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It is the fruit of the current *Broussonetia papyrifera* (Paper Mulberry). Also known as Gu Shi (Valley Fruit). The Chu tree and Gu tree are the same species, divided into male and female varieties. The male variety has bark without spots and leaves without lobes. It flowers in March, forming catkins resembling willow catkins, but does not bear fruit. The female variety has spotted bark and distinctly lobed leaves. It flowers in April, bearing fruits resembling half-ripe bayberries; they are green in early summer and gradually turn deep red in June and July. They are harvested in August and September, soaked in water, peeled, de-pulped, and the central seeds are extracted, dried, and used.

The flavor is sweet and cold. The qi is thin while the taste is strong, belonging to Yin, with a descending action. It enters the Foot-Taiyin Meridian (Spleen Meridian). Turbid Yin descends, making it suitable for entering the Foot-Shaoyin Meridian (Kidney Meridian) (According to Xu Shicai). It mainly treats impotence, edema, aids Yang Qi, brightens the eyes, strengthens sinews and bones, tonifies deficiency and fatigue, and strengthens the waist and knees. There is another variety with a bitter taste, used only for red and white turbidity; perhaps it is a different species sharing the same name.

For water qi and gu distension (abdominal ascites), use Chushizi Wan (Paper Mulberry Seed Pill). Take one dou of Chushizi, add three dou of water, place in a clean pot, and boil down to a paste. Mix with three liang of Fuling (Poria) and one and a half liang of Baidingxiang (Viverre's Faeces), ground into powder. Combine the powder with the paste to form pills the size of wutong seeds. Start with a small dose and increase gradually until urination becomes clear and abundant and abdominal distension subsides. Subsequently, administer Zhizhong Tang (Regulate the Middle Decoction) for nourishment. Avoid sweet, harshly tonifying bitter substances, and fawu (stimulating foods).

For liver heat causing corneal opacity (nebula), grind Chushizi finely and take one qian after meals with honey water, twice daily.

For blurred vision and difficulty seeing, take five hundred Chutaos (Paper Mulberry fruits) and Jingjiesui (Schizonepeta Spike), grind into powder, and form pills the size of an egg yolk using refined honey. Chew one pill after meals and swallow with Bohe Tang (Mint Decoction), three times daily.

Attached Case: Emperor Liezu of Southern Tang suffered from throat obstruction after eating malt syrup. Imperial physicians could not cure him. Wu Tingshao alone administered Chushi Tang (Paper Mulberry Decoction), and the disease disappeared after one dose. When asked, he replied, "Obstruction arises from sweetness; it can be treated with sweet-cold substances that descend." This aligns with the principle of "similar qi following each other."

[Discussion] *Ben Cao Bie Lu* (Divine Farmer's Materia Medica - Supplement) first states that Chushizi treats impotence, and there are also claims that it aids Yang Qi. Physicians, adhering to its sweet flavor and cold nature, casually assume its merit lies in nourishing Yin. However, do all sweet-cold herbs serve only to nourish Yin? Moreover, Chushizi treats edema, clears damp-heat, and benefits the elderly. Why is this? The elderly suffer from Yin deficiency leading to concurrent Yang deficiency; Yang deficiency causes Yin to stagnate further and transform into dampness. This herb guides out dampness to raise Yin, which differs from methods relying on diuresis. Considering it grows in early summer, matures through the sixth and seventh months, and is harvested in the eighth and ninth months when the Qi of Fire and Earth is exhausted... (Harvest must be before late autumn, so that Metal, influenced by Fire and Earth, has not yet leaked essence into the Water it generates, thereby becoming the great mother of Yin Qi to treat impotence and tonify deficiency.) Precisely because its flavor is sweet and nature is cold, it can guide Yang Qi into Yin. With Yang guiding within Yin, Yin rises and Yang flows more smoothly, which is what is meant by "aiding Yang Qi." In Materia Medica texts, under the treatment of edema, the phrase "benefiting Qi" follows immediately; the meaning here warrants deep thought.

Formulas for eye diseases often use Chushizi. Li Dongyuan stated, "Green or white nebulae appearing in the eyes indicate stagnation in the Foot-Taiyang Bladder and Foot-Shaoyin Kidney meridians, preventing the Qi of the Jueyin Liver Meridian from ascending to the eyes." If water metabolism proceeds normally, the transformation of Wind-Wood spreads, and Liver Qi flows freely to the eyes it governs. From this, we know that as Wind transforms, the True Yang within Water becomes smoother. Both Chushizi and Cheqianzi (Plantago Seed) strengthen Yin, yet they differ slightly. Cheqianzi is old by May, indicating Water Qi reaching Wood, and Wood Qi reaching Fire, representing the Liver (Child) smoothing the Mother (Heart/Fire). Thus, it specializes in the Small Water governed by the Liver and the Wind Transformation associated with it. Chushizi ripens only in Autumn, indicating Water and Wood Qi蕴藏 (harbored) in Fire and Earth, returning to Cool Metal. Metal is controlled by Wood (contextually implying Metal's restrictive nature balances Wood's expansion). Therefore, when strengthening Yin Qi, Lung Qi still combines with the Substance of the Liver (i.e., Lung Qi descending to Mingmen, the meaning of Metal within Water). When treating edema, the Liver transmits function to the Lung. This is their similarity with difference; they cannot be confused. *Ben Jing* (Shennong Ben Cao Jing) first mentions treating impotence because it aids Yang Qi. Aiding Yang Qi cannot be separated from the Lung, as Qi is governed by the Lung. The Lung governs descending functions; the process from Yang to Yin requires the Liver to combine with the Lung, completing the Liver's Substance and Function. Consider how this herb ferments essence in Summer Fire and returns to origin in Autumn Metal, resembling the meaning of "Yin descends, Yang follows," and also fitting the meaning of "guiding Qi back to the Origin." *Bie Lu* first states it treats impotence, and Ri Hua Zi also states it tonifies deficiency and fatigue; this is indeed true. Regarding its benefit to the elderly, ancient sages have mentioned it repeatedly (Ge Hong in *Baopuzi* said consuming red Chushizi makes the elderly look younger). Because it tonifies True Yang, it ferments Yang and returns to Yin to complete its efficacy, thus achieving Yang tonification without dryness.

[Processing] Discard floating ones; keep those sinking in water. Dry them. Soak in wine, steam for half a day, and bake dry for use.

Decoction Method: On the sixth day of the sixth lunar month, take five sheng of Gu tree seeds, add ten sheng of water, boil to obtain five sheng, remove dregs, and simmer over low heat until thick like malt syrup.

Gu Ye (Paper Mulberry Leaf)

Flavor: Sweet and cool. Treats wind-damp swelling, epistaxis, white turbidity, hernia, and tinea corporis. Yin and Yang are the substance and function of Ying and Wei inside and outside. Chushizi encompasses the whole body, while Gu Ye leans towards Wei Qi.

Attached Formulas: Generalized edema, decoct Chu branches and leaves until thick like syrup; take one bi on an empty stomach, three times daily.

Epistaxis, bleeding upon slight exertion, drink three sheng of juice extracted from Chu leaves; effective.

All types of corneal opacity, collect soft leaves of the Gu tree in March, dry and powder them, add a little Shexiang (Musk). Insert a amount the size of millet grain into the nose; the opacity will fall off naturally.

White turbid urine, powder Gu Ye, make pills with steamed bread dough the size of wutong seeds. Take thirty pills per dose with warm water.

Mu Shen Hernia, equal parts Chu Ye and Xionghuang (Realgar), powder them, make pills with wine paste the size of wutong seeds. Take fifty pills per dose with salted wine.

Hernia entering the scrotum, collect Gu Ye on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, dry in shade, powder it. Take one or two spoons per dose with warm wine on an empty stomach.

Gu Shu Bai Pi (Paper Mulberry White Bark)

Flavor: Sweet and neutral. Decoct to make wine and drink; treats abdominal edema, shortness of breath, and cough. Powder and take orally; treats lower blood loss and metrorrhagia. Zhu Danxi used it for lumbar pain caused by damp-heat, combined with Yin-nourishing herbs.

Feng Shui Edema (Wind-induced edema), use Chu Pi San (Mulberry Bark Powder). Chu Bai Pi (Paper Mulberry White Bark), Zhuling (Polyporus), Mutong (Akebia Stem) each 2 qian, Sangbaipi (Mulberry Root Bark) 3 qian, Ju Pi (Tangerine Peel) 1 qian, Shengjiang (Fresh Ginger) 3 slices. Add two zhong of water, decoct and take.

Bladder Shi Shui (Stone Water), emaciated limbs, lower abdominal fullness, use Gougen Bai Pi (Fig Tree Root Bark) and Sanggen Bai Pi (Mulberry Root Bark) each two sheng, Baizhu (Atractylodes Macrocephala Rhizome) four liang, Heida Dou (Black Soybean) five sheng, flowing water one dou. Boil to four sheng, add two sheng of clear wine, boil again to three sheng. Take twice daily, one bi per dose.

Chang Feng Lower Bleeding (Intestinal wind bleeding), harvest Chu bark in autumn, dry in shade, powder it. Take three qian with wine, or add a little Musk, twice daily.

Blood Dysentery and Metrorrhagia, equal parts Chu树皮 (Chu Bark) and Jingjie (Schizonepeta), powder them, mix with cold vinegar and take one qian. For metrorrhagia, decoct with vinegar for miraculous effect.

Continuous menstruation in women, irregular timing, take thirty sheets of paper made from pounded Gu bark, burn to ash, mix with half a sheng of clear wine and take; symptoms stop instantly. Postpartum blood syncope, take it for immediate effect. For those already dead, remove incisors and灌 (pour) the medicine; they may revive after one day.

[General Discussion] Chu Ye (Leaf) and Bai Pi (White Bark), along with the fruit, share the property of promoting dampness removal and raising Yang. However, the fruit is sweet and cold; cold belongs to Earth Yin, fully harboring the essence of Fire and Earth, guiding Yang into Yin to complete the Liver's substance and function. Thus, it raises Yin and brightens the eyes, with its effects primarily attributed to the Liver. The leaf is sweet and cool; the bark is sweet and neutral (neutral implies pungent). Although their transformations of removing dampness and raising Yang are similar, cool and neutral both belong to Metal transformation, which is Heaven Yang. Their application seems focused on Wei Qi to harmonize Ying Qi. Therefore, the bark and leaf are superior to the fruit in treating water diseases and are better at treating epistaxis and lower bleeding/metrorrhagia. (*Yin Hai Jing Wei* states Chushizi belongs to the Lung and can raise Yang; however, it should actually belong to the Leaf and White Bark.) Human blood is indeed transformed from water. If Yang within the lower Water rises, and Yin is transformed by Yang, the Liver will not suffer from blood storage issues. If Yin within the upper Metal descends, and Yang is transformed by Yin, the Heart will not suffer from blood governing issues. Chu Ye and Bai Pi possess both characteristics, making them key agents for regulating blood. Regulating blood requires attention to the Metal and Water organs first. Note: Throat obstruction from eating malt syrup was cured by one dose of Chushi Tang. This indicates that Chushizi's benefit to Yin Qi involves transforming damp-heat (damp-heat often arises from sweet flavors). Wu Tingshao's use of it to treat obstruction perfectly aligns with Zhu Danxi's theory of removing damp-heat.