Sangye, also known as Tieshanzi and Canye, is mentioned in the "Shennong Bencao Jing". It is the leaf of the mulberry plant Morus alba L. The leaves are harvested after the first frost in autumn, and after removing small branches and impurities, they are dried in the sun.
[Processing Method] 1. Sangye: Take the raw material, remove impurities, crush it, remove stems, and sieve off ash.
2. Honeyed Sangye: "Honey roasted" according to the "Zheng Zhi Zhun Sheng", and "steamed with honey water" according to the "Ben Jing Feng Yuan". Currently, take an appropriate amount of diluted honey with boiled water, add crushed mulberry leaves, mix well, let it soak, then place it in a pot and stir-fry over low heat until the surface turns deep yellow with a slight gloss and is not sticky to the touch. Remove and let it cool. For every 100 kg of mulberry leaves, use 25 kg of honey.
3. Fried Sangye: "Slightly fried" according to the "Tai Ping Sheng Hui Fang". Currently, take clean mulberry leaves and heat them in a pan over low heat until slightly burnt, then remove and let it cool.
4. Steamed Sangye: "Wash clean, steam for one night, dry in the sun during the day" according to the "Ben Cao Gang Mu", and "steam nine times, dry nine times" according to the "Yi Xue Guang Bi Ji". Currently, take clean mulberry leaves, place them in a steamer basket lined with clean fine linen, steam for 1 hour, then remove and dry in the sun.
[Appearance of the finished product] Sangye appears as irregular fragments, with the upper surface being yellowish-green and slightly glossy, and the back surface being light yellowish-green or yellowish-white. The veins are raised, and the small veins intersect to form a network pattern. The texture is brittle. The aroma is mild, and the taste is mild, slightly bitter, and astringent. Honeyed Sangye resembles mulberry leaves, with a dark yellow surface, slight gloss, and a slight stickiness. The taste is sweet. Fried Sangye resembles mulberry leaves, with a brownish-yellow surface and a slight burnt smell. Steamed Sangye resembles mulberry leaves, with a deepened color.
[Processing properties] Raw Sangye has a sweet and bitter taste, and is cold in nature. It belongs to the lung and liver meridians. It has the functions of dispersing wind-heat, clearing the lungs and moistening dryness, and clearing the liver and improving eyesight. It is commonly used for wind-heat cold, fever, dizziness, headache, cough, sore throat; liver heat causing red eyes, discomfort, excessive tearing, and liver yin deficiency causing blurred vision. For example, it is used in the Sangju drink for external heat invasion ("Wen Bing Tiao Bian"); the Sangma pill for treating liver yin deficiency and blurred vision ("Yi Fang Ji Jie"). Honey-roasting enhances the lung-clearing and moistening effects, and is often used for lung heat and dry cough. For example, when decocted, it is used to treat thirst in children ("Sheng Jin Fang"); it is combined with Muhudie, Shegan, Chantui, Chishao, Gancao, etc., to make Sangshe Tang, which is used to treat throat-originated cough ("Shandong Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 1991").
