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(Remove the rhizome head, wash with wine; avoid tea water and wheat flour decoction.)

(Also known as Caojin. Soak in water, discard floating impurities, retain the sinking parts, and sun-dry. Mix with wine, steam from Si hour to Wei hour, then sun-dry. Before use, pound to remove black skin. The black variety acts rapidly; grind to obtain the finest first-grade powder for medicinal use. It works well when combined with Ganjiang (Dried Ginger) and Qingmuxiang (Aucklandiae Radix).)

(Similar in shape to Crotonis Fructus (Badou), with yellow-black spots on each node. When used, boil whole with salt decoction for half a day, remove skin, take the seeds, and grind through a sieve. Avoid using with stir-fried beans, Fu Dansha (Prepared Cinnabar), and Fen Shuang (Calomel).)

(Aged and pine-white varieties are superior. Soak in boiling alum water or ginger juice before use. If powdered after one soaking, place in the gallbladder of a black cow collected in the twelfth lunar month and dry in shade. Shuyang (Vitex trifolia) serves as an assistant herb. It is enhanced by Huo Niudan Dan (Fire-treated Cow Gallbladder). It opposes Mangcao (Aconitum lateriflorum root). It fears Fuzi (Prepared Aconite Root), Ganjiang (Dried Ginger), Fangfeng (Saposhnikoviae Radix), and Shengjiang (Fresh Ginger). It is subdued by Cihuang (Orpiment), Dansha (Cinnabar), and Yanxiao (Saltpeter).)

(Varieties with square stems and red coloration are superior. Harvest leaves, dry in shade, mix with strong wine, and perform nine steaming and nine sun-drying cycles. Avoid iron.)

(This substance strongly tonifies Yin and promotes the circulation of stagnant blood. However, due to its current low cost, it is rarely used in prescriptions.)

(Flowers, seeds, stems, and leaves are used together. Lishi (Vicia sativa seed) serves as an assistant herb. It is enhanced by wine.)

(Varieties growing against the current, with thick and fat roots and sweet taste are superior. Do not use exposed roots. Remove whiskers, nodes, and reddish-yellow skin. Its juice resolves phlegm, opens the stomach, directs Qi downward, clears heat, and detoxifies all foods, fish, shrimp, and river poisons.)

(When used, after harvesting, remove leaves and vines. Store in a raw silk bag and hang in the east corner of the house until dry. Split into slices, extract the inner substance, remove the membranous layer, and ensure cleanliness. When using seeds, do not remove the membranous layer completely, as it affects efficacy. Stir-fry with skin included for medicinal use.)

(Scrape off the outer bark, cut into bean-sized pieces on a locust wood cutting board using a copper knife. Place in a raw linen bag, soak overnight in black soybean water, take out, moisten with wine, and steam from Si hour to Hai hour. Take out and sun-dry. Avoid contact with iron stains. Forbidden for beard and hair. Contraindicated with milk and black beef.)

(When used, remove the stem, wipe the thin shell clean with cloth, mix with wine, steam from Si hour to Shen hour, take out and sun-dry. Stems, leaves, flowers, and seeds are all usable.)

(Grows in Jiangnan, with roots attaching to trees and rocks. After harvesting, scrape off all yellow-red hairs using a copper knife, cut finely. Moisten with honey, steam in a willow-wood steamer for one day, then take out and sun-dry. Alternative method: remove fine hairs, cut finely, mix with raw honey, and steam from Si hour to Hai hour.)