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Chapter 15 of 33
神农本草经
This chapter is the Minerals and Stones Section, Middle Grade from Shennong's Classic of the Materia Medica, cataloging a total of 14 species of mineral medicines. The older version had divided them into 16 entries, but the collator believed that "Iron Essence, Iron Flakes, and Iron" should be merged into a single entry. Medicines of the middle grade are mostly classified as "minister drugs." The ancients held that some of these are toxic while others are non-toxic, and their use requires careful discretion. The following is a modern vernacular explanation entry by entry.
Acrid in taste, neutral but leaning toward cold in nature. Ancient records state it primarily treats alternating chills and fever, scrofula (similar to tuberculosis of the cervical lymph nodes), stubborn ulcers, deep-rooted sores, hemorrhoids, and necrotic flesh. It was also believed to dispel malevolent spirits, ghostly influences, pathogenic energies, and the toxins of all manner of pests, as well as to counteract injuries caused by the five types of weapons. The ancients even claimed that "refining and ingesting it leads to a light body and immortality"—a notion belonging to the mystical alchemy of the immortals, and wholly unreliable. Also known as Huangshi Stone (Yellow Food Stone) , it grows in mountain valleys.
Commentary supplement: Realgar is named for its occurrence on the sunny side of mountains, being the "masculine" counterpart within the cinnabar family. Ancient annotations citing the Classic of Mountains and Seas (Western Mountains Classic) and Baopuzi state that the finest quality comes from Wudu, with a red color like a cockscomb, bright and pure; if it is merely yellow without a red glow, it may only be used as an ordinary medicinal and does not qualify as an "immortal medicine."
"Liu" stands for "sulfur." Sour in taste, warm in nature. Ancient records state it primarily treats yin erosion (ulceration of the external genitalia) in women, deep-rooted sores, hemorrhoids, and congested blood; it strengthens sinews and bones, removes scalp baldness, and was believed capable of "transmuting" gold, silver, copper, iron, and other wondrous substances. Additional注释 mention that blue and white varieties of sulfur mainly benefit the liver qi and improve vision, while red sulfur grows in the valleys of Qiangdao. It grows in mountain valleys.
Commentary supplement: Sulfur is also known as Shiliuhuang. Ancient physicians held divergent views on its toxicity—some said it is toxic, others non-toxic. It may grow in Yiyang or Hexi, appearing in five colors, and is considered a product of alum stone fluid. When burned it produces a purple flame; it is collected in the eighth and ninth months. The ancients used it for conditions such as blood stasis in women. Works such as Fan Zi's Jiran also mention that sulfur comes from Hanzhong, and that some who ingested it actually had their lifespans shortened.
Acrid in taste, neutral in nature. Ancient records state it primarily treats stubborn ulcers, scalp baldness, scabies, kills poisonous insects and lice, relieves body itching, dispels pathogenic qi, and resolves various toxins. The ancients claimed that prolonged ingestion after refinement could lighten the body, increase longevity, and prevent aging—again, unreliable. It grows in mountain valleys.
Commentary supplement: Orpiment and realgar grow on the same mountain, with orpiment on the shady side. Where the shady side contains gold, the essence of gold, upon fumigation, generates orpiment. It may be collected at any time.
Acrid in taste, cold in nature. Ancient records state it primarily treats scabies, fistulas, scabs, ulcers, and white baldness; it kills lice on the skin, can induce abortion, removes heat, and resolves toxins from gold, silver, copper, and tin. The ancients claimed that mercury, after melting, could revert to cinnabar, and that prolonged ingestion could make one an immortal who never dies. Such claims must be criticized.
Commentary supplement: Mercury is also known as Gong (quicksilver) ; it originates from Fuling and emerges from cinnabar. The Shuowen, Guangya, Huainanzi, and other ancient texts all regard it as the white liquid metal transformed from cinnabar. Gao You directly stated: "White quicksilver is mercury."
Acrid in taste, slightly cold in nature. Ancient records state it primarily treats externally contracted wind-cold with fever, stagnation of stomach qi with nausea, fright with panting, dry mouth, bitter taste, parched and scorched sensations, labored breathing, and hard painful masses in the abdomen. The ancients believed it could also dispel "evil ghosts," and it was used for childbirth and metal-inflicted wounds. It grows in mountain valleys.
Commentary supplement: Gypsum is also known as Fine Stone (Xishi) . It is produced in Mount Qi, Mount Qilu, Mount Lumeng, and other places, and may be collected at any time.
Acrid in taste, cold in nature. Ancient records state it primarily treats circular bi-syndrome (body-wide arthritic pain), wind-dampness, joint pain with inability to hold objects, and aching weakness; it also removes intense heat, fullness and agitation, and deafness. Also known as Yuan Stone. It grows in mountain valleys.
Commentary supplement: Magnetite is also known as Magnet Lord (Cijun) or Chushi Stone. It grows on Mount Tai and the shady side of Mount Ci; where there is iron, it grows on the sunny side. The ancients discovered early on its ability to attract iron—the Guanzi, Lüshi Chunqiu, Huainanzi and other texts all record that "the magnet summons iron" or "the magnet can attract iron."
Acrid in taste, cold in nature. Ancient records state it primarily treats body heat, abdominal accumulations, pathogenic qi, skin feeling as if burned by fire, and fullness and agitation; it may be taken with water. The ancients said prolonged ingestion would eliminate hunger. Also known as White Water Stone. It grows in mountain valleys.
Commentary supplement: Glauberite is also known as Cold Water Stone or Icy Water Stone. The ancients regarded it as the essence of salt, produced in Chang'an, Mount Ning, Handan, and other places. Fan Zi's Jiran says water stone comes from Hedong, with the bright and lustrous specimens being the finest.
Salty in taste, slightly warm in nature. Ancient records state it primarily treats uterine bleeding and vaginal discharge, breaks up stagnant blood in the uterus, fixed masses with bound qi, cold-heat abdominal pain, infertility, failure of the penis to erect (impotence), and supplements deficiencies. Also known as White Stone. It grows in mountain valleys.
Commentary supplement: Actinolite is also known as Stone Born (Shisheng) or Sheep-Raising Stone (Yangqishi) . The ancients considered it the root of mica, produced in Mount Qi, Langya, Mount Yangqi, and other places; it may be collected at any time.
Acrid in taste, warm in nature. Ancient records state it primarily treats undigested food from overeating, binding of pathogenic qi, stubborn ulcers, deep-rooted sores, fistulas, and hemorrhoids; it opens the nine orifices and promotes the flow of breast milk. Also known as Penetrating Stone (Tongshi) . It grows in mountain valleys.
Commentary supplement: Konggongnie is the root of Yin Nie, greenish-yellow in color, growing on Mount Liang.
Acrid in taste, warm in nature. Ancient records state it primarily treats necrotic wounds with stagnant blood, diarrhea with alternating cold and heat, scrofula, and fixed masses with bound qi. Also known as Ginger Stone. It grows in mountain valleys. The collator believed this entry should be merged with Konggongnie into one.
Commentary supplement: Yin Nie is the root of stalactite, growing in the state of Zhao, Mount Liang, and the South China Sea; it may be collected at any time.
The ancients merged these three into a single entry.
Commentary supplement: Iron flakes are also known as Iron Fluid, and were used to dye things black. Iron ore is produced at Mount Muya, Fangcheng, or Xicheng; it may be collected at any time. The Shuowen states that iron is "black metal," written in antiquity as "銕."
Acrid in taste, cold in nature. Ancient records state it primarily treats body heat, harmonizes the stomach to relieve agitation, benefits the essence and brightens the eyes, breaks up accumulations, and expels internal parasites. Also known as Li-zhi Stone (Establishing Stone) . It grows in mountain valleys.
Commentary supplement: Lishi is also known as Hunger Stone. In form it resembles gypsum but with finer striations; it is produced in Hanzhong and Mount Lu, and may be collected at any time.
Acrid in taste, cold in nature. Ancient records state it primarily treats body heat and cold reversal of the four limbs; it promotes urination, unblocks the blood vessels, brightens the eyes, removes corneal opacities, improves vision, expels worms, and kills gu toxins. The ancients claimed prolonged ingestion would eliminate hunger. Also known as Square Stone. It grows in mountain valleys.
Commentary supplement: Changshi is also known as Straight Stone or Earth Stone. Its striations resemble horse teeth, and it is moist and lustrous like jade. It is produced in Mount Zhangzi, Mount Tai, Linzi, and other places; it may be collected at any time.
Acrid in taste, neutral in nature. Ancient records state it primarily treats gu toxins, as well as snake venom, vegetable toxins, meat toxins, and various other poisons; it also treats stubborn ulcers. It grows in streams and valleys.
Commentary supplement: Fuqing is also known as Push Green or Push Stone, and is produced in Yizhou. Tao Hongjing noted that by his time it was no longer used in either popular prescriptions or alchemical scriptures, and later generations gradually ceased to recognize this medicament.
This chapter, situated in the Minerals and Stones Middle Grade of Shennong's Classic of the Materia Medica, embodies the early categorization and clinical positioning of mineral medicines in pharmaceutical history.
The "Minister Drug" Attribute of the Middle Grade: Shennong's Classic divides medicines into three grades: upper, middle, and lower. Middle-grade medicines, mostly serving as "minister drugs," are used both to treat illness and to provide supplementary or regulatory support, but "whether toxic or non-toxic, their use must be judicious." The minerals in this chapter perfectly illustrate this point: while relatively gentle substances such as gypsum and anhydrite appear, there are also clearly toxic ones like realgar, orpiment, mercury, and sulfur.
The Pattern of Medicinal Properties and Actions of Mineral Drugs: The ancients held that metal and stone medicines generally possess properties of "heavy settling and descending," "clearing heat and attacking toxins," and "warming yang and dissipating masses." For instance, gypsum, glauberite, anhydrite, and fibrous gypsum are mostly acrid and cold in nature, used for body heat, fullness and agitation, and thirst; realgar, orpiment, sulfur, and mercury are used for ulcers, scabies, insect toxins, and gu toxins; actinolite, hollow stalactite, and stalactite aggregate tend to be warm, used for deficiency-cold, fixed masses, impotence, and uterine bleeding.
The Principle of "Treating Poison with Poison" and Insecticidal/Detoxifying Thought: Realgar, orpiment, sulfur, mercury, and skin green were used to "kill the toxins of all pests," "kill poisonous insects and lice," and "kill gu toxins," indicating that the ancients had already observed that certain minerals can inhibit skin parasites and ulcer infections, giving rise to the therapeutic principle of "counteracting poison with poison." This, however, is not equivalent to modern safe medication.
The Dawn of Early Mineralogy and Pharmaceutical Chemistry: The herbal literature preserves abundant content on mineral appearance, origin, processing, and identification, such as realgar being best when "red like a cockscomb," magnetite attracting iron, mercury "reverting to cinnabar upon melting," sulfur "burning with a purple flame," and iron flakes being usable for black dye. This reflects the ancients' preliminary understanding of the physical and chemical properties of minerals.
Realgar and Orpiment: These primarily contain arsenic sulfides. Modern research shows they have insecticidal and antifungal actions, but arsenic compounds are toxic—especially with internal use or prolonged exposure, which may cause arsenic poisoning, damaging the liver, kidneys, nervous system, and blood. The ancient claim of "refining and ingesting for lightness and immortality" is untrustworthy.
Sulfur: Native sulfur has insecticidal and antibacterial effects; topically it can treat certain skin conditions. However, internal use carries some toxicity, and especially unprocessed native sulfur may contain impurities; it is rarely used internally in modern times.
Mercury: Also known as quicksilver, it is a highly toxic heavy metal. Modern medicine explicitly prohibits the internal use of mercury and its compounds. The notion of "prolonged ingestion leading to immortality" is a classic historical limitation; history is replete with cases of poisoning and death from ingesting mercury or alchemical elixirs.
Gypsum: Its main component is hydrous calcium sulfate. Modern pharmacology suggests its antipyretic effect may relate to calcium ions and trace elements; topically it has astringent and hemostatic actions. Gypsum remains a commonly used medicine in traditional Chinese medicine for clearing heat and draining fire, but it must be used under the guidance of a physician and should never be self-administered in large doses.
Magnetite: Its main component is ferroferric oxide, which is magnetic. Modern research hints that iron preparations may offer some ancillary benefit for tinnitus and dizziness associated with iron-deficiency anemia, but the traditional Chinese medicine actions of "calming the liver, subduing yang, sharpening hearing, brightening the eyes, and stabilizing breathing" lack high-quality evidence. Its iron content requires standardized processing.
Actinolite: A silicate mineral, used in ancient formulas to warm the kidneys and strengthen yang. Modern evidence for its "aphrodisiac" efficacy is lacking, and some actinolite may contain asbestos-like fibers, posing health risks; it should not be self-administered.
Hollow Stalactite, Stalactite Aggregate, Glauberite, Anhydrite, and Fibrous Gypsum: These are mostly carbonate, calcium sulfate, or sulfate minerals. They are relatively mild, but the ancient claims of "prolonged ingestion without hunger" or "lightening the body and increasing longevity" clearly exaggerate their tonic effects and cannot serve as a basis for modern use.
Iron Essence and Iron Flakes: Iron flakes are the filings that fall when forging iron, mainly containing ferroferric oxide. Modern traditional Chinese medicine occasionally uses raw iron flakes to treat palpitations and insomnia, borrowing their heavy, settling quality to anchor the spirit—yet this remains traditional theory in need of further research.
Interpreting "Killing spirits, evil ghosts, and pathogenic qi": Such expressions should be understood as the ancients' simple metaphors for certain acute infections, high fever with delirium, mental aberrations, or unexplained illnesses—not evidence of actual ghosts or demons. Modern readers should view them rationally without mystification.
Beware the "Miraculous Elixir" Mindset: This chapter repeatedly mentions "prolonged ingestion lightens the body" and "immortality without death." Historically, the practice of ingesting minerals caused numerous poisoning incidents. In modern wellness, do not readily trust marketing claims about mineral-based supplements or "ancient alchemical pills"—especially mineral products containing mercury, arsenic, lead, or sulfur, which carry extremely high risk.
Value Environmental and Skin Protection: The ancients used realgar and sulfur externally to treat sores, scabies, and insect toxins, suggesting that we should pay attention to keeping our living environments dry and well-ventilated, maintain skin cleanliness, and reduce external insults from insect bites, eczema, and sores.
Eat Moderately and Harmonize Emotions: Several medicines address "undigested food from overeating," "abdominal accumulations," and "fullness and agitation," reminding modern people to maintain regular eating habits, avoid overindulgence, and learn to soothe anxiety and restlessness while keeping the emotions balanced.
View Tonic Use Rationally: Actinolite and hollow stalactite were used to "supplement deficiencies," but modern people should not blindly pursue warming tonics or "yang-strengthening" remedies. Balanced nutrition, moderate exercise, and regular routines are far safer and more effective than relying on mineral-based "supplements."
Associated Concepts: The three-grade classification system, sovereign-minister-assistant-courier theory, the four natures and five flavors, the heavy-settling and spirit-calming actions of mineral drugs, treating poison with poison, alchemy and the mineral-ingestion fashion, the refining relationship between cinnabar and mercury, magnetite attracting iron, and early Chinese physical understanding.
Further Reading: Shennong's Classic of the Materia Medica·Preface, Baopuzi·Immortal Medicines, Compendium of Materia Medica·Stone Section, and relevant chapters on febrile disease, bi-syndrome, deep-rooted sores, and mania in the Yellow Emperor's Inner Classic.
Bugu Note: This content is based on classical Chinese medical texts and is provided solely for traditional cultural learning and study. It does not constitute any medical diagnosis, medication, or treatment advice. If you feel unwell, please seek medical attention promptly.