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Treatment for damage to the Spleen and Stomach Yuan Qi (Primary Qi) caused by irregular diet (overeating or fasting) and overexertion. The pulse is wiry, surging, slow, and when pressed deeply at the middle and lower positions, it occasionally presents a choppy quality. Symptoms include: fullness and oppression in the four limbs, pain in the joints with difficulty in flexion and extension; heaviness of the body, vexation and restlessness, fluctuating weight (sudden fatness or emaciation), lassitude of the four limbs, loss of taste in the mouth, inability to relax the abdomen, clear and frequent urination and defecation, or "drinking one part and urinating another" (polyuria after drinking), or constipation and dry stools, or summer diarrhea where rice and grains are undigested, or blood appearing after defecation, or white pus in the stool, chest fullness, shortness of breath, obstruction in the throat and diaphragm, thick and sticky phlegm and saliva, excessive salivation, regurgitation of food after eating, tinnitus and deafness, sensation of fire flowing in the eyes, blurred vision, redness of the eyelids, heat accumulation causing discomfort in the head and eyes, inability to lie down comfortably, anorexia. All these syndromes are treated with this formula.

Ingredients: Chenpi (Tangerine Peel); if qi stagnation in the abdomen prevents smooth transport, add Muxiang (Aucklandiae Radix) 1 fen; if not present, do not add. Huangbai (Phellodendri Cortex), wine-washed, 2 fen each. Shengma (Cimicifugae Rhizoma); this herb tonifies insufficient upper Qi, as the Stomach Qi and Spleen Qi sink, thus supplementing upper Qi by drawing Yang from Yin. Chaihu (Bupleuri Radix), 3 fen each. Renshen (Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma); remove if cough is present. Zhi Gancao (Prepared Licorice Root). Cangzhu (Atractylodis Rhizoma), 5 fen each. Huangqi (Astragali Radix), 1 qian.

If obvious heat and irritability appear, indicating steaming emission of ministerial fire from the lower origin, add Shengdihuang (Rehmanniae Radix) 2 fen and Huangbai (Phellodendri Cortex) 3 fen.

If there is tenesmus with empty straining, or a sensation of incomplete evacuation with constant abdominal urgency, this indicates Blood deficiency and Blood stasis; add Dangguishen (Radix Angelicae Sinensis, root portion) 3 fen; remove if not present.

If the body feels heavy, even with frequent urination, add Fuling (Poria), 2 fen; Huangbai (Phellodendri Cortex), 3 fen; Zexie (Alismatis Rhizoma), 5 fen; Cangzhu (Atractylodis Rhizoma), 1 qian. Use temporarily to resolve dampness, but do not use long-term, as the Taiyin Spleen channel is already diseased, and its pulse connects to the Heart, manifesting as vexation arising from the combination of Damp-Heat.

If Stomach Qi is disharmonious, add Banxia (Pinelliae Rhizoma), washed with decoction, 5 fen; Shengjiang (Zingiberis Rhizoma Recens), 3 slices. If cough is present, add Shengjiang (Zingiberis Rhizoma Recens) and Shengdihuang (Rehmanniae Radix) 2 fen to counteract the toxicity of Banxia.

If headache due to Phlegm-Jue (Phlegm-induced collapse of Yang) occurs, only Banxia (Pinelliae Rhizoma) can eliminate it, as this is caused by pathogenic factors of the Foot-Taiyin Spleen.

If none of the above symptoms are present, take only the preceding base herbs.

The above ingredients are chopped like hemp seeds, generally prepared as one dose. Boil in two large bowls of water, strain, and drink slightly warm, far from meal times. Maintain mental tranquility, avoid excessive speech, and the medicine will surely be effective.

In summer, add Baishao (Paeoniae Radix Alba) 3 fen.
In spring, if abdominal pain occurs, adding Baishao (Paeoniae Radix Alba) is particularly suitable.
If there is aversion to heat with thirst, or abdominal pain, add more Baishao (Paeoniae Radix Alba) 5 fen and Sheng Huangqin (Scutellariae Radix) 2 fen. If there is aversion to cold with abdominal pain, add Rougui (Cinnamomi Cortex) 3 fen and remove Huangqin (Scutellariae Radix); this is called Guizhi Shaoyao Tang (Cinnamon Twig and Peony Decoction), which can also be added to the previous formula.

In winter, if abdominal pain occurs, Baishao (Paeoniae Radix Alba) should not be used as it is a very cold herb; instead, add Ganjiang (Zingiberis Radix) 2 fen, or add Banxia (Pinelliae Rhizoma) 5-7 fen, controlled with a little Shengjiang (Zingiberis Rhizoma Recens).

In autumn and winter months, if the four pathways of the Stomach pulse are reversed by the Chong Mai (Penetrating Vessel), and the two pathways of the Shaoyang pulse under the hypochondrium ascend contrary to their normal direction, it is named Jue Ni (Jue Reversal). Symptoms include Qi rushing up to the throat, difficult breathing, audible wheezing, and inability to lie flat. Add Wuzhuyu (Evodiae Fructus) 5 fen to 1 qian, washed with decoction to remove bitterness. Adjust the dosage based on the degree of Jue Qi. Prepare as one dose mixed with the previous herbs.

If this syndrome occurs in summer, it indicates severe Heat. This disease varies in Cold, Heat, Warmth, and Coolness according to the seasons. It is appropriate to use Huanglian (Coptidis Rhizoma), wine-washed; Huangbai (Phellodendri Cortex), wine-soaked; and Zhimu (Anemarrhenae Rhizoma), wine-soaked, in equal parts.

Grind the above into fine powder, form pills with hot water, size of Sophora seeds. Take 100 or 200 pills per dose, with plain warm water, on an empty stomach. Drink plenty of hot water after ingestion. Shortly after taking the medicine, eat some food to prevent the medicine from lingering in the Stomach, allowing it to reach the lower origin to drain pathogenic factors from the Chong Mai (Penetrating Vessel). Generally, treating diseases caused by dietary irregularities and overexertion involves deficiency-fatigue and the seven damages syndromes. One should commonly use sweet and warm methods to balance them, with more sweet herbs and fewer pungent herbs, which is the therapeutic principle.