🌿 Folk Prescriptions

Human initial alcohol consumption, though not yet considered health-preserving drinking, was closely linked to health maintenance and disease prevention. Scholars generally believe that early alcohol originated from wild fruits left over and naturally fermented under favorable conditions. Since many wild fruits possess medicinal value, early alcohol could be regarded as natural "medicinal wine," offering certain protective and promoting effects on human health. Of course, although humans benefited from alcohol consumption, they likely did not have explicit health goals in mind.

Properties of Alcohol
Alcohol comes in various types, with similar nature, taste, and efficacy. Generally speaking, alcohol is warm in nature and pungent in taste. Warmness helps dispel cold and promote circulation; pungency aids dispersion and flow. Thus, alcohol can unblock meridians, regulate qi and blood, dissolve stagnation, warm yang, expel cold, soothe the liver, relieve depression, and elevate mood. Moreover, since alcohol is essence distilled from grains, it also nourishes the stomach and intestines. Furthermore, alcohol kills parasites, repels evil influences, and removes foul odors. The "Biwu Zhi" records: Wang Su, Zhang Heng, and Ma Jun traveled through fog early in the morning. One drank alcohol, one ate food, one fasted. The fasting person died, the eating person fell ill, while the drinking person remained healthy. The author concluded that “alcohol’s ability to ward off evil surpasses that of food.”
Combining alcohol with herbs marks a major advancement in drinking for health. Alcohol serves three main functions when paired with herbs: 1. It enhances the action of herbs. Ancient people said, “Alcohol is the chief among medicines.” Alcohol enables medicinal effects to reach the surface and even the top of the head, enhancing the efficacy of qi-regulating and blood-moving herbs, and preventing stagnation in tonics. 2. It facilitates extraction of active herbal components. Alcohol is an excellent organic solvent; most water-soluble substances and non-polar compounds insoluble in water can dissolve in alcohol. Many herbal constituents easily dissolve in alcohol. Alcohol also has good permeability, penetrating into plant cells to dissolve and promote exchange and diffusion, thereby improving extraction speed and efficiency. 3. Alcohol has preservative properties. Most medicinal wines remain stable for months or even years without spoiling, greatly benefiting those practicing alcohol-based health preservation.
Common Preparation Methods for Medicinal Wine
The common preparation methods for medicinal wine include cold maceration, hot maceration, percolation, and brewing.
1. Cold Maceration: Crush and process herbs, place in a ceramic jar or other suitable container, add specified quantity of white wine, seal, and soak. Stir 1–2 times daily. After one week, stir once weekly. Soak for 30 days total. Filter the supernatant, press herb residue, combine squeezed liquid with supernatant, add sugar or honey, stir until dissolved, seal, let stand for at least 14 days, filter, then bottle.
2. Hot Maceration: Take herb slices, wrap in cloth, suspend above container, add white wine to fully cover the wrapped herbs. Seal container, immerse in water bath, slowly heat over low flame for 3–7 days. Remove, let sit overnight, filter supernatant, press residue, combine squeezed liquid with supernatant, add sugar or honey, dissolve, let stand for at least 2 days, filter, then bottle. This method is known as suspended soaking. Later modified into heating to boiling, immediately removing and pouring into a vat, adding sugar or honey, sealing tightly, soaking for 30 days, collecting clear liquid, combining with pressed residue liquid, letting settle appropriately, filtering, then bottling.
3. Percolation Method: Crush herbs into coarse powder, place in covered container, add 60–70% of the powder weight in extracting solvent, evenly moisten, seal, let sit 15 minutes to several hours for full swelling. Prepare a cotton ball, moisten with extract, gently place at the bottom of a percolator (a cylindrical or conical funnel with outlet controlled by a valve). Then fill the percolator in layers with swollen herb powder, pressing down each layer flat. Cover the top with filter paper or gauze. Slowly add solvent, opening the outlet valve first to release air, close valve once liquid begins flowing out. Continue adding solvent until it rises several centimeters above the powder. Seal and let sit 24–48 hours for full penetration and diffusion. Open valve to allow slow dripping. To increase concentration, use initial filtrate as solvent for second or multiple percolations. Collect percolate, let settle, filter, then bottle.
4. Brewing Method: Use herbs as raw materials for brewing medicinal wine. For example, Bai Zhu Wine and Goji Wine described in the "Qianjin Yifang" were prepared this way. However, due to complex steps and high difficulty, this method is rarely used at home today.
Precautions
1. Moderate Consumption: This is crucial. Disputes over alcohol’s benefits and harms largely stem from consumption volume. Moderate drinking is beneficial; excessive drinking harmful. Song Dynasty poet Shao Yong wrote: “People who don’t know how to drink prefer large quantities; those who do know how to drink prefer moderation. Drinking too much leads to intoxication, causing illness; drinking moderately brings pleasant warmth, brightening the complexion.” Here, “moderation” means neither too much nor too little. Excess harms the body, while insufficient drinking negates any benefit.
2. Timing of Consumption: Generally, drinking at night is discouraged. The "Compendium of Materia Medica" notes: “People know to avoid drinking early, but not that night drinking is even worse. After drinking and eating, lying down to sleep causes heat to accumulate in the heart and eyes. At night, Qi gathers inward; alcohol, being dispersing, disrupts this natural balance, harming harmony. It burdens the spleen and stomach, causes dampness retention, leads to skin sores, stimulates desire, and frequently causes illness.” Hence, avoiding night drinking mainly because nighttime Qi gathers inward—drinking alcohol cannot disperse properly, causing internal heat accumulation, damaging heart and eyes. Also, alcohol itself is dispersing and disruptive, disturbing the quiet, gathering nature of nighttime Qi, harming bodily harmony. Regarding seasonal timing, opinions differ: Some argue winter’s cold calls for alcohol to warm yang and dispel cold.
3. Temperature of Consumption: Opinions vary—some advocate cold drinking, others warm. Advocates of cold drinking believe alcohol is inherently hot; warm drinking makes it hotter, risking gastric damage. Cold drinking counteracts heat, avoiding overheating. Yuan Dynasty physician Zhu Zhenheng said: “Alcohol should be drunk cold—it offers three benefits. Passing through lungs into stomach, it warms slightly. Lungs first receive warmth to counteract cold, thus strengthening qi; next, they gain coolness to counteract heat, thus nourishing the stomach. Cold alcohol moves slowly, allowing gradual absorption, preventing overindulgence.” However, Qing Dynasty scholar Xu Wenbi advocated warm drinking, stating alcohol “is best consumed warm,” warning that “hot drinking damages the lungs,” and “cold drinking harms the spleen.” A balanced view suggests alcohol may be warmed but not boiled. Whether cold or warm is better depends on individual constitution.
4. Choose Alcohol Based on Syndrome Differentiation: According to TCM theory, moderate alcohol consumption suits older individuals, those with sluggish qi and blood, deficient yang, or internal cold, stagnation, or stasis. This refers to plain alcohol, not medicinal wine. Medicinal wines vary based on ingredients: tonifying ones strengthen blood, nourish yin, warm yang, or boost qi; attacking ones resolve phlegm, dry dampness, regulate qi, move blood, or eliminate accumulation. Thus, they must not be used indiscriminately. Weak individuals need tonifying wines; those with poor circulation require blood-moving, qi-regulating, and meridian-opening medicinal wines. For cold conditions, use warm alcohol; for heat conditions, use cooling alcohol. Those wishing to practice medicinal wine therapy should consult a doctor.
5. Consistent Consumption: Any health practice requires persistence. Long-term adherence yields benefits. Ancient wisdom holds that continuous drinking ensures sustained effect. Tang Dynasty physician Sun Simiao said: “When taking medicinal wine, the wine’s effect must be continuous—do not interrupt. Interruption nullifies the medicinal effect. Quantity should be moderate, avoiding drunkenness or vomiting, which severely harm the body.” Of course, Sun Simiao meant long-term, lifelong consumption, possibly referring to sustained intake over a period.
Common Medicinal Wines
Changsheng Guben Wine, Yangsheng Wine, Dushu Wan Jin Wine, Wu Jing Wine, Shiquan Dabu Wine, Baiyi Changchun Wine, Dabu Medicinal Wine, Zhuangyuan Hong Wine, Shenrong Wine, Xianlingpi Wine, Gouqi Wine, Zhou Gong Baishi Wine, He Shou Wu Huichun Wine, Wujiapi Wine, Huangjing Wine, Juhua Wine, Shenling Baizhu Wine, Fuling Wine, Shouwu Jin Ying Wine, Dingzhi Wine, Yangrong Wine