【气味】
咸微寒有毒。入厥阴阳明经。
【主治】
除痰疟寒热风痹强直疼痛。通经脉。下乳汁。消痈肿。排脓血。通窍杀虫。疗
蚁疮癞。及诸疰疾疥癣恶疮。此物穴山而居。寓水而食。出阴入阳。能窜经络达于病所。
故山甲王不留。妇人食了乳长流。言其迅速也。中病即止。不可过服。
【气味】
甘寒无毒。
【主治】
风痫惊悸。一切邪魅精物。热疾骨蒸。及诸疮。并宜生屑入药。诸铁及杂物入肉。
刮牙屑和水敷之立出。凡夏月合药。宜置象牙于傍。取其辟邪镇心。疗一切邪魅迷惑之疾也
。
【气味】
甘寒有毒。阳也。
【主治】
大腹肿满。泻十二种水气肿满。若水溢胸中。非此不能除。仲景治心下留饮与甘草
同用。取其相反而立功也。又河间治水肿不全消者。以甘遂末涂腹绕脐令满。内服甘草水。
其肿便去。亦反治之义也。
【气味】
苦平寒有毒。
【主治】
杀百毒。辟百邪。杀蛊毒。人佩之鬼神不敢近。入山林虎野狼伏。涉川水毒物不敢伤
。佩入丛草即不畏蛇。大抵雄黄入肝经气分。故肝风肝气。惊痫痰涎。头痛眩晕。暑疟泄痢
积聚诸病。用之有殊功。又能化血为水。有患者疡生于颊连齿辅车。外肿若覆瓯。内溃出脓
血。痛楚难忍。以雄黄为君。佐之以石胆丹砂矾石磁石。烧之三日三夜。其烟上着。用鸡羽
扫取以注疮。恶肉破而骨自尽出也。雄黄雌黄俱是同产。但以山阴山阳受气不同耳。服食家
重雄黄。取其得纯阳之精也。雌黄则兼有阴气。大寒不入药饵。
[Odor and Flavor]
Salty, slightly cold, toxic. Enters the Jueyin (Jue Yin) and Yangming (Yang Ming) meridians.
[Indications]
Eliminates phlegm-malaria (Tan Nue), cold-heat alternations, wind-bi (Wind-Bi), rigidity, and pain. Unblocks the meridians. Promotes lactation. Resolves carbuncles and swellings. Drains pus and blood. Opens orifices and expels parasites. Treats ant-creeper sores (Yi Chuang), leprosy-like conditions (Lai), and various zhu diseases (Zhu Ji), scabies, tinea, and malignant ulcers. This creature dwells in burrows in mountains and feeds in water, emerging from yin to enter yang. It can penetrate through collaterals and reach the site of disease. Hence the saying: "Shanjia and Wangbuliuxing; if women consume them, milk flows abundantly," indicating its rapid action. Cease use once the illness is cured; do not overdose.
[Odor and Flavor]
Sweet, cold, non-toxic.
[Indications]
Treats wind-phrenzy (Feng Xian), palpitations due to fright. All diseases caused by evil spirits or strange entities. Bone-steaming heat disorders. Various sores and ulcers. All should be used raw, ground into powder for medicinal use. If iron or other foreign objects are embedded in flesh, scrape ivory powder, mix with water, and apply topically to extract them immediately. When preparing medicines in summer, it is advisable to place elephant tusk nearby to ward off evil, calm the heart, and treat all diseases caused by bewitchment or confusion.
[Odor and Flavor]
Sweet, cold, toxic. Belongs to Yang.
[Indications]
Treats abdominal distension and fullness. Drains edema and fullness caused by twelve types of water qi. If fluid overflows into the chest, this herb is indispensable for elimination. Zhang Zhongjing used it together with Gancao (Glycyrrhizae Radix) to treat retained fluid under the heart, taking advantage of their opposing yet synergistic effects. Additionally, Liu Hejian treated incomplete resolution of edema by applying powder of Kansui Radix (Gansui) around the navel to fill the abdomen, while administering Gancao (Glycyrrhizae Radix) decoction internally, resulting in the reduction of swelling. This also illustrates the principle of contrary treatment.
[Odor and Flavor]
Bitter, neutral-cold, toxic.
[Indications]
Destroys hundred poisons. Ward off hundred evils. Kills gu poison (Gu Du). Wearing it prevents ghosts and spirits from approaching. In forests, tigers and wolves lie still; crossing rivers protects against aquatic toxins. Wearing it in grasslands prevents fear of snakes. Generally, Xionghuang (Realgar) enters the Qi level of the Liver Meridian. Therefore, it is highly effective for liver wind, liver qi stagnation, convulsions, phlegm-drool, headache, dizziness, summerheat malaria, dysentery, and accumulations. It can also transform blood into water. For a patient with an ulcer on the cheek extending to the jaw angle, where external swelling resembles an inverted bowl and internal ulceration discharges pus and blood with unbearable pain, use Xionghuang (Realgar) as the chief herb, assisted by Shidan (Stibnite), Cinnabar (Zhusha), Alum (Fanshi), and Magnetite (Cishi). Calcine for three days and nights. Collect the smoke fumes using a chicken feather and apply into the wound. The necrotic tissue will break down, and dead bone will naturally extrude. Xionghuang (Realgar) and Cihuang (Orpiment) originate from the same source but differ due to receiving qi from different aspects of the mountain's yin and yang. Practitioners of longevity value Xionghuang (Realgar) for its pure yang essence. Cihuang (Orpiment) contains yin qi, is extremely cold, and is not used in medicine.