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Humans are dominated by Yang Qi (Vital Energy), while Yin (Cold/Dark/Passive principle) is often in excess and Yang is often deficient. Physicians of recent times have advocated the theory of tonifying Yin, using Phellodendri Cortex (Huangbai, 黄柏) as the sovereign drug, with Anemarrhenae Rhizoma (Zhimu, 知母) and Rehmanniae Radix (Dihuang, 地黄) and other cold-natured drugs as ministers and assistants, taking them in quantities amounting to a dou, believing this can preserve life. Alas! This is erroneous. Who causes deficiency exhaustion, lethargy, drowsiness, vertigo, numbness and obstruction, various types of Jue (reversal) with upward counterflow, distension, fullness, and epigastric blockage? It is caused by the depletion of Yang Qi. Should we then assist Yin and consume Yang? The entire human body, including diet, sexual activity, dwelling, and movement, relies on Yang Qi. Yin Qi, on the other hand, follows the movement of Yang to govern the blood. Therefore, when human Yang is damaged, it should only be tonified and warmed. Once warming and tonification are applied, Yang will flourish, and all diseases will be eliminated.

The medical arts employed by physicians consist merely of emesis, purgation, sweating, and methods for releasing the exterior or attacking the interior; one cannot create a unique method for every disease. Nowadays, when prescribing for illnesses, doctors often use more than twenty ingredients, rarely fewer than several. How do they understand the core principles of Zhang Zhongjing and other famous physicians? I observe that ancients mostly used established formulas with minor modifications, changing no more than one or two herbs, and did not readily alter prescriptions unless there was a deviation from the condition. This precisely refers to situations where sweating, emesis, purgation, or resolving the exterior-interior relationship is indicated. Since pathological conditions are limited, so too are the methods of attacking disease. How can one arbitrarily exercise personal opinion and compose formulas at will? Drug properties have relationships of punishment, opposition, contraindication, and compatibility. If too many flavors are prescribed, their true natures become unrecognizable, causing significant harm. Thus, I desire that people thoroughly understand pathological conditions and strictly adhere to ancient formulas before prescribing.

Any item in a medicine cabinet can be used, provided it suits the condition. Modern physicians see mild drugs and arbitrarily add or subtract them, calling them the "King's Way" of medicine. People accept them because they seek safety without adverse effects. However, if a drug has a fierce or potent nature, they clasp their hands in fear and dare not use it. Those who use such drugs are accused of wielding "wild wolves and tigers," and people refuse to approach them. Alas. A carpenter cutting wood still selects an axe for its sharpness; why, in using medicine, do we choose dullness over sharpness? From this, we know that those who dare not use potent drugs are those who do not deeply understand pulse pathology and fail to comprehend the condition.

Shao Yaofu said: "A hundred diseases arise from emotions; if emotions are light, the disease is light." Which disease does not arise from emotions? Life is primarily governed by Qi. Excessive joy scatters Qi; anger causes Qi to rise; sorrow consumes Qi; labor exhausts Qi; fright disorders Qi; thinking knots Qi; desire tilts Qi; cold gathers Qi; heat leaks Qi. Diseases arise from these. Recognizing and regulating emotions reduces illness. If one clings to external objects without cessation, will it not bring harm to life? Therefore, gentlemen value preserving nature and not indulging emotions; this is the method for nourishing Qi and prolonging life.

When a patient's illness recedes but returns, or improves then relapses, it is because Yang is weak and unable to control the pathogen. Now, instead of nurturing Yang, frequent aggressive treatments are used. For heat pathogens, draining benefits may generate new heat; for cold pathogens, removing cold leaves the interior deficient; for stagnation, purging makes the stomach cold. Is it surprising that the disease recurs? Therefore, after the condition subsides, one must nurture the spirit, cultivate character, let go of worldly concerns, regulate breathing for a hundred days to generate Yang Qi. When Yang is strong, Yin pathogens cannot interfere, and old diseases will not recur. If the condition is slightly relaxed, engaging in social interactions and behaving as usual leads to recurrence, signaling impending danger.

My late father instructed: Yuan Qi (Original Qi) and Pi Qi (Spleen Qi) are essentially the same. When Yuan Qi is sufficient, Pi Qi naturally transforms and transports, further enriching Yuan Qi. If Yuan Qi is deficient, the Spleen cannot transport, leading to distension and the onset of Pi (mass/stagnation) diseases. I, being constitutionally weak, suffer from occasional Spleen ailments. Moved by my late father's profound teachings, I record this here.

In my youth, I suffered from Spleen ailments, experiencing distension immediately after eating. I pondered the cause until reading Li Dongyuan's treatise: "Qi gathers in the Spleen and cannot disperse, hence periodic distension." This confirmed the manifestation in the Middle Jiao, though I did not yet understand the treatment. Later, reading *Medical Supplement* on treating Pi: "Heat above causes internal cold coagulation and downward failure of Qi; thus, hot drugs should warm the Middle Jiao and guide heat downward." Also, *Postpartum Treatise*: "It is not Blood robbing the Heart, but insufficient Ying and Wei, untreated Middle Jiao, and Qi losing its foundation, rushing up to the Heart." Qi gathers and moves; Cold coagulates. Movement disperses disease; coagulation generates illness. Pathogens exploit deficiency, regardless of Blood stasis. Hence, Dried Ginger (Ganjiang, 干姜) is essential postpartum due to its pungent and hot nature. By warming Zheng Qi (Upright Qi) to achieve harmony, diseases do not arise. Comparing these, Li Dongyuan's insight on Qi gathering in the Spleen becomes clear.

Fuzi (Prepared Aconite Root) and Dahuang (Rhubarb) are feared and avoided by physicians, yet often yield results. Xu Beimen once said: He suffered from Pi diarrhea for years without cure. Zheng Danquan prescribed Zao Fu Wan (Jujube and Aconite Pills). Fuzi was boiled in child's urine, processed, powdered, and formed into pills with jujube paste. It was miraculous. Recently, Xie Doufeng took Zhike Dahuang Wan (Citrus Aurantium and Rhubarb Pills) two to three times daily, gaining mental clarity. Chancellor Zhang Lushan advised against it, but Xie's constitution improved. Whether a drug suits a person is beyond the recognition of mediocre physicians.

Modern eye treatments largely use cooling drops, unaware that eyes are the essence of Blood. Blood flows with heat and coagulates with cold. Ancients used Borneol (Bingpian, 冰片) and Dried Ginger for eye drops to scatter pathogens externally. The organ of vision must be free of debris; external hot drugs scatter pathogens, relaxing the membranes; internal warm drugs harmonize Blood, ensuring smooth flow. No eye disease is incurable. External hot drugs may cause pain, but they remove toxins—the proverbial "one labor, eternal rest." This argument is highlighted in *Medical Supplement*.

Eyes see through Blood; cold Blood coagulates—a simple truth often ignored. Neighbor Guan Lianyun's wife had red, ulcerated eyelids for years, resistant to treatment. Imperial Physician Wu diagnosed her, stating: "I know the cause." He prescribed strong hot agents. After a few doses, the disease vanished, and sight returned. Explaining: "This woman took too many cooling drugs. Strong hot agents dispersed the coagulated Blood, allowing previous ineffective treatments to work. This is a good method for eye diseases." Dr. Wu, forgetting her name, specialized in Fuzi, earning the title "Wu Fuzi."

Yao from Gao'an, aged thirty, suffered from weak Qi, barely surviving. He read medical texts and wanted to take Fuzi. Initially refused, he took it when critical, consuming about one jin (500g). He recovered and sired three sons. Now nearly seventy, he occasionally continues taking it without toxicity.

Old physician Gu Sequan, aged sixty-five, developed a large carbuncle on his back after extreme anger, black around the edges. Surgeons applied cold compresses. After seven to eight days, when debriding necrotic tissue, Gu observed: "Black edges indicate Blood stasis; adding cold drugs is wrong." He switched to hot compresses. The area became itchy, then bright red, swelling subsided, leaving honeycomb-like holes. Next day, nausea and vomiting occurred, and he saw double. Self-pulsing, he declared: "Extreme deficiency." Large doses of Shenfu Tang (Ginseng and Aconite Decoction) cured him without surgery. Alas! Medicine determines life and death; such critical cases require precision.

Gu Sequan stated: "Yin-type sores must use hot drugs like Tianxiong and Fuzi, raw, to revive the dying." He described Yin-type boils (e.g., neck carbuncles, hidden abscesses) with no pain, no blisters, and black margins as suitable for this. I believe distinguishing Yin/Yin sores is hard; surgeons often use cold, killing many. Hot drugs save lives; hesitation costs lives.

Zhu Danxi treated hematemesis and epistaxis mainly with Huangbai alone or combined with Huangqin, Lianmu, Shengdi, and Maidong, named "Nourishing Yin and Descending Fire." Critics argue: "Deficient Yuan Qi has no fire to descend; this is deficiency. Freezing the Spleen/Stomach destroys Yang. How can one survive?" They claim this causes chronic debility. I think Zhu's view isn't entirely wrong, nor are the critics' intentions bad. For such cases, use Zhu's method to descend floating fire first. Once inflammation subsides, remove stasis, then tonify Yuan Yang and warm Blood/Qi to conclude treatment.

My servant Guan contracted a cold syndrome in Jinling. Medication helped slightly, so he drank wine and ate rice. The illness worsened: rapid breathing, all-night phlegm expectoration, insomnia for three days. I said: "Critical. What to do?" We consulted a doctor and used Gouti San (Melon Seed Powder) to induce vomiting. Half a bucket of phlegm was expelled, followed by a brain-like clot. Within two days, he recovered.

Women often suffer abdominal pain, fullness, and stagnation due to Qi and Blood binding. Mediocre doctors prescribe blindly: tonics worsen the condition, draining drugs damage Yuan Qi. Treatment requires method. My father, serving in Changsha, treated Mrs. Zhang Biquan's Blood Gu (abdominal mass) with abdominal pain near death. He applied ginger, green onion, musk, and genuine Dragon's Blood (Xuejie, 血竭) to her umbilicus. Qi moved, and she healed. Another woman with Blood Pi (stagnation) failed multiple treatments. Zhang Xiaoquan applied a cake of Qi-moving drugs to her umbilicus for half a day, causing frequent gas release and resolution. For lower-body diseases, decoctions may fail; strategic topical application is needed.

Smallpox originates in marrow and viscera, differing from other sores. A fifteen-year-old suffered excruciating pain, feeling like iron nails piercing the body. Pediatrician Shen Xuming advised a nobleman with a single son: "Do not use medicine for smallpox; it harms life. Upper-stage needs no meds; lower-stage meds are useless; middle-stage needs support but success is uncertain. Better no meds." The boy recovered without meds, as predicted.

My sister, aged seven, passed pure blood due to dysentery during war. Doctors refused treatment. Vice-Commissioner asked if she could be saved. The doctor said: "Dysentery arises from Qi stagnation. Give Wanbing Jiedu Dan (Ten Thousand Disease Detoxifying Pill) to purge and unblock Qi." One pill failed; a second caused massive purging. She drank porridge and recovered. The pill's efficacy is miraculous, also known as Zijin Ding (Purple Gold锭).

Wang Dian, from Huizhou, lived in Beijing. Through Xu Nanhu, I knew him and verified his prescriptions. Returning home, he suffered intestinal bleeding with bloody stools. Doctors failed, and he became critical. Xu Nanhu summoned Wang. Wang diagnosed: "Not intestinal bleeding." He administered Huangxiao (Rhubarb and Niter) heavily, causing massive purging of phlegm and accumulation. I said: "Cured. Regulate and heal." The stool contained no more blood or stasis. This shows abdominal heat stagnation blocks Blood, forcing it out through narrowed intestines. Other doctors treated only the blood, failing. Xu Nanhu died ten years later.

I recall a book claiming "Dao Cang" (Emptying the Granary/purging) was transmitted from Western Regions, not Danxi's method. Perhaps disciples misremembered. For emaciated patients with accumulations, nourishing Righteous Qi removes accumulation; purging harms Righteous Qi. This is a warning. A famous scholar-doctor in Nanjing, skilled in Qigong, used this method for stagnation, purged excessively, died in the toilet at sixty-plus. Sixty-year-olds should not undergo drastic purging. Physicians must know principles, not just methods. Who understands the laws of waxing and waning?

A wealthy man suffered severe cold-Yin syndrome. Famous physicians gathered. Finally, Imperial Physician Wu was called. He said: "Only Fuzi can save him, but I forgot mine. Buy three heavy ones, slice raw, weigh three liang, administer." Other physicians secretly halved the dose to 1.5 liang. The illness resolved. Wu asked: "Why reduce my prescription?" Upon learning the reduction, he sighed: "With three liang, he would live three years; now only half a year." He died a year later. Pulse and medicine are divine.

Zhang Hexian, a famous physician from Jiaxing, orphaned young, brought his medicine bag to our region unknown. Yu Wenzhou Shuixuan had a Yang syndrome, thin constitution, group physicians helpless, afraid to purge. Zhang said: "Pulse is absent; purging kills." But Zhang felt the foot pulse, which was distinctively large. "Treatable." He administered Dachengqi Tang (Major Order the Qi Decoction); one dose cured him. Fame spread. Later, Inspector Yang Cai'an had similar symptoms; Yu recommended Zhang; cured again. Zhang became the top physician in Wu. Hundreds were cured, mostly using Dahuang. Known as "Zhang Dahuang." He took Dahuang pills himself, saying: "Draining South, Tonifying North." Died at ninety.

Qian Jianchuan studied hard, developed depression-induced illness: upper Jiao throat closure, middle Jiao blockage/distress, lower Jiao leakage/turbidity, eventually hematemesis, near death. Many doctors failed. Gu Aixing arrived. Examining others' treatments, he said: "Methods correct, but ineffective due to mixed symptoms and confused drugs. Treat separately: Upper Jiao - clear fire/detox after meals; Middle Jiao - open depression/remove food after meals; Lower Jiao - regulate Water/Fire on empty stomach. Few ingredients, few doses. All effective. Recovered strength. This proves enlightened physicians do not miss cures."

Taking medicine for illness is like patching a leaking boat; if the hull rots, oil is useless. Boats carry wood, not cabins; humans live by Qi, not medicine. People exhaust spirit for externals, wasting vitality on useless things, relying on medicine. This drills holes in the boat, sinking it. Senior Chen Donglao was indifferent, took human milk pills in his fifties, lived to eighty-five. Stopped medicine six months before death.

Processed Fuzi must be thoroughly cooked, otherwise carbuncles may erupt. Tong Nanheng from Wulin, aged fifty, sought longevity, trusted alchemists giving hot drugs containing Fuzi. Took 45 of 100 pills. Carbuncle erupted on head, he died. Fuzi's toxicity rises; poisoning affects head/back, often fatal. Drugs must be handled carefully. Tong likely took a mix of hot drugs, causing severe disaster.

People believe moxibustion is harmless, applying it indiscriminately. Some worsen and die. Those with internal cold/fullness or robust bodies suit moxibustion. Weak, emaciated people should not receive fire therapy. Fire therapy consumes Blood. Do not moxa: deficiency, weakness, floating pulse, faint-rapid pulse, dampness with body pain. Without discernment, danger is imminent.

Popular belief says smelling flowers causes consumption (TB). I tested this. Morning, seeing Mimosa buds opening, I saw tiny black insects inside. When fully open, insects gone. Sitting nearby, no insects flew out. How did they appear/disappear? Smelling flowers attracts insects, not fragrance. Intense fragrance breeds insects—unfathomable logic.