Library

Mudskipper (Manli): Sweet in taste, neutral in nature, with slight toxicity. Meridian tropism is not recorded. It primarily treats deficiency and exhaustion from chronic wasting diseases, impotence, "Chuan Shi Gui Zhu" (a contagious chronic wasting disease), gu poison, various parasites, women's genital ulcers, itching caused by worms, leukorrhea, malignant skin sores, gan accumulation, hemorrhoids, fistulas, wind-cold-damp bi syndrome in the waist and back, poisoning from various herbs, minerals, and stones, podagra (Hong Kong foot), tinea corporis, and white peeling dermatosis. Cooking the meat indoors can repel mosquitoes and flies; placing the bones in cabinets can eliminate clothes moths.

Commentary: Although Mudskipper has slight toxicity, its efficacy is extensive. Some claim it belongs to the class of dragons or water spirits, but this cannot be fully trusted. According to the *Ji Shen Lu*, its treatment of "Chuan Shi" is remarkably effective, confirming that it is indeed an extraordinary creature. Those with all five colors intact possess the strongest efficacy, yet they are rare.

Eel: Sweet in taste, strongly warm in nature, non-toxic. Enters the Spleen meridian. It primarily treats postpartum dripping discharge, irregular blood and qi, intestinal borborygmus caused by cold qi in the abdomen, and damp-bi qi. It also tonifies the Spleen and augments Qi. Eel blood can be applied topically to treat tinea.

Commentary: Eel is a sweet and warm substance, pleasing to the Spleen, and thus appropriately enters the Spleen meridian. Living in mud holes, its nature is to hibernate; it emerges only after summer, indicating it belongs to the Yin category.

Leigong states: Fish with white beads-like spots on the head, lacking gallbladders in the abdomen, or lacking gills in the head are lethal. Note: Eels should not be consumed with cormorant meat; Crucian carp should not be consumed with deer or pheasant meat; Loaches and eels should not be consumed with white dog blood; Carp roe should not be consumed with pig liver; Crucian carp is similar. Black carp should not be eaten raw with coriander, malva, or wheat sauce. Shrimp without whiskers, shrimp with blackness running through the abdomen, and shrimp that turn white when boiled are inedible. Raw shrimp should not be consumed with chicken meat, as it harms the body.

Crab: Salty in taste, cold in nature, with slight toxicity. Meridian tropism is not recorded. It primarily disperses blood and breaks stagnation, augments Qi and nourishes tendons, clears heat and vexation from the chest, and when mashed and applied topically, treats lacquer dermatitis. Crab claws specifically break blood and induce abortion; they are contraindicated with persimmons.

Commentary: The character "Xie" (Crab) implies dissolution/solution; therefore, its function lies mainly in dispersing rather than astringing. Overconsumption damages the Spleen, causing vomiting and diarrhea. For those with wind disorders, consumption leads to recurrence. Pregnant women consuming it may experience difficult labor (malpresentation)... [Text cuts off]