During the Double Ninth Festival, when climbing high to plant dogwood, should you plant “Dogwood” or “Evodia”?

“I am a stranger in a foreign land, but I miss my family even more during the festive season. I know from afar that my brothers are climbing to the heights, and there is one less person planted with dogwood trees.”

                                       Recalling Shandong Brothers on September 9th Wang Wei of the Tang Dynasty

The Double Ninth Festival is also called the “Cornus Festival”, and nine is the largest yang number. On September 9 in the lunar calendar, the two nines overlap, so it is called the Double Ninth Festival. The Double Ninth Festival was regarded as a day of bad luck in ancient times, so on this day people had to “climb high” to try to get closer to the Yang energy, and wear dogwood to ward off evil spirits. According to the record in “Xu Qi Xie Ji” of the Southern Dynasties: “In Huanjing, Runan, I have been traveling with Fei Zhangfang for many years. The chief room said: “On September 9th, there will be a disaster in your family. Make a scarlet bag, hold dogwood and tie it to your arm; climb high and drink chrysanthemum wine, this disaster can be eliminated. “Jing Ruyan, the whole family returned home in the evening and saw chickens, dogs, cattle and sheep…Everyone in this world died suddenly. On the ninth day, women would climb mountains and drink chrysanthemum wine, and women would bring dogwood bags with them.” Hence the custom of climbing high on the Double Ninth Festival to ward off evil spirits. In the Tang Dynasty, the court would also give dogwood to officials during the Double Ninth Festival to ensure everything was safe. So which one is this “Cornus”? Let me introduce you one by one:

    According to the fourth edition of the Taiwan Chinese Pharmacopoeia, Cornus officinalis (http://en.whatsintcm.com/dt_articles/%e5%b1%b1%e8%8c%b1%e8%90%b8/) is a plant in the family Cornus officinalis Siebold & Zucc .Dry ripe pulp. Mainly produced in Henan, Zhejiang, Anhui, Shaanxi and other places. Currently, there are standardized planting bases in Xixia of Henan, Lin’an of Zhejiang, and Foping of Shaanxi. They are usually harvested in late autumn and early winter when the fruits turn red. Bake it over slow fire or blanch it in boiling water, remove the core and dry it for storage. Because the color and appearance of the medicinal material are similar to the skin of red dates, it is also called “jujube skin”. The medicinal materials are usually in irregular flakes with a wrinkled surface. Shrunk and shiny, there will be stem marks at the base. If it is new, it will appear purple-red. After being stored for a long time, it will turn purple-black. Generally, the ones with large pieces, thick flesh, soft texture, and sour and slightly bitter taste are better. When buying from the shop, pay attention to whether there is any confusion. The identification method can be to soak the medicinal materials in water and look at the shape. The genuine product is flattened and has one end cracked, which is a sign of the core being squeezed out, while the mixed product has the peel intact and rolled up. , another way to identify is to peel off and look at the flesh of the fruit. The genuine product has several slightly raised longitudinal veins, and the corresponding core will also have several corresponding longitudinal grooves. Finally, taste it to see if it has a sour or slightly bitter taste. The above identification methods are for your reference.

    However, depending on the clinical use, there are different processed items of “wine dogwood meat”. Usually the ratio of dogwood meat to rice wine is 5:1. Mix the dogwood meat with rice wine first, then simmer until the rice wine absorbs the medicinal materials, and then add Put it into the steamer, heat it with strong fire first, and then use slow fire to continue steaming until it is full. Steam it to purple-black and then stop the fire. After one night, take it out and dry it. The processed medicinal materials will appear purple-black and have the aroma of wine. In addition, there were some dyes used in the past. Grape skins or jujube skins are dyed with pigments to turn the purple-black color of wine dogwood, so pay special attention when purchasing. It is recorded in “Famous Doctors”: “Famous Doctors are slightly warm and non-toxic. It is mainly used to treat gastrointestinal wind evil, cold and heat hernia,… reduce Qi, sweat, benefit sperm, calm the five internal organs, clear the nine orifices, and relieve urination.” It can be seen that its efficacy is that it is mainly warming but not drying, nourishing yang and suppressing yin, which is an important medicine for replenishing the liver and kidneys. Currently, it is included in the “Liuwei Dihuang Pills” and “Jingui Shenqi Pills” commonly used in Taiwan to treat dizziness and soreness of the waist and knees. Contains this medicine.

    In addition, according to the fourth edition of the Taiwan Chinese Pharmacopoeia, Evodia rutacarpa (http://en.whatsintcm.com/dt_articles/%e5%90%b3%e8%8c%b1%e8%90%b8/) is the Rutaceae plant Evodia ruticarpa (A. Juss. Benth., Euodia ruticarpa (A.Juss.) Benth. var. officinalis (Dode) C.C.Huang or Euodia ruticarpa (A.Juss.) Benth. var. bodinieri (Dode) C.C.Huang The dryness is nearly Ripe fruits. Plants of the Rutaceae family usually have aromas. They are mainly produced in Guizhou, Guangxi, Yunnan, Sichuan and other places. Usually from August to October, when the fruits have not yet cracked, the fruit branches are cut and dried in the sun or at low temperature, and then the branches are removed. , leaves, fruit stems and other impurities. The medicinal materials are usually spherical and have a yellow-green to brown surface. The texture is hard and crisp, and the aroma is strong. The ones that are small, plump and solid, and rich in aroma are clinically preferred. Depending on its use, there are “Zhi Evodia” which is processed by removing licorice, “Salt Evodia” which is processed with salt water, and “Lian Evodia” which is processed by using Coptis chinensis. After processing, the entire surface will become darker and the taste will also change. There have been changes. According to the “Shen Nong’s Materia Medica”, the medicinal parts of Evodia can be used correctly. That is to say, there should not be too many branches and other non-medicinal parts. “It is recorded in: “It tastes pungent and warm. It mainly warms the middle and lowers Qi, relieves pain, coughs, cold and heat, removes dampness and blood numbness, drives away wind evil, and relieves interstitial pain.” Among them, the analgesic effect is commonly used in modern clinical practice, and it treats the spleen and kidneys. “Sishen Pill” is a commonly used prescription for yang deficiency, diarrhea at the fifth watch, and diarrhea due to cold deficiency.

    Generally speaking, Evodia has a fragrance because it is a plant of the Rutaceae family. It can be inserted directly into the bun of the hair, or the stems, leaves or fruits of the Evodia can be wrapped in a purple cloth bag and tied to the arm to ward off disasters and evacuate. Therefore, on the Double Ninth Festival, in addition to climbing high to look far and close to nature, we must also plant the right dogwood trees to avoid disasters and provide refuge.

【Picture provided] Professor Zhang Xianzhe《Illustrated guide to authentic medicinal materials》http://en.whatsintcm.com