Ballad of Huangdi’s Medicine Guarding Life
Aromas of herbs curl around the green stove,
Plants and trees with tender care into medical books evolve.
Looking, listening, asking, feeling—truths of excess and deficiency we trace,
A single needle, a moxa stick, regulating growth and decline with grace.
In spring, mint is plucked to drive away stagnant air,
In autumn, wolfberries harvested to nourish the true self fair.
Dried tangerine peel simmers, warming time’s gentle flow,
Mugwort smolders softly, banishing dampness’s shadow.
Meridians like streams connect organs far and near,
Qi and blood like winds moisten the body’s farmland clear.
Yin and yang in balance keep the body ever sound,
Seasons’ harmony 调和 chases illness into the ground.
No quest for magic elixirs to live forevermore,
But holding fast to TCM’s health-preserving lore.
Three meals with moderation follow nature’s rhythm true,
Four seasons of well-being bring joy that never ends anew.
