秦皮 무프렛겁질 (진피)

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

1. 性寒, 味苦, 無毒.

   Cold in nature, bitter in taste, and non-toxic. These properties point to its role in cooling heat and calming inflammation.

2. 主肝中久熱, 兩目赤腫疼痛, 風淚不止.

   It clears long-standing heat in the liver and treats red, swollen, painful eyes as well as wind-induced tearing. This reflects the traditional link between liver health and the eyes.

3. 除目中靑瞖白膜, 洗眼益精明目.

   It removes bluish and whitish films in the eyes, and washing the eyes with its decoction nourishes vital essence and brightens vision. It was a favored external remedy for eye care in old practice.

4. 療熱痢, 婦人帶下, 小兒癎熱.

   It treats heat-driven dysentery, vaginal discharge in women, and convulsive fever in children. A single herb that quietly served the whole household across generations.

5. 處處有之, 樹似檀.

   It grows widely everywhere, and the tree resembles the birch-leaf pear. It was a familiar tree easily found across the countryside.

6. 葉細, 皮有白點而不麄錯.

   The leaves are slender, and the bark has white spots yet is not coarse. These are the key cues for distinguishing true jinpi among related ash trees.

7. 皮有白點, 故俗呼爲白樳木.

   Because of the white spots on the bark, folk people called it baeksimmok, the white-speckled tree. The name simply mirrored what the eye could see.

8. 二月八月採皮, 陰乾.

   The bark is harvested in the second and eighth months and dried in the shade. Slow shade-drying away from sunlight preserved its medicinal strength.

9. 取皮水漬, 便碧色, 書紙看靑色者, 眞也. 《本草》

   When the bark is steeped in water it quickly turns bluish-green, and writing on paper with that water reveals a blue tint in the genuine article. This was a simple yet reliable old test for authenticity. From Bencao.