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Question 1: For women and unmarried girls with lifelong amenorrhea (absence of menstruation), what medicine should be taken?
Answer: Observe the blood status. If blood is deficient, one should take tonifying nourishment and kidney-tonifying formulas; if the pulse indicates excess and qi is constrained and merging, one should take formulas that regulate qi and generate blood.
Tonifying Nourishment and Kidney-Tonifying Formula:
Sheng Di Huang (Rehmanniae Radix), Chuan Xiong (Chuanxiong Rhizoma), Fu Ling (Poria), Bai Shao (Radix Paeoniae Alba), Chen Pi (Citri Reticulatae Pericarpium), Gan Cao (Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma), Du Zhong (Eucommiae Cortex), Xu Duan (Dipsaci Radix), Zhi Mu (Anemarrhenae Rhizoma), Dang Gui (Angelicae Sinensis Radix), Tiao Huang Qin (Scutellariae Radix).

Regulating Qi and Generating Blood Formula:
Chuan Xiong (Chuanxiong Rhizoma), Dang Gui (Angelicae Sinensis Radix), Wu Yao (Linderae Radix), Xiang Fu (Cyperi Rhizoma), Chen Pi (Citri Reticulatae Pericarpium), Gan Cao (Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma), Sheng Di Huang (Rehmanniae Radix), Hua Fen (Trichosanthis Radix), Mu Xiang (Aucklandiae Radix), Dan Pi (Moutan Cortex), Yuan Hu Suo (Corydalis Rhizoma).

Question 2: For unmarried girls whose amenorrhea has led to consumption disease (lao), what medicine should be taken?
Answer: When male essence is abundant, he can father a daughter; when female essence is abundant, she can conceive. When yin and yang harmonize, rain descends. It is best to arrange marriage promptly. Yi Bu Zhong Yi Qi Tang (Supplement the Middle and Augment the Qi Decoction) is suitable:
Ren Shen (Ginseng Radix), Bai Zhu (Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma), Chen Pi (Citri Reticulatae Pericarpium), Gan Cao (Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma), Dang Gui (Angelicae Sinensis Radix), Huang Qi (Astragali Radix), Chai Hu (Bupleuri Radix), Sheng Ma (Cimicifugae Rhizoma), Fu Ling (Poria), Bai Shao (Radix Paeoniae Alba), Xiang Fu (Cyperi Rhizoma).

Question 3: For widows or older unmarried women with amenorrhea, what medicine should be taken?
Answer: This is a condition of solitary yin without yang. One should take blood-nourishing formulas:
Sheng Di Huang (Rehmanniae Radix), Chuan Xiong (Chuanxiong Rhizoma), Dang Gui (Angelicae Sinensis Radix), Bai Shao (Radix Paeoniae Alba), Fu Ling (Poria), Chen Pi (Citri Reticulatae Pericarpium), Gan Cao (Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma), Zhi Mu (Anemarrhenae Rhizoma), Du Zhong (Eucommiae Cortex), Huang Bo (Phellodendri Cortex), Xiang Fu (Cyperi Rhizoma).

Question 4: For prostitutes with amenorrhea, what medicine should be taken?
Answer: Prostitutes do not typically suffer from amenorrhea. If it occurs, it is due to insufficient primordial qi being damaged by men, causing blockage. One should take blood-tonifying formulas:
Shu Di Huang (Prepared Rehmanniae Radix), Chuan Xiong (Chuanxiong Rhizoma), Dang Gui (Angelicae Sinensis Radix), Bai Shao (Radix Paeoniae Alba), Fu Ling (Poria), Chen Pi (Citri Reticulatae Pericarpium), Gan Cao (Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma), Du Zhong (Eucommiae Cortex), Chuan Duan (Dipsaci Radix), Xiang Fu (Cyperi Rhizoma).

Question 5: For women and unmarried girls whose menstruation arrives late, what medicine should be taken?
Answer: This condition may involve qi stagnation or blood deficiency. If there is no abdominal pain and slight fever, take heat-clearing and nourishment-tonifying formulas: (Note: This condition is truly blood deficiency only if there is no abdominal pain.)
Shou Wu (Polygoni Multiflori Radix), Zhi Mu (Anemarrhenae Rhizoma), Tiao Qin (Scutellariae Radix), Dang Gui (Angelicae Sinensis Radix), Sheng Di Huang (Rehmanniae Radix), Bai Fu Ling (Poria), Bai Shao (Radix Paeoniae Alba), Chen Pi (Citri Reticulatae Pericarpium), Xiang Fu (Cyperi Rhizoma), Gan Cao (Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma).

If qi and blood are stagnant, accompanied by abdominal pain, lower back pain, and chest oppression, take Shun Qi He Rong Tang (Regulate Qi and Harmonize Nutritive Decoction):
Wu Yao (Linderae Radix), Xiang Fu (Cyperi Rhizoma), Mu Xiang (Aucklandiae Radix), Chen Pi (Citri Reticulatae Pericarpium), Chuan Xiong (Chuanxiong Rhizoma), Yuan Hu Suo (Corydalis Rhizoma), Dan Pi (Moutan Cortex), Dang Gui (Angelicae Sinensis Radix), Hong Hua (Carthami Flos), Gan Cao (Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma).

Question 6: For menstruation arriving early, what medicine should be taken?
Answer: This condition involves blood heat or excessive qi damaging the Sea of Blood. Generally, it is mostly blood heat causing reckless bleeding. For blood heat, take Liang Xue Di Huang Tang (Cool Blood and Rehmannia Decoction): (Note: Ask about menstrual color; purple indicates fire/heat, pale indicates cold/deficiency.)
Xi Jiao (Rhinocerotis Cornu - *substitute commonly used in modern practice*), Di Huang (Rehmanniae Radix), Bai Shao (Radix Paeoniae Alba), Huang Qin (Scutellariae Radix), Zhi Mu (Anemarrhenae Rhizoma), Shan Zhi (Gardeniae Fructus), Gan Cao (Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma), Dang Gui (Angelicae Sinensis Radix), Fu Ling (Poria).

For excessive qi damaging the Sea of Blood, take Yi Qi Yang Rong Tang (Augment Qi and Nourish Nutritive Decoction):
Xiang Fu (Cyperi Rhizoma), Gan Cao (Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma), Chuan Xiong (Chuanxiong Rhizoma), Bai Fu Ling (Poria), Bai Shao (Radix Paeoniae Alba), Dang Gui Tou (Head of Angelicae Sinensis Radix), Sheng Di Huang (Rehmanniae Radix), Chen Pi (Citri Reticulatae Pericarpium), Du Zhong (Eucommiae Cortex), Chuan Xu Duan (Dipsaci Radix).

Question 7: For women experiencing lower abdominal pain before menstruation, what medicine should be taken?
Answer: Pain occurring after the expected date belongs to blood deficiency; take nourishment-tonifying formulas. If it is qi and blood stagnation, take Shun Qi He Rong Tang (Regulate Qi and Harmonize Nutritive Decoction):
Wu Yao (Linderae Radix), Xiang Fu (Cyperi Rhizoma), Zhi Ke (Aurantii Fructus), Su Geng (Perillae Caulis), Chen Pi (Citri Reticulatae Pericarpium), Yuan Hu Suo (Corydalis Rhizoma), Gan Cao (Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma), Chuan Xiong (Chuanxiong Rhizoma), Dang Gui (Angelicae Sinensis Radix), Bai Fu Ling (Poria), Bai Shao (Radix Paeoniae Alba), Mu Dan Pi (Moutan Cortex), Mu Xiang (Aucklandiae Radix).

Question 8: For menstrual fluid that is purple-black or deep red, what medicine should be taken?
Answer: Purple-black has two causes: qi and blood merging, or heat formation. Qi and blood merging presents with abdominal pain; heat formation presents without abdominal pain; pale red indicates blood deficiency. All three cases are suitable for Si Wu Tang (Four Substances Decoction):
Shu Di Huang (Prepared Rehmanniae Radix), Dang Gui (Angelicae Sinensis Radix), Shao Yao (Paeoniae Radix), Chuan Xiong (Chuanxiong Rhizoma).

Question 9: For women with continuous, clear, and profuse menstruation, what medicine should be taken?
Answer: This condition mostly relates to qi deficiency. It also often occurs after consuming raw/cold foods during menstruation. Take Gui Fu Wan (Angelica and Cyperi Pill):
Dang Gui (Angelicae Sinensis Radix, 4 liang, washed with wine), Xiang Fu (Cyperi Rhizoma, 4 liang, washed with wine).

Question 10: For elderly women with continuous menstruation, what medicine should be taken?
Answer: Continuous menstruation leading to strangury is acceptable if qi and blood are abundant, even in old age. Take Modified Bu Zhong Yi Qi Tang (Modified Supplement the Middle and Augment the Qi Decoction):
Ren Shen (Ginseng Radix), Bai Zhu (Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma), Gan Cao (Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma), Ju Hong (Citri Reticulatae Pericarpium Rubrum), Chai Hu (Bupleuri Radix), Sheng Ma (Cimicifugae Rhizoma), Xiang Fu (Cyperi Rhizoma), Chuan Xiong (Chuanxiong Rhizoma), Gui Shen (Body of Angelicae Sinensis Radix).

Question 11: For women suffering from strangury (lin syndrome), what medicine should be taken?
Answer: Strangury is caused by kidney deficiency and bladder heat. Kidney deficiency leads to frequent urination; bladder heat leads to difficult and painful urination. Symptoms include: lower abdominal pain, difficulty, frequency, and dribbling. Thus, strangury is divided into five types: Red, White, Heat, Stone, and Sand. Treatment must distinguish between damp-heat and deficiency-excess; do not adhere to a single theory. If urine is frequent but scanty, this is kidney and bladder deficiency with heat encroaching; do not treat as strangury. Take Zi Yin Yi Huo Fang (Nourish Yin and Suppress Fire Formula):
Huang Bo (Phellodendri Cortex), Sheng Di Huang (Rehmanniae Radix), Sheng Ma (Cimicifugae Rhizoma), Gan Cao (Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma), Zhi Mu (Anemarrhenae Rhizoma), Chai Hu (Bupleuri Radix), Fang Ji (Stephaniae Tetrandrae Radix), Dang Gui (Angelicae Sinensis Radix), Shan Zhi (Gardeniae Fructus), Chen Pi (Citri Reticulatae Pericarpium).

Question 12: For women with leukorrhea (white discharge), what medicine should be taken?
Answer: Dampness flows downward to the lower jiao and seeps into the bladder, transforming into white discharge. Symptoms include sore and aching lower back and weak limbs. Take the following herbs:
Chuan Xiong (Chuanxiong Rhizoma), Zhi Mu (Anemarrhenae Rhizoma), Gui Shen (Body of Angelicae Sinensis Radix), Du Zhong (Eucommiae Cortex), Bai Fu Ling (Poria), Sheng Di Huang (Rehmanniae Radix), Bai Shao (Radix Paeoniae Alba), Shan Zhu Yu (Corni Fructus), Chen Pi (Citri Reticulatae Pericarpium), Mu Li (Ostrea Concha), Gan Cao (Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma), Xu Duan (Dipsaci Radix), Niu Xi (Achyranthis Bidentatae Radix).

Question 13: For women with sudden severe uterine bleeding (beng) that does not stop, what medicine should be taken?
Answer: The struggle between yin and yang is called beng. Blood fails to return to its vessels, hence continuous bleeding. Take Tiao Rong Yi Qi Tang (Harmonize Nutritive and Augment Qi Decoction): (Emergency formula for this condition: Use ink-stained lotus leaf stalks and charred dates, decocted with thick brown palm fiber. Note: These three ingredients decocted and taken together have been effective historically. Alternatively, burn palm thatch roof material to ash and take with aged wine for immediate cure.)
Chuan Xiong (Chuanxiong Rhizoma), Bai Fu Ling (Poria), Xiang Fu (Cyperi Rhizoma), Gui Tou (Head of Angelicae Sinensis Radix), Ren Shen (Ginseng Radix), Jing Jie (Schizonepetae Spica), Bai Shao (Radix Paeoniae Alba), E Jiao (Colla Corii Asini), Du Zhong (Eucommiae Cortex), Pu Huang (Typhae Pollen), Di Yu (Sanguisorbae Radix), Sheng Di Huang (Rehmanniae Radix), Xu Duan (Dipsaci Radix), Gan Cao (Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma).

Question 14: For uterine bleeding accompanied by lower abdominal pain, what medicine should be taken?
Answer: In uterine bleeding, an urgent pulse indicates death, a slow pulse indicates survival, a tight and large pulse indicates death, and a weak and small pulse indicates survival. Treating beng with abdominal pain is difficult for physicians. Treating the bleeding may worsen the pain, and treating the pain may worsen the bleeding. I use the aforementioned Yi Qi Tang plus 1 qian of Xiao Hui Xiang (Foeniculum Vulgare Fructus), which yields frequent success. Few doctors understand this condition well.

Question 15: For women with regular menstruation but unable to conceive, what medicine should be taken?
Answer: Causes include cold uterus or male cold uterus preventing conception. Take warming uterus and seed-enriching nourishment-tonifying medicines:
Qi Ai (Artemisiae Argyi Folium, roasted with vinegar, 2 liang), Dang Gui (Angelicae Sinensis Radix, washed with wine, 2 liang), Zhi Mu (Anemarrhenae Rhizoma, 2 liang), Mu Xiang (Aucklandiae Radix, a little), Xiang Fu (Cyperi Rhizoma, 4 liang), Fu Ling (Poria, 2 liang), Huang Bo (Phellodendri Cortex, 2 liang), Ren Shen (Ginseng Radix, 2 liang), Du Zhong (Eucommiae Cortex, 2 liang), Shan Yu (Corni Fructus, 2 liang), Sheng Di Huang (Rehmanniae Radix, 3 liang), Shu Di Huang (Prepared Rehmanniae Radix, 2 liang), Niu Xi (Achyranthis Bidentatae Radix, 2 liang), Chuan Xiong (Chuanxiong Rhizoma, 2 liang), Gou Qi Zi (Lycii Fructus, 2 liang).

Question 16: For women with coughing and hemoptysis, abdominal pain and diarrhea, chest fullness, phlegm obstruction in the throat, poor appetite, and numbness in hands and feet, what medicine should be taken?
Answer: The human body relies on the Spleen and Stomach as the foundation. The Stomach is the sea of water and grain; the Spleen is the organ of transformation and transportation. Qi, blood, and essence all depend on diet for nourishment. If constitution is inherently weak, combined with qi depression and discomfort, the Spleen and Stomach will be injured, and spirit further diminished, giving rise to these symptoms. Coughing and hemoptysis result from lung heat generating phlegm and liver failing to store blood; abdominal pain and diarrhea result from sudden violent purging due to phlegm-fluids or food stagnation, depleting spleen earth qi; chest fullness rises with fire, obstructing the throat; poor appetite results from weak stomach failing to transform and transport; numbness in extremities results from damp-phlegm stagnating in collaterals. Such diseases have multiple origins; if not treated early, roots are hard to remove later. Medication is tricky: treating as heat aids fire and generates phlegm; treating with cold damages stomach and causes diarrhea; regulating qi and widening middle makes body more qi-deficient; tonifying blood fills middle and causes slippery intestines. Take liver-pacifying formulas, heart-fire-scraping, kidney-water-nourishing, lung-metal-clearing, and spleen-earth-strengthening medicines to uproot the disease and cure phlegm disorders. However, one must abstain from anger, regulate diet, and reduce labor. Take Ping Gan Qing Fei Jian Pi Tang (Pacify Liver, Clear Lung, Strengthen Spleen Decoction):
Huang Lian (Coptidis Rhizoma), Hua Fen (Trichosanthis Radix), Mu Tong (Akebiae Caulis), Bai Zhu (Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma), Bai Shao (Radix Paeoniae Alba), Chai Hu (Bupleuri Radix), Ze Xie (Alismatis Rhizoma), Gan Cao (Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma), Chen Pi (Citri Reticulatae Pericarpium), Bei Mu (Fritillariae Cirrhosae Bulbus), Shan Zha (Crataegi Fructus), Su Geng (Perillae Caulis), Bai Fu Ling (Poria).

Question 17: For women with chronic uterine bleeding complicated by diarrhea, what medicine should be taken?
Answer: Take blood-tonifying, blood-regulating, and nutritive-harmonizing spleen-strengthening formulas.
Sheng Di Huang (Rehmanniae Radix), Bai Zhu (Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma), Xu Duan (Dipsaci Radix), Bai Fu Ling (Poria), Chen Pi (Citri Reticulatae Pericarpium), Dang Gui Tou (Head of Angelicae Sinensis Radix), Bai Shao (Radix Paeoniae Alba), Gan Cao (Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma), Du Zhong (Eucommiae Cortex), Pu Huang (Typhae Pollen), Ze Xie (Alismatis Rhizoma), Shan Yao (Dioscoreae Rhizoma), Huang Lian (Coptidis Rhizoma).

Question 18: How to treat women with Shang Han (cold damage)?
Answer: Women's Shang Han differs from men's. Men regulate qi; women regulate blood. Since women take blood as their root, if qi and blood flow smoothly, the spirit remains clear. After menstruation or postpartum, excessive blood loss leads to dry fluids, causing both yin and yang deficiency, alternating chills and fever, resembling Shang Han. One should take heat-clearing, blood-nourishing, and harmonizing formulas:
Chuan Xiong (Chuanxiong Rhizoma), Dang Gui (Angelicae Sinensis Radix), Chai Hu (Bupleuri Radix), Huang Qin (Scutellariae Radix), Chen Pi (Citri Reticulatae Pericarpium), Gan Cao (Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma), Fang Feng (Saposhnikoviae Radix), Hua Fen (Trichosanthis Radix), Zi Su (Perillae Folium), Bai Fu Ling (Poria).