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The basis of human life is Qi. What is Qi? It is Yin and Yang. Yin and Yang can be harmonious and balanced, or they can be discordant and obstructed; whether one manages them well or poorly determines the divergence between auspiciousness and misfortune. Since people cannot always manage them perfectly, diseases characterized by excess cold or excess heat inevitably arise from this discordance.

Although general cold or heat syndromes that have not reached a severe stage are not difficult for ordinary practitioners to treat, complex conditions involving "accumulated heat and sunken cold" are challenging even for skilled physicians, let alone inferior ones. Regrettably, common practice is often ignorant and rigidly relies on fixed prescriptions, causing the condition to worsen with each administration, leaving patients confused and unable to reverse course. One must realize that seeking the root and clearing the source contains profound principles; grasping the key pivot reveals all subtleties.

Consider accumulated heat: initially, cooling and harmonizing methods are used, followed by cold-draining methods. If cold-draining fails, practitioners may mistakenly follow the apparent heat pattern (or fail to address the root); if this also fails, their skills are exhausted, leading to the prolonged and indiscriminate use of bitter-cold herbs. Similarly, regarding sunken cold: initially, mild-warming methods are used, followed by hot-draining methods. If hot-draining fails, they may mistakenly follow the apparent cold pattern; if this also fails, their skills are exhausted, leading to the continuous annual use of acrid-hot herbs. Alas! The deeper the use of cold-cooling agents, the more intense the accumulated heat becomes; the excessive use of acrid-hot agents causes the sunken cold to proliferate. Unless a Great Sage shows benevolence and clearly elucidates these pivotal principles, how can life be preserved? The *Classic* states: "When cold treatment fails to resolve heat, treat the Yin; when heat treatment fails to resolve cold, treat the Yang." This is called "seeking its affiliation" (Qiu Qi Shu). Is this affiliation not the very pivot? Wang Bing (Wang Taipu) understood this principle, stating: "Tonify the source of Fire to dissipate the shadows of Yin; strengthen the master of Water to control the brilliance of Yang." He further said: "Treating Heart disorders does not require uniform use of hot herbs; treating Kidney disorders does not require uniform use of cold herbs." By tonifying Heart Yang, even cold herbs can circulate freely; by strengthening Kidney Yin, even hot herbs can be utilized. These truths are hidden among thousands of words, like the He Bi jade concealed in uncut stone. Its value has been long obscured, not because there were no craftsmen to carve it open? I presume to deduce and expand upon this.

Diseases of excess cold or heat rarely escape such mismanagement, yet cases of accumulated heat and sunken cold are not necessarily frequent. However, when they do appear frequently, is it not because inferior practitioners do not know the way of "seeking affiliation," failing to prevent minor issues from growing into uncontrollable crises? When "cold treatment fails to resolve heat," practitioners merely know to use cold to treat heat, unaware that the persistence of heat stems from insufficient True Water (True Yin). When "heat treatment fails to resolve cold," they merely know to use heat to treat cold, unaware that the persistence of cold stems from insufficient True Fire (True Yang). Ignoring the insufficiency of True Water and Fire, and broadly applying cold or hot drugs, not only accustoms the Zang-Fu organs but also causes the medicine to be transformed by the disease, depleting what exists and generating what did not. Therefore, "treating the Yin" aims to tonify the insufficiency of Kidney Water to restrain the excess of Heart Fire; "treating the Yang" aims to tonify the insufficiency of Heart Fire to overcome the excess of Kidney Water. "Qi" here refers to Water and Fire. "Shu" (Affiliation) means "Master," referring to the Heart and Kidney. "Seeking its affiliation" means that when Water and Fire are insufficient, one seeks the root in the Heart and Kidney. The "Source of Fire" is the root of Yang Qi, which is the Heart; the "Master of Water" is the root of Yin Qi, which is the Kidney. This does not mean the origin of Fire is the Liver or the master of Water is the Lung. Cold can benefit the Heart (by restraining fire), and heat can strengthen the Kidney (by aiding yang). Wang Taipu attained these ultimate truths beyond conventional rules, which pedantic scholars could never reach. Those pedants, misunderstanding the necessity of controlling True Water and Fire in cold-heat diseases, simply claim the medicine is insufficient and delay treatment. Thus, they rigidly stick to prescriptions, worsening the condition until death occurs without realization. Alas, how serious this is! Having seen many treatments for accumulated heat and sunken cold repeat past mistakes, I present this analysis as a warning.