Chi Sha Tang

Chi Sha Tang, literally 'red-sand sugar,' is a traditional Chinese preparation referring to unrefined brown cane sugar (Saccharum officinarum derived) decocted with cinnabar or red minerals in some historical formulations, though in modern usage the name most often denotes simple unrefined red cane sugar used as an adjuvant. The pinyin is not associated with a distinct medicinal plant of its own in mainstream Pharmacopoeia or Bensky, and any cinnabar-containing version would be a toxic mineral preparation. Given the ambiguity and historical variability, all plant-fields are set to null. The substance, where used medicinally, is administered within the TCM tradition primarily as a warming, blood-supplementing adjunct or as a vehicle for other medicinals.