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Both trees grow in the north and south. The bark of Toona sinensis (Chun) is fine, the wood is solid and red, and the tender leaves are fragrant, sweet, and edible. The bark of Ailanthus altissima (Chu) is rough, the wood is loose, and the stems are white; its leaves have an offensive odor.

Root White Bark: Taste is astringent and bitter, nature is cool and dry, entering the Foot and Hand Yangming meridians. It treats red and white turbid discharge, seminal emission with sleep, dampness-induced diarrhea and dysentery with intestinal slipping, and persistent bleeding from intestinal wind. For women with metrorrhagia and red/white leukorrhea, and children with malnutrition due to parasites or roundworms, it is effective. When combined with Sanguisorbae Radix (Diyu), it stops malnutrition-related dysentery. Chun root white bark has a cool nature and can astringe blood. It is used for dysentery, turbid leukorrhea, and seminal emission caused by downward flow of damp-heat, possessing the functions of drying lower dampness and eliminating old phlegm from the lung and stomach. It treats diarrhea by removing dampness and firming the intestines. (However, if qi stagnation is not yet resolved, it should not be used abruptly.) Stir-fried and ground into powder, made into pills with paste, and used as a decoction according to the condition, named Guchang Wan (Intestine-Firming Pill) (from Zhu Danxi). For diseases originating in the blood level with deficiency, Chuns bark is suitable; for diseases originating in the qi level with stagnation, Chus bark is suitable (from Li Shizhen). For treating sores and swellings, Chu bark is used externally, ground with unrooted water into juice, taken in amounts of two to three bowls, with mild purgation as the sign of efficacy. Chen Cangqi stated that Chu bark has slight toxicity, likely based on experimentation (from Qiankun Shengyi). A woman addicted to drinking and consuming fish and crab accumulated toxins in her zang organs, suffering from thirty episodes of diarrhea day and night, with stool mixed with pus and blood, and unbearable pain from the large intestine to the anus. Hot medicines worsened abdominal pain and bleeding; cold medicines caused watery diarrhea and loss of appetite; warm-neutral medicines had no effect. After a year, she was near death. Someone advised Ren Shen San (Ginseng Powder); after three doses, pus and blood stopped, and long-term use led to recovery. This formula treats large intestine wind-deficiency, excessive alcohol consumption leading to heat-carrying dysentery with pus/blood and severe pain, persisting for many days. Use Chu root white bark one liang, Ginseng one liang, powdered. Take two qian per dose, mixed with rice water on an empty stomach. Avoid greasy foods, wet noodles, green vegetables, fruits, sweets, chicken, pork, fish, mutton, garlic, and shallots (from Bencao Zongyuan). For childhood malnutrition dysentery, use a handful of Chu white bark, fifty grains of Japonica Oryzae Semen (Jingmi), a handful of Scallion White (Congbai), three cun of Roasted Licorice Root (Zhigancao), two he of Fermented Soybean (Chidou), one sheng of water, boil to half a sheng, and administer as appropriate. The branches and leaves have similar functions.

[Discussion] Chun and Chu are one category, two species. Both taste astringent and bitter, though Chun is less intense than Chu. They inherit the cold-water qi of the earth. Their use lies in treating damp-heat in the blood. In diseases where heat causes dampness to conjoin, using Chun or Chu clears the heat; once heat is cleared, righteous qi (yang containing yin) recovers, and dampness clears along with it. If all heat-clearing herbs are indiscriminately used, dampness may increase, and righteous qi becomes more constrained (this is yang within yin). Heat further stagnates in dampness causing pain, leading to heat conjoining with dampness. At this time, using warm-drying herbs would assist heat and fail to move dampness. Only this herb, belonging to dry metal reaching cold transformation, works because dryness is the counterpart to dampness, and cold transformation allows heat to clear. The astringent taste of metal represents yang-yin wanting relief but unable to get it, countering yin-yang wanting freedom but unable to achieve it, preventing yang from sinking into yin, thus clearing turbidity, consolidating essence, and stopping dysentery. (The function of securing collapse relies entirely on reaching yang, and reaching yang relies first on collecting yin.) Zhu Danxi discussed this herb mainly for removing dampness, knowing its primary focus. Li Shizhen strongly distinguished Chun entering the blood level and Chu entering the qi level, not realizing that damp-heat pathology affects the blood level. Both Chun and Chu bark primarily reach yang, which is based on collecting yin. Chu’s ability to collect yin is double that of Chun, and thus its ability to reach yang is also double. Users can distinguish them based on strength. (For damp-heat syndromes treatable with wind agents to dry dampness, earth pathogen qi is excess, and water dampness stagnates accordingly, so wind-wood overcomes it. For Chun/Chu treatments, earth righteous qi is deficient, and wood exploits its dominance, so dry-metal collects it. Using wind-wood again would further constrain earth.) This reflects the principle of seeking the root in treatment. Although rooted in dampness, if heat is severe, double heat-clearing herbs; if stagnation is severe, double draining herbs. Or add other assisting herbs, transferring via decoctions. One cannot stick to one theory without considering variations.

Attached Formulas:
Chu Bai Wan: Treats damp-heat, phlegm-fire, and turbid syndromes; also treats external genital abscesses. Chu root white bark one liang, Phellodendri Cortex (Huangbo) three liang, Indigo Naturalis (Qingdai) three qian, Dried Ginger (Ganjiang) three qian, Talcum (Huashi) five qian, Concha Meretricis (Ge Fen) five qian, Mass Medicamentum (Shenqu) five qian. For severe phlegm, add Arisaematis Rhizoma (Nanxing) and Pinelliae Rhizoma (Banxia). Powdered, made into pills with Shenqu paste, taken with plain water on an empty stomach. Remove Huashi and Ganjiang, add Anemarrhenae Rhizoma (Zhimu) and Ostrea Concha (Muli) to treat seminal emission. This adjusts based on heat severity. Pi Du Chang Feng: Due to defensive-healthy qi weakness, wind invasion, and heat乘虚, blood渗 into intestines causing hematochezia. Use Stink Tree root scraped, dried, four liang; Atractylodis Rhizoma (Cangzhu) soaked in rice wash and dried; Aurantii Fructus (Zhiqiao) bran-fried, each one liang. Powdered, vinegar-paste pills size of wutong seeds, 50 pills per dose, rice water, three times daily.
Jie Yin Dan: Treats intestinal wind, internal toxin, and various hematochezia. Zhiqiao, Scutellariae Radix (Huangqin), Citri Reticulatae Pericarpium (Chenpi, peeled), Saposhnikoviae Radix (Weilingxian), Schizonepetae Spica (Jingjie Sui), Polygoni Multiflori Radix (Heshouwu), Chun root white bark, each five qian. Powdered, wine-paste pills size of wutong seeds, 50-70 pills per dose, aged rice water with a little vinegar boiled, warmed before taking. These two formulas adjust based on damp-stagnation severity.
Xiu Xi Li (Intermittent Dysentery): Day and night without limit, foul-smelling, umbilical/abdominal cramping pain. Chun root white bark and Terminalia Chebulae Fructus (Helile) each half liang, Syzygdii Flos (Mudingxiang) thirty pieces. Powdered, vinegar-paste pills size of wutong seeds, 50 pills per dose, rice water.
Another Formula: Chun root white bark from southeast direction, soaked in running water for three days, remove yellow bark, dry and powder. One liang plus Muxiang two qian, made into pills with Japonica Oryzae Semen (Jingmi) rice paste. Take one qian two fen per dose, rice water on empty stomach. For this single syndrome, some add astringents, others add qi-regulating herbs; differences can be referenced.
Female Leukorrhea: Chun root white bark and Huashi equal parts. Powdered, porridge-paste pills size of wutong seeds, take 100 pills with plain water on empty stomach.
Another Formula: Chun root white bark one liang five qian, Charred Dried Ginger, Charred White Peony Root (Baishao), Charred Phellodendri Cortex (Huangbo), each two qian. Powdered, pill form as above. For this single syndrome, some add damp-draining/middle-joint harmonizing herbs, others add blood-harmonizing/heat-clearing herbs; clinical judgment is key.

Spleen-stomach deficiency-cold: Do not use. Metrorrhagia/leukorrhea due to kidney true yin deficiency: Contraindicated (due to dryness). Dysentery with unresolved accumulation/qi stagnation: Do not use abruptly (from Miao Xichun). Chu root white bark combined with pork and hot noodles frequently eaten causes middle-journal fullness due to meridian obstruction (from disciples). Overconsumption causes mild purgation.

[Processing] Suitable for pills and powders, not for decoctions (Zhu Danxi said decoction is possible, no harm seen). Scrape off coarse bark, shade dry. Before...