木瓜 모과 (모과)

Original, read line by line 東醫寶鑑 · Tangaek — Decoctions vol. 2

1. 性溫, 味酸, 無毒.

   Warm in nature, sour in taste, and non-toxic.

2. 主霍亂大吐下, 轉筋不止.

   It is used chiefly for cholera with violent vomiting and diarrhea, and for muscle cramps that will not subside.

3. 消食, 止痢後渴.

   It aids digestion and relieves the thirst that lingers after a bout of dysentery.

4. 治奔豚及脚氣, 水腫, 消渴, 嘔逆, 痰唾.

   It treats running-piglet syndrome, beriberi, edema, wasting-thirst, retching, and phlegmy spittle.

5. 强筋骨, 療足膝無力.

   It strengthens sinews and bones and remedies weakness of the legs and knees.

6. 生南方, 其樹枝狀如柰, 花作房生子, 形如瓜蔞.

   It grows in the south. Its branches resemble those of the crab apple, its flowers form clusters that set fruit, and the fruit looks like a snake-gourd.

7. 火乾甚香, 九月採.

   Dried by fire it becomes intensely fragrant; it is harvested in the ninth lunar month.

8. 實如小瓜, 醋可食.

   The fruit is about the size of a small gourd, and may be eaten pickled in vinegar.

9. 然不可多食, 損齒及骨.

   Yet one must not eat too much of it, for it injures the teeth and bones.

10. 此物入肝, 故益筋與血.

    This fruit enters the liver, and therefore it nourishes both sinew and blood.

11. 勿令犯鐵, 用銅刀削去皮及子, 薄切暴乾.

    Keep it from touching iron; pare off the skin and seeds with a copper knife, then slice it thin and sun-dry.

12. 木瓜得木之正, 故入筋.

    Quince partakes of the true qi of Wood among the five phases, and thus it enters the sinews.

13. 以鉛白霜塗之, 則失酸味, 受金之制故也. 《本草》

    If lead-white frost is smeared upon it, the sour taste is lost — because Wood is held in check by Metal. 《Bencao》

14. 木實如瓜, 良果也.

    The tree bears a fruit shaped like a gourd — a truly fine fruit.

15. 入手, 足太陰經, 益肺而去濕, 和胃而滋脾. 《入門》

    It enters the hand and foot Taiyin channels, boosts the lungs and drains damp, harmonizes the stomach and nourishes the spleen. 《Ipmun》

16. 枝葉

    The branches and leaves of the quince tree.

17. 煮汁飮, 治霍亂.

    A decoction drunk as a beverage treats cholera.

18. 煮湯淋足脛, 可以已蹶. 《本草》

    Bathing the shins in the decoction can quiet the staggering weakness of the legs. 《Bencao》

19. 根

    The root of the quince tree.

20. 治脚氣. 《本草》

    It treats beriberi. 《Bencao》

21. 榠樝 명쟈

    Myeongja, the fruit of the flowering quince — a close cousin of mogwa.

22. 性溫, 味酸.

    Warm in nature and sour in taste.

23. 消痰止渴, 可進酒.

    It dissolves phlegm and quenches thirst, and goes well with wine.

24. 其形酷類木瓜而差小.

    Its shape closely resembles that of quince but is somewhat smaller.

25. 欲辨之, 看蔕間, 別有重蔕如乳者爲木瓜.

    To tell them apart, look at the calyx end: the one with an extra, nipple-like double calyx is quince.

26. 無此者爲榠樝.

    The one without this double calyx is myeongja.

27. 功用, 與木瓜大同小異.

    Its medicinal effects are largely the same as those of quince, with only minor differences.

28. 亦治霍亂轉筋, 解酒毒, 去惡心及咽酸吐黃水.

    It likewise treats cholera with cramps, dispels alcohol toxin, and relieves nausea together with the vomiting of yellow water from acid reflux.

29. 其氣辛香, 置衣箱中, 殺蟲魚. 《本草》

    Its scent is pungent and fragrant; placed in a clothes chest it kills moths and silverfish. 《Bencao》