The Tao of Chinese Formulas and Medicines

This work originated from Yellow Emperor’s Inner Canon， Shennong’s Herbal Classic and other ancient herbal classics， the main contents of which include the introduction to prescription medicine， the genus of mulberry–wood categorized formulae， the genus of Gui–fire categorized formulae， the genus of gypsum–metal categorized formulae， the genus of Dihuang–water categorized prescription， the genus of Shu–earth categorized prescription， effectively help readers start from the prescriptions， learning TCM theory and application knowledge from the superficial to the deep.

The Tao of Chinese Formulas and Medicines

Zhang Ganzhou

Academy Press

December 2021

498.00 （CNY）

Silkworm Excrement and Formulas for Improving Vision

Zhang Ganzhou

As an English teacher at Qianjiang College of Hangzhou Normal University， with the title of professor， and the dean of the Foreign Chinese Branch， he is also the head of the International Exchange Center of the College. In 1988， he graduated from Zhengzhou University， majoring in English. He has successively gone to Pakistan to serve as the translator of the Chinese aid to build the Muzafago Power Station in Pakistan， as well as the United Nations “Oil for Food” project in Iraq， and other projects， with excellent translation abilities. At present， he is mainly engaged in English-Chinese translation and scientific and technological English translation teaching.

Silkworms eat mulberry leaves， after which the feces to be defecated are called Cansha （silkworm excrement）. Cansha is also one of the medicines in the category of the mulberry genera.

Late Silkworm Excrement

Upbearing the Clear and Descending the Turbid and Dispelling the wind

In a prescription， Cansha is often written as “Wancansha （late silkworm excrement）”， which refers to the excrement defecated by silkworms at the moment the silkworms are ready to spin silk. Such kind of Cansha is of top quality. Though Cansha is a kind of feces， it does not stink， and it gives out a puff of fresh scent. Silkworms eat nothing but the simple food of mulberry leaf nor drink water， so they are quite clean creatures， and in fact， their excrement is the neatest and tidiest feces.

The functions of Cansha have been introduced a lot in many related medical books. For instance， it can dispel the wind， eliminate dampness， cure arthralgia and hemiplegia， eliminate gastrointestinal turbid dampness， and cure cholera twitch， damp-warm syndromes， pantalgia， and rubella， etc.

Cansha is just the output of an intensive processing of mulberry leaves by silkworms. In essence， it is another form of a mulberry leaf. Mulberry leaf can dispel wind， and so can the silkworms and Cansha. Furthermore， Cansha can upbear the clear and descend the turbid.

For instance， Cansha can eliminate turbid dampness out of the intestines and stomach. As it is known that the spleen dominates the ascending of the clear， and the stomach dominates the descending of the turbid. The transportation and transformation of the life essence of water and grain by the intestines and stomach is a process of upbearing the clear and descending the turbid. To upbear the clear is to transport the life essence of water and grain and the nutrient substances to the whole body. The functions of the spleen are also incarnated in both the small intestine and the large intestine. The spleen is not just an organ， it is also a kind of function. The small intestine digests the life essence of foodstuff and transports the waste liquid and the residues to the bladder and the large intestine respectively. “Digestion of the life essence of foodstuff” shows that the spleen is functioning， while “transportation of the waste liquid and the residues” is to push the turbid to the large intestine， which shows that the stomach Qi fresh air is functioning. When the spleen and stomach are not good enough to upbear the clear and descend the turbid， the clear Qi and the turbid Qi will be intertwined in the intestines and stomach to form turbid dampness. In that case， medicines like Cansha for upbearing the clear and descending the turbid will be needed to give a push. When the clear Qi is elevated in a smooth and proper distribution， the turbid will naturally go down， and the waste will be excreted. Then， the intestines and stomach will become refreshing again. That is the process that Cansha eliminates the damp turbidity of the intestines and stomach.

Again， Cansha can cure cholera twitch. Cholera （“Huoluan” in Chinese Pinyin） is a common disease in summer and autumn， which， just as its Chinese name implies， means the spleen and stomach are suddenly in complete disorder. Cholera will cause vomiting and diarrhea， which will make the patient feel weak all over. The long-lasting vomiting and diarrhea will devitalize the healthy Qi， causing twitch or cramp in legs since the spleen governs the limbs. A twitch or cramp in ours legs reminds us of the great seriousness of cholera. For the treatment of cholera， Mugua （pawpaw）and Cansha should be used for guarding against leg cramps.

In addition， for its functions of upbearing the clear and descending the turbid， Cansha can cure pantalgia that stems from the pathogenic warm-dampness in the body. Cansha can cure rubella， too， since it can dispel pathogenic wind.

Clearing the Liver and Improving Vision

Cansha can clear the liver and improve vision. As the ancients said， “The life essence of the five internal organs （heart， spleen， liver， lungs and kidneys） and the six hollow organs （gallbladder， stomach， large intestine， small intestine， bladder， and Tri-jiao （a term in Chinese medicine disputable on whether it’s a physical form or not） of the human body go upwards to pour into the eyes. “It is not an easy matter to keep bright eyesight. Only when all the vital organs of the human body are supplied with sufficient life essence will the eyes not become nearsighted or longsighted but become quite clear and bright. The condition of eyes can predict the state of one’s health conditions. If the life essence is insufficient in the vital organs， or too much turbidity stays in the body， one may become dim-sighted. Especially when the turbid prevails in the body， it may cause some other eye diseases. Cansha can dispel wind， upbear the clear Qi and descend the turbid Qi， hence it can do good for one’s eyes and improve one’s vision.

The liver is most sensitive to the turbid dampness and heat， and Cansha can descend the turbid dampness so as to clear the liver. When the turbid dampness is descended， the eyes will naturally become bright. For example， when the oil is insufficient， the light of the oil lamp will dim. Similarly， the deficiency of Yin will result in dim and blurry eyesight. When the lamp core is getting dirty， the lamp may also become dim. Under that circumstance， removal of the ash slag on the top of the lamp core will make the lamp bright again， which is like clearing the liver for improving vision.

In addition， Cansha is often used to fill in the pillow to clear mind and eyes， dispel wind and soothe nerves. If Cansha is used together with some adjuvant herbs， it can become more effective.

Cansi Tang

Concerning the use of silkworm excrement for cholera twitch treatment， there is a very well-known formula called Cansi Tang recorded in the book The Theory of Cholera.

Cansi Tang contains the ingredients Cansha（silkworm excrement）， Mugua （pawpaw）， Wuyu （fructus evodiae）， Dadou Huangjuan （semen sojae germinatum）， Yiyi Ren （coix seed）， Huanglian （coptis chinensis）， Huangqin （scutellaria baicalensis）， Zhizi （fructus gardenia）， Banxia （pinellia ternate） and Tongcao （tetrapanax papyriferus）.

Cansha functions as the monarch medicine in this formula since it can upbear the clear and descend the turbid， and especially is effective for eliminating gastrointestinal turbid dampness.

Huangqin， Huanglian， and Zhizi are all bitter cold. The bitterness can eliminate dampness， and the coldness can clear heat， so they function as the ministerial medicines in this formula. Huangbai （phellodendron amurense） is not used in this formula since it goes though the Lower Jiao （one of Tri-jiao）， but the pathogenic influence of cholera mainly takes place in the Middle Jiao. Huanglian is used here to clear the Middle Jiao， and Huangqin is used to clear the Upper Jiao. Zhizi is used to clear the floating heat in the Tri-jiao， but it tends to go to the Middle Jiao.

Both Wuyu and Banxia can descend the turbid and control nausea and vomiting. Banxia is featured with an acrid opening and bitter downbearing; it can descend the stomach Qi， tonify the spleen and reduce phlegm. From the perspective of the curative effects， they can assist Cansha in treatment of diseases. Cansha， Huangqin and Wuyu are all partially cold and cool in properties. However， “The spleen， like the wet soil， can only carry on its functions in a warm state，” and it does not like coldness and coolness. Therefore， Wuyu and Banxia can be used as corrigent medicines against the cold and cool properties of Cansha， etc.

Cholera often causes twitching in one’s legs， for which the twin herbs of Wuyu and Mugua can work effectively. These two herbs enter the Middle Jiao and go downwards， too.

Dadou Huangjuan， Yiyi Ren and Mugua all have a dispersing effect. Therefore， they are used to soothe the Middle Jiao， eliminate dampness， and relax muscles.

Tongcao is light in both smell and taste， and it can invigorate Yang and excrete dampness. After the dampness is excreted， heat will be easily dispersed.

Moving without Holding to Purge Fire

The medicines of dung shall push down without holding since dung itself comes out of the rectum. Therefore， when such medicine is taken， it will help push down the waste easily.

The medicines of dung often contain bile with the taste of bitterness. The bitter substances help descend and clear fire. Furthermore， the gallbladder governs descending.

But one thing should be kept in mind that medicines of dung are not advisable for pregnant women due to the following two reasons：

In the first place， all the medicines of dung have a foul smell， for they are dreggy excrement. When in pregnancy， the women would have to take in the clear Qi as the most precious thing and keep away from dirty things in order to nourish the fetus.

In the next place， the medicines of dung and the like are for the purpose of descending. When in pregnancy， the women will expect Qi to rise， so they usually use some Baizhu and Sharen to tonify their spleen in order to keep the spleen astringed and the embryo Qi rising， and then the fetus will become stable.

However， the medicine of dung may be used after delivery of the baby since some dreggy things inside the body after delivery may not be completely discharged or eliminated. In that case， when necessary， Cansha and the like may be used in order to upbear the clear Qi and descend the turbid.