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(Ran, pronounced "ran". Listed as Lower Grade in *Bie Lu*.)

[Names] Southern Snake (*Ben Cao Gang Mu*), Head-Burying Snake.

Li Shizhen stated: Snakes move with a slender gait; this snake is large-bodied and moves even more slowly and leisurely. Its slow-moving appearance led to its name "Ran She" (Python). Some say there are hair-like bristles among its scales. It is produced in the Lingnan region. Those that do not raise their heads when moving are considered authentic, hence commonly called Southern Snake or Head-Burying Snake.

[Collection of Explanations]
Su Song said: Regarding Ran She, Tao Hongjing stated it comes from Jin'an, while Su Gong stated it comes from areas south of Guizhou and Guangzhou, such as Gaozhou and Hezhou. Currently, it is found in all commanderies of Lingnan.

Tao Hongjing said: The large ones are two or three chi in circumference. Those that crawl on the ground without raising their heads are authentic; those that raise their heads are not. Their fat and gallbladder can be easily confused.

Han Baosheng said: The large ones have a diameter of one chi and are about one zhang long. They resemble snakes but are thick and short.

Su Gong said: Its shape resembles the black carp (*Channa argus*), its head resembles an alligator, its tail is round and scaleless, and its nature makes it difficult to kill. Locals slice its meat into sashimi, considering it a delicacy.

Zang Qi said: When its sashimi is dipped in vinegar, it can coil around chopsticks, making them impossible to remove, unless mulberry grass chopsticks are used. Duan Chengshi's *Youyang Zazu* states: A Ran She is ten zhang long. It once swallowed a deer; after the deer was completely digested, the snake coiled around a tree, causing the bones inside to pierce through the scales and emerge. During the healing of wounds, its fat was particularly delicious. If a woman's garment was thrown at it, it would coil up and remain motionless.

Li Shizhen said: According to Liu Xun's *Lingbiao Luyi*: Large Ran She are five or six zhang long and four or five chi in circumference; small ones are no less than three or four zhang long. Some say it eats one deer per year. Gu's *Haicha Lu* states: Ran She swallows deer and wild horses, entering from the hind legs. Toxic fumes expelled cause antlers to detach naturally. Its gallbladder shrinks as it rots. Locals collect kudzu vines and stuff them into vessels. Fan Chengda's *Yuheng Zhi* states: [The snake] dies when exhausted from throwing itself, then is carried back for consumption. Furthermore, according to *Shan Hai Jing*: The Ba Snake eats elephants and excretes the bones after three years. Gentlemen who consume it are free from heart and abdominal diseases. Guo Pu's commentary notes: The current Ran She is the same as the 'Boying' mentioned therein, possessing brocade-like patterns. It consumes ash and swallows deer, accumulating fat... [Text fragment missing]. Duan Chengshi said: Its gallbladder is near the head in the first ten days of the lunar month, near the heart in the middle ten days, and near the tail in the last ten days.

Su Song said: *Lingbiao Luyi* states: In Leizhou, there are families who breed snakes. Every year on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, they carry the snakes to the government office to extract the gallbladder, dry it, and offer it as local tribute. To extract the gallbladder, they cut open the abdomen to retrieve the liver and gallbladder. The gallbladder is as large as a duck egg. After extraction, the liver is placed back into the abdomen, which is then stitched with thread, and the snake is released. Some say that snakes whose gallbladders have been removed will later show open abdominal wounds when caught, proving the absence of the gallbladder. Others claim they can survive for three years post-extraction, though this is uncertain.

Li Shizhen said: Southerners are fond of eating snake meat, going so far as to dig burrows to find them. Can a Ran She whose gallbladder has been removed truly survive and display an open abdominal wound?

Tao Hongjing said: Authentic gallbladders are narrow, long, and jet black, with extremely thin membranes. They taste sweet and bitter when licked. When rubbed with water, they sink and do not disperse.

Su Gong said: Test method: Take a amount the size of a millet seed and place it in clean water. If it floats, spins, and moves on the surface, it is authentic. If it sinks directly, it is blood from other animal gallbladders. Do not use too much, or it will also sink and disperse. This was simply because Tao Hongjing did not master the correct method.

Shen said: Many people counterfeit it with pig or tiger gallbladders. Although they may move in water, they move slowly.

[Flavor and Toxicity] Sweet, bitter, cold, slightly toxic.

[Indications] Swollen and painful eyes, abdominal pain, sores in the lower body (*Bie Lu*). Eight types of childhood epilepsy, nasal polyps, clearing childhood brain heat, malnutrition ulcers and fistulas. Irrigating the lower body treats childhood malnutrition dysentery, stops bloody dysentery, and treats bleeding from parasitic infestations.

[Elucidation]
Li Shizhen said: The Ran She inherits the qi of Ji Earth. Its gallbladder receives the wind-wood qi of Jia and Yi, hence its flavor is bitter with a sweet undertone. It treats diseases of the Jueyin and Taiyin meridians, brightening the eyes, cooling blood, clearing malnutrition, and killing parasites.

Shen Wei said: Gu Han's sister-in-law went blind and required Ran She gallbladder. Gu Han could not obtain any. A boy gave him one he (unit of volume) of Ran She gallbladder. Upon inspection, Gu Han confirmed it was Ran She gallbladder. The boy transformed into a green bird and flew away. After using it, his sister-in-law's sight was restored.

[Attached Prescriptions] Two old prescriptions, two new prescriptions.

Acute Malnutrition Ulcers in Children: Mix Ran She gallbladder with water and apply topically. (*Taiping Shenghui Fang*)

Childhood Malnutrition Dysentery: Characterized by emaciation, excessive sleepiness, closing eyes when sitting, and inability to eat. Use two pieces of Ran She gallbladder, sized like soybeans. Boil in Tongcao juice, grind until dissolved, and drink as desired.

[Prescription fragment missing context]: Forty-seven seeds, ground evenly. Wipe gums with cloth, suck until blood flows completely. Apply powder three times daily until healed. (*Taiping Shenghui Fang*)

Snake Gallbladder: Grind into powder, mix with sesame oil, and apply. Immediate effect. (*Yifang Jiangyao*)

Meat

[Flavor and Toxicity] Sweet, warm, slightly toxic. Do not eat in the fourth lunar month.

[Indications] Flying corpse and wandering gu poison, foreign body sensation in the throat that cannot be swallowed or expelled (Zang Qi). Clears malnutrition ulcers. Wind pain in the feet, kills three types of parasites, removes dead flesh, skin wind toxicity, and leprosy.

[Elucidation]
Quan said: Traveling through Lingnan, consuming Ran She prevents invasion by miasma toxins.

Li Shizhen said: According to Liu Zongyuan's *The Snake Catcher's Tale*: Strange snakes are produced in the wilds of Yongzhou, with black bodies and white patterns. They kill vegetation upon contact and bite humans... [Text fragment missing]. ...stated: Lu Yuanqin of Quanzhou suffered from leprosy, except his nose bridge remained intact. On the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, the government collected Ran She gallbladder for tribute. Some say snake meat can treat wind diseases... Within three to five days, improvement is sudden; within one hundred days, full recovery.

[Attached Prescriptions] Three new prescriptions.

Ran She Wine: Treats various forms of wind-induced paralysis, tendon spasms, bone pain, numbness and itching from bi syndrome, kills parasites, dispels miasma, and treats leprosy, tinea, and malignant sores. Use one jin of Ran She meat and one liang of Qianghuo, placed in a silk bag. Steam two dou of glutinous rice. Place yeast at the bottom of a jar, put the snake bag on the yeast, cover with the steamed rice, seal tightly, and wait for fermentation to produce wine. Roast the snake, grind it, and mix with the medicine. Drink several cups of this wine warm according to tolerance. Avoid wind and sexual activity. Alternatively, soak the bagged snake in wine for drinking. (*Jijian Fang*)

Acute Malnutrition Erosion and Rot: Eat Ran She meat prepared as sashimi. (*Taiping Shenghui Fang*)

Snake [Meat], other snakes may also be used. (*Waitai Miyao*)

Offspring/Eggs [Context implies offspring or eggs based on structure, though text says "Zi ye"]

[Flavor and Toxicity] Sweet, neutral, slightly toxic.

[Indications] Skin wind toxicity, residual ailments of postpartum abdominal pain in women (*Bie Lu*). Often used in medicine; also treats bovine smallpox (Hongjing. i.e., human smallpox). Wrapped in cotton and inserted into the ear to treat deafness (Li Shizhen. From *Waitai Miyao*).

Teeth (6-7 cun long)

[Indications] Wearing it wards off misfortune and facilitates safe travel.