Library

Taste is sweet, nature is cold, non-toxic. It treats pediatric chi qi (redness and heat in the skin), ji chuang (skin sores), umbilical injury, relieves pain, and supplements deficiency of qi. Also known as Changgu. Grows in water.

Generally speaking, among insects such as bees, ants, frogs, and cicadas, there are the most species. Those that are large with a green back are commonly called Tuduck (Earth Duck), and their calls are very loud. There is another type that is black, which people in the south call... [text fragment missing] (Page 453).

Taste is salty, nature is cold, toxic. It treats five types of long (dysuria/obstructive urinary syndromes), breaks down stone long (urinary calculi), and induces abortion. The meat: resolves stagnant qi, promotes urination, and clears heat. Also known as Shashi (Sand Louse). Grows in ponds and marshes of the Jianghan region.

Li Yun stated that people in Jiangzuo (East of the Yangtze) do not recognize this substance, mistaking it for a root, but it is actually an insect, resembling an old silkworm, growing attached to stones. Crude people harvest and eat it; its taste is salty and slightly pungent. Li's statement has merit, although the Jianghan region is not the habitat of crude people. Generally, it should be a living organism, similar to oysters and clams in the sea, which grow attached to rocks without moving, and are all living things. Nowadays, the black, multi-jointed roots used in the market also resemble silkworms, but they are likely not the real Shashi. The Shashi not used by physicians is actually a tiny insect in the waters of the eastern regions. When people bathe in water, these insects attach to the body, barely visible, causing pain like needle pricks, and can be extracted by picking. The current name might be the same, but it does not refer to what Li described. (Da Guan Ben Cao, Vol. 22; Zheng He Ben Cao, p. 449)

Taste is sweet and bitter, nature is cold, slightly toxic. It treats heart and abdominal pain, lower body sores, and swollen and painful eyes. The bile/gall: nature is neutral, slightly toxic. It treats wind-toxin on the skin and residual ailments of postpartum abdominal pain in women.

This snake originates from Jin'an. Large specimens have a girth of three or two cun. Those that crawl on the ground without raising their heads are genuine; those that raise their heads are not genuine. Their appearances are mostly similar, and locals distinguish them by this trait. The bile and gall are often confused. Genuine bile forms clusters like pear seeds stuck together, whereas the bile of other snakes is as large as plums or apricots. Genuine gall is narrow, long, completely black, with extremely thin membranes; when licked, it tastes sweet and bitter, and when rubbed into water, it sinks and does not disperse; fake ones do not behave this way. This item is hardest to obtain in its genuine form. Genuine bile is widely used in medicine and is said to treat Boniu disease (bovine plague/rinderpest). (Da Guan Ben Cao, Vol. 22; Zheng He Ben Cao, p. 443)