Ming herbal (painting): Horse

Unknown artist

Lettering: The horse is pungent and bitter in sapor, cold, and poisonous. It is used to treat damage to the centre, to eliminate heat, to bring down [retrograde] Qi, to lengthen the sinews and strengthen the bones, and to strengthen the back and loins. It can also strengthen the intellect, make the body light, and cure chills and fever (hanre) and atrophy-flaccidity blockage disease (bi). The ashes of the burnt mane are most effective for application to wounds and sores. The ash of the burnt hoofs is mixed with oil and rubbed into scabby scalp/ringworm (tuchuang). The calcined ash of the skin, when applied to ringworm, brings about immediate improvement…