Cheng Wu-ji:"[Gui Zhi] discharges running piglet, harmonizes the fleshy exterior, and dissipates blood amassment in the lower burner." "[It] disinhibits the lung qi."

Yi Xue Qi Yuan:"[Gui Zhi] removes headache from wind damage, opens the interstices, dissipates the exterior, and removes wind damp from the skin."

Ben Cao Jing Shu(Dredging the Materia Medica Classic):"In exterior repletion, [Gui Zhi] dispels evil. [It] mainly disinhibits the liver and lung qi, headache, and wind impediment joint and bone contraction pain."

Yao Pin Hua Yi:"By moving to the shoulders and upper arms, [Gui Zhi] can lead [other] medicinals to the area of pain. [It] also eliminates phlegm congelation blood stagnation in the joints."

Ben Cao Bei Yao(Essentials of the Materia Medica):"[Gui Zhi] warms the channels and frees the vessels, effuses sweat and dissipates the muscles."

Ben Cao Zai Xin (New Materia Medica):"[Gui Zhi] warms the middle and moves blood, fortifies the spleen and dries the stomach, disperses swelling and disinhibits dampness. [It] treats cold and numbness of hands and feet, cramping and pain, and exterior common cold."

Cinnamon is also known by the names Sweet Wood, Cassia and Gui Zhi. The parts of this plant used medicinally are the dried inner bark of the shoots, and the oil distilled from the bark and leaves. Cinnamon is an ancient herbal medicine mentioned in Chinese texts as long ago as 4,000 years. Cinnamon was used in ancient Egypt for embalming. In ancient times, it was added to food to prevent spoiling. During the Bubonic Plague, sponges were soaked in cinnamon & cloves, and placed in sick rooms. Cinnamon was the most sought after spice during explorations of the 15th and 16th centuries. It has also been burned as an incense. The smell of Cinnamon is pleasant, stimulates the senses, yet calms the nerves. Its smell is reputed to attract customers to a place of business.

Most Americans consider Cinnamon a simple flavoring, but in traditional Chinese medicine, it's one of the oldest remedies, prescribed for everything from diarrhea and chills to influenza and parasitic worms. Cinnamon comes from the bark of a small Southeast Asian evergreen tree, and is available as an oil, extract, or dried powder. It's closely related to Cassia (Cassia tora), and contains many of the same components, but the bark and oils from Cinnamon have a better flavor. Cinnamon has a broad range of historical uses in different cultures, including the treatment of diarrhea, rheumatism, and certain menstrual disorders. Traditionally, the bark was believed best for the torso, the twigs for the fingers and toes. Research has highlighted hypoglycemic properties, useful in diabetes. Cinnamon brandy is made by soaking crushed Cinnamon bark a "fortnight" in brandy. Chinese herbalists tell of older people, in their 70s and 80s, developing a cough accompanied by frequent spitting of whitish phlegm. A helpful remedy, they suggest, is chewing and swallowing a very small pinch of powdered cinnamon. This remedy can also help people with cold feet and hands, especially at night. Germany's Commission E approves Cinnamon for appetite loss and indigestion.

In China and Europe, cinnamon was a popular aphrodisiac and antiseptic. Often fought over, it was the reason for the Portuguese seizing Ceylon in 1505, the Dutch later taking the country from them, and the British grabbing it next. Today, cinnamon is grown in Madagascar, Africa, Indochina and Sri Lanka. When this large, subtropical tree is two years old, it is harvested twice a year for 30 years. Small amounts of the oil spice up Oriental perfume blends. Eugenol isolated from the bark oil is turned into synthetic vanilla.