见所公弱冠,随尊君大司马印老治河居北。患白浊,精淫淫下。自北地山东、淮扬、镇江及
江右三吴诸名家,医药三年不效。癸酉冬,礼予诊之。其脉两寸短弱,两关滑,两尺洪滑,
观其人襟期潇洒出尘,而神色闲雅,真翩翩佳公子也。一接见,便就昵而信余请药。予曰∶
公疾易愈,第待来春之仲,一剂可瘳,而今时不可。公固请曰∶先生大方,而善拯人之急。
以大方而治小疾,试可立效,何待来年?予曰∶非秘其术不售也。《素问》有云∶升降浮沉
必顺之。又曰∶天时不可伐。公脉为湿痰下流症也。经曰∶治痰必先理气。而脉书亦谓,洪
大而见于尺部者,阳乘于阴也。法当从阴引阳,今冬令为闭藏之候,冬之闭藏,实为来春发生
根本,天人一理。若罔顾天时而强用升提之法,是逆天时而泄元气,根本既竭,来春何以发
生?故《素问》曰,必先岁气,毋伐天和,必养必和,待其来复。公疾本小,而历治三年不
效者,良由诸医不知脉、不识病、不按时也。公闻言唯唯。乃尊君所遣之医踵接,治竟无
效,至春分而逆予,以白螺蛳壳火 四两为君,牡蛎二两为臣,半夏、葛根、柴胡、苦参各一
两为佐,黄柏一两为使,面糊为丸,名曰端本丸。令早晚服之,不终剂而全愈。公复书曰∶
贱疾果如先生言,今勿药也,何历治三年不效。窃谓天下无药,服端本丸而愈,又信天下有
药矣。
When Master Jiansuo was in his early twenties, he accompanied his father, Grand Marshal Yin Lao, to manage the Yellow River and resided in the north. He suffered from *bai zhuo* (white turbid discharge, often referring to spermatorrhea or leukorrhea), with semen flowing out incessantly. For three years, he sought treatment from various renowned physicians in Shandong, Huaiyang, Zhenjiang, Jiangxi, and the Sanwu region of Jiangnan, but without effect. In the winter of the Guiyou year, I examined him. His pulse at both cun positions was short and weak; at both guan positions, it was slippery; and at both chi positions, it was surging and slippery. Observing his demeanor, he was elegant and detached from worldly cares, with a calm and refined expression, truly a graceful young gentleman. Upon our first meeting, he readily trusted me and requested my prescription. I said, "Your illness is easy to cure. However, you must wait until mid-spring next year. One dose will suffice, but not now." Master Jiansuo insisted, saying, "Sir is adept at using large prescriptions and excels at relieving urgent distress. Using a major formula for a minor ailment should yield immediate results. Why wait until next year?" I replied, "This is not because I am withholding my technique. The *Suwen* states: 'Ascending, descending, floating, and sinking must accord with the laws of nature.' It also says: 'Do not violate the timing of heaven.' Your pulse indicates a syndrome of damp-phlegm flowing downward. The classics state: 'To treat phlegm, one must first regulate qi.' Pulse texts also teach that a surging pulse appearing at the chi position indicates yang invading yin. The method should be to draw yang from yin. Winter is the season of closure and storage; this winter storage is actually the root for the sprouting of spring. Heaven and humanity follow the same principle. If one ignores the seasonal timing and forcibly uses ascending methods, it violates heaven's timing and depletes primordial qi. Once the root is exhausted, how can there be growth in spring? Therefore, the *Suwen* says: 'First understand the annual climate, do not harm the harmony of heaven and human nature; nourish and harmonize, and wait for recovery.' Your illness is minor, yet ineffective treatment for three years is due to physicians' ignorance of pulse diagnosis, disease identification, and seasonal timing." Master Jiansuo agreed. Physicians sent by his father continued to treat him without success. At the time of the Spring Equinox, I employed a counter-treatment method. I used four liang of calcined *Bianluoqi* (White Conch Shell) as the sovereign herb, two liang of *Muli* (Oyster Shell) as the minister herb, one liang each of *Banxia* (Pinellia Rhizome), *Gegen* (Pueraria Root), *Chaihu* (Bupleurum Root), and *Kushen* (Sophora Root) as the assistant herbs, and one liang of *Huangbai* (Phellodendron Bark) as the guide herb. These were made into pills using flour paste, named *Duanben Wan* (Root-Ending Pill). He took them morning and evening and was fully cured before finishing one dose. He wrote back: "My illness indeed healed as Sir predicted, and I no longer need medicine. Why did previous treatments fail for three years? I once thought there was no effective medicine in the world, but after taking Duanben Wan and recovering, I now believe there is medicine in the world."