Library

(Attached to *Tang Bencao*)

[Names] Li Shizhen said: According to the *Shan Hai Jing* (Classic of Mountains and Seas): "On Qin Mountain, there is a grass named Li, resembling Di (reed), which can be used to make pickles." This is Qin Di Li. It is likely a type of Chenopodium (Lai), and its name is derived from this.

[Collection and Explanation] Su Gong said: Qin Di Li grows in low and wet areas and is found everywhere. It is consumed as food.
Meng Xiao said: Among raw vegetables, this one has the most fragrant and delicious taste.

[Flavor and Properties] Pungent, warm, non-toxic.

[Indications] Cold distension in the heart and abdomen; promotes the movement of Qi and aids digestion. Consumed with soy sauce and vinegar (*Tang Bencao*).
It is very effective at breaking up stagnant Qi. Additionally, when powdered and taken with wine, it treats sudden heart pain, depression, and a sensation of Qi blockage and fullness (Meng Xiao).

[Seeds Indications] Swelling and toxicity. Crush into powder, mix with vinegar, and apply externally. Change three times a day (Meng Xiao).

(Attached to *Zheng Lei Bencao*)

[Collection and Explanation] Li Shizhen said: Tang Shenwei's *Zheng Lei Bencao* includes this herb, but its shape cannot be verified. Only Lei Xiao's *Pao Zhi Lun* (Discourse on Processing) states: "Its shape resembles牛皮蔓 (Niu Pi Man - Cowhide Vine); when pinched, milky juice exudes, and it is sweetly fragrant. After harvesting, finely slice it with a bamboo knife made of bitter bamboo, grind it in a mortar until it becomes a paste, filter the juice through raw silk cloth, and drink it while warm. However, it does not specify what diseases it treats."

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

[Indications] Dysmenorrhea or irregular menstruation. Crush the leaves, squeeze out the juice, mix with wine, decoct, and take one cup (*Qian Jin Fang*).

[Attached Formulas] One old formula.
Trauma causing uterine bleeding: Mashing the juice of Titu (clarified butter/ghee), mixing with wine, boiling, and taking one cup on an empty stomach (*Qian Jin Fang*).

[Appendix] Drosera (from *Bencao Shiyi*)
Chen Cangqi said: Sweet in flavor, neutral in nature, non-toxic. Boiled and taken, it treats chronic dysentery with red and white discharge. It grows among thatch grass, about one chi high, covered with hairs like grease that stick to the hand, and produces horn-shaped fruits.

Ji Hou Cai (Chicken侯 Vegetable) Also known as: Pungent, warm, non-toxic. Long-term consumption warms the middle jiao and benefits Qi. Gu Wei's *Guangzhou Ji* says: Grows in the Lingnan region, resembling Artemisia (Ai), sprouts appear in the second lunar month, suitable for eating in chicken soup, hence the name.

Meng Niang Cai (Lady Meng Vegetable) Also known as: Bitter, slightly warm, non-toxic. Treats blood stagnation in the abdomen leading to emaciation in women, damp itching of the scrotum in men, enhances sexual potency, promotes vigorous walking and prevents sleepiness, tonifies deficiency, and eliminates hemorrhoids, scrofula, and goiter. Grows in the mountains of Siming, evergreen in winter and summer, leaves resemble Cimicifuga (Sheng Ma), square stems. Local mountain people harvest it as a vegetable.

You Dian Also known as: Pungent, warm, non-toxic. Warms the middle, removes foul Qi, and aids digestion. Grows in Annan (Southern Vietnam), where people cultivate it as a vegetable. *Nanfang Caomu Zhuang* (Records of Plants in the Southern Regions) says: In Hepu, You Dian exists; people plant it and eat it with bean paste, possessing a fragrant and good taste.