Library

[Background Information]
Book: *Bencao Huijing Jingyao* (Essential Compilation of Materia Medica)
Author: Wang Haogu
Dynasty: Yuan
Chapter: Straw Sandals / Paper
Category: Materia Medica

**Straw Sandals**
Main Indications: Facilitating childbirth and treating Huoluan (a term historically referring to acute gastroenteritis characterized by severe vomiting and diarrhea). Cited from *Bencao Gangmu*.
[Naming] Caoju (straw sandals), Bu Jie (No Need to Borrow), Qianli Ma (Thousand-Mile Horse). (Li Shizhen stated) Legend has it that the ministers of the Yellow Emperor first made "Ju," which are today's straw sandals. (Liu Xi in *Shiming* said) The name "Ju" derives from "Ju" (to bind/constrain), as they are used to bind the feet. The character "Zhe" indicates... wearing them is convenient. "Bu Jie" means they are cheap and easily obtained, requiring no borrowing from others.
[Origin] In the South, they are woven from rice straw.
[Collection Time] No fixed time; collected along roadsides or paths.
[Usage] Some use only the ends, while others use the whole sandal.
[Texture] Shoe-shaped, with the opening tied around the instep using a rope.
[Color] Yellow.
[Taste] Sweet.
[Nature] Warm.
[Processing] Washed clean, then either burned to ash or decocted for application.
[Therapeutic Applications]
(*Taichan Fang*) For facilitating childbirth in postpartum women, take one broken straw sandal from the roadside, wash it clean, burn it to ash, and administer two qian with wine. If the left foot sandal is used, a male fetus is born; if the right foot sandal is used, a female fetus is born. If placed upside down, the fetus dies; if placed on its side, the fetus is startled. This is according to natural principles.
○ (*Shihai Wenshan*) Emergency formula for travel or home use: To treat Huoluan with vomiting and diarrhea, take a broken straw sandal from the roadside, remove both ends, wash three to four times, decoct in water to make one bowl of soup, boil, and drink immediately for cure.
[Combined Treatments] (*Jiuji Fang*) To treat generalized bone pain, burn broken straw sandals to ash, mix with sesame oil, and apply to the painful area to relieve pain immediately.
○ Another prescription: To treat foot swelling caused by walking and being injured by stepping on stones, soak the straw sandal in a urine jar for half a day. Then, heat a brick until red-hot, place the sandal on the brick, and have the patient step on it so that the heat penetrates the skin, reducing the swelling.
○ (*Haishang Fang*) To treat ulcerated sores, there is a poem: "Take the left straw sandal, wash it in water, burn it in fire, grind into fine powder, add calomel, and apply with salt water rinse for immediate resolution."

Non-toxic.

**Paper**
Main Indications: Hematemesis (vomiting blood), epistaxis (nosebleed), persistent bloody dysentery, continuous menstruation, postpartum blood syncope, and enuresis in children and the elderly. All should be burned to ash for use. (From *Pinhui Xuji*)
[Naming] (Li Shizhen stated) In ancient times, bamboo slips were baked to remove moisture, a process called "Hanqing" (sweat green), hence the radicals for "bamboo" appear in characters related to books and records. (As Wen Tianxiang's poem says) "Leave a loyal heart to shine in history," referring to this. During the Qin and Han dynasties, writing on silk was called "Fan Zhi," hence the radical "silk" or "cloth" appears in the character "Zhi." It sounds like "Shi." (Liu Xi in *Shiming* said) "Zhi" relates to "Di" (whetstone), meaning its surface is flat as a whetstone.
[Origin] During the reign of Emperor He of Eastern Han, Cai Lun of Laiyang began making paper by boiling tree bark, old silk, fish nets, hemp, and cloth, leading to its universal use. (Su Yijian's *Zhipu* states) People in Shu used hemp, people in Min used young bamboo, northerners used mulberry bark, Yanxi used rattan, coastal people used moss, Zhejiang people used wheat chaff/rice straw, Wu people used cocoons, and Chu people used paper mulberry (*Broussonetia papyrifera*) to make paper.
[Usage] When burning herbs, wrapping them in ink-coated paper best resists fire. There is a type called "Shandao Zhi" (Flash-knife paper), formed when a corner is folded inside during paper folding and missed by craftsmen. Physicians use it medicinally, though it is not seen in current prescriptions. Why?
[Texture] Includes cocoon paper, bamboo paper, paper mulberry paper, rattan paper, grass paper, hemp paper, moss paper, mulberry bark paper, wheat/rice straw paper. Thickness and size vary.
[Color] White, yellow, gray, or dyed blue, yellow, red, black, etc.
[Taste] Sweet.
[Nature] Neutral.
[Processing] Burned to ash, ground.
[Therapeutic Applications]
(*Pujifang*) For persistent hematemesis, burn five sheets of thin white paper to ash and administer with water; the effect is indescribable.
○ Another prescription: Burn old paper from screens to ash and administer one qian with wine to stop bleeding immediately.
○ (Wang Qiu's *Baiyi Xuanfang*) For skin bleeding/splashing, tear up paper from wine jars into pieces resembling willow catkins, press onto the bleeding site to stop bleeding immediately.
○ (*Shenghui Fang*) For persistent bloody dysentery, wrap one teaspoon of salt in three sheets of white paper, burn until red-hot, grind to powder, divide into three doses, and take with rice water.
○ (Liu Yuxi's *Chuanxin Fang*) For irregular, continuous menstruation, burn thirty sheets of paper to ash, mix with half a sheng of clear wine, and take at once. In winter, use warm wine.
○ Another prescription for postpartum blood syncope: The above prescription works immediately. For those who have been dead for one day, remove an incisor, grind, and administer to revive them.
○ (*Jiyuan Fang*) For insects entering the ear, plug the nose with paper to lure the insect into the ear. Do not block the ear, do not speak. After a short while, the insect will exit.
○ (*Jijian Fang*) For enuresis in children and the elderly, place one sheet of white paper under the mattress. Once urinated upon, take the paper, dry it, and administer with wine.

Ash of *Broussonetia papyrifera* (Paper Mulberry) paper treats hematemesis, epistaxis, metrorrhagia, and bleeding from traumatic wounds.
(Gangmu Fenlu)
Bamboo paper wrapped dog hair, burned to powder, taken with wine stops malaria. (*Shenghui Fang*)
Rattan paper burned to ash applied to traumatic bleeding, and for persistent epistaxis due to internal heat in adults and children. Burn old rattan paper in a bottle until charred but retaining properties (2 qian), add a small amount of musk, and take with wine. Also, wrap musk in a paper wick, burn it, and smoke the nose. (Gangmu Fenlu)
Grass paper made into wicks is most effective for drawing out pus from carbuncles and ulcers. Dipped in oil and lit as a lamp to irradiate various malignant sores, oozing wet ulcers, draining yellow fluid, effective after several applications. (Gangmu Fenlu)
Hemp paper stops various types of hemorrhage; use burned ash. (Gangmu Fenlu)
Joss paper (paper money) treats carbuncles and ulcers about to ulcerate. Burn in a tube and suction the affected area while hot. Its ash stops bleeding, but prolonged inhalation of its smoke damages lung Qi. (Gangmu Fenlu)