Five Fragrances Liniment

“Heaven sent down its fattening dews; earth sent forth its springs of sweet wine; hills produced implements and chariots; the He sent forth the horse with the map. Phoenixes and Qilin were among the trees of the suburbs, tortoises and dragons in the ponds of the palaces….”

-excerpt from Li Yun, the Ceremonial Usages-

Wine or more accurately translated as liquor has a history that stretches back to the beginning of Chinese civilization. And the God of Liquor, Du Kang [杜康], has been venerated for thousands of years, making Clear Liquor [bai jiu 白酒], together with tea a must-have household item of Chinese society ever since. Some amounts taken internally serve not only longevity purposes, but can also relieve or resolve pain, if the correct and suitable Chinese herbs are steeped in it. Following is the practical experience of making such a herbal alcohol, called the Five Fragrances Liniment] inspired by Lorraine Wilcox’s post on facebook. It is very convenient, not time consuming and cost-effective. Altogether It cost 75 NZ $ for the alcohol [1l of vodka] and the herbs.
Furthermore this liniment can be made even by the inexperienced non- Chinese Medicine practitioner, for any kind of aches, sprains, pains, tendon, ligament injures for friends and family

Five Fragrances Liniment contains the following ingredients:

Ru Xiang [乳香] 18g
Ding Xiang [丁香] 18g
Tan Xiang [檀香] 18g
Xiao Hui Xiang [小茴香] 18g
Mu Xiang [木香] 18g
Dang Gui [当归] 60g
Chuan Xiong [川芎] 48g
Su Mu [苏木] 48g
Niu Xi [牛膝] 48g
Hong Hua [红花] 30g
Clear High Percentage Spirits [bai jiu白酒] 1litre

In the States I would recommend ever clear at least over 50%; more than 60% is even better. Sorghum [gao liang 高粱]-based is the best type. In some countries it is impossible to obtain high percentage alcohol such as Mexico, Germany and New Zealand, therefore high percentage vodka can be used as substitute. It is not advised to use absinth because it is made with a herb called wormwood and therefore has its own set of therapeutic action which are actually unwanted in this liniment. In my case Mu Xiang [木香] and Tan Xiang [檀香] were unavailable at Tong Ren Tang New Zealand and therefore replaced with Jiang Xiang [降香] 50g.

The Making

Cut the herbs into smaller pieces and place into a porcelain jar, pour the white liquor into the jar covering the herbs. Seal the outside with mud from yellow earth. Shake the bottle three time for ten days, then bury the porcelain jar about one meter deep [this step can be skipped, or replaced by storing the jar in a cellar or the jar can be buried just in the ground as many do not have the property to be digging one meter deep holes]. Cover the site with straw. After thirty days dig up the jar and filter out the herbal liquor. Wring the dregs in a cheesecloth to squeeze out the remaining liquor soaked up by the dregs.

Its Usage

Its functions are to quicken blood, disperse stasis, disperse swelling and stop pain. And its applications are to treat swelling, pain, fractures, dislocations, bruising, low back strains and rib pain