《孫真人備急千金要方》Vol. 15

Sun the Perfected (Sun Simiao) said: “In general, after the age of forty-five, people’s eyesight gradually grows dim and blurred. After the age of sixty, some people gradually begin to see clearly again. The way to regulate this is as follows: before the age of fifty, one may take a Liver-draining decoction; after fifty, one should no longer use methods that drain the Liver. If the eyes are truly diseased, medicines such as Stone Gall Powder may be applied. When there is no illness, do not apply medicines casually; simply nourish the Liver.

“If wind-heat in the Liver causes blurred vision, moxibustion should be applied to Liver Shu (the point on the back corresponding to the Liver), and wind-dispersing decoctions, pills, or powders should be taken. After several dozen doses, the condition will usually improve.

“The following habits may all damage the eyes and even cause loss of sight: eating pungent foods raw; eating or drinking things that are too hot; often eating hot noodles and other flour foods; drinking alcohol without restraint; having sex without restraint; gazing into the distance for a long time; frequently looking at the sun and moon; watching the stars or lamplight at night; reading fine print at night; reading by moonlight; copying texts for many years; doing fine work such as carving; playing chess or gambling for a long time; remaining amid smoke and fire for too long; crying excessively; and needling the head or letting too much blood.

“Also, riding at a gallop, hunting, traveling through wind and frost, chasing animals into the wind, and going on day and night without rest can damage the eyes. To indulge oneself for a moment’s pleasure may leave behind an eye disease that is difficult to cure for a long time. How could one fail to be cautious? If young people do not take care of their eyes, their vision will gradually grow dim by the age of forty. If they carefully follow these prohibitions and practices of care, they may have few eye ailments even in old age.

“After the age of forty, one should often rest with the eyes closed and avoid looking around. Unless there is something important to attend to, one should not casually open the eyes and look about. This is an important way to protect the eyes. Eye disease caused by excessive reading, playing chess, and similar activities is called ‘Liver strain.’ According to this text, to treat it one must keep the eyes closed and look at nothing for three years; only then might it be cured. Simply draining the Liver or using other treatments will ultimately have no effect. People with wind rash often also develop blurred vision. Treat the wind rash first, and the dimness of vision will then improve on its own.

“Changes in the Foot Taiyang, Foot Yangming, and Hand Shaoyang channels may also cause eye disease. The Yellow Emperor asked: ‘Once I climbed the Qingling Terrace and, reaching the middle of the steps, bent forward and crawled. I privately…’”

The Yellow Emperor said: “At the time, I felt secretly perplexed. Sometimes I would close my eyes and observe inwardly by myself, steady my mind and regulate my breathing, yet after a long while I still could not understand. I let my hair fall loose, knelt upright on the ground, bent forward to look again, and watched for a long time. Only then did the bewilderment suddenly vanish on its own. What kind of Qi causes this?”

Qibo replied: “The vital essences of the five zang organs and six fu organs all flow upward to the eyes, enabling them to see. The essential parts of the eye are as follows: the essence of the bones forms the pupils; the essence of the sinews forms the dark part of the eye; the essence of the blood forms the blood vessels within the eye; the essence of Qi forms the white of the eye; and the essence of the flesh forms the eyelids. The essences of the sinews, bones, blood, and Qi join with the meridians to form the ‘eye system.’ The eye system connects upward to the brain and passes out behind through the center of the nape.

“Thus, when pathogenic Qi enters the nape and a person’s upright Qi happens to be weak, the pathogen can penetrate deeply and follow the eye system into the brain. When it enters the brain, the brain spins; when the brain spins, the eye system tightens, bringing dizziness and vertigo, as though heaven and earth were turning. If the pathogen injures the eyes and affects the two eyes unequally, their lines of sight cannot coordinate and diverge; when they diverge, one object appears as two.

“The eyes are where the vital essences of the five zang organs and six fu organs gather. They are nourished by the Qi of the nutritive and defensive systems and by the Hun and Po souls, and are where spirit and Qi arise. So when spirit and Qi are excessively depleted, the Hun and Po become scattered, and the will and intention are thrown into disorder. The pupils and dark parts of the eyes belong to Yin; the whites and red vessels belong to Yang. Only when Yin and Yang combine can the vital essence become clear. The eyes are the messengers of the heart, and the heart is the abode of spirit. Therefore, when spirit and Qi are scattered and the vital essence is disordered and unfocused, an unusual sight may appear suddenly. If the spirit and Hun and Po souls are scattered and cannot coordinate with one another, this is called ‘bewilderment.’

“The Yellow Emperor asked again: ‘I still have a question. Whenever I go to the eastern garden, I am always bewildered; once I leave, I return to normal. Could it be that I alone exhaust my spirit in the eastern garden? Why does this strange thing happen?’

“Qibo said: ‘That is not the reason. When the heart cherishes something, the spirit may recoil from it. If the two suddenly react against each other, the vital essence becomes disordered and vision is affected. The mind then becomes bewildered, and normality returns once spirit and Qi resume their proper place. A mild case is called “confusion”; a severe one is called “bewilderment.”

“‘The outer corner of the eye, on the side nearest the cheek, is called the outer canthus. On the inner side, near the nose, the upper corner is the outer canthus and the lower corner the inner canthus. Redness of the eyes indicates illness in the heart; whiteness, illness in the lungs; blueness, illness in the liver; yellowness, illness in the spleen; and blackness, illness in the kidneys. A yellow color that is difficult to describe indicates illness in the chest.

“‘When examining eye pain: if red vessels extend downward from above, the illness belongs to the Taiyang meridian; if they extend upward from below, it belongs to a Yang meridian pattern.’”

Eye disorders that progress from the exterior to the interior are classified as Shaoyang disorders.

“Blocked nose” refers to cloudy nasal discharge that flows without stopping and may later develop into nasal congestion and drowsiness, or even cause the eyes to close and remain shut. This condition is thought to result from disordered Qi movement. One branch of the Foot Yangming channel runs beside the nose and enters the face. It is called “Xuánlú” (Hanging Skull). It connects with the mouth and extends inward to the root of the eye. When an eye disorder occurs, treatment should be determined according to the specific condition: excess should be reduced, and deficiency should be supplemented. If the treatment is reversed, the condition will worsen.

One branch of the Foot Taiyang channel reaches the nape, then enters the brain and connects directly with the root of the eye. It is called the “eye system.” If pain in the head and eyes is severe, select a point between the two tendons at the nape and needle it to guide the channel into the brain. Then distinguish between the Yin Heel and Yang Heel vessels: Yin and Yang Qi meet and exchange, with Yang entering Yin and Yin emerging into Yang. Yang Qi converges at the outer corner of the eye. When Yang Qi is abundant, a person closes their eyes; when Yin Qi is depleted, they become deeply drowsy and keep their eyes shut.

Shenqu Pills: These are said to brighten the eyes, enabling even people over a hundred years old to read books and annotations. The formula consists of four liang of Shenqu (fermented medicinal starter), two liang of magnetite, and one liang of bright cinnabar. Grind the three ingredients into a fine powder and use refined honey to form pills the size of wutong seeds. Take three pills at a time, three times a day, at any time. The original text says that regular use can improve vision and praises the effect as “marvelously effective beyond words,” urging readers to keep the formula secret.

Melon Seed Powder: Used to supplement the Liver and treat blurred or indistinct vision. It is also called “Ten-Seed Powder.” The ingredients are two he of each of the following: winter melon seed, Celosia seed, motherwort seed, goji berry, Vitex seed, Tribulus seed, dodder seed, turnip seed, cassia seed, field gromwell seed, and arborvitae seed; two liang each of cinnamon bark and wild grape root; one he of shiny-leaved gleditsia kernel (some sources say two he); one liang of plantain seed; and half a liang of asarum (some sources say one and a half liang). Grind all sixteen ingredients into a fine powder. After meals, take one square-inch spoonful—the amount held by an ancient measure for powdered medicine—with wine, twice a day. The original text describes the formula as remarkably effective.

Liver-Supplementing Pills: Used to treat dim vision. The ingredients are one liang each of Celosia seed, cinnamon heartwood, lepidium seed, apricot kernel, asarum, motherwort seed, goji berry, and schisandra; one liang and six zhu each of poria, scutellaria root, saposhnikovia root, field gromwell seed, alisma, cassia seed, dwarf lilyturf root, and shiny-leaved gleditsia kernel; two he each of plantain seed and dodder seed; three liang of dried rehmannia root; and one whole rabbit liver. The excerpt ends here and does not yet give the method of preparation or dosage.

Grind the twenty ingredients listed above into a fine powder and make them into pills with honey. Take twenty pills at a time with water. Each pill should be about the size of a parasol tree seed. Take them twice daily, gradually increasing to thirty pills per dose.

Another formula treats dim, blurred vision and difficulty seeing clearly, eyes that water when exposed to cold, and impaired vision caused by liver impediment, an illness that the ancients associated with dysfunction of the liver:

Two rabbit livers; one liang and six zhu each of arborvitae seed, dried Rehmannia root, poria, asarum, shiny-leaf prickly-ash kernel, and goji berry; one liang each of saposhnikovia root, Sichuan lovage rhizome, and Chinese yam; one he of plantain seed; eighteen zhu of Chinese magnolia vine; half a liang of licorice; and one he of dodder seed.

Grind the fourteen ingredients above into a fine powder and make them into pills with honey. Take twenty pills at a time with wine. Each pill should be about the size of a parasol tree seed. Take them twice daily, gradually increasing to forty pills per dose.

Liver-Supplementing Powder: a formula for loss of vision and a murky blur before the eyes.

Half a sheng of cassia seed and one he of knotweed seed, toasted until fragrant; and one green goat liver, with its surface membrane removed and cut into thin slices. Place the liver in a clean, unused earthenware jar and roast it over charcoal until completely dry and all its juices have evaporated. Then grind it into a fine powder.

Mix the three ingredients above and sift them. After meals, take one level fangcun spoonful—a level scoop of powder measured with an ancient medicine-measuring utensil—with rice gruel. Take it twice daily, gradually increasing to three spoonfuls, for no more than two doses. The original text says that taking it continuously for a year enables one to read small print at night.

Another formula treats blindness lasting thirty years:

Refined stalactite powder and refined mica powder, as well as asarum, poria, polygala root, and Chinese magnolia vine, in equal amounts.

Grind the six ingredients above into a fine powder and sift it. Take five fen of powder with wine three times daily, gradually increasing to one qian.

Liver-Supplementing Turnip-Seed Powder: a formula for regular use to improve eyesight.

Take three sheng of turnip seeds. Wash them clean, boil them in three sheng of clear rice wine, then dry them in the sun, grind them finely, and sift. Mix one level fangcun spoonful with well water drawn at dawn, gradually increasing to three spoonfuls. The formula says there are no dietary restrictions; it may be taken in small amounts several times a day. It can make the body robust and full, brighten the vision, and help one see clearly both near and far. The seeds may also be boiled in water and then taken with wine. The Essential Supplements from a Thousand Gold Pieces records the water-boiling method.

Another formula: take one dou of sesame seeds, steam them thirty times, grind them finely, and sift. Take one sheng with wine each day.

Another formula: every day, on an empty stomach, swallow two sets of seven small black beans—that is, fourteen beans.

Another formula: Gather turnip flowers on the third day of the third lunar month. Dry them in the shade, grind them into a fine powder, and sift it. Take it on an empty stomach with well-flower water—the first water drawn from a well at dawn. The dose is one square-inch spoonful, an ancient measure for powdered medicine. Long-term use is said to prolong life and improve eyesight, allowing one even to read small characters at night.

Liver-Supplementing Powder is used to treat the “five taxations and seven injuries” in men, a general term for illnesses involving strain and weakness, and to help improve eyesight.

One dou of kochia seeds, dried in the shade and ground into powder; ten jin of fresh Rehmannia root, pounded to extract the juice.

Mix the kochia-seed powder with the fresh Rehmannia juice, dry in the sun, then grind again into a fine powder. Take one square-inch spoonful with wine twice a day.

Another formula: Put seven sheng of white melon seeds in a silk bag and steep them in boiling water three times. Remove and dry in the sun. Then soak them overnight in five sheng of vinegar, dry them in the sun, grind them finely, and sift. Take one square-inch spoonful with wine three times a day. After one hundred days, it is said to enable a person to copy small characters at night.

Gardenia-Kernel Decoction is used to treat pain at the corners of the eyes caused by excessive Liver heat, with a stabbing sensation like needle pricks.

One liang each of gardenia kernels, cassia seeds, and pyracantha kernels; one liang and six zhu each of plantain leaves and ash bark; one liang of gypsum, broken into pieces about the size of small beans; two ge of bitter bamboo leaves; half a liang of asarum; three ge of red honey.

Coarsely cut the nine ingredients. Boil them in three sheng of well-flower water until two sheng and seven ge remain, then strain out the dregs. Add the red honey and boil again until four ge remain. Filter through cotton cloth, pour into a clean container, and seal it to keep out grass fragments and other impurities. Lie on your back and drip the liquid into the eyes a little at a time.

Liver-Draining Decoction is used to treat red eyes and dim, blurred vision, sometimes accompanied by the growth of fleshy tissue.

Four liang each of bupleurum, peony root, and rhubarb; three liang each of cassia seeds, alisma, skullcap root, and apricot kernels; two liang each of cimicifuga, immature bitter orange, gardenia kernels, and bamboo leaves.

Coarsely cut the eleven ingredients. Boil them in nine sheng of water until two sheng and seven ge remain, then divide into three doses. If signs of heat are pronounced and the person is robust, add one liang of rhubarb. If the person is frail and elderly, omit the rhubarb and increase the gardenia kernels to five liang.

Another formula is used to treat red eyes and dim vision caused by Wind pathogen:

Four liang each of hogfennel root and peony root; ten liang of fresh Rehmannia root; three liang each of mirabilite, skullcap root, poria, angelica dahurica root, and immature bitter orange; two liang each of ginseng, white atractylodes, gardenia, and alisma.

One liang each of licorice root and asarum; five sheng of bamboo leaves.

Chop the fifteen ingredients. Add one dou and two sheng of water. First decoct the bamboo leaves until the liquid is reduced to nine sheng, then strain out the dregs. Add the remaining ingredients and decoct until three and a half sheng remain. Divide into three doses.

Dry Indigo Decoction for Washing the Liver: Treats persistent liver heat, with heat rising to the eyes, redness at the corners of the eyes and prominent red blood vessels, growths in the eyes, unbearable pain, inability to open the eyes, worsening heat, and yellowing of the eyeballs.

Three sheng each of dry indigo, plantain leaves, and bitter bamboo leaves; three liang each of asarum, ash bark, Chinese raspberry kernels, gardenia seeds, and peony; four liang of cassia seeds; two liang of cimicifuga.

Chop the ten ingredients. Add two dou of water and first decoct the dry indigo, plantain leaves, and bamboo leaves until the liquid is reduced to one dou. Strain out the dregs and let the liquid settle; take eight sheng of the clear liquid. Add the remaining ingredients and decoct until three sheng remain. Divide into three doses.

Jujube Decoction: Treats heat in the eyes and redness at the corners, with red blood vessels spreading across the eyeball, growths in the eyes, sharp pain, inability to open the eyes, and a sensation like a mustard seed stuck in the eye, causing unbearable stinging.

Seven jujubes, peeled and pitted; two liang of coptis, crushed and wrapped in cotton cloth; five he of chopped light bamboo leaves.

Decoct the bamboo leaves from these three ingredients in two sheng of water until one sheng remains. Let the liquid settle and take eight he. Add the jujube flesh and coptis, then decoct until four he remain. Strain out the dregs and let the liquid clear. Apply the fine, clear liquid to the inner corners of the eyes.

A prescription for growths in the eyes:

Donkey fat and powdered rock salt.

Mix the two ingredients evenly and apply a drop to the inner corner of each eye three times during the day and once at night. This can bring a cure.

Another prescription: Take the root of an eleuthero plant growing in a place where the sound of water cannot be heard. Remove the soil and take the root bark. Pound it into one sheng of powder and soak it in two sheng of fine wine for seven days. Take it twice every other day. Avoid vinegar for fourteen days while taking the medicine. If sores appear over the body, the medicine is taking effect. If no sores appear, its effects have not yet manifested; bathe in warm water mixed from hot and cold water to bring out the toxic sores. Afterward, recovery will follow.

Eye-Washing Decoction: Treats heat rising and invading the eyes, causing a film to form, heat and pain in the eyes, and tearing.

Eighteen zhu each of ash bark, phellodendron bark, cassia seeds, coptis, baical skullcap, and Chinese raspberry kernels; seven gardenia fruits; five jujubes.

Chop the eight ingredients. Soak them in two sheng of water, then decoct until six he remain. Let the liquid settle before use.

Washing the Sun While Lying on One’s Back I

A Remedy for a Film Growing Over the Eye

Take ten pieces of shell medicine, burn them to ash, grind finely, and sift. Take a portion about the size of a broad bean and apply it to the film. Do this twice a day. Have someone apply the medicine while you lie on your back, then wipe it away after about the time it takes to eat a meal.

If a fleshy growth appears in the eye, add an equal amount of pearl.

A Remedy for Red Eyes and a Film Growing Over the Eye

Take cuttlefish bone and cinnabar, a red lead-bearing mineral used as medicine, in equal parts. Grind them together finely and mix with white honey to make a paste. Steam for about half the time it takes to eat a meal. Once cool, apply it to the four corners of the eye.

Another remedy: Apply the marrow of a white sheep’s bones to the eye. It is said to work well.

Another remedy: Take cooked sheep’s eyes, dry them in the sun, grind finely, sift, and apply the powder to the corner of the eye.

Another remedy: Take the placenta of a newborn baby, dry it in the sun, burn it to powder, and apply it to the corner of the eye.

Another remedy: Take one ancient coin and one square-inch spoonful of salt, an ancient measure for medicine. Grind them together finely, sift, and apply the powder to the corner of the eye.

A Remedy for Wind-Induced Tearing, Floating Films, Pus, and Ulcers at the Corner of the Eye

Take dried ginger, cassia seeds, alum, ruiren kernels, asarum, coptis, and rong salt, six zhu each, an ancient unit of weight; take three zhu of copper verdigris. Coarsely chop these eight ingredients and soak them overnight in a little water. The next morning, add eight he of fine white honey, an ancient unit of volume. Put everything in a copper vessel, cover its opening with cotton cloth, and place it in a steamer. Steam it with three dou of wheat bran until the rice is cooked; the medicine is then ready. Strain out the dregs, take the gallbladders of two large male carp that have just died, and stir them into the medicine.

Next, place seven large coins beneath the medicine and leave them in the copper vessel. Wrap cotton around a bamboo hairpin, dip it into the medicine, and dab it into the corner of the eye three or four times a day and night, in any season. When the medicine dries, apply it again. At the same time, mix the liquid with fish gall, and keep the medicine vessel covered so its vapor does not escape.

A Remedy for Hot Films Covering the Eyes

Rinse your mouth with sheep’s tendon, then chew it until soft. At night, keep the eye open, place the tendon inside, then close the eye and go to sleep. It is said that the film will come away by the next day and sight will return. The Supplement to the Essential Prescriptions Worth a Thousand Gold Pieces uses this remedy when a foreign object has clouded the eye and blurred vision.

A Remedy for Wind-Related Films

Take the nose of a dead pig, burn it to ash, grind finely, and sift. Once a day, face the sun and swallow one square-inch spoonful with water.

A Remedy for Heat in the Eye and Red or White Films

Take the slender, elongated pellets in the droppings of a male sparrow. Mix them with human breast milk and grind thoroughly, then apply to the eye. The film is said to gradually fade and break up.

Another remedy: Burn a roundworm to powder and apply it to the eye. It is said to work well.

A Remedy for a White Film Covering the Pupil in a Person’s or Horse’s Eye

The source gives only the remedy’s title and does not record its ingredients or method.

Use a chicken feather to push aside the thin film obscuring the vision, moving it toward the boundary between the black of the eye (the central part containing the pupil and iris) and the white of the eye. Then draw it together by suction through the mouth. Hook the film with a small needle and pull it up; after cutting it away, the patient will be able to see. Press cotton against the eye to stop the bleeding. It will heal in three days.

Wind-Sweeping Powder, a prescription for a film growing on the white of the eye and tearing caused by exposure to wind. (In the Fánjiǎn Fāng, it is called “Pearl Powder.”)

Bright cinnabar, half a liang; five shell teeth (burned thoroughly over charcoal and ground to powder); seven booklice found in clothing; and three zhu of dried ginger. Another version uses the powder that settles out of fresh ginger juice in place of dried ginger.

Grind these four ingredients together in a new porcelain mortar, then sift them three times through thick silk to make a powder. Have the patient lie on their back. Using the little fingernail, someone should pick up a small amount of the powder and apply it inside the eye. Continue until the condition is cured. (The Qianjin Yifang calls it “Pearl Powder”; it treats a film that covers the pupil and prevents sight.)

A prescription for a fleshy growth in the eye, with a film that gradually enlarges until it is about to cover the entire eye and pupil:

Seven shell teeth, burned and ground to powder; pearl, in the same quantity as the shell teeth.

Grind these two ingredients together until fine as flour, and apply them to the film or growth three times a day. The results are very good. This also treats a foreign object in the eye that cannot be removed.

A prescription for a beaded growth in the eye:

Talc (some say cold stone), burned fingernails, dragon bone, shell teeth, and cinnabar, in equal amounts.

Grind these five ingredients to powder and sift. Dip a new writing brush into the powder and apply it to the beaded growth three times a day. It works well.

A prescription for red, painful eyes with a film after an episode of poisoning:

Cover the eyes with blue cloth, wet it with cold water, and replace it repeatedly.

A prescription for a film in the eyes after a febrile illness:

Take fourteen fermented soybeans, burn them, and grind them to powder. Put the powder into a tube and blow it into the eye.

A prescription for dim vision or blindness after a febrile illness:

Apply sheep’s bile to the eyes once in the morning and once in the evening.

A prescription for wind-related eye disease and sores at the corners of the eyes:

One liang each of bamboo leaves and coptis root, and one and a half liang of white cypress bark.

Chop these three ingredients, add two sheng of water, and boil until reduced to five he. When slightly cooled, put drops into the corners of both eyes three or four times a day.

A prescription for red eyes in newborns:

Take a branch of a scholar tree as thick as a riding crop and two chi long, and trim both ends flat. Put one spoonful of sesame seeds in a copper mortar. In the morning, have a boy grind them with a wooden stick until…

Wash the eyes before bed and apply the medicine to the corners of the eyes three times a day. This works well.

Remedy for sores and redness in the eyes

Take a pinch of salt between three fingers and place it on an old coin. Heat it repeatedly over a fire until it turns red. Then put the salt into a little vinegar, just enough to cover the coin. Dip cotton in the vinegar and drip the liquid into the corners of the eyes.

Remedy made with medicine simmered in breast milk, for eyes affected by wind and cold, tearing, and red, itchy corners

Huanglian, eighteen zhu; ruiren, half a liang; dried ginger, one liang.

Chop these three ingredients and soak them overnight in one sheng of human breast milk. The next morning, simmer over low heat and reduce to three he. Strain through cotton cloth to remove the dregs. Take a drop about the size of a millet grain and place it in the corner of the eye three times a day. Zhang Wenzhong’s formula says to use equal amounts of the three ingredients.

Remedy for eyes swollen and painful from wind, to clear heat and rub the eyes

Burn three liang of alum stone until all its liquid has evaporated, then mix it with date paste and shape it into a pellet the size of a crossbow pellet. Rub the medicine over the upper and lower parts of the eyes for about the time it takes to eat a meal. Use it three times a day, and stop once the symptoms have passed.

Eye-washing decoction: remedy for red, painful eyes

Seven leaves of sweet bamboo, three black plums, and three old coins.

Soak all three in two sheng of water for half a day. Then place the mixture on a stove facing east and bring it to a boil three times, lifting it off the heat after each boil and then returning it to boil again. Reduce the liquid to two he. Before bed, drip it into the corners of the eyes.

Remedy for sudden swelling of the eyes

Mix salt into vinegar whey to make a saline wash, and wash the eyes four or five times a day.

Remedy for sudden itching and pain in the eyes

Shave dried ginger into a smooth, rounded shape and place it in the corner of the eye. When ginger juice runs out, wipe it away and put the ginger back. Replace it when its flavor has faded.

Remedy for pathogenic heat in the Five Viscera rising to the eyes, and for wind and cold affecting the eyes inside and out, causing pain and blurred vision

Difuzi, guarenzi, qingxiangzi, jili zi, chongweizi, lanzi, tusizi, and ruiren (listed as cheqianzi in the Qianjin Yifang), two he each; baiziren, half a he; juemingzi, five he; xixin, one liang and six zhu; guixin, one liang and eighteen zhu; dahuang, two liang; yinghuo, six zhu; huanglian, one and a half liang.

Grind these fifteen ingredients into a fine powder and form pills with honey, each the size of a wutong seed. Take thirty pills after meals, three times a day. The Qianjin Yifang omits baiziren.

Remedy for red, painful eyes

Realgar, one zhu; xixin; huanglian.

The text does not provide the remaining quantities or preparation instructions.

Use two zhu of dried ginger (an ancient unit of weight).

Grind the four ingredients above into a powder. Wrap the end of a hairpin in cotton, moisten it with saliva, and use it to place some of the powder in the inner corner of the eye. Then close the eye tightly at once and wait for tears to flow; after a while, they will stop. Do not touch the eye with your hand, wipe it with cloth, or rinse it.

Another formula: six zhu each of realgar, dried ginger, coptis, and alum. Grind the four ingredients into a powder and use it as described above. One account says to add six zhu of asarum to the formula.

Formula for red, dim eyes

Three ancient green coins, one liang and six zhu of green salt, and an appropriate amount of almond kernels (taken from apricots before they ripen and pounded to yield one he of juice). Place the three ingredients in an earthenware vessel and seal it so that no vapor can escape. After one hundred days, take it out and apply it to the four corners of the eyes two or three times a day, while avoiding wind and cold.

Formula for dim, red eyes that water in the wind

Grind equal parts of ruiren and Persian salt into a powder and sift it, then mix it with fresh donkey fat. Each evening, apply an amount the size of a millet grain to the four corners of the eyes. Then rest in a closed room for one month, and the condition will be cured. Avoid eating the Five Pungent Foods. Those who are blind should apply it for thirty days.

Formula for eye pain and continual tearing

Pare aconite root to the size of silkworm droppings, place it in the eye, and lie down to rest for a while.

Formula for unclear vision and tearing

Before bed, apply the bile of a black chicken to the eye.

Formula for night blindness

For night blindness, grind five liang of kochia seed and one sheng of cassia seed into a powder, then mix it with rice broth and form pills. Take twenty to thirty pills after meals, twice a day. Make more after finishing the batch and continue until the condition is cured.

Method for treating night blindness

At dusk, have the person with night blindness go to where sparrows roost. Strike the area to startle them, and as they fly up, recite: “Purple Lord, Purple Lord, I return your blindness to you; give me back my sight.” Do this three times each evening, and the eyes will become clear. This method is said to have worked when tried. The Zhouhou Fang records it, citing a method by Physician Zhi found in the Shanfan Fang.

Pearl Powder: For deficient and cold Liver Qi, and eyes that are blind and unable to see

One liang of pearl, finely ground; two he of white honey; and one gallbladder and one brain from a carp. Combine the four ingredients and simmer over a low flame until the mixture boils twice. Wrap the medicine in cotton and place it in the eye. When the liquid has flowed out and its effect has worn off, prepare a fresh batch for use.

A remedy for blurred vision and inability to see

Take the liver of one blue-gray goat and cut it into thin slices. Put it in a bronze vessel containing one dou of water and boil it. Cover the vessel’s mouth with a cake of fermented grain, and bore two holes in the cake, positioned directly in front of the patient’s eyes. Have the patient expose the eyes to the vapors through the holes. At most, two treatments will bring a cure. The Qianjin Yifang records that if the eyes grow dim and the patient cannot see in the evening, the fermented-grain cake is not needed.

A remedy for dim vision

Put three or four sheng of strong vinegar in a bronze vessel and heat it for seven or eight days. Set the vessel on damp ground. Take one he of the verdigris that forms on the bronze, and one sheng of white apricot kernels from an apricot tree in the third month. Pound the kernels and extract their juice. Mix it with the verdigris and apply it to the eyes. Apply it three or four times; the results are very good.

Another remedy

Take seven ancient coins, and a jujube-sized amount of each of the following: verdigris, dried ginger, rock salt, lead powder, and shepherd’s purse seed. Take a jujube-pit-sized amount of aconite, three zhu of coptis, five zhu of asarum, one hundred and thirty rouren seeds, two he of vinegar, five he of clear wine, and a handful of Chinese catalpa leaves, expressed for their juice.

Finely grind the thirteen ingredients, mix them, and boil them until one-third has evaporated. Pour the liquid into a porcelain vessel. If the medicine dries out, mix it with human breast milk and apply it to the eyes. Take care to avoid wind and cold.

Another remedy

Each morning, hold a small piece of phellodendron bark in the mouth, about the size of a fingernail. When saliva forms, spit it into the palm and rub it over the eyes. Then wash the eyes with water. Continue for one hundred days, and the eyes will become clear. This method may be followed for a long time and is said to banish eye disease permanently. Its effects are very good.

Another remedy

Take six zhu of bupleurum and eighteen zhu of cassia seed. Grind them finely, mix with human breast milk, and apply to the eyes. It is said that this can make it possible to read writing at night and distinguish the five colors.

A remedy for dim vision

Take a bitter gourd that grew on the seventh day of the seventh month, and squeeze out one he of juice from its white flesh. Soak seven ancient coins in one sheng of vinegar and simmer over a low flame until half remains. Put a grain-of-rice-sized drop of the liquid into the corner of the eye.

A remedy for clouded vision and complete inability to see

Take eighteen zhu each of rouren seeds, ash tree bark, and coptis, along with seven fireflies and one he of cassia seed.

Chop the five ingredients, add eight he of water, and simmer over a low flame until three he remain. Let the liquid cool, then dip cotton wool into it and wash the eyes three times a day.

Regularly taking turnip seeds can make the body light and healthy, replenish original vitality, and brighten the eyes.

Take one sheng of turnip seeds and boil them in four sheng of water until the liquid has boiled away. Dry the seeds in the sun, then add another four sheng of water and boil them in the same way. Repeat this process of boiling and sun-drying three times. Grind the seeds into a fine powder and sift it. Take one square-inch spoonful each time.

The Qianjin Yifang says: After taking this for one hundred days, the body will grow hot and sores or a rash will appear. They will soon heal on their own.

A method said to improve eyesight and prevent hair loss:

On the auspicious day known as Shangsi in the tenth month, gather sophora seeds and place them in a clean, new porcelain vessel. Seal the opening tightly with a basin. After twenty-one days, open the vessel, wash away the outer husks, and remove the seeds. Begin taking them on the first day of the month: one seed on the first day, two on the second, and one more each day thereafter. On the tenth day, the total taken will be fifty-five seeds. After that, take one hundred and sixty-five seeds each day. At this rate, the annual total is one thousand nine hundred and eighty seeds; in a short month, subtract sixty seeds.

This medicine is said to nourish the brain. Taken early in life, it can keep the hair from turning white, improve the complexion, and help prolong life. Those who are prone to illnesses caused by cold should not take it. The Zhouhou Fang says this is a prescription of Bian Que.

Another prescription: Soak sophora seeds in ox bile and dry them in the shade for one hundred days. Swallow one seed after meals. The text says that after ten days the body will feel light and strong; after thirty days, white hair will turn black; and after one hundred days, one will “communicate with the spirits,” attaining spiritual insight.

A method for treating a foreign object in the eye that cannot be removed:

Swallow one silkworm dropping, and the object will come out.

A method for treating rice or wheat awns and similar things that get into the eye:

Take a live grub, cover the eye with a piece of new cloth, and rub the grub over the cloth. The awn will stick to it.

A method for treating sand, grit, or plant matter that gets into the eye and cannot be removed:

Put chicken liver juice into the eye.

Another prescription: Mix a bookworm with milk and put the mixture into the eye.

A method for dealing with a foreign object in the eye:

When you get up in the morning, kneel facing the doorway and say, “The doorway is too narrow to accommodate a guest.” The condition will then heal.

A method for treating a blue-black mark caused by something striking the eye:

Warm some lamb and apply it as a hot compress, taking care not to make it too hot. Pork liver can also be used.

A method for treating eye pain that prevents sleep:

At dusk, warm a piece of new blue cloth and apply it as a hot compress. Put steamed soybeans into a bag to make a pillow, and keep it warm throughout the night.

If redness and pain begin at the inner corner of the eye, near the bridge of the nose, treat the Yin Heel vessel, a term from acupuncture and meridian theory.

For eye pain that makes it impossible to see, treat the Shangxing acupoint. First treat the Yixi acupoint, then the Tianyou and Fengchi acupoints.

For blindness or difficulty seeing distant objects clearly, treat the Chengguang acupoint.

For blurred distance vision that persists even when the eyes are closed, treat the Muchuang acupoint.

For blurred vision accompanied by redness and pain, treat the Tianzhu acupoint.

For blurred vision or difficulty seeing clearly, accompanied by migraine pain spreading to the outer corner of the eye and tight discomfort there, the Xianyan point may be treated with acupuncture.

For difficulty seeing distant objects, aversion to wind, tearing, aversion to cold, headache, dim or blurred vision, redness and pain at the inner corner of the eye, indistinct vision at a distance, itching at the corners of the eyes, or a white film forming inside the eye, the Jingming point may be treated with acupuncture.

For blindness or inability to see, blurred distant objects, or a white film inside the eye covering the pupil, the Juliao point may be treated with acupuncture.

For unclear vision, tearing, dim sight, an itchy pupil, blurred vision at a distance, or inability to see at night; for eyelid twitching that also affects the neck and mouth, causing facial distortion or inability to speak, the Chengqi point may be treated with acupuncture.

For eye pain, misaligned eyes, or unclear vision, the Sibai point may be treated with acupuncture.

For red or yellow eyes, the Quanliao point may be treated with acupuncture.

For crossed eyes, the Shuigou point may be treated with acupuncture.

For eye pain or unclear vision, the Yingjiao point may be treated with acupuncture.

If the eyes remain closed and will not open, with sweating of the body, the Chengjiang point may be treated with acupuncture.

For blindness, drooping eyelids, or aversion to wind and cold, the Shangguan point may be treated with acupuncture.

For blindness, the Shangyang point may be treated with acupuncture.

For drooping eyelids or blurred vision, the Pianli point may be treated with acupuncture.

For eye pain, the Xialian point may be treated with acupuncture.

For a white film inside the eye, the Qiangu point may be treated with acupuncture.

For eye pain and tearing, especially when it feels as though the eyeball might protrude, the Qiangu point may be treated with acupuncture.

For a white film covering the eyeball and inability to see, the Jiexi point may be treated with acupuncture.

Other points for moxibustion are given earlier.

For drooping eyelids, blurred vision, and shortness of breath, moxibustion may be applied to the Wuli point. Treat the point on the opposite side: for an illness on the right, apply moxibustion on the left; for an illness on the left, apply it on the right.

For dim vision, apply moxibustion at the point ten vertebrae below Dazhui, on the midline of the spine. Apply two hundred moxa cones there. It is said that the more moxibustion used, the better, and that the treatment is highly effective.

For red eyes caused by pathogenic Qi associated with liver strain, apply one hundred moxa cones to the Dangrong points, on both sides. The points lie just behind the outer corners of the eyes and in front of the ears, around the place where a horizontal pulse can be felt beneath the fingers, opposite the Ermen points.

For tight, painful eyes and inability to see distant objects, apply moxibustion at the Dangyang point. It lies one cun inside the hairline. The number of moxa cones is determined by the person’s age.

For wind-related opacity in the right eye, apply five moxa cones to the end of the knuckle bone of the right middle finger. Each moxa cone should be about the size of a grain of wheat. Apply moxibustion in the same way to the left hand.

For itchy, red, painful eyes caused by exposure to wind, apply two moxa cones at the Renzhong point beside the bridge of the nose, with the person lying on their back.

For an opacity that suddenly appears in the eye, apply three moxa cones at the transverse crease of the thumb joint. For a condition of the left eye, treat the right hand; for a condition of the right eye, treat the left hand. This is said to work well.

Note: In the original, “moxa cone” is the unit used to count burning cones of moxa during treatment; “point” refers to a location on the body used in acupuncture and moxibustion.