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*Shennong Bencao Jing* (Classic of Materia Medica) refers to it as "Shanji" (Mountain Thistle).

Bitter, acrid, warm, non-toxic. Cangzhu produced in Maoshan has a sweet taste, slender shape, and abundant hairs; it is of the best quality. Cangzhu produced in various mountains of Wu Commandery is of secondary quality. Large pieces of Cangzhu from Chu region, which are acrid, strong, and dry in nature, are of inferior quality. Processing method: Soak in rice washing water, scrape off the skin, slice, stir-fry with sesame seeds or sesame oil until thoroughly yellow, then remove burnt residues. Alternatively, remove skin, slice, mix with honey water, and steam over rice. Furthermore, after the White Dew solar term, wash cleanly with rice washing water, place on the roof to expose to dew for one month; this is called "Shenshu" (Divine Atractylodes).

*Shennong Bencao Jing* states it treats Wind-Cold-Damp Bi syndrome, necrotic muscle, spasms, and jaundice.

[Invention] Cangzhu is acrid and strong, with a warm and drying nature. Its action can ascend and descend, entering all meridians directly. It drains Dampness from the Yangming meridian, thereby stabilizing the Taiyin spleen, and expels malignant qi of seasonal epidemics. Due to soaking in rice washing water and frying, it can eliminate upper-body Dampness and induce sweating. This differs from Baizhu (Atractylopsis Macrocephala Rhizome), which stops sweating; thus, patients experiencing a sensation of tightness in the abdomen require it. *Shennong Bencao Jing* treats conditions such as Wind-Cold-Damp Bi, necrotic muscle, spasms, and jaundice, primarily relying on its specific property to open the Couli (skin pores). Therefore, it induces sweating to expel Wind-Cold-Damp pathogens, removes Dampness to eliminate necrotic muscle, spasms, and jaundice, descends Qi to resolve phlegm-fluids, food stagnation, and Pi masses. It can also resolve various types of Qi stagnation. When combined with Xiangfu (Cyperus Rotundus Rhizome) and other Qi-moving herbs, it descends Qi most rapidly; the ascending and descending actions disperse stagnation and calm Qi. For involuntary seminal emission, continuous stranguria and turbid urine, and soreness and pain in the waist and back, Cangzhu is used to consolidate Spleen Jin (fluids), as fluids are generated from Guqi (Grain Qi). Combined with Huangbai (Phellodendri Cortex) to form ErMiao San (Two Marvels Powder), it treats painful swelling caused by lower-body Damp-Heat. Additionally, using a single herb of Cangzhu, processed with sesame oil into powder, mixed with boiled jujube flesh into pills, treats Yin accumulation under the hypochondrium. Xu Shuwei suffered from Yin accumulation for thirty years. Initially, because he sat writing at night in his youth, leaning leftward on his desk, food and drink tended to settle on the left side. When drinking stopped, sounds were heard from the left; he experienced hypochondriac pain, reduced appetite, and gastric discomfort. After half a cup of wine, he would stop drinking, and within a few days, he would vomit sour fluid. In summer, there was absolutely no sweat on the left half of his body. He took Xionghuang (Realgar), Fuzi (Aconiti Lateralis Radix Praeparata), Fanshi (Alumen), Qianniu Zi (Pharbitidis Semen), Gansui (Kansui Radix), and Daye (Euphorbiae Pekinensis Radix), but none were effective. He deduced that there must be a reservoir-like cavity in his body holding fluid, similar to a hollow in the ground that does not flow until filled. Thus, he discontinued all other medicines and took the aforementioned pills for three months, resulting in the cure of his disease. In summer, sweating occurred throughout the body, and he could read fine print under lamplight; these effects were due to the power of Cangzhu. However, it is suitable only for those constitutionally obese and prone to Dampness; it is strictly contraindicated for those who are thin and prone to internal Fire. The "Shenshu" that has been processed by exposure to dew transforms its drying nature into clarity. It is used to dissipate upper-body Head Wind, Phlegm, and Dampness syndromes. Therefore, for epidemic headache, ShenZhu Tang (Divine Atractylodes Decoction) is employed, demonstrating the subtlety of processing methods.