Written By Jun Heo(許浚, 1539~1615), Translated by Namil Kim, Wung Seok Cha et al., Published by Ministry of Health & Welfare (Korea)Buy vitamins and supplements.
01 Three Corpses Parasites 三尸蟲 삼시충
Classic of Center Yellow (中黃經) states that, “The first is the Upper Parasite which exists in the brain, the second is the Middle Parasite which exists in the apex of the nose and the third one is the Lower Parasite which exists inside the stomach. These are called Paenggeo (彭琚, enlarged marble), Paengjil (彭質, enlarged substance), or Paenggyo (彭矯, enlarged adjustment).
A parasite dislikes the person to train in the Tao and likes the person to throw away one’s goals. The Upper cinnabar field is the palace where the original spirits rest that cannot be opened by a person. The corpse parasite resides here and it is for this reason the eternal cycle of birth and death repeats endlessly. Should one take control of this original spirit and hold it at the original palace, the corpse parasite would self-destruct and the true breath will be stabilized. This is known as ‘when one hole opens, all holes open up and when the big gateway opens up, all the joints open up’ and when the qi of Cheonjin (天眞, Heavenly essence) descends, the unholy god becomes holy.
- Clear Three Corpses Parasites Formula 去三尸蟲元 거삼시충원: Decoct 3 mal of Rehmanniae Radix Crudus (生地黃) in a furnace facing east using reeds for fire 3 times. Then add 2 doe of a clean lacquer tree and stir until the sun moves over 1 ja using a wooden spoon made from a thorny plant. Add 3 nyang of Minium and continue stirring for another period of the same time of the sun moving 1 ja and then add 3 doe of cucumber juice and stir again for the same time. Then, add 3 nyang of Rhei Radix et Rhizoma (大黃) powder and decoct with a weak fire making sure it does not burn. Make pills as big as the seed of a royal foxglove tree and take one pill at a time on an empty stomach. After three days, the nose bleeds with thick blood, and after twenty days, all the parasites come out. After fifty days have passed, all the diseases are cured and the face shines with a glow.
- Another Prescription 又方 또 다른 처방: Prepare 2 doe of Rhois Crudus Resina (生漆), 3 doe of Brassicae Semen (蕪菁子) powder, 6 nyang of Rhei Radix et Rhizoma (大黃) powder, and 1.5 doe of alcohol. Decoct all these herbs together with a weak fire until the pills can be made as big as the seed of a royal foxglove tree. Take two pills at a time on an empty stomach. After ten days, thick blood flows out of the nose, and after thirty days, all the parasites come out disfigured. After fifty days has passed, the body glows; after a year, the walking speeds up to like a running horse.
02 Nine Parasites 九蟲 구충
➀ Various parasites form for the following reasons. An unhealthy diet, overeating fishy, raw fish, or cold food can all lead to accumulation. When it continues for a long time, heat forms and dampness-heat fumigates to form phlegm or blood stasis. It then follows the qi of five phases and changes into various strange shapes. There are nine types of these parasites.
➁ The first is the hidden parasite, which is about 4 chon long. It is the chief of all the parasites [it is the Long Parasite]. The second one is the Round parasite and it is about 1 ja long. It can kill people by penetrating the heart. [It is the parasite of the food]. The third is the white-parasite and it is 1 chon long. The mother and child nourish each other which makes its form long and big and it can also kill people. [It is the Chonbaekchung (寸白蟲, white parasite of 1 chon in length)]. The fourth is the flesh-parasite which has the shape of a disfigured apricot. It causes a suffocating and full feeling in the chest. The fifth is the lung-parasite which resembles a cocoon and causes coughing. The sixth is the stomach-parasite which has the shape of a toad. It causes the symptoms such as nausau, vomiting, hiccups, gastric discomfort, and cravings for mud, charcoal, uncooked rice, tea, salt, Zingiberis Rhizoma (生薑), and Zanthoxyli Pericarpium (川椒). The seventh one is called either the weak-parasite or diaphragm-parasite and is shaped like a cucumber.
It causes massive drooling. The eighth is the reddish-parasite which resembles raw meat and causes growling in the stomach. The ninth and last one is the pin-parasite which is very small and shaped like a cabbage worm. It lives in the large intestine and if there are too many, they cause hemorrhoids and in serious cases, leprosy, or scabies. A Dryopteris Root Pill (貫衆丸) should be prescribed to remove the nine parasites.
- Dryopteris Root Pill 貫衆丸 관중환: It gets rid of the three corpses parasites and nine parasites. 1.5 nyang of Omphalia (雷丸) kills the reddish-parasite and 1.25 nyang of Crassirhizomae Rhizoma (貫衆) kills the hidden tuberculosis germs. 1 nyang of Agrimoniae Pilosae Herba (狼牙) kills the stomach-parasite and 1 nyang of Batryticatus Bombyx (白殭蠶) kills the diaphragm-parasite. 7.5 don of Baekgwanno (白藿蘆) kills tuberculosis germs and 7.5 don of Lacca Sinica Exsiccata (乾漆) kills the white-parasite. 7.5 don of Magnoliae Cortex (厚朴) kills the lung-parasite and 7.5 don of Realgar (雄黃) kills tuberculosis germs. Grind these herbs and knead with honey to form pills as big as the seed of a royal foxglove tree. Take five pills with newly drawn water. Take three times and slowly increase the dose up to ten pills. After twenty days, all three kinds of tuberculosis germs and nine parasites will come out dead.
03 Parasites of the Five Viscera 五藏蟲 오장충
➀ When one is tired, it leads to fever and fever leads to the formation of parasites. The heart-parasite is called the round-parasite and the spleen-parasite is called Chonbaekchung. The kidney- parasite is like neatly severed threads, and the liver-parasite is like disfigured apricots and the lung-parasite is like cocoons. All of them can kill people but the lung-parasite especially kills people more quickly. The lung-parasite lives inside the lung lobes and eats through the lung system which causes phthisis, hemoptysis, and hoarse throat where the effects of medicine cannot be thoroughly manifested. ➁ Lutrae Ungus Powder [prescription is mentioned afterwards] should be taken for the parasites of the five viscera.
04 Dampness-heat Causes the Formation of Parasites 濕熱生蟲 습열로 충이 생긴다
➀ The accumulation of dampness-heat leads to the formation of parasites and the parasites eat away when the viscera and bowels are deficient.
➁ The fact that dampness-heat leads to the formation of parasites is just like what people nowadays are experiencing. When a seed of rice gets wet from the rain and then gets dried by the sun, insects will appear at its joints. This explanation is accurate. People suffer from the accumulation of parasites when they haven’t received good nutrition when they were hungry, have drunk white alcohol after eating bad, raw fish, have eaten roasted cow or sheep or when the stomach qi has become weak from eating pigweed and terrapins. These all lead to dampness-heat formation and difficulties in circulation. It thereby causes the formation of various parasites such as Chonbaekchung, ascaris or gwolchung (蟨蟲). The shape is similar to that of an earthworm or a terrapin. This is called hyeolbyeol (血鱉) and is mostly seen in children.
05 Diagnosis by Pulse Taking 脈法 맥법
➀ A tight and slippery Gwan pulse signifies the presence of ascaris poison.
➁ A sunken and slippery pulse means the presence of Chonbaekchung.
➂ A faint and floating Gwan pulse means accumulated fever in the stomach which leads to symptoms such as the vomiting of ascaris and forgetfulness.
➃ In various illnesses of the parasites, the sunken and replete pulse means that the patient will live, and the vacuous and large pulse means that the patient will die.
➄ A sunken and slippery Cheok pulse means the presence of Chonebaekchung.
➅ The pulse of the parasites should be sunken, slippery and string-like. If the pulse is surging and large, it means that the ascaris is in a severe state.
➆ The pulse in phthisis is either rapid or rough and fine. If the patient shows symptoms like tidal sweating, hemoptysis, and loss of weight, it means that the patient will eventually die.
➇ When the parasites have eaten away the genital and rectal areas, the person with a vacuous and small pulse will live and the person with a firm and urgent pulse will die.
06 External Signs of the Parasites 蟲外候 충의 외후
➀ If there is fever in the area 3~4 chon (寸) below the rough part behind the elbow, it means that there are parasites inside the intestines.
➁ If there is a fever in the stomach, the parasites move and if the parasites move, the stomach droops. This leads to the opening of CV23 and so to drooling.
➂ The symptoms of the parasite pain are the following. A tumor rises in the stomach but disappears when touched by the hand, and the pain does not subside while the tumor keeps coming and going. Also, the stomach feels uncomfortable at dawn and the patient clenches the teeth, vomits foam or clear water, and grinds the teeth during sleep. The complexion is bluish yellow and though the patient eats a lot, the patient will not gain any weight.
➃ The symptoms of parasites are a bluish black color in the whites of the eyes and below the nose, a yellowish complexion and clear appearances of claw-shaped small veins on the cheeks.
➄ White stains on the face, red lips, discomfort of the stomach despite fine eating, changes in the complexion and claw-shaped small veins on the cheeks all point to the presence of parasites.
➅ The symptoms of parasite pain are as following. The pain comes and goes and when there is pain, it feels like wringing the chest. Also, the mouth vomits clear water and the philtrum, nose and lips all become bluish black at the same time.
➆ Abdominal pain and a big blue tendon showing in the abdomen area mean parasite pain.
➇ When a child complains of abdominal pain and vomits clear water, it means parasite pain.
➈ The symptoms of the three corpses parasites all involve the drooling of saliva from the mouth.
07 Various Things Can Change into Parasites 諸物變蟲 온갖 것이 충으로 변한다
➀ The snakes and leeches in the mountain valleys let out sperm into the waters. If one mistakenly ingests the water or eats the fruits or vegetables that have worms under them, a stabbing pain comes and goes in the pit of the stomach. If other various medicines do not work, a Realgar (雄黃) and Cinnabar Pill (雄砂丸) should be prescribed.
➁ If a person mistakenly ingests a leech while drinking water at night, the leech will enter the stomach and eat the person’s liver blood and cause an unbearable stomachache. This then leads to the yellowing of the facial complexion and eyes, loss of appetite, and the inability to ingest any food. If not treated, it will eventually lead to death. Grind together a small chunk of dry mud from a rice paddy, 3~4 small dead fishes, and 10 peeled Crotonis Semen and knead with melted lard to form pills the size of a mung bean. Take 10 pills with cold water from the rice paddy and all the big and small leeches will come out soon. Then take care by taking a Four Substances Decoction (四物湯) [ee the chapter on Blood for the prescription] added with Astragali Radix (黃芪).
➂ When Li Daonian (李道念) was suffering from an illness, Chu Cheng (褚澄) examined him, and said, “This is neither cold syndrome nor heat syndrome. This is due to excessive ingestion of boiled eggs.” After taking 1 doe of decocted garlic, he vomited a mass the size of a gourd bowl covered in saliva. When he dug though it, he found a chick with all its wings and legs intact. The patient was soon cured.
➃ There was a patient who had back pain that pulled up to the chest and had difficulty maintaining breathing. Xu Wenbo (徐文伯) said, “This is hair accumulation” and gave the patient oil. The patient then vomited something that resembled hair. As he pulled it out, it was 3 ja (尺) long and its head turned into a snake and started moving. He then hung it on the door and after the water was dried, there was only hair left behind.
➄ There once was an ascetic who had been suffering from a suffocating sensation in the solar plexus for over 2 years. Zhen Liyan (甄立言) examined him and said, “There is a parasite in the stomach caused by mistakenly ingesting hair.” After taking a lump of Realgar (雄黃), the ascetic soon vomited a snake with no eyes that smelled of hair when burnt. The patient was then cured.
➅ If a person accidently ingests water parsley that has the sperm of Gyo Ryong (蛟龍; a kind of creature that is known resemble a lizard and live underwater) in the spring and fall, the person will develop illness. The illness involves seizures that resemble epilepsy, hands and feet that turn blue and the stomach feels bloated with unbearable pain. Take 3 doe of taffy made from cold food (寒食餳) [yeot (Korean hard taffy) according to some] three times a day. After vomiting 3~5 two-headed Gyo Ryong, the illness will be cured.
➆ When a person develops aggregation from mistakenly ingesting water in which snakes have mated and has bloating pain in the stomach, Realgar (雄黃) can be prescribed.
➇ A Seven Turnaround Miraculous Response Elixir [prescription is mentioned afterwards] and Deal with Ten Thousand Conditions Pill are widely used.
- Realgar and Cinnabar Pill 雄砂丸 웅사환: It is effective in eliminating all kinds of parasites. Prepare 5 don of Crassirhizomae Rhizoma (貫衆), skin of Granati Fructus (石榴) with a sour taste, 3 don of Carpesii Fructus (鶴虱), Ulmi Pasta Semen (蕪荑), Lacca Sinica Exsiccata (乾漆), and Batryticatus Bombyx (白殭蠶) each, and 1.5 don of Cinnabaris (朱砂), Realgar (雄黃), Omphalia (雷丸), and Euphorbiae Kansui Radix (甘遂) each. Grind these and knead with paste cooked with rice powder. Form pills as big as hemp seeds and take ten pills at dawn with thin rice gruel. It is even better to add a bit of Moschus (麝香) to the mixture.
- Deal with Ten Thousand Conditions Pill 萬應丸 만응환: It is very effective for pushing down all kinds of parasites. Prepare 8 nyang of Rhei Radix et Rhizoma (大黃), 5 nyang of Arecae Semen (檳榔), and 4 nyang of Pharbitidis Semen (黑丑) (grind into powder and use the first batch after sifting). Grind these into powder and knead with ointment made by boiling down water that was decocted with 10 Gleditsiae Spina (皂角) and 1 geun of Meliae Cortex (苦練根皮). Make pills as big as a seed of a royal foxglove tree and coat them with Aquillariae Lignum (沈香) powder. Then add another coating of Omphalia (雷丸) powder and finally a coating of Aucklandiae Radix (木香) powder. Swallow three pills at a time at dawn with sugared water.
