酸棗仁 멧대추씨 (산조인)

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

1. 性平, 味甘, 無毒.

   Its nature is neutral, its taste sweet, and it has no toxicity, making it a gentle herb safe for prolonged use.

2. 主煩心不得眠, 臍上下痛, 血泄, 虛汗.

   It treats restless hearts that cannot sleep, pain above and below the navel, bloody diarrhea, and night sweats from deficiency—remedying those worn down in both mind and body.

3. 益肝氣, 堅筋骨, 令人肥健.

   It nourishes the liver's vitality, strengthens sinews and bones, and helps one grow stout and sturdy—reflecting the old insight that true recovery begins with restful sleep.

4. 又主筋骨風.

   It also relieves wind disorders that leave the sinews and bones aching and numb.

5. 生山中, 狀如大棗樹, 而不至高大.

   It grows in the mountains, resembling the jujube tree but never reaching the same height—the wild jujube as we know it today.

6. 其實極小, 八月採實, 取核. 《本草》

   Its fruit is very small; harvested in the eighth month, the kernel is taken for medicine—a faithful record of the wild jujube, whose flesh is scant and seed prominent. 《Bencao》

7. 血不歸脾, 而睡臥不寧者, 宜用此, 大補心脾, 則血歸脾而五藏安和, 睡臥自安矣.

   For those whose blood fails to return to the spleen and thus cannot rest at night, this is the fitting remedy: when the heart and spleen are richly nourished, blood returns to its place, the five organs settle into harmony, and sleep comes of its own accord—showing how old medicine traced insomnia to both the heart and digestion.

8. 凡使破核取仁, 睡多則生用, 不得睡則炒熟, 再蒸半日, 去皮尖硏用. 《入門》

   In use, the seed is cracked open to take the kernel: if one sleeps too much, it is used raw; if one cannot sleep, it is roasted, steamed again for half a day, then peeled, tipped, and ground—a striking practice that turns the same seed to opposite effects depending on its preparation. 《Ipmun》