Chinese Medicine

Aconite root is the most important weapon for Huo Shen Pai. And Wu Pei Heng (1886 ~ 1971) is one of the most important leaders of Huo Shen Pai. And Wu Pei Heng was known as Aconite Wu in Yuan Nan province in China.

So who would be more qualified than Aconite Wu to be the one talking about aconite?

What Wu Pei Heng said about aconite

The parent root of aconite is called Chuan Wu, which is found wild in high and cold mountainous areas of Long An County, Sichuan, China. Wild aconite would be collected from plant by farmers in the autumn every year and then transplant and cultivate in Jiang You and Zhang Ming Counties.

The parent root of aconite is put in soil in winter. The fertilization would not begin until the seedling of aconite grows to nearly one foot in height on February in the following year. After aconite grows a little bit, the farmers begin to get rid of the redundant small branching roots to make remaining aconite roots grow bigger. Due to the black fertile soil in Jiang You and Zhang Ming Counties rather than in other Counties, it makes the aconite the specialty of those two counties.

A popular saying in Si Chuan goes like “The aconite of Jiang You originates from Long An.” It is a very special way of cultivation for growing herbs in China. Aconite can be collected from June to August. The parent root of aconite named Chuan Wu grows two or three baby aconite named Fu Zi, while sole long-shaped baby aconite is called Tian Xiong, which tends to have more active property.

The new collected aconite should be soaked in a solution of brine in order to prevent from rotten. A few days later, rinse aconite with water first, and steam peeled them, then slice them for drying. Some aconite don’t need to be peeled sometimes. And the parent aconite roots become rough and loose in quality, which can be only using for dispelling pathogenic wind and removing pathogenic cold. However, the aconite can restore Yang and rescue patient from collapse because aconite is much heavier and starchy than the old parent aconite root.

People in ancient times and Zhang Zhong Jing in Post-Han dynasty used two categories of aconite, one was raw aconite, the other was prepared aconite. The dosage would be one to three pieces, which was decocted from 10 liters to 3 or 5 liters, and it would not make the tongue tingling and numb any more because aconite had been fully boiled. The later generations did not master the method of decoction for aconite, it caused a sense of numbness after taking. So they began to adopt a variety of methods to prepare aconite on the purpose to reduce the poisons. In fact, as long as the aconite is thoroughly boiled and make sure it would not make the tongue tingling and numb any more, aconite don’t need to be prepared at all.

In generally, raw aconite can be used for dispelling interior cold, restoring Yang and rescuing patient from collapse. And prepared aconite can be used for warming water-cold, replenishing vital gate fire, recovering Yang and promoting the production of fluid. The effects between raw aconite and prepared aconite are slightly different, which should be distinguished clinically.

The experience of using aconite by Wu Pei Heng

Modern famous doctor of Wu Pei Heng was specialized in using large dosage of aconite. He summed up his experience as follows:

1. Aconite can reinforce Yang to relieve superficies syndrome, strengthen vital Qi to eliminate pathogenic factors. The representative formula is Ma Huang Fu Zi Xi Xin Tang, in which aconite dosage should be 30g;

2. Aconite can benefit the source of fire, restore Yang and rescue patient from collapse. The representative formula is Si Yi Tang, in which aconite dosage should reach 120g daily;

3. Aconite can warm and tonify spleen Yang, eliminate dampness and invigorate stomach. The representative formula is Fu Gui Li Zhong Tang, in which in general aconite dosage should be 30 ~ 60g;

4. Aconite can warm Yang and eliminate toxic by strengthening vital Qi, promote blood circulation to remove stagnation. The representative formula is Yang He Tang, in which aconite dosage should be 60g.

5. Aconite can warm channels to remove obstruction in collaterals, dispel pathogenic wind and stop pain. The formula should be tailored based on Wu Tou Jian, in which usually aconite dosage should be 60g;

6. Aconite can warm and tonify Yang Qi, boost heart Yang. The representative formula is Fu Zi Tang, in which aconite dosage should be 30 ~ 120g;

7. Aconite can warm water and remove dampness, warm Yang and stop diarrhea. The representative formula is Si Shen Wan, in which aconite dosage should be 30 ~ 60g;

8. Aconite can expel phlegm for arresting cough, warmingly resolve cold-phlegm. The representative formula is Fu Zi Jia Ling Gui Shi Gan Tang, in which aconite dosage should be 30 ~ 60g;

9. Aconite can warm the uterus, regulate menstruation and stop pain. Usually the formula should be tailored based on Gui Zhi Fu Ling Wan, in which aconite dosage should be 30 ~ 60g;

10. Aconite can nourish and tonify deficiency, warmly dredge the cold accumulation. The formula should be tailored based on Fu Zi Li Zhong Wan, which is most used for constipation due to pathogenic cold in the old, usually with aconite dosage of 60g.

Aconite Wu also has a lot of clinical cases to show how to use Aconite. Actually that is also my next plan to talk about it because the experience from him about how to using aconite is so excellent and provocative. He was an artist and master of aconite.