Chinese Medicine: Starting with Daily Intelligence

Chapter 520: Chapter 520: Cinnamon Bark

"This treats the root cause by fortifying the spleen and stomach, which represent ’earth.’"

"Then, we treat the symptoms, which means addressing the problem with the liver."

Li Xu’s pen paused. He looked up at Hu Qiming and continued to quiz him, "Then, we use Goji Berries, Xuanshen, Maidong, and Hangshao to nourish yin and soften the liver. Now, since the patient’s condition is caused by liver qi stagnation, even though our main focus is fortifying the spleen, we can’t ignore herbs that regulate the liver. What herb should we use?"

He was being tested on herbs.

The first word that popped into Hu Qiming’s mind was—Chaihu.

When it comes to regulating the liver, nothing beats Chaihu. This was practically common knowledge in Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Chaihu is excellent at relieving liver qi stagnation. It’s considered a sacred herb for soothing the liver and resolving stagnation.

The previous doctors’ prescriptions had all used Chaihu heavily.

But...

Hu Qiming immediately dismissed the thought.

’That’s not right. If it were that simple, would Li Xu be specifically quizzing me on it?’

’Li Xu just explained that Chaihu’s dredging and dispersing effect is too strong. It can easily deplete liver yin, making it unsuitable for a patient with a chronic illness and yin deficiency. Besides, the failure of previous treatments already proved that the Chaihu approach wouldn’t work.’

’Then what else is there?’

’Xiangfu?’

’Yujin?’

’Qingpi?’

Hu Qiming’s mind raced, and fine beads of sweat broke out on his forehead.

Li Xu paid no mind to the anxiously deliberating Hu Qiming.

He lowered his head and continued writing the prescription and instructions, each stroke of his pen calm and unhurried.

The patient and his wife were no longer looking at Li Xu. Instead, their eyes were fixed expectantly on Hu Qiming.

Though they didn’t understand the names of the herbs, seeing the young doctor wrack his brain made them inexplicably nervous too, as if the answer to this question determined their fate.

A moment later, Li Xu finished writing the prescription and the instructions.

He tore off the prescription slip and handed it to the patient. "Go fill this prescription over there. I’ve written the instructions on it. Take the medicine on schedule and stick to a light diet. Also, try to be more open-minded from now on. Don’t dwell on this moment. What you’ve lost now, you can get back in the future. As long as the green mountains remain, you’ll never lack for firewood."

But the patient didn’t buy this "chicken soup for the soul" at all.

He was still staring intently at Hu Qiming, not even reaching for the prescription Li Xu offered him.

Clearly, he also wanted to know what Divine Medicine could possibly cure his strange illness.

Li Xu gave a wry smile. He tapped the table and asked Hu Qiming, "Well? Have you figured it out? The patient is getting anxious."

Hu Qiming took a deep breath, as if he had made a great decision, and finally said, "Use... Cinnamon Bark."

Li Xu smiled.

It was a smile of approval.

When Hu Qiming saw Li Xu smile, he asked eagerly, "Li Xu, did I get it right?"

Li Xu nodded. "Yes, that’s right. It’s Cinnamon Bark."

"Cinnamon Bark?"

It wasn’t just Hu Qiming who breathed a sigh of relief; even Song Sisi, who was filling prescriptions nearby, looked surprised.

She had picked up a thing or two about the properties of herbs just by being around them.

’Isn’t Cinnamon Bark an herb used to release the exterior and dispel cold?’

’How could it be used to soothe the liver and regulate qi?’

Li Xu explained, "Both Cinnamon Bark and Chaihu are adept at regulating the liver, but their medicinal properties are worlds apart. This patient’s condition is caused by liver qi stagnation, which is why he initially experienced pain in his flanks."

"Subsequently, the liver qi moved aberrantly, overacting on and damaging the spleen and stomach. Chaihu is indeed the best herb for regulating the liver and resolving stagnation, and would naturally be used in a simple case of qi stagnation from an excess pattern. But this patient is unique. His ’earth’ has been damaged by ’wood’ for a long time, his spleen and stomach are extremely deficient, and his liver yin is already injured."

"Chaihu has an ascending and dispersing nature. While it can regulate the liver and resolve stagnation, it cannot pacify the aberrant movement of liver qi. It might even exacerbate hyperactive liver yang due to its excessive dispersing effect. Cinnamon Bark, on the other hand, is warm and ascending. A warm, ascending nature is the essence of wood qi. It aligns with liver wood’s characteristic of ’liking to be free-flowing and detesting stagnation,’ thereby relieving the liver qi stagnation. That’s why it can cure the flank pain."

"What’s even more brilliant," Li Xu said, pointing at the prescription, "is that Cinnamon Bark is acrid. Acridity is the flavor of Metal. In the Five Elements, Metal overcomes Wood. The acrid flavor of Cinnamon Bark can restrain the liver qi and prevent it from flaring up excessively, thereby pacifying the aberrant movement of liver wood. Once the liver qi is calmed and no longer ’bullies’ the spleen and stomach, the stomach pain will also resolve."

"This is the profound mystery of prescribing Chinese medicine. We must select every herb based on its medicinal properties, flavor, and channel tropism, matching them to the patient’s complex and interwoven disease pattern. Only then can it be effective. This is the logic behind TCM treatment."

Li Xu looked at Hu Qiming and said with feeling, "The entire process of treating a patient with TCM, starting from pattern differentiation, must strictly follow TCM’s way of thinking. Once the pattern differentiation is correct, the same applies to prescribing herbs. You can’t just look at the ’functions’ listed in a textbook; you have to see the herb’s role within the generation and overcoming cycles of the Five Elements and the dynamics of qi’s ascent and descent."

"You always hear TCM-bashers saying that Chinese medicine can’t clearly explain how it cures people. In truth, every case can be explained. There’s a clear methodology for prescribing herbs, and it’s all based on pattern differentiation. The problem is they don’t understand it, aren’t willing to believe it, and are even less willing to put in the effort to understand its vast and profound theoretical framework."

Hu Qiming smiled, a sense of relief washing over him. "Exactly. It’s not that they can’t understand. They just hear a single quote from Hu Shi—’Chinese medicine lets you live on in a state of confusion’—take it out of context, and claim that TCM can’t explain how it cures people, that its logic is internally inconsistent."

"They’re just parroting what others say, copying and pasting things they find online. Anyone feels they can spout some nonsense. If you actually dragged one of them here, handed them a copy of the *Inner Canon of the Yellow Emperor* or the *Treatise on Cold Pathogenic and Warm Pathogenic Diseases*, and asked them to point out exactly where the logic fails, I guarantee they wouldn’t be able to say a thing."

Li Xu gave a noncommittal shrug.

The legitimacy of TCM was never going to be decided by arguments, but by results.

Hu Qiming, however, paid the topic of TCM-bashers no mind. He was still pondering the question of the herb’s properties.

He was the type who loved to dig deep into a subject. Once a concept clicked for him, a flood of new questions would follow.

He asked Li Xu, "I have another question. Besides liver qi stagnation, the patient also shows signs of blood deficiency and effulgent fire in the Liver channel. Cinnamon Bark’s nature is warm. Won’t that just add to the heat? Isn’t that like pouring oil on a fire?"

A flicker of appreciation flashed in Li Xu’s eyes. He nodded. "An excellent point. Your fundamentals have always been solid, and you think things through thoroughly enough to see a drug’s potential side effects."

Hu Qiming smiled sheepishly.

Li Xu continued, "You’re right. That is indeed the drawback of using Cinnamon Bark for this condition, and it’s why many doctors wouldn’t dare to use it. That’s why we have to add another herb to the formula—gentiana."

"Gentiana is extremely bitter and cold, and it drains excess fire from the Liver and Gallbladder. We use it to counteract the Cinnamon Bark. This preserves Cinnamon Bark’s function of soothing the liver and pacifying wood, while using gentiana’s cold nature to neutralize the Cinnamon Bark’s warmth, balancing out its properties. This is what’s known in TCM herb combination as ’accomplishment through opposition.’"

Hu Qiming nodded, his face lighting up with understanding. He quickly jotted it down in his notebook. "I see. Gentiana paired with Cinnamon Bark... that’s brilliant."

Li Xu added, "In fact, Cinnamon Bark has countless ingenious uses. It’s not just a key herb for upbearing the liver; it can also be used to descend stomach qi."

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