Cinnamon Twig and Poria Pill

Zhuanghong was rarely mentioned in ancient medical texts, but there were still some prescriptions that could treat it.

For example, both Hua Tuo's Divine Prescriptions and the Qing dynasty's New Compilation of Tested Prescriptions recorded that taking realgar with good wine could treat it.

Shennong's Classic of Materia Medica recorded the following about realgar:

"Bitter in flavor and neutral in nature. Treats alternating chills and fever, scrofulous fistulas and malignant sores, abscesses, hemorrhoids and dead flesh; kills spirits, evil ghosts, pernicious qi and the poisons of all manner of insects; and overcomes the five weapons. Refined and eaten, it lightens the body and makes one an immortal."

Li Zhongzi's Leigong's Explanation of Processing and Medicinal Properties offered the following explanation:

"Realgar is bitter and sweet in flavor, neutral in nature and toxic; it is not assigned to any meridian. It chiefly kills spirits, ghosts and evil influences, counteracts snake and gu poisons and the miasmic poisons of the mountains, and treats malignant sores, dead flesh, scabies, ringworm, parasitic infestations, wind afflicting the hundred joints, nasal polyps and abdominal pain from evil influence. Worn on the body, it keeps ghosts and spirits from approaching and all poisons from harming one; worn by a pregnant woman, it turns a female fetus male. Large, transparent pieces free of sand and stones are best. Grind finely and levigate for use.

"Some believe realgar to be the seed of gold, but there are gold mines today where no realgar is found, so this claim cannot be trusted without reservation. The claim that a pregnant woman can turn a female fetus male by wearing it may seem unfounded, yet those in the villages who have tried it have often found it effective. It therefore has the power to wrest the workings of creation away from nature itself. If it did not possess the essence of the sun, how could it achieve this? It is only fitting that it should be effective against gu poison and evil influences."

The text not only explained and recorded realgar's many effects, but also described the miraculous power of wearing it to turn a female fetus male. Thus, it was said to have the power to wrest the workings of creation away from nature and to be the essence of the sun.

For that reason, realgar could activate and bolster the yang qi in the human body to expel the yin and evil qi that entered it through intercourse between a man and a woman during zhuanghong.

That was what the books recorded, but Su Ziyang did not prescribe that formula. Instead, he chose another one passed down by his master, Mr. Mengfei.

Two of its ingredients could hardly even be called Chinese medicinal herbs: plantain and rice.

Plantain grew in both the north and south. It grew by roadsides and was extremely hardy.

Su Ziyang did not know the reasoning behind Mr. Mengfei's formula either. When Su Ziyang had asked his master why he used those two ingredients, Mr. Mengfei had shaken his head and said only that a traveling healer had passed it on to him, and he had written it down. As for the reasoning behind it, Mr. Mengfei did not know either.

Su Ziyang finished writing the prescription and told the couple to simmer the two ingredients together in a clay pot. Once the rice was cooked, they only needed to remove the dregs and drink the broth.

The couple added Su Ziyang on WeChat, thanked him and left, saying they would surely come back to thank him once the illness was cured. Su Ziyang gestured that there was no need; they only had to let him know on WeChat when the illness was cured.

The two had only just left when someone came through the door. Su Ziyang looked closely. The person seemed somewhat familiar, but he couldn't remember who she was.

Seeing Su Ziyang looking at her, the visitor smiled. "Doctor Su, don't you recognize me?"

"You are?" Su Ziyang chuckled. "I'm sorry, I've been so busy lately that I really can't remember."

"I'm Wang Jiahui! Li Hui's friend. Do you remember now? The Li Hui who gave you that silk banner!" Wang Jiahui explained with a smile, pointing at the banner hanging on the wall behind Su Ziyang.

Su Ziyang remembered. She was the woman he had told had uterine fibroids, only for her to lose her temper and leave.

"Mm, yes. I remember now. What can I do for you?" Su Ziyang straightened his casebook.

Wang Jiahui saw that Su Ziyang was somewhat lukewarm toward her and showed no extra warmth because she was Li Hui's friend. She smiled again. "I came by last week too, but the clinic hadn't opened yet. I heard it opened today, so I hurried right over!"

Su Ziyang nodded. "Yes, the clinic was renovated and expanded recently, so it was closed for a while."

Su Ziyang's lukewarm reply made the atmosphere turn heavy at once. Wang Jiahui smiled awkwardly and continued, "Young Doctor Su, I'm really sorry about last time. I shouldn't have doubted you. Things were going on in my life, so I was a little suspicious of the people around me. Please forgive me and don't be angry!"

Su Ziyang found Wang Jiahui's awkward, hesitant manner a little funny. He waved a hand. "I'm not angry. It's normal when people see a doctor! Look at how many medical disputes there are in China every year. Things like this are perfectly normal. It's all right! Whatever you need, just say it!"

After listening to Su Ziyang, Wang Jiahui took an examination report out of her shoulder bag and put it on the table. "Doctor Su, I really should have listened to you last time! Last month, my lower abdomen felt swollen and painful, so I went to the hospital for an examination. There really were several uterine fibroids in there! I remembered what you said, so I've come back to ask you to treat me!"

Before, because of matters at home and with her business, Wang Jiahui had suspected Li Hui and Su Ziyang of deceiving her and had left in a huff.

Only after she got the examination results last month did Wang Jiahui suddenly realize that Su Ziyang really was a skilled doctor, and that Li Hui hadn't lied to her either!

Su Ziyang looked over the report. The uterine fibroids had already grown very large, almost the size of eggs.

"Young Doctor Su, please see if there's anything you can do for me. Whether I should take a medicinal decoction or whatever treatment I need, I'll leave it entirely up to you! The hospital told me to have surgery, but I'm really scared! You have to help me!"

Su Ziyang could see from Wang Jiahui's eyes that she really was scared!

"Let me take your pulse!" Su Ziyang offered no further explanation and gestured for Wang Jiahui to place her hand on the pulse-taking cushion. He set three fingers on her wrist and carefully felt her pulse.

Wang Jiahui's pulse had not changed much since last time, except that the chi pulse felt much weaker. The tiny grains he had felt before, however, were much more pronounced than last time.

"Let me see your tongue!" Su Ziyang gestured for Wang Jiahui to stick it out.

Wang Jiahui stuck out her tongue. Su Ziyang saw that its entire coating was white, especially at the root, while the tip was somewhat red.

After recording the case, Su Ziyang said, "Your problem was caused by exposure to cold, but you also have some heart fire. So sometimes you like cold drinks and things like that, but you also tend to get anxious and worked up!"

"Yes, yes, yes. That's right, Young Doctor Su. I especially love having cold drinks and things like that. I feel comfortable in both my stomach and my heart after drinking them!" Wang Jiahui nodded like a chick pecking at rice.

"This illness isn't difficult to treat, but you have to listen to me and follow the doctor's orders carefully. Understand?" Su Ziyang said.

"Go ahead, tell me! Whatever you say, I'll definitely do it!" Wang Jiahui agreed at once.

Su Ziyang thought for a moment. "First, you can't eat or drink anything cold!"

Wang Jiahui hurriedly agreed, saying she would be sure to remember.

"Second, don't get angry. Keep yourself in a good mood! Third, don't eat seafood or other aquatic products!"

Hearing the last requirement, Wang Jiahui nodded somewhat doubtfully and slowly said, "Young Doctor Su, I can understand not having cold things and not getting angry, but why can't I eat seafood? I don't really understand. To be honest, I like eating fish and crab and things like that."

"Actually, it's the same principle as not eating cold things. Chinese medicine and the West view food differently. When looking at something, Chinese medicine focuses on its nature and flavor, not elements like calcium, iron and zinc. Its effects are determined by where it comes from, what shape it has and what it tastes like!"

Su Ziyang explained, "Seafood comes from the water, and water corresponds to the kidneys among the body's internal organs. So seafood is generally thought to replenish men's kidney essence, while modern research says it contains things like zinc. But seafood is mostly cold and cooling in nature, so when Chinese people eat shrimp, crab and such, they generally have them with warming things like yellow rice wine, ginger and perilla leaves to dispel the cold! Your problem came from cold and cooling influences, and seafood can enter the kidney essence and is also cold and cooling, so it isn't good for your condition!"

Wang Jiahui listened, and an expression of understanding appeared on her face. So there were so many things to consider about food! You never knew until you heard it, and once you did, it was a real shock!

"Then will you prescribe a decoction for me to drink?" Wang Jiahui asked.

"No, I'll prescribe you a prepared Chinese medicine, and then I'll tell you how to take it!" Su Ziyang said. He operated the computer and prescribed five boxes.

"First go downstairs and get the medicine, then bring it back up. I'll tell you how to take it!"

Wang Jiahui did as she was told, hurrying off at a trot and returning with the medicine: five red boxes. She looked at the words written on them: Cinnamon Twig and Poria Pill.

"Young Doctor Su, how do I take this? It's the first time I've heard the name of this medicine!" Wang Jiahui said, staring at the boxes.

"Take it like this: take the medicine before a meal, not afterward. Start with one small packet. Then wait half an hour to an hour and see if you feel anything in your lower abdomen. Whether you feel heat or swelling varies from person to person. Most importantly, see whether you pass anything like mucus or blood clots! If you don't feel anything, take another packet, then wait half an hour to an hour and see if you feel anything! If you've taken three packets in a row and still haven't passed any mucus or blood clots, don't take any more today. Tomorrow, take it again the same way! Be sure to remember to take it as I've instructed." Su Ziyang explained everything very carefully. Wang Jiahui understood, nodded, thanked him and left!

Su Ziyang murmured to himself as he wrote the formula in his casebook. "The Golden Cabinet's Cinnamon Twig and Poria Pill: peach kernel, peony and moutan; ground in equal parts and taken as honey pills, they slowly dissolve masses and can secure the fetus."

Cinnamon twig, poria, moutan bark with the heartwood removed, peach kernel with the skin and tip removed and roasted, and peony root, all in equal parts.

Grind the five ingredients above into powder, mix with refined honey and form into pills the size of rabbit droppings. Take one pill daily before a meal. If there is no sensation, increase to three pills.

This formula came from "Pulse and Patterns of Diseases in Pregnant Women" in Essential Prescriptions of the Golden Cabinet. The "no sensation" mentioned in the instructions referred to what Su Ziyang had described: it meant feeling nothing, so the dose had to be increased.

The original text recorded:

"When a woman has a longstanding abdominal mass, her menstruation has ceased for less than three months, and she develops incessant spotting, with fetal movement above the navel, this is harm caused by a chronic mass. If movement occurs in the sixth month of pregnancy, and menstrual blood flowed freely in the first three months, it is the fetus. If there is bleeding and, afterward, menstruation has ceased for three months, it is stagnant blood. The bleeding does not stop because the mass has not been removed. The mass should be dispelled; Cinnamon Twig and Poria Pill is the chief treatment."

The masses mentioned included growths inside the uterus, such as uterine fibroids and ovarian cysts, and even cancer was counted among them.

This formula could be called a divine prescription for treating gynecological illnesses, especially in the present age, when uterine fibroids were so common.

After treating two patients over the course of the morning and keeping busy for a while, Su Ziyang closed his eyes and began regulating his breathing!!!