Cinnamon Twig: Branch Morphology as a Channel for Communication of Qi Above and Below

Cinnamon twig is reinterpreted morphologically in this course. It is a branch, symbolizing transport, bifurcation, pathways, and the coming and going of qi. If cinnamon twig is viewed only as a medicine that releases the muscles and promotes sweating, its capacity to communicate qi between upper and lower, inner and outer, the Triple Burner, and Lung and Kidney is overlooked.

The “branch” of cinnamon twig symbolizes connection and bifurcation; its fundamental endowment is interpreted as communicating qi above/below, inner/outer, and through the Triple Burner.

Branch morphology implies connection. Cinnamon twig can communicate qi above and below and between Lung and Kidney, supplement the middle burner, and communicate qi through the Triple Burner. Descriptions in the Bencao Jing such as vomiting/inhalation, benefiting the joints, and throat impediment do not always map easily if one searches only for matching symptoms in Shanghan passages. But when one returns to Inner Canon physiology and branch-like channels, their common direction appears as communication through the qi pathways.

We separate the branch manifestations of cinnamon twig from its root endowment: benefiting joints and throat impediment are surface effects; branch-like channels and communication of qi between upper/lower and inner/outer are more fundamental. This also helps explain why the family of cinnamon-twig formulas appears across many bodily layers.