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When a newborn infant has not yet begun to eat and the stomach qi (Stomach Qi) has not yet opened, the body remains an empty and clear void. It is advisable to pay special attention to regulation and care at this time. Before the infant cries, have a skilled woman gently probe the infant's mouth with her finger to remove foul blood. Immediately use Licorice Decoction (Gancao Tang), wrapping a finger in soft cloth, dipping it into the decoction, and wiping away the saliva from the mouth. Then observe the infant's complexion. If the body and face are both red, but the lips and tongue are purple, one can know that there must be fetal toxin (Tai Du). Every day, use salt tea (Yan Cha), ensuring it is not too salty, dip a cloth in it to wash the mouth, removing sticky saliva. This should be done five or six times daily. This method is extremely effective and sacred, yet unknown to the world. The reason is that the infant's fetal toxin resides in the Spleen and Stomach, and there is much sticky saliva in the mouth. Conditions such as horse teeth (Ma Ya), goose mouth (E Kou), double tongue (Chong She), and wooden tongue (Mu She) all originate from this. Daily washing and wiping allow the toxin to leave with the saliva; how could illness arise? Moreover, the method is extremely simple and easy, so why neglect it and fail to practice it? If the fetal toxin is severe, this method must be delayed until after the first year of age; this is the regulation for infants with fetal toxin. This is because after one year of age, red bumps or those with white tips will appear on the head and face, manifesting externally. If the infant's face and lips are pale red, this indicates fetal cold (Tai Han). In this case, only wash and wipe with mild ginger soup (Dan Jiang Tang), once or twice a day is sufficient. Ginger can open the appetite and harmonize the middle jiao (Middle Burner), making it most practical for use. As for ancient formulas using Coptis Rhizome (Huanglian), Rhubarb (Dahuang), Cinnabar (Zhusha), and Calomel (Qingfen) for "opening the mouth," these methods must absolutely not be used at this time. Infants born today are deficient in constitution nine out of ten times. Using cold and purgative methods to attack and weaken them is highly inappropriate. Furthermore, a newborn infant is like a hibernating insect emerging from its hole or grass and trees just sprouting; suddenly encountering cold snow and frost, they would inevitably be crushed and broken. Introducing bitter-cold substances into the mouth of a newly born infant is exactly the same. I often see that on the third or seventh day after birth, infants inevitably exhibit symptoms of abdominal pain, vomiting milk, watery diarrhea, and night crying. These are all harms caused by bitter-cold substances damaging the stomach qi. Who understands this? Some might say: You state that bitter-cold substances cannot be used in the mouths of newborns, yet later formulas such as Hangxie Dan and Xieqing Wan contain Sanhuang (Three Yellows) and Dahuang. Is this not contradictory? I reply: By then, the fetal toxin has already manifested, and external signs provide evidence. When there is disease, treat the disease; why fear Dahuang? Now, when "opening the mouth" of a newborn, we have not yet determined the presence or absence of toxin. Even if there is toxin, it has not yet erupted; it lies deep and hidden, silent and invisible. Cheng Fengchu said: To pacify the neighborhoods, one must execute bandits; one cannot execute innocent people on the grounds that they might become bandits in the future. Using bitter-cold substances to "open the mouth" is executing innocent people. Fearing cold substances only when the toxin erupts is failing to punish bandits when they exist; this kind of benevolence of a hypocrite (Xiang Yuan) is unacceptable.