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Treats chronic cough, lung atrophy (Fei Wei), and lung abscess (Fei Yong).
Tianmendong (Asparagi Radix), Mendumdong (Ophiopogonis Radix), Zhimu (Anemarrhenae Rhizoma), Beimu (Fritillariae Bulbus), Kua Donghua (Adenophorae Flos) (each 2 liang), Xingren (Armeniacae Semen Amarum), Danggui (Angelicae Sinensis Radix), Shudi (Rehmanniae Radix Preparata), Shengdi (Rehmanniae Radix), Ejiao Zhu (Donkey-hide Gelatin Granules), Huanglian (Coptidis Rhizoma) (each 1.5 liang), Puhuang (Typhae Pollen), Jingmo (Beijing Ink), Jiegeng (Platycodonis Radix), Bohe (Menthae Haplocalycis Herba) (each 1 liang), Baimi (White Honey) (4 liang), Shexiang (Moschus) (a small amount).
Grind the above herbs into a fine powder and mix evenly. Use a silver or ceramic vessel. First, refine the white honey until cooked. Then add all the herb powders and stir well. Reheat over fire, add Moschus, and boil for two or three boils.
Form into pills to be swallowed, or hold in the mouth and chew these pills while lying supine so that the medicinal fluid flows into the lung orifices. This will clear and moisten the lungs, causing the cough to subside. After seven days of administration, the disease is cured. For any cough, taking only this medicine leads to immediate recovery.
Two liang of the three Dong herbs and two Mu herbs are like... [Poetic summary of ingredients omitted in literal translation as it is mnemonic verse].
Pan's Note: Ten ingredients are identical to those in Baohe Tang. Here, Jinbo (Gold Leaf) is added, and wax pills are formed, named Ningsou Jindan (Cough-Calming Golden Pill), which is very effective. It calms the soul and spirit, and pacifies palpitations and fright. Continuous consumption of five to seven pills results in cure. Xin'an delivered it to Wu Lianshu, who cherished it greatly and praised it endlessly.

Taiping Wan is not a standard prescription. The author's planning was meticulous, fearing that after the patient's Qi and Blood gradually recover, there might still remain one part uneliminated and one part improper.
This is particularly ingenious.
Chen Xiuyuan's Note: The formula moistens dryness, resolves phlegm, and nourishes Yin fluids. A small amount of Menthae Haplocalycis Herba (Bohe) is added to promote the flow of Qi, without profound meaning. It merely mixes the bitter-cold nature of Coptidis Rhizoma (Huanglian) with the penetrating nature of Moschus (Shexiang).
Bitter and cold; bitterness is the fundamental taste of Fire. By its bitter taste, it tonifies; by its cold nature, it overcomes Fire. By its cold qi, it drains Fire. Thus, one substance possesses the subtle efficacy of both tonifying and draining the Heart. Therefore, for any chronic cough, lung atrophy (Fei Wei), or lung abscess (Fei Yong), obtaining this medicine ensures that Fire does not overcome Metal, and Metal benefits itself. The *Bencao Jing* also states:
Moschus (Shexiang) primarily repels evil Qi and eliminates three types of parasites. Presumably, persistent labor-induced cough leads to consumptive disease (Zhai Bing) where parasites arise. Such conditions cannot be treated by ordinary medicines. Only Moschus, being the chief among all aromatics, represents the righteous Qi of Heaven and Earth. Righteousness can repel evil and kill parasites. Consumptive disease involving parasites is like trees having borers; only by first removing the borers and then nurturing the roots can vigorous growth occur. Moreover, coughing is inseparable from the Lung. The Lung has two orifices: one in the nose and one in the throat. The lung orifice should be open rather than closed, while the throat orifice should be closed rather than open. If the nasal orifice is blocked, the throat orifice will open and cause pathology. One must rely on the strongest aroma of Moschus (Shexiang) to directly penetrate and open the nasal orifice.
Then respiration becomes smooth, and the root cause of the cough is eliminated. Old annotations failed to elucidate this subtlety; now it is specially supplemented.