知母 지모 (지모)

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, though some say neutral. The taste is bitter, though some call it sweet, and it carries no toxicity.

2. 主骨蒸熱勞, 腎氣虛損.

   It treats steaming-bone heat and consumptive fatigue, and restores depleted kidney qi.

3. 止消渴, 療久瘧黃疸,

   It quenches the unrelenting thirst of wasting-thirst disease and resolves chronic malaria and jaundice.

4. 通小腸, 消痰止嗽, 潤心肺,

   It clears the small intestine, dissolves phlegm and stops coughing, and moistens the heart and lungs.

5. 治産後蓐勞.

   It also treats postpartum bed-confinement exhaustion.

6. 生原野,

   It grows wild in open fields.

7. 根似菖蒲而甚柔潤,

   The root resembles calamus but is far softer and more moist.

8. 葉至難死, 掘出隨生, 須燥乃止.

   Its leaves are remarkably tenacious—even uprooted, the plant keeps growing back, ceasing only when fully dried out.

9. 四月開靑花如韭花, 八月結實.

   In the fourth month it bears green flowers resembling chive blossoms, and in the eighth month it sets seed.

10. 二月八月採根, 暴, 去鬚,

    The root is harvested in the second and eighth months, sun-dried, and stripped of its fine rootlets.

11. 用黃白滋潤者, 善. 《本草》

    The best specimens are those with a yellow-white hue and a moist, juicy texture. 《Bencao》

12. 入足陽明經ㆍ手太陰經.

    It enters the Foot Yangming Stomach meridian and the Hand Taiyin Lung meridian.

13. 足少陰腎經本藥,

    It is the principal medicine for the Foot Shaoyin Kidney meridian.

14. 瀉足陽明火熱, 補益腎水膀胱之寒.

    It drains fiery heat from the Foot Yangming meridian while replenishing the cool waters of the kidney and bladder.

15. 入補藥鹽水或蜜水, 蒸或炒,

    For tonifying formulas, it is steamed or stir-fried after being soaked in salt water or honey water.

16. 上行酒炒. 勿犯鐵. 《入門》

    To direct its action upward, it is stir-fried with wine, and iron implements must be avoided. 《Rumen》

17. 我國黃海道多産, 品亦好. 《俗方》

    In our country it is produced abundantly in Hwanghae Province, and the quality there is also excellent. 《Sokbang》