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Capítulo 17 de 33
神农本草经
Overall Paraphrase
This section is the Wood Division, Middle Grade of the Shennong Ben Cao Jing, containing 17 medicinals in total, with additional entries for certain fruits, bark, roots, leaves, and juices. Below are item-by-item paraphrases. The phrase "governs…" (zhu, 主) in ancient texts represents empirical records from antiquity and is provided solely for traditional cultural study, not as modern medicinal advice.
Sweet flavor, cold nature. Ancient records state it governs internal injury (shangzhong), five taxations and six extremes (various states of depletion and exhaustion), emaciation, collapse bleeding (non-menstrual heavy uterine bleeding), and faint pulse verging on cessation; it supplements deficiency and boosts qi. Mulberry leaf is mainly used to relieve aversion to cold with fever and to induce sweating. Black mulberry ear (mulberry mushroom) governs women's dribbling uterine bleeding, red-and-white vaginal discharge, blood disorders, and abdominal masses and accumulations (types of nodular abdominal conditions), and it can supplement yin and yang, regulate cold and heat, and address infertility. The five mushroform "nuo" (five wood-ear types) can boost qi, stave off hunger, lighten the body, and strengthen the will. Grows in mountain valleys.
Supplementary note: Ancient commentators add that mulberry ear is also called sangjun (mulberry fungus) or mumai, produced in Qianwei, harvested on rainy days of the sixth month and dried in the sun. The Shuowen and Erya include philological examinations of mulberry and wood-ear terminology.
Bitter flavor, neutral nature. Governs cough with counterflow qi, upward rushing qi, tendon and vessel contracture, and foul sores; can kill small worms. Bamboo root decocted as soup can boost qi, arrest thirst, supplement deficiency, and direct qi downward. Bamboo juice governs wind-paralysis with rigidity (wind-induced opisthotonos-type conditions). Bamboo fruit can penetrate spirit illumination, lighten the body, and boost qi.
Supplementary note: Ancient commentators state bamboo leaf is produced in Yizhou. The Shuowen calls bamboo a winter-green plant depicted in pictographic form.
Pungent flavor, warm nature. Governs warming the center, directing qi downward, and relieving pain; used for cough with counterflow, cold and heat; can eliminate dampness, free blood bi (blood-flow obstruction), expel wind-pathogen, and open the couli (interstitial channels of the skin and flesh). Its root can kill the three worms (ancient umbrella term for various parasites). Also named "Yi." Grows in mountain valleys.
Supplementary note: Ancient commentators say it grows in Yuanju, harvested on the ninth day of the ninth month, dried in the shade. There is considerable textual examination of names, places of origin, and plant varieties across dynasties.
Bitter flavor, cold nature. Governs the five viscera' pathogenic qi, heat qi in the stomach, facial flushing, wine-pimple nose, crypt-nose (erythematous papular nasal lesions), white leish, red leish (skin pigment or sore-type disorders), and sores. Also named "Mudan." Grows in streams and valleys.
Supplementary note: Ancient commentators say it is also called Yuetao, produced in Nanyang, fruit harvested in the ninth month and dried in the sun. The Shuowen says zhi (gardenia) is a wood whose fruit can dye yellow.
Pungent flavor. Governs dispersing pathogenic qi of the five viscera, addressing latent warmth-toxin wandering through the skin and between bones and joints; eliminates the three worms and aids digestion. Also named "Wugu," also named "Diantang." Grows in streams and valleys.
Supplementary note: Ancient commentators say it grows in Jinshan; fruit harvested in the third month, dried in the shade. They further consider wuyi to derive from mountain-elm type plants.
Bitter flavor, cold nature. Governs "great wind" in the skin with hempseed-like itching, resolves cold-heat binding accumulations, stops diarrhea, increases flesh, benefits the five viscera, boosts qi, and lightens the body. Grows in streams and marshes.
Supplementary note: Wu Pu says zhi shi is bitter; Master Lei says sour and nontoxic; Li Dangzhi says greatly cold; harvest in the ninth or tenth month, dried in the shade. The Mingyi Bielu says it grows in Henei. The Rites of Zhou famously says "when orange crosses the Huai River it becomes trifoliate orange." Shen Kuo points out that before the Six Dynasties only "zhi shi" was mentioned; only later did people distinguish zhi shi (immature fruit) from zhi ke (mature exocarp).
Bitter flavor, warm nature. Governs wind-stroke, cold damage, headache, cold and heat, palpitations with qi, blood bi, and dead flesh (numb, un-nourished skin); eliminates the three worms.
Supplementary note: Wu Pu says Shennong, Qi Bo, and Master Lei all state it is bitter and nontoxic; Li Dangzhi says slightly warm. Also named "Hou Pi" (thick bark) or "Chi Bo" (red-magnolia); the tree is named "Zhen" and its seed "Zhu." Produced in Jiaozhi and Yuanju; bark harvested in ninth and tenth months, dried in the shade.
Bitter flavor, slightly cold nature. Governs wind-cold damp bi, body with repeated chills; removes heat; improves bluish opacity and white membranes in the eyes (ocular opacities). Long-term use prevents hair from whitening and makes the body light and agile. Grows in streams and valleys.
Supplementary note: Wu Pu says qin pi is also named cen pi; Shennong, Lei Gong, Huangdi, and Qi Bo state it is sour and nontoxic; Li Dangzhi says slightly cold. The Mingyi Bielu says it grows in Lujiang and Yuanju; bark harvested in second and eighth months. Ancient annotations consider "qin pi" may have originally been written "cen pi" due to popular scribal variation.
Pungent flavor, warm nature. Governs wind-pathogen qi, warms the center, resolves cold bi, strengthens teeth and hair, brightens the eyes. Long-term use lightens the body, improves complexion, delays aging and extends years, and penetrates spirit illumination. Grows in streams and valleys.
Supplementary note: Ancient commentators say it grows in Taishan and Qinling or Langya; fruit harvested in eighth or ninth month. Dynastic textual studies often associate this with "Qin Jiao" (Sichuan pepper), considering its seeds resemble those of pepper.
Sour flavor, neutral nature. Governs pathogenic qi below the heart, cold and heat; warms the center; expels cold-damp bi; eliminates the three worms. Long-term use lightens the body. Also named "Shu Zao." Grows in mountain valleys.
Supplementary note: Wu Pu says shan zhu yu is also named Ji Shi, Shu Shi, and Ji Zu. Ancient sources differ on its five-phase flavor, recording sour or pungent. Produced in Yuanju, Langya, Donghai Cheng County, etc. The leaves resemble plum with thorny hairs; flowers resemble apricot; fruit resembles sour jujube; harvested in the fifth month.
Sour flavor, slightly cold nature (one version says salty). Governs women's postpartum residual afflictions, collapse bleeding, abdominal masses, blood closure, cold and heat, emaciation; and can nourish the fetus. Grows in streams and valleys.
Supplementary note: Wu Pu says zi wei is also named Wuwei, Qumai, Lingjufu, Guimu, and Longhua. Produced in Zhending and other places. Whether the original plant is Campsis grandiflora (trumpet creeper) has been debated across dynasties.
Sweet flavor, neutral nature. Governs intermittent fevers (malaria-type conditions); can resolve gu toxins, infection-entities (zhu diseases), and inauspicious qi; frees the water pathway. Long-term use lightens the body and delays aging. Also named "Jia Zhu Niao" (sow's urine). Grows in mountain valleys.
Supplementary note: Wu Pu says zhu ling: Shennong says sweet; Lei Gong says bitter and nontoxic. The Mingyi Bielu says it grows in Hengshan and Jiyin Yuanju; harvested in second and eighth months. In the Zhuangzi, Sima Biao's commentary notes that zhu ling's sclerotium resembles a pig's egg and can treat thirst.
Pungent flavor, cold nature. Governs heart and abdomen pain, carbuncle swelling with pus drainage, and stops pain. Also named "Ji Zhen." Grows in streams and valleys.
Supplementary note: The Mingyi Bielu says another name is Ji Ci, growing in Yongzhou. Ancient annotations consider bai ji to be the spines of sour jujube trees; later generations sometimes substituted the shoots of Asparagus (tiandong) without proper correspondence.
Sweet flavor, neutral nature. Governs pathogenic qi of the five viscera, settles the spirit-consciousness, improves poor appetite. Long-term use strengthens the constitution, sharpens ear and eye, lightens the body, delays aging, and penetrates spirit illumination. Also named "Yi Zhi." Grows in mountain valleys.
Supplementary note: Wu Pu says long an is also named yizhi or bimu. The Mingyi Bielu says the larger variety resembles betel nut; produced on pine trees in Nanhai; harvested in the fifth month, dried in the shade. The commentary to the Wu Du Fu says longan resembles lychee but smaller, sweeter than lychee.
Bitter flavor, neutral nature. Governs anger-driven pathogenic qi, stops sweating from deficiency and head wind; women's genital cold-swelling disorders. Also named "Ny Luo." Grows in mountain valleys.
Supplementary note: The Mingyi Bielu says it grows in Xiong'er Mountain. Ancient annotations examine the easily confused names nyü luo, song luo, and tu si (dodder). Lu Ji says song luo naturally grows trailing over pine trees, distinct from tu si.
Bitter flavor, cold nature. Governs women's collapse bleeding with lower abdominal fullness, sweating; removes pathogenic influences, kills ghost toxins and worm-like infection-entities (gu-type infestation labels). Also named "Gui Jian." Grows in mountain valleys.
Supplementary note: Wu Pu says wei mao is also named gui jian; Shennong, Huangdi, and Tong Jun state it is bitter and nontoxic. Leaves resemble peach leaves and have winged ridges like feathers; harvested in first, second, and seventh months. Tao Hongjing notes its stems have three winged ridges, resembling an arrow's shaft.
Sweet flavor, neutral nature. Governs calming the five viscera, harmonizing the mind-resolve (zhi), and making a person joyful and worry-free. Long-term use lightens the body, brightens the eyes, and achieves one's desires. Grows in mountain valleys.
Supplementary note: The Mingyi Bielu says it grows in Yizhou. Tang Ben Zhu says it may also be named He*(hūn)* or Ye he (night-closing), with interchangeable names due to phonetic proximity.
At the end of the original text: "Above Wood, Middle Grade, seventeen kinds, same as before," indicating the Wood Division Middle Grade contains exactly 17 categories.
The wood-division middle-grade medicinals collectively reflect several layers of early pharmaceutical thought:
— Bu Gua (Bel-Flower), translated & explained This content is based on classical Chinese medical texts and is for traditional cultural study and reading purposed only. It does not constitute diagnosis, medication, or therapeutic advice; for health concerns, seek timely professional care.