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[Ranked as Middle Grade in *Mingyi Bielu*]
**Names:** Late Silkworm (from *Ri Hua Bencao*), Wei Silkworm (from *Fangyan*).
Tao Hongjing stated: The Yuan silkworm is reared for a second time, commonly called the Wei silkworm by folk.
Su Song stated: The character "Yuan" implies repetition and agility/speed; this refers to the second batch of silkworms.
Li Shizhen stated: According to Zheng Xuan's commentary on *Zhou Li*: "Yuan means again." It refers to those reared a second time. Guo Pu's commentary on *Fangyan* states: "Wei means fine/small," a term used by people in Qin and Jin regions. This has now evolved into "Er Can" (Second Silkworm), which is correct. *Yongjia Ji* records: In that commandery, silkworms appear from March to October, totaling eight generations. The silkworm seed is called KT, the second rearing is called Zhen, and the offspring of Zhen is called Ai.

**Collection and Explanation:** Su Song stated: The Yuan silkworm is widely reared in southeastern provinces. It is a re-raised silkworm, vulgarly known as the Late Silkworm. People in the North do not rear them much. *Zhou Li* prohibits the rearing of Yuan silworms. Zheng Kangcheng commented: Silkworms are born with Fire and stored in Autumn, sharing the same Qi as horses. Things cannot both grow large simultaneously; thus, the rearing of Yuan silkworms is prohibited because it harms horses. However, since people rarely rear them, those sold are mostly early moths, which are unusable.
Tao Hongjing stated: Powdered Jiangcan (僵蚕,僵化的蚕尸体) applied to horse teeth prevents them from eating grass. Wiping it off with mulberry leaves restores their ability to eat. This shows that silkworms and horses are of the same category.
Li Shizhen stated: Horses share Qi with Dragons, hence the term Longma (Dragon-Horse). Since silkworms share Qi with horses, silkworms have dragon heads and horse heads. This is why people in Shu call the ancestor of silkworms Matouniang (Horse-Head Lady). Enthusiasts attached this theory, claiming a horse skin wrapped around a woman transformed into a silkworm in a mulberry tree; this is erroneous. Northerners value horses, so they prohibit rearing. In the South, where there are no horses, silkworms may be reared two or three times a year, or even emerge seven or eight times. However, ancient kings extended benevolence to all things, likely unwilling to let silkworms be boiled alive twice a year and to avoid hindering agricultural work, not solely due to harm to horses or damage to mulberry trees!

**Male Yuan Silkworm Moth**
**Flavor and Nature:** Salty, Warm, slightly toxic.
Li Shizhen stated: Consulting Xu Zhicai's *Yaodui*: Hot nature, non-toxic. For medicinal use, stir-fry and remove wings and legs before use.
**Indications:** Tonifies essence and Qi, strengthens sexual function, prevents fatigue during intercourse, and stops seminal emission (*Mingyi Bielu*). Strengthens yang, stops leakage of semen and hematuria, warms the lower jiao organs, treats sudden wind pathogens, metallic wounds, frostbite, scalds, and burns, and eliminates scars (Li Shizhen added).
**Elucidation:**
Su Song stated: Use the second-batch silkworm moth for its agile reproductive capacity.
Li Shizhen stated: Silkworm moths are naturally lustful; they mate immediately upon emerging from the cocoon until they wither away. Hence, they are used to strengthen yin and benefit essence.
**Correction of Errors:**
Su Song stated: Currently, to treat pediatric mouth-locking (Cuokou) and jaw-clenching (Jinyin), take two late silkworm moths, roast until yellow, powder them, mix with honey, and apply inside the lips for cure.
Li Shizhen stated: This prescription comes from *Taiping Shenghui Fang*, but it actually refers to Baijiangcan (White Stiff Silkworm). Su cited it as silkworm moth, which is an error. There is no original text stating silkworm moth treats convulsions/wind-stroke; this is corrected here.
**Attached Prescriptions:** Two old, eight new.
**Male Impotence:** Take two sheng of unshelled silkworm moths, remove head, wings, and legs, stir-fry and powder. Form pills the size of wutong seeds with honey. Take one pill nightly to enhance sexual stamina. Stop/temper with Calamus wine (*Qianjin Fang*).
**Spermatorrhea and White Turbidity:** Roast dry late silkworm moths, remove wings and legs, powder. Form pills the size of mung beans with rice paste. Take 40 pills each time, washed down with light salt water. Keep these pills roasted over fire to prevent moisture and rot (*Tang Shi Fang*).
**Painful Hematuria:** Powder late silkworm moths, take 2 qian with hot wine (*Shenghui Fang*).
**Pediatric Mouth Ulcers and Wind Gan Ulcers:** *Gongqi Fang*: Powder late silkworm moths and apply topically; excellent effect. *Puji Fang*: Treats pediatric mouth ulcers and ulcers within 100 days of birth. Add a small amount of Moschus (She Xiang) and sprinkle on the lesion.
**Stop Bleeding and Generate Flesh:** Can'e San (Silkworm Moth Powder): Treats knife/axe wounds with bleeding like an arrow. Stir-fry late silkworm moths to powder, apply externally to stop bleeding instantly; very effective (*Shengjin Fang*).
**Metallic Wounds from Knives/Axes:** At noon on the Dragon Boat Festival, collect late silkworm moths, Duan Shi (Hammered Iron Sulfate), and Maohua (Foxtail Millet Flowers). Pound into a ball, cover with grass to allow it to heat up excessively, then store. When using, scrape off powder and apply to the wound.
**Bamboo Splinter Embedded in Flesh:** On the fifth day of the fifth month, place live late silkworm moths in a bamboo tube to dry and die naturally. Powder them. Take a small amount, mix with saliva, and apply (*Bianmin Tucuan*).
**Snake Bite:** Grind fresh silkworm moths and apply topically (*Bixiao Fang*).
**Ulcer at Yuzhen Point:** An ulcer appearing above the occipital bone like a carbuncle, breaking out like a chopstick tip. Use equal parts Yuan Can'e (stir-fried) and Shiwei (Pyrola Decumbens Leaf), powder them. Apply dry until cured (*Shengji Zonglu*).

**Yuan Can Sha (Silkworm Frass)**
Su Song stated: Both Can Sha and Can'e are best when sourced from late batches.
Li Shizhen stated: Can Sha should be sun-dried, washed clean, and sun-dried again for long-term storage without spoilage.
**Flavor and Nature:** Sweet, Pungent, Warm, non-toxic.
Li Shizhen stated: Fu Sha, Yan Xiao, Fen Shuang.
**Indications:** Intestinal borborygmus, middle-jiao heat with polydipsia, wind-bi urticaria, stubborn skin numbness, chronic cold in abdomen, weak legs, stubborn skin numbness (Chen Cangqi added). Treats polydipsia with mass formation, women's metrorrhagia, cephalalgia due to wind, red eyes due to wind, dispels wind and removes dampness (Li Shizhen compiled).
**Elucidation:**
Tao Hongjing stated: Can Sha is included in many prescriptions, not just for warming compresses against wind.
Su Song stated: Silkworm frass fed to cattle can replace grain. Mix five dou of Can Sha with three sheng of strong wine, steam in a steamer, spread on oil cloth in a warm room. Let patients suffering from wind-cold bi syndrome or recent paralysis lie on one side on the sand, cover thickly to induce sweating. For deficient patients, prevent overheating and fainting by exposing the head and face. If not fully cured, repeat every other day.
Li Shizhen stated: Silkworms belong to Fire; their nature is dry. Dryness overcomes wind and removes dampness; thus, Can Sha mainly treats wind-damp diseases. Someone with wind-bi recovered using this warming compress method. According to *Chen Shi Jingyan Fang*: Yi Mo Gao: Treats rotten margin wind eye. Soak real sesame oil with Can Sha for two to three nights, grind finely, and apply with a comb. Over the past ten years, I have tried this, curing it in two or three applications; its merit lies in dispelling wind and absorbing dampness. Also, mix with juice from mulberry wood ash leachate, boil turtle meat to make pills, treating abdominal masses; see the entry for Turtle Meat. Li Jihua said: Wine brewed with Can Sha has a clear color and pleasant taste, and also cures diseases.
**Attached Prescriptions:** Four old, six new.
**Hemiplegia:** Two shuo of Can Sha, placed in two bags, steamed until cooked. Alternate applying hot compresses to the affected area. Also, cook porridge with sheep stomach and japonica rice, eat one per day, stop after ten days (*Qianjin Fang*).
**Wind Urticaria Itching into Ulcers:** Boil one sheng of Can Sha in two dou of water until reduced to one dou two sheng. Strain and bathe. Avoid wind (*Shenghui Fang*).
**Cephalalgia with White Dandruff and Itching:** Burn Can Sha to ash, leach with water, and wash (*Shenghui Fang*).
**Eye Obstructed by Debris:** Pick clean Can Sha, swallow ten pieces whole with freshly drawn water on an empty stomach. Do not chew (*Shenghui Fang*).
**Polydipsia:** Roast dry late Can Sha to powder. Take 2 qian with cold water; a few doses suffice (*Doumen Fang*).
**Women's Metrorrhagia:** Powder Can Sha, take 3-5 qian with wine (*Rumen Shiqin*).
**Long-standing Amenorrhea:** Stir-fry 4 liang of Can Sha in a clay pot until half-yellow. Add one hu of pure wine, boil, clarify to remove sand. Take one zhan warm each time to restore menstruation.
**Gender Transformation (Historical Belief):** When a woman first feels pregnant, take one piece of Yuan Can Shi (frass), wash down well-water, three times daily (*Qianjin Fang*).
**Dislocations and Joint Displacements:** 4 liang Can Sha (stir-fried yellow), 4 liang Mung Bean Powder (stir-fried yellow), 2.4 qian Alum (Ku Fan). Powder them. Mix with vinegar, apply, and bind with silk cloth. Change dressing three times.
**Intractable Heart Pain in Men and Women:** Take 1 liang late Can Sha, soak in boiling water, filter cleanly, drink the clear liquid; pain stops immediately (*Ruizhutang Fang*).