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Dried Lacquer (Ganqi)
Pungent in flavor, warm in nature, non-toxic, though some sources consider it toxic. It primarily treats severe injuries, tonifies the middle jiao (middle energizer), reconnects sinews and bones, fills the marrow and brain, calms the five zang organs, addresses the "five slacknesses and six tensions" (conditions of flaccidity and spasticity), wind-cold bi syndrome (painful obstruction), cough, resolves blood stasis, dissipates masses and accumulations, relieves lower back pain, treats female abdominal masses (shenjia), promotes urination via the small intestine, and expels roundworms.

Raw Lacquer (Shengqi)
Expels long worms (intestinal parasites). Long-term consumption lightens the body and delays aging. Grows in the valleys of Hanzhong. Harvested after the Summer Solstice and dried. (Banxia [Pinelliae Rhizoma] is its guiding herb; it is opposed to chicken eggs; currently, greasy foods are also contraindicated.)

Tao Hongjing states: The lacquer from Liangzhou is currently the best; Yizhou also produces it, while lacquer from Guangzhou has a rapid nature and dries easily. On the lids inside lacquer buckets everywhere, naturally dried lacquer forms, resembling honeycombs with separated cells, which is considered superior. Raw lacquer is highly toxic; people use chicken eggs mixed with it to expel worms, yet some still suffer intestinal damage. Those allergic to lacquer may even die from it. External application can cause skin sores and swelling; there are separate treatments for this. Immortal methods use crabs to neutralize it; taken after water-refining, it grants longevity. Ministers Yuxi et al. note: The Shuben Zhu annotation states that lacquer properties are generally rapid/intense. When harvesting, Ren oil (Elaeocarpus japonicus oil) must be used to break it down. Pure forms are rare; one should test layers carefully. Top-grade clear lacquer is black like iron/stone; yellowish and tender like a honeycomb is inferior. Tu Jing records: The tree is over two zhang high, with white bark, leaves resembling Toona or Alstonia scholaris, bark similar to Sophora, flowers and fruits like Prunus salicina, and yellow heartwood. Sap is tapped in June and July. Lacquer from Jinzhou is the finest. Yao Xing Lun records: Dried lacquer is a minister herb, pungent and salty in flavor. It kills three types of worms and treats amenorrhea in women. Ri Huazi states: It treats fu shilao (a type of deficiency fever/labor disease) and dispels wind. For medicinal use, it must be crushed and stir-fried until cooked, otherwise it damages the stomach and intestines. If using wet lacquer, boiling it dry is better. If toxicity occurs, drinking iron slurry, Rhus javanica juice, or Glycine max soup, or eating crabs can counteract it.

Tu Jing states: Dried lacquer and raw lacquer grow in the valleys of Hanzhong. Currently, they are found in Shu, Han, Jinzhou, Xiazhou, Xiangzhou, and Shizhou. Trees are three to four zhang high, with white bark, leaves like Toona, flowers like Sophora, fruits like Prunus salicina, and yellow heartwood. In June and July, bamboo tubes are nailed into the wood to collect sap. Cui Bao's Gujin Zhu states: Chopping the bark with a sharp axe and catching the dripping sap with bamboo tubes creates lacquer. Dried lacquer was traditionally said to be naturally dried inside lacquer buckets, resembling honeycombs. Now, dried lacquer from bamboo tubes is mostly used, with those black as iron and hard as stone being preferred. Lacquer leaf entering medicine is recorded in Hua Tuo's Biography. Fan A of Pengcheng studied under Hua Tuo in his youth, seeking elixir methods. Hua Tuo taught him Qiyе Qingzhi San (Lacquer Leaf and Qingzhi Powder), saying it expels three worms, benefits the five zang organs, lightens the body, boosts qi, and prevents graying hair. Fan A followed this advice and lived over five hundred years. Lacquer leaves are available everywhere. Qingzhi grows in Fengpei, Pengcheng, and Zhaoge. Also known as Dijie and Huangzhi. It regulates the five zang organs and benefits essence and qi. It originally came from lost travelers who saw immortals consuming it in the mountains and told Hua Tuo, who thought it excellent and shared it with Fan A, who kept it secret. Recently, people saw Fan A's longevity and robust health, were curious, and asked what he consumed. Fan A, due to drunken confusion, accidentally revealed it. Many tried it with good results. Since then, no one has recognized Qingzhi. Some say it is the true leaf of Polygonatum sibiricum (Huangjing). Immortal formulas have a method of single-use pure lacquer consumption, passed down through generations.

Waitai Miyao: Treats roundworms, heart pain, nausea, and vomiting of water. Stir-fry dried lacquer, crush it, mix with honey, and make pills. Take fifteen pills, twice daily. Jingyan Fang treats women who have never given birth, suffering from blood and qi stagnation, unbearable internal organ pain, as well as Zhang Qi Yuan Qi (husband qi/yuan qi) and small intestine qi cramping pain. All are suitable for Ersheng Wan (Two Sage Pills): One liang of dried lacquer powder, one liang of wet lacquer. First, boil the wet lacquer in a ding vessel for about the time it takes to eat one meal, then stop fire. Mix with dried lacquer powder and form pills half the size of a soap bean. Take one pill each time, swallowed with warm wine, at any time. For yuan qi, small intestine, or bladder qi pain, with locked jaw, simply open the mouth, dissolve one pill in warm wine, and pour in; peace will surely return. Those afraid of lacquer should not take it. Jianyao Jizhong: Treats nine types of heart pain and abdominal/flank accumulations with stagnant qi. Two liang of tube-dried lacquer, crushed and stir-fried until smoke appears, finely ground, mixed with vinegar-boiled wheat paste to form pills the size of sophora seeds. Take five to seven pills each time, with hot wine or vinegar soup, at any time. Du Ren: Treats pediatric stomach cold, symptoms of worms attacking upward, critical malignant conditions resembling epilepsy. Crush and stir-fry dried lacquer until smoke ceases, mix with equal parts of Tso-wu-t'ao [Memenli Fructus], grind to fine powder. Take one qian to one zi (small measure) adjusted with rice drink. Xi Yanshang: Treats female menstrual obstruction and various zhijia (masses) diseases. Shi Nü Wanjia Wan (Virgin's Ten Thousand Masses Pill): One liang of dried lacquer coarsely ground, stir-fried until smoke ceases, one liang of Achyranthes bidentata powder. Boil one sheng of Rehmannia glutinosa juice in a silver vessel until pillable. Form pills the size of sophora seeds. Take one pill each time, increasing to three or five, with wine, stopping when bowel movement becomes free. Baopuzi · Neipian: Pure lacquer that has not dried can be taken for the method of connecting with spirits and achieving longevity. Or throw large crabs into it, or mix with Yunmu water (Mica water) or Yu water, and consume. Nine worms will all be expelled, and evil blood will exit from the nose. After one year of Six Jia cycles, the "walking kitchen" (spiritual attendants providing food) arrives. Huainanzi: Lacquer does not dry when exposed to crabs.

Yanyi states: Ganqi refers to bitter wet lacquer, which is not seen in medicines; what is used is all dried lacquer. The wet kind is difficult to dry during hot/dry periods or frost/cold times. It dries easily even in winter months if exposed to yin dampness. This is the nature of the substance. Bitter wet lacquer stains the skin; oil is used to treat it. To test lacquer, dip a tool into thin lacquer; it should draw out in a fine thread without breaking, and retract quickly upon breaking. Apply it to dry bamboo; if it dries quickly in the shade, it is good. The rest follows the Classics.