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[Preparation and Fermentation] Resolving Kidney Heat and Eliminating Intestinal Dryness

The melon (a variant of the vegetable melon. Its shape resembles a pillow. When raw, it is sliced, pickled, sun-dried, and stored as a vegetable. When cooked, the flesh becomes loose and not fatty, so it cannot be eaten as an ordinary vegetable.) After being pickled in sauce and sun-dried. [Its therapeutic action specifically enters the Stomach and Intestines, and secondarily enters the Kidney.] The aroma and flavor are not very warm. According to books, its taste is salty and sweet, its nature is cold and toxic. It treats dysentery, regulates the intestines, and stops thirst. It should not be eaten in excess; this statement is not incorrect. This is likely because the sauce, after steaming and fermenting, causes damp-heat to accumulate internally, and toxicity naturally arises. The melon's nature is sweet and cold; when combined with sauce, its cold property can descend effectively. Therefore, symptoms of thirst and heat are resolved by it; dryness of the intestines and stomach is moistened by it. Moreover, since it excels at stimulating appetite and does not cause weariness even with daily consumption, dampness accumulates internally, and cold generates from this. Thus, it is advised to consume it in moderation and not in excess, to prevent diseases arising unpredictably.

[Soft and Smooth] Moistening the Intestines and Nourishing the Skin

Taro (Its therapeutic action specifically enters the Stomach and Intestines.) There are many varieties. [There are six types: Qing taro, Zi taro, Zhen taro, Bai taro, Lianchan taro, and Ye taro. Ye taro is also called Lao taro. Its shape and leaves resemble those of common taro; if grown from a single root, it is highly toxic and can be fatal, so it must not be eaten. It is also known as Tuzhi or Dunci. There are water-grown and land-grown varieties. Water-grown ones have better taste. Its stems make excellent soup. People in Zhejiang extract the soup to make maltose, called Wuhua Tang. Li Shizhen stated: Taro usually does not flower, but sometimes flowers in July or August, sending up a stem with yellow flowers, protected by a long spathe on one side, resembling half a lotus flower.] According to books describing its functions, some say that raw usage can treat abdominal masses (Pi Qi). [Method: Use one jin of raw taro, crush it, soak in five jin of wine for twenty-seven days. Drink one dou on an empty stomach; the effect is miraculous.] It treats soft boils on the head. [Method: Crush large taro and apply externally; it dries quickly.] Cooked usage can satisfy hunger and nourish the skin. [Dry and store after October. Eating it in winter does not cause illness, but it has slight toxicity. It must be boiled with ginger, then boiled again in fresh water before eating.] It detoxifies and alleviates smallpox. [Beneficial for children.] Eaten cold, it stops thirst, generates fluids, relieves itching and fever-induced irritability, unblocks the intestines, resolves stagnation, and harmonizes blood. Consumption moves Qi downward and expands the middle Jiao. Boiled juice given to postpartum women breaks blood stasis and promotes circulation. Bathing the body with it treats wandering wind pathogens. Burned to ash, it treats sores affected by wind pathogens. [For swelling and pain, apply taro ash; change when dry.] However, raw taro irritates the throat, while cooked taro is slippery and cloying. [Its slipperiness can help expel stone toxins.] Therefore, books record that excessive consumption inevitably leads to moving Qi, inducing cold diarrhea, and difficulties in digestion! As for taro leaves and stems, their taste is pungent, cold, and slippery. Their function is to relieve irritability and stop diarrhea, treat restlessness and faintness during pregnancy, restless fetus, and externally apply to snake or insect bites causing carbuncles and toxic pain, as well as ulcerated smallpox. [Burn stems to ash for application to smallpox to prevent scarring; dry taro seedlings, preserve their nature by partial burning, grind, and apply. Shen Wei stated: Shen Kuo's *Bitan* records that scholar Liu Yang, living in seclusion on Mount Wangwu, saw a spider bitten by a bee fall to the ground, its abdomen swollen and about to burst. He slowly entered the grass, bit open a taro stem, and rubbed the wound against the bitten area for a long time until the abdomen returned to normal. This method proved effective for bee stings thereafter.] Wild taro's shape and leaves resemble common taro. If common taro is left unharvested for three years, it transforms into wild taro, which is also lethal. If consumed, one should drink earth slurry, manure juice, or soybean juice to detoxify.