Mugwort Leaf
Mugwort Leaf (쑥(애엽), 艾葉) is recorded in the Donguibogam as a blood-stopping herb. Its nature is warm and its taste bitter, associated with the Liver, Spleen, Kidney meridians. Traditional uses recorded in the text include warms the channels, stops bleeding, warms the womb, calms the fetus, dispels cold, relieves pain. Caution: Warming and drying; traditionally cautioned in heat patterns and yin-deficiency with heat.
Overview
Mugwort leaf — ssuk, woven through Korean food, rice cakes, and the founding myth itself — is recorded in the Donguibogam as warming the womb, stopping bleeding, and calming the fetus. It is also the plant of moxibustion, dried and burned on the body, making it one of Korea’s most deeply rooted medicinal plants.
In the Donguibogam
寶鑑
Traditional uses recorded in the Donguibogam
- Warms the channels, stops bleeding
- Warms the womb, calms the fetus
- Dispels cold, relieves pain
- Base material of moxibustion
Traditional applications recorded in the classical text
- Menstrual flooding and spotting from cold
- Cold-type menstrual and abdominal pain
- Threatened miscarriage (under professional care)
- Cold-pattern diarrhea
Traditional preparation
Charred mugwort (Ai-tan) is used to stop bleeding, and dried mugwort floss is used for moxibustion.
This describes traditional preparation recorded in the classics, not a recommendation for use today. DonguiHub does not provide dosage guidance — consult a qualified professional before using any herb.
Appearance, harvest and preparation recorded in the classic
一名氷臺, 一名醫草. 處處有之. 以覆道者爲佳. 三月三日, 五月五日採葉, 暴乾. 經陳久者, 方可用. 其性生寒熟熱.Also called Bingdae (氷臺) and Uicho (醫草, “medicine herb”). It is found everywhere. Plants that cover the path (apparently, those growing thickly by the roadside) are preferred. Leaves are picked on the third day of the third month and the fifth day of the fifth month and dried in the sun; only leaves aged for a long time may be used. Its nature is said to be cold when raw and hot when processed.
端午日, 日未出時不語採者, 佳. 搗篩去靑滓, 取白, 入硫黃少許, 作炷灸之.Leaves picked before sunrise on Dano day, without speaking, are said to be best. They are pounded and sifted to discard the green residue, the white part is kept, a little sulfur is added, and it is shaped into cones for moxibustion. The notes on timing and silence reflect classical folk belief.
得米粉少許, 可搗爲末, 入服食藥.With a little rice flour it can be pounded to a powder and added to medicines taken by mouth.
Other names recorded: Bingdae (氷臺), Uicho (醫草)
Quoted from the Donguibogam (Tangaek-pyeon). The translation is our own summary of the original; these are historical records, not instructions or medical claims.
Cautions
Frequently asked questions
Is the mugwort in food the same as the medicinal one?
They are closely related Artemisia species. Young spring mugwort flavors rice cakes and soups, while the mature, dried leaf (aeyeop) is the medicinal form recorded in the Donguibogam and used in moxibustion.
What is moxibustion’s connection to mugwort?
Dried mugwort floss is the material burned in moxibustion (tteum) — warming acupuncture points — making mugwort both an internal herb and the core of a major external therapy.
When is mugwort gathered?
The text records that leaves are picked on the third day of the third month and the fifth day of the fifth month and dried in the sun.
Why is mugwort aged before use?
The text only says that long-aged leaves may be used; it does not give a reason.
Do raw and processed mugwort differ in nature?
The text says its nature is cold when raw and hot when processed. This is traditional theory.
Sources
- 『동의보감』 탕액편, 허준, 1613 (원문) — 한문 원문
- 한의학고전DB (mediclassics.kr) — 원문 및 국역 자료 참조