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In cold damage (Shanghan) with a floating and slow pulse, where the body is not painful but heavy, occasionally becoming lighter, and without signs of Shaoyin disease, Da Qing Long Tang (Great Blue Dragon Decoction) is the primary treatment.

In cold damage with a floating and tight pulse accompanied by body pain, this occurs because the exterior is constrained by cold pathogens, leading to congestion and obstruction of the meridian qi. In contrast, here the pulse is floating and slow, the body is not painful but feels heavy, yet it occasionally becomes lighter. This indicates that the condition is not due to mild external cold, but rather an actual excess of interior heat. Verifying in other aspects, if there are no signs of Shaoyin disease, Da Qing Long Tang should be used to release the exterior cold and clear the interior heat.

Wind-pathogen diseases presenting with floating and slow or floating and tight pulses will inevitably transmit to the Yangming channel, as Ying (Nutritive) Qi stagnation generates interior heat while Wei (Defensive) Qi closure prevents its venting. Cold-pathogen diseases presenting with floating and tight or floating and slow pulses will also inevitably transmit to the Yangming channel, as Wei Qi stagnation generates interior heat while Ying Qi leakage prevents exterior closure (if Yangming Fu-organ heat is present, Qi steams and sweat is excreted, preventing cold from closing the pores). Wind-stroke typically transmits to Yangming; if the pulse is weak and minute, lacking Yangming signs but approaching Shaoyin, Zhen Wu Tang (True Warrior Decoction) is used. Yangming disease often transmits to Shaoyin; if the pulse is floating and slow, lacking Shaoyin signs but approaching Yangming, Qing Long formulas are used. By juxtaposing wind and cold, and analyzing their interwoven variations, the therapeutic principles are established with exquisite precision. In cold damage, both Yangming and Taiyin channels may present with floating and slow pulses (The Yangming Chapter states: "A floating and slow pulse with naturally warm hands and feet indicates attachment to Taiyin; after seven to eight days, hard stool indicates Yangming disease"). The floating and slow pulse in Da Qing Long Tang syndrome differs from the slow pulse in Yangming disease, which in turn differs from the slow pulse in Taiyin disease. Pulse methodology states: "A subtle and slow pulse at the Cun Kou position indicates substantial Stomach Qi; when substantial, food is digested and water is transformed." *Ling Shu: Jin Ye Wu Bie* states: "Interior heat causes the Stomach to digest grain rapidly, filling and expanding the intestines and stomach, thus causing the Stomach Qi to become lax." This laxity of Stomach Qi results in a slow pulse; therefore, a slow pulse represents Stomach Qi. To alter this clause to Xiao Qing Long Tang (Lesser Blue Dragon Decoction) syndrome is extremely absurd. Pulse methodology states: "Tightness indicates cold." In Xiao Qing Long Tang syndrome, both interior and exterior are cold, so the pulse must be tight; how could it possibly be floating and slow?

(Chapter 3: Pathways from Taiyang to Taiyin and Shaoyin)

The Da Qing Long Tang syndrome in wind-stroke involves external wind and internal heat. The Xiao Qing Long Tang syndrome in cold damage involves external cold and internal water retention. While both Da and Xiao Qing Long Tangs share the function of releasing the exterior, their internal approaches—warming versus clearing—are vastly different. Da Qing Long Tang can drain interior heat but cannot warm internal cold; Xiao Qing Long Tang serves to supplement what Da Qing Long Tang cannot achieve. Patients with cold damage may have exterior pathogenic constraint triggering latent water retention, or they may drink cold water due to thirst, causing water to remain undigested. Consequently, water-dampness syndromes are common. Using Xiao Qing Long Tang to simultaneously resolve exterior cold and internal water is an unchangeable method.