鱉甲 (Bie Jia) (Thin shell, carapace, grayish-brown to blackish-green, wrinkled, protruding grayish-yellow spots, 8 pairs of tooth-like protrusions on the left and right edges, 8 ribs on each side)

【Naming】

甲 (Jia)

 【Source】

Shen Nong’s Classic of Materia Medica, Middle Grade – Turtle (鱉)

 【Frequency of Use】

C

 【Botanical Origin】

Dried carapace of Amyda sinensis Weigma, family Trionychidae.

 【Appearance】

The complete dried turtle shell is oval or elliptical, 10-20 cm long, 7-15 cm wide, and about 5 mm thick. The back is slightly raised, grayish-brown or blackish-green, with wrinkles and protruding grayish-yellow or grayish-white spots. There is an inconspicuous bony ridge in the center of the shell, with 8 distinct transverse serrated joints on each side. 8 pairs of tooth-like protrusions can be seen on the left and right edges, which are off-white in color. The inside of the shell is off-white, with protruding vertebral bones in the center and 8 ribs on each side. The texture is hard and easily breaks at the joints. It has a slightly fishy odor and a salty taste.

 【Processing】

1. Raw Bie Jia 2. Vinegar-processed Bie Jia

 【Identification】

《Annotations to the Classic of Materia Medica》: “It is best to take Jia live and remove the meat.” 《Illustrated Classic of Materia Medica》: “Yan Yi said, Bie Jia with nine ribs is the best”, “The Jia from Yuezhou and Yuanjiang with nine ribs are superior”, “It should be green, nine ribs, many skirts, and weigh seven taels to be top quality.” 《Herbal Compendium》: “Green color and seven taels are best.” 《Essentials of Materia Medica》: “Jia that has not been boiled in soup is best.” 《Zhong Fu Tang Publicly Selected Effective Formulas》: “Bie Jia (must have nine or seven bones to be good).” 《Seeking Truth in Materia Medica》: “Bie with seven or nine ribs is best.” It is best to have large size, thick shell, no residual meat, clean and without a rotten smell. Small size, residual meat skin, and incompleteness are inferior. The similar product, Chinese softshell turtle shell, is similar in shape, but the shell is larger, the front end is truncated, and there are two small triangular holes. The rest is the same as Bie Jia. The Eared Softshell Turtle shell is wider at the top and narrower at the bottom, shaped like a “monkey face”, and the ribs on both sides do not extend or slightly extend. The Bie Jia shell is thicker, and the outer surface has obvious concave spots.

 【Identification Terminology】

1. Zi Qun (子裙, child skirt): Refers to the hard skin attached to the back shell, which is characterized by thick and soft edges forming fleshy fins.

 【Category】

Vertebrates