萆薢 Myeolaetbulhwi (멸앳불휘)

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

1. 性平, 味苦甘, 無毒.

   Its nature is neutral, its taste bitter and sweet, and it is non-toxic.

2. 主風濕周痺, 惡瘡不瘳, 冷風㿏痺, 腰脚不遂, 䐴腰痛.

   It chiefly treats jubi (numbness all over) from wind-damp, malignant sores that will not heal, gunbi (paralytic numbness) from cold wind, inability to move the lower back and legs at will, and goe-yotong (lumbago).

3. 久冷是腎間有膀胱宿水. 療陽痿失尿.

   Long-standing cold means there is stale bladder water lodged between the kidneys. It treats yangwi (impotence) and involuntary urination.

4. 處處有之, 葉似薯蕷, 蔓生. 二月八月採根, 暴乾.

   It is found everywhere; its leaves resemble seoyeo (Chinese yam) and it grows as a vine. In the second and eighth months the root is dug and sun-dried.

   HomiclubSeoyeo (薯蕷) is the Chinese yam. The resemblance being noted is the heart-shaped leaf and the climbing vine.

5. 有二種. 莖有刺, 根白實, 無刺者, 根虛軟, 以軟者爲佳. 《本草》

   There are two kinds. The one with thorns on the stem has a white, firm root; the thornless one has a spongy, soft root, and the soft one is held to be better. 《Boncho》

6. 一名土茯苓, 一名仙遺粮, 又名冷飯團.

   One name for it is tobongnyeong, another is seonyuryang, and it is also called naengbandan.

   HomiclubThe old Korean name myeoraet-buhwi referred to the root of the greenbrier vine. In southern Korea the vine is called manggae-namu and its leaves are wrapped around manggae-tteok rice cakes. The nickname naengbandan (冷飯團, "cold rice ball") comes from the lumpy, clumped shape of the tuber.

7. 性熱, 味甘辛, 無毒.

   Its nature is hot, its taste sweet and pungent, and it is non-toxic.

8. 善治久病楊梅瘡漏, 及曾誤服輕粉, 肢體廢壤, 筋骨痠疼者.

   It treats well long-standing yangmaechang and its fistulas, and also those who once wrongly took gyeongbun, so that their limbs and body are ruined and their sinews and bones ache.

   HomiclubGyeongbun (輕粉) is a white powder prepared from mercury. Yangmaechang (楊梅瘡) takes its name from the bumpy surface of the bayberry fruit (楊梅), which the sores were likened to.

9. 能收其毒而祛其風, 補其虛, 尋常老弱亦可服.

   It can gather in that toxin and dispel that wind and supplement the depletion, so even ordinary old or weak people may take it.

10. 酒浸或鹽水煮, 焙乾用. 若初起, 肺熱便秘者, 不宜服. 《入門》

    Steep it in wine or boil it in salt water, dry it over a fire, and use it. If the illness has only just begun, or in one with lung heat and constipation, it is not suitable to take. 《Ipmun》