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Shennong's Classic of the Materia Medica – Herbs (Lower Grade)

A Vernacular Study of "Shennong's Classic of the Materia Medica" – Herbs (Lower Grade)

Overall Paraphrase

In the Herbs (Lower Grade) section of Shennong's Classic of the Materia Medica, the original annotations record a total of forty-nine species; some older editions list forty-eight, but because Yuanhua (Daphne genkwa) was moved from the Wood section to the Herbs section, the total remains forty-nine. The chapter generally follows a fixed format: first the drug name is given, then its four qi and five flavors are indicated by phrases such as "flavor such-and-such, warm/cold/neutral," followed by "governs..." to describe the conditions ancient practitioners believed it treated, and finally the habitat is noted, such as "grows in mountain valleys / river valleys / marshes." Later annotations such as "Wu Pu says" and "Famed Physicians say" supplement alternative names, places of origin, harvesting seasons, varietal distinctions, and toxicity.

Most of these forty-nine drugs belong to the "Lower Grade" among the three grades of the Shennong's Classic of the Materia Medica. The general characteristic of the Lower Grade, summarized by later generations, is "mostly toxic, not suitable for prolonged use," primarily employed to attack and expel pathogenic excess. These are not tonics for balanced nourishment but rather pathogenic-expelling agents with strong偏性 (biases or drastic properties).

In terms of content, the ancients mainly used these drugs to address several categories of problems:

🌿 Warming the interior, dispelling cold, and freeing bi (painful obstruction): Fuzi (aconite root), Wutou (aconite mother root), Tianxiong (upright aconite root), etc.;
🔥 Attacking accumulations and expelling water: Dahuang (rhubarb), Gansui (Kansui root), Daji (Peking spurge root), Zeqi (sun spurge), Yuanhua (Daphne genkwa), Shanglu (poke root), Raohua (Wikstroemia flower), Langdu (Steller's root), etc.;
💨 Transforming phlegm, stopping cough, directing qi downward, and dissipating masses: Banxia (pinellia), Xuanfuhua (inula flower), Jiegeng (platycodon), Shegan (blackberry lily), Tingli (pepperweed seed), Huzhang (tiger claw arisaema), etc.;
🌡️ Clearing heat, dissipating masses, killing insects, and relieving itching: Lianqiao (forsythia), Bailian (Ampelopsis root), Baiji (Bletilla), Guanzhong (cyrtomium), Qingxiangzi (Celosia seed), Xiakucao (Prunella), etc.;
🌊 Inducing vomiting, interrupting malaria, resolving toxins, and warding off evil: Lilu (veratrum, appended), Hengshan (Dichroa root), Shuji (Dichroa leaf), Guijiu (Sinopodophyllum), Nüqing (Cynanchum), etc.

Expressions in the original text such as "gu-du (worms/toxins)," "gui-zhu (ghost-causing afflictions)," "kills ghost-essences," and "repels inauspiciousness" belong to the specific cultural context of ancient times and cannot be directly equated with any modern disease. Additionally, statements like "prolonged use makes the body light, enables one to run as fast as a galloping horse, communicates with spirits, or makes one valiant" carry obvious alchemical and hyperbolic overtones and should be viewed rationally.

📋 Quick Classification of the Forty-Nine Drugs

🌿 Warming the Interior, Dispelling Cold, and Freeing Bi

Fuzi (Aconite Root): Flavor pungent, warm. The ancients believed it governs wind-cold cough with reversed qi, warms the middle, treats metal wounds, breaks concretions, accumulations, and blood masses, and treats spasms and foot pain with inability to walk; it has been called the "chief of a hundred drugs" and is highly toxic.
Wutou (Aconite Mother Root): Flavor pungent, warm. Governs wind stroke, aversion to wind, sweating, cold-damp bi, cough with reversed qi, and breaks accumulations. Its juice is known as "Shewang," which can poison birds and beasts, indicating its extreme toxicity.
Tianxiong (Upright Aconite Root): Flavor pungent, warm. Governs severe wind, cold-damp bi, joint pain, and spasms; breaks accumulations and evil qi; treats metal wounds. The ancients claimed it can strengthen sinews and bones, lighten the body, and enable vigorous movement.

🔥 Attacking Accumulations and Expelling Water

Dahuang (Rhubarb): Flavor bitter, cold. Governs dispersing static blood and amenorrhea; breaks concretions, accumulations, retained fluids, and stagnant food; scourges the stomach and intestines, expelling the old and generating the new; frees the water passage; harmonizes the middle and transforms food.
Gansui (Kansui Root): Flavor bitter, cold. Governs abdominal protrusion, hernial masses, abdominal fullness, facial and ocular edema, retained fluids, and stagnant food; breaks concretions and accumulations; frees the water and grain passages.
Daji (Peking Spurge Root): Flavor bitter, cold. Governs gu-du, twelve types of edema, fullness with acute pain, accumulations, wind stroke, skin pain, and vomiting with reversed qi.
Zeqi (Sun Spurge): Flavor bitter, slightly cold. Governs skin heat, major abdominal water qi, and swelling of the four limbs, face, and eyes; the original text mentions "insufficiency of male yin qi," suggesting the ancients recognized that its water-draining action may simultaneously damage proper qi.
Yuanhua (Daphne genkwa): Flavor pungent, warm. Governs cough with reversed qi, throat-sound wheezing, throat swelling with shortness of breath, gu-du, ghost-malaria, hernial masses, and welt-like swellings; kills insects and fish.
Shanglu (Poke Root): Flavor pungent, neutral. Governs edema and hernial bi; applied externally to reduce swellings; kills ghost-essences.
Raohua (Wikstroemia Flower): Flavor bitter, neutral with cold properties. Governs cold damage and warm malaria; drains the twelve waters; breaks accumulations and concretions; scourges retained fluids and food from the stomach and intestines; frees the water passage.
Langdu (Steller's Root): Flavor pungent, neutral. Governs cough with reversed qi; breaks accumulations and stagnant food; treats watery qi, malignant sores, scrofula, and spreading putrid sores. The ancients said it could kill flying birds and running beasts, indicating its evident toxicity.

💨 Transforming Phlegm, Stopping Cough, Directing Qi Downward, and Dissipating Masses

Banxia (Pinellia): Flavor pungent, neutral. Governs cold damage with fever, hardness below the heart, directing qi downward, throat swelling with pain, dizziness, chest fullness, cough with reversed qi, intestinal rumbling, and stops sweating.
Xuanfuhua (Inula Flower): Flavor salty, warm. Governs bound qi, fullness below the ribs, palpitations; removes water; eliminates alternating cold and heat among the five viscera; supplements the middle and directs qi downward.
Jiegeng (Platycodon): Flavor pungent, slightly warm. Governs chest and rib pain like stabbing, abdominal fullness, intestinal rumbling, and palpitations from fright.
Shegan (Blackberry Lily): Flavor bitter, neutral. Governs cough with reversed qi, throat bi, sore throat, and difficult breathing; dissipates acute qi, abdominal rebellious pathogen, and great heat from food and drink.
Tingli (Pepperweed Seed): Flavor pungent, cold. Governs concretions, accumulations, bound qi, food and drink with alternating cold and heat; breaks hardness.
Huzhang (Tiger Claw Arisaema): Flavor bitter, warm. Governs heart pain, cold-heat bound qi, accumulations, and "hidden beam" (a mass below the heart); treats injured sinews, atrophy, and spasms with slowness; frees the water passage.

🌊 Inducing Vomiting, Interrupting Malaria, Resolving Toxins, and Warding Off Evil

Lilu (Veratrum): The original text of this section does not include it; only legends and later-dynasty materials are appended. The ancients used it to induce vomiting of phlegm; later compilers emphasized that it is highly toxic and contraindicated in those with deficiencies. This study does not serve as medication guidance.
Hengshan (Dichroa Root): Flavor bitter, cold. Governs cold damage with alternating chills and fever, warm malaria, ghost toxins, and chest phlegm accumulations with vomiting and reversed qi.
Shuji (Dichroa Leaf): Flavor pungent, neutral. Governs malaria, cough with reversed qi, alternating chills and fever, hard bound masses in the abdomen, accumulations of evil qi, gu-du, and ghost-causing afflictions. Later annotation notes it is the sprout of Changshan (Dichroa).
Gouwen (Gelsemium): Flavor pungent, warm. Governs metal wounds, aversion to wind, cough with reversed qi, edema; kills ghost-causing afflictions and gu-du. Later generations often call it "break-gut grass," and annotators have emphasized its great toxicity, even stating it "should not be used as medicine."
Guijiu (Sinopodophyllum): Flavor pungent, warm. Governs killing gu-du and ghost-causing afflictions, and ghost-essences; repels foul evil qi and inauspiciousness; expels pathogens; resolves a hundred toxins.
Nüqing (Cynanchum): Flavor pungent, neutral. Governs gu-du; expels evil qi; kills ghosts and interrupts warm malaria; repels inauspiciousness.
Yuanwei (Iris): Flavor bitter, neutral. Governs gu-du, evil qi, ghost-causing afflictions, and various toxins; breaks concretions and accumulations; removes water; disperses the three worms.

🌡️ Clearing Heat, Dissipating Masses, Killing Insects, and Relieving Itching

Lianqiao (Forsythia): Flavor bitter, neutral. Governs alternating chills and fever, scrofula, goiter lumps, swellings, malignant sores, goiter tumors, bound heat, and gu-du.
Bailian (Ampelopsis Root): Flavor bitter, neutral. Governs swellings, welling abscesses, and sores; dissipates bound qi; stops pain and removes heat; treats red eyes, infantile fright epilepsy, warm malaria, and swelling and pain in the female genital area.
Baiji (Bletilla): Flavor bitter, neutral. Governs swellings, malignant sores, putrid deep abscesses, damage to yin with dead flesh, evil qi in the stomach, wind pathogens, and withering flaccidity without contraction.
Guanzhong (Cyrtomium): Flavor bitter, slightly cold. Governs pathogenic heat qi in the abdomen and various toxins; kills the three worms.
Qingxiangzi (Celosia Seed): Flavor bitter, slightly cold. Governs pathogenic qi, heat in the skin, wind-induced itching, and body itch; kills the three worms. Its seeds are called Caojueming, and they treat cyanosis of the lips and mouth.
Yangti (Dock Root): Flavor bitter, cold. Governs bald scalp and scabies with itching, removes heat, and treats genital sores in women.
Bianxu (Prostrate Knotweed): Flavor pungent, neutral. Governs spreading skin sores, scabies with itching, welling abscesses, and hemorrhoids; kills the three worms.
Yazi (Wolf Tooth): Flavor bitter, cold. Governs pathogenic qi, heat qi, scabies with itching, malignant ulcers, and sores with hemorrhoids; eliminates roundworms.
Niubian (Aconite): Flavor bitter, slightly cold. Governs body surface sores and heat qi; can be used as wash-bath decoction; kills cattle lice and small insects; also treats cattle diseases.
Xiakucao (Prunella): Flavor bitter, pungent, cold. Governs heat scrofula, goiter lumps, and head sores; breaks hardness, dissipates goiter, and resolves bound qi; treats foot swelling and damp bi; lightens the body.
Lanru (Lvru): Flavor pungent, cold. Governs eroding malignant flesh, putrid sores, and dead muscle; kills scabies insects; drains pus and dead blood; eliminates great wind-heat qi; treats poor memory and lack of joy.
Huanjun (Bamboo Fungus): Flavor salty, neutral. Governs heart pain, warms the middle; eliminates chronic afflictions, white consumptive disease, pinworms, snake-bite toxins, concretions, and various worms.
Wuwei (Stone Fern): Flavor sweet, cold. Governs alternating chills and fever in the skin; frees qi of the small intestine and bladder.
Zaoxiu (Paris Rhizome): Flavor bitter, slightly cold. Governs fright epilepsy, head shaking with tongue-play, heat qi in the abdomen, mania, ulcers, and genital sores; expels the three worms; resolves snake toxins.

🌾 Dispelling Wind, Removing Dampness, and Miscellaneous Treatments

Yinyu (Skimmia): Flavor bitter, warm. Governs pathogenic qi of the five viscera, alternating cold and heat in the heart and abdomen, emaciation with malaria-like patterns occurring at regular times, and wind-damp bi with pain in all joints.
Yangzhizhu (Yellow Azalea): Flavor pungent, warm. Governs thief wind in the skin causing lingering pain, warm malaria, malignant toxins, and various bi.
Luying (Elder): Flavor bitter, cold. Governs various bi among the bones, spasms and aching of the four limbs, cold knee pain, impotence with shortness of breath and insufficiency, and foot swelling.
Baitouweng (Pulsatilla): Flavor bitter, warm. Governs warm malaria, mania with restlessness, alternating chills and fever, concretions and accumulations, goiter qi; moves blood and stops pain; treats metal wounds.
Yangtao (Actinidia): Flavor bitter, cold. Governs scorching heat with sudden red complexion, wind-water accumulations, and malignant ulcers; removes childhood heat.
Luhuo (Wild Bean): Flavor bitter, neutral. Governs gu-du, lower back and abdominal pain in women, lack of joy, intestinal welling abscesses, scrofula, and ulcer qi.
Shichangsheng (Adiantum): Flavor salty, slightly cold. Governs alternating chills and fever, malignant sores, and fire-heat; repels ghost qi and inauspiciousness.
Jincao (Arthraxon): Flavor bitter, neutral. Governs chronic cough with wheezing and reversed qi, chronic cold, palpitations, scabies, white scalp sores, and ulcer qi; kills small skin insects.
Langdangzi (Henbane Seed): Flavor bitter, cold. Governs tooth pain with worms emerging and flesh bi with spasms and tightness; ancient records state that eating too much causes one to run wild and see ghosts. Statements like "prolonged use lightens the body, enables running as fast as a galloping horse, strengthens the will, and empowers the spirit to communicate with spirits" belong to hyperbole and cannot be believed.

🧠 In-Depth Understanding

Core Principles 💡

The core positioning of Lower Grade drugs is "attacking pathogens"

Among the three grades of the Shennong's Classic of the Materia Medica, Lower Grade drugs have greater偏性 (directional bias) and are mostly toxic. The ancients believed their primary role was "treating disease" rather than daily nourishment. This chapter embodies several important concepts of ancient materia medica:

Correcting bias with bias, combating poison with poison: Drugs such as Fuzi, Wutou, Gouwen, Lilu, and Yangzhizhu possess fierce and drastic properties. The ancients believed they could use these to attack and expel wind-cold-damp bi, accumulations, phlegm-fluid, gu-du, and other stubborn pathogens. Toxicity itself was regarded as a form of "bias" that, when used appropriately, could correct the bias of disease qi.
Emphasis on harvesting time, location, and plant part: For example, Fuzi, Wutou, and Tianxiong arise from the same source, yet differ in growth duration and harvest time, resulting in different medicinal properties; Shuji is the sprout of Changshan (Dichroa); Zeqi is the sprout of Daji. The ancients' distinctions regarding different plant parts and harvesting months already embodied a primitive notion of drug quality.
Recognition of pathological products such as "accumulations," "retained fluids," "stagnant food," and "static blood": Lower Grade drugs largely target these "formed pathogens," hence the frequent descriptions of "breaking concretions and accumulations," "scourging the stomach and intestines," and "expelling the old and generating the new." This aligns with the treatment principles of The Yellow Emperor's Inner Classic: "hardenings should be dispersed" and "bound accumulations should be scattered."

Modern Perspectives 🌟

From a modern perspective, both the value and limitations of this chapter are evident.

Portions with some research value:

Fuzi, Wutou, Tianxiong: Modern pharmacological research focuses on their aconitine alkaloid content, suggesting cardiotonic, analgesic, and anti-inflammatory activities, but with a narrow safety margin. Improper processing or decoction can easily cause poisoning.
Dahuang (Rhubarb): Contains anthraquinone components; modern pharmaceutical research focuses on its purgative and anti-inflammatory effects. However, prolonged use may also bring about intestinal issues.
Banxia (Pinellia): The raw material is quite irritating and is used after processing; modern research suggests antiemetic and phlegm-transforming activities.
Caohao (Artemisia): The ancients mentioned it "retains heat between the bone joints"; later artemisinin-related research has brought more attention to this category. However, one must note the differences between the ancient "Caohao" and modern plant botanical origins and varieties—they cannot be simply equated.
Lianqiao, Xiakucao, Guanzhong, etc.: Modern research focuses on their anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, and antiviral activities, though the strength of evidence varies.

Portions requiring rational scrutiny:

Expressions such as "gu-du," "ghost-causing afflictions," "killing ghost-essences," and "repelling inauspiciousness" belong to a mixture of ancient shamanic medicine, cultural beliefs, and empirical practice—they cannot be directly used as the basis for modern diagnosis or therapeutic efficacy.
Claims like "prolonged use lightens the body, enables running as fast as a galloping horse, communicates with spirits, and makes one valiant" clearly carry an alchemical flavor and are not reliable medical conclusions.
Many drugs here—such as Gouwen, Wutou, Yangzhizhu, Lilu, and Langdu—have clear toxicity, and improper use can be fatal. The ancients' emphasis that these drugs are "mostly toxic and cannot be taken long-term" is itself an empirical warning.

Wellness Implications ⚡

Lower Grade drugs are not wellness products: The drugs in this chapter are mostly strong in bias and toxic. Phrases such as "lightens the body," "clarifies the eyes," or "strengthens sinews and bones" in ancient texts must never be taken as justifications for daily health supplementation.
Maintain caution toward folk remedies: Especially where toxic plants like Wutou, Gouwen, Lilu, Yangzhizhu, and Langdu are concerned, one must never personally dig, decoct, apply topically, or ingest them.
Guard proper qi in daily life: TCM teaches "when proper qi is preserved within, pathogens cannot interfere." Regular routines, moderated diet, and emotional balance are closer to the essence of health preservation than reliance on aggressive pathogenic-expelling drugs.
Seek medical attention when unwell: Statements in this classic that a drug "governs such-and-such disease" are summaries of ancient experience, not modern therapeutic recommendations. When facing real illness, professional physicians should determine treatment based on pattern differentiation.

📚 Related Knowledge

Related Concepts

Three-Grade Classification: Upper Grade nourishes life, Middle Grade nourishes nature, Lower Grade treats disease—the Lower Grade being mostly toxic and unsuitable for prolonged use.
Four Qi and Five Flavors: Each drug begins with designations such as "flavor pungent, warm" or "flavor bitter, cold," reflecting the fundamental properties of the drug.
Combating poison with poison: The ancient medication philosophy of using fierce, toxic substances to attack stubborn pathogens.
Processing (Paozhi): Drugs such as Fuzi, Banxia, and Dahuang all emphasize different treatments after harvest, including shade-drying, fire-drying, and sun-drying—this later developed into the systematic discipline of pharmaceutical processing.
Accumulations, retained fluids, stagnant food, and static blood: Ancient pathological concepts concerning formed pathogenic excess.

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