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Latin pharmacognostic name: Cinnabaris

Alternate Chinese names: 丹粟 dān sù; 赤丹 chì dān; 汞沙 gǒng shā; 丹砂 dān shā; 辰砂 chén shā; 朱砂 zhū shā

Kingdom: Plant

Origin in PRC Pharmacopoeia: A mineral mainly composed of HgS. (PRC Pharmacopoeia)

Use: Medicinal

Category: Spirit-quieting agents / Heavy settling spirit-quieting agents

Properties: Sweet; cold; toxic.

Channel entry: Heart and liver channels.

Indications:

• Settles fright and quiets the spirit: Disquieted heart spirit, child fright wind, mania and withdrawal.
• Clears heat and resolves toxin: Sores, painful swollen throat, or mouth or tongue sores, due to heat toxin brewing internally.
• Additional uses: Zhū shā was traditionally used as a covering for pill preparations to increase their spirit-quieting action; it also acts as a preservative. Zhū shā is rarely used internally in the West (and is conservatively used in the East owing to concerns over its toxicity). However, zhū shā has had an important place in Chinese medical theory and practice throughout history, and it figures prominently in Chinese mythology and the Daoist quest for alchemical elixirs of immortality.

Dosage & Method: Oral: 0.3–0.9g in pills and powders; or use as a coating for other agents.

Warnings: Zhū shā is highly toxic; if used, it should not be used in excessive doses or over a prolonged period. It is not legal for internal use in many countries because it is composed of mercuric sulfide. The risk of mercury poisoning is further increased if zhū shā is heated, so it should never be decocted or calcined. Zhū shā should be avoided for patients with liver or kidney disease.

Product Description: Cinnabar is naturally occurring red mercuric sulfide (HgS). It is scarlet or reddish-brown in color, has a metallic sheen and is either opaque or semitranslucent. It comes in the form of small, irregularly shaped lumps. It is heavy, brittle, but soft in substance. It has a hardness of 2–2.5 and a specific gravity of 8–8.2.

Quality: Good cinnabar leaves no stain on paper.

Product Area: Guìzhōu, Húnán, Sìchuān, Guǎngxī, Yúnnán.

Etymology: The name zhū shā 朱砂, literally means red sand. Note that cinnabar used to be called the immortal elixir (长生不老丹 cháng shēng bù lǎo dān) and was the equivalent of the Philosopher's Stone of Western alchemists.

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