Library

The *Xiangyao Fang of the Back Palace of Emperor Yang of Sui* states: A prescription for making the body and face fair:
Citrus reticulata Pericarpium (Chenpi, dried tangerine peel) (3 fen), Cucumis melo Semen Album (Baiguazi, white melon seeds), Prunus persica Flos (Taohua, peach blossoms).
These three substances are pounded, sifted, and taken after meals with wine, one fangcun bi (a measure equivalent to a square inch spoonful) per dose, three times daily. Effect is seen in thirty days.

The *Ruyi Fang* states: The art of obtaining a beautiful complexion and slender waist:
Take peach blossoms from three trees, dry them in the shade, and sift them finely. Take before meals, three times daily, one fangcun bi per dose. (Note: The *Seng Shen Fang* advises taking it with wine.)

A facial beautification method:
Prunus armeniaca Semen (Xingren, apricot seeds) one sheng, Sesamum indicum (Huma, sesame) peeled and pounded into powder five sheng. Mix and make into an ointment, decoct, strain off the dregs, add half a sheng of Sesamum indicum Semen (Maziren, sesame seeds) and decoct again. Form into pills the size of large marbles, pure white in color. Apply with animal fat to the face; this makes the skin resistant to cold, fair, lustrous, and radiant, as if descended by goddesses.

The *Fan Wang Fang* treats lackluster complexion, making the person plump and fair:
Astera tatarica Radix (Ziwan, tartar aster root) (3 fen, another version says 5 fen), Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma (Baizhu, macrocephala atractylodes rhizome) (5 fen), Asari Radix et Rhizoma (Xixin, asarum root and rhizome) (5 fen).
These three substances are made into a powder, taken with wine, one fangcun bi per dose. Effect is seen in ten months.

A prescription for making the face and eyes plump and fair:
Ophiopogon japonicus Tuber (Gan Maidong, dried Ophiopogon tuber) (one sheng, heart removed), Prunus armeniaca Semen (Xingren, apricot seeds) (800 pieces, peeled and used raw).
These two substances are made into pills. Take before meals, with wine, the amount equivalent to two apricot seed-sized pills, three times daily. Effect is seen in ten days.

A prescription for making one charming, fair, and beautiful:
Apis Mellifera Larva (Fengzi, bee larvae) (three sheng), Humanis Lac Mulieris (Funren Ruji, woman's milk).
Place these two substances in a bamboo tube, cook thoroughly, mix, and bury under a shady wall. After twenty days, take out and apply to the face. In one hundred days, the skin will be as white as unbleached silk.

It also states: A prescription for making one fair-skinned:
Cucumis melo Semen Album (Guaban, white melon seeds) (4 fen), Prunus persica Flos (Taohua, peach blossoms) (4 fen), Citrus reticulata Pericarpium (Chenpi, dried tangerine peel) (1 fen), Angelicae Dahuricae Radix (Baizhi, dahuria angelica root), Panicum miliaceum (Nimi, proso millet) (2 fen).
These five substances are sifted finely, mixed with honey to form pills the size of Chinese quince seeds. Take five pills with wine, three times daily. Effect is seen in thirty days; in one hundred days, the skin becomes white.

A prescription for making the face and entire body completely fair:
On the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, take blood from a black chicken and apply it to the face; it will become white immediately. Repeat application several times. This is an imperial palace prescription; it can be applied to the entire body.

A prescription for making one exquisite and beautiful, retaining a youthful appearance in old age:
Asparagi Radix (Tianmendong, asparagus root) (2 fen), Tritici aestivi semen (Xiaomai zhong, wheat seeds), Plantaginis Semen (Cheqianzi, plantago seeds) (1 fen), Cucumis melo Semen Album (Guaban, white melon seeds) (2 fen), Kaolinitum (Baishizhi, kaolin) (1 fen), Asari Radix et Rhizoma (Xixin, asarum root and rhizome) (1 fen).
These six substances are separately ground and sifted. When the weather is clear and cloudless, mix and stir well. Take an amount held between three fingers after meals, do not stop. In ten days, the body feels light; in thirty days, wrinkles smooth out; in one hundred days, white hair turns black, lost teeth regrow, the elderly regain strength, and the young do not age. A youth from the East Sea passed this on to Lady Lu Wang; she was three hundred years old yet always looked like a young girl. It is mysterious.

The *Lingqi Fang* states: The art of refining the constitution:
Sepiae Endoconcha (Wuzheyu gu, cuttlefish bone), Asari Radix et Rhizoma (Xixin, asarum root and rhizome), Trichosanthis Fructus (Gualou, trichosanthes fruit), Zingiberis Rhizoma Recens (Shengjiang, fresh ginger - note: text says Gan Jiang, dried ginger), Zanthoxyli Fructus (Shujiao, Sichuan pepper) (equal parts).
Soak in vinegar for three days. Add one jin (500g) of Bos taurus Medulla (Niuisui, ox marrow), decoct until yellow, strain off the dregs, and use to apply to the face, making it fair and lustrous, removing dark spots. (Note: The *Fan Wang Fang* says: For people with dark complexions, it makes them fresher and better.)

The *Seng Shen Fang* treats the face to make it white:
Cucumis melo Semen Album (Baiguazi, white melon seeds) (5 liang, another version says 5 fen), Populus alba Cortex (Yang Baipi, white poplar bark), Prunus persica Flos (Taohua, peach blossoms) (4 liang, another version says 4 fen).
These three substances are sifted finely. Take one fangcun bi, after meals, three times daily. To increase whiteness, add more melon seeds; to increase redness/rosiness, add more peach blossoms. After ten days of taking the medicine, the face becomes white; after fifty days, the hands, feet, and whole body become fresh and clean.

The *Qianjin Fang* treats deficiency emaciation (Lun fan), making one plump and fair:
Mel (Baimi, white honey) (2 sheng), Porcine Adipose Tissue (Zhufang, pig fat), Sesamum indicum Oleum (Huma You, sesame oil), Rehmanniae Radix Preparata (Gan Dihuang, prepared rehmannia root).
These four ingredients are combined and decocted to make pills. Take with wine, the size of Chinese quince seeds, three pills, three times daily.

A prescription for beautifying the complexion:
Soak peach blossoms in wine and take them. This improves the complexion and removes all diseases. Harvest on the third day of the third lunar month.

Another prescription: Mix white honey with Poria Cocos (Baifuling, poria sclerotium) powder and apply. Heals in seven days.

Another prescription: Soak three eggs in fine wine, seal tightly for forty-one days. Apply to the face; it becomes exceptionally clean and beautiful.

The *Ge Shi Fang* treats people with dark faces and bodies, rough skin texture, turbid facial blood, and thick skin, resulting in an ugly appearance:
Oriza sativa Farina (Mi, rice flour), mix with wine and apply thickly over face powder. Do not let it be exposed to wind. It becomes white in three days. (Note: The *Fan Wang Fang* says: Pound and sift, take one fangcun bi after meals.)

Another prescription: Pinus Massoniana Resin (Baisongzhi, masson pine resin) 10 parts, Rehmanniae Radix Preparata (Gan Dihuang, prepared rehmannia root) 9 parts, Xanthii Fructus Processed (Gan Qi, processed xanthium fruit) 5 parts, Aconiti Lateralis Radix Preparata (Fuzi, prepared lateral root of aconite) 1 part, Cinnamomi Ramulus (Guixin, cinnamon twig) 2 parts. Pound into powder, mix tightly, form into pills the size of Chinese quince seeds. Take ten pills before meals, three times daily. All parasites will be expelled, and gradually the body becomes plump and fair.