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Mr. Shenzhai said: "Benefiting the lower from the upper is called 'Ji' (assistance/harmony); the lower offending the upper is called 'Kang' (excess/rebellion). When Water and Fire assist and restrain each other, there will be no disease and longevity will be achieved. It is like this: if Fire generates excessively, Metal Qi is injured. Since Water is the child of Metal, Water can overcome Fire. Just as a son avenges his mother, Fire is thereby restrained. This is the constant law of creation: where there is generation, there must be restraint; where there is restraint, there must be generation. There cannot be without excess (Kang), nor without restraint. Hence it is said: 'Restraint leads to transformation and generation.' Therefore, some diseases heal themselves after a long time because the excess restrains itself, representing the cycle of decline and renewal. If excess cannot self-restrain, then decoctions (Tangye), acupuncture and stone therapy (Zhenshi), and Daoyin (guiding and pulling) methods are used to assist. For example, although Water can restrain Fire, how can a few drops save a prairie fire for a person whose Kidney Water is originally dried up?! Understanding this principle, the subtleties of tonification and purgation naturally transcend the diagrams of He-Luo generation."

It is also said: "The life and death of the human body depend on the Spleen and Stomach. After seven days of suffering from Cold Damage (Shanghan) or miscellaneous diseases, one should only seek treatment from the Spleen and Stomach, thereby avoiding killing people." Li Dongyuan said: "Tonifying the Spleen is better than tonifying the Kidney," which refers to this. However, the method of regulating the Spleen and Stomach requires understanding the principles of Five Elements transforming Qi, restraining, and overcoming. For instance, Wood is born from Water, but Water alone cannot generate Wood. Water is the mother of Wood, and Earth overcomes Water... [Text fragment] If Metal loses its nourishment, Water dries up and Fire flares...

Regarding all tonification and purgation methods: Purge what is in excess due to deficiency; Tonify what is deficient due to excess. For example, if Wood is excessive due to Lung deficiency, one should purge the South (Heart/Fire) to restrain Liver (Wood), so that Fire does not counter-act, and the Lung will naturally clear. If Metal is weak due to Fire excess, and Fire excess causes Water deficiency, one should tonify the Spleen (Earth) to nourish Metal (Lung), so that Water will naturally grow. Generally, Earth Qi is often deficient and rarely excessive. Qi and Blood value harmony and balance; bias indicates injury by pathogenic factors. Purging the excess is purging the pathogen; tonifying the deficiency is tonifying the healthy Qi. What is in excess of Qi is not Qi itself, but Fire. Initially due to Qi deficiency, it gradually transforms into Fire, burning and scorching True Yin, causing great harm. The human body is primarily based on Blood, with Qi leading Blood. (These two sentences seem plain but surpass eternity; predecessors valued Qi over Blood, while Westerners know Blood but not Qi. The hundred bones and five viscera are grown and nourished by Blood, while Qi moves and transforms Blood to facilitate this growth and nourishment. Only by comprehending this can one preserve health and control disease.) One should tonify the Qi within Blood using Siwu Tang (Four Substance Decoction) added with Rougui (Cinnamon Bark); one should tonify the Blood within Qi using Baoyuan Tang (Preserve Origin Decoction) with modifications. In treating diseases, one must not forget Blood, nor forget Qi. Forgetting Blood renders the four limbs unusable; forgetting Qi leaves the body without control and regulation. Mild medicines that smooth Qi and Blood should be used more rather than less; cold or hot medicines, merely to eliminate disease, should be used less rather than more, as excessive use severely damages the Spleen and Stomach. Deficiency containing Excess: Healthy deficiency generates Pathogenic Excess; Excess containing Deficiency: Pathogenic Excess results from Deficiency. Treating Excess via purgation acts as tonification; treating Deficiency via tonification acts as purgation (dispelling). Words cannot fully express this; students should study it carefully. How can one fail to read diligently Li Dongyuan's *Pi Wei Lun* (Treatise on the Spleen and Stomach), specifically the section on contraindications for medication based on decline and prosperity?