Fleeceflower vine, the vine that intertwines at night
Ye Jiao Teng, the Chinese name of fleeceflower vine, means “the vine that intertwines at night”: its tendrils seemed to entwine after nightfall. Tradition derived its use from this by analogy, one of the founding modes of thought in Chinese medicine: a plant that joins together at night was called upon to accompany the passage from day to night. It is the stem of a vine with reddish-purple stems, the many-flowered fleeceflower, harvested on its own in autumn after the leaves have fallen; its main regions are Henan, Hubei and Sichuan. A good cut shows three distinct layers: a reddish-brown bark, pale yellow wood and white pith.
Guiding Yang into Yin
In Traditional Chinese Medicine, fleeceflower vine is sweet and neutral: sweetness nourishes, neutrality disturbs nothing, and it adds neither Heat nor Cold. Associated with the Heart, which houses the Shen, and the Liver, which stores Blood, it owes its action to a formula that every text repeats: it guides Yang into Yin. In the evening, Yang, turned outwards during the day, must return inwards; the vine forces nothing, it accompanies this movement. It gently supplements Heart Blood and Heart Yin, and tradition says that the Shen rests in the Blood: it gives the spirit back its dwelling rather than knocking it out.
A supporting herb that reaches the network vessels
According to tradition, vines go to the network vessels, the finest branches of the meridians: fleeceflower vine travels through them and restores the flow of the Blood vessels. The texts nonetheless describe it as a supporting herb, moderate, which accompanies better than it works alone; a Qing author said that it “benefits without harming”. Its most famous pairing combines it with albizia bark, which closes its leaflets at dusk: one loosens what weighs heavy, the other nourishes what frustration has worn down.
Key benefits
A settled spirit & calm Shen
Sweet and neutral, fleeceflower vine calms the Shen by nourishing the Blood in which it rests, without weighing on the spirit.
Nourished Blood & a supported Heart
Through the Heart, which governs Blood, and the Liver, which stores it, it gently nourishes Blood according to Chinese tradition.
Calm evenings & the passage to night
It accompanies the return to calm before rest, helping Yang return inwards in the evening.
