Library

(Shennong Bencao Jing, Middle Category)

[Flavor and Nature] Sweet, slightly warm, non-toxic.

[Indications] Primarily treats women's metrorrhagia (uterine bleeding), leukorrhea with red and white discharge; tonifies deficiency, warms the middle jiao, and stops bleeding. The head is primarily used to expel evil spirits; those obtained from the east gate are superior.

Chicken Egg (Added by Tao Hongjing in Mingyi Bielu)

[Flavor and Nature] Sweet, neutral, non-toxic.

[Indications] Primarily treats ulcerated sores caused by fire-heat scorching, epilepsy, throat obstruction causing aphonia, and hoarseness.

Egg White (Added by Tao Hongjing in Mingyi Bielu)

[Flavor and Nature] Sweet, slightly cold.

[Indications] Treats vexation and fullness due to latent heat in the epigastrium; resolves severe heat-induced vexation.

Egg Yolk (Added by Tao Hongjing in Mingyi Bielu)

[Flavor and Nature] Sweet, warm, non-toxic.

[Indications] Primarily clears vexation and heat, resolves heat toxins.

Eggshell (Added by Tao Hongjing in Mingyi Bielu)

[Flavor and Nature] Salty, neutral, non-toxic.

[Indications] Primarily treats relapse of cold damage due to overexertion after recovery, and helps restore voice.

[Examination] It is said: Chickens belong to the feather category. Produced in all directions, there are many varieties, differing greatly in size, shape, and color. Generally, it is believed that there is a rooster in the sun (referring to the legend of the three-legged crow in the sun); the West belongs to Metal, but the Great Brightness (Sun) arises in the East, thus chickens are associated with Wood. Hens incubate eggs with longing for embrace; those incubated but not yet hatched are called "Nie". It is also said: Hens can lay eggs without a rooster; if one prays to the Kitchen God, incubating these eggs can also result in hatching, commonly known as "Kitchen Chicken". Upon breaking the shell, feathers appear immediately. Chickens lack external kidneys and have deficient small intestines. They like to glance sideways, run while eating, and select their food carefully, hence named "Ji Lian" (Chicken Integrity). They eat but do not drink, producing only feces and no urine. Their call is referred to as "Zhu", traditionally believed that chickens were transformed from an old man surnamed Zhu.

According to historical records, Zhu Ji Weng (Master Zhu of Chickens) of the Han Dynasty lived at the foot of Shixiang Mountain, raising chickens for over a century. Each chicken had a name; calling them would bring them according to their kind. Thus, "Zhu" is likely a phonetic shift from "Zhu" (bless/invite). Chickens know rain or shine when perching and tell time when crowing. Crowings occur in threes and persist despite wind and rain. The Classic of Poetry states: "Wind and rain are chill, the cock crows shrill; Wind and rain are bleak, the cock crows loud; Wind and rain darken the sky, the cock crows unabated." "Xie Xie" indicates crowing without losing harmony; "Jiao Jiao" indicates steadfastness. Old crows wait until dawn to crow, holding onto cold qi. Crowing alone during the night watch (Yi-Bing hours) predicts amnesty at dawn, called "Stealthy Crowing". Unprovoked group crowing is called "Absurd Crowing"; hens crowing like roosters, roosters incubating eggs, or old chickens speaking human language are considered inauspicious.

Ancient texts describe five virtues of the chicken: wearing a crest signifies culture/literacy; having spurs signifies martial valor; daring to fight signifies courage; sharing food signifies benevolence; keeping watch at night signifies trustworthiness. Despite these virtues, they are eaten daily because of their closeness to humans. *Piya* states: Chickens from Shu, Lu, Jing, and Yue vary in size; Yue chickens are small, Shu chickens are large, and Lu chickens are even larger than Shu chickens. *Zhuangzi* says: A Yue chicken cannot incubate a swan's egg, but a Lu chicken can. Cheng Xuanying notes: Yue chicken is the Jing chicken; Lu chicken is the current Shu chicken. However, examining *Han Feizi*, which states Lu chickens cannot be expected to incubate swan eggs and Shu chickens cannot support it, suggests Cheng Xuanying's identification of Lu chicken as current Shu chicken is incorrect. *Erya Yi* clarifies: Jing and Yue chickens are small; Shu and Lu chickens are large. Jing and Yue are similar; Shu here does not refer to Bashu but the place where Duke Hui of Lu met; Lu refers to Lu territory. Li Shizhen states: Meat chickens in Shu and coarse chickens in Chu stand 3-4 chi tall; Jiangnan bantams have legs only about 2 cun long; Southern long-crowing crows day and night;南海 Stone Chickens crow with the tide; Liaoyang meat and horned chickens are fattier and superior; Korean long-tailed chickens have tails four chi long. Red chickens are best for medicinal use. Chickens from Taihe near the capital are considered first grade. In the year Wuzi of Xia Yuan, chickens in Zhejiang developed claws on their ribs; those with five claws flew into the sky and vanished. Chicks hatching often resembled colorful phoenixes, with three, four, or five legs, connected to chest or ribs, or possessing four, five, or six wings connected to the spine or neck. Some had scales, shells, beast necks with chicken bodies, or chicken heads with beast bodies. Some had two bodies with one head, or two heads with three bodies and two wings. Feathers grew claws, or claws grew feathers. Eggs varied from swan-sized to sparrow-sized. Colors and sounds were myriad and strange; some chicks spoke human language. In Chongming, Wu region, tides brought up red roosters weighing two jin each, accompanied by turtles and fish, never returning. Beasts appeared with human-dog or dog-human heads, multiple heads, lion-monkey hybrids, etc. Disasters were countless. Alas, distinguishing humans from beasts, yet still consuming them in pots, is tragic. *Yanshu* states: Five-colored chickens, black-bodied white-headed ones, six-fingered ones, four-spurred ones, and those unable to justify their death should not be eaten. Only castrated roosters that crow are toxic. Do not eat chickens in the fourth month, as they cause carbuncles, fistulas, and male weakness. Tao Hongjing states: Children under five eating chicken often develop roundworms and tapeworms. Chicken should not be eaten with garlic, mustard, plums, dog liver, or dog kidney, as this causes bloody dysentery. With rabbit meat, it causes bloody dysentery. With fish juice, it forms heart masses. With carp, it causes boils. With otter meat, it forms running corpse disease. With raw green onions, it causes bloody hemorrhoids. With glutinous rice, it generates parasites, one worm per grain, appearing rapidly. Among eggs, yolk from female chickens is best, followed by black female chickens; first-lay yolk is most potent. Shape is sharp top, round bottom, with a blood spot at the tip; bright red indicates first-lay. Feathers, claws, crop, comb blood, shank bones, sinews, fecal white, nest lining, and shells are all collected for medicine. Burning feathers can attract wind; in households raising gu poison, chickens fly away, indicating they are spiritual birds, not merely for culinary use.

[Commentary] It is said: The East corresponds to Liver Wood, its note is Jue, its orifice is the eye, it governs tendons, its trigram is Xun, and its animal is the chicken. Thus, when chickens crow, the sun rises in Yin; when chickens rest, the sun sets in You, connecting the opening and closing of day and night. Wood utilizes Metal. Ying Qi circulates within vessels, Wei Qi outside. Meridians and collaterals interweave; Yang exits and Yin enters, dividing day and night. If Wei Qi loses its balance between Yin and Yang, wakefulness becomes silence, silence becomes wakefulness, sleep becomes wakefulness, and wakefulness becomes sleep. If Ying Qi loses its governance, bleeding becomes stasis, stasis becomes bleeding, accumulation becomes leakage, and leakage becomes accumulation. Effects are swift as shadows. The head is the Yang summit; the Sun arises in the East; ghosts and misfortune dare not approach. Classics state: The egg corresponds to formed intent, wrapped in shell membrane, encompassing yellow and white, representing the time before Heaven and Earth, the beginning of Yin and Yang, where embryo form is undifferentiated and Qi is chaotic. Breaking the shell releases the armor of incubation, called "Chaos Coat" or "Phoenix Molt," signifying transformation. Zhang Zhongjing's Kujiu Tang uses unhatched eggs, where power is concentrated before differentiation. Removing yolk and keeping white follows Yang; suspending it seeks similarity. Breaking it releases sound; as Yin mechanism activates, the epiglottis opens, Qi expands, speech begins. Removing white and keeping yellow follows Yin; white gives Yang form externally, yellow casts Yin essence internally. It treats Shaoyin disease where Wei Qi deviates inward, causing vexation and inability to lie down, guiding Wei Qi back to Yin lands for sleep, distinct from wakefulness. It also treats Baihe Bing (Lily Disease) where all pulses share one source and are diseased, avoiding violent purging, using Lily imagery. Treating the root with Lily, then using egg yolk as sovereign herb treats the branch. Flowing Yin Qi transforms into Yang, aligning with Ying in vessels and Wei outside, exiting Yang entering Yin, forming a cycle without end, forms loving forms, organs harmonizing, things following their kind. Fecal white treats tendon spasms with wiry pulse, straight arms and legs difficult to bend, indicating Zang True Qi connecting to Liver, governing liver tendon Qi. Combining tendon rotation and pulse shaking, softness separating, like lifting a chicken foot brings peace; day is day, night is night, opening is opening, closing is closing.