Dit da jow
Dit da jow (Jyutping: dit3 daa2 zau2; pinyin: Diē dǎ jiǔ) is a common Chinese liniment used as traditional medicine in the belief it can reduce the pain from external injuries.

Dit da jow | |||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Chinese | 跌打酒 | ||||||||||||||
Literal meaning | Fall hit wine | ||||||||||||||
|
Description
Dit da jow – thought to be an analgesic liniment preferred by martial artists – is made from herbs put in a glass or polyethylene terephthalate plastic jar and mixed with an alcohol, such as vodka or gin.
Typical ingredients
The herbs and other ingredients are typically coarse-ground, then steeped in alcohol (vodka or rice wine is common), sometimes with heat, and then aged.
Traditional ingredients
Traditional recipes may include:
- baji tian (morinda root)
- baibu (stemona)
- baidou kou (white cardamom)
- baihuashe (pit viper)
- baiji zi (mustard seed)
- baishao (white peony, Paeonia lactiflora)
- baizhi (white angelica)
- banxia (Pinellia)
- cangzhu (black Atractylodes)
- caowu (Aconitum kusnezoffii, a member of the large aconitum genus)
- cheqian zi (cooking plantain seed)
- chenpi (aged citrus peel)
- chenxiang (Aquilaria wood)
- chishao (Paeonia lactiflora, red peony)
- chuanpo shi (Maclura tricuspidata)
- chuanshan long (Dioscorea polystachya, Chinese yam)
- chuanwu (Aconitum carmichaelii)
- chuanxiong (ligusticum root)
- dahuang (rhubarb)
- danshen (salvia)
- danggui (angelica root)
- danggui wei (angelica root tail)
- digupi (lycium bark)
- dingxiang (clove bud)
- duhuo (angelica pub)
- duzhong (eucommia bark)
- ezhu (Curcuma zedoaria)
- fangfeng (siler root)
- fuhai shi (pumice)
- fuling (perenniporia)
- fupen zi (raspberry fruit)
- fuzi (Aconitum)
- gancao (glycyrrhiza uralensis)
- ganjiang (ginger root)
- gaoliang jiang (galangal rhizome)
- gegen (kudzu root)
- gouqi zi (lycium berry)
- gusuibu (drynaria)
- guileren (trichosanthes seed)
- guizhi (cinnamon)
- haifeng teng (kadsura stem)
- hong hua (carthamus/safflower)
- hua jiao (prickly ash pepper or sichuan pepper(?))
- huang bai (phellodendron)
- huang qin (skullcap)
- ji xue teng (millettia)
- jiang huang (turmeric)
- jiang xiang (dalbergia rosewood)
- jie geng (platycodon)
- jing jie (schizonepeta)
- kuan jin teng (tinospora cordifolia stem)
- li lu (veratrum)
- liu huang (sulfur)
- liu ji nu (artemisia)
- long gu (dragon bone)
- lu lu tong (liquidambar fruit)
- luo shi teng (star jasmine vine)
- ma huang (ephedra) or gui zhi (cinnamon)
- menthol
- mo yao (myrrh)
- mu dan pi (mountain peony)
- mu gua (quince fruit)
- mu tong (akebia)
- mu xiang (Saussurea costus)
- niu xi (achyranthes)
- pu gong ying (dandelion)
- pu huang (cattail pollen)
- qian nian jian (homalomena)
- qiang huo (Hansenia weberbauerianano, syn. Notopterygium incisum)
- qin jian (gentian root)
- qing pi (citrus peel)
- rou cong rong (cistanche)
- rou gui (cinnamon bark)
- ru xiang (frankincense)
- san leng (sparganium or bur-reed)
- san qi (panax pseudoginseng)
- shan zhu yu (cornus berry)
- she chuang zi (cnidium seed)
- sheng di huang (rehmannia)
- shu di huang (cooked Rehmannia root)
- song jie (pine branch)
- su mu (Caesalpinia sappan)
- tao ren (peach kernel)
- tian ma (Gastrodia)
- tian nan xing (Arisaema)
- tubie chong (Eupolyphaga sinensis, dried cockroach)
- tu si zi (cuscuta seed)
- wei ling xian (clematis root)
- wu jia pi (Eleutherococcus)
- wu ling zhi (mouse droppings)
- wu wei zi (Euodia fruit)
- xi xing (wild ginger)
- xiang fu (cyperus nut)
- xu duan (dipsacus root)
- xue jie (dragon's blood)
- yan hu suo (Corydalis)
- yu jin (turmeric tuber)
- ze lan (Lycopus lucidus)
- zhang nao (camphor)
- zhi ke (bitter orange peel)
- zi ran tong (pyrite)
- zi su ye (perilla leaf)
- zi wan (Callistephus root)
Westernized recipe ingredients
Some recipes instead use ingredients more readily available, such as:
- Arnica blossoms
- Blessed thistle
- Cinnamon bark
- Comfrey
- Ginger root
- Goldenseal root
- Myrrh
- Pseudoginseng
- Rhubarb root
- Sarsaparilla root
- Witch-hazel
- Eucalyptus oil
- Rosemary oil
- Boswellia carteri
- Boswellia serrata
Analytics
Detailed information on the bioactive components of dit da jow is limited, with formulations varying widely. One report stated the components vary considerably with brand and age, but those found included acetic acid, acetoglyceride, columbianetin, coumarin, rhododendrol, vanillin, chrysophanic acid, and salicylic acid.[1]
References
- Wayne Belonoha (2014-04-28). "Dit Da Jow: Scientific Evaluation of Iron Hit Wine". Wing Chun Illustrated.