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[Background Information]
Book: Xu's Commentary on Ye Tianshi's Late-Life Prescriptions Authentic Edition
Author: Ye Tianshi
Dynasty: Qing
Chapter: Banxia Tang / Yi Qi Dan
Category: Formula

[English Translation]

Commonly, wealthy families, whether their parents are advanced in age or they themselves have minor ailments, often cherish and protect themselves excessively, with medicines constantly entering the mouth. Initially, the bias of the medicine is used to correct the bias of qi and blood in the body. However, they do not realize that long-term consumption of mineral drugs damages the harmonious and pure qi (referring to the peaceful and pure vital qi of the human body), which is entirely altered by the aromas and properties of herbal medicines. Even if Ginseng and Poria are taken daily for a long time, the zang-fu organs may appear at peace. Yet, when encountering acute conditions later, these medicines will respond sluggishly and ineffectively. When pathogens are deep-seated, medication becomes useless; only those with profound and long experience know this drawback.

Patient Qian (47 years old): Remove Rhinoceros Horn (Xijiao) and Forsythia (Lianqiao) from the previous prescription; add Fritillaria (Chuanbei) and Black Gardenia Peel (Heizhipi).

Patient Chen (26 years old): This consumptive disease has spread from kidney deficiency to the stomach fu-organ. The pulse is faint, complexion is sallow, muscles are emaciated, and the condition worsens daily into dryness and decay. Yin deficiency affecting Yang, and herbal medicines cannot generate essence and blood; thus, taking them is ineffective for this reason.

Patient Ou (Guan Shang, 59 years old): Thin individuals suffer from fluid depletion. Excessive labor injures yang qi, causing qi rebellion attacking the Chong vessel, gradually resembling dysphagia (Yige). This is a sign of senility. (For those with depleted fluids, even if labor injures yang, one must clear and nourish fluids, akin to adding oil to a lamp.)
Loquat Leaf (Pipaye), Perilla Seed (Dusuzi), Biota Seed (Baiziren), Hemp Seed (Huomaren), Fried Peach Kernel (Taoren).

Patient Zhang (55 years old): Individuals with deficient orifices endure excessive physical and mental labor to support their families. Chronic cough with hemoptysis and hoarseness indicate damage to Heart Ying (Nutrient) and Lung Wei (Defensive) levels. This should not be equated with the essence and qi depletion caused by alcohol and sexual excess in wealthy households.
Polygonatum (Huangjing), Bletilla (Baiji), Coix Seed (Miren), Poria (Fuling).

Patient Dai (16 years old): In males, the onset of sexual desire triggers the internal burning of Dragon-Lei Fire (referring to ministerial fire in the Kidney). Yin essence fails to fill, leading to hemoptysis, coughing upward, and internal heat, all stemming from Yin deficiency. If one can concentrate their mind and cultivate properly, recovery is possible; however, recurrent attacks will surely be fatal. (The internal burning of Dragon-Lei Fire inevitably darkly scorches essence and qi; one must consider how to vent it freely, otherwise how can Yin not become deficient?)
Six-Ingredient Pill with Rehmannia (Liujunzi Wan) minus Moutan Bark (Danpi) and Alisma (Zexie); add Turtle Shell (Guiban), Lotus Seed (Lianrou), Euryale Seed (Qianshi), Human Milk Powder (Renrufen), and Rosa Laevigata Paste (Jinyingao).

Patient Wang (31 years old): Labor-induced qi and blood chaos leads to internal accumulation of blood stasis, obstructing the Qi level. Pain and vomiting of purple, stagnant blood occur, with dull coloration. For chronic illness, slow expulsion is suitable; urgent attack is contraindicated.
Peach Kernel (Taoren), Leonurus Fruit (Chongweizi), Corydalis (Yanhusuo), Angelica Tail (Guiwei), Nanzha (Note: likely a specific herb alias, kept as is), Lophatherum (Loulu), Green Onion (Qingcong).

Patient Yang (Huabu): Back coldness belongs to weak Wei Yang; sweating relieves the heat temporarily.
Renshen Jianzhong Decoction minus Ginger.

Patient Yan (Cangqian, 33 years old): Summer-damp pathogen invasion, treated improperly, transformed into malaria. Failure to fully expel the pathogen results in painful diarrhea and inability to tolerate food; forced eating causes vomiting (various pathological forms involve turbid stagnation). This is because the transporting and transforming Yang of the Spleen and Stomach has been long destroyed by bitter-cold drugs. (Dampness always carries turbidity; aromatic herbs eliminating turbidity constitute proper treatment.)
Suhe Wan.

Patient Wang: Upon arriving in Wu, various ailments were resolving. Everyone advocated harmonizing the Spleen and Stomach. Recently, domestic patients have entangled him due to Liver-Gallbladder Qi stagnation, causing Wood-Fire to boil up. Qi rushes up from the left hypochondrium, which is Danxi’s concept of ascending Qi originating from the Liver. Wood inevitably invades Earth, reducing Stomach Qi. (Although the illness was resolving, Yuan Qi was not solidified; Liver-Gallbladder Wood-Fire easily boils up. Moreover, Qi ascending from the left makes the pathology obvious.)
Ginseng (Renshen), Poria (Fuling), Roasted Licorice (Zhigancao), Raw Grain Sprout (Sheng Guya), Papaya (Mu Gua), Dendrobium (Chuanhu).

Patient Xi (Dongshan, 20 years old): The illness has lasted over a year. After full meals, the abdomen distends with slight pain and loose stools. Chronic cough produces much phlegm. Every few days, fever occurs. This consumptive injury stems from Spleen-Stomach failure to transport, leading to stagnation-generated heat. With much phlegm and indigestion, Rehmannia (Di Huang) and other cloying tonics are unsuitable. (Spleen-Stomach transport failure generates stagnation-fire and heat, steaming the whole body. There must be accumulation lingering in the middle Jiao, with unsmooth Qi mechanism.)
Coix Seed (Miren), Southern Jujube (Nanzao), Raw Malt (Sheng Maiya), Platycodon (Jiegeng), Coptis (Hulian), Poria (Fuling), White Peony Root (Baishao), Tangerine Peel (Guangpi).

Patient Zhang (30 years old): This is Kidney deficiency failing to grasp Qi, with Chong Qi rebelling upward, causing wheezing, coughing, loss of voice, and inability to lie down at night. Physicians often treat the Lung, leading to exhaustion and fatality over time. Take Xue’s Eight-Ingredient Pill (Xueshi Bawei Wan) three qian in the morning.
The point between the two kidneys is clearly called the Gate of Life (Mingmen), the primordial essence of Heaven and Earth, the beginning of Yuan Qi, upon which humans rely for life. The air exhaled is governed by the Lung; the air inhaled descends directly to the Kidneys. Only when Kidney Qi is sufficient does the mechanism of attraction naturally flourish.

Patient Yang (22 years old): Mental distress lingers, causing chest and diaphragm oppression and bi-syndrome, frequent belching and salivation. He describes a hard, palpable mass in the left umbilical and lower abdominal region, slightly painful on pressure, with uncomfortable bowel movements. This belongs to the Small Intestine area; Fu-organ diseases require unblocking. (Heart and Small Intestine are interior-exterior related; there is no case where mental distress does not affect Fu-Yang. Mild cases present with red urine; severe cases form hard masses. Insightful observers see through this clearly.)
Immature Bitter Orange (Zhishi), Platycodon (Jiegeng), Curcuma (Ezhu), Green Tangerine Peel (Qingpi), Areca Nut (Binglang), Aloe (Luhui).
Pill coated with Green Onion Juice.
Such diseases are more common in women; do not mistakenly diagnose them as Zhai masses (abdominal masses).
Generally, women suffer most from lingering mental distress; take note.

Patient Shen (Dingjia Alley, 65 years old): Hemorrhoids differ from Changfeng (wind-intestinal bleeding). A spicy sensation in the heart indicates Heat in the Ying (Nutrient) level, not suitable for warming and steaming tonics. (Reading this reveals that any heart pain, heat, and restlessness, even if due to Wood-Fire rushing up, must involve Heat in the Ying level.)
Rehmannia Root (Shengdi), White Peony Root (Baishao), Charred Persimmon Cake (Shibing Tan), Sophora Flower (Huaihua), Honeysuckle (Yinhua), Sanguisorba (Diyu).
Indeed, there is Heat in the Ying level. In prescriptions, for lower deficiency with lower bleeding, warming and steaming tonics are required.

Patient Cheng (42 years old): In the fourth lunar month, rising Yang triggers the disease; it heals spontaneously in late autumn and winter. Jueyin Liver is the end of Yin and the beginning of Yang. Vomiting roundworms marks the onset, necessarily moving from Liver to Stomach. Zhang Zhongjing uses Sour and Acrid to harmonize both, Bitter-Cold to descend directly, and Acrid-Warm to unblock; the scope is very broad. Atractylodes (Baizhu) and Licorice (Gancao) guarding the center are contraindicated. (The Wumei method is so profound; these twelve characters are extensive and profound, direct and straightforward. Reading requires special insight.)
Sichuan Pepper (Chuanjiao), Coptis (Chuanlian), Cinnamon Twig (Guizhi), Aconite (Fuzi), Mume Fruit (Wumei), Dried Ginger (Ganjiang), White Peony Root (Baishao), Asarum (Xixin), Ginseng (Renshen), Toosendan Fruit (Chuanlianzi), Phellodendron (Huangbai).

Patient Han (54 years old): Seasonal dampness invades externally, grain-water dampness accumulates internally, wandering through the body shell. Long-standing dampness in Shaoyang and Yangming meridians generates heat within dampness. The *Neijing* states using bland-draining aided by bitter-warm. Newly acquired pathogens are easy to驱除 (expel); having persisted for over two months, the disease has transformed into heat. (If not for using a single dose of Cinnamon Twig to warm and unblock the collaterals, cool medicines would certainly be rejected by damp-heat and fail to enter. This is the superior skill of famous physicians.)
Trichosanthes Root (Nanhua Fen), Calcined Talcum Feihuas Shi (Fei Huashi), Gypsum (Shigao), Cinnamon Twig (Guizhi), Coix Seed (Yiyiren), Antelope Horn (Lingyangjiao).

Patient Zhou (Niujia Alley, 67 years old): In old age, essence and blood are internally depleted, opening and closing mechanisms fail, leading to strangury and retention requiring separation and draining (this encompasses countless pathological mechanisms), which remains a purging method. Formed masses represent scattered Qi (profound theory: scattered Qi refers to turbid Yin Qi).
Deer Antler Lu Rong (2 liang), Musk She Xiang (2 qian), Angelica Sinensis Root Gui Shen (1 liang).
Pills made using decoction of 1 liang Fresh Ginger and 4 liang Mutton.

Patient Wang (57 years old): Chest Bi (obstruction) is due to Upper Jiao Clear Yang failing to expand. Zhang Zhongjing uses light agents to unblock Yang.