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The syndrome of headache has three types: one is Taiyang (Greater Yang) headache, one is Shaoyang (Lesser Yang) headache, and one is Jueyin (Terminal Yin) headache. The meridian of Taiyang ascends to the forehead, intersects at the vertex, and connects with the brain; above Taiyang, Cold Qi governs it; therefore, Taiyang headache is a pain caused by Cold. The meridian of Shaoyang ascends to reach the temporal region; above Shaoyang, Ministerial Fire governs it; therefore, Shaoyang headache is a pain caused by Fire. The meridian of Jueyin ascends out of the forehead and meets the Du Meridian (Governing Vessel) at the vertex; above Jueyin, Wind Qi governs it; therefore, Jueyin headache is a pain caused by Wind. Although headaches differ in being caused by Cold, Fire, or Wind, one must particularly observe the severity of the pain and examine its Yin-Yang nature. If a patient has other diseases accompanied by headache, the pain is mild; if the patient suffers solely from headache, with pain so severe as to feel like death, the pain is extreme. Whenever Yin Blood is deficient and Yang Heat is excessive, the pain is mild; conversely, when Yang Qi is deficient and Yin Cold is excessive, the pain is severe. For wind-fire headaches, if there is excess (repletion), clear and disperse them; if there is deficiency, tonify and nourish them. Headaches due to Yin Cold result from Excess Yin and Deficient Yang, which is what is referred to as "Yang Deficiency Headache"; such conditions cannot be treated without using Gui Zhi Tang (Cinnamon Twig Decoction), Fu Zi (Aconite Root), Ren Shen (Ginseng Root), and Bai Zhu (Atractylodes Rhizome). In the world, when physicians encounter headache syndromes, they immediately assume it is external contraction of Wind-Cold and administer dispersing agents; if dispersal fails, they gradually add cold-natured herbs, using either Xiong Chuanshen (Ligusticum Chuanxiong Rhizome), Fangfeng (Saposhnikovia Root), Jingjie (Schizonepeta Spike), Qianghuo (Notopterygium Rhizome), or Huang Qin (Scutellaria Root), Lian Zi (Coptis Rhizome), Zhi Zi (Gardenia Fruit), Shi Gao (Gypsum Fibrosum). If wind-fire headaches are treated this way, death may not ensue; but if Yang deficiency headaches are treated this way, death is certain. How can one not be cautious!

There is a saying in the world that the Three Yin meridians do not present with headache. Who knows that headache due to Yin deficiency, purely caused by severe Yin Cold where Yang Qi is nearly extinguished, results in no survivors out of ten cases. The reason for this is akin to the sun not shining on the sky but sinking into the sea, causing all directions to collapse. Man corresponds to Heaven and Earth; just as Heaven has the Sun, Man also has the Sun—the Yang of Jun Fire (Monarch Fire) is the Sun; just as Earth has the Four Seas, Man also has the Four Seas: the head is the Sea of Marrow, the chest is the Sea of Qi, the stomach is the Sea of Grain, and the Bao Zhong (uterus/lower jiao) is the Sea of Blood. The sun in heaven travels through the sky during the day and through the sea at night; the sun in man travels through the upper body and also through the lower body. From the head and neck to the Weili (tailbone area) is like the sun traveling through the sky; from the Sea of Blood to the Sea of Marrow is like the sun traveling through the sea. Current Yang deficiency headache occurs because Yin Cold obscures the sun, rebelling within the Sea of Marrow, preventing it from ascending to the vertex and nape to travel along the back, instead moving from Yang into Yin and traveling through the abdomen. Therefore, unceasing headache leads to vexation; vexation indicates the Sunlight (Yang Qi) rebelling in the Sea of Qi; unceasing vexation leads to vomiting; vomiting indicates the Sunlight (Yang Qi) rebelling in the Sea of Grain; unceasing vomiting leads to clouded spirit (coma); coma indicates the Sunlight (Yang Qi) rebelling in the Sea of Blood. When headache progresses to coma, it enters the extremity of Yin, like the sun sinking to the bottom of the sea. In heaven, this manifests as universal collapse and great desolation; in man, it manifests as the extinction of Sunlight (Yang Qi) and death. Not knowing the source, practitioners blindly administer decoctions until treatment fails. Some say Liver Wind enters the brain; some say Guest Cold invades the brain; some call it True Headache. Despite such theories, dispersing Wind and dispersing Cold herbs ultimately cause harm. Who knows that dispersing methods are not suitable for treating this condition, but rather cause damage. This insight is profound! The *Lingshu* (Spiritual Pivot) chapter on the Four Seas states: "Those who obtain smooth flow survive; those who obtain rebellion perish; those who know how to regulate benefit; those who do not know how to regulate suffer harm." Does this not refer to headaches caused by Yang Qi rebelling in the seas, where physicians act counter to the natural order, failing to treat properly and causing death?