茴香 Fennel

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

1. 性平, 味辛, 無毒.

   Its nature is neutral, its taste pungent, and it is without toxicity.

2. 開胃下食.

   It opens the stomach and sends food down.

3. 治霍亂及惡心, 腹中不安, 療腎勞㿉疝, 及膀胱痛, 陰疼.

   It treats gwallan (sudden turmoil disorder) and nausea, unease within the abdomen, kidney taxation and toesan (bulging hernia), pain of the bladder, and pain in the genitals.

4. 又調中煖胃.

   It also harmonizes the center and warms the stomach.

5. 葉似老胡荽, 極疏細, 作叢生.

   Its leaves resemble mature coriander, extremely sparse and fine, and it grows in clumps.

   HomiclubHoehyang is an umbellifer whose leaves divide into fine thread-like segments.

6. 結實如麥而小, 靑色.

   Its fruit is like barley but smaller, and green in color.

   HomiclubThis seed is what spice shops sell today as fennel seed.

7. 八月九月採實, 陰乾. 得酒良. 《本草》

   In the eighth and ninth months the fruit is gathered and dried in the shade. It fares well with liquor. 《Boncho (Materia Medica)》

8. 溫腎與膀胱小腸.

   It warms the kidney, the bladder, and the small intestine.

9. 入手足少陰太陽, 本治膀胱藥也.

   It enters the hand and foot shaoyin and taiyang channels; it is fundamentally a medicine for treating the bladder.

10. 酒浸一宿, 炒黃色, 搗碎用. 《入門》

    It is soaked in liquor overnight, stir-fried to a yellow color, then pounded and broken up for use. 《Immun》

11. 又一種八角茴香, 氣味燥烈, 專主腰痛. 《入門》

    There is another kind, palgak-hoehyang, whose qi and flavor are drying and fierce; it governs lower back pain alone. 《Immun》

    HomiclubPalgak-hoehyang is the fruit of a quite different tree, an eight-pointed star known today as star anise.

12. 我國種植, 隨處有之. 《俗方》

    In this country it is planted and found in many places. 《Sokbang》