Overall Paraphrase
This chapter is a vernacular梳理 of Compendium of Materia Medica · Herb Category (II), explaining each herb's name interpretation, nature and flavor, and uses recorded by ancient people in the original order. The following content is provided solely for traditional cultural study and does not constitute any medical diagnosis, medication, or treatment advice.
🌿 Miwù (Ligusticum wallichii)
- Name interpretation: Also known as Wēiwú, Qí, Jiānglí.
- Nature and flavor: Pungent, warm, non-toxic.
- Indications: Ancient people used it for chronic wind in the head, wind-induced dizziness, diarrhea, cough with adverse qi rising, etc.
🌿 Shéchú (Cnidium monnieri)
- Name interpretation: Also known as Shésù, Shémǐ, Huǐchuáng, Mǎchuáng, Qiángmí.
- Nature and flavor: Bitter, neutral, non-toxic.
- Indications: Ancient texts distinguish between oral and external use.
- Oral: For impotence, use Cnidium fruit, Schisandra fruit, and Cuscuta seed in equal parts, make into honey pills, and take with warm wine.
- Gynecological external use: For reddish-white vaginal discharge and amenorrhea, use Cnidium fruit and dried alum in equal parts, mix with vinegar and flour into pills, wrap in cotton and insert into the vagina; for severe vulvar itching, decoct Cnidium fruit and alum in water for external washing; for postpartum uterine prolapse, steam Cnidium fruit hot and apply as a warm compress, or combine with smoked plum and decoct in water for external washing.
- Other external uses: For male scrotal swelling, rectal prolapse, hemorrhoids, infantile ringworm, toothache, and wintertime throat obstruction, most involve grinding into powder and applying, fumigating and washing, decocting for gargling, or burning and inhaling the smoke.
⚠️ The formula for "infantile sweet sores" in the original text contains calomel (mercurous chloride), a toxic mercury-containing compound that must never be imitated in modern times.
🌿 Gǎoběn (Ligusticum sinense)
- Name interpretation: Also known as Gǎobá, Guǐqīng, Dìxīn, Wēijīng.
- Nature and flavor: Root pungent, warm, non-toxic.
- Indications: Taiyang headache, vertex pain, wind-dampness in the head, face, body, and skin; draining pus and supporting flesh growth for carbuncles; infantile scabies and tinea can be treated by decocting the herb for external washing; for excessive dandruff, grind with Angelica dahurica in equal parts and rub into the hair.
🌿 Báizhǐ (Angelica dahurica)
- Name interpretation: Also known as Bái, Fāngxiāng, Zéfēn, Fúlí, Wǎn; the leaf is called Má or Yào.
- Nature and flavor: Root pungent, warm, non-toxic.
- Indications: Li Shizhen believed that Báizhǐ's therapeutic actions never depart from the three channels of Lung, Stomach, and Large Intestine. Ancient people used it for:
- External contraction: All types of cold damage and wind pathogen, combined with licorice, ginger, scallion white, red dates, and fermented soybeans, decocted and taken to induce sweating; the formulas are named Shénbái Sǎn or Shèngsēng Sǎn.
- Head and facial disorders: Runny nose from wind-cold, hemicranial and frontal headaches, dizziness, wind-heat toothache, mouth and dental halitosis, etc.
- Eye diseases: Combined with realgar and cinnabar into pills, known in ancient times as Huánjīng Wán.
- Sores and carbuncles: Draining pus, generating flesh, and relieving pain.
⚠️ Both realgar and cinnabar in the formulas are unsuitable for modern oral administration.
🌿 Sháoyào (Peony root)
- Name interpretation: Also known as Jiānglí, Líshí, Báisháo, Yúróng, Yán; the white one is called Jīnsháoyào, and the red one is called Mùsháoyào.
- Nature and flavor: Root bitter, neutral, non-toxic.
- Indications: Ancient people used it for deficiency-type abdominal pain, bone pain, beriberi with swelling and pain, wasting-thirst, epistaxis, uterine bleeding, incessant menstruation, reddish-white vaginal discharge, knife wounds, swollen and stiff tongue, fishbone stuck in the throat, etc.
- White peony leans toward nourishing blood and consolidating yin, softening the liver and stopping pain; red peony leans toward clearing heat and cooling blood, and dispersing stasis.
⚠️ The "bone pain" formula in the original text uses tiger bone, and the "epistaxis and hemoptysis" formulas use rhinoceros horn; both are now protected species and are no longer used.
🌿 Mǔdān (Tree peony bark)
- Name interpretation: Also known as Shǔgū, Lùjiǔ, Bǎiliǎngjīn, Mùsháoyào, Huāwáng.
- Nature and flavor: Root bark pungent, cold, non-toxic.
- Indications: Hernia, lochial disorders in women, traumatic blood stasis, internal bleeding after knife wounds, sores on the lower body, etc.
🌿 Mùxiāng (Costus root)
- Name interpretation: Also known as Mìxiāng, Qīngmùxiāng, Wǔmùxiāng, Nánmùxiāng.
- Nature and flavor: Root pungent, warm, non-toxic.
- Indications: Ancient formulas use it for loss of consciousness due to middle qi depletion, stuffy and distending stomach qi, stabbing pain in the heart region, migratory qi pain, small intestinal hernia, qi-stagnation lumbar pain, deafness, cholera with muscle cramping, dysentery, intestinal wind with rectal bleeding, turbid urine, infantile scrotal swelling, carbuncles and furuncles, snake and insect bites, damp and malodorous armpits and groin, toothache, etc.
- The core actions are moving qi to stop pain, strengthening the spleen, and promoting digestion.
🌿 Gānsōngxiāng (Nardostachys)
- Name interpretation: Also known as Kǔmíchě.
- Nature and flavor: Root sweet, warm, non-toxic.
- Indications: Epigastric and abdominal pain with fullness, spleen accumulation with stagnation, kidney-deficiency toothache, facial nevi and wind sores, beriberi with swelling reaching the knees, etc.
🌿 Dùruò (Pollia japonica)
- Name interpretation: Also known as Dùhéng, Dùlián, Ruòzhī, Chǔhéng, Shānjiāng.
- Nature and flavor: Root pungent, slightly warm, non-toxic.
- Indications: Adverse qi rising in the chest and flanks, headache with nasal discharge, wind-heat between the skin layers, etc. Li Shizhen said that Dùruò was listed as a superior herb in the Shennong's Classic of the Materia Medica and is an essential herb for treating various disorders of Foot Shaoyin and Taiyang channels, yet regrettably people today do not know how to use it.
🌿 Gāoliángjiāng (Galangal)
- Name interpretation: Also known as Mánjiāng; its fruit is called Hóngdòukòu.
- Nature and flavor: Root pungent, greatly warm, non-toxic.
- Indications: Cholera with vomiting and diarrhea, beriberi with nausea on the verge of vomiting, cold pain in the heart and spleen, nourishing the spleen and warming the stomach, spleen-deficiency cold malaria, sudden redness and pain in both eyes, wind-type toothache with swelling, etc.
🌿 Yùjīn (Turmeric root tuber)
- Name interpretation: Also known as Mǎ.
- Nature and flavor: Root pungent, bitter, cold, non-toxic.
- Indications: Mania, pox toxin attacking the heart, heart qi pain, postpartum heart pain, epistaxis and hemoptysis, yang-toxin rectal bleeding, hematuria, wind-phlegm congestion, hemorrhoid swelling and pain, etc.
🌿 Jiānghuáng (Curcuma longa rhizome)
- Name interpretation: Also known as Bǎodǐngxiāng.
- Nature and flavor: Root pungent, bitter, greatly cold, non-toxic; some sources say it is hot in nature.
- Indications: Unbearable heart pain, cold fetal abdominal pain, postpartum blood pain, early-stage sores and tinea, etc.
🌿 Bǔgǔzhī (Psoralea fruit)
- Name interpretation: Also known as Pògùzhǐ, Pógùzhī, Hújiǔzǐ.
- Nature and flavor: Fruit pungent, greatly warm, non-toxic.
- Indications: Decline of primary yang, five strains and seven impairments, kidney-deficiency lumbar pain, lumbar pain in pregnant women, insecurity of essence qi, frequent urination, infantile bedwetting, kidney leakage, spleen-kidney deficiency diarrhea, watery diarrhea with chronic dysentery, prolonged toothache, lumbar pain from falls, etc.
- Representative formulas include Qīng'é Wán, Èrshén Wán, Sānshén Wán, etc.
🌿 Bìbá (Long pepper)
- Name interpretation: Also known as Bìbō.
- Nature and flavor: Pungent, greatly warm, non-toxic.
- Indications: Cold phlegm with nausea, sudden diarrhea with a cold body, cold stomach with sour mouth, miasmic qi forming masses, women's blood-qi pain, hemicranial wind headache, wind-type dental caries pain, etc.
🌿 Yìzhìzǐ (Black cardamom fruit)
- Nature and flavor: Kernel pungent, warm, non-toxic.
- Indications: Frequent urination, heart-deficiency with urinary leakage, whitish turbid urine with abdominal fullness, abdominal distension with diarrhea, uterine bleeding in women, halitosis, threatened miscarriage with vaginal bleeding, etc.
- The famous formula Suōquán Wán combines Yìzhì kernel with Lindera root for frequent urination.
🌿 Suōshāmì (Amomum villosum)
- Nature and flavor: Kernel pungent, warm, astringent, non-toxic.
- Indications: Cold-slippery diarrhea, rectal bleeding from the lower intestine, infantile rectal prolapse, generalized edema, phlegm-qi diaphragm distension, cough with adverse qi, fetal agitation, profuse uterine bleeding, sore throat, toothache, mouth sores, fishbone stuck in the throat, accidental swallowing of metal objects, etc.
🌿 Báidòukòu (Round cardamom)
- Name interpretation: Also known as Duōgǔ.
- Nature and flavor: Kernel pungent, greatly warm, non-toxic.
- Indications: Cold stomach with nausea, sudden nausea, infantile spitting up milk, vomiting of food (dyspepsia with regurgitation), etc.
- The famous formula Tàicāng Wán is used for vomiting of food.
🌿 Dòukòu (Nutmeg/Black cardamom)
- Name interpretation: Also known as Cǎodòukòu, Lòukòu, Cǎoguǒ.
- Nature and flavor: Kernel pungent, astringent, warm, non-toxic.
- Indications: Epigastric and abdominal distension and fullness, weak stomach with vomiting and nausea, cholera with restlessness and thirst, deficiency malaria with spontaneous sweating, miasmic malaria, reddish-white vaginal discharge, spleen pain with distension and fullness, etc.
🌿 Péng'émù (Curcuma zedoaria)
- Name interpretation: Also known as Shù.
- Nature and flavor: Root bitter, pungent, warm, non-toxic.
- Indications: Cold pain in the heart and abdomen, migratory blood-qi pain in women, lumbar pain, infantile qi pain, wheezing with rapid breathing, shortness of breath with qi failing to connect, infantile spitting up milk, etc.
🌿 Jīngsānléng (Scirpus rhizome)
- Name interpretation: Also known as Jīngsānléng, Cǎosānléng, Jīzhuǎléng, Hēisānléng, Shísānléng.
- Nature and flavor: Root bitter, neutral, non-toxic.
- Indications: Abdominal masses with tympanites, hypochondriac masses, infantile qi masses, vomiting of food with nausea, insufficient lactation, generalized blisters, etc.
🌿 Suōcǎo Xiāngfùzǐ (Cyperus tuber)
- Name interpretation: Also known as Quètóuxiāng, Cǎofùzǐ, Shuǐxiāngléng, Shuǐbājǐ, Shuǐshā, Hóushā, Suōjié, Fúxū, Xùgēncǎo, Dìmáo.
- Nature and flavor: Root sweet, slightly cold, non-toxic.
- Indications: Premature aging, hemicranial and frontal headaches, all qi disorders, various pains in the heart and abdomen, damp edema and deficiency edema, hernia, menstrual irregularities, profuse uterine bleeding and vaginal discharge, calming the fetus, during labor, various postpartum conditions, qi-stagnation hemoptysis, hematuria, rectal bleeding, rectal prolapse, headache, eye pain, deafness, toothache, wasting-thirst, centipede bites, etc.
- Famous formulas include Jiāogǎn Dān, Yīpǐn Wán, Kuàiqì Tāng, Àifù Wán, Sìzhì Xiāngfù Wán, Tiězhào Sǎn, Èrxiāng Sǎn, etc.
🌿 Huòxiāng (Patchouli/Wrinkled giant hyssop)
- Name interpretation: Also known as Dōulóupóxiāng.
- Nature and flavor: Branches and leaves pungent, slightly warm, non-toxic.
- Indications: Cholera with vomiting and diarrhea, summer heat vomiting and diarrhea, restless fetal qi, halitosis, ulcerated sores, etc.
🌿 Xūncǎo (Lingling aromatic: Sweet flag)
- Name interpretation: Also known as Huìcǎo, Xiāngcǎo, Yàncǎo, Huánglíngcǎo.
- Nature and flavor: Sweet, neutral, non-toxic.
- Indications: Cold damage with diarrhea, cold damage fox-creeper syndrome (Behcet's-like syndrome), wind headache with vertigo, infantile nasal congestion with head heat, wind headache with white dandruff, tooth pain, nocturnal emission with spermatorrhea, contraception and permanent sterility, red-white dysentery, etc.
⚠️ The record regarding "contraception and permanent sterility" belongs to ancient empirical knowledge and cannot be adopted as a modern contraceptive method.
🌿 Láncǎo (Eupatorium)
- Name interpretation: Also known as Xián, Mùxiāng, Xiāngshuǐlán, Nǚlán, Xiāngcǎo, Yànwěixiāng, Dàzé lán, Lánzé cǎo, Jiānzé cǎo, Shěngtóu cǎo, Dūliángxiāng, Hái'érjú, Qiānjīn cǎo.
- Nature and flavor: Leaf pungent, neutral, non-toxic.
- Indications: Removes phlegm masses in the chest, treats wasting-thirst, disperses carbuncle swelling, generates blood and regulates qi; boiling it in water can wash wind disorders and also counteract poisoning from eating beef or horse meat.
🌿 Zélán (Bugleweed)
- Name interpretation: Also known as Shuǐxiāng, Dūliángxiāng, Hǔlán, Hǔpú, Lóngzǎo, Hái'érjú, Fēngyào. The root is called Dìsǔn.
- Nature and flavor: Leaf bitter, slightly warm, non-toxic.
- Indications: Postpartum edema, blood-deficiency general puffiness, infantile puerperal sores, early-stage sores and swellings, traumatic bruising and swelling, postpartum vaginal eversion, etc. — mostly used externally or internally as powdered preparations.
🌿 Mǎlán (Indian aster/Hispid aster)
- Name interpretation: Also known as Zǐjú.
- Nature and flavor: Root and leaf pungent, neutral, non-toxic.
- Indications: Various malaria with fever and chills, entangulated intestinal sha (acute abdominal crisis), bleeding from beating injuries, throat obstruction with trismus, edema with difficult urination, erysipelas, hemorrhoids and fistulas, etc.
🌿 Xiāngrú (Mosla)
- Name interpretation: Also known as Xiāngróu, Xiāngróng, Xiāngcài, Mìfēngcǎo.
- Nature and flavor: Pungent, slightly warm, non-toxic.
- Indications: Heat stroke (summerheat injury), edema, vexation with hypochondriac pain, incessant epistaxis, etc.
- The famous formula Xiāngrú Yǐn treats summer heat complicated by externally contracted cold-dampness; Xiāngrú Jiān and Shēnshī Rúzhú Wán treat edema.
🌿 Jiǎsū (Jingjie: Schizonepeta)
- Name interpretation: Also known as Jiāngjiè, Jīngjiè, Shǔyíng.
- Nature and flavor: Stem and spike pungent, warm, non-toxic.
- Indications: Wind-heat headache, wind-heat toothache, infantile convulsive disorders, hemiplegia, lockjaw from wind stroke, postpartum wind stroke, postpartum blood vertigo, postpartum diarrhea, bleeding from mouth and nose, hemoptysis, hematuria, profuse uterine bleeding, hemorrhoid swelling and pain, rectal bleeding with stool, scrofula ulceration, furuncle swelling with various toxins, various sores and scabies, damp erosion between the toes, various head and eye disorders, lower abdominal cramping pain, etc.
- Famous formulas include Jīngjiè Sǎn, Huàtuó Yùfēng Sǎn, etc.
🌿 Bòhe (Mint)
- Name interpretation: Also known as Báhuó, Fānhécài, Wúbáhuó, Nánbòhe, Jīnqiánbòhe.
- Nature and flavor: Stem and leaf pungent, warm, non-toxic.
- Indications: Clears the upper burner and transforms phlegm, benefits the throat and diaphragm, treats wind-heat; red and erosive eyelid margins, scrofula, incessant epistaxis, bloody dysentery, fire-toxin sores, etc.
🌿 Shuǐsū (Chinese bugleweed/Stachys)
- Name interpretation: Also known as Jīsū, Xiāngsū, Lóngnǎo bòhe, Jièjū.
- Nature and flavor: Stem and leaf pungent, slightly warm, non-toxic.
- Indications: Uterine bleeding, hemoptysis, rectal bleeding, hemoptysis with cough, incessant epistaxis, nasal sinus congestion with discharge, wind-heat headache, sudden deafness, white dandruff on the head, snake and insect bites, etc.
🌿 Jú (Chrysanthemum flower)
- Name interpretation: Also known as Jiéhuá, Nǚjié, Nǚhuá, Nǚjīng, Rìjīng, Gēngshēng, Fùyánnián, Jīnruǐ, Yīnchéng, Zhōuyíng.
- Nature and flavor: Flower bitter, neutral, non-toxic.
- Indications: Wind-heat headache, wind-damp knee pain with arthritis, nebula formation after illness, vulvar swelling in women, blurred vision, etc.
🌿 Yějú (Wild chrysanthemum)
- Name interpretation: Also known as Kǔyì.
- Nature and flavor: Root, leaf, stem, and flower bitter, pungent, warm, slightly toxic.
- Indications: Unnamed swellings and toxins, vesicular erosive dermatitis, unruptured scrofula, etc. — mostly used externally or decocted in wine for internal use to induce sweating.
⚠️ Wild chrysanthemum is slightly toxic; use with caution and do not take internally at will.
🧠 Deep Understanding
Core Principles 💡
- Four natures and five flavors with treatment methods: The nature and flavor of the herbs in this chapter are predominantly pungent-warm, bitter-neutral, and sweet-warm. The core treatment methods are pungent dispersion, bitter descending, and warm unblocking. Pungent-warm herbs are mostly used to disperse wind pathogens, warm the middle and dispel cold, and move qi to transform dampness; bitter-neutral herbs are mostly used to clear heat and dry dampness, and invigorate blood to transform stasis.
- Channel tropism and disease location:
- Báizhǐ is a major herb for Yangming, treating various head-face and gastrointestinal disorders;
- Gǎoběn enters the Taiyang channel, particularly effective for vertex headache;
- Gāoliángjiāng and Bìbá warm the middle and dispel cold, used for cold pain in the spleen and stomach;
- Bǔgǔzhī and Yìzhìzǐ warm the kidneys, secure essence, and reduce urination, used for deficiency-cold of the lower origin;
- Xiāngfù, Yùjīn, Ézhú, and Sānléng regulate and rectify qi and blood, widely used for gynecological blood-qi disorders.
- Aromatic dampness transformation and qi movement: Aromatic herbs such as Mùxiāng, Gānsōng, Shā rén, Báidòukòu, Cǎodòukòu, and Huòxiāng were believed by ancient people to awaken the spleen and transform dampness, move qi and stop pain, and arrest vomiting and diarrhea.
- Wind herbs and head-face disorders: Jīngjiè, Bòhe, Júhuā, and Báizhǐ are light and clear, floating upward, commonly used for wind-heat or wind-cold problems involving the head, face, eyes, and throat.
- Blood-qi stasis and sores/carbuncles: Sháoyào, Mǔdān, Yùjīn, Jiānghuáng, Ézhú, and Sānléng can invigorate blood, move qi, and dissipate masses; ancient people used them for traumatic stagnation, carbuncle swelling and toxins, and women's menstrual, vaginal discharge, pregnancy, and postpartum disorders.
Modern Understanding 🌟
- Modern research on many drugs in this chapter suggests they contain volatile oils, flavonoids, alkaloids, and other components, which may have anti-inflammatory, analgesic, antibacterial, and gastrointestinal-regulating effects; however, these are mostly summaries of ancient experience and still require rigorous clinical research for verification.
- Some drugs or combinations contain toxic components: for example, "mercurous chloride powder" in the Chidium monnieri entry, "realgar" and "cinnabar" in the Angelica dahurica entry, and "tiger bone" and "rhinoceros horn" in the Peony entry. Mercurous chloride contains mercury; realgar and cinnabar contain arsenic and mercury, which are clearly toxic by modern standards; tiger bone and rhinoceros horn involve protected animals and their use has been prohibited.
- Some methods in ancient prescriptions, such as external treatment, fumigating and washing, and drug insertion, represent accumulated experience under ancient conditions and cannot replace modern diagnosis and treatment; in particular, methods such as vaginal drug insertion in gynecology and inhalation of burned smoke carry safety risks and should not be imitated on one's own.
- Records concerning "contraception and permanent sterilization," "chronic wasting-thirst," and "pox toxin attacking the heart" carry historical limitations and should be viewed rationally.
- Some drugs, such as wild chrysanthemum, are explicitly marked as "slightly toxic," indicating that the ancients had preliminary awareness of toxicity, but modern toxicological evaluation is still needed.
Health Preservation Insights ⚡
- Follow the four seasons and maintain moderation in diet: The ancient formula "Elsholtzia drink" suggests that in hot weather one should not overindulge in cold drinks or remain lying in damp places for long periods; in daily life, one should guard against heatstroke, keep the diet light, and avoid raw and cold foods without restraint.
- Regulate emotions and prioritize promoting qi flow: The large number of qi-moving drugs such as Cyperus, Aucklandia, and Amomum reflects the ancient emphasis on "unobstructed qi movement." In daily life, one can pay attention to emotional expression, moderate exercise, and avoiding prolonged sitting that causes qi stagnation.
- Daily care for the head and face: The ancients used aromatic plants such as Angelica dahurica, chrysanthemum, and mint for washing hair, rinsing the mouth, and bathing the eyes. In modern times, within safe limits, one may choose regulated products for general cleansing and care, but these must never replace medical treatment.
- Kidney qi and daily routine: Records of warming the kidney and securing astringency using drugs such as Psoralea and Alpinia suggest that the ancients valued the constraining and protection of kidney qi. In daily life, one should avoid overexertion, moderate sexual activity, and maintain a regular schedule.
📚 Related Knowledge
- Associated concepts: Four natures and five flavors, channel tropism, wind-dispelling drugs, aromatic herbs for resolving dampness, simultaneous treatment of qi and blood, warming the kidney and securing astringency, and drugs for menstruation, leukorrhea, pregnancy, and childbirth.
- Representative formulas: Shenbai Powder, Huanjing Pill, Jiaogan Elixir, Yipin Pill, Kuaiqi Decoction, Aifu Pill, Sizhi Xiangfu Pill, Elsholtzia drink, Suoquan Pill, Qing'e Pill, Ershen Pill, Taicang Pill, Guo-Fu Decoction, Jingjie Powder, Huatuo Yufeng Powder, etc.
- Further reading:
- Shennong's Classic of the Materia Medica: top-grade drugs such as orchid herb and Jerusalem sage;
- Treatise on Cold Damage: thoughts on drug combinations involving Angelica dahurica and Peony;
- Other volumes of the "Herbs" section in the Compendium of Materia Medica;
- Systematized Identification of Warm Diseases: usages of Elsholtzia, mint, etc.
This content is based on classic ancient Chinese medicine texts and is provided solely for the study and research of traditional culture. It does not constitute any medical diagnosis, medication, or treatment advice; if you feel unwell, please seek medical attention promptly.
