Ren Zhong Huang, also known as Gancao Huang or Gan Zhong Huang, is mentioned in the book "Rihua Zi Bencao". It is a product made by soaking licorice powder in a bamboo scroll and then soaking it in a human feces pit for a certain period of time.
[Processing Method] "Bencao Gangmu" states: "Ren Zhong Huang is made by putting licorice powder into a bamboo tube, sealing both ends with bamboo or wood plugs, soaking it in a feces pit from winter to spring, taking it out on the day of the Spring Festival, hanging it in a windy place to dry, breaking the bamboo to retrieve the licorice, and sun-drying it for one month until there is no odor. Then it is considered dry."
[Appearance of Medicinal Pieces] It is a cylindrical hard block with a dark yellow color on the surface and cross-section. It is rough and compact, with licorice fibers intertwined and mixed with purple-brown licorice cork fragments. The outer surface often has a residual thin film from the bamboo scroll, which is easy to peel off. It is light and solid, with a distinctive smell and a slight licorice sweetness.
[Processing Function] Ren Zhong Huang has a sweet, salty, and cold taste. It belongs to the Heart and Stomach meridians. It has the functions of clearing heat, cooling blood, purging fire, and detoxifying. It is used for diseases such as eruptive fever with dark spots, excessive heat and toxicity, dark and dull spots, high fever with delirium, sore throat, and carbuncle and ulcer. For example, Ren Zhong Huang Pill is used to treat warm epidemic fever and toxicity (Zhang Shi Yi Tong); it is used in combination with Qian Gen Juice, Bamboo Vinegar, and Ginger Juice to treat hematemesis, phlegm, restlessness, and bone steaming (Danxi Xin Fa); it is used in combination with Jin Yin Hua, Dan Pi, and Sheng Shan Zhi to treat carbuncle (Modern Practical Traditional Chinese Medicine); it is used in combination with Jiu Da Huang to treat Zhong He Fu poisoning and all kinds of malignant ulcers (Benjing Feng Yuan).
[Processing Research] "Rihua Zi Bencao" in the early Song Dynasty recorded the preparation method: "In the cold and dry month, cut fresh bamboo without green skin, soak and extract the juice, used to treat excessive heat, delirium, phlegm, poisoning, and mushroom poisoning, take the juice orally, soak it with soap and sugarcane, used to treat hot diseases." In the Jin and Yuan dynasties, licorice was put into a bamboo tube: "Leave a hole in the middle of the bamboo scroll, put licorice inside, seal the hole with bamboo plugs, soak it in a large feces pit for a month, take it out and dry it, and use it to treat epidemic diseases" (Quoted from "Gujin Zhongyao Paozhi Jingyan" citing "Danxi Xin Fa"). This method was continued in the Ming and Qing dynasties. Nowadays, the method of putting licorice in a bamboo scroll is still used. However, due to reasons such as hygiene, it is rarely used in clinical practice.
