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Deer Antler Velvet (Lurong)

The flavor is sweet and salty. Some say it is bitter and pungent, with a warm nature. It is non-toxic. Wild deer exist in forests and mountains, and captured ones can also be tamed. The smaller ones are called "Lu" (deer), and the larger ones are called "Mi" (sika deer). The velvet should be harvested when the antlers are about to grow; a rope should first be tied around the neck to prevent blood loss. Air-drying results in a foul odor, whereas fire-drying is preferable. Small ones resembling purple eggplants (named Qie Rong / Eggplant Velvet) suggest that Qi and Blood are tender and not fully developed; those hard as rotten wood indicate that Qi and Blood are senile and decadent. (Neither of these two types makes for excellent medicine.) The best quality resembles reddish amber, and among these, those shaped like a saddle with short branches are even better. Do not let the animal smell the antler, (as there are small white insects inside, preventing them from entering the nose.) During processing, hair must be burned off urgently.
(Burn the hair quickly in a fierce flame to prevent damage to the velvet.) Split open, apply genuine ghee, roast until crisp, waiting for a yellow-brown color. When incorporated into prescriptions, grind into fine powder, suitable for making powders or pills at will. It benefits Qi and nourishes Yin, effectively supporting emaciated limbs; it strengthens will and teeth, and has remarkable efficacy in stopping soreness and pain in the lower back and knees. It breaks up retained blood causing hidden pain, and expels deficiency labor manifesting as chills like malaria. It treats women's metrorrhagia and uterine bleeding, and cures pediatric fever, chills, convulsions, and epilepsy. It stops hematuria and seminal emission, and disperses stone strangury and carbuncles. It can reduce bone heat and drive away ulcers.

Deer horn has a salty flavor and warm nature; its collection must follow seasonal timing. At Winter Solstice, when Yang Qi begins to generate, sika deer shed their horns; at Summer Solstice, when Yin Qi begins to generate, deer shed their horns. Deer [products] benefit Yin more and obtain Yin Qi. Crushed horn pieces soaked in honey overnight, boiled dry over fire, then pounded and sieved. They dispel ghosts and ward off evil, lighten the body and benefit Qi. They reconnect severed injuries, strengthen bones and sinews, eliminate carbuncles, and heal malignant sores. They stop women from dreaming of sexual intercourse with spirits, and allow patients to confess the truth. (For any woman confused by spirit possession who refuses to confess the truth, taking the powder mixed with water will cause her to speak spontaneously.) The sawn-off horn can be used to boil White Glue (Baijiao). (Use paired new horns, sawed into inch-length segments, soaked in running water for three days, brushed clean of fishy odors. Draw river water into a clay pot, put the horn inside, one horn per pot, add one tael each of Broussonetia papyrifera fruit (Chushizi), Morus alba root bark (Sangbaipi), and yellow beeswax, boil together, plug the pot mouth with mulberry leaves to prevent vapor escape, boil fiercely over charcoal fire for three days. If water evaporates, gradually add pre-boiled hot water. Continue until the horn is soft like cooked mutton and yields to pressure. Remove the horn, filter the juice through cotton, return to the clay pot, simmer slowly until thick, pour into bowls, cool in the wind until congealed into glue for medicinal use. It fears Rhubarb (Dahuang); it is excellent when heated. It stops pain, stabilizes pregnancy immediately, benefits Qi, and greatly tonifies deficiency and emaciation. It treats falls and trauma, and manages hematemesis, epistaxis, metrorrhagia, and leukorrhea. The boiled horn, dried and ground again, is named Deer Horn White Frost (Lujiao Baishuang). Although the main indications are the same, its potency is slightly slower. Marrow tonifies Yang and fills bone marrow, boiled into paste with Rehmannia glutinosa (Dihuang) and white honey. Kidney supplementation nourishes Kidney Yuan, usable in both wine decoctions and porridge. Meat strengthens the Five Viscera and increases strength; applied externally for facial deviation it is miraculous, (slice raw meat, apply right lesion to left side, left lesion to right side, remove when corrected.) Boil and eat according to season; (edible from September to January, otherwise not edible.) Bone below the diaphragm calms fetal movement, kills ghost essence substances instantly, consumption does not tire, promotes longevity. Head meat resolves upper Jiao thirst-wasting, hoof meat stops wind-pain in the lower ankle. Sinews reconnect severed injuries and labor damage, fat treats carbuncles and necrotic muscle. Blood regulates vessels and stops lower back pain, taken raw mixed with wine; Teeth treat rat-hole fistulas and attack poison sores, rubbed wet with water.

Additionally, cultivated Sika Deer Velvet (Mirong) comes from the larger species. Its efficacy is superior to that of Deer Velvet; physicians must know this. Selection distinguishes quality for simultaneous decoction; manufacturing pills and powders follows standard procedures. However, its nature is hot, specifically benefiting Yang mostly. The *Shennong Bencao Jing* also states: Sika Deer Velvet tonifies Yang with hot nature, Deer Velvet tonifies Yin with warm nature, slight difference here. Soft bones can be strengthened, flaccid penis can be supported. Sika Deer fat fears Rhubarb; proximity to the genitals prevents flaccidity. (*Shennong Bencao Jing* says: do not approach genitals, causes flaccidity. This is a major error.) Due to high libido, it easily induces erection. It governs wind-cold-damp bi syndrome with sinew spasm, treats swelling, carbuncles, malignant toxins, and dead muscle. It still opens interstices and smooths skin. Boiled horn is superior to White Glue, as its force is tighter than deer. It fills essence and marrow, soothes lower back and knees, benefits blood vessels, and beautifies complexion. Ground in sour water into mud, applied to face prevents wrinkles; mixed with pure wine and meat powder and drunk, enters Heart and Epigastrium to stop pain. Bone decoction drunk removes deficiency labor; meat eaten benefits Middle Qi.

(Chen Jiamo) Commentary: Su Dongpo said: For tonifying Yang, Deer Horn is superior; for tonifying Yin, Sika Deer Horn is superior. Presumably, Deer are Yang animals, mostly in mountains. Deer shed horns at Summer Solstice, an image of retreating from Yang. Sika Deer are Yin animals, mostly in marshes. Sika Deer shed horns at Winter Solstice, an image of retreating from Yin. Yin and Yang are opposite thus. Therefore it is said: Deer Velvet benefits tonifying Yang, Sika Deer Velvet benefits tonifying Yin. Now people do not distinguish between Mi and Lu, merely saying Mi beats Lu, or Lu beats Mi, which is likely a negligence. Some pierce Mi and Lu blood to replace velvet. Saying: Velvet is just blood, is a huge error. Sika Deer horns become hard within two months. Large ones weigh over twenty jin, hard as stone. Among bone and horn types, no growth is faster than this. Even easy-growing plants cannot match it. This is the strongest bone, hence it can tonify bone blood, strengthen Yang pathways, and strengthen bone marrow. How can it be compared to blood? Based on Dongpo's words, they seem very insightful. But regarding what the two horns tonify, it greatly contradicts previous classics. The *Benjing* states: Deer tonifies Yin, Mi tonifies Yang, based on the advancement of Qi at the two solstices. Dongpo states: Deer tonifies Yang, Mi tonifies Yin, based on the retreat of Qi at the two solstices. Thus readers inevitably start doubting both ends, yet must seek a unified theory. I have pondered, Yang is firm and abundant, Yin is soft and deficient. Mi and Lu are essentially the same category. Deer bodies are large and strong, are they not abundant and belonging to Yang? Deer bodies are small and weak, are they not deficient and belonging to Yin? Just as men's Qi is mostly firm and large, women's Qi is mostly soft and small. Yang can tonify Yang, Yin can tonify Yin, this principle is naturally unchangeable. Now Dongpo cites "mostly in mountains" and "mostly in marshes" to divide them into Yang and Yin animals. Holding this as correct, then pigs are also water animals, should be Yin animals, why did Danxi say their meat specifically tonifies Yang, earnestly warning those with Yin deficiency? Anyone in health preservation wishing to utilize the two horns for separate tonification must follow the text of the *Benjing* as the standard for all generations.

Another commentary: *Huainanzi* says: Pregnant women seeing rabbits result in children with cleft lips; seeing sika deer results in children with four eyes. Things have their natural laws, but this seems not so. Sika deer have four eyes, two of which are night vision eyes. Ancients said there are apertures under the eyes allowing night vision, that is what it refers to.