桂枝(四两) 人参(三两) 白术(三两) 甘草(四两炙) 干姜(三两)
上五味以水九升。先煮四味取五升。纳桂更煮。取三升。温服一升。日再夜一服。
甘草(四两炙) 干姜(二两炮)
上 咀以水三升。煮服一升五合。去滓。分温再服。此即四逆汤去附子也。辛甘合用。专复胸中之阳气。其夹食夹
阴面赤足冷发热喘咳腹。痛便滑。外内合邪。难于发散。或寒药伤胃。合用理中。不便参术者。并宜服之。真胃虚挟寒
之圣剂也。若夫脉沉长冷呕吐自利。虽无厥逆。仍属四逆汤证矣。
乌梅(三百个) 黄连(一斤) 黄柏(六两) 干姜(十两) 附子(六枚炮) 蜀椒(四两熬去汗) 桂枝(六
两) 细辛(六两) 人参(六两) 当归(四两)
上十味异捣筛。合治之。以苦酒渍乌梅一宿。去核蒸之。五升米下。饭熟捣成泥和药令相下。纳臼中。与蜜杵二千
下。丸如梧桐子。大先食饮服十丸。日三服。稍加至二十丸。禁生冷滑物多食等。
按乌梅丸。主胃气虚而寒热错杂之邪积于胸中所以蛔不安。而时时上攻。故仍用寒热错杂之味治之。方中乌梅之酸
以开胃蜀椒之辛以泄滞。连柏之苦以降气。盖蛔闻酸则定。见辛则伏。遇苦则下也。其他参归以补中气之虚寒。姜附以
温胸中之寒饮。若无饮则不呕逆。蛔亦不上矣。辛桂以祛陷内之热邪。若无热邪。虽有寒饮。亦不致于呕逆。若不呕逆。
则胃气总虚。亦不致于蛔厥矣。
Cinnamon Twig (Si Liang) Ren Shen (San Liang) Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma (San Liang) Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma (Si Liang, processed with honey) Zingiberis Rhizoma (San Liang)
Take the above five herbs. Add nine sheng of water. First decoct the first four herbs to obtain five sheng of liquid. Then add Cinnamon Twig and continue decocting to obtain three sheng of liquid. Take one sheng warm. Administer twice during the day and once at night.
Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma (Si Liang, processed with honey) Zingiberis Rhizoma (Liang, processed by roasting)
Chop the above two herbs. Add three sheng of water. Decoct until one sheng and five he remain. Strain the dregs. Divide into two doses and take warm. This is Si Ni Tang (Four Counterflow Decoction) without Aconiti Lateralis Radix Praeparata. The combination of acrid and sweet flavors specifically restores the yang qi in the chest. For patients with concurrent food stagnation and yin cold presenting with facial redness, cold feet, fever, wheezing and cough, abdominal pain, and loose stools, where external and internal pathogens combine making it difficult to disperse, or for those whose stomach qi has been injured by cold-natured medicines requiring the use of Li Zhong Tang but are unsuitable for Ren Shen (Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma) and Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma, this formula is suitable. It is a supreme remedy for true stomach deficiency with cold accumulation. If the pulse is deep, long, and cold, accompanied by vomiting and spontaneous diarrhea, even without limb coldness (Jue Ni), it still belongs to the syndrome of Si Ni Tang (Four Counterflow Decoction).
Mume Fructus (Three Hundred Pieces) Coptidis Rhizoma (Yi Jin) Phellodendri Cortex (Liu Liang) Zingiberis Rhizoma (Shi Liang) Aconiti Lateralis Radix Praeparata (Liu Mei, processed by roasting) Schisandrae Chinensis Fructus? No, Sichuan Pepper (Si Liang, boiled until moisture evaporates) Cinnamon Twig (Liu Liang) Asari Radix et Rhizoma (Liu Liang) Ren Shen (Liu Liang) Angelicae Sinensis Radix (Si Liang)
The above ten herbs are separately pounded and sifted, then mixed. Soak Mume Fructus (Wu Mei) in vinegar overnight, remove pits, and steam. Place over five sheng of rice. When the rice is cooked, pound into a paste, mix with the herb powders, place in a mortar, and pound with honey for two thousand strikes. Form pills the size of paulownia seeds. Take ten pills before meals with drink, three times daily, gradually increasing to twenty pills. Avoid raw, cold, slippery foods, and overeating.
Commentary: Wu Mei Wan (Mume Pill) treats stomach qi deficiency with complex cold-heat pathogens accumulating in the chest, causing intestinal roundworms (Hui Chong) to feel uneasy and attack upward frequently. Therefore, herbs with complex cold-heat properties are used. The sour flavor of Mume Fructus (Wu Mei) opens the stomach; the acrid flavor of Sichuan Pepper (Shu Jiao) disperses stagnation; the bitter flavors of Coptidis Rhizoma (Huang Lian) and Phellodendri Cortex (Huang Bo) direct qi downward. Generally, roundworms settle upon tasting sour, subside upon seeing acrid, and descend upon encountering bitter. Ren Shen (Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma) and Angelicae Sinensis Radix (Dang Gui) tonify the deficiency-cold of middle jiao; Zingiberis Rhizoma (Gan Jiang) and Aconiti Lateralis Radix Praeparata (Fu Zi) warm the cold-fluid retention in the chest. Without cold-fluid retention, there would be no retching or rebellion, and roundworms would not ascend. Cinnamon Twig (Gui Zhi) and Asari Radix et Rhizoma (Xi Xin) dispel heat pathogens trapped inside. Without heat pathogens, even with cold-fluid retention, retching and rebellion would not occur. Without retching and rebellion, although stomach qi is generally deficient, Yi Jue (Roundworm Convulsion) would not occur.