Xiao Bai Jiang，From *Extraordinary Formulas Beyond Surgical Prescriptions*, Volume 1.，Swelling and toxic sores.
Xiao Bai Jiang
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Formulas Name : Xiao Bai Jiang
Chinese Name : 小白降
Drug Formulation
5 fen of mercury, 5 fen of fire-calcined alum, 5 fen of raw alum, and 2 fen of table salt.
Source
From *Extraordinary Formulas Beyond Surgical Prescriptions*, Volume 1.
Processing
Grind the ingredients into a fine powder, place them in a silver pot, and set it over charcoal embers. Simmer gently until the mixture begins to boil and the edges turn a scorched yellow; continue until the entire surface is a scorched, yellowish-brown color. Remove the pot from the heat and allow it to cool. Then take a round, smooth mortar—ensuring it is free of any debris—and gently tip the silver pot, along with the medicine, into the mortar.The gap between the pot’s rim and the mortar must be sealed with strips of cotton paper moistened with ink, then secured with a paste of salt and clay. Next, place the mortar in a large basin of water. Apply a gentle heat to the bottom of the pot and fan it—starting gently and gradually increasing the intensity—until a 5-cun-long incense stick is fully consumed. Remove from the charcoal fire and allow to cool.First, brush away the salt mud from the outside of the jar’s opening, then open the jar and remove the medicine settled at the bottom of the mortar. The finest medicine is pure white like frost; if it appears greenish, yellowish, or black, it must not be used. Alternatively, dip the tip of a silver hairpin or a polished knife blade—lightly moistened with a bit of saliva—into the medicine; if it rusts immediately, it is of the highest quality.
Benefits
Swelling and toxic sores.
Instructions for Use
To use, dip fresh cotton in the medicine and dab a small amount onto the plaster—use even less than you would for Shengyao. After application, pain will set in within the time it takes to drink two cups of hot tea, but it will subside within half a day.For severe infections, change the plaster once daily; for milder cases, leaving it on for 2–3 days is acceptable. When applying the plaster to a large, swollen abscess, first add some musk and asafoetida, then apply a small amount of this medicine and affix it. To make a “bite-head” plaster as an alternative to acupuncture pellets, mix flour paste with a bamboo strip to form thin strips, cut them into sesame seed-sized pieces, place them in the center of the plaster, and apply it directly to the swollen area.This ointment must not come into contact with the fingertips; if it does, it will cause pain, blisters, and peeling of the skin. If the ointment has been stored for a long time, it will cause less pain and have a milder effect, but a larger amount should be used. If, after the first application, the ointment does not turn white, scrape out all the ointment from the jar—as it is no longer usable—and remove only the residue settled at the bottom of the mortar. Separately, prepare 5 fen of mercury, 5 fen of calcined gypsum, 5 fen of raw alum,2 fen of table salt, and the medicine that was not fully processed in the mortar. Grind these four ingredients together, return the mixture to the silver jar, and repeat the process as before. If the medicine is not properly processed in a single attempt, it is acceptable to repeat the process two or three times in a row; it may take as many as ten attempts to achieve the desired result, at which point a total of 5 qian of mercury will have been used.Each time, simply scrub the silver pot clean or replace it with a new one. Use only 5 fen of mercury, 5 fen of calcined potash, 5 fen of raw alum, and 2 fen of salt each time, continuing the process until the mixture is fully refined.When first beginning the decoction, the heat must be controlled precisely. If the heat is insufficient, the precipitate formed in the pot will be too tender and the mercury too active; it may reverse direction, either falling into the bottom of the mortar along with the precipitate or flowing into the bottom of the mortar as liquid mercury.if the heat is too intense, the precipitate will become too hard; either the mercury will have already evaporated, or the mixture will fail to settle properly. The key is to ensure the precipitate is neither too soft nor too hard; charcoal fire is the most effective method. For ulcers where the skin has already ruptured, use the water-refining method to prepare the reducing agent: finely grind the freshly refined white reducing pill, spread it evenly over a 5-cun piece of plain-colored satin,roll it tightly, and tie it very securely with hemp twine. Place it in a clay pot and boil in fresh water for about one fu; change the water three times. Remove the silk first and hang it in a well-ventilated, shaded area to air-dry. Then unroll it and brush off the powder with a chicken feather; store it in a porcelain jar for use. This method causes no pain.
Copyright: Excerpt from From *Extraordinary Formulas Beyond Surgical Prescriptions*, Volume 1., Copyright belongs to the Original Author and all original sources, This article was shared by DeDe on August 31, 2026, Please credit the source and include a link to the original article when reposting.
Terminology Proofreading: [Cheng Bo] | August 31, 2026 Reviewed by: [Wang Zhongxiang, Associate Chief TCM Physician (China)] | August 31, 2026
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Xiao Bai Jiang,Swelling and toxic sores.