Insights and Updates

At the end of this month I will leave Beijing for a week. During this week I have plans to go abroad; during this time WeChat may not log in normally, and the various work matters in Beijing will have to be suspended for a…

The Yizong Jinjian (Golden Mirror of the Medical Tradition) contains a prescription named "Fujin Shengji San" (Putrescence-Exhausting, Flesh-Generating Powder). Its composition is: ercha (catechu), ruxiang (olibanum), moyao (myrrh), xuejie (dragon's blood) and hansanqi (dried sanqi / notoginseng), each 3 qian (9 g); bingpian (borneol) 1…

The Taiping Shenghui Fang (Imperial Grace Formulas of the Taiping Era) contains a pill formula named "Jing Sanleng Wan". Its composition is: jing sanleng (today's medicinal sanleng, common burreed rhizome) 7 qian 5 fen (22.5 g), bie-jia (soft-shelled turtle shell, coated in vinegar and broiled…

The Qianjin Yaofang (Essential Prescriptions Worth a Thousand Gold) contains a plaster formula named Hualiu Gao (Nodule-Resolving Plaster). Its composition is: fan-shi (alunite/ alum stone), chuanxiong (Sichuan lovage rhizome), danggui (angelica root), dahuang (rhubarb), huanglian (coptis), chishao (red peony root), bailian (ampelopsis root) and huangqin…

The Zhongguo Pifubing Jianbian (A Concise Account of TCM Skin Diseases) records Wuhu Dan (Five-Tiger Elixir), a contemporary TCM empirical external formula for skin diseases. Its composition is: shuiyin (mercury) 62 g, mingfan (alum) 62 g, qingfan (chalcanthite/blue vitriol) 62 g, puxiao (mirabilite/Glauber's salt) 62…

Pipaye (loquat leaf) is the leaf of the loquat plant, Eriobotrya japonica, of the Rosaceae family. The loquat fruit can be eaten and can also be used as a medicinal for stopping cough; its leaf can also be used as medicine. Loquat leaf has a…

Because my child wants to major in mathematics, I learned of Paris-Saclay University-the university ranked first in the world for mathematics. (Actually, the one truly ranked first should be the Ecole Normale Superieure in Paris, but ENS is too small in scale and does not…

The prescription of Shenrong Guben Pian (Ginseng-Pilose Antler Root-Fortifying Tablet) is included in Part One of the Pharmacopoeia of the People's Republic of China (2005 edition). Its composition is: danggui (angelica root) 45 g, shanyao (dioscorea, stir-fried) 60 g, baishao (white peony root, wine-processed) 37.5…

The Desheng Tang Fang contains a prescription named "Shuihuo Jiji Wan" (Water-Fire-Link Pill), which was cited in the Puji Fang. Shuihuo Jiji Wan is composed of huanglian (coptis rhizome) and bailing (white poria), in equal parts. Preparation: grind the two herbs into a fine powder,…

Sangenpi Tang (Mulberry Root Bark Decoction) comes from the Shenji Zonglu. It is composed of: sanggen baipi (white mulberry root bark, filed), maimendong (ophiopogon tuber, core removed, dried) and shigao (gypsum, crushed), each 2 liang (60 g); chifuling (red poria), huangqin (scutellaria root, black heart…