畏菟丝子。
甘、酸、寒。凉肝除热。其壳磨翳,其浆点青盲内障。
产铜坑,腹中空、破之有浆者良。
一名信石,一名人言。
生者名砒黄,炼者名砒霜,尤烈。畏冷水、绿豆、醋、青盐
、蒜、硝石、水蓼、常山、益母、独帚、菖蒲、水律、菠 、莴苣、鹤顶草、三角酸、鹅不
食草。
辛、苦、咸、大热。大毒。治痰癖,除寒哮。外用蚀败肉,杀诸虫。中其毒者,绿豆可
解。
,醋淬七次,研,水飞晒干用。
大热之性,虽可除寒消癖,必须 过,配绿豆末和诸药服之,每日约服一二厘而止。豆
末亦每日约服二钱,以制其
毒。不然,久服之肌肉燥裂,毒瓦斯交并,卒致后祸而不可解。
得焰硝良。
甘、咸,平。入足厥阴经气分。平肝下气。除结热,治惊痫、积痰。得薄荷自然汁、生
蜜调下,治急惊痰热。(慢惊
脾虚者,木香汤熟蜜调下。)配大黄末,除横结之痰。配赤石脂,疗积痰久痢。青者佳。如
无星点,不入药。入硝石等
分, 至硝尽,色如金为度,研末,水飞晒干用。
礞石燥可除湿,老痰却非所宜。但诸药下过,滑润痰滞,而隐伏之处未必能到。惟此性
横而悍,其于肠胃曲折倚伏
之处,无不迅扫其根,使秽浊腻滞之痰,不得稍留胃底,故此品有滚痰之名。然痰之滞,有
血虚不能润、气虚不能送,
因之粘滞胃府,托宿肠中,关门之内,竟作贮痰之器,如用礞石降之,则痰因燥而愈涩,气
因降而益衰,终将凝结于中
而莫解,乌可不审。
(Kongqing) Feared by Dodder Seed (Tusizi).
Sweet, sour, cold. Cools the Liver and eliminates heat. Its shell ground into powder removes eye nebula; its juice applied to the eyes treats blindness and internal cataracts.
Produced in copper mines; those with a hollow interior and juice upon breaking are superior.
(Pishi) Also known as Xinshi, also known as Renyan.
Raw form is called Pi Huang; refined form is called Pi Shuang, which is particularly potent. Feared by Cold Water, Mung Bean, Vinegar, Green Salt, Garlic, Niter, Polygonum Hydropiper Herb (Shuiliao), Oldenlandia Herb (Changshan), Motherwort Herb (Yimu), Duzhou Broom, Acorus Rhizome (Changpu), Shuiliao Grass, Spinach, Lettuce, Hegding Grass, Triangle Acid, Eleutherococcus Trifoliatus Herb (Ebuscao).
Pungent, bitter, salty, extremely hot. Highly toxic. Treats phlegm masses, eliminates cold asthma. Externally used to escharotic necrotic flesh and kill various parasites. Those poisoned can be detoxified with Mung Bean.
(Method: Quench seven times with Vinegar, grind, process by water levigation, and dry.)
Due to its extreme heat nature, although it can eliminate cold and dissipate masses, it must be processed and taken with Mung Bean Powder mixed with other herbs. The daily dose should be about one or two li (approx. 0.3-0.6g) and no more. Mung Bean Powder should also be taken at about two qian (approx. 7.5g) daily to restrain its toxicity. Otherwise, long-term use will cause muscles and skin to crack and dry out; toxins will combine, ultimately leading to irreversible disastrous consequences.
(Mengshi) Works well when combined with Niter.
Sweet, salty, neutral. Enters the Qi level of the Foot Jueyin (Liver) Meridian. Calms the Liver and directs Qi downward. Eliminates constrained heat, treats convulsions, epilepsy, and accumulated phlegm. Mixed with fresh Juice of Mint and raw Honey for oral administration, it treats acute convulsions due to phlegm-heat. (For chronic convulsions due to Spleen deficiency, take with Mugwort Decoction [Muxiang Tang] mixed with cooked honey.) Combined with Rhubarb Powder, it eliminates horizontally obstructing phlegm. Combined with Red Halloysite (Chishizhi), it treats chronic dysentery due to accumulated phlegm. Blue-green variety is best. If lacking star-like spots, it is not used in medicine. Mix in equal parts with Niter, calcine until the Niter is exhausted and the color turns golden, grind into powder, process by water levigation, and dry.
Mengshi’s drying property can remove dampness, but it is not suitable for old phlegm. After other descending medicines have acted, they lubricate phlegm stagnation but may not reach hidden areas. Only this herb has a rampant and fierce nature, swiftly sweeping away roots in the tortuous and concealed places of the intestines and stomach, preventing turbid and sticky phlegm from remaining at the bottom of the stomach; hence this herb is named "Rolling Phlegm" [Guntan]. However, phlegm stagnation can arise from Blood deficiency failing to moisten or Qi deficiency failing to propel, causing adhesion in the Stomach organ and lodging in the intestines, turning the gate area into a reservoir for phlegm. If Mengshi is used to descend it, the phlegm becomes more astringent due to dryness, and Qi becomes weaker due to descending, eventually condensing in the center without resolution. How can one not exercise caution?