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Pregnancy and fetal development are fundamentally rooted in Blood and Qi. Fetal growth retardation (Tai Bu Zhang) is solely due to a deficiency of Blood and Qi. Therefore, there are cases where bleeding persists after conception because the Blood fails to anchor the fetus; there are cases in middle-aged women where Blood and Qi decline because the source of life is gradually drying up; there are cases among women prone to Spleen and Stomach diseases because a weak Spleen and Stomach lead to a deficit in transformation sources, exhausting the Chong and Ren vessels; there are cases among women prone to depression and anger because Liver Qi rebellion causes irregular Blood flow, depriving the fetus of nourishment. Some have poor fetal growth due to cold in Blood and Qi, as Yang Qi deficiency leads to less vital energy; some have poor fetal growth due to heat in Blood, as excessive Fire pathogenic factors damage True Yin. For all such conditions, appropriate treatments include tonifying, consolidating, warming, and clearing. By addressing the specific pathology with flexible application, whether at term or post-term, as fetal Qi gradually fills, growth will naturally occur. Only when it is due to advanced age and blood decline is it a matter of destiny, beyond human intervention.

The concept of "Ghost Fetus" (Gui Tai) in women—could it be nonexistent? Can ghostly qi truly invade the uterus and take form? This is merely due to the woman's own constitution, perhaps caused by obsessive thoughts accumulating, causing Blood to knot with Qi without dispersing; or due to stagnation and rebellion in the Chong and Ren vessels, causing blockage and stasis in the meridians so that flow ceases. These are all internal pathological conditions, definitely not external pathogens. Essentially, this belongs to the category of Blood and Qi masses (Jia Ji). It should immediately be treated according to the methods for Jia Ji, detailed in the relevant section. Furthermore, encounters with supernatural entities like fox spirits, while real experiences, do not constitute Ghost Fetus; one should also seek treatment methods under the "Masses Category" to purge them.

Moreover, Ghost Fetus disease often arises from a combination of Blood and Qi deficiency with stagnation. If menstrual irregularities are addressed with preventive regulation and tonification beforehand, this disease will certainly not occur. If the disease has already manifested, treatment must primarily focus on regulating and tonifying Yuan Qi, followed by medications to eliminate accumulations. However, besides using tonification alone, if one wishes to combine tonification with unblocking, there is no better formula than Jue Jin Decoction (Decoction for Crossing the Ford); if one wishes to remove stagnation without being overly harsh, there is no better formula than Tong Yu Decoction (Decoction for Unblocking Stasis); if one seeks both strong tonification and direct therapeutic effect, then Duo Ming Dan (Life-Rescuing Pill) and Hui Sheng Dan (Return-to-Life Pill) can be used discretionarily. Alternatively, sending Chi Jin Dou (Golden Bean) with a concentrated decoction of Dang Gui Hong Hua Jian yields excellent results.

Jue Jin Decoction (See Menstrual Abdominal Pain)
Tong Yu Decoction (See Menstrual Abroad Pain)
Duo Ming Dan from *Liang Fang* (See *Fu Ren Gui Ancient Formulas*), treating Blood stasis entering the uterus, causing distension and difficulty in expulsion. Taking this medicine urgently causes the stasis to dissipate and the fetal membrane to descend. Note: This formula shares the efficacy of Hui Sheng Dan and is effective for expelling dead fetuses; it must include Dang Gui.
Prepared Fuzi (Cinnamon Twig Root, half tael), Ganshi (Dry Lacquer, crushed, stir-fried until smoke ceases), Mudanpi (Moutan Bark, each one tael).
Grind into fine powder. Separately, take one tael of Dahuang (Rhubarb) powder, add one sheng of good vinegar, and boil into a paste. Mix with the previous medicines, roll into pills the size of tung tree seeds, and swallow five to seven pills with warm wine. Another version includes one tael of Dang Gui.

Hui Sheng Dan (See *Fu Ren Gui Ancient Formulas*), treating various postpartum disorders in women, including retained lochia, pain from any excess pathogenic factors, dead fetus, and counterflow of Blood stasis.
Method for preparing Dahuang Paste: Use Sanmu (Sappan Wood) three taels and five bowls of river water, boil down to three bowls, strain and set aside. Honghua (Safflower) three taels, stir-fry until yellow, add one large pot of good wine, boil ten to twelve times, strain and set aside. Heidou (Black Soybean) three sheng, cook thoroughly, retain three bowls of juice, remove beans, dry the skins and grind into powder, set aside. Dahuang (Rhubarb) one jin, grind into powder, add eight bowls of good vinegar, boil into a paste. Then add the Honghua wine, Sanmu decoction, and Heidou juice, mix well, and boil again into a paste. Store in a basin for use. Roast the scorched residue in the pot until dry, grind into powder, and add together with the bean skin powder.
Renshen (Ginseng), Baizhu (Atractylodes Macrocephala Rhizome), Qingpi (Green Tangerine Peel), Mugua (Chaenomelis Fructus) (each three qian), Dang Gui (Angelica Sinensis Root), Chuanxiong (Ligusticum Wallichii Rhizome), Yuanhu (Corydalis Rhizome), Cangzhu (Atractylodes Lancea Rhizome), Xiangfu (Cyperi Rhizome, stir-fried with child's urine), Puhuang (Typha Pollen), Chifuling (Red Poria), Taoren (Peach Kernel Paste), Shudi (Rehmannia Glutinosa Root Prepared) (each one tael), Niuxi (Achyranthes Bidentata Root), Sanleng (Sparganium Rhizome), Shanzhuyu (Cornus Officinalis Fruit), Wulingzhi (Trogopterus Dung), Diyu (Sanguisorba Officinalis Root), Gancao (Licorice Root), Qianghuo (Notopterygium Root), Chenpi (Tangerine Peel), Baishao (White Peony Root) (each five qian), Liangjiang (Galangal Rhizome) (four qian), Wuyao (Litsea Petiolata Fruit) (two taels and a half), Muxiang (Vladimiria Root), Ruxiang (Frankincense), Moyao (Myrrh) (each one qian).
Grind all into powder. Use the previously prepared Dahuang paste to form pills the size of quail eggs, coat with gold foil. Take one pill at any time according to the syndrome, guided by a decoction.

Chi Jin Dou (See *Xin Fang Ba Zhen · Gong Zhen*), also known as Ba Xian Dan. Treating various types of stagnation and accumulation. Suitable for Blood coagulation and Qi stagnation causing pain and swelling, or hard parasitic accumulations. This pill removes disease rapidly and effectively, greatly surpassing agents like Xiaoshi (Mirabilite), Dahuang (Rhubarb), Sanleng (Sparganium), and E Zhu (Curcuma Phaeocaulis Rhizome) which excessively damage healthy Qi.
Badoushuang (Croton Seed Frost, peeled, oil slightly removed, one qian and a half), Sheng Fuzi (Raw Aconite Carleil, sliced, lightly stir-fried dry, two qian), Zaojiao (Gleditsia Sinensis Fruit, stir-fried until slightly scorched, two qian), Qingfen (Calomel, one qian), Dingxiang (Caryophylli Flos), Muxiang (Vladimiria Root), Tianzhuhuang (Calami Tuber) (each three qian), Zhusha (Cinnabar, two qian, used for coating).
Grind into powder. Soak steamed dough in vinegar to form pills the size of radish seeds, coat with Zhusha. To eliminate gradually, take five to seven pills per dose; to purge rapidly, take ten to twenty pills per dose. Guide with boiling water, herbal decoction, ginger, vinegar, tea, honey, Huixiang (Fennel Fruit), or Shijunzi (Quisqualis Indica Fruit) decoction. If diarrhea persists, drink one or two mouthfuls of cold water to stop it, as this medicine moves with heat and stops with cold. For treating Qi stagnation, Dampness stagnation, Excess stagnation, or Drum Distension, first cook red dates thoroughly, take about one qian of the flesh, mix with seven or eight pills (or ten to twenty for severe cases), mash together with the date flesh, and send down with hot liquor and a little white sugar.