黃芩 속서근풀 (황금)

Original, read line by line 東醫寶鑑 · 탕액편 권3

1. 性寒, 味苦, 無毒.

   성한, 미고, 무독.

   It is cold in nature, bitter in taste, and non-toxic — a heat-clearing herb that can be used without worry of toxicity.

2. 治熱毒骨蒸, 寒熱往來, 解熱渴.

   치열독골증, 한열왕래, 해열갈.

   It treats heat-toxin bone-steaming fevers, alternating chills and fever, and relieves feverish thirst — clearing heat that lodges deep in the body.

3. 療黃疸, 腸澼泄痢, 痰熱胃熱, 利小腸.

   요황달, 장벽설리, 담열위열, 이소장.

   It treats jaundice, dysentery with diarrhea, phlegm-heat and stomach heat, and promotes flow through the small intestine — addressing damp-heat across the digestive and hepatobiliary systems.

4. 治乳癰, 發背, 惡瘡, 及天行熱疾.

   치유옹, 발배, 악창, 급천행열질.

   It treats breast abscesses, carbuncles on the back, malignant sores, and epidemic febrile diseases — broadly useful for hot, suppurating conditions.

5. 生原野, 隨處有之.

   생원야, 수처유지.

   It grows in open fields and is found everywhere — a common herb that does not require a rare locale to obtain.

6. 三月三日一云二月八月採根, 暴乾.

   삼월삼일일운이월팔월채근, 폭건.

   The root is harvested on the third day of the third month — or, by another account, in the second and eighth months — then sun-dried, since spring and autumn are when its medicinal potency is fullest.

7. 其腹中皆爛, 故一名腐腸.

   기복중개란, 고일명부장.

   Its core is often rotted away, so it is also called fuchang, meaning 'rotted intestine' — a name referring to the hollow center that develops in mature roots.

8. 惟取深色堅實者, 爲好.

   유취심색견실자, 위호.

   Only roots that are deep in color and firmly solid are considered good — pale or spongy specimens were judged inferior in potency.

9. 圓者名子芩, 破者名宿芩. 《本草》

   원자명자금, 파자명숙금. 《본초》

   The round, solid roots are called zigin and the cracked, hollow ones suguin — a distinction recorded in the Bencao that separated young roots from aged ones for different uses.

10. 中枯而飄, 故能瀉肺中之火, 消痰利氣, 入手太陰經.

    중고이표, 고능사폐중지화, 소담이기, 입수태음경.

    Roots with a dry, light hollow core drain fire from the lungs, dissolve phlegm, and free the qi, entering the Hand Taiyin lung meridian — the light material rises to act on the upper organs.

11. 細實而堅者, 治下部, 瀉大腸火, 入水而沈.

    세실이견자, 치하부, 사대장화, 입수이침.

    Thin, dense, firm roots — which sink when placed in water — treat the lower body and drain fire from the large intestine, following the principle that heavy material descends to act below.

12. 入藥, 酒炒上行, 便炒下行, 尋常生用. 《入門》

    입약, 주초상행, 변초하행, 심상생용. 《입문》

    In formulas, stir-frying with wine sends its action upward, stir-frying with urine sends it downward, and it is ordinarily used raw — a preparation method from the Ruimen showing how the same herb can be steered to different parts of the body.

13. 子

    자

    What follows concerns the seeds of scutellaria.

14. 主腸澼, 下膿血. 《本草》

    주장벽, 하농혈. 《본초》

    The seeds chiefly treat dysentery and discharge pus and blood downward — according to the Bencao, unlike the root, they were used specifically for inflammatory bleeding in the intestines.