Library

Caused by excessive warmth in clothing and bedding, which obstructs the heat. As the proverb says: "If you want a child to be safe, keep them slightly hungry and cold." Apply chicken droppings to the umbilicus; for boys, use female chicken droppings, and for girls, male chicken droppings, which is most effective. Alternatively, apply Zhen Xihuang (Real Rhinoceros Horn) and Fei Chensha (Fly-washed Cinnabar), each 5 li, ground into powder, applied to the tongue, which stops crying immediately.

Chensha (Cinnabar) and Qingfen (Calomel), each 1 qian; Jiangcan (Bombyx Batryticatus), 7 pieces; Quanxie (Scorpio), 3 pieces. Grind all into fine powder together. Use insects found inside Artemisia annua stems (Qinghao Jie Nei Chong), mash and mix to form pills the size of mung beans. When needed, take one pill, grind it fine, and administer mixed with human milk.
Ma said: This prescription is quite effective.

Tianzhu Huang (Calamiform Borax), 2 qian; Shexiang (Musk), Xihuang (Rhinoceros Horn), each 4 fen; Xionghuang (Realgar), Jiangcan (Bombyx Batryticatus), each 1 qian; Hupo (Amber), 6 fen; Chen Danning (Aged Pinellia Ternata Processed with Bear Bile), 4 qian. Grind each into powder separately. Use Gancao (Licorice Root) and Goutenggou (Uncaria Rhynchophylla Hook) decocted into a paste as a binder to form pills. Coat with Zhusha (Cinnabar), 1 qian, and add extra Chi Jin (Gold Leaf). Each batch makes forty pills. Take one pill per dose, delivered with a decoction made from Dengxin Tan (Charred Juncus Effusus Core), 4 qian, and Bohe (Mentha haplocalyx). Alternatively, catch one large spider, roast until carbonized but retaining efficacy, grind into powder, and administer half a dose mixed with pig milk, slowly灌ing down.
Ma said: Yili Jindan (One Pill Golden Elixir) is also effective, but it should not be taken in excess.

Using medicine is like using troops; armies have brave soldiers, and medicines have acrid and hot properties. Acrid and hot medicines become pure after processing, just as brave soldiers become refined through training. With elite soldiers, defeating enemies is not difficult; with pure medicines, curing diseases is easy. If processing is improper, it is like brave soldiers lacking martial skills. People today do not master the art of processing and fear acrid and hot medicines as if they were tigers, claiming they are useless or harmful. I initially studied materia medica properties, then focused on processing methods. The nature of medicines has not changed much since ancient times, but processing methods differ. I have devoted over forty years to studying this, mastering the techniques, achieving rapid and reliable results without failure. Thus, I understand that the power of acrid medicines is like brave soldiers, and the methods of processing are like military drills. Since ancient texts did not detail the processing of acrid medicines, I record these here as a supplement to processing methods.

Cut Licorice Root (Gancao) into three-cun segments, soak thoroughly in water, place on an iron sieve, and slow-roast over charcoal fire. Roast until sweat appears, remove from fire, cool temporarily, then roast again until the herb is cooked. Peel and slice. Cooked Gancao strengthens the spleen and harmonizes the middle jiao; it is a sweet and neutral substance, the essence of the nine earths. Raw Gancao resolves hundred toxins, harmonizes other herbs' properties, moistens the lungs, resolves sores, carbuncles, and fetal toxins, and benefits the throat.