Edible–medicinal substance · on the official list
Black Sesame
Also called：胡麻芝麻
List entry
Three layers of annotation
Every item is written in three separate layers: classical text, folk custom, and modern literature. Nothing is guessed.
Layer 1 · Classical text Checked
Quoted verbatim with its source. No interpretation.
Original: 【释名】巨胜（《本经》）、方茎（《吴普》）、狗虱（《别录》）、油麻（《食疗》）、脂麻（《衍义》。俗作芝麻，非）。 — literal rendering: “Explanation of names: jusheng (Bencao Jing), fangjing (Wu Pu), goushi (Bielu), youma (Shiliao), zhima (Yanyi) — the popular form 芝麻 is wrong.”
《本草纲目》· 谷部第二十二卷「胡麻」【释名】· 明 · 李时珍（Bencao Gangmu, ch. 22, grain section, entry for huma, “Explanation of names”）
Original: 时珍曰：胡麻即脂麻也。有迟、早二种，黑、白、赤三色，其茎皆方。 — literal rendering: “Shizhen says: huma is none other than zhima. It has two kinds, late and early, and three colours, black, white and red; its stems are all square.”
《本草纲目》· 谷部第二十二卷「胡麻」【集解】· 明 · 李时珍（Bencao Gangmu, ch. 22, entry for huma, “Collected explanations”）
Original: 【气味】甘，平，无毒。 — literal rendering: “Flavour and nature: sweet, even, non-toxic.”
《本草纲目》· 谷部第二十二卷「胡麻」【气味】· 明 · 李时珍（Bencao Gangmu, ch. 22, entry for huma, “Flavour and nature”）
Original: 【主治】伤中虚羸，补五内，益气力，长肌肉，填髓脑。久服，轻身不老（《本经》）。 — literal rendering: “Indications: damage to the middle with wasting and weakness; it supplements the five viscera, boosts strength, grows flesh and fills the marrow and brain. Taken long, it lightens the body and keeps one from growing old (Bencao Jing).”
《本草纲目》· 谷部第二十二卷「胡麻」【主治】· 明 · 李时珍（Bencao Gangmu, ch. 22, entry for huma, “Indications”）
All four passages are excerpted from the entry for huma in Bencao Gangmu, ch. 22 (grain section), quoted as they stand and without interpretation. The passage under indications is quoted only as far as the part marked Bencao Jing; the section that follows, marked Bielu, is omitted. In this entry Li Shizhen rules that 芝麻 is a popular spelling and wrong, so the name to look up in the classical herbals is 胡麻 or 脂麻, and the black, white and red kinds all sit under the single entry huma. This layer has been checked: all four passages were collated character by character against a scan of the National Library of China copy of the Bencao Gangmu (vol. 31, grain section, ch. 22) and agree.
Layer 2 · Folk custom Checked
Who ate it, at which solar term, and how.
Original: 民间有「寒露吃芝麻」的习俗。 — literal rendering: “Popular custom holds that sesame is eaten at Cold Dew.”
《二十四节气之寒露 霜降》· 北京市园林绿化局（首都绿化委员会办公室）· 2023-11-20（“The 24 solar terms: Cold Dew and Frost’s Descent”, Beijing Municipal Forestry and Parks Bureau, 20 Nov 2023）
Original: 谚语说：「芝麻绿豆糕，吃了不长包。」 — literal rendering: “A proverb says: sesame-and-mung-bean cake — eat it and no boils come.”
《二十四节气之寒露 霜降》· 北京市园林绿化局（首都绿化委员会办公室）· 2023-11-20（“The 24 solar terms: Cold Dew and Frost’s Descent”, Beijing Municipal Forestry and Parks Bureau, 20 Nov 2023）
Both lines come from the same source page: one records a custom, the other a proverb. That no boils come is the proverb’s own claim — quoted, not endorsed. An earlier draft also said that in the north sesame was eaten around Cold Dew to mark the autumn harvest; no citable source was found for it, so it has been dropped and only the quotable lines are kept. This layer has been checked: both lines were read back against the source page.
Layer 3 · Modern literature Not searched
If no search has been run, it reads not searched.
No literature search has been run, so this layer reads not searched. It is never filled in from memory.
Safety notes unchecked
No particular warning is recorded for this entry. Being on the list is not a safety assessment.
How it is cooked at home
Black sesame paste
Toast the sesame, grind it to a powder and mix with hot water; or simmer it with glutinous rice into a paste. Little or no sugar.
Amounts are for cooking, not a recommended dose.
Solar terms
Review status
Draft · unchecked List data is taken from the official notices. English names, part used and safety notes have not been checked item by item yet.
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