Excerpted from Bensky:  Chinese Herbal Medicine Materia Medica

• Warms the middle and expels cold:  for warming the Spleen and Stomach both in conditions of excess due to externally-contracted cold, as well as cold from deficiency due to insufficiency of the yang qi.  Also dispels wind and dampness that seep into the lower burner.*
• Rescues devastated yang and expels interior cold:  for devastated yang with such signs as a very weak pulse and cold limbs.*
• Warms the Lungs and transforms thin mucus:  because this herb warms the Spleen and dries dampness while simultaneously scattering cold in the Lungs, it is used for Lung cold with expectoration of thin, watery, or white sputum.*
• Warms the channels and stops bleeding:  for cold from deficiency that may present with hemorrhage of various types, especially uterine bleeding.  It is used in treating hemorrhage only if the bleeding is chronic and pale in color, and is accompanied by cold limbs, ashen white face, and soggy, thin pulse.  For bleeding, usually Zingiberis Rhizoma preparatum (pao jiang) is used.*