Compendium of Materia Medica, Volume 15

Original: Bencao Gangmu, Juan 15

Original: Aiye (Artemisia argyi)

People enjoy its warming properties and often take it for long periods; when toxicity eventually manifests, how can one blame the Mugwort? I have examined Su Song’s Illustrated Classic Tujing Bencao, an 11th-century pharmaceutical work and feel moved by his insights on processed mugwort. Shizhen The author, Li Shizhen states: Raw mugwort leaf is slightly bitter and very pungent; when processed aged or charred, it becomes slightly pungent and very bitter. Its nature is warming, and when processed, it is hot. It is pure Yang the active, heating principle in Chinese cosmology. It can capture the true fire of the Sun and restore the original Yang energy when it is nearly exhausted. When ingested, it travels through the three Yin meridians Spleen, Liver, and Kidney channels to expel all cold and dampness, transforming a harsh, killing atmosphere into a harmonious warmth. When used for moxibustion burning the herb on or near the skin, it penetrates all meridians to treat a hundred types of pathogenic diseases, restoring those with chronic, stubborn ailments to health. Its merit is indeed great! Su Gong claimed it is cold in nature, while Su Song claimed it is hot. One observed its ability to stop bleeding often a cooling function, while the other observed its hot energy rising to the defensive levels of the body. To simply say its nature is "cold and toxic" is an error. This is because they did not realize that blood follows the Qi (vital energy); when Qi moves, blood disperses. The "heat" occurs because long-term consumption causes the energy to rise to the defensive level. Medicine is for treating illness; once the illness is cured, one should stop. If a woman suffering from deficiency-cold, chronic chills, damp-stagnation, or vaginal discharge uses Mugwort alongside Angelica and Aconite to treat her illness, how could that be wrong? Yet, those who recklessly seek to conceive children take Mugwort without ceasing, supplementing it with other pungent and hot herbs. This creates a long-term imbalance of nature, leading to "fire-agitation" overheating of the body's systems. Whose fault is this? Why blame the herb? Furthermore, Mugwort pills are profoundly effective for treating various pains in the heart and abdomen and regulating women's disorders. "Gelatin and Mugwort Decoction" is particularly miraculous for treating deficiency-dysentery and bleeding during pregnancy or after childbirth. For elderly people with weak energy in the "Cinnabar Field" Dantian, the lower abdomen energy center who fear cold in the navel and abdomen, placing processed mugwort in a cloth bag to cover the area is wonderfully effective beyond words. It is also suitable to insert into socks for cold-damp beriberi.

Appendix of Formulas

24 Old, 27 New

Cold Damage and Seasonal Qi

Infectious febrile diseases
For epidemic headaches, high fever, and a surging pulse: Use three sheng approx. 3 liters of dried mugwort leaves, chopped and wrapped in silk One version in Leiyao. For high fever with red spots turning black and blood in the urine: Use a piece of mugwort the size of a chicken egg from Shanghan Leiyao, boil in one dou of water until one sheng remains. Drink at once to induce sweating. From Zhouhou Fang Handbook of Formulas for Emergencies. For cold damage during pregnancy: Boil three sheng of wine until two and a half sheng remain; divide into two doses.

Stroke with Locked Jaw

Take a five-inch piece [of mugwort], insert one end into the ear, seal the area with dough so no air escapes, and perform moxibustion on the other end for seven "streaks" units of burning herb. If the right side is affected, treat the left; if the left is affected, treat the right. This formula is found in Shengjin Fang.
Also, moxibustion on the Chengjiang point on the chin five streaks per point.

Stroke with Pulling Pain

For numbness or paralysis: Take about one hu a large volume of dried mugwort, rub into clumps, and place in a ceramic steamer. Plug all holes except one; place the painful area against that hole and burn the mugwort to steam/smoke it.

Shrunken Tongue and Locked Jaw

Crush raw mugwort to extract the juice. For throat swelling and pain: Yifang Dacheng suggests crushing tender mugwort for juice and swallowing slowly Jingyan Fang suggests using a handful of green mugwort including stems and leaves.

Epilepsy and Wind Disorders

One will know when the time comes. See the formulas appended later. Soaking the herb is also acceptable. From Shengji Lu: Crush a handful to extract three he approx. 300ml of juice, add a little salt, and drink for an immediate cure. Chewing dry mugwort also works. This formula was passed down by Master Li Chen.

Ghost-Strike and Evil Influence

Sudden, unexplained collapse or sharp pain
Apply moxibustion with processed mugwort to the area between the scrotum and the anus the perineum, with the number of streaks matching the patient's age. From Doumen Fang. For sudden stabbing pain in the chest, ribs, or abdomen that cannot be pressed, or sudden vomiting/nasal bleeding.

Infant Umbilical Wind

Tetanus neonatorum
Burn mugwort leaves to ash and fill the navel; secure with a cloth. Or perform moxibustion over a slice of garlic; once the smell of mugwort is detected in the child's mouth, they are cured. From Jianbian Fang.

Fox-Bewitchment and Intestinal Worms

A condition involving emotional distress and physical erosion
The patient's teeth lose color, the tongue turns white, or they are lethargic and indifferent to pain or itching. If they have dysentery, treat the lower body immediately. If the physician ignores this and only treats the upper body, the worms will eat the anus and rot the internal organs, leading to death. Burn mugwort in a tube to smoke the lower parts, letting the smoke enter; adding a little realgar is even better. From Zhouhou Fang.

Chronic Head-Wind Pain

Rub fresh mugwort into pills and sniff them frequently.

Facial Sores

For itching with yellow discharge: Boil two liang approx. 75g of mugwort in one sheng of vinegar in a sand pot to get a juice. Apply to thin paper and stick to the sores two or three times a day. From Yuyao Yuan Fang.

Evil Qi in Heart and Abdomen

Drink the juice of crushed mugwort leaves. from Yaoxing Lun

Cold Pain of Spleen and Stomach

Boil white mugwort powder in water and take two qian approx. 7.5g. from Weisheng Yi

Heart Pain from Demonic Worms

Stabbing pain with vomiting of clear water: Boil one sheng of white processed mugwort in three sheng of water until one remains. Drink to vomit out the worms. Or take raw mugwort juice at dawn after eating a piece of fragrant dried meat; the worms will be expelled. See Zhouhou Fang.

Vomiting Clear Water

Boil dried new mugwort into a soup and sip it. from Guaizheng Qifang

Cholera with Vomiting and Diarrhea

If it does not stop: Boil one handful of mugwort in three sheng of water until one remains; drink at once. from Waitai Miyao

Chronic Dysentery

Mugwort leaves (5 liang), aged tangerine peel (2 liang), and prepared ginger (3 liang). Grind to powder and make pills the size of a parasol tree seed using a paste of vinegar and rice. Alternatively, boil equal parts mugwort and tangerine peel into a soup. Take 20-30 pills with salt water. From Shengji Zonglu.

Chronic White Dysentery in Elderly or Young

Boil mugwort and take on an empty stomach with rice water. This has miraculous effects and has been tested many times. See Yonglei Fang.

Blood in Stool

One handful of aged mugwort and one piece of ginger; decoct in water and drink hot. from Sheng Bian. Or decoct mugwort and ginger into a thick juice and mix with three egg whites. From Shengji Lu.

Sudden Unstoppable Diarrhea

Take three he of the decoction. from Qianjin Fang

"Wild Chicken" Disease (Hemorrhoids)

First wash with a decoction of pagoda tree and willow, then apply seven streaks of moxibustion. This was effective for Official Wang, who took several doses while traveling to Xichuan. It is said that for large hemorrhoids like cucumbers protruding from the rectum with burning heat, this is the only remedy when one collapses in pain.