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Suanzao (Ziziphi Spinosae Semen), growing in the rivers and marshes of Hedong, is now found in areas near the capital and in prefectures to the northwest. Wild varieties are mostly found on slopes and between city ramparts. The tree resembles the jujube tree but has finer bark; the heartwood is reddish; stems and leaves are green; flowers resemble those of the jujube. Fruits ripen in the eighth lunar month, are purplish-red, rounder and smaller than common jujubes, and have a sour taste. The fruits should be harvested in the same month, the kernels extracted from the pits, dried in the shade, and processed over forty days. *Erya* distinguishes types of jujubes by stating: "Small and sour fruits are called Suanzao." *Mengzi* states: "Nourish his Suanzao." Zhao Qi's commentary notes: "This refers to the Suanzao." Another view holds that only those produced in Suanzao County are authentic; the trees grow several zhang high with a trunk diameter of one or two chi, possessing extremely fine grain, hardness, and weight. Locals use them for cart axles and spoons/chopsticks; the bark is also fine with patterns resembling snake scales; the kernels are slightly longer and red like cinnabar, making them hard to obtain. What is sold in markets today are merely kernels from wild jujube bushes (Jicai), so careful distinction is required when using them. *Shennong Bencao Jing* records its indication as treating vexation and insomnia. Physicians currently use it in two ways: raw for hypersomnia, and stir-fried for insomnia; the effects of raw versus cooked forms differ significantly. Hu Qia's formula for tremors, palpitations, and insomnia, Suanzao Ren Tang, contains: Suanzao Ren 2 sheng, Fuling, Baizhu, Renshen, Gancao each 2 liang, Shengjiang 6 liang. The six herbs are sliced, decocted in 8 sheng of water to yield 3 sheng, divided into four doses. Shen Shi's formula for deficiency-induced insomnia with restlessness, also named Suanzao Ren Tang, contains: Suanzao Ren 2 sheng, Zhimu, Ganjiang, Fuling, Xiongqiong each 2 liang, Gancao (roasted) 1 liang. In both formulas, Suanzao Ren is used raw to treat insomnia; does this imply that decoction constitutes "cooked" usage?

Huai Shi (Sophorae Fructus), growing in the flat marshes of Henan, is now ubiquitous. The trees can grow very tall. According to *Erya*, there are several types of Sophora: those with large, dark leaves are called Huaihuai; those that close during the day and open at night are called Shougonghuai; those with small, green leaves are simply called Huai; their medicinal properties are not distinguished. They flower in the fourth and fifth lunar months and fruit in the sixth and seventh. Tender fruits harvested on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month are crushed to extract juice for making pastes. Mature fruits harvested in the tenth lunar month are used medicinally. Bark and roots can be harvested at any time. Physicians currently utilize various parts of the Sophora tree most frequently; tender branches harvested in spring are burned to black ash and used to brush teeth and remove tartar; green branches are burned to collect distillate for applying to tinea; old flowers are sifted into powder and taken with water to treat hematochezia; tender pods are boiled as a tea substitute to treat cephalalgia due to wind, brighten the eyes, and tonify the brain; white bark is boiled to treat oral/dental diseases and hematochezia; swallowing black seeds transforms white hair back to black; ear-like fungi growing on the wood, taken as powder (one cun bi dose), treat hematochezia and five types of hemorrhoids with prolapse; these are all commonly used with remarkable efficacy. Ge Hong cites Bian Que's formula for brightening the eyes and preventing hair loss: On the Shangsi day of the tenth lunar month, take Sophora seeds, remove the skin, place them in a new container, seal it for three to seven days. Initial dose is one seed, increasing to two, up to ten seeds by the tenth day, then decreasing back to one seed; this is highly effective. Liu Yuxi's *Chuanxin Fang* records Wang Ji Langzhong of Xiazhou using a Sophora decoction fumigation method for hemorrhoids: Decoct Sophora branches strongly, wash the hemorrhoids first, then apply moxibustion directly on them for seven moxa cones, stopping when improvement is noted. When Ji Chong served as Judge of the Pacification Commission in Western Sichuan, he rode a mule through Luogu Valley. Upon lodging, his hemorrhoids flared up severely. The condition resembled a cucumber lodged at the anal verge, feeling hot like burning embers, causing him to collapse at the relay station. The postal clerk stated: "I once suffered from this disease; moxibustion will cure it." Ji ordered his attendants to prepare a Sophora decoction to wash the affected area ("hot cucumber") and applied moxibustion. After three to seven cones, he suddenly felt a stream of heat enter his intestines, followed by severe diarrhea, expelling blood first and then feces. After the intense pain subsided, the "cucumber" was gone, and he mounted his mule and rode away.