Zhu Sha朱砂
Cinnabaris · Cinnabar · Mercuric Sulfide · Vermilion
Overview
The most problematic member of the settling, spirit-anchoring group: a mercury ore — mercuric sulfide — ground under water into a fine scarlet powder. The classical materia medica valued it for a Heart that races with fright and a spirit that will not settle, and it gives its name to Zhu Sha An Shen Wan. It is also a cumulative poison: it is never decocted and never heated, the daily amount is measured in tenths of a gram, and most jurisdictions outside China now prohibit or restrict it. What follows is a record of what the materia medica teaches, not a recommendation to use the mineral — contemporary prescribing normally omits it or replaces it.
Nature & Flavor
Sweet · Slightly cold · ToxicChannels
HeartTypical Dosage
0.1–0.5 gActions
4 core actions
- Cools the Heart, settles frightPalpitations with a startled, fearful quality, agitation, manic restlessness, and childhood convulsive disorders — as recorded classically.
- Calms the spiritInsomnia with vivid dreams and a mind that will not quieten, attributed to Heart fire harassing the spirit; the pattern Zhu Sha An Shen Wan was built around.
- Resolves toxin, applied externallyMouth and tongue ulcers, sore swollen throat and skin boils, as one component of a topical powder.
- Never heated, never decoctedMercuric sulfide is barely soluble in cold water, which is why the classical preparation grinds it under water rather than boiling it. Heat decomposes the mineral and releases mercury vapour and soluble mercury compounds; most recorded poisonings trace back to a heated or calcined preparation, or to a course that ran on too long.
In Formulas
Formulas containing Zhu Sha
Indications & Clinical Uses
- Palpitations with fright, restlessness, insomnia with vivid dreams (classical use)
- Manic agitation and convulsive disorders, in the classical record
- Mouth and tongue sores, sore swollen throat, boils — external use only
- In modern practice the role is filled by non-toxic substitutes
Western Medical Keywords
Searchable condition terms
Contraindications
Cautions
Cinnabar is mercuric sulfide (HgS) — a mercury mineral. Read this entry as a record of the classical materia medica, not as a treatment recommendation.
- Cumulative poisoning. Mercury is stored rather than cleared. Small amounts repeated over weeks can produce a metallic taste, sore inflamed gums, tremor, unsteadiness, memory and mood changes, and kidney damage. Chinese sources therefore forbid both large doses and small doses taken over a long period.
- Dose ceiling. The Chinese pharmacopoeia limits it to 0.1–0.5 g a day, taken only in pills or as water-ground powder stirred into liquid, and only for a short defined course. That is a ceiling, not a target.
- Never heated or decocted. It does not go into a decoction, must not be calcined, and must not be baked. Heating converts it to mercury vapour and to soluble mercury compounds, multiplying its toxicity.
- Do not combine it with iodide- or bromide-containing preparations, which can convert the mineral into soluble and far more toxic mercury salts in the gut.
- Absolutely avoided in liver or kidney impairment, in children, in pregnancy and breastfeeding, and alongside any other mercury-containing product.
- Legal status. Cinnabar is prohibited or tightly restricted in most Western jurisdictions, and imported patent medicines have been recalled over their mercury content. A practitioner outside China generally cannot legally supply it — confirm the position with your own regulator rather than assuming.
- What is used instead. Prescribing today normally leaves it out or substitutes for it: Zhen Zhu Mu 珍珠母, Long Gu 龙骨, Ci Shi 磁石 and Hu Po 琥珀 for the settling action, Suan Zao Ren 酸枣仁 and Huang Lian 黄连 for the Heart-fire insomnia it was used for. Cinnabar-free versions of the classical pills are manufactured for exactly this reason.
Contraindicated in pregnancy: Contraindicated in pregnancy and while breastfeeding — mercury crosses the placenta and passes into breast milk, and there is no safe dose in either setting.
For licensed practitioners’ reference only
References
- Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing《神农本草经》(classical source, public domain; recorded as dan sha 丹砂).
2. Bensky, Clavey & Stöger. Chinese Herbal Medicine: Materia Medica, 3rd ed.
3. 《中华人民共和国药典》(the dose ceiling and the prohibition on heating).
4. National medicines regulators differ on cinnabar-containing products — confirm the current position in your own jurisdiction before handling it.
Professional reference notice. Entries are scholarly references for licensed TCM practitioners and students — not medical advice, and not a recommendation to self-prescribe. Chinese herbal formulas should be used under the guidance of a qualified practitioner. Content is an original editorial compilation by Cura x Cura, cross-checked against the cited references.