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The term "Dan" refers to preventing the medicine from releasing its bitter taste immediately upon entering the stomach. If swallowed in capsules produced by Western pharmaceutical bureaus, even broken pieces can be used.

Sulfur (Liu Huang) originally inherits the vital essence of Fire. Those containing impurities may sometimes be toxic; however, if the color is purely yellow, it consists entirely of sulfur substance and is completely non-toxic. It is the principal herb for tonifying Ministerial Fire (Xiang Huo) and warming the Lower Jiao (Lower Burner). In cases of Dysentery (Li Zheng) with Cold in the Lower Jiao, there is often Deficient Heat in the Upper Jiao (Upper Burner). Due to its heavy nature, Sulfur's thermal energy reaches directly to the Lower Jiao without exacerbating the Deficient Heat in the Upper Jiao. Furthermore, although Cold-type Dysentery should be treated with Hot herbs, one must still avoid Warm-tonifying and Astringent substances. Various Materia Medica texts state that Sulfur moistens the intestines to facilitate bowel movements and increases urine output; Westerners consider it a mild laxative. This indicates that while its nature is Hot, it possesses a unblocking property, making it most suitable for treating Cold Dysentery. I have tasted and verified this herb repeatedly: those suffering from diarrhea due to Cold generally find their diarrhea stops after taking it. There are also cases of Dawn Diarrhea (Wu Geng Xie), where other medicines fail but bold use of Sulfur leads to cure. Occasionally, patients whose diarrhea originates from Cold may experience worsened diarrhea after taking Sulfur alone; however, when combined with Ginger Rhizome (Gan Jiang), Atractylodes Macrocephala Rhizome (Bai Zhu), and Schisandra Fruit (Wu Wei Zi), it effectively treats Cold-induced diarrhea without the side effect of aggravating it. Ancient formularies always use processed Sulfur; however, processing reduces its thermal potency, requiring larger doses, which may sometimes cause dryness due to excessive intake. Thus, it is superior to take small doses of raw Sulfur. Moreover, selecting pure sulfur substance renders it non-toxic, eliminating the need for complex processing. Regarding dosage, for Cold Dysentery, one dose may range from 2-3 fen, up to a maximum of 5-6 fen; for other conditions, this rule does not apply.

I once treated a woman surnamed Zhang from a neighboring village, over twenty years old, who suffered from vomiting due to Stomach Cold. The vomited food was undigested (vomiting undigested food half an hour after eating indicates Stomach Cold). After six months of ineffective treatment, even extremely Hot herbs failed to produce any sensation of warmth. Her pulse was very fine, weak, deep, and slow. Recognizing severe Stomach Cold, I feared herbal remedies alone might be insufficient. I prescribed Raw Sulfur powder, 1 liang, divided into twelve packets. She took one packet first; after two hours, feeling no heat, she took another. I also prescribed a decoction: Dried Ginger (Gan Jiang) and Honey-fried Licorice Root (Zhi Gan Cao) each 1 liang, Prepared Aconite Root (Wu Fu Zi), Cinnamon Twig (Guizhi), Psoralea Fruit (Bu Gu Zhi), and Atractylodes Rhizome (Yu Zhu) each 5 qian, and Magnolia Bark (Hou Po) 2 qian, taken as one dose daily. On that day, she consumed eight packets of Sulfur and still felt no heat, yet her vomiting ceased thereafter. A few days later, symptoms seemed to recur, so I added 5 qian of Hematite (Dai Zhe Shi) powder to the decoction, continuing Sulfur at eight packets daily, which stopped the vomiting again. After several days of continuous use, she felt slight heat, so I halved the Sulfur and the decoction, changing Hematite to 3 qian. After another twenty-plus days, the vomiting never recurred. This case involved the largest dose of Sulfur I have ever used.

Regarding Western medicines containing Sulfur, the primary product is Sublimed Sulfur (Sheng Hua Liu Huang), which is used only externally for sores and ulcers and should not be ingested. Refined Sulfur (Jing Zhi Liu Huang) is made by re-processing Sublimed Sulfur, and Precipitated Sulfur (Chen Jiang Liu Huang) is made by re-processing Refined Sulfur; these two forms can be ingested. However, to ensure sufficient thermal potency to supplement Primordial Yang (Yuan Yang) and warm the Lower Jiao, nothing surpasses the use of pure, raw Sulfur.