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Tangaek — Decoctions · Trees

蘇合香 Sohaphyang (소합향)

Sohaphyang is the balsam of the storax tree, the resin still traded as storax today. Donguibogam lists it under the 【唐】 import mark, sourced from Central India, and notes that it is boiled down from several aromatic saps rather than tapped as one substance.

Original, read line by line 東醫寶鑑 · Tangaek — Decoctions vol. 3

  1. 性溫, 味甘, 無毒. 主辟惡, 殺鬼精物, 溫瘧, 蠱毒, 去三蟲, 令人無夢魘.

    Its nature is warm, its taste sweet, and it is non-toxic. It chiefly wards off evil and destroys ghosts and sprites, is used for onhak (溫瘧, warm malaria) and godok (蠱毒, gu poisoning), expels the samchung (三蟲, three worms), and keeps a person free of nightmares.

    HomiclubSohaphyang is the balsam tapped from the trunk of the storax tree, a member of the witch-hazel family. Known in the West as storax, it is still used as a raw material for incense and perfume.

  2. 中天竺出蘇合, 是諸香汁煎之, 非自然一物也.

    Sohap comes from central India, and it is made by decocting the juices of many fragrances, not a single naturally formed substance.

  3. 今人用如膏油者, 極芬烈耳. 《本草》

    What people today use, resembling a salve or an oil, is simply exceedingly rich and keen in scent. 《Boncho (本草)》

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This is a cultural and historical record from a classical text, not a claim about any food’s effects. Nothing here is a health supplement or intended to prevent or treat disease. Consult a medical professional about health concerns. · Text: Korean Medicine Classics DB · Reading: Homiclub