Honey moistens dryness, resolves various toxins, relieves various kinds of pain, frees the flow of the triple burner, and harmonizes the constructive and defensive.
lt is often prescribed to suppress cough, cure dysentery, and brighten the eyes. Besides the indications listed above in the text it may render the face brilliant.
It is known to uplift the spirits and nourish the soul. It is often used to bind herbs together, sweeten the taste of bitter herbs or taken on its own to help lubricate and moisten.
It is a very versatile and palatable herb that can be incorporated in a number of ways. In acupuncture and Chinese medicine, Honey has a neutral nature which means it won’t affect the balance of yin / yang and is safe for all body constitutions to consume.
Chinese Materia Medica illustration, Ming: Sichuan honey, Wang Shichang et al. (Ming period, 1368-1644)
Illustration from Bencao pinhui jingyao (Materia Medica Containing Essential and Important Material Arranged in Systematic Order, completed 1505), in red and black ink.
This illustration shows bees making honey. Fengmi is the generic term for honey, and Chuanzhou fengmi refers to honey from the Sichuan area. Bencao pinhui jingyao states: Shimi ('rock honey') is first cited as a medicinal substance in Shennong bencao jing (The Divine Farmer's Canon of Materia Medica). Shimi (rock honey), also known as yami (cliff honey), is made by a kind of black bees resembling horse-flies, whose habitat is high, rocky mountainous areas and caves. It is greenish and has a strong, rich flavour. It is sweet in sapor and neutral in nature. A viscous, yellowish-white substance, it has excellent effects of reinforcing the centre and replenishing Qi; lubricating and nourishing the zang and fu viscera; relaxing tension and relieving pain. It is used to treat deficiency and vacuity of Qi and blood, intestinal dryness and constipation, pain in the epigastric region (wanfu), etc.
Feng Mi also tastes Sweet. Sweet ingredients like Feng Mi tends to slow down acute reactions and detoxify the body. They also have a tonic effect because they replenish Qi and Blood.
The tastes of ingredients in TCM also determine what Organs and Meridians they target. As such Feng Mi is thought to target the Stomach, the Large intestine and the Lung. In TCM the Stomach is responsible for receiving and ripening ingested food and fluids. It is also tasked with descending the digested elements downwards to the Small Intestine. The Large Intestine on the other hand receives the "impure" parts of the digested food from the Small Intestine, absorbs the remaining fluids and excrete the remainder as feces. In addition to performing respiration, the Lungs are thought in TCM to be a key part of the production chain for Qi and the Body Fluids that nourish the body.