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The physician's treatment of disease and preparation of medicines for use is just like a general dealing with the enemy, training soldiers in peacetime. Sudden use in emergencies allows one to achieve miraculous results and complete great功 (merit/success).

Nowadays, I see physicians at the moment of saving emergencies, although they know the prescriptions, if there are no ready-made patent medicines, how can they relieve distress and sustain critical conditions? They can only wait for death with hands tied; can this be considered a good physician? Han Yu once said: "Those who store Qingzhi (Ganoderma), Chijian (Tianma/Gastrodiae Rhizoma), Yuzha (Diyu/Sanguisorbae Radix), Dansha (Cinnabaris), Baigu Zhi Pi (Bark of broken drum), Niuxiu (Cheqiancao/Plantaginis Herba), Maibo (Lycopodium), without omitting any, are good physicians." I believe that storing herbs is quite easy, but preparing medicines is difficult. Markets only have crude drugs, while those refined through exquisite processing are even harder to obtain. Unless physicians leisurely process them to prepare for emergencies, how can they relieve the suffering of hanging upside down? Otherwise, it is like using troops in battle; if not trained beforehand, how can one win victory? Chunfu witnessed these drawbacks personally, so he thoroughly investigated preparation methods, compiled them into a volume, to share with those who cherish life!

Medicines may be suitable for pills, powders, water decoctions, wine maceration, or paste preparation. Some are suitable for multiple forms, while some cannot be used in decoctions or wines. One must follow the nature of the medicine and not exceed norms.

Decoction (Tang) means sweeping away; it is the clear liquid obtained after boiling, used for severe diseases. Powder (San) means dispersing; it is ground into fine powder, used for acute diseases. Paste (Gao) is boiled into a thick paste. Liquid (Ye) is the natural juice extracted by crushing fresh herbs. Pill (Wan) means缓 (slow/gentle); formed into round pellets, they do not quickly eliminate disease but treat it gently. Wine maceration involves soaking herbs in wine. Some are suitable for wine maceration to enhance efficacy, such as Danggui (Angelicae Sinensis Radix), Dihuang (Rehmanniae Radix), Huangbai (Phellodendri Cortex), Zhimu (Anemarrhenae Rhizoma), whose yin-cold properties utilize wine power to circulate Qi and Blood. Others involve finely chopping herbs, boiling in wine according to method, sealing tightly, and drinking frequently morning and evening to unblock meridians, tonifying or attacking gradually until effect is achieved.

Weighing doses, lightness or heaviness, quantity or scarcity, all require careful discrimination. If used appropriately and matching the condition, recovery is certain upon ingestion. If cold and hot natures are discordant, dosages are erroneous, and decoctions/pills lose measure, what should improve worsens. It is like a chef serving eel and turtle soup exclusively, which would further cause illness, let alone satisfy hunger! Thus Zhang Zhongjing said: "Such deaths are caused by the physician killing them."

Zhang Zhongjing stated that chopping herbs to the size of hemp seeds is equivalent to "Ju" (chewing). "Ju" is an ancient method. Ancients had no iron knives, so they chewed herbs finely with their mouths. Today, sizes like hemp seeds serve as coarse herbs for decoction, making the medicinal liquid clear for intestinal absorption, facilitating ascent and dispersion. Modern people chop herbs to hemp seed size with knives, which is an easier form of "Ju". The purpose of "Ju" is to facilitate extraction of medicinal juice during decoction, aiding circulation in meridians. For high-level diseases, add wine for decoction; remove dampness with Shengjiang (Zingiberis Rhizoma); tonify Yuan Qi and disperse wind-cold with Congbai (Allii Fistulosi Bulbus); remove phlegm above the diaphragm with Mi (Honey); open phlegm nodules with Shengjiang Zhi (Zingiberis Rhizoma Juice). For all decoctions using wine, add it near completion. Fine powders do not circulate meridians but remove accumulations in the stomach and viscera, and are suitable for treating lung diseases with cough. Strong-flavored ones are mixed with plain water; weak-flavored ones are decocted and taken with dregs.

For medicines targeting lower jiao diseases, pills should be very large, sharp, and round; for middle jiao, smaller; for upper jiao, extremely small and made with flour paste, taking advantage of slow dissolution reaching lower jiao, or using wine/vinegar for astringency. For Banxia (Pinelliae Rhizoma) and Nanxing (Arisaematis Rhizoma) aiming to remove dampness, use Shengjiang Zhi and thin paste for pills to ensure easy dissolution. Soaked steamed buns also dissolve easily; drop-water pills dissolve even more. Honey-refined pills take advantage of slow dissolution and meridian circulation. Beeswax pills take advantage of difficult dissolution and delayed effect. When preparing pills, use only honey or only maltose, do not mix. Using beeswax for pills preserves the aroma and potency, allowing passage through gates and diaphragms to act. If mixed with honey now, although easy to form pills, they disintegrate easily upon swallowing, failing to reach organs. If toxic, they cause disease, harming rather than helping, contrary to the original intent of using wax.

Refining honey requires skimming foam first, boiling until slightly yellow, testing that drops do not scatter, then boiling two or three times more. For every jin (500g) of honey, add one cup of clear water, boil one or two more times before forming pills, to absorb moisture and prevent clumping. In winter, adding two cups of water when refining honey is ideal. *Yanyi* states: One jin of honey yields twelve liang (approx. 375g) after refining; this is its standard. Mix herb powder while honey is boiling hot, pound thousands of times in a mortar until soft and ripe, easy to roll into strips, resulting in good pills.

Pills and powders should be finely cut and sun-dried before pounding. Some are pounded separately, some together. Moist herbs like Tiandong (Asparagi Radix) and Dihuang should be cut, dried, and pounded alone, or dried on new tiles over low fire, cooled, then pounded into fine powder. If mixed with other herbs immediately, they re-moisten and mix unevenly. Wet herbs lose weight when dried, so dosage must be increased accordingly.

Sifting pill ingredients requires fine silk mesh; sifting powder requires even greater fineness. Pounding pills in a mortar hundreds of times until color and texture are uniform is best.

Herbs for wine maceration must be finely cut, placed in raw silk bags, sealed in wine. Depending on temperature and days, filter when strong enough, without waiting for wine to be exhausted. Dregs can be sun-dried, lightly pounded, and re-macerated or taken as powder. For pastes, macerate in vinegar, wine, water, or oil, ensuring full immersion and tight covering. When boiling paste, perform "three ups and three downs" to release heat, allowing medicinal flavors to emerge. Bring to rolling boil, let settle, repeat. If Xiebai (Allii Macrostem Bulbus) is present, boil until segments turn slightly yellow. If Baizhi (Angelicae Dahuricae Radix) or Fuzi (Aconiti Lateralis Radix Praeparata) are present, boil until slightly yellow. Strain paste with new cloth; usable dregs can be boiled in wine and drunk. Medicinal dregs from pastes can be applied topically. This maximizes medicinal power. Stone minerals added to decoctions/wines/pastes must be finely pounded and wrapped in new silk. *Yanyi* notes: Stone minerals for powders, like Zhuru (Belospermum Pulvis), must be ground with water to extreme fineness over two to three days, washed and settled to extreme fineness before use, not merely pounded fine and wrapped in silk. Fats in pastes must have skin removed first. Pig fat should not touch water; December fat is best. Realgar (Xionghuang) and Cinnabar (Zhusha) in pastes must be separately pounded to flour-like consistency, added after paste is finished, and stirred well, otherwise they settle unevenly at the bottom. Herbal ashes for powders, such as Heye (Nelumbinis Folium), Baiye (Platycladi Cacumen), Maogen (Imperatae Rhizoma), Jigen (Cirsii Radix), like Shihui San (Ten Ash Powder), must be burned until charred black, covered immediately to preserve nature. Burning like firewood turns them to dead ash, losing efficacy. Oily herbs like Taoren (Persicae Semen) and Maren (Cannabis Fructus) in pastes must be separately pounded into paste, then mixed into the powder, pounded again in mortar to disperse.