Mugwort in the Bencao Gangmu
What follows is a guest blog, originally published on June 13,2021, by an esteemed colleague of mine, Tom Ehrman, who I had the joy of advising briefly in previous years on his translation work. He has a BA in Natural Sciences, diplomas in acupuncture and herbal medicine, and a PhD from King’s College London, on chemical and pharmacological informatics of Chinese herbs. After studying Chinese language at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London for two years, and then privately with various teachers, he now pursues independent research on herbal medicine of the Ming and Qing dynasties and recently published an article in The Lantern on “Prescriptions in the Běncǎo Gāngmù.” He is one of those rare individuals (of which there are actually quite a few out there, I am beginning to notice) who just do the hard, quiet, lonely work of translating and working with the texts for the sheer love of learning. His scholarship in his chosen field of Ming to Qing pharmacology is impressive. I also appreciate his readable style, expressed in such phrases as the terse “works wonders,” which just hits the nail on the head. I hope you enjoy this offering on the fifth day of the fifth month, the traditional day for picking mature moxa for its highest efficacy. Happy Dragon Boat Festival 端午節 and do find yourself picking some mugwort and enjoying some zongzi 粽子. Here is Tom’s post, which he has so kindly prepared for this blog on the occasion of the “double fifth” day.
Introduction
Presented below are 27 mugwort prescriptions from Běncǎo Gāngmù (Compendium of Materia Medica, 1596) out of a total of 52. These are in fact those prescriptions listed in the highly condensed version of Běncǎo Gāngmù found on the Chinese website Zhōngyī Shìjiā (中医世 家). Apart from a very brief description of qi and flavor, and alternative names, this version only contains information on prescriptions, and even then only a selection of those considered the most important.
The great majority of examples are simple prescriptions (dānfāng), often containing no more than a single herb, for which Běncǎo Gāngmù is famous. In the case of mugwort, the range of conditions covered includes wind-cold, wind stroke, sore throat, tetanus and lockjaw, various worm infestations, dysentery, sores, toothache, nightsweats, eye disease, and, most noticeably, various forms of bleeding.
The fact that Lǐ Shízhēn gave such prominence to prescriptions for bleeding accords well with modern research, in which mugwort was recently found to be among the most effective hemostatic medicinals in the Chinese materia medica (at least in vitro)(see Note 1). The reasons for this are speculative, but may relate to the fact that the herb is rich in various triterpenoids, very similar to another recently investigated herb, which are known to have strong pro-coagulant effects (see Note 2).
Readers will also notice that many of prescriptions involve moxibustion. In one of them (no. 4) indications are even given for the acupuncture points to which moxa should be applied, though, in general, moxibustion is usually used in a more simple fashion, on or around the area that is actually affected. A few other prescriptions make use of smoke or ash from mugwort. For instance, in the case of dental caries (no. 27), smoke is blown into the nostrils and then held in the mouth, which results in pain and swelling subsiding eventually. In a prescription for nosebleed (no. 19) mugwort leaf ash is taken as a snuff to stop the bleeding. Again, this prescription probably reflects the long history of using charred herbs to stanch bleeding in Chinese medicine.
As with almost all the prescriptions found in Běncǎo Gāngmù, those for mugwort are simple and empirical, without relying in any way upon the theoretical apparatus of much of Chinese medicine, and which is such a conspicuous feature of the way in which herbs and herbal formulas are most frequently applied. Modern research would appear, however, to support the claims made for some of these ancient remedies, and may provide a convincing rationale behind their use.
2. Translation
Ài (艾, mugwort, moxa, Artemisia argyi Levl. & Vant.)
Qi and flavor: Bitter, slightly warm, non toxic.
PRESCRIPTIONS
1. Wind cold epidemic disease. Headache, fever and a full pulse. Simmer three shēng of dried àiyè (mugwort leaf) in one dǒu of water until one shēng is left. Finish in a single draught. Good for inducing perspiration.
2. Attack of cold during pregnancy. Fever, macular eruptions turning from red to black, with blood in the urine. Stew a lump of àiyè (mugwort leaf), the size of a hen’s egg, in three shēng of rice wine until 2.5 shēng are left. Drink in two separate draughts.
3. Wind stroke (apoplexy or epilepsy) with deviation of the mouth. Insert a small bamboo tube into the left or right ear of the patient. Apply moxibustion to the end of the tube, on the right if the mouth is deviated on the left, and vice versa.
4. Wind stroke (apoplexy or epilepsy) with lockjaw. Apply moxibustion to acupoints chéngjiāng (CV-24) and jiáchē (ST-6). Burn five moxa cones on each.
5. Sore, swollen throat. Crush some tender young shoots of ài (mugwort) to extract the juice. Sip carefully, and swallow slowly. Alternatively, pound a handful of àiyè (mugwort leaf) with vinegar, and apply crushed to the throat. In winter, dried àiyè will do.
6. Epileptic fit from wind. Apply moxibustion between the anterior and posterior yīn (ureter and anus). Vary the frequency of treatment according to age of the patient (see Note 3).
7. Tetanus and lockjaw in newborns. Burn àiyè (mugwort leaf) to ashes and put in the umbilicus, kept in place with a bandage. Or cover the umbilicus with garlic and burn moxa separately above it.
8. Anal worms. The patient’s teeth are discolored, and the tongue is whitish. The patient wishes to sleep all the time. There may be dysentery. The anus is infested with worms, and there is erosion of the intestine, with difficult stool. Fumigate moxa in a tube around the infected part to clear it out. A little xiónghuáng (realgar, see Note 4) may be added to the moxa before fumigation, in which the case the effect is even better.
9. Headache and itchy facial sores with yellow exudate. Add two liǎng of ài (mugwort) to one shēng of vinegar, and simmer down to a thick juice. Spread on paper and apply above the sores, changing two or three times a day.
10. Roundworm infestation. Stabbing pain in the heart and vomiting of clear fluid. Add one shēng of white shúài (prepared mugwort, see Note 5) to three shēng of water. Simmer until one shēng remains, and take orally. The worms will be vomited out. Alternatively, pound fresh ài to extract the juice, at daybreak, and then first eat something fragrant and sweet, followed by one shēng of the juice. This will force the worms downwards, and out with the stool.
11. White diarrhea (see Note 6). Use aged ài (mugwort), 4 liǎng, and gānjiāng (dried ginger), toasted, 3 liǎng. Grind finely together to make a powder. Stew together with aged rice in vinegar to a paste, and make pills the size of parasol seeds (wúzǐ, see Note 7). Take 70 pills each time, on an empty stomach, washed down with a decoction of rice. Very effective.
12. Chronic dysentery. Drink a decoction of àiyè (mugwort leaf) and chénpí (aged tangerine peel), equal portions of each. It is also possible to use these two herbs ground to a powder, then boiled to a pulp in vinegar and made into pills. Take 20-30 pills each time, washed down with brine.
13. Hemorrhoids. First wash the affected part with a decoction of huái (twig of Japanese pagoda tree) and liǔ (willow twig). Next apply seven cones of moxa next to the hemorrhoids. After the blood and pus have drained it will be cured.
14. Precipitation of blood during pregnancy. Use àiyè (mugwort leaf), 3 liǎng, xiōng (chuanxiong) and gāncǎo (licorice), 2 liǎng each, dāngguī (Chinese angelica) and dìhuáng (rehmannia), 3 liǎng each, and sháoyào (peony), 4 liǎng. Simmer in 5 shēng of water and 5 shēng of clear alcohol, until 3 shēng remains. Then add 2 liǎng of ējiāo (gelatin) and allow to melt completely. Take 1 shēng each time, thrice daily. This is Jiāo Ài Tāng (Gelatin and Mugwort Decoction).
15. Stirring fetus (see Note 8).There may be lumbar soreness (lumbago), rapid heartbeat, precipitation of blood, or even footling presentation (in late pregnancy). Use a lump of àiyè (mugwort leaf), the size of a hen’s egg, and stew in 4 shēng of rice wine until reduced to 2 shēng. Take divided into two draughts.
16. Vaginal flooding (metrorrhagia), with incessant bleeding. Simmer a lump of àiyè (mugwort leaf), the size of a hen’s egg, and 1 qián of gānjiāng (dried ginger) together, in five cups of water, until two are left, then add 0.5 liǎng of ējiāo (gelatin), ground to a fine powder, and allow it to melt completely. Divide into three doses, and finish within a single day.
17. Precipitation of blood after childbirth. Use dried àiyè (mugwort leaf) and matured shēngjiāng (fresh ginger), 0.5 liǎng of each. Simmer down to a strong decoction. Works wonders.
18. Sudden vomiting of blood (haematemesis). Stew three lumps of ài (mugwort) in five shēng of water until three remain, and then drink the decoction. Alternatively, burn shúài (prepared mugwort) to ashes, take 2 qián, and drink down with water.
19. Incessant nosebleed. Take àiyè (mugwort leaf) as a snuff to stop the bleeding, or simmer àiyè to make a decoction.
20. Incessant nightsweats. Use shúài (prepared mugwort), 2 qián, white fúshén (root poria), 3 qián, and wūméi (mume), 3 pieces. Add one cup of water and simmer for a while. Drink warm at bedtime.
21. Watering of the eyes, with swelling and pain. Burn ài (mugwort) to create smoke, and cover with a bowl until the flame is extinguished. Scrape out the residue from inside the bowl, mix with warm water and use as an eyewash. If a little juice of huánglián (coptis) is added, that is even better.
22. Black moles on the face. Take ash of ài (mugwort) and sāng (mulberry), 3 shēng of each, add water and stir several times to dissolve. Boil down to make a paste. Apply this to the moles at frequent intervals. It will cause them to shrivel and drop off.
23. ‘Goose foot wind’ (see Note 9). Use 4-5 liǎng of ài (mugwort), and simmer in 4-5 bowls of water, bringing it to the boil 5 or 6 times. Pour the decoction into a wide-mouthed bottle. Let the patient place the palms of the hands over the mouth of the bottle to fumigate them in the steam. When the water cools down, heat it up again and repeat the procedure. This is extremely effective.
24. Infantile sores with ulceration. Burn àiyè (mugwort leaf) to ashes, and apply to the affected part.
25. Onset of sores on the back. First place some damp paper over the affected area. The area that dries first is the center of the sore. Apply moxibustion to that spot, and wait until either the pain has subsided, or, if there was no pain initially, until some pain is felt. The toxins should then disperse. Even if they do not disperse [completely], they will go no deeper. This remedy is said to work wonders.
26. Insect and snakebite. Apply moxibustion several times. Effective.
27. Toothache associated with caries. Melt a little wax and spread it out on some paper. Over this place a layer of ài (mugwort). Role this up into a [narrow] tube, and burn it to fumigate the nostrils. Inhale so that the smoke fills the mouth. In this way the pain will cease and the swelling subside.
FOOTNOTES
1. Okhura, N, et al. ‘Screening for hemostatic activities of popular Chinese medicinal herbs in vitro’, J. Intercult. Ethnopharmacol. 4, 19-23 (2015).
2. Liu, X, et al. ‘Coagulant Effects and Mechanism of Schefflera heptaphylla (L.) Frodin’, Molecules, 24, 4547 (2019).
3. Presumably less for very young or old patients.
4. Mineral containing mainly arsenic sulfide.
5. The character shú 熟 is the same as that used for shúdì (prepared rehmannia), suggesting a similar mode of preparation.
6. Dysentery/diarrhea characterized by white, mucous stool.
7. The seeds of the Chinese parasol tree, Firmiana simplex (L.) W.Wight. 8. This refers to unexpected movements of the fetus during pregnancy that should not normally occur.
9. Tinea manuum or tinea unguium, fungal infection of the fingernails.
