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(In the Gengyin year, epidemic diseases were prevalent. During the transition from summer to autumn, cholera erupted severely, resulting in many deaths. After the Autumnal Equinox, the situation around the region slightly stabilized, but symptoms of cough and fever (cough and fever) emerged. Cough and fever indicate that the disease is located in the Lung. The Lung governs the skin and hair; since the pathogenic factor is very superficial, it seems unlikely to be fatal. However, it often leads to asthma (asthma/wheezing) and rhonchi (abnormal lung sounds), ultimately resulting in death.)

A disciple asked: "The distinction between Cold Damage (Shanghan) and Warm Diseases (Wenbing) was advocated by the recent sage Ye Tianshi and supported by Xue Shengbai, so the matter is clear in our minds. Wind-Warmth (Fengwen) is a type of Warm Disease. Predecessors stated that it must present with body heat, cough, mental restlessness, and thirst. Therefore, there is no case of Wind-Warmth without restlessness or thirst. If these are symptoms appearing after the depletion of body fluids, they would manifest as coma, deafness, snoring, and convulsions. In that case, as long as one has not reached the stage of coma or convulsions, there is absolutely no reason for sudden critical danger. Yet now, during the prevalence of seasonal epidemic qi, after the Autumnal Equinox, everyone suffers from cough and fever. Some have thirst, some do not. Their dangerous transformations invariably involve asthma and rhonchi. The sputum is thick and viscous, filling bowls, and many die. Commentators all label this as Wind-Warmth. Wind-Warmth usually originates in winter. Now, it does not occur in winter but develops after the Autumnal Equinox. Initially, it lacks the mandatory presenting symptoms of Wind-Warmth; its lethality is not due to convulsions or coma, but due to rhonchi and asthma. In Xue’s regulations on Wind-Warmth, there is no example of death caused by phlegm-asthma. I harbor private doubts and dare to question you."

The response was: "This is Dryness Syndrome (Zaozheng). To know it is Dryness Syndrome yet call it Wind-Warmth is merely custom. In today's world, patients are largely ignorant, and physicians are mostly crude and shallow. The theory of Wind-Warmth is frequently heard and seen, while the syndrome of Autumn Dryness is rarely acknowledged. Who can enter the hall and chamber of Yu Jiayan? If one says this is Dryness Syndrome, not Wind-Warmth, that is the point. Wind is a Yang pathogen; when excessive, it generates Fire. Fire generates Wind. Wind and Fire fan each other, depleting body fluids and disturbing the Spirit (Shen). Thus, somnolence, snoring, convulsions, and coma are inevitable symptoms of dangerous transformation in Wind-Warmth. However, this year, the Wood Qi is in the lower position (Zai Quan), and the autumn season is prolonged dryness. Dry Metal overcomes vigorous Wood. The generation and transformation of vigorous Wood exceed the norm. Thus, Wood generates Fire, and the Fire Qi retaliates. Its attack on Metal is fierce like a prairie fire. Vigorous Fire consumes Qi, injuring the Qi of the Lung; Fire scorches Yin fluids, injuring the Yin of the Lung. How can there be no asthma? Fire refines fluids into sticky substances, hence the abundant, viscous sputum. Fire agitates the sputum to rise, causing roaring sounds in the throat. The sound of sputum is the sound of Fire; Fire is formless sputum, and sputum is solidified Fire."

The disciple asked: "I understand the harm of Dryness-Fire. However, the symptoms resemble vomiting yellow sputum. Yellow sputum is typically associated with Damp-Phlegm. Can it be both dry and damp?"

The response continued: "Metal overcoming Wood causes Wood to generate Fire. Fire is the retaliatory Qi of Dryness. Earth is the mother of Metal; Dampness is the transformed Qi of Dryness. Therefore, Wu Jutong stated that retaliatory Qi is Fire, and transformed Qi is Dampness. With both retaliation and transformation, the sputum combines dampness and yellow color. Since transformed Qi is less than retaliatory Qi, the dampness cannot moisten the dryness. In Wind-Warmth, Wind and Fire rotate internally; here, Dryness-Heat injures the Lung. Thus, the dangerous transformation of Wind-Warmth manifests as convulsions and coma, whereas here it manifests as rhonchi and asthma. Cases cured typically used Sweet-Cold methods to clear Qi, moisten dryness, and purify Metal. This is because the Lung, affected by atmospheric dryness, overcomes vigorous Wood, and retaliatory Qi injures the Lung. This internal dryness is fundamentally different from the crisp, cool dryness of the weather. There are pulses to rely on, tongue signs to verify, and manifestations to observe. In clinical deduction, I deeply hope for perceptive practitioners."