刘宋时,徐文伯者,徐嗣伯之兄也,笃好医术。宫人有患腰痛牵心者,发则气绝,众医
以为肉瘕。文伯视之曰∶此发瘕也。以油灌之,即吐物如发,引之长三尺,头已成蛇,又能
摇动,悬之柱上,水尽沥,惟余一发而已。昆谓发者,血气之余也,入腹成蛇者,乃无情而
化有情,离形而自成形也。无情而化有情,一腐草可以为萤,离形而自成形,一折枝可以植
林。文伯治之以油者,投其先天之宜也,油性善泛,故哇之而出矣。或问∶文伯何以便知其
为发瘕?余曰∶人患艺弗精耳,精艺自然入神。
隋有患者,尝病吐食,医作噎气、膈疾、翻胃三疾治之,无验。任度视之曰∶非此三疾
,盖因食蛇肉不消而致斯病,但揣心腹上有蛇形是也。病者曰∶素有大风,常求蛇肉食,风
稍退,复患此疾矣。遂以芒硝、雄黄治之愈。芒硝取其软坚、雄黄解其蛇毒。此《本草》之
论,世人之所共识也。
宋有温革郎中者,自少壮健无疾,执不信医,见方书有云食鳖不可食苋者,故并啖之。
自此苦腹痛,每作时,几不知人,始疑鳖苋所致,而未审也。复以二物令小苍头并食之,遂
得病与革类,而委顿尤剧,未几遽死。舁其尸置马厩,未敛也,忽小鳖无数自上下窍涌出,
散走厩中,惟遇马溺辄化为水。革闻,自视之,掊聚众鳖以马溺灌之,皆化为水。革乃自饮
马溺,其疾亦愈。巢元方亦谓有患鳖瘕者死,其主破其腹,得一白鳖,鳖乃活,有乘白马来
看者,白马遂尿随落鳖上,即缩头,乃以马尿灌之,随化为水。昆谓鳖苋并啖而成瘕者,苋
能回鳖之生气故也。瘕成遇马溺而化者,象数克之故也。昔尼父系《易》,系鳖于离,以其
外刚内柔,肖其象也。故鳖瘕者,离象;马溺者,坎象也。离为火,坎为水,天地变化,坎
离交媾,则火涵乎水,水涵乎火,而鳖生于水,各正性命,象数相制,则火仇于水,水制其
火,而鳖瘕化于马溺。然马溺能化鳖瘕,而不能化鳖者,气生者可化,形生者可死而己。他
溺不可化,而惟马溺能化者,马得干之刚,其气悍味浓,非凡溺可例故耳!
During the Liu Song dynasty, there was a man named Xu Wenbo, who was the elder brother of Xu Sibo and was deeply devoted to medical arts. A palace maid suffered from lower back pain radiating to the heart; upon attack, her breath would cease. The physicians considered it Rou Jia (abdominal mass resembling flesh). Wenbo examined her and said, "This is Fa Jia (abdominal mass formed by hair accumulation)." He administered oil orally, whereupon she vomited an object resembling hair, which measured three chi in length when pulled out. Its head had taken the shape of a snake and could still wiggle. When hung on a pillar until all moisture dripped away, only a single hair remained. Kun stated that hair is the surplus of blood and qi; entering the abdomen to become a snake represents the transformation from insentient to sentient matter, and forming a new shape independent of its original form. From insentient to sentient, just as decaying grass can transform into fireflies; from original form to self-formed shape, just as a broken branch can be planted to grow into a forest. Wenbo's use of oil for treatment aligned with the innate suitability of the substance; since oil possesses the property of spreading and flowing, it facilitated the expulsion of the foreign body through vomiting. Someone asked, "How did Wenbo know it was Fa Jia?" I replied, "People fall ill due to imprecise skills; precise skills naturally lead to divine insight."
In the Sui dynasty, a patient suffered from vomiting food. Physicians treated him according to the diseases of Ye Qi (dysphagia), Ge Ji (esophageal obstruction), and Fan Wei (regurgitation), but without effect. Ren Du examined him and said, "This is not one of these three diseases; it is likely caused by indigestion of snake meat. One can confirm this by palpating the upper chest and abdomen for a snake-like sensation." The patient said, "I have long suffered from Feng Bing (leprosy) and often sought snake meat to eat. As the wind pathogen subsided slightly, this illness appeared." He was subsequently cured using Mang Xiao (Mirabilite) and Xiong Huang (Realgar). Mang Xiao was used for its ability to soften hardness, and Xiong Huang to resolve snake venom. This aligns with the discussions in Ben Cao (Materia Medica), which is widely recognized by the public.
In the Song dynasty, there was an official named Wen Ge, who was healthy and vigorous from youth and firmly rejected medical advice. Seeing a prescription book state that turtle should not be eaten with amaranth, he deliberately consumed both together. Thereafter, he suffered severe abdominal pain; during attacks, he nearly lost consciousness. He began to suspect the combination of turtle and amaranth but was uncertain. He then ordered a young servant to consume both substances together. The servant developed similar symptoms to Wen Ge but more severely, and died shortly after. His corpse was placed in a stable before burial. Suddenly, countless small turtles emerged from his orifices, scattering around the stable. Upon encountering horse urine, they dissolved into water. Hearing this, Wen Ge inspected the situation, gathered the turtles, and poured horse urine over them, causing them to dissolve. Wen Ge then drank horse urine himself, and his illness also resolved. Chao Yuanfang also recorded that a person dying from Bie Jia (abdominal mass formed by turtle accumulation) had their abdomen opened, revealing a live white turtle. A visitor riding a white horse urinated on the turtle, causing it to retract its head. Horse urine was then poured on it, dissolving it instantly. Kun stated that consuming turtle and amaranth together causes Jia because amaranth reverses the vital energy of the turtle. The resolution of the Jia upon contact with horse urine is due to the mutual restriction of symbolic numbers (Xiang Shu). In ancient times, Confucius assigned the turtle to the Li trigram in the I Ching because its exterior is hard and interior soft, mirroring its image. Thus, Bie Jia corresponds to the Li trigram; horse urine corresponds to the Kan trigram. Li represents Fire, and Kan represents Water. Heavenly and earthly changes arise from the interaction of Kan and Li, where Fire contains Water and Water contains Fire. Since turtles are born in water, they follow their natural destiny. Through the mutual constraint of symbols and numbers, Fire opposes Water, and Water controls Fire, leading to the dissolution of Bie Jia in horse urine. However, horse urine can dissolve Bie Jia but cannot dissolve a living turtle; what is generated by Qi can be dissolved, while what is generated by Form can only die. Other urines cannot dissolve it; only horse urine can, because horses possess the Yang strength of Heaven, making their Qi fierce and flavor dense, unlike ordinary urine.