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Sweet, bland, slightly warm, non-toxic.

[Invention] Watermelon is sweet and cold in nature, possessing descending and purging properties; its seeds are sweet and warm in nature, with an ascending and dispersing quality. Because they harbor the energy of the scorching sun, they inevitably bear some responsibility for aggravating fire. Their ability to resolve phlegm and open orifices is their inherent nature. The general public believes that melon seeds generate phlegm, but how can something just entering the mouth instantly transform into phlegm? According to *Xianggan Zhi* (Records of Mutual Influence), eating the seeds after consuming watermelon prevents belching the scent of the melon, which reveals their warming and dispersing power. *Bencao Gangmu* states that the therapeutic effects of melon seeds are the same as those of sweet melon kernels. Are sweet melon kernels also substances that generate phlegm?

Commonly known as Ku Dingxiang (Bitter Dandelion Stem)

Bitter, cold, toxic. Use after stir-frying until yellow.

*Shennong Bencao Jing* (Divine Farmer's Materia Medica) indicates it treats severe edema causing swelling of the body and face, promotes urination to expel pathogens and insect toxins, treats coughing and reverse flow of qi, and addresses conditions resulting from consuming various fruits where pathogenic factors reside in the chest and abdomen, treating them by inducing vomiting or purging downwards.

[Invention] Bitter and sour flavors induce vomiting and purging, belonging to Yin. Zhang Zhongjing’s Gengti San (Melon Stalk Powder) uses the bitter-cold property of Gengti (Melon Stalk) combined with the sour-sweet property of Chixiaodou (Adzuki Bean) to vomit out cold pathogens from the chest. The Gengti Tang (Melon Stalk Decoction) in *Jingui Yaolue* (Essential Prescriptions of the Golden Cabinet) treats cases without sweating, yet few practitioners use it today. Additionally, insufflating Gengti powder into the nose can extract cold-dampness and jaundice from the head; combined with Shexiang (Musk) and Xixin (Asarum), it treats anosmia (inability to smell). Gengti is a herb for clearing damp-heat in the Yangming channel, capable of guiding out phlegm-fluids from the chest and diaphragm. Therefore, it treats facial swelling, coughing with reverse flow of qi, subcutaneous fluid retention, jaundice, and damp-heat syndromes, which corresponds to the indications in *Shennong Bencao Jing*. In cases of deficient Chi pulse (radial pulse at the proximal position), weak Stomach Qi, post-illness, postpartum states, or after using emetics, caution is required. Why should this apply only to Gengti? Thus, if there is no hot-phlegm or pathogenic factor above the diaphragm, those with heat patterns must strictly avoid it.

These are the kernels of the sweet melon.

Sweet, cold, non-toxic.

[Invention] Sweet melon kernels specialize in resolving phlegm and promoting the movement of Qi. *Mingyi Bielu* (Record of Famous Physicians) records its use for treating abdominal accumulations, breaking down pus and blood, making it a key herb for internal abscesses of the intestines and stomach. *Qianjin Fang* (Prescriptions Worth a Thousand Gold) uses Weijing Tang (Reed Shoot Decoction) for lung abscesses and Mudan Dahuang Tang (Tree Peony and Rhubarb Decoction) for intestinal abscesses. I have used it myself, but only when the melons are fully ripe, yellow, and sweet, so as not to damage Stomach Qi. If they are raw, green, and bitter, their efficacy is poor and unsuitable for medicinal use. The pulp can also clear summerheat, but individuals with deficient Spleen and Stomach who consume it often suffer from diarrhea and dysentery. This must be noted.