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[Classified as Upper Grade in *Shennong Bencao Jing*]
【Names】 Li Shizhen states: "Li" (Castanea mollissima), written as "KT" in *Shuowen Jiezi*, with the radical "Tiao" (sound tiáo), depicts the shape of flowers and fruits hanging down. The Sanskrit name is Dujia.

【Collection and Explanation】 *Bielu* states: Chestnuts grow on the shady side of mountains and are harvested in the ninth month.
Tao Hongjing states: Currently, chestnuts from Zhuji in Kuaiji are large but have thick skin and poor taste; those from Shan and Shifeng have thin skin and are sweet, which are excellent.
Su Song states: Chestnuts are found everywhere, but those from Yanzhou and Xuanzhou are the best. The tree is two to three zhang high, and its leaves closely resemble those of the oak. It blooms in the fourth month with yellowish-green flowers; the long catkins resemble walnut flowers. The fruit has a burr enclosing it; large ones are fist-sized with three to five nuts inside; small ones are like plums or peaches with one or two nuts inside. When nearly ripe, the burr splits open to reveal the nuts. There are many varieties of chestnuts. According to Lu Ji's commentary on the *Classic of Poetry*: Chestnuts are found in all directions, especially abundant in Zhou, Qin, Wu, and Yang regions. Only those from Puyang and Fanyang are sweet and flavorful, surpassing others. Chestnuts from islands in Japan and Korea are egg-sized, short-tasted, and not delicious. Guiyang has Shenli, which grows in clusters, with fruits the size of apricot kernels; the skin and nut color/shape are identical to chestnuts but smaller. There is also Aoli, identical to chestnuts, with round and fine nuts, found only in the Jianghu region; some say it is Shenli. "Shen" sounds like "Zhen"; the *Poetry* says "planting Shen and Li," referring to this.
Kou Zongshi states: Both Banli (Chestnut) and Zhuli (Cone Chestnut) trees are large. Maoli resembles Banli but is as small as acorns; although the tree is small, the leaves are no different, except that it leaves out in spring, flowers in summer, bears fruit in autumn, and withers in winter.
Kou Zongshi states: In Hubei, there is a type called Xuanli, round at the top and pointed at the bottom, which is Zhenli, resembling hazelnuts. To dry chestnuts for storage, sun-drying is best; to keep them fresh, storing them in moist sand is best, remaining fresh until early summer.
Li Shizhen states: Chestnuts can be grown from seeds but cannot be transplanted. According to *Shilei Hebi*: The chestnut tree is two to three zhang high; the burrs are hairy and thorny, with four to five per branch, appearing in green, yellow, or red colors. The nuts inside may be single, double, triple, or quadruple. The shell is yellow when raw and purple when ripe; a membrane inside wraps the kernel. They ripen after the frost in September. Nuts that fall naturally after the burr splits can be stored for a long time, while those from unsplit burrs rot easily. Its flowers form catkins, thick as chopstick heads and four to five cun long, which can be used for lamp wicks. The largest variety is Banli; the flat central nut is called Liwei. Slightly smaller ones are Shanli (Mountain Chestnut). Round and pointed Shanli are Zhuli. Round and acorn-sized ones are Shenli. Finger-tip sized ones are Maoli, referred to in *Erya* as a certain type of li, also known as another type of li, suitable for roasting. Liu Xun's *Lingbiao Lu Yi* states: There are no chestnuts in Lingnan. Only Qinzhou mountain has Shili (Stone Chestnut), which takes a year to ripen, is bullet-sized, has thick skin, and tastes like walnuts. Is it because chestnuts are fruits unsuitable for hot southern climates?

【Nature and Flavor】 Salty, warm, non-toxic.
Meng Shen states: Wu chestnuts, though large, have short flavor and are inferior to northern chestnuts. Sun-dried chestnuts consumed lower qi and tonify; otherwise, they retain wood qi and do not tonify. Roasting removes moisture and eliminates water qi. Raw consumption generates qi; steamed or roasted cooked consumption stagnates qi. Those suffering from Fengshui (wind-water disease) should avoid eating them, as salty flavors generate water.
Su Gong states: Chestnut flour is superior to water caltrop and Chinese lotus seed for consumption; however, feeding it exclusively to children may prevent teeth eruption.
Kou Zongshi states: Children should not eat too many. Raw chestnuts are hard to digest; cooked ones stagnate qi, leading to food stagnation and parasites, often causing illness.

【Indications】 Tonifies qi, thickens the stomach and intestines, tonifies kidney qi, and increases satiety (*Bielu*).
Raw consumption treats inability to move the waist and legs (Sun Simiao). Treats broken bones and joints, swelling, pain, and blood stasis; chewed raw and applied externally, it is effective (Su Gong).

Liwei (Sound: xie) Li Shizhen states: Among three nuts in one burr, the flat one is Liwei.
【Indications】 Treats wind-pain in bones and tendons (Shiliang). Particularly effective for invigorating blood (Su Song states: currently used in Hengshan for Huoxue Dan). Eating seven raw daily breaks up cold accumulations and masses. Chewing raw expels foreign bodies like thorns and arrowheads, and applies to scrofula, swelling, toxic pain, and sores (Daming).

【Elucidation】 Sun Simiao states: Chestnuts are the fruit of the Kidney. Kidney diseases benefit from their consumption.
Tao Hongjing states: It is said that someone suffering from weak waist and legs ate several sheng of chestnuts under a chestnut tree and could then walk. This illustrates the principle of tonifying the kidney, but they should be eaten raw. If taken as a medicinal tonic, steaming and drying are appropriate.
Kou Zongshi states: Chestnuts tonify the kidney due to their salty flavor, but their qi is stagnant.
Li Shizhen states: Among the five fruits, chestnuts belong to Water. In years of flooding, chestnuts fail to ripen, demonstrating correspondence. For someone with internal cold and sudden profuse diarrhea, eating twenty to thirty roasted chestnuts cured them instantly. The Kidney governs defecation; chestnuts unblock the Kidney, verifying this. *Jingyan Houfang* treats kidney deficiency causing weak waist and legs by hanging raw chestnuts in a bag to air-dry; eating over ten each morning followed by pork kidney porridge leads to robust health over time. Generally, air-dried chestnuts are better than sun-dried, and fire-roasted/oil-fried are better than boiled/steamed. They must be chewed finely and swallowed with juice to be beneficial. Eating until full damages the spleen. Su Zhe's poem says: "Growing old, I added weakness to waist and legs; / The mountain elder follows an old recipe of chestnuts. / Guests come, telling of morning rise and evening rest, / Three swallows slowly gather white jade pulp." This captures the secret of eating chestnuts. Wang Zhen's *Nongshu* cites *Records of the Grand Historian*: During Qin famine, Marquis Ying requested distributing dates and chestnuts from the Five Gardens. Thus, the claims in Materia Medica that chestnuts thicken the gut, tonify kidney qi, and increase satiety are likely not empty words.

【Attached Prescriptions】 Three old, five new.
Pediatric gan syndrome sores: Chew raw chestnuts and apply externally (*Waitai Mifa*).
Reed splinter in flesh: Same method as above.
Sore caused by horse sweat entering flesh: Same method as above (*Shengjin Fang*).
Sore caused by horse bite: Roast a single chestnut, grind into powder, and apply (*Yishuo*).
Bear or tiger claw wound: Chew chestnuts and apply (*Zhouhou Beiji Fang*).
Pediatric mouth sores: Cook large chestnuts thoroughly and feed daily; very effective (*Puji Fang*).
Unstopping epistaxis: Take seven large Xuanzhou chestnuts, prick them, roast with skin until carbonized (preserving nature), remove fire toxicity, add a little musk, and grind evenly. Take two qian each time, washed down with warm water (*Shengji Zonglu*).
Metal blade or axe wounds: Grind a single-shell large chestnut and apply, or chew and apply in emergencies (*Jijian Fang*).

Li Nei Pi (Sound: fu) Su Gong states: The thin inner skin of the chestnut.
【Nature and Flavor】 Sweet, neutral, astringent, non-toxic.
【Indications】 Crush into powder, mix with honey, and apply to face to make skin smooth and quickly remove wrinkles (Su Gong).

【Attached Prescriptions】 Two new.
Bone stuck in throat: Roast the inner skin of chestnuts until carbonized, grind into powder, and blow into the throat to dislodge. *Shengji Zonglu*: Use half liang of the upper skin of chestnut meat (ground), one fish liver, and two and a half qian of frankincense; pound together and make pills the size of wutong seeds. Depending on the depth of the bone, tie a pill with thread wrapped in cotton, swallow moistened, and pull the thread to extract it.

Li Ke (The black shell of the chestnut)
【Nature and Flavor】 Same as Li Nei Pi.
【Indications】 Treats regurgitation and thirst (xiao ke); boil juice and drink (Meng Shen). Boil juice and drink to stop bloody diarrhea (Daming).

【Attached Prescriptions】 One new.
Unstopping epistaxis, ineffective after multiple doctors' treatments. Roast chestnut shells until carbonized, grind into powder, take two qian with rice gruel (*Shenghui Fang*).

Mao Qiu (The spiny outer husk of the chestnut)
【Indications】 Boil juice and wash huodan toxic swelling (Su Gong).

Flower
【Indications】 Scrofula (Wu Rui).

Tree Bark
【Indications】 Boil juice and wash shashi (sand lice) and xi du (stream poison) (Su Gong). Treats carbuncle toxins (Su Song). Treats erysipelas with varying colors. Peel the bark with thorns, decoct, and wash with water (Meng Shen. From *Zhouhou Fang*).

Root
【Indications】 Treats unilateral kidney qi issues; decoct with wine and drink (Wang Ying).