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Baopuzi (The Master Who Embraces Simplicity) stated: Those who consume gold live as long as gold; those who consume jade live as solid as jade. However, the methods of refining and ingesting them have been lost for a long time. People who attempt this without mastering the technique may suffer from Gu Wei (osteomalacia or bone weakness) in mild cases, and death in severe cases. This desire to prolong life instead shortens it. Li Yu of the Northern Wei dynasty suffered illness from consuming jade. He told his wife, "One should reside in seclusion in the mountains and abandon desires when consuming jade. My unrestrained indulgence in wine and women led to my own death; it is not the fault of the medicine." Although he died, his corpse should show abnormalities. It is advisable not to immediately reveal the efficacy of consuming jade. At that time, in mid-July, Chang'an was boiling hot with heat. The corpse remained unchanged after four days, and there was no foul odor in the mouth. In the past, someone consumed five jin of jade powder before death. Three years later, their skin and shell were like those of a living person. Li Shizhen said, "Consuming jade may not prevent the living from dying, but it can prevent the dead from decaying." Su Dongpo (Su Shi) favored alchemy in his later years and often associated with Daoist practitioners. He once met Daoist Lingzhi, who taught him the method of refining and ingesting elixirs. Lingzhi said, "After the Winter Solstice and Summer Solstice, frequently inhale nasal mucus, rinse the mouth, and swallow. Live alone in a clean room. Seal urine in porcelain vessels. After one month, open it to check; fine sand resembling floating ants should form on top. Filter it through silk, wash it thoroughly with fresh water, and make pills with jujube flesh. This is called 'Yang Elixir refined by Yin.' Alternatively, take human milk, put it in a silver cauldron, and slowly boil it until it turns pale gold to make pills. This is called 'Yin Elixir refined by Yang.' These two substances must undergo refinement to achieve the complementary effect of Yin and Yang, attaining the power of the Nine-Turn Elixir (a highly refined Daoist pill). Dongpo praised Lingzhi's profound application and agile methods, noting that such secrets are not lightly revealed to just anyone.

Qi constitutes Heaven and Earth. When Heaven and Earth are formed, all things are born; Qi is indeed the root of continuous generation. For all flesh-and-blood creatures, life exists when Qi is present and transforms when Qi exhausts; this is the natural principle. Practitioners of arts have methods of 'consuming Qi' (absorbing vital energy), which can only dispel disease and prolong life, but cannot make one free from hunger and the need to eat. However, according to the *Family Sayings of Confucius*: Those who eat stones become plump and lustrous without aging; those who drink water resist cold and feel buoyant; those who eat meat are brave and fierce; those who eat grains are intelligent but short-lived; those who consume Qi are spiritual and long-lived; those who do not eat are immortal and divine. Thus, consuming Qi can indeed prevent death. I once read *Miscellaneous Sayings of the Song Dynasty*. During the Jiayou era, a great famine occurred in Hebei. A peasant carried his child on his back to find food elsewhere. Mid-journey, driven by hunger and exhaustion, he abandoned the child in an empty tomb. After the chaos settled and he returned home, passing by the place to collect bones, he found the child alive, fatter and healthier than when abandoned. Looking into the empty tomb, he saw only a toad the size of a wagon wheel, panting heavily from its hole. He took the child home and offered food, but the child refused. By age six or seven, the child's skin was as white as jade. The father brought him to the capital to show pediatric doctors. The doctor said, "Creatures with Qi can hibernate; swallows, snakes, shrimp, and toads are examples. Hibernation allows survival without food and longevity; this is a thousand-year-old toad. The child obtained Qi, hence no hunger. If allowed to continue not eating and remaining unmarried, he would eventually attain Dao (enlightenment/immortality) without needing medicine." The *Collected Works of Su Dongpo* also records this event, likely not fictional. However, while obtaining Qi in the tomb might explain survival, continuing to not eat and not feel hungry after leaving the hole is difficult to explain rationally.

Previously, in my Beijing residence, I met Old Man Song Taichu from Eastern Lu, aged ninety-four. His beard and hair were white, yet his face resembled a youth. He stayed at Fuqing Daoist Temple, sitting quietly in a room daily, having no hobbies other than three meals. I asked him about his regimen for preserving health. He said, "Diet should be beneficial to the body, not pursued for taste. Do not eat things that conflict with your constitution." He claimed his spleen and stomach were weak since childhood, so he never ate fruits, greasy foods, or roasted meats throughout his life. Even when delicacies were laid out, he did not indulge, thus preserving his remaining years. Indulging the appetite without cherishing one's body is not wise. His words were better than medicine, and I kept them in mind. Ancients said there are six types of incurable diseases: arrogant and unreasonable behavior, valuing wealth over health, inability to adapt clothing and diet to climate, complaining while emaciated, refusal to take medicine, and trusting shamans over doctors. Having any one of these makes treatment difficult. My friend Shen Hanxiao, a Juren (degree holder), came to Shanghai in the Dingwei year. Visiting my study, he looked exhausted. I asked, and he said, "I had a cough last winter, and it hasn't recovered." Palpating his pulse, the left side was firm, thin, and beating against the finger; the right Guan position was slightly choppy. I said, "This indicates deficiency in the Yin aspect. Liver Wood lacks nourishment from Kidney Water. Insufficient storage during Winter leads to excessive rebellious ascent. There is a risk of hemoptysis (coughing up blood) during the three months of Summer." Shen replied, "I can still eat two bowls of rice, so I am not afraid." I said, "Even so, you should rest quietly and take medicine to regulate." He said, "Medicinal tonics are inferior to dietary tonics. I have fatty chicken and tender meat; why use medicine?" I stopped speaking. Soon after, he sailed to the capital. Indeed, his cough worsened, and he vomited blood. Within a year, he died in Beijing. Alas! It was treatable then, but disbelief in medicine led to his demise. What a pity!

Regarding ophthalmology, predecessors discussed the Five Wheels, Eight Corridors, and seventy-two syndromes. However, in my view, the key lies merely in distinguishing Yin and Yang, Deficiency and Excess. Treat the branch (symptoms) in acute cases, and the root (cause) in chronic cases. When Su Dongpo was at Jie Tan with Ouyang Subi, Chao Wujiu, and Zhang Wenqian, he suffered from eye disease and washed his eyes with hot water. Wenqian said, "Eyes should not be washed or dropped with medicine. Eye ailments require nurturing, while tooth ailments require labor; they cannot be treated alike." Huang Tingjian said, "Eyes dislike picking/cleaning; teeth should be rinsed clean." Treating eyes should be like Cao Can governing people (with leniency), and treating teeth like Shang Yang governing the army (with strictness); this is appropriate. I believe this applies only to nurturing eyes. If fire-heat is congested, causing redness, swelling, rotting, and pterygium (membrane covering the eye), it is like a mirror covered in dirt; it must be polished and cleaned, not cured by mere nurturing. When young, I suffered from red eyes. Initially not painful, I continued reading under lamplight, leading to extreme swelling and pterygium formation. After several surgical removals, it subsided, but avoiding wind was crucial; otherwise, symptoms returned immediately, greatly damaging my vision. Later, a friend passed a prescription: gather wild chrysanthemums on the Winter Solstice, dry them, and use them as a pillow. Since then, I have had no eye diseases.

Current mediocre physicians have three bad habits: writing prescriptions in wild cursive script, using strange/rare drugs, and claiming to understand pulse diagnosis without asking about the condition. They do not realize that physicians are called 'Keepers of Life' and should be solemn, yet they act so casually, revealing their lack of Dao. These people have not studied books or characters. Knowing only the warm/cool nature of herbs, they rashly use cold to treat heat. Fearing exposure of their shallow learning, they force-write pulse records; fearing typos, they use running script to obscure handwriting. Disregarding whether pharmacy staff can decipher it and ignoring patient safety, their ruthlessness is unparalleled. Prescriptions often contain common items, sometimes unrecorded in Materia Medica. I investigated their origins, finding unclear sources and unidentified flavors/natures. Ancient commonly used herbs numbered only dozens, such as Liu Jun Zi Tang (Six Gentlemen Decoction), Si Wu Tang (Four Substance Decoction), and Liu Wei Di Huang Wan (Six-Ingredient Pill with Rehmannia). These are eternal formulas; ask if they contain abnormal drugs? Observation, listening/smelling, inquiry, and palpation constitute the five diagnostic methods. One must hear sounds, observe colors, differentiate syndromes, examine forms, and combine with pulse analysis to be confident. However, pulse and symptoms may contradict. Hence, ancients spoke of prioritizing symptoms over pulse or vice versa. Human meridians mirror heavenly and earthly movements and Yin-Yang transformations. We can predict normalcy but not exhaust variability. Wang Shuhe, Imperial Physician of Jin, wrote *Mai Jing* (Pulse Classic), yet could not fully reveal its mysteries. Pulse theory is profound; seeking it in subtleties between breaths, how can one master it completely? Tao Jie'an said, "Difficulty in feeling the pulse" is true; boasting of understanding is mere talk without practice. His *Shanghan Quansheng Ji* uses Floating, Middle, and Deep pulses to distinguish Yin/Yang and Deficiency/Excess transmission, focusing on movement/stillness and agitation/fullness, following Zhang Zhongjing's intent to distinguish Yin and Yang. Zangqi said, "Do not let a day pass without Grain Qi." Grains possess the harmonious Qi of Heaven and Earth, benefiting Spleen and Stomach, hence diet is primary. Yet some, practicing Qi consumption, survive decades without grains safely. My relative's wife fasted for over thirty years, eating only half a plate of vegetables or a few fruits daily. Her activities were normal. Now over sixty, she can still cook and sew. This may be due to strong Stomach Qi; thus, non-treatment causes no harm. *Chuiying Bian* states: My younger brother Zhiteng, at fourteen, developed a strange disease. He could not eat grains and vomited at the smell of food. Family secretly fed him rice water, causing rebellious Qi and near-death state. He occasionally roared to relieve Qi, sounding like thunder. He ate only one vessel of mutton/pork daily, followed by three to four cups of cold tea (water in summer), without abdominal fullness or diarrhea. Sometimes he went ten days without meat, eating only a few fruits. He drank more alcohol than others, became fatter, and had double the spirit. He married and had two sons and one daughter. Family accepted this, not forcing him to eat. This lasted fifteen or sixteen years. One day he craved noodles, ate them comfortably, and gradually resumed eating, but became emaciated and died within a year. Wu Zhenggong of Suzhou and Wang Xiezhi of our county were renowned physicians. Wu diagnosed the mystery; Wang called it 'Food Hanging' (stagnation), though meaning was unclear. I speculate: This is likely Phlegm pathology. Phlegm in Stomach Epigastrium causes anorexia; phlegm blocking Airway causes roaring to relieve it. Excess Qi becomes Fire; prolonged Fire generates Wind, consuming Phlegm, leading to emaciation and appetite. The previous decade's strength was due to Qi and Fire. Though Phlegm-Fire cleared, Qi mechanism perished. Speculating thus, I ask gentlemen to verify.

Medicine relies on intuitive understanding, not verbal transmission. Similar conditions may yield different drug results; this requires deep investigation. Reading *History of Southern Tang*: Liezu choked on malt sugar; imperial physicians failed. Wu Tingshao prescribed Chu Shi Tang (Broussonetia Fruit Decoction); one dose relieved him. Other physicians tried it later with no effect. Asked why, he said choking was caused by sweetness, hence this cure. Li Shizhen noted: Broussonetia fruit softens bones long-term, thus treating bone obstruction. This is the principle of softening hardness. I believe: Malt sugar is overly sweet, generating Fire and Phlegm. Choking was due to Phlegm-Fire obstruction. Broussonetia is cold and draining, opening congestion. Wu sought the principle of overcoming the cause. Thus, it worked. But does one herb cure all choking? The ignorance of other physicians is evident.

The South is low and damp; people suffer Damp-Heat. Spring/Winter bring continuous rain; Summer brings sudden heat rise and earth vapor. Contracting this leads to Wet-Warmth or Malaria/Dysentery in Autumn. Initial contraction is mild, but Damp turns to Heat, and Heat turns to Damp. Ancients said Damp-Heat intermingling is like flour in butter, hardest to separate. I often suffered Damp disease in Summer/Autumn, recovering in Winter. I wrote: "Downcast frail body, Summer and Autumn return; Disease lingers due to Summer Heat and Damp; Checking formularies increases confusion; Drug natures are biased, hard to administer." This describes lingering difficulty. Xu Shaoqiu of Wuhu passed a prescription: Collect dew from residual lotus leaves at dawn in mid-Autumn. Soak fresh Peilan Ye (Eupatorium Leaf) for two days, remove leaves, store dew in porcelain, seal. Next Summer, take one or two teaspoons morning, eat Coix Seed Porridge regularly. This prevents the ailment; trial proved effective.

Ancient formulas with single herbs are called Dan Fang (Single Herb Formulas). Their power is concentrated and fast-acting, often yielding miraculous results. Mo Lichun, a Jinling merchant fleeing war to Shanghai, lived near me. His seven-year-old son loved fruits/vegetables, developed abdominal pain, cried day and night, and wasted away. A traveling monk saw him and said, "Worms in abdomen. Treatable now; delay one month, untreatable. Offer five hundred incense coins, and I will cure him." Mo agreed. Monk gave a bundle of herbs to decoct. That night, he passed about one sheng of white worms; pain stopped. Mo brought a remaining stem to me. It was thick as a pen, unbreakable when snapped, sparse red leaves. I asked, "Is this Chi Teng (Red Vine) mentioned in Materia Medica?" *Bencao Gangmu* says it kills worms; shape matches. Citing *Yijian Zhi*: Zhao Zishan had tapeworms. Doctor ordered abstinence from alcohol; he failed. Drunk return, midnight, thirsty, drank clear water from a vat under eaves, slept. Morning: worms filled mat, belly relieved. Strange. Water was where servant soaked Chi Teng to weave sandals. Ancient proof matches modern case. However, Chi Teng is unknown in Wu region; I dare not claim certainty.

Rare diseases unrecorded in ancient texts are often found in miscellaneous notes, occasionally effective. Sun, a barber in our county, swallowed hair in meat broth. Ignored initially. Over a year, chest pain worsened, limbs grew cold. Sun visited me, seeking a doctor. Pulses calm. Diet/excretion normal. Skin color normal. I said, "Not Ying-Wei disease." Asked diet. Said nothing special. Asked unusual food. Said, "Swallowed hair two years ago." I said, "That is the cause." Ordered rapeseed oil. Consumed four to five cups. Vomit expelled countless black short worms, thicker than hair, moving in water, reverting to hair after two days. Cured. Question: Does oil kill worms? Answer: Used for emesis induction. Boneless worms deform upon contact with oil, expelling via vomiting. Not baseless. *Tanshu* records: Mingdi of Song palace woman had waist pain pulling heart, fainting on onset. Physicians thought it flesh tumor. Xu Wenbo said, "Hair mass." Gave oil, vomited hair-like object, pulled out three chi long. Head turned snake, hung on pillar, dripped water, became one hair. Recalled this, tested, verified.

Aging causes loose teeth; young adults suffer wind-fire invasion causing pain, hardest to bear. I had dental issues in middle age. Read *Yuhu Qinghua*, found a song for strengthening teeth and darkening hair. Tested effective. Record here: Pig Tooth Soap Pod and Ginger, Western Shengma, Sichuan Dihuang; Mulberry Bark, Hedgehog Plum, Locust Bean, Asarum, Lotus Leaf in equal parts; Roast together with Green Salt, grind fine, best for use. Rub teeth, strengthen gums, darken beard/temples. Who knows of such immortal formula? Source: Zhang Shizheng, peak of West Mountain, Lianhua Peak. Age fifty, teeth loose, chewing difficult. Got formula, chewed large chunks sharply, loose teeth stabilized. Gave to monk Wenyu, whose teeth were precarious. Tested, stabilized, spread.

Ancient physicians could open ribs to remove lesions, cut thigh flesh to heal toxins, reconnect severed tendons, set broken bones. Rare today, but skilled practitioners exist, though few transmit/receive. Staying in Wulin, at Fan family's Cangsong Pavilion, owner's six-year-old son fell, broke tibia. Doctors helpless. Zheng from Xin'an claimed cure. Split donkey tendon, softened like silk, bind fracture. Apply powder on bone, cover with chicken skin. Stand in two months, recover in one year. Asked source: Ten pages of ancestral handwritten book, secret trauma methods. Herbs not in shops; mountain gathering takes all year. With herbs, can set bones. Cannot treat internal organ damage. Read *Yi Lin Baibian*: Jiang Zizhen skilled in medicine. Zhou family mother crushed by bamboo basket, bamboo tip pierced abdomen, intestine severed. Seek Jiang. Jiang said: Wound treatable, but strange illness in ten years. Applied medicine to intestine, sutured, inserted into abdomen, gave pill. Awakened midnight, healed in one month, died eight years later. Asked about ten years later: Flesh mushroom grows at suture site, food residue exits there. Shows internal damage is treatable.

Cao Jiyun, Grand Secretary, returned home after passing exams in Yisi year of Daoguang. Servant fell from cart, broke tibia. Traveled fifty li to find doctor. House secluded, farming clan, doctor fifty, white-bearded, wearing straw shoes/linen shirt, gentle speech. Asked lineage, pitied accident. Examined wound: bone broken, reparable. Gave spoon of water to drink, applied medicine. Pain eased next day, healed in one month, no long travel for one year. Paid four taels, satisfied. Recovered as predicted. Shows remote villages have experts. Calm demeanor, humble skill, rare in secular world. Friend Xu Jiliang of Jinan said drink was 'Mummy Fragrance'. Claims it heals broken bones. Read Tao Jiu Cheng's *Chuogeng Lu*: Tianfang people, aged 70-80, willing to sacrifice for public, fast, bathe daily, eat honey for month, excrete honey. Die, buried in stone coffin submerged in honey, dated, interred. Open after century, becomes honey agent. Apply to injury, heals instantly. Likely Mummy Fragrance. Precious, even in their land, hard to get. Xu's statement has basis.

Western doctors claim skill in trauma. Mongolian skill surpasses it. Qianlong era, Yu Cheng, Juren from Yue East, fell from cart, broke four ribs. Mongolian doctor replaced with donkey bone, bound with cloth, healed in six months. Forbidden donkey meat forever. Qi Cifeng, Minister, fell from horse at Yuanmingyuan, skull fractured, brain leaked, barely alive. Mongolian trauma doctor filled with sheep brain, applied powder outside. Revived overnight. Vision inverted. Hit back of head dozens times with drum, vision corrected. Recovered in eight months. Modern Chinese/Western doctors unlikely have such divine skill.

Yuan Dynasty, Prince Gangha'razaqing in Shangdu, fell from horse, lost both pupils, tongue protruded to chest. Physicians helpless. Nie, Minister of Guanghui Si, recognized syndrome. Cut tongue with scissors. Tongue regrew, cut again. Cut fingers on sides.