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Shengshengzi said: Examining the terms "xie" (leakage) and "xie" (purging), their meanings must have distinctions of severity; they are not a single symptom without differentiation. Why? According to medical texts, some refer to it as "xie" (leakage), some as "xie" (purging), and some as "xie xie" (leakage and purging). If there were no distinction, how would the classics discuss them separately? I believe that when feces are discharged in small amounts with a slow momentum, it is called "xie" (leakage), akin to water leaking. When feces are discharged in large amounts with a direct, unobstructed downward flow, it is called "xie" (purging), akin to pouring out water. I tentatively offer these views for correction by the wise.

Shengshengzi said: To prevent summer-heat injury during the summer months, one must preserve essence during the winter months. Summer-heat belongs to the Fire phase. Humans and heaven and earth share the same mechanism (like a bellows); thus, as the qi of heaven and earth rises and falls, human qi follows suit. In the summer months, the yang qi of the six yang channels emerges fully from the ground. The human abdomen is like the earth; when qi floats outward to the exterior, the interior becomes empty. If one labors excessively while in this deficient state, illness arises. Moreover, many people fail to nurture life properly. During winter, when yang qi should be concealed, they overexert themselves, leading to emptiness and exhaustion of essence and qi. Essence and qi are the innate, original qi. Accumulating this forms the root for spring generation. If this root is exhausted, the source of life is cut off. The *Classic* states: "Those who do not store essence in winter will suffer from warm diseases in spring and Jian Jue (fainting due to heat exhaustion) in summer." Some individuals, at the end of spring or beginning of summer, suffer from headache, body heat, poor appetite, spontaneous sweating, lethargy, and drowsiness. This is known as "Zhu Xia" disease (summer malaise), which Zhang Zhongjing described as "worsening in spring and summer, improving in autumn and winter." Summer-heat represents the extreme of the fire phase in midsummer. With yang qi already floating and yin blood exhausted, how can one avoid illness? If care is improper, labor is excessive, and qi and blood are further depleted, what will serve as the foundation for the spirit? Consequently, sudden collapse, coma, and Huo Luan (cholera-like symptoms) may occur repeatedly. Sun Simiao taught that people should regularly consume Sheng Mai San (Pulse-Generating Powder) in the fifth month. This is because the pulse is the precursor of qi and blood; qi and blood are the basis of the human spirit. The heat of the fire phase damages yuan qi (original qi), and Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma (Renshen, 人参) can tonify innate yuan qi. Schisandrae Fructus (Wuweizi, 五味子) astringes floating and dissipating qi, preventing it from flying away, and also nourishes the lung and kidney, thereby sparing the two organs from the depletion of true yin. Asparagi Radix (Maidong, 麦冬) restores the pulse, benefits the heart, generates fluids, and moistens dryness. These three herbs harmonize and act together as a tonic, named Sheng Mai San (Pulse-Generating Powder). This also remedies the failure to store essence in winter. Nevertheless, applying this preventive measure before illness occurs in robust individuals yields easier results. For those with weak constitutions who are already ill, it is difficult. Therefore, those skilled at preventing summer illnesses are better served by preserving kidney water in winter before illness strikes. Li Dongyuan discussed summer-heat in conjunction with spleen and stomach deficiency, providing very detailed explanations. Zhu Danxi recorded that latent yin resides within during summer and warned against using drying and hot substances. The descriptions of summer-heat diseases in *Yu Ji Wei Yi* and other records are clear and distinct. All should be studied carefully. If scholars can devote themselves to understanding and integrating these principles, nothing will remain obscure.