出陇西及晋地。凡牛生黄。则夜视其身有光。皮毛润泽。眼如血色。（或云病乃生黄
者非也）时复鸣吼。恐惧人。以盆水置牛前。伺其吐出。喝迫堕水。取出阴干百日。（无令
见日月光）如鸡黄大。重叠可揭。若百千层。轻虚气香。磨甲色透。置舌上清凉透心。是曰
生神黄。最贵。其杀死从牛角得者。曰角中黄。病死从心中剥得者。曰心黄。（初在心中如
黄浆。取得便投水中。乃硬。似碎蒺藜及豆瓣者是也。）一从肝胆中得者。曰肝黄胆黄。皆
不及生黄。又 牛黄坚而不香。骆驼黄极易得。能相乱。不可不审。
味先苦后甘。气平凉。入足厥阴少阳手少阴经。 益肝胆。清心化热。利痰定神。治惊
痫寒热。热盛狂痉。（入肝治筋病）中风失音口噤。疗小儿痫热百病。（儿禀纯阳之气。其病
皆胎毒痰热所生。肝心二经所发。此药化痰除热。清心养肝。有起死回生之力。）痘疮紫色。
发狂谵语者。可用。 凡中风入脏者。必用牛雄脑麝之剂入骨透肌以引风出。若中腑及中血
脉者。用之反引风邪入于骨髓。莫之能出。（东垣） 牛以土畜。凝结精气而为黄。犹人身
之有内丹也。故能解百毒而消痰热。散心火而疗惊痫。为世神物。诸药莫及。（仲淳） 凡
中风清心化痰热。中脏昏冒不语者。此味当为主药。 同犀角琥珀天竺黄钩藤钩茯神真珠金
箔麝香丹砂。治小儿惊痫百病。 同犀角地黄丹皮麦冬竹叶。治小儿五色丹毒。 入外科内
服药。能解疔肿痈疽诸毒。入敷药。止痛散毒如神。 小儿七日口噤。牛黄为末。以淡竹沥
化一字灌之。更以猪乳滴之。 惊痫嚼舌迷闷仰目。牛黄一粒许。研。和蜜水灌之。 小儿
积热。毛焦睡语。欲发惊者。牛黄六分。朱砂五钱。同研。以犀角磨汁调服一钱。 痘疮黑
陷。牛黄二粒。朱砂一分。研末。蜜浸胭脂。取汁调搽。一日一上。
〔论〕 牛为土畜。在卦为坤。坤阴也。阴承阳气以生物。是阳在阴中也。而阳即得阴
之气以化物。故中土味甘。无所不生。又无所不化。举戾气所钟之物。并人身为患之戾气。
无不藉之以化焉。牛以坤质。更萃气血之精明而凝结为黄。是以土德而具生化之体用。药中
之贵。莫过于此。第在肝心二脏专致其用者。何也。未木固为土之主。而又必基土以为命。
故木变风眚。有土气以归之。则风平。若心火则土之母也。有土之子气以宿之。则母自趋子
而火熄矣。此所谓益肝胆。清心化热。而水火源同。并以清心者益肾也。总之。以气血之物。
专
又云。小儿伤乳作泻。脾胃虚寒者。不当用。
Niu Huang (Calculus Bovis) is produced in Longxi and Jin regions. Whenever a cow develops Niu Huang, its body emits light when viewed at night, its fur and skin are lustrous, and its eyes appear blood-red. (Some claim that illness causes the formation of Niu Huang, which is incorrect.) At such times, the cow may occasionally bellow or roar and show fear towards people. Place a basin of water in front of the cow, wait for it to expel the calculus, and use loud shouts to startle it into falling into the water. Retrieve it and dry it in the shade for one hundred days (avoid exposure to sunlight or moonlight). If it is as large as a chicken gallstone, layered and peelable, resembling hundreds or thousands of layers, light and porous with an aromatic fragrance, leaving a nail-color stain when ground, and feeling cooling on the tongue that penetrates to the heart, it is called "Sheng Shen Huang" (Raw Divine Yellow), which is the most precious. Those obtained from the horns of slaughtered cows are called "Jiao Zhong Huang" (Horn Calculus); those peeled from the hearts of cows that died of disease are called "Xin Huang" (Heart Calculus) (initially like yellow slurry in the heart, hardening upon immersion in water, resembling broken Tribulus seeds or soybean pieces). Others obtained from the liver or gallbladder are called "Gan Huang" (Liver Calculus) or "Dan Huang" (Gallbladder Calculus), all inferior to Sheng Shen Huang. Additionally, some Niu Huang is hard and lacks fragrance; Tuomuo Huang (Camel Gallstone) is easily obtained and can cause confusion, so careful distinction is necessary.
The taste is initially bitter then sweet; the nature is neutral and cool. It enters the Foot Jueyin Liver Meridian, Foot Shaoyang Gallbladder Meridian, and Hand Shaoyin Heart Meridian. It benefits the liver and gallbladder, clears the heart and transforms heat, promotes phlegm resolution and calms the spirit. It treats Jing Xian (Convulsions and Epilepsy) with alternating cold and heat, and manic spasms due to excessive heat (entering the liver to treat tendon disorders), aphasia and lockjaw due to Wind Stroke, and various pediatric febrile convulsions. (Children inherit pure Yang Qi; their diseases often arise from fetal toxins, phlegm, and heat, manifesting in the liver and heart meridians. This herb resolves phlegm and eliminates heat, clears the heart and nourishes the liver, possessing the power to revive the dying.) It can be used for varicella with purple lesions, mania, and delirium. Generally, for Wind Stroke invading the Zang organs, preparations containing Niu Huang, Xiong Huang (Realgar), Nao (Borneol), and She Xiang (Musk) must be used to penetrate bone and muscle to draw out the wind. However, if the stroke affects the Fu organs or blood vessels, using this herb may instead drive the wind pathogen into the bone marrow, from where it cannot be expelled. (Li Dongyuan) Cows are Earth animals; Niu Huang forms through the condensation of essence and Qi, analogous to the Inner Elixir in the human body. Thus, it can resolve hundred poisons and eliminate phlegm-heat, dissipate Heart Fire and treat convulsions, regarded by the world as a divine substance unmatched by other herbs. (Chen Zhongchun) In cases of Wind Stroke requiring clearing of the heart and transformation of phlegm-heat, or coma and muteness due to Zang organ involvement, this herb should serve as the principal agent. Combined with Xi Jiao (Rhinoceros Horn - *Note: Substitute with Buffalo Horn in modern practice*), Hu Po (Amber), Tian Zhu Huang (Bambusa Textilis Calamus), Gou Teng (Uncaria Rhynchophylla), Fu Shen (Poria with Hostwood), Zhen Zhu (Pearl), Jin Bo (Gold Leaf), She Xiang (Musk), and Dan Sha (Cinnabar), it treats pediatric convulsions and various diseases. Combined with Xi Jiao, Di Huang (Rehmannia Root), Mu Dan Pi (Moutan Cortex), Mai Dong (Ophiopogon Tuber), and Zhu Ye (Bamboo Leaves), it treats pediatric five-colored erysipelas. When included in internal medicines for external surgery, it resolves carbuncles, ulcers, and various toxins; when used in topical applications, it stops pain and disperses toxins miraculously. For infants presenting with lockjaw at seven days old, grind Niu Huang into powder, dissolve a "Yi Zi" (approx. 1-2 grams) dose in Dan Zhu Li (Bamboo Sap), administer orally, and drip pig milk afterwards. For convulsions involving tongue-biting, coma, and upward-gazing eyes, take approximately one pill-sized amount of Niu Huang, grind it, mix with honey water, and administer. For pediatric accumulated heat, with dry hair, somniloquy, and impending convulsions, take 6 fen of Niu Huang and 5 qian of Zhu Sha (Cinnabar), grind together, and take 1 qian mixed with juice ground from Xi Jiao. For blackened and depressed varicella lesions, take two grains of Niu Huang and one fen of Zhu Sha, grind into powder, soak Yan Zhi (Carthamus Flower) in honey to extract juice, and apply topically once daily.
[Discussion] The cow is an Earth animal, corresponding to the Kun trigram in the I Ching, representing Yin. Yin carries Yang Qi to generate living things, meaning Yang exists within Yin, and Yang utilizes Yin's Qi to transform matter. Therefore, its central Earth flavor is sweet, capable of generating everything and transforming everything. It can resolve any object concentrated with malignant Qi and even the malignant Qi causing illness in the human body. Possessing the quality of Kun, and gathering the essence of Qi and Blood to condense into Niu Huang, it embodies the virtue of Earth and possesses the function of generation and transformation. No medicinal herb is more precious than this. Why does it specifically exert its effects in the Liver and Heart organs? Wood is indeed governed by Earth, yet it must rely on Earth for its life force. Thus, when Wood transforms into Wind disasters, the presence of Earth Qi calms the wind. As for Heart Fire, Earth is its mother; the Qi of the Earth child residing within it causes the mother to turn toward the child, extinguishing the fire. This is what is meant by benefiting the liver and gallbladder, clearing the heart and transforming heat; Water and Fire share the same source, and by clearing the heart, the Kidney is also benefited. In summary, utilizing substances of Qi and Blood...
It is also stated that for infants suffering from diarrhea due to milk injury with Spleen and Stomach deficiency-cold, this herb should not be used.