薺苨 계로기 (제니)

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 carries no toxicity, which makes it gentle enough to use when the body runs hot.

2. 解百藥毒, 殺蠱毒.

   It neutralizes the toxicity of countless drugs and dispels gu poisoning, earning it a regular place among the old detox remedies.

3. 治蛇蟲咬, 罯毒箭傷.

   It treats snake and insect bites and is applied as a poultice to wounds from poisoned arrows, doubling as a field remedy for emergencies.

4. 似人參而葉少異.

   It resembles ginseng but its leaves differ slightly, close enough that a first glance in the mountains can mistake one for the other.

5. 根似桔梗, 但無心爲異.

   The root looks like that of platycodon, differing only in that it has no central core, so an even cross-section marks it out as jienie.

6. 二月八月採根, 暴乾.

   The root is harvested in the second and eighth lunar months and sun-dried, lining up with the spring and autumn turns of the season.

7. 處處有之, 生山中.

   It grows here and there throughout the mountains, easy enough to come across even on lower slopes rather than only deep wilds.

8. 今人採收以爲果菜.

   People today gather it as a wild vegetable, so it doubles as both a remedy and an everyday dish on the table.

9. 取苗煮食,

   The young shoots are boiled and eaten, enjoyed much like the tender spring greens of the season.

10. 採根作脯, 味甚美.

    The roots, dug up and dried into strips, taste exceptionally good and keep well as a side dish through the year.

11. 《本草》

    This passage is drawn from the Bencao materia medica.