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The etiology of excess syndromes often stems from the failure of sweating methods to disperse pathogens. When the pulse corresponds with the symptoms, treatment must be weighed carefully; one must not neglect or take life lightly. Medical aphorisms state: treating disease should follow natural laws. "Xie" (Purgation/Draining) refers to draining what is excessive. "Excessive" means pathogenic qi is solid and abundant. Methods for draining excess include sweating, vomiting, and purgation. For diseases located in the upper jiao, whether due to cold, food stagnation, or phlegm, vomiting is appropriate. For pathogens in the exterior, use sweating; for pathogens in the interior, use purgation. These are all excess syndromes that require timely treatment without delay. The concepts of tonification and draining apply to both cold and heat treatments; this is the secret of medicine. Draining methods should start gently and become intense if necessary; if ineffective, attack again, but if too aggressive, recovery may be difficult. However, one cannot absolutely regard purgation as a long-term strategy. Just as Shang Yang's governance was not the orthodox way for peaceful times. (For excess syndromes, hegemonic methods are suitable, not kingly methods. Failure to purge when indicated leads to missed opportunities; purging when not indicated brings immediate disaster. It is also said: Tonify deficiency, drain excess. Pulses have deficiency and excess, clarified by symptoms. This passage exists in Qian's edition but not in Caolu's edition, so it is appended here.)

What causes Qi deficiency with sinking? Labor injury damages spirit and reason inevitably. How to distinguish between closure and collapse syndromes? Rely entirely on combining lifting and consolidating methods. Stomach Qi is in the middle, Kidney Qi is in the lower part. When these two Qi connect and circulate continuously, what disease would arise? Once injured, Qi deficiency with sinking occurs. Therefore, if Yin of Liver and Kidney cannot ascend, and Fire of Heart and Lung cannot descend, closure and stagnation will result. (Zhang Dongfu said: If Yin of Liver and Kidney does not ascend, the upper part becomes dry; if Fire of Heart and Lung does not descend, the lower part becomes cold.) One must first ensure communication (unblocking), combined with lifting. If ineffective, warm-tonify True Yang, and Qi will naturally flow. For example, in women with uterine bleeding, where lower Qi deficiency leads to collapse and diarrhea, severe tonification combined with lifting is appropriate. The Classics state: If exit and entry cease, the Spirit mechanism perishes; if ascending and descending stop, the Qi establishment stands alone in danger. Heaven, Earth, and Man are one, and all generation and transformation stem from the ascending and descending of this one Qi. Thus, lifting promotes the sprouting of Spring Qi and the circulation of Yuan Qi.