Zi Su Zi, the seed that brings Qi back down
紫苏, Zi Su, reads “the purple that revives”: the tradition explains this name by the striking colour of the foliage and by the way the plant sets Qi circulating again. One plant yields three substances, which the tradition keeps distinct: perilla leaf harmonises and disperses, the stem harmonises and lets things pass, the seed harmonises and brings down. Both food and medicinal plant in China for more than two thousand years, the seed has never left the kitchen: roasted and ground with salt, it makes a condiment, and in Korea an edible oil is pressed from it.
Bringing Lung Qi back down
In Traditional Chinese Medicine, the perilla seed is warm and pungent, associated with the Lung and Large Intestine. The pungent disperses, that is the rule; but here it serves first of all to bring down. For the tradition, the Lung must send Qi downward; when Phlegm clogs it, Qi turns back and rises. Warm and pungent, the seed dissolves cold Phlegm and pushes Qi back down, and the chest regains its calm. A classic text sums it up: it descends above all, and by descending and dispersing at once, it cleanly clears knotted Phlegm.
The only aromatic that moistens
The second trait is rarer: all aromatic substances are drying, only the perilla seed moistens. The reason is material: the seed is oily, close to half its weight in oil. Through this oil and the same downward movement, it moistens the Intestines, and the tradition readily reserves it for older people and delicate constitutions. This is how it enters San Zi Yang Qin Tang, “the three-seed decoction for caring for one’s parents”. Roasted over a low heat until it pops, it is used in this form most often; it is lightly crushed before decoction.
Key benefits
Qi back in motion & clear chest
Warm and pungent, the perilla seed dissolves cold Phlegm according to Chinese tradition and helps set energy back in motion downward.
Moistened Intestines & easy transit
Rich in oil, it moistens the Intestines and gently supports transit.
Descending Qi & harmony
It accompanies the circulation of Qi according to Chinese tradition: one and the same downward movement serves both the chest and the Intestines.
