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Latin pharmacognostic name: Vinum seu Spiritus

Kingdom: Plant

Use: Alimentary

Category:

Properties: Sweet and acrid; very hot; toxic.

Channel entry: Heart, liver, lung, and stomach channels.

Indications:

wind-cold impediment (fēng hán bì) pain; hypertonicity of the sinews; chest impediment (xiōng bì); cold pain in the heart [region] and abdomen.

Dosage & Method: Oral: Drink warm; boil with agents; use to steep agents to make medicinal wines. Topical: Sprinkle on the affect area; use as a mouthwash.

Notes: The Chinese 酒 jiǔ refers to any alcoholic beverage, including simply fermented and further distilled forms. Fermented wines are made from millet, or now, almost exclusively rice wine. Most is yellow in color, as a result of aging (or due to the addition of brown sugar), and is called 黃酒 huáng jiǔ. However, there are also colorless fermented wines, such as the Taiwanese 米酒 mǐ jiǔ. Distilled liquors are referred to generically as 白酒 bái jiǔ or 燒酒 shāo jiǔ. When distilling developed in China is highly disputed. Some say it began in the 12th century, while others say it began in ancient times. In Chinese medicine, both fermented and distilled liquors are now both used. However, what was used in the past is not always clear. Hence, for example, we cannot be sure what the white liquor (白酒 bái jiǔ) included in Zhāng Jī's formulas referred to.

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