Warming and Circulating Meridians - Cinnamon in Traditional Chinese Medicine

In the morning, if you add a little cinnamon powder to your black coffee, it will be even more fragrant. However, in traditional Chinese medicine, cinnamon is known for its effects on promoting gastrointestinal motility, aiding digestion, and inhibiting bacteria. It can even be used to improve symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis and slow-healing wounds. Nevertheless, cinnamon is considered hot in nature, so it is not suitable for those with internal dryness, dry mouth, or constipation.

Variety and Source:

Cinnamon is the dried bark of plants belonging to the Lauraceae family. It is usually harvested in the autumn and then dried.

Properties and Meridians:

Cinnamon has a pungent and sweet taste and is considered greatly hot in nature. It enters the Kidney, Spleen, Heart, and Liver meridians.

Functions and Indications:

It helps to reinforce the fire and assist the Yang, guide the fire back to its source, dispel cold and alleviate pain, and warm and circulate the meridians. It is used for conditions such as impotence due to cold in the genitals, cold and painful lower back and knees, Kidney deficiency leading to wheezing, floating of deficient Yang, dizziness with red eyes, cold and painful abdomen, cold vomiting and diarrhea, cold hernia with abdominal pain, and painful menstruation or amenorrhea.

A Short Story about Chinese Herbal Medicine:

In ancient times, there was a beautiful woman named Xi Shi who suddenly felt a sore throat. She used a large amount of heat-clearing and fire-purging medicine, which temporarily relieved her symptoms. However, once she stopped taking the medicine, the symptoms immediately recurred. In the end, she sought the help of a famous physician, who prescribed one jin (approximately 500g) of cinnamon after examination.

The owner of the pharmacy, who knew a bit about Xi Shi's condition, looked at the prescription and couldn't help but sneer, saying, "A sore and swollen throat is a condition of great heat. How could she take pungent and warm cinnamon?" Thus, he refused to dispense the medicine, and Xi Shi's attendants returned empty-handed.

Xi Shi, believing in the skills of the renowned physician, thought that he couldn't be joking, and as there were no other options at the moment, she decided to try a small amount of cinnamon first. She bit a small piece and found it delicious. After eating half a jin of cinnamon, the pain disappeared, and she could eat without any major issues, making her very happy.

When the pharmacy owner heard about this later, he sought advice from the renowned physician. The physician said, "Xi Shi's condition is a throat ailment caused by deficiency and cold with underlying Yin fire. It can only be treated with the method of guiding the fire back to its source. Cinnamon was used to treat a specific type of throat abscess and belongs to a unique situation."