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The *History of the Southern Dynasties* records that Chu Cheng was skilled in medicine. During the Jianyuan era, he served as the Administrator of Wu Commandery. A commoner named Li Daonion came to the commandery on official business. Upon seeing him, Chu Cheng said, "You have a severe illness." Li Daonion replied, "I have suffered from a chronic cold disease for five years, and numerous physicians have failed to cure it." After taking his pulse, Chu Cheng said, "Your illness is neither cold nor heat; it is likely caused by consuming too many boiled eggs." He instructed the patient to take one *sheng* (a unit of volume) of garlic, boil it, and consume it. The patient vomited up an object the size of one *sheng*, wrapped in saliva. Upon opening it, one could see the feathers, wings, claws, and spurs of a chick, which appeared capable of movement. Chu Cheng stated, "This is not yet complete; continue taking the remaining medicine." The patient then vomited thirteen more chicks similar to the first, after which the illness completely resolved. People at the time marveled at this miraculous treatment.

Tang Yuzheng learned pulse diagnosis from Huang Ze, a physician in Lin'an, in his youth, and later acquired pharmacological knowledge from Xia Demao, a student at the Imperial Academy. He encountered a person calling himself the "Purple Cloud Immortal," who treated peculiar diseases based on intuition. Tang's niece, aged several years, contracted *Fengdan* disease (a condition characterized by wind-heat toxicity manifesting as fever and skin swelling). Initially, symptoms appeared on the chest and gradually spread upward, causing redness, swelling, pain, and itching. Physicians treated it as upper jiao wind-heat, but with no effect. Tang diagnosed it as extreme excess of liver and lung wind-heat. He prescribed a formula containing *Shengma* (Cimicifugae Rhizoma), *Qianghuo* (Notopterygii Rhizoma et Radix), *Jingjie* (Schizonepetae Herba), *Niubangzi* (Arctii Fructus), *Chishao* (Paeoniae Radix Rubra), *Dan Zhuye* (Lophatheri Herba), *Jiegeng* (Platycodonis Radix), and *Gegen* (Puerariae Lobatae Radix). The symptoms subsided from below, but swelling accumulated on the vertex, reaching several inches high. Although eating and sleeping were unaffected, the disease persisted. Tang’s mother, Lady Wu, remarked, "The wet nurse of this girl loves drinking hot wine and even feeds her the dregs. The illness may be due to this." Tang then realized why the swelling did not dissipate at the vertex. He reasoned that only *Gegen* (Puerariae Lobatae Radix) can resolve alcohol toxicity and treat fire-toxin. Thus, he tripled the dosage of *Gegen* in the original prescription. After two days, the swelling completely disappeared.

His maternal uncle, Patrolman Wu, suffered from urinary retention. He could urinate slightly when lying down, but not a drop when standing. Physicians universally employed drugs to promote urination via the Small Intestine channel, exhausting their techniques without success. Tang asked his nephew Sun Dalai what medication Uncle Wu took daily. The reply was, "My uncle frequently takes *Heixi Dan* (Black Tin Pill)." When asked who prepared it, he answered, "He makes it himself." Tang suddenly understood, saying, "It must be that during the preparation of the pill, the lead did not fully react (become 'dead'), and sulfur volatilized. Lead sulfide entered the bladder. When lying down, the weight shifts, allowing some urine flow; when standing, it blocks the urethra directly, hence the inability to void." He instructed him to take 300 pills of *Jinye Dan* (Golden Fluid Pill), divided into ten doses, taken with decoction of *Damai* (Hordei Fructus Germinatus). The sulfur in the pill reacted with the accumulated lead in the bladder, turning it into ash, which was excreted through the urinary tract like fine sand. The disease was cured. *Gegen* resolving alcohol toxicity and sulfur dissolving lead are both recorded in classical prescriptions. However, if one does not understand the source of the disease and merely applies ancient formulas, success is unlikely. (From *Yijian Zhi*)