《圖經衍義本草》Vol. 39

Vinegar tastes sour and has a warm nature. It is non-toxic and is chiefly used to disperse sores and swellings, dispel water accumulation, and kill pathogenic toxins.

Tao Yinjü says that vinegar, like wine, has many uses and can be added to all kinds of prescriptions. The longer it is stored, the better. Vinegar is also called xi. Because it has a bitter taste, it is commonly known as “bitter wine.” Alchemists also add other substances and call vinegar “the left flavor of the Flowery Pool.” However, eating too much vinegar can damage the skin and internal organs.

Rihua Zi says vinegar can be used for women after childbirth, as well as for injuries from falls and blows and for wounds caused by knives or swords. It can also relieve faintness caused by blood loss, regulate the flow of Qi, ease distress, break up abdominal masses, treat heart pain in women, and enhance the effects of other medicines. It can also counter toxins from fish, meat, vegetables, and other foods. He adds that rice vinegar has the same effects as ordinary vinegar. Eating too much is harmful to men and can damage their complexion.

Yuxi records that Chen Cangqi says vinegar can relieve faintness caused by blood loss, disperse abdominal masses and hard accumulations, aid digestion, counter toxins, and resolve stagnation of Qi. It can also be used for acid reflux and phlegm-fluid disorders. But eating too much can damage the sinews and bones. When a prescription calls for vinegar, rice vinegar stored for two or three years is best.

Su Song says that grapes and jujubes can both be fermented into vinegar. People in the Jing-Chu region live frugally and make vinegar even from spoiled fruit. If even the lees from fruit vinegar are not used as medicine, how much less should the fruit vinegar itself be used?

Meng Shen says that eating too much vinegar can damage the stomach, though vinegar can also dispel various toxins. To treat faintness from Qi and blood after childbirth, heat clear vinegar and take a small amount in the mouth; this should bring relief. For sores in the mouth, soak huangbo bark (the bark of the Phellodendron tree) in vinegar, then hold it in the mouth. When cattle or horses suffer an epidemic illness, vinegar can be mixed with medicine and given to them to drink. Vinegar should not be consumed in excess or eaten with clam meat, as the two oppose each other. People in the south of the Yangtze River mostly make vinegar from rice, while people in the north mostly make it from wine lees. Vinegar strengthens the effects of medicine, but should not be eaten with other foods. Powdered qingmuxiang can be taken for sudden attacks of heart pain and disorders involving Qi and blood. Dahuang can also be applied to swollen areas, with processed dan medicine mixed in rice vinegar.

The Waitai miyao fang records: To treat cramping of the sinews, soak old cotton wadding thoroughly in strong vinegar, steam it in a grain steamer until hot, and wrap it around the patient’s feet. Replace it when the feet grow cool, and continue until the symptoms stop. The Waitai miyao fang also records: To treat swelling caused by wind toxin, known as “White Tiger disease,” take five sheng of strong vinegar stored for three years and heat it until it boils three to five times. Then cut in two or three sheng of scallion whites and cook until they are just tender…

Filter the medicinal liquid through cloth. While it is still hot, wrap it in the cloth and apply it to the affected area, pressing and warming it until the condition improves.

The Thousand Gold Prescriptions: For deafness, simmer aconite in strong vinegar over a low flame. Trim the aconite to a point and insert it into the ear; this is effective. Another prescription treats cholera with distension and pain in the chest and abdomen, restlessness, and shortness of breath, before vomiting or diarrhea has begun: drink three sheng of fine bitter wine. The elderly and frail may drink one or two sheng.

The Handbook of Prescriptions for Emergencies: For an abscess that has suppurated and is about to burst, mix sparrow droppings with bitter wine and apply the mixture to the head of the abscess. Make the dressing about the size of a small bean; it will cause the abscess to break open.

An Effective Prescription: For poor sweating, wasting, discomfort in the lower back and legs, and deafness, soak Chinese thistle in rice vinegar for four days in summer or six days in winter. Then pound it into powder and take it mixed with vinegar decoction.

The Extended Meaning of the Materia Medica says: Vinegar is brewed from wine lees; the vinegar obtained from a neighbor is of this kind. There are also rice vinegar, wheat vinegar, and date vinegar. Rice vinegar is the sourest and is used most often in medicine. Because it retains the full flavor of the grain, it is superior to lees vinegar. A vinegar smell is often maintained in the rooms of women who have recently given birth, as this is considered beneficial because sourness nourishes the blood. When finely ground realgar is applied to stings from bees, scorpions, and other creatures, vinegar is used for its astringent quality, which keeps the medicine from spreading. People today find that eating sour foods makes their teeth feel soft. This is because Water generates Wood: Water is weak, while Wood is strong. Leather is treated with vinegar when making boots so that it will wrinkle. This, too, shows vinegar’s astringent nature and accords with the principle that sourness governs contraction.

Rice

Rice tastes bitter and is slightly warm in nature. It warms the middle burner, but can make people prone to heat and hard stools.

The Illustrated Classic of Materia Medica says: Rice comes in two kinds, non-glutinous and glutinous. Earlier books do not record which prefectures and counties produce them; today, they can be grown in most places with paddy fields. Both kinds are rice, but the Divine Farmer’s Classic of Materia Medica calls non-glutinous rice “jingmi” and glutinous rice “daomi.” In the Erya, “tu” and “dao” are glossed as two names for the same thing. Guo Pu says that in the region of Pei, rice is called “tu.” The Book of Songs says, “Abundant millet, abundant tu”; the Inner Rules chapter of the Book of Rites says beef is suited to tu; and the Bin Feng says that rice is harvested in the tenth month. All refer to the same kind of rice. The Shuowen Jiezi says that in Pei, rice is called “nuo,” and that jing is a kind of tu. The Zilin says that nuo is sticky rice, while jing is non-sticky rice. The terms “glutinous rice” and “non-glutinous rice” used today match the Zilin’s explanation; the names used in the Divine Farmer’s Classic of Materia Medica accord with the Shuowen Jiezi. The aged stored grain mentioned earlier is non-glutinous rice, the kind kept in granaries and used to feed soldiers. Rice is widely used in medicine. The ash of burnt rice stalks can also treat illness; see Liu Yuxi’s Prescriptions Handed Down as True.

A medical manual records that Li Congshi of Hunan treated horses that had fallen or suffered bruises as follows: burn rice straw to ash, mix it with newly brewed, unpressed wine, including the lees, and salt, then wash the injured area with the mixture. It was said to heal quickly.

Tao Hongjing says that Daoist prescriptions sometimes distinguish between “rice” and “round-grained rice,” showing that they are not the same thing. Some say that rice is as white as frost; others say that no such rice grows in Jiangdong, where people use “rice” as a general name for round-grained rice. It is clear that names differ from place to place, but exactly what kind of rice is meant has not been explained.

Chen Cangqi says that glutinous rice is slightly cold in nature. Pregnant women should not eat it with assorted meats, lest it harm the fetus. Eating it as porridge is said to ease wasting-thirst (conditions marked by excessive drinking and urination and persistent thirst). Eating it over a long period makes the body supple. Feeding foals or puppies with millet and glutinous rice makes their legs bend and leaves them unable to walk, because these grains weaken the sinews. Chen also says that rice straw can treat jaundice (conditions in which the skin and eyes turn yellow): boil it to make a liquid and soak the body in it. Another treatment is to stir-fry the awns of rice grains—the fine, pointed bristles at their tips—until yellow, grind them to a fine powder, and take the powder with wine.

Rihua says that glutinous rice is cool in nature and nontoxic. It can replenish the Qi in the middle burner, strengthen the body, and stop cholera. Grind one ge of glutinous rice with water and take it, or cook it as porridge. A strong decoction of rice straw, taken as a drink, can treat gu poison (illnesses that the ancients attributed to venomous insects or malign toxins); drinking a decoction of rice straw can also treat jaundice that affects the whole body.

Meng Shen says that glutinous rice is cold in nature. It can make people drowsy and may stir up wind and disrupt the flow of Qi, so it should not be eaten in large quantities. If vomiting persists after cholera, grind a bowl of glutinous rice in clean water, strain out the liquid, and drink it; this is said to stop the vomiting.

Xiao Bing says that glutinous rice obstructs the flow of Qi through the channels and collaterals, making the limbs sluggish. It may also bring on wind disorders and leave a person dazed. He also records a treatment for hemorrhoids: make a pancake with camel fat and have the patient eat it on an empty stomach, without telling them what it contains.

The Essentials from Beyond the Metropolis records a prescription for thirst: take two sheng of glutinous rice, rinse it, and drink the water used to wash it; this should ease the thirst. If there is no thirst, there is no need to take it. Another prescription says to grind glutinous rice when thirsty, take the rice milk, and drink as much as desired until the illness is cured.

The Mei Master’s Prescriptions records that when cholera brings palpitations, internal heat and restlessness, and thirst, glutinous rice may be ground with cold boiled water. Drink the water used to wash the rice, in any quantity.

The Concise Prescriptions for Saving the People records a remedy for persistent nosebleeds that do not respond to medicine, called the Single Efficacious Powder: lightly stir-fry glutinous rice until yellow, grind it to a fine powder, and take two qian at a time, mixed with freshly drawn water.

The Discourses on the Materia Medica says that the rice now used for brewing wine is the rice grown in flooded fields, all of which is called “rice.” Since round-grained rice has already been discussed above, the rice referred to here must undoubtedly be glutinous rice.

Fubi tastes pungent and has a neutral nature. It is non-toxic. It is used to treat alternating chills and fever caused by malaria, pathogenic influences, diarrhea, and dysentery. It may also be used for insufficiency of Yin, inability to achieve an erection, wasting thirst, and headaches after excessive drinking. It grows in Hanzhong. Fubi is the flower of the small red bean (adzuki bean). It is gathered in the seventh month and dried in the shade. The character jie in the term for malaria is pronounced “jie.”

The Illustrated Classic of Materia Medica says that Fubi is the flower of the small red bean. It originated in Hanzhong but is now found in many places. Tao Hongjing believed that a small shrub growing by the sea, shaped like a gardenia and smelling like rotten earth, was called “Fubi” by local people, and suspected that it might be the same plant. Su Gong said that in the region south of the mountains, people traditionally called kudzu flowers Fubi. Modern commentators identify Fubi as the small red bean flower, since it, too, has a foul smell.

The records in the Classic of Materia Medica show that Fubi was said to treat headaches after excessive drinking. The small coastal shrub was originally used for malaria and pain in the heart and abdomen, while kudzu flower was not recorded as a remedy for ailments caused by alcohol. Another commentary says that Fubi and small red bean flowers can be ground into powder and taken with a small ancient medicine spoonful, about the size of a square inch, when drinking; this makes a person less likely to get drunk. It therefore seems that the coastal shrub, kudzu flower, and small red bean flower were all called “Fubi,” though they were different substances sharing the same name. Such cases of different things bearing one name are not uncommon in the Classic of Materia Medica. Another account says that the flower of the red small bean can also relieve discomfort after excessive drinking.

Yuxi quotes the Treatise on the Nature of Medicinals: “The flower of the red small bean is called Fubi. It can dispel alcohol toxicity, brighten the eyes, and relieve abdominal distension and loss of appetite. Taken as a decoction, it also promotes urination and treats the hot swellings caused by childhood erysipelas.”

The Food and Medicine Heart Mirror says that Fubi can be used for chills and fever, diarrhea, dysentery, miasmatic malaria, and insufficiency of Yin. It can also relieve thirst and treat headaches after excessive drinking. Boil small red bean flowers with fermented soybeans, add seasonings, and eat the mixture as a soup.

The Essential Prescriptions of the Outer Terrace records a treatment for thirst and frequent urination when the condition is not strangury: take a handful of small red bean leaves, crush them, squeeze out the juice, and drink it in one dose.

Fermented soybean paste tastes salty and sour and has a cold nature. It clears heat and relieves irritability and distension in the chest and abdomen. It can also be used for burns caused by hot medicinal liquids or fire.

Tao Hongjing says that most fermented paste is made from beans, while paste made entirely from wheat is less common. The paste referred to here must be bean paste; the longer it has fermented, the better its medicinal effect. Meat paste and fish paste are also called hai, but are not used as medicine.

The Sagely Prescriptions of the Imperial Grace records that if a moth flies into the ear, pouring fermented paste juice into the ear will make it come out. One may also strike a bronze vessel beside the ear.

The Thousand Gold Pieces Prescriptions records that for pain caused by pulling on a finger, fermented paste juice may be mixed with honey in any amount, warmed, and applied to the affected area.

The Handbook of Prescriptions for Emergencies records that when someone is scalded by hot soup or burned by fire, before blisters appear, bean paste juice may be applied to the affected area.

The Elucidation of the Materia Medica says that fermented paste was a food esteemed by the sages. The saying means that without fermented paste, one does not eat a meal; perhaps this was intended to make the five flavors of food…

When the flavors of food are properly balanced, the five organs receive it comfortably. This, too, is one way to bring ease and well-being to a person.

Old Storehouse Rice tastes salty and sour, is warm in nature, and is non-toxic. Its main effects are to direct Qi downward, relieve vexing thirst, harmonize stomach Qi, and stop diarrhea.

Tao Yinju said: This is rice that has been kept in a granary for a long time and has turned reddish in color. It is often used to make a decoction. People also use it to brew vinegar, which turns out better than vinegar made with new non-glutinous rice.

Yuxi said, citing Chen Shiliang: Old storehouse rice is neutral in nature. It can regulate the stomach, stop diarrhea, warm the spleen, and dispel fatigue. It is suitable for cooking in soup.

Rihua Zi said: Old storehouse rice nourishes the five organs and astringes the intestines and stomach.

The Dietary Therapy says: Cook old storehouse rice into firm rice and eat it to stop dysentery, replenish central Qi, strengthen the sinews and bones, free the blood vessels, and invigorate Yang Qi. For toxic swellings and malignant sores, steam rice that has been stored for a long time, mix it with vinegar, and apply it to the swelling; it will soon subside. For sudden heart pain, grind rice, extract the juice, and drink it. People in the north put rice in an urn and cook it, then soak it in water until it turns sour. Eating it is said to warm the Qi of the five organs and six bowels.

The Mirror of the Physician’s Diet says: Old storehouse rice relieves vexing heat, directs Qi downward, harmonizes stomach Qi, and stops diarrhea and dysentery. It can be cooked as rice and eaten.

The Extended Meaning says: Neither the Inner Classic nor the various commentaries explain whether old storehouse rice is non-glutinous rice or millet. Both kinds become somewhat cold after storage, and eating them regularly can cause diarrhea, which does not quite agree with what the Inner Classic says. When boiled, they also lack an oily, moist quality. Those who use rice medicinally today mostly choose new millet. As for the fine bran that clings to the pestle when rice is pounded, the texts do not say whether it should come from new or old rice. In general, neither is as good as the bran of new rice or new millet. If rice bran is stored too long, its smell and flavor turn rancid.

Poppy tastes sweet, is neutral in nature, and is non-toxic. It is used when the effects of mineral elixirs flare up and food is difficult to swallow: cook it with bamboo sap into a porridge and eat it; it tastes very good. It is also called Elephant Grain, Rice Bag, and Imperial Grain. Its flowers are red or white and shaped like the tip of a falcon’s arrow. Since its fruit contains seeds, it is also called “pod seed.” Here, the character for “falcon” is pronounced xiao.

The Extended Meaning says: Poppies also have double flowers. Each capsule contains tens of millions of seeds, about the size of field pennycress seeds and white in color. They grow better when sown in alternate years. Grind the seeds, boil them in water, then add honey to make “poppy soup.” This is suitable for people taking mineral elixirs.

Shicao Seed tastes sweet, is neutral in nature, and is non-toxic. It is used to treat an inability to feel hunger and is also said to make the body light and nimble. It grows on the islands and sandbars of the Eastern Sea, resembles barley, and ripens in autumn. It is also called Yu’s Surplus Grain, but it is not the mineral medicine Stone Yu’s Surplus Grain.

The Haiyao records: This fruit resembles a small ball. It is harvested in the eighth month and commonly eaten by local people. It can restore strength when a person is weak, fatigued, or depleted, warm the stomach and intestines, and stop vomiting. Eating it over a long period can make a person robust. It is also called “Rangu.” People in the Central Plains have never seen it.

Cold Food Festival rice can remove scars. For old scars or other marks left by sores, grind the rice finely and apply it to the affected area. The ash of burned rice is said to treat illnesses caused by eating during recovery from an illness.

The Wai Tai Mi Yao records: To treat “dragon-turtle accumulation,” take three sheng of maltose made for the Cold Food Festival, five ge each time, three times a day. After taking it, the dragon is said to be vomited out, with two heads and a tail.

The seeds of green foxtail can be cooked and eaten like millet. Eating them can keep a person from feeling hungry. Its ears resemble those of cogongrass, and it grows in damp places. The Guangzhi says it can be eaten like millet; the Erya calls it “Menglangwei.” Today people call it “wolf-tail grass.”

The seeds of kuai grass can also be eaten, and taste like polished rice. Its young shoots resemble cogongrass. Hudou grows in fields in the wild; it tastes sweet, is non-toxic, and can treat excessive thirst. Do not cook and eat it with salt. Its shoots resemble those of leguminous plants, and its seeds are often found among rice grains.

Wheat shoots taste pungent, are cold in nature, and are non-toxic. They can be used to treat gu illness. Boil them to make a liquid, strain it through fine silk, and then drink it.

“Wen” refers to the husk fragments left after grain is threshed. The fanqie spelling for “wen” is given as “yu ben.”

She wine—the wine left after a sacrifice to the Earth God—is said to drive away mosquitoes and insects when sprinkled on the four walls of a room. A drop placed in a child’s mouth is said to help the child speak sooner. This is the wine left over after the sacrifice.