艾葉 쑥 (애엽)

Original, read line by line 東醫寶鑑 · 탕액편 권3

1. 性溫一云熱, 味苦, 無毒.

   성온일운열, 미고, 무독.

   Its nature is warm — some say hot — its taste bitter, and it carries no toxicity, marking it as a strongly warming herb.

2. 主久百病, 主婦人崩漏.

   주구백병, 주부인붕루.

   It treats chronic ailments of every kind and stops the heavy uterine bleeding known as benglou in women, serving both long-standing illness and gynecological hemorrhage.

3. 安胎, 止腹痛, 止赤白痢,

   안태, 지복통, 지적백리,

   It calms the fetus, eases abdominal pain, and halts dysentery whether red or white, serving expectant mothers and troubled intestines alike.

4. 五藏痔, 瀉血, 療下部䘌,

   오장치, 사혈, 료하부닉,

   It addresses hemorrhoids rooted in the five organs and bleeding loss, and heals damp sores of the lower body, long used for chronic perianal and perineal complaints.

5. 生肌肉, 辟風寒, 令人有子.

   생기육, 벽풍한, 영인유자.

   It regenerates flesh, wards off wind and cold, and helps people conceive — supporting healing while warming the womb for fertility.

6. 一名氷臺, 一名醫草.

   일명빙대, 일명의초.

   It is also called bingtai and yicao — the latter meaning physician's herb, a name that hints at how indispensable it once was.

7. 處處有之. 以覆道者爲佳.

   처처유지. 이복도자위가.

   It grows everywhere, yet the finest specimens are those lush enough to blanket a roadside — common does not mean equal in quality.

8. 三月三日, 五月五日採葉, 暴乾.

   삼월삼일, 오월오일채엽, 폭건.

   The leaves are gathered on the third day of the third month or the fifth day of the fifth month and sun-dried, timed to the festival days when potency was believed to peak.

9. 經陳久者, 方可用.

   경진구자, 방가용.

   Only well-aged leaves are truly fit for use, reflecting the old wisdom that mugwort improves with time rather than freshness.

10. 其性生寒熟熱. 《本草》

    기성생한숙열. 《본초》

    Raw it runs cold, cooked it turns hot — its character shifts with preparation, as recorded in the Bencao.

11. 端午日, 日未出時不語採者, 佳.

    단오일, 일미출시불어채자, 가.

    The finest harvest comes on the Dano festival before sunrise, gathered in silence — a ritualistic practice meant to preserve the herb's full power.

12. 搗篩去靑滓, 取白, 入硫黃少許, 作炷灸之. 《入門》

    도사거청재, 취백, 입유황소허, 작주구지. 《입문》

    It is pounded, sifted to remove green debris, the white fibers gathered, mixed with a touch of sulfur, and rolled into cones for moxibustion — the classic moxa-making method noted in the Yimen.

13. 得米粉少許, 可搗爲末, 入服食藥. 《本草》

    득미분소허, 가도위말, 입복식약. 《본초》

    Combined with a little rice flour and pounded to powder, it can be taken internally as medicine — a Bencao trick for handling the sticky leaves.

14. 實

    실

    What follows concerns the seed of the mugwort, which carries uses distinct from the leaves.

15. 主明目, 療一切鬼氣,

    주명목, 료일체귀기,

    The seed brightens the eyes and dispels every form of malign or unseen energy, regarded as a remedy for both sight and spirit.

16. 壯陽, 助水藏腰膝, 煖子宮. 《本草》

    장양, 조수장요슬, 난자궁. 《본초》

    It bolsters yang vigor, supports the kidneys with the waist and knees, and warms the womb — a tonic for the lower body of both sexes, recorded in the Bencao.