Classica Sinica Medica

蘭 简体 兰

lán

Lan · thoroughwort

Also rendered: Lan · thoroughwort (this site; 蘭 is kept in pinyin with the plant named, since the identification is the traditional one and not certain) · Eupatorium (the botanical name, where the herb is being identified rather than quoted)

Core vocabulary

Reviewed · 2026-09-30

At a glance

Pinyin
lán
Simplified
兰
Literal
蘭 lán — the one herb chapter 47 names, and it names it for a single job: to remove the stale qi. The illness has been caused by food, fat and sweetness, and the chapter answers with one aromatic plant rather than a prescription, which is the point worth keeping.
Shuowen
《說文解字》：蘭，香草也，从艸闌聲。「蘭」讀 lán、**本篇惟此一見**；**底本「蘭」从艸不从「兰」之省**；「陳」讀 chén、**本篇惟此一見**，**陳氣者，陳積之氣**。

In brief

Thoroughwort, the aromatic herb chapter 47 gives for the sweet mouth and the wasting-and-thirsting it turns into. Its work is stated in one phrase — to remove the stale qi — and the chapter’s choosing a single herb for an illness caused by eating is itself part of what it is saying.

Senses in the classical corpus

1
The graph 蘭
蘭草，香草之屬，讀 lán
治之以蘭 — Suwen 47
2
What it treats 消渴
脾癉轉為消渴，治之以蘭
轉爲消渴 — Suwen 47
3
How it works 除陳氣也
蘭之香氣能除陳積之氣
除陳氣也 — Suwen 47
4
Why a single herb 一味而效
但用蘭一味，除其陳氣，不取重劑
治之以蘭，除陳氣也 — Suwen 47
5
What made the illness 肥美之所發
肥甘厚味為之發端
此肥美之所發也 — Suwen 47
6
The cause behind that 内熱中滿
肥令内熱，甘令中滿，故氣上溢
肥者令人内熱 — Suwen 47

Occurrences in the classics

Passages where the term does real work, with the original, pinyin and English on the same line.

Display
1 passages
Suwen 47 Suwen 47 · 奇病論 Read in context →
肥者令人内熱，甘者令人中滿，故其氣上溢，轉爲消渴。治之以蘭，除陳氣也。 肥者令人内热，甘者令人中满，故其气上溢，转为消渴。治之以兰，除陈气也。
Féi zhě lìng rén nèi rè, gān zhě lìng rén zhōng mǎn, gù qí qì shàng yì, zhuǎn wéi xiāo kě. Zhì zhī yǐ lán, chú chén qì yě.
Fat makes a person hot within; sweetness makes the centre full. Therefore the qi overflows upward and turns into wasting and thirsting. Treat it with lan, to remove the stale qi.
**「治之以蘭，除陳氣也」——**「蘭」讀 lán、**本篇惟此一見**；「陳」讀 chén、**本篇惟此一見**；**「肥者令人内熱，甘者令人中滿」二句，為蘭草所治之證**。

Compounds built on this term

蘭
lán
thoroughwort
治脾癉消渴之藥
除陳氣
chú chén qì
removing the stale qi
蘭之用
肥美
féi měi
rich and fine food
發病之因
消渴
xiāo kě
wasting and thirsting
蘭之所治（另立專目）

How it has been translated

Every rendering below is a decision about which reader is being addressed. There is no neutral option.

This sitelankept in pinyin, glossed as thoroughwort, so that the reader sees a single herb rather than a formula
Unschuldthoroughworthe identifies the plant as eupatorium
Wisemanthoroughworthis system uses the same botanical name

Entry status

Review pending — who reviews this?

2026-09-30

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Reading path

Guided routes through the corpus, each built on a handful of chapters and their key terms.

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