当归 白芍 牡蛎( )一两 龙骨( )五钱 生姜二两 附子(炮)二两 桂枝七
钱五分
每服一两,羊肉四两,加葱白煮服。
此方敛阴生阳,补虚固脱,色色周到,洵为佳制。
麻黄(去节)三两 桂枝二两 杏仁七十枚(去皮尖) 甘草一两(炙用)
先煮麻黄数沸,去沫,内诸药煎。热服。覆取微汗,中病即止,不必尽剂。
仲景立方之祖,医中之圣也。所着《伤寒》、《金匮》诸书,言言典要,为后人度尽金针。
即如伤寒太阳一症,头绪最繁,有风伤卫者,有寒伤营者,有风寒两伤营卫者。不得其解,
无所措手。今观其用桂枝汤治风伤卫,用麻黄汤治寒伤营,大青龙汤治风寒两伤营卫。劈分
三项,开三大法门,后人察脉辨症,谨守成规,庶不至于偾事。但仲景本为随受随发,冬月
之正伤寒而设,非可以此法混施于春温、温疫等症。后人不明此理,一概混投,误人实多。
于是辨论者纷纷而起,遂将温症寒症纠缠不已。愈辨愈明者固多,愈辨愈晦者亦不少。予则
以为春温归春温,温疫归温疫,伤寒归伤寒,各分门类划然了然,不必互相引证,反使人多
所惶惑也。
桂枝 芍药 生姜三两 甘草三两(炙) 大枣十二枚。
此治风伤卫,解表之轻剂也,加减之法最多。细看注中之方,凡仲景所加减者,无不丝
丝入扣,至后人之法,亦尽有可用,但须细心参酌,因症而施,始为得之。
Angelicae Sinensis Radix (Danggui), Paeoniae Radix Alba (Baishao), Ostrea Concha (Muli, 牡蛎) one tael, Longgu (Dragon Bone) five qian, Zingiberis Rhizoma Recens (Shengjiang) two taels, Aconiti Lateralis Radix Praeparata (Fuzi, prepared Aconite Root) two taels, Cinnamomi Ramulus (Guizhi) seven qian and five fen.
Each dose consists of one tael of herbs, cooked with four taels of mutton meat and the white part of scallion (Congbai).
This formula astringes yin and generates yang, tonifies deficiency and secures collapse. It is comprehensive and thorough, truly an excellent preparation.
Ephedrae Herba (Mahuang, Ephedra Stem) three taels (remove nodes), Cinnamomi Ramulus (Guizhi) two taels, Armeniacae Semen Amarum (Xingren, Apricot Seed) seventy pieces (remove skin and tips), Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma (Gancao, Licorice Root) one tael (use after honey-frying).
Boil Mahuang first for a few minutes, skim off the foam, then add the remaining herbs to decoct. Take hot. Cover with blankets to induce slight sweating. Stop medication once the disease is alleviated; there is no need to finish the entire dose.
Zhang Zhongjing is the ancestor of prescription formulation and the sage of medicine. His works, such as *Shanghan Lun* (Treatise on Cold Damage) and *Jingui Yaolue* (Essential Prescriptions from the Golden Cabinet), are full of canonical principles, providing precise guidelines for later generations.
Take, for instance, Taiyang disease (disease pattern of the Taiyang channel) in cold damage; its complexities are manifold. There are cases where wind pathogen injures Wei qi (defensive qi), cases where cold pathogen injures Ying blood (nutritive blood), and cases where both wind and cold injure Ying and Wei simultaneously. Without understanding the mechanism, one would be at a loss. Now observe his use of Guizhi Tang (Cinnamon Twig Decoction) to treat wind injuring Wei, Mahuang Tang (Ephedra Decoction) to treat cold injuring Ying, and Da Qinglong Tang (Major Green Dragon Decoction) to treat both wind and cold injuring Ying and Wei. By dividing these into three categories and establishing three major therapeutic approaches, later practitioners can inspect pulses and differentiate symptoms, strictly adhering to established rules, thereby avoiding failure. However, Zhang Zhongjing originally designed this for Zheng Shanghan (typical cold damage) occurring immediately upon exposure in winter. This method cannot be indiscriminately applied to Chunwen (spring warmth) or Wenyi (pestilential diseases). Later practitioners, failing to understand this principle, applied it indiscriminately, causing much harm.
Consequently, debaters arose frequently, entangling warm diseases with cold diseases. While many became clearer through debate, many others became more confused. I believe that Chunwen should be classified as Chunwen, Wenyi as Wenyi, and Shanghan as Shanghan. Each should be categorized distinctly without cross-referencing, which only causes further confusion.
Cinnamomi Ramulus (Guizhi), Paeoniae Radix (Shaoyao, Peony Root), Zingiberis Rhizoma Recens (Shengjiang) three taels, Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma (Gancao) three taels (fry with honey), Ziziphi Jujubae Fructus (Dazao, Jujube) twelve pieces.
This is a mild agent for treating wind injuring Wei and releasing the exterior, with numerous methods for modification. Examining the formulas in the annotations, those modified by Zhang Zhongjing fit perfectly with the pathology. As for later modifications, many are also applicable, but they must be carefully considered and applied according to specific symptoms to be effective.