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Sun Simiao said: When a person reaches the age of forty or above, they should not take purgatives (laxatives). When a person is angry, their blood and qi (vital energy) are unsettled; if sexual intercourse occurs at this time, it can cause carbuncles and sores (skin and muscle infections).
Engaging in sexual activity after long-distance travel while fatigued leads to "Five Labors" (five types of deficiency caused by overexertion) and results in few offspring. Holding urine causes cold knees and leads to Lin syndrome (dysuria); holding stool leads to Qi hemorrhoids (hemorrhoids caused by qi stagnation). Mercury should not touch the genitals; deer fat and pig fat should not touch the genitals, as all these cause impotence.
Those who practice health preservation should comb their hair frequently, wipe their faces often, move their eyes regularly, rub their ears (pinnae), keep the tongue pressed against the palate, clench teeth frequently, swallow saliva often, keep the back warm, protect the chest, massage the abdomen, contract the anus frequently, and rub Yongquan (KI-1, Bubbling Spring) on the feet. The skin of the whole body should be subjected to dry bathing (rubbing until warm). During urination and defecation, one should bite the teeth and remain silent. Furthermore, one must reduce excessive talking, minimize writing/labor, decrease social interactions, and eliminate delusional thoughts. The only thing that cannot be omitted is maintaining reverence to nourish the mind.
Do not eat to excess when hungry; overeating leads to accumulation disorders (food stagnation diseases). Sleeping uncovered after a full meal at night easily causes cholera-like symptoms (acute gastroenteritis with vomiting and diarrhea). After recovering from seasonal illnesses, do not eat raw fish slices, or dysentery may result. Do not consume dairy products with raw fish, or parasitic diseases may develop. Do not eat ginger with rabbit meat, or cholera-like symptoms may occur. Do not eat meat associated with the zodiac sign of one's parents, to wish for longevity. Do not eat meat associated with one's own birth year's zodiac sign, to wish for peace of soul and spirit. Do not eat brains of any animals, as it may damage the spirit. Do not eat food from plates that others have already touched, to prevent the formation of constrained qi (qi stagnation).
Rinsing the mouth several times after eating strengthens the teeth. For all foods, cooked is better than raw, and less is better than more. In spring, one must not wear thin clothes, lest one catch wind-cold and suffer from cholera-like symptoms. Do not wear wet or sweaty clothes, lest sores and ulcers develop. At night, do not sleep with the head facing north, nor near a stove, to avoid damaging the eyes. Habitually breathe through the nose while sleeping; breathing through the mouth dissipates qi and allows pathogenic factors to enter, so caution is required.
If someone suffers from nightmare paralysis, do not light a lamp to wake them, nor call out urgently nearby. Do not speak of bad dreams at night. In the morning, hold cool water in the mouth and blow towards the east, chanting: "Bad dreams attach to grass and trees, good dreams become pearls and jade." This resolves the issue. Do not speak of either good or bad dreams to ensure auspiciousness. Living quarters must be free of small gaps; drafts from small gaps are most harmful, so do not endure them but avoid them immediately.
Whether at home or abroad, if suddenly encountering strong winds, heavy rain, thunder, or fog, it is believed that various malevolent spirits are passing by. One should enter the room, close the doors, burn incense, and remain reverently silent until they pass; otherwise, harm and blame may be incurred. *Suopo Lu* states: One's head should not be near fire while sleeping, lest it injure the brain, nor face the wind directly, lest one suffer from headache due to wind. Wind striking the back causes coughing; wind striking the shoulders causes arm pain. Those skilled in regulation should avoid wind and sleeping outdoors even in midsummer.

It is also said: Guard against speaking foolishly after drinking wine; beware of anger during meals; endure what is hard to endure; do not rage at those who do not understand; lack of discipline in diet and lifestyle are causes of disease; unrighteous thoughts are the root of death.

It is also said: Wine disregards the body; lust disregards illness; wealth disregards kin; temper disregards life. Before these situations arise, everyone knows the truth and can advise others, but when faced with them personally, one falls into confusion again. At such times, one must reflect and awaken.

In *Yang Lianfu's Collection*, there is a poem about meeting three elders: The eldest elder speaks first, saying the Great Way embraces the completeness of heaven and earth; the middle elder speaks, saying he adapts to seasonal changes of cold and heat; the youngest elder speaks, saying he sleeps only half the night despite being a hundred years old. I once saw a poem in Houshan's works with similar meaning, likely originating from Ying Qu, whose poem says: A traveler once saw three elders on the road, each over a hundred years old, weeding together. He asked them how they achieved such longevity. The first elder replied, "My wife is plain-looking" (implying no lust); the second replied, "I limit my intake according to my stomach's capacity"; the third replied, "I do not cover my head when sleeping." These words of the three elders are profound, which is why they live long.

The way of preservation lies in self-restraint regarding daily diet and sexual activity; this is self-examination and moral cultivation. If one acts recklessly without restraint, it becomes sin and evil, growing secretly, eventually leading to disease. Although diseases may stem from external wind-cold or internal emotional injury, fundamentally, they arise because humans violate sage teachings, causing the soul and spirit to separate, mental essence to be lost, the body to become hollow and loose, limbs to fail, allowing wind-cold pathogens to invade. A virtuous person, even in darkness, dares not do evil; even in glory and wealth, dares not commit wrongs. They dress according to their constitution and eat according to their portion. Even if rich and noble, they dare not indulge desires; even if poor and lowly, they dare not force demands. Thus, externally there is no brutality, and internally there is no disease. When the heart-mind is clear, the true spirit remains in its place; when qi is settled internally, filth and pathogens leave the body.
Deceit confuses the spirit; contention depresses the spirit. Insulting others reduces one's lifespan; killing creatures harms one's years. Doing one good deed brings joy to the soul and spirit; doing one evil deed disturbs the heart and qi. If a person lives with broad-mindedness and tranquility, the form and spirit remain calm, disasters and diseases do not arise, and fortune and longevity flourish, starting from here.

Illness begins in the mind-heart, where one forgets the body, and disease arises; subsequently, the body suffers, and the disease persists. Those who forget the body, when healthy and strong, do not choose flavors and eat to satiety, do not choose wind direction and expose themselves, do not choose timing for sexual activity, do not choose sobriety and get drunk, do not choose environment and rush about, do not choose temperament and lose control of emotions. Thus, disease strikes when we are unprepared, and regret comes too late.

Human secretions like tears, saliva, urine, and feces require qi to fill them before expulsion; flowers of plants and feathers of birds and beasts require meridians to connect them before flourishing. Therefore, qi and meridians are precious and need nurturing.
The above teachings of the immortals are excellent prescriptions for dispelling disease and wonderful methods for prolonging life. Although they are not the core principles of Golden Elixir (internal alchemy) cultivation, advancing from them can lead one into the Dao. Next follows the essential principles of the Great Heavenly Cycle Three Refinements. I will endeavor to illustrate and seek correction from the world.