They are helpless. They have neither food nor place to live. They have no choice but to walk in the mountains. Because of illness, Hu can't walk on the ground. Chai went to find food. Hu was hungry, so he accidentally pulled out the roots of a grass with bamboo leaves around him and chewed it. Soon he felt much more relaxed. Chai will tell the truth when he comes back. Chai believes that this kind of grass must have curative effect. So I pulled out more for Hu to eat, and Hu was much better. In order to show the deep friendship between brothers, they called this herb "Chaihu".
The efficacy of Bupleurum chinense was recognized very early in ancient China. As early as the Han Dynasty, it was recorded in Shennong Herbal Classic that Bupleurum governs the chest and abdomen, removes the qi of the gastrointestinal tract, accumulates food, causes cold and heat, and brings forth the new. Long-term service makes people fit, improve eyesight and benefit essence. Most of these functions are recognized by later generations, which shows that the ancients' understanding of Chinese medicine has reached a high level.
Later generations think that Bupleurum enters the liver and gallbladder meridian, and vinegar is better for Bupleurum. Liver controls the release of qi in human body, that is, it keeps qi unobstructed so that it does not stagnate locally, thus forming qi stagnation syndrome. Once the qi of human body is not smooth, the operation of blood will be unfavorable, and the metabolism of water and liquid will lose its normal state, which shows the importance of smooth qi. There is no doubt that Bupleurum can help the liver to clear the circulation of qi. Therefore, Shennong's Classic of Materia Medica calls it "removing gastrointestinal tract to block qi", which means that qi is blocked somewhere, which is the syndrome of qi stagnation. When qi is blocked in the gastrointestinal tract, abdominal distension and fullness appear, and the symptoms are slightly relieved after qi block.
There are countless TCM prescriptions for treating qi stagnation with Bupleurum, including Xiaochaihu decoction, Dachaihu decoction, Chaihu Guizhi Ganjiang decoction, Sini powder and so on. They all use Bupleurum to promote the qi of shaoyang and disperse the qi stagnation of liver and gallbladder. Later generations also had famous prescriptions such as Chaihu Shugan Powder and Xiaoyao Powder, among which Chaihu cooperated with other Chinese medicines to soothe the liver and regulate qi. Eight diseases of Xiaochaihu decoction were summarized as "eight diseases of Bupleurum" in later generations, and fullness in chest and hypochondrium was an important indication of Bupleurum decoction.
In addition, Chaihu decoction syndrome also has a characteristic symptom, which is called "alternating cold and heat" in Treatise on Febrile Diseases, that is, patients alternately have fever and chills, and malaria has this type of heat. Therefore, the discussion of malaria in later generations is "inseparable from shaoyang", and Bupleurum chinense is used as a common prescription to treat malaria. The above are some experiences of using Bupleurum in Treatise on Febrile Diseases, which are basically the same as those in Shennong's Herbal Classic.
Later generations used Bupleurum to have an additional effect, that is, the deficiency of middle qi led to depression of temper, which was characterized by shortness of breath and weakness, and drooping of internal organs. For example, Buzhong Yiqi Decoction founded by Li Dongyuan and Shengxi Decoction founded by Zhang Xichun treat atmospheric deposition. Bupleurum chinense is used to promote the sedimentation of clearing qi. However, neither Zhongjing nor Shennong's Classic of Materia Medica has used this method. What's more, Bupleurum is mainly responsible for "food accumulation" and "innovation". It's obviously pushing the food down, and the direction should be down. How can it improve yang? This is because Bupleurum chinense can activate triple energizer, triple energizer is unobstructed, qi activity returns to normal, temper can rise, and turbid qi can fall.
Bupleurum enters the liver meridian, dispersing depressed qi, tying the liver to the eyes, and the liver qi stagnates, so the eyes are affected and unclear. Therefore, Shennong Herbal Classic says that Bupleurum can improve eyesight. The reason why "Yijing" is called "Yijing" is because the stagnation of liver qi can easily lead to nocturnal emission. Chaihu soothes the liver, regulates qi, and activates triple energizer, so that qi and blood are unblocked and nocturnal emission disappears.