The Buddhist priest Wen Xiang was devoted to the art of nourishing life [this refers to the Taoist immortality practices]. On the 18th day of the 3rd month in the 7th year of the governmental period Yun He [thus, in 812 A.D.], he was on Maoshan early in the morning, and there, in the vicinity of Huayang cave, he met an old man who said to him: "You have the appearance of an immortal. I will reveal to you a secret formula [as suggested by the following story].

An ancestor of He Shou Wu, who lived in the district of Nanhe in Xunzhou, was originally named He Tie Ner and was later called Nengzi. He was born impotent [meaning, he couldn't bear children] and had turned to drinking wine. At the age of 58, he returned home drunk one night and was overcome by sleep while still outside. When he awoke again, he noticed on the field two shoots of climbing plants, which stood about 3 feet apart. The sprouts of these shoots were twisted around each other [thus, the original name of the plant, Jiao Teng] and then separated, three or four times.

Tia Ner considered this to be strange and that the plant was "speeking to him" of the love between a man and woman, therefore, he dug out the root of the plant and asked all the people in the village and the wilderness, but no one was able to tell him its name. Thereupon he dried the plant in the sun. A man living nearby was an excellent jester and said to Tie Ner: "You are impotent, you are old and childless. This climbing plant struck you as peculiar, now surely it is supposed to serve you as a divine drug. Why don't you take it?"

Thereupon, Tiener sifted out a fine powder of the drug and took it with wine. After 7 days, he suddenly recognized clearly the principles of human life. After several tens of days had passed, he felt unburdened and strong, and he could barely control his sexual desire. He married a widow named Cen and continued to take the drug regularly after that. He then increased the individual dose to 2 qian [about 6.2 grams]. After over 700 days, all of his previous complaints had disappeared, he regained his youthful appearance and begot a son. The people in the neighborhood were very astonished at this. During the following 10 years, Tiener became the father of several sons. He ascribed all this to the drug and said: "This was caused by the climbing plant. When one takes it, one can live to be 160 years old, and yet it is neither listed in the old prescriptions nor in the materia medicas [bencao].

He died at the age of 160 and left 19 sons and daughters. His son He Yen, who also took the drug, reached the age of 160 as well, and left 30 sons and daughters. Yen's son, He Shou Wu lived to the age of 130 by means of this drug, and fathered 21 children.
Yes, our tinctures and liquid extracts are made with alcohol.