Homiclub

Tangaek — Decoctions · Vegetables

蔓菁 Turnip (Sunmu)

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Mancheong is the root and leaf of the turnip, the same plant as the turnip in the crop guide. The Ganghwa turnip is the best-known Korean sort today, usually pickled as kimchi. Dongui Bogam describes it as a vegetable harvested all year round: shoots in spring, leaves in summer, stalks in autumn, roots in winter.

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

  1. 性溫, 味甘, 無毒. 主利五藏, 消食下氣.

    Its nature is warm, its taste sweet, and it is non-toxic. It chiefly benefits the five jang (五藏), disperses food, and sends qi downward.

    HomiclubMancheong is sunmu (turnip), the root and leaf of a biennial crucifer. In Korea today the Ganghwa turnip is best known, its round root with purple shoulders pickled as kimchi.

  2. 療黃疸, 輕身益氣.

    It treats jaundice, lightens the body, and benefits the qi.

  3. 四時皆有, 春食苗, 夏食葉, 秋食莖, 冬食根. 亦可以備飢歲.

    It is available in all four seasons: in spring one eats the shoots, in summer the leaves, in autumn the stems, and in winter the root. It can also be laid by against lean years.

    HomiclubEating a different part of the same plant each season is possible because the turnip is a biennial. It stores reserves in the root through autumn, overwinters, and sends up leaves and a flowering stalk the next spring.

  4. 菜中之最有益者. 根在地下, 經冬不枯, 至春復生. 常食之, 令人肥健.

    It is the most beneficial among vegetables. Its root lies underground, does not wither through the winter, and revives again by spring. Eaten regularly it makes a person plump and sturdy.

  5. 諸菜之中, 有益無損, 最宜長服. 《本草》

    Among all vegetables it brings benefit without harm, so it is the most suitable to take over a long time. 《Boncho (本草)》

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This is a cultural and historical record from a classical text, not a claim about any food’s effects. Nothing here is a health supplement or intended to prevent or treat disease. Consult a medical professional about health concerns. · Text: Korean Medicine Classics DB · Reading: Homiclub