蛇床子 Sasangja (사상자)

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

1. 性平一云溫, 味苦辛甘, 無毒一云小毒. 主婦人陰中腫痛, 男子陰痿濕痒.

   Its nature is neutral, though one account calls it warm; its taste is bitter, pungent, and sweet, and it is non-toxic, though one account grants it slight toxicity. It chiefly addresses swelling and pain in a woman's genitals and a man's eumwi (陰痿, impotence) with dampness and itching.

   HomiclubSasangja is the seed of an umbellifer, recorded in the Donguibogam under the Korean name baeamdorat, "snake dorat." The name is read as pointing to a plant common where snakes pass, and it grows in low, damp ground.

2. 溫中下氣. 令婦人子藏熱, 男子陰强. 浴男女陰, 去風冷. 大益陽事.

   It warms the center and sends qi downward. It warms a woman's womb and strengthens a man's eum. Used to wash the genitals of either sex, it removes wind and cold. It greatly aids yangsa (陽事, sexual function).

3. 腰痛, 陰汗濕癬, 縮小便, 療赤白帶下.

   It serves for lumbar pain and for sweating and damp ringworm in the genital area; it reduces urination and addresses red and white discharge.

4. 處處有之, 似小葉芎藭, 花白, 子如黍粒黃白, 至輕虛. 生下濕地, 五月採實, 陰乾. 《本草》

   It is found everywhere, resembling a small-leaved cnidium; its flowers are white, its seeds like millet grains, yellowish white, and extremely light and hollow. It grows in low, damp ground; gather the fruit in the fifth month and dry it in the shade. 《Boncho (本草)》

   HomiclubThe seed is covered with hooked bristles that catch readily on clothing and animal fur. The text's note that it is extremely light and hollow matches exactly how the fruit feels in the hand.

5. 凡入丸散, 微炒, 按去皮殼, 取淨仁用之. 若作湯洗病, 則生使. 《入門》

   When adding it to pills or powders, roast it lightly, press off the husk, and take only the clean kernel. When boiling it to wash an afflicted place, use it raw. 《Ipmun (入門)》