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(Into the Compendium)

[Collected Explanations]
Li Shizhen said: According to *Fangyu Shenglan*, Lin She (Scale Snake) is produced in Annan, and Zhenkang Prefecture, Lin'an, Yuanjiang, Mengyang in Yunnan. It is a type of giant python. It is over one zhang long, has four feet, comes in two colors of scales—yellow and black—and can eat deer. In spring and winter it dwells on mountains; in summer and autumn it dwells in water. It can injure people. Locals kill and eat it, taking the gallbladder to treat diseases. The yellow-scaled ones are considered superior and are highly valued. I have examined this: it is also a type of Rana Snake (Python), merely with extra legs. Tao Hongjing distinguished between true and false Rana Snakes in his annotations; perhaps this belongs to that category?

Gallbladder
[Flavor and Nature] Bitter, cold, slightly toxic.
[Indications] Resolves drug toxicity; treats malignant sores and toothache (Li Shizhen, citing *Fangyu Shenglan* and *Yitongzhi*).

(Song Dynasty *Kaibao Bencao*)
[Names] Qishe (Qin Snake) (*Bencao Gangmu*), Qianni She (Lifting-Nose Snake).
Su Song said: The noses of all snakes point downward, but only this snake's nose points upward. Its back has square-patterned white markings, hence its name.

[Collected Explanations]
Kou Zongshi said: Baihua She (White-Spotted Snake) grows in southern regions and in the mountains of Shu Commandery. It is captured in the ninth and tenth months and dried by fire. The white ones are of good quality.
Su Song said: It is now found in Qianzhong, as well as Qizhou and Dengzhou. Its pattern consists of square-shaped white spots; it likes to bite people's feet. When someone in Qian is bitten, they immediately amputate the limb and attach a wooden prosthetic. When this snake enters human dwellings, it emits a smell of rotting melons; one must not approach it and should remove it quickly.
Li Shizhen said: Huashe (Flower Snake) is found in Huguang and Sichuan, but currently only Qishe enjoys fame. However, Qishe is not abundant even in Qizhou; those sold in markets and collected by officials come from the mountains of Xingguo Prefecture in Jiangnan. This snake has a dragon-like head and tiger-like mouth, a black body with white patterns, twenty-four square-patterned markings on its flanks, bead-like spots on its belly, four long fangs in its mouth, and a "Buddha nail" (a scale projection) on its tail about one or two fen long. Its intestines resemble a string of beads. It often feeds on the flowers and leaves of *Pyrularia edulis* (Shinan Teng), allowing people to locate it. Sand is sprinkled on its abdomen first to protect the wound. Then it is fixed with bamboo, coiled up, bound, and dried over a kiln. Those from Qizhou, though dried, do not have sunken eyes; those from other places do. Thus, Luo Yuan in *Eryayi* stated: Snakes close their eyes upon death, but only the Huashe from Qizhou keeps them open. Some open one eye and close the other. People use this to verify authenticity. Furthermore, Yuan Zhen's *Changqing Ji* states: Among the hundreds of types of Ba She (Ba Snake), only the Qianni She causes hair to stand on end when seen. If it poisons a person, their hair stands erect; if it drinks from streams, the mud and sand boil. Birds can eat smaller Ba Snakes. The Ba people also use spells to subdue them; smoking them with Realgar smoke causes their brains to split. This description aligns with Su Song's account of the Qian Snake. However, current Qishe is not very toxic. Although snakes from Qian and Shu both have white spots, their species and nature differ. Therefore, for medicinal use, only those produced in Qizhou are selected.

[Preparation]
Su Song said: The head and tail, each one chi long, are highly toxic and should not be used. Only the middle section, dried, is used. It is soaked in wine, skin and bones removed, then roasted before storage to prevent insect infestation. Its bone spicules must be discarded far away, as they cause injury and have the same toxicity as the live snake.
Kou Zongshi said: When using it, remove the head and tail, soak in wine for three days, roast over fire, and remove all skin and bones. This substance is very toxic and precautions are necessary.
Li Shizhen said: Qian snakes are large, so one chi can be removed from the head and tail. For Qishe, only three cun should be removed from each end. Sometimes only the head and tail are used. One large snake yields only four liang of pure meat. It easily spoils if kept long; only the meat sealed tightly can last ten years without deterioration. According to *Shengji Zonglu*: Let it sit in the ground overnight to remove heat energy. Remove skin and bones, use the meat.

Snake Meat
[Flavor and Nature] Sweet, salty, warm, toxic.
Li Shizhen said: It works best with wine.
[Indications] Treats numbness and insensitivity caused by wind-damp bi syndrome, muscle and tendon spasms, facial paralysis (deviation of mouth and eyes), hemiplegia, joint pain, weakness of the legs preventing prolonged standing, sudden itching due to wind, and severe leprosy/skin ulcers (*Kaibao Bencao*).
Su Song said: Huashe treats wind disorders faster than any other snake. In Qian, locals treat widespread leprosy unresponsive to other drugs by taking the mid-section of a live snake, placing it on a red-hot brick with vinegar to generate steam, covering it with a basin overnight. This is done three times, then bones are removed, meat is tenderized with five flavors, and eaten in one dose. The patient wakes after a day and night, scabs fall off with the skin, and the disease is cured. It treats nasal congestion due to lung wind and urticaria (Zhen Quan). It generally treats various wind disorders, tetanus, and childhood wind-heat (Li Shizhen).

[Elucidation]
Kou Zongshi said: The nature of snakes is penetrating; they can guide medicines to areas affected by wind, thus treating wind disorders.
Li Shizhen said: Wind moves swiftly and changes frequently; snakes also move swiftly and shed their skins. Since Huashe eats *Pyrularia edulis*, it can penetrate bones to search out wind, stop convulsions, and settle tremors. It is a crucial herb for wind-bi, convulsions, leprosy, tinea, and malignant sores. It reaches internally to the zang-fu organs and externally to the skin, going everywhere. When taking snake wine or medicine, one must strictly avoid exposure to wind.

[Attached Prescriptions] Thirteen new prescriptions.

Qu-Feng Gao (Wind-Expelling Paste): Treats wind paralysis and leprosy, with widespread tinea. Use 4 liang of Baihua She meat (roasted in wine), 7 qian half of Gastrodia Rhizome (Tianma), 2 qian half of Mint (Bohe), and 2 qian half of Schizonepeta (Jingjie). Grind into powder. Add 2 sheng of good wine and 4 liang of honey, boil in a stone vessel until paste-like. Take one cup per dose, washed down with warm water, three times daily. Sweat in a warm place urgently; effective in ten days. (*Yilei Yuanrong*)

[Numbness]. Or muscle/tendon spasms, muscle stubborn numbness, dry/itchy skin, joint pain, or generation of malignant sores, tinea, etc. Use one Baihua She, wash clean with warm water, [missing characters] 1 qian each, 5 qian each of Angelica Pubescens (Duhuo), Angelica Dahurica (Baizhi), Gastrodia Rhizome (Tianma), Red Peony Root (Chishao), Licorice Root (Gancao), and Cimicifuga (Shengma). Chop finely, place in a silk bag. Steam 2 dou of glutinous rice. Brew wine as usual, place the bag in the vat. When ready, seal the wine with the bag, cook thoroughly, and bury in a shady place for seven days to remove toxicity. Drink several cups warm continuously. This prescription was printed by people in Qizhou to accompany snake gifts; its origin is unknown. (*Binhu Jijianfang*)

Treats various wind and leprosy tinea. Use one Baihua She, moisten with wine, remove skin and bones, place meat in a silk bag. Steam one dou of glutinous rice, put yeast at the bottom of the vat, place the snake on the yeast, cover with rice, and seal tightly with materials. After 3x7 days, take the wine, dry the snake, and grind to powder. Take 3-5 fen per dose, washed down with warm turbid wine and lees made into cakes, which is especially good. (*Ruizhutang Jingyanfang*)

Facial paralysis, stubborn numbness of flesh, joint pain, and chronic tinea, malignant sores, wind-leprosy. Dragon head, black body with white patterns, tail with Buddha nail, eyes not sunken are authentic. Wash thoroughly with wine, remove bone spicules [missing characters] 2 liang, 2 liang of Angelica Sinensis Root (Dangguishen), 2 liang of genuine Gastrodia Rhizome (Tianma), 2 liang of genuine Gentiana Macrophylla (Qinjiao), 2 liang of Acanthopanax Bark (Wujapi), 1 liang of Saposhnikovia Root (Fangfeng). Place in a Jinhua wine jar, suspend the bag. Immerse in five pots of raw glutinous rice wine mash, seal tightly with bamboo leaves. Place jar in a large pot, boil in water for one day, take out, bury in a shady place for seven days, then retrieve. Drink 1-2 cups per time. Dry the dregs, grind to powder, make pills with wine paste, swallow with boiled wine. Strictly avoid wind, sexual desire, and wind-aggravating foods like fish, mutton, goose, and wheat.

Yang deficiency and Yin excess, slow movement of hands and feet. Use [missing characters] 2 liang of Baihua She, grind to fine powder. Soak in 1 sheng of non-ash wine in a silver bowl, simmer in a double boiler until thick, store in a bottle. Take half a spoonful per dose, dissolved in good wine or plain water, twice daily. Extremely effective. (*Beiji Fang*)

Huashe 5 cun (soaked in wine, skin/bone removed, roasted dry), Realgar 1 liang (water-ground and mixed evenly), White Sand Honey [missing character] skin, ground smooth, refined together into a paste. Take 1 qian per dose, dissolved in warm wine, three times daily. Must first take Tongtian Zaizao San to purge the [missing character] root. (*San Yin Fang*)

Roasted [missing character], Skinless Meat 2 qian (roasted in wine), Realgar 2 qian, Rhubarb 5 qian, grind to powder. Take 2 qian per dose, washed down with plain water, once every three days. (*Jiazhen*)

San She Yu Feng Dan (Three-Snake Wind-Curing Pill): Treats leprosy, numbness of hands and feet, loss of eyebrows, skin itching, and all wind sores. One Baihua She, one Wujiaoshe (Black-spotted Snake), one Tufushe (Earth Viper) (all soaked in wine, meat taken and dried), Sophora Root (first flush) 4 liang, grind to powder. Cut 1 jin of Gleditsia Sinensis Pod (Zaojiao), add wine [missing character] one bowl of water, [missing character] extract thick juice, boil in stone vessel to paste, mix with powder, make pills size of wutong seeds. Take 70 pills per dose, washed down with decoction of Tongsheng San, suppress with porridge/rice, three times daily. Bathe every three days to induce sweat, avoid wind. *Zhili* does not include Viper. [Missing characters], erupts between neck and armpits, itchy/painful, aversion to cold and fever. Baihua She (soaked in wine, meat taken) 2 liang (roasted), Fresh Rhinoceros Horn 1 liang 2 qian 5 fen (shaved and ground), Black Morning Glory Seed 5 qian (half raw, half fried), Tangerine Peel 5 qian. Grind to powder. Take 2 qian per dose, add 5 fen of Calomel, at fifth watch, mix with glutinous rice drink, administer until foul toxins are purged. Once every ten days, can eradicate disease root, avoid stimulating foods.

Medicine, later take [missing character] qian, [missing character] grind to powder,捣 red date flesh, make pills size of wutong seeds. Take 7 pills per dose, washed down with cold tea, three times daily. Avoid fish/meat, cure upon finishing, then regulate with Smilax Glabra (Tufuling) medicine. Fang Guang's *Xinfa Fuyu*: Treats Syphilis (Yangmei Chuang). Use 1 qian of Huashe meat, 2 qian of Cinnabar (Yinzhu), 2 qian of Lead, 2 qian of Mercury, grind to powder, make nine paper twists. Use one twist at a time, soak in sesame oil in a lamp dish, light the lamp, place in a baking stove, put under blankets, fumigate while lying covered, do not let wind in. Three times daily. Tuo Dou Huashe San (Support-Varicella White-Spotted Snake Powder): Treats black-invading smallpox. Baihua She (roasted with bones, do not burn) 3 qian, Large Clove 7 pieces, grind to powder. Take 5 fen per dose, mix with water and weak wine, extremely effective. After a while, body heats up, sores instantly turn red and lively. (Wang Shi *Shouji*)

Snake Head
[Flavor and Nature] Toxic.
[Indications] Vitiligo and toxic leprosy (Li Shizhen).

[Attached Prescription] One new prescription.

Zidian Feng Chufeng San (Vitiligo Wind-Expelling Powder): Use two Baihua She heads (soaked in wine, roasted), 1 liang of Scorpion Tail Stinger (fried), 1 liang of Saposhnikovia Root (Fangfeng). Grind to powder. Take one [missing character]

Snake Eyes
[Indications] Infant nocturnal crying. Grind one pair to powder, mix with a little Bamboo Sap (Zhuli) and instill/drench (Puji Fang).