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[Flavor and Nature]
Sweet, warm, non-toxic.

[Indications]
Greatly tonifies Yin Qi. Benefits essence and blood. Relaxes the bowels. For deficient individuals with dry stool constipation, consuming it can substitute for Cistanche (Rou Cong Rong). Do not use if there is no dryness/constipation.

(Use thick purple cassia bark. Remove the inner and outer skins. Take the middle part which has a pungent flavor for use.)

[Flavor and Nature]
Bitter, pungent, non-toxic. It is Yang within Yang, light and floating in nature. Enters the Blood aspect of the Hand Shaoyin Meridian.

[Indications]
Treats all wind-pathogens. Tonifies the five consumptive diseases and seven injuries. Opens the nine orifices. Benefits the joints. Brightens the eyes by benefiting essence. Warms the lower back and knees. Treats wind-bi syndrome with joint contracture.
Reinforces sinews and bones. Generates flesh and muscle. Resolves blood stasis. Breaks up abdominal masses (Fu and Jia). Internally supports carbuncles, sores, and smallpox lesions. Can guide blood to transform into sweat or pus. Antidotes viper and pit viper venom.

[Flavor and Nature]
Bitter, sweet, pungent, very hot, toxic.

[Indications]
Propagates the medicinal power. Kills various evil toxins and miasmas. Unblocks blood vessels. Thickens the intestines and stomach. Moisturizes the skin. Nourishes the Spleen and supports the Liver. Stops pain in the lower back and knees. However, its pungent flavor disperses, bitter flavor purges downward, and sweet flavor moderates from the center. Used as a guiding agent, it can circulate through the whole body and reach the highest parts. The bland flavor promotes urination and causes rapid downward movement. However, drinking in moderation harmonizes Qi and blood, strengthens spirit, wards off cold, relieves sorrow, and stimulates interest. Drinking excessively damages spirit and consumes blood. People in the North who are addicted to drinking generate phlegm and stir up fire. Sleeping drunk in the wind leads to vitiligo (Dian Feng). Bathing in cold water while drunk leads to painful bi syndrome. Taking cinnabar pills and drinking alcohol draws the medicinal qi into the four limbs, where stagnant blood transforms into carbuncles. Eating mustard after drinking relaxes the sinews and bones. Drinking tea after drinking alcohol damages the Kidneys, causing heavy and sore waist and legs, cold pain in the bladder, and concomitant diseases such as phlegm-fluid retention, edema, thirst, convulsions, and pain. All poisons that are facilitated by alcohol are difficult to treat. Wine that casts no shadow when poured cannot be drunk. Sacrificial wine that evaporates on its own cannot be drunk. Alcohol is resolved by salt because water controls fire; the nature of alcohol rises while salt moistens downward. Alcohol is resolved by Kudzia flower powder and mung bean powder because cold overcomes dampness.

[Flavor and Nature]
Pungent, sweet, very hot, highly toxic.

[Indications]
Pungent and sweet flavors can ascend, spread, and disperse. Its qi is dry and fierce. It overcomes dampness and dispels cold, thereby opening stagnation and resolving accumulations. It unblocks esophageal obstruction and dissipates phlegm-fluid. It treats diarrhea-type malaria and stops abdominal pain. Pungent flavor first enters the Lung, regulating water passages and promoting urination. Heat generates fire and melts metal; when the Large Intestine undergoes punishment (by heat), it causes dry stool constipation. Drinking it in summer months brings relief to the chest and diaphragm. Washing red eyes with it causes tears to flow, swelling to subside, and redness to dissipate. These are all methods of contrary treatment, essentially agents that seize and control the pathogen. However, its nature is extremely dry and fierce; if consumed excessively without restraint, it damages the Stomach, injures the Gallbladder, and burns the Heart. Many people are addicted to drinking. Commercially available liquor often contains added arsenic, aconite, and chili ash, which further promote yang, heat, dryness, and aid in drawing out these effects. It is up to those skilled in health preservation to exercise caution and moderation.