三四月花开根下。五六月成实。实在根下。仁藏壳内。取密藏之意。故名。八月采者。
气味完固。
味辛微苦而涩。气温芳窜。可升可降。降多于升。阳也。入手足太阴阳明太阳足少阴七
经。得白檀香豆蔻为使入肺。得人参益智为使入脾。得黄柏茯苓为使入肾。得赤白石脂为使
入大小肠。主脾胃气结滞不散。醒脾开胃。益肾和中。行气。散寒饮。消宿食。治胀痞。噎
膈呕吐。止冷气痛。疗虚劳冷泻及休息痢。调女子崩中。安胎止痛。（行气故也）除咽喉口
齿浮热。（所治皆通行结滞之功）缩砂属土。芳香入脾。和合五脏冲和之气。能引诸药归宿
丹田。故补肾药用同地黄丸蒸。取其达下也。（韩 ）香达脾。辛润肾。故为开脾胃之要药。
和中气之正品。若兼肾虚气不归元。用为向导。殆胜桂附热毒之药多矣。日华用主一动气。
转筋霍乱。缘是病必由脾胃为邪所干。其气壅滞闭塞而成也。花实在根下。固甲函孚。界列
八膈。砂粒攒簇。敛缩密藏。犹夫其息以踵。而孕毓元阳。保任冲举。是故升出降入。靡不
合宜。观其补虚安胎。填崩镇惊。滑可涩。脱可收。渗可弥。奔豚可下。及秋不能从外而内。
冬不能
土。及春不能自下而上。夏不能从内而外者。亦可使之从升从出矣。乃若解毒散滞。伸筋舒
郁。化痞却痛。彻饮调中。开噎膈。摄吐逆。此正开发上焦。宣五谷味。苏胃醒脾之力也。
毋仅瞻其升出。失却其降入之原。（之颐）得人参橘皮。宜藿香茯苓白芍炙草。治泄泻呕吐。
及不思食。得藿香陈皮木瓜。治霍乱转筋。腹痛吐泻。独用两许。炒为末。入食盐三钱。滚
汤一碗泡浸冷服。治干霍乱累效。
〔论〕缩砂密初尝之酸辣而有咸。后转微苦。仍兼酸辣咸之味。苦味尽处带澹甜酸意。
而唾渣有余香。（大抵辛苦居多。而辛尤胜。咸酸为少。而酸尤劣。）夫咸水气。土之元。酸
木气。土之用。辛金气。土之化。辛具于咸酸中。是咸酸之味。得辛气以畅也。因而转苦者。
达
咸味。）苦尽而微有澹甜者。五味皆归中土以达其化也。唾渣有余香者。金气同于火气。以
终始之也。夫中土为四气所生。而四气即由中土所成。是以脾为己土。其本味咸。其兼味有
辛甘酸苦。脾之属土而本味亦咸者。缘水土合德以立地。（所谓咸者水气为土之原）此物带
有咸味。故能理肾气归元。而引诸药入丹田也。岂徒花实结于根下。可想见归元之义乎。顾
或以所治皆虚冷结滞之病。其用当偏于辛温。而所谓兼四味备四气者。谅犹不切。不知缩砂
乃气分药也。人身水中有火而气生。（气之体也）水上合于火而气化。（气之用也）此品华于
春夏。实于盛夏。洵为合于火以全气之用者。其假之祛冷行滞。虽与辛温之他味无殊。而究
其有异于他味者。全在乎具体耳。观夫华实俱藏根下。而实中即具四味。则其由水木以至火
者。全以归土。而终始又皆金气以宣之。非令中土为水火之极。体全而后用畅。是以能理气
归肾而还元乎。然则但以辛温毕治疗之能。固非其用之全矣。至濒湖所谓理元气。通滞气。
其功将合五脏冲和之气。如韩氏说乎。抑辛苦温实居其胜。如诸本草乎。曰。此物明具四味。
谓非
蟠之用。缩砂惟具体而微。致用而宏。故其醒脾开胃。理元气。通滞气。功超他味。洵乎不
虚。第水至于火。火固达水之用。若火伤乎水。则是体之不存。用归何地。所以凤髓丹用寒
化以救水。而存气之体。然后入兹味为中土宣行气化之权舆。非可倒行逆施而漫谓其能补虚
也。（水胜于火。则伤气之用。血之体。火胜于水。则伤气之体。血之用。前哲于治气病。
切戒
热。脾为己土。其味本咸。其兼味辛甘酸苦。人身以水火为气元。而水火之枢属中土。为气
生化
入之经。皆本于调脾中之肾。肾中之脾。盖脾肾原相因。而诸脏又因于脾胃者也。
缪氏云。此味固辛温阳药。凡腹痛属火。泻滞得之暑热。胎动由于血热。咽痛由于火炎。
肿满由于湿热。咳逆由于火冲迫肺。及小儿脱肛由于气虚。皆难概用。本非肺经药亦有用之
于咳嗽者。乃寒邪郁肺。气不得舒之证。非此弗用。性燥火炎者。忌之。胎妇气虚。多服反
致难产。不可不知。（士材）
〔修治〕略炒。吹去衣。研用。入汤丸。法与后白蔻同。
In the third and fourth months, flowers bloom beneath the roots. In the fifth and sixth months, fruits mature. The fruits grow beneath the roots, with seeds enclosed within shells, embodying the meaning of "secretly stored," hence the name. When harvested in the eighth month, the medicinal properties are complete and solid.
The taste is pungent, slightly bitter, and astringent; the nature is warm, aromatic, and penetrating. It can ascend and descend, but descending predominates over ascending. It belongs to the Yang aspect. It enters the seven meridians: Hand-Taiyin Lung (Fei Jing), Hand-Yangming Large Intestine (Da Chang Jing), Foot-Taiyin Spleen (Pi Jing), Foot-Yangming Stomach (Wei Jing), Foot-Taiyang Bladder (Pang Guang Jing), and Foot-Shaoyin Kidney (Shen Jing). When used with Bai Tan Xiang (Santalum album) and Dou Kou (Amomi Fructus Rotundus) as guiding herbs, it enters the Lung meridian; when used with Ren Shen (Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma) and Yi Zhi Ren (Alpiniae Oxyphyllae Fructus), it enters the Spleen meridian; when used with Huang Bo (Phellodendri Cortex) and Fu Ling (Poria), it enters the Kidney meridian; when used with Chi Shi Zhi (Halloysit Rubrum) and Bai Shi Zhi (Halloysit Albus), it enters the Large and Small Intestines.
It primarily treats stagnation and accumulation of Qi in the Spleen and Stomach that fails to disperse. It awakens the Spleen, opens the appetite, benefits the Kidney, harmonizes the Middle Jiao, promotes Qi movement, disperses cold-fluid retention, eliminates retained food, treats abdominal distension and fullness, dysphagia, vomiting, stops pain from cold Qi, treats deficiency-wasting with cold diarrhea and chronic dysentery (Xiu Xi Li), regulates uterine bleeding (Beng Zhong) in women, calms the fetus, and relieves pain. (This is due to its ability to promote Qi movement.) It clears floating heat from the throat, mouth, and teeth. (All treated conditions benefit from its efficacy in unblocking stagnation.) Suo Sha Mi belongs to Earth; its aroma enters the Spleen and harmonizes the balanced Qi of the five Zang organs. It can guide various herbs to return to the Dantian. Therefore, kidney-tonifying medicines are often steamed together with Di Huang Wan (Rehmannia Pill), taking advantage of its ability to reach the lower body. (View of Han Shi) Its fragrance reaches the Spleen, and its pungency moistens the Kidney; thus, it is an essential herb for opening the Spleen and Stomach and a genuine agent for harmonizing Middle Qi. If there is concurrent Kidney deficiency causing Qi to fail to return to its source, using it as a guiding agent yields results far superior to those of hot-toxic drugs like Gui Zhi (Cinnamon Twig) and Fu Zi (Aconite Lateralis Radix Preparata). Ri Hua Zi stated that it mainly treats moving Qi, muscle twitching, and Huo Luan (cholera-like syndrome), because such diseases necessarily arise from pathogenic factors disturbing the Spleen and Stomach, leading to Qi congestion and blockage. Flowers bloom beneath the roots, and fruits grow beneath the roots; indeed, they are like armor enclosing jade, clearly demarcated like eight diaphragms, with sand grains clustered together, contracting and storing tightly. This is akin to breath originating from the heel, nurturing Yuan Yang, and supporting the Chong and Ren vessels. Thus, ascending and descending, entering and exiting, all are appropriate. Observing its ability to tonify deficiency, calm the fetus, fill uterine bleeding, and settle fright, it uses slipperiness to secure astringency, emptiness to gather, and permeability to replenish; it can direct Ben Tun (running piglet qi) downward. Even when autumn cannot move from outside to inside, winter cannot enter the earth, spring cannot rise from below upward, and summer cannot move from inside outward, it can still make them follow ascending and exiting trends. Regarding detoxification, dispersing stagnation, extending sinews, relieving depression, resolving masses, eliminating pain, clearing fluid retention, harmonizing the middle, opening dysphagia, and controlling vomiting, this precisely demonstrates its power to open the Upper Jiao, disseminate the flavors of the five grains, revive the Stomach, and awaken the Spleen. Do not only focus on its ascending and exiting aspects, neglecting its original function of descending and entering. (View of Li Dongyuan) Combined with Ren Shen and Ju Pi, it is suitable to add Huo Xiang, Fu Ling, Bai Shao, and Zhi Gan Cao to treat diarrhea, vomiting, and loss of appetite. Combined with Huo Xiang, Chen Pi, and Mu Gua, it treats Huo Luan with muscle twitching, abdominal pain, vomiting, and diarrhea. Used alone in amounts of two liang, stir-fried into powder, mixed with three qian of salt, soaked in one bowl of boiling water, and taken cold, it effectively treats dry Huo Luan repeatedly.
[Discussion] Suo Sha Mi initially tastes sour, spicy, and salty, then turns slightly bitter, retaining the sour, spicy, and salty flavors. At the end of the bitterness, there is a faint sweet and sour aftertaste, and the saliva residue leaves a lingering fragrance. (Generally, pungent and bitter flavors predominate, with pungency being strongest; salty and sour flavors are less, with sourness being weakest.) Salty corresponds to Water Qi, which is the origin of Earth; Sour corresponds to Wood Qi, which is the function of Earth; Pungent corresponds to Metal Qi, which is the transformation of Earth. Pungency is contained within salty and sour, allowing these flavors to flow freely through Pungency. The subsequent transformation into bitterness reaches the essence of the salty flavor. The slight sweetness at the end of bitterness indicates that the five flavors all return to Central Earth to achieve their transformation. The lingering fragrance in saliva residue occurs because Metal Qi aligns with Fire Qi to span the beginning and end. Central Earth is generated by the four Qi, and the four Qi are formed by Central Earth. Therefore, the Spleen is Ji Earth (Self Earth); its primary flavor is salty, with secondary flavors of pungent, sweet, sour, and bitter. The reason the Spleen, belonging to Earth, has a primary flavor of salty is that Water and Earth combine their virtues to establish the ground. (As stated, salty represents Water Qi as the origin of Earth.) Since this herb carries a salty flavor, it can regulate Kidney Qi to return to its source and guide other herbs into the Dantian. Is it not merely because flowers and fruits knot beneath the roots that we can infer the meaning of returning to the source? Some might argue that since it treats deficiency-cold stagnation diseases, its use should lean towards pungent-warm, and the claim that it possesses four flavors and four natures seems inaccurate. However, one must not realize that Suo Sha Mi is a Qi-class herb. In the human body, Qi arises from Fire within Water. (The substance of Qi) Water combines with Fire to generate Qi transformation. (The function of Qi) This herb blooms in Spring and Summer and fruits in mid-Summer, truly conforming to Fire to complete the function of Qi. Although its use in dispelling cold and moving stagnation is no different from other pungent-warm substances, its distinction lies entirely in its comprehensive embodiment. Observing that both flowers and fruits hide beneath the roots, and the fruit contains all four flavors, its progression from Water and Wood to Fire all returns to Earth, while the beginning and end are all proclaimed by Metal Qi. This does not make Central Earth the extreme of Water and Fire; rather, once the substance is complete, the function flows smoothly. Hence, it can regulate Qi to return to the Kidney and restore the source. However, if treatment capabilities were limited solely to pungent-warm actions, it would certainly not represent its full utility. Does it, as Li Shizhen suggested, regulate Yuan Qi and unblock stagnant Qi, thereby harmonizing the balanced Qi of the five Zang organs as Han Shi described? Or do pungent, bitter, and warm actually hold the advantage, as recorded in other Materia Medica? The answer is: This herb clearly possesses four flavors. To say it lacks profound utility is incorrect. Suo Sha Mi is small in form but grand in application; thus, its ability to awaken the Spleen, open the stomach, regulate Yuan Qi, and unblock stagnant Qi surpasses other herbs, truly without falsehood. Yet, when Water reaches Fire, Fire naturally facilitates the function of Water. But if Fire damages Water, the substance ceases to exist, and where does the function go? Therefore, Feng Sui Dan uses cold-processing to save Water, preserving the substance of Qi, before introducing this herb as the starting point for promoting Qi transformation in Central Earth. One must not act contrary to nature and falsely claim it can tonify deficiency. (When Water exceeds Fire, it damages the function of Qi and the substance of Blood; when Fire exceeds Water, it damages the substance of Qi and the function of Blood. Ancient sages strictly warned against using hot drugs when treating Qi disorders. The Spleen is Ji Earth; its primary flavor is salty, with secondary flavors of pungent, sweet, sour, and bitter. In the human body, Water and Fire are the origin of Qi, and the pivot of Water and Fire belongs to Central Earth, serving as the meridian for Qi generation and transformation. All stem from regulating the Kidney within the Spleen and the Spleen within the Kidney. The Spleen and Kidney originally depend on each other, and all Zang organs depend on the Spleen and Stomach.) Miao Xi Yong stated: Although this herb is a pungent-warm yang-aiding drug, it is difficult to apply generally in cases of abdominal pain due to Fire, diarrhea/stagnation due to summer-heat, fetal restlessness due to blood-heat, sore throat due to flaming fire, swelling/fullness due to damp-heat, cough/counterflow due to fire rushing to oppress the Lung, and infant anal prolapse due to Qi deficiency. It is not originally a Lung meridian herb, yet it is sometimes used for coughs; this is specifically for syndromes where cold pathogens constrain the Lung and Qi cannot diffuse, in which case this herb is indispensable. It is contraindicated for those with dryness and flaming fire. Pregnant women with Qi deficiency should avoid excessive use, as it may cause difficult labor. This must be known. (View of Xu Shicai)
[Processing] Lightly stir-fry, blow off the outer skin, and grind for use. When added to decoctions or pills, the method is the same as that for Bai Dou Kou (Amomi Fructus).