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[Hengzhou Wujiapi]
[Weijun Wujiapi]

Pungent, bitter; warm, slightly cold in nature. Non-toxic. Grows abundantly in mountains and marshes, available everywhere. It is a vine-like woody plant, growing as high as a person's shoulder. Those with five leaves are considered superior for medicinal use, while those with three or four leaves are slightly inferior. For medicinal preparation, the root bark is harvested. It is adverse to Ophichthidae Skin (Shetui) and Ginseng Radix (Renshen), and should be guided by Polygalae Radix (Yuanzhi). It can be used to brew wine or ground into pills. It expels long-standing blood stasis in the tendons and skin, and drives away chronic gouty bi-syndrome entangling the feet and knees. It strengthens bones and muscles, facilitates walking, fortifies willpower, and benefits essence. It eliminates unbearable vaginal itching in women and supports impotence in men. It stops dribbling urine after voiding and removes genital ulcers and carbuncles. It lightens the body, prolongs life, and ensures longevity; it is truly an herb from immortal scriptures. The leaves, when harvested and eaten as vegetables, disperse wind-rash over the whole body; the roots and stems, when decocted in wine, treat wind-paralysis in the four extremities.

(Chen Jiamo) Commentary: The name "Wujiapi" (Five-Acacia Bark) has profound meaning based on its etymology, likely referring to the essence of the Five Chariots stars in heaven. When green essence enters the stem, there is fluid of the East; when white qi enters the joints, there is fluid of the West; when red qi enters the flowers, there is light of the South; when black essence enters the roots, there is nourishment like malt syrup of the North; when yellow smoke enters the bark, there is spirituality of the Central Earth (Wu-Ji). The five spirits guard life, transforming and nurturing each other. One who takes it for one year appears youthful. One who takes it for three years may become an immortal. Thus, the mother of Duke Ding of Lu took this wine alone and achieved immortality. Zhang Zisheng and others took it, bore more than twenty children, and lived over three hundred years. Ancients once said: Better to have a handful of Wujiapi than a cart full of gold and jade. Better to have a jin of Sanguisorbae Radix (Diyu) than pearls that brighten the eyes. Believing it is not an herb of immortality, how could such praise exist?

[Fengxiang Fu Xiong]
[Yongkang Jun Xiong]

Pungent, warm in nature. Ascending, Yang. Non-toxic. The variety produced in Sichuan and Shu named Que Nao Xiong (Sparrow Brain Ligusticum), (round, solid, heavy, resembling sparrow brains, considered top grade), is excellent for treating all conditions; the variety produced in Liyang (under Luzhou Prefecture) named Ma Xian Xiong (Horse Bit Ligusticum), (large root nodes with thin stems, resembling a horse bit); the variety planted in the capital and Guanzhong region, (Guanzhong was anciently known as Western Capital, widely cultivated there, hence the name), specializes in treating migraines. Tai Xiong comes from Taizhou (under Zhejiang Province), only dispersing wind and removing dampness; Fu Xiong comes from Fuzhou (under Jiangxi Province), only resolving stagnation and widening the chest. Varieties from other places are unsuitable for internal medicine but can be used for bathing. Also known as Xiangguo, it was recorded in *Yuan Jing*. Harvested in autumn and dried in the sun, select those that are heavy, solid, and pure white. (Avoid those with high oil content.) It is antagonistic to Astragali Radix (Huangqi), Cornus Officinalis Fructus (Shanzhuyu), and Daphne Genkwa Flower (Langdu - note: text says Wild Wolf Poison, likely referring to Aconitum or similar toxic herbs, here translated as Wild Wolf Poison/Genkwa contextually though usually Langdu is Daphne), and fears Natrii Sulfas (Xiaoshi), Talcum (Huashi), and Coptidis Rhizoma (Huanglian). It is inversely compatible with Veratri Radix (Lilu), and guided by Angelicae Dahuricae Radix (Baizhi). It is a primary herb of the Hand-Shaoyang Sanjiao Meridian, and also enters the Foot-Yueyin Liver and Hand-Yueyin Pericardium meridians. It can assist Cimicifugae Rhizoma (Shengma) to ascend and raise Qi and Blood. It stops headaches of this meridian and cannot omit treatment for blood-deficiency headaches; (headaches of other meridians are also suitable, adding guiding herbs accordingly). It disperses various winds of the Liver meridian and cannot lack treatment for wandering wind on the head and face. It ascends to the head and eyes, and descends to the Sea of Blood. It unblocks the Liver meridian and is a Qi-moving herb within the Blood. It treats all blood disorders, breaks up masses and old blood stasis, thereby nourishing new blood, and treats epistaxis, hematemesis, hematuria, and amenorrhea without pregnancy in women; it treats all Qi disorders, drives out stagnant Qi in the heart and abdomen, various accumulations, hypochondriac pain, phlegm-Qi, hernia, sudden pain from evil invasion, and Qi masses. It expels pus, resolves stasis, promotes flesh growth, and assists in surgical treatments; it warms the middle, dries dampness, dispels cold, and specifically addresses exogenous pathogens. Combined with Ostrea Concha (Muli), it treats cephalalgia due to wind, vertigo, and vomiting; combined with Asari Radix et Rhizoma (Xixin), it treats pain and groaning from traumatic injuries. Decocted with Rehmanniae Radix (Shengdi) and yellow wine, it controls metrorrhagia that does not stop; mixed with powder and taken with Chen Ai Tang (Old Mugwort Decoction), it tests for pregnancy. (If a woman’s menses have stopped for three to four months, taking this herb results in feeling movement in the abdomen, indicating pregnancy; otherwise, it is a disease.) The taboos must be noted: single administration and long-term use. Violating this scatters True Qi and causes sudden death. It is essential to add adjuvant herbs and stop when the illness is cured. Miwu (Peucedani Radix) is indicated for epilepsy.

(Chen Jiamo) Commentary: Xiongqiong (Ligusticum Chuanxiong) should not be taken alone for a long time; doing so scatters True Qi and causes sudden death. This is likely due to its pungent-warm and pungent-sweet dispersing properties being excessive, as Zhu Zhenheng (Danxi) once warned. Additionally, an ancient case records a woman suffering from cephalalgia due to wind who took Xiongqiong for half a year and suddenly died, recorded in commentaries as a warning. From this, we see that the harm of Xiongqiong’s dispersing action is indeed not to be taken lightly. Therefore, modern famous physicians often use Siwu Tang (Four Substances Decoction) to treat deficiency and consumption, removing Xiongqiong, learning from this precedent. Alas, ignorant villagers do not understand drug properties, often harvesting local Ligusticum to brew tea, claiming it is fragrant and delicious. Those with robust constitutions may侥幸 escape harm, but those who are weak and emaciated rarely avoid disaster. Is this merely fate for women, or self-inflicted calamity?