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[Shangpin (Superior Grade) of the *Benjing*]
【Flavor and Nature】Sweet, neutral, non-toxic.
【Indications】Primarily treats evil qi in the heart and abdomen; various conditions of fright, epilepsy, and spasms; stabilizes the five zang organs and addresses various deficiencies; tonifies qi, nourishes the middle jiao, alleviates pain, detoxifies, eliminates numerous diseases, and harmonizes a hundred medicinal substances. Long-term consumption strengthens the will, lightens the body, prevents hunger and aging, extends lifespan, and even leads to an immortal-like state.
【Analysis】It is said: The honeybee, also known as the bee. *Erya Yi* records: The honeybee resembles other bees but is smaller, specializing in producing honey. *Shuowen Jiezi* writes "honey" as "sweet syrup produced by bees," meaning the sweet paste generated by bees. It is roughly sealed like a tripod vessel. *Classic of Mountains and Seas* records: On top of Gucheng Mountain, there are hives for honey production; currently, bees in earth and wood each produce their own honey. The north is dry, so bees nest mostly in the earth, hence producing much earth honey. The south is humid, so bees nest mostly in wood, hence producing much wood honey. There are also rock honey and stone honey, both found among rocks. Bees kept by households today are small and slightly yellow, with waist and abdomen proportions resembling flies or cicadas. Enthusiasts use wooden containers holding tens of thousands of hu, placing bees inside for breeding, opening a small hole just large enough for entry and exit. *Yongjia Local Records* notes: In July and August, swarms of bees often pass by; one or two small bees fly ahead to find resting places. People know to place them in buckets, smear honey inside the bucket; flying bees smell the honey, some stay briefly, after three or four round trips, they lead the entire swarm to arrive. Currently, household beekeeping sometimes involves swarms numbering in the millions, with a larger one acting as the queen, surrounded and followed by worker bees. People capture and rear them around Grain Rain or Spring Equinox. They gather essences from a hundred flowers, fermenting and brewing honey. Their hive is called "honey spleen" (Mi Pi), where the queen resides, layered like a terrace. The saying goes: "Bee terraces, ant towers," meaning bee dwellings resemble terraces, ant dwellings resemble towers. *Natural Theory* states: Without a queen, all bees die; the ruler-minister structure remains unchanged in life and death. They go out twice a day, gathering and calling it "two courts." Those going out to gather flowers take pollen from flower stamens, placing it on their hind legs (bi). Only pollen from peony, peony herb, orchid, and cymbidium is carried on the back or head. Those who gather nothing spend the night among flowers, daring not return, or sting people, dying shortly after. Hence, ancient texts say "bees and scorpions have venom"; approaching the hive causes the swarm to attack. Thus, during the Warring States period, there were bee banners used in military marches, likened to generals leading a swarm attack. In cold winters without flowers, they hide deep in the hive, feeding on brewed honey. When spring warmth arrives and flowers bloom, they emerge to gather again. Wan region has pear blossom honey, color like congealed fat. Bozhou Taiqing Palace has cypress flower honey, slightly reddish. Nanjing Zhecheng County has Polygonum multiflorum honey, redder still. Each follows the flower color gathered, and their warming/cooling properties are similar. The bottom of the honey spleen is beeswax. *Pi Ya* records: Wax is born from honey, and among worldly flavors, none is sweeter than honey, none is blander than wax. What is concentrated here must be thin there, which is natural law. Western books say: Taste like chewing wax. Old theories state that bee transformation into honey requires pig water injected into the wax chamber before honey forms, thus wax is the dregs of honey. *Fangyan* records: Large ones that make honey are called pot bees, i.e., black bees today. They also brew honey, as mentioned in *Chu Ci*: "Red ants like elephants, black bees like pots." To test honey authenticity, insert red-hot chopsticks into the honey; if steam rises upon removal, it is genuine; if smoke rises, it is fake. Processing method: For every jin of sandy honey, add four liang of water, place in silver or earthenware vessels, slow-boil over mulberry wood fire, skim off floating foam, until dripping water forms beads that do not disperse, then use. Another method: Store in a vessel, boil in a double boiler for a day, wait until dripping water does not disperse, take and use; this is also good and does not damage the fire energy. Do not eat raw honey in July, as it causes sudden diarrhea and cholera. Honey that tastes sour and appears green-red causes mental restlessness when eaten. Do not consume with scallions or lettuce, as it causes diarrhea. After eating honey to fullness, do not eat fresh foods, as it can cause sudden death.
Mr. Miu Zhongchun said: Gathering the essence of herbs and trees, combining the qi of soil, water, wind, and dew, fermenting into honey, thus its qi is clear and harmonious, its flavor pure and sweet.
My ancestors said: Honey originates from the yellow of ten thousand flowers, collected and transformed by bees; whether in rocks, earth, or wood, from lian to wuhua, these are the origins of its formation.
[Commentary] says: Drooping awns like blades, hence named bee. Legends say: Bee stingers hang sharp; wherever the leader is, surrounding bees circle and fly as guards, strict in governance, showing ministerial propriety. Gathering essences of a hundred flowers, retreating to store secretly, blowing and fermenting until honey forms, hence called honey. Its house resembles the spleen, called honey spleen. Resembling the stomach, receiving and storing food and drink, fermenting to form essence and blood. Sweet, neutral, yellow-colored, classified under the spleen, thus tonifying the middle and benefiting middle qi. Since all things begin relying on the spleen, it governs various deficiencies. If earth becomes too rigid and collapsed, wood has no support, leading to fright, terror, epilepsy, and spasms. Honey thickens earth's transformative function, bearing heavy virtue and matter, causing ascending-rebellious and descending-sinking qi to return to their proper positions. Stabilizing the five zang organs means stabilizing their physical forms. Physical forms return to earth, governed by the spleen. Heart and abdomen are central; if attacked by evil, the central palace is uneasy. Stabilizing the center expels evil. One cannot eliminate external aggression if the center is unstable; harmonizing a hundred medicines and detoxifying relies on sweet nature's ability to moderate, avoiding harsh, impetuous, and drifting extremes. The spleen stores the will, thus long-term consumption strengthens the will, lightens the body, prevents hunger and aging, all belonging to spleen-earth functions.