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Chapter 18 of 33
神农本草经
Overall Paraphrase
The following is a translation of the ancient herbal records of the seven animal medicines contained in the "Beasts (Middle Grade)" section of Shennong's Classic of the Materia Medica. This is provided solely for traditional cultural study and does not represent modern medical conclusions.
🐴 White Horse Penis
White horse penis has a salty flavor and a neutral nature. Ancient herbal records state that it primarily treats "internal injury" (visceral strain and exhaustion, impending cessation of pulse qi) and "failure of the penis to rise" (inability of the penis to achieve erection). It is said to strengthen the will, replenish primordial qi, promote muscle growth, make the body stout and robust, and aid fertility. Horse eyes treat fright epilepsy, abdominal distension, and malaria; in ancient practice, the horse had to be slaughtered to obtain the eyes. Horse hoof (the suspended part of the hoof) treats fright-evil, convulsions, and postpartum failure to secrete milk, and can also repel malignant qi, ghost toxicity, and gu-injection and other inauspicious things. This medicine grows in plains and marshlands. Later commentators say it is produced in Yunzhong.
🦌 Deer Antler (Young)
Deer antler has a sweet flavor and a warm nature. It treats uterine bleeding and flooding, congealed blood, alternating chills and fever, and fright epilepsy. It can replenish primordial qi, strengthen the will, promote tooth growth, and delay aging. Deer horn treats malignant sores, carbuncles and swellings, expels pathogenic qi, and addresses blood stasis retained in the yin. Later commentators say that deer antler is collected in the fourth and fifth months when deer shed their antlers, dried in the shade until thoroughly dry; deer horn is collected in the seventh month.
🐂 Ox Horn (Horn Core)
The bony core within the ox horn, called "horn core," can move blocked blood and blood stasis, relieve pain, and treat women's vaginal discharge with blood. Ox marrow can tonify the center, fill the bone marrow, and long-term use was believed to extend one's years. Ox gallbladder can be used in pill preparations. The character dictionary Shuowen states that "horn core" refers to the bony substance within the horn.
🐑 Ram Horn
Ram horn has a salty flavor and a warm nature. It primarily brightens the eyes, treats "blue-blindness" (severely reduced vision or even blindness), kills itch-mites, stops cold-type diarrhea, dispels demons, tigers, and wolves and other perils, and stops palpitations. Long-term use can settle the spirit, replenish primordial qi, and make the body light and agile. This medicine grows in mountain streams and valleys. Later commentators say it is produced in Hexi, with no fixed collection time. Ancient dictionaries consider "gu" to mean a ewe; later generations also used "gu" and "zang" as names for black-and-white sheep.
🐕 Male Dog Penis
Male dog penis has a salty flavor and a neutral nature. It treats "internal injury" (visceral strain) and "yin atrophy with failure to rise" (impotence with inability to achieve erection). The ancients believed it could make the penis strong, hot, and enlarged, aid fertility, and also treat twelve types of gynecological conditions including women's vaginal discharge. It is also known as "dog essence." Dog gallbladder primarily brightens the eyes. Later commentators say it should be collected on the first fu day of the sixth month and dried in the shade for one hundred days.
🐐 Antelope Horn
Antelope horn has a salty flavor and a cold nature. It primarily brightens the eyes, boosts qi, raises the penis, removes malignant blood flowing downward, repels gu-toxin, evil ghosts, and other inauspicious things, stabilizes the heart qi, and makes sleep peaceful. This medicine grows in mountain streams and valleys. Later commentators say it is produced in Shicheng and Huayin Mountain, with no fixed collection time. Ancient scholarship holds that "ling" (antelope) is a popular variant character, with the standard forms sometimes written as "yuan" or "xian," describing it as resembling a sheep but larger, with round, sharp horns, often dwelling among mountain cliffs.
🦏 Rhinoceros Horn
Rhinoceros horn has a bitter flavor and a cold nature. It treats all manner of poisons, insect-infestation, evil ghosts, and miasmic vapors; it can neutralize the toxins of gouwen (Gelsemium elegans), poisonous bird feathers, and snake venom, and improves states of confused consciousness or abnormal sleep. The ancients believed long-term use could make the body light and agile. This medicine grows in mountain valleys. Later commentators say it is produced in Yongchang and Yizhou. Ancient texts describe the rhinoceros as resembling an ox, with horns on the nose, crown, or forehead; the Classic of Mountains and Seas mentions the white rhinoceros; the Fan Zi Ji Ran records that rhinoceros horn had upper, middle, and lower grades of price depending on quality.
The above seven middle-grade beasts medicines are identical across all ancient editions.
The positioning of middle-grade animal medicines: Shennong's Classic of the Materia Medica divides medicines into three grades—upper, middle, and lower. Middle-grade medicines are mostly used for "nourishing nature, responding to human needs," and their toxicity or non-toxicity must be carefully weighed. The animal medicines collected in this section are mostly derived from animal organs, horns, marrow, and the like, belonging to what later generations called "substances of flesh and blood with feeling." The ancients believed their power to replenish essence and blood and strengthen the will and qi was more direct than that of plant medicines.
Correlative categorization thinking: Using male animal genitalia to treat impotence and infertility, using horns to treat head and eye conditions, fright epilepsy, and using marrow to fill bone marrow—all are typical examples of "treating the form with the form" and "tonifying the organ with the organ." This mode of thinking was extremely common in ancient medicine and profoundly influenced later understanding of animal medicines.
The four natures and five flavors in relation to pathology: Most of the animal medicines in this section have a salty flavor. Salt enters the kidney, can soften hardness, moisten downward, and tonify kidney qi. Deer antler has a sweet flavor and warm nature, tending toward tonifying the center and boosting qi. Rhinoceros horn and antelope horn have bitter and salty flavors with a cold nature, tending toward clearing heat, settling fright, and brightening the eyes. Horn-type medicines are mostly attributed to the Liver channel and used to clear the liver, brighten the eyes, stop convulsions, and calm the spirit, embodying the medicinal imagery of "horns reaching the crown of the head."
Evil-repelling and shamanistic elements: Many entries mention "repelling malignant qi, ghost toxicity, and gu-injection" and "dispelling evil ghosts, tigers, and wolves," indicating that early materia medica still retained features of shamanism and medicine being undifferentiated—medicines were believed to treat physical illness while also defending against supernatural evil forces.
The effects of these animal medicines are mostly products of ancient experience or analogical reasoning, unverified by modern pharmacological systems. Some, such as deer antler, contain amino acids, peptides, and hormone-like substances, and have received some attention in modern research; however, claims such as "not aging," "bearing children," and "lightening the body" cannot be taken as therapeutic conclusions.
Rhinoceros horn and antelope horn involve endangered wild animals, and modern law strictly prohibits their trade and medicinal use. Rhinoceros horn has been removed from the Chinese Pharmacopoeia. In modern clinical practice, rhinoceros horn in traditional formulas has largely been replaced with water buffalo horn or other substitutes—but this falls within professional medical territory and must be managed by physicians.
The use of animal reproductive organs such as white horse penis and male dog penis as medicine reflects ancient people's rudimentary understanding of sexual function and fertility. Modern medicine has clear diagnostic and treatment pathways for erectile dysfunction, infertility, and related conditions, and one should not rely on such ancient formulas.
Content such as "dispelling evil ghosts" and "gu-toxin" lacks scientific basis, though the underlying vigilance toward miasmic vapors, pestilential toxins, and insect poisons carries a certain historical awareness of disease prevention.
Ancient methods such as "slaughtering the animal to use its eyes" and various other methods of obtaining animal medicines are no longer acceptable under modern animal ethics and wildlife protection frameworks.
Self-administration or use of any of the above animal medicines is not recommended, especially rhinoceros horn, antelope horn, and others that involve legal and species-protection issues—one must firmly stay away from them.
The ancients' emphasis on "strengthening the will and boosting qi" and "settling the heart qi" can be translated into daily emotional regulation: maintaining emotional stability, reducing anxiety and palpitations, and keeping a regular routine.
The pursuit of "bright eyes" and "not aging" suggests that protecting vision and maintaining cognitive health should rely on a modern healthy lifestyle: avoiding excessive eye strain, ensuring adequate sleep, balanced nutrition, and moderate exercise.
The concept of "treating the form with the form" should be viewed rationally. Eating animal organs does not directly tonify the corresponding human organs. A regulated diet and comprehensive nutrition in daily life are safer and more effective than pursuing rare animal medicines.
Related concepts: The three-grade classification, the four natures and five flavors, channel tropism, "substances of flesh and blood with feeling," "tonifying the organ with the organ," horn-type medicines for clearing the liver, brightening the eyes, and settling fright, and the concept of stench dispersion.
Further reading: The general introduction to the three grades in Shennong's Classic of the Materia Medica·Preface, the "Beasts Section" of the Compendium of Materia Medica, related animal medicine entries in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia, and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora and related conservation regulations.
This content is based on classical Chinese medical texts and is provided solely for traditional cultural study and research. It does not constitute any medical diagnosis, medication, or treatment advice. Please consult a doctor promptly if you feel unwell.