得火良。
辛、甘,大温,有小毒。入足阳明经气分。能引药势上行。逐风痰,驱寒湿。一切头面
百病
,心痛血痹,阴囊湿痒,急慢惊风,痘疮风寒不解,四肢头面不起者,用以散解甚效。配南
星、半夏,生研猪胆丸,治小儿暑风痰迷搐搦。配僵蚕、全蝎,等分生研为末,热酒下,治
中风口 。配藿香,等分为末米饮下,治小儿吐逆不止。炮用。脾虚慢惊,阴虚中风,二者
禁用。
即虎掌
得火、牛胆良。蜀漆为之使。畏附子、干姜、防风、生姜。恶莽草。伏雄黄
、丹砂、焰硝。
辛、苦、温。有毒。入手足太阴经。主风痰之流滞,(半夏走肠胃,南星走经络。)祛四
肢之麻痹。散血攻积,下气
堕胎。敷疥癣疮毒,并蛇咬损伤。得防风,治麻木。配川柏,使下行。配苍术、生姜,治痰
湿臂痛。配荆芥、姜汁,治
风痰头痛。配石菖蒲,涂口 舌糜。佐天麻,疗吐泻惊风。君琥珀、朱砂,除痰迷心窍。配
冰片,等分,五月五日午时
合之,以指粘末揩牙齿左右,开中风口噤目瞑,无门下药危症。
白矾汤或皂角汁浸三日夜,晒干,再酒浸一宿,蒸至不麻而止,或生姜渣、黄坭包煨熟,
去
坭焙用。得火炮则不毒。虚痰、燥痰禁用。
造南星曲法∶以姜汁、矾汤,和南星末作小饼子,安篮内,楮叶包盖,待上黄衣,乃取
晒收
之。造胆星法∶以南星生研末,腊月取黄牯牛胆汁和匀,纳入胆中,悬风处干之。年久者弥
佳。
虽曰南星主痰,半夏主湿,然湿痰横行经络,壅滞不通,至语言费力,身手酸疼者,惟
南星为能,合诸药开导其痰,
而湿气顿消。其有湿生火、火生痰,痰火相搏而成风象,口眼 斜,手足瘫痪,诸症悉见者、
惟半夏为能,从清火之剂,
以降
其湿,而风痰悉化。总在用之者得当耳。
It is beneficial when exposed to fire.
Acrid, sweet, excessively warm, slightly toxic. Enters the Qi level of the Foot-Yangming Meridian. It can guide the medicinal effect upward. It expels wind-phlegm and dispels cold-dampness. It is highly effective in dissipating and resolving all kinds of diseases of the head and face, heart pain and blood bi (blood stasis syndrome), damp itching of the scrotum, acute and chronic convulsive disorders (Jing Feng), and cases where the limbs and face fail to rise due to unresolved wind-cold in smallpox/variolae. When combined with Tianxing (Arisaema Cum Bile) and Banxia (Pinellia Rhizome), ground raw and formed into pills with pig bile, it treats pediatric summerheat wind-phlegm confusion and convulsions. Combined with Jiangcan (Bombyx Batryticatus) and Quanxie (Scorpio), ground raw in equal parts into powder, taken with hot wine, it treats facial paralysis (stroke with mouth deviation). Combined with Huoxiang (Agastache Herba), powdered in equal parts, taken with rice water, it treats persistent vomiting in children. Use after processing. Contraindicated in slow convulsive disorders due to Spleen deficiency and stroke due to Yin deficiency.
Also known as Huzhang (Tiger Palm).
Beneficial when exposed to fire or ox bile. Shuqi (Perilla Leaf) acts as its guiding herb. It is inhibited by Fuzi (Aconite Lateral Root), Ganjiang (Dried Ginger), Fangfeng (Saposhnikovia Root), and Shengjiang (Fresh Ginger). It is antagonistic to Mangcao (Genkwa Flower). Its toxicity can be subdued by Xionghuang (Realgar), Dansha (Cinnabar), and Yanxiao (Saltpeter).
Acrid, bitter, warm. Toxic. Enters the Hand-Taiyin and Foot-Taiyin Meridians. It governs the stagnation of wind-phlegm (Banxia travels through the intestines and stomach, whereas Tianxing travels through the meridians). It dispels numbness in the four limbs. It disperses blood and attacks accumulations, directs Qi downward, and induces abortion. Applied externally for tinea, sores, ulcers, and snake bites/injuries. Combined with Fangfeng, it treats numbness. Combined with Chuanbai (Phellodendron Bark), it directs the action downward. Combined with Cangzhu (Atractylodes Rhizome) and Shengjiang, it treats arm pain due to phlegm-dampness. Combined with Jingjie (Schizonepeta Spike) and ginger juice, it treats headache due to wind-phlegm. Combined with Shichangpu (Acorus Rhizome), applied topically, it treats oral and lingual ulceration. Assisted by Tianma (Gastrodia Rhizome), it treats vomiting, diarrhea, and convulsions. As the sovereign herb combined with Hupo (Amber) and Zhusha (Cinnabar), it clears phlegm confusing the mind orifices. Combined with Bingpian (Borneol), in equal parts, prepared at noon on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, rubbed onto the teeth on both sides with a finger, it opens the jaw lock, closed eyes, and unconsciousness in critical stroke patients who cannot take medicine.
Soak in Alum Decoction or Gleditsia Sinensis Juice for three days and nights, dry in the sun, then soak in wine for one night, steam until the numbing sensation ceases; or wrap in ginger residue and yellow clay, bake until cooked, remove the clay, and roast for use. Processing with fire eliminates its toxicity. Contraindicated in deficiency-phlegm and dry-phlegm.
Method for preparing Nanxing Qu (Southern Arisaema Fermented Cake): Mix Nanxing powder with ginger juice and alum decoction to form small cakes, place them in a basket, cover with Cecropia leaves, wait for yellow mold to grow, then take out, dry, and store.
Method for preparing Danxing (Ox Gallstone Arisaema): Grind raw Nanxing into powder, obtain yellow bull gallbladder juice in the twelfth lunar month, mix evenly, insert into the gallbladder, and hang in a ventilated place to dry. The older, the better.
Although it is said that Nanxing primarily treats phlegm and Banxia primarily treats dampness, when damp-phlegm runs rampant in the meridians, causing obstruction, leading to difficulty in speech and soreness/pain in the body and limbs, only Nanxing can, in combination with other herbs, open up and guide the phlegm, thereby instantly eliminating the dampness. In cases where dampness generates fire, and fire generates phlegm, with phlegm-fire clashing to create wind-like symptoms such as facial deviation and limb paralysis, appearing in various syndromes, only Banxia can, from the perspective of clearing heat and fire agents, descend the dampness, thereby transforming all wind-phlegm. Ultimately, it depends on the appropriate application by the practitioner.