Chinese Medicine: Starting with Daily Intelligence-Chapter 222: An Gong Bezoar Pill
Among the general populace, the An Gong Bezoar Pill has a legion of devotees who firmly believe it to be a life-saving Divine Medicine. Many families keep several on hand for emergencies.
Some people even collect An Gong Bezoar Pills, treating them as prized treasures.
A single 3-gram Hong Kong edition of the An Gong Bezoar Pill has sold for the astronomical price of 1,280 Hong Kong dollars!
One An Gong Bezoar Pill from the last century fetched a staggering 110,000 yuan at auction.
With a history stretching back over 200 years, the An Gong Bezoar Pill originated in the *Treatise on Warm Diseases* by Wu Jutong of the Qing Dynasty.
Its functions are to clear heat, detoxify, calm convulsions, and open the orifices.
It is primarily used for conditions where pathogenic heat invades the pericardium, causing high fever with convulsions, delirious speech and unconsciousness, or coma from stroke. It is also indicated for encephalitis, meningitis, toxic encephalopathy, cerebral hemorrhage, and septicemia when they present with these symptoms.
The An Gong Bezoar Pill is a traditional emergency remedy, famed for its ability "to rescue the acutely ill in an instant and snatch the dying from the brink of death." It is revered as the first of the "Three Treasures of Warm Diseases."
In 2018, the *Dragon Country Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Acute Ischemic Stroke* explicitly listed Chinese patent medicines as a Class III recommendation for emergency stroke treatment, with the An Gong Bezoar Pill being one of them.
This shows that the An Gong Bezoar Pill can, in fact, be used for the emergency treatment of a stroke.
However, it is not suitable for all types of strokes!
According to traditional Chinese medicine, a stroke is typically caused by either a "collapse pattern" or a "closed pattern." The closed pattern is further divided into "cold-closed" and "heat-closed" types.
The An Gong Bezoar Pill’s formulation is cold in nature, making it suitable only for strokes caused by a "heat-closed" pattern resulting in unconsciousness.
It is strictly prohibited for strokes caused by a "cold-closed" pattern, as using the wrong medicine for the condition could exacerbate the illness and even threaten the patient’s life.
The two types of "closed patterns" present with different stroke symptoms, and thus require different treatments.
There is a popular rumor that regularly taking An Gong Bezoar Pills can prevent strokes.
In reality, the Cinnabar and realgar in the An Gong Bezoar Pill are toxic to a certain degree and should not be consumed in excessive amounts or over long periods.
Individuals with impaired liver or kidney function should be especially cautious to avoid mercury poisoning.
Emergency treatments always call for potent medicine.
Who in their right mind would take such potent medicine as a daily health supplement?
Therefore, it cannot be used to prevent strokes!
So, why is the An Gong Bezoar Pill so expensive?
The ingredients, of course.
The ingredients of an An Gong Bezoar Pill include: Bezoar, concentrated Buffalo Horn powder, Musk, Pearl, Cinnabar, realgar, Huang Lian, Huang Qin, Gardenia, and Camphor.
Natural musk has always been a rare and valuable medicinal ingredient, consistently commanding a high price.
The price of Natural Bezoar has skyrocketed in recent years, further fueling the explosive rise in the price of the An Gong Bezoar Pill. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎
Some people treat An Gong Bezoar Pills as collector’s items, but the ones they hoard are not the versions currently available on the market.
They collect the ones made before 1993.
Before 1993, the An Gong Bezoar Pill contained Rhino Horn.
After 1993, the global trade and use of Rhino Horn were banned, and it was no longer permitted as a medicinal ingredient. It is now substituted with concentrated Buffalo Horn powder, which has caused the value of pre-1993 An Gong Bezoar Pills to skyrocket.
It is precisely because they contain the rare Rhino Horn ingredient that their collectible value far exceeds their actual medicinal worth.
Li Xu had been accumulating his ingredients bit by bit.
Now he had natural musk, Natural Bezoar, and even Natural Rhino Horn—an ingredient banned by the *Materia Medica*.
It would be a terrible waste not to make An Gong Bezoar Pills.
After all, the An Gong Bezoar Pill was a highly effective emergency treatment in traditional Chinese medicine.
Li Xu started looking through his reference materials.
But he soon frowned.
The formula for the An Gong Bezoar Pill was a publicly known traditional recipe, with its ingredients clearly listed in the *Materia Medica*.
They were the ones Li Xu already knew: Bezoar, Musk, concentrated Buffalo Horn powder, Huang Lian, Huang Qin, and so on.
However, the An Gong Bezoar Pill was classified as a state-secret formula—specifically, a top-secret one. Its precise recipe and manufacturing process were protected by national law, and it could not be disclosed or replicated without authorization.
State-secret formulas are divided into three categories.
Top-secret: Subject to long-term secrecy and not publicly disclosed. The An Gong Bezoar Pill falls into this category.
Secret: The period of confidentiality is typically 5 to 30 years. Some traditional Chinese medicine products are in this category.
Patent Protection: Ordinary traditional medicines can be protected by patents or administrative measures, but this level of secrecy is lower than the first two.
’This is bad...’
Li Xu muttered to himself.
’The general formula is available, but the exact proportions and manufacturing techniques vary.’
’But without official approval... I can’t produce it myself.’
’What about a pharmaceutical factory?’
Li Xu called Ding Kaifang.
"You want to make An Gong Bezoar Pills?"
Ding Kaifang was stunned.
"No, *I’m* not qualified," Li Xu said. "I was wondering if the factory could obtain the license."
"I’m afraid not," Ding Kaifang explained. "Our Ding’s Pharmaceutical Factory is too small-time. Even if we submitted an application, it would never be approved. Besides, the review process is long. It would take one or two years at a minimum."
"I see."
Li Xu sighed.
’So I should just give up?’
After hanging up, Li Xu weighed his options.
’I have a working formula... I could just make a small batch in secret for emergencies.’
’The only risk is that the An Gong Bezoar Pill isn’t a cure-all Divine Medicine.’
’A critically ill patient could still die even after taking it.’
’And if that happens, whatever medicine the patient used...’
’...would put all the responsibility on me.’
Li Xu decided to put the idea on hold.
He took out the Bezoar and began processing it.
「By evening.」
The large chunk of Bezoar had been ground into a fine powder.
Even if he didn’t make the An Gong Bezoar Pills, the powder itself was an excellent anti-inflammatory and detoxifying agent.
...
「The next morning.」
Li Xu got out of bed and immediately checked his intelligence feed.
[Today’s Intelligence: An optimized formula and process for the An Gong Bezoar Pill. Using Natural Bezoar, Rhino Horn, and Musk... the resulting pill can resolve high fever and unconsciousness without the adverse side effects of coldness and purgation...]
Li Xu fell silent after reading it.
The intelligence had provided an optimized formulation.
It not only dramatically increased the pill’s efficacy but also significantly reduced its side effects.
’It would be a crime not to make this!’
By the time he finished breakfast, Li Xu had made up his mind.
’I’ll roll them by hand.’
’I won’t sell them. I’ll only use them for emergencies.’
’As long as I can save the person... no one will scrutinize what medicine I used.’
He asked Song Sisi to manage the front clinic.
Then, he entered his compounding room.
Various instruments were laid out on the workbench: a bluestone mortar and pestle, a small copper scale, a fine-mesh sieve, a honey pot, and several delicate porcelain dishes.
He had already ground the Bezoar the day before.
He had then filtered it through the fine sieve until every particle was as fine as dust.
Next, he took out the Rhino Horn he had purchased from Ye Shihui.
He took a slice, soaked it in clear water for a moment, and then began scraping off powder with a special Jade Blade.
The process was excruciatingly slow. Each scrape of the blade yielded only the finest of powders.
After that came the natural musk.
Then came the Pearl, Cinnabar, Huang Lian, Huang Qin, Gardenia...
Li Xu weighed each ingredient according to the adjusted formula and dosages provided by the intelligence.
He then proceeded to the initial processing, mixing the powdered herbs with honey to form a paste.
The timing of this step was crucial. If he was too quick, the pills wouldn’t form properly; if he was too slow, the honey would cool, making it difficult to roll them.
Rolling the pills was the true test of his manual dexterity.
Li Xu first used a medicinal knife to divide the large paste into uniform pieces. He then took one piece, placed it in his palm, brought his hands together, and began to roll it with just the right amount of pressure.
As Li Xu worked, perfectly round An Gong Bezoar Pills gradually took shape.
They gleamed with a reddish-gold luster, their surfaces as smooth as satin, and exuded a unique aroma—a blend of Bezoar, Musk, and honey.
Finally, Li Xu brought out some gold foil and wrapped each pill in a coat of gold as thin as a cicada’s wing. This wasn’t just for aesthetics; it also helped preserve the pill’s medicinal properties, extending its shelf life.
