梨子 배 (이자)

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

1. 性寒一云冷, 味甘微酸, 無毒.

   Its nature is cold — some say cool — its taste sweet with a slight sourness, and it carries no toxicity.

2. 除客熱, 止心煩, 消風熱, 除胸中熱結.

   It dispels invading heat, soothes restlessness in the chest, clears wind-heat, and breaks up heat that has knotted within the chest.

3. 處處有之, 味甘性寒.

   It grows everywhere, sweet in taste and cold in nature — a fruit close at hand to anyone who needs it.

4. 渴者宜之, 尤治酒渴.

   It suits those parched with thirst, and is especially effective for the dryness that follows drinking — the very reason it is often reached for after a long night.

5. 然多食令人寒中, 金瘡産婦, 尤不可食. 《本草》

   Yet eating too much chills the interior, and those with knife wounds or women just after childbirth must especially avoid it, as the Bencao warns.

6. 葉

   Here the text turns to the leaves — for the medicine of the pear tree lies not only in its fruit.

7. 主霍亂吐利不止. 煮汁服. 《本草》

   It chiefly treats cholera with ceaseless vomiting and diarrhea — boil the leaves and drink the decoction, as the Bencao instructs.

8. 樹皮

   Finally, the bark of the pear tree — even the trunk and branches were not wasted in old practice.

9. 治瘡癬疥癩, 甚效. 煮汁洗之. 《本草》

   It treats sores, ringworm, scabies, and severe skin afflictions with remarkable effect — wash the affected area with a decoction of the bark, the Bencao tells us.