莧實 비름씨 (현실)

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

1. 性寒, 味甘, 無毒.

   Its nature is cold, its taste sweet, and it has no toxicity. It cools heat in the body while acting gently.

2. 主靑盲白瞖, 明目.

   It treats eye conditions such as blue blindness and white films on the eye, and brightens vision. It was traditionally favored when sight grew dim.

3. 除邪, 利大小便, 殺蛔蟲.

   It dispels pathogenic influences, promotes bowel and urinary flow, and kills roundworms. In effect, it clears congestion throughout the body.

4. 主肝風客熱, 瞖目黑花.

   It addresses wind and floating heat in the liver, as well as eye films and the sight of dark floaters. The symptom resembles what we now call floaters.

5. 處處有之.

   It grows everywhere. You can easily spot it in fields, along ridges, or by the roadside.

6. 其子霜後方熟, 實細而黑, 九十月採之. 《本草》

   The seeds ripen only after the first frost, fine and black in form, and are gathered in the ninth and tenth lunar months. So records the Bencao.

7. 莖葉

   Next comes the section on the stem and leaves. Their uses differ slightly from those of the seeds.

8. 補氣, 除熱, 通九竅.

   They tonify qi, dispel heat, and open the nine orifices of the body. In other words, they keep every passage of the body flowing freely.

9. 莧有六種, 而入藥惟人莧白莧耳, 然其實一也. 《本草》

   There are six kinds of amaranth, but only Renxian and Baixian are used as medicine, and in truth the two are one and the same. So the Bencao states.

10. 赤莧

    Now comes the entry on red amaranth. As the name suggests, its stems and leaves are deeply tinged with red.

11. 主赤痢血痢, 此莧莖葉深赤. 《本草》

    It treats red dysentery and bloody dysentery, and its stems and leaves bear a deep crimson hue. So records the Bencao.

12. 紫莧

    Then follows the entry on purple amaranth. It clearly shows the old habit of classifying plants by color.

13. 主痢. 此莧莖葉通紫, 可染菜苽. 《本草》

    It treats dysentery, and this amaranth is so thoroughly purple in stem and leaf that it can even dye vegetables and gourds. So the Bencao notes.