Library

(Recorded in the Lower Grade of *Shennong Bencao Jing*)

[Names] Yeguang (Night Light, from *Benjing*), Yi Yao (pronounced "Yu Yue"), Xie Huo (both from *Wu Pu's Materia Medica*).
Zhao stated: Fireflies often emerge around the Great Heat solar term. This is because they transform by obtaining the Qi of the Great Fire star, hence their brightness.
Shizhen stated: The character "Ying" (Firefly) is derived from the abbreviated form of "Ying" (Glimmer), which means small fire; it is a phono-semantic compound indicating meaning. In the *Book of Songs*, "Bin Feng": "Yi Yao Xiao Xing." "Xiao Xing" is the name of an insect, and "Yi Yao" describes its glowing appearance. Both the annotations to the *Book of Songs* and various materia medica texts erroneously took "Yi Yao" as the name for the firefly.

[Collection and Explanation] *Bielu* states: Fireflies are found on the ground near steps, in ponds, and marshes. They should be collected on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month and dried in the shade.
Hongjing stated: These are transformed from rotting grass and decaying bamboo roots. Initially, they resemble pupae with light already present under their abdomens; after several days, they change and become capable of flight. Practitioners of arts capture them, place them in wine to kill them, and then dry them. Their use in common practice is rare.
Shizhen stated: There are three types of fireflies: One type is small, flies at night, and has a bright abdomen. These are transformed from thatch grass roots, corresponding to what Lüshi's *Yueling* calls "rotting grass turning into maggots," and what *Mingtang Yueling* calls "rotting grass transforming into juan." Their name is Xiao Xing; it is the Qi of thatch and bamboo that transforms into this form. Another type is the water firefly, which lives in water, as described in Li Ziqing's Tang dynasty poem *Ode to Water Fireflies*: "Why dwell in the spring?" For medicinal use, the flying firefly is employed.

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

[Therapeutic Actions] Improves vision (*Benjing*). Treats Qingmang (blindness with clear cornea, Zhen Quan). For children's fire burns, heat-related Gu poison and Gui Zhu (wandering pestilence), it enhances spiritual clarity (*Benjing*).

[Innovation and Clarification] Shizhen stated: Fireflies can ward off evil spirits and improve vision, likely deriving from the meaning of illuminating darkness and shining at night. The records regarding the Firefly Pill in *Shenxian...* are very detailed; Pang Anchang's *Zongbing Lun* also highly praises its efficacy. He said: I have tested it personally; when a family suffered from illness, only the four individuals who carried this medicine remained healthy. Xu Shumi's *Shanghan Ge* also extols it. I have often wished to test it myself but have been delayed by procrastination. Su Shi and Huang Tingjian valued friendship, so their words are surely not empty. The *Shenxian Yinggan Pian* states: Wuchengzi's Firefly Pill mainly serves to ward off diseases, evil Qi, hundred ghosts, venomous snakes like shehu, wasps and scorpions, weapons and white blades, and dangers from thieves. In ancient times, Liu Zinan, General of the Champion and Governor of Wuwei of the Han Dynasty, received this prescription from the Daoist Yin Gong. In the 12th year of Yongping, he fought rebels at the northern border and was defeated, with his soldiers almost entirely wiped out. Surrounded by enemies, arrows fell like rain, yet none reached within a few feet of Liu Zinan's horse; the arrows would fall to the ground before reaching him. The enemy considered him divine and retreated. Liu Zinan taught this formula to his descendants, and generals using it were never injured. At the end of the Han Dynasty, the Green Ox Daoist obtained it and passed it to Huanfu Long of Anding, who passed it to Emperor Wu of Wei, allowing some people to obtain it thereafter. Thus, it is also named Champion Pill or Wuwei Pill. It uses one tael each of firefly, Gui Jian (arrow wood, peeled of skin and feathers), Jili (Tribulus terrestris); two taels each of Xionghuang (Realgar) and Cihuang (Orpiment); two taels of Yang Jiao (sheep horn); and one and a half taels of Tie Chui Bing (the iron-insert part of a hammer handle, burnt until charred). All are ground into powder. Mixed with egg yolk, formed into five pills, placed in a triangular crimson silk pouch, and worn on the left arm (tied to the waist when going to war, kept indoors...).

[Attached Prescriptions] Two new prescriptions.
Blackening Hair: On the night of the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, take fourteen fireflies, crush them, and apply to hair to turn it black. (Prescription from *Bianmin Tuzuan*)
Improving Vision: Prescription for Dim Vision due to Liver Qi Injury from Overwork: Use firefly... extremely effective. Another prescription uses the gallbladder of a white dog. (From *Shenghui Fang*)