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[Lower Grade of the Shennong Bencao Jing]
[Flavor and Nature] Acrid, salty, warm, with slight toxicity.
[Indications] Primarily treats wind-bi (a syndrome caused by wind and dampness pathogens obstructing the meridians, leading to numbness and pain), dead muscle tissue, and pathogenic qi invasion; alleviates dizziness accompanied by tearing from the eyes; unblocks the nine orifices; kills spirit creatures.
[Analysis] It is stated: Saponaria officinalis (Zaojia) grows in the valleys of Yongzhou and Zou County in Lu. Currently, those from Huai and Meng are considered superior, though it is found everywhere. The tree is tall and robust, with leaves resembling those of the locust tree (Sophora japonica), long, thin, and pointed. The branches bear many thorns. In summer, it produces small yellow flowers. The fruits come in three types: one type is short and small, resembling pig's teeth; another is large, plump, rich in oil, and sticky to the touch; the third is long, thin, and dry, not sticky to the touch. For medicinal use, the plump and oily variety is preferred. However, the trees have dense thorns, making harvesting difficult. One method is to bind the base of the tree with bamboo strips, allowing the pods to fall off overnight, which is a unique technique. For trees that do not bear fruit, a large hole is drilled into the base, into which 3 to 5 jin of raw iron is placed. The hole is then sealed with mud. By the next year, the tree bears fruit, and the yield doubles compared to previous years. Some people pound Zaojia on an iron anvil, causing the anvil to self-damage; or grind it with an iron millstone, causing holes to form in the stone; or cook it in an iron pot, causing the pot to burst and flakes to fall off. Is there a mutual感应 (resonance/affinity) between Zaojia and iron? Processing: Select reddish, oily, non-infested pods. Soak them overnight in fresh water. Scrape off the rough skin with a copper knife. Roast thoroughly with milk butter (ru su), pounding to remove seeds and fibrous membranes. For every 1 liang of pod, use 5 qian of butter. Platycladi Semen (Baishi) serves as its assistant herb. It is incompatible with Ophiopogonis Radix (Maidong); it fears Azurite (Kongqing), Ginseng (Renshen), and Sophorae Flavescentis Radix (Kushen).
[Commentary] It is said: The water of Zaojia appears black, and salty water has a salty taste, thus belonging to the Water element among the "Five Woods." When irrigated into iron wood, Zaojia thrives, not being restrained by Metal, but rather growing through Iron. This exemplifies "the mother generating the son," sequentially achieving biological transformation, where Wood utilizes Metal. Since the Acrid-Metal flavor prevails, it primarily treats wind-bi, dead muscle, and dizziness with tearing. Using Acrid to drain (Xie) means draining external wind from the exterior body; using Acrid to tonify (Bu) means tonifying the internal Wind element (referring to the fluctuation of wind pathogens within). If the orifices are blocked, it indicates insufficient Wind element. Spirit creatures represent excessive external wind, which can be addressed by Salty flavors through both tonification and drainage. However, tonification and drainage depend on the patient's specific suffering and needs. Based on these needs, the terms tonification and drainage are applied to drugs.