Library

[Apricot Seed / Xingren]
Odor and Flavor: Sweet, bitter; Warm in nature; Cold and slippery (moistening and lubricating) in texture; Slightly toxic. Indications: Cough with rebellious Qi (Ke Ni Shang Qi), throat obstruction with roaring phlegm sounds (Lei Ming Hou Bi), descending Qi to facilitate lactation, treatment of metal wounds (Jin Chuang), and Ben Tun disease caused by cold pathogen. (Preparation: Soak in hot water and remove the skin. Double-kernel apricot seeds are highly toxic and must not be used.)

Chen Xiuyuan stated: The odor and flavor of Apricot Seed are sweet and bitter, but actually the bitter taste predominates over the sweet. Its nature carries dampness, and its texture is cold and slippery (cold and slippery refers to a moistening quality). The phrase "descending Qi" sufficiently encompasses its entire efficacy. When Lung Qi is excess and distended, it results in cough with rebellious Qi. "Roaring throat obstruction" refers to fire pathogen knotting in the throat causing obstruction and pain, with the sound of phlegm moving resembling thunder; Apricot Seed descends Qi, thus treating this condition. Excess Qi transforms into fire; when Qi descends, fire also descends. Therefore, milk flow can be unblocked, and wound surfaces can heal. If Heart Yang is deficient, cold water pathogenic factors will rush upward from below, invading the Heart position; Apricot Seed possesses the function of descending Qi, eliminating cold water at the lower jiao, thereby protecting Heart Yang at the upper jiao. All these cases treat conditions of excess (redundant pathogens). For patients suffering from cough due to labor injury and deficiency, administering Apricot Seed will certainly lead to death. Contemporary physicians claim that Apricot Seeds produced in Bada (a place name or variety), which have a purely sweet taste, are usable. However, they do not know that a purely sweet taste is not the true flavor of Apricot Seed. Lacking the descending function of bitter taste, it merely retains dampness to generate phlegm; the sweet taste stagnates Qi, harming the Yin aspect, leading to death without realization. What a pity!

[Dried Plum / Wumei]
Odor and Flavor: Sour; Warm, Neutral in nature; Astringent; Non-toxic. Indications: Descending Qi, clearing heat, relieving vexation and fullness, calming the mind, stopping limb pain, treating hemiplegia and numbness (Pian Ku Bu Ren), eliminating necrotic tissue (Si Ji), removing dark moles, and cauterizing foul flesh (E Rou).

Chen Xiuyuan stated: The Qi of Dried Plum is neutral, inheriting Metal Qi to enter the Lung; it is warm, inheriting Wood Qi to enter the Liver; its sour flavor and non-toxicity correspond to Wood flavor entering the Liver; the astringent taste is a variation of the sour taste. The flavor outweighs the Qi, with flavor being primary. The plum tree acquires the flavor of the East (Wood); flowers bloom in winter, and fruit matures in summer. This indicates it inherits the Water Essence of Winter and obtains the Spring-generating Qi to ascend and reach upwards. Regarding "descending Qi": when the generating Qi ascends and reaches upwards, rebellious Qi naturally descends. Heat, vexation, fullness, and an unsettled mind are summarized in the Jue Yin syndrome of *Shanghan Lun* (Treatise on Cold Damage) by phrases such as "Qi rushing up to strike the heart" and "painful heat in the heart." By descending the rebellious Qi, all these diseases can be cured. The Spleen governs the four limbs; if Wood Qi overacts on Earth Qi, limb pain occurs; the Liver stores Blood; if Blood fails to irrigate, hemiplegia and numbness occur, forming necrotic tissue; Dried Plum can harmonize Liver Qi and nourish Liver Blood, thus treating these conditions. To remove dark moles and cauterize foul flesh relies on the astringent flavor; externally, it can eliminate moles and flesh.

Zhang Yinan said: Later generations failed to comprehend the meaning of the classics and did not explore the physical principles of substances, merely treating Dried Plum as an acid-astringent and收敛 (collecting/astringent) herb, without discussing its characteristic of spring-generation and upward reaching. What a pity!