In this research， a comprehensive examination of historical materia medica， medical literature， medical books and contemporary literature was conducted to systematically compile and verify the naming， origin， geographical variations， quality， medicinal properties and processing of Tremolitum， and combined with the physical analysis of 15 batches of samples， with a view to providing a basis for the quality evaluation. The evidences unequivocally support Yangqishi as the rectification of name， while alternative aliases include Baishi， Shisheng， Yangjushi and Yangshi. The primary source of Tremolitum has been the silicate hornblende mineral tremolite throughout recorded history， and its accompanied minerals are mainly chlorite， talc schist， anthophyllite asbestos， etc. In ancient times， the main production area of Tremolitum was situated in the "Yaoshan Mountain" region of Jinan， Shandong province. Presently， it is primarily produced in Hubei， Henan， Shanxi， Hebei and Shandong provinces. The ancient quality evaluation of Tremolitum includes "white color"， "wolf teeth"， "cloud head and rain foot"， "heron hair"， etc. While， modern materia medica mostly evaluates its quality in terms of color， luster and texture， including the characteristics of needle bundle， grayish-white， glossy and easy to be twisted and crushed. Tremolitum is slightly warm， non-toxic， and possesses a salty taste. It is associated with the kidney meridian， known for its benefits in nourishing the fire of the gate of life， warming the kidneys and strengthening the Yang. Common processing methods include fire calcination， elutriation， and processing with wine. Additionally， there is an exclusive processing method known as the "ascending Tremolitum method". Through the X-ray diffraction（XRD） analysis， the commercially available Tremolitum is mainly composed of tremolite［Ca₂Mg₅（Si₄O₁₁）₂（OH）₂］， and the accompanied minerals are calcite and quartz， etc. Its color includes white， light gray， light green and so on， and it is weight and soft texture， irregular cross-section， with obvious fibrous texture and mostly glassy luster. Among the commercially available Tremolitum， samples with high content of tremolite are characterized by high quality features， such as "white color"， "heron hair" and "ease of tearing". Also， Tremolitum is the Fe-bearing heterogeneous species of tremolite， and the two are often symbiotic. Therefore， by the herbal textual research and the comparison of the properties and composition of Tremolitum and its similar species， it has been verified that the primary source of Tremolitum is the silicate hornblende minerals tremolite and actinolite.

In this paper， we systematically sorted out and verified the name， origin， producing area change， quality， efficacy and processing of Halloysitum Rubrum by consulting materia medica， medical books， prescription books from past dynasties， and modern literature， and combined with the comprehensive analysis of trait identification， hygroscopicity measurement and X-ray diffraction（XRD） detection， in order to provide a basis for understanding the original source of the mineral medicine. The results indicated that Halloysitum Rubrum was first contained in the Shennong Bencaojing， it had been consistently named Chishizhi， there were also aliases such as Chifu， Hongxinshi and Chiyouzhi. The description of Halloysitum Rubrum in ancient materia medica aligns with modern findings， categorizing it under the silicate kaolinite family， specifically polyhydrous kaolinite， with associated minerals mainly being dickite， nacrite， hematite， gibbsite， mica， etc. Historically， the production area of Halloysitum Rubrum was mainly located in the Qinling Mountains， Shandong and Henan， and is now primarily distributed in most parts of China， including Henan， Hubei and other provinces. Quality evaluation in ancient times included descriptions like "fresh and greasy color"， "delicately sticky tongue and lips" and "smooth as fat". Modern materia medica mostly evaluates its quality based on color， luster， texture and hygroscopicity， noting characteristics such as red color， smoothness， delicacy， softness and strong viscosity. Halloysitum Rubrum is sweet， sour and pungent in flavor， warm in nature， non-toxic， and belongs to the heart and large intestine meridians. It acts as an astringent and solidifying agent， particularly useful in the treatment of long-term dysentery and diarrhea， common processing methods include fire calcination， water flying， and vinegar quenching. Comprehensive analysis of the traits， XRD and humidity absorption of different batches of samples showed that the commercially available Halloysitum Rubrum is mainly bright red or brownish red， with a smooth surface like grease， soft and smooth texture， delicate cross-sectional texture， and some have waxy luster and strong water absorption. It is mainly composed of 10 Å（1 Å=0.1 nm） polyhydric kaolinite， and is often accompanied by 7 Å polyhydric kaolinite， nacrite， etc. Genuine products tend to have higher moisture absorption than counterfeit ones， which can be used as a key indicator to distinguish the authenticity. The quality evaluation of Halloysitum Rubrum aligns with historical materia medica， where "fresh color， delicate and greasy lips" could serve as a key feature for its quality evaluation.

Aiming to provide the foundation for the quality evaluation， in this paper， a comprehensive examination of historical materia medica， medical books and modern literature was conducted to systematically compile and verify the naming， origin and quality of Stalactitum， combined with the phase analysis of 20 batches of samples. The investigation indicates that before the Qing dynasty， Stalactitum was often referred to as Shizhongru， and there are other aliases such as Xuzhong， Xiashi and Huangshisha. In addition， there are some homologous mixed names such as Konggongnie， Yinnie， Ruchuang， Ruhua， but Zhongrushi is more commonly used. The descriptions of Stalactitum in ancient materia medica align with modern carbonate mineral calcite， slightly conical or cylindrical in shape， mostly white， grey and yellow in colour， often with a hole in the centre， and has a calcium carbonate content of 95% or more. Historical quality assessments include phrases such as gooseneck tube， cicada wing， bright and white， and brightness， the gloss is the most crucial feature. Modern evaluations encompass features like white color， hollow interior， brightness， multiple layers of patterns， and cross-sectional mask spark-like luminosity. Under the scanning electron microscope， Stalactitum showed obvious layered characteristics and uniform particle size， while the OS Balanophylliae was irregular. By comparing the characteristics and micro-features of Stalactitum from different batches， along with X-ray diffraction（XRD） and determination of calcium carbonate， the phase composition of different batches of Stalactitum was roughly similar， all of them were dominated by calcite， with magnesium calcite as an additional ingredient， the content of CaCO₃ was relatively higher for those with brightness and a lot of spark-like luminosity， which were key features of its quality evaluation， the white color could be used as a quality reference， and layered patterns and papillary bulge could be used as a medicinal material identification feature， which were basically consistent with the results of herbal textual research. This study can provide a reference for the quality evaluation of mineral medicines， and can better guide their clinical use and rational utilization of resources.