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TCM Treasures - Bai tou weng 白头翁
By Wing Tan |
March 24, 2013, Sunday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
FOUND in valleys and fields, bai tou weng - pasque flower - was first recorded as a medical herb in the "Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing" ("Shen Nong's Herbal Classic") during the East Han Dynasty (AD 25-220).
It usually has purple flowers that bloom in February and are followed by hairy white seed heads. It yields fruit in April and its roots are dug in August.
In traditional Chinese medicine, the "cold" herb dispels inner heat, removes toxins, cools the blood, improves eyesight, kills bacteria and treats dysentery, abscesses and nosebleeds.
Bai tou weng grows in northeast China, and Jiangsu, Anhui, Hubei and Sichuan provinces, among others.
Literally meaning "an old man with white hair," is said to have got its name from great Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907) poet Du Fu. When Du was a poor scholar, he suffered stomachache one day and fainted in the street. An elderly man saved him with a concoction of the herb.
On recovering, Du wrote a famous poem and named the plant bai tou weng to express his gratitude to the old man.
Bai tou weng is considered an emblem of purity and wisdom.
Prescriptions & Usage:
Bai tou weng concoction
Prepare 15g bai tou weng, 12g huang lian (the rhizome of Chinese goldthread), 12g huang bai (amur cork-tree bark) and 6g qin pi (ash bark).
Boil them together.
Remove the dregs. Drink in two doses.
Benefits: Treats inner-heat type disorders.
Bai tou weng ointment
Prepare some fresh bai tou weng roots.
Mash them in the bowl.
Apply swelling painful skin.
Benefits: Treats abscesses.
Bai tou weng soup
Prepare bai tou weng root 15g -30g.
Boil.
Drink three times a day for a week.
Benefit: Treats dysentery.
It usually has purple flowers that bloom in February and are followed by hairy white seed heads. It yields fruit in April and its roots are dug in August.
In traditional Chinese medicine, the "cold" herb dispels inner heat, removes toxins, cools the blood, improves eyesight, kills bacteria and treats dysentery, abscesses and nosebleeds.
Bai tou weng grows in northeast China, and Jiangsu, Anhui, Hubei and Sichuan provinces, among others.
Literally meaning "an old man with white hair," is said to have got its name from great Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907) poet Du Fu. When Du was a poor scholar, he suffered stomachache one day and fainted in the street. An elderly man saved him with a concoction of the herb.
On recovering, Du wrote a famous poem and named the plant bai tou weng to express his gratitude to the old man.
Bai tou weng is considered an emblem of purity and wisdom.
Prescriptions & Usage:
Bai tou weng concoction
Prepare 15g bai tou weng, 12g huang lian (the rhizome of Chinese goldthread), 12g huang bai (amur cork-tree bark) and 6g qin pi (ash bark).
Boil them together.
Remove the dregs. Drink in two doses.
Benefits: Treats inner-heat type disorders.
Bai tou weng ointment
Prepare some fresh bai tou weng roots.
Mash them in the bowl.
Apply swelling painful skin.
Benefits: Treats abscesses.
Bai tou weng soup
Prepare bai tou weng root 15g -30g.
Boil.
Drink three times a day for a week.
Benefit: Treats dysentery.
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