable to ingest all types of fragrant medication guiding qi to penetrate the blood [clogging].” Chang Qizhi states: “Whenever qi and blood smell fragrance they are stimulated to move. When they smell bad odor, they start counterflow. Sores and ulcers result from qi blockage and blood assemblance. In such cases foul and unclean items must be avoided, lest an exposure to such poison will lead to a further spread [of the ailment].” Chen Zhengjie states: “Generally speaking, impediment-illness ailments are mostly caused by anger qi. Taking xiang fu zi as a medication and consuming foods that relax qi is a most effective [therapy].” 獨勝散：用香附子去毛，以生薑汁淹一宿，焙乾，碾爲細末，無時以白湯 服二錢。如瘡初作，以此代茶。瘡潰後，亦宜服之。或只以局方小烏沉 湯，少用甘草，愈後服至半年，尤妙。陳自明外科精要。 The “powder to be victorious with a single [substance].” Remove the hairs from xiang fu zi and submerge it in fresh ginger juice for one night. Dry it over a fire in a pan and crush it to fine powder, with two qian to be ingested any time with clear, boiled water. When the sores have just begun to emerge, take this instead of tea. Once the sores have begun to fester, it still is advisable to ingest it. Also, once a cure is achieved one may ingest it for half a year with the “minor decoction with lindera [root] to let [qi] sink down” listed in the Ju fang, with a small amount of glycyrrhiza [root] added. This is especially wondrous. Chen Ziming, Wai ke jing yao. 蜈蚣咬傷。嚼香附塗之，立效。袖珍方。 Harm caused by centipede bites. Chew xiang fu [zi] and apply it [to the affected region]. Xiu zhen fang. 14-31 瑞香綱目 Rui xiang. FE Gang mu. Daphne acutiloba Rehd. Winter daphne. 【集解】【時珍曰】南土處處山中有之。枝幹婆娑，柔條厚葉。四時不 凋。冬春之交，開花成簇，長三四分，如丁香狀，有黄、白、紫三色。格 古論云：瑞香高者三四尺，有數種。有枇杷葉者，楊梅葉者，柯葉者，毬 699 Yong ju 癰疽, “obstruction-illness, impediment-illness.” refers to two vaguely distinguished obstructions/impediments of vessels or other ducts inside the body. Qi rushing against the obstruction may cause a local swelling and eventually break through the surface to cause an abscess. BCGM Dict I, 642.



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子者，攣枝者。惟攣枝者花紫香烈，枇杷葉者結子。其始出于廬山，宋時 人家栽之始著名，攣枝者其節攣曲，如斷折之狀也。其根綿軟而香。 Collected Explanations. [Li] [Shizhen: In the South in the mountains [rui xiang] can be found everywhere. Branches and stems whirl like dancing; the stalks are soft and the leaves are thick. Throughout the four seasons they do not wither. At the transition from winter to spring they open clusters of flowers with a length of three to four fen. They are shaped like cloves and appear in three colors, yellow, white and purple. The Ge gu lun states: “Tall rui xiang reach a height of three to four chi. There are various types. They may have loquat leaves, red bayberry leaves, or terminalia leaves. Others are shaped like balls, or their twigs are contracted. Only those with contracted twigs have purple flowers of an extreme fragrance. Those with loquat leaves form seeds.” Originally, [rui xiang] came from Lu shan. When during the Song era people cultivated them, they became famous. Those with contracted twigs are curved as if they were broken. Their root is soft like silk and fragrant. 14-31-01 根。Gen.

Root [of rui xiang].

【氣味】甘、鹹，無毒。 Qi and Flavor: Sweet, salty, nonpoisonous. 【主治】急喉風，用白花者研水灌之。時珍。出醫學集成。 Control. For acute throat wind700 grind those with white flowers [to powder] and with water force-feed it [to the patient]. [Li] Shizhen, quoted from Yi xue ji cheng. 14-32 茉莉綱目 Mo li. FE Gang mu. Jasminum sambac (L.) Ait. Night-blooming jasmine. 【釋名】柰花。【時珍曰】嵇含草木狀作末利，洛陽名園記作抹厲，佛經 作抹利，王龜齡集作没利，洪邁集作末麗。蓋末利本胡語，無正字，隨人 會意而已。韋居呼爲狎客，張敏叔呼爲遠客。楊慎丹鉛録云：晉書都人簪 柰花，即今末利花也。 Explanation of Names. Nai hua 柰花. [Li] Shizhen: Ji Han’s Cao mu zhuang writes mo li 末利. The Luo yang ming yuan ji writes mo li 抹厲. In Buddhist sutras it is written mo li 抹利. The Wang Guiling ji writes mo li 没利, and the Hong Mai ji 700 Hou feng 喉風, “throat wind,” various conditions with mouth, tongue, and throat swelling and pain.

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writes mo li 末麗. The fact is, mo li 末利 originates from the language of the Hu; there is no standard writing with Chinese characters. Everybody [has transcribed it] based on his own understanding. Wei Ju calls it xia ke 狎客, “intimacy with a visitor.” Zhang Minshu calls it yuan ke 遠客, “distance from a visitor.” Yang Shen in his Dan qian lu states: “According to the Jin shu all [girls] wear nai hua 柰花 on their head.” These are today’s mo li 末利 flowers. 【集解】【時珍曰】末利原出波斯，移植南海，今滇、廣人栽蒔之。其性 畏寒，不宜中土。弱莖繁枝，緑葉團尖。初夏開小白花，重瓣無蕊，秋盡 乃止，不結實。有千葉者，紅色者，蔓生者。其花皆夜開，芬香可愛。女 人穿爲首飾，或合面脂。亦可熏茶，或蒸取液以代薔薇水。又有似末利而 瓣大，其香清絶者，謂之狗牙，亦名雪瓣，海南有之。素馨、指甲，皆其 類也，並附于下。 Collected Explanations. [Li] Shizhen: Mo li originally came from Po si. It was transplanted to Nan hai. Today, people cultivate it in Dian and Guang. By its nature it fears cold. Hence it is not suitable [to plant it] in the central region. Its stem is weak; its branches are many. The leaves are greenish, round and pointed. In the beginning of summer, small white flowers open. They have several petals but no pistils. By the end of autumn they end [blossoming]. Some have a thousand leaves. Some are red. Some grow as creepers. All the flowers open at night and they have a lovely fragrant scent. Females wear them as ornaments, or they prepare them to facial crèmes. It is also possible to fumigate tea [leaves with them to give them a specific scent], or to steam them to obtain a liquid that may be used as a substitute for rose water. There is further a type similar to mo li with large petals and superb fragrance. It is called gou ya 狗牙, “dog tooth.” It is also called xue ban 雪瓣, “snow petal.” It can be found in Hai nan. Su xin 素馨 and zhi jia 指甲 are all of this group. Their [entries are] attached below. 【附録】 Appendix 14-32-A01

素馨。Su xin. Jasminum grandiflorum L. Spanish jasmine.701 【時珍曰】素馨亦自西域移來，謂之耶悉茗花，即酉陽雜俎所載野悉密花 也。枝幹裊娜，葉似末利而小。其花細瘦四瓣，有黄、白二色。采花壓油 澤頭，甚香滑也。 701 Su xin 素馨, lit.: “immaculate fragrance.”



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[Li] Shizhen: Su xin, too, was introduced here from Western regions. There it is called yexinming 耶悉茗 flower. This is the Ye xi ming hua 耶悉茗花 recorded in the You yang za zu. Twigs and stem are slender and graceful. The leaves look like small mo li [leaves]. The flowers are fine and slim and have four petals of yellow and white color. They collect the flowers to press them and apply them as a humidifier to the head. This results in a very fragrant scent and smooth appearance. 14-32-A02

指甲花。Zhi jia hua.

Lawsonia inermis L. Henna shrub.702 有黄、白二色，夏月開，香似木犀，可染指甲，過于鳳仙花。 They may be yellow and they may be white. They open in summer. Their fragrance is similar to that of sweet osmanthus. The [dried and powdered flower leaves] can be used to dye fingernails. They are superior to touch-me-not flowers. 14-32-01 花。Hua. Flower [of mo li] 【氣味】辛，熱，無毒。 Qi and Flavor. Acrid, hot, nonpoisonous. 【主治】蒸油取液，作面脂頭澤，長髮潤燥香肌，亦入茗湯。時珍。 Control. Steam its oil to obtain a liquid that is then made to a facial crème and humidifier of the head. It lets the hear grow, moistens dryness and provides scent to the skin. It can also be added to tea. [Li] Shizhen. 14-32-02 根。Gen. Root [of mo li]. 【氣味】熱，有毒。 Qi and Flavor. Hot, poisonous. 【主治】以酒磨一*寸服，則昏迷一日乃醒，二寸二日，三寸三日。凡跌損 骨節脱臼接骨者用此，則不知痛也。汪機。 Control. Rub a one cun long piece in wine and [let the patient] ingest it. He will wake up from clouding with confusion that has lasted one day. [Rub a piece of ] two cun if it has lasted for two days, and of three cun if it has lasted for three days. Apply 702 Zhi jia hua 指甲花, lit.: “fingernail flower.”

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it to all cases of injuries from falls, dislocation of bones and joints and for rejoining of bones, and [the patient] will no longer feel pain. Wang Ji. 14-33 鬱金香宋開寶 Yu jin xiang. FE Song, Kai bao. Tulipa gesneriana L. Common tulip. 【校正】【禹錫曰】陳氏言鬱是草英，不當附于木部。今移入此。 Editorial Correction. [Zhang] Yuxi: As Mr. Chen [Cangqi] says, Yu [jin xiang] is cao ying. It should not be part of the “woods” section. It has been moved here now. 【釋名】鬱香御覽、紅藍花綱目、紫述香綱目、草麝香、茶矩摩佛書。 【頌曰】許慎説文解字云：𩰪，芳草也。十葉爲貫，百二十貫築以煮之。 𩰪鬯乃百草之英，合而釀酒以降神，乃遠方𩰪人所貢，故謂之𩰪。𩰪，今 𩰪林郡也。【時珍曰】漢鬱林郡，即今廣西、貴州、潯、柳、邕、賓諸州 之地。一統志惟載柳州羅城縣出鬱金香，即此也。金光明經謂之茶矩麽 香，此乃鬱金花香，與今時所用鬱金根，名同物異。唐慎微本草收此入彼 下，誤矣。按趙古則六書本義：鬯字象米在器中，以匕扱之之意。鬱字从 臼，奉缶置于几上，鬯有彡飾，五體之意。俗作鬱。則鬱乃取花築酒之 意，非指地言。地乃因此草得名耳。 Explanation of Names. Yu xiang 鬱香, “pent-up fragrance,” Yu lan. Hong lan hua 紅藍花, “red blue/indigo flower,” Gang mu. Zi su xiang 紫述香, Gang mu. Cao she xiang 草麝香, “herbal musk,” cha ju mo 茶矩摩, Buddhist scriptures. [Su] Song: Xu Shen in his Shuo wen states: “Yu 𩰪 is a fragrant herb. Ten of its leaves are formed to a bundle. 120 such bundles are pounded and boiled. [The resulting product is] sacrificial yu 𩰪 wine, the efflorescence of the hundreds of herbs. It is combined with brewed wine to cause the gods/spirits to descend. It has been submitted by the Yu 𩰪 people from afar and hence it is called Yu [jin xiang, the ‘fragrance worth gold of the] Yu.’ This is today’s Yu lin 𩰪林 prefecture.” [Li] Shizhen: The Yu lin prefecture of Han times is a region covering today Guang xi, Gui zhou, and all the zhou of Xun, Liu, Yong and Bin. The Yi tong zhi mentions only Luo cheng xian in Liu zhou as origin of yu jin xiang, but this is the [item discussed] here. The Jin guang ming jing calls it chajumo xiang 茶矩麽香, but this is yun jin hua xiang 鬱金花香. It has the same name as what is used today as yu jin 鬱金 root, but is a different item. Tang Shenwei in his Ben cao included it under this [name], but that is wrong. According to Zhao Guze’s Liu shu ben yi, the character chang 鬯 reflects rice, mi 米, in a vessel to be scooped with a spoon, bi 匕. The character yu 鬱 is based on [the character] jiu 臼, “mortar,” with a jar placed on a low table above. The character chang 鬯 is dec-



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orated with [the character] shan 彡, “haired,” to reflect the five body parts (i. e., the four extremities and the head). It is commonly written yu 鬱, and this yu 鬱 reflects the meaning of flowers pounded [to obtain a liquid that is then processed to] wine. It does not reflect a place name. The place was given this name because of this herb! 【集解】【藏器曰】鬱金香生大秦國，二月、三月有花，狀如紅藍，四 月、五月采花，即香也。【時珍曰】按鄭玄云：鬱草似蘭。楊孚南州異物 志云：鬱金出罽賓國，人種之，先以供佛，數日萎，然後取之。色正黄， 與芙蓉花裹嫩蓮者相似，可以香酒。又唐書云：太宗時，伽毘國獻鬱金 香，葉似麥門冬，九月花開，狀似芙蓉，其色紫碧，香聞數十步，花而不 實，欲種者取根。二説皆同，但花色不同，種或不一也。古樂府云中有鬱 金蘇合香者，是此鬱金也。晉 左貴嬪有鬱金頌云：伊有奇草，名曰鬱金。 越自殊域，厥珍來尋。芳香酷烈，悦目怡心，明德惟馨，淑人是欽。 Collected Explanations. [Chen] Cangqi: Yu jin xiang grows in Da qin guo. It has flowers in the second and third month; they are shaped like those of safflower. The flowers are collected in the fourth and fifth month, when they are fragrant. [Li] Shizhen: According to Zheng Xuan, “yu cao resembles eupatorium.” Yang Fu in his Nan zhou yi wu zhi states: “Yu jin comes from Ji bin guo. People plant it. [When the flowers bloom], at first they are offered to Buddhist images. After a few days, when they have withered, they are removed again. They are of a real yellow color, similar to the tender fruit in Indian lotus flowers. They can be used to add fragrant scent to wine.” Also, the Tang shu states: “At the time of [emperor] Tai zong, Jia pi guo submitted yu jin xiang with leaves resembling those of ophiopogon [herbs]. The flowers open in the ninth month; they are shaped like those of Indian lotus. Their color is purple-jade green, and their fragrance is smelled from tens of steps afar. As the flowers do not have fruit, the root must be resorted to to plant them.” These two statements are largely identical, except for the different colors. There exists not only one type. When the Gu yue fu states: “It includes yu jin and storax,” then this is the yu jin [discussed] here. During the Jin, [the imperial concubine] Zuo gui pin wrote a yu jin eulogy stating: “Here is a remarkable herb, called yu jin. It has found its way to us coming from far away. Its fragrance is extraordinarily strong. It pleases the eyes and cheers up one’s heart. Its brightness and unique fragrance attract the admiration of all virtuous women.” 【氣味】苦，温，無毒。【藏器曰】平。 Qi and Flavor. Bitter, warm, nonpoisonous. [Chen] Cangqi: Balanced. 【主治】蠱野諸毒，心腹間惡氣鬼疰，鵶鶻等一切臭。入諸香藥用。藏器。

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Control. All types of poison of gu703 and wild [items]. Malign qi and demon attachment-illness affecting the central and abdominal region. All the bad odors of crows, falcons, etc. It is added to all types of fragrant medication. [Chen] Cangqi. 14-34 茅香宋開寶 Mao xiang. FE Song, Kai bao. Cymbopogon citratus (DC.) Stapf. Lemon grass. 【校正】併入宋圖經 香麻。 Editorial Correction. Xiang ma, [listed separately in the] Song era Tu jing, is integrated here. 【釋名】嗢尸羅金光明經、香麻。【時珍曰】蘇頌圖經復出”香麻”一條，云 出福州，煎湯浴風甚良，此即香茅也。閩人呼茅如麻故爾，今併爲一。 Explanation of Names. Washiluo 嗢尸羅, Jin guang ming jing. Xiang ma 香麻. [Li] Shizhen: Su Song in his Tu jing presents xiang ma 香麻 in a separate entry, stating that it comes from Fu zhou, and that it yields very good results if boiled to a decoction that is used for bathing [patients suffering from] wind [intrusion]. This is actually xiang mao 香茅. The reason is, the people in Min pronounce mao 茅 like ma 麻. Here now they are combined in one entry. 【集解】【志曰】茅香生劍南道諸州，其莖葉黑褐色，花白色，即非白茅 香也。【頌曰】今陝西、河東、汴東州郡亦有之，遼、澤州充貢。三月生 苗，似大麥。五月開白花，亦有黄花者。有結實者，有無實者。並正月、 二月采根，五月采花，八月采苗。【宗奭曰】茅香根如茅，但明潔而長。 可作浴湯，同藁本尤佳。仍入印香中，合香附子用。【時珍曰】茅香凡有 二，此是一種香茅也。其白茅香别是南番一種香草。唐慎微本草不知此 義，乃以”白茅花”及”白茅香”諸註引入”茅香”之下。今並提歸各條。 Collected Explanations. [Ma] Zhi: Mao xiang grows in all the zhou of Jian nan dao. Its stem and leaves are of black-brown color. The flowers are white. This is not bai mao xiang 白茅香 (14-35). [Su] Song: Today it is also found in the zhou and prefectures of Shaan xi, He dong and Bian dong. Liao and Ze submit it as tribute. It develops a seedling in the third month, similar to barley. White flowers open in the fifth month. Some have yellow flowers. Some have fruit and others have no fruit. The roots are always collected in the first and second month. The flowers are collect703 Gu du 蠱毒, “gu-poison[ing].” (1) A poison emitted by certain worms/snakes with an ability to cause varying pathological changes in a person who has taken it in by means of wine or food. (2) Abdominal fullness, in some cases with blood spitting, and blood in the stool and urine. BCGM Dict I, 192 - 193. See BCGM 42-22.



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ed in the fifth month. The seedling is collected in the eighth month. [Kou] Zongshi: The root of mao xiang is similar to that of imperata floss grass, but it is bright and longer. It can be used to prepare hot baths, similar to ligusticum sinense, but even better. It is also used as an additive to provide scent to seal ink, together with nutgrass. [Li] Shizhen: There are two [herbs called] mao xiang 茅香. The one [discussed] here is a type of fragrant grass. Bai mao xiang is a different type; it is a fragrant herb from Nan fan. This was not known to Tang Shenwei in his Ben cao. Hence he combined bai mao hua 白茅花 and bai mao xiang 白茅香 in one entry under the name mao xiang 茅香. Here now both have been assigned to entries of their own. 14-34-01 花。Hua. Flower [of mao xiang]. 【氣味】苦，温，無毒。 Qi and Flavor. Bitter, warm, nonpoisonous. 【主治】中惡，温胃止嘔吐，療心腹冷痛。開寶。 Control. Struck by the malign. It warms the stomach and ends vomiting and spitting. It heals pain related to cold in the central and abdominal region. Kai bao. 【附方】新一。 Added Recipes. One newly [recorded]. 冷勞久病。茅香花、艾葉四兩，燒存性，研末，粟米飯丸梧子大。初以蛇 牀子湯下二十丸至三十丸，微吐不妨，後用棗湯下，立效。聖濟總録。 A chronic disease related to cold [qi] and exhaustion. Burn four liang of mao xiang hua and common mugwort leaves with their nature retained and grind them to powder to be formed with cooked millet to pills the size of wu seeds. First send down with a common cnidium seed decoction 20 to 30 pills. A slight vomiting should be of no concern. Then send them down with a Chinese date decoction. Immediately effective. Sheng ji zong lu. 14-34-02 苗。Miao. Seedling [of mao xiang]. 【主治】作浴湯，辟邪氣，令人身香。開寶。 Control. Prepared as a hot bath it repels evil qi, and provides fragrant scent to one’s body.

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14-35 白茅香拾遺 Bai mao xiang. FE Shi yi. Hierochloa borealis Roem. et Sch. Vanilla grass. 【集解】【藏器曰】白茅香生安南，如茅根，道家用作浴湯。【珣曰】廣 志云：生廣南山谷，合諸名香甚奇妙，尤勝舶上來者。【時珍曰】此乃南 海白茅香，亦今排香之類，非近道之白茅及北土茅香花也。 Collected Explanations. [Chen] Cangqi: Bai mao xiang grows in An nan. It resembles the root of nutgrass. The Daoists use it to prepare hot baths. [Li] Xun: The Guang zhi states: “It grows in the mountain valleys of Guang nan. Combined with all types of other fragrant items it yields exceptionally wondrous [incense/results]. That shipped from overseas is the very best.” [Li] Shizhen: This is the bai mao xiang from Nan hai. It is related to today’s pai xiang 排[草]香, thick leaf lavender, (14-36). It is not the bai mao from nearby or the lemon grass flower of the North. 14-35-01 根。Gen. Root [of bai mao xiang]. 【氣味】甘，平，無毒。 Qi and Flavor. Sweet, balanced, nonpoisonous. 【主治】惡氣，令人身香。煮湯服，治腹内冷痛。藏器。小兒遍身瘡疱， 合桃葉煎湯浴之。李珣。 Control. Malign qi. It serves to provide fragrant scent to one’s body. Boiled and ingested as a decoction, it serves to cure pain related to cold [qi] in the abdomen. [Chen] Cangqi. Sores and blisters covering the entire body of children. Bathe them in a decoction prepared by boiling it together with peach leaves. Li Xun. 14-36 排草香綱目 Pai cao xiang. FE Gang mu. Anisochilus carnosus (L.) Wall. Thick-leaf lavender.704 【集解】【時珍曰】排草香出交阯，今嶺南亦或蒔之。草根也，白色，狀 如細柳根，人多僞襍之。案范成大桂海志云：排草香狀如白茅香，芬烈如 麝香，人亦用以合香，諸香無及之者。又有麝香木，出古城，乃老朽樹心 節，氣頗類麝。 704 Pai cao xiang 排草香, lit.: “lined up herbs fragrance.”



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Collected Explanations.[Li] Shizhen: Pai cao xiang comes from Jiao zhi. Today it is also occasionally planted in Ling nan. It is a root of an herb, of white color and shaped like a fine willow root. People often offer fake mixtures. According to Fan Chengda’s Gui hai zhi, “pai cao xiang is shaped like vanilla grass and its fragrance is as strong as that of musk. People also use it to prepare incense, and this is not equalled by any other incense.” There is also a “musk wood.” It comes from Gu cheng. This is the central part of decayed trees. Its qi are closely related to those of musk. 14-36-01 根。Gen. Root [of pai cao xiang]. 【氣味】辛，温，無毒。 Qi and Flavor. Acrid, warm, nonpoisonous. 【主治】辟臭，去邪惡氣。時珍。 Control. It repels bad odor. It removes evil and malign qi. [Li] Shizhen. 【附録】 Appendix. 14-36-A01

瓶香。Ping xiang. Unidentified.705

【珣曰】案陳藏器云：生南海山谷，草之狀也。其味寒無毒，主鬼魅邪 精，天行時氣，並宜燒之。水煮，洗水腫浮氣。與土薑、芥子煎湯，浴風 瘧甚效。 [Li] Xun: According to Chen Cangqi, “it grows in the mountain valleys of Nanhai, and is shaped like an herb. It is cold and nonpoisonous. To control demon, goblin and evil accumulations, as well as epidemic seasonal qi, it is always suitable to burn it.” Boiled in water, [the liquid] serves to wash water swelling and floating qi. A decoction obtained by boiling it with ginger and mustard seeds serves to wash [patients affected by] wind and malaria. It is very effective.

705 Ping xiang 瓶香, lit.: “bottle fragrance.”

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14-36-A02

耕香。 Geng xiang Unidentified.706

【藏器曰】生烏滸國，莖生細葉，味辛温無毒，主鬼氣，調中去臭。【時 珍曰】二香皆草狀，恐亦排草之類也，故附之。 [Chen] Cangqi: It grows in Wu hu guo. The stem develops fine leaves. The flavor is acrid. It is warm and nonpoisonous. It controls demonic qi, regulates the center and removes bad odor. [Li] Shizhen: Both these fragrant items are shaped like herbs. Maybe they, too, are related to pai cao xiang. 14-37 迷迭香拾遺 Mi die xiang, FE Shi yi. Rosmarinus officinalis L. Rosemary. 【集解】【藏器曰】廣志云：出西海。魏略云：出大秦國。【時珍曰】魏 文帝時，自西域移植庭中，同曹植等各有賦。大意其草修幹柔莖，細枝弱 根。繁花結實，嚴霜弗凋。收采幽殺，摘去枝葉。入袋佩之，芳香甚烈。 與今之排香同氣。 Collected Explanations. [Chen] Cangqi: The Guang zhi states: “It comes from Xi hai.” The Wei lüe states: “It comes from Da qin guo.” [Li] Shizhen: At the time of Emperor Wen di of the Wei, it was brought here from Xi yu to be planted in courtyards. Cao Zhi and other [poets] praised it in eulogies for its tall and slender stalk, its soft stem, its fine branches and its weak root. The lush flowers form fruit that do not wither even under severe frost. Collect them, dry them in the shade, and remove all twigs and leaves. Then wear them in a pouch on your body and they will effuse an extreme fragrance. Their qi are identical with those of today’s thick-leaf lavender. 【氣味】辛，温，無毒。 Qi and Flavor. Acrid, warm, nonpoisonous. 【主治】惡氣，令人衣香。燒之去鬼。藏器。【珣曰】性平不温。合羌活 爲丸，燒之，辟蚊蚋。 Control. Malign qi. It provide’s one’s garments with a fragrant scent. Burn it to remove demons. [Chen] Cangqi. [Li] Xun: Its nature is balanced, not warm.707 With 706 Geng xiang 耕香, lit.: “plough fragrance.”

707 Instead of bu wen 不温, “not warm,” Zheng lei ch. 9, mi die xiang 迷迭香, quoting the Hai yao writes bu zhi ji 不治疾, “it does not serve to cure illness.”



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angelica biserrata [root] prepared to pills and burned it repels mosquitoes and blackflies.

Unidentified.

14-38 䔾車香拾遺 Jie che xiang. FE Shi yi.

【集解】【藏器曰】廣志云：䔾車香生徐州，高數尺，黄葉白花。爾雅： 䔾車， 乞輿。郭璞云：香草也。【珣曰】生海南山谷。齊民要術云：凡諸 樹木蟲蛀者，煎此香冷淋之，即辟也。【時珍曰】楚詞畦留夷與䔾車，則 昔人常栽蒔之，與今蘭香、零陵相類也。 Collected Explanations. [Chen] Cangqi: The Guang zhi states: “Jie che xiang grows in Xu zhou. It is several chi tall and has yellow leaves and white flowers.” Er ya: “Jie che is qi yu 乞輿.” Guo Pu states: “This is a fragrant herb.” [Li] Xun: “It grows in the mountain valleys of Hai nan.” The Qi min yao shu states: “When trees are infested by worms/bugs and moths, boil it to obtain a fragrant [liquid] that is sprayed cold on them. This will repel them.” [Li] Shizhen: The Chu ci [speaks of ] “fields of liu yi708 and jie che.” They were often planted by people in antiquity and they are related to today’s eupatorium and sweet basil. 【氣味】辛，温，無毒。【珣曰】微寒。 Qi and Flavor. Acrid, warm, nonpoisonous. [Li] Xun: Slightly cold. 【主治】鬼氣，去臭，及蟲魚蛀蠹。藏器。治霍亂，辟惡氣，薰衣佳。珣。 Control. Demonic qi. It removes bad odor, and worms/bugs, fish, and moths. [Chen] Cangqi: It serves to cure cholera and repels malign qi. When used to steam clothes, it yields fine results. [Li] Xun. 14-39 艾納香宋開寶 Ai na xiang. FE Song, Kai bao. Blumea balsamifera (L.) DC. Balsamiferous blumea. 【集解】【志曰】廣志云：艾納出西國，似細艾。又有松樹皮上緑衣，亦 名艾納，可以和合諸香，燒之能聚其烟，青白不散，而與此不同。【禹錫 曰】案古樂府云行胡從何方，列國持何來，氍毹㲮㲪五木香，迷迭艾納及 都梁是也。 708 Liu yi 畦留夷, an unidentified herb.

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Collected Explanations: [Ma] Zhi: The Guang zhi states: “Ai na comes from Western countries. It resembles fine mugwort.” Also, some pines have a green coating on their skin. This, too, is named ai na. It can be used to prepare incense. When this is burned the smoke gathers with a greenish-white color that does not disperse. This is different from the [ai na discussed] here. [Zhang] Yuxi: As the Gu yue fu states: “Where do those itinerant Hu come from? What do they bring along from all these countries? Woolen rugs and felt, inula [root], rosemary, ai na and eupatorium.” 【氣味】甘，温、平，無毒。 Qi and Flavor. Sweet, warm, balanced, nonpoisonous. 【主治】去惡氣，殺蟲，主腹冷洩痢。志。傷寒五洩，心腹注氣，止腸 鳴，下寸白，燒之辟瘟疫，合蜂窠浴脚氣良。珣。治癬辟蛇。藏器。 Control. It removes malign qi, kills bugs/worms and controls outflow and freeflux illness related to abdominal cold. [Ma] Zhi. The five types of outflow related to harm caused by cold. Influx qi709 affecting the central and abdominal region. It ends intestinal sounds. It serves to discharge tapeworms. Burned, [the fumes] repel warmth epidemics. A bath prepared with ground bee nests serves to cure leg qi710 with good results. [Li] Xun. It serves to cure xuan-illness711 and repels snakes. [Chen] Cangqi.

Unidentified.

14-40 兜納香海藥 Dou na xiang. FE Hai yao.

【集解】【珣曰】案廣志云：出西海剽國諸山。魏略云：出大秦國，草類 也。 Collected Explanations. [Li] Xun: According to the Guang zhi, “it comes from all the mountains of Piao guo in Xi hai.” The Wei lüe states: “It comes from Da qin guo; it is of the group of herbs.” 709 Zhu qi 注氣, “influx qi,” a condition identical with gui zhu 鬼疰, “demon attachment-illness.” BCGM Dict I, 693,

710 Jiao qi 脚氣, “leg qi.” Painful, weak, swollen legs. BCGM Dict I, 248, 202.

711 Xuan 癬, “xuan-illness.” Conditions of dermal lesions with initially erythema, papules, and itching gradually extending in all directions to form an irregular ring with clear boundaries. The skin is slightly elevated with small papules, blisters, and/or scales and scraps. The central lesion may appear to heal spontaneously, and it may reappear. Also, a designation of local lesions with itching, release of liquid and shedding of scabs. BCGM Dict I, 591.



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【氣味】辛，平，無毒。【藏器曰】甘，温。 Qi and Flavor. Acrid, balanced, nonpoisonous. [Chen] Cangqi: Sweet, warm. 【主治】温中，除暴冷。藏器。惡瘡腫瘻，止痛生肌，並入膏用。燒之辟 遠近惡氣。帶之夜行，壯膽安神。與茅香、柳枝煎湯浴小兒，易長。李珣。 Control. It warms the center. It eliminates violent cold. [Chen] Cangqi. Malign sores with swelling and fistula. It ends pain and develops muscles. For all these ends apply it added to ointments. Burned, [its fumes] repel distant and near malign qi. Wearing it on the body when travelling at night will make one courageous and pacifies one’s spirit. Children bathed in a decoction obtained by boiling it with lemon grass and willow twigs will grow up easily. Li Xun.

Incense stick.

14-41 線香綱目 Xian xiang. FE Gang mu.

【集解】【時珍曰】今人合香之法甚多，惟線香可入瘡科用。其料加减不 等。大抵多用白芷、芎藭、獨活、甘松、三柰、丁香、藿香、藁本、高良 薑、角茴香、連喬、大黄、黄芩、柏木、兜婁香末之類，爲末，以榆皮麪 作糊和劑，以唧筩笮成線香，成條如線也。亦或盤成物象字形，用鐵銅絲 懸爇者，名龍挂香。 Collected Explanations. [Li] Shizhen: There are numerous methods of making incense sticks these days, but only slim incence sticks can be applied in the field of sore/wound therapy. The materials added or omitted vary. Generally speaking, though, they include angelica dahurica [root], ligusticum chuanxiong [root], angelica biserrata [root], nardostachys [root], kaempferia [rhizome], cloves, wrinkled Chinese hyssop [herb], ligusticum sinense [root], alpinia officinarum [root], star anise, forsythia, glycyrrhiza [root], scutellaria [root], paeonia [root] and platycarya [root] powder. They are [ground to] powder which is then prepared with elm bark and wheat flour to a paste that is then pressed through a spurting tube device to form a slim incense stick. This is a long narrow piece like a wire. Or it is rolled up on a plate in the form of a stylized Chinese character, which is hung up with an iron or copper wire and then set on fire. This is called “hung dragon incense.”712 【氣味】辛，温，無毒。 Qi and Flavor. Acrid, warm, nonpoisonous. 712 See also, with illustrations, Joseph Needham, Science and Civilization in China. Vol. 3, with the collaboration of Wang Ling. Cambridge University Press. 1959, 330-331.

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【主治】熏諸瘡癬。時珍。 Control. Its fumes serve to steam all types of sores and xuan-illness.713 [Li] Shizhen. 【附方】新一。 Added Recipes. One newly [recorded]. 楊梅毒瘡。龍挂香、孩兒茶、皂角子各一錢，銀朱二錢，爲末，紙卷作 撚，點燈置桶中，以鼻吸烟。一日三次，三日止。内服解毒藥，瘡即乾。 集簡方。 Red bayberry poison sores.714 [Grind] one qian each of hung dragon incense, catechu, and gleditsia pod seeds, and two qian of vermilion to powder. With paper twist a role, place it in a bucket, light it like a candle and with the nose inhale [the fumes]. Three times a day. Stop [the treatment] after three days. For an internal [effect] ingest a medication to resolve poison. The sores dry up. Ji jian fang. 14-42 藿香宋嘉祐 Huo xiang. FE Song, Jia you. Agastache rugosa (Fisch. et Mey.) O. Kuntze. Wrinkled giant hyssop. 【校正】【承曰】宜入草部。 Editorial Correction. [Chen] Cheng: It should be included into the “herbs” section. 【釋名】兜婁婆香。【時珍曰】豆葉曰藿，其葉似之，故名。楞嚴經云”壇 前以兜婁婆香煎水洗浴”即此。法華經謂之多摩羅跋香，金光明經謂之鉢怛 羅香，皆兜婁二字梵言也。涅槃又謂之迦算香。 Explanation of Names. Douloupo xiang 兜婁婆香. [Li] Shizhen: The leaves of soybeans are called huo 藿. Because the leaves [of huo xiang 藿香] resemble them, the [present substance] is called [huo xiang 藿香]. The Leng yan jing states: “Prior to altar services, take a bath in water in which douloupo xiang was boiled.” This is [the item discussed] here. The Fa hua jing calls it moluoba xiang 摩羅跋香. The Jin guang 713 Xuan 癬, “xuan-illness.” Conditions of dermal lesions with initially erythema, papules, and itching gradually extending in all directions to form an irregular ring with clear boundaries. The skin is slightly elevated with small papules, blisters, and/or scales and scraps. The central lesion may appear to heal spontaneously, and it may reappear. Also, a designation of local lesions with itching, release of liquid and shedding of scabs. BCGM Dict I, 591.

714 Yang mei du chuang 楊梅毒瘡, “red bayberry poison sores,” a condition identical with yang mei chuang 楊梅瘡, “red bayberry sores,” “syphilitic sores.” affecting the entire body and resulting from an infectious sores poison. BCGM Dict I, 618.



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ming jing calls it bodaluo xiang 鉢怛羅香. All these are pronunciations of the two characters dou lou 兜婁 in Sanskrit. The Nie pan calls it jiasuan xiang 迦算香。 【集解】【禹錫曰】按廣志云：藿香出海邊國。莖如都梁，葉似水蘇，可 着衣服中。嵇含南方草木狀云：出交阯、九真、武平、興古諸國，吏民自 種之。榛生，五六月采，日乾乃芬香。【頌曰】藿香嶺南多有之，人家亦 多種。二月生苗，莖梗甚密，作叢，葉似桑而小薄，六月、七月采之。須 黄色乃可收。金樓子及俞益期牋皆云：扶南國人言，五香共是一木。其 根是旃檀，節是沈香，花是雞舌，葉是藿香，膠是薰陸。故本草以五香共 條，義亦出此。今南中藿香乃是草類，與嵇含所説正相符合。范曄合香方 云：零藿虚燥，古人乃以合香。即此扶南之説，似涉欺罔也。【時珍曰】 藿香方莖有節中虚，葉微似茄葉，潔古、東垣惟用其葉，不用枝梗。今人 併枝梗用之，因葉多僞故耳。唐史云頓遜國出藿香，插枝便生，葉如都梁 者是也。劉欣期交州記言藿香似蘇合香者，謂其氣相似，非謂形狀也。 Collected Explanations. [Zhang] Yuxi: According to the Guang zhi,715 “huo xiang comes from countries close to the sea. The stem resembles that of balsamiferous blumea. The leaves resemble those of water perilla,716 and may be worn in one’s garments.” Ji Han in his Nan fang cao mu zhuang states: “It comes from Jiao zhi, Jiu zhen, Wu ping and Xing gu, all these countries. The locals plant it. It grows as clusters and is collected in the fifth and sixth month. When it is dried in the sun it develops a fragrant scent.” [Su] Song: Huo xiang can be found everywhere in Ling nan. People there plant it a lot. It develops a seedling in the second month. The stem is a very tight/solid stalk forming clusters. The leaves resemble those of mulberry [trees], but are smaller and thin. They are collected in the sixth and seventh month. When they are gathered, they must have turned yellow. Both the Jin lou zi and the Yu yi qi jian state: “The people in Fu nan guo say: ‘Five fragrant [plants] form one tree. The root is sandal wood. The nodes are aloes wood. The flowers are cloves. The leaves are huo xiang. The glue is olibanum. Because the herb consists of five fragrant [plants] that together form one stalk, the meaning [of the name] is derived from this’.” Today, huo xiang from Nan zhong belongs to the group of herbs, and this is in perfect agreement with what Ji Han says. Fan Ye in his He xiang fang states: “Sweet basil and huo [xiang] are both hollow and dry. The ancients used them to make incense.” That is, what is said about Fu nan seems to be misleading. [Li] Shizhen: Huo xiang has a square stem with nodes; it is hollow. The leaves are somewhat similar to those of eggplants. [Zhang] Jiegu and [Li] Dongyuan only use these leaves, they do not use the twigs and the stalk. Today’s people use both the twigs and the stalk, because the leaves are often fakes. When the Tang shi states: “Du xun guo exports 715 Instead of Guang zhi, Zheng lei ch. 12, huo xiang refers to the Nan zhou yi wu zhi as source.

716 Shui su 水蘇, “water perilla,” is also known as “camphor mint.”

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huo xiang. Insert a twig [into the ground] and it will grow. The leaves are similar to those of balsamiferous blumea,” then this is [the item discussed] here. When Liu Xinqi in his Jiao zhou ji says: “Huo xiang resembles storax,” he meant to say that their qi are similar. He did not say that they are similar in shape. 14-42-01 枝。Zhi. 葉。Ye. Twig, leaf [of huo xiang]. 【氣味】辛，微温，無毒。【元素曰】辛、甘。又曰：甘、苦，氣厚味 薄，浮而升，陽也。【杲曰】可升可降，陽也。入手、足太陰經。 Qi and Flavor. Acrid, slightly warm, nonpoisonous. [Zhang] Yuansu: Acrid, sweet. It is also said: Sweet, bitter. The qi are strongly pronounced. The flavor is weak. It floats and rises. It is a yang [substance]. [Li] Gao: It can rise and it can descend. It is a yang [substance]. It enters the hand and foot major yin conduits. 【主治】風水毒腫，去惡氣。止霍亂心腹痛。别録。脾胃吐逆爲要藥。蘇 頌。助胃氣，開胃口，進飲食。元素。温中快氣，肺虚有寒，上焦壅熱， 飲酒口臭，煎湯漱之。好古。 Control. Wind [intrusion] and water poison swelling. It removes malign qi. It ends cholera with pain in the central and abdominal region. Bie lu. It is an important pharmaceutical drug for spleen and stomach vomiting with [qi] counterflow. Su Song. It assists the stomach qi and opens the stomach to let beverages and food enter. [Zhang] Yuansu. It warms the center and quickens the qi. [It serves to cure] lung depletion with the presence of cold, and heat obstruction in the upper [section of the Triple] Burner. For bad mouth odor after drinking wine, boil it and rinse the [mouth] with the decoction. [Wang] Haogu. 【發明】【杲曰】芳香之氣助脾胃，故藿香能止嘔逆，進飲食。【好古 曰】手、足太陰之藥。故入順氣烏藥散則補肺，入黄芪四君子湯則補脾也。 Explication. [Li] Gao: The qi of fragrant [herbs] assist spleen and stomach. This is why huo xiang can end vomiting with [qi] counterflow and lets beverages and food enter [the stomach]. [Wang] Haogu: It is a pharmaceutical drug for the hand and foot major yin [conduits]. Hence, when it is added to the “powder with lindera [root] to smoothen the flow of qi,” it supplements the lung [qi]. When it is added to the “decoction with four rulers717 and astragalus [root],” it supplements the spleen [qi]. 717 Constituents of the “decoction with four rulers” include ginseng root, poria, atractylodes rhizome and glycyrrhiza root.



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【附方】新六。 Added Recipes. Six newly [recorded]. 升降諸氣。藿香一兩，香附炒五兩，爲末，每以白湯點服一錢。經效濟世 方。 To cause all types of qi to rise and descend. [Grind] one liang of huo xiang and five liang of cyperus [root] to powder. Each time ingest one qian dripped in clear, boiled water. Jing xiao ji shi fang. 霍亂吐瀉。垂死者，服之回生。用藿香葉、陳皮各半兩，水二琖，煎一 琖，温服。百一選方。 Cholera with vomiting and outflow. When death is imminent, [let the patient] ingest this and he will come back to life. Boil half a liang of huo xiang leaves and tangerine peels in two cups of water down to one cup and [let the patient] ingest [the liquid] warm. Bai yi xuan fang. 暑月吐瀉。滑石炒二兩，藿香二錢半，丁香五分，爲末。每服一二錢，淅 米泔調服。禹講師經驗方。 Vomiting and outflow during the summer months. [Grind] one liang of talcum, fried, two and a half qian of huo xiang and five fen of clove to powder. Each time ingest one or two qian, to be ingested mixed with water used to wash rice. Yu jiang shi jing yan fang. 胎氣不安，氣不升降，嘔吐酸水。香附、藿香、甘草各二錢，爲末。每服 二錢，入鹽少許，沸湯服之。聖惠方。 Restless fetal qi. The qi fail to rise and to descend, with vomiting of sour water. [Grind] two qian each of cyperus [root], huo xiang, and glycyrrhiza [root] to powder. Each time ingest two qian. Add a little salt and ingest it with water boiled to bubbling. Sheng hui fang. 香口去臭。藿香洗净，煎湯，時時噙漱。摘玄方。 To let the mouth have a fragrant scent and remove bad odor. Wash huo xiang clean and boil it to obtain a decoction to frequently hold it in the mouth and to rinse [the oral cavity]. Zhai xuan fang. 冷露瘡爛。藿香葉、細茶等分，燒灰，油調塗葉上貼之。應驗方。 Festering sores related to cold and dew. Burn equal amounts of huo xiang leaves and fine tea to ashes. Mix them with oil, spread this on a leaf and apply it to [the affected region]. Ying yan fang.

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14-43 薰草别録中品 Xun cao, FE Bie lu, middle rank. 零陵香宋開寶 Ling ling xiang, FE Song, Kai bao. Ocimum basilicum L. Sweet basil. 【釋名】蕙草别録、香草開寶、燕草綱目、黄零草玉册。【時珍曰】古者 燒香草以降神，故曰薰，曰蕙。薰者熏也，蕙者和也。漢書云薰以香自燒 是矣。或云古人祓除，以此草熏之，故謂之薰，亦通。范成大虞衡志言： 零陵即今永州，不出此香，惟融、宜等州甚多。土人以編席薦，性煖宜 人。謹按：零陵舊治在今全州。全乃湘水之源，多生此香，今人呼爲廣零 陵香者，乃真薰草也。若永州、道州、武岡州，皆零陵屬地也。今鎮江、 丹陽皆蒔而刈之，以酒灑制貨之，芬香更烈，謂之香草，與蘭草同稱。楚 辭云：”既滋蘭之九畹，又樹蕙之百畝”，則古人皆栽之矣。張揖廣雅云： 鹵，薰也，其葉謂之蕙。而黄山谷言一幹數花者爲蕙，蓋因不識蘭草、蕙 草，强以蘭花爲分别也。鄭樵修本草，言蘭即蕙，蕙即零陵香，亦是臆 見，殊欠分明。但蘭草、蕙草，乃一類二種耳。 Explanation of Names. Hui cao 蕙草, Bie lu. Xiang cao 香草, “fragrant herb,” Kai bao. Yan cao 燕草, “swallow herb,” Gang mu. Huang ling cao 黄零草, Yu ce 玉册, “jade book.” [Li] Shizhen: The ancients burned fragrant herbs to let the gods come down. Hence they have names such as xun 薰 and hui 蕙. Xun 薰 is xun 熏, “fumes.” Hui 蕙 is he 和, “harmonious.” The Han shu states: “Xun 薰 is: to burn fragrant [herbs].” Elsewhere it is stated: “To remove evil, the ancients used the fumes, xun 熏, of such herbs. Hence they were named xun 薰.” This makes sense, too. Fan Chengda in his Yu heng zhi says: “Ling ling is today’s Yong zhou. This fragrant [herb] does not come from there. It can be found en masse only in Rong and Yi zhou. The locals use it to weave straw mats. With its warm nature it is beneficial for people.” [My] comment: The ancient administrative region Ling ling is today’s Quan zhou. Quan [zhou] is the source of the river Xiang shui and this fragrant [herb] grows abundantly there. These days the people call it guang ling ling xiang 廣零陵香. This is the genuine xun cao 薰草. Yong zhou, Dao zhou and Wu gang zhou, all these regions belong to Ling ling. Today it is planted and harvested in Zhen jiang and Dan yang. It it is sprayed with wine to process it and to market it with an even stronger fragrance as xiang cao 香草, “fragrant herb,” which is also the name of eupatorium. The Chu ci states: “There is a region of nine wan where eupatorium is cultivated,” and “a territory of 100 mu where hui 蕙 is planted.” That is, the ancients already planted it. Zhang Ji in his Guang ya states: “Lu 鹵 is xun 薰. The leaves are called hui 蕙.” But Huang Shangu says: “One stalk with several flowers is called hui 蕙.” The fact is, because he was



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not familiar with eupatorium and hui cao 蕙草, he based his differentiation on the flowers of eupatorium. In his edition of the Ben cao, Zheng Qiao said “Lan 蘭 is hui 蕙. Hui 蕙 is ling ling xiang 零陵香.” This, too, is his personal view, not based on evidence. Lan cao 蘭草/eupatorium and hui cao 蕙草 are two types of one single group. 【集解】【别録曰】薰草一名蕙草，生下濕地，三月采，陰乾，脱節者 良。又曰：蕙實生魯山平澤。【弘景曰】桐君藥録：薰草葉如麻，兩兩相 對。山海經云：浮山有草，麻葉而方莖，赤華而黑實，氣如蘼蕪，名曰薰 草，可以已癘。今俗人皆呼燕草狀如茅而香者爲薰草，人家頗種之者，非 也。詩書家多用蕙，而竟不知是何草，尚其名而迷其實，皆此類也。【藏 器曰】薰草即是零陵香，薰乃蕙草根也。【志曰】零陵香生零陵山谷，葉 如羅勒。南越志云：土人名燕草，又名薰草，即香草也。山海經薰草即是 此。【頌曰】零陵香，今湖、廣諸州皆有之。多生下濕地，葉如麻，兩兩 相對，莖方，常以七月中旬開花至香，古云薰草是也。嶺南人皆作窑竈， 以火炭焙乾，令黄色乃佳。江淮亦有土生者，亦可作香，但不及湖、嶺者 至枯槁香尤芬薰耳。古方但用薰草，不用零陵香。今合香家及面脂、澡豆 諸法皆用之。都下市肆貨之甚便。【時珍曰】今惟吴人栽造，貨之亦廣。 Collected Explanations. Bie lu: Xun cao 薰草 is also called hui cao 蕙草. It grows in low-lying marshlands. It is collected in the third month and dried in the yin (i. e., shade). When the nodes have fallen off, it is good. It is also said: Hui fruits 蕙 實 grow in the marshlands of the plains of Lu shan. [Tao] Hongjing: According to the Tong jun yao lu, “The leaves of xun cao are similar to those of hemp. They stand opposite to each other in pairs of two and two.” The Shan hai jing states: “In Fu shan is an herb with hemp leaves and a square stem, red flowers and black fruits. Its qi are similar to those of ligusticum chuanxiong. It is called xun cao 薰草 and it serves to end epidemics.” Today, the common people call yan cao 燕草 that is shaped like nutgrass and fragrant xun cao 薰草, and they plant it a lot. But this is wrong. Poets and literature authors often speak of hui 蕙, but they have no idea what herb it might be. This is always the same: they praise the name but confuse the facts! [Chen] Cangqi: Xun cao is ling ling xiang. Xun 薰 is the root of hui cao 蕙草. [Ma] Zhi: Ling ling xiang grows in the mountain valleys of Ling ling. Its leaves are similar to those of sweet basil. The Nan Yue zhi states: “The locals call it yan cao 燕草. It is also called xun cao 薰草.” This is xiang cao 香草. It is the item referred to as xun cao 薰草 in the Shan hai jing. [Su] Song: Today, ling ling xiang can be found everywhere in all the zhou of Hu and Guang. It often grows in low-lying marshlands. The leaves are similar to those of hemp. They grow opposite to each other in pairs of two and two. The stem is square. Flowers regularly open in the middle ten day period of the seventh month and are very fragrant. The ancients correctly said that this is xun cao 薰

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草. The people in Ling nan construct specific kilns to slowly dry it above a charcoal fire until it is dry. Once it has turned yellow it is fine. It is also produced locally in Jiang huai and made to incense, but it does not reach the quality of that from Hu and Ling, which emits extremely fragrant vapors even when very dry. Ancient recipes resorted only to xun cao 薰草. They did not use ling ling xiang. These days those who produce incense and facial crème, as well as soap for bathing, they all use it. It is easily available in shops on the markets. [Li] Shizhen: Today only the people of Wu plant and process it. It is sold far and wide. 14-43-01 薰草。Xun cao.

Ocimum basilicum L. 【氣味】甘，平，無毒。【權曰】苦，無毒。【珣曰】辛，温，無毒。不 宜多服，令人氣喘。【玉册云】伏三黄、朱砂。 Qi and Flavor. Sweet, balanced, nonpoisonous. [Zhen] Quan: Bitter, nonpoisonous. [Li] Xun: Acrid, warm, nonpoisonous. Not much should be ingested as it may lead to qi panting. The Yu ce states: It subdues [the effects of ] the three [substances named] huang718 and cinnabar. 【主治】明目止淚，療洩精，去臭惡氣，傷寒頭痛，上氣腰痛。别録。單 用治鼻中息肉，鼻齆。甄權。主惡氣心腹痛滿，下氣，令體香。和諸香作 湯丸用，得酒良。開寶。主風邪衝心，虚勞疳䘌。得升麻、細辛煎飲，治 牙齒腫痛善。李珣。治血氣腹脹，莖葉煎酒服。大明。婦人浸油飾頭，香 無以加。宗奭。 Control. It clears the eyes and ends tearflow. It heals outflow of essence/sperm. It removes malodorous, malign qi, and headache related to harm caused by cold, with rising qi and lower back pain. Bie lu. Used as a single substance it serves to cure flesh growths in the nose and nasal congestion. Lin ling xiang 零陵香 controls malign qi and pain with a feeling of fullness in the central and abdominal region. It serves to discharge qi and gives the body a fragrant scent. It is used in combination with any other fragrant [herbs] as decoction and pills. Combined with wine it yields good results. Kai bao. It controls wind evil rushing against the heart, depletion exhaustion and sweets-illness with hidden worms/bugs.719 Boiled with cimicifuga [rhizome] and asarum heteropoides [root] and [the liquid] drunk, it serves well to cure swollen, 718 The three substances with the character huang, “yellow,” in their names, san huang 三黃, include sulphur, liu huang 硫黃, realgar, xiong huang 雄黃, and orpiment, ci huang 雌黃. 719 Gan ni 疳䘌, “sweets-illness with hidden worms,” a disease brought forth by frequent consumption of sweet items, with the teeth turning black and rotting, or ulcers developing in the anal and genital areas, and festering with stench. BCGM Dict I, 184.



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painful teeth. Li Xun: To cure abdominal swelling related to blood and qi [disorder], boil the stem and the leaves and ingest [the decoction] with wine. Da Ming. Women soak it in oil and use [the liquid] to decorate their head.720 This results in a fragrance that cannot be surpassed. [Kou] Zongshi. 【發明】【時珍曰】薰草芳馨，其氣辛散上達，故心腹惡氣、齒痛、鼻塞 皆用之。脾胃喜芳香，芳香可以養鼻是也。多服作喘，爲能耗散真氣也。 Explication. [Li] Shizhen: Xun cao is fragrant; its qi are acrid and rise. Hence it is used for malign qi in the central and abdominal region, for toothache and stuffed nose. The spleen and the stomach enjoy fragrance, because fragrance can nourish the nose. Ingested often it causes panting because it can waste and disperse the true qi. 【附方】新十 Added Recipes. Ten newly [recorded]. 傷寒下痢。蕙草湯：用蕙草、當歸各二兩，黄連四兩，水六升，煮二升 服，日三服。范汪方。 Discharge with free-flux illness related to harm caused by cold. The “decoction with hui cao.” Boil two liang each of hui cao and Chinese angelica [root] and four liang of coptis [rhizome] in six sheng of water down to two sheng and ingest [the liquid]. To be ingested three times a day. Fan Wang fang. 傷寒狐惑食肛者。蕙草、黄連各四兩，㕮咀，以白酸漿一斗，漬一宿，煮 取二升，分三服。小品方。 Harm caused by cold with fox and delusion721 at the anus. Pound four liang each of hui cao and coptis [rhizome] and soak this for one night in one dou of clear, sour fermented water of foxtail millet. Then boil this down to two sheng and ingest [the liquid] divided into three portions. Xiao pin fang. 頭風旋運。痰逆，惡心，懶食。真零陵香、藿香葉、莎草根炒，等分爲 末。每服二錢，茶下，日三服。本事方。

720 Instead of 頭, “head,” Yan yi ch. 10, ling ling xiang 零陵香, writes fa 髮, “hair”.

721 Hu huo 狐惑, “fox and delusion,” a condition of putrid flesh and festering ulcers in the throat and private parts brought forth by moisture, heat, and bug poison. BCGM Dict I, 220.

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Head wind722 and vertigo. Phlegm with [qi] counterflow, nausea and lack of appetite. Grind equal amounts of genuine ling ling xiang, agastache [herb] leaves and cyperus [root], fried, to powder. Each time ingest two qian, to be sent down with tea. To be ingested three times a day. Ben shi fang. 小兒鼻塞，頭熱。用薰草一兩，羊髓三兩，銚内慢火熬成膏，去滓，日摩 背上三四次。聖惠方。 Stuffed nose of children, with a hot head. Boil one liang of xun cao and three liang of sheep marrow in a kettle over a slow fire to prepare a paste. Remove the dregs and rub this three to four times a day on the [child’s] back. Sheng hui fang. 頭風白屑。零陵香、白芷等分，水煎汁，入鷄子白攪匀，傅數十次，終身 不生。聖惠方。 Head wind with white scraps. Boil equal amounts of ling ling xiang and angelica dahurica [root] in water, add chicken egg white to the resulting juice and mix this evenly. Then apply this a few tens of times [to the affected region] and [the ailment] will never appear again during your entire life. Sheng hui fang. 牙齒疼痛。零陵香梗葉煎水，含漱之。普濟方。 Toothache. Boil the stem and leaves of ling ling xiang in water and hold [the liquid] in the mouth to rinse [the affected region]. Pu ji fang. 風牙疳牙。零陵香洗炙，蓽茇炒，等分爲末，摻之。普濟方。 Wind teeth723 and gan-illness teeth.724 [Grind] equal amounts of ling ling xiang, washed and roasted, and long pepper, fried, to powder and apply this [to the affected teeth]. Pu ji fang. 夢遺失精。薰草湯：用薰草、人參、白术、白芍藥、生地黄各二兩，伏 神、桂心、甘草炙各二兩，大棗十二枚，水八升，煮三升，分二服。外臺 秘要。 Uncontrolled loss of essence/sperm in dreams. The “decoction with xun cao.” Boil two liang each of xun cao, ginseng [root], white paeonia [root], fresh Chinese foxglove [rhizome], poria, shaved cinnamom bark and glycyrrhiza [root], fried, and 722 Tou feng 頭風, “head wind.” Condition of wind evil attacking the head followed by pain, dizziness, itching. BCGM Dict I, 509.

723 Feng ya 風牙, “wind tooth,” a condition of toothache and exposure of tooth roots brought about by feng xie 風邪, “wind evil.” BCGM Dict I, 170, 171.

724 Ya gan 牙疳, “dental gan-illness,” with teeth and the gums festering and emitting a bad stench, the teeth aching and becoming lose, and the appearance of pus and blood. BCGM Dict I, 605.



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12 large Chinese dates in eight sheng of water down to three sheng and ingest this divided into two portions. Wai tai mi yao. 婦人斷産。零陵香爲末，酒服二錢。每服至一兩，即一年絶孕。蓋血聞香 即散也。醫林集要。 To interrupt the ability of women to give birth. Grind ling ling xiang to powder and ingest with wine two qian. Each time ingest up to one liang and there will be no pregnancy for one year. The fact is, when blood smells fragrance it will disperse. Yi lin ji yao. 五色諸痢。返魂丹：用零陵香草去根。以鹽酒浸半月，炒乾，每兩入廣木 香一錢半，爲末。裏急腹痛者，用冷水服一錢半，通了三四次，用熱米湯 服一錢半，止痢。只忌生梨一味。集簡方。 All types of free-flux illness in all five colors. The “elixir to let the hun[-soul] return.” Soak ling ling cao, with the root discarded, in salted wine for half a month. Then fry it until it is dry. For each liang add one and a half qian of aucklandia [root] and [grind this to] powder. In the case of acute internal, abdominal pain, ingest with cold water one and a half qian. After three or four free passages [of bowel movement] ingest with a hot rice decoction one and a half qian. This will end the free-flux illness. The only substances to be avoided [during the treatment] are raw pears. Ji jian fang. 14-43-02 蕙實。Hui shi.

Hui fruit.

别録 有名未用部。【藏器曰】即蘭蕙之蕙也。五月采之，辛香。 Listed in the “known by name but not in use” section of the Bie lu. [Chen] Cangqi: This is the hui 蕙 of lan hui 蘭蕙. It is collected in the fifth month. [Qi and Flavor:] Acrid, fragrant. 【氣味】辛，平，無毒。 Qi and Flavor. Acrid, balanced, nonpoisonous. 【主治】明目補中。别録。 Control. It clears the eyes and supplements the center. Bie lu.

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14-43-03 根莖中涕。Gen jing zhong ti.

Liquid in the root and stem [of xun cao/ling ling xiang] 【主治】傷寒寒熱出汗，中風面腫，消渴熱中，逐水。别録。主五痔脱肛 有蟲。時珍。出千金。 Control. Harm caused by cold with [alternating sensations of ] cold and heat and sweating. Being struck by wind and facial swelling. Melting with thirst725 and hot center. It eliminates water. Bie lu. It controls the five types of piles and anal prolapse with the presence of worms/bugs. [Li] Shizhen, quoted from the Qian jin. 14-44 蘭草本經上品 Lan cao, FE Ben jing, upper rank. Eupatorium fortunei Turcz. Eupatorium. 【釋名】蕑音閑、水香本經、香水蘭開寶、女蘭綱目、香草綱目、燕尾香 開寶、大澤蘭炮炙論、蘭澤草弘景、煎澤草唐本、省頭草綱目、都梁香李 當之、孩兒菊綱目、千金草。【志曰】葉似馬蘭，故名蘭草。其葉有岐， 俗呼燕尾香。時人煮水以浴療風，故又名香水蘭。【藏器曰】蘭草生澤 畔，婦人和油澤頭，故云蘭澤。盛弘之荆州記云：都梁有山，下有水清 淺，其中生蘭草，因名都梁香。【時珍曰】都梁即今之武岡州也，又臨淮 盱眙縣亦有都梁山，産此香。蘭乃香草，能辟不祥。陸機詩疏言：鄭俗， 三月男女秉蕑于水際，以自祓除。蓋蘭以闌之，蕑以閑之。其義一也。淮 南子云：男子種蘭，美而不芳。則蘭須女子種之，女蘭之名，或因乎此。 其葉似菊，女子、小兒喜佩之，則女蘭、孩菊之名，又或以此也。唐瑶經 驗方言：江南人家種之，夏月采置髮中，令頭不䐈，故名省頭草。其説正 合煎澤之義。古人蘭、蕙皆稱香草，如零陵香草、都梁香草。後人省之， 通呼爲香草爾。近世但知蘭花，不知蘭草。惟虚谷 方回考訂，極言古之蘭 草即今之千金草，俗名孩兒菊者，其説可據。詳下正誤。 Explanation of Names. Xian 蕑, read xian 閑; shui xiang 水香, “water fragrance,” Ben jing. Xiang shui lan 香水蘭, “fragrant water orchid.” Kai bao. Nü lan 女蘭, “women’s orchid,” Gang mu. Xiang cao 香草, “fragrant herb,” Gang mu. Yan wei xiang 燕尾香, “swallow tail fragrance,” Kai bao. Da ze lan 大澤蘭, “Massive glossiness orchid,” Pao zhi lun. Lan ze cao 蘭726澤草, “orchid glossiness herb,” [Tao] Hongjing. 725 Xiao ke 消渴, “melting with thirst,” most likely including cases of diabetes. BCGM Dict Vol I, 567.

726 According to Zheng lei ch. 7, lan cao 蘭草, Tao Hongjing spoke of jian 煎 instead of lan 蘭, and the Tang ben wrote lan 蘭. Hence, the present character lan 蘭 should be exchanged with the character jian 煎 as seen in the passage jian ze zao 煎澤草 below.



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Jian ze cao 煎澤草, “herb boiled for glossiness,” Tang ben. Sheng tou cao 省頭草, “herb to safeguard the head,” Gang mu. Du liang xiang 都梁香, “fragrance from Du liang,” Li Dangzhi. Hai er ju 孩兒菊, “children’s chrysanthemum,” Gang mu. Qian jin cao 千金草, “herb worth thousands in gold.” [Ma] Zhi: The leaves are similar to those of ma lan 馬蘭 (lit.: “horse/big orchid”), purple chrysanthemum. Hence it is called lan cao 蘭草, “orchid herb.” The leaves are forked, and [hence] it is called “swallow tail fragrance,” yan wei xiang 燕尾香. Now the people boil it in water and bathe in it to heal wind [intrusion]. Hence it is also called “fragrant water orchid,” xiang shui lan 香水蘭. [Chen] Cangqi: Lan cao grows at the side of marshlands. Women apply it mixed with oil to give their head glossiness, ze 澤. Hence they call it “orchid glossiness,” lan ze 蘭澤. Sheng Hongzhi in his Jing zhou ji states: “In Du liang 都梁 at the foot of a mountain is a clear, shallow water in which lan cao 蘭草 grows. Hence it is called du liang xiang 都梁香, ‘Du liang fragrance’.” [Li] Shizhen: Du liang is today’s Wu gang zhou. There is also a Du liang mountain in Xu yi xian in Lin huai where this fragrant [herb] is produced. Lan 蘭 is a fragrant herb. It is able to repel the inauspicious. Lu Ji in his Shi shu says: “In Zheng it is common that in the third month a male and a female holding xian 蕑 in their hands go to the water’s edge to repel evil. The fact is, it is named lan 蘭 because it serves as a fence, lan 闌, [against the evil]. It is called xian 蕑 because it serves as a barrier, xian 閑, [against the evil]. The meaning is the same in both cases.” Huainan zi: “When males plant lan 蘭, it is beautiful but remains without fragrance. Hence lan 蘭 should be planted by females.” This is the origin of the name nü lan 女蘭, “girls‘ orchid.” The leaves are similar to those of chrysanthemum, and girls and children love to wear them. This is the origin of names such as nü lan 女蘭 and hai ju 孩菊, ‘child’s orchid’.” Tang Yao in his Jing yan fang says: “In Jiang nan people plant it. They collect it in the summer months and put it in their hair to prevent their heads from becoming sticky. Hence they call it ‘herb to safeguard the head,’ sheng tou cao 省頭草.” This statement perfectly agrees with the meaning underlying [the name] jian ze 煎 澤, “boiled for glossiness.” The ancients called both lan 蘭 and hui 蕙 xiang cao 香 草, “fragrant [herb],” similar to ling ling xiang 零陵香草, “fragrant herb from Ling ling,” and du liang xiang cao 都梁香草, “fragrant herb from Du liang.” In later times, people abbreviated these [names] and always referred to them simply as xiang cao 香草, “fragrant herb.” Nowadays, only lan hua 蘭花, “orchid flower,” is known, but not lan cao 蘭草, “orchid herb.” Only Xugu, Fang Hui, in his research decidedly points out that “the lan cao 蘭草 of ancient times is today’s qian jin cao 千金草, ‘herb worth thousands in gold,’ which is commonly called hai er ju 孩兒菊, ‘children’s chrysanthemum’.” This is reliable. For details see below “Correction of Errors.”

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【集解】【别録曰】蘭草生太吴池澤， 四月、五月采。【弘景曰】方藥俗 人並不識用。太吴應是吴國 太伯所居，故呼太吴。今東間有煎澤草，名蘭 香， 或是此也。李當之云是今人所種都梁香草也。澤蘭亦名都梁香。【恭 曰】蘭即蘭澤香草也。圓莖紫萼，八月花白。俗名蘭香，煮以洗浴。生溪 澗水旁 ， 人間亦多種之 ， 以飾庭池。陶所引煎澤草 ， 都梁香者是也 ， 而 不能的識。【保昇曰】生下濕地，葉似澤蘭，尖長有岐，花紅白色而香。 【藏器曰】蘭草、澤蘭二物同名，陶不能知，蘇亦浪别。蘭草生澤畔，葉 光潤 ， 陰小紫 ， 五月、六月采 ， 陰乾 ， 即都梁香也。澤蘭葉尖微有毛 ， 不光潤，莖方節紫，初采微辛，乾之亦辛。蘇云八月花白者，即澤蘭也。 以註蘭草，殊誤矣。【時珍曰】蘭草、澤蘭，一類二種也。俱生水旁下濕 處。二月宿根生苗成叢，紫莖素枝，赤節緑葉，葉對節生，有細齒。但以 莖圓節長而葉光有歧者，爲蘭草。莖微方，節短而葉有毛者爲澤蘭。嫩時 並可挼而佩之，八九月後漸老，高者三四尺。開花成穗，如鷄蘇花，紅白 色，中有細子。雷斅炮炙論所謂大澤蘭即蘭草也，小澤蘭即澤蘭也。禮記” 佩帨蘭茝”，楚辭”紉秋蘭以爲佩”，西京雜記載漢時池苑種蘭以降神，或雜 粉藏衣書中辟蠹者，皆此二蘭也。今吴人蒔之，呼爲香草。夏月刈取，以 酒油灑制，纏作把子，貨爲頭澤佩帶，與别録所出太吴之文正相符合。諸 家不知二蘭乃一物二種，但功用有氣血之分，故無定指，惟寇氏、朱氏之 誤尤甚，故考正于下。或云家蒔者爲蘭草，野生者爲蘭澤，亦通。 Collected Explanations. Bie lu: Lan cao grows in ponds and marshlands of Tai wu. It is collected in the fourth and fifth month. [Tao] Hongjing: Common people do not know how to use it as a recipe drug. Tai wu should be the state of Wu where Taibo lived. Hence it is called Tai Wu. Today in the East is a jian ze cao 煎澤草, called lan xiang 蘭香. This may be [the item discussed] here. Li Dangzhi states that “it is the du liang cao planted by people today.” Ze lan 澤蘭 is also named du liang xiang 都梁香. [Su] Gong: Lan 蘭 is lan ze xiang cao 蘭澤香草. It has a round stem and a purple calyx. White flowers open in the eighth month. [The herb] is commonly called lan xiang 蘭香. It is boiled to use [the liquid] for washing and bathing. It grows at the edges of mountain streams, and many people plant it to decorate courtyards and ponds. This is the jian ze cao 煎澤草 and the du liang xiang 都梁香 mentioned by Tao [Hongjing], but he was not sufficiently informed about them. [Han] Baosheng: It grows in low-lying marshlands. The leaves are similar to those of lycopus [herbs]. They are pointed, long and forked. The flowers are red-white and fragrant. [Chen] Cangqi: Lan cao 蘭草 and ze lan 澤蘭 are two different items sharing the same name. Tao [Hongjing] could not know this, and Su [Gong], too, made irrelevant distinctions. Lan cao grows at the edges of marshland. The leaves are shiny and moist. On their yin (i. e., back) side they are a little purple. They are collected in the fifth and sixth month and dried in the yin (i. e., shade). This is du



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liang xiang. The leaves of ze lan are pointed and slightly hairy. They are not shiny and moist. The stem is square and the nodes are purple. When it has just been collected, it is a little acrid. Those said by Su [Gong] to open white flowers in the eighth month, they are ze lan 澤蘭. When he commented on them as lan cao, he was definitely wrong. [Li] Shizhen: Lan cao 蘭草 and ze lan 澤蘭 are two types of the same group. Both grow in moist places at the edge of waters. In the second month a cluster of seedlings grows from a perennial root. The stem is purple and has plain branches, red nodes and green leaves. The leaves grow in opposite pairs at the nodes and have teeth. However, those with a round stem, distant nodes and shiny, forked leaves, they are lan cao 蘭草 Those with a somewhat square stem, nodes in a short distance and hairy leaves, they are ze lan 澤蘭. As long as they are tender, one can strip [the leaves] and wear them on the body. After the eighth and ninth month they gradually grow old. They reach a height of three to four chi. When the flowers open they form spikes similar to water perilla flowers. They are red-white and have fine seeds in their middle. The “big” ze lan 大澤蘭 referred to by Lei Xiao in his Pao zhi lun is lan cao 蘭草. The “small” ze lan is ze lan. The Li ji writes: “They wear lan 蘭 and angelica as ornaments.” The Chu ci writes: “They stitch autumn lan 蘭 and wear them as ornaments.” The Xi jing za ji records that “during the Han era they planted lan 蘭 in ponds and courtyards to let the gods come down,” and that “they spread lan 蘭 powder in garments and books to repel moths.” All these are references to the two lan 蘭 (lan cao 蘭草 and da ze lan 大澤蘭). Today the people in Wu plant it and they call it xiang cao 香草. They cut and remove [the herbs] in the summer months, process them by sprinkling them with wine and oil, form them to bundles and sell them to be used to let the head appear glossy, or to be worn as ornaments. This is in perfect agreement with the writings on Tai wu in the Bie lu. All these experts did not know that these are two types of one item. Still, their [therapeutic] potential and usage differ in accordance with the condition of the blood and the qi [of the patients]. Hence it is impossible to clearly identify them. But the errors in the writings of Mr. Kou [Zongshi] and Mr. Zhu [Zhenheng] are especially grave. Hence they are discussed below with the intention of correcting them. Some state; “Those planted privately are lan cao; those that grow in the wilderness are lan ze.”727 This makes sense, too. 【正誤】【寇宗奭曰】蘭草諸家之説異同，乃未的識，故無定論。今江 陵、鼎、澧州山谷之間頗有之，山外平田即無，多生陰地幽谷，葉如麥門 冬而闊且韌，長及一二尺，四時常青，花黄緑色，中間瓣上有細紫點。春 芳者爲春蘭，色深；秋芳者爲秋蘭，色淡。開時滿室盡香，與他花香又 别。【朱震亨曰】蘭葉禀金水之氣而似有火，人知其花香之貴，而不知其 727 Instead of lan ze 蘭澤, the Zhang edition writes ze lan 澤蘭.

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葉有藥方。蓋其葉能散久積陳鬱之氣甚有力，即今之栽置座右者。【時珍 曰】二氏所説乃近世所謂蘭花，非古之蘭草也。蘭有數種，蘭草、澤蘭生 水旁，山蘭即蘭草之生山中者。蘭花亦生山中，與三蘭迥别。蘭花生近處 者，葉如麥門冬而春花；生福建者，葉如菅茅而秋花。黄山谷所謂一幹一 花爲蘭，一幹數花爲蕙者，蓋因不識蘭草、蕙草，遂以蘭花强生分别也。 蘭草與澤蘭同類，故陸機言蘭似澤蘭，但廣而長節，離騷言其”緑葉紫莖素 枝，可紉、可佩、可藉、可膏、可浴”，鄭詩言士女秉蕑，應劭風俗通言尚 書奏事，懷香握蘭，禮記言諸侯贄薰，大夫贄蘭，漢書言蘭以香自燒也。 若夫蘭花，有葉無枝，可玩而不可紉佩藉浴，秉握膏焚。故朱子離騷辨證 言：古之香草必花葉俱香，而燥濕不變，故可刈佩。今之蘭蕙，但花香而 葉乃無氣，質弱易萎，不可刈佩，必非古人所指甚明。古之蘭似澤蘭，而 蕙即今之零陵香。今之似茅而花有兩種者，不知何時誤也？。熊太古冀越 集言：世俗之蘭，生于深山窮谷，决非古時水澤之蘭也。陳遯齋閑覽言： 楚骚之蘭，或以爲都梁香，或以爲澤蘭，或以爲猗蘭，當以澤蘭爲正。 今人所種如麥門冬者名幽蘭，非真蘭也，故陳止齋著盗蘭説以譏之。方虚 谷訂蘭説言：古之蘭草，即今之千金草，俗名孩兒菊者。今之所謂蘭，其 葉如茅而嫩者，根名土續斷，因花馥郁，故得蘭名也。楊升菴云：世以如 蒲、萱者爲蘭，九畹之受誣久矣。又吴草廬有蘭説甚詳，云蘭爲醫經上品 之藥，有枝有莖，草之植者也。今所謂蘭，無枝無莖。因黄山谷稱之，世 遂謬指爲離騷之蘭。寇氏本草亦溺于俗，反疑舊説爲非。夫醫經爲實用， 豈可誤哉？今之蘭，果可利水殺蠱而除痰癖乎？其種盛于閩，朱子乃閩 人，豈不識其土産而反辨析如此？世俗至今猶以非蘭爲蘭，何其惑之難解 也？嗚呼！觀諸儒之明析如此，則寇、朱二氏之誤可知，而醫家用蘭草者 當不復疑矣。 Correction of Errors. Kou Zongshi: All experts differ in what they say about lan cao. Because of a lack of knowledge no definite identification exists. Today, it is often found in the mountain valleys of Jiang ling, Ding, and Li zhou. It is not found in the plains outside of the mountains. It mostly grows in yin (i. e., shady) regions and dark valleys. The leaves are similar to those of ophiopogon, but wider and pliable, with a length of one to two chi. They remain greenish throughout the four seasons. The flowers are yellow-green. On the petals are fine purple dots. Those that are fragrant in spring are the “spring lan 蘭.” Their color is deep. Those that are fragrant in autumn, they are the “autumn lan 蘭.” Their color is light. When they open, they fill an entire room with fragrance, and this is different from the fragrance of other flowers. Zhu Zhenheng: The leaves of lan 蘭 are endowed with the qi of metal and water, and they appear to have a fire. The people value the fragrance of the flowers, but they do not know that the leaves appear in pharmaceutical recipes. The fact is, the leaves possess an extraordinary strength enabling them to disperse long-lasting



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accumulations of pent-up qi. These are [the plants they] deposit on the right of their seats. [Li] Shizhen: What these two gentlemen say concerns the so-called lan hua 蘭 花 of today, not the lan cao 蘭草 of antiquity. Lan 蘭 includes several types. Lan cao 蘭草 and ze lan 澤蘭 grow at the edges of waters. Shan lan 山蘭, “mountain lan,” are lan cao 蘭草 growing in the mountains. Lan hua 蘭花, too, grow in the mountains but widely differ from the three lan 蘭 mentioned before. The lan hua 蘭花 growing in nearby regions has leaves resembling those of ophiopogon and flowers opening in spring. Those growing in Fu jian have leaves similar to those of giant themeda and flowers opening in autumn. When Huang Shangu says “if it has one stem and one flower, it is lan 蘭. If it has one stem and numerous flowers, it is hui 蕙,” the reason is that he is familiar neither with lan cao 蘭草 nor with hui cao 蕙草 and, hence, applies such forced differences on lan hua 蘭花. Lan cao 蘭草 and ze lan 澤蘭 belong to the same group. Hence Lu Ji says: “Lan 蘭 resembles ze lan 澤蘭, but [its leaves are] wider and its nodes are more distant from each other.” And the Li sao says: “Its green leaves, purple stem and plain twigs can be tied [to bundles], can be worn as ornaments, can be made to ceremonial mats, can be made to ointments, and can be made into bath liquids.” The Song of Zheng says: “Men and women hold jian 蕑 in their hands.” Ying Shao in his Feng su tong says: “When a minister reports to the throne, he has fragrance in his garments and holds lan 蘭 in his hands.” The Li ji says: “The marquises hold xun 薰 in their hands. The Grand Masters hold lan 蘭 in their hands.” The Han shu says: “Lan 蘭 is burned because of its fragrance.” Now, lan hua 蘭花 has leaves but no twigs. It can be enjoyed [by looking at it], but it cannot be tied to bundles, worn as an ornament, made to ceremonial mats and processed into a bath liquid. It cannot be held in the hands, or used as an ointment or burned [to effuse fragrant fumes]. Hence Mr. Zhu [Xi] in his Li sao bian zheng says: “In antiquity, xiang cao 香草 definitely had fragrant flowers and leaves, and [the fragrance] did not change under dry or moist conditions. Hence one could cut it and wear it as an ornament. Today’s lan hui 蘭蕙 have only fragrant flowers; the leaves have no such qi. Their material substance is weak and easily decays. They cannot be cut to be worn as ornaments. Hence it is very clear that they are not [the items] referred to by the ancients. The lan 蘭 of ancient times is similar to ze lan 澤蘭, and the hui 蕙 [of ancient times] is today’s ling ling xiang 零陵香. That which today resembles giant themeda and has two types of flowers, nobody knows since when it was erroneously identified as [the ancient lan cao 蘭草].” Xiong Taigu in his Ji yue ji says: “[The plant] commonly known as lan 蘭 these days and that grows in barren valleys deep in the mountains is certainly not the lan 蘭 of waters and marshlands of ancient times.” Chen [Zhengmin] in his Dun zhai xian lan says: “The lan 蘭 mentioned in the Chu [ci] and [Li] sao [bian zheng], some consider it to be du liang xiang 都梁香, others

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ze lan 澤蘭, and still others believe it to be ‘lush orchids’, yi lan 猗蘭. Presumably, to consider it as ze lan 澤蘭 is correct. That planted today and resembling ophiopogon is named ‘dark lan’, you lan 幽蘭, it is not a real lan 蘭.” Hence Chen Zhizhai wrote his “Elucidation on the One who stole the lan 蘭” to ridicule [such ignorance]. Fang Xugu in his Ding lan shuo says: “The lan cao 蘭草 of antiquity is today’s qian jin cao 千金草, ‘herb worth thousands in gold’, commonly called hai er ju 孩兒菊, ‘children’s chrysanthemum’ That which is called lan 蘭 today has leaves like giant themeda, but they are tender. The root is called tu xu duan 土續斷, ‘soil linking what is severed’. As its flowers emit a strong fragrance, [the plant] is named lan 蘭.” Yang Sheng an states: “That people consider items resembling cattail and yellow day lilies as lan 蘭 is a misinformation that has long been widespread.” Also, Wu Caolu in his Lan shuo has many details. He states: “Lan 蘭 is a pharmaceutical drug of upper rank in the medical classics. It has twigs and a stem; it is an herbal plant. That which is called lan 蘭 today has neither twigs nor a stem. Because Huang Shangu called it this way, everybody followed him and mistakenly referred to it as the lan specified in the Li sao. Mr. Kou [Zongshi], too, was addicted to the commonly held opinion and he even proposed that the old statements were wrong. Now, the medical classics are devoted to items in actual use. How could they be so wrong?! Today’s lan, is it really capable of freeing the passage of water, killing gu [poison]728 and eliminating phlegm aggregation-illness? This item is planted abundantly in Min and Master Zhu [Xi] is from Min. How could it be that he was not familiar with his local products and arrived at a differentiation contrary to [truth]? To this day something that is not lan 蘭 is regarded as lan 蘭. Why is it so difficult to resolve such confusion?” Alas, a look at clear analyses as presented here shows how wrong the two gentlemen Kou [Zongshi] and Zhu [Zhenheng] were. Henceforth medical specialists who use eupatorium/ lan cao 蘭草 will never be in doubt again. 14-44-01 葉。Ye. Leaf [of lan cao]. 【修治】見澤蘭下。 Pharmaceutical Preparation: See under “ze lan.” (14-45) 【氣味】辛，平，無毒。【杲曰】甘、寒。 Qi and Flavor. Acrid, balanced, nonpoisonous. [Li] Gao: Sweet, cold. 728 Gu du 蠱毒, “gu-poison[ing].” (1) A poison emitted by certain worms/snakes with an ability to cause varying pathological changes in a person who has taken it in by means of wine or food. (2) Abdominal fullness, in some cases with blood spitting, and blood in the stool and urine. BCGM Dict I, 192 - 193. See BCGM 42-22.



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【主治】利水道，殺蠱毒，辟不祥。久服益氣，輕身不老，通神明。本 經。除胸中痰癖。别録。生血，調氣，養營。雷斅。其氣清香，生津止 渴，潤肌肉，治消渴膽癉。李杲。煮水，浴風病。馬志。消癰腫，調月 經。煎水，解中牛馬毒。時珍。主惡氣，香澤，可作膏塗髮。藏器。 Control. It frees the passage through the pathways of water. It kills gu-poison and repels the inauspicious. Ingested over a long time it boosts the qi, relieves the body of its weight, prevents aging and enables communication with spirit brilliance. Ben jing. It removes phlegm aggregation-illness from within the chest. Bie lu. It generates blood, regulates the qi and nourishes the camp [qi]. Lei Xiao. Its qi are clear and fragrant. It generates body liquids and ends thirst. It moistens the muscles and the flesh. It serves to cure melting with thirst729 and gallbladder solitary [heat] illness.730 Li Gao. Boiled in water it serves as bathing liquid for wind disease. Ma Zhi. It dissolves swelling related to obstruction-illness.731 It regulates menstruation. Boiled in water, [the liquid] serves to cure poisoning by ox or horse [meat]. [Li] Shizhen. It controls malign qi, serves to provide fragrance and glossiness and can be made to ointments to be applied to the hair. [Chen] Cangqi. 【發明】【時珍曰】按素問云：五味入口，藏于脾胃，以行其精氣。津液 在脾，令人口甘，此肥美所發也。其氣上溢，轉爲消渴。治之以蘭，除陳 氣也。王冰註云：辛能發散故也。李東垣治消渴生津飲，用蘭葉，蓋本于 此，詳見澤蘭下。又此草浸油塗髮，去風垢，令香潤。史記所謂羅襦襟 解，微聞香澤者是也。崔寔四民月令作香澤法：用清油浸蘭香、藿香、雞 舌香、苜蓿葉四種，以新綿裹，浸胡麻油，和豬脂納銅鐺中，沸定，下少 許青蒿，以綿幕瓶，鐺嘴瀉出，瓶收用之。 Explication. [Li] Shizhen: According to the Su wen, “the five flavors enter the mouth. They are stored in the spleen and the stomach from where their essence qi are sent [to all long-term depots]. The body liquids collect in the spleen and let man have a sweet sensation in his mouth. This is an effusion of fat and delicious [food]. When the qi rise and overflow, they turn and cause melting with thirst. Lan 蘭 serves to cure this. It eliminates old qi.”732 In his comment, Wang Bing states: “This is so because acrid [flavor] can disperse.” When Li Dongyuan cured melting with

729 Xiao ke 消渴, “melting with thirst,” most likely including cases of diabetes. BCGM Dict I, 567.

730 Dan dan 膽癉, “gallbladder solitary[-heat-]illness.” A condition of a bitter flavor in the mouth caused by gallbladder qi depletion. BCGM Dict I, 118.

731 Yong 癰, “obstruction-illness,”refers to an obstruction of vessels or other ducts inside the body. Qi rushing against the obstruction may cause a local swelling and eventually break through the surface to cause an abscess. BCGM Dict I, 641.

732 Abbreviated quote from ch. 47 of Huang Di Nei jing suwen. Paul U. Unschuld and Hermann Tessenow, 2011, Vol. I, 696 - 697.

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thirst he resorted to the “beverage to generate body liquid” and his use of lan 蘭 leaves was based on these statements [in the Su wen and by Wang Bing]. For details, see under ze lan 澤蘭 (14-45). Also, this herb is soaked in oil and applied to the hair to remove wind [intruded into the head] and dandruff. It provides [the hair] with fragrance and glossiness. This is meant by the statement in the Shi ji: “When she has taken off her garments, you can still scent the fragrance and note the glossiness [of her hair].” Cui Shi in his Si min yue ling describes the method to provide [the hair with] fragrance and glossiness: “Soak the following four [herbs] in clear oil: ze lan xiang, agastache [herb], cloves and alfalfa leaves. Wrap them in a new piece of silk fabric, submerge it in sesame oil, add lard and boil it in a copper jar. Then add a small amount of artemisia herb and pour it through silk from the mouth of the jar into a bottle. Keep it in the bottle until you want to use it.” 【附方】新一。 Added Recipes. One newly [recorded]. 食牛馬毒殺人者。省頭草連根葉煎水服，即消。唐瑶經驗方。 When someone has died after consuming ox or horse poison, boil sheng tou cao with root and leaves in water and let thim ingest this. This will dissolve [the poison]. Tang Yao, Jing yan fang. 14-45 澤蘭本經中品 Ze lan, FE Ben jing, middle rank. Lycopus lucidus Turcz. Bugleweed. 【校正】併入嘉祐 地笋。 Editorial Correction. Di sun 地笋, listed [separately] in the Jia you is inserted here. 【釋名】水香吴普、都梁香弘景、虎蘭本經、虎蒲别録、龍棗本經、孩兒 菊綱目、風藥綱目。根名地笋嘉祐。【弘景曰】生于澤旁，故名澤蘭，亦 名都梁香。【時珍曰】此草亦可爲香澤，不獨指其生澤旁也。齊安人呼爲 風藥，吴普本草一名水香，陶氏云亦名都梁，今俗通呼爲孩兒菊，則其與 蘭草爲一物二種，尤可證矣。其根可食，故曰地笋。 Explanation of Names. Shui xiang 水香, “water fragrance,” Wu Pu. Du liang xiang 都梁香, [Tao] Hongjing. Hu lan 虎蘭, “tiger orchid.” Ben jing. Hu pu 虎蒲, “tiger cattail,” Bie lu. Long zao 龍棗, “dragon date,” Ben jing. Hai er ju 孩兒菊, “children’s chrysanthemum,” feng yao 風藥, “wind medication,” Gang mu. The root is named di



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sun 地笋, “ground bamboo sprout.” Jia you. [Tao] Hongjing: It grows at the edge of marshlands, ze 澤. Hence it is called “marshland orchid,” ze lan 澤蘭. It is also called du liang xiang 都梁香. [Li] Shizhen: This herb can also serve as [provider of ] fragrance, xiang 香, and glossiness, ze 澤. [Its name] does not only refer to its growth at the edge of marshlands, ze 澤. The people in Qi an call it “wind medication.” Wu Pu in his Ben cao has shui xiang 水香 as an alternative name. Mr. Tao [Hongjing] states: “ It is also named du liang 都梁.” Today it is commonly called hai er ju 孩兒 菊. This clearly shows that it is one and the same item as eupatorium, but a different type. The root is edible.Hence it is called di sun 地笋, “ground bamboo sprout.” 【集解】【别録曰】澤蘭生汝南諸大澤旁，三月三日采，陰乾。【普曰】 生下地水旁，葉如蘭，二月生苗，赤節，四葉相值支節間。【弘景曰】今 處處有之，多生下濕地，葉微香，可煎油及作浴湯，人家多種之而葉小 異。今山中又有一種甚相似，莖方，葉小强，不甚香。既云澤蘭，則山中 者爲非，而藥家乃采用之。【恭曰】澤蘭莖方節紫，葉似蘭草而不甚香， 今京下用者是也。陶説乃是蘭草，莖圓紫萼白花，殊非澤蘭也。【頌曰】 今荆、徐、隨、壽、蜀、梧州、河中府皆有之。根紫黑色，如粟根。二月 生苗，高二三尺。莖幹青紫色，作四稜。葉生相對，如薄荷，微香。七月 開花，帶紫白色，萼通紫色，亦似薄荷花。三月采苗，陰乾。荆、湖、嶺 南人家多種之。壽州出者無花子。此與蘭草大抵相類。但蘭草生水旁，葉 光潤，陰小紫，五六月盛；而澤蘭生水澤中及下濕地，葉尖，微有毛，不 光潤，方莖紫節，七月、八月初采，微辛。此爲異爾。【斅曰】凡使須别 雌雄。大澤蘭莖葉皆圓，根青黄，能生血調氣與榮，合小澤蘭迥别。葉上 班，根頭尖，能破血，通久積。【宗奭曰】澤蘭出土，便分枝梗，葉皆如 菊，但尖長爾。吴普言葉似蘭，誤矣。今蘭葉如麥門冬，殊不相似。【時 珍曰】吴普所説，乃真澤蘭也。雷斅所説，大澤蘭即蘭草也，小澤蘭即此 澤蘭也。寇宗奭所説澤蘭則是，而破吴普之説則非，蓋由誤認蘭花爲蘭草 也。詳見蘭草正誤下。 Collected Explanations. Bie lu: Ze lan grows at the edges of a big marshland in Rui nan. It is collected on the third day of the third month. It is dried in the yin (i. e., shade). [Wu] Pu: It grows at the edge of waters in low-lying regions. The leaves are similar to those of lan 蘭. It develops a seedling in the second month, with red nodes. Four leaves grow alternatingly as twigs opposite to each other from in between the nodes. [Tao] Hongjing: Today it can be found everywhere. It often grows on low-lying marshland ground. The leaves are a little fragrant. They can be boiled in water or oil to prepare bathing water. People often plant it, but then the leaves are a slightly different. Today there is a type in the mountains that is quite similar. It has a square stem and small, tough leaves. It is not very fragrant. As it is called ze lan

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澤蘭, if it can be found in the mountains this must be wrong. Still, pharmaceutical specialists gather and use it. [Su] Gong: Ze lan with a square stem and purple nodes, and with leaves similar to those of eupatorium, and not very fragrant, that is the [ze lan] used in the capital these days. What Tao [Hongjing] describes [as ze lan] is in fact eupatorium with a round stem, purple calyx and white flowers. It is certainly not ze lan. [Su] Song: Today it can be found in all regions such as Jing, Xu, Sui, Shou, Shu, Wu zhou and He zhong fu. The root is purple-black, like the root of millet. It develops a seedling in the second month, reaching a height of two to three chi. The stem is of greenish-purple color with four edges. The leaves grow opposite to each other, like those of mint, and are slightly fragrant. Flowers open in the seventh month. They are purple-white. The calyxes are entirely purple. They, too, resemble the flowers of mint. The seedlings are collected in the third month. They are dried in the yin (i. e., shade). Households in Jing, Hu and Ling nan plant it. Those coming from Shou zhou have neither flowers nor seeds. They more or less are similar to eupatorium, but eupatorium grows at the edge of waters. It has shiny glossy leaves that are a little purple on the yin (i. e., back) side. They fully develop in the fifth and sixth month. In contrast, ze lan grows in waters and marshlands and on low-lying, moist ground. The leaves are pointed, a little hairy and neither shiny nor glossy. The stem is square with purple nodes. It is collected in the seventh and at the beginning of the eighth month. It is a little acrid. That is the difference. [Lei] Xiao: For all applications it is necessary to distinguish between female and male specimens. The stem and the leaves of big ze lan are all round. The root is greenish-yellow. It can generate blood, regulate qi, and provide moisture. The small ze lan is different. It has dots on its leaves. The tip of the root is pointed. It can break through blood [stasis] and open long-lasting accumulation. [Kou] Zongshi: As soon as ze lan comes out of the soil, it develops twigs and stalks. The leaves resemble those of chrysanthemum, but are pointed and long. When Wu Pu says that the leaves are similar to those of eupatorium, he is wrong. Nowadays, the leaves of eupatorium resemble those of ophiopogon [herbs]. They are quite different from those of [ze lan]. [Li] Shizhen: What Wu Pu describes it genuine ze lan. The big ze lan described by Lei Xiao is eupatorium. The small ze lan [he describes] is the ze lan [discussed] here. Kou Zongshi’s description of ze lan is correct, his critique of Wu Pu’s statement, though, is wrong. The fact is, he confused lan hua 蘭花 as lan cao 蘭草, eupatorium. For details, see under eupatorium, “Correction of Errors.” (14-44)



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14-45-01 葉。Ye. Leaf [of ze lan]. 【修治】【斅曰】凡用大、小澤蘭，細剉，以絹袋盛，懸于屋南畔角上， 令乾用。 Pharmaceutical Preparation. [Lei] Xiao: For all applications of big and small ze lan, cut them into fine pieces, fill them into a silk pouch and hang it from above the southern side of the corner of a house. When it has dried it can be used. 【氣味】苦，微温。無毒。【别録曰】甘。【普曰】神農、黄帝、岐伯、 桐君：酸，無毒。李當之：小温。【權曰】苦、辛。【之才曰】防己爲之使 Qi and Flavor. Bitter, slightly warm, nonpoisonous. Bie lu: Sweet. [Wu] Pu: Shen nong, Huang di, Qi Bo, Tong jun: Sour, nonpoisonous. Li Dangzhi: Slightly warm. [Zhen] Quan: Bitter, acrid. [Xu] Zhicai: Stephania tetandra [root] serves as its guiding [substance]. 【主治】金瘡，癰腫瘡膿。本經。産後金瘡内塞。别録。産後腹痛，頻産 血氣衰冷，成勞瘦羸，婦人血瀝腰痛。甄權。産前産後百病。通九竅，利 關節，養血氣，破宿血，消癥瘕，通小腸，長肌肉，消撲損瘀血，治鼻血 吐血，頭風目痛，婦人勞瘦，丈夫面黄。大明。 Control. Wounds caused by metal objects/weapons.733 Swelling and sores with pus related to obstruction-illness.734 Ben jing. [Stagnant blood] blocking the vagina following a wound caused by a knife during birth. Bie lu. Abdominal pain following delivery. Blood and qi weakness and cold following several births, resulting in exhaustion and emaciation. Blood dripping and lower back pain of women. Zhen Quan. The hundreds of diseases prior to and following birth. It opens the nine orifices, frees the movement of joints, nourishes blood and qi, breaks through abiding blood, dissolves concretion-illness and conglomeration-illness,735 opens the small 733 Preceding the two characters jin chuang 金瘡, “wounds caused by metal objects/weapons,” Zheng lei ch. 9, ze lan 澤蘭, has the following 21 characters: 主乳婦内衄，中風 餘疾，大腹水腫，身面四肢浮腫，骨節中水, “it controls nosebleed of breastfeeding women, illnesses related to wind stroke, abdominal water swelling, surface swelling of the body, the face and the four limbs, and water in the bone joints.”

734 Yong 癰, “obstruction-illness,”refers to an obstruction of vessels or other ducts inside the body. Qi rushing against the obstruction may cause a local swelling and eventually break through the surface to cause an abscess. BCGM Dict I, 641.

735 Zheng jia 癥瘕, “concretion-illness and conglomeration-illness.” The two terms are often used interchangeably and do not signify two distinctly different conditions. Concretion-illness and conglomeration-illness result from a disharmony of cold and warmth resulting in a failure to transform beverages and food. Nodes form when they clash with the qi of the long-term depots. BCGM Dict I, 677.

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intestine, stimulates growth of muscles and flesh, dissolves stagnant blood related to falls and injuries, and serves to cure nosebleed and blood spitting, head wind and aching eyes, exhaustion emaciation of women and yellow complexion of husbands. Da Ming. 【發明】【頌曰】澤蘭，婦人方中最爲急用。古人治婦人澤蘭丸甚多。 【時珍曰】蘭草、澤蘭氣香而温，味辛而散，陰中之陽，足太陰、厥陰經 藥也。脾喜芳香，肝宜辛散。脾氣舒，則三焦通利而正氣和；肝鬱散，則 營衞流行而病邪解。蘭草走氣道，故能利水道，除痰癖，殺蠱辟惡，而爲 消渴良藥；澤蘭走血分，故能治水腫，塗癰毒，破瘀血，消癥瘕，而爲婦 人要藥。雖是一類而功用稍殊，正如赤白伏苓、芍藥，補瀉皆不同也。雷 斅言，雌者調氣生血，雄者破血通積，正合二蘭主治。大澤蘭之爲蘭草， 尤可憑據。血生於氣，故曰調氣生血也。又荀子云澤芷以養鼻，謂澤蘭、 白芷之氣，芳香通乎肺也。 Explication. [Su] Song: Ze lan is a most commonly used item in recipes for females. To cure females, the ancients very often resorted to “pills with ze lan.” [Li] Shizhen: The qi of eupatorium and ze lan are fragrant and warm. Their flavor is acrid and they serve to disperse. They are yang in yin [substances]; they are pharmaceutical drugs for the ceasing yin conduits. The spleen loves fragrance. The liver requires acrid and dispersing [drugs]. When the qi of the spleen are relaxed, the passage through the Triple Burner is open and the proper qi are in harmony. When pent-up liver [qi] are dispersed, the camp and the guardian qi move and evil [qi] of disease are resolved. Eupatorium moves to/through the pathways of qi. Hence it is able to free the passage through the pathways of water, to eliminate phlegm aggregation-illness, kill gu [poison] 736 and repel the malign. It is also a good drug for melting with thirst.737 Ze lan moves to/through the blood section. Hence it is able to cure water swelling, eliminate the poison of obstruction-illness,738 break through stagnant blood, and dissolve concretion-illness and conglomeration-illness.739 Hence it is an important 736 Gu du 蠱毒, “gu-poison[ing].” (1) A poison emitted by certain worms/snakes with an ability to cause varying pathological changes in a person who has taken it in by means of wine or food. (2) Abdominal fullness, in some cases with blood spitting, and blood in the stool and urine. BCGM Dict I, 192 - 193. See BCGM 42-22.

737 Xiao ke 消渴, “melting with thirst,” most likely including cases of diabetes. BCGM Dict Vol I, 567. 738 Yong 癰, “obstruction-illness,”refers to an obstruction of vessels or other ducts inside the body. Qi rushing against the obstruction may cause a local swelling and eventually break through the surface to cause an abscess. BCGM Dict I, 641.

739 Zheng jia 癥瘕, “concretion-illness and conglomeration-illness.” The two terms are often used interchangeably and do not signify two distinctly different conditions. Concretion-illness and conglomeration-illness result from a disharmony of cold and warmth



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pharmaceutical drug for women. Although [eupatorium and ze lan] belong to one group, their [therapeutic] potentials and usages differ a bit. This is similar to the different [therapeutic potentials and usages] of supplementing and draining of red and white poria and [red and white] paeonia [root]. When Lei Xiao says that female specimens regulate qi and generate blood, while male specimens break through blood [stasis] and open accumulations, this is in perfect agreement with the control attributed to the two lan 蘭. That “big ze lan” is eupatorium is quite evident. Blood grows from qi. Hence the statement: “regulates qi and generates blood.” Also, Xun zi states: “Ze 澤 and zhi 芷 serve to nourish the nose.” That is, the qi of ze lan and bai zhi 白芷 (i. e., angelica dahurica root) are fragrant and open the passage through the lung. 【附方】舊一，新四。 Added Recipes. One of old. Four newly [recorded]. 産後水腫，血虚浮腫。澤蘭、防己等分，爲末。每服二錢，醋湯下。張文 仲備急方。 Water swelling following delivery. Blood depletion with surface swelling. [Grind] equal amounts of ze lan and stephania tetandra [root] to powder. Each time ingest two qian, to be sent down with a vinegar decoction. Zhang Wenzhong, Bei ji fang. 小兒蓐瘡。嚼澤蘭心封之良。子母秘録。 Sores of children lying on a mat. To chew the core of ze lan and cover [the affected region] yields good results. Zi mu mi lu. 瘡腫初起。澤蘭擣封之良。集簡方。 Sores with a swelling that has just begun to rise. To pound ze lan and cover [the affected region with the resulting pulp] yields good results. Ji jian fang. 損傷瘀腫。方同上。 Injury with [blood] stasis and swelling. Recipe identical with the one above. 産後陰翻。産後陰户燥熱，遂成翻花。澤蘭四兩，煎湯熏洗二三次，再入 枯礬煎洗之，即安。集簡方。 Turning inside out of the yin [gate, (i. e., vagina)] following delivery: When the yin gate is dry and hot following delivery, turning inside out, similar to the opening of a blossom. Boil four liang of ze lan in water to obtain a decoction. Steam and wash resulting in a failure to transform beverages and food. Nodes form when they clash with the qi of the long-term depots. BCGM Dict I, 677.

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with it [the affected region] two or three times. Then add prepared alum, boil it and wash [the affected region again]. This will settle the situation. Ji jian fang. 14-45-02 地笋 宋嘉祐。Di sun.

Root of ze lan. FE Song, Jia you. 【氣味】甘、辛，温，無毒。 Qi and Flavor. Sweet, acrid, warm, nonpoisonous. 【主治】利九竅，通血脉，排膿，治血。藏器。止鼻洪吐血，産後心腹 痛。産婦可作蔬菜食，佳。大明。 Control. It opens the nine orifices. It penetrates the blood vessels. It eliminates pus and serves to cure blood [disorder]. [Chen] Cangqi. It ends nose flood, blood spitting, and pain in the central and abdominal region following birth. It can be prepared as vegetable to be eaten by women giving birth. Fine. Da Ming. 14-45-03 子。Zi. Seed [of ze lan]. 【主治】婦人三十六疾。千金方承澤丸中用之。 Control. 36 ailments of women. They are used in the “pills to maintain glossiness” of the Qian jin fang. 14-46 馬蘭日華 Ma lan. FE Rihua. Kalimeris indica (L.) Sch.-Bip. Purple chrysanthemum. 【釋名】紫菊。【時珍曰】其葉似蘭而大，其花似菊而紫，故名。俗稱物 之大者爲馬也。 Explanation of Names. Zi ju 紫菊, “purple chrysanthemum.” [Li] Shizhen: Its leaves are similar to those of eupatorium, but they are bigger. The flower resembles that of chrysanthemums, but is purple. Hence the name. Items that are big are commonly called ma 馬, “horse[-size].” 【集解】【藏器曰】馬蘭生澤旁，如澤蘭而氣臭，楚辭以惡草喻惡人。北 人見其花呼爲紫菊，以其似單瓣菊花而紫也。又有山蘭，生山側，似劉寄 奴，葉無椏，不對生，花心微黄赤，亦大破血，皆可用。【時珍曰】馬 蘭，湖澤卑濕處甚多，二月生苗，赤莖白根，長葉有刻齒，狀似澤蘭，但



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不香爾。南人多采汋晒乾爲蔬及饅餡。入夏高二三尺，開紫花，花罷有細 子。楚辭無馬蘭之名，陳氏指爲惡草，何據？ Collected Explanations. [Chen] Cangqi: Ma lan grows at the edge of marshlands. It resembles bugleweed but its qi emit a bad smell. The Chu ci uses it as a “malign herb” as an allegory for malign persons. When the people in the North see its flowers they call it “purple chrysanthemum” because it looks like a chrysanthemum flower with a single petal, but is purple. There is also a shan lan 山蘭, “mountain lan,” that grows on the side of mountains. It resembles artemisia anomala [herb]. Its leaves are not forked, though, and they do not grow opposite to each other. The center of its flowers is slightly yellow-red, and it, too, breaks through blood [stasis]. They all can be used [for therapeutic purposes]. [Li] Shizhen: Lots of ma lan can be found in lakes and marshlands, in low and moist places. It develops a seedling in the second month. The stem is red and the root is white. The leaves are long with sharply cut teeth. They are shaped like those of bugleweed, but they are not fragrant. The people in the South often collect them, dry them in the sun and prepare them as vegetables and as filling of steamed bread. By summer they reach a height of two to three chi and open purple flowers. When the flowers decay they have fine seeds. The Chu ci does not have the name ma lan. So, on what basis can Mr. Chen [Cangqi] point out that [the Chu ci] regards it as a malign herb? 14-46-01 根。Gen. 葉。Ye. Root [of ma lan]. 【氣味】辛，平，無毒。 Qi and Flavor. Acrid, balanced, nonpoisonous. 【主治】破宿血，養新血，止鼻衄吐血。合金瘡，斷血痢，解及諸菌毒、 蠱毒。生擣，塗蛇咬。大明。主諸瘧及腹中急痛，痔瘡。時珍。 Control. It breaks through abiding blood, nourishes new blood and ends nosebleed and blood spitting. It closes wounds caused by metal objects/weapons and ends blood free-flux illness. It resolves dan-illness caused by wine,740 and resolves all types of fungi poison and gu-poison.741 Fresh [ma lan] is pounded and applied to snake 740 Jiu dan 酒疸, “dan-illness [caused by] wine,” also named jiu huang 酒黃, “jaundice [caused by] wine.” A condition of huang dan 黃疸, “yellow dan-illness/jaundice,” resulting from an excessive consumption of wine/alcoholic beverages. BCGM Dict I,271.

741 Gu du 蠱毒, “gu-poison[ing].” (1) A poison emitted by certain worms/snakes with an ability to cause varying pathological changes in a person who has taken it in by means of wine or food. (2) Abdominal fullness, in some cases with blood spitting, and blood in the stool and urine. BCGM Dict I, 192 - 193. See BCGM 42-22.

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bites. Da Ming. It controls all types of malaria and acute pain in the abdomen, as well as piles sores. [Li] Shizhen. 【發明】【時珍曰】馬蘭辛平，能入陽明血分，故治血與澤蘭同功。近人 用治痔漏云有效，春夏取生，秋冬取乾者，不用鹽醋，白水煮食，并飲其 汁。或以酒煮焙研，糊丸，米飲日日服之。仍用煎水入鹽少許，日日熏洗 之。醫學集成云：治痔用馬蘭根，擣傅片時，看肉平即去之。稍遲，恐肉 反出也。 Explication. [Li] Shizhen: Ma lan is acrid and balanced. It can enter the blood section of the yang brilliance [conduits]. Hence its potential of curing blood [disorder] is identical with that of bugleweed. In recent times, people use it to cure piles leakage, stating that this is effective. In spring and summer they use fresh specimens. In autumn and winter they use dried specimens. They boil them without salt and vinegar in clear water and eat them. They also drink the juice. Or they boil them in wine, dry them over a fire in a pan, grind them [to powder] and with wheat flour form pills to be ingested with a rice beverage day after day. In addition, they boil them in water, add a little salt, and use [the liquid] to steam and wash [the affected region]. The Yi xue ji cheng states: To cure piles use ma lan root. Pound it [to pulp] and apply it for a short while. Once you see that the flesh has flattened remove it. Do not hurry lest the flesh [growth] will emerge again. 【附方】新六。 Added Recipes. 諸瘧寒熱。赤脚馬蘭擣汁，入水少許，發日早服。或入少糖亦可。聖濟總 録。 All types of malaria with [alternating sensations of ] cold and heat. Pound “red legged” ma lan to obtain a juice, add a little water and ingest this early in the day of an outbreak. It is also possible to add a little sugar. Sheng ji zong lu. 絞腸沙痛。馬蘭根葉，細嚼嚥汁，立安。壽域神方。 Piercing intestinal pain related to sand [disease].742 Finely chew ma lan root and leaves and swallow the juice. Immediately pacifying. Shou yu shen fang. 打傷出血。竹節草即馬蘭，同旱蓮草、松香、皂子葉即柜子葉，冬用皮， 爲末，搽入刀口。摘玄方。 742 Sha bing 沙病, “sand disease caused by cold.” A condition resembling harm caused by cold brought forth by an affection with an improper qi, with the skin showing small red dots. BCGM Dict I, 416.



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Harm caused by a blow with bleeding. [Grind] “bamboo node herb,” i. e., ma lan, together with ink plant, colophony, and gleditsia leaves, i. e., “cupboard seed” leaves, in winter use the skin, to powder and apply it to the open wound. Zhai xuan fang. 喉痺口緊。用地白根即馬蘭根，或葉擣汁，入米醋少許，滴鼻孔中，或灌 喉中，取痰自開。孫一松試效方。 Throat closure and lockjaw. Pound “ground white,” i. e., the root of ma lan, or the leaves, to a juice, add a little rice vinegar and drip this into the nostrils. Or forcefeed it into [the patient’s] throat. Once the phlegm is removed [the throat] will open. Sun Yisong, Shi xiao fang. 水腫尿澀。馬蘭菜一虎口，黑豆、小麥各一撮，酒、水各一鍾，煎一鍾， 食前温服以利小水，四五日愈。楊起簡便方。 Water swelling and rough urination. Boil a small handful of ma lan, a pinch of both black soybeans and wheat in one zhong each of wine and water down to one zhong and ingest it warm prior to a meal to free the flow of urine. A cure will be achieved after four or five days. Yang Qi, Jian bian fang. 纏蛇丹毒。馬蘭、丹草擂醋搽之。濟急方。 Twining snake cinnabar-red poison.743 Pound ma lan and cliff maidenhair in vinegar and apply this [to the affected region]. Ji ji fang. 【附録】 Appendix. 14-46-A01

麻伯。Ma bai. Unidentified. 【别録 有名未用曰】味酸、無毒。主益氣，出汗。一名君莒，一名衍草， 一名道止，一名自死。生平陵，如蘭，葉黑厚白裹莖，實赤黑，九月采根。 Bie lu, [section] “known by name but not in use”: Flavor sour, nonpoisonous. It controls boosting the qi and causes sweating. Other names are jun ju 君莒, yan cao 衍草, dao zhi 道止 and zi si 自死. It grows in flat and hilly regions. It resembles eupatorium. The leaves are black and thick. The stem is white inside. The fruits are red-black. The root is collected in the ninth month. 743 Chan she dan du 纏蛇丹毒, “twining-snake cinnabar-red poison,” a condition of dan du 丹毒, “cinnabar poison,” growing like a snake around one’s waist. Presumably including cases of herpes. BCGM Dict I, 78.

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14-46-A02

相烏。Xiang wu. Unidentified.

【又曰】味苦。主陰痿。一名烏葵。如蘭香，赤莖，生山陽，五月十五日 采，陰乾。 It also says: Flavor bitter. It controls yin (i. e., genital) dysfunction. Alternative name: wu kui 烏葵. It resembles sweet basil with a red stem. It grows on the yang (i. e., sunny) side of mountains. It is collected on the 15th day of the fifth month and dried in the yin (i. e., shade). 14-46-A03

天雄草。Tian xiong cao. Unidentified.744

【又曰】味甘，温，無毒。主益氣，陰痿。生山澤中，狀如蘭，實如大 豆，赤色。 It also says: Flavor sweet, warm, nonpoisonous. It controls boosting the qi and yin (i. e., genital) dysfunction. It grows in mountainous marshlands and is shaped like eupatorium. The seeds resemble soybeans, but are red. 14-46-A04

益嬭草拾遺。Yi nai cao.

Unidentified.745 FE Shi yi. 【藏器曰】味苦，平，無毒。主五痔脱肛，止血，炙令香，浸酒服。生永 嘉山谷，葉如澤蘭，莖赤，高二三尺也。 [Chen] Cangqi: Flavor bitter, balanced, nonpoisonous. It controls the five types of piles and anal prolapse. It ends bleeding. Roast it until it develops a fragrant scent, soak it in wine and ingest [the liquid]. It grows in the mountain valleys of Yong jia. The leaves resemble those of bugleweed [herb]. The stem is red and two or three chi tall.

744 Tian xiong cao 天雄草, lit.: “celestial hero herb.” 745 Yi nai cao 益嬭草拾遺, lit.: “milk boosting herb.”



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14-47 香薷音柔别録中品 Xiang rou, read rou, FE Bie lu, middle rank. Elsholtzia ciliata (Thunb.) Hyland. Elsholtzia [herb].

【校正】自菜部移入此。

Editorial Correction. Moved here from the section “vegetables.” 【釋名】香葇食療、香茸同上、香菜千金、蜜蜂草綱目。【時珍曰】薷， 本作葇。玉篇云：葇，菜蘇之類是也。其氣香，其葉柔，故以名之。草初 生曰茸，孟詵食療作香戎者，非是。俗呼蜜蜂草，象其花房也。 Explanation of Names. Xiang rou 香葇, Shi liao. Xiang rong 香茸, source identical with the previous. Xiang cai 香菜, “fragrant vegetable,” Qian jin. Mi feng cao 蜜蜂 草, “honey bee herb,” Gang mu. [Li] Shizhen: Rou 薷 was originally written rou 葇. The Yu pian states: “Rou 葇 belongs to the group of vegetables.” Its qi are fragrant, xiang 香; its leaves are soft, rou 柔. Hence the name. When the herb has just come out it is called rong 茸, “fine and soft (and a little hairy like a pilose antler).” When Meng Shen in his Shi liao writes xiang rong 香戎, he is wrong. A common name is “honey bee herb,” mi feng cao 蜜蜂草, reflecting the shape of its flower capsules. 【集解】【弘景曰】家家有此，作菜生食，十月中取，乾之。【頌曰】所 在皆種，但北土差少，似白蘇而葉更細，壽春及新安皆有之。彼間又有一 種石香葇，生石上，莖葉更細，色黄而辛香彌甚，用之尤佳。吴人以爲茵 蔯用之。【宗奭曰】香薷生山野間，荆、湖南北、二川皆有之。汴、洛作 圃種之，暑月亦作蔬菜。葉如茵蔯，花茸紫，連邊成穗，凡四五十房爲一 穗，如荆芥穗，别是一種香氣。【時珍曰】香薷有野生，有家蒔。中州人 三月種之，呼爲香菜，以充蔬品。丹溪 朱氏惟取大葉者爲良，而細葉者香 烈更甚，今人多用之。方莖，尖葉有刻缺，頗似黄荆葉而小，九月開紫花 成穗。有細子細葉者，僅高數寸，葉如落帚葉，即石香薷也。 Collected Explanations. [Tao] Hongjing: Every household has it. It is prepared as a vegetable that is eaten raw. It is gathered in the tenth month and dried. [Su] Song: It is planted everywhere. However, in the North it is small. It resembles perilla [herb], but its leaves are even finer. It can be found in both Shou chu and Xin an. Still another type can be found there, “stone xiang rou,” shi xiang rou 石香葇. It grows on stones, and the stem and leaves are even finer. They are of yellow color, acrid and very fragrant. Their application yields even better results. The people in Wu believe it to be artemisia scoparia and use it [for therapeutic purposes]. [Kou] Zongshi: Xiang rou grows in the wilderness of mountains. It can be found in Jing, in the South and North of Hu, and in Er chuan. In Bian and Luo it is planted in

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gardens. In summer it is also prepared as vegetable. The leaves are similar to those of artemisia scoparia. The flowers are soft and purple, forming spikes linked to each other on one side. Altogether 40 to 50 capsules form one spike, similar to the spikes of schizonepeta. Its fragrant qi are special, though. [Li] Shizhen: Xiang rou grows in the wild and it is planted by households. The people of Zhong zhou plant it in the third month and call it “spring greens/vegetables,” chun cai 香菜, to be offered as a vegetable. Mr. Zhu Danxi regards only those with big leaves as good, but those with fine leaves have an even stronger fragrance and are mostly used by people today. The stem is square and the pointed leaves have sharply cut indentures. They somewhat resemble vitex [leaves], but are smaller. Flowers forming spikes open in the ninth month. Those with fine seeds and fine leaves reach a height of only several cun. The leaves are similar to the leaves of luo zhou 落帚, i. e., shi xiang rou 石香薷. (14-48) 【修治】【斅曰】凡采得，去根留葉，剉，曝乾，勿令犯火。服至十兩， 一生不得食白山桃也。【時珍曰】八九月開花着穗時采之，陰乾入用。 Pharmaceutical Preparation. [Lei] Xiao. Whenever it is collected, remove the root and keep the leaves. Cut them and dry them in the sun, but do not allow them to be offended by fire. If up to ten liang are ingested one must not eat white mountain peaches for the rest of his life. [Li] Shizhen: The flowers open in the eighth and ninth month and are collected when they form spikes. They are dried in the yin (i. e., shade) and can then be used. 【氣味】辛，微温，無毒。 Qi and Flavor. Acrid, slightly warm, nonpoisonous. 【主治】霍亂腹痛吐下，散水腫。别録。去熱風。卒轉筋者，煮汁頓服半 升，即止。爲末水服，止鼻衄。孟詵。下氣，除煩熱，療嘔逆冷氣。大 明。春月煮飲代茶，可無熱病，調中温胃。含汁漱口，去臭氣。汪穎。主 脚氣寒熱。時珍。 Control. Cholera with abdominal pain, vomiting and discharge. It disperses water swelling. Bie lu. It removes heat and wind. For suddenly contorted sinews boil it in water to obtain a juice and ingest half a sheng all at once. This will end [the ailment]. [Ground to] powder and ingested with water it ends nosebleed. Meng Shen. It discharges qi, eliminates vexation with heat, and heals vomiting with a cold qi counterflow. Da Ming. During the spring months746 it is boiled in water and drunk instead of tea to prevent heat diseases, regulate the center and warm the stomach. Hold the

746 Instead of chun 春, “spring,” Shi wu ben cao, ch. 1 xiang rou 香薷, writes xia 夏, “summer.”



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juice in the mouth and rinse the oral cavity to eliminate malodorous qi. Wang Ying. It controls leg qi747 with [alternating sensations of ] cold and heat. [Li] Shizhen. 【發明】【弘景曰】霍亂煮飲無不瘥者，作煎除水腫尤良。【頌曰】霍亂 轉筋者，單煮服之。若四肢煩冷，汗出而渴者，加蓼子同煮服。【震亨 曰】香薷屬金與水，有徹上徹下之功，解暑利小便，又治水甚捷，以大葉 者濃煎丸服。肺得之，清化行而熱自降也。【時珍曰】世醫治暑病，以 香薷飲爲首藥。然暑有乘凉飲冷，致陽氣爲陰邪所遏，遂病頭痛，發熱 惡寒，煩躁口渴，或吐或瀉，或霍亂者，宜用此藥，以發越陽氣，散水和 脾。若飲食不節，勞役作喪之人，傷暑大熱大渴，汗泄如雨，煩躁喘促， 或瀉或吐者，乃勞倦内傷之證，必用東垣清暑益氣湯、人參白虎湯之類， 以瀉火益元可也。若用香薷之藥，是重虚其表，而又濟之以熱矣。蓋香薷 乃夏月解表之藥，如冬月之用麻黄，氣虚者尤不可多服。而今人不知暑傷 元氣，不拘有病無病，概用代茶，謂能辟暑，真癡前説夢也。且其性温， 不可熱飲，反致吐逆。飲者惟宜冷服，則無拒格之患。其治水之功果有奇 效。一人妻自腰以下胕腫，面目亦腫，喘急欲死，不能伏枕，大便溏泄， 小便短少，服藥罔效。時珍診其脉沉而大，沉主水，大主虚，乃病後冒風 所致，是名風水也。用千金神秘湯加麻黄，一服喘定十之五。再以胃苓湯 吞深師薷术丸，二日小便長，腫消十之七，調理數日全安。益見古人方皆 有至理，但神而明之，存乎其人而已。 Explication. [Tao] Hongjing: Boiled in water and drunk, [the liquid] invariably cures each case of cholera. Boiled in water [and drunk] to remove water swelling, [the liquid] will yield especially good results. [Su] Song: For cholera with contorted sinews boil it as a single substance in water and ingest [the liquid]. In the case of a vexing cold affecting the four limbs, with sweating and thirst, boil [xiang rou] together with red knotweed seeds and ingest [the liquid]. [Zhu] Zhenheng: Xiang rou belongs to [the phases] metal and water and it has the potential of penetrating above and below. It resolves [the poison of ] summerheat and frees the passage of urine. Also, to very quickly cure water [disorders], boil those with big leaves to a viscous decoction and ingest it as pills. When the lung receives it, it clears, transforms and moves [its qi] and lets [lung] heat descend. [Li] Shizhen: When ordinary physicians cure summerheat diseases, they resort to the “xiang rou beverage”748 as top medication. However, in a situation of summerheat, one may relax in a cool place or take a cold drink. This allows yin evil [qi] to hold back yang qi, and this leads to headache, with a heat effusion and an aversion to cold, vexation and restlessness, and thirst. In some cases [patients] vomit, in others they have outflow, or they have 747 Jiao qi 脚氣, “leg qi.” Painful, weak, swollen legs. BCGM Dict I, 248.

748 The ingredients of xiang rou yin 香薷飲, “xiang rou beverage,” are the following: Xiang rou, Egyptian kidney bean, magnolia bark.

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cholera. For such cases, this medication [of a xiang rou beverage] is suitable. It will effuse the [pent-up] yang qi, disperse water and harmonize the spleen. If [a summerheat disease results from] immoderate drinking and eating, forced labor or mourning, with harm caused by summerheat, massive heat [effusion] and massive thirst, an outflow of sweat as if it were raining, vexation and restlessness, as well as panting, and in some cases outflow or vomiting, then these are signs of internal damage resulting from exhaustion, and [medication] such as [Li] Dongyuan’s “decoction to cool summerheat and boost the qi”749 and the “white tiger decoction with ginseng [root]”750 are required as they are able to drain the fire and to boost the original qi. If in such cases one were to resort to a xiang rou medication, this would further cause an external depletion and add more strength to the fire. The fact is, xiang rou is a pharmaceutical drug that resolves the exterior during summer months. This is similar to an application of ephedra [herb] in winter. [Persons] with a qi depletion should especially be careful not to ingest a lot. But these days people are unaware that summerheat harms the original qi. Whether they have a disease or not, they resort to [xiang rou] as a substitute for tea, claiming that it can repel summerheat. This is just nonsense. Furthermore, [xiang rou] is of warm nature and must not be drunk hot lest it cause vomiting and [qi] counterflow. A [xiang rou] beverage must be ingested cold and only then [the patient] will not suffer from internal resistance. After all, its potential to cure water [disorder] is especially effective. Someone’s wife suffered from surface swelling from the lower back downward. Her face and her eyes, too, were swollen. She panted and was close to dying. She was unable to lie in bed, and her defecation appeared as a semi-liquid outflow, with only a scanty urination. The medication she ingested remained without effect. [I, Li] Shizhen examined her. The [movement in her] vessels was deep and massive. A deep [movement] is controlled by water. A massive [movement] is controlled by depletion, and this is caused by an exposure to wind following a disease. It is called “wind water.” [I suggested her] to use the “decoction kept secret by the spirits and worth thousands in gold”751 with ephedra [herb] added. One single ingestion decreased the panting by 50%. Then [she ingested] Shen Shi’s “pills with [xiang] rou and largehead atracty749 The ingredients of qin shu yi qi tang 清暑益氣湯, “decoction to cool summerheat and boost the qi,” are the following: Astragalus root, atractylodes lancea rhizome, cimicifuga rhizome, ginseng root, alisma root, medicated leaven, tangerine peel, largehead atractylodes rhizome, ophiopogon root, Chinese angelica root, glycyrrhiza root, unripe tangerine peel, phellodendron bark, pueraria root, schisandra fruit.

750 ”White tiger decoction,” bai hu tang 白虎湯, has the following ingredients: Gypsum, anemarrhena root, glycyrrhiza rhizome, non-glutinous rice and ginseng root. 751 The ingredients of qian jin shen mi tang 千金神秘湯, “decoction kept secret by the spirits and worth thousands in gold,” have not been revealed anywhere.



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lodes [rhizome]”752 with the “decoction with poria for the stomach.”753 On the second day her urination was prolonged, and 70% of the swelling were dissolved. Further regulating [medication] resulted in a complete recovery after several days. From this it is all the more obvious that all the recipes of the ancients were perfectly reasonable. However, whether they are understood depends on the individual person confronted with such a situation. 【附方】舊四，新六。 Added Recipes. Four of old. Six newly [recorded]. 一切傷暑。和劑局方香薷飲：治暑月卧濕當風，或生冷不節，真邪相干， 便致吐利，或發熱頭痛體痛，或心腹痛，或轉筋，或乾嘔，或四肢逆冷， 或煩悶欲死，並主之。用香薷一斤，厚朴薑汁炙，白扁豆微炒，各半斤， 剉散，每服五錢，水二盞，酒半盞，煎一盞，水中沉冷，連進二服，立 效。活人書去扁豆，入黄連四兩，薑汁同炒黄色用。 All types of harm caused by summerheat. The “xiang rou beverage” of the He ji ju fang serves to cure when someone during the summer months lied down at a moist place and was exposed to wind, or has immoderately consumed raw and cold [food] resulting in a clash of true and evil [qi]. This in turn has caused vomiting and free-flux, sometimes with an effusion of heat, headache and aching body, or painful central and abdominal region, or dry retching, or the four limbs with a counterflow of cold [qi], or with a vexing heart-pressure bringing one close to death – all these ailments are controlled [by the xiang rou beverage]. File to powder one jin of xiang rou, half a jin each of magnolia bark roasted in ginger juice and Egyptian kidney beans, slightly fried. Each time ingest five qian to be boiled in one bowl of water and half a bowl of wine down to one bowl. Let [the liquid] turn cold in a water bath and ingest two doses one after another. Immediately effective. The Huo ren shu [recommends to] omit the Egyptian kidney beans and add four liang of coptis [rhizome to the powder] instead, fried in ginger juice until it has turned yellow, and then use it. 水病洪腫。胡洽居士香薷煎：用乾香薷五十斤，剉，入釜中，以水淹過三 寸，煮使氣力都盡，去滓澄之。微火煎至可丸，丸如梧子大。一服五丸， 日三服，日漸增之，以小便利則愈。蘇頌圖經本草。 752 For the recipe ru zhu wan 薷术丸, “pills with ru [xiang] and [bai] zhu,” see below under “Added Recipes.” 753 The ingredients of wei ling tang 胃苓湯, “decoction with poria for the stomach,” are the following: glycyrrhiza root, poria, atractylodes lancea rhizome, tangerine peel, largehead atractylodes rhizome, cassia bark, alisma root, polyporus sclerotium, magnolia bark, fresh ginger and Chinese dates.

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Water disease with a flooding swelling. The “xiang rou decoction of Hu Qia jushi. File 50 jin of dried xiang rou [to pieces] and give it into a cauldron filled with water three cun above [the level of the xiang rou pieces]. Boil this until all its qi strength is exhausted. Discard the dregs and filter the liquid. Boil it over a mild fire until it has assumed a consistency that can be formed to pills. The pills should have the size of wu seeds. Ingest one dose of five pills. To be ingested three times a day. Gradually increase the dose. Once urine flows freely a cure has been achieved. Su Song, Tu jing ben cao. 通身水腫。深師薷术丸：治暴水、風水、氣水，通身皆腫，服至小便利爲 效。用香薷葉一斤，水一斗，熬極爛去滓，再熬成膏，加白术末七兩，和 丸梧子大。每服十丸，米飲下，日五、夜一服。外臺秘要。 Water swelling covering the entire body. The “pills with [xiang] rou and largehead atractylodes [rhizome].” They serve to cure sudden water [swelling], wind water [swelling], qi water [swelling] and swelling covering the entire body. To be ingested until the urine flows freely, showing the effect. Boil one jin of xiang rou in one dou of water until it has turned extremely pulpy. Remove the dregs and boil it again until it has formed a paste. Add seven liang of largehead atractylodes [rhizome] powder and form pills the size of wu seeds. Each time ingest 10 pills, to be sent down with a rice beverage. To be ingested five times at daytime and once at nighttime. Wai tai mi yao. 四時傷寒，不正之氣。用水香薷爲末。熱酒調服一二錢，取汗。衞生易簡 方。 Harm caused by cold during any of the four seasons, related to improper qi. [Grind] water xiang rou to powder, mix it with hot wine and ingest one or two qian to cause sweating. Wei sheng yi jian fang. 心煩脇痛連胸欲死者。香薷搗汁一二升服。肘後。 Heart vexation and pain in the flanks extending into the chest so that one is close to dying. Pound xiang rou to obtain a juice and ingest one or two sheng. Zhou hou. 鼻衄不止。香薷研末，水服一錢。聖濟總録。 Unending nosebleed. Grind xiang rou to powder and ingest with water one qian. Sheng ji zong lu. 舌上出血如鑽孔者。香薷煎汁服一升，日三服。肘後方。 Blood leaving from the surface of the tongue as if holes had been bored. Boil xiang rou and ingest one sheng of the resulting juice. To be ingested three times a day. Zhou hou fang.



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口中臭氣。香薷一把，煎汁含之。千金方。 Malodorous qi in the mouth. Boil a handful of xiang rou and hold the resulting juice in the mouth. Qian jin fang. 小兒髮遲。陳香薷二兩，水一盞，煎汁三分，入猪脂半兩，和匀，日日塗 之。永類鈐方。 Slow hair growth of children. Boil two liang of long-stored xiang rou in one cup of water down to 30%. Add half a liang of lard to the juice and mix this evenly. Apply this [to the child’s head] every day. Yong lei qian fang. 白秃慘痛。即上方入胡粉，和塗之。子母秘録。 White baldness with cruel pain. Add basic lead carbonate to the previous recipe and apply the mixture [to the affected region]. Zi mu mi lu. 14-48 石香葇宋開寶附 Shi xiang rou. FE Song Kai bao appendix Mosla chinensis Maxim. Chinese mosla herb. 【釋名】石蘇。 Explanation of Names. Shi su, “rock perilla.” 【集解】【志曰】石香葇生蜀郡 陵、榮、資、簡州，及南中諸處，生山巖 石縫中，二月、八月采。苗莖花實俱可用。【宗奭曰】處處有之。但山中 臨水附厓處或有之，不必山巖石縫也。九月、十月尚有花。【時珍曰】香 薷、石香薷，一物也，但隨所生而名爾。生平地者葉大，厓石者葉細，可 通用之。 Collected Explanations. [Ma] Zhi: Shi xiang rou grows in Ling, Rong, Zi and Jian zhou of Shu jun, and everywhere in Nan zhong. It grows in rock cracks and is collected in the second and eighth month. Seedling, stem, flowers and fruit can all be used. [Kou] Zongshi: It can be found everywhere. However, it is present also in the mountains at places near a water or adjacent to cliffs, not necessarily only in rock cracks. In the ninth and tenth month it still has flowers. [Li] Shizhen: Xiang rou (elsholtzia herb, 14-47) and shi xiang rou are one and the same item. They are named differently because of [the different places] where they grow. On cliffs and rocks their leaves are fine. But they can all be used in the same way. 【氣味】辛香，温，無毒。 Qi and Flavor. Acrid-fragrant, warm, nonpoisonous.

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【主治】調中温胃，止霍亂吐瀉，心腹脹滿，腹痛腸鳴。開寶。功比香薷 更勝。蕭炳。制硫黄。時珍。 Control. It regulates the center and warms the stomach. It ends cholera with vomiting and outflow, distention and a feeling of fullness in the central and abdominal region, abdominal pain and intestinal sounds. Kai bao. The [therapeutic] potential is even better than that of xiang rou. Xiao Bing. It checks [the effects of ] sulphur. [Li] Shizhen. 14-49 爵牀本經中品 Jue chuang, FE Ben jing, middle rank. Rostellularis procumbens (L.) Nees. Creeping rostellularia. 【釋名】爵麻吴普、香蘇别録、赤眼老母草唐本。【時珍曰】爵牀不可 解。按吴氏本草作爵麻，甚通。 Explanation of Names. Jue ma 爵麻, Wu Pu. Xiang su 香蘇, Bie lu. Chi yan lao mu cao 赤眼老母草, “old mother with red eyes herb,” Tang ben. [Li] Shizhen: [The name] jue chuang 爵牀 is inexplicable. According to Mr. Wu [Pu’s] Ben cao it is written jue ma 爵麻. That makes very much sense. 【集解】【别録曰】爵牀生漢中川谷及田野。【恭曰】此草生平澤熟田近 道旁，似香葇，葉長而大，或如荏且細，俗名赤眼老母草。【時珍曰】原 野甚多。方莖對節，與大葉香薷一樣。但香薷搓之氣香，而爵牀搓之不香 微臭，以此爲别。 Collected Explanations. Bie lu: Jue chuang grows in mountain valleys of Han zhong and in the open country. [Su] Gong: This herb grows on the plains in marshland and on cultivated fields nearby. It resembles elsholtzia [herb], but has long leaves and is bigger. Some specimens are similar to perilla [herb], but even finer. A commonly used name is “old mother with red eyes herb.” [Li] Shizhen: Originally it grew abundantly in the wild. It has a square stem with [leaves growing from] nodes opposite to each other, similar to big leaf elsholtzia [herb]. However, when elsholtzia [leaves] are rubbed, they emit fragrant qi. When jue chuang is rubbed, it does not emit fragrant but slightly malodorous qi. This way they can be distinguished. 14-49-01 莖。Jing., 葉。Ye. Stem, leaf [of jue chuang]. 【氣味】鹹，寒，無毒。【時珍曰】微辛。 Qi and Flavor. Salty, cold, nonpoisonous. [Li] Shizhen: Slightly acrid.



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【主治】腰脊痛，不得搘牀，俛仰艱難，除熱，可作浴湯。本經。療血脹 下氣。治杖瘡，搗汁塗之立瘥。蘇恭。 Control. Lower back and back pain, with an inability to lie on a bed, and bending and stretching being difficult. To dissipate heat, it can be processed into a hot bath liquid. Ben jing. It heals swelling related to blood [stasis] and serves to discharge qi. To cure wounds resulting from flogging pound it and apply the juice on the [affected region]. A cure is achieved immediately. Su Gong. 14-50 赤車使者唐本草 Chi che shi zhe,754 FE Tang ben cao. Pellionia radicans (Sieb. et Zucc.) Wedd. Trailing water melon begonia. 【釋名】小錦枝炮炙論。 Explanation of Names. Xiao qin zhi 小錦枝, “small brocade twig.” Pao zhi lun. 【集解】【恭曰】赤車使者，苗似香葇、蘭香，葉莖赤，根紫赤色，八 月、九月采根，日乾。【保昇曰】生荆州、襄州，根紫如蒨根，二月、八 月采。【時珍曰】此與爵牀相類，但以根色紫赤爲别爾。 Collected Explanations. [Su] Gong: Chi che shi zhe has a seedling similar to elsholtzia [herb] and sweet basil. Leaves and stem are red. The root is purple-red. The root is collected in the eighth and ninth month. It is dried in the sun. [Han] Baosheng: It grows in Jing zhou and Xiang zhou. The root is purple like a madder root. It is collected in the second and eighth month. [Li] Shizhen: This [item] is related to creeping rostellularia but can be distinguished because of its purple-red root. 14-50-01 根。Gen. Root [of chi che shi zhe]. 【修治】【斅曰】此草原名小錦枝，凡用並粗搗，以七歲童子小便拌蒸， 晒乾入藥。 Pharmaceutical Preparation. [Lei] Xiao: The original name of this herb is “small brocade twig.” For all applications, pound it to a coarse [powder], steam it mixed with the urine of boys of seven years, dry it in the sun and then add it to medication. 【氣味】辛、苦，温，有毒。【權曰】有小毒。 Qi and Flavor. Acrid, bitter, warm, poisonous. [Zhen] Quan: Slightly poisonous. 754 Chi che shi zhe 赤車使者, lit.: “red carriage emissary.”

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【主治】風冷邪疰，蠱毒癥瘕，五臟積氣。蘇恭。治惡風冷氣。服之悦澤 肌皮，好顔色。甄權。 Control. Wind, cold and evil [qi] attachment-illness. Gu poison755 and concretion-illness and conglomeration-illness.756 Qi accumulation in the five long-term depots. Su Gong. It serves to cure malign wind and cold qi. To ingest it is beneficial for muscles and skin and improves one’s complexion. Zhen Quan. 【發明】【頌曰】古方治大風風痺，有赤車使者酒。今人稀用，鮮有識 者。【時珍曰】上古辟瘟疫邪氣，有赤車使者丸，此藥不怪，苟加詢采， 必能得之，但古今名稱或不同耳。 Explication. [Su] Song: In ancient recipes a wine with chi che shi zhe serves to cure massive wind757 and wind blockage.758 Today, people seldom use it and there are only a few who are familiar with it. [Li] Shizhen: In high antiquity they had chi che shi zhe pills to repel the evil qi of warmth epidemics. This is not some strange medication. If one searches for it, he will definitely obtain it. But the names used in ancient times and today may differ. 14-51 假蘇本經中品 Jia su, FE Ben jing, middle rank. Schizonepeta multifida (L.) Briq. Schizonepeta [spike]. 【校正】自菜部移入此。 Editorial Correction. Moved here from the “vegetables” section. 【釋名】薑芥别録、荆芥吴普、鼠蓂本經。【弘景曰】假蘇方藥不復用。 【恭曰】此即菜中荆芥也，薑、芥聲訛爾。先居草部，今録入菜部。【士 良曰】荆芥，本草呼爲假蘇。假蘇又别是一物，葉鋭圓，多野生，以香氣 755 Gu du 蠱毒, “gu-poison[ing].” (1) A poison emitted by certain worms/snakes with an ability to cause varying pathological changes in a person who has taken it in by means of wine or food. (2) Abdominal fullness, in some cases with blood spitting, and blood in the stool and urine. BCGM Dict I, 192 - 193. See BCGM 42-22.

756 Zheng jia 癥瘕, “concretion-illness and conglomeration-illness.” The two terms are often used interchangeably and do not signify two distinctly different conditions. Concretion-illness and conglomeration-illness result from a disharmony of cold and warmth resulting in a failure to transform beverages and food. Nodes form when they clash with the qi of the long-term depots. BCGM Dict I, 677. 757 Da feng 大風, “massive wind,” may refer to sores caused by a massive intrusion of wind evil and also to conditions of leprosy. BCGM Dict I, 111. 758 Feng bi 風痹, “wind blockage,” a condition of bi bing 痹病, “blockage diseases,” resulting mostly from an intrusion of wind evil. BCGM Dict I, 158.



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似蘇，故呼爲蘇。【頌曰】醫官陳巽，言江左人，謂假蘇、荆芥實兩物， 蘇恭以本草一名薑芥，荆薑聲訛，謂爲荆芥，非矣。【時珍曰】按吴普本 草云：假蘇一名荆芥，葉似落藜而細，蜀中生噉之。普乃東漢末人，去别 録時未遠，其言當不謬，故唐人蘇恭祖其説。而陳士良、蘇頌復啓爲兩物 之疑，亦臆説爾。曰蘇、曰薑、曰芥，皆因氣味辛香，如蘇、如薑、如芥 也。 Explanation of Names. Jiang jie 薑芥, Bie lu. Jing jie 荆芥, Wu Pu. Shu mi 鼠蓂, Ben jing. [Tao] Hongjing: Jia su 假蘇 is no longer used in pharmaceutical recipes. [Su] Gong: This is the vegetable jing jie 荆芥, a mispronunciation of jiang jie 薑 芥. Formerly it was listed in the “herbs” section. Now it is listed in the “vegetables” section. [Chen] Shiliang: Jing jie 荆芥 in the Ben cao is called jia su 假蘇. There is also another item called jia su 假蘇. It has sharp, round leaves and grows massively in the wild. As its fragrant qi are similar to those of su 蘇, perilla [herb], it is called su 蘇, too. [Su] Song: Chen Xun, a medical official and a man from Jiang zuo, says that jia su 假蘇 and jing jie 荆芥 are in fact two items. Su Gong is wrong when he says it is jing jie 荆芥 because in the Ben cao an alternative name jiang jie 薑芥 is listed with jing 荆 being mispronounced jiang 薑. [Li] Shizhen: According to the Wu Pu ben cao, “jia su 假蘇 is also named jing jie 荆芥. Its leaves are similar to those of luo li 落藜,759 but are finer. In Shu zhong they eat it raw.” [Wu] Pu lived at the end of the Eastern Han dynasty, not long after the compilation of the Bie lu. What he says cannot be wrong. Hence Su Gong, a Tang person, followed his record, while Chen Shiliang and Su Song raised doubts again whether these were not in fact two items. But this is just their personal assumption. It is called su 蘇 and jiang 薑 and jie 芥 because its qi and flavor are acrid and fragrant just like those of perilla (su 蘇), ginger (jiang 薑) and mustard (jie 芥). 【集解】【别録曰】假蘇生漢中川澤。【頌曰】今處處有之。葉似落藜而 細，初生香辛可噉，人取作生菜。古方稀用，近世醫家爲要藥。並取花實 成穗者，曝乾入藥。又有胡荆芥，俗呼新羅荆芥。又有石荆芥，生山石 間。體性相近，入藥亦同。【時珍曰】荆芥原是野生，今爲世用，遂多栽 蒔。二月布子生苗，炒食辛香。方莖細葉，似獨帚葉而狹小，淡黄緑色。 八月開小花，作穗成房，房如紫蘇房，内有細子如葶藶子狀，黄赤色，連 穗收采用之。 Collected Explanations. Bie lu: Jia su grows in rivers and marshlands of Han zhong. [Su] Song: These days it can be found everywhere. The leaves are similar to those of luo li 落藜, but are finer. When they have just begun to grow they are fragrant, acrid and edible. The people collect them to prepare them as raw vegetables. They 759 Luo li 落藜, botanical identification unclear.

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were rarely used in ancient recipes. Nowadays, common physicians regard them as an important pharmaceutical drug. They gather flowers and their fruit when they have formed spikes, dry them in the sun and use them as medication. There is also a hu jing jie, “jing jie of the Hu.” It is commonly called xin luo jing jie, “jing jie from Xin luo.” And there is also a shi jing jie, “stone/rock jing jie.” It grows amidst mountain rocks. Their physical body and nature are all similar, and their pharmaceutical usage is identical, too. [Li] Shizhen: Jing jie originally grew in the wild. Nowadays it is commonly used and hence widely planted. The seeds are planted in the second month. The seedlings are fried and eaten. They are acrid and fragrant. The stem is square with fine leaves, similar to those of kochia [herb], but the leaves are narrow and smaller, with a bland yellow-green color. Small flowers open in the eighth month. They form spikes with capsules. The capsules are similar to those of purple perilla. Inside of them are fine seeds, shaped like seeds of Wood Whitlow grass. They are yellow-red, and they are collected together with the spikes for later use. 【正誤】【藏器曰】張鼎食療本草荆芥一名析蓂，誤矣。菥蓂自有本條， 見草部。【時珍曰】汪機本草會編言假蘇是白蘇，亦誤矣。白蘇乃荏也。 見後。 Correction of Errors. [Chen] Cangqi: Zhang Ding in his Shi liao ben cao attributes xi mi 析蓂 as an alternative name to jing jie 荆芥. That is wrong. Xi mi has an entry of its own; see the section “herbs” (27-06). [Li] Shizhen: Wang Ji in his Ben cao hui bian says that “jia su is bai su 白蘇.” That, too, is wrong. Bai su is ren 荏, perilla. See further down (14-55). 14-51-01 莖。Jing. 穗。Sui. Stem, spike [of jia su]. 【氣味】辛，温，無毒。 Qi and Flavor. Acrid, warm, nonpoisonous. 【詵曰】作菜食久，動渴疾，熏人五臟神。反驢肉、無鱗魚，詳後發明下。 [Meng] Shen: Prepared as vegetable and eaten for a long time, they excite thirst illness and cover with smoke the spirits in the five long-term depots. [Eaten together,] they are opposed to donkey meat and fish without scales. For details see below under “Explication.” 【主治】寒熱鼠瘻瘰癧，生瘡，破結聚氣，下瘀血，除濕痺。本經。去 邪，除勞渴冷氣，出汗，煮汁服之。擣爛醋和，傅丁腫腫毒。藏器。單用 治惡風賊風，口面喎斜，遍身𤸷痺，心虚忘事，益力添精，辟邪毒氣，通



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利血脉，傳送五臟不足氣，助脾胃。甄權。主血勞，風氣壅滿，背脊疼 痛，虚汗，理丈夫脚氣，筋骨煩疼，及陰陽毒，傷寒頭痛，頭旋目眩， 手足筋急。士良。利五臟，消食下氣，醒酒。作菜生熟皆可食，并煎茶飲 之。以豉汁煎服，治暴傷寒，能發汗。日華。治婦人血風及瘡疥爲要藥。 蘇頌。産後中風身强直，研末酒服。孟詵。散風熱，清頭目，利咽喉，消 瘡腫，治項强，目中黑花，及生瘡，陰㿗，吐血衄血，下血血痢，崩中， 痔漏。時珍。 Control. [Alternating sensations of ] cold and heat, mouse fistula760 and scrofula pervasion-illness761 generating sores. [Jing jie] breaks through nodes of accumulated qi, discharges stagnating blood and eliminates blockage related to moisture. Ben jing. To remove evil [qi] and eliminate exhaustion and thirst related to cold qi and sweating boil it in water and ingest [the liquid]. Pound it to pulp, mix it with vinegar and apply this to pin[-illness]762 swelling and to poison swelling. [Chen] Cangqi. Used as a single substance it serves to cure malign wind and robber wind causing a slanted mouth and face, numbness blockage,763 heart depletion and forgetfulness. It boosts the strength and increases the essence/sperm. It repels evil poison qi, opens the passage through the blood vessels, transmits qi that are insufficient in the five long-term depots, and assists spleen and stomach. Zhen Quan. It controls blood exhaustion, wind qi causing obstruction and a sensation of fullness, back pain, and depletion sweating. It rearranges leg qi764 of males, vexation and pain affecting sinews and bones, and yin yang poison,765 harm caused by cold with headache, vertigo and dimmed vision, cramped sinews of hands and feet. [Chen] Shiliang. It benefits the five long-term depots, dissolves food, discharges qi and sobers up. It can be prepared raw or boiled as vegetable, and it can be drunk boiled with tea. Boiled with [soybean] relish and ingested, it serves to cure sudden harm caused by cold and can stimulate sweating. Rihua. It is an important pharmaceutical drug to cure blood 760 Shu lou 鼠瘻, “mouse fistula,” BCGM Dict I, 466, identical with luo li 瘰癧, “scrofula pervasion-illnes.”

761 Luo li 瘰癧, “scrofula pervasion-illness,” when two or more connected swellings of the size of plum or date kernels appear either on the neck or in the armpits, or somewhere else on the body. BCGM Dict I. 329. 762 Ding 丁, “pin[-illness],” also ding 疔, “pin-illness,” refers to a deep-reaching and festering hardness in a tissue, eventually rising above the skin like a pinhead. BCGM Dict I, 127129. 763 Qun bi 𤸷痹, “numbness blockage,” a condition of bi 痹, “blockage,” with numbness and slackening of the limbs and body. BCGM Dict I, 395. 764 Jiao qi 脚氣, “leg qi.” Painful, weak, swollen legs. BCGM Dict I, 248.

765 Yin yang du 陰陽毒, “yin and yang poison,” a common designation of yin du 陰毒, yin poison,” and yang du 陽毒, “yang poison.” BCGM Dict I, 639.

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wind766 of women, sores and jie-illness.767 Su Song. For wind stroke following delivery, with a stiff, straight body, grind it to powder and [let the woman] ingest it with wine. Meng Shen. It disperses wind and heat, clears the head and the eyes, frees the passage through the throat, dissolves swelling related to sores/wounds, and serves to cure a stiff neck, black flowers in the eyes, sores/wounds, yin breakdown-illness,768 blood spitting and nosebleed, discharge with blood and blood free-flux illness. Collapsing center769 and piles fistula. [Li] Shizhen. 【發明】【元素曰】荆芥辛苦，氣味俱薄，浮而升，陽也。【好古曰】肝 經氣分藥也，能搜肝氣。【時珍曰】荆芥入足厥陰經氣分，其功長於祛風 邪，散瘀血，破結氣，消瘡毒。蓋厥陰乃風木也，主血，而相火寄之，故 風病、血病、瘡病爲要藥。其治風也，賈丞相稱爲再生丹，許學士謂有神 聖功，戴院使許爲産後要藥，蕭存敬呼爲一捻金，陳無擇隱爲舉卿古拜 散。夫豈無故而得此隆譽哉？按唐韻：荆字舉卿切，芥字古拜切。蓋二字 之反切，隱語以秘其方也。【又曰】荆芥反魚蟹河豚之説，本草醫方並未 言及，而稗官小説往往載之。按李廷飛延壽書云，凡食一切無鱗魚，忌荆 芥。食黄鱨魚後食之，令人吐血，惟地漿可解。與蟹同食，動風。又蔡絛 鐵圍山叢話云：予居嶺嶠，見食黄顙魚犯薑芥者立死，甚於鈎吻。洪邁夷 堅志云：吴人魏幾道，啖黄顙魚羹後，采荆芥和茶飲。少頃足痒，上徹心 肺，狂走，足皮欲裂，急服藥，兩日乃解。陶九成輟耕録云：凡食河豚， 不可服荆芥藥，大相反。予在江陰見一儒者，因此喪命。葦航紀談云：凡 服荆芥風藥，忌食魚。楊誠齋曾見一人，立致於死也。時珍按：荆芥乃日 用之藥，其相反如此，故詳録之，以爲警戒。又按物類相感志言：河豚用 荆芥同煮，三五次换水，則無毒。其説與諸書不同，何哉？大抵養生者， 寧守前説爲戒可也。 Explication. [Zhang] Yuansu: Jing jie is acrid and bitter. Its qi and flavor are weak. It floats and rises. It is a yang [substance]. [Wang] Haogu: It is a pharmaceutical drug for the qi section of the liver conduits. It can search for liver qi. [Li] Shizhen: Jing jie enters the qi section of the foot ceasing yin conduits. Its [therapeutic] potential is exceptional when it comes to eliminating wind evil, dispersing stagnating blood, breaking through nodes of qi [accumulation], and dissolving sore/wound poison. 766 Xue feng 血风, “blood wind,” a condition introduced in Zhu bing yuan hou lun ch. 15 as brought about by an intrusion of wind evil qi into an unbalanced state of qi and blood, mostly in women. BCGM Dict I, 594. 767 Jie-illness 疥, vaguely identifiable skin ailment. BCGM Dict I, 249.

768 Yin tui 陰㿗, “yin breakdown-illness,” a condition of a) 陰㿉, yin tui, “yin (i.e. scrotal) prominence-illness,” b) yin tuo 陰脫, “yin prolapse;” “prolapse of the uterus.” BCGM Dict I, 697/8.

769 Beng zhong 崩中, “collapsing center,” excessive vaginal bleeding outside of a menstruation period. BCGM Dict I, 58.



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The fact is, the ceasing yin is [associated with] wind and wood. It controls blood [disorder] and assists the Minister Fire. Hence it is an important pharmaceutical drug for wind diseases, blood diseases, and sore/wound diseases. For its application to cure wind, Grand Councilor Jia referred to it as “elixir offering a second life,” and scholar Xu says that it has the potential of spirits and sages. Dai Yuanli accepted it as an important pharmaceutical drug for [ailments] following birth. Xiao Cunjing called it “a pinch of gold.” Chen Wuze hid its real name when he called it ju qing gu bai san 舉卿古拜散, “powder of a dignitary payed respect to since antiquity.” Now, how could it be that [this item] has such a good reputation for no reason? According to the Tang yun, the character jing 荆 was cut into the two characters ju 舉 and qing 卿. The character jie 芥 was cut into gu 古 and bai 拜. That is, by presenting the two characters [jing jie 荆芥 as the four characters ju qing gu bai 舉卿 古拜 resulting from] their split reading, a term was formed that was meant to keep the recipe secret. It is also said: Records of an opposition of jing jie to fish, crabs, and globefish have never been seen in Ben cao and medical recipe works, but they are often found in the novels of insignificant officials. According to Li Tingfei’s Yan shou shu, “whenever one eats any of the fish without scales, jing jie is to be avoided. If it is eaten after a yellow head catfish meal, it will let one spit blood, and this can be resolved only with earth broth (05-29). When it is eaten together with crabs, it excites wind.” Also, Cai Tao in his Tie wei shan cong hua states: “While I lived in Ling qiao, I saw someone eating yellow head catfish and offending it with jiang jie 薑芥. He died immediately. It is even more violent than gelsemium [herb].” Hong Mai in his Yi jian zhi states: “Wei Jidao, a person from Wu, after eating a thick soup made of yellow head catfish picked some jing jie and drank it with tea. A short while later his feet began to itch. This extended upward to his heart and lung and he ran around like mad. The skin of his feet threatened to burst. He quickly ingested medication and after two days [the disease was] resolved.” Tao Jiucheng in his Chuo geng lu states: “Whenever one eats globefish, he must not ingest a jing jie medication. They are massively opposed to each other. While I was in Jiang yin I saw a scholar who lost his life following [such a combination].” The Wei hang ji tan states: “Whenever one ingests a wind medication with jing jie, it is forbidden to eat fish.” Yang Chengzhai “once saw a person dying immediately [after committing such a mistake].” A commentary by [Li] Shizhen: Jing jie is a pharmaceutical drug in daily use. Hence these fatal synergisms are recorded here in such detail to let everybody be cautious. But then, how can the Wu lei xiang gan zhi say: “Boil globefish together with jing jie and three to five times change the water. Then it will be no longer poisonous”? In general, those who care about nourishing life they better follow the aforementioned warnings.

690

The Ben Cao Gang Mu 【附方】舊四，新二十七。 Added Recipes. Four of old. 27 newly [recorded].

頭項風强。八月後取荆芥穗作枕及鋪牀下，立春日去之。千金方。 Stiff head and neck caused by wind [intrusion]. After the eighth month collect jing jie spikes and place them underneath the pillow and the bed; on the day of Spring Begins (4th/5th February) remove them. Qian jin fang. 風熱頭痛。荆芥穗、石膏等分，爲末。每服二錢，茶調下。永類鈐方。 Headache caused by wind [intrusion] and heat. [Grind] equal amounts of jing jie spikes and gypsum to powder. Each time ingest two qian, to be sent down mixed with tea. Yong lei qian fang. 風熱牙痛。荆芥根、烏桕根、葱根等分，煎湯頻含漱之。 Toothache caused by wind [intrusion] and heat. Boil equal amounts of jing jie root, tallow tree root and onion root and repeatedly hold the decoction in the mouth to rinse [the affected region]. 小兒驚癇。一百二十種。用荆芥穗二兩，白礬半生半枯一兩，爲末，糊丸 黍米大，朱砂爲衣。每薑湯下二十丸，日二服。醫學集成。 Fright epilepsy of children. [This is for] 120 types of it. [Grind] two liang of jing jie spikes and one liang of alum, one half raw, one half prepared, to powder and form with wheat flower pills the size of millet. Coat them with cinnabar. Each time send down with ginger decoction 20 pills. To be ingested twice a day. Yi xue ji cheng. 一切偏風。口眼喎斜。用青荆芥一斤，青薄荷一斤，同入砂盆内研爛，生 絹絞汁，於瓷器中煎成膏。漉去滓三分之一，將二分日乾，爲末，以膏和 丸梧子大。每服三十丸，白湯下，早暮各一服。忌動風物。經驗後方。 All types of unilateral wind [intrusion], with mouth and eyes slanted. Grind one jin of greenish jing jie and one jin of greenish mint together in an earthenware pot to pulp and squeeze it with a new silk cloth to obtain a juice. Boil it in a porcelain jar to generate a paste. Pass this through a sieve to remove one third of the dregs, and dry the remaining two thirds in the sun. [Grind] this to powder and form with the paste pills the size of wu seeds. Each time ingest 30 pills, to be sent down with clear, boiled water. To be ingested once every morning and evening. [During such a therapy] items exciting wind are to be avoided. Jing yan hou fang. 中風口噤。荆芥穗爲末，酒服二錢，立愈，名荆芥散。賈似道云：此方出 曾公談録，前後用之甚驗。其子名順者，病此已革，服之立定，真再生丹 也。



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Wind stroke with lockjaw. [Grind] jing jie spikes to powder and ingest with wine two qian. This leads to an immediate healing. It is called “jing jie powder.” Jia Sidao states: “This recipe is from the Zeng gong tan lu. It has been used for a long time and has always been shown to be effective. [The honorable mister Zeng’s] son Shun suffered from this disease and was already removed from office. He ingested this [powder] and this immediately put a stop to his disease. It truly is an ‘elixir offering a second life’.” 産後中風。華佗愈風散：治婦人産後中風口噤，手足瘛瘲如角弓，或産後 血運，不省人事，四肢强直，或築心眼倒，吐瀉欲死。用荆芥穗子，微焙 爲末。每服三錢，豆淋酒調服，或童子小便服之。口噤則挑齒灌之，齗噤 則灌入鼻中，其效如神。大抵産後太暖，則汗出而腠理疏，則易於中風 也。【時珍曰】此方諸書盛稱其妙。姚僧坦集驗方以酒服，名如聖散，云 藥下可立待應效。陳氏方名舉卿古拜散。蕭存敬方用古老錢煎湯服，名一 捻金。王貺指迷方加當歸等分，水煎服。許叔微本事方云：此藥委有奇效 神聖之功。一婦人産後睡久，及醒則昏昏如醉，不省人事。醫用此藥及交 加散，云服後當睡，必以左手搔頭，用之果然。昝殷産寶方云：此病多因 怒氣傷肝，或憂氣内鬱，或坐草受風而成，急宜服此藥也。戴原禮證治要 訣名獨行散。賈似道悦生隨抄呼爲再生丹。 Wind stroke following delivery. Hua Tuo’s “powder to heal wind.” It serves to cure women who following birth suffer from wind stroke with lockjaw, clonic spasms of hands and feet and [the body] bent like a bow. Also, blood[-induced] brain movement, an inability to recognize persons or anything else, and stiffness of the four limbs. Also, [bound qi]770 pounding at the heart and the eyes directed upward, with vomiting and outflow bringing [the patient] close to dying. Mildly dry the spike seeds of jing jie over a fire in a pan and [grind them to] powder. Each time [let the patient] ingest three qian, to be ingested mixed with a wine filtrate prepared from soybeans. Or [let the patient] ingest it with boys’ urine. In the case of lockjaw push a stick through the teeth to force-feed it. If the lockjaw cannot be opened, force-feed it through the nose. The effect will be divine. In general, when [a woman] following delivery is exposed to great warmth, she will sweat and her intersticial structures relax. As a result she is easily struck by wind. [Li] Shizhen: This recipe is said in all books to be wondrously effective. Yao Sengtan in his Ji yan fang [recommends] to ingest [the powder] with wine, and he calls it “sage-like powder.” He states that once the medication is sent down the effect follows as an immediate response. A recipe by Mr. Chen names it “ju qing gu bai powder.”771 A recipe by Xiao Cun770 Jie qi 結氣, “bound qi,” 1.) an etiological agent of pathological qi halting and congealing at any place in the body. 2.) A condition brought forth by bound qi. BCGM Dict I, 240.

771 For an explanation of this name, see above under “Explication.”

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jing [recommends to] ingest [the powder] with water in which ancient coins were boiled, and this is called “a pinch of gold.” Wang Kuang’s Zhi mi fang adds an equal amount of Chinese angelica [root] and lets [the patient] ingest it boiled in water. Xu Shuwei in his Ben shi fang states: “This medication certainly has a uniquely effective [therapeutic] potential of spirits and sages. There was a woman who after delivery slept for a long time. When eventually she woke up she was as dizzy as if drunken, and recognized neither other persons nor anything else. The physican resorted to this medication and jiao jia powder,772 stating: ‘After having ingested this she will sleep and while sleeping she will scratch her head with her left hand.’ [The medication] was given to her and it happened as [the physician had told].” Zan Yin in his Chan bao fang states: “This disease is often caused by anger qi harming the liver, or by internally pent-up grief qi, or when someone sat on a meadow and was exposed to wind. [In such cases] this medication must be ingested right away.” Dai Yuanli in his Zheng zhi yao jue names it “powder moving alone.” Jia Sidao calls it an “elixir offering a second life.” 産後迷悶，因怒氣發熱迷悶者。獨行散：用荆芥穗，以新瓦半炒半生爲 末，童子小便服一二錢。若角弓反張，以豆淋酒下。或剉散，童尿煎服極 妙。蓋荆芥乃産後要藥，而角弓反張乃婦人急候，得此證者，十存一二而 已。戴原禮要訣。 Perplexity with heart-pressure following delivery. For cases when anger qi has caused heat effusion and perplexity with heart-pressure. The “powder moving alone.” [Grind] jing jie spikes, one half fried on a new tile, one half fresh, to powder and ingest with boys’ urine one or two qian. In the case of arched back rigidity, send it down with a wine filtrate prepared from soybeans. Or file [the jing jie spikes] to powder and ingest them boiled in boys’ urine. This is extremely wondrous. The fact is, jing jie is an important pharmaceutical drug for [health problems] following delivery, and arched back rigidity is a most serious condition of women. Of those who are affected by such a condition, only one or two out of ten will be healed. Dai Yuanli, Yao jue. 産後血運，築心眼倒，風縮欲死者。取乾荆芥穗擣篩末，每用二錢匕，童 子小便一酒盞，調匀熱服，立效。口噤者挑齒，口閉者灌鼻中，皆效。近 世名醫用之，無不如神也。圖經本草。 Blood[-induced] brain movement following delivery. [Qi] pounding at the heart, and the eyes directed upward. Contraction related to wind [intrusion], bringing [the patient] close to dying. Pound dry jing jie spikes and pass this through a sieve 772 The ingredients of jiao jia san 交加散, listed in the Ben shi fang, are fresh/unprepared Chinese foxglove rhizome and fresh ginger.



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to obtain a powder. Each time use as much as is held by a two qian spoon, mix it with a wine cup full of boys’ urine and ingest this hot. Immediately effective. In the case of lockjaw, force-feed it into the nose. Always effective. In recent times it has been used by renowned physicians and always showed divine effects. Tu jing ben cao. 産後血眩風虚，精神昏冒。荆芥穗一兩三錢，桃仁五錢去皮尖炒，爲末， 水服三錢。若喘，加杏仁去皮尖炒，甘草炒，各三錢。保命集。 Blood dizziness773 with wind [intrusion] and depletion. Clouding with indistinct vision. [Grind] one liang and three qian of jing jie spikes and five qian of fried peach kernels, with the skin and tips removed, to powder and [let the patient] ingest with water three qian. If [the patient] pants, add three qian each of fried almond kernels, with the skin and tips removed, and fried glycyrrhiza [root]. Bao ming ji. 産後下痢。大荆芥四五穗，於盞内燒存性，不得犯油火，入麝香少許，以 沸湯些須調下。此藥雖微，能愈大病，不可忽之。深師方。 Discharge with free-flux illness following delivery. Burn four or five big jing jie spikes in a cup by retaining their nature. See to it that they are not offended by oil and/or fire. Add a little musk and send down a small amount mixed with water boiled to bubbling. This medication may appear insignificant, but it is able to heal serious diseases. It must not be looked down upon. Shen shi fang. 産後鼻衄。荆芥焙，研末，童子小便服二錢，海上方774也。婦人良方。 Nosebleed following delivery. Dry jing jie over a fire in a pan and grind it to powder. Ingest with boys‘ urine two qian. This is a superb recipe. Fu ren liang fang. 九竅出血。荆芥煎酒，通口服之。直指方。 Bleeding from the nine orifices. Boil jing jie with wine and ingest it through the mouth. Zhi zhi fang. 口鼻出血如涌泉，因酒色太過者。荆芥燒研，陳皮湯服二錢，不過二服 也。吐血不止。經驗方用荆芥連根洗，搗汁半盞服。乾穗爲末亦可。 Bleeding from mouth and nose as if they were gushing springs, caused by overindulgence in wine and sex. Burn jing jie, grind [it to powder] and ingest with a tangerine peel decoction two qian. No more than two ingestions [required]. In the 773 Xue xuan 血眩, “blood dizziness,” a condition of xuan yun 眩運, “vertigo,” experienced by females who suffer from depletion and weakness of qi and blood, and at the same time an intrusion of wind evil. BCGM Dict I, 601.

774 Ever since the Tang physician Sun Simiao (581 – 682?) claimed to have received “from overseas (hai shang 海上) a recipe secretly kept in the Dragon Palace, the term “recipe from overseas,” hai shang fang 海上方, has been used to refer to an exceptionally effective recipe.

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case of unending blood spitting, the Jing yan fang [recommends to] wash jing jie with its root attached, pound it and ingest half a cup of the resulting juice. It is also possible to [grind] dry [jing jie] spikes to powder. 聖惠方用荆芥穗爲末，生地黄汁調服二錢。 The Sheng hui fang [recommends to grind] jing jie spikes to powder and ingest mixed with fresh Chinese foxglove [rhizome] two qian. 小便尿血。荆芥、縮砂等分，爲末。糯米飲下三錢，日三。集簡方。 Urination with blood. [Grind] equal amounts of jing jie and amomum villosum to powder and send down with a glutinous rice beverage three qian. Three times a day. Ji jian fang. 崩中不止。荆芥穗於麻油燈上燒焦，爲末。每服二錢，童子小便服。此夏 太君娘娘方也。婦人良方。 Unending collapsing center.775 [Grind] jing jie spikes, burned until scorched above a sesame oil lamp, to powder and each time ingest two qian. To be ingested with boys’ urine. This is a recipe quoted from Xia Taijun’s Niang niang fang. Fu ren liang fang. 痔漏腫痛。荆芥煮湯，日日洗之。簡易方。 Leaking piles with a painful swelling. Boil jing jie in water to obtain a decoction and use it for daily washing [the affected region]. Jian yi fang. 大便下血。經驗方用荆芥炒，爲末。每米飲服二錢，婦人用酒下，亦可拌 麪作餛飩食之。 Defecation with blood. The Jing yan fang [recommends to grind] fried jing jie to powder and each time to ingest with a rice beverage two qian. Women should send it down with wine. It is also possible to mix it with wheat flour and to prepare dumplings for consumption. 簡便方用荆芥二兩，槐花一兩，同炒紫，爲末。每服三錢，清茶送下。 The Jian bian fang [recommends to grind] two liang of jing jie and one liang of sophora japonica flowers, fried together until they have turned purple, to powder and each time ingest three qian. To be sent down with clear tea. 小兒脱肛。荆芥、皂角等分，煎湯洗之，以鐵漿塗上。亦治子宫脱出。經 驗方。

775 Beng zhong 崩中, “collapsing center,” excessive vaginal bleeding outside of a menstruation period. BCGM Dict I, 58.



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Anal prolapse of children. Boil equal amounts of jing jie and gleditisa pods/seeds to obtain a decoction and use it to wash [the affected region]. Then apply an iron broth (08-27) to it. This also serves to cure uterus prolapse. Jing yan fang. 陰㿗腫痛。荆芥穗瓦焙，爲散，酒服二錢，即消。壽域神方。 Breakdown-illness affecting the yin776 [(i. e., genital) region] with painful swelling. Dry jing jie spikes over a fire in a pan and [grind them to] powder. Ingest with wine two qian, and [the swelling] will dissolve. Shou yu shen fang. 小兒臍腫。荆芥煎湯洗净，以煨葱刮薄出火毒，貼之即消。海上方。 Navel swelling of children. Boil jing jie and wash [the affected region] with the decoction. Slowly roast onions, scrape them to generate thin pieces and wait until the fire poison has left. Then apply them to [the affected region and the swelling will] dissolve. Hai shang fang. 瘰癧潰爛。癧瘡牽至胸前兩腋，塊如茄子大，或牽至兩肩上，四五年不能 療者，皆治之，其驗如神。武進縣 朱守仁傳，云其項不能回頭，用此數 日减可。如瘡爛破者，用荆芥根下一段剪碎，煎沸湯温洗。良久，看爛破 處紫黑，以針一刺去血，再洗三四次愈。用樟腦、雄黄等分，爲末，麻油 調，掃上出水。次日再洗再掃，以愈爲度。活法機要。 Festering scrofula pervasion-illness,777 with the pervasion-illness pulling in front of the chest on the two armpits, and lumps forming as big as eggplants. In some cases it pulls on the shoulders and has not been healed for four to five years. The biography of Zhu Shouren of Wu jin xian states that he was unable to turn his neck to look back. He used this [medication] and within a few days [his problems] were reduced. In the case of sores that have broken open and fester, cut the lower segment of a jing jie root to pieces, boil them in bubbling water and wash [the affected region with the liquid]. After a long time, when the open parts will be be seen to turn purple-black, pierce them with a needle to remove the blood. Then wash [this region] three to four times again and a healing will be achieved. [Grind] equal amounts of camphor and realgar to powder, mix it with sesame oil and apply it [to the affected region]. Water will come out. The next day wash it again and apply it again, and continue this until a healing is achieved. Huo fa ji yao. 776 Yin tui 陰㿗, “yin breakdown-illness,” identical with yin tui 陰㿉, “yin (i.e. scrotal) prominence-illness,” a condition of local swelling and pain affecting a male’s private parts. BCGM Dict I, 637/638.

777 Luo li 瘰癧, “scrofula pervasion-illness,” when two or more connected swellings of the size of plum or date kernels appear either on the neck or in the armpits, or somewhere else on the body. BCGM Dict I. 329.

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丁腫諸毒。荆芥一握切，以水五升，煮取二升，分二服冷飲。藥性論。 Pin[-illness]778 swelling with all types of poison. Cut a handful of jing jie to pieces and boil them in five sheng of water down to two sheng. Divide them into two portions and ingest them cold. Yao xing lun. 一切瘡疥。荆芥末，以地黄自然汁熬膏，和丸梧子大。每服三五十丸， 茶、酒任下。普濟方。 All types of sores and jie-illness.779 Heat jing jie powder with the natural juice of Chinese foxglove [rhizome] to generate a paste and form pills the size of wu seeds. Each time ingest 30 to 50 pills, to be sent down with tea or wine, whichever is preferred. Pu ji fang. 脚椏濕爛。荆芥葉搗傅之。簡便方。 Moisture and festering between the toes. Pound jing jie leaves and apply [the pulp to the affected region]. Jian bian fang. 纏脚生瘡。荆芥燒灰，葱汁調傅，先以甘草湯洗之。摘玄方。 Sores on bound feet. Burn jing jie to ashes, mix them with onion juice and apply this [to the affected region] after washing it first with a glycyrrhiza [rhizome] decoction. Zhai xuan fang. 小兒風寒，煩熱有痰，不省人事。荆芥穗半兩焙，麝香、片腦各一字，爲 末，每茶服半錢。大人亦治。普濟方。 Children affected by wind and cold, with vexation, heat and phlegm and when they recognize neither other persons nor anything else. [Grind] half a liang of jing jie spikes, dried over a fire in a pan, and one zi each of musk and borneol to powder. Each time [let the child] ingest with tea half a qian. It also serves to cure adults. Pu ji fang. 頭目諸疾。一切眼疾，血勞風氣，頭痛，頭旋目眩。荆芥穗爲末，每酒服 三錢。龍樹論。 All types of ailments affecting the head and the eyes. All types of eye ailments, blood exhaustion780 with wind and qi [disorder], headache, vertigo and dimmed 778 Ding 丁, “pin[-illness],” also ding 疔, “pin-illness,” refers to a deep-reaching and festering hardness in a tissue, eventually rising above the skin like a pinhead. BCGM Dict I, 127129.

779 Jie-illness 疥, vaguely identifiable skin ailment. BCGM Dict I, 249.

780 Xue lao 血勞, “blood exhaustion,” a condition of a depletion exhaustion with extremely weak menstruation, or in severe cases complete failure to menstruate. BCGM Dict I, 598.



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vision. [Grind] jing jie spikes to powder and each time ingest with wine three qian. Long shu lun. 癃閉不通，小腹急痛，無問久新。荆芥、大黄爲末，等分，每温水服三 錢。小便不通，大黄减半；大便不通，荆芥减半。名倒换散。普濟方。 Protuberance-illness781 with closure, when [the flow or urine and defecation] is blocked, with an intense pain in the lower abdomen, regardless of whether this is an acute case or has lasted for a long time. [Grind] equal amounts of jing jie and rhubarb root to powder. Each time ingest with warm water three qian. In the case of blocked urination, decrease the rhubarb root by one half. In the case of blocked defecation, decrease the jing jie by one half. [This recipe] is called “powder to reverse what was turned upside down.” Pu ji fang.

Mentha canadensis L. Mint.

14-52 薄荷唐本草 Bo he, FE Tang ben cao.

【校正】自菜部移入此。 Editorial Correction. Moved here from the “vegetables” section. 蕳【釋名】菝 音跋活、蕃荷菜蕃音鄱、吴菝 食性、南薄荷衍義、金錢薄 荷。【時珍曰】薄荷，俗稱也。陳士良食性本草作菝 ，楊雄甘泉賦作茇 葀，吕忱字林作茇䒷，則薄荷之爲訛稱可知矣。孫思邈千金方作蕃荷，又 方音之訛也。今人藥用多以蘇州者爲勝，故陳士良謂之吴菝 ，以别胡菝 也。【宗奭曰】世稱此爲南薄荷，爲有一種龍腦薄荷，所以别之。【機 曰】小兒方多用金錢薄荷，謂其葉小頗圓如錢也。書作金銀，誤矣。 Explanation of Names. Ba huo 菝 , read ba huo 跋活, po he cai 蕃荷菜, po 蕃 red po 鄱; wu ba 吴菝 , Shi xing. Nan bo he 南薄荷, Yan yi. Jin qian bo he 金錢薄荷. [Li] Shizhen: Bo he 薄荷 is its common name. Chen Shiliang in his Shi xing ben cao writes ba huo 菝 . Yang Xiong in his Gan quan fu writes ba gua 茇葀. Lü Chen’s Zi lin writes ba gua 茇䒷. Obviously, all these are erroneous designations of bo he 薄荷. Sun Simiao in his Qian jin fang writes po he 蕃荷; this, too, is a misnomer based on a local dialect. Nowadays, preople prefer specimens from Su zhou as superior. Hence, Chen Shilinag calls it wu ba huo 吴菝 , “ba huo from Wu,” to distinguish it from hu ba huo 胡菝 , “ba huo from the region of the Hu.” [Kou] Zongshi: Everybody calls it nan bo he 南薄荷, “bo he from the South,” and this serves to distinguish it from a long 781 Long 癃, protuberance-illness, a condition of a) passing of urine in small amounts; in serious cases passage is completely inhibited. b) Identical with lin 淋, “dripping.”

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nao bo he 龍腦薄荷, “dragon brain mint” (14-55). Wang Ji: In recipes for children jin qian bo he 金錢薄荷, “gold coin mint,” is used because its leaves are small and round like coins. When this is written jin yin 金銀, “gold and silver,” this is wrong. 【集解】【頌曰】薄荷處處有之。莖葉似荏而尖長，經冬根不死，夏秋采 莖葉，曝乾。古方稀用，或與薤作虀食，近世治風寒爲要藥，故人家多蒔 之。又有胡薄荷，與此相類，但味少甘爲别。生江 浙間，彼人多以作茶飲 之，俗呼新羅薄荷。近汴 洛僧寺或植一二本者，天寶單方所謂連錢草者 是也。又有石薄荷，生江南山石間，葉微小，至冬紫色，不聞有别功用。 【恭曰】薄荷人家種之，亦堪生食。一種蔓生者，功用相似。【時珍曰】 薄荷，人多栽蒔。二月宿根生苗，清明前後分之。方莖赤色，其葉對生， 初時形長而頭圓，及長則尖。吴、越、川、湖人多以代茶。蘇州所蒔者， 莖小而氣芳，江西者稍粗，川蜀者更粗，入藥以蘇産爲勝。物類相感志 云：凡收薄荷，須隔夜以糞水澆之。雨後乃刈收，則性凉，不爾不凉也。 野生者，莖葉氣味都相似。 Collected Explanations. [Su] Song: Bo he can be found everywhere. Stem and leaves are similar to those of perilla [herb, but the latter] are pointed and longer. Throughout winter the root does not die. Stem and leaves are collected in summer and autumn, and dried in the sun. In ancient recipes they were seldom used, or they were prepared together with chives to be eaten as minced pickles. In recent times [bo he] has become an important pharmaceutical drug to cure wind cold. Hence, many households plant it. There is also a hu bo he 胡薄荷, very similar to the one [discussed] here. The difference is that it has a slightly sweet flavor. It grows in the region of Jiang and Zhe, and the people there often drink it prepared as tea. They commonly call it xin luo bo he 新羅薄荷, “bo he from Silla.” In the Luo temple of Buddhist monks near Bian they have one or two plants called lian qian cao, “string of coins herb,” in the Tian bao dan fang. And there is a shi bo he 石薄荷, “stone/rock bo he,” growing amidst mountain rocks in Jiang nan. It has small leaves that by the arrival of winter assume a purple color. It is not known whether they have a different [therapeutic] potential and usage. [Su] Gong: The people plant bo he, and it can be eaten raw. There is a creeping variety, with similar potential and usage. [Li] Shizhen: Many people plant bo he. Its perennial root develops a seedling in the second month. Prior to or after the Clear Brightness day (April 5) it bifurcates. The stem is square and red. Its leaves grow opposite to each other. In the beginning they are long with a round tip. When they have grown further [the tip] is pointed. The people in Wu, Yue, Chuan and Hu often drink it instead of tea. [Bo he] planted in Su zhou has a small stem and fragrant qi. That from Jiang xi is a little rough, and that from Chuan shu is even coarser. [Bo he] grown in Su is best for medicinal application. The Wu lei



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xiang gan zhi states: “When bo he is about to be gathered it is left for one night with fecal water sprayed on it. After a rainfall it is cut and gathered. Otherwise it will not have a cold [nature].” Those growing in the wild, their stem and leaves have qi and flavor similar [to those cultivated by man]. 14-52-01 莖。Jing. 葉。Ye. Stem, leaf [of bo he]. 【氣味】辛，温，無毒。【思邈曰】苦、辛，平。【元素曰】辛、凉。 【斅曰】莖性燥。【甄權曰】同薤作虀食相宜。新病瘥人勿食之，令人虚 汗不止。瘦弱人久食之，動消渴病。 Qi and Flavor. Acrid, warm, nonpoisonous. [Sun] Simiao: Bitter, acrid, balanced. [Zhang] Yuansu: Acrid, cool. [Lei] Xiao: The nature of the stem is dry. Zhen Quan: If it is eaten together with Chinese chives as minced pickles, [these substances] will fit each other. Persons who have just been cured of a disease must not eat it, lest it cause unending depletion sweating. When emaciated, weak people eat it for a long time, it will excite a melting with thirst disease.782 【主治】賊風傷寒發汗，惡氣心腹脹滿，霍亂，宿食不消，下氣。煮汁服 之，發汗，大解勞乏，亦堪生食。唐本。作菜久食，却腎氣，辟邪毒，除 勞氣，令人口氣香潔。煎湯洗漆瘡。思邈。通利關節，發毒汗，去憤氣， 破血止痢。甄權。療陰陽毒，傷寒頭痛，四季宜食。士良。治中風失音吐 痰。日華。主傷風、頭腦風，通關格及小兒風涎爲要藥。蘇頌。杵汁服， 去心臟風熱。孟詵。清頭目，除風熱。李杲。利咽喉口齒諸病，治瘰癧瘡 疥，風瘙癮𤺋。擣汁含漱，去舌胎語澀。挼葉塞鼻，止衄血。塗蜂螫蛇 傷。時珍。 Control. Robber wind783 and harm caused by cold with sweating. Swelling and a sensation of fullness in the central and abdominal region caused by malign qi. Cholera. Abiding food that fails to dissolve. It discharges [evil] qi. Boiled in water and the juice ingested, it stimulates sweating. It is very much able to resolve exhaustion and weariness. It is also suitable for being eaten raw. Tang ben. If eaten as a vegetable for a long time it eliminates [evil] qi from the kidneys, repels evil [qi] poison, eliminates exhaustion qi, and lets one have fragrant, clean mouth qi. Boiled in water, the decoction is used to rinse sores/wounds. [Su] Simiao: It opens and frees the 782 Xiao ke 消渴, “melting with thirst,” most likely including cases of diabetes. BCGM Dict Vol I, 567.

783 Zei feng 賊風, “robber wind.” A swift wind arriving from the South on the day of winter solstice. It “steals and harms the qi of central harmony,” causing pain without heat and various further pathological conditions. BCGM Dict I, 667.

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movement of joints. It serves to effuse sweat. It removes anger qi. It breaks through blood [accumulation] and ends free-flux [illness]. Zhen Quan. It heals yin yang poison,784 harm caused by cold with headache, and can be eaten during all four seasons. [Chen] Shiliang. Pound it to obtain a juice and ingest it. This serves to remove wind heat from the heart long-term depot. Meng Shen. It clears the head and the eyes, and removes wind heat. Li Gao. It is beneficial for all types of diseases of the throat, the mouth and the teeth. It serves to cure scrofula pervasion-illness,785 sores and jie-illness,786 wind itch and dormant macules. Pound it to obtain a juice, hold it in the mouth and rinse [the affected region] to remove a tongue fur impeding speech. Pick its leaves and stuff them into the nose to end nosebleed. Apply them to harm caused by bee stings and snakes. [Li] Shizhen. 【發明】【元素曰】薄荷辛凉，氣味俱薄，浮而升，陽也。故能去高巔及 皮膚風熱。【士良曰】薄荷能引諸藥入營衞，故能發散風寒。【宗奭曰】 小兒驚狂壯熱，須此引藥。又治骨蒸熱勞，用其汁與衆藥熬爲膏。貓食薄 荷則醉，物相感爾。【好古曰】薄荷，手、足厥陰氣分藥也。能搜肝氣， 又主肺盛有餘肩背痛及風寒汗出。【時珍曰】薄荷入手太陰、足厥陰，辛 能發散，凉能清利，專於消風散熱，故頭痛頭風、眼目咽喉口齒諸病、小 兒驚熱及瘰癧瘡疥爲要藥。戴原禮氏治貓咬，取其汁塗之有效，蓋取其相 制也。【陸農師曰】薄荷，貓之酒也。犬，虎之酒也。桑椹，鳩之酒也。 菵草，魚之酒也。昝殷食醫心鏡云：薄荷煎豉湯煖酒和飲，煎茶生食並 宜。蓋菜之有益者也。 Explication. [Zhang] Yuansu: Bo he is acrid and cool. Its qi and flavor are all weak. It floats and rises. It is a yang [substance]. Hence it can reach wind heat on highest peaks and in the skin. [Chen] Shiliang: Bo he is capable of guiding any other pharmaceutical drug to the camp and guardian [qi]. Hence it is capable of dispersing wind cold. [Kou] Zongshi: When children suffer from fright madness with strong heat, they must take this as a guiding drug. Also, to cure bone steaming787 with heat and exhaustion, use its juice and boil it with any other pharmaceutical drug to prepare a paste. When a cat eats bo he it gets drunk. This is how the items affect each other. [Wang] Haogu: Bo he is a pharmaceutical drug for the qi section of 784 Yin yang du 陰陽毒, “yin and yang poison,” a common designation of yin du 陰毒, yin poison,” and yang du 陽毒, “yang poison.” BCGM Dict I, 639.

785 Luo li 瘰癧, “scrofula pervasion-illness,” when two or more connected swellings of the size of plum or date kernels appear either on the neck or in the armpits, or somewhere else on the body. BCGM Dict I. 329. 786 Jie-illness 疥, vaguely identifiable skin ailment. BCGM Dict I, 249.

787 Gu zheng 骨蒸, “bone steaming,” 1.) a condition of an infectious consumptive disease with a development of vexing heat in the afternoon. 2.) An illness sign of heat and vexation with a feeling as if this originated in the bones. BCGM Dict I, 197.



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the hand and foot ceasing yin [conduits]. It can search for liver qi. Also, it controls shoulder and back pain related to a surplus of liver [qi] and sweating related to wind cold. [Li] Shizhen: Bo he enters the hand major yin and the foot ceasing yin [conduits]. Its acrid flavor can effuse and disperse [qi]. Its cool [nature] can clear and free passages, and in particular it dissolves wind and dispels heat. Hence it is an important pharmaceutical drug for headache and head wind,788 for all types of diseases of the eyes, the throat, the mouth and the teeth, as well as for fright heat of children, scrofula pervasion-illness,789 sores and jie-illness,790 To cure cat bites, Mr. Dai Yuanli applies its juice with success. The fact is, this way he uses their nature to subdue one another. Lu Nongshi: “Bo he is the wine of cats. Dogs are the wine of tigers. Mulberry fruit are the wine of [the poisonous bird] zhen 鳩. Bastard anise (?) is the wine of fish.” Zan Yin in his Shi yi xin jing states: “Boil bo he with [soybean] relish to a decoction and drink it mixed with warm wine. It can be consumed boiled as a tea or raw. The fact is, it is one of the vegetables that boost [the qi].” 【附方】舊二，新八。 Added Recipes. Two of old. Eight newly [recorded]. 清上化痰，利咽膈，治風熱。以薄荷末煉蜜丸芡子大，每噙一丸。白沙糖 和之亦可。簡便單方。 It clears the upper [part of the body], transforms phlegm, opens the throat, and serves to cure wind [intrusion] and heat. Form with bo he powder and heat refined honey pills the size of qian seeds. Each time hold one pill in the mouth. To mix it with sugar is possible, too. Jian bian dan fang. 風氣瘙痒。用大薄荷、蟬蜕等分，爲末。每温酒調服一錢。永類鈐方。 Itch caused by wind qi [intrusion]. [Grind] equal amounts of bo he, grown big, and cicada slough to powder, Each time ingest mixed with warm wine one qian. Yong lei qian fang. 舌胎語蹇。薄荷自然汁，和白蜜、薑汁擦之。醫學集成。 Difficulties to speak because of tongue fur. Mix the natural juice of bo he with white honey and ginger juice and apply this [to the affected region]. Yi xue ji cheng. 788 Tou feng 頭風, “head wind.” Condition of wind evil attacking the head followed by pain, dizziness, itching. BCGM Dict I, 509.

789 Luo li 瘰癧, “scrofula pervasion-illness,” when two or more connected swellings of the size of plum or date kernels appear either on the neck or in the armpits, or somewhere else on the body. BCGM Dict I. 329. 790 Jie-illness 疥, vaguely identifiable skin ailment. BCGM Dict I, 249.

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眼弦赤爛。薄荷以生薑汁浸一宿，晒乾爲末。每用一錢，沸湯泡洗。明目 經驗方。 Red and festering eyelids. Soak bo he in fresh ginger juice for one night, dry it in the sun and [grind it to] powder. Each time soak one qian in water boiled to bubbling and wash [the affected region]. Ming mu jing yan fang. 瘰癧結核，或破未破。以新薄荷二斤，取汁，皂莢一挺，水浸去皮，搗取 汁，同於銀石器内熬膏，入連翹末半兩，連白青皮、陳皮，黑牽牛半生半 炒，各一兩，皂莢仁一兩半，同擣和丸梧子大。每服三十丸，煎連翹湯 下。濟生方。 Scrofula pervasion-illness791 with the formation of lumps, that may or may not have broken open. [Press] two jin of fresh bo he to obtain a juice. Soak one gleditsia pod in water, discard its skin and pound it to obtain a juice. Then heat [both juices] together in a silver or stone vessel to form a paste. Add half a liang of forsythia [fruit] powder, one liang each of unripe tangerine peels with the white parts still attached, old tangerine peels and pharbitis seeds, one half fresh, one half fried, and one and a half liang of gleditsia kernels, and pound all this together to form pills the size of wu seeds. Each time ingest 30 pills, to be sent down with a forsythia [fruit] decoction. Ji sheng fang. 衄血不止。薄荷汁滴之。或以乾者水煮，綿裹塞鼻。許學士本事方。 Unending nosebleed. Drop bo he juice [into the nose]. Or boil dried [bo he] in water, wrap it in silk floss and stuff it into the nose. Xu xueshi, Ben shi fang. 血痢不止。薄荷葉煎湯常服。普濟。 Unending blood free-flux illness. Boil bo he and regularly ingest the decoction. Pu ji. 水入耳中。薄荷汁滴入立效。外臺秘要。 Water has entered the ears. Drop bo he juice [into the affected ear]. Immediately effective. Wai tai mi yao. 蜂蠆螫傷。薄荷葉挼貼之。同上。 Harm caused by wasp/bee and scorpion stings. Rub bo he leaves to obtain [a paste] and attach it [to the affected region]. [Source of recipe] identical with the one above. 火毒生瘡。炙火久，火氣入内，兩股生瘡，汁水淋漓者。用薄荷煎汁頻 塗，立愈。張杲醫説。 791 Luo li 瘰癧, “scrofula pervasion-illness,” when two or more connected swellings of the size of plum or date kernels appear either on the neck or in the armpits, or somewhere else on the body. BCGM Dict I. 329.



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Sores generated by fire poison. If something is roasted over a fire for long and the fire qi enter [a person’s] interior, sores may develop on both thighs releasing a watery liquid. Boil bo he to obtain a juice and repeatedly apply it [to the affected region]. This results in an immediate healing. Zhang Gao, Yi shuo. 14-53 積雪草本經中品 Ji xue cao, FE Ben jing, middle rank. Centella asiatica (L.) Urban. Asiatic pennywort.792 【釋名】胡薄荷天寶方、地錢草唐本、連錢草藥圖、海蘇。【弘景曰】積 雪草方藥不用，想此草以寒凉得名耳。【恭曰】此草葉圓如錢，荆楚人謂 爲地錢草，徐儀藥草圖名連錢草，餘見下。 Explanation of Names. Hu bo he 胡薄荷, “mint of the Hu,” Tian bao fang. Di qian cao 地錢草, “ground coin herb,” Tang ben. Lian qian cao 連錢草, “string of coins herb,” Yao tu. Hai su 海蘇. [Tao] Hongjing: Ji xue cao 積雪草 is not used as a recipe drug. Presumably it has been named so because of its cold [nature]. [Su] Gong: The leaves of this herb are round like coins. The people in Jing and Chu call it di qian cao 地錢草, “ground coins herb.” Xu Yi in his Yao cao tu calls it liang qian cao 連錢草, “string of coins herb.” For more, see below. 【集解】【别録曰】積雪草生荆州川谷。【恭曰】此草葉圓大如錢，莖細 而勁，蔓生溪澗側，生處亦稀。【頌曰】今處處有之，八九月采苗葉，陰 乾用。段成式酉陽雜俎云：地錢葉圓莖細，有蔓延地，一曰積雪草，一曰 連錢草。謹按天寶單行方云：連錢草生咸陽下濕地，亦生臨淄郡、濟陽郡 池澤中，甚香。俗間或云圓葉似薄荷，江東 吴越 丹陽郡極多，彼人常充生 菜食之。河北 柳城郡盡呼爲海蘇，好近水生，經冬不死。咸陽、洛陽亦有 之。或名胡薄荷，所在皆有。單服療女子小腹疼。【宗奭曰】積雪草南方 多有，生陰濕地，不必荆楚。形如水荇而小，面亦光潔，微尖爲異，葉葉 各生，今人謂之連錢草，蓋取象也。【時珍曰】按蘇恭注薄荷云：一種蔓 生，功用相似。蘇頌圖經云：胡薄荷與薄荷相類，但味少甘，生江 浙間， 彼人多以作茶飲，俗呼爲新羅薄荷，天寶方所用連錢草是也。據二説，則 積雪草即胡薄荷，乃薄荷之蔓生者爾。又臞仙庚辛玉册云：地錢，陰草 也。生荆楚、江淮、閩、浙間，多在宫院寺廟磚砌間，葉圓似錢，引蔓摶 地，香如細辛，不見開花也。 Collected Explanations. Bie lu: Ji xue cao grows in the river valleys of Jing zhou. [Su] Gong: The leaves of this herb are round and big like coins. The stem is fine but sturdy. It grows as a creeper at the side of mountain streams. There are only a few places 792 Ji xue cao 積雪草, lit.: “the herb on which snow accumulates.”

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where it grows. [Su] Song: Today, it can be found everywhere. Seedling and leaves are collected in the eighth and ninth month. They are dried in the yin (i. e., shade) before they are used. Duan Chengshi in his You yang za zu states: “Di qian has round leaves and a fine stem. It extends as a creeper on the ground. It is also called ji xue cao 積雪草, and also lian qian cao 連錢草.” According to the Tian bao dan xing fang, “Lian qian cao grows in the low-lying marshland of Xian yang. It also grows in ponds and marshlands of Lin zi jun and Ji yang jun. It is very fragrant. There is a common saying that its round leaves are similar to those of mint. Very much of it can be found in Dan yang jun in Wu yue of Jiang dong. The locals there regularly eat it raw as a vegetable. In Liu cheng jun of He bei everybody calls it hai su 海蘇, ‘sea perilla.’ It prefers to grow close to a water and does not die during winter. It is also found in Xian yang and Luo yang. Some call it ‘mint of the Hu,’ hu bo he 胡薄 荷, and it can be found there everywhere. Ingested as a single substance it serves to heal women suffering from pain in the lower abdomen.” [Kou] Zongshi: Ji xue cao is abundant in the South. It grows at yin (i. e., shady), moist places, not only in Jing and Chu. It is shaped like nymphoides [herb], but is smaller. The upper side [of the leaves] is similarly shiny and clean, but they differ in that they are slightly pointed. The leaves grow separately, and today the people call it “string of coins herb” because of its appearance. [Li] Shizhen: According to Su Gong’s comments on mint, “this is a creeping type. [Therapeutic] potential and usage are similar.” Su Song in his Tu jing states: “Hu bo he and bo he/mint are closely related to each other, only the flavor of the former is a little sweeter. It grows in the region of Jiang and Zhe, and the locals there often drink it prepared as tea. They commonly call it ‘mint from Silla’. This is the ‘string of coins herb’ [recommended for] use in the Tian bao fang.” Based on these two statements, ji xue cao 積雪草 is hu bo he 胡薄荷. It is a creeping variety of bo he 薄荷/mint. Also, Quxian in his Geng xin yu ce states: “Di qian is a yin herb. It grows in the region of Jing and Chu, Jiang huai, Min and Zhe. It is often seen on brick walls of palaces, gardens and temples. The leaves are round like coins and they grow creeping covering the ground. They are fragrant like asarum heteropoides [herbs], and have never been seen to open flowers.” 14-53-01 莖。Jing. 葉。Ye. Stem, leaf [of ji xue cao]. 【氣味】苦，寒，無毒。【大明曰】苦、辛。【頌曰】甘，平，無毒。【 時珍曰】取汁結草砂，伏硫黄。



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Qi and Flavor. Bitter, cold, nonpoisonous. Da Ming: Bitter, acrid. [Su] Song: Sweet, balanced, nonpoisonous. [Li] Shizhen: The juice serves to bind [the effects of ] herbs and cinnabar. It subdues [the effects of ] sulphur. 【主治】大熱，惡瘡癰疽，浸淫赤熛，皮膚赤，身熱。本經。擣傅熱腫丹 毒。蘇恭。主暴熱，小兒寒熱，腹内熱結，擣汁服之。藏器。單用治瘰癧 鼠漏，寒熱時節來往。甄權。以鹽挼貼腫毒，并風𤺋疥癬。日華。 Control. Massive heat. Malign sores, obstruction-illness and impediment-illness as well as [skin lesions] soaked [with pus and/or liquid] and red flaming heat,794 red skin and body heat. Ben jing. Pound it and apply [the pulp to locations of ] heat, swelling and cinnabar poison.795 Su Gong: To control sudden [effusion of ] heat, [alternating sensations of ] cold and heat of children, and heat nodes in the abdomen, pound it and ingest the juice. [Chen] Cangqi: Used as a single substance it serves to cure scrofula pervasion-illness, mouse fistula, and periodically recurring sensations of cold and heat. Zhen Quan. Rub it with salt and apply [the pulp to] a swelling with poison, and also to wind macules, jie-illness796 and xuan-illness.797 Rihua.

793

胡菝 ：主風氣壅併攻胸膈，作湯飲之立效。士良。研汁點暴赤眼，良。時 珍。 Hu ba huo 胡菝 ：It controls obstruction caused by wind and qi, and also attacks [such obstruction] in chest and diaphragm. Drink a decoction and this will be immediately effective. [Chen] Shiliang. Grind it and apply the juice to red eyes. Good. [Li] Shizhen.

793 Yong ju 癰疽, “obstruction-illness, impediment-illness” refers to two vaguely distinguished obstructions/impediments of vessels or other ducts inside the body. Qi rushing against the obstruction may cause a local swelling and eventually break through the surface to cause an abscess. BCGM Dict I, 642.

794 BCGM Dict I, 84.

795 Dan du 丹毒, “cinnabar poisoning,” a condition of skin ailments brought forth by heat poison, manifesting themselves as red rashes as if from burns, as if cinnabar had been pasted there. BCGM Dict I, 118.

796 Jie-illness 疥, vaguely identifiable skin ailment. BCGM Dict I, 249.

797 Xuan 癬, “xuan-illness.” Conditions of dermal lesions with initially erythema, papules, and itching gradually extending in all directions to form an irregular ring with clear boundaries. The skin is slightly elevated with small papules, blisters, and/or scales and scraps. The central lesion may appear to heal spontaneously, and it may reappear. Also, a designation of local lesions with itching, release of liquid and shedding of scabs. BCGM Dict I, 591.

706

The Ben Cao Gang Mu 【附方】舊二，新二。 Added Recipes. Two of old. Two newly [recorded].

熱毒癰腫。秋後收連錢草陰乾爲末，水調傅之，生擣亦可。寇氏衍義。 Obstruction-illness swelling related to heat poison. [Grind] lian qian cao, collected after autumn and dried in the yin (i. e., shade), to powder and apply it mixed with water [to the affected region]. It can also [be applied] as the fresh [herb] pounded. Mr. Kou [Zongshi], Yan yi. 女子少腹痛。頌曰：天寶單行方云，女子忽得小腹中痛，月經初來，便覺 腰中切痛連脊間，如刀錐所刺，不可忍者。衆醫不别，謂是鬼疰，妄服諸 藥，終無所益，其疾轉增。審察前狀相當，即用此藥。其藥夏五月正放花 時，即采暴乾，搗篩爲糝。每服二方寸匕，和好醋二小合，攪匀，平旦空 腹頓服之。每旦一服，以知爲度。如女子先冷者，即取前藥五兩，加桃仁 二百枚。去皮尖，熬搗爲散，以蜜爲丸如梧子大。每旦空腹以飲及酒下三 十丸，日再服，以愈爲度。忌麻子、蕎麥。圖經本草方。 Pain in the lower abdomen of women. [Su] Song: The Tian bao dan xing fang states: “For women who suddenly feel a pain in the lower abdomen, when menstruation has just started, with the pain extending from the lower back to the spine, unbearably as if cut by a knife. Ordinary physicians do not conduct a differential diagnosis. They say it is a ‘demon attachment-illness’ and let [the patient] ingest all types of absurd medication, without any benefit in the end. Rather, the illness increases in severity. After taking the aforementioned symptoms into account, the following medication is to be used. In summer, in the fifth month, when this pharmaceutical drug has just opened its flowers, collect it and dry it in the sun. Pound it and pass it through a sieve to prepare a powder. Each time [let the patient] ingest the amount held by two square cun spoons. Evenly mix it with two small ge of good vinegar and [let her] ingest this in the early morning on an empty stomach all at once. To be ingested once every morning until the effects are seen. If the girl prior [to menstruation] feels cold, take five liang of the aforementioned drug, add two hundred peach kernels with their skin and tips discarded, heat all this and [grind it to] powder to be formed, with honey, to pills the size of wu seeds. Every morning she is to ingest on an empty stomach with a [rice] beverage or with wine 30 pills. To be ingested twice a day until a healing is reached. [During this therapy,] hemp seeds and buckwheat are to be avoided.” A Tu jing ben cao recipe. 男女血病。九仙驅紅散：治嘔吐諸血及便血、婦人崩中神效。用積雪草五 錢，當歸酒洗、巵子仁酒炒、蒲黄炒、黄連炒、條黄芩酒炒、生地黄酒 洗、陳槐花炒各一錢，上部加藕節一錢五分，下部加地榆一錢五分，水二



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鍾，煎一鍾服，神效。此方得之甚秘。此草與本草主治不同，不可曉也。 董炳集驗方。 Blood disease affecting males and females. The “nine hermits/immortals’ powder to chase the red.” It is divinely effective in curing all types of blood vomiting and spitting, urination with blood, and collapsing center798 of women. Boil in two zhong of water down to one zhong [the following substances]. Five qian of ji xue cao, and one qian each of Chinese angelica [root], gardenia seed kernels, fried cattail pollen, fried coptis [rhizome], scutellaria root, fried with wine, fresh Chinese foxglove [rhizome], washed with wine, and long-stored, fried sophora flowers. If [the disease affects the body’s] upper section, add one qian and five fen of Indian lotus rhizome nodes. If it affects the lower section, add one qian and five fen of sanguisorba [root]. [Let the patient] ingest this. Divinely effective. This recipe has been kept extremely secret. For unknown reasons, the therapeutic effects confirmed for this drug here differ from those recorded in ben cao literature. Dong Bing, Ji yan fang. 牙痛塞耳。用連錢草即積雪草，和水溝污泥同搗爛，隨左右塞耳内。摘玄 方。 To stuff the ear for toothache. Pound lian qian cao, that is, ji xue cao, with dirty, muddy water from a ditch to a pulpy substance and stuff it into the left or right ear depending [on the location of the toothache]. Zhai xuan fang. 14-54 蘇别録中品 Su, FE Bie lu, middle rank. Perilla frutescens (L.) Britt. Perilla. 【校正】自菜部移入此。 Editorial Correction. Moved here from the “vegetables” section. 【釋名】紫蘇食療、赤蘇肘後方、桂荏。【時珍曰】蘇從穌，音酥，舒暢 也。蘇性舒暢，行氣和血，故謂之蘇。曰紫蘇者，以别白蘇也。蘇乃荏 類，而味更辛如桂，故爾雅謂之桂荏。 Explanation of Names. Zi su 紫蘇, Shi liao. Chi su 赤蘇, Zhou hou fang. Gui ren 桂 荏. [Li] Shizhen: [The character] su 蘇 is derived from [the character] su 穌, read su 酥. The meaning is shu chang 舒暢, “cheerful.” The nature of su 蘇 is cheerful. It can stimulate the passage of blood and qi, and hence it is called su 蘇. When it is called zi su 紫蘇, “purple su,” then this serves to distinguish it from bai su 白蘇, 798 Beng zhong 崩中, “collapsing center,” excessive vaginal bleeding outside of a menstruation period. BCGM Dict I, 58.

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“white su.” Su is of the same group as common perilla, ren 荏, with its flavor being even more acrid, similar to that of cassia. This is why the Er ya calls it “cassia perilla,” gui ren 桂荏. 【集解】【弘景曰】蘇葉下紫色而氣甚香，其無紫色不香似荏者，名野 蘇，不堪用。【頌曰】蘇，紫蘇也。處處有之，以背面皆紫者佳。夏采莖 葉，秋采子。有數種，水蘇、魚蘇、山魚蘇皆是荏類，各有别條。【時珍 曰】紫蘇、白蘇皆以二三月下種，或宿子在地自生。其莖方，其葉團而有 尖，四圍有鉅齒，肥地者面背皆紫，瘠地者面青背紫。其面背皆白者即白 蘇，乃荏也。紫蘇嫩時采葉，和蔬茹之。或鹽及梅滷作菹食甚香，夏月作 熟湯飲之。五六月連根采收，以火煨其根，陰乾，則經久葉不落。八月開 細紫花，成穗作房，如荆芥穗。九月半枯時收子，子細如芥子而色黄赤， 亦可取油如荏油。務本新書云：凡地畔近道可種蘇，以遮六畜，收子打油 燃燈甚明，或熬之以油器物。丹房鏡源云：蘇子油，能柔五金八石。沙州 記云：乞弗虜之地，不種五穀，惟食蘇子。故王楨云，蘇有遮護之功，又 有燈油之用，不可闕也。今有一種花紫蘇，其葉細齒密紐，如剪成之狀， 香色莖子並無異者，人稱回回蘇云。【斅曰】薄荷根莖真似紫蘇，但葉不 同爾。薄荷莖燥，紫蘇莖和。入藥須以刀刮去青薄皮剉之。 Collected Explanations. [Tao] Hongjing: The leaves of su are purple on their lower side and their qi are very fragrant. When they are neither purple nor fragrant and resemble common perilla, [the herb] is called “wild su.” It has no [medicinal] usage. [Su] Song: Su is purple su. It can be found everywhere. Those with purple upper and lower sides [of their leaves] are best. In summer the stem and the leaves are collected, in autumn the seeds. There are several types. Water su, fish su, mountain water su, they all belong to the common perilla group and are given separate entries. [Li] Shizhen: Purple su and white su are all planted in the second and third month. Or the perennial seeds in the ground grow by themselves. Their stem is square. The leaves are round and pointed, with saw teeth on all four sides. When they grow on fat ground their front and their back side are all purple. Those growing on poor ground have [leaves with] a greenish front and a purple back side. They are “white su,” that is, common perilla. The leaves of purple su are collected as long as they are tender and they are eaten together with other vegetables. Or they are prepared with plums and salt as pickled vegetables, a very fragrant dish. During the summer months it is boiled to serve as beverage. In the fifth and sixth month it is collected and stored with the root attached. The root is slowly roasted with a fire and dried in the yin (i. e., shade). This prevents it from shedding its leaves for a long time. [The herb] opens fine, purple flowers in the eighth month. They form spikes with [seed] capsules, similar to schizonepeta spikes. The seeds are collected in the ninth month



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when [the flowers] are half withered. The seeds are fine, like mustard seeds, with a yellow-red color. They may also serve to obtain oil, similar to common perilla oil. The Wu ben xin shu states: “Su can be planted everywhere nearby to keep livestock away. The seeds are crushed to obtain oil that serves to light lamps with a very bright shine. Or heat the oil to paint vessels.” The Dan fang jing yuan states: “The oil of su can soften the five metals and eight stones/minerals.” The Sha zhou ji states: “The ground of Qi fu lu is not suitable for planting any of the five cereals. They eat only su seeds.” Hence Wang Zhen states: “Su has a potential of shielding, and can also be used as lamp oil. It is indispensable.” Nowadays there is a type of su with purple flowers. The leaves are fine, with teeth as if cut by a knife. Their fragrance, color, stem and seeds are not at all different [from purple su]. The people call it “Muslim su.” [Lei] Xiao: The root and the stem of mint are truly similar to those of purple su. Only the leaves are different. The stem of mint is dry. The stem of purple su is soft. When it is to be used for medicinal purposes, the greenish, thin skin is discarded, and [the rest] is filed to pieces. 14-54-01 莖。Jing. 葉。Ye. Stem, leaf [of su] 【氣味】辛，温，無毒。【李廷飛曰】不可同鯉魚食，生毒瘡。 Qi and Flavor. Acrid, warm, nonpoisonous. Li Tingfei: It must not be eaten together with carps. This would generate poison sores. 【主治】下氣，除寒中，其子尤良。别録。除寒熱，治一切冷氣。孟詵。 補中益氣，治心腹脹滿，止霍亂轉筋，開胃下食，止脚氣，通大小腸。日 華。通心經，益脾胃，煮飲尤勝。與橘皮相宜。蘇頌。解肌發表，散風 寒，行氣寬中，消痰利肺，和血温中止痛，定喘安胎。解魚蟹毒，治蛇犬 傷。時珍。以葉生食作羹，殺一切魚肉毒。甄權。 Control. To discharge qi and to eliminate cold from the center, the seeds are especially good. Bie lu. They eliminate [alternating sensations of ] cold and heat. They serve to cure all types of [affections by] cold qi. Meng Shen. They supplement the center and boost the qi. They serve to cure swelling and a feeling of fullness in the central and abdominal region. They open the stomach and enable the descend of food. They end leg qi.799 They open the passage through the large and small intestines. Rihua. They penetrate the heart conduits and boost spleen and stomach [qi]; when they are boiled and the liquid is drunk, they are especially superior. They are suited for a joint application with tangerine peels. Su Song. They resolve mus799 Jiao qi 脚氣, “leg qi.” Painful, weak, swollen legs. BCGM Dict I, 248.

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cles and effuse [qi] from the exterior. They dispel wind and cold. They stimulate qi movement and relax the center. They dissolve phlegm and benefit the lung. They harmonize blood, warm the center and end pain. They end panting and pacify a fetus. They resolve the poison of fish and crabs. They serve to cure harm caused by snake and dog [bites]. [Li] Shizhen. The fresh leaves are prepared to and eaten as a congee that kills the poison of all fish and meat. Zhen Quan. 【發明】【頌曰】若宣通風毒則單用莖，去節尤良。【時珍曰】紫蘇，近 世要藥也。其味辛，入氣分；其色紫，入血分。故同橘皮、砂仁，則行氣 安胎；同藿香、烏藥，則温中止痛；同香附、麻黄，則發汗解肌；同芎 藭、當歸，則和血散血；同木瓜、厚朴，則散濕解暑，治霍亂、脚氣；同 桔梗、枳殻，則利膈寬腸；同杏仁、萊菔子，則消痰定喘也。【機曰】宋 仁宗命翰林院定湯飲。奏曰：紫蘇熟水第一，以其能下胸膈浮氣也。蓋不 知其久則泄人真氣焉。【宗奭曰】紫蘇其氣香，其味微辛甘，能散。今人 朝暮飲紫蘇湯，甚無益。醫家謂芳草致豪貴之疾者，此有一焉。若脾胃寒 人，多致滑泄，往往不覺。 Explication. [Su] Song: If [one intends to] lead off wind and poison, only the stem is used. When the nodes are removed it is especially good. [Li] Shizhen: In recent times, purple su has been recognized as an important pharmaceutical drug. Its flavor is acrid and enters the qi section. Its color is purple and enters the blood section. Hence combined with tangerine peels and amomum villosum [kernels], it stimulates qi movement and pacifies a fetus. With agastache [herb] and lindera [root] it warms the center and ends pain. With cyperus [root] and ephedra [herb] it stimulates sweating and resolves muscles. With ligusticum chuanxiong [root] and Chinese angelica [root] it harmonizes blood [disorder] and disperses blood [accumulation]. With quince and magnolia bark it dispels moisture and resolves summerheat. To cure cholera and leg qi, it is combined with platycodon [root] and unripe oranges, as this serves to open the passage through the diaphragm and to widen the intestines. Together with almond kernels and radish seeds it dissolves phlegm and ends panting. [Wang] Ji: Song [Emperor] Ren zong ordered the Han lin academy to prepare a list of decoction beverages. The memorial presented to the Emperor named purple su boiled in water as number one because it is able to send down qi floating in the chest and diaphragm. The fact is, they did not know that if it is taken over a long time it will drain one’s true qi. [Kou] Zongshi: The qi of purple su are fragrant; its flavor is slightly acrid and sweet. It can disperse. Today, people from dawn to dusk drink purple su decoction. This is extremely hazardous. Physicians say that fragrant herbs stimulate the illnesses of the rich. [Purple su] is one of them. Persons with



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spleen and stomach cold often experience soft outflow, and usually they are unaware [that this is caused by a long-term ingestion of purple su]. 【正誤】【頌曰】蘇主鷄瘕，本經不著。南齊 褚澄治李道念食白瀹鷄子 成瘕，以蘇煮服，吐出鷄雛而愈也。【時珍曰】按南齊書，褚澄所用者蒜 也，非蘇也。蓋二字相似，謄録誤耳，蘇氏欠考矣。詳見”蒜”下。 Correction of Errors. [Su] Song: Su controls conglomeration-illness caused by a consumption of chicken. The Ben jing fails to record this. In Nan Qi, Chu Cheng once cured Li Daonian who suffered from a conglomeration-illness after eating boiled chicken eggs. He [let the patient] ingest su boiled in water. [The patient] threw up chicken fledglings and was healed. [Li] Shizhen: According to the Nan Qi shu, Chu Cheng used garlic, not su. The fact is, the two characters [for garlic and su] are quite similar and some copyist committed a mistake. Mr. Su [Song] failed to control it. For details see under “garlic” (26-07). 【附方】舊二，新一十三。 Added Recipes. Two of old. 13 newly [recorded]. 感寒上氣。蘇葉三兩，橘皮四兩，酒四升，煮一升半，分再服。肘後方。 Rising qi related to an affection by cold. Boil three liang of su leaves and four liang of tangerine peels in four sheng of wine down to one and a half sheng and ingest this divided into two portions. Zhou hou fang. 傷寒氣喘不止。用赤蘇一把，水三升，煮一升，稍稍飲之。肘後。 Unending qi panting related to a harm caused by cold. Boil a handful of red su in three sheng of water down to one sheng and drink this in small portions. Zhou hou. 勞復食復欲死者。蘇葉煮汁二升，飲之。亦可入生姜、豆豉同煮飲。肘後。 Recurring [diseases] because of exhaustion or because of food, bringing one close to dying. Boil su leaves to obtain a juice of two sheng and ingest it. It can also be boiled together with fresh ginger and [soybean] relish and consumed as a beverage. Zhou hou. 卒啘不止。香蘇濃煮，頓服三升，良。千金。 Sudden, unending hiccups. Boil fragrant su to obtain a thick liquid and drink three sheng all at once. Good. Qian jin.

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霍亂脹滿，未得吐下。用生蘇擣汁飲之，佳。乾蘇煮汁亦可。肘後方。 Cholera with [abdominal] distension and a sensation of fullness, but without vomiting and discharge. Pound fresh su to obtain a juice and drink it. Excellent. To boil dried su to obtain a juice is possible, too. Zhou hou fang. 諸失血病。紫蘇不限多少，入大鍋内，水煎令乾，去滓熬膏，以炒熟赤豆 爲末，和丸梧子大。每酒下三五十丸，常服之。斗門方。 All diseases of blood loss. Give any amount of purple su into a big pot and boil it in water until [all the water] has dried. Then remove the dregs and heat it further to generated a paste. [Grind] fried red beans to powder, mix [it with the paste] and form pills the size of wu seeds. Each time send down with wine 30 to 50 pills. Ingest this regularly. Dou men fang. 金瘡出血不止。以嫩紫蘇葉、桑葉同擣貼之。永類鈐方。 Incessantly bleeding wounds caused by metal objects/weapons. Pound tender purple su leaves and mulberry leaves and apply [the pulp to the affected region]. Yong lei qian fang. 攧撲傷損。紫蘇擣傅之，瘡口自合。談埜翁試驗方。 Injuries resulting from falls and blows. Pound purple su and apply [the pulp to the affected region]. The wound will close. Tan Yeweng, Shi yan fang. 傷損血出不止。以陳紫蘇葉蘸所出血挼爛傅之，血不作膿，且愈後無瘢， 甚妙也。永類鈐方。 Unending bleeding from an injury. Dip leaves of long-stored purple su in the blood released [from the wound], pound them until they are pulpy and apply this [to the wound]. The blood will not generate pus, and once they are healed the wounds will not form scars. Very wondrous. Yong lei qian fang. 風狗咬傷。紫蘇葉嚼傅之。千金方。 Harm caused by a bite of a mad dog. Chew purple su leaves and apply [the pulp to the affected region]. Qian jin fang. 蛇虺傷人。紫蘇葉擣傅之。千金方。 Harm to a person caused by snakes and venomous serpents. Pound purple su leaves and apply [the pulp to the affected region]. Qian jin fang. 食蟹中毒。紫蘇煮汁飲三升。金匱要略。 Struck by poison after consuming crabs. Boil purple su in water and drink three sheng. Jin kui yao lue.



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飛絲入目，令人舌上生泡。用紫蘇葉嚼爛，白湯嚥之。危氏得效方。 Flying threads have entered the eyes causing a growth of pustules on one’s tongue. Chew purple su leaves to obtain a pulp and swallow it with clear, boiled water. Wei shi de xiao fang. 乳癰腫痛。紫蘇煎湯頻服，并擣封之。海上仙方。 Breast obstruction-illness800 with painful swelling. Boil purple su in water and [let the patient] repeatedly ingest the decoction. In addition, pound it and cover [the affected region with the pulp]. Hai shang xian fang. 欬逆短氣。紫蘇莖葉二錢，人參一錢，水一鍾，煎服。普濟。 Cough with qi counterflow and shortness of [breath] qi. Boil two qian of purple su stems and leaves and one qian of ginseng [root] in one zhong of water and ingest this. Pu ji. 14-54-02 子。Zi. Seed [of su]. 【氣味】辛，温，無毒。 Qi and Flavor. Acrid, warm, nonpoisonous. 【主治】下氣，除寒温中。别録。治上氣欬逆，冷氣及腰脚中濕氣，風結 氣。研汁煮粥長食，令人肥白身香。甄權。調中，益五臟，止霍亂嘔吐反 胃，補虚勞，肥健人，利大小便，破癥結，消五膈，消痰止嗽，潤心肺。 日華。治肺氣喘急。宗奭。治風順氣，利膈寬腸，解魚蟹毒。時珍。 Control. It discharges qi, removes cold and warms the center. Bie lu. It serves to cure rising qi with cough and [qi] counterflow, cold qi and moisture qi in the lower back and the legs, wind and knotted qi. Grind [the seeds] to obtain a juice, boil it to obtain a congee and eat this extended over a long time. This will let one have a fat, white and fragrant body. Zhen Quan. It regulates the center and boosts the [qi of the] five long-term depots. It ends cholera with vomiting and turned over stomach. It supplements depletion exhaustion. It makes one fat and strong. It frees the passage of major and minor [defecation/urination] relief. It breaks through conglomeration-illness nodes, dissolves the five types of occlusion [qi],801 dissolves phlegm, ends cough and moistens heart and lung. Rihua. It serves to cure panting, hectic 800 Ru yong 乳癰, “breast obstruction-illness,” a condition of acute putrefication of a woman’s breast. Often encountered if a woman, following delivery, experiences chui nai 吹奶, “inflated breast,” or du ru 妒乳, “jealousy breast.”

801 Wu ge 五膈, “five [types of ] occlusion,” referring to five types of occlusion, each resulting from different causes: you ge 憂膈, occlusion by grief; hui ge 恚膈, occlusion by rage;

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lung qi. [Kou] Zongshi. It serves to cure wind and corrects the movement of qi, it frees the passage through the diaphragm and widens the intestines. It resolves fish and crab poison. [Li] Shizhen. 【發明】【弘景曰】蘇子下氣，與橘皮相宜。【時珍曰】蘇子與葉同功。 發散風氣宜用葉，清利上下則宜用子也。 Explication. [Tao] Hongjing: The seeds of su serve to discharge qi. They are suited for a joint application with tangerine peels. [Li] Shizhen: Su seeds and leaves have an identical [therapeutic] potential. To effuse and disperse wind qi, it is advisable to use the leaves. To clear and free the passage in the upper and lower [body sections], it is advisable to use the seeds. 【附方】舊三，新六。 Added Recipes. Three of old. Six newly [recorded]. 順氣利腸。紫蘇子、麻子仁等分，研爛，水濾取汁，同米煮粥食之。濟生 方。 To facilitate the movement of qi and free the passage through the intestines. Grind equal amounts of purple su seeds and hemp seeds to a pulp, pass it with water through a sieve to obtain a juice, boil it with rice to form a congee and eat this. Ji sheng fang. 治風順氣，利腸寬中。用紫蘇子一升，微炒，杵，以生絹袋盛，於三斗清 酒中浸三宿，少少飲之。聖惠。 To cure wind [intrusion] and to facilitate the movement of qi. To free the passage through the intestines and widen the center. Slightly fry one sheng of purple su seeds, pound them and fill them into a new silk pouch. Soak it in three dou of clear wine for three nights and drink [the liquid] in small amounts. Sheng hui. 一切冷氣。紫蘇子、高良薑、橘皮等分，蜜丸梧子大。每服十丸，空心酒 下。藥性論。 All types of cold qi. Form equal amounts of purple su seeds, alpinia officinarum [root] and tangerine peels with honey to pills the size of wu seeds. Each time ingest 10 pills. To be sent down on an empty stomach with wine. Yao xing lun. 風濕脚氣。方同上。 Leg qi with wind [intrusion] and moisture. Recipe identical with the one above. qi ge 氣膈, occlusion by qi; han ge 寒膈, occlusion by cold; re ge 熱膈, occlusion by heat. BCGM Dict I, 537.



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風寒濕痺。四肢攣急，脚腫不可踐地。用紫蘇子二兩，杵碎，以水三升， 研取汁，煮粳米二合，作粥，和葱、椒、薑、豉食之。聖惠方。 Blockage caused by wind, cold and moisture, with cramped four limbs, and swollen legs unable to tread on the ground. Pound two liang of purple su seeds to pieces, grind [them to powder and soak it] in three sheng of water to obtain a juice. Boil this with two ge of non-glutinous rice and form a congee. Eat it with onions, pepper, ginger and [soybean] relish. Sheng hui fang. 消渴變水。服此令水從小便出。用紫蘇子炒三兩，蘿蔔子炒三兩，爲末。 每服二錢，桑根白皮煎湯服，日三次。聖濟總録。 Melting with thirst802 transformed to edema. When this [medication] is ingested it lets the water leave with urination. [Grind] three liang of purple su seeds, fried, and three liang of radish seeds to powder. Each time ingest two qian. To be ingested as a decoction obtained by boiling [the powder] with the root-bark of white mulberry [trees]. Three times a day. Sheng ji zong lu. 夢中失精。蘇子一升，熬杵研末，酒服方寸匕，日再服。外臺秘要。 Loss of essence/sperm in dreams. Boil one sheng of su seeds and then grind them to powder. Ingest with wine the amount held by a one square cun spoon. To be ingested twice a day. Wai tai mi yao. 食蟹中毒。紫蘇子煮汁飲之。金匱要略。 Struck by poison after eating crabs. Boil purple su seeds and drink the juice. Jin kui yao lue. 上氣欬逆。紫蘇子入水研濾汁，同粳米煮粥食。簡便方。 Rising qi with cough and [qi] counterflow. Grind purple su seeds in water, give it through a filter and boil [the liquid] with non-glutinous rice to form a congee. Eat it. Jian bian fang. 14-55 水蘇本經中品 Shui su, FE Ben jing, middle rank. Stachys japonica Miq. Water perilla. 【校正】自菜部移入此。 Editorial Correction. Moved here from the “vegetables” section. 802 Xiao ke 消渴, “melting with thirst,” most likely including cases of diabetes. BCGM Dict Vol I, 567.

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【釋名】鷄蘇吴普、香蘇肘後、龍腦薄荷日用、芥蒩音祖、芥苴並别録。 〇【時珍曰】此草似蘇而好生水旁，故名水蘇。其葉辛香，可以煮鷄，故 有龍腦、香蘇、鷄蘇諸名。芥蒩、芥苴當作芥蘇，乃是一名而誤録爾。亦 因味辛如芥，故名。宋惠民和劑局方有龍腦薄荷丸，專治血病。元 吴瑞日 用本草謂即水蘇，必有所據也。周憲王救荒本草，言薄荷即鷄蘇，以生東 平 龍腦岡者爲良，故名。陳嘉謨本草蒙筌以薄荷種於蘇州府學地名龍腦者 得名。俱不同，何哉？ Explanation of Names. Ji su 鷄蘇, “chicken su,” Wu Pu. Xiang su 香蘇, “fragrant su,” Zhou hou. Long nao bo he 龍腦薄荷, “dragon brain mint,” Ri yong. Jie zu 芥蒩, read zu 祖, and jie zu 芥苴, both: Bie lu. [Li] Shizhen: This herb is similar to common perilla and prefers to grow near a water. Hence it is called shui su 水蘇, “water perilla.” Its leaves are acrid and fragrant and can be used to boil chicken. Hence the names such as long nao 龍腦, “dragon brain,” xiang su 香蘇, “fragrant perilla,” and ji su 鷄蘇, “chicken perilla.” Jie zu 芥蒩 and jie zu 芥苴 should be written jie su 芥蘇, “mustard perilla.” This is another name but it has been recorded mispronounced. The name [“mustard bletilla”] is derived from its acrid, mustard-like flavor. The Song era Hui min ju he ji ju fang lists “pills with dragon brain mint,” long nao bo he wan 龍腦 薄荷丸. They serve to especially cure blood diseases. According to the Yuan era Wu Rui’s Ri yong ben cao, “this is shui su 水蘇, ‘water perilla’,” and this must be based on something. Zhou Xian wang’s Jiu huang ben cao “identifies bo he 薄荷/mint as ji su 鷄蘇/chicken perilla, and considers that from Long nao gang, ‘dragon brain ridge,’ in Dong ping as good. Hence the name [long nao su 龍腦蘇, ‘dragon brain perilla’.]” Chen Jiamo in his Ben cao meng quan considers the name long nao [su] 龍腦[蘇] as a reference to the locality of a school in Su zhou prefecture named long nao 龍腦, “dragon brain.” These two [views on the origin of the name] differ, but why? 【集解】【别録曰】水蘇生九真池澤。七月采。【弘景曰】方藥不用，莫 能識。九真遼遠，亦無能訪之。【恭曰】此蘇生下澤水側，苗似旋復，兩 葉相當，大香馥。青、齊、河間人名爲水蘇，江左名爲薺薴，吴會謂之鷄 蘇，而陶氏更於菜部出鷄蘇，誤矣。【保昇曰】葉似白薇，兩葉相當，花 生節間，紫白色，味辛而香，六月采莖葉，日乾。【頌曰】水蘇處處有 之，多生水岸旁。南人多以作菜。江北甚多，而人不取食。又江左人謂鷄 蘇、水蘇是兩種。陳藏器謂薺薴自是一物，非水蘇。水蘇葉有雁齒，氣香 而辛；薺薴葉上有毛，稍長，氣臭也。又茵蔯註云：江南所用茵蔯，莖葉 都似家茵蔯而大，高三四尺，氣極芬香，味甘辛，俗名龍腦薄荷。【宗奭 曰】水蘇氣味與紫蘇不同，辛而不和，然狀一如蘇，但面不紫，及周圍槎 牙如雁齒耳。【瑞曰】水蘇即鷄蘇，俗呼爲龍腦薄荷。【時珍曰】水蘇、 薺薴，一類二種爾。水蘇氣香，薺薴氣臭爲異。水蘇三月生苗，方莖中



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虚，葉似蘇葉而微長，密齒，面皺色青，對節生，氣甚辛烈。六七月開花 成穗，如蘇穗，水紅色。穗中有細子，狀如荆芥子，可種易生，宿根亦自 生。沃地者苗高四五尺。 Collected Explanations. Bie lu: Shui su grows in ponds and marshlands of Jiu zhen. It is collected in the seventh month. [Tao] Hongjing: It is not used as a pharmaceutical drug in recipes, so nobody knows it. Jiu zhen is far away, so it cannot be visited for enquiries. [Su] Gong: This su grows in low-lying marshlands at the side of waters. The seedlings resemble inula [seedlings], with two opposite leaves. They are very fragrant. The people in Qing, Qi and He jian call it “water su.” In Jiang zuo they call it qi ning. In Wu hui they call it “chicken su.” And Mr. Tao [Hongjing] records it in the “vegetables” section, which is wrong. [Han] Baosheng: The leaves resemble those of cynanchum atratrum, with two opposite leaves. The flowers are purple-white and open between the nodes. The flavor is acrid and fragrant. Stem and leaves are collected in the sixth month, to be dried in the sun. [Su] Song: Shui su can be found everywhere. It often grows on the banks of waters. Southerners often prepare it as a vegetable. In Jiang bei there is very much of it, but the people do not gather it to consume it as food. Also, people in Jiang zuo say that chicken su and water su are two types. Chen Cangqi says that qi ning is a separate item; that it is not water su. The leaves of water su have goose teeth, fragrant qi and an acrid [flavor]. The leaves of qi ning have hairs on their suface, they are a bit longer and their qi are malodorous. Also, a commentary to yin chen 茵蔯, artemisia scoparia, states: “The stem and leaves of yin chen in use in Jiang nan resemble those of home grown yin chen, but are larger. They reach a height of three to four chi, and their qi are very fragrant. Their flavor is sweet-acrid, and they are commonly called ‘dragon brain mint’.” [Kou] Zongshi: The qi and the flavor of water su are not identical with those of purple su. They are acrid, not harmonious. Still, their shape is similar to that of perilla, only the upper side [of the leaves] is not purple, and they are surrounded by teeth resembling goose teeth. [Wu] Rui: Water su is chicken su. It is commonly called “dragon brain mint.” [Li] Shizhen: Water su and qi ning 薺薴, they are two types belonging to one group. The qi of water su are fragrant; the qi of qi ning differ because they are malodorous. Water su develops seedlings in the third month; its stem is square and hollow. The leaves are similar to perilla leaves, just a bit longer. They have narrowly distanced teeth, the surface is creased and the color is greenish. They grow opposite at the nodes. The qi are violently acrid. Flowers open in the sixth month and form spikes, similar to perilla spikes. Their color is bright pink. Inside the spikes are fine seeds, similar to the seeds of schizonepeta. They can be planted and grow easily. The perennial root develops [new seedlings] by itself. On fertile ground the seedlings reach a height of four to five chi.

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14-55-01 莖。Jing. 葉。Ye . Stem, leaf [of shui su]. 【氣味】辛，微温，無毒。 Qi and Flavor. Acrid, slightly warm, nonpoisonous. 【主治】下氣殺穀，除飲食，辟口臭，去邪毒，辟惡氣。久服神通神明， 輕身耐老。本經。主吐血、衄血、血崩。别録。治肺痿，血痢，崩中，帶 下。日華。主諸氣疾及脚腫。蘇頌。釀酒漬酒及酒煮汁常服，治頭風目 眩，及産後中風，惡血不止，服之彌妙。孟詵。作生菜食，除胃間酸水。 時珍。 Control. [Shui su] discharges qi, kills [abiding] grain, removes [abiding] beverages and food, eliminates bad mouth odor, removes evil [qi] and poison and eliminates malign qi. Ingested over a long time it enables one’s spirit to communicate with spirit brilliance, relieves the body of its weight and helps to cope with aging. Ben jing. It controls blood spitting, nosebleed and blood collapse.803 Bie lu. It serves to cure lung dysfunction, blood free-flux illness, collapsing center,804 [diseases of women] below the belt. Rihua. All types of qi illness and leg swelling. Su Song. Regularly ingested brewed to wine, steeped in wine or boiled with wine it serves to cure head wind and dizzy eyes, as well as being struck by wind after delivery and unending malign bleeding [inside the body]. Ingested [for these ailments] it yields wondrous results. Meng Shen. Eaten raw as vegetable it removes sour water from the stomach. [Li] Shizhen. 【發明】【時珍曰】鷄蘇之功，專於理血下氣，清肺辟惡消穀，故太平和 劑局方治吐血衄血、唾血欬血、下血血淋、口臭口苦、口甜喉腥、邪熱諸 病，有龍腦薄荷丸方，藥多不録。用治血病，果有殊效也。 Explication. [Li] Shizhen: The [therapeutic] potential of chicken su is focussed on regulating blood and discharging qi, clearing the lung, repelling the malign and dissolving grain. This is why the Tai ping he ji ju fang for curing all diseases such as blood spitting, nosebleed, bloody saliva, blood cough, blood discharge, urinary dripping with blood, bad mouth odor, a bitter feeling in the mouth, a sweet feeling in the mouth, a foul/fishy odor from the throat and evil heat, it [advises to use] the recipe for “the pills with dragon brain mint.” Its pharmaceutical substances are too many to list them here. Applied to cure blood diseases, it yields remarkable effects. 803 [Xue] beng [血]崩, “[blood] collapse,” is excessive vaginal bleeding. BCGM Dict I, 594.

804 Beng zhong 崩中, “collapsing center,” excessive vaginal bleeding outside of a menstruation period. BCGM Dict I, 58.



Prolegomena

719

【附方】舊六，新九。 Added Recipes. Six of old. Nine newly [recorded]. 漏血欲死。鷄蘇煮汁一升服之。梅師方。 Blood leakage bringing one close to dying. Boil chicken su and ingest one sheng of the resulting juice. Mei shi fang. 吐血下血。鷄蘇莖葉煎汁飲之。梅師方。 Blood spitting and blood discharge. Boil chicken su stems and leaves and drink the resulting juice. Mei shi fang. 吐血欬嗽。龍腦薄荷焙，研末，米飲服一錢，取效。 Blood spitting and cough. Dry dragon brain mint over a fire in a pan and grind it to powder. Ingest with a rice beverage one qian until an effect shows. 衄血不止。梅師方用鷄蘇五合，香豉二合，同擣，搓如棗核大，納鼻孔 中，即止。 Unending nosebleed. The Mei shi fang [recommends to] pound together five ge of chicken su and two ge of [soybean] relish [to generate a paste] and form with the fingers a pill the size of a date kernel. Stuff this into the nostril and [the nosebleed] will end. 聖惠方用鷄蘇二兩 ， 防風一兩 ， 爲末 。 每服二錢 ， 温水下 ， 仍以葉塞 鼻。 The Sheng hui fang [recommends to grind] two liang of chicken su and one liang of saposhnikovia [root] to powder, and each time to ingest two qian, sent down with warm water. In addition, stuff the leaves into the nose. 普濟方用龍腦薄荷、生地黄等分，爲末，冷水服。 The Pu ji fang [recommends to grind] equal amounts of dragon brain mint and fresh Chinese foxglove [rhizome] to powder and to ingest it with cold water. 腦熱鼻淵，肺壅多涕。鷄蘇葉、麥門冬、川芎藭、桑白皮炒、黄芪炙、 甘草炙 、 生地黄焙 ， 等分爲末 ， 煉蜜丸梧子大 。 每服四十丸 ， 人參湯 下。聖濟總録。 Brain heat and nasal deep-source outflow, with lung obstruction[-illness]805 and much snivel. [Grind] equal amounts of chicken su leaves, ophiopogon [tuber], asarum heteropoides [root], root-bark of white mulberry [trees], astragalus [root], glycyrrhiza 805 Fei yong 肺癰, “lung obstruction-illness,” also: fei yong 肺壅, “lung obstruction,” a condition of abscesses in the lung, with fever, chest pain, and vomiting of bad-smelling pus and blood. BCGM Dict I, 156.

720 Prolegomena [root], fried, and fresh Chinese foxglove [rhizome] to powder and form with heat refined honey pills the size of wu seeds, to be sent down with a ginseng [root] decoction. Sheng ji zong lu. 風熱頭痛 。 熱結上焦 ， 致生風氣 ， 痰厥頭痛 。 用水蘇葉五兩 ， 皂莢炙去 皮子三兩 ， 芫花醋炒焦一兩 ， 爲末 ， 煉蜜丸梧子大 。 每服二十丸 ， 食後 荆芥湯下。聖惠方。 Wind heat causing headache. The heat congeals in the upper [section of the Triple] Burner and eventually generates wind qi, phlegm with receding [qi] and headache. [Grind] five liang of water su leaves, three liang of gleditsia pods, roasted with the seeds discarded, and one liang of daphne [flowers], fried in vinegar, to powder and form it with heat refined honey to pills the size of wu seedes. Each time ingest 20 pills, to be sent down after a meal with schizonepeta spike decoction. Sheng hui fang. 耳卒聾閉。鷄蘇葉生搗，綿裹塞之。孟詵食療。 Sudden deafness and blocked ears. Pound fresh chicken su leaves [to obtain a pulp], wrap it in silk floss and stuff it [into the affected ear]. Meng Shen, Shi liao. 沐髮令香。鷄蘇煮汁，或燒灰淋汁，沐之。普濟。 To wash the hair and give it fragrance. Boil chicken su to obtain a juice, or burn it to ashes and pour water over them to obtain a juice, and wash [the hair with such juice]. Pu ji. 頭生白屑。方同上。 White scaling806 on the head. Recipe identical with the one above. 暑月目昏，多眵淚。生龍腦薄荷葉擣爛，生絹絞汁，點之。聖濟總録。 Dim vision during summerheat months, with much tearflow. Pound fresh dragon brain mint leaves to obtain a pulp and squeeze it with silk floss to obtain a juice. Drop this [into the affected eyes]. Sheng ji zong lu. 霍亂困篤。鷄蘇三兩，水二升，煎一升，分三服。聖惠。 Cholera with critical sleepiness. Boil three liang of chicken su in two sheng of water down to one sheng and ingest this divided into three portions. Sheng hui. 中諸魚毒。香蘇濃煮汁，飲之良。肘後方。 Being struck by any fish poison. Boil fragrant su to obtain a thick juice and drink it. Good. Zhou hou fang. 806 Bai xie 白屑, “white scaling,” a condition of fine, small scaling or secretions shed by the skin at locations affected by pathological change. BCGM Dict I, 48.



Prolegomena

721

蛇虺螫傷。龍腦薄荷葉研末，酒服，并塗之。易簡方。 Harm caused by stings of snakes and venomous serpents. Grind dragon brain mint leaves to powder and ingest it with wine, in addition apply it externally [to the location of the sting]. Yi jian fang.

14-56 薺薴拾遺 Qi ning. FE Shi yi. Mosla grosserrata Maxim.

【釋名】臭蘇日華、青白蘇。【時珍曰】日華子釋水蘇云，一名臭蘇， 一名青白蘇 。 正此草也 ， 誤作水蘇爾 。 其形似水蘇而臭 ， 似白蘇而青 ， 故有二名。 Explanation of Names. Chou su 臭蘇, “malodorous su,” Rihua. Qing bai su 青白 蘇, “greenish-white su.” [Li] Shizhen: The Rihua zi explains water su 水蘇, water perilla, as follows: “Alternative names chou su 臭蘇 and qing bai su 青白蘇.” These [two names] refer to the herb [discussed] here. [Rihua zi] erroneously identifies them as water su 水蘇, water perilla. The shape [of qi ning] is similar to that of water su 水蘇, but it is malodorous. It resembles white su 白蘇, but is greenish. Hence it has two names.

【集解】【藏器曰】按蘇恭言，江左名水蘇爲薺薴。按水蘇葉有雁齒， 氣香而辛。薺薴葉稍長，其上有毛，氣臭，亦可爲生菜。【時珍曰】薺 薴處處平地有之。葉似野蘇而稍長，有毛氣臭。山人茹之，味不甚佳。 Collected Explanations. [Chen] Cangqi: According to Su Gong, “in Jiang zuo water perilla is named qi ning 薺薴.” Now, water perilla leaves have “goose teeth.” They emit fragrant qi and are acrid. The leaves of qi ning are a little longer. They have hair on their upper side and their qi are malodorous. Also, they can be used as a fresh/raw vegetable. [Li] Shizhen: Qi ning can be found all over the flat country. The leaves are similar to those of wild perilla, but a little longer. They have hair and malodorous qi. The mountain people eat them. Their flavor is not very exceptional.

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14-56-01 莖。Jing. 葉。Ye. Stem, leaf [of qi ning]. 【氣味】辛，温，無毒。 Qi and Flavor. Acrid, warm, nonpoisonous. 【主治】冷氣洩痢。生食，除胃間酸水。 Control. Outflow and free-flux illness caused by cold qi. Eaten fresh/raw, it removes sour water from the stomach. 【附録】 Appendix. 14-56-A01 石薺薴。Shi qi ning.

Mosla scabra (Thunb.) C.Y. Wu et H.W. Li. Rough mosla.807

【藏器曰】味辛，温，無毒。主風冷氣，瘡疥瘙痒，痔瘻下血，煮汁服 之。生山石間，細葉紫花，高一二尺，山人用之。 [Chen] Cangqi: Flavor acrid. Warm, nonpoisonous. To control [diseases caused by] wind and cold qi [intrusion], sores, jie-illness808 and itch, as well as piles fistula with a discharge of blood, boil it [in water to obtain a] juice and ingest it. It grows among mountain rocks, and has small leaves and purple flowers. It reaches a height of one or two chi. The mountain people use it.

807 Shi qi ning 石薺薴, lit.: “stone/rock qi ning.”

808 Jie-illness 疥, vaguely identifiable skin ailment. BCGM Dict I, 249.

Appendix

5. Weights and measures

5.1 Measures of capacity 1 zhong 鍾, 663 liters, equal to 64 dou 斗 Also: size of a wine cup, or small jug. 1 hu 斛, “bushel,” 107. 37 liters, equal to 10 dou 斗 1 dan 石, “bushel,” also written shuo 碩, equal to 1 hu 斛 1 dou 斗, “peck,” 10.74 liters, equal to 10 sheng 升 1 sheng 升, “pint,” 1.07 liters, equal to 10 ge 合 1 ge 合, equal to 0.11 liters

5.2 Measures of weight 1 cheng 秤, 7.5 kg, equal to 15 jin 斤 1 jin 斤, “catty,” 500 grams, equal to 16 liang 兩, 1 liang 兩, “ounce,” 31.25 grams, equal to 10 qian 錢 1 qian 錢, 3.13 grams, equal to 10 fen 分 1 fen 分, 0.31 grams, equal to 10 li 1 li 厘, 0.031 grams, the thousandth part of a liang 兩 1 yi 鎰, equal to 20 or 24 liang 兩 1 dan 石, “picul,” 60 kg, equal to 120 jin 斤

Appendix

5. Weights and measures

5.1 Measures of capacity 1 zhong 鍾, 663 liters, equal to 64 dou 斗 Also: size of a wine cup, or small jug. 1 hu 斛, “bushel,” 107. 37 liters, equal to 10 dou 斗 1 dan 石, “bushel,” also written shuo 碩, equal to 1 hu 斛 1 dou 斗, “peck,” 10.74 liters, equal to 10 sheng 升 1 sheng 升, “pint,” 1.07 liters, equal to 10 ge 合 1 ge 合, equal to 0.11 liters

5.2 Measures of weight 1 cheng 秤, 7.5 kg, equal to 15 jin 斤 1 jin 斤, “catty,” 500 grams, equal to 16 liang 兩, 1 liang 兩, “ounce,” 31.25 grams, equal to 10 qian 錢 1 qian 錢, 3.13 grams, equal to 10 fen 分 1 fen 分, 0.31 grams, equal to 10 li 1 li 厘, 0.031 grams, the thousandth part of a liang 兩 1 yi 鎰, equal to 20 or 24 liang 兩 1 dan 石, “picul,” 60 kg, equal to 120 jin 斤

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1 zhu 銖, “scruple,” 1.3 grams, one 24th part of a liang 兩, equal to 100 grains of millet 1 zi 字, the weight of a quarter of a copper coin covered with the powder of a pharmaceutical substance 1 wen 文, the weight of one coin.

5.3 Measures of length 1 li 里, equal to 1800 chi 1 zhang 丈, “stave,” equal to 10 chi 尺 1 li 厘, the thousandth part of a chi 尺 1 chi 尺, “foot,” equal to 10 cun 寸 1 cun 寸, “inch,” varying over time between 0.9 and 1.2 Western inches 1 ren 仞, equivalent to seven or eight chi 尺

5.4 Measures of the size of pills zao seed, zao zi 皂子, the size of gleditsia seeds soybean, dou 豆 the size of a soybeans qian seed, qian zi 芡子, the size of Euryale ferox Salisb. seeds mung bean, lü dou 緑豆, the size of Vigna radiata L. Wilczek beans red mung bean, chi xiao dou 赤小豆, Vigna umbellata (Thunb.) Ohwi et Ohashi seeds wu [tong] seed, wu [tong] zi 梧桐子, the size of Firmiana platanifolia (L.f.) Marsili seeds bullet, dan zi 彈子, the size of a firearm bullet hemp seed, ma zi 麻子, the size of Cannabis sativa L. seeds white soybean, bai dou 白豆, Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp. var. cylindrica (L.) Ohashi seeds dragon eyes, long yan 龍眼, the size of longan seeds jie seeds, jie zi 芥子, the size of mustard seeds

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The Ben Cao Gang Mu

1 zhu 銖, “scruple,” 1.3 grams, one 24th part of a liang 兩, equal to 100 grains of millet 1 zi 字, the weight of a quarter of a copper coin covered with the powder of a pharmaceutical substance 1 wen 文, the weight of one coin.

5.3 Measures of length 1 li 里, equal to 1800 chi 1 zhang 丈, “stave,” equal to 10 chi 尺 1 li 厘, the thousandth part of a chi 尺 1 chi 尺, “foot,” equal to 10 cun 寸 1 cun 寸, “inch,” varying over time between 0.9 and 1.2 Western inches 1 ren 仞, equivalent to seven or eight chi 尺

5.4 Measures of the size of pills zao seed, zao zi 皂子, the size of gleditsia seeds soybean, dou 豆 the size of a soybeans qian seed, qian zi 芡子, the size of Euryale ferox Salisb. seeds mung bean, lü dou 緑豆, the size of Vigna radiata L. Wilczek beans red mung bean, chi xiao dou 赤小豆, Vigna umbellata (Thunb.) Ohwi et Ohashi seeds wu [tong] seed, wu [tong] zi 梧桐子, the size of Firmiana platanifolia (L.f.) Marsili seeds bullet, dan zi 彈子, the size of a firearm bullet hemp seed, ma zi 麻子, the size of Cannabis sativa L. seeds white soybean, bai dou 白豆, Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp. var. cylindrica (L.) Ohashi seeds dragon eyes, long yan 龍眼, the size of longan seeds jie seeds, jie zi 芥子, the size of mustard seeds

724

The Ben Cao Gang Mu

1 zhu 銖, “scruple,” 1.3 grams, one 24th part of a liang 兩, equal to 100 grains of millet 1 zi 字, the weight of a quarter of a copper coin covered with the powder of a pharmaceutical substance 1 wen 文, the weight of one coin.

5.3 Measures of length 1 li 里, equal to 1800 chi 1 zhang 丈, “stave,” equal to 10 chi 尺 1 li 厘, the thousandth part of a chi 尺 1 chi 尺, “foot,” equal to 10 cun 寸 1 cun 寸, “inch,” varying over time between 0.9 and 1.2 Western inches 1 ren 仞, equivalent to seven or eight chi 尺

5.4 Measures of the size of pills zao seed, zao zi 皂子, the size of gleditsia seeds soybean, dou 豆 the size of a soybeans qian seed, qian zi 芡子, the size of Euryale ferox Salisb. seeds mung bean, lü dou 緑豆, the size of Vigna radiata L. Wilczek beans red mung bean, chi xiao dou 赤小豆, Vigna umbellata (Thunb.) Ohwi et Ohashi seeds wu [tong] seed, wu [tong] zi 梧桐子, the size of Firmiana platanifolia (L.f.) Marsili seeds bullet, dan zi 彈子, the size of a firearm bullet hemp seed, ma zi 麻子, the size of Cannabis sativa L. seeds white soybean, bai dou 白豆, Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp. var. cylindrica (L.) Ohashi seeds dragon eyes, long yan 龍眼, the size of longan seeds jie seeds, jie zi 芥子, the size of mustard seeds

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The Ben Cao Gang Mu

6. Lists of Substances

6.1 Identification of pharmaceutical substances of plant origin mentioned in BCGM ch. 12 - 14 in passing. Herbs with an entry of their own are marked with their entry number. By Ulrike Unschuld Note 1. The earlier a text has been written, the less certain can be today‘s botanical identification of a substance. 2. The botanical species given in the following list may not include all species possibly covered by a Chinese plant name. Here only the most common identifications are provided as a first hint at the nature of a pharmaceutical substance referred to in a recipe or elsewhere. 3. Wherever available, the Zhong hua ben cao’s 中华本草, Shanghai 1999, identification of botanical substances was adopted as authoritative. 4. All recipes requiring an ingestion of medication with wine relate to low alcohol rice wine. A Acanthopanax [root-bark/stem]. Wu jia [pi] 五加[皮] Acanthopanax gracilistylus W.W. Smith Achyranthes [root]. Niu xi 牛膝 Achyranthes bidentata Bl. Aconitum [accessory tuber]. Fu zi 附子, she wang 射菵, cao wu 草烏 Aconitum carmichaeli Debx. Aconitum [main tuber]. Wu tou 烏頭 Aconitum carmichaeli Debx. Aconitum [root]. Tian xiong 天雄 Aconitum carmichaeli Debx. Acorus [root]. Chang pu 菖蒲 Acorus gramineus Ait. (M. Br.) Agastache [herb]. Huo xiang 藿[香], 14-42 Agastache rugosa (Fisch. et Mey.) O. Kuntze Ailanthus [tree]. Chu 樗 ingle

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The Ben Cao Gang Mu

Akebia [herb]. Mu tong 木通 Akebia quinata (Thunb.) Decne. Alfalfa. Mu xu 苜蓿 Medicago hispida Gaertn. Alisma [root]. Ze xie 澤瀉 Alisma orientalis [Sam.] Juzep. Aloe leaf/juice. Lu hui 蘆薈 Aloe vera L. Aloes wood. Chen xiang 沉香 Aquilaria agallocha (Lour.) Roxb. Alpinia japonica. Shan jiang 山薑, 14-15 Alpinia japonica Thunb. Alpinia katsumadai [seeds]. Dou kou 豆蔻 Alpinia katsumadai Hayata Alpinia officinarum [root]. Gao liang jiang 高良薑, 14-16 Alpinia officinarum Hance Alpinia oxyphylla [seeds]. Yi zhi ren/zi 益智仁/子, 14-21 Alpinia oxyphylla Miq. Althaea [herb]. Shu kui 蜀葵 Althaea rosea (L.) Cav. Amaranthus [herb]. Xian 莧 Amaranthus tricolor L. Amomum villosum seed/kernel. Sha ren 砂仁, suo sha mi 縮砂蔤 Amomum villosum Lour. Ampelopsis [root]. Bai lian 白斂 Ampelopsis japonica (Thunb.) Makino Angelica biserrata [root]. Du huo 獨活, 13-08 Angelica biserrata, Shan et Yuan. Angelica dahurica [root]. Bai zhi 白芷 Angelica dahurica (Fisch. ex Hoffm.) Benth. et Hook f. ex Franch. et Sav. cv. Angelica yabeana [seedling]. Ma qin 馬芹 Angelica yabeana Mak. Apricot [kernel/seed]. Xing [ren] 杏[仁/人] Armeniaca vulgaris Lam. Adenophora trachelioides [root], Qi ni 薺苨, 12-05 Adenophora trachelioides Maxim.



Appendix Anemarrhena [root]. Zhi mu 知母, 12-10 Anemarrhena asphodeloides Bunge. Angelica dahurica. Bai zhi 白芷, 14-07 Angelica dahurica (Fisch. ex Hoffm.) Benth. et Hook f. Aralia [root]. Tu dang gui 土當歸, 13-09 Aralia cordata Thunb Arctium [herb][seed]. Niu bang 牛, shu nian zi 鼠粘子 Arctium lappa L. Areca [nut]. Bin lang 槟榔 Areca catechu L. Arisaema [root]. [Tian] nan xing [天]南星, hu zhang 虎掌, 虎杖 Arisaema thunbergii Bl. Aristolochia [fruit]. Du lin teng 都淋藤, ma dou ling teng 馬兜鈴藤 Aristolochia contorta Bunge Arnebia [herb, root]. Zi cao 紫草, 12-28 Arnebia euchroma (Royle) Johnst. Arrowhead. Ci gu 慈故 Sagittaria trifolia L. var. sinensis (Sims.) Makino Artemisia herb. Qing hao 青蒿 Artemisia carvifolia Buch.-Ham. ex Roxb. Artemisia anomala [herb]. Liu ji nu 劉寄奴 Artemisia anomala S.Moore Artemisia scoparia [herb]. Yin chen 茵蔯 Artemisia scoparia Waldst. et Kit. Asafetida. E wei 阿魏 Resin of Ferula assa foetida L. Asarum caulescens [root]. Du heng 杜衡, 13-24 Asarum caulescens Maxim. Asarum heteropoides [root]. Xi xin 細辛, 13-23 Asarum heteropoides Fr. Schmidt var. manshuricum (Maxim.) Kitag. Asiatic cornelian cherry. Shan zhu yu 山茱萸 Cornus officinalis Sieb. et Zucc. Asparagus [root], Tian men dong 天門冬 Asparagus cochinchinensis (Lour.) Merr. Astragalus [root]. [Huang] qi [黄]茋, huang qi 黄耆, 12-02 Astragalus membranaceus Bunge var. mongolicus (Bunge) P. K. Hsiao Aucklandia [root]. Mu xiang 木香 Aucklandia lappa Decne

727

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The Ben Cao Gang Mu

Averrhoa [fruit]. Yang tao 阳/羊桃 Averrhoa carambola L. Carambola. Oxalidaceae. B Balsamiferous blumea. Ai na xiang 艾納香, 14-40 Blumea balsamifera (L.) DC. Banana. Gan jiao 甘蕉 Musa sapientum L. Betel pepper. Ju jiang 蒟醬, 14-23 Piper betle L. Bitter orange fruit, immature and dried. Zhi shi 枳實 Poncirus trifoliata (L.) Raf. Bitter orange fruit, cut in half and dried. Zhi ke 枳殻 Poncirus trifoliata. (L.) Raf. Black atractylodes [rhizome]. Cang zhu 蒼术 Atractylodes lancea Thunb. Black pepper. Hu jiao 胡椒 Piper nigrum L. Blackberry lily [root]. Wu sha 烏翣, xuan hua 萱花, she gan 射干 Belamcanda chinensis (L.) DC. Brown’s lily [bulbs]. Bai he 百合 Lilium brownii F.E. Brown ex Miellez var. viridulum Baker Buckwheat [rhizome]. Qiao mai 蕎麥 Fagopyrum esculentum Moench Bugleweed. Ze lan 澤蘭, 14-45 Lycopus lucidus Turcz Bupleurum [root]. Chai hu 柴胡, 13-05 Bupleurum chinense D.C. C Camphor. Zhang nao 樟脑 Cinnamomum camphora (L.) Presl. Caper spurge. Qian jin zi 千金子, xu sui 續隨 Euphorbia lathyris L. Carambola. Yang tao 阳桃 Averrhoa carambola L. Carrot. Hu luo bo 胡蘿蔔 Daucus carota L. var. sativa Hoffm.

Cassia, cinnamomum cassia bark. Gui 桂, la gui 辣桂 Unscraped bark from smaller, younger branches of Cinnamom-tree Cinnamomum cassia Presl. Castor bean. Bi ma 蓖麻, pi ma 蜱麻 Ricinus communis L. Cat thistle. Xiao ji 小蓟 Cirsium setosum (Willd.) MB. Catechu. Hai er cha 孩兒茶 Prepared from Acacia catechu (L.f.) Willd. Cattail [pollen]. Pu [huang] 蒲[黄] Typha spp. Celery. Qin 芹 Apium graveolans L. Celosia [herb]. Qing xiang 青箱 Celosia argentea L. Chinese angelica [root]. Dang gui 當歸 Angelica sinensis (Oliv.) Diels Chinese celery. Shui qin 水芹 Oenanthe javanica (Bl.) DC. Chinese chive. Xie bai 薤白 Allium macrostemon Bge. Chinese clematis. Wei ling xian 威靈仙 Clematis chinensis Osbeck. Chinese coffee tree. Fei zao [jia] 肥皂[荚] Gymnocladus chinensis Baill. Chinese foxglove [root/rhizome]. Di huang 地黄, hu 芐 Rehmannia glutinosa (Gaertn.) Libosch. ex Fisch et Mey. Chinese indigo plant [leaf ]. Lan [ye] 藍[葉], da qing 大青 1. Liao lan 蓼藍, Polygonum tinctorium Lour. 2. Song lan 菘藍, Isatis indigofera L. 3. Ma lan 馬藍, Baphicacanthus cusia (Nees) Bremek 4. Mu lan 木藍, Indigofera tinctoria L. Chinese leek. Jiu 韭 Allium tuberosum Rottl. ex Spreng. Chinese liquorice [root]. Gan cao 甘草, 12-01 Glycyrrhiza uralensis Fisch. Chinese mallow. Kui 葵 Malva verticillata L.

730

The Ben Cao Gang Mu

Chinese pepper. [Hua] jiao [花]椒 Zanthoxylum amatum DC. Chinese sacred lily. Shui xian hua 水仙花, 13-18 Narcissus tacetta L. var. chinensis Roem. Chinese sumac gallnut. Wu bei zi 五倍子 Galls produced by Schlechtendalia chinensis on leaves of Rhus javanica L. and other spec. Chinese yam. Shan yao 山藥 Dioscorea opposita Thunb. Chloranthus [root]. Ji ji 及己, 13-25 Chloranthus serratus (Thunb.) Roem. et Schult. Chrysanthemum flower. Ju hua 菊花 Dendranthema morifolium (Ramat) Tzvel. Chrysanthemum, sweet. Gan ju 甘菊 Chrysanthemum lavandulifolium (Fisch.ex Trautv.) Ling et Shih Cibotium [root]. Gou ji 狗脊, 12-16 Cibotium barometz (L.) J. Smith Cimicifuga [rhizome]. Sheng ma 升麻, 13-11 Cimicifuga foetida L. Cinnamom tree, unscraped bark. Rou gui 肉桂 Cinnamomum cassia Presl. Citrus [fruit]. Ju yuan 枸櫞 Citrus medica L. Clematis creeper. Nü wei 女萎 Clematis apiifolia DC. Cliff maidenhair. Shi chang sheng 石長生, dan cao 丹草 Adiantum monochlamys Eaton Climbing nightshade. Pai feng teng 排風藤 Solanum lyratum Thunb. Cloves. Ding xiang 丁香, ji she xiang 雞舌香 Flower buds of Syzygium aromaticum (L.) Merr. et Perry Common cnidium [herb]. She chuang 蛇牀, 14-04 Cnidium monnieri (L.) Cusson Cochinchina momordica seed. Mu bie zi 木鼈子 Momordica cochinchinensis (Lour.) Spreng. Coltsfoot. Kuan dong hua 款冬花 Tussilago farfara L.

Common bletilla [root]. Bai ji 白及, 12-30 Bletilla striata (Thunb.) Reichb. f. Common fenugreek [seed]. Hu lu ba 胡盧巴 Trigonella foenum-graecum L. Common mugwort [leaf ]. Ai 艾[葉] Artemisia argyi Lèvl. et Vant. Common night-shade. Long kui 龍葵 Solanum nigrum L. Common reed. Lu 蘆 Phragmites communis Trin. Common rush. Deng cao 燈草, deng xin 燈心 Juncus effusus L. Common selfheal [spike]. Xia ku cao 夏枯草 Prunella vulgaris L. Coprinus fungus. Zhao sheng 朝生 Coprinus atramentarius (Bull.) Coptis [rhizome]. Huang lian 黄連, 13-01 Coptis chinensis Franch. Coriander seeds. Hu sui zi 胡荽子 Coriandrum sativum L. Corydalis [tuber]. Xuan hu suo 玄胡索 Corydalis yanhusuo W. T. Wang ex Z. Y. Su et C. Y. Wu Creeping rostellularia. Jue chuang 爵牀, 14-49 Rostellularis procumbens (L.) Nees Croton seed. Ba dou 巴豆 Croton tiglium L. Cucumber. Huang gua 黄瓜 Cucumis sativus L. Cunninghamia wood. Shan 杉 Cunninghamia lanceoloata (Lambt.) Hook. Cuscuta [seed]. Tu si zi 兔絲子 Cuscuta chinensis Lam. Cynanchum atratum [root]. Bai wei 白薇, 13-28 Cynanchum atratum Bunge Cynanchum paniculatum [herb]. Xu chang qing 徐長卿, 13-27 Cynanchum paniculatum (Bunge) Kitag. Cynanchum stauntonii [root]. Bai qian 白前, 13-29 Cynanchum stauntonii (Decne.) Schltr. ex Lèvl.

732

The Ben Cao Gang Mu

Cyperus [root]. Xiang fu 香附, suo cao 莎草 Cyperus rotundus L. D Daphne [flower]. Yuan hua 芫花 Daphne genkwa Sieb. et Zucc. Dendrobium [stem]. Shi hu 石斛 Dendrobium nobile Lindl. Desert broomrape. Rou cong rong 肉蓯蓉, 12-11 Cistanche deserticola Y. C. Ma. Deutzia shrubs. Sou shu 溲疏 Deutzia scabra Thunb. Dictamnus [root bark]. Bai xian [pi] 白鲜[皮], 13-13 Dictamnus angustifolius G. Don ex Sweet. Dill. Shi luo 蒔蘿 Anethum graveolans L. Dioscorea [root]. Bi xie 萆薢 Dioscorea collettii Hook f. var. hypoglauca (Palibin) Péi et Ting Dipsacus [root]. Xu duan 續斷 Dipsacus asperoides C.Y.Cheng et T.M. Ai. Dragon’s blood. Qi lin jie 騏驎竭 Daemonorops draco Bl. Ducksmeat. Fu ping 浮萍 Spirodela polyrhiza (L.) Schleid. Dryopteris fern [root]. Guan chong 貫衆, 12-17 Dryopteris crassirhizoma Nakai Dysosma [root]. Gui jiu 鬼臼 Dysosma versipellis (Hance) M. Cheng ex Ying E Egyptian kidney bean. Bian dou 藊豆 Dolichos lablab L. Eleocharis [fruit]. Fu ci 鳧茈 Eleocharis dulcis ( Burm. f.) Trin. ex Henschel Elsholtzia [herb]. Xiang rou 香薷, 14-47 Elsholtzia ciliata (Thunb.) Hyland

Ephedra [herb]. Ma huang 麻黄 Ephedra sinica Stapf Epimedium [herb]. Yin yang huo 淫羊藿, 12-21 Epimedium brevicornum Maxim. Eucommia [bark]. Du zhong 杜仲 Eucommia ulmoides Oliv. Eupatorium [herb/leaf ]. Lan [cao] 蘭[草], du liang 都梁 Eupatorium fortunei Turcz. Evodia [fruit]. [Wu] zhu yu [吴]茱萸 Evodia rutaecarpa ( Juss.) Benth. F Fennel. Hui xiang 茴香 Foeniculum vulgare Mill. Fetid cassia seeds. Jue ming zi 决明子 Cassia tora L. Floss grass. Mao hua 茅花; bai mao 白茅 Imperata cylindrica (L.) Beauv. var. major Forsythia [fruit]. Lian qiao 連翹 Forsythia suspensa (Thunb.) Vahl. Fox grape creeper. Wu ye teng 五葉藤 Cayratia japonica (Thunb.) Gagnep Fraxinus bark. Qin pi 秦皮 Fraxinus rhynchophylla Hance Fringed pink. Qu mai 瞿麦 Dianthus superbus S.; Fritillaria [root]. Bei mu 貝母, 13-15 Fritillaria unibracteata Hsiao et K.C. Hsia G Gambir vine. Diao teng 釣藤 Uncaria rhynchophylla (Miq.) Miq. ex Havil. Ganoderma fungus. Zhi 芝, zi zhi 紫芝, mu zhi 木芝 Ganoderma lucidum ssp. Garden lettuce. Wo ju 莴苣 Lactuca sativa L.

734

The Ben Cao Gang Mu

[Mountain] gardenia [fruit]. [Shan] zhi zi [山]巵子 Gardenia jasminoides Ellis. Gastrodia [root]. Chi jian 赤箭, tian ma 天麻, 12-14 Gastrodia elata BL Gelsemium [herb]. Huang teng 黄藤, ye ge 野葛, gou wen 鈎吻 Gelsemium elegans (Gardn.et Champ.) Benth. Gentiana herb. Long dan cao 龍膽草, 13-22 Gentiana scabra Bunge Giant themeda. Jian mao 菅茅 Themeda gigantea Hack. var. villosa (Poir.) Keng. Ginseng [root]. Ren shen 人參 12-03 Panax ginseng C. A. Meyer Gleditsia [pod/seed], [bark]. Zao jiao 皂角, zao jia 皂莢 Gleditsia sinensis Lam. Great burdock. Niu bang 牛蒡 Arctium lappa L. H Hedge bindweed [flower]. Gu zi hua 鼓子花 Calystegia sepium (L.) R. Br. Hemp [herb]. Qing ma 青麻 Cannabis sativa L. Hemp seeds. Da ma ren 大麻仁 Cannabis sativa L. Henbane [seed]. Lang dang 莨菪, tian xian [zi] 天仙[子] Hyoscyamus niger F. W. Schmidt Hibiscus flower. Zhu jin 朱槿 Hibiscus rosa-sinensis L. Hibiscus root bark. Mu jin 木槿 Hibiscus syriacus L. Honeysuckle. Ren dong [teng] 忍冬[藤], jin yin teng 金银藤 Lonicera japonica Thunb. Hovenia [fruit, bark]. Zhi ju 枳椇 Hovenia dulcis Th.

I Ilex [leaf ]. Dong qing 冬青 Ilex purpurea Hask. Illiceum [leaf ]. Mang cao 莽草 Illiceum lanceolatum A. C. Smith Imperata floss grass. Mao hua 茅花, bai mao 白茅, 13-19 Imperata cylindrica (L.) Beauv. var. major Indian lotus seed germs. Lian xin 蓮心, [shi] lian rou [石]蓮肉 The green germs of the mature seeds of Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn. Indian lotus rhizome node. Ou jie 藕節 Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn. Indigo. Qing dai 青黛 Prepared from --> Chinese Indigo plants Ink plant. Han lian cao 旱蓮草 Eclipta prostrata (L.) L. Inula [flower/leaf ]. Xuan fu hua 旋覆花 Inula japonica Thunb. Inula [root]. Qing mu xiang 青木香, wu mu xiang 五木香 Inula helenium L. Ixeris [herb]. Ku mai 苦蕒 Ixeris denticulata (Houtt.) Stebb J Japanese artemisia. Mu hao 牡蒿 Artemisia japonica Thunb. Japanese betony. Ji su 鸡苏 Stachys japonica Miq. Japanese dock. Yang ti 羊蹄 Rumex crispus L. var. japonicus (Houtt.) Makino Japanese snake gourd. Wang gua 王瓜 Trichosanthes cucumeroides (Ser.) Maxim. Job’s tears. Yi yi ren 薏苡仁 Seeds of Coix lacryma L.

K Kansui [root]. Gan sui 甘遂 Euphorbia kansui T. N. Liou ex T.P. Wang Knotgrass. Bian xu 萹蓄 Polygonum aviculare L. Kochia [herb]. Du zhou 獨帚 Kochia scoparia (L.) Schrad. L Large gentiana. Qin jiao 秦艽 Gentiana macrophylla Pall. Largehead atractylodes [rhizome]. [Bai] zhu [白]术, 12-15 Atractylodes macrocephala Koidz. Lemon grass. Mao xiang 茅香, 14-34 Cymbopogon citratus (DC.) Stapf. Leonurus [herb]. Yi mu [cao] 益母[草] Leonurus japonicus Houtt. Libanotis [herb]. Xie hao 邪蒿, 斜蒿 Libanotis seseloides (Fisch. et Mey. ex Turcz.) Turcz. Ligusticum chuanxiong [root]. Xiong qiong 芎藭, chuan xiong 川芎, mi wu 蘼蕪, fu xiong 撫芎, 14-02 Ligusticum chuanxiong Hort. Ligusticum sinense [root]. Gao ben 藁本, 14-05 Ligusticum sinense Oliv. Linden tree. Jia 椵 Tilia ssp. Lindera [root]. Wu yao 烏藥 Lindera aggregata (Sims.) Kosterm. Long pepper. Bi ba 蓽茇, 14-22 Piper longum L. Longan [seed]. Long yan 龍眼 Dimocarpus longan Lour. Loofah. Si gua 絲瓜 Luffa cylindrica (L.) Roem. Loquat. Pi pa 枇杷 Eriobotrya japonica L.

Luisia morsei [root]. Chai zi gu 钗子股, 13-31 Luisia morsei Rolfe ex Forbes et Hemsley Lychee [fruit]. Li zhi 荔枝 Litchi chinensis Sonn. Lycium root bark. Di gu pi 地骨皮 Lycium barbarum L. Lycium [herb]. Gou qi 枸杞 Lycium chinense Mill. Lysimachia [flowers]. Xing su [hua] 星宿[花] Lysimachia fortunei Maxim. M Macroclinidium [root]. Gui du you 鬼督邮, 13-26 Macroclinidium verticillatum Frau. Madder. Qian 蒨, qian cao 茜草 Rubia cordifolia L. Maesa [leaf ]. Tu chang shan 土常山 Maesa japonica (Thunb.) Moritzi Magnolia flower bud. Xin yi 辛夷 Magnolia biondii Pamp. Magnolia bark. Hou po 厚朴 Magnolia officinalis Rehd. et Wils. Mallow seeds. [Dong] kui zi, [winter] mellow seed Malva verticillata L. Metaplexis [leaf ]. Luo mo 蘿藦, wan lan 芄蘭 Metaplexis japonica (Thunb.) Makino Mint. Bo he 薄荷, 14-52 Mentha canadensis L. Morinda [root]. Ba ji [tian]. 巴戟[天] Morinda officinalis How. Mulberry tree bark. Sang bai pi 桑白皮 Morus alba L. Musk melon fruit base. Gua di 瓜蒂 Pedical of tian gua 甜瓜 Cucumis melo L.

N Nardostachys [root]. Gan song xiang 甘松香, 14-11 Nardostachys chinensis Batal. Nutgrass. Suo cao 莎草, xiang fu zi 香附子 Cyperus rotundus L. Nutmeg. Rou dou kou 肉豆蔻, 14-24 Myristica fragrans Houtt. Nymphoides [herb]. Jin lian zi 金蓮子, shui xing 水荇 Nymphoides peltatum (Gmel.) O. Ktze. O Ocimum [root]. Ling ling xiang 零陵香, 14-43 Ocimum basilicum L. Oil rape [seeds]. Yun tai [zi] 芸薹[子] Brassica campestris L. Olibanum. Xun lu xiang 薰陸香 Boswellia carteri Birdw. Onion [white]. Cong 葱, cong bai 葱白. Onion seed. Cong shi 葱實 Allium fistulosum L. Ophiopogon [tuber]. Mai men dong 麥門冬 Ophiopogon japonicus (L. f.) Ker-Gawl. Orange, unripe. Zhi qiao 枳殼 Citrus aurantium L. Oriental bush cherry. Che xia li 車下李 Prunus japonica Thunb. P Paeonia [root], white/red. [Bai] shao yao [白/赤]芍藥, 14-08 Paeonia lactiflora Pall.; veitchii Lynch Paeonia [root bark]. Mu dan [pi] 牡丹[皮], bai mu dan gen [pi] 白牡丹根[皮], 14-09 Paeonia suffruticosa Andr. Paper mulberry tree. Chu 楮 Broussonetia papyrifera (L.) Vent.



Appendix Paris [root]. Mu meng 牡蒙, wang sun 王孫, 12-27 Paris bashanensis Wang et Tang Paris [leaf ]. Zi he che 紫河車 Paris polyphylla Smith var. chinensis (Franch.) Hara Patrinia [root]. Bai jiang 敗醬 Patrinia scabiosaefolia Fisch. Ex Trev. Pea. Bi dou 畢豆 Pisum sativum L. Peking spurge [root]. Da ji 大戟 Euphorbia pekinensis Rupr. Perilla [stem/leaf ]. Zi su 紫蘇, bai su 白蘇, 14-54 Perilla frutescens (L.) Britt. var.arguta (Benth.) Hand.-Mazz. Perilla herb. Ren 荏 Perilla frutescens (L.) Britt. Persian lilac fruit. Ku lian zi 苦楝子, jin ling zi 金鈴子, chuan lian zi 川楝子 Melia toosendan Sieb. et Zucc. Persimmon fruit calyx. Shi di 柿蒂 Diospyros kaki Thunb. Peucedanum japonicum [root]. Fang kui 防葵 Peucedanum japonicum Thunb. Peucedanum praeruptorum [root]. Qian hu 前胡, 13-06 Peucedanum praeruptorum Dunn Pharbitis [seed]. Hei qian niu 黑牽牛, bai qian niu 白牽牛 Pharbitis nil (L.) Choisy Phellodendron bark. Huang bo 黄蘗, 黄檗, 黄柏 Phellodendron amurense Ruppr. Photinia [leaf ]. Shi nan 石南 Photinia serrulata Lindl. Phragmites [root]. [Shui lu] di gen [水蘆]荻根 Phragmites karka (Retz.) Trin. Pine twig joints. Song jie 松節 Pinus armandi Franch Pinellia [root]. Ban xia 半夏 Pinellia ternata (Thunb.) Breit. Plantago herb/root/seed. Che qian cao 車前草, che qian [zi] 車前 [子] Plantago asiatica L. Platycladus [tree/leaf/seed kernels]. Bai [zi ren] 柏[子仁], ce bai ye 側柏葉 Platycladus orientalis (L.) Franco

739

Platycodon [root]. Jie geng 桔梗, 12-06 Platycodon grandiflorus ( Jacq.) A. DC. Pollia japonica [root]. Du ruo 杜若, 14-14 Pollia japonica Hornst. Polygala [root]. Yuan zhi 遠志, 12-19 Polygala tenuifolia Willd. Polygonatum [root]. Huang jing 黄精, 12-08 Polygonatum sibiricum Delar. ex Redoute Polygonatum odoratum [root]. Wei rui 萎蕤, 12-09 Polygonatum odoratum (Mill.) Druce Polygonum [root]. Huang yao [zi] 黄藥[子] Polygonum cuspidatum Sieb. et Zucc. Polygonum multiflorum [root]. He shou wu 何首烏 Polygonum multiflorum Thunb. Polyope [herb]. Hai bo 海柏 Polyope spolyideoides Okam. Polyporus sclerotium. Zhu ling 猪苓 Polyporus umbellatus (Pers. ) Fr. Pomegranate rind. Shi liu pi 石榴皮 Punica granatum L. Poria. Fu ling 茯苓, fu shen 伏神 Sclerotium of Poria cocos (Schw.) Wolf Psoralea [seed]. Bu gu zhi 補骨脂, po gu zhi 破故紙, 14-25 Psoralea corylifolia L. Pteridium vegetable. Jue 蕨 Pteridium aquilinum (L.) Kuhn var. latiusculum (Desv.) Underw. Pueraria [root]. Ge [gen] 葛[根] Pueraria lobata (Willd.) Ohwi Purple aster [root]. Zi wan 紫菀 Aster tataricus L. f. .Purple aster. Purple chrysanthemum. Ma lan 馬藺, 14-46 Kalimeris indica (L.) Sch.-Bip. Pyrus [fruit]. Tang li 棠梨 Pyrus betuliaefolia Bunge



Appendix Q Quince. Mu gua 木瓜 Chaenomeles speciosa (Sweet) Nakai Quisqualis [fruit]. Shi jun zi 使君子 Quisqualis indica L. R Radish [seed]. Luo bo 蘿蔔, lai fu [zi] 萊菔[子] Raphanus sativus L. Red bayberry. Yang mei 楊梅 Myrica rubra (Lour.) Sieb. et Zucc. Red knotweed. Shui hong [cao] 水葒[草], liao hong 蓼葓 Polygonum orientale L. Red mung bean. Chi xiao dou 赤小豆, hong dou 紅豆 Vigna umbellata (Thunb.) Ohwi et Ohashi Red spider lily. Lao ya suan 老鴉蒜, shi suan 石蒜, 13-17 Lycoris radiata L’Herit. Rhododendron [flower]. Zhi zhu 踯躅 Rhododendron molle (Bl.) G. Don Rhubarb root. Da huang 大黄 Rheum palmatum L. River bulrush. Jing san leng 京三稜, 14-29 Scirpus Yagara Ohwi Rock fern. Xiao zhi wei cao 小雉尾草 Onychium japonicum (Thunb.) Rosary peas. Xiang si 相思 Abrus precatorius L. Rubus seed. Fu pen zi 覆盆子 Rubus chingii Hu S Safflower. Hong hua 紅花, hong lan 紅藍 Carthamus tinctorius L. Salvia japonica herb. Shu wei cao 鼠尾草 Salvia japonica Th.

741

Sandalwood. Tan xiang 檀香 Santalum album L. Sanguisorba [root]. Di yu 地榆, 12-24 Sanguisorba officinalis L. Saposhnikovia [root]. Fang feng 防風, 13-07 Saposhnikovia divaricata (Turcz.) Sappan wood. Su mu 蘇木 Cesalpinia sappan L. Sargassum herb. Hai zao 海藻 Sargassum fusiforme (Harv.) Setch. Schisandra seed. Wu wei zi 五味子 Schisandra chinensis Turcz. Baill. Schizonepeta [spike]. Jing jie 荆芥 Schizonepeta multifida (L.) Briq. Scouring rush. Mu zei 木賊 Hippochaete hiemale (L.) Borher Scrophularia [root]. Xuan shen 玄參, 12-23 Scrophularia ningpoensis Hemsl. Shaved cinnamom bark. Gui xin 桂心 Cinnamomum cassia Presl. Shepherd’s purse. Ji cai 蕺菜 Capsella bursa-pastoris (L.) Medic. Skimmia [stem/leaf ]. Yin yu 茵蕷 Skimmia reevesiana Fort. Scutellaria [root]. Huang qin 黄芩, 13-03 Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi Smilax [root]. Tu fu ling 土茯苓 Smilax glabra Roxb. Soft-stemmed bulrush. Yin yu 茵蕷 Scirpus validus Vahl Sophora japonica [tree] leaves. Huai ye 槐葉 Sophora japonica L. Sophora [root]. Ku shen 苦參, 13-12 Sophora flavescens Ait. Sparganium [root]. [Jing] san leng [荆]三棱 Sparganium stoloniferum Buch.-Ham. Spurge. Lü ru 䕡茹 Euphorbia ebracteolata Hayata



Appendix

743

Star anise. Da hui xiang 大茴香 Illicium verum Hook. f. Star jasmine. Nai dong 柰冬 Trachelospermum jasminoides (Lindl.) Lem. Stemmacantha [herb/root]. Lou lu 漏蘆 Stemmacantha uniflorum (L.) Dittrich Stemona [root]. Bai bu 百部 Stemona sessilifolia Miq. Stephania japonica [root]. Qian jin teng 千金藤 Stephania japonica (Thunb.) Miers Stephania tetrandra [root]. Fang ji 防己 Stephania tetrandra Moore Sweet basil. Lan xiang 蘭香, luo le 羅勒, xun cao 薰草, ling ling xiang 零陵香 Ocimum basilicum L. Sweet osmanthus. Mu xi hua 木犀花 Flower of jun gui 箘桂, Osmanthus fragrans Lour T Tallow tree. Wu jiu 烏桕 Sapium sebiferum (L.) Roxb. Tangerine peel. Chen pi 陳皮, ju pi 橘皮 Citrus reticulata Blanco Taro. [Ye] yu [野]芋, yu zi 芋子 Colocasia esculenta L. Schott Terminalia fruit. He zi 訶子 Terminalia chebula Retz. Thunderball fungus. Lei wan 雷丸 Polyporus mylittae Cook at Mass. Touch-me-not. Feng xian 鳳仙 Impatiens balsamina L. Trachycarpus [palm]. Zong lü 椶櫚 Trachycarpus fortunei (Hook) H.Endl. Tribulus [herb]. Ji li 蒺藜 Tribulus terrestris L. Trichosanthes [root]. Tian hua fen 天花粉, gua lou [gen] 栝樓[根] Trichosanthes kirilowii Maxim.

744

The Ben Cao Gang Mu

Turczaninowia [root]. Nü wan 女菀 Turczaninowia fastigiata (Fisch.) DC. Turnip. Man jing 蔓菁, wu jing 蕪菁 Brassica rapa L. U Ulmus [fruit]. Wu yi 蕪荑 Ulmus macrocarpa Hance Unripe bitter orange. Zhi ke 枳殻 Citrus aurantius L. Upright ladybell [herb, root]. Sha shen 沙參, 12-04 Adenophora stricta Miq. V Vanilla grass. Bai mao xiang 白茅香, 14-35 Hierochloa borealis Roem. et Sch. Veratrum [root]. Li lu 藜蘆 Veratrum nigrum L. Vernicia tree. Tong 桐 Vernicia fordii (Hemsl.) Airy-Shaw Vervain. Ma bian cao 馬鞭草 Verbena officinalis L. Vitex [herb]. Huang jing 黄荆 Vitex negundo L. var. cannabifolia (Sieb.et Zucc.) Hand.-Mazz. W Walnut. Hu tao 胡桃 Juglans regia L. Water bamboo. Jiao pu 茭蒲 Zizania caduciflora (Turcz. ex Trin.) Hand.-Mazz. Water chestnut. Ling mi 菱米 Trapa bispinosa Roxb. Water perilla. Shui su 水蘇, ji su 鷄蘇, 14-55 Stachys japonica Miq Wax gourd. Dong gua 冬瓜 Benincasa hispida (Thunb.) Cogn.



Appendix Wikstroemea [herb]. Rao hua 蕘花 Wikstroemia canescens (Wall.) Meissn. Wild tumeric. Yu jin 鬱金, 14-27 Curcuma longa L. Wild scarlet lily. Shan dan 山丹 Lilium concolor Salisb. [Weeping] willow. Yang liu 楊柳 Salix babylonica L. Winter aster. Ye ju [hua] 野菊[花] Dendranthema indicum (L.) des Moul. Winter daphne [root]. Rui xiang 瑞香, 14-31 Daphne acutiloba Rehd. Wolfsbane. Lang du 狼毒 Stellera chamaejasme L. Euphorbia fischeriana Steud. Wood Whitlow-grass. Ting li 葶藶 Lepidium apetalum Willd. X Xanthium [stem and leaves]. Cang er [ye] 蒼耳[葉], xi er 枲耳 Xanthium sibiricum Patr. et Widd. Y Yellow day lily. Xuan cao 萱草 Hemerocallis citrina Baroni Z Zanthoxylum. Dang [zi] 欓[子], shi zhu yu 食茱萸, wu zhu yu 吴茱萸 Zanthoxylum ailanthoides Sieb. et Zucc. Zedoary [root]. Guang shu 廣荗, shu yao 蒁藥, peng e shu 蓬莪蒁, 14-28 Curcuma aeruginosa Roxb. Zingiber [root/herb]. Rang he 蘘荷 Zingiber mioga (Thunb.) Rosc. Ziziphus [date spine]. Ci ji [xin] 棘刺, 刺棘[心] Zizyphus jujuba Mill. var. spinosa (Bunge) Hu ex H.F.Chow

745

746

The Ben Cao Gang Mu

6.2. Substances discussed in chapters 12 – 14 in a separate entry. Listed in alphabetical order of their proper pin yin names with their popular English names where available and references to their entry. A Ai na xiang 艾納香, balsamiferous blumea. 14-39 B Ba ji tian 巴戟天, Indian mulberry. 12-18 Bai dou kou 白豆蔻, round Siam cardamom. 14-19 Bai ji 白及, common bletilla. 12-30 Bai liang jin 百兩金, coral ardisia. 12-33 Bai mai gen 百脉根, birdsfoot trifoil. 12-20 Bai mao 白茅, floss grass. 13-19 Bai mao xiang 白茅香, vanilla grass. 14-35 Bai qian 白前, willow leaf swallowwort. 13-29 Bai tou weng 白頭翁, Chinese pulsatilla. 12-29 Bai wei 白微, blackend swallowwort. 13-28 Bai xian 白鮮, dittany. 13-13 Bai zhi xiang 白芷香, dahurian angelica. 14-07 Bei mu 貝母, Sichuan fritillaria. 13-15 Bi ba 蓽茇, long pepper. 14-22 Bi hui lei 辟虺雷, cinnabar aristolochia. 13-35 Bo he 薄荷, Mint. 14-52 Bu gu zhi 補骨脂, scurfy pea. 14-25 C Cao guo 草果 , Chinese cardamom. 14-18 Cao xi 草犀, unidentified. 13-30 Chai hu 柴809胡, sickle leaved hare’s ear. 13-05 Chai zi gu 釵子股, velvet orchid. 13-31 Chang song 長松, Siberian pine. 12-07 Chi che shi zhe 赤車使者, trailing water melon begonia. 14-50 Chi jian 赤箭, tall gastrodia. 12-14 809 Instead of chai hu 柴胡, entry 13-05 writes the name ci hu 茈胡.



Appendix D Dan shen 丹參, Chinese sage. 12-25 Dang gui 當歸, Chinese angelica. 14-01 Di jin 地筋, tanglehead. 13-20 Di yu 地榆, great burnet. 12-24 Dou kou 豆蔻, Chinese cardamom. 14-18 Dou na xiang 兜納香, unidentified. 14-40 Du guan cao 都管草, Japanese angelica. 13-10 Du heng 杜衡, Forbes wildginger. 13-24 Du huo 獨活, doubleteeth pubescent angelica. 13-08 Du ruo 杜若, East Asian pollia. 14-14 F Fang feng 防風, siler. 13-07 G Gan cao 甘草, Chinese liquorice. 12-01 Gan song xiang 甘松香, Chinese spikenard. 14-11 Gao ben 藁本, Chinese ligusticum. 14-05 Gao liang jiang 高良薑, lesser galangal. 14-16 Gou ji 狗脊, golden chicken fern. 12-16 Guan chong 貫衆, dryopteris fern. 12-17 Gui du you 鬼督郵, macroclinidium verticillatum. 13-26 H Hong dou kou 紅豆蔻, fruit/seed of lesser galangal. 14-17 Hu huang lian 胡黄連, the Hu people’s coptis [rhizome]. 13-02 Huang jing 黄精, Solomon’s seal. 12-08 Huang lian 黄連, golden thread. 13-01 Huang qi 黄耆, yellow vetch. 12-02 Huang qin 黄芩, skullcap. 13-03 Huo xiang 藿香, wrinkled giant hyssop. 14-42 J Ji ji 及己, serrate chloranthus. 13-25 Ji li cao 吉利草, unidentified. 13-32

747

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The Ben Cao Gang Mu

Ji su 雞蘇, chicken perilla, i.e., water perilla. 14-55 Ji xue cao 積雪草, Asiatic pennywort. 14-53 Jia su 假蘇, jing jie 荆芥, schizonepeta. 14-51 Jiang huang 薑黄, turmeric. 14-26 Jie che xiang 䔾車香, unidentified. 14-38 Jie geng 桔梗, platycodon. 12-06 Jin di luo 錦地羅, Burman’s sundew. 13-36 Jin si cao 金絲草, rough melic. 13-40 Jing san leng 荆三棱, river bulrush. 14-29 Ju jiang 蒟醬, betel pepper. 14-23 Jue chuang 爵牀, creeping rostellularia. 14-49 K Ku shen 苦參, shrubby sophora. 13-12 L Lan cao 蘭草, eupatorium. 14-44 Lian jiang 廉薑, Chinese galangal. 14-13 Lie dang 列當, skyblue broomrape. 12-12 Ling ling xiang 零陵香, sweet basil. 14-43 Long dan 龍膽, gentiana herb. 13-22 M Ma lan 馬蘭, purple chrysanthemum. 14-46 Mang 芒, miscanthus reed. 13-21 Mao xiang 茅香, lemon grass. 14-34 Mi die xiang 迷迭香, rosemary. 14-37 Mi wu 蘼蕪, young leaves of ligusticum chuanxiong. 14-03 Mo li 茉莉, night blooming jasmine. 14-32 Mu dan 牡丹, tree peony. 14-09 Mu xiang 木香, costus. 14-10 P Pai cao xiang 排草香, thick-leaf lavender. 14-36 Peng e shu 蓬莪蒁, zedoary. 14-28 Po gu zhi 破故紙, scurfy pea. 14-25



Appendix Q Qi ni 薺苨, adenophora trachelioides. 12-05 Qi ning 薺薴, mosla grosserrata. 14-56 Qian hu 前胡, hog’s fennel. 13-06 Qiang huo 羌活, doubleteeth pubescent angelica. 13-08 Qin jiao 秦艽, large gentiana [root]. 13-04 Quan shen 拳參, bistort. 13-38 R Ren shen 人參, ginseng. 12-03 Rou cong rong 肉蓯蓉, cistanche deserticola. 12-11 Rou dou kou 肉豆蔻, nutmeg. 14-24 Rui xiang 瑞香, winter daphne. 14-31 S San qi 三七, pseudoginseng. 12-31 Sha shen 沙參, upright ladybell. 12-04 Shan ci gu 山慈姑, edible tulip. 13-16 Shan jiang 山薑, wild ginger. 14-15 Shan nai 山柰, galgant. 14-12 Shao yao 芍藥, Chinese peony. 14-08 She chuang 蛇牀, common cnidium. 14-04 Sheng ma 升麻, bugbane. 13-11 Shi suan 石蒜, red spider lily. 13-17 Shi xiang rou 石香葇. Chinese mosla herb. 14-48 Shui su 水蘇, water perilla. 14-55 Shui xian 水仙, Chinese sacred lily. 13-18 Su 蘇, perilla. 14-54 Su xin 素馨, Spanish jasmine. 14-32-A01 Suo cao 莎草, nutgrass. 14-30 Suo sha mi 縮砂蔤, bastard cardamom. 14-20 Suo yang 瑣810陽, songaria cynomorium herb. 12-13

810 Instead of suo yang 瑣陽, entry 12-13 writes the name suo yang 鎖陽.

749

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The Ben Cao Gang Mu

T Tian ma 天麻, tall gastrodia. 12-14 Tie xian cao 鐵線草, Bermuda grass. 13-39 Tu dang gui 土當歸, mountain asparagus. 13-09 W Wang sun 王孫, Paris bashanensis. 12-27 Wei rui 萎蕤, fragrant Solomon’s seal. 12-09 X Xi xin 細辛, Chinese wild ginger. 13-23 Xian mao 仙茅, golden eye grass. 12-22 Xian xiang 線香, incense stick. 14-41 Xiang fu zi 香附子, nutgrass. 14-30 Xiang rou 香薷, elsholtzia herb. 14-47 Xiong qiong 芎藭, Sichuan lovage. 14-02 Xu chang qing 徐長卿, paniculate swallowwort. 13-27 Xu huang 徐黄, unidentified. 14-05-A01 Xuan shen 玄參, Ningpo figwort. 12-23 Xun cao 薰草, strong-fragrant loosestrife. 14-43 Y Yan hu suo 延胡索, Chinese fumewort. 13-14 Yi zhi zi 益智子, black cardamom. 14-21 Yin yang huo 淫羊藿, horny goat weed. 12-21 Yu jin 鬱金, wild turmeric. 14-27 Yu jin xiang 鬱金香, common tulip. 14-33 Yuan zhi 遠志, Chinese senega. 12-19 Z Ze lan 澤蘭, bugleweed. 14-45 Zhi mu 知母, common anemarrhena. 12-10 Zhi zhu xiang 蜘蛛香, common broadleaf valeriana. 14-06 Zhu 术, (largehead) atractylodes. 12-15 Zhu sha gen 朱砂根, coral ardisia. 13-34 Zi cao 紫草, pink arnebia. 12-28



Appendix

751

Zi jin niu 紫金牛, Japanese ardisia. 13-37 Zi shen 紫參, common bistort. 12-26

6.3 Substances discussed in chapters 12 – 14 in a separate entry. Listed in alphabetical order of their currently accepted scientific identification with reference to their entry. A Adenophora stricta Miq. 12-04 Adenophora tracheloides Maxim. 12-05 Adiantum flabellatum L. 13-39 Agastache rugosa (Fisch. et Mey) O. Kuntze 14-42 Alpinia chinensis (Retz.) Rosc. 14-13 Alpinia japonica Thunb. 14-15 Alpinia katsumadai Hayata 14-18 Alpinia officinarum Hance 14-16, 14-17 Alpinia oxyphylla Miq. 14-21 Amomum kravanh Pierre ex Gagnep. 14-19 Amomum villosum Lour. 14-20 Anemarrhena asphodeloides Bunge 12-10 Angelica biserrata Shan et Yuan 13-08 Angelica dahurica (Fisch. ex Hoffm.) Benth. et Hook f. 14-07 Angelica kuisiana Maxim. 13-10 Angelica sinensis (Oliv.) Diels 14-01 Anisochilus carnosus (L.) Wall. 14-36 Aralia cordata Thunb. 13-09 Ardisia crenata Sims 13-34 Ardisia crispa (Thunb.) A. DC. 13-33 Ardisia japonica Bl. 13-37 Arnebia euchroma (Royle) Johnst. 12-28 Asarum caulescens Maxim. 13-24 Asarum heteropoides Fr. Schmidt var. manshuricum (Maxim.) Kitag 13-23 Astragalus membranaceus Bunge var. mongolicus (Bunge)P. K. Hsiao. 12-02 Atractylodes macrocephala Koidz. 12-15 Aucklandia lappa (Franch) Ling 14-10



Appendix

751

Zi jin niu 紫金牛, Japanese ardisia. 13-37 Zi shen 紫參, common bistort. 12-26

6.3 Substances discussed in chapters 12 – 14 in a separate entry. Listed in alphabetical order of their currently accepted scientific identification with reference to their entry. A Adenophora stricta Miq. 12-04 Adenophora tracheloides Maxim. 12-05 Adiantum flabellatum L. 13-39 Agastache rugosa (Fisch. et Mey) O. Kuntze 14-42 Alpinia chinensis (Retz.) Rosc. 14-13 Alpinia japonica Thunb. 14-15 Alpinia katsumadai Hayata 14-18 Alpinia officinarum Hance 14-16, 14-17 Alpinia oxyphylla Miq. 14-21 Amomum kravanh Pierre ex Gagnep. 14-19 Amomum villosum Lour. 14-20 Anemarrhena asphodeloides Bunge 12-10 Angelica biserrata Shan et Yuan 13-08 Angelica dahurica (Fisch. ex Hoffm.) Benth. et Hook f. 14-07 Angelica kuisiana Maxim. 13-10 Angelica sinensis (Oliv.) Diels 14-01 Anisochilus carnosus (L.) Wall. 14-36 Aralia cordata Thunb. 13-09 Ardisia crenata Sims 13-34 Ardisia crispa (Thunb.) A. DC. 13-33 Ardisia japonica Bl. 13-37 Arnebia euchroma (Royle) Johnst. 12-28 Asarum caulescens Maxim. 13-24 Asarum heteropoides Fr. Schmidt var. manshuricum (Maxim.) Kitag 13-23 Astragalus membranaceus Bunge var. mongolicus (Bunge)P. K. Hsiao. 12-02 Atractylodes macrocephala Koidz. 12-15 Aucklandia lappa (Franch) Ling 14-10

752

The Ben Cao Gang Mu

B Bletilla striata (Thunb.) Reichb. f. 12-30 Blumea balsamifera (L.) DC. 14-39 Bupleurum falcatum L. 13-05 C Centella asiatica (L.) Urban 14-53 Chloranthus serratus (Thunb.) Roem. et Schult. 13-25 Cibotium barometz (L.) J. Smith 12-16 Cimicifuga foetida L. 13-11 Cistanche deserticola Y. C. Ma. 12-11 Cnidium monnieri (L.) Cuss. 14-04 Coptis chinensis Franch. 13-01 Corydalis yanhusuo W. T. Wang 13-14 Curculigo orchioides Baertn. 12-22 Curcuma aeruginosa Roxb. 14-28 Curcuma longa L. 14-26, 14-27 Cymbopogon citratus (DC.) Stapf. 14-34 Cynanchum atratum Bunge 13-28 Cynanchum paniculatum (Bunge) Kitag. 13-27 Cynanchum stauntonii (Decne.) Schltr. ex Lèvl. 13-29 Cynomorium songaricum Rupr. 12-13 Cyperus rotundus L. 14-30 D Daphne acutiloba Rehd. 14-31 Dictamnus angustifolius G. Don ex Sweet. 13-13 Drosera Burmanni Vahl. 13-36 Dryopteris crassirhizoma Nakai 12-17 E Elsholtzia ciliata (Thunb.) Hyland 14-47 Epimedium brevicornum Maxim. 12-21 Eupatorium fortunei Turcz. 14-44



Appendix F Fritillaria unibracteata Hsiao et K. C. Hsia 13-15 G Gastrodia elata BL. 12-14 Gentiana macrophylla Pall. 13-04 Gentiana scabra Bunge 13-22 Glycyrrhiza uralensis Fisch 12-01 H Heteropogon contortus (L.) Beauv. ex Roem. et Schult. 13-20 Hierochloa borealis Roem. et Sch. 14-35 I, J Imperata cylindrica (L.) Beauv. Var. major (Nees) C. F. Hubb. 13-19 Jasminum sambac (L.) Ait. 14-32 K Kaempferia galanga L. 14-12 Kalimeris indica (L.) Sch. – Bip. 14-46 L Ligusticum chuanxiong Hort. 14-02, 14-03 Ligusticum sinense Oliv. 14-05 Lotus corniculatus L. 12-20 Luisia morsei Rolfe ex. Forbes et Hemsley 13-31 Lycopus lucidus Turcz. 14-45 Lycoris radiata L’Herit. 13-17 M Macroclinidium verticillatum Frau. 13-26 Mentha canadensis L. 14-52 Miscanthus sinensis Anders. 13-21 Morinda officinalis How. 12-18 Mosla chinensis Maxim. 14-48

753

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The Ben Cao Gang Mu

Mosla grosserrata Maxim. 14-56 Myristica fragrans Hutt. 14-24 N Narcissus tacetta L. var. chinensis Roem. 13-18 Nardostachys chinensis Batal. 14-11 O Ocimum basilicum L. 14-43 Orobanche coerulescens Steph. 12-12 P Paeonia lactiflora Pall. 14-08 Paeonia suffruticosa Andr. 14-09 Panax ginseng C. A. Meyer 12-03 Panax notoginseng (Burk.) F. H. Chen ex C. Chow 12-31 Paris bashanensis Wang et Tang 12-27 Pellionia radicans (Sieb. et Zucc.) Wedd. 14-50 Perilla frutescens (L.) Britt. 14-54 Peucedanum praeruptorum Dunn 13-06 Picrorhiza scrophulariiflora Pennell. 13-02 Pinus pumila (Pall.) Regel. 12-07 Piper betle L. 14-23 Piper longum L. 14-22 Platycodon grandiflorum ( Jacq.) A. DC. 12-06 Pogonatherum crinitum (Thunb.) Kunth. 13-40 Pollia japonica Hornst. 14-14 Polygala teniufolia Willd. 12-19 Polygonatum odoratum (Mill.) Druce 12-09 Polygonatum sibiricum Delar. ex Redoute 12-08 Polygonum bistorta L. 12-26, 13-38 Psoralea corylifolia L. 14-25 Pulsatilla chinensis (Bge.) Rgl. 12-29 R Rosmarinus officinalis L. 14-37



Appendix Rostellularis procumbens (L.) Nees 14-49 S Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge 12-25 Sanguisorba officinalis L. 12-24 Saposhnikovia divaricata (Turcz.) 13-07 Schizonepeta multifida (L.) Briq. 14-51 Scirpus Yagara Ohwi 14-29 Scrophularia ningpoensis Hemsl. 12-23 Sophora flavescens Ait. 13-12 Stachys japonica Miq. 14-55 T Tulipa edulis (Miq.) Baker 13-16 Tulipa gesneriana L. 14-33 V Valeriana jatamansii Jones 14-06

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