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In the household where smallpox inoculation is performed, cleanliness of the room is paramount. One must strictly avoid any violations or taboos; a bright environment is preferred, and darkness should be avoided. Select an experienced, mature, and reliable person who has previously cared for children with smallpox to provide nursing care, staying by the child's side at all times. All prohibitions must be strictly observed: do not scold or shout, do not speak in a panicked manner, do not comb hair in front of the child, do not scratch oneself in front of the child, do not indulge in alcohol, and do not sing or play music. All odors such as vaginal discharge, menstrual blood from women, axillary body odor (fox odor), sweat from long-distance walking, smoke from accidentally burned hair, smoke from accidentally burned fish bones, smoke from blown-out lamps and candles, smoke from burning sulfur and firewood, odors from green onions, garlic, and drunkenness, and foul smells from ditches, should all be avoided. Furthermore, one should pre-instruct those around them that if there are sudden changes like thunderstorms, strong winds, or heavy rain, great calmness should be maintained to prevent startling the child. Bed curtains should be hung carefully, and coverings should be tight; one must absolutely avoid violent movements that generate wind. Incense for dispelling filth should be burned regularly to ward off irregular evil qi. Another person should guard the door carefully, forbidding visitors among strangers, monks, Taoist priests, shamans, or mourners wearing mourning clothes. If these prohibitions are observed one by one, good fortune will ensue; slight negligence often leads to failure. Those performing inoculation must earnestly and repeatedly warn against this.

(Incense for Dispelling Filth) Nan Cangzhu (Atractylodis Rhizoma), Chuan Dahuang (Rhei Radix et Rhizoma). The above herbs are cut into fine slices and burned in a stove without interruption.

If the child’s face is ruddy, with spirit bright and penetrating, and if there is no bluish-dark discoloration at the Yintang (between the eyebrows), Shangen (root of the nose), Nianshou (bridge of the nose), under the eyes, or at the corners of the mouth, it is favorable. The two eyes have clear black and white parts, gaze is steady and upright, becoming more spirited and luminous the longer one looks; the fontanelle is neither sunken nor bulging, the cranial sutures are not split, the nostrils are not small, the breath is clear and not turbid, the voice is clear and resonant, the Tianzhu bone (cervical spine) is straight and the neck is not crooked, flesh and bones are proportionate, and clothing should be bound tightly so that obesity does not show excess flesh and emaciation does not reveal bones. Urination is distant and prolonged, the scrotum is tight and small, slightly purplish-black like a lychee shell, the body has no healing tinea, sores, or scabies, the neck has no tubercles, the abdomen has no accumulations, the form and qi are substantial, the spirit is robust, the zang-fu organs are harmonious and smooth, and the pulse is peaceful. In such cases, inoculation may proceed.