https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/A4PeQB2Vq1CW8xtc-5KQOA
Everyone is welcome to share their experiences with the medicine in the replies to facilitate other students in searching and learning.
268. Huangsi Turmeric
Today’s three herbs have very distinctive smells, overall quite pleasant. There were only 6 grams in the sealed bag, definitely not as strong as a whole 1kg bag, but you can still get some sense of it.
Authentic turmeric should refer to Huangsi Turmeric (the tuberous root of turmeric). Guangyu Jin (Guangxi Curcuma) and Wenyu Jin (Wenzhou Turmeric from Zhejiang) are substitutes from similar varieties.
From the name itself, “Yu (郁)” implies two meanings: concentrated concealment and strong fragrance. Beneath the ordinary appearance, when broken open it is golden yellow, hence called Yu Jin (Turmeric)—it indeed smells strongly fragrant, symbolizing its warm pungency that unblocks the channels and soothes the liver Qi, but it is very gentle.
Yu Jin (turmeric), Yangchunsha (Amomum villosum var. xanthioide), Xinhui Chenpi (aged tangerine peel from Xinhui)—these medicines can be enjoyed just by smelling them.
Chewing directly is not tasty and a bit spicy, which may seem counterintuitive, but the reason is simple: turmeric and Yu Jin share the same origin; turmeric is a rhizome, Yu Jin is a tuberous root. Turmeric includes “ginger,” so a bit of spiciness is normal.
When brewed as tea, it tastes very good, sweet with fruity aroma, basically consistent with its smell (my ratio was 6g of herb with 150g boiling water). Not tasty when chewed directly, but quite good as tea, is due to concentration: chewing releases spicy components first, but brewing yields a balanced release, diluting the spiciness so it’s not unpleasant.
The confirmed effect is “unblocking,” specifically in three directions: promoting Qi and opening orifices (15g), activating blood and unblocking channels (30g), soothing liver and benefiting gallbladder (30-60g).
26. Thirty-Year Wild Kudzu Root
The WeChat official account says this kudzu has a fresh scent like watermelon and cucumber, wonder if everyone can smell it.
After brewing, the stored energy is released, with surprisingly rich flavor and color, the taste is bitter at first but quickly sweetens, you can feel the Qi rising through the back.
This one is quite old, so it comes with an energy package. It has a Qi supplementing effect, after replenishing Qi, it carries Qi to dispel cold from the back and nape, a full-service effect.
Eating directly requires quite a long chew, the overall taste is not much different from the brewed tea, but much stronger, the bitterness is more apparent. Since it’s not warmed by hot water, it also carries a cold nature and prolonged chewing may cause nausea.
The confirmed effect is “leading Qi upward,” traveling through the bladder meridian and the governing vessel, also with some effects on unblocking meridians, dilating blood vessels, and clearing turbidity and toxins. The suggested dosage is 30-60g. If the patient’s economic condition is poor, it’s better to use ordinary kudzu root, as this premium grade is more expensive and only a few hundred kilograms are available per year.
156. Jinhua Pit Yang Chunsha (Amomum villosum var. xanthioides)
When I was a kid, my family had a kind of external ointment that smelled very fragrant, later I learned the scent came from Sha Ren (Amomum). Ordinary Sha Ren also has aroma, but once you smell Yang Chunsha’s aroma, ordinary Sha Ren becomes unimpressive. Its aroma is intense, very bold, and not subtle.
Interestingly, Yang Chunsha grains are smaller than Guangxi or Yunnan Sha Ren—here I want to emphasize a concept: when buying naturally grown things like fruits, vegetables, and herbs, smaller ones often taste better. For example, I only buy Lo River apples from Shaanxi, not the big dumb Red Fuji, and certainly not the very large cold-resistant Fuji from Northeast China, which even dogs won’t eat.
Bigger ≠ better. Breaking this fixed mindset makes it easier to find good products.
Chewing Sha Ren directly, the first sensation is sour, like it’s been pickled in vinegar, then comes cooling, bitterness, and a slight aftertaste—a bit unpleasant.
The brewed tea, however, tastes very nice. For today’s three kinds, after adding some sugar, all can be taken as beverages (turmeric alone can be a beverage without sugar), embodying Qi moving and blood activating, and spleen and stomach strengthening.
Sha Ren itself is slightly cool but not heavy, so when combined with dried ginger, dried ginger “leads” it to warm the interior and transform dampness—the function “transforming dampness and warming the middle” only works when combined with dried ginger; Sha Ren alone is not warming.
The confirmed effect is “promoting Qi and activating blood,” with benefits of transforming dampness, strengthening spleen, harmonizing stomach, and stabilizing pregnancy. These are all manifestations of “promoting Qi and activating blood” in specific areas.
When I say “promoting Qi and activating blood,” it targets not only the commonly understood “Qi stagnation and blood stasis.” To realize “promoting Qi and activating blood,” one must invigorate the whole or part of a functional unit’s energy. In that process, “unblocking” and “tonifying” are inseparable, as from the result standpoint, “unblocking” and “tonifying” still cannot be separated. When a blocked, dysfunctional part is unblocked, its function returns to normal and no extra energy is needed to maintain normal functioning, and that is “tonification.”
So don’t ask why “Sha Ren” can activate blood yet also stabilize pregnancy. The “activating blood” I refer to is different from the common understanding; even traditionally understood blood activation is not contradictory to stabilizing pregnancy.
I wonder if everyone has realized that many core effects of Chinese medicines boil down to one or two key functions. The essential ones to master are just these one or two.
Like in “Chinese Materia Medica,” where one herb has five or six effects, many are actually “derivative” effects, some barely related but still recorded (even some unrelated ones). This actually complicates student learning.
Because many herbs can “clear heat and detoxify,” when you really want to clear heat and detoxify, how to choose?
If we grasp the “main and core” effects and have a specific understanding of each herb, knowing which herb is best for a certain purpose is enough, fast and effective.