🌿 Folk Prescriptions

Grain Rain, pointing to Gui. Solar longitude is 15 degrees. The Grain Rain solar term falls around April 20th each year. Grain Rain means "rain nourishes hundreds of grains," ranking as the sixth solar term among the 24 and the last of spring. Folk wisdom says: "Clearing Day ends snow, Grain Rain ends frost." Most regions in China have average temperatures above 12°C. After Grain Rain, temperatures rise rapidly. From this day forward, rainfall increases significantly. Abundant rain irrigates newly planted seedlings and crops, enabling grain to grow well. Pond algae begin to multiply, mulberry trees sprout fresh green leaves—time for sericulture to start bustling. At this time, spring tea is also harvested shortly after. In southern China, from hills to mountains, tea farmers are seen working hard under the sun, picking tea leaves. Tea-making workshops are busy, and the fragrance of tea fills the hills and villages. Agricultural production enters a busy period after Grain Rain. Thus, seizing the opportunity, cultivating carefully, monitoring weather changes, planting and transplanting promptly, is crucial for a good autumn harvest.
After Grain Rain, rainfall increases, and atmospheric humidity gradually rises. In health adjustment, we must not ignore natural environmental changes. Through internal regulation, we must align internal physiology with external environmental changes to maintain normal physiological function. *Suwen·Baoming Quan Xing Lun* states: "Humans are born from the breath of heaven and earth, shaped by the laws of the four seasons." This means changes in nature directly or indirectly affect the human internal environment. Maintaining balance between internal and external environments is the foundation for avoiding and reducing disease. Therefore, in health adjustment, we must consider Grain Rain’s climatic features and selectively adjust accordingly.
After Grain Rain, nerve pain becomes more common—such as intercostal neuralgia, sciatica, trigeminal neuralgia, etc. We remind friends: if symptoms appear, do not panic; treat according to specific causes.
Regarding intercostal neuralgia, a common clinical symptom, it presents as pain on one or both sides of the rib cage. In traditional Chinese medicine, this is called "rib pain." *Lingshu·Wuxie* says: "If pathogenic qi invades the liver, both sides of the ribs ache." *Suwen·Zangqi Fashi Lun* adds: "Liver disease causes pain under both ribs, radiating to the lower abdomen." From a pathological perspective, the liver is located in the rib area, with meridians distributed along both sides. Liver disease often causes rib pain. The liver is the organ of wood, favoring smooth flow and disliking stagnation. Emotional depression causes liver qi stagnation, obstructing collateral circulation and disrupting qi flow, leading to rib pain. Long-term liver qi stagnation may result in blood stasis, or trauma may cause stagnant blood in collaterals, causing blood stasis-related rib pain. Regardless of the cause, the root lies in unsatisfied liver qi. Thus, treatment must always involve soothing the liver, regulating qi, and activating blood circulation.
Sciatica refers to pain along the sciatic nerve pathway and its distribution area. It typically manifests as burning or needle-like pain in the buttocks, posterior thigh, and outer ankle, severe cases feeling like knife cuts, worsening with movement. This condition falls under the category of "bi syndrome" in traditional Chinese medicine, where "bi" means obstruction. Causes are mainly wind, cold, and damp pathogens invading the meridians, blocking qi and blood flow. Clinically, it is divided into four types: Wind-dominant type, with migratory pain—called "traveling bi"; Cold-dominant type, with severe pain—called "painful bi"; Damp-dominant type, with aching, numbness, and heaviness—called "sticking bi"; Acute onset with fever—called "hot bi." Anyone suffering from sciatica should treat according to these four types, aiming to unblock meridian qi and blood, expel wind, dispel cold, resolve dampness, and restore harmony of nutritive and defensive qi to relieve bi syndrome.
Trigeminal neuralgia involves sudden, brief, severe pain in a specific facial area. It commonly occurs on one side of the face—forehead, upper jaw, or lower jaw. Pain strikes suddenly, like lightning or knife cuts, unbearable. The condition typically affects middle-aged and older adults, with more female patients. Causes include wind-cold invading facial meridians, causing meridians to contract and restrict qi and blood flow, leading to sudden pain. *Suwen·Juzhong Lun* states: "Cold pathogen entering meridians causes sluggishness and stagnation. Blood flows less in vessels outside, qi fails to circulate in vessels inside—hence sudden pain." Other causes include liver qi stagnation transforming into fire, improper diet causing food stagnation and heat, liver and stomach fire surging upward, or pre-existing yin deficiency and sexual exhaustion leading to yin deficiency and fire excess. Additionally, dental, oral, or ear-nose-throat diseases can trigger this condition. In treatment, identify the root cause and diagnose the condition. For wind-cold cases, focus on promoting blood and qi circulation; for liver and stomach fire, clear liver and stomach fire; for yin deficiency and fire excess, nourish yin and reduce fire. Acupuncture offers good therapeutic effects.
Although Grain Rain temperatures are mainly sunny and warm, mornings and evenings still experience fluctuating cold and heat. Those going out early or returning late should take extra care to protect themselves and avoid unnecessary discomfort.
Dietary adjustment during Grain Rain should embody the principle of harmony between man and nature, integrating food and medicine. Especially for those with the above conditions, choosing the right herbal diet is crucial. Below are several commonly used medicinal dishes:
Steamed Eel with Ginseng:
[Ingredients] 1000g eel, 10g ginseng, 5g angelica, 150g cured ham, salt, Shaojiu (yellow wine), white pepper powder, ginger, scallions, MSG, 500g clear chicken broth.
[Preparation] Wash and soak ginseng and angelica, cut into slices. Gut eel, wash thoroughly, blanch briefly in boiling water, remove mucus, cut off head and tail, cut meat into 6 cm segments. Cut cured ham into thick slices. Wash and cut ginger and scallions.
Add half the ginger and scallions, Shaojiu to a pot with water, boil, add eel segments, blanch briefly, remove and place in a soup bowl. Put ham, ginseng, angelica on top, add scallions, ginger, Shaojiu, white pepper powder, salt, pour in chicken broth. Seal with dampened parchment paper, steam for about 1 hour until cooked. Remove seal, remove ginger and scallions, add MSG, season.
[Benefits] Warms and supplements qi and blood, strengthens tendons and bones, activates blood circulation. Used for waist and knee pain caused by wind-cold-damp bi.
Chrysanthemum Eel:
[Ingredients] 1 lb fresh eel (two pieces), 2 liang sugar, 1 liang tomato sauce, 1 liang dry starch, yellow wine, white vinegar, salt, scallions, ginger, wet starch, sesame oil, garlic paste, peanut oil 2 lbs.
[Preparation] Kill eel, gut, remove bones and skin, cut into 2.5-inch pieces. Use a knife to slice diagonally from the top, splitting into two (leaving the bottom intact), then cut into strips (one end not severed). Marinate with yellow wine, salt, scallions, ginger. Coat each piece with dry starch. Mix tomato sauce, sugar, white vinegar, wet starch in a bowl, add water to make a sauce.
Heat a wok over high flame, add 1 lb peanut oil, heat to 80%, add eel, stir-fry until golden brown, remove and place on a plate. Leave a little oil, add garlic paste, stir until fragrant, pour in sauce, boil, add sesame oil, pour over the "chrysanthemum eel" dish.
[Benefits] Supplements deficiency, removes wind-damp, strengthens tendons and bones. Especially suitable for weakness, wind-cold-damp bi, hemorrhoids.
Three-Color Soup:
[Ingredients] 2 liang mung bean sprouts, 20g ginger threads, 1 red bell pepper, vegetable oil, white vinegar, wet starch, chicken broth, salt, sesame oil, MSG, all in appropriate amounts.
[Preparation] Heat oil, stir-fry mung bean sprouts briefly, add white vinegar, stir until 80% cooked, remove and set aside. Add chicken broth and ginger threads to the pot, boil, add red bell pepper, boil again, add mung bean sprouts and salt, thicken with wet starch, drizzle sesame oil, serve.
[Benefits] Expels wind, removes dampness, activates blood circulation. Especially suitable for muscle stiffness and waist-knee pain.
Note: Those with wind-cold-damp bi should avoid persimmons, persimmon cakes, watermelons, celery, raw cucumbers, crabs, clams, mussels, kelp, and other cold, raw, cooling foods; those with hot bi should avoid chili, cinnamon, pepper, Sichuan pepper, ginger, scallion whites, and alcoholic beverages.