Ginger is a yang-tonifying herb. Since ancient times, there has been a saying that "a man should not go three days without ginger." In the Song Dynasty, the poet Su Shi, in his "Dongpo Miscellany," recorded an old monk over 80 years old from Jingci Temple in Qiantang, Hangzhou, who had a youthful complexion. The monk himself claimed that he had consumed ginger for 40 years, which is why he had not aged. Ginger is also known by another name, "soul-restoring grass," and ginger soup is called "soul-restoring soup." Legend has it that when the White Lady stole the immortal herb to save Xu Xian, this "immortal herb" was actually a ginger sprout.
Ginger is pungent in taste and warm in nature. It excels at expelling wind-cold, transforming phlegm, and stopping coughs. It can also warm the middle jiao to stop vomiting and detoxify. The ancients called it "the holy medicine for those who vomit." Although dried ginger comes from the same source as fresh ginger, its properties differ due to the difference between fresh and dried forms. Dried ginger is hot in nature with a strong pungent character, excelling at warming the middle jiao to restore yang, and also has the effect of warming the lungs to transform fluid retention. Therefore, the properties of ginger juice made from dried ginger are also different from that made from fresh ginger.