Insights and Updates

Qiongyu Gao comes from the Hong Shi Jiyan Fang. The original formula is: Sino-Korean ginseng (Xinluo Renshen) twenty-four liang (750 g), raw rehmannia (Sheng Dihuang) sixteen jin (8 kg), white Poria (Bai Fuling) forty-nine liang (1.5 kg), and white crystallized honey (Baisha Mi) ten jin…

Tianhuafen is the root of Trichosanthes kirilowii and Trichosanthes rosthornii of the Cucurbitaceae family, also called Gualougen, Huafen, Baiyao, Gualoufen and Loufen. Besides the root, the peel and kernels of Gualou are also medicinal: the peel is called Gualoupi, and the kernels Gualouren. TCM considers…

Garlic is the bulb of Allium sativum of the Liliaceae family. It is a common seasoning in our daily diet and also a commonly used Chinese medicine. TCM considers garlic pungent and warm, entering the Spleen, Stomach, Lung and Large Intestine meridians. It warms the…

Huangyaozi is the tuber of Dioscorea bulbifera of the Dioscoreaceae family, also called Huangyao, Huangyaogen, Hongyaozi and Huangdugen. The earliest TCM external-surgery monograph, the Liu Juanzi Guiyi Fang, already records Huangyaozi. The Bidu San (Toxin-Driving Powder) recorded there uses Huangyaozi and Baiyaozi each one liang…

Jishiteng is the whole herb or root of Paederia scandens of the Rubiaceae family, also called Jishiteng (alternate spelling), Chouteng (Foul Vine) and Maohulu, named for its foul smell like chicken droppings. It is widely distributed throughout the Yangtze River basin and regions south of…

Unnoticed, I have reached forty-two years of age. The number forty-two means much to me: my favorite Buddhist sutra is the Sutra of Forty-Two Sections, a scripture as plain as the Analects that has greatly influenced me. Though I am not a Buddhist, I have…

Maytenus (Meidengmu) of the Celastraceae family is distributed mainly in Myanmar, India and China; in China it is found in Xishuangbanna and Shuangjiang in southwestern Yunnan. It grows in shady, moist environments on both sides of tropical river valleys at 400-1300 m elevation, preferring the…

A few days ago, while picking vegetables in my small garden, I was wearing athletic shorts and was accidentally bitten by a venomous insect hiding in the grass. At first I thought nothing of it, assuming that applying something like essential balm would do. But…

Guangcigu is the corm of Amana edulis (Tulipa edulis) and related tulip species of the Liliaceae family, also called Shancigu, but it is not the same as the commercially available Shancigu in TCM markets. The commercial Shancigu is the dried pseudobulb of Cremastra appendiculata, Pleione…

Waking up and reading the news on the Henan disaster again, I found the death toll had doubled, and I felt even worse. I discussed with my wife donating some money to Henan, and also urged my son to contribute a little of his pocket…