Library

Although the treatment of diseases relies on medication and regulation, it is essential to observe dietary and lifestyle prohibitions. First, ensure the patient's room is clean by sweeping and dusting. In winter, the curtains must be kept warm; in summer, cool mosquito nets are appropriate, to prevent invasion by flies, centipedes, and similar creatures. Beef, dog meat, fishy and strong-smelling foods, salted cured meats, and smoked or preserved items can all induce thirst. Raw, dried fruits such as pears, persimmons, water caltrops, and dates, as well as cold and raw foods, can damage the stomach and spleen. Chicken, goose, mutton, clams, river pufferfish, shrimp, crabs, and other seafood can stir up wind and cause itching. Greasy, fried, roasted, salty, sour, and strongly flavored foods most readily promote fire and generate phlegm. Adzuki beans and buckwheat noodles can disturb qi and trigger disease. Anger and sudden rage often lead to abdominal distension and fullness. Overeating inevitably harms the spleen and stomach. After a sore has healed, engaging in labor too early results in emaciation and debility (Lei Syndrome). Engaging in sexual activity too soon after illness will shorten one's lifespan. Failing to avoid wind and cold may cause the recurrence of flowing toxins. Failing to guard one's diet will result in unbearable itching of the sores. Major sores require abstinence for half a year; minor sores require abstinence for one hundred days. This is indeed the conduct of a gentleman who understands destiny.

Life and death cannot be thoroughly understood except by the sacred and divine; the prognosis of illness cannot be determined without a wise physician. Otherwise, people will be filled with doubt and their decisions will be inconsistent. I received the "One Branch Plum" prescription from Lü Zu (Lü Dongbin), a true immortal formula. I dare not keep it secret but publish and annotate it here to spread it to the world.

Lü Zu's One Branch Plum: Treats various new and chronic diseases in adults, men, women, and children, particularly when life and death are uncertain. Take a pill-sized cake of medicine (the size of an Euryale seed) and apply it to the center of Yintang (Ex-HN3, between the eyebrows). Light one stick of official incense. When the incense burns out, remove the medicine. After approximately one hour, if red spots and halos appear at the application site, swelling rises and spreads, this is called "Red Clouds Embracing the Sun." Even if the disease is critical, the patient will not die. If, after one hour, there is no swelling or redness, and the skin and flesh remain unchanged, this is called "White Clouds Covering the Field." Even if the disease seems mild, the patient will ultimately die. For pediatric acute and chronic convulsions, and all types of dysentery in the old and young, apply this formula; redness and swelling will subside, and recovery will follow. This formula allows for the prediction of life and death.

Cinnabar (Sanqian / 3 qian), Silver Cinnabar (Yijin Fen / 1.5 qian), Trogopterus Dung (Wulingzhi / 3 qian), Musk (Sanfen / 0.3 qian), Castor Seed (Wufen / 0.5 qian), Realgar, Croton Seed (Baidu Ren / each 5 qian, oil not removed).

Grind each ingredient into fine powder. On the Dragon Boat Festival (Duanwu), in a clean room, grind them together at noon. Mix with oil and rouge to form a paste. Store in a porcelain jar, preventing moisture and deterioration. When using, take a pill the size of a bean, shape it into a cake, and apply to Yintang (Ex-HN3). The effect will be immediate. Dispose of the used cake by throwing it into a river.