茯神 Boksin (복신)

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

1. 性平, 味甘, 無毒. 療風眩風虛, 止驚悸.

   Its nature is neutral, its taste sweet, and it is non-toxic. It treats punghyeon (風眩, wind dizziness) and pungheo (風虛, wind vacuity) and stops fright palpitations.

   HomiclubBoksin is the form of the pine-root fungus that has knotted around the root itself. Split open, it shows the woody core of the root running straight through the middle.

2. 治健忘, 開心益智, 安魂魄, 養精神, 安神定志. 主驚癎.

   It treats forgetfulness, opens the heart and augments the wits, settles the hon and baek (魂魄, ethereal and corporeal souls), nourishes the essence-spirit, quiets the sin (神, spirit), and steadies the will. It governs gyeonggan (驚癎, fright epilepsy).

3. 茯苓, 乃採斫訖多年, 松根之氣所生, 盖其氣味噎鬱未絶, 故爲是物.

   Bokryeong arises from the qi of a pine root many years after the tree has been felled; because its qi and flavour remain pent up and unbroken, this substance forms.

4. 其津氣盛者, 方發泄於外, 結爲茯苓. 雖有津氣而不甚盛, 止能結伏於本根, 故曰茯神. 《本草》

   Where the fluid and qi are abundant, they break out and knot into bokryeong; where fluid and qi are present but not abundant, they can only knot crouching on the original root, and so it is called boksin. 《Boncho (本草)》

5. 松木, 斫不再抽芽, 其根不死, 津液下流, 故生茯苓ㆍ茯神. 因用治心腎, 通津液. 《入門》

   A pine, once cut, sends up no new shoot, yet its root does not die and its fluid flows downward, and so bokryeong and boksin arise. For this reason they are used to treat the sim and sin (心腎, heart and kidney) and to free the fluids. 《Ipmun (入門)》

   HomiclubThe observation that a pine sends up no new shoot from its stump is broadly accurate. Unlike oak or willow, a cut pine stump almost never resprouts.