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I had a close friend who, due to a lingering chronic illness, experienced extreme suffering. He lamented, "Entrusting the precious vessel of life, spanning a hundred years, to an mediocre physician," feeling deeply sorrowful and grieving at one point. Although time has passed and circumstances have changed, this thought never faded; it often floated in his mind, growing increasingly strong, even appearing as ominous omens in his dreams. This is what I call the directional automatic gain of intention (Yinian). At that moment, he suddenly awakened. He deeply felt that human life is rare and a hundred years pass quickly; one should restrain pain, work diligently, contribute to society, and benefit the people, rather than give up on oneself. Thus, his thoughts instantly shifted. From then on, he worked hard and energetically, maintaining a joyful mood, undisturbed by illness. Not only did his work proceed smoothly, but his health also gradually improved. This was entirely due to the power of blocking and reversing negative patterns; otherwise, the consequences would be unimaginable!

As medical practitioners, whether in clinical practice or daily life, when encountering individuals influenced by negative information, we should offer good advice, guide them, help them block these influences, and ultimately transform their mindset. Helping patients in danger return to a safe path and regain vitality brings immense merit. This may be called psychotherapy, which can supplement the limitations of drug treatment and is an indispensable part of the treasure trove of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM).

Fourth: It possesses individual差异性 (individual differences). Various characteristics of intention are related to factors such as the patient's own psychological quality, sensitivity, and innate endowment, varying from person to person with obvious individual differences.

Fifth: It possesses relative stability and plasticity. Human intention can change randomly according to mental activities such as spirit, consciousness, thinking, and emotions. Under conditions where there is no fundamental shift in psychology, intention remains relatively stable.

Regarding the actual situation of spiritual factors and intention in clinical practice, let us briefly illustrate using Pulmonary Tuberculosis (Feilao) and malignant tumors, which severely endanger human health and are difficult to treat.

Among patients with tuberculosis and cancer, even when observing those with similar conditions, constitutions, and treatments, the individual differences in prognosis remain significant. Apart from various objective factors, the subjective inner activities of patients' spirit, consciousness, and emotions play an extremely important role. In the 1920s and 30s, the terror and deterrent power of pulmonary tuberculosis seemed no less than that of cancer today. Chen Cunren, in his book *Tongsu Yihua* published in 1939, repeatedly elaborated on the relationship between psychology and tuberculosis. He advocated, "To treat or prevent tuberculosis, one must first eliminate worry and fear." Because "meaningless worry is sufficient to reduce the body's resistance, making the root of the disease deeper and harder to clear. Therefore, regardless of whether the ailment is seasonal pathogens, consumptive disease, external lesions, or internal disorders, continuous worry will inevitably affect recovery, turning minor illnesses into major ones and mild diseases into severe ones. I have seen many cases of pulmonary tuberculosis becoming incurable due to endless worry." "I once obtained statistics showing that five to six out of ten lung disease deaths were caused by worry, fear, and palpitations... To stop the rampant spread of tuberculosis, one must break the mystery of worry causing mistaken death." He also pointed out that "mental timidity can cause short-term death in lung disease" and strongly advocated "using spirit to control lung disease and psychology to eliminate stubborn ailments." Today, due to medical progress, tuberculosis is no longer an incurable disease, and thus fear has gradually disappeared. Conversely, a mindset not disturbed by illness greatly helps control the disease and restore health. The good results of treating tuberculosis today are likely not solely due to medication; the patient's spiritual factors are also crucial.

Similarly, in current clinical practices for cancer, the quality of the patient's psychological state directly relates to treatment efficacy and prognosis. Consequently, many family members conceal the diagnosis. Patients unaware of their cancer do not generate worry or fear, nor do they form negative feedback loops, leading to better efficacy. Conversely, patients who were effectively treated while ignorant of their condition, upon learning the truth, suddenly form intense negative feedback, causing their condition to deteriorate rapidly and plummet, with many examples of unrecoverable decline.

Benign intention can cause malignant diseases to disappear spontaneously. If you do not believe it, look at this example: A head of a local Health Association once told me about a gastric cancer case diagnosed by a local hospital. The patient was a male worker in his fifties, with low education but a strong constitution. Due to occasional stomach discomfort, he went to the hospital for examination and was diagnosed with gastric adenocarcinoma, still in the early-to-mid stage. Surgery was recommended, but he left angrily, believing he never got sick and how could he have cancer? Disregarding the advice, he continued working daily and took no medicine. Three months later, upon re-examination, the tumor had shrunk by nearly half. Half a year later, another check-up revealed the tumor had completely disappeared, and the patient had recovered. Having received no treatment, his recovery relied entirely on the strong, persistent intention formed by "disbelieving he had cancer," generating benign feedback information, allowing local Qi mechanism to flow freely, dissipating cancer toxins, and eventually achieving a cure.

Shanghai Television Station once reported on a Taiwanese woman suffering from this incurable disease who found no results seeking medical help in Shanghai. Later, she joined a unique "Cancer Patient Club" in Shanghai. Without any treatment, she interacted with fellow patients, supporting each other through hardships, cultivating her emotions and will, and living happily. With resilient intention and continuous benign information illuminating her entire body and mind, after one year, her lesions were eliminated, and her chronic illness vanished, returning triumphantly from the brink of death. How joyful was this!

Malicious intention can lead to malignant diseases. If you do not believe it, here is evidence:

Xie Wenwei's *One Hundred Cases of Successful TCM Treatment of Tumors*: "Facts prove that the occurrence and prognosis of cancer are closely related to spiritual factors. For example, many cancer patients have personalities prone to 'suppressing anger' or have histories of psychological trauma. Foreign scholar Lesh, after synthesizing 75 literature documents on tumor etiology and pathogenesis over 355 years, found that major life events affecting cancer onset generally occur 6-8 months before the onset of cancer. Green, through observing a large number of breast cancer patients, also confirmed that grief, sadness, and anxiety from separation or death often occur about a year before cancer. Domestically, some have investigated the psychological state of cancer patients, finding that 86% of the cancer group had psychological stimulation factors, compared to 15% in the non-cancer group. The intensity of psychological stimulation received by the cancer group was also stronger than that of the general group." From this, we can see that spiritual factors are one of the main culprits brewing this major disease, and also a panacea for eliminating it, depending on whether the patient can manage them properly.

Intentional information formed by spiritual factors, if stable and normal, assists the Ruler Organ (Heart) so that "Spiritual Brightness emerges"; if unstable, it harms the self, disrupts Qi mechanism, and generates various diseases. Therefore, one must grasp its characteristics, regulate it effectively, use it to prevent and control diseases, and maintain health. However, the Five Emotions easily reach extremes, and Seven Emotions easily cause injury; waves rise and fall in the field of the mind. Thus, in daily life, one should strengthen ideological cultivation and psychological exercise, adopt an optimistic view of life, and strive positively. Then, "If Spirit is kept within, how can disease arise?" As Mencius said, "I nourish my Haoran Zhi Qi (Noble Spirit)." This is not merely for health preservation and longevity.

Analysis of "Body like burning charcoal, sweat disperses it"

The phrase "Body like burning charcoal, sweat disperses it" appears in *Suwen: Shengqi Tongtian Lun* and *Suwen: Yin-Yang Yingxiang Dalun*'s "Those in the skin, disperse via sweat," serving as the theoretical basis for generations of physicians using sweating therapy for exogenous febrile diseases. However, regarding the original text of *Neijing*, opinions vary slightly. Let us analyze as follows:

First. The phrase "Body like burning charcoal, sweat disperses it" currently follows "Affected by summer heat, sweating, irritability leads to panting and drinking sounds. Stillness leads to excessive talking." Interpreting the text, it can be understood as: Those affected by summer heat develop fever, presenting with sweating. When irritable, they pant heavily with loud sounds. If evil heat damages Yin and causes internal chaos of spirit, although the body is calm, there is excessive talking. Body heat is intense like burning charcoal; if resolved via sweating, the fever subsides. However, Ming Dynasty physician Wu Hegao moved the sentence "Affected by cold" before "Body like burning charcoal..." and annotated: "When humans are injured by cold, they develop febrile disease, hence 'body like burning charcoal.' The treatment method is to induce sweating for exterior conditions; when sweat is produced, the cold can be dispersed." Zhu Zhenheng and Zhang Qi followed Wu's annotation.

Second. Summer heat is a Yang-hot pathogen. At the onset, it presents with Qi-level symptoms. Although seeing "body like burning charcoal," one cannot "disperse via sweat." *Ye Xiangyan's San Shi Fu Qi Wai Gan Pian* states: "Zhang Fengkui said: Treat summer disease initially with Acrid-Cool, subsequently with Sweet-Cold, then use Sour-astringent methods, no need for purgatives; this is concise and accurate." How to understand "Initially treat summer disease with Acrid-Cool"? Nanjing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine's *Teaching Reference Materials for Warm Diseases* states: "Zhang Fengkui said 'Initially treat summer disease with Acrid-Cool'—Summer heat damaging Qi is formless heat, so treatment should clear Qi heat. The Lung is a clear cavity organ, calmed by Acrid-Cool. This is still the Acrid-Cool clearing heat of Baihu Tang, not an Acrid-Dispersing formula for inducing sweat." This view is correct. Ye Tianshi's original annotation stated: "If surface heat without sweat, Acrid-Cool light agents are not wrong." Surface heat without sweat indicates Cold pathogen binding the exterior, causing tight pores, definitely not Summer Heat Yang excess with open pores. Clinical reality shows that summer days are not entirely hot pathogens; many contract Cold. Although contracted Cold, the weather is hot, unlike pure cold in winter, so Acrid-Warm harsh draining agents are unsuitable; only Acrid-Cool light ventilating agents should be used. Thus, the statement "If surface heat without sweat, Acrid-Cool light agents are not wrong" is not the standard treatment for Summer-Warmth proper. If truly Summer-Warmth, sweating is contraindicated. Wu's rearrangement of the classic text indeed has profound logic.

Third. After the maturation of Warm Disease theory, for initial exterior syndromes where evil is in the Wei (Defensive) level (Summer syndromes belong to Warm Diseases but generally lack Wei-level symptoms, so excluded here), presenting with aversion to cold, cough, fever, no sweat, body ache, limb fatigue, predecessors created Acrid-Warm resolving methods. Although Acrid-Cool is the major principle for resolving exterior in Warm Diseases, at the initial stage of infection, emphasis must be placed on Acrid-Dispersing. Cool medicines should not be used too early or excessively, to avoid the drawback of cooling stagnation. Therefore, in the initial stage of febrile diseases with obvious exterior signs, Acrid-P neutral resolving methods are most commonly used. At this time, symptoms include aversion to cold and no sweat, so formulas like Congchi Tang or Jingfang Baidu San can be used to disperse exterior evil. However, Warm Diseases are essentially heat syndromes, often rapidly transforming into heat, presenting with heavy heat and light cold, or no aversion to cold but thirst, slight sore throat, thin yellow coating, and floating-rapid or slippery-rapid pulse. Then, Acrid-Cool clearing resolution is appropriate, using formulas like Yinqiao San or Sangju Yin. At this time, there is often slight sweat; as evil is expelled and disease recedes, sweat naturally ceases. Based on the above, although Warm Diseases involve heat pathogens attacking the body, during the initial stage of "body like burning charcoal," the method of "sweat disperses it" can also be applied. If the character "Summer" in "Affected by Summer" in the *Neijing* original text is viewed as a general term for febrile diseases, rather than strictly summer heat, then the sweating resolution method applies not only to initial Taiyang Cold Damage but also to the onset of Warm Diseases, making it more perfect.

Therefore, for all initial infectious diseases where the exterior is unresolved, whether Wind-Cold or Wind-Heat, one must use targeted formulas to resolve the exterior to achieve immediate success. Here are two examples to clarify.

Wind-Cold Example. The wife of my friend Mr. Xu, Qian Shi, caught a cold at the end of the Gui Chou year (1973). She suffered severely from headache, aversion to cold, and vomiting/regurgitation, accompanied by cough with much phlegm. She craved eggs, but vomited them shortly after eating. She had taken Western medicine and received antipyretic injections for two days, with temperature dropping and rising again. Her husband came to my home the night before New Year's Eve to request a prescription, demanding recovery within two days so he could visit relatives for the New Year. Asking about it, I learned she had never sweated since falling ill, causing whole-body discomfort. Carefully analyzing the symptoms, I determined this was an exterior excess syndrome of Wind-Cold exogenous invasion. I prescribed an Acrid-Warm exterior-resolving formula:

Perilla Leaf 9g, Schizonepeta 9g, Saposhnikovia 9g, Tangerine Peel 6g, Pinellia 6g, Apricot Seed 9g, Honey-fried Licorice 2g, Angelica Dahurica 4.5g, Platycodon 4.5g.

Since this was a tentative prescription, I instructed him to take one dose first and discuss further. Upon returning home, the friend measured his wife's temperature at 39.2°C. Eager for recovery, she consumed two decoctions within one hour, covered herself with thick blankets, and about an hour after taking the medicine, achieved whole-body slight sweating with moist skin. Her temperature gradually returned to normal. Aversion to cold ceased, headache resolved. The next morning, she ate two small bowls of porridge, stopped vomiting, though slight cough and fatigue remained. I advised patent medicine for follow-up, allowing him to socialize normally during the New Year.

Wind-Heat Example. Deputy Director Zhu suddenly developed high fever in Autumn 1986, reaching 40°C. His cousin, a hospital nurse, provided meticulous care with injections and medication. After two days, the fever did not decrease significantly, so he invited me to diagnose. Examination showed a uniformly red face, described as "Yang Qi constrained in the exterior." Breath was coarse and hot. Palpating the skin below the elbow revealed moisture and burning heat. Symptoms included headache, dry mouth, sore throat, and no obvious sweat. Pulse was floating, rapid, and forceful; tongue edges were red with a thin white coating. The syndrome belonged to Wind-Warmth exogenous invasion, so the observed symptoms mostly presented heat aspects. Treatment should employ Acrid-Cool clearing resolution. I administered Yinqiao San. After taking the medicine, he achieved thorough whole-body sweating, and after one dose, fever subsided and disease was eliminated. Formula:

Honeysuckle 12g, Forsythia 12g, Schizonepeta 9g, Light Bamboo Leaf 9g, Mint 6g (added later), Fresh Reed Rhizome 30g, Platycodon 6g, Raw Licorice 3g, Fermented Soybean 15g, Arnebia/Buddleja Seed (Niu Bang Zi) 9g.

Rice Oil Benefits Yin with Special Merit

Rice oil refers to the thick liquid formed when porridge is just cooked. From children to the elderly, everyone has eaten it repeatedly. Few know its merit in benefiting Yin. Rice is the primary item for health preservation, and rice oil is the essence of rice; its functions speak for themselves.

Zhao Qingchu's *Cuncunzhai Yihua* discusses rice oil in detail: "I treated a case of Summer-Dampness. The fever had subsided, spirit was clear, and the stomach was moving to eat food. Suddenly summoned urgently, I found fever, coma, and increased asthma. Upon detailed inquiry, it was due to eating three or four bowls of rice oil. I declined further treatment, and the patient died. Reading *Bencao Gangmu Shiyi*, it says: 'Rice oil can solidify hair follicles, and its merit in benefiting Yin surpasses Prepared Rehmannia.' Taking this upon initial recovery from Summer-Dampness, how could it not recur and worsen! Also, Mr. Yuan Liaofan said: In cooking porridge, the thick liquid rolling into a ball is the essence of rice, eating it best tonifies Essence. Also, *Zizhulin Danfang* for treating infertility due to clear Essence uses rice oil taken daily, adding a little refined salt, taken on an empty stomach, and the essence naturally thickens."

Zhao Qingchu's statement is concise and clear. He directly discusses the merit of rice oil in benefiting Yin from both positive and negative aspects. Little did he know that rice oil can also treat major diseases like tuberculosis, truly raising the dead and fleshing out bones. Early in my medical career, I heard a report from the leader of the Municipal Anti-Tuberculosis Institute. He shared his personal experience, stating that in his youth, he worked as a child laborer in a cotton mill, enduring over ten hours of heavy labor during the day and sleeping on a low, damp double bed at night, called a "Pigeon Coop." Food was scarce, clothes inadequate. Over time, he developed tidal fever, dry mouth, fatigue, poor appetite, and exhaustion. At night, he suffered night sweats, soaking clothes and bedding. Forced to seek medical help, he was diagnosed with "Pulmonary Tuberculosis." Unable to afford treatment, he resigned himself to fate. Fortunately, an old chef secretly told him: The thick juice of porridge can cure this disease. He instructed him to prepare a large enamel mug, secretly place it in a designated spot in the kitchen. Every morning when the large pot of porridge was ready, the chef would scoop full thick juice for him to drink secretly. This continued uninterrupted for four months. Night sweats stopped, appetite opened, and gradually his body became robust and spirit refreshed. Tuberculosis, which makes people pale at the mention and drop chopsticks at the hearing, and which TCM and Western doctors alike considered a fearful path, was miraculously cured by rice oil. Its power was indeed magnificent and divine.

Wang Qingren's *Yilin Gaicuo* states: "Blood transforms and flows downward, preventing consumption." Li Shizhen, citing *Yangsheng Jiyao* in *Bencao Gangmu*, states that Coix Seed/Japonica Rice can "unblock blood vessels, harmonize the Five Zang organs, and improve complexion." This shows that rice oil not only tonifies Yin but does so without stagnation. Rice oil is an ordinary thing, yet achieves miraculous merits in ordinariness. I hope readers do not ignore it because it is plain.

Initial Exploration of Deficiency Consumption (Xu Lao)

Deficiency Consumption (Xu Lao) is a disease of deficiency damage and labor injury, where long-term deficiency fails to recover. Since ancient times, it has been considered a difficult disease to treat. Today, with medical progress and stable lives, this disease seems rare. In fact, although typical deficiency syndromes are not common, many chronic and lingering difficult-to-treat diseases involve damage pathways. Examples include chronic persistent hepatitis, nephrotic syndrome, chronic uremia, aplastic anemia, tuberculosis, and patients with tumors having low immune function, which are too numerous to list. Their treatment methods can often be sought from the perspective of Deficiency Consumption diseases. Thus, researching "Deficiency Consumption" still has practical significance. Therefore, I venture to write this article despite my shallow knowledge.

I. Explanation of Name

"Deficiency Consumption" (Xu Lao) is an abbreviation for deficiency damage and labor injury. It has two meanings: First, it refers to disease caused by severe damage to True Yuan, with serious weakness of Zang-Fu organs, Qi, Blood, Yin, and Yang, but purely as a deficiency syndrome. This aligns with the meaning in *Suwen: Tong Ping Xu Shi Lun* "Loss of Essence and Qi constitutes deficiency." For example, Yun Tieqiao's *Feng Lao Gu Bing Lun*, Volume 2, "Deficiency Consumption" chapter states: "Deficiency refers to Qi and Blood deficiency; Damage refers to Zang-Fu damage. Long-term deficiency leads to damage, affecting all Zang-Fu." Mo Meishi's *Yanjing Yan* "Deficiency Consumption Discussion" also states: "If Labor injures Qi and Blood and they fail to recover, all can be called Deficiency Consumption." However, Deficiency Consumption in this sense is also called "Deficiency Damage" or "Damage Disease." This meaning should be the original meaning of Deficiency Consumption, which is why the TCM College textbook *Internal Medicine* takes this meaning for the "Deficiency Consumption" disease chapter. Jin Dynasty's *Zhou Hou Bei Ji Fang* directly calls it "Deficiency Damage."

The definition of Deficiency Damage, recorded in *Chinese Medicine Dictionary*: "Syndromes formed due to damage from Seven Emotions, labor/fatigue, diet, alcohol/sex, or failure to regulate after illness, resulting in loss of Yin/Yang, Qi/Blood, and Zang-Fu." This perfectly matches the aforementioned meaning of Deficiency Consumption. All subsequent mentions of Deficiency Consumption in this article take this meaning.