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(Song Dynasty *Jiayou Bencao*)
[Names] Milk cake.
[Collected Explanations] Li Shizhen said: Milk from various animals can be used to make milk cakes, but nowadays only those made from cow's milk are considered superior. The *Xian Shen Yin Shu* records the method for making milk cakes as follows:
Take one dou (a unit of volume) of cow's milk, filter it through silk gauze into a cauldron, and boil it three to five times until water evaporates. Add vinegar to coagulate it, similar to the method for making tofu, allowing it to gradually form curds. Strain out the curds, wrap them in cloth, press them with stones to shape them, add salt, and store them in earthenware jars at the bottom. Another method for making milk balls is recorded: Boil five sheng (a unit of volume) of fermented milk, add half a sheng of cold sour rice water, which will cause it to spontaneously form curds. If not fully formed, add another cup of sour water. Once fully formed, wrap in cloth, squeeze, and shape like milk cakes, then store. Another method for making milk threads: Place cow's milk in a basin and expose it to sunlight until clear water appears on the edges. Heat it, then use acidic yogurt water to coagulate it. Strain out, rub and knead several times, pull into chunks, and boil again in a cauldron. Take out, roll into thin sheets, roll around bamboo skewers several times to set, dry in the sun, and fry in oil before eating.
[Flavor and Properties] Sweet, slightly cold, non-toxic. Meng Xuan said: Water buffalo milk is cool.
[Indications] Moistens the five zang organs, promotes urination and defecation, benefits the twelve meridians. (Meng Xuan noted it may slightly move qi). Treats bloody and white dysentery; cut into bean-sized pieces, mix with flour, boil in sour rice water for over twenty boils, and take in one dose. It is even more effective for children (Xiao Bing).
[Additional Prescriptions] One new prescription. For persistent bloody dysentery: One liang of fermented milk curd, one zhong of sour rice water, decoct and drink. (*Puji Fang*)

(*Shennong Bencao Jing*, Upper Grade)
[Names] Fuzhi Jiao (Fu Zhi Glue) (*Ben Jing*). Tao Hongjing said: It originates from Dong'e, hence the name Ejiao. Li Shizhen said: A Well is located 60 li northeast of Yanggu County, Yanzhou Prefecture, Shandong Province, which was ancient Dong'e County. There are official residences guarding it. Li Daoyuan stated in *Shui Jing Zhu*: "Dong'e has a well as large as a wheel, six or seven zhang deep, where glue is boiled annually for tribute to the imperial court." This refers to that well. The well water is fed by the Ji River. Using this well water to boil glue clarifies turbid water when stirred. Therefore, human consumption can resolve phlegm obstruction in the diaphragm and stop vomiting. This is because Ji River water is clear and heavy, with a downward tendency, thus treating turbidity and rebellious phlegm.
[Collected Explanations] *Bie Lu* states: Ejiao comes from Dong'e County, Dongping Commandery, made by boiling cowhide. Tao Hongjing said: It can also be made in the Eastern Capital (Luoyang). The hides vary in age, and the glue varies in clarity. During boiling, adding one piece of deer horn is necessary for the glue to set; otherwise, it fails. There are three types of glue: clear and thin glue is used by painters; clear and thick glue, named Fupen Jiao, is used medicinally; turbid and black glue is not used medicinally but only for adhesion. Su Song said: Yuncheng Prefecture can also produce it; glue made with well water north of Dong'e County town is authentic. That well is officially guarded, so authentic glue is rare, and much sold is fake. Glue made from black donkey hide with A Well water is best. Nowadays, physicians often use Huangming Jiao, mostly made from cowhide; *Ben Jing* Ejiao also used cowhide, so these two hides are interchangeable. However, modern cowhide glue is not refined enough, suitable only for adhesion, not for medicine. Chen Cangqi said all glues treat wind, stop diarrhea, and tonify deficiency, but donkey hide glue is best for wind, which is why Ejiao surpasses other glues. Li Shizhen said: For making various glues, from October to February/March, using yellow cattle, water buffalo, or donkey hides is superior; pig, horse, mule, or camel hides are secondary; old hides, shoes, etc., are inferior. Use raw hides, soak in water for four to five days, wash and scrape extremely clean. Boil while stirring constantly, adding water frequently. Until rotten, filter the juice and boil again into glue, pour into basins to cool and solidify. The part near the bottom is called Ben Jiao. The taste of the boiling water should be salty and bitter. Generally, ancient formulas used mostly cowhide, while later generations prized donkey hide. Fake ones are mixed with horsehide, old leather, saddles, boots, etc., having a turbid, foul odor, unsuitable for medicine. Authentic ones should be yellow and transparent like amber, or shiny black like lacquer. Authentic ones do not stick to teeth.
[Preparation] Tao Hongjing said: All are roasted over fire. An unnamed physician said: Before use, soak in lard overnight, take out, roast dry over willow wood fire, and grind. Li Shizhen said: Current methods include roasting into beads, frying with flour, roasting with butter, frying with clam powder, frying with ash, dissolving in wine into paste, or dissolving in water into paste. Follow the specific prescription requirements.
[Flavor and Properties] Sweet, neutral, non-toxic. *Bie Lu* says: Slightly warm. Zhang Yuansu said: Nature is neutral, flavor is light, Qi and flavor are both thin, floating and ascending, belonging to Yang. Enters the Hand Taiyin Lung Meridian, Foot Shaoyin Kidney Meridian, and Foot Jueyin Liver Meridian. Benefits from fire. Radix Dioscoreae Hypoglauca (Shuyu) guides it. Incompatible with Rhubarb (Dahuang).
[Indications] Internal bleeding in the heart and abdomen, severe exhaustion with chills resembling malaria, lower back and abdominal pain, soreness in limbs, uterine bleeding, calms the fetus. Long-term use lightens the body and boosts Qi (*Ben Jing*). Lower abdominal pain in men, consumptive emaciation, insufficiency of Yin Qi, leg soreness preventing prolonged standing, nourishes Liver Qi (*Bie Lu*). Strengthens sinews and bones, boosts Qi, stops dysentery (*Yaoxing Lun*. Su Song added: Stops diarrhea/dysentery, especially good with Coptis (Huanglian) and beeswax). Treats hematemesis, epistaxis, bloody strangury, hematuria, intestinal wind dysentery. Women's blood pain, blood dryness, irregular menstruation, infertility, metrorrhagia with leukorrhea, and various pre- and postpartum diseases. Wind diseases in men and women, joint pain, edema due to water qi, consumptive cough and asthma, lung abscess with pus and blood, carbuncles and sores. Harmonizes blood, nourishes Yin, dispels wind, moistens dryness, transforms phlegm, clears lungs, promotes urination, regulates intestines. It is a sacred medicine (Li Shizhen).
[Elucidation] Chen Cangqi said: All glues treat wind, stop diarrhea, and tonify deficiency, but donkey hide glue is best for wind. Kou Zongshi said: Donkey hide glue is used for its ability to disperse pathogens outside the skin. Black color is chosen because black corresponds to Water, controlling heat that generates wind, similar to black snake, crow, or black chicken. Li Shizhen said: The main function of Ejiao is to tonify blood and fluids, thus clearing lungs and benefiting Yin to treat various conditions. According to Chen Ziming: Tonify deficiency with cowhide glue; dispel wind with donkey hide glue. Cheng Wuji said: For Yin insufficiency, tonify with flavor; Ejiao's sweetness tonifies Yin blood. Regardless of Lung deficiency or excess, whether purging or warming, Ejiao must be used to calm and moisten the lungs. Its nature is peaceful, making it an essential drug for the Lung meridian. For children with abnormal pupil alignment after convulsions, doubling the dosage of Ginseng (Renshen) with Ejiao in decoction is best. Ejiao nurtures the Spirit (Shen), Ginseng boosts Qi. Dysentery often results from summerheat and latent heat; Ejiao is an essential drug for the Large Intestine. It can guide out stagnant heat toxins or maintain peace if no heat toxin is present. These explanations sufficiently elucidate the profound effects of Ejiao.
[Additional Prescriptions] Five old prescriptions, fourteen new prescriptions. Flaccidity and hemiplegia: Treats flaccidity and various wind syndromes, limb paralysis, weak waist and legs. Lightly roast donkey hide glue. First decoct scallion and fermented soybean porridge (one sheng), set aside. Decoct fragrant fermented soybeans (two he) in water (one sheng), remove dregs, add glue, boil seven times until glue melts like syrup, take in one dose. Drink the scallion porridge while warm. Repeat three to four doses to stop. Cold porridge causes vomiting (*Guangji Fang*).
Lung wind with panting: Saliva flooding, eyes protruding. Use transparent Ejiao, chopped and fried, equal parts purple perilla (Zisu) and smoked plum meat (beaten and ground), decoct in water and drink (*Zhizhi Fang*). Elderly constipation due to deficiency: Two qian of Ejiao (fried), three scallion whites. Decoct in water, dissolve, add two spoons of honey, take warm. Bladder torsion with strangury: Three liang of Ejiao, two sheng of water, decoct to obtain seven he, take warm (*Qianjin Fang*). Bloody and white dysentery: Coptis-Ejiao Pills: Treats gastrointestinal Qi deficiency, cold-heat imbalance, bloody/white dysentery, tenesmus, abdominal pain, thirst, difficult urination. One liang of Ejiao (fried, dissolved in water into paste), three liang of Coptis (Huanglian), two liang of Poria (Fuling). Grind into powder, make pills the size of mustard seeds. Take fifty pills per dose with millet soup, three times daily (*Heji Jufang*). Persistent hematemesis: *Qianjin Yi Fang*: Two liang of Ejiao (fried), six he of Polygonatum (Puhuang), three sheng of Rehmannia (Shengdihuang), five sheng of water, decoct to three sheng, divide into three doses. *Jingyan Fang*: Treats adult and pediatric hematemesis. Use Ejiao (...text missing)...
Lung damage with vomiting blood and opening stomach: Three qian of Ejiao (fried), one qian of Aucklandia (Muxiang), one and a half he of glutinous rice. Grind into powder. Take one qian per dose, brew with boiling water, add one he of fresh Rehmannia juice, decoct to six parts, take warm. Quickly tie both breasts with cloth (*Shenghui Fang*). Irregular menstruation: One qian of Ejiao, fried with clam powder into beads, ground into powder, taken with hot wine brings immediate relief. Another formula adds half a qian of Cinnabar (Chensha) powder. Menorrhagia: Ejiao fried until charred, ground into powder, taken with wine, two qian per dose (*Mi Yun*). Hematuria during pregnancy: Ejiao fried yellow, ground into powder, taken with porridge drink before meals, two qian per dose (*Shenghui Fang*). Bloody dysentery during pregnancy: Two liang of Ejiao, one and a half sheng of wine, decoct to one sheng, take in one dose (*Yangshi Chanru*). Persistent bleeding during pregnancy: Three liang of Ejiao, roasted and ground, dissolved in one and a half sheng of wine, one dose cures. Another formula: Two liang of Ejiao powder, half a jin of fresh Rehmannia crushed for juice, add three sheng of clear wine, strain juice, divide into three doses (*Meishi Fang*). Fetal movement during pregnancy: *Shanfan Fang*: Two liang of Ejiao (roasted and ground), one sheng of fragrant fermented soybeans, one sheng of scallion, three sheng of water, decoct ingredients to obtain one sheng, melt glue in it and drink. *Chanbao* Jiao'ai Tang: Two liang of Ejiao (fried), two liang of prepared Mugwort (Aiyè), one sheng of scallion whites. Four sheng of water, decoct to one and a half sheng, divide into two warm doses. Postpartum deficiency and weakness: One liang each of Ejiao (fried) and Bitter Orange (Zhike/fried), two and a half qian of Talcum (Huashi). Grind into powder, make pills the size of paulownia seeds with honey. Take fifty pills per dose with warm water. If bowels remain unopened, take again (*Heji Jufang*). Chronic cough lasting years: Two liang each of Ejiao (fried) and Ginseng (Renshen), ground into powder. Use three qian per dose, decoct with soybean tea, a few scallion whites, take three times daily (*Shengji Zonglu*)