traditional chinese medicines derived from the human body traditional chinese medicines derived from the human body li shizhen's (1597) bencao gangmu, the classic materia medica of traditional chinese medicine (tcm), included 35 human drugs, including organs, bodily fluids, and excreta. crude drugs derived from the human body were commonplace in the early history of medicine. some of these tcm human drug usages are familiar from alternative medicine, such as medicinal breast milk and urine therapy. others are uncommon, such as the "mellified man", which was a foreign nostrum allegedly prepared from the mummy of a holy man who only ate honey during his last days and whose corpse had been immersed in honey for 100 years. modern chinese medicinal zǐhéchē 紫河车 "dried human placenta" historical background chinese herbalists and doctors have used medicines from the human body for over two millennia. the earliest known example is the 168 bce wushier bingfang medical text that prescribes using ingredients such as hair, fingernail, and nüzǐbù (女子布, "women's cloth"). contents li shizhen's (1518-1593) magnum opus, the bencao gangmu or "compendium of materia medica" is still one of the traditional chinese physician's standard reference books. chapter 52 renbu 人部 "human section" is classified under the fourth category of animals (兽之四), and is the last chapter in the bencao gangmu. li's preface explains this internal ordering, "at the beginning, i have placed the waters and fires, followed by the soils. ... they are followed by the worms, scaly animals and crustaceans, fowl and quadruped; and man concludes the list. from the low i have ascended to the noble." the human-drug chapter contains 37 entries (zhǒng 種 "kind; type"). unlike the first 35 that discuss human pharmaceuticals and drug prescriptions, the last two are only recorded "for doctors as a reference" number 36 "human beings from different locations" discusses personal influences from astrology, environment, geography, and climate (perhaps historical climatology in modern terms). number 37 "human beings in extraordinary conditions and of odd forms" ranges across cosmology, male and female sterility, pregnancy, hermaphroditism, metamorphosis, evolution, and monsters. human drugs in bencao gangmu no. pinyin characters translation prescriptions 52.1 fàbèi 髮髲 human hair (cut off a head) 6 52.2 luànfà 亂髮 human hair (collected from a comb) 41 52.3 tóugòu 頭垢 human dandruff 24 52.4 ĕrsāi 耳塞 human earwax 6 52.5 xīgòu 膝垢 human knee dirt 0 52.6 zhǎojiǎ 爪甲 human nails (from fingers and toes) 20 52.7 yáchǐ 牙齒 human teeth 8 52.8 rénshǐ 人屎 human feces 33 52.9 xiǎo'ér tāishǐ 小兒胎屎 human feces from a newborn (meconium) 0 52.10 rénniào 人尿 human urine 45 52.11 nìbáiyìn 溺白垽 white sediment of human urine 15 52.12 qiūshí 秋石 processed white sediment of human urine 12 52.13 línshí 淋石 human urinary stone (calculus) 0 52.14 pǐshí 癖石 human gallstone 0 52.15 rǔzhī 乳汁 human milk 15 52.16 fùrén yuèshuǐ 婦人月水 human menstrual blood 12 52.17 rénxuè 人血 human blood 7 52.18 rénjīng 人精 human semen 5 52.19 kǒujīntuò 口津唾 human saliva 4 52.20 chǐyìn 齒垽 human tartar 2 52.21 rénhàn 人汗 human perspiration 0 52.22 yǎnlèi 眼淚 human tears 0 52.23 rénqì 人氣 human breath 0 52.24 rénpò 人魄 human ghost (of a hanged person) 0 52.25 zīxū 髭鬚 human facial hair 0 52.26 yīnmáo 陰毛 human pubic hair 2 52.27 réngǔ 人骨 human bone 4 52.28 tiānlínggài 天靈蓋 human bregma 11 52.29 rénbāo 人胞 human placenta 7 52.30 bāoyīshuǐ 胞衣水 processed fluid of human placenta 0 52.31 chūshēng qídài 初生臍帶 human umbilical cord 3 52.32 rénshì 人勢 human penis 0 52.33 réndǎn 人膽 human gall bladder 3 52.34 rénròu 人肉 human flesh 0 52.35 mùnǎiyī 木乃伊 human mummy (mellified man) 0 52.36 fāngmín 方民 human beings from different locations 0 52.37 rénguī 人傀 human beings in extraordinary forms 0 some of these bencao gangmu human drug names use obscure classical chinese terms. chǐyìn 齒垽 "tartar; dental calculus; plaque" (52.20) uses the rare name yìn 垽 "sediment: dregs" instead of gòu 垢 "filth" in the common yágòu 牙垢. renshi 人勢 "penis" (52.32) uses shì 勢 "power; circumstance" in the archaic sense of "male genitals" seen in qùshì 去勢 "castrate; emasculate". while most names of these 35 chinese "human drugs" (translated as hair, dandruff, and earwax) are understandable, several culture-specific terms need explanation. li shizhen distinguishes drugs from four types of human hair: 52.1 fàbèi "(esp. boy's) hair cut from the head", 52.2 luànfà 亂髮 "hair left on a comb after using it", 52.25 zīxū 髭鬚 "facial hair", and 52.26 yīnmáo 陰毛 "pubic hair". li details additional names and their corresponding pulse diagnosis acupuncture channels. hair from different positions is given different names: hair on the head, called fa (hair), pertains to kidney channel of foot lesser yin and stomach channel of foot greater yang. hair in front of the ears, called bin (temples), pertains to sanjiao channel of hand lesser yang and gall bladder channel of foot lesser yang. hair above the eyes, called mei (eyebrow), pertains to large intestine channel of hand greater yang and stomach channel of foot greater yang. hair on the upper lip, called zi (moustache), pertains to large intestine channel of hand greater yang. hair under the chin, called xu (beard), pertains to gall bladder channel of foot lesser yang and stomach channel of foot greater yang. hair on the cheeks, called ran (whiskers), pertains to gall bladder channel of foot lesser yang. (52.2) gallstones in a gall bladder the obscure drug 52.14 pǐshí 癖石, translated as "gall-stones", "gallstones", and described as "hard masses formed from extraordinary addiction or devotion", combines words meaning "craving; addiction; extreme devotion; idiosyncrasy; indigestion" and "stone; rock". li shizhen explains, "if a person is especially devoted to a certain habit or thing, or when a person is suffering from the formation of hard masses, a strange thing will take shape." li gives examples of similar things "formed due to congelation of a kind of essence substance": niúhuáng 牛黄 "ox bezoar; calculus bovis", gǒubǎo 狗寶 "stone in a dog's kidney/gall bladder", zhǎdá 鮓答 "white stone that forms between the liver and gall of livestock, used for rain prayers", and shèlìzi 舍利子 "śarīra; a buddhist relic supposedly found in cremated ashes". medicinal 52.18 rénjīng 人精 "human semen" includes both male and female jīngyè 精液, meaning male "seminal fluid; semen" and female "vaginal lubrication". notes the (c. 1550 bce) ebers papyrus refers to both male and female semen. li shizhen says, the essence substance of ying (nutrient essence in blood) can be transformed into semen and gathered at the mingmen (gate of life), which is the house of jing (vital essence) and blood. when a boy is 16 years old, the volume of his semen is one sheng and six ge . if it is well protected, it will accumulate to three sheng . if it is not protected and is exhausted too quickly, less than a sheng of it can be retained. without blood, semen cannot form. semen is a treasured thing within the body and is well nourished by qi (vital energy). therefore, when blood is at its full capacity, the amount of semen will be increased. when qi (vital energy) accumulates, semen becomes overfilled. evil alchemists fool stupid maidens and mate with them. then they drink the vaginal secretions of the girls. or they blend their own semen with the menstrual blood of a maiden and eat it. this mixture is called qiangong (lead and mercury). they consider this a treasured drug and indulge in sex excessively, eating such a foul thing. this practice will shorten their lifespans greatly. what a stupid thing! both 52.12 qiūshí 秋石 "processed white sediment of human urine with salt" and 52.30 bāoyīshuǐ 胞衣水 "processed fluid of human placenta" specify particular methods of iatrochemical or medical-chemical preparation. urine precipitate in a tank collecting urine from urine diversion flush toilets in germany qiūshí 秋石 (lit. "autumn mineral"), translated as "urea" and "processed white sediment of human urine with salt" (luo), was prepared from 52.11 nibaiyin "white urinary sediment" from the urine of either yin girls or yang boys. the qiushi drug was called qiūbīng 秋冰 (lit. "autumn ice") after recrystallization, similar to boiling seawater to get salt. li shenzhen warns that, "some alchemists fake the product by calcining salt in a furnace. any substance alleged to be qiubing should be examined carefully to make sure it is genuine." li shizhen outlines historical changes in the use of steroid-rich urine drugs. in ancient times, doctors used urinary precipitates to "keep the blood in motion, greatly help sexual debility, bring down heat, kill parasites, and disperse poisons; but the princes and wealthy patricians disliked using it because they considered it unhygienic. so the iatro-chemists () began to purify the sediment, making first and later on ", which licentious people used as aphrodisiacs. the bencao gangmu lists six methods of processing qiushi through techniques including dilution, precipitation, filtration, evaporation, calcination, and sublimation. bāoyīshuǐ 胞衣水, translated as "old liquefied placenta" and "fluid of human placenta", was traditionally processed in two ways. in north china, people bury a human placenta in the ground for 7 to 8 years, and it dissolves into a fluid that is as clean as ice. in south china, people blend human placenta with gāncǎo 甘草 "glycyrrhiza uralensis; chinese licorice root", shēngmá 升麻 "cimicifuga simplex; bugbane", and other drugs, which they store in a bottle, and bury in the ground for 3 to 5 years. then they dig it up and use it medicinally. the 52.24 rénpò 人魄 "human ghost (of a hanged person)" medicine refers to chinese hun and po soul dualism between the hun 魂 "spiritual, ethereal, yang soul" that leaves the body after death and the po 魄 "corporeal, substantive, yin soul" that remains with the corpse. li shizhen explains, "renpo is found in the soil under a person who has hanged himself or herself. it resembles soft charcoal. if the renpo is not dug out in time, it will penetrate deep into the earth where it cannot be traced." the bencao gangmu compares a hanged person's soul with similar phenomena, "when a star descends to the earth it turns into a stone. when a tiger dies, his eyesight descends and turns into a white stone. human blood will turn into phosphorus or jade when it drops to the ground." li only gives one prescription, "renpo pacifies the heart and tranquilizes the soul and boldness. it treats convulsions, fright, and manic-depressive psychosis. grind renpo with water and take it by mouth." human skull showing bregma 52.28 tiānlínggài 天靈蓋 "bregma; skullcap; calvaria" is translated as "human skull", "human skull top", and "bregma". in daoist meditation and qigong breathing practices, the bregma is considered the locus of the upper dantian "elixir field". li shizhen says, "the skull of a human looks like a round cover. it is shaped like the sky. it is the palace of niwan" – níwán 泥丸 "clay pellet" is a chinese transcription of "nirvana". furthermore, "it is a place where ancestral wisdom is stored. taoist alchemists stimulate the li (fire) by kan (water) so as to restore its condition of pure qian (yang). in this way, a sacred fetus will form. then it may go out and come back in as it wishes. so the top of the skull is called tianlinggai (meaning "cover of the heavenly wisdom")." this shèngtāi 聖胎 "sacred embryo/fetus; embryo of sainthood" denotes achieving xian immortality through neidan "internal alchemy". cooper & sivin say drilling the skull in order to provide a passage is still part of the initiation ritual for members of the esoteric shingon sect in taiwan today. mellified man (artistic impression) the 52.35 mùnǎiyī 木乃伊 "mummy; mellified man" drug was not a chinese drug and came from tianfangguo (lit. 天方國 "kaaba countries"), which was an archaic name for "arabia; middle east". li shizhen recounts this foreign legend and expresses skepticism, the book chuogeng lu by tao jiucheng: it is recorded that in the tianfang country there was an old man 70 or 80 years old was willing to sacrifice his body for the general public. so he stopped taking any food except for drinking honey daily. he washed himself repeatedly. after a month, his stools and urine all turned into honey. after his death, people in the country kept him in a stone coffin filled with honey. the date was inscribed