❀ Food Therapy & Herbs

Materia Medica for Diet Therapy: Dàdòu — The Grain of the Spleen, King of the Beans

Yellow soybean, black soybean, *shū*: beans are the general name for pod-grains; *dàdòu* is the grain of the spleen — fortifying the spleen and broadening the center, moistening dryness and disinhibiting water, and resolving toxins.

About 8 min

「Dàdòu huángjuǎn (sprouted soybean): flavor sweet, level, non-toxic. Governs damp-impediment (shībì), spasm of the sinews, and pain of the knees. Shēng dàdòu (raw soybean): applied to abscesses and swelling, boiled in juice and drunk, kills gu-poison, and stops pain.」 (「大豆黃卷,味甘,平,无毒。主治湿痹筋挛膝痛。生大豆,涂痈肿,煮汁饮,杀鬼毒,止痛。」)

— Shénnóng Běncǎo Jīng · Middle Grade (《神农本草经·中品》) (reconstructed in the Běncǎo Gāngmù and Zhènglèi Běncǎo)

「Dàdòu huángjuǎn… shēng dàdòu: raw, slightly warm; parched until hot, slightly toxic.」 (「大豆黄卷……生大豆,生温,炒热,微毒。」)

— Tao Hongjing, annotation in the Běncǎo Jīng Jí Zhù (《本草经集注》) (quoted via the Běncǎo Gāngmù)

「Dàdòu: expels water-distention, eliminates heat in the stomach, disperses accumulations and bindings of the five viscera, boosts qi, and stops pain.」 (「大豆,逐水胀,除胃中热,散五脏结积,益气,止痛。」)

— Tao Hongjing, Míngyī Biélù · Middle Grade (《名医别录·中品》, Liang dynasty)

「Yellow dàdòu: flavor sweet, level, non-toxic. Fortifies the spleen and broadens the center, moistens dryness and disinhibits water.」 (「黄大豆,味甘,平,无毒。健脾宽中,润燥消水。」)

— Wang Shixiong, Suíxī Jū Yǐnshí Pǔ · Class of Grain Beverages (《随息居饮食谱·谷饮类》, Qing dynasty)

「Tofu: flavor sweet, nature cool. Clears heat, moistens dryness, engenders fluids, resolves toxins, supplements the center, broadens the intestines, and downbears turbidity.」 (「豆腐,味甘,性凉。清热,润燥,生津,解毒,补中,宽肠,降浊。」)

— Zhao Xuemin, Běncǎo Gāngmù Shíyí (《本草纲目拾遗》, Qing dynasty)

I. Nomenclature: Shū, Bean, Dàdòu, and Yellow Soybean

Dàdòu (dàdòu, soybean) is the ripe seed-kernel of an annual herbaceous leguminous plant, the soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.); its ancient name is “shū.”

Li Shizhen’s discrimination is most thorough:

「Dàdòu is found everywhere. There are several colors: black, white, yellow, brown, green, and mottled. The black is called wūdòu (black bean), and can be used in medicine and made into fermented beans for food; the yellow can be made into tofu, pressed for oil, and made into sauce; the rest can only be made into tofu or parched for food.」 (「大豆,处处有之。黑、白、黄、褐、青、斑数色。黑者名乌豆,可入药及充食作豉;黄者可作腐、榨油、造酱;余但可作腐及炒食而已。*」) — *Běncǎo Gāngmù · Section on Grains · Dàdòu

The various kinds of dàdòu are roughly as follows:

  • Yellow dàdòu (yellow soybean, 黄豆): the most common; fortifies the spleen and broadens the center; used to make tofu, soy milk, and soybean sprouts.
  • Black dàdòu (乌豆, black soybean): enters the kidney; supplements the kidney, quickens the blood, disinhibits water, and resolves toxins.
  • White dàdòu, green dàdòu, and brown-mottled dàdòu: also edible; rarely used in medicine.
  • Shū: in the ancient texts “shū” is the general name for beans; the Shījīng · Xiǎoyǎ · Xiǎoyuàn has the line “in the central plain there is shū”, and Máo’s commentary explains “shū, beans.”

Li Shizhen further discriminates the general name for beans:

「Beans are the general name for pod-grains.」 (「豆,荚谷之总名也。」) — Běncǎo Gāngmù · Section on Grains · Dàdòu

In the ancient five grains — hemp, millet, panicled millet, wheat, and shú — the “shú” refers to beans.

II. Nature, Flavor, and Channel Entry: Sweet and Level, Entering the Spleen and Stomach

Source Nature Flavor Channel Entry Indications
Shénnóng Běncǎo Jīng (《神农本草经》) Level (raw slightly warm; parched hot) Sweet — Applied to abscesses and swelling, boiled in juice and drunk, stops pain
Míngyī Biélù (《名医别录》) Level Sweet — Expels water-distention, eliminates heat in the stomach, disperses accumulations and bindings of the five viscera
Qiānjīn Shí Zhì (《千金食治》) Level Sweet — Kills gu-poison, stops pain, expels water-distention, eliminates stomach-heat
Shíliáo Běncǎo (《食疗本草》) Level Sweet — Governs choleraic vomiting and retching; yellow soybean kills various toxins
Rìhuázǐ Běncǎo (《日华子本草》) Cool Sweet — Regulates the center and bears qi downward, frees the channels, counters the toxicity of mineral-medicinal drugs
Běncǎo Gāngmù (《本草纲目》) Level Sweet Enters spleen, kidney, and large-intestine channels Supplements the center and bears qi downward, disinhibits the large intestine, quickens the blood, resolves toxins
Suíxī Jū Yǐnshí Pǔ (《随息居饮食谱》) Level Sweet Enters spleen and stomach channels Fortifies the spleen and broadens the center, moistens dryness and disinhibits water

Summary: Dàdòu is sweet in flavor and level in nature (raw use is slightly cool, parched use is slightly warm); it enters the foot-taiyin spleen, foot-shaoyin kidney, and hand-yangming large intestine — three channels.

Huang Gongxiu’s Běncǎo Qiúzhēn (Qing dynasty) is most explicit:

「Dàdòu: yellow in color, it enters the spleen; black in color, it enters the kidney. Spleen disease is suited to the yellow; kidney disease is suited to the black. In all cases, the uses are fortifying the spleen and broadening the center, bearing qi downward and disinhibiting water, quickening the blood and resolving toxins.」 (「大豆,色黄,入脾;色黑,入肾。脾病宜黄,肾病宜黑。皆以健脾宽中、下气利水、活血解毒为用。*」) — *Běncǎo Qiúzhēn · Section on Grains · Dàdòu

III. Indications and Efficacy: Fortifying the Spleen, Moistening Dryness, Resolving Toxins, Disinhibiting Water

1. Fortifying the Spleen and Broadening the Center

Dàdòu, being sweet and level and entering the spleen and stomach, fortifies the spleen and broadens the center, and treats spleen-deficiency with impaired transportation, reduced intake, abdominal distention, and a sallow, emaciated complexion.

Wang Shixiong:

「Yellow dàdòu: flavor sweet, level. Fortifies the spleen and broadens the center, moistens dryness and disinhibits water.」 (「黄大豆,味甘,平。健脾宽中,润燥消水。」) — Suíxī Jū Yǐnshí Pǔ

2. Moistening Dryness and Disinhibiting Water

Dàdòu moistens spleen-dryness, eliminates stomach-heat, and disperses water-distention. Tao Hongjing:

「Expels water-distention, eliminates heat in the stomach.」 (「逐水胀,除胃中热。」) — Míngyī Biélù

It treats spleen-deficiency edema, inhibited urination, and swelling of the face and feet; black dàdòu enters the kidney, and its water-disinhibiting power is the strongest.

3. Resolving Toxins

Dàdòu resolves various toxins, and is an essential item for resolving toxins in medicine and food.

Tao Hongjing’s Míngyī Biélù records that dàdòu “kills gu-poison and stops pain”; Sun Simiao’s Qiānjīn Shí Zhì records that it “kills various toxins”; Meng Shen’s Shíliáo Běncǎo records that yellow dàdòu “kills various toxins”. The methods of “resolving the toxins of bādòu, fùzǐ, and various drugs” are detailed in the formulas of the Qiānjīn Yàofāng · Scroll 24 · On Resolving the Toxins of a Hundred Drugs; the later Běncǎo Gāngmù synthesizes the discussion, stating that dàdòu kills the toxin of wūtóu and resolves the toxins of various drugs.

4. Quickening the Blood and Dispelling Wind

Black dàdòu quickens the blood and dispels wind; its black color enters the kidney, supplementing the kidney and quickening the blood.

Li Shizhen, citing the Yánnián Mìlù:

「Black dàdòu: quickens the blood, dispels wind, resolves toxins, moistens the skin, and beautifies the complexion.」 (「黑大豆,活血,祛风,解毒,润肌肤,益颜色。」) — Běncǎo Gāngmù · Section on Grains

It treats wind-impediment, spasm of the sinews, postpartum wind-spasm, and blood-deficiency dizziness, mostly using black dàdòu boiled in wine or parched for food.

5. Supplementing

The supplementing virtue of dàdòu lies first in fortifying the spleen, then in nourishing the blood, and filling essence. Chen Jiamo’s Běncǎo Méngquán:

「Dàdòu: supplements the center and bears qi downward, disinhibits the large intestine, fortifies the spleen, and moistens dryness.」 (「大豆,补中下气,利大肠,健脾,润燥。**」)

IV. Textual Discrimination of Varieties: Yellow Bean, Black Bean, and Red Bean

1. Yellow Dàdòu (Yellow Soybean)

Fortifies the spleen and broadens the center, moistens dryness and disinhibits water, it is the finest among beans, and may be made into tofu, soy milk, soybean sprouts, and fermented soybean. Wang Shixiong ranks it as the foremost bean for fortifying the spleen.

2. Black Dàdòu (Wūdòu)

Enters the kidney, quickens the blood and dispels wind, disinhibits water and resolves toxins. The Běncǎo Gāngmù records:

「Black dàdòu: its actions of entering the kidney are manifold.」 (「黑大豆,入肾功多。」)

It treats kidney-deficiency lumbar pain, wind-impediment with spasm of the sinews, and postpartum wind-spasm.

3. Beans of Other Colors

Tao Hongjing’s Běncǎo Jīng Jí Zhù is lost in its original form; the present section relies on the synthesized accounts of post-Ming bencǎo authors: yellow dàdòu broadens the center; white dàdòu fortifies the spleen; black dàdòu enters the kidney and quickens the blood. (Tao Hongjing’s notes on dàdòu are mainly preserved through quotation in the Zhènglèi Běncǎo and Běncǎo Gāngmù; the currently circulated reconstructed editions do not contain the original wording of “eaten in small amounts it awakens the spleen, eaten in large amounts it damages the spleen”, and this saying is presumably the synthesis and elaboration of later physicians; this clarification is hereby noted.)

V. Textual Examination of Products: Tofu, Soy Milk, Fermented Soybean, and Soybean Sprouts

1. Tofu

Tofu is traditionally said to have been invented by Liu An, the King of Huainan of the Han; it is made by grinding dàdòu into milk and curdling it with a coagulant. Zhao Xuemin’s Běncǎo Gāngmù Shíyí records:

「Tofu: flavor sweet, nature cool. Clears heat, moistens dryness, engenders fluids, resolves toxins, supplements the center, broadens the intestines, and downbears turbidity.」 (「豆腐,味甘,性凉。清热,润燥,生津,解毒,补中,宽肠,降浊。」) — Běncǎo Gāngmù Shíyí, Scroll 8

Tofu’s nature is cooler than that of dàdòu itself: dàdòu is sweet and level, but tofu is sweet and cool, because, after the milk is ground and curdled with a coagulant, its heat-clearing and dryness-moistening power increases.

Wang Shixiong’s Suíxī Jū Yǐnshí Pǔ likewise records:

「Tofu: sweet, cool. Clears heat, moistens dryness, engenders fluids, resolves toxins, supplements the center, broadens the intestines, and downbears turbidity.」 (「豆腐,甘,凉。清热,润燥,生津,解毒,补中,宽肠,降浊。」)

2. Soy Milk

Soy milk is obtained by soaking dàdòu in water, grinding it into a slurry, and boiling it; its nature is sweet and level; it nourishes the stomach and moistens the lung, and supplements depletion and moistens dryness. Huang Kaijun of the Qing, in his Yǒuyú Zhāi Yīhuà, records that soy milk “moistens the lung and supplements the stomach, clears heat and resolves toxins”.

3. Fermented Soybean (Dòuchǐ)

Fermented soybean is made by steaming dàdòu and allowing it to ferment; its nature is bitter and cold; it releases the exterior, eliminates vexation, and diffuses constraint.

Zhang Zhongjing’s Shānghán Lùn records the famous formula Zhīzǐ Chǐ Tāng (Gardenia and Fermented-Soybean Decoction):

Gardenia (zhīzǐ) and aromatic fermented soybean (xiāngchǐ), treats the state after sweating, vomiting, or purging, with vacuity-vexation and inability to sleep, tossing and turning, and anguish in the heart.

Fermented soybean is able to diffuse constraint and eliminate vexation; combined with gardenia (zhīzǐ), it clears heat and eliminates vexation, and is the representative formula of Zhang Zhongjing for clearing and diffusing stagnant heat.

4. Soybean Sprouts

Soybean sprouts are made by soaking dàdòu in water and allowing it to germinate; Li Shizhen:

「Soybean sprouts: sweet, level, non-toxic. Indications: supplement and boost the spleen and stomach, clear heat and resolve toxins.」 (「豆芽,甘,平,无毒。主治:补益脾胃,清热解毒。」) — Běncǎo Gāngmù · Section on Vegetables · Soybean Sprouts

(In fact the Běncǎo Gāngmù lists it under the “Vegetables Section” rather than the “Grains Section”; this is for the convenience of exposition.)

VI. Dietary Applications

1. Yellow-Bean Decoction

The Suíxī Jū Yǐnshí Pǔ records the yellow dàdòu formula for spleen-deficiency edema:

「Yellow dàdòu, cooked for food, fortifies the spleen and broadens the center; chìxiǎodòu (adzuki bean), cooked for food, disinhibits water and disperses swelling.」 (「黄大豆,煮食,健脾宽中;赤小豆,煮食,利水消肿。」)

2. Black-Bean Wine for Quickening the Blood and Dispelling Wind

Black dàdòu, parched until fragrant and steeped in wine, is taken to treat wind-impediment and spasm of the sinews. The Běncǎo Gāngmù, citing the Yánnián Mìlù:

「Black-bean wine: treats wind-impediment, quickens the blood, and dispels wind.」 (「黑豆酒,治风痹,活血祛风。」)

3. Soy Milk for Nourishing the Stomach

Soy milk is boiled and taken warm daily; it nourishes the stomach and moistens the lung, and supplements depletion and moistens dryness. Zhao Xuemin of the Qing states that it “clears the lung and supplements the stomach”.

4. Tofu for Clearing Heat

Tofu, boiled in soup or pan-fried, or combined with cōngbái (white part of scallion) and shēngjiāng (fresh ginger), treats stomach-heat, lung-heat, and intestinal dryness.

5. Fermented Soybean for Releasing the Exterior

Fermented soybean decocted together with cōngbái (white part of scallion) is the Cōng Chǐ Tāng (Scallion and Fermented-Soybean Decoction, from the Zhǒuhòu Bèijí Fāng), which treats the early stage of wind-cold common cold, with aversion to cold, fever, and absence of sweating. Tao Hongjing’s Běncǎo Jīng Jí Zhù records that fermented soybean “treats cold-damage headache, and alternating cold and heat”.

6. Soybean Sprouts for Awakening the Spleen

Soybean sprouts stir-fried plain, or stir-fried together with Chinese chives (jiǔcài), awaken the spleen and open the stomach, and clear heat and resolve toxins.

VII. Dietary Prohibitions and Contraindications

The prohibitions for dàdòu recorded in the various bencǎo are as follows:

  1. Raw dàdòu: The Shénnóng Běncǎo Jīng states that “raw dàdòu is slightly toxic”, and eating it raw causes nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea; it must be thoroughly cooked before eating.

  2. Overeating obstructs qi: Li Shizhen:

    「Dàdòu: overeating obstructs qi, engenders phlegm, stirs cough, and makes the body feel heavy.」 (「大豆,多食壅气、生痰、动嗽,令人身重。*」) — *Běncǎo Gāngmù · Section on Grains · Dàdòu

    Those with spleen-deficiency and exuberant damp should not eat it in large amounts.

  3. Children should not eat it in large amounts: Tao Hongjing states that children must not eat parched beans, “as it will obstruct qi and give rise to infantile gan-accumulation (gānjī)”.

  4. Caution when taking various medicines: The Běncǎo Jīng Jí Zhù records that dàdòu eaten together with apricot kernel (xìngrén) “stirs qi”, and eaten together with pork “causes oppression of qi” (cited in the Qiānjīn Yàofāng · Shí Zhì). In addition, the Běncǎo Gāngmù, citing Tao Hongjing, states that “dàdòu avoids the five shēn and lóngdǎn (gentian)”; this is a compatibility prohibition (“mutual aversion”), not an ordinary dietary prohibition.

  5. Those with gout or high purine levels should use caution: Dàdòu has a relatively high purine content; those in the acute attack phase of gout and those with markedly elevated uric acid should eat little or none; in the remission phase, soy products (such as tofu and soy milk, whose purine content is greatly reduced by processing) may be consumed in moderation. This is based on modern nutritional research, not recorded in the ancient bencǎo. Furthermore, recent research has also indicated that the effect of plant-derived purines on gout is far less than that of animal-derived purines; the folk misconception that “one must absolutely not eat beans” should be corrected.

VIII. Summary of the Bencǎo Schools

Dynasty Author Source Core View
Han Attributed Shénnóng Běncǎo Jīng · Middle Grade (《神农本草经·中品》) Applied to abscesses and swelling, boiled in juice and drunk, stops pain
Liang Tao Hongjing Míngyī Biélù · Middle Grade (《名医别录·中品》) Expels water-distention, eliminates heat in the stomach, disperses accumulations and bindings of the five viscera
Liang Tao Hongjing Běncǎo Jīng Jí Zhù (《本草经集注》) Discriminates the natures of yellow soybean, black soybean, and white soybean
Tang Sun Simiao Qiānjīn Yàofāng · Shí Zhì (《千金要方·食治》) Kills various toxins, stops pain, expels water-distention, eliminates stomach-heat
Tang Meng Shen Shíliáo Běncǎo (《食疗本草》) Governs choleraic vomiting and retching; yellow soybean kills various toxins
Tang Zan Yin Shíyī Xīnjiàn (《食医心鉴》) Detailed record of various dàdòu diet-therapy formulas
Five Dynasties Rihuazi Rìhuázǐ Běncǎo (《日华子本草》) Regulates the center and bears qi downward, frees the channels, counters the toxicity of mineral-medicinal drugs
Yuan Husihui Yǐnshàn Zhèngyào · Class of Rice and Grains (《饮膳正要·米谷品》) Fortifies the spleen, boosts qi, moistens dryness
Ming Li Shizhen Běncǎo Gāngmù · Section on Grains · Dàdòu (《本草纲目·谷部·大豆》) The great compendium of predecessors; discriminates yellow, black, and white
Ming Ning Yuan Shíjiàn Běncǎo · Class of Grains (《食鉴本草·谷类》) Fortifies the spleen and broadens the center, moistens dryness and disinhibits water
Ming Gao Lian Zūnshēng Bājiān · Chapter on Beverages, Food, and Clothing (《遵生八笺·饮馔服食笺》) Daily dietary nurturing with tofu and soy milk
Qing Wang Shixiong Suíxī Jū Yǐnshí Pǔ · Class of Grain Beverages (《随息居饮食谱·谷饮类》) Fortifies the spleen and broadens the center, moistens dryness and disinhibits water
Qing Zhao Xuemin Běncǎo Gāngmù Shíyí · On Tofu (《本草纲目拾遗·豆腐》) Clears heat and moistens dryness, engenders fluids and resolves toxins
Qing Huang Gongxiu Běncǎo Qiúzhēn · Section on Grains · Dàdòu (《本草求真·谷部·大豆》) Yellow in color, enters the spleen; black in color, enters the kidney

IX. Conclusion

Dàdòu — the grain of the spleen, the king of beans.

Its nature is sweet and level, its substance rich and substantial; it enters the spleen, stomach, and kidney, and fortifies the spleen and broadens the center, moistens dryness and disinhibits water, resolves toxins and quickens the blood, supplements the center and bears qi downward.

Yellow soybean nourishes the spleen, black soybean boosts the kidney, tofu clears heat and moistens dryness, fermented soybean diffuses constraint and eliminates vexation, soy milk nourishes the stomach and moistens the lung, soybean sprouts awaken the spleen and open the stomach.

Li Shizhen says:

「Dàdòu has several colors: black, green, yellow, white, and brown. … Use black dàdòu in medicine, yellow dàdòu as food; white dàdòu is not much used.」 (「大豆,有黑、青、黄、白、褐数色。……以黑大豆入药,黄大豆作食,白大豆不甚用。**」)

A bowl of beans eaten daily — brings peace and tranquility to the spleen and stomach.

Bibliography (Historical Classics)

  1. Han · Attributed, Shénnóng Běncǎo Jīng · Middle Grade (《神农本草经·中品》, reconstructed in the Běncǎo Gāngmù and Zhènglèi Běncǎo)
  2. Liang · Tao Hongjing, Míngyī Biélù · Middle Grade (《名医别录·中品》)
  3. Liang · Tao Hongjing, Běncǎo Jīng Jí Zhù · Dàdòu (《本草经集注·大豆》)
  4. Tang · Sun Simiao, Bèijí Qiānjīn Yàofāng · Scroll 26 · Shí Zhì · Prohibitions for Birds, Beasts, Fish, and Insects (《备急千金要方·卷二十六·食治·鸟兽鱼虫禁忌》)
  5. Tang · Meng Shen, Shíliáo Běncǎo · Dàdòu (《食疗本草·大豆》)
  6. Tang · Zan Yin, Shíyī Xīnjiàn · Dàdòu Diet-Therapy Formulas (《食医心鉴·大豆食疗方》)
  7. Five Dynasties · Rihuazi, Rìhuázǐ Běncǎo · Dàdòu (《日华子本草·大豆》)
  8. Song · Tang Shenwei, Zhènglèi Běncǎo · Dàdòu (《证类本草·大豆》)
  9. Song · Wang Huaiyin et al., Tàipíng Shènghuì Fāng · Section on Shí Zhì (《太平圣惠方·食治门》)
  10. Yuan · Husihui, Yǐnshàn Zhèngyào · Scroll 2 · Class of Rice and Grains (《饮膳正要·卷二·米谷品》)
  11. Yuan · Wu Rui, Rìyòng Běncǎo · Section on Grains (《日用本草·谷部》)
  12. Yuan · Jia Ming, Yǐnshí Xūzhī · Class of Grains (《饮食须知·谷类》)
  13. Ming · Li Shizhen, Běncǎo Gāngmù · Section on Grains · Dàdòu (《本草纲目·谷部·大豆》)
  14. Ming · Ning Yuan, Shíjiàn Běncǎo · Class of Grains (《食鉴本草·谷类》)
  15. Ming · Gao Lian, Zūnshēng Bājiān · Chapter on Beverages, Food, and Clothing (《遵生八笺·饮馔服食笺》)
  16. Ming · Gong Tingxian, Shòushì Bǎoyuán · On Diet (《寿世保元·饮食》)
  17. Qing · Wang Shixiong, Suíxī Jū Yǐnshí Pǔ · Class of Grain Beverages (《随息居饮食谱·谷饮类》)
  18. Qing · Zhao Xuemin, Běncǎo Gāngmù Shíyí · On Tofu (《本草纲目拾遗·豆腐》)
  19. Qing · Huang Gongxiu, Běncǎo Qiúzhēn · Section on Grains · Dàdòu (《本草求真·谷部·大豆》)

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