《孫真人備急千金要方》Vol. 42

Chuanxiong and magnolia wine is used to treat symptoms caused by cerebral wind: a heavy head, stiffness in the neck, blurred vision and tearing, frequent yawning, drowsiness, and aversion to wind. In severe cases, there may also be ringing in the ears, aching and pressure around the brows and eyes, vomiting, dizziness and falling, and loss of control. The scripture holds that pathogenic wind takes advantage of a deficiency and invades, affecting the five viscera and six bowels; this may bring on mania and various disorders caused by malign influences, all of which this formula can treat.

The ingredients are chuanxiong, magnolia flower, tianxiong, ginseng, asparagus root, biota seed, magnetite, gypsum, yinyu, Cornus fruit, bai tou weng, cinnamon bark, gentian root, songluo, antelope horn, asarum, Chinese yam, calamus, licorice, mica, and siler root. Chop the ingredients and steep them in two dou of wine for seven days. Take two he of the wine at first, gradually increasing the dose to five he, three times a day.

The scripture records the case of a woman who suffered from wind-induced vertigo when she was young, collapsing whenever an attack came on. After marrying, she remained childless for many years. She took this wine along with Purple Stone and Asparagus Pills. Her vertigo was cured; she later bore a child, and her health returned to normal. The formula for Purple Stone and Asparagus Pills appears in the “Prescriptions for Women” section of Essential Prescriptions Worth a Thousand in Gold.

A formula for dizziness so severe that the room seems to spin and the eyes cannot be opened (called “Ginseng Decoction” in Supplement to the Essential Prescriptions Worth a Thousand in Gold):

The ingredients are two liang each of ginseng, Chinese angelica, siler root, astragalus, Ophiopogon, and peony; and three liang each of pubescent angelica, atractylodes, and cinnamon bark. Chop the ingredients and boil them in one dou of water. Reduce the liquid to three sheng and divide it into three doses.

Siler Decoction is used to treat wind-induced vertigo and vomiting, including being unable to swallow even water or gruel, vomiting after eating, dizziness and collapse on standing, and cold hands and feet during attacks.

The ingredients are one liang each of siler root, fangji, aconite, dried ginger, and licorice; and two liang each of Sichuan pepper and cinnamon bark. Chop the ingredients and boil them in four sheng of water. Reduce the liquid to two sheng and divide it into three doses, taken three times a day. The formula recorded in Collected Proven Formulas from Ancient and Modern Times adds one liang of atractylodes.

Another prescription treats wind in the head with dizziness so severe that one is nearly falling over, a sensation that the surroundings are spinning as if the room were turning, and pain in the head.

Take three liang each of fangfeng, zhishi, xingren, and chuanxiong; four liang each of fushen, mahuang, qianhu, ginger, and banxia; two liang of xixin; and three sheng of bamboo sap.

Chop the eleven ingredients. Simmer them with six sheng of water and the bamboo sap until reduced to two sheng and seven ge. Divide into three doses. Taking two or three courses in succession is recommended.

Yinyu Decoction treats dizziness and dim vision caused by Wind deficiency.

Take one fen of yinyu; two liang each of ginseng, licorice, roucongrong, astragalus, fuling, qinjiao, houpu, and wutui; six liang of fangfeng; and three liang each of shanzhuyu and pine nuts.

Chop the twelve ingredients and simmer them in one dou of water until reduced to two and a half sheng. Divide into five doses. People of robust constitution may finish them within a day and night; those of weak constitution should take five doses over two days.

Owl-Head Wine treats dizziness and a spinning sensation in the head caused by pathogenic Wind, as well as Wind disorders that cause pain to move about the face.

Take five heads of flying owls; fushen (omitted in some versions); four liang each of fangfeng, chuanxiong, and shanyao; three liang each of gegen, cinnamon bark, xixin, ginseng, tianxiong, dried ginger, zhishi, guanzhong, and Sichuan pepper; two liang of duhuo; one sheng of shanzhuyu; maidong (given as tiandong in some versions); and five liang each of shinan and gypsum (the two ingredients are listed in some versions as shinan and gypsum).

Chop the eighteen ingredients and place them in a silk bag. Soak the bag in four dou of clear wine for six nights. Take two he to start, twice daily, then gradually increase the amount until the medicine takes effect.

Major Three-Five-Seven Powder treats wind in the head, dizziness, distortion of the mouth and eyes, and deafness.

Take three liang each of tianxiong and xixin; five liang each of shanzhuyu and dried ginger; and seven liang each of shanyao and fangfeng.

Grind the six ingredients into a fine powder and sift. Take five fen with clear wine. If there is no effect after seven days, gradually increase the dose. The Supplement to the Essential Prescriptions Worth a Thousand Gold says this formula also treats pain in the bones of the face.

Minor Three-Five-Seven Powder treats wind in the head, dizziness, and deafness.

Take three liang of Tianxiong, seven liang of Chinese yam, and five liang of Cornus fruit. Grind these three ingredients into a fine powder and sift it. Take one small spoonful, as much as an ancient medicinal measure could hold, with clear wine, twice a day. If it has no effect, gradually increase the dose until it does.

Fushen Decoction: Used to treat wind-induced dizziness, with symptoms including the sky and ground seeming to spin, as though the room were overturning; vomiting; and aversion to the sound of people’s voices.

Take four liang each of Fushen and Chinese angelica root; five liang each of Astragalus, Polygala root, and Saposhnikovia root; three liang of fresh ginger; and two liang each of licorice, ginseng, Chinese angelica, oyster shell, Atractylodes, cistanche, and aconite. Cut the thirteen ingredients into pieces and boil them in twelve dou of lao water—a kind of water used for decocting medicines in antiquity, whose precise meaning is disputed—until three sheng remain. Take five he each time, finishing the dose over the course of a day and night.

Saposhnikovia Powder: Used to treat wind invading the head and face, causing heat between the eyebrows and a sensation like insects crawling, or dizziness and tearing eyes.

Take five liang of Saposhnikovia root; two liang each of cassia bark, Tianxiong, Asarum, cinnabar, dried ginger, ginseng, kusnezoff monkshood, and aconite; and one liang each of Chinese anemone, Poria, and Chinese angelica. Grind the twelve ingredients into a fine powder and sift it. Take one square spoonful, an ancient measure for medicines, with wine, three times a day.

Another formula is used to treat wind-induced dizziness, aversion to wind, vomiting cold water, and distress in the chest:

Take two liang of Saposhnikovia root; one liang each of Alisma (another version reads “Chinese motherwort”), Tianxiong (the Yi edition reads “ginseng”), Asarum, aconite, Chinese yam, and Poria; two and a half liang of Atractylodes; one and a half liang of cassia bark; and half a liang of dried ginger. Grind the ten ingredients into a fine powder and sift it. Take one square spoonful with wine. Keep drinking wine while taking the medicine so that its effects remain continuous. Then remove your hat, loosen your hair, comb it one hundred times, and drink one sheng of wine. Next, wash your hands and feet; after a short while, you should feel your body grow warm. After loosening your hair, dust it with powder. Once you feel comfortable, sleep peacefully, and the illness may be cured. You may also wash your hair and face until the medicinal liquid runs out. The Yi edition says to take it in the same way as “Cold-Food Powder.”

Formula for Treating Wind-Induced Dizziness with Unsteady Tumbling:

Take six liang of Chinese angelica root; four liang each of gypsum and Sambucus; and three liang of immature bitter orange (one alternative account uses pine nuts). Cut the four ingredients into pieces and boil them in eight sheng of clear wine until four sheng remain. Take the entire dose at once.

Apply the leftover medicinal paste to the head, cover it, and sleep. Wake after sweating. If the medicinal liquid has cooled, put it back in the pot, heat it again, and apply it.

Prescription for prolonged dizziness followed by gradual wasting of the limbs, loss of taste for food, and a craving for yellow earth

Qu (two jin), bai zhu (three jin).

Grind these two ingredients into a fine powder. Mix with wine and roll by hand into pills the size of firmiana seeds. Dry them in the sun. Take thirty pills at a time with a drink, three times a day. No longer eating earth is a sign that the treatment is working.

Prescription for fifty disorders of the head

Ba ji, chrysanthemum, chuan xiong, dried ginger, trichosanthes root, fang feng, shi nan, bai zhu, wu tou, shan zhu yu, fu zi, xi xin, shu yu, Sichuan pepper, dried rehmannia, ginseng, jie geng, qin jiao, ze xie, licorice, tian xiong, and qiang huo, in equal parts.

Grind these twenty-two ingredients into a fine powder. Take with wine, one square-inch spoonful at a time, three times a day.

Head-Rubbing Powder, for the conditions above

Lu ru, ban xia, and Sichuan pepper, six fen each; wu tou, eight fen; cinnamon bark, seven fen; mang cao, four fen; fu zi and xi xin, one liang each.

Grind these eight ingredients into a fine powder. Mix with strong vinegar and apply by rubbing it over the head. Keep track of the number of days the medicine is used. If the scalp hurts after three days, wait another four or five days before applying the medicine again in the same way. After ten days, wash the head with vinegar and water, then apply the medicine once more. The condition should then be cured.

If a polyp develops, or a date-sized polyp grows in the throat and is about to block it, apply this medicine by rubbing it on the affected area; it will cure the condition. This prescription is also suitable for disorders of the ears, nose, and teeth.

Crown-Entering Powder, for fullness and distension of the head and face, twitching in the brain, hemiplegia that comes and goes, stabbing sensations like knife thrusts, loss of voice, dull pain, and a bluish-green complexion and eyes

Shan zhu yu, chuan xiong, fang feng, and du huo, one and a half liang each; xi xin, mang cao, bai zhu, shu yu, niu xi, shi nan, and licorice, one liang each; wu tou, tong cao, chang pu, fu zi, ma huang, tian xiong, Sichuan pepper, and jie geng, one liang and six zhu each.

Grind these nineteen ingredients into a fine powder. Take with wine, one square-inch spoonful at a time, three times a day.

“Apricot Kernel Paste” is used to treat Qi surging upward, wind affecting the head and face, headache, fullness in the chest, obstructed breathing, and vexing heat in the heart. It is also used for various conditions, including those affecting women after childbirth and wounds caused by metal weapons.

Take one sheng of apricot kernels, remove the skins and tips, and discard any kernels whose two halves are stuck together. Pound and grind the kernels finely, add one dou of water, and strain out the liquid, filtering it as thoroughly as possible. Put the liquid in a copper vessel and simmer over a low flame from morning until evening, until it becomes thick like an ointment. Remove it from the heat. Take one square-inch spoonful on an empty stomach, washed down with wine, three times a day. Those who do not drink wine may take it with another beverage. While taking this medicine, avoid pork, fish, scallions, garlic, and vinegar.

“Soybean Wine” is used to treat head wind, including headache caused by pathogenic wind.

Take three sheng of soybeans and dry-fry them until they no longer make a crackling sound. First pour nine sheng of clear wine into a bottle with a capacity of about one dou and two sheng. While the beans are still hot, add them to the wine and seal the bottle tightly with clay. After seven days, warm the wine before drinking.

This prescription is used to treat headache and fever caused by windstroke, as well as tightness and discomfort in the ears and cheeks.

Three liang each of ephedra, kudzu root, gypsum, and cinnamon bark; two liang each of aconite, peony, licorice, large-leaved gentian, and fangfeng; five liang of fresh ginger.

Coarsely cut all ten ingredients. Add one dou of water and decoct until three sheng of liquid remain. Divide into three doses. After taking it, cover yourself with a quilt to induce sweating.

“Chinese Yam Powder” is used to treat wind affecting the head and eyes, with pain pulling at the eyeballs and impaired vision when looking to one side.

Three liang of Chinese yam; one and a half liang of asarum; two liang each of large-leaved gentian and tianxiong; two and a half liang each of pubescent angelica, cinnamon bark, and Cornus fruit.

Grind all seven ingredients into a fine powder and sift. Take one square-inch spoonful with wine three times a day.

This prescription is used to treat headache and fever accompanied by signs of wind-heat.

Three sheng of bamboo sap; three liang each of cimicifuga, fresh ginger, and apricot kernels; three liang each of peony and bupleurum; eight liang each of gypsum and fresh kudzu root.

Coarsely cut all eight ingredients. Add six sheng of water and decoct with the bamboo sap until two sheng and seven ge of liquid remain. Divide into three doses.

“Chrysanthemum Powder” is used to treat conditions caused by pathogenic wind that moves about unpredictably in the head and face.

One liang of chrysanthemum; two liang each of asarum, aconite, cinnamon bark, dried ginger, morinda root, ginseng, Chinese holly, tianxiong, poria, large-leaved gentian, and fangji.

Windbreak, Atractylodes macrocephala, Cornus fruit, and Chinese yam (three liang each), and Sichuan pepper (five ge).

Grind the seventeen ingredients into powder and sift it. Take with wine, one square-inch spoonful each time, three times a day.

Formula for treating wind disorders of the head and face

Pine resin, rock salt, apricot kernels, and beeswax (one liang each), frankincense (two liang), and castor beans (three liang).

Pound the six ingredients together until evenly mixed and form them into a medicinal cake. Shave the hair from Baihui, the point at the crown of the head, and apply the cake there, covering it with paper. Replace it every three days. If the affected area itches, prick a few small holes in the medicine. Before long, the wind disorder will settle.

Powder for head-wind

One medium-sized aconite tuber and an amount of salt equal to the aconite in weight.

Grind the two ingredients into powder and sift it. After washing your hair, take one square-inch spoonful of the powder and rub it over the crown of your head, three times a day.

Formula for treating head-wind

Take the juice of the chaste tree, as much as desired, until the illness is cured.

Another formula: Pound one sheng of Japanese aralia root to extract its juice. Soak it in two sheng of wine and drink it; stop taking it once you begin to sweat.

Another formula: Grind one sheng of Vitex seeds into powder and put it in a silk bag. Soak it in one dou of wine for seven nights. Drink three he warm, three times a day.

Another formula: Take one sheng of chicken droppings from the twelfth lunar month. Stir-fry until yellow, grind into powder, and put it in a silk bag. Soak it in three sheng of wine. Drink warm, adjusting the amount to suit yourself, and keep yourself slightly intoxicated.

Another formula: On the seventh day of the seventh month, take three dou of hemp flowers and one shi of hemp seeds, grind them into powder, and mix them together. Steam and rinse the mixture three times with one shi and five dou of boiling water, then boil it down to one shi. Add twenty jin of spirit-yeast and let it ferment. Separately, cook two shi and five dou of glutinous millet, then seal it for twenty-one days. Drink the clear liquor, one sheng at a time. After a hundred days, rough, dry skin, the eight winds, hidden wind in the chest and diaphragm and in the five viscera, and all kinds of illnesses will be eliminated.

Formula for sudden windstroke and headache

Crush raw aconite and mix it with plenty of vinegar. Spread it on an old piece of cloth and apply it to the painful area. The pain will stop shortly. It may be applied day or night, five or six times a day, moving the poultice as the site of pain changes. Peel the aconite before crushing it.

Another formula: Grind one sheng of salt into powder and fry it in two sheng of sesame oil overnight, until the salt has completely dissolved. Then apply it to the head. Rock salt is especially effective.

Another formula: Grind mustard seeds into powder, mix with vinegar, and apply it over the head, spreading it over the whole body. Leave it on for a full day and night.

Hair-washing decoction

Used to treat heat from lung taxation. It may be used in winter or summer, by young or old, whenever white flakes appear on the head and the itching is unbearable. The Lungs cover the five viscera; when Lung Qi is damaged by overexertion…

After the head has been exposed to wind, the scalp becomes itchy and often develops white flakes that fall in showers when scratched. Many people suffer from this condition. The ancients believed its root lay in the lungs; it is commonly known as “head wind.” The treatment is as follows.

Take three sheng each of hemp seed and Sichuan pepper, and five he of powdered Chinese honeylocust fruit (this ingredient is absent from the Handbook of Prescriptions for Emergencies). Grind the three ingredients thoroughly and soak them overnight in rice-rinsing water. Strain out the dregs, then stir the liquid a hundred times with a wooden utensil, until it becomes foamy. Use it to wash the head and hairline. Separately, boil Chinese honeylocust fruit in water and wash the head with that decoction; then apply the medicinal paste.

Another prescription: Take equal amounts of chrysanthemum, angelica pubescens, Japanese yew, saposhnikovia, asarum, Sichuan pepper, Chinese honeylocust fruit, wild ginger, Chinese photinia, and cinnamon bark. Boil them to make a wash for the head, or use the decoction as a warm compress.

Another prescription: Take three liang of root of the so-called “pig pepper,” two liang each of ephedra root and saposhnikovia, and one liang each of asarum and Japanese yew. Cut up the five ingredients and boil them in three dou of water until reduced to one dou. Strain out the dregs and wash the head with the liquid while warm.

Another prescription: Boil peppergrass seeds to make a wash for the head. The condition should be cured within three or four washes.

Another prescription: Boil two sheng of Sichuan pepper in water and wash the head with the liquid. It works very well.

Another prescription: Wash the head with water made from mulberry ash. It removes the white flakes and works very well.

Prescription for a stiff neck that makes it impossible to turn the head or eyes:

Steam one dou of fine soybeans until their color changes. Put them in a cloth bag and use it as a pillow.

Another prescription: Pick chrysanthemums on the ninth day of the ninth month each year, put them in a pillowcase, and sleep on them. This is beneficial.

Another prescription: After the eighth month, pick Japanese catnip and spread it over the bed, or make it into a pillow. Remove it on the day of the Beginning of Spring.

Another prescription: Dig a small hollow in the ground and heat it until red-hot, then pour water over it to cool it slightly. Cover the bottom with fresh peach leaves, lay a mat over them, and lie down with the back of the neck directly above the herbs. Protect both sides of the neck with clothing so that the steam reaches the affected area. Once you begin to sweat, remain there for a good while, and the condition will improve. If the condition is severe, dig a larger hollow.

Rhinoceros Horn Decoction: For swelling of the head and face caused by wind toxin and heat pathogens.

Two liang each of rhinoceros horn and ginger; one liang each of bitter sophora root, trichosanthes root, and saposhnikovia; six liang of gypsum; three liang each of baikal skullcap, green costus root, and cimicifuga; one and a half liang of stephania root; and two handfuls of bamboo leaves.

The source text ends here; instructions for use are not preserved.

Coarsely chop the eleven ingredients listed above. Boil them in seven sheng of water until two sheng remain. Divide the decoction into three doses and take them at intervals equivalent to walking about ten li. The medicine’s effects will dissipate within the body without causing diarrhea.

Fangfeng Powder: For swelling of the head, face, and body caused by wind pathogen.

Two liang of fangfeng, one liang of baizhi, and three liang of baizhu.

Grind the three ingredients into a coarse powder and sift it. Take one fangcun spoonful with wine three times a day.

A Formula for Sudden Windstroke and Swelling of the Head and Face

Pound apricot kernels into a paste, add an egg yolk, and pound until evenly mixed. Spread the paste thickly on a piece of cloth and apply it to the affected area. Replace it once the paste has dried naturally. The condition should be cured within eight or nine applications.

A Formula for Turning White Hair Black

Steam and sun-dry black sesame seeds nine times each, then grind them into powder. Form the powder into pills with date paste and take them over an extended period.

Another Formula

One sheng of xuanfuhua, one sheng of qinjiao, one chi of guixin, and one sheng of Longxi baizhi.

Grind the four ingredients into a coarse powder and sift it. Take one fangcun spoonful with well water three times a day. After thirty days, white hair may turn black. Refrain from sexual activity while taking the medicine.

Lime Wine: A formula for persistent hair loss.

Sift three sheng of lime finely, moisten it with water, and steam it thoroughly. Then fry it until it is scorched black. Insert a wooden skewer into it; if the skewer catches fire immediately, it has reached the proper stage. Let the medicine cool, put three sheng of it into a silk bag, and steep it in three dou of wine for three days and nights. At first, take half a he each time, three or four times a day, and twice more at night; gradually increase the dose to one he each time. The text describes this formula as highly effective.

Hair-Washing Decoction: A formula for severe deficiency and coldness of the pulse Qi, loss of beard and hair, and nourishing the hair.

Chop three sheng of white mulberry root bark. Soak it in five sheng of water, then bring it to a boil five or six times. Strain out the herbs and wash the hair with the liquid. Repeated use will stop the hair from falling out.

Another Formula

Three sheng of hemp seeds, pounded; and a handful of white paulownia leaves, chopped.

Boil the two ingredients five or six times in two dou of rice-washing water. Strain out the herbs and wash the hair with the liquid. The text says this method can make fallen hair grow back, with striking results.

A Formula for Hair Loss at the Temples and for Regrowing Hair

One sheng of arborvitae leaves, chopped; three sheng of pig fat; and four aconite roots.

Grind the three ingredients into a powder, mix it evenly with the pig fat, and form thirty pills. Wrap one pill in cloth and boil it in rice-washing water. Wash the hair with the liquid to encourage growth and prevent further hair loss. Seal and store the medicine to keep its medicinal vapors from dissipating.

Another Formula

Hemp leaves and mulberry leaves.

Boil the two ingredients in rice-washing water, then strain out the herbs and wash the hair seven times with the liquid. The hair will grow to six feet long.

Another formula: Burn sheep dung to ash, then wash the hair with the liquid filtered from the ash. Wash once every three days, for up to ten washes.

Promoting Hair Growth

Another formula:

Aconite, vitex fruit, and arborvitae seed, three parts each.

Mix these three ingredients with the fat of a black chicken and pound them three thousand times. Seal the mixture in a new porcelain vessel and bury it for one hundred days. After taking it out, mix it with horse-mane grease—the fat near the horse’s mane—and apply it to the head. Wrap the head in a cloth afterward, keeping it out of drafts and sunlight. After three applications, the hair will grow. (The Emergency Formulas to Keep Up One’s Sleeve omits arborvitae seed and instead soaks the herbs in wine before applying them.)

Massage Ointment: A Formula for Twenty Conditions of the Head, Including Dizziness, Hair Loss, and Facial Paralysis

Sichuan pepper and mangcao, two ounces each; cassia bark, lüru, aconite, and asarum, one and a half ounces each; pinellia and dried ginger, one ounce each.

Cut up these eight ingredients and pound them together with twenty ounces of raw pork fat until the fat has completely melted and the ointment is made. First wash the head, then massage the ointment into the crown at the fontanel—the spot on an infant’s head that has not yet closed, here referring to the corresponding area on an adult’s head—once daily, and the condition will be cured. If the ointment is not prepared in the twelfth month, mix it with raw black sesame oil. After washing the head, apply the ointment to the scalp; it is said that one application will make the hair grow back as before. (The Essential Formulas omits Sichuan pepper, mangcao, pinellia, and dried ginger.)

Hair-Growing Ointment: A Formula for Wind Affliction of the Head, Itching, and White Flakes on the Scalp

Vitex fruit, aconite, asarum, teasel root, linglingxiang, Chinese honeylocust, zelan, saposhnikovia, apricot kernel, patchouli, and angelica dahurica, one ounce each; pine needles and shinan, three ounces each; mangcao, one ounce; horse-mane grease, pork fat, and pine resin, two sheng each; bear fat, three sheng.

Cut up these eighteen ingredients and soak them overnight in three sheng of clear wine and vinegar. The next morning, add the horse-mane grease and the other fats, then simmer over a low flame, bringing the mixture to a boil three times and pausing three times. When the angelica dahurica turns yellow, the ointment is ready. Use it to nourish the hair.

Another Formula

Wugui, three ounces; mangcao, shinan, asarum, teasel root, Chinese honeylocust, zelan, white atractylodes, magnolia flower, saposhnikovia, and angelica dahurica, two ounces each; bamboo leaves. (The original text ends here and does not provide the complete formula.)

Pine needles and cypress leaves (half a sheng each), and lard (four sheng).

The above fifteen ingredients are chopped and soaked overnight in three sheng of clear vinegar. The next morning, heat the lard over low heat, repeating the heating and cooling three times, until Baizhi (Angelica dahurica) turns yellow; the medicinal ointment is then ready. Strain out the residue and, after washing the hair, apply it to the hair. Another method uses three large sheng of raw oil. The Qianjin Yifang omits Shinan and uses apricot kernel instead; washing the hair with Baizhi ash lye removes dandruff and is very effective.

Another formula:

Gansongxiang (spikenard), clove, Baizhi, Zelan (Lycopus), mulberry root bark, mulberry mistletoe, hemp, alfalfa, apricot kernel, Vitex negundo seeds, Xinyi seeds, Chuanxiong, Fangfeng, and Mangcao (one liang each); Linglingxiang, Wu Huoxiang, Xixin (Asarum), and Sichuan pepper (two liang each); bamboo leaves, pine needles, and cypress leaves (half a sheng each); sesame oil and winter-cured lard (one sheng each); black chicken oil and wild goose oil (one ge each).

The above twenty-five ingredients are chopped, soaked overnight in vinegar, and then placed in the oils and fats. Heat over low heat, repeating the heating and cooling three times, until Baizhi turns yellow; the medicinal ointment is then ready. Strain out the residue and apply it to the head twice a day and once at night to promote hair growth.

Another formula, for treating loss of hair and temple hair:

Mangcao one liang; Fangfeng, Shengma, Baizhi, and Jini (two liang each); four dung beetles; donkey mane fat, leopard fat (or dog fat in another version), horse mane fat, bear fat (or rooster fat in another version), and lard (half a sheng each).

Of the above eleven ingredients, chop the six medicinal ingredients and decoct them together with the various animal fats. After the liquid comes to a boil, remove it from the heat, let it cool, and heat it again; stop after boiling it three to five times in this way. Strain out the residue and apply it to the head as one would use hair oil.

Another formula, for treating loss of eyebrows and hair and promoting hair growth:

Baizhi, Fuzi (aconite), Fangfeng, Chuanxiong, Mangcao, Xinyi, Xixin, Huangqin (Scutellaria), Danggui (Angelica sinensis), and Sichuan pepper (one liang each); rhubarb one and a half liang; Vitex fruit one sheng; horse mane fat five ge; lard three sheng.

On the twenty-fifth day of the ninth month (some say the fifteenth), and on the tenth day of the tenth, eleventh, and twelfth months, pull out white hairs at midday. On the day you do this, do not drink wine, eat meat, or eat the Five Pungent Vegetables, such as scallions, garlic, Chinese chives, Chinese onions, and ginger. It is said that after pulling out the hairs once, the new growth will be black and will not turn white again.

Another recipe: On a Chu day, an auspicious day among the twelve days of the traditional calendar, pull out the white hairs yourself, then apply soft-shelled turtle fat, pig bile, dog bile, or dog’s milk.

Another recipe: Apply white honey to the follicles where the hairs were pulled out, and they will not grow back.

Recipe for dyeing the beard and hair

Take three liang of lead white and six liang of lime, sifted through silk and fried until yellow. Grind the two ingredients into powder and mix with a decoction of elm bark until it has the consistency of a thin paste. First wash the hair very thoroughly with a soapberry decoction, leaving no grease, then let it dry. At night, spread the mixture evenly over the hair, attach mulberry leaves to a headcloth, and wrap the hair completely. Leave it on overnight. At dawn, warm vinegar slurry and wash the hair three times, rinsing it clean; then wash it once with warm sour rice-washing water. Next, take three sheng of juice pressed from fresh sesame shoots, add water, and boil briefly. Strain it well and use it to rinse the hair, then rinse once more with an oily decoction. Keep this up for one hundred days, and the hair will become black as lacquer.

Another recipe: First wash the hair with salt water, then mix raw sesame oil with reed ash and apply it to the head. (Another version says this is used to treat patchy baldness.)

Another recipe: Soak black mulberries in water and apply the juice to the hair to turn it black.

Another recipe: Soak dark plums in raw sesame oil and apply it to the head regularly. This works very well.

Recipe for treating yellow hair

Mix pork fat from the twelfth lunar month with equal parts sheep dung ash and reed ash, spread it over the head, and leave it in place. Repeat every three days.

Another recipe: Boil five dou of soybeans in two dou of sour rice water until only five sheng remain, then use the liquid to wash the hair.

Recipe for treating yellow-red temples

Burn paulownia wood to ash, mix it with milk, and apply it to the hair at the temples and the adjoining skin. The hair at the temples will turn black.

Recipe for treating wind-related hair loss

Scrape rust from an iron object, grind it finely, mix it with pork fat from the twelfth lunar month, and apply it three times a day. This recipe can also treat eyebrow loss.

Recipe for growing eyebrows

Grind equal parts iron rust and green moss from a wall into powder. Mix with water and apply it; the eyebrows will grow.

Another recipe: Gather black sesame flowers in the seventh month and dry them in the shade. Grind them into powder and soak them in raw black sesame oil. Apply every other day.

A remedy for eyebrows or temple hair burned by fire, leaving scars and preventing hair from growing

Take cattail ash (the ash of burned cattail grass), mix it with the brain of a dog killed in the first lunar month, and apply it to the affected area. Hair will grow back.

A remedy for hair loss and failure to regrow, to make the hair longer

Take one sheng of hemp seeds, roast them until blackened, and press out the oil. Apply it to the head to make the hair grow longer. It is very effective.

Another remedy: Apply goose fat to the head.

Another remedy: Take a large quantity of black sesame flowers, put them in a porcelain vessel, seal it, and bury it deep in the ground for one hundred days. Take them out and apply them to the hair. The hair will grow quickly and turn black.

A remedy for baldness

Grind turnip seeds into powder, mix with vinegar, and apply it to the head three times a day.

Another remedy: Take a root from a jujube tree that grows toward the east, three chi long. Place the middle section of the root in the center of a steaming vessel and steam it, collecting in a container the juice that flows from both ends. Apply the juice to the head, and hair will grow. The Zhouhou Fang records using a mulberry root instead, saying that mulberry root is better.

Another remedy: Take three sheng of hemp seeds, roast them until scorched, and grind them into powder. Mix with pork fat and apply to the head until hair grows.

Auspicious days for plucking white hairs

The fourth day of the first lunar month, the eighth day of the second, the twelfth day of the third, the sixteenth day of the fourth, the twentieth day of the fifth, the twenty-fourth day of the sixth, the twenty-eighth day of the seventh, and the nineteenth day of the eighth.

After cutting your fingernails, scratch the scalp with them until the hair follicles bleed slightly, then apply honey. Black hair will grow.

A remedy for baldness with no hair

Take two sheng of ripe black mulberries and put them in a jar. Leave the jar in the sun for twenty-one days, until the mulberries have turned to liquid. Wash the affected area with this liquid for twenty-one consecutive days. Hair will grow; the effect is extraordinary.

Pine resin decoction: a remedy for sores on the head and white scalp ringworm

Seven ge of pine resin; two liang each of cinnabar, realgar, and mercury; three liang of coptis; and one liang of alum (some say to use qiao powder).

Grind the six ingredients into a fine powder and sift it. Add it to the pine resin and mix and grind until uniform. Apply to the affected area.

First wash the hair and affected area with rice-washing water, removing the scabs, then apply the medicine. Reapply every two days. After three applications, the affected area should suppurate. Once all the pus has drained, wash off the medicine with licorice decoction. After washing more than ten times in all, the condition will be cured.

A remedy for white scalp ringworm with hair loss and white scabs that does not heal for years

Schisandra, cnidium seed, and polygala root, three fen each; dodder seed, five fen; cistanche and pine resin, two fen each.

The original text ends here; no instructions for preparing or applying the remaining ingredients are recorded. Note: “white scalp ringworm” here refers to conditions involving scalp lesions, hair loss, and white scabs. The remedies in the text are records of ancient medical practice.

Realgar and white honey (one part each), chicken droppings, white portion (half a part), and orpiment (one part).

Grind all ten ingredients listed above into a fine powder and sift. Take one sheng and two ge of pig fat. Add the realgar first, then the orpiment and chicken droppings, followed by the honey and pine resin, and finally the remaining ingredients. Simmer them together to make an ointment. First wash the head with water made from mulberry ash and dry it; then apply the ointment.

Wangbuliuxing Decoction: Used to treat white scalp ringworm (a condition involving ringworm on the head and hair loss) and chronic sores on the head and face. It expels parasites and relieves pain.

Wangbuliuxing; the root bark of dogwood growing with its branches pointing east; and branches of peach trees growing toward the southeast (five liang each); cnidium seeds, chaste tree seeds, bitter bamboo leaves, and tribulus seeds (three sheng each); hemp seeds (one sheng).

Chop the eight ingredients, add two dou and five sheng of water, and simmer until one dou of liquid remains. Use it to wash the sores twice daily. This formula is also used for carbuncles and abscesses (suppurating sores and swellings), painful breast swelling, and moon-erosion sores (chronic sores that gradually decay).

Pine Resin Ointment: Used to treat white scalp ringworm, carbuncles and abscesses, and various sores.

Pine resin (six liang); alum, duheng (also said to be chaste tree), realgar, aconite, rhubarb, stone nan, gentian, pearls, ku shen, mercury, and magnolia (one liang each).

Chop the twelve ingredients and soak them in vinegar overnight. Add one and a half jin of pig fat and simmer. When the aconite turns yellow, strain out the solids. Add the alum, realgar, and mercury, then continue heating until the mixture boils three times. Set the ointment on damp ground and let it solidify, then apply it to the affected area three times daily.

Methods for treating white scalp ringworm:

Take a moist cut of lamb, roast it until fragrant and piping hot, then quickly press it against the affected area while hot. Repeat no more than three or four times. Do not scratch even if it itches. Beef may also be used.

Another method: Take the anus of a freshly slaughtered pig, remove the feces, and quickly press it against the affected area while warm. Never scratch if it itches. Tie the patient’s hands together and have them lie in the sunlight; remove it at noon.

Another method: Wash the affected area with soap-pod decoction and dry it. Then apply old oil residue three times daily.

Another method: Simmer peach bark to extract its juice. Drink the juice and use it to wash the affected area.

Another method: Grind yeast and fermented soybeans into a fine powder and sift it. Mix with vinegar and apply a thin layer to the affected area. (One other edition reads “flour” instead of “yeast.”)

Another method: Dry-fry large black beans until scorched, grind them into powder, and mix with cured pork fat from the twelfth lunar month. While the mixture is warm, use a spoon to cover the affected area with it, then wrap the area to keep it out of the wind.

Following the prescription above: Grind peach blossoms into a fine powder, mix with lard, and apply to the affected area. Another method, from the Bixiao Fang, is to mix in mulberry fruit powder; this also works well.

A prescription for treating red baldness, a condition involving hair loss and a reddened scalp: First wash the head with liquid made by soaking mulberry wood ash in water. Then mash mulberries, apply them to the head, and expose it to the sun.

Head sleep, an old disease name whose precise meaning is unclear but which is associated with disorders of the head:

Another prescription: Burn horseshoe into ash, grind it into a fine powder, mix it with lard from the twelfth lunar month, and apply.

Another prescription: Burn a cow’s horn to ash, mix it with lard, and apply.

Another prescription: Mash black mulberries. Take three sheng, divided into three doses each day.

A prescription to prevent hair from growing back:

Mix ash made from burned clam shells with turtle fat. Apply it to the hair follicles immediately after plucking out the hair, and it will never grow back.

A prescription for treating ghost-licked head, a condition in which patches of hair fall out. In ancient times, people thought it looked as if a ghost had licked the head; it resembles what is now called alopecia areata:

Burn cat droppings to ash, mix with lard from the twelfth lunar month, and apply to the affected area.

Another prescription: Burn cat fur to ash, mix with an ointment, and apply.

Another prescription: Grind wall earth into powder, mash it together with garlic, and apply to the affected area once a day.

The Modified Danggui Decoction, a prescription for treating a constrained, oppressive feeling and dull, intermittent pain between the heart and abdomen:

The ingredients are danggui and shengma, three liang each; shaoyao, huangqin, poxiao, jiegeng, and chaihu, four liang each. First pound the seven ingredients into a coarse mixture, as the old term “fuju” means, then add eight sheng of water and boil until two and a half sheng remain. Divide into three doses.

This is from volume forty-two of the Sun Zhenren’s Essential Prescriptions for Emergencies Worth a Thousand Gold.