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[Shanghan Lun Middle Category]
[Taste and Property] Bitter, cold, non-toxic.
[Indications] Primarily treats Xiao Ke (wasting-thirst syndrome, characterized by polydipsia, polyphagia, polyuria, and emaciation), body heat, irritability and fullness, severe heat, tonifies deficiency, calms the middle jiao, and repairs traumatic injuries.
[Analysis] It is said: Also known as Rui Xue (Auspicious Snow), the root is Tian Hua Fen (Trichosanthes Root). Those from Hongnong and Shanzhou are the best; others are also available. In March, vines sprout, climbing with leaves resembling those of sweet melons but narrower and forked, covered with white hairs on both sides. Flowers bloom in June, similar to bottle gourd flowers, pale yellow. Fruits develop beneath the flowers, fist-sized, greenish-blue when unripe like melons, turning yellow and ripe in September like persimmons. Shapes vary from perfectly round to long and pointed, with identical efficacy. Inside are flat seeds with brown shells and green kernels, rich in oil, emitting a bluish-green odor. The root grows straight downward, reaching several chi in length for old plants. Roots harvested after autumn contain starch in the fruit, while those harvested at other times have more fibrous networks.
Processing the fruit requires distinction into two types: round fruits with thick yellow skin and small stems are suitable for patients with Yang deficiency; long-shaped fruits with reddish skin and thick stems are suitable for patients with Yin deficiency. All must be freed from shells, skins, membranous layers, and oils. For roots, select large ones two or three cun in circumference, remove the skin, pound them, and clarify the starch with water.
My ancestors stated: The *Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing* does not distinguish between root and fruit indications. *Ben Cao Jing Jiu Jin* expanded upon the fruit's indication for chest bi (obstruction syndrome) and beautifying the complexion, implying a distinction between root and fruit. Thus, *Ben Cao Tu Jing* lists the root separately as Tian Hua Fen, indicating it treats irritability, fullness, and Xiao Ke. Irritability, fullness, and chest bi are all diseases of the chest region. *Shi Ming* states: Xiao Ke results from Kidney Qi failing to circulate throughout the chest. The classic says: Irritability, fullness, chest pain radiating to the back constitutes chest bi. Although disease names differ, the pathogenesis is the same, differing only in severity of application. Even if it enables Kidney Qi to circulate in the chest, this falls under the efficacy of tonifying deficiency, calming the middle, and repairing injuries.
It is said: The shape resembles an encompassing sac, with fruits arranged like the layered eaves of a tower. Mentioning the fruit implies the root, just as with Gou Qi Zi (Lycium Fruit). Its bitter-cold taste counteracts fire-heat; its moist nature counteracts dryness. Whether dryness leads to heat accumulation, or heat accumulation leads to dryness, resulting in Xiao Ke and irritability/fullness, this herb is appropriate. "Calming the middle" means that when heat recedes, the middle jiao becomes tranquil, which is essentially replenishing fluid deficiency. Therefore, dryness of sinews and vessels leads to severance/injury, while moisture restores continuity. The efficacy of root and fruit differs slightly: the fruit primarily resolves stagnation and obstruction; the root primarily disperses scattering and restores equilibrium. Both address heat as the cause and dryness as the manifestation. Considering the names "Tian Hua" (Heavenly Flower) and "Rui Xue" (Auspicious Snow), half the understanding is already grasped.