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Chapter 28 of 33
神农本草经
Overall Paraphrase
This chapter, from Shennong's Classic of the Materia Medica · Animals (Lower Grade), records four types of animal-based medicinals: pig testes, Père David's deer fat, flying squirrel, and domestic animal hair and hoof sheaths. In the original classification system, lower-grade medicinals were primarily used to attack pathogenic factors, promote flow, and break through stagnation—the ancients held that these "should not be taken long-term." Each entry is translated and explained below.
The ancients held that pig testes taste bitter and are warming in nature. They are indicated for fright convulsions (seizure-like disorders involving spasms and collapse), mania disorders (mental confusion and behavioral abnormalities), ghost affliction (an archaic term for certain contagious or consumptive conditions), gu toxin (a general archaic designation for certain complex poisoning or infection-like conditions), and can eliminate alternating chills and fever, treat bent-running qi (a paroxysmal sensation of qi rushing upward from the lower abdomen toward the chest and heart), five types of urinary obstruction (various forms of difficult urination), pathogenic qi, and muscular contracture.
Pig testes are also known as boar's top. The same entry also appends suspended hooves, namely pig hoof sheaths, which the ancients believed primarily treat five types of hemorrhoids, latent heat, heat lodged in the intestines, intestinal abscess, and internal erosion.
The ancients held that Père David's deer fat tastes pungent and is warming in nature. It is indicated for swelling abscesses, malignant sores (stubborn, slow-healing ulcerations), dead flesh (tissue that has lost vitality), cold wind, damp painful obstruction (numbness and pain of the limbs due to cold-dampness), four limbs contracted or limp and unable to retract freely, wind headache (a category of head wind disorders), and swelling qi, and it can also open the interstices (unblock the textures and pores between skin and muscle). Père David's deer fat is also called official fat. It grows in mountain valleys.
Commentators note that Père David's deer fat is produced south of the mountains and along the Huai River coastal areas, and is collected in the tenth month.
Ancient records state that the flying squirrel can induce miscarriage and facilitate easy childbirth. It lives in level valleys.
There is controversy in older commentaries regarding this entry: Tao Hongjing held that this is the flying squirrel, also called feisheng. This translation is provided strictly as documentation of the original text's meaning and is absolutely not a recommendation for modern use as an abortifacient or labor-inducing drug.
The ancients held that domestic animal hair and hoof sheaths taste salty and are neutral in nature. They are indicated for ghost affliction, gu toxin, alternating chills and fever, fright convulsions, opisthotonos-spasm (stiffness and convulsive seizures), and manic running (manic agitation and restless pacing). Among these, camel hair was considered by the ancients to be particularly effective.
The "six beasts" refers to horses, cattle, sheep, pigs, dogs, and chickens. Hoof sheaths means the horny casings of the hooves. This entry is primarily a record of ancient empirical experience with animal fur, hair, and hoof-derived substances.
1. Lower-grade agents attack pathogens; their nature is marked by piercing and movement.
All four medicinals in this chapter belong to the lower grade of the Shennong Classic. The ancients held that lower-grade drugs have relatively strong properties and are mostly used to "attack pathogenic factors," thus unsuitable for prolonged use. In traditional Chinese medicine theory, animal-derived drugs are often called "sentient substances" — the ancients believed they are close to human qi and blood and excel at penetrating, searching out, and unblocking. For example, Père David's deer fat "opens the interstices," and the six beasts' hoof sheaths are said to "treat manic running" — both exemplify the principle of "piercing and penetrating to achieve flow."
2. Same animal, different parts; different uses.
The inclusion of "suspended hooves" under the "pig testes" entry shows that the ancients recognized early on that different parts of the same animal have different applications: pig testes tend to tonify the lower burner and treat fright convulsions, while suspended hooves incline toward treating hemorrhoids, intestinal abscesses, and other lower-body heat accumulations. This concept of "same animal, varied uses by part" is a common thread throughout Chinese materia medica.
3. Ancient concepts of disease causation.
Terms such as "ghost affliction," "gu toxin," and "pathogenic qi" in ancient times were categories used to classify certain complex or then-inexplicable conditions — they do not equate to the modern concept of ghosts or spirits. The ancients used these terms to describe diseases that were sudden in onset, highly variable, highly contagious, or marked by mental abnormalities, reflecting the level of understanding of their time.
1. Greater documentary than clinical value.
These entries primarily carry value for the history of medicine, pharmacology, and culture. They record the understanding of animal medicinals around the Han dynasty, but today they are rarely used — or no longer used — as mainstream Chinese medicines.
2. "Ghost affliction" and "gu toxin" should be viewed rationally.
Modern medicine has recognized that many infectious diseases, mental illnesses, and neurological conditions each have their own specific etiologies and can no longer be simplistically attributed to "ghost pathogens" or "gu toxins." The ancients' categorizations reflect historical limitations, not scientific conclusions.
3. Animal protection and ethical concerns.
The Père David's deer is a key protected wildlife species in China, and modern society absolutely must not hunt it to obtain fat. Wild animals such as flying squirrels should likewise not serve as sources of medicine. Even byproducts from domesticated pigs, cattle, and sheep raise questions of hygiene, ethics, and animal welfare.
4. "Inducing miscarriage and facilitating delivery" must especially not be imitated.
The ancient use of flying squirrel to "induce miscarriage and facilitate easy birth" reflects a time when safe and effective obstetrical interventions were unavailable. Modern obstetrics has rigorous and safe protocols — any self-administration of abortifacients or labor-inducing agents based on ancient texts is extremely dangerous. This entry may only be studied as part of classical medical culture and must never be taken as medical advice.
5. Six-beasts hair and hoof sheaths have essentially withdrawn from clinical use.
Modern Chinese materia medica rarely employs "domestic animal hair and hoof sheaths." The ancients may have used analogical thinking such as "treating corresponding parts" or empirical observation, but there is no supporting modern pharmacological or clinical evidence.
Note: This content is based on a classical Chinese medical text and is intended solely for the study of traditional culture and scholarship. It does not constitute any form of medical diagnosis, prescription, or treatment advice. Please consult a qualified healthcare professional if you experience any discomfort.