《孫真人備急千金要方》Vol. 17

Volume Seventeen of The Essential Prescriptions Worth a Thousand in Emergencies by the Perfected Sun

Prescriptions for Disorders of the Seven Orifices: Oral Disorders, Part Three (Discussion, Prescriptions, and Moxibustion)

Discussion: When suffering from mouth ulcers or a locked jaw, avoid fatty foods, wheat products, alcohol, fermented sauces, sour vinegar, salty foods, and dried dates. Continue to eat carefully after recovering. If you are careless, the condition often returns soon and is then harder to cure. Rose root and jiaohao are considered excellent remedies for mouth ulcers, though people do not know this.

A prescription for polyps growing in the mouth or on the face and gradually enlarging:

Cut them open with a knife and drain the pus and blood; they will then heal.

A prescription for mouth ulcers that do not heal for a long time, even spreading to cause sores in the chest, and persisting for more than three years:

Boil rose root down to a concentrated decoction. Hold it in the mouth, then swallow it little by little. Take it three times during the day and once at night. Use the root in winter and the stems and leaves in summer.

Another prescription:

Burn jiaohao to ash and apply it to the affected area. Applying it for one night should bring improvement; applying it for two nights should cure the condition. If fluid comes out, spit it out rather than swallowing it.

A prescription for persistent mouth ulcers:

Ox-knee root and ranghe root, three liang each; phellodendron bark, one liang.

Cut the ingredients into pieces, wrap them in cotton cloth, and soak them overnight in three sheng of wine. Simmer over low heat until the mixture boils once or twice. Hold small amounts in the mouth repeatedly.

Shengma Decoction: A prescription for persistent heat in the bladder accompanied by sores on the mouth and tongue, and swelling and pain in the throat:

Cimicifuga, Scrophularia, the white bark of rose root, and blackberry lily, four liang each; daqing and phellodendron bark, three liang each; honey, seven he.

Cut the first seven ingredients into pieces and boil them in seven sheng of water. Reduce the liquid to one sheng and five he, then strain out the herbs and add the honey. Bring it to a boil twice more. Hold small amounts in the mouth repeatedly, then swallow.

A prescription for recurrent mouth ulcers that have not healed for many years:

Rose root, baical skullcap, Chinese angelica, platycodon, astragalus, ampelopsis, rhubarb, buckthorn root bark, peony, teasel, phellodendron bark, and kudzu root, one liang each.

Grind the ingredients into a fine powder. Take one fangcun bi measure—a small ancient medicine spoonful of powder—with wine, twice daily. It may also be taken with jiangshui.

A prescription for heat in the stomach causing dry lips and mouth, with sores:

Poria, baical skullcap, licorice, rhubarb, and rose root, thirty zhu each; immature bitter orange.

The source text breaks off here; the dose of immature bitter orange and the subsequent preparation instructions are not given.

Take one liang each of apricot kernels and Coptis root, half a liang of cinnamon bark, and eighteen zhu of trichosanthes root. Grind the ingredients into a fine powder. Before meals, take one square-inch spoonful with rice-water, twice a day.

A formula for heat and sores in the mouth

Take thirty zhu of cimicifuga and eighteen zhu of Coptis root. The Gu jin yan lu gives Phellodendron bark here instead. Grind the two ingredients into a fine powder, wrap it in cotton cloth, and hold it in the mouth, swallowing the medicinal liquid. Alternatively, hold it in the mouth for a while, then spit it out.

A formula for mouth sores

Take two liang of Phellodendron bark, three liang of cimicifuga, five liang of raw Rehmannia root, and four liang of rose root bark. Chop the ingredients, add seven sheng of water, and boil until three sheng of liquid remain. Strain out the dregs and use the liquid as a mouth rinse. When it becomes uncomfortable to hold in the mouth, spit it out, then continue rinsing until healed.

A formula for painful sores in the mouth that make eating impossible

Take one cun of licorice, six zhu of Coptis root, and twenty apricot kernels. Grind the ingredients into a fine powder and mix it with the apricot kernels. Wrap the mixture in cotton cloth into a bundle the size of an apricot kernel. Hold it in the mouth without swallowing. Use it three times during the day and once at night.

Rose-root pills: a formula for sores in the mouth, and for bodily heat accompanied by heat rash or scrofula

Take one liang each of rose root, baikal skullcap root, buckthorn root, Chinese angelica, kudzu root, Chinese peony, Phellodendron bark, buttercup (listed as Coptis root in the Qianjin yifang), peony, teasel root, and astragalus root, along with two liang of trichosanthes root. Grind all twelve ingredients into a fine powder, mix with honey, and form pills the size of Chinese parasol tree seeds. Take ten pills three times a day. The Qianjin yifang also lists one liang of Coptis root.

A formula for sores at the corners of the mouth

Take the white bark of a catalpa tree and apply it to the affected area while still damp. Apply it three or four times, and the sores should heal.

Another formula: Take the root of a long-stored mallow plant, preferably one that is nearly rotten. Burn it to ash and apply the ash while hot; this is said to work well.

Another formula: Just after steaming rice, bring over the hot rice basket. Press the lips and corners of the mouth against its rim to warm them. Repeat fourteen times, then do this for another two or three rounds, until healed.

Another formula: Take eighteen zhu each of gardenia fruit and licorice, thirty zhu of asarum, twelve zhu of cinnamon bark, and one liang of Ligusticum rhizome. Grind the five ingredients into a fine powder and form pills with honey. Take seven pills after meals, twice a day, until healed.

Another formula: Ligusticum rhizome, dahurian angelica root, tangerine peel...

Grind one and a half liang each of cinnamon heart and jujube flesh into a fine powder. Mix with honey and form into pills. Take fifteen pills after meals, or hold one in the mouth until the condition improves. This prescription is very effective.

Prescription for treating sores at the corners of the mouth

Fry leftover rice from the stove until it is charred black, grind it into a fine powder, and apply it to the sores.

Prescription for treating sores at the corners of the mouth (cracked sores at both corners)

Take a dry branch from a white poplar tree and burn it over an iron vessel. Collect the liquid that drips down and apply it to the affected area while hot.

Another prescription: Put the heel of a wooden shoe into hot ashes until it is heated through. Take it out and press it fourteen times against each corner of the mouth.

Prescription for treating severe sores around the mouth

Take equal parts ash from burnt hair, ash from old cotton wadding, powdered coptis root, and powdered dried ginger. Mix them into a powder and apply it to the sores. They usually heal within three applications.

Salve for sores in the mouth, obstructed swallowing, and dry mouth

Take one jin each of pork fat and white honey, and one liang of coptis root. Boil the three ingredients together, strain out the dregs, and stir well. Hold a piece of salve about half the size of a jujube in the mouth each time, four or five times a day and twice at night.

Salve for mouth ulcers and sores in the throat during a febrile illness, when even water and liquids cannot be swallowed

Take one liang each of Chinese angelica root, blackberry lily rhizome, and cimicifuga rhizome, half a liang of aconite, and four liang of white honey. Chop the first four ingredients. First render four liang of pork fat into a salve and set it on the ground to cool slightly. When it is no longer very hot, add the herbs and simmer over low heat until the aconite turns yellow. Strain out the dregs, add the honey, then return the mixture to the heat and bring it to a boil once or twice, stirring until well combined. Pour it into a container. Once the salve has set, hold a piece the size of an apricot kernel in the mouth four or five times a day, then swallow it.

Prescription for a dislocated jaw joint caused by yawning, when the mouth stays open and cannot be closed

Have someone hook their fingers under the lower jaw and slowly push it back into place. During the maneuver, quickly pull the fingers away to avoid being bitten.

Another prescription: Melt wax, mix it with water, and apply it to the affected area. It works very well.

Another prescription: Apply moxibustion at the fifth vertebra on the back, twice a day, seven cones each time. If it has not healed after three days, apply two hundred cones of moxibustion at the Qichong point. The Qichong point is on the front of the chest, below the throat, between the two collarbones; it is also called Qitang.

Another prescription: Apply moxibustion three cun above the inner ankle, in the hollow of the muscle. Alternatively, use the point three cun and five fen above the ankle, applying one hundred cones each time, three times. This is the Sanyinjiao point.

Prescription for sudden lockjaw, when the mouth cannot be opened

Grind the aconite into powder and place it in a tube. Force the mouth open and blow the powder into it.

Licorice Pills: For Heat and Dryness in the Mouth

Licorice, ginseng, pinellia, ginger, and the flesh of smoked plums, one and a half liang each; jujube paste, two and a half liang.

Grind these six ingredients into powder and mix with honey to make pills the size of marbles. Hold one in the mouth whenever needed and slowly swallow it. Take three times a day.

Remedy for Dry Mouth

Take a piece of sheep fat, or pork fat, or chicken fat about the size of an egg. Cut it open, place it in half a sheng of vinegar, and soak it overnight. Squeeze out the liquid and hold it in the mouth.

Remedy for Dry Mouth, Clearing Heat, and Bringing Qi Downward

Crushed gypsum, five ge; honey, two sheng.

Boil the gypsum in three sheng of water. When the liquid has reduced to two sheng, add the honey and boil until it has reduced to two sheng again. Strain out the dregs. Hold a small amount, about the size of a jujube pit, in the mouth and slowly swallow it. Once swallowed, take another amount.

Remedy for Dry Mouth Due to Deficiency and Exhaustion

Ophiopogon root, two liang, ground into powder; thirty jujubes, with the flesh removed.

Mix these two ingredients with one sheng of honey, then steam the mixture over five sheng of rice until cooked. Take as appropriate to one’s condition.

Another remedy: Take a piece of sheep fat the size of an egg, half a sheng of pure wine, and seven split jujubes. Soak them together for seven days. Remove and eat the jujubes; this is said to work quickly.

Another remedy:

One sheng of sour jujubes; sour pomegranate seeds and smoked plums, five ge each; snake gourd fruit, kudzu root, and licorice, three liang each; Ophiopogon root, four liang; and raspberry fruit, three ge.

Grind these eight ingredients into powder and mix with honey to make pills the size of jujubes. Hold one in the mouth until it moistens the mouth.

Five-Fragrance Pills: For Bad Breath and Body Odor, to Make the Body Fragrant, Ease Restlessness, and Disperse Qi

Cardamom, cloves, patchouli, Linling fragrant herb, Chinese clematis root, white angelica, and cassia heartwood, one liang each; cyperus rhizome, two liang; nard and Chinese angelica, half a liang each; two areca nuts.

Grind these eleven ingredients into powder and mix with honey to make pills. Frequently hold one pill, about the size of a soybean, in the mouth and slowly swallow the liquid. Take three times a day and once at night. The pill may also be kept in the mouth continuously and swallowed slowly.

The original text says that after five days the mouth will be fragrant; after ten days, the whole body; and after fourteen days, one’s clothing and bedding will also carry a fragrance. After twenty-one days, people downwind will be able to smell it. After twenty-eight days, even the water used to wash one’s hands will smell fragrant when it falls to the ground, and a fragrance will linger on anyone whose hand one shakes. During use, avoid the “Five Pungent Foods”—spicy, stimulating foods prohibited in Daoist dietary practice—and expel Qi from the body to eliminate foul odors.

Aromatic Pills: Used to treat foul-smelling breath and suitable for regular use. Take half an ounce of cloves, three ounces of licorice, one ounce of ligusticum, and one and a half ounces each of asarum and cassia bark. Grind the five ingredients into a fine powder, mix with honey, and form pills the size of a marble. Take two pills at bedtime.

Another recipe: On the morning of the first day of each month, before sunrise, take seven steps beside the eastern wall. Turn around and stand facing the wall, hold a mouthful of water, and spray it toward the wall seven times. The book says this will make the breath fragrant.

Another recipe: Grind equal amounts of cassia bark, licorice, asarum, and tangerine peel into a fine powder and sift it. Take one qianbi measure with wine. The qianbi was an ancient unit of measure, roughly the amount a spoon could hold. Stop taking it once the symptoms disappear.

Another recipe: Take eight ounces of jujube flesh, and four ounces each of ligusticum, angelica dahurica, tangerine peel, and cassia bark. Grind the first four ingredients into a fine powder and mix it into the jujube flesh. If the mixture is too dry, add honey, then shape it into pills the size of soybeans. Take ten pills in the morning, before or after a meal. They may be held in the mouth or swallowed. The book says the breath will become fragrant after seven days.

A recipe for treating foul breath: Grind equal amounts of cassia bark (listed as asarum in the Records Old and New) and licorice into a fine powder. At bedtime, take a small pinch with the fingers and swallow it with wine, taking twenty pills’ worth. After one day, the breath will be fragrant.

Another recipe: Hold asarum and cardamom in the mouth. This works very well.

Another recipe: Grind equal amounts of Sichuan pepper and cassia bark into a fine powder. Take a three-finger pinch with wine.

A recipe to make the breath fragrant and remove bad odors: Grind thirty zhu of licorice, eighteen zhu of angelica dahurica, and twenty-four zhu of ligusticum into a fine powder and sift it. Take one square-inch-spoon measure with wine three times daily for thirty days, and the breath will become fragrant. The square-inch-spoon was an ancient measure, roughly one spoonful of powder from a spoon with a square-inch bowl.

Another recipe: Grind jujubes, melon seeds, and the white bark of pine roots into a fine powder. Take one square-inch-spoon measure with wine twice daily. The book says that after one hundred days, even one’s clothes and bedding will carry a fragrance.

Another recipe: Take six zhu each of melon seeds, ligusticum, lovage, Chinese angelica, and duheng, half an ounce of asarum, and two ounces of saposhnikovia. Grind the seven ingredients into a fine powder. After meals, take one square-inch-spoon measure with a drink, three times daily. The book says that after five days the breath will be fragrant, after ten days the body will be fragrant, after twenty days the flesh will be fragrant, and after thirty days...

Put the powdered medicine inside clothing or bedding. After fifty days, its fragrance can be smelled from far away. Another version adds eighteen zhu of baizhi.

Another prescription

Twenty zhu of tangerine peel, eighteen zhu of cassia heart, one liang of magnolia bark, and twenty jujubes. Grind these four ingredients into a fine powder and take it with wine, one square-inch spoonful (an ancient measure for powdered medicine) each time, three times a day. Taken over a long period, it can make the body fragrant. Alternatively, use jujube flesh to form the powder into pills and take twenty at a time. Each pill should be about the size of a parasol tree seed; gradually increase the dose to thirty pills. Another version adds eighteen zhu of chuanxiong.

Another prescription

Boil xixin down to a concentrated decoction. Hold the liquid in the mouth for a while, then spit it out.

Another prescription

Rinse the mouth with three sheng of well-spring water, then spit it into the latrine. This is said to work well.

Another prescription

Take a handful of xiangru, add one dou of water, and boil it down to three sheng of liquid. Hold it in the mouth in several doses.

Another prescription

Grind melon seeds into a fine powder and mix them with honey to form pills the size of jujube pits. Each morning, after washing and rinsing, hold one pill in the mouth on an empty stomach. The powder may also be applied to the teeth.

Another prescription

Fry soybeans until dark golden, then pour hot vinegar over them while they are still hot. Hold the resulting liquid in the mouth.

Prescription for making the odors of all seven orifices fragrant

Five liang of agarwood, three liang of gaoben, half a sheng of white melon seeds, five he of cloves, and two liang each of licorice, Chinese angelica, chuanxiong, and musk. Grind these eight ingredients into a fine powder and use honey to form pills the size of small beans. Take five pills after meals, three times a day. Taken over a long period, this is said to make the whole body fragrant.

Prescription for making the body fragrant

One and a half liang each of gānzǐ peel and baizhi, two liang of melon seed kernels, and one liang each of gaoben, Chinese angelica, xixin, and cassia heart. Grind these seven ingredients into a fine powder and take it with wine, one square-inch spoonful each time, three times a day. After five days, the breath will be fragrant; after twenty-one days, the body will be fragrant.

Another prescription

Take equal parts of licorice, pine root bark, jujubes, and melon seeds, and grind them into a fine powder. Take one square-inch spoonful after meals, three times a day. It may show results after seven days; after one hundred days, the fragrance will be strong.

Prescription for incense to fumigate clothing

Three liang each of linglingxiang, cloves, green cassia bark, qingmuxiang, chicken-bone incense, yujinxiang, and liquidambar resin, together with frankincense and suhexiang. The original text ends here; the ingredient list and instructions that follow are not included.

Gansong incense, armor-shell incense (two liang each), agarwood (five liang), sparrow-head incense, white sandalwood, benzoin, Aina incense, patchouli (one liang each), and musk (half a liang).

Grind the ingredients into a fine powder. Boil forty plump dates in two and a half sheng of honey until the date flesh is soft and mushy. Mash it vigorously by hand into a paste, then strain it through fresh cloth to remove the pits and remaining solids. Mix the date paste with the powdered incense ingredients until it has the consistency of dough that can be kneaded and shaped. Pound it five hundred times, form it into pills, and seal them for seven days before use. When burning the incense, use a low flame and place a basin of water beneath the incense cage to soften the heat. Otherwise, the ingredients may scorch and develop a burnt smell.

Another formula:

Agarwood and Jian incense (five liang each), sparrow-head incense, clove, and patchouli (one liang each).

Grind these five ingredients finely and sift them. Add half a liang of powdered musk, then sift the mixture through a coarse sieve. When scenting clothes, mix it with honey just before use.

Another formula:

Frankincense, agarwood, sandalwood, Douloupo incense, Jian incense, Gansong incense, Lingling incense, and patchouli (one liang each), clove (eighteen zhu), date flesh (eight liang), and alfalfa incense (two liang).

First sift these eleven ingredients coarsely. Pound them again together with the date flesh, adding honey as needed before use.

Formula for moist incense:

Agarwood (two jin, seven liang, and nine zhu), Gansong, sandalwood, sparrow-head incense (also given as patchouli), chicken-bone Jian incense, armor-shell incense, Lingling incense, and clove (three liang and nine zhu each), musk (two liang and nine zhu), and frankincense (three liang and six zhu).

Grind these ten ingredients into a fine powder. Mix with honey when ready to use. If mixed in advance, the fragrance will dissipate and the incense will no longer be suitable for use.

Another formula:

Agarwood (three liang), Lingling incense, Jian incense, and musk (one and a half liang each), clove and patchouli (half a liang each), armor-shell incense and sandalwood (three zhu each), frankincense and Gansong incense (six zhu each).

Sift these ten ingredients coarsely and mix with honey. When scenting clothes, place the mixture in a bottle and bury it. Its fragrance improves after prolonged storage.

Hundred-Blend Incense: a formula for general use by Daoist priests and laypeople alike.

Five liang of aloeswood; three liang each of clove, chicken-bone incense, and Douloupo incense; two liang each of frankincense, white sandalwood, ripe Jie incense, and charcoal powder; one liang each of Lingling incense, green cinnamon bark, green costus, spikenard, white Jian incense (also called “Chai”), and patchouli; half a liang each of sparrow-head incense, storax, benzoin, musk, and swallow incense.

Grind these twenty ingredients into powder. Sprinkle with wine to moisten and soften them, then leave them for two nights. Once the wine scent has dispersed, add white honey and mix well. Store the mixture in a porcelain vessel and seal it with waxed paper so the fragrance cannot escape. Open and use it in winter; it works very well.

A Formula for Scenting Clothes

One liang of clove, two liang of alfalfa incense, three liang each of spikenard and sweet flag, and four liang each of patchouli and Lingling incense.

Pound each of these six ingredients separately, then add four liang of marsh orchid leaves and sift everything coarsely. It is ready to use and has a lovely fragrance. Formulas of this kind are used to scent clothing.

Another Formula

Two liang of Lingling incense; one liang each of patchouli, spikenard, alfalfa incense, Jian incense, white sandalwood, and aloeswood.

Pound these seven ingredients together, add half a liang of musk, and sift coarsely. Use as described above; it works very well.

Yet Another Formula

Four liang of patchouli, seven cloves, and suitable amounts of spikenard, musk, aloeswood, and Jian incense.

Sift these six ingredients coarsely and mix well to make dry incense. Use it to scent clothing; it works very well.