Dai Zhe Shi, a name in traditional Chinese medicine. It is the ore of hematite (Haematitum), a mineral in the corundum group belonging to the oxide class. It has the effects of calming the liver and subduing liver yang, stabilizing the middle burner and alleviating counterflow, and cooling the blood to stop bleeding. It is primarily used to treat hyperactivity of liver yang, dizziness and vertigo, vomiting, hiccups, belching, counterflow of qi with shortness of breath, and bleeding due to blood heat, such as hemoptysis and metrorrhagia.
Dai Zhe Shi
Dai Zhe Shi, a name in traditional Chinese medicine. It is the ore of hematite (Haematitum), a mineral in the corundum group belonging to the oxide class. It has the effects of calming the liver and subduing liver yang, stabilizing the middle burner and alleviating counterflow, and cooling the blood to stop bleeding. It is primarily used to treat hyperactivity of liver yang, dizziness and vertigo, vomiting, hiccups, belching, counterflow of qi with shortness of breath, and bleeding due to blood heat, such as hemoptysis and metrorrhagia.
Chinese Name : 代赭石
Latin Name : Hematite
Aliases : Xu Wan, Red Earth, Ding Tou Dai Zhe, Xue Shi, Zi Zhu, Zhe Shi, Tu Zhu, Tie Zhu, Ding Tou Zhe Shi, Ding Zhe Shi, Chi Zhe Shi
Nature, Flavor & Meridian Tropism : Bitter in taste, cold in nature; enters the Liver and Heart meridians
Benefits & Efficacy
Benefits
Calms the liver and subdues liver yang; anchors and descends rebellious qi; cools the blood and stops bleeding.
Indications
1. Excessive Liver Yang Rising, Dizziness and Vertigo: As a mineral-based medicine, this herb is heavy and descending, excelling at subduing and calming Liver Yang; furthermore, its bitter and cold nature is effective at clearing Liver Fire, making it a commonly used herb for subduing and calming Yang. 2. Vomiting, Hiccups, and Belching: Due to its heavy nature and descending action, this herb is an essential medicine for subduing and calming rebellious Qi. 3. Qi Reversal and Wheezing: This herb, with its heavy and descending nature, can subdue upward-reversing lung qi and alleviate wheezing. 4. Blood Heat-Induced Vomiting and Epistaxis, Metrorrhagia and Menorrhagia: This herb is bitter and cold; it enters the Blood Division of the Heart and Liver meridians and has the effect of cooling the blood and stopping bleeding.
Usage and Dosage
Internal use: Decocted, 10–30 g; it is recommended to crush the herb and decoct it first. When used in pills or powders, 1–3 g per dose. External use: As needed. Use the raw form to descend rebellious qi and calm the liver; use the calcined form to stop bleeding.
Precautions
Use with caution in cases of deficiency-cold syndrome and during pregnancy.
Chemical Constituents
This herb primarily contains iron(III) oxide (Fe₂O₃). Genuine Ding Tou Zhe Shi contains more than 60% iron, as well as various trace elements such as cadmium, cobalt, chromium, copper, manganese, and magnesium; it also contains lead, arsenic, and titanium, which are harmful to the human body.
Pharmacological Actions
This product has a stimulating effect on the intestines and can increase intestinal peristalsis; the iron it contains promotes the regeneration of red blood cells and hemoglobin; it also has a sedative effect on the central nervous system.
Relevant Discussions
1. *Shennong’s Classic of Materia Medica*: “For toxic pathogenic factors in the abdomen; for women with excessive menstrual bleeding and leukorrhea.”
2. *Medicine: Integrating Chinese and Western Principles*: “It can both generate and cool the blood; due to its heavy and descending nature, it is also effective at subduing rebellious qi, resolving phlegm, stopping vomiting, and relieving dry constipation.” Furthermore, “In treating symptoms of vomiting and epistaxis, the primary focus should be on descending the stomach, and among herbs that descend the stomach, ochre is indeed the most effective.”
Applications
Clinical Applications
1. To treat symptoms such as dizziness, blurred vision, eye distension, and tinnitus caused by excessive liver yang rising, it is often used in combination with yin-nourishing and yang-subduing herbs such as Huai Niuxi, raw Dragon Bone, raw Oyster Shell, and raw White Peony Root, as in the Zhen Gan Xi Feng Decoction and Jian Ling Decoction (*Medical Synthesis of Chinese and Western Medicine*).
2. To treat dizziness, headache, restlessness, and insomnia caused by excessive Liver Yang and ascending Liver Fire, it can be combined with Pearl Shell, Magnetite, Pig Gallbladder Paste, Borneol, and Pinellia, as in Nao Li Qing (Shanghai Pharmaceutical Standards).
3. To treat vomiting, hiccups,persistent belching, it is often combined with Xuanfu Hua, Banxia, and Shengjiang, as in the Xuanfu Dazhe Decoction (*Treatise on Cold Damage*).
4. To treat dysphagia with inability to eat and dry, hard stools, it is combined with Dangshen, Danggui, and Roucongrong, as in the Shenzhe Peqi Decoction (*Medicine: Integrating Chinese and Western Principles*).
5. To treat stagnant food accumulated in the intestines, with stomach qi rebelling upward and failing to descend, resulting in constipation lasting for several days, it may be combined with Gansui, Mangxiao, and Dried Ginger, as in the Zhe-Sui Gong-Jie Decoction (*Records of Integrating Chinese and Western Medicine*).
6. To treat wheezing that prevents sleep, mix with rice vinegar and take orally for effective relief, as described in *Formulas for Universal Relief*.
7. To treat wheezing caused by deficiency of the lungs and kidneys and dual deficiency of yin and yang, combine with herbs that tonify the lungs and kidneys and anchor qi—such as Codonopsis, Cornus officinalis, walnut kernels, and Chinese yam—as in the Codonopsis-Hematite Qi-Calming Decoction (*Medicine: Integrating Chinese and Western Insights*).
8. To treat coughing and wheezing due to lung heat, combine with mulberry bark, perilla seeds, and inula flower.
9. To treat unstoppable metrorrhagia and menorrhagia, grind Daizhashi into a fine powder and take it mixed with vinegar broth. As described in *Formulas for Universal Relief*.
10. To treat blood-heat-induced vomiting of blood, epistaxis, metrorrhagia, and menorrhagia, as well as vomiting of blood, epistaxis, and chest heat caused by heat and upward rebellion of stomach qi, it can be combined with White Peony Root, Bamboo Shavings, Burdock Seed, and Clear Pinellia, as in the Cold-Descending Decoction (*Medicine: Integrating Chinese and Western Principles*);For treating blood heat-induced metrorrhagia and menorrhagia, it can be combined with Yu Yuliang, Red Ocher, and Wulingzhi, as in the Zhenling Pill (from *Formulas of the Bureau of Medicinal Preparations*).
Related Compatibility
1. Daizhashi combined with Xuanfu Hua: Daizhashi calms the liver and clears heat, subdues counterflow and descends qi, with a primary descending action; Xuanfu Hua resolves phlegm and relieves wheezing, descends qi and stops vomiting, disperses the lungs and promotes diuresis, with a primary ascending action.When combined, these two herbs—one dispersing and one descending—work together to subdue counterflow and lower blood pressure, calm the mind and relieve pain, descend qi and stop vomiting, and resolve phlegm and disperse fullness. This combination is suitable for treating upper-body fullness and shortness of breath caused by excess, as well as vomiting, hiccups, and belching resulting from the upward counterflow of stomach qi.
2. Daizhashi Combined with Gypsum: Daizhashi has a bitter taste, a cool nature, and a heavy, sinking quality; it possesses the power to subdue rebellious qi and stop vomiting. Gypsum has a pungent taste and a cold nature; its primary function is to clear stomach heat. When used in combination, they work together to clear stomach heat, reduce fire, and subdue rebellious qi.In cases of severe stomach heat, the heat cannot be eliminated without the extreme cold of Gypsum; for heat caused by surging fire, the heavy, descending nature of Daizhashi is essential to control the upward rebellion. This combination is indicated for conditions where stomach fire surges upward and spreads along the meridians, manifesting as vomiting, hiccups, swollen and painful gums, foul breath, thirst, and restlessness.
3. Daizhashi combined with White Peony Root (Bai Shao): Daizhashi calms the liver, subdues counterflow, and stops bleeding; White Peony Root consolidates yin, nourishes blood, and softens the liver. When combined, these two herbs calm and soften the liver while nourishing blood and arresting bleeding. This combination is indicated for conditions such as hyperactive liver yang, dizziness, tinnitus, uncontrolled blood flow due to blood heat, hematemesis, and epistaxis.
4. Daizhishi combined with Achyranthes: Daizhishi has a heavy, anchoring, and descending action; Achyranthes excels at directing energy downward. When combined, these two herbs have the effect of calming the liver and subduing counterflow. This combination is suitable for conditions such as dizziness, spinning sensation, tinnitus, eye distension, and headache caused by excessive Liver Yang and the upward counterflow of Qi and Blood.
Medicinal Identification
1. Daizhishi and Cishishi: Both are heavy, grounding mineral substances that can calm the liver, subdue liver yang, descend rebellious qi, and relieve wheezing. They are used for dizziness and headaches caused by liver yang rising, as well as conditions involving rebellious qi in the lung and stomach.However, Daizhashi primarily enters the Liver Meridian and is more focused on calming the liver and subduing Yang, cooling the blood, and stopping bleeding; it is particularly effective at descending rebellious Qi from the lungs and stomach to stop vomiting, hiccups, belching, and relieve wheezing;Magnetite primarily enters the Kidney Meridian and is more effective at nourishing Kidney Yin to subdue floating Yang, anchoring Qi to relieve wheezing, and calming the mind and soothing the spirit. Therefore, it is particularly suitable for conditions such as Kidney deficiency with essence depletion, dizziness, blurred vision, tinnitus, deafness, wheezing due to Kidney deficiency, as well as palpitations and insomnia.
2. Daizhashi and Xuanfuhua: Both can harmonize and descend rebellious qi in the Lung and Stomach meridians to stop vomiting and relieve wheezing, making them a commonly used pair of herbs for descending rebellious qi. However, Daizhashi is a mineral-based herb whose specific functions are to harmonize the liver and subdue Yang, clear and descend liver fire, and cool the blood to stop bleeding;Although Xuanfu Hua is a floral herb, its specific functions are to descend qi and resolve phlegm; it is frequently used for conditions such as shortness of breath due to phlegm obstruction, chest fullness caused by phlegm accumulation, and swelling and distension resulting from fluid retention.
Processing & Preparation
Harvesting & Processing
It can be harvested year-round. Select the parts with “nail-head” protrusions on the surface, and remove any soil or foreign stones.
Processing Methods
1. Raw Hematite: Take the raw herb, remove impurities, and crush it into small pieces or grind it into a powder.
2. Vinegar-Treated Hematite: Take the cleaned, crushed pieces of Hematite, place them over a smokeless fire or in a suitable container, and heat them over a strong, smokeless flame until they turn completely red. Remove them immediately and pour them into vinegar to quench and crisp them.Repeat this process of calcination and quenching several times until the material becomes crisp and brittle. Remove, dry thoroughly, and grind into a fine powder. For every 100 kg of Daizhishi, use 30 kg of vinegar.
Storage Methods
Store in a dry container in a dry place, protected from dust.
Crude Drug Identification
Properties of Crude Drugs
It forms oyster-shaped, bean-shaped, or kidney-shaped aggregates. It often appears as irregular thick plates or chunks with sharp edges. It ranges in color from reddish-brown to dark reddish-brown or iron-gray. Its streak is cherry red or reddish-brown.It has a metallic luster. One side features a relatively dense distribution of papillae resembling “nail heads,” while the opposite side has corresponding depressions of the same size. It is heavy and hard, with a layered or granular fracture. It is odorless and tasteless.
Properties of Processed Slices
1. Raw Hematite: See the “Medicinal Materials” section.
2. Vinegar-Treated Hematite: Powdery, dark brown or dark reddish-brown in color; heavy, loose in texture, with a slight vinegar odor.
Botanical Information
Morphological Characteristics
Its crystal structure belongs to the trigonal crystal system. Crystals are plate-like or rhombohedral, but intact crystal forms are rare; they commonly occur as dense cryptocrystalline masses, in scaly, oyster-like, bean-shaped, or kidney-shaped forms, as well as in powdery or earthy aggregates.Among these, dense hematite aggregates cemented by spherical, elliptical, or granular hematite are known as ovoid hematite; the interior of these ovoid grains often exhibits a concentric layered structure.Hematite aggregates with grains larger than 2 mm in diameter are called bean-shaped hematite; dense hematite aggregates that are hemispherical and cemented together are called kidney-shaped hematite, the interior of which also often exhibits concentric layered or radial structures. These three types are considered high-quality substitutes for hematite used in medicine.
Distribution Area
It is primarily produced in Hebei and Shanxi. It is also found in Shandong, Henan, Hunan, Guangdong, Sichuan, and other regions.