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Chapter 4 of 33
神农本草经
This section covers the jade and mineral drugs of the upper grade in the Shennong Ben Cao Jing, recording a total of eighteen mineral remedies. The ancients believed that these metals and stones largely possessed effects such as "nourishing the spirit, calming the ethereal and corporeal souls, boosting qi, improving eyesight, and with prolonged use, lightening the body and extending the years." They were therefore placed at the head of the upper grade, reflecting the unique early medical concept that "metals and stones are considered precious." Below is an item-by-item translation and explanation.
Original Text
Sweet flavor, slightly cold. Governs the hundred diseases of the body and five viscera, nourishes the spirit, calms the ethereal and corporeal souls, boosts qi, improves eyesight, dispels spirit effluvia and malicious ghosts. With prolonged use, it communicates with the spirit and prevents aging. It can transform into mercury. Grows in mountain valleys.
Vernacular Translation
Cinnabar, sweet flavor, slightly cold in nature. Ancient records state it can treat various diseases of the body and five viscera, nourish the spirit, calm the ethereal and corporeal souls, supplement righteous qi, improve eyesight, and expel spirit effluvia and evil ghosts. With long-term use, it can make the mind clear and lucid and delay aging. When heated, this substance can transform into mercury. It is produced in mountain valleys.
Textual Collation Note : The three characters "生山谷" (grows in mountain valleys) in the original text were supplemented based on citations in the Taiping Yulan (Imperial Readings of the Taiping Era). Later editions note "grows in Fuling mountain valleys," with "Fuling" being a commandery and county place name added by later generations, not part of the original classic text. It is therefore distinguished using white characters (main text) and black characters (annotations).
Supplementary Literature : The Wupu Ben Cao records differing medical opinions on cinnabar: Shennong considered it sweet, Huangdi considered it bitter and toxic; Bian Que considered it bitter, and Master Li considered it greatly cold. It is either produced in Wuling, with collection unrestricted by season. It can transform into unmatured mercury. It fears loadstone and is averse to salt water. The Mingyi Bielu (Records of Famous Physicians) supplements: when ground into powder it is named "true vermilion," lustrous like mica, and those that can be snapped are of superior quality, produced in Fuling mountain valleys.
Textual Research : The Shuowen Jiezi (Explaining Simple and Analyzing Compound Characters) defines "dan" as a red ore produced in the Ba-Yue region; "hong" refers to mercury transformed from cinnabar. Ancient texts such as the Guanzi and Huainanzi both contain records of the transformational relationships among cinnabar, gold, and red mercury. Ancient alchemists held that metal and stone drugs, with prolonged use, could lighten the body and extend life, but only on the condition of "avoiding grains," severing human relations, or taking them continuously for decades before efficacy appeared. If taken together with meat consumption, they could instead cause disease.
Original Text
Sweet flavor, neutral. Governs dead skin and flesh of the body, wind stroke with cold and heat, as if riding in a carriage or on a boat, dispels pathogenic qi, stabilizes the five viscera, boosts seminal essence, improves eyesight. With prolonged use, lightens the body and extends the years. Also named Yunzhu, Yunhua, Yunying, Yinye, Yinsha, and Linshi. Grows in mountain valleys.
Vernacular Translation
Mica, sweet flavor, neutral nature. Governs necrosis of skin and flesh, wind stroke with cold and heat (fever and chills caused by external pathogenic factors), and a sensation of the body swaying unsteadily as if riding in a carriage or on a boat (vertigo). It can expel pathogenic qi, stabilize the five viscera, supplement reproductive essence, and improve eyesight. With prolonged use, it can make the body light and agile and extend lifespan. Also known as Yunzhu, Yunhua, Yunying, Yunye, Yinsha, and Linshi. Produced in mountain valleys.
Supplementary Literature : The Baopuzi (Master Who Embraces Simplicity), chapter on immortal drugs, details the classification of mica by five colors: those with all five colors complete but predominately green are named "Yunying," suitable for spring consumption; those predominately red are named "Yunzhu," suitable for summer consumption; those predominately white are named "Yunye," suitable for autumn consumption; those predominately black are named "Yunmu," suitable for winter consumption; those with only green and yellow colors are named "Yinsha," suitable for late summer consumption; those pure white and crystalline are named "Linshi," suitable for year-round long-term consumption. Other literature records that mica remains undecayed after ten thousand years underground.
Original Text
Sweet flavor, neutral. Governs the hundred diseases of the five viscera, softens sinews and strengthens bones, calms the ethereal and corporeal souls, increases flesh, boosts qi. With prolonged use, withstands cold and heat, does not hunger or thirst, does not age, becomes an immortal. If a person on the verge of death takes five jin, for three years after death the complexion does not change. Also named Yuzha. Grows in mountain valleys.
Vernacular Translation
Jade Spring, sweet flavor, neutral nature. Governs various diseases of the five viscera, softens and strengthens sinews and bones, calms the ethereal and corporeal souls, promotes the growth of flesh, and supplements righteous qi. With long-term use, one can withstand cold and heat, feel no hunger or thirst, delay aging, and even become an immortal. The ancients even recorded that if a person on the verge of death took five jin, their complexion would not change for three years after death. Also known as Yuzha. Produced in mountain valleys.
Supplementary Literature : The Zhou Li (Rites of Zhou) records that the Son of Heaven consumed jade shavings during fasting and purification. Zheng Xuan's commentary states: "Jade is the purest of yang essence; consuming it wards off water qi." The Baopuzi records that jade can be transformed into liquid using black rice wine or difu wine, or dissolved in scallion pulp, and can also be made into pills or burned into powder for consumption. It emphasizes that only unworked raw jade must be used, not finished jade artifacts.
Original Text
Sweet flavor, warm. Governs cough with counterflow and qi ascending, improves eyesight and boosts essence, stabilizes the five viscera, opens the hundred joints, benefits the nine orifices, promotes lactation. Grows in mountain valleys.
Vernacular Translation
Stalactite, sweet flavor, warm nature. Governs coughing with qi counterflow and wheezing with qi ascending. It improves eyesight, supplements essential qi, stabilizes the five viscera, opens and frees all the body's joints, unblocks the nine orifices, and promotes the downward flow of breast milk. Produced in mountain valleys.
Supplementary Literature : The Wupu Ben Cao records stalactite also named "Xuzhong," with differing views among physicians on its nature: Shennong considered it pungent, Tongjun, Huangdi, and Yi He considered it sweet, Bian Que considered it sweet and non-toxic, and Master Li considered it greatly cold. It grows beneath cliffs on the shaded side of mountains, formed by the dripping of mineral-laden water, shaped like breast milk, yellow-white in color, hollow and interconnected within. Collected in the second and third months, dried in the shade. The Mingyi Bielu supplements that it is also named "Gongru," "Lushi," and "Xiashi," produced at Shaoshi Mountain and Mount Tai.
Textual Research : The character "zhong" (钟) is a phonetic loan character for "tong" (潼). The Shuowen Jiezi explains "tong" as breast milk, so named because stalactite resembles breast milk in shape.
Original Text
Sour flavor, cold. Governs cold and heat, diarrhea and dysentery, white vaginal discharge with yin erosion, malignant sores, eye pain, strengthens bones, sinews, and teeth. Refined and taken as elixir, lightens the body, prevents aging, and increases years. Also named Yunie. Grows in mountain valleys.
Vernacular Translation
Nieshi (alum stone), sour flavor, cold nature. Governs alternating chills and fever, diarrhea and dysentery, abnormal white vaginal discharge in women (bai wo) and erosive sores of the genital area, malignant sores, eye pain. It can strengthen bones, sinews, and teeth. After being refined and consumed, the ancients believed it could make the body light and agile, delay aging, and extend lifespan. Also known as Yunie. Produced in mountain valleys.
Supplementary Literature : The Wupu Ben Cao cites various authorities: Shennong and Qibo considered it sour, Bian Que considered it salty, and Leigong considered it sour and non-toxic. Produced in Hexi, Longxi, Wudu, and Shimen. Qibo specifically warned that "prolonged use injures human bones," a caution worthy of attention. In the Shanhaijing (Classic of Mountains and Seas), chapter on Western Mountains, Guo Pu's commentary notes that people of Chu called it "nieshi," while people of Qin named it "yunie."
Original Text
Bitter flavor, cold. Governs accumulated heat of the five viscera, gastric distention and obstruction, flushes away retained accumulated food and drink, promotes the old to yield to the new, expels pathogenic qi. Refined, it becomes like paste. With prolonged use, lightens the body. Grows in mountain valleys.
Vernacular Translation
Xiaoshi, bitter flavor, cold nature. Governs accumulated heat in the five viscera, gastric distention and obstruction. It can flush away retained food and waste products in the body, promote metabolism (push out the old and bring in the new), and expel pathogenic qi. After refining, it becomes paste-like. The ancients believed long-term use could make the body light and agile. Produced in mountain valleys.
Supplementary Literature : The Wupu Ben Cao records that Shennong considered it bitter and Bian Que considered it sweet. The Mingyi Bielu supplements that it is also named "Mangxiao," produced in Yizhou, Wudu, Longxi, and Xiqiang, with collection unrestricted by season. The Fanzi Jinan records that nitre comes from Longdao.
Original Text
Bitter flavor, cold. Governs the hundred diseases, expels cold and heat pathogenic qi, drives out accumulations in the six bowels, fixed masses, lingering concretions, and can transform seventy-two types of stones. Refined and consumed as elixir, lightens the body and makes one an immortal. Grows in mountain valleys.
Vernacular Translation
Puxiao, bitter flavor, cold nature. Ancient records state it can treat various diseases, expel pathogenic qi of cold and heat, attack and drive out accumulations, masses, obstinate lumps (pǐ), and concretions in the six bowels. It can transform seventy-two types of stones. After refining and consumption, the ancients believed one could become light in body and achieve immortality. Produced in mountain valleys.
Supplementary Literature : The Wupu Ben Cao records that Shennong, Qibo, and Leigong all considered it non-toxic. Produced in Yizhou or on the shaded side of mountains, it remains unchanged when buried in the earth for a thousand years, but if the refining is not successful, it must not be consumed. The Mingyi Bielu gives another name "Xiaoshipu," produced on the sunny side of saline lands in Yizhou. The Shuowen Jiezi explains "pu" as the bark of a tree, here metaphorically referring to the outer wrapping substance of mirabilite.
Original Text
Sweet flavor, cold. Governs body heat with dysentery, difficult lactation in women, urinary obstruction. Benefits urination, flushes away accumulations of cold and heat in the stomach, boosts essential qi. With prolonged use, lightens the body, withstands hunger, and lengthens years. Grows in mountain valleys.
Vernacular Translation
Huashi, sweet flavor, cold nature. Governs fever with diarrhea and dysentery, blocked lactation in postpartum women (ru nan), and difficult urination (long bi). It promotes urination, flushes away accumulated cold and heat pathogens in the stomach, and supplements essential qi. With long-term use, the ancients believed it could make the body light and agile, help withstand hunger, and extend lifespan. Produced in mountain valleys.
Supplementary Literature : The Mingyi Bielu records other names: "Yeshi," "Gongshi," "Tuoshi," and "Fanshi," produced in Zheyang, the shaded side of Mount Tai, Yebei Baishan, and Juan Mountain. The Fanzi Jinan considers those that are white and slippery to be of superior quality. The Nanyue Zhi (Records of Nanyue) records that the "Liaoshi" produced in Liaocheng County is talc.
Original Text
Sour flavor, cold. Governs improving eyesight, eye pain, metal blade wounds, various types of epilepsy and convulsions, yin erosion in women, pain, stone strangury, cold and heat, uterine bleeding with discharge of blood, various pathogenic toxic qi, and enables one to bear children. Refined and taken as elixir, prevents aging; with prolonged use, increases longevity and achieves immortality. Can transform iron into copper, and form gold and silver. Also named Bishi. Grows in mountain valleys.
Vernacular Translation
Shidan (chalcanthite), sour flavor, cold nature. Governs vision problems, eye pain, traumatic wounds from blades (metal wounds), various types of epilepsy and convulsive spasms, erosive sores and pain in the female genital area, stone strangury (urinary tract stones), alternating chills and fever, uterine bleeding with blood discharge, and various pathogenic toxic qi. The ancients also believed it could aid conception. After refining and consumption, it can delay aging; with prolonged use, it extends lifespan and leads to immortality. This substance can transform iron into copper and combine with gold and silver. Also known as Bishi. Produced in mountain valleys.
Supplementary Literature : The Wupu Ben Cao records considerable divergence among authorities: Shennong considered it sour and slightly cold in nature; Master Li considered it greatly cold; Tongjun considered it pungent and toxic; Bian Que considered it bitter and non-toxic. Also known as "Heishi" and "Tongle." Produced in Qiangdao and Gouqing Mountain, collected on the gengzi and xinchou days of the second month. Of particular note is the preparation method of "the medicine of five poisons" recorded in Zheng Xuan's commentary to the Zhou Li : combining chalcanthite, cinnabar, realgar, alum, and loadstone, burning together for three days and three nights, sweeping up the smoke and soot with a chicken feather, and applying it externally to sores and ulcers, which can cause putrid flesh and broken bone to emerge completely. Yang Yi of the Northern Song dynasty recorded a case where this method cured a ulcer on the cheek.
Original Text
Sweet flavor, cold. Governs blindness and deafness. Improves eyesight, benefits the nine orifices, unblocks the blood vessels, nourishes the spirit. With prolonged use, lightens the body, extends years, and prevents aging. Can transform copper, iron, lead, and tin into gold. Grows in mountain valleys.
Vernacular Translation
Kongqing, sweet flavor, cold nature. Governs blindness (sheng mang) and deafness. It improves eyesight, opens and benefits the nine orifices, unblocks the blood vessels, and nourishes the spirit. With long-term use, the ancients believed it could lighten the body, extend lifespan, and resist aging. It is claimed to be able to transform copper, iron, lead, and tin into gold. Produced in mountain valleys.
Supplementary Literature : The Wupu Ben Cao records that Shennong considered it sweet, with one version saying sour. It also contains a heavily mystical description: "With prolonged use, immortal jade maidens will come to visit, causing one's aspirations to soar." The Mingyi Bielu explains that Kongqing grows in places where copper is produced: "when the essence of copper fumes forth, then Kongqing is born," that is, generated by the fumigation and steaming of the vital essence of copper ores. Its interior is hollow. Collected in mid-March. In the Shanhaijing, Guo Pu's commentary classifies Kongqing under "the category of Zengqing."
Original Text
Sour flavor, slightly cold. Governs eye pain and stops tears, expels wind impediment, benefits the joints, opens the nine orifices, breaks fixed accumulations and hard masses. With prolonged use, lightens the body and prevents aging. Can transform gold and copper. Grows in mountain valleys.
Vernacular Translation
Zengqing, sour flavor, slightly cold nature. Governs eye pain and stops tearing, expels the pathogen of wind impediment, opens and benefits the joints, unblocks the nine orifices, and breaks apart fixed accumulations and masses (internal lumps). With long-term use, the ancients believed it could lighten the body and prevent aging. It can transform gold and copper. Grows in mountain valleys.
Supplementary Literature : In the Xunzi, Yang Jing's commentary states: "Zengqing is the essence of copper." The ancients believed Zengqing and Kongqing were of the same category, both generated by the vital essence of copper ores. The Fanzi Jinan records Zengqing comes from Hongnong and Yuzhang. The Huainanzi, chapter on terrestrial formations, describes in mythological terms that "the blue sky, after eight hundred years, gives birth to green zeng," reflecting ancient imagination regarding the formation processes of minerals.
Original Text
Sweet flavor, cold. Governs cough with counterflow, cold and heat, abdominal fullness and distention with downward discharge, red and white dysentery, blood blockage, fixed masses, high fever. Refined and taken as elixir, one does not hunger, the body becomes light, and years are extended. Grows in ponds, marshes, and mountain islands.
Vernacular Translation
Yuyuliang, sweet flavor, cold nature. Governs cough with qi counterflow, alternating chills and fever, abdominal and thoracic fullness and distention, dysentery with red and white discharge, amenorrhea (blood blockage), abdominal masses (zheng jia), and high fever. After refining and consumption, the ancients believed it could prevent hunger, lighten the body, and extend lifespan. Produced in ponds, marshes, and mountain islands.
Supplementary Literature : The Bowuzhi (Records of Diverse Matters) records an interesting legend: when the Great Yu controlled the floods, he discarded his leftover rice into the river, which transformed into this medicine. However, the Shennong Ben Cao Jing was compiled far earlier than the Xia dynasty narrative of Yu, so "Yu" may not refer to the Great Yu. It may have originally been named "Baiyuliang," with later generations attaching the name through embellishment. The Fanzi Jinan records it comes from Hedong.
Original Text
Sweet flavor, neutral. Governs cough with counterflow and qi ascending, fixed masses, blood blockage, uterine bleeding, and residual pathogenic qi. With prolonged use, withstands cold and heat, does not hunger, lightens the body, flies a thousand li, and becomes an immortal. Also named Shinao. Grows in mountain valleys.
Vernacular Translation
Taiyi Yuliang, sweet flavor, neutral nature. Governs cough with qi counterflow and wheezing, fixed masses, amenorrhea, uterine bleeding (non-menstrual vaginal bleeding), and residual pathogenic qi. With long-term use, the ancients believed one could withstand cold and heat, feel no hunger, become light in body, and even "fly a thousand li" to become immortal. Also known as Shinao. Produced in mountain valleys.
Supplementary Literature : The Wupu Ben Cao records another name "Yu'ai," produced on top of Mount Tai, wrapped in a shell; within the shell there is white matter, and within the white there is yellow, like the yolk of a chicken egg. The Baopuzi, chapter on gold elixirs, lists Taiyi Yuliang as an important ingredient in alchemical refining, combined with cinnabar, realgar, orpiment, sulfur, layered azurite, alum, loadstone, and Xirong salt, refined together for thirty-six days to produce an elixir.
Original Text
Sweet flavor, slightly warm. Governs wasting thirst, yin impotence, deficiency insufficiency, cough with counterflow, prolonged cold between the chest and diaphragm, boosts qi, eliminates wind-damp impediment. With prolonged use, lightens the body and lengthens years. Grows in mountain valleys.
Vernacular Translation
Baishiying, sweet flavor, slightly warm nature. Governs wasting-thirst disorder (condition of excessive drinking and urination), impotence (yin wei), deficiency and insufficiency, cough with qi counterflow, lingering cold congelation in the chest and diaphragm region, boosts righteous qi, and eliminates wind-damp impediment pain. With long-term use, the ancients believed it could lighten the body and extend lifespan. Produced in mountain valleys.
Supplementary Literature : The Wupu Ben Cao records that Shennong, Qibo, Huangdi, Leigong, and Bian Que all considered it non-toxic. Produced on Mount Tai, shaped like purple quartz, white in color with a luster, two to three cun in length for larger pieces. Another saying holds that "with prolonged use, one becomes transparent to the light of sun and moon," carrying strong Daoist mystical overtones.
Original Text
Sweet flavor, warm. Governs heart and abdominal counterflow cough, pathogenic qi, supplements insufficiency. For women with wind-cold lodged in the uterus, causing failure to conceive, even infertility for ten years, it is effective. With prolonged use, warms the center, lightens the body, and extends years. Grows in mountain valleys.
Vernacular Translation
Zishiying, sweet flavor, warm nature. Governs disorders of the heart and abdomen with cough and qi counterflow, dispels pathogenic qi, and supplements deficiency and insufficiency. For women whose infertility is due to wind-cold pathogens lodging in the uterus, even those who have been childless for ten years, the ancients believed it could treat the condition. With long-term use, it warms the middle burner, lightens the body, and extends lifespan. Produced in mountain valleys.
Supplementary Literature: Wu Pu's Materia Medica records the various schools' views in detail: Shennong and Bian Que held it to be sweet in taste and neutral in nature; Master Li considered it greatly cold in nature; Lord Lei deemed it greatly warm; Qi Bo held it to be sweet in taste and non-toxic. It is produced at Mount Tai or Kuaiji. The finest quality is that which is shaped like a carved object, with purple color penetrating through to the tip, and shaped like a chupu (an ancient gaming implement).
Appendix to the Same Entry: The ancients further subdivided quartz by color into five types—green, red, yellow, white, and black—believing that quartz of different colors tonified the corresponding visceral qi: green quartz tonifies the liver, red quartz tonifies heart qi, yellow quartz tonifies the spleen, white quartz tonifies the lungs, and black quartz tonifies the kidneys. This understanding directly embodies the Five Elements doctrine of five colors corresponding to five viscera.
Original Text
Sweet in taste, neutral in nature. Governs jaundice, draining and dysenteric disorders, intestinal afflictions, pus and blood, yin erosion, rectal bleeding, red and white discharge, pathogenic qi, welling abscesses and swellings, deep-rooted sores and hemorrhoids, malignant sores, head sores, and scabies with itching. Taken long-term, it supplements the marrow, boosts qi, makes one plump and fit, staves off hunger, lightens the body, and extends years. The five stone fats each supplement the five viscera according to their five colors. Born in mountain valleys.
Vernacular Translation
The Five-Colored Stone Fats are sweet in taste and neutral in nature. They govern jaundice, draining and dysenteric disorders, dysentery with pus and blood (intestinal afflictions), yin erosive sores, rectal bleeding, red and white vaginal discharge, welling abscesses and swellings caused by pathogenic qi, deep-rooted sores, hemorrhoid fistulas, malignant sores, head sores, and scabies with itching. Taken long-term, the ancients believed they could supplement the essence and marrow, boost upright qi, make the body plump and fit, stave off hunger, lighten the body, and extend years. Each of the five stone fats supplements the corresponding viscus according to its color. Produced in mountain valleys.
Supplementary Literature: Wu Pu's Materia Medica describes the five colored stone fats separately in detail, noting that each color bears the designation "tally": Green Tally, Red Tally, Yellow Tally, White Tally, and Black Tally. The recorded medicinal properties differ among the various schools. The red tally, crimson in color and slippery like fat, is considered finest; the yellow tally is colored like a dull brain or gosling. The white tally is also called "following the marrow"; the black tally is also called "stone mud." Before the Sui and Tang periods, the five colored stone fats were listed as independent entries; later materia medica works merged them into a single entry. Biographies of the Immortals records that Chi Xuzi was fond of eating stone fat, showing the close connection between stone fats and the tradition of Daoist ingestion practices.
Original Text
Sweet in taste, neutral in nature. Governs clarifying the eyes, unblocking the nine orifices, deafness, pathogenic qi below the heart, inducing vomiting, killing various poisons, and the three worms. Taken long-term, it penetrates the spirit and understanding, lightens the body, and extends years without aging. Born in mountain valleys.
Vernacular Translation
White Azure is sweet in taste and neutral in nature. It governs visual disorders, clarifying the eyes, unblocking the nine orifices, treating deafness, dispelling pathogenic qi below the heart, possessing an emetic effect, and capable of killing various poisonous pathogens and the three worms (the ancients' collective term for internal parasites). Taken long-term, the ancients believed it could make the spirit and consciousness clear and penetrating, the body light and fit, and extend years without aging. Produced in mountain valleys.
Supplementary Literature: Wu Pu's Materia Medica records that Shennong considered it sweet in taste and neutral in nature, while Lord Lei considered it sour in taste and non-toxic. Produced in Yuzhang, it can be melted and transformed into copper. Fan Zi's Calculation records that White Azure comes from Ba Commandery.
Original Text
Sweet in taste, neutral in nature. Governs eye pain, clarifies the eyes, falls and fractures, welling abscesses and swellings, unhealing metal wounds, breaking accumulations and gatherings, resolving poisonous qi, and benefiting the spirit. Taken long-term, it lightens the body and delays aging. Born in mountain valleys.
Vernacular Translation
Flat Azure is sweet in taste and neutral in nature. It governs eye pain, clarifies the eyes, treats falls and traumatic injuries (broken bones and contusions), welling abscesses and swellings, metal wounds (sword and knife injuries) that do not heal, breaks up internal accumulations, resolves poisonous qi, and soothes the spirit. Taken long-term, the ancients believed it could lighten the body and delay aging. Produced in mountain valleys.
Supplementary Literature: Wu Pu's Materia Medica records that Shennong and Lord Lei considered it slightly cold in nature and non-toxic. Produced in Shu Commandery, it governs male internal depletion (infertility), with claims of aiding conception. It also quotes the saying "treats welling abscesses, spleen wind, and painful impediment; taken long-term, lightens the body." Records of Famous Physicians records it as produced in Zhuyai, Wudu, Zhuti, and other places.
The primary medical principle behind top-grade jade and mineral drugs is the ancients' application of the "heavy, sinking, and descending" properties of metals and minerals. Cinnabar "settles the ethereal and corporeal souls," jade spring "settles the ethereal and corporeal souls," and hollow azure "nourishes the spirit" — behind these efficacy claims lies a set of analogical reasoning:
Metals and minerals sink, are hard, and endure → they can secure and restrain the floating and restless spirit → settle the ethereal and corporeal souls → thereby nourish the spirit.
This aligns consistently with the later application principles of mineral drugs in Chinese medicine — heavy minerals settle to tranquilize the spirit and calm fright. The ancients observed that minerals sink in water, are dense and firm in texture, and remain undecayed for millennia, and thus extrapolated that they could "secure" the floating and scattered "souls" within the human body, bringing the spirit to stability. This mode of thinking belongs to the category of categorical analogical reasoning (quxiang bilei), representing a typical model of early Chinese medical theory construction.
Nearly every drug in this chapter bears statements such as "long-term use lightens the body and extends years," "without aging," and "becoming an immortal," reflecting the profound permeation of alchemical-immortalist ingestion culture into medical literature during the era when the Shennong Classic of the Materia Medica was compiled. The core defining criterion for top-grade drugs is "non-toxic, can be taken in large amounts or long-term without harming, for those desiring light body, boosted qi, and extended years without aging," with minerals and jades listed at the head of the top grade — further highlighting the contemporary value orientation of "valuing metals and minerals above all."
Particularly noteworthy is the commentary on cinnabar at the end of the chapter: "People today take it together with meat and food, which thus often counteracts it, instead leading to disease; one must not doubt the ancient texts as false records." This statement reveals a special condition of ingestion among ancient stone-takers — abstaining from grains and meat, undertaking prolonged solitary cultivation. The ancients did not advocate ordinary daily consumption by common people, but rather use within a specific cultivation context. This distinction is crucial for understanding the original text.
The five colored stone fats "each supplement the five viscera according to their five colors," and the five colored quartzes respectively tonify their corresponding viscera — this is a direct manifestation of Five Elements five-color correspondence theory in pharmacology:
| Five Colors | Five Viscera | Five Elements |
|---|---|---|
| Green | Liver | Wood |
| Red | Heart | Fire |
| Yellow | Spleen | Earth |
| White | Lungs | Metal |
| Black | Kidneys | Water |
This mode of thinking, using color as an intermediate link to establish correspondence between medicinal efficacy and viscera, represents an early exploration predating the formation of the four qi, five flavors, and channel tropism system of Chinese medicine. Though its logical chain appears crude from a modern perspective, it constitutes the prototype of the channel tropism theory.
Cinnabar "can transform into mercury," stone gall "can transform iron into copper," hollow azure "can transform copper, iron, lead, and tin into gold" — these records reflect ancient naive observations of mineral chemical transformation phenomena. The thermal decomposition of cinnabar producing mercury is a real chemical reaction; the displacement reaction between chalcanthite solution and iron producing copper is the principle behind the ancient "gall-water copper-leaching method." Though these insights were shrouded in the mystical garments of "alchemy" and "immortality pursuit," their foundation lies in empirical accumulation regarding natural material transformation laws, laying the groundwork for later alchemy and early chemistry.
The statement in the nitrum entry that it "washes away retained accumulations of food and drink, expels the old and generates the new, and eliminates pathogenic qi" contains the deeply meaningful therapeutic concept of "expelling the old and generating the new (tuichen zhixin)." It reveals the essential mechanism of an entire class of drugs: by discharging old, stagnant pathological products from the body, they create space for the generation of new substances and the restoration of function. This principle applies not only to nitrum but became the core concept of later treatments for purging below, dispersing accumulations, and guiding stagnation — arguably the most universally valuable statement in the entire chapter.
The intervention of modern pharmacology has completely rewritten the safety assessment of jade and mineral drugs:
The modern conclusion is unequivocal: the vast majority of such mineral drugs should not be taken internally, and certainly not on a long-term basis. "Long-term use lightens the body and extends years without aging" is a cognitive product of specific historical conditions and must be rejected.
This is not a wholesale rejection. Some mineral drugs still have legitimate medical applications in modern times, but the methods of use, dosages, and supervisory conditions differ fundamentally from traditional practices:
The ancients believed hollow azure is "born where copper exists; the essence of copper vapors generates hollow azure" — an understanding bearing certain naive similarity to the oxidized zone genesis of secondary copper minerals in modern geology: azurite is indeed formed through secondary enrichment of primary copper ores in surface oxidation environments. The ancients explained this process through "essence and vapor fumigation," which, while not scientific language, demonstrates keen observation of mineral paragenesis phenomena.
The record that "when a person is near death, ingest five catties, and after three years of death the countenance does not change" reflects how the ancients erroneously projected the non-decaying, non-perishing properties of minerals onto the human body, hoping to preserve the corpse through jade's "immortality"—or even to achieve longevity. This mode of logic is evidently invalid from a modern scientific perspective. Historically, the prevailing stone-ingestion fad of the Wei-Jin and Northern-Southern Dynasties (such as the Five-Stone Powder) caused massive numbers of poisonings, disabilities, and even deaths—a painful lesson in medical history. In the Tang Dynasty, Sun Simiao fiercely condemned the harms of stone ingestion, urging people to "rather eat wild kudzu than ingest jade and stone."
The ancients used metals and minerals to "settle the ethereal and corporeal souls," with the core pursuit being spiritual stability and emotional equilibrium. Modern people need no drugs whatsoever to achieve this goal. Regular routines, moderate exercise, meditation or mindfulness practice, and good social relationships are all repeatedly verified "spirit-settling" methods in modern science. The essence of heavy mineral tranquilization lies in "using stillness to control movement," and in modern life, actively creating quiet, solitary time for oneself—allowing the mind to find its point of rest—is the modern practice of this concept.
The nitrum principle of "expelling the old and generating the new" can be extended to emphasize the importance of the body's metabolic regularity. In modern life, maintaining regular bowel movements, adequate water intake, balanced dietary fiber consumption, and moderate exercise to promote circulation are all daily versions of "expelling the old and generating the new." This is not about taking drugs to purge downward, but rather using lifestyle to allow the body to naturally maintain the virtuous cycle of "the old departing and the new arriving."
The claim that jade and mineral drugs enable "long-term endurance of cold and heat" reflects the ancient pursuit of bodily adaptability. Modern research has amply demonstrated that the human body does possess extremely strong environmental adaptive capacities (such as cold adaptation and heat adaptation), but this capacity derives from progressive training, not from ingestion of any mineral. Moderately engaging in outdoor activities, allowing the body to experience natural temperature variations, and persisting in exercise are the proper path to enhancing adaptability.
The abundance of accounts in this chapter about "long-term use lightens the body," "flying a thousand li," and "becoming an immortal without aging" serves as a mirror reflecting humanity's eternal longing for quick-fix longevity. This longing remains unchanged today, merely repackaged from jades and minerals to various "health supplements" and "miracle pills." From the stone-ingestion disaster to the endless stream of counterfeit health products in the contemporary era, the lesson is unbroken: anything claiming "harmless with long-term use, curing all diseases, and extending life" demands the highest vigilance. True health comes from the accumulation of daily life habits, never from any miraculous substance.
This content is based on the ancient Chinese medical classic "Shennong's Classic of the Materia Medica" and is provided solely for the study and appreciation of traditional culture. It does not constitute any medical diagnosis, medication, or treatment advice. Moreover, many of the mineral-based drugs mentioned in it are clearly toxic and must never be self-administered. If you experience any discomfort, please seek medical attention promptly.