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To treat **Lao Bing** (Consumptive Disease) of the Lung, where slight exposure to Wind-Cold immediately induces wheezing and coughing, with symptoms worsening in winter.

Sheng Huang Qi (Raw Radix Astragali, 4 qian), Sheng Shi Gao (Raw Gypsum Fibrosum, 4 qian, finely crushed), Jing Feng Mi (Pure Honey, 1 liang), Fen Gan Cao (Powdered Radix Glycyrrhizae, 2 qian, fine powder).
Sheng Huai Shan Yao (Raw Rhizoma Dioscoreae Hypoglaucae, 3 qian, fine powder), Xian Mao Gen (Fresh Rhizoma Imperatae, 4 qian, chopped; if fresh is unavailable, use 2 qian of dried herb as substitute).

Take the above six ingredients. First, decoct Huang Qi, Shi Gao, and Mao Gen for about ten boiling periods, then filter out the dregs. Clarify and obtain two cups of clear liquid. Add the fine powders of Gan Cao and Shan Yao into this liquid and continue decocting. Stir constantly with chopsticks during decoction to prevent the powders from settling at the bottom. Once it boils one more time, the "Gao" (electuary/paste) is formed. Then add the honey, heat until it simmers slightly, and divide into three doses for warm administration, completing the course within one day. With such administration, the disease will heal naturally over time. However, this serves as a preventive medicine. Taking it for over a month when wheezing and coughing have not yet occurred can eradicate the root cause of the disease.

The structure of the **Fei Pao** (Alveoli/Lung Vesicles) is originally delicate, transparent, and unobstructed. Precisely because of this delicacy and transparency, it possesses the mechanism of opening and closing (respiration), thereby governing the breath. If the mechanism of opening and closing is unimpeded, respiration proceeds freely. Occasionally, due to injury to the Lung organ, the microvascular network and the areas within the alveoli that contain body fluids suffer from stagnation and obstruction of Qi transformation. This causes the Lung to lose its delicate and transparent constitution, thereby hindering the opening-and-closing mechanism, making respiration difficult. However, during mild weather, the lung lobes are relaxed and comfortable; although respiration is not entirely free, it is not severe. When exposed to slight Wind-Cold, or during freezing cold seasons, the lung lobes contract. Consequently, the existing stasis worsens. The lungs become capable of closing but unable to open, resulting in wheezing. In the lungs, Qi transformation is stagnant accompanied by wheezing, and phlegm-saliva accumulates and obstructs, leading to coughing. Therefore, Huang Qi is used to tonify Lung Yang, Shan Yao to nourish Lung Yin, and Mao Gen to unblock Lung orifices. This harmonizes the Yin and Yang of the Lung and connects the orifices and collaterals, so that the power of opening and closing becomes balanced. Shi Gao is used because it is cool and dispersing; its coolness regulates the heat of Huang Qi, and its dispersing action assists the unblocking effect of Mao Gen. Gan Cao is used because its sweet flavor enters the Spleen to benefit Earth (Spleen), thereby generating Metal (Lung) via the principle of "Earth generating Metal." Honey is used because it is sweet, cool, slippery, and moistening, serving as a key herb for clearing and moistening the Lung, promoting expectoration, and calming cough.

Mao Gen inherits the Qi of Shaoyang (Lesser Yang) in early spring; it ascends and disperses. It is originally an herb associated with the Liver, which corresponds to the Lung. Metal of the Lung governs convergence/astringency, while Wood of the Liver governs dispersion. In this condition, the converging nature of Lung Metal is excessive. Thus, Mao Gen is used to guide the Qi of Liver Wood into the Lung to disperse it, restoring the normal mechanism of opening and closing, so that wheezing and coughing cease.

A question arises: All medicines named "Gao" (electuary) are made from the pure juice of the herbs, boiled for a long time until thickened. Why does this formula only take the clear juice of Huang Qi, Shi Gao, and Mao Gen, and mix them with powders of Shan Yao, Gan Cao, and honey to form the electuary? The answer is: Ancient practitioners paid great attention to fire control, the order of adding herbs (whether to add first or later), soaking methods, and the distinctions between decoctions, electuaries, pills, and powders. However, modern people have neglected these details for a long time. In this formula, if Huang Qi and Mao Gen are over-boiled, their dispersing and unblocking power diminishes; if Shi Gao is over-boiled, its cooling power decreases. Hence, these three herbs are unsuitable for being boiled down into a thick electuary. Nevertheless, there is a concern that after entering the stomach, the medicinal force might pass directly from the Middle Jiao to the Lower Jiao without reaching the Lung. Therefore, the moist and sticky properties of Shan Yao and honey, along with the harmonizing and moderating nature of Gan Cao, are added to form the electuary. This ensures that upon ingestion, the medicine lingers in the stomach rather than descending rapidly, allowing its effects to transmit from the Stomach to the Spleen, and from the Spleen to the Lung.

Another question: The formation of the electuary relies on Shan Yao and honey. Why is Gan Cao not decocted together with Huang Qi and Shi Gao to extract the juice, but instead added as a powder? The answer is: Western medicine notes that Gan Cao has a slight peppermint-like pungent/spicy taste. Decoction reduces its sweetness and increases this pungent quality. Therefore, Western physicians prepare Gan Cao water for moistening the lungs by simply steeping it in hot water, aiming to preserve its sweet flavor and allow its light, ascending Qi to rise. In this formula, Gan Cao is added to the decoction and boiled only once, following the same rationale as the Western method of preparing Gan Cao water.