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The *Huangdi Neijing* (Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon), in its eighteen volumes, never mentions "short phrases" or "evil spirits/demon possession." What it refers to as "when pathogenic factors are abundant, there is excess" points to the Six Excesses (Wind, Cold, Summerheat, Dampness, Dryness, Fire), not the gods, ghosts, or monsters believed in by the secular world.

Zhu Danxi said: Deficiency syndromes and Phlegm syndromes resemble demon possession. This is because the Shen Spirit (Spirit/Mind) has already declined and become deficient, allowing pathogens to enter opportunistically; both Blood and Qi are depleted, while Phlegm lingers in the Middle Jiao (Middle Burner), obstructing the ascending and descending of Qi mechanism, rendering organ functions unable to operate normally. Consequently, the Twelve Officials (referring to the Zang-Fu organs) each lose their duties, and acts of seeing, hearing, speaking, and moving all become illusory and false. If treated with methods to expel demons, the patient will certainly die.

Some cases arise from excessive rumination and emotional stagnation, leading to a deficiency of the True Spirit within the Heart-Mind. When utilizing Jing-Qi (Essence-Qi), it becomes concentrated in one Zang organ. This is what is meant by "pathogenic factors are abundant, resulting in excess." Thus, the person exhibits strength far greater than usual, suffers from mania for a long time without fatigue, feels startled and vigilant like a fool, appearing as if possessed by a ghost or evil spirit. Or, in cases of Yangming Fu-Excess Syndrome (Excess Heat in the Stomach and Intestines), the patient climbs on roofs and sings, discards clothes and runs around, kills people without avoiding fire or water, and curses without distinguishing between relatives and strangers. These are all symptoms of the disturbance of the Shen Spirit.

In ancient times, there was the Zhu You department (a branch of medicine involving incantations and psychological healing), and treatments using Longshu Mantras. These were all methods of shifting emotions and altering Qi for protection, capable only of resolving doubts and confusion, thereby guiding the Shen Spirit back to orthodoxy. How could there be any demons to expel!

Although deep valleys are dark and yin, often inhabited by ape spirits and fox monsters; houses occupied for long periods may harbor resentful ghosts and sorrowful souls; plants and trees that have existed for ages may become spirits causing harm; chickens and dogs old enough may also become demonic. However, these pathogens must enter due to internal deficiency. Generally, when Zheng Qi (Upright/Healthy Qi) is weak, the Qi of the Yangming channel is insufficient to overcome these hidden pathogens, and they must lodge in the body due to mental states. If evil thoughts arise, the chaotic Shen is precisely sufficient to attract similar entities; or if fear is profound, suspicious thoughts are precisely sufficient to confuse the mind. This leads to sallow complexion and emaciation, or unprovoked cursing, or lethargy and drowsiness, or disordered speech, or abnormal preferences, or prolonged refusal of food while facial expression remains unchanged, or critical condition nearing death yet suddenly recovering strength, or delusional predictions of fortune and misfortune that prove accurate, or screaming and striking with unusual ferocity, or pulse differences between left and right wrists as if from two different people, or a single pulse varying in depth and force, sometimes rapid and sometimes slow, sometimes large and sometimes small, sometimes choppy or knotted, sometimes slippery or full. Whenever encountering such symptoms, the primary treatment should be tonifying deficiency and calming the Shen, with expelling demons as an adjunct. For those with Phlegm, use emesis or resolution methods; for those with accumulation, use purgation. Treat externally with incantations and moxibustion, and awaken the mind with sincere words and logical arguments. There would be no case that does not heal. If one panics and lacks direction, relying solely on attacking methods, not only will the disease not be removed...

The Five Zang organs store Hun (Ethereal Soul), Po (Corporeal Soul), Shen (Spirit), Yi (Intellect), and Zhi (Will). When the Five Zang are harmonious, what they store remains secure; when Qi and Blood are harmonious, what illness would there be? If there is excessive thinking, excessive anger, excessive fright, excessive grief, or excessive depression, causing an imbalance among the Seven Emotions (Joy, Anger, Worry, Pensiveness, Sorrow, Fear, Fright), the Five Zang lose harmony, and diseases of bias/harm arise. The *Classic* says: "When pathogenic factors are abundant, there is excess," which causes the onset of disease. Climbing over walls or onto roofs, with strong power and no fatigue, indicates excess. As recovery approaches, fatigue appears, and sleep becomes possible. The *Classic* states: "When Upper Qi is depleted, there is deficiency." However, investigating the source, all stem from the decline of Qi and Blood and the weakness of Zheng Qi. Therefore, in cases of extreme deficiency, mistakenly administering cold and harsh draining herbs leads to deficiency, with deficient fire rising upward, causing uncontrollable palpitations. This resolves when the deficient fire returns to its source. Some women with inherent Liver-Kidney deficiency develop this upon conception and recover after childbirth. Some children suffer from congenital Heart-Kidney insufficiency or improper post-natal care during illness, forming this disease; once sexual maturity begins, attacks become more frequent. Observing these cases reveals the pattern of Righteous Deficiency and Pathogenic Excess. The treatment method, when pathogenic factors are abundant, is temporarily to clear and purge to weaken the pathogen, following the intent of "depriving food" in the *Neijing*. Once slightly relieved, one must cultivate the root Yuan Qi and harmonize Qi and Blood. If one merely engages in destructive/draining therapies, not only will mania be difficult to cure, but life will also be hard to preserve.