栗子 밤 (율자)

Original, read line by line 東醫寶鑑 · Tangaek — Decoctions vol. 2

1. 性溫, 味醎, 無毒.

   Chestnut is warm in nature, slightly salty in taste, and non-toxic.

2. 益氣, 厚腸胃, 補腎氣, 令人耐飢.

   It strengthens vital energy, fortifies the intestines and stomach, replenishes kidney qi, and helps one endure hunger well.

3. 處處有之, 九月採.

   It grows everywhere and is gathered in the ninth lunar month.

4. 果中, 栗最有益.

   Among all fruits, the chestnut is held to be the most beneficial.

5. 欲乾莫如暴.

   If you wish to dry them, nothing surpasses sun-drying.

6. 欲生收, 莫如潤沙中藏, 至春末夏初, 尙如初採摘.

   To keep them fresh, bury them in damp sand; stored this way, they remain as if just picked even into late spring or early summer.

7. 生栗, 可於熱灰中, 煨令汁出, 食之良.

   Raw chestnuts buried in hot ashes and roasted until their juice just seeps out are excellent to eat.

8. 不得通熟.

   They should not, however, be cooked all the way through.

9. 熟則壅氣, 生則發氣, 故火煨, 殺其木氣耳.

   If fully cooked it congests qi, and if raw it stirs qi upward, so ash-roasting tempers its raw woody nature.

10. 有一種栗피뎍뉼, 頂圓末尖, 謂之旋栗, 但形差小耳. 《本草》

    There is also a variety called 'pidyeoknyul' in old Korean—round at the crown and pointed at the tip—named 'seonyul' (whirling chestnut), differing only in its slightly smaller form. From the Bencao.

11. 皮 名扶, 卽栗子上皮也.

    The skin is called 'bu' (扶); that is, the outer husk wrapping the chestnut kernel.

12. 和蜜塗人, 令急縮, 可展老人面皮皺. 《本草》

    Mixed with honey and applied to the face, it tightens the skin and is said to smooth the wrinkles of the elderly. From the Bencao.

13. 毛殼 止反胃, 及消渴瀉血.

    The bristled burr quells reflux vomiting, unquenchable thirst (xiaoke), and bloody discharge.

14. 煮汁飮, 又療毒腫. 《本草》

    Drunk as a decoction, it also treats poisonous swellings. From the Bencao.

15. 栗楔 栗三顆共一毬, 其中者楔也. 亦作榍.

    When three chestnut kernels share one burr, the middle one is called 'yulseol' (栗楔), also written 榍.

16. 理筋骨風痛, 幷付瘰癧腫痛毒. 出箭頭及惡刺. 《本草》

    It relieves wind-induced pain in sinews and bones, draws out the toxin when laid on the swollen sores of scrofula, and pulls out lodged arrowheads or splinters. From the Bencao.