紫草 지치 (자초)

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

1. 性寒一云平, 味苦一云甘, 無毒.

   Its nature is cold (some say neutral), its taste bitter (some say sweet), and it has no toxicity. Think of it as a gentle heat-clearing herb.

2. 主五疸.

   It chiefly treats the five types of jaundice — the various conditions in which the body takes on a yellowish tinge.

3. 通水道, 腹腫脹滿.

   It opens the water passages, relieving abdominal swelling and bloated fullness — clearing a blocked waterway, so to speak.

4. 療惡瘡, 瘑癬, 面皶, 及小兒痘瘡.

   It heals stubborn sores, ringworm, facial acne, and even smallpox in children — a herb whose reach extends across a wide range of skin troubles.

5. 生山野, 處處有之.

   It grows in mountains and fields, and can be found here and there without difficulty — a plant once common across our countryside.

6. 卽今染紫紫草也.

   This is precisely the same gromwell used today as a purple dye — the very plant our ancestors relied on to colour cloth in lovely violet hues.

7. 三月採根, 陰乾, 酒洗用. 《本草》

   Dig up the roots in the third lunar month, dry them in the shade, then rinse with rice wine before use. The shade-drying — never direct sun — is the key step. 《Bencao》

8. 痘瘡, 須用茸. 《湯液》

   For smallpox, only the young shoots (yong) should be used — the tender, freshly sprouted parts, not the mature plant. 《Tangye》