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Tangaek — Decoctions · Vegetables

乾薑 Ginger

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Geon-gang is ginger root dug up and dried. It is the same dried ginger and ginger powder that sit on today's tea shelves and spice racks. The text sets out its handling, washed in water and roasted over a low fire, and points to the miscellany chapter for how it is made. The Donguibogam lists it in the vegetable section.

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

  1. 性大熱, 味辛一云苦, 無毒.

    Its nature is greatly hot; its taste is pungent, though one account calls it bitter; and it is non-toxic.

    HomiclubGeongang is ginger that has been dug up and dried. It is the same thing as the dried ginger and ginger powder used today for tea and spice; as moisture leaves, the aroma and pungency grow more concentrated than in the fresh root.

  2. 開五藏六府, 通四肢關節, 逐風寒濕痺.

    It opens the five jang and six bu (五藏六府, viscera and bowels), frees the joints of the four limbs, and drives out bi (痺, impediment) arising from wind, cold, and damp.

  3. 主霍亂吐瀉. 療寒冷心腹痛, 治腸澼下痢.

    It governs gwallan (霍亂, sudden turmoil) with vomiting and diarrhea. It treats pain in the heart region and abdomen from cold, and addresses jangbyeok (腸澼, intestinal flux) and dysentery.

  4. 溫脾胃, 消宿食, 去冷痰.

    It warms the bi and wi (脾胃, spleen and stomach), disperses food that has lodged, and removes cold phlegm.

  5. 以生薑作乾薑, 有法. 詳見雜方

    There is a method for making geongang (乾薑) from fresh ginger. For details, see Japbang (雜方)

  6. 水洗, 慢火炮用, 炮則溫中, 生則發表.

    Wash it in water and roast it over a slow fire for use. Roasted it warms the interior; raw it disperses toward the exterior.

  7. 若止血, 須炒令黑用之. 《湯液》

    To stop bleeding, it must be roasted until black before use. 《Tangaek (湯液)》

  8. 乾薑多用, 則耗散正氣, 須以生甘草緩之. 《丹心》

    Used in quantity, geongang scatters and consumes the jeonggi (正氣, upright qi), so it must be tempered with raw licorice. 《Dansim (丹心)》

  9. 乾薑見火, 則止而不移, 所以能治裏寒也. 《丹心》

    When geongang meets fire it stays put and does not shift, and for that reason it can address cold in the interior. 《Dansim (丹心)》

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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