Artemisia argyi, also known as ice platform, herb, moxibustion grass and wormwood. There is a poem in the Book of Songs that says, "I love you, but I can't see you for a day, like I am three years old", which truly describes the simple friendship of the ancient working people. Artemisia argyi is very popular in folk application, and there are still many customs, the most representative of which is the custom of "inserting willows in Tomb-Sweeping Day and hanging Artemisia argyi on Dragon Boat Festival". When the Dragon Boat Festival comes, people hang mugwort leaves on doors and windows to ward off evil spirits and remove toxic gases.
As early as the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, Ai was widely used in medicine, which can be confirmed by some classics in BC. For example, it is recorded in Mencius' book that "you want to love for three years after being ill for seven years", and it is also recorded in Zhuangzi that "the more people smoke, the more people love", while in Chunqiu Zhuan, there are records such as "the love of the monarch and the love of the doctor". It can be seen that wormwood has become an important commonly used therapeutic drug at that time. Li Eon Wen, the father of Li Shizhen, a famous medical scientist, has written two books: Biography of Artemisia argyi and Biography of Ginseng. In the Biography of Artemisia argyi, he praised Artemisia argyi and wrote: "It was produced in Yangshan and collected during the Dragon Boat Festival, which made great contributions to the treatment of moxibustion." This is a history of herbal medicine in China for thousands of years. Only "Ai" is famous for its authentic medicinal materials, and its value is comparable to that of ginseng.
Folium Artemisiae Argyi is unique among many herbs. It can be taken orally or externally. Artemisia argyi has the functions of moxibustion for all diseases, regulating qi and blood, expelling cold and removing dampness, warming meridians to stop bleeding, relieving pain and miscarriage, warming stomach to stop dysentery, removing dampness for external use and relieving itching. "Compendium of Materia Medica" records: "If you take it, you will take three yin, and drive away all wet and cold, and turn cold into melt; Moxibustion can cure all kinds of diseases and evils through various meridians, fully affirming the efficacy of moxa sticks, and was called the king of hundred herbs by the ancients.
How to tell the quality of moxa?
In April and May of the lunar calendar, Artemisia argyi leaves are harvested when they are not in full bloom, placed in the open air, and repeatedly exposed to the sun for about 65,438+0 months. When they are dry, they are put into a stone mortar or other utensils and fully mashed. After the leaves are completely crushed, mash them to make them soft as cotton, sieve them with a 25-mesh sieve to remove dust and miscellaneous stems, and then dry them to obtain wormwood. Every 500 grams of mugwort leaves can get 350 grams of coarse mugwort. If 500 grams of mugwort leaves are finely processed, only about 150 grams of refined mugwort can be obtained.
The quality of wormwood is closely related to its variety, picking and storage time. Superior moxa has slow burning speed, long heating time, strong heat penetration and good curative effect. Inferior moxa sticks burn fast and have fierce firepower, which makes people feel burning easily. It hurts when it is warm, and its permeability is weak, which is even more unbearable. In addition, because the newly made moxa sticks contain more volatile oil, moxibustion has strong firepower and moxibustion is easy to hurt tendons, so it is better to choose old moxa sticks.
Identification method of quality of moxa sticks
Generally, the ratio of moxa sticks is 8: 1, that is, the output of 8 kg of moxa leaves 1 kg of cashmere, and that of moxa wool is 10: 1.
Common moxa sticks in the market are 4: 1 or 5: 1.
1. Look at the shape of the moxa stick.
Strong, tightly rolled, the tighter it is, the less likely it will fall off. Soft but not strong is inferior.
Look at the color of moxa sticks.
The higher the proportion, the better the color. It is better to have less khaki than green or mixed green, indicating a high proportion and long storage time.
Step 3 smell the moxa stick
The smell is fragrant, not pungent or disgusting. If mixed with green, it will smell of grass.
4. Look at the burning smoke of moxa sticks
Less smoke, light and white color, gentle smoke, elegant smoke shape (such as Xiangyun), poor moxa sticks are dull and shout when burning.
Step 5 feel the fire of moxa sticks
A good moxa stick is soft in fire and strong in penetration, while a big fire is weak in penetration and easy to burn.