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The *Zhubing Yuanhou Lun* (Treatise on the Pathogenesis and Symptoms of All Diseases) states: Food dysphagia (Shi Ye, obstruction of food due to coldness and stagnation) arises from the coldness and dysfunction of the Zang-Fu Qi, leading to scanty and astringent body fluids that fail to transport. When food enters, it causes obstruction and blockage; hence, it is called food dysphagia. The symptoms include pain in the chest, inability to breathe easily, and inability to swallow food.

The *Ge Shi Fang* (Prescriptions by Ge Hong) for treating sudden food dysphagia:
Insert a needle into water twenty-three times (or seven times in some editions), face east, and drink this water; it is effective.
Another prescription: Hold an cormorant's beak in the mouth, and the food will descend.
Yet another prescription: Rub the site of obstruction with horn of Antelope subgennus Tetracerus (Lingyang Jiao).
Yet another prescription: Radix Zingiberis Recens (Shengjiang) five liang, Pericarpium Citri Reticulatae (Jupi) three liang, water six sheng, decoct to obtain two sheng, take in two doses.

The *Seng Shen Fang* (Prescriptions by Seng Shen) for treating food dysphagia:
Have an assistant loosen the patient's clothing and belt without letting the patient know; the food will then descend.
Another prescription: Take one cup of water, write horizontally across the surface with a knife, wait until the water evaporates, then write vertically until finished, and drink it all at once; the food will descend.

The *Jiuji Danyan Fang* (Emergency Single-Effect Prescriptions):
Take a chicken tail feather (or pheasant tail feather), insert it deeply into the throat, and patency will be restored immediately.

The *Zhenzhong Fang* (Prescriptions from the Pillow) for treating severe dysphagia approaching death:
Have someone blow into the ear; if the patient is female, have a male blow; if male, have a female blow. Upon blowing, the obstruction will clear; this is effective.

The *Qipo Fang* (Prescriptions by Qibo) for treating food dysphagia:
Take vinegar from a plate, swallow it in three gulps; this is effective.

The *Ruyi Fang* (Prescriptions Meeting One's Desires) for treating dysphagia:
Pound the husk from the head of the pestle, place it on the corner of a handkerchief, and use it to wipe the teeth; relief comes immediately. (Tao Hongjing says: Scrape the husk and hold it in the mouth.)

The *Qianjin Fang* (Essential Prescriptions Worth a Thousand Gold) for treating sudden food dysphagia:
Take cooked rice, leave behind a single grain of leftover rice from the edge, and swallow it.

The *Guangli Fang* (Broad-Benefit Prescriptions) for regulating sudden food dysphagia:
Hold one spoonful of honey in the mouth and swallow it slowly; the food will descend.

The *Yimen Fang* (Prescriptions of the Medical Gate) for treating food dysphagia, vomiting with frothy saliva, discomfort in the chest and diaphragm, caused by dysfunction of the Zang-Fu Qi:
Rhizoma Pinelliae Preparatum (Banxia) three liang, washed; Radix Zingiberis Recens (Shengjiang) five liang; Pericarpium Citri Reticulatae (Jupi) three liang; Cinnamomi Cortex (Guixin) two liang.
Water seven sheng, decoct to obtain two and a half sheng, divide into three doses. When the Qi descends, the condition improves.

The *Yangsheng Yaoji* (Essentials for Nourishing Life) states: For any prescription treating indigestion of various fruits: Radix Glycyrrhizae Preparata (Gancao), dental shell (Beichi), and powder (Fen), these three substances in equal parts, ground into powder, taken with water; this is effective.
Another prescription: Drink two sheng of human breast milk; this is effective.
Another prescription: Hold white honey in the mouth and chew it; recovery is immediate.