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Taiyang (Greater Yang) channel affected by wind-cold at the exterior, presenting with stiffness and pain in the head and neck, fever, body ache, lower back pain, joint pain, aversion to wind and cold, anhidrosis (absence of sweating), chest fullness with wheezing, and a floating pulse.

Ephedrae Herba (Mahuang, 麻黄) (3 liang, remove joints) Cinnamomi Ramulus (Guizhi, 桂枝) (2 liang) Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma (Gancao, 甘草) (1 liang, honey-fried) Armeniacae Semen Amarum (Xingren, 杏仁) (70 seeds, remove skin and tips)
Take the above four herbs, add nine sheng of water, first decoct Ephedrae Herba until the volume reduces by two sheng, skim off the foam on the surface, then add the remaining herbs, decoct to obtain two and a half sheng of liquid, strain, and take eight he warm.

Ke Yunbo stated: This is a potent formula for opening the exterior, expelling pathogens, and inducing sweating. Ephedrae Herba is hollow inside and straight outside, resembling hair follicles and joints, capable of driving out wind-cold-dampness from the joints, transforming fluids, circulating in the Stomach, moving Qi, and relieving wheezing.

Indicated for stiffness and pain in the head and neck, stiffness extending to the back with pulling sensation, floating pulse, anhidrosis, aversion to wind; also treats wind-cold at the exterior accompanied by spontaneous diarrhea.

Puerariae Lobatae Radix (Gegen, 葛根) (2 liang) Ephedrae Herba (Mahuang, 麻黄) (3 liang) Cinnamomi Ramulus (Guizhi, 桂枝) (2 liang) Zingiberis Recens Rhizoma (Shengjiang, 生姜) (3 liang) Paeoniae Radix Alba (Shaoyao, 芍药) (2 liang) Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma (Gancao, 甘草) (1 liang) Jujubae Fructus (Dazao, 大枣) (12 pieces)
Take the above seven herbs, add one dou of water, first decoct Ephedrae Herba and Puerariae Lobatae Radix until the volume reduces by two sheng, skim off the foam, then add the remaining herbs and decoct together, divide into three warm doses.

Ke Yunbo stated: In this syndrome, there is no body ache, no lower back pain, no joint pain, and no aversion to cold, indicating that the bones are not affected by cold; stiffness and pain in the head and neck extend downward to the back. If exterior syndrome is accompanied by diarrhea, it indicates excess at the exterior and deficiency at the interior. It is milder than Taiyang Excess Syndrome treated by Mahuang Tang and Da Qing Long Tang, yet the back stiffness is more severe than neck stiffness. Anhidrosis still signifies exterior excess, but a floating pulse without tightness indicates invasion by yang wind which stirs movement. Therefore, Ephedrae Herba is added to Guizhi Tang, and the dosage of Puerariae Lobatae Radix is doubled to resolve excess, slightly modifying the methods of Mahuang and Guizhi. Puerariae Lobatae Radix has a sweet taste and cool nature, able to raise yin fluids to induce sweat, open interstices to release the exterior, thus serving as the sovereign herb; since both cold and heat are mild, dosages of Cinnamomi Ramulus and Paeoniae Radix Alba are reduced; Ephedrae Herba assists Cinnamomi Ramulus and Zingiberis Recens Rhizoma to open the exterior; Jujubae Fructus assists Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma and Paeoniae Radix Alba to harmonize the interior. Thus, it treats exterior excess, resolving exterior pathogens naturally; treating interior deficiency is unnecessary as diarrhea resolves spontaneously, which is vastly different from Da Qing Long Tang treating excess at both exterior and interior. Generally, Puerariae Lobatae Radix possesses light and clear qi but heavy substance; lightness resolves excess, heaviness calms agitation, thickness secures the interior, making it suitable only for exterior excess and interior deficiency, not for stomach excess. Therefore, Zhang Zhongjing did not use Puerariae Lobatae Radix in Yangming channel diseases; Li Dongyuan designated it as a Yangming channel herb; Yi Lao said it should not be taken if not entering Yangming channel. Did these two masters not read Zhang Zhongjing's books? One must know that Gegen Tang and Guizhi Tang are both formulas for releasing the muscle layer and harmonizing the interior, so they can be used regardless of presence or absence of sweat, or presence or absence of diarrhea, differing from Mahuang Tang which specializes in releasing the exterior.

Jin Gui Yao Lue treats Taiyang disease with anhidrosis, abnormally scanty urination, qi rushing upward to the chest, trismus (lockjaw) preventing speech, intending to develop Gang Jing (Stiff Spasm).

Yu Jiayan stated: For Shang Han (Cold Damage) with stiff neck and back, anhidrosis, and aversion to wind, Ge Gen Tang is used. This syndrome also uses it because the pathogen lies at the boundary between Taiyang and Yangming channels. Heat from both channels merges in the chest, inevitably damaging the Lung Metal's clearing and descending qi, leading to obstruction of water passages and scanty urination, and failure of fluid distribution resulting in anhidrosis; Yangming sinews knot internally at the stomach gate, run externally through the chest, pass through Renying (ST9), and circle the mouth. When heat merges into Yangming, it causes sinus traction, trismus, and inability to speak. However, Gang Jing with anhidrosis must be resolved through sweating; moreover, damp-heat stagnating internally requires sweating to normalize before stopping. Thus, this formula combines to resolve damp-heat in both channels, similar to wind-cold...