妇人崩中下血,多因湿热伤脾胃而致。盖脾统血,伤则失守也。医者不知其脾湿,而但
与固脱之剂,血虽止而湿转郁矣。是以崩中之后,多成胀满、黄病,医多不能识此。
古云∶耳聋治肺,肺主声;鼻塞治心,心主臭。愚谓耳聋治肺者,自是肺经风热、痰涎
闭郁
之症。肺之络会于耳中,其气不通,故令耳聋,故宜治其肺,使气行则聋愈。夫声从外入,
非无声也,有声而不能入也,而谓肺主声何哉?其鼻塞治心者,经云∶心肺有病,而鼻为之
不利。治心者,盖以利鼻,岂曰致臭哉?
噎膈、反胃,自是二病,世医每连称而并举之者,丹溪实作之俑也。丹溪曰∶其槁在上
,近
咽之下,水饮可行,食物难入,入亦不多,名之曰噎;其槁在下,与胃为近,食虽可入,良
久复出,名之曰膈,亦曰反胃。是以噎膈分上、下二病,而以反胃属之膈,殊欠分明。愚谓
噎膈之所以反胃者,以食噎不下,故反而上出,若不噎则并不反矣。其反胃之病,则全不噎
食,或迟或速,自然吐出,与膈病何相干哉?二者病本不同,治法亦异,不可不辨!
痢与泄泻,其病不同,其治亦异。泄泻多起寒湿,寒则宜温,湿则宜燥也;痢病多成湿
热,
热则宜清,湿则宜得也。虽泄泻亦有热症,然毕竟寒多于热;痢病亦有寒症,然毕竟热多于
寒。是以泄泻经久,必伤胃阳,而肿胀、喘满之变生;痢病经久,必损其阴,而虚烦、痿废
之疾起。痢病兜涩太早,湿热流注,多成痛痹;泄泻疏利或过,中虚不复,多作脾劳。此予
所亲历,非臆说也。或曰∶热则清而寒则温是已,均是湿也,或从利,或从燥,何欤?曰∶
寒湿者,寒从湿生,故宜苦温燥其中;湿热者,湿从热化,故宜甘淡利其下。且燥性多热,
利药多寒,便利则热亦自去,中温则寒与俱消。寒湿必本中虚,不可更行渗利,湿热郁多成
毒,不宜益以温燥也。
In women, metrorrhagia (uterine bleeding) and hematochezia often result from damp-heat damaging the Spleen and Stomach. This is because the Spleen controls the blood; when damaged, it loses its controlling function. Physicians who do not recognize this as caused by Spleen-dampness may only administer astringent formulas to stop bleeding. Although the bleeding may cease, the dampness becomes more stagnant. Consequently, after metrorrhagia, symptoms such as abdominal distension and jaundice often develop, which many physicians fail to identify.
Ancient texts state: "Treat deafness via the Lung, for the Lung governs sound"; "Treat nasal congestion via the Heart, for the Heart governs smell." I believe that "treating deafness via the Lung" refers to conditions of wind-heat in the Lung meridian and closure/stagnation due to phlegm-fluids. The collateral vessels of the Lung connect with the ear; when Qi mechanism is blocked, deafness occurs. Therefore, treating the Lung allows Qi to flow, curing the deafness. Sound enters from the outside; it is not that there is no sound, but that sound cannot enter. How can one say the Lung governs sound? Regarding "treating nasal congestion via the Heart," the classics state: "When the Heart and Lung have disease, the nose becomes obstructed." Treating the Heart aims to unblock the nose, not to restore the sense of smell.
Yige (dysphagia with obstruction) and Fanwei (regurgitation) are inherently two different diseases. However, contemporary physicians often mention them together, a practice initiated by Danxi (Zhu Zhenheng). Danxi stated: "When dryness/obstruction is located upper, near the lower throat, fluids can pass but food is difficult to enter, and even if entered, the amount is small, it is named Yige; when dryness/obstruction is located lower, near the Stomach, food can enter but is regurgitated after a long time, it is named Ge, also called Fanwei." Thus, dividing Yige and Ge into upper and lower diseases and attributing Fanwei to Ge lacks clarity. I argue that the reason Yige involves regurgitation is that food is obstructed and cannot go down, so it comes back up; without obstruction, there would be no regurgitation. In contrast, Fanwei involves no obstruction of food at all; whether quickly or slowly, food is naturally vomited. What does this have to do with Ge? The root causes of these two diseases differ, and their treatment methods vary; they must be distinguished!
Dysentery (Li) and diarrhea (Xie Xie) involve different pathologies and require different treatments. Diarrhea often arises from cold-dampness; cold requires warming, and dampness requires drying. Dysentery often results from damp-heat; heat requires clearing, and dampness requires draining (promoting urination/dampness removal). Although diarrhea can present with heat syndromes, cold predominates over heat; although dysentery can present with cold syndromes, heat predominates over cold. Therefore, prolonged diarrhea inevitably damages Stomach-Yang, leading to complications like swelling, distension, and wheezing/chest fullness; prolonged dysentery inevitably injures Yin, leading to disorders such as deficiency-fire irritability and flaccidity/paralysis. If dysentery is treated too early with astringents, damp-heat flows into the collaterals, often forming painful bi-syndrome; if diarrhea is treated too excessively with purgatives/drainage, Middle-Jiao deficiency fails to recover, often evolving into Spleen-labor (chronic Spleen deficiency). This is based on my personal experience, not speculation. One might ask: Clearing heat and warming cold is correct. Both involve dampness, yet some are treated by draining and others by drying. Why? The answer is: In cold-dampness, cold arises from dampness, so bitter-warm herbs should be used to dry dampness in the Middle Jiao; in damp-heat, dampness transforms from heat, so sweet-bland herbs should be used to drain dampness downward. Furthermore, drying agents tend to be warm/hot, while draining agents tend to be cool/cold. Promoting urination eliminates heat naturally; warming the Middle dissipates cold. Cold-dampness originates from Middle-Jiao deficiency, so diuretic/draining methods should not be used again; damp-heat stagnation often forms toxins, so warm-drying methods should not be added.