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Fuling (Poria)
Sweet in flavor, neutral in nature, non-toxic. It primarily treats rebellious Qi in the chest and hypochondrium, sorrow and indignation, fright and evil Qi, fear and palpitations, knotting and pain below the heart, alternating cold and heat, vexation and fullness, coughing and rebellious Qi, scorched tongue and dry mouth, promotes urination, stops thirst, drowsiness, abdominal edema with dripping sensation, phlegm-fluid retention in the diaphragm, edema and strangulation with knotting, opens the chest and fu-organs, regulates the zang-organs, and attacks the middle jiao. Long-term use calms the soul and nourishes the spirit, prevents hunger, and prolongs life. Also known as Futu. The part that embraces the root is called Fushen (Poria cum Radice).

Fushen (Poria cum Radice) Neutral in nature. It primarily wards off misfortune, treats wind vertigo and wind deficiency, five exhaustions, dry mouth, stops palpitations, excessive anger, forgetfulness, opens the mind and benefits intelligence, calms the soul and spirit, and nourishes the spirit. Grows in the valleys of Mount Tai under large pine trees. Harvested in February and August, dried in the shade. (Ma Lan [Isatis Root] serves as a guiding herb; combined with Gancao [Licorice], Fangfeng [Saposhnikovia], Shaoyao [Peony], Zizhishiyuan [Purple Quartz], and Maimendong [Ophiopogon], it collectively treats disorders of the five zang-organs. Contraindicated with Bailian [Ampelopsis]; adverse reaction with Mumeng, Diyü [Smilax], Xionghuang [Realgar], Qinjiao [Gentiana], and Guijia [Tartar Shell].) Tao Hongjing stated: According to materia medica records, there is no herb named "Majian"; perhaps it refers to "Majing" due to phonetic similarity. Currently produced in Yuzhou, local people fabricate it by grinding pine wood; the shape is often small, hollow, and reddish, which is of poor quality. Naturally formed ones are as large as three or four sheng vessels, with black outer skin, fine wrinkles, tight white interior, and shapes resembling birds, beasts, turtles, or tortoises are considered superior. For pills and powders, they must be boiled for two or three boils before slicing and sun-drying. White varieties have tonifying effects, while red varieties have diuretic effects; they are widely used in common practice. The "Immortal Classics" consider its consumption extremely important, stating it can connect with the divine and achieve spirituality, harmonize the soul and refine the魄 (corporeal soul), clarify orifices and benefit muscles, thicken intestines and open the heart, regulate Ying (Nutritive) Qi and manage the stomach, making it a top-grade immortal medicine. It is good at stopping grain intake without hunger. As a medicinal material, it does not rot or get infested by insects. Once, a piece buried by previous generations was excavated, estimated to be over thirty years old, yet its color and texture remained unchanged, proving its integrity and immutability. Those that embrace the pine root and grow opposite to it are called Fushen; this is a secondary formation結 after Fuling. Immortal formulas only mention Fuling and do not distinguish Fushen, as their therapeutic effects are similar, so using either is acceptable. Tang Ben Zhu noted: Ji Shi's Ben Cao states that Madao is the guiding herb for Fuling, and there is no herb named Majian. The character Jian (间) in cursive script resembles Dao (刀); writers who did not recognize it erroneously transcribed it as Jian. Tao Hongjing failed to understand this, claiming it was Majing, which is incorrect. Mount Tai also produces Fuling, which is white and solid but small in size, and is no longer adopted. The primary production area is Mount Hua, where the shapes are extremely large. Nan Mountain in Yongzhou also produces it, but inferior to Mount Hua. Current annotations suggest Majian should be Malin (Iris lactea); both annotations are likely incorrect. Ministers Yu Xi et al. carefully followed Shu Ben Tu Jing stating: It grows under dead pine trees; the shape and block size are indefinite, with those resembling humans, turtles, or birds being excellent. It is found wherever there are large pine trees now, with Mount Hua having the most. Fan Zi stated: Fuling comes from Songshan and the Three Fu regions. Huainanzi stated: Where there is Fuling underground, there is Cuscuta above. The annotation states: Fuling is thousand-year-old pine resin. Cuscuta grows on top of it without roots. Also known as Nuluo. Dianshu stated: Fuling is pine resin that has entered the ground for a thousand years; where pine trees appear reddish, Fuling lies beneath. Guangzhi stated: Fushen is made from pine sap and is superior to Fuling. Some say: Pine root Fuling penetrates and attaches, growing in Hanyang County of Zhuti. Yaoxing Lun stated: Fuling is a minister herb, contraindicated with rice vinegar. It can open the stomach and stop vomiting, soothe the heart spirit, treat lung abscess with phlegm obstruction, cure pediatric convulsions, treat abdominal distension and fullness, women's hot strangury, and red varieties break qi stagnation. It further states Fushen is a sovereign herb, sweet in flavor, non-toxic. It treats convulsions, calms the spirit and will, supplements exhaustion, treats urgent pain and hardness/fullness below the heart, and when the body is weak with unfavorable small intestine function, it is added to prescriptions. The center is named Huangsongjie (Yellow Pine Joint), specifically treating hemiplegia, facial paralysis, toxic wind causing tendon spasms and muteness, heart spirit fright and jerking, weakness and forgetfulness. Ri Huazi stated: Fuling supplements the five exhaustions and seven injuries, calms the fetus, warms the waist and knees, opens the mind and benefits intelligence, stops forgetfulness, and is contraindicated with sour substances.

Tu Jing stated: Fuling grows in the valleys of Mount Tai; currently found in Taihua and Songshan. It emerges from under large pines, growing attached to roots, without seedlings, leaves, flowers, or fruits. It forms blocks like fists underground, with large ones weighing several jin; those resembling human or turtle shapes are superior, with black skin and flesh that is either red or white. Some say it is transformed from multi-year pine resin flowing into the soil; others say it generates from pine qi on the original roots. The current method of collection in the East: In ancient pine forests long harvested by humans, where broken branches and withered leaves no longer grow upwards, it is called "Fuling Ba". Upon seeing it, one uses an iron-tipped cone to pierce the ground within a radius of about one zhang. If Fuling is present, the cone becomes firmly stuck and cannot be pulled out; then the soil is dug to retrieve it. Larger "Ba" yield larger Fuling. They form blocks independently and do not attach to roots. Those embracing the root and being light and hollow are Fushen. Thus, the theory of generation via borrowed qi is more plausible. Harvesting in February and August is best; all are dried in the shade. "Records of the Grand Historian: Divination of Turtles" states: Fuling lies under Cuscuta, shaped like a flying bird. After new rain, when the sky is clear and still without wind, burn the Cuscuta at night, remove it, then place a lantern cage (Gou, meaning cage) covered with fire over the spot. When the fire extinguishes, mark the location, surround it with a four-zhang square of new cloth, and dig at dawn. Digging four to seven chi deep yields the result. This method is no longer heard of today. Immortal formulas often use it alone. The method: Take five jin of white Fuling, remove black skin, pound and sieve, place in a cooked silk bag, steam over three dou of rice until rice is cooked, then stop. Sun-dry and steam again, repeating three times. Then mix with two dou of cow's milk, place in a copper vessel, simmer gently with added fat, and store. At each meal, cut with a bamboo knife and take as much as desired to feel full without hunger. If one wishes to eat, first drink mallow juice; eating freely causes no harm. Another method, Fuling Su: Take thirty jin of white Fuling; those from the sunny side of mountains are sweet and delicious, while those from the shady side are bitter. Remove skin, slice thinly, sun-dry and steam. Rinse with water to remove bitterness; continue rinsing until the liquid turns sweet. Sun-dry and sieve into powder. Mix with three shi of wine and three sheng of honey, add powder, stir in a large urn for a hundred turns, seal tightly to prevent gas leakage. Ferment for fifty days in winter or twenty-five days in summer. The substance will float up from the wine surface; skim it off. The taste is extremely sweet and delicious. Form into cakes the size of a palm, dry in the shade in an empty room until red like dates. Eat one cake when hungry, washed down with wine; one need not eat for the whole day and feels naturally full. This is called the Immortal Method of Saving the World. Another consumption method: Combine with white chrysanthemum, or cinnamon heart, or Atractylodes, forming pills or powders as desired. All can be taken regularly for superior tonification. Some say Fuling contains red fibers that damage the eyes; if taken long-term, one should first pound into powder, wash in water to clarify, remove all red residues before use. If combined with other herbs, this step is unnecessary. Any medicine containing Fuling is contraindicated with rice vinegar. Old theories state amber is transformed from thousand-year-old Fuling, also known as Jiangzhu. Zhang Maoxian stated: Currently, Yongchang in Yizhou produces amber but no Fuling. He also said it is made from burned bee hives. Zhang could not verify these three theories. According to "Nanman Dizhi": Linyi has much amber, said to be transformed from pine resin. Also said to be made from maple resin; locals no longer know the truth. Amber in the ground implies no vegetation nearby; shallow deposits are five chi deep, deep ones eight or nine chi. Large pieces are like oak; after peeling, they resemble peach gum initially, hardening over time. Locals use them as pillows. Since ancient times it has been passed down as a pine category, it is appended here.

Lei Gong stated: After harvesting, remove skin and heart/spirit, pound finely, stir in a basin of water until turbid. Discard floating material, which is Fuling Jin (Fuling fibers). If mistakenly ingested, it causes small black spots in the pupils and cornea, leading to blindness. Remember this well. Shenghui Fang: Treats facial freckles and postpartum melasma like sparrow egg shells. Use white Fuling powder mixed with honey for application. Zhouhou Fang: Yao Shi's treatment for facial discoloration. Apply Fuling powder mixed with white honey; heals completely in seven days. Jingyan Houfang: Elderly longevity Fuling prescription: Use Tizi Fuling from Mount Hua, grind and carve into cube-like pieces the size of a date, place in a new porcelain bottle, soak in good wine, seal the mouth with triple-layered paper. Open after one hundred days; the color should resemble maltose syrup. Eat one piece daily. After one hundred days, the body becomes moist and lustrous; after one year, one can see at night. Long-term consumption transforms intestines into tendons, prolongs life and delays aging, restoring a youthful complexion. Sun Simiao's Pillow Book: Long-term Fuling use eliminates hundred diseases in one hundred days; after two hundred days and nights, one sleeps neither day nor night; after two years, one commands spirits and gods; after four years, jade maidens come to serve. Baopuzi: Ren Ziji took Fuling for eighteen years; jade maidens followed him, he could become invisible or visible, ate no grain, moxa scars disappeared, and his face glowed like jade. Wang Wei of Song praised Fuling: White Fuling resides below, red clouds gather above; shaped like chickens and ducks inside, possessing the qualities of turtles and tortoises outside; spiritual power equals the Minister of Fate, preserving youth and health; unwavering in will, soft redness is commendable. Immortal Fuling method: Remove skin of white Fuling, soak in wine for fifteen days, strain and make into powder. Take three qian each time, mixed with water, three times daily.

Yanyi stated: Fuling is generated from the qi of pine roots many years after logging. This is likely the qi of the root, where stagnation has not ceased, thus forming this object. However, it also depends on whether the land is suitable or not; only when the fluid qi is abundant does it manifest externally, forming the cap-like Fuling, hence not embracing the root to form the object. Having separated from its original body, it possesses the meaning of "Ling" (spirit/efficacy). Fushen: Its root has fluid qi but not very abundant, so it can only settle and bind to the original root. Not separating from the root, it is called "Fu Shen" (Settled Spirit). This object has significant water-moving merit and cannot lack the benefit to Heart and Spleen. Some ask: If the pine is logged, can the root still generate life? Answer: Like Mabo fungus, Wu Zhi (Five Mushrooms), Mu'er (Wood Ear), Shi'er (Stone Ear), all grow on dead wood, stones, and manure; their essence has not perished, how can they not become objects? The saying "Cuscuta above, Fuling below" is overly credulous.