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People generally say that Water overcomes Fire, but I alone assert that Water nourishes Fire. People generally say that Metal generates Water, but I alone assert that Water generates Metal. People generally say that Earth overcomes Water, but I alone advocate tonifying Earth within Water. People generally say that Wood overcomes Earth, but I alone advocate raising Wood Qi to cultivate Earth. Why is this? The Ministerial Fire and Sovereign Fire take the Kidney as their palace; what is called "Water overcomes Fire" refers to the postnatal, tangible Water and Fire; what is called "Water nourishes Fire" refers to the prenatal, intangible Water and Fire. The Qi of Lung Metal returns and stores itself in Kidney Water during sleep at night; Zhu Danxi calls this "the mother hides in the womb, the child conceals in the mother's fetus." This organ is known as the Delicate Organ, fearing both heat and cold. If there is Fire in the Kidney, Lung Metal will fear being punished by Fire and dare not return; if there is no Fire in the Kidney, the Water becomes cold and Metal becomes chilled, so Lung Metal also dares not return. This may result in wheezing and distension, or coughing, or insomnia, or loss of appetite. At such times, if one attempts to tonify Earth (the Mother) to benefit the Child (Lung), the wheezing and distension will worsen. Using methods to clear and purge will cause Lung Qi to diminish daily, bringing death closer. Only the method of astringency seems reasonable, but without finding the entry point, how can one proceed? The Lung exhales Qi, while the Kidney receives Qi; the Lung is the master of Qi, and the Kidney is the root of Qi. Whenever Qi rebels and rushes upward from below the umbilicus, this is due to Kidney deficiency failing to receive and anchor Qi into its origin. One should not merely focus on treating the Lung; rather, one should either strengthen the Master of Water (Zhuang Shui Zhi Zhu) or benefit the Origin of Fire (Yi Huo Zhi Yuan), so that Metal is generated within Water. As for Earth, it parasitically exists following Fire, so it should be tonified following Fire. However, there is an exquisite principle in tonifying Fire: Yangming Stomach Earth is generated following Shaoyin Heart Fire, thus tonifying Stomach Earth is equivalent to tonifying Heart Fire. The Guipi Tang (Return to the Spleen Decoction) tonifies from the outer realm of Fire, allowing Wood to generate Fire, and Fire to generate Earth. Taiyin Spleen Earth is generated following Shaoyang Ministerial Fire, thus tonifying Spleen Earth is equivalent to tonifying Ministerial Fire. The Bawei Wan (Eight-Ingredient Pill) integrates the mutual completion of Water and Fire to steam and rot (digest), which is one principle. Zhang Zhongjing established Jianzhong Tang (Middle-Jian Decoction) to strengthen Spleen Earth. Wood is characterized by bending and straightening, producing sourness; Shaoyao (Radix Paeoniae Rubra/Alba) is sour and belongs to Jia Wood. Earth is characterized by sowing and reaping, producing sweetness; Gancao (Radix Glycyrrhizae) is sweet and belongs to Ji Earth. Sour and Sweet combine, and Jia and Ji transform into Earth. Adding Rougui (Cortex Cinnamomi) is because Gui belongs to Dragon Fire, assisting its transformation. The subtlety of Zhang Zhongjing's prescriptions is largely like this. This also reveals the meaning of Wood generating Earth. People believe Wood overcomes Earth and wish to chop it down, unaware that Wood Qi is the Qi of generation, Yang Qi, Primordial Qi, and Stomach Qi; they share the same origin but have different names. How can they be chopped down? This is why Li Dongyuan's *Pi Wei Lun* (Treatise on the Spleen and Stomach) earnestly and detailedly discusses using Shengma (Rhizoma Cimicifugae) and Chaihu (Radix Bupleuri) to soothe Wood Qi.

Dragon and Thunder Fire is intangible yet audible; it does not burn vegetation but intensifies with rain; it appears in late spring and lies dormant in late autumn. Investigating the appearance of Dragon and Thunder: in the fifth month, Yin begins to arise, making the water bottom cold and the sky hot. Since Dragons are Yang entities, they rise with Yang. At the Winter Solstice, Yang returns, so Dragons also submerge with Yang, and Thunder ceases its sound. The Ministerial Fire in the Kidneys of the human body is exactly the same. In daily life, failure to restrain desires leads to the decline of Mingmen Fire and excess Yin in the Kidneys. With no place for Dragon Fire to reside, it wanders upward and fails to return, resulting in upper jiao irritant heat, coughing, and other symptoms. A skilled practitioner uses warming Kidney medicines to follow its nature and guide it back to its origin, allowing it to execute the command of Yang lying dormant in Autumn and Winter, thus returning the Dragon to the sea; this is the supreme principle. Alas, how sad that nowadays, when treating Yin deficiency with Fire decline, practitioners use Huangbai (Cortex Phellodendri) and Zhimu (Rhizoma Anemarrhenae) as chief ingredients, thereby further chilling the Kidneys and hastening demise! If there is Yin deficiency with Fire hyperactivity, this is due to dryness and depletion of Kidney Water with excessive Fire; one should tonify Water to harmonize with Fire, and should not use bitter-cold substances to extinguish the Fire. "Strengthening the Master of Water to suppress the Solar Flare" precisely refers to this.

Kan represents Water and Qi, small like well water, large like ocean water. Dui and Kun represent Water, minute like dew, large like rain. One Yang trapped between two Yins forms Kan; Kan moves underground with Water Qi, serving as the fundamental source of life for all things, hence it is said: "Nothing moistens the ten thousand things more than Water." One Yin penetrating through two Yangs forms Dui; Dui spreads tangible Water above all things, providing beneficial nourishment for creation, hence it is said: "Nothing delights the ten thousand things more than Marsh." Understanding these two types of Water allows one to comprehend the way of treating Fire.

Heart Fire is tangible Fire; Ministerial Fire is intangible Fire. Intangible Fire causes fluid depletion due to dryness and heat; using tangible Dui Water from the Five Elements to control it is a provisional measure. Our body possesses Shangchi Water Qi, which is intangible; using intangible Water to irrigate intangible Fire is the constant and enduring method. This constitutes True Water and True Fire; when their ascending and descending are appropriate, Mutual Completion (Ji Ji) is achieved.