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(Recorded in *Tang Bencao*)
【Flavor and Nature】Bitter, cold, with slight toxicity.
【Indications】Heat diseases, vexation, fullness, and inability to eat. Crushing the plant to extract juice treats metallic wounds (trauma caused by metal weapons), relieves pain, reconnects blood vessels, promotes tissue regeneration, eliminates various malignant sores, and reduces edema.
【Analysis】It is stated that: Tu Gua (Trichosanthes kirilowii root/vine) grows everywhere. Seedlings emerge at the end of spring; the stem has straight ridges, occasionally marked with spots. The leaves resemble [a certain plant], slightly elongated; they also resemble *Sedum* (Di Song), but are thinner. Leaves grow opposite each other on the nodes, and both flowers and leaves are hairy. In fertile soil, one plant may branch into dozens of stems. Small flowers bloom in August and September, deep yellow in color. The fruits resemble artemisia seeds, with spiny calyxes outside that tend to stick to people. Processing method: Collect leaves, wash clean, and dry in the sun. Place them in a steamer (Zeng), moistening each layer with wine and honey-wine, stacking them full, sealing the steamer mouth tightly, and steaming for about two hours (Yi Shi). Remove, dry in the sun. Repeat this steaming and drying process nine times until the flavor becomes fragrant and pleasant.
【Commentary】It is said: People in Chu refer to pigs as "Xiang" (placeholder for original character), and to smell as "Xiu" (placeholder for original character). This is likely because the Kidney corresponds to the pig, and the Kidney's odor is putrid; thus, it serves as a substance-drug (Ti Yao) corresponding to the Kidney organ. Its flavor is bitter, its nature is cold, and its action is moistening and descending, making it also a functional drug (Yong Yao) for the Kidney. It counters heat pathogens like disasters, akin to hibernating insects damaging one's door. The Classics state: Those with Kidney deficiency feel their hearts hanging empty as if suffering from hunger, experiencing vexation and fullness with an inability to eat; moxibustion strengthens appetite and generates flesh. It also states: Kidney deficiency causes swelling in the shins and counterflow of cold; excess conditions result in refined bone qi. Therefore, those who preserve their form initially allow pathogenic qi to invade the Kidneys, distributing essence to the bones, and sequentially dispersing it, thereby achieving flexible sinews, growing muscles, nourishing blood, and beautifying hair. If Wind Qi connects to the Liver, causing flaccidity and atrophy of tendons and fascia, this is where Qi pathology affects Form, and Form pathology affects Qi. Nourishing the Mother of the Liver (i.e., tonifying the Kidney to support Liver Wood) is how one supplements the Kidney's Form. When Form is complete, Spirit is integrated, and the Five Forms become unified.

【Flavor and Nature】Bitter, cold, non-toxic.
【Indications】Pathogenic heat, relieving fatigue, clearing Heart Fire, and brightening the eyes.
【Analysis】It is stated that: Ku Gua (Momordica charantia), also known as Lai Pu Tao (Toad Grape) and Jin Li Zhi (Brocade Lychee), grows everywhere, especially in Fujian and Guangdong. Seeds are sown in April and May; seedlings emerge, climbing vines extending over three meters, covered with prickly hairs. Leaves resemble wild grapes, and tendrils between stems resemble grapevine tendrils. Small yellow, five-petaled flowers bloom in July and August. Fruits resemble chicken eggs, with bumpy skin resembling lychee shells. Initially green, turning yellow-red when ripe. Inside, there is red pulp, crimson like blood. The shell is extremely bitter, while the pulp is very sweet. Seeds enclosed in the pulp are flat, brownish-black, resembling *Sicyos angulatus* seeds (Mu Bie Zi). Those from Fujian and Guangdong are about one chi long, while others are rounder and shorter, tapering from a large base to a sharp tip. Selecting the green outer rind, it can be boiled with meat for soup or pickled with salt and soy sauce as a vegetable. Though bitter and astringent, it has a refreshing charm and effectively resolves heat and vexation. The roots resemble carrots, soft and slippery; when cut into straight rods for use as catheters, they help discharge foul and turbid matter.
【Commentary】It is stated: "Ku" (Bitter) describes the flavor. "Gua" (Melon) is pictographic, symbolizing the fruit hanging among tendrils. The bitter shell and sweet pulp give it the name Ku Gua. Green when raw, red-yellow when ripe, representing the illumination of Water and Fire, and the intersection of Earth and Metal transmission. Its shape resembles lychee fruit and also the human heart; the pulp is red like coagulated blood, and the bumpy skin resembles thorns, yet it is smooth like skin, unlike the pricking nature of lychee thorns. Borrowing these forms and colors, it maintains the Central Earth (Spleen/Stomach), progressively inheriting balance and stability, thereby punishing vexation, eliminating restlessness, relieving shoulder and back fatigue, instantly clarifying the mind and eyes, and transforming heat vexation into a cool ground. The roots are greasy and lustrous; cut into straight rods for use as catheters, employing "treating obstruction by unblocking" (or using blockage principles to treat flow disorders) is particularly easy to achieve.