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Bear Fat

Taste is sweet, nature is slightly cold. Some say nature is slightly warm. Non-toxic. Produced in Yongzhou, Luozhou, Hedong, and the valleys of Huaizhou and Weizhou. The body is fat and resembles a pig, (appearance is also similar to a pig.) The temperament is agile, surpassing that of an ape. On sunny days, it climbs high trees, and upon seeing people, it hangs upside down and drops. In deep winter, it enters deep caves to hibernate and hide; when hungry, it licks its own paws for sustenance. Its nature abhors salt; consuming it leads to death. It can live for five hundred years and transform into a fox. Hunters wishing to obtain it must use crossbow arrows. However, for medicinal use, it should be processed with precision and detail. The fat is like jade, located at the heart of the bear, also known as "Xiong Bai" (White Bear); (Some say: it is the fat in the abdomen, while fat from other parts is collectively referred to as such.) Refine it in a pot to remove fat residues and leather dregs, ensuring it resembles raw Sichuan pepper. (Lei Gong said: For every jin of fat, add fourteen grains of raw Sichuan pepper; after refining, thoroughly remove all fat-leather dregs and peppers.) Store in porcelain jars, seal with paper for future use. (Those obtained in the twelfth lunar month are suitable for storage.) It treats ulcers on the head, white alopecia, and facial hyperpigmentation; it governs wind-bi syndrome causing numbness and insensitivity of the skin, as well as tendon spasms and urgency. It eliminates accumulations in the stomach and intestines, and enriches emaciated limbs. Long-term consumption strengthens the will and heart, prevents hunger, and delays aging. However, those with chronic diseases should not consume it; doing so renders the disease incurable for life.

Bear Gallbladder

Taste is extremely bitter, does not attach to the liver. In spring, it is in the head; in summer, it moves to the abdomen; in autumn, it is in the left foot; in winter, it migrates to the right foot. Search and inspect according to the four seasons, hang in a shady place with air circulation to dry naturally. It condenses into blocks, bright like glue. Its nature abhors Rehmanniae Radix (Dihuang) and Stephaniae Tetrandrae Rhizoma (Fangji). When encountering sellers, distinguish between genuine and fake; grind and test in water to know the quality. Take dust, first seal the water surface, then throw the powder onto the dust. The dust eventually splits to both sides, while the powder moves rapidly in a single line. (If the line does not disperse.) This product is excellent and must be ground extremely fine. Use for pills or powders; do not use for decoctions. It treats epidemic febrile diseases in men and women where heat steams upward, transforming into jaundice; it treats pediatric phlegm-wind obstruction causing convulsions and epilepsy. It drives out five types of childhood malnutrition (Gan syndrome), kills parasites, and applies to malignant sores to dissipate toxins. For chronic, non-healing hemorrhoids, application yields miraculous results.

Bear Meat

Non-toxic, taste is sweet, can be eaten after curing and salting. (Prepare according to usual methods.) It treats accumulations, cold-heat complex, and chronic diseases; it expels wind-pathogens causing bone and tendon numbness. Bear paw is a delicacy difficult to cook; boil it together with wine, vinegar, and water. Prolonged cooking causes it to swell, becoming large as a ball. Its therapeutic functions include resisting wind-cold. Bear blood treats infantile fright (Ke Wu); bear grease treats rheumatic pain in joints (Li Jie Feng). Bear brain marrow, made into tea oil for the head, also removes white alopecia and wind-scaliness. It stops dizziness and hair loss, and cures deafness and tinnitus.

(Chen Jiamo) Commentary: The most delicious part of the bear's body accumulates in its paws. Observing that it does not eat during hibernation and only licks itself when hungry confirms this. No wonder the world values it as a delicacy. Mencius also said: "Abandon fish and choose bear's paw." If it were not extremely delicious, would he have said this? However, regarding the diseases it treats, it only resists wind-cold; there are no other records. It is easy to please the palate but difficult to cure diseases; this can be verified here.