紅藍花 잇꽃 (홍람화)

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

1. 性溫, 味辛, 無毒.

   Warm in nature, pungent in flavor, and non-toxic. It is classified as a warming herb that helps disperse stagnation.

2. 主産後血暈,

   It treats postpartum dizziness and faintness caused by blood stasis, a condition once considered critical after childbirth.

3. 腹內惡血不盡絞痛,

   It relieves wringing abdominal pain from residual blood stasis by dispersing the congestion and restoring circulation.

4. 胎死腹中.

   It was used to expel a stillborn fetus, demonstrating the potent blood-moving action recorded in classical emergency formulas.

5. 卽今紅花也.

   This is the very plant known today as honghwa, or safflower, the name more commonly used in herbal practice.

6. 以染眞紅, 及作臙脂.

   It is used to dye fabrics deep crimson and to make rouge, serving as the natural cosmetic that once tinted women's cheeks and lips.

7. 葉似藍, 故有藍名. 《本草》

   Because its leaves resemble the indigo plant, the character for indigo was included in its name, as recorded in the Bencao.

8. 紅花入藥只二分,

   When safflower is added to a prescription in only two bun, a small dose, the text notes its careful measurement.

9. 則入心養血,

   It enters the heart channel and nourishes the blood, acting as a tonic when used sparingly.

10. 多用則破血.

    Used in larger amounts, however, it breaks up blood stasis, showing how the same herb shifts function with dose.

11. 又云, 多用破血, 少用養血. 《丹心》

    It is also said that a large dose breaks stasis while a small dose nourishes the blood, as taught consistently in the Danxin.

12. 苗

    This refers to the seedling, the young leaves and shoots, treated separately for their own medicinal use.

13. 搗付遊腫.

    Pound it and apply to wandering swellings, a topical remedy for shifting abscesses that move across the skin.

14. 子

    This refers to the seed, which had uses distinct from those of the flower.

15. 主天行瘡疹不快出.

    It treats epidemic pox and rashes that fail to surface fully, drawing out eruptions trapped beneath the skin.

16. 胭脂

    This refers to rouge made from safflower, used not only as cosmetic but also as medicine.

17. 主小兒聤耳.

    It treats chronic suppurative ear discharge in children, applied inside the ear to calm the inflammation.