Library

Apricot Kernel (Xing Ren)
Sweet and bitter in taste, warm in nature, also considered cold and slippery in some texts, toxic. It primarily treats cough with upward rushing of Qi (Ke Ni Shang Qi), borborygmus (Lei Ming), Bi syndrome of the throat (Hou Bi), descending Qi, postpartum conditions, metallic wounds (Jin Chuang), cold sensation in the heart (Han Xin), Tou Jing syndrome (Ben Teng - gas rising from lower abdomen to chest), fright and epilepsy, heat and vexation below the heart, fluctuating wind-pathogens, epidemic headache, resolving the muscle layer (Jie Ji), relieving urgency and pain below the heart, and killing dog poison. Harvested in May. Those kernels with two embryos (Liang Ren) are poisonous and can kill humans; they can be used to poison dogs.

Flower
Bitter in taste, non-toxic. It primarily tonifies deficiency, treats internal injury in women (Shang Zhong), bi-syndrome with alternating chills and fever, and Jue Ni (reversal cold of extremities).

Fruit (Shi)
Sour in taste, should not be consumed in excess as it damages sinews and bones. Grows in valleys and mountains of Jin region. (Beneficial when processed with fire; adverse interaction with Huang Qin, Huang [Lian/Bai], and Ge Gen; resolves tin toxicity; adverse interaction with [missing character].)

Tao Hongjing stated: It is found everywhere and commonly used in prescriptions. Soak in decoction to remove the tip and skin, then stir-fry until yellow. Ministers Yu Xi et al., according to *Yao Xing Lun*, stated: Apricot kernel can treat abdominal bi-obstruction, induce sweating, primarily treat warm diseases, relieve urgency and fullness below the heart, remove mental and abdominal vexation, treat Lung Qi, cough with upward rushing Qi, and panting. When added to Tian Men Dong decoction, it moistens the Heart and Lungs; it can be mixed with fermented milk to make a soup, benefiting the voice and Qi, and dispelling accumulated cold Qi. Meng Shen stated: Apricot is hot. Take the kernel wrapped in dough, remove the skin, crush it, mix with egg white, apply to the face at night, and wash off early next morning with warm clear wine. For sudden aphonia, take 3 fen of apricot kernel, remove skin and tip, stir-fry, separately crush 1 fen of Cinnamon Twig (Gui Xin), mix into a paste, wrap in cotton wool the size of a plum pit, hold in mouth, and swallow slowly. Five times daily, three times nightly. According to records for trapped Qi in the heart and abdomen, use apricot kernel, Tangerine Peel (Ju Pi), Cinnamon Heart (Gui Xin), and Chebula Peel (He Le Le Pi) to form pills. Take 30 pills on an empty stomach. Wu Ji stated: Burn until smoke ceases, grind into a paste, wrap in cotton wool, and insert into the vagina to treat insect abscesses. Chen Cangqi stated: Besides its primary functions, apricot kernel kills parasites. Burn until smoke does not fully cease, grind finely like fat, wrap in material, and insert into tooth sockets. It also treats unbearable itching from insect sores in the birth canal, sores in humans and animals, and stroke. Remove skin, stir-fry until red, mix with cinnamon powder, grind into a paste, wrap in cotton wool the size of a finger, hold in mouth to benefit the throat, relieve throat Bi, phlegm, cough, and sores caused by heat accumulation in the throat. Boil apricot milk thickly into a paste and consume to moisten the five Zang organs and resolve phlegmatic cough. Both raw and cooked forms are acceptable; half-raw and half-cooked may cause death. Ri Hua Zi stated: Apricot is hot and toxic. Do not eat too much as it harms the Spirit (Shen).

Tu Jing said: Apricot kernel grows in the valleys of Jin Chuan and is now found everywhere. The fruit has several varieties; the round and yellow one is called Golden Apricot (Jin Xing). Legend says it originated from Fenliu Mountain in Jinan Commandery, known locally as Han Emperor Apricot, widely planted near the capital, ripening earliest. The flat and greenish-yellow one is called Wood Apricot (Mu Xing), sour in taste, inferior to Golden Apricot. For medicinal use, apricots from the East are superior; those from home gardens are preferred, while wild mountain apricots are unsuitable. Harvest in May, crack the nut, and discard double-kernel ones. Ancient formulas include single administration. Process apricot kernels correctly: steam from morning to noon, then slow-roast gently for seven days before storage. Consume freely on an empty stomach every morning; long-term use preserves youth and extends life. This is said to be the method of Xia Ji, but apricot kernel can cause blood extravasation; even slight misuse leads to continuous bleeding or prostration. Thus, few people use it nowadays. Another method is Apricot Butter: treats wind-deficiency and removes hundred diseases. Crush 1 dan of apricot kernels, grind with 2 shi of good wine, filter to obtain 1.5 shi of juice, add 1.5 dou of white honey, mix well, seal in a new jar to prevent leakage. After thirty days, skim the butter that rises to the surface, store in porcelain. Take the dregs, shape into pear-sized balls, place in an empty room to mature into syrup-like texture. Take one ball each morning with the reserved wine; drink the wine freely. Dried apricot flowers are also medicinal. Apricot branches treat traumatic injuries: take one handful, boil in 1 sheng of water until reduced by half, add 3 he of wine, divide into two doses, highly effective. The fruit should not be eaten in excess as it harms the Spirit and damages sinews and bones. Liu Yuxi’s *Chuan Xin Fang* for treating cough and tonifying the Lung: Use 2 large sheng of apricot kernels (discard mountain-grown ones, double kernels, and stale ones). Soak in 1 dou of urine from a prepubertal boy for 7 days in spring/summer or 14 days in autumn/winter, including skin and tips. Grind finely in a clay mortar, filter the juice, boil until bubbling like fish eyes, until soft like paste. Stir occasionally with a willow stick to prevent sticking to the bottom. Strain through horsehair sieve or coarse cloth. Sun-dry and form pills. Take 30-50 pills before or after meals, with tea or wine. Avoid plain rice porridge (only rice water). Cover with paper from soaking to completion to avoid dust. If no horsehair sieve, use a coarse cloth bag. Similar to extracting jujube pulp.

Lei Gong stated: For processing, soak briefly in boiling water, remove skin and membrane, remove tip, split into two halves. Use White Fire Stone (Bai Huo Shi), black soybeans, and apricot kernels in equal parts. Boil in flowing eastward water from Si hour to Wu hour. When kernels turn brownish-yellow, remove tips and use. For every jin of kernels, use 1 jin of White Fire Stone and 3 he of black soybeans. Add water as needed, do not let it run dry, to avoid counteracting blood effects. *Shi Liao* states: Treats wind-heat headache. Also, burn until smoke ceases, remove skin, wrap in human hair, bite under the affected tooth to stop pain. Fumigates parasites and expels wind, leading to recovery. Severe cases require no more than two doses. *Wai Tai Mi Yao*: Treats hemiplegia due to wind-stroke, accompanied by loss of voice. Swallow 7 raw apricot kernels whole (with skin and tips). Start with 7 per day, gradually increase to 49 over 7 weeks, then repeat cycle. Drink bamboo sap after meals, consuming 1 sheng daily. Another formula for deafness: Take 7 apricot kernels, remove skin, crush into thirds, wrap in cotton wool with a grain of salt the size of a mung bean. Steam in a rice steamer until rice is cooked. Have the patient lie on their side, roll the cotton bundle, drip oil into the ear. Repeat with another bundle as needed. *Qian Jin Fang*: Treats worsening cough day and night, increasing chills and high fever, irritability, erratic movements, dull complexion, decreased appetite, resembling a strong, tight, floating Lung pulse. Use 8 liang of apricot kernels, remove skin and tips, soak in 2 dou of prepubertal boy's urine for 7 days. Drain, rinse with warm water, grind into paste in a clay mortar, transfer to a porcelain bottle. Decoct with 3 sheng of urine until thick like paste. Dosage depends on severity: take 1 qian bi with warm water after meals. Especially effective for women and unmarried girls. Another formula for acute wind-stroke with facial swelling: Crush apricot kernels into a paste and apply. Another for chronic wind-deficiency with severe headache: Remove skin and tips, dry and powder. Grind 9 sheng of water with the powder like making porridge, simmer slowly until like sesame paste. Take one spoonful mixed with soup, porridge, or wine. After every 7 days, profuse sweating occurs. Avoid wind, cold, pork, fish, chicken, garlic, and vinegar. After one course, wind symptoms subside. In spring/summer, prepare less; in autumn after September, this method is miraculous and should be kept secret. Another for nasal sores: Crush apricot kernels, apply to nipple. When cold sweat stops, recover after three applications. Another for tetanus with swelling: Apply thick apricot kernel paste, warm with distant candle flame. Another for pediatric malnutrition worms eating the nose causing sores: Treat throat Bi. Cook apricot kernels, form pills like marbles, hold in mouth and swallow juice. Or powder, wrap in silk, hold in mouth. Smoke roasted apricot kernels, crush into paste and apply. Another for cough and upward rushing Qi in children and adults: Take 3 sheng of apricot kernels, remove skin and tips, stir-fry until yellow, crush into paste. Mix with 1 sheng of honey divided into three parts. Add first part of kernels, crush appropriately, add second part, crush into paste. Add third part, crush thoroughly. Add water to make a paste, apply effectively. Another for arrowheads or blades stuck in throat/chest: Crush apricot kernels and apply. Mei Shi Fang: Treats indigestion of dog meat with epigastric hardness. To improve voice: Take 1 sheng of apricot kernels, remove skin and tips, stir-fry, mix with 1 liang of butter and a little honey, form pills like wutong seeds. Take 15 pills with rice water on an empty stomach. Another: Apricot, sour/astringent taste, causes body heat. *Shi Yi Xin Jing*: Eat 2 he. Another: Treats cold stagnation, eat on empty stomach. Another: [Water 3 sheng, grind/filter juice, boil in pan] vomit. *Sheng Jin Fang*: Treats chronic lung [dryness]. Change liquid 3-4 times, soak for half a month, bake and decoct together, take 70% volume, warm dose after meals. Raw apricot kernels 7 pieces, remove skin, [Mi Lu]: Treats red swollen umbilicus in infants. Apricot [Zhang]. Crush apricot kernels, steam until fluid exudes, [fine grind, boil 1-2 times, take while hot] East-facing apricot branches 3 liang, finely cut and lightly roasted [Shang Han Lei Yao]: Treats warm disease with fatigue. With [urine]. Apricot kernels 14 pieces, remove skin, [Kernel and Cinnamon Heart 1 liang each ground together, use half-ripe] Apricot, do not eat too much, causes blindness. Another [Ci Mi Jue]: Apricot Golden Pill, originally from Hun Prince, also [Heavy as gold, soft and edible, hence named. Ancestors all refined it. Peng Zu said: Better to see this prescription, immortal secrets, efficacy is reliable. Only difficult to make, worldly people must keep mind pure, if evil things touch it, medicine fails, wasting effort. Men, women, children, knowing the pill also fails, if successful, no taboos. Pill method: Start in Yin month, apricot trees rarely visited are best. Also hoe grass in Yin month, fearing damage to earth energy. By March, make ridges 5 steps from tree, prevent foot/beast trampling, only irrigate with spring water during drought. Early spring frost/snow, burn fire under tree to save it, fearing damage to flower buds. By May when ripe, collect naturally fallen ones within the ten-day period, remove pits, take 6 dou of kernels, remove skin with hot water, discard double kernels, take 3 shi of south-flowing water to grind, obtain 2.8 shi of juice, remove dregs, small and beautiful ones are also acceptable. Use new iron cauldron holding 3 shi, build stove in shape of Five Mountains and Three Terraces, paint with cinnabar, stove legs 5 cun off ground, do not let ash block. Cauldron uses 3 jin of butter, melt with chaff and charcoal fire, rub cauldron slightly, when butter is gone, pour juice into cauldron. Place basin on cauldron, drill hole in basin, hang axle via zither string to cauldom bottom, plug hole with paper to prevent leakage. Initially use chaff and dry cow dung fire, move axle three times daily to roll the juice. After 5 days dew appears, after 10 days white frost rises, after 3 more days white frost disappears, golden flower appears. If seen, know pill/frost is ready. Open basin, dry with charcoal fire, sweep with rooster feather, mix with jujube flesh, form pills like wutong seeds. Single-horn formation in cauldrom is best, mouth formation secondary, dregs also treat cold diseases. Dosage: If person drinks 1 dou of wine and gets drunk, then drink 5 sheng; if drink 1 sheng, then drink half sheng. Administer medicine on full moon day, take 3 pills with warm wine on empty stomach. By 7th day, old diseases removed, cure aphonia, blindness, spasms, lameness, hernia, "wild chicken" disease, goiter, wind-epilepsy, [Qi], sores, all diseases removed. Turn white hair black, regrow lost teeth. Master Zhang said: 2 liang is one course, one course extends life 80 years, two courses 240 years, three courses achieve spiritual immortality. If becoming heavenly immortal for 10,000 years, permanently abstain from sexual intercourse. If earthly immortal for 5,000 years, abstain for 3 years. If human immortal for 1,500 years, abstain for 100 days. Resident Chen submitted memorial: After October, mud stove construction during thunder rest period, no carriage/horse noise. Why October? Heavenly thunder starts Feb, rests Aug. Initial pill making: Sacrifice to Five Mountains, immortals, earth spirits, use boy to watch fire temperature. 24 solar terms, 5 stars, 5 elements, yin-yang 12 hours, use these climatic factors for fire, pill succeeds. Sages who took it achieved long life, common people cannot take regularly. Some say ineffective, if spirit and will are firm, surely become immortal long-lived. *Yan Yi* said: Apricot kernel, if bitten by dog, chew thoroughly according to wound size, apply to broken area, bind with cloth until healed, no suffering. Also, blanch to remove skin, grind 1 sheng, add 1.5 sheng water, squeeze repeatedly for thick juice, add 4 liang raw honey, 1 stem of Licorice (Gan Cao) approx 1 qian, simmer in silver/ceramic vessel over slow fire into thin paste, store in porcelain. After meals/before bed, add little butter, dissolve 1 qian bi in boiling water and take, treats Lung dryness with panting/heat, large intestine constipation, moistens five Zang organs. If no above symptoms, add salt, even better. Apricot fruit, *Ben Jing* has no other treatments, Ri Hua Zi says excessive eating harms Spirit. Several types are hot, especially harmful to children, often causing sores/abscesses and upper diaphragm heat. Dried as dried fruit, deep ochre color, large flat pit is Golden Apricot. These require grafting, others are inferior. Like mountain apricots, only kernels collected. Also white apricots, ripe color green-white or light yellow, sweet and bland, not sour.