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[Shuqi]
Bitter, acrid, warm, toxic.
*Ben Jing* (Divine Farmer's Materia Medica) indicates it treats malaria and cough with reverse qi, alternating chills and fever, hardness and accumulation in the abdomen due to pathogenic factors, gu poison, and ghostly affections.
Invention: Shuqi is the sprout of *Dichroa febrifuga* (Changshan), therefore its efficacy in treating malaria, cough with reverse qi, cold-heat accumulations, and gu poison recorded in *Ben Jing* is similar to Changshan. In *Jin Gui Yao Lue*, the formula Shuqi San for Pin Malaria (malaria characterized by predominant chills without fever) uses Shuqi, Yunmu (Cloud Mother), and Longgu (Dragon Bone), taken with vinegar-rich water. For Wen Malaria (warm malaria), add one qian of Shuqi; the use of sour plasma water aims to utilize the sour flavor to astringe the acrid dispersing nature of Shuqi.

[Lilu]
Bitter, acrid, cold, toxic. Incompatible with Wu Shen (the five Ginsengs). If vomiting persists after ingestion, drinking scallion soup will stop it.
*Ben Jing* indicates it treats gu poison, cough with reverse qi, dysentery and intestinal discharge, head sores, scabies, malignant ulcers, kills various gu poisons, and removes dead flesh.
Invention: Lilu induces severe vomiting even in small doses. The indications in *Ben Jing* for gu poison, cough, dysentery, and intestinal discharge refer to cases of excessive internal accumulation of qi; once the accumulation is expelled, the cough and diarrhea cease. Additionally, Lilu can open the nasal orifices to induce sneezing. Note: Changshan expels phlegm from malaria, Gou Ti (Melon Peduncle) expels hot phlegm, Wufu Jian (tip of Aconite) expels damp phlegm, Laifu Zi (Radish Seed) expels qi phlegm, while Lilu expels wind-phlegm. For old phlegm in the chest or gu poisoning, one may only borrow its property to promote expectoration/vomiting; do not let it touch the mouth, as it severely damages stomach fluids. For conditions like cough with reverse qi, dysentery, and intestinal discharge, if there is no excess pathogen stagnation, do not try it lightly. Do not be confused by the statements in *Ben Jing*.
*Bie Lu* (Additional Records) indicates it treats throat obstruction and nasal polyps; when made into a powder and insufflated into the nostrils, it is effective.

[Fuzi]
Acrid, hot, highly toxic. Incompatible with Banxia (Pinellia), Gualou (Trichosanthes), Beimu (Fritillaria), and Bailian (Liriope). Ancient formulas consider one liang of a single piece to have complete potency; modern times favor larger pieces. If too much salt is used during processing, although the raw material weighs 1.5–1.6 tael, the processed product yields less than 0.7–0.8 tael and is prone to rotting. To store it long-term, it must be placed in a jar with ash from the stove and kept near a heat source to ensure durability. Its nature is hot and toxic. The best quality has straight segments, few horns, a fine tip, and a centered navel; those with thick tips, many segments, and multiple lateral roots are secondary; those that are damaged, missing, slanted, or wrinkled are inferior. Those with two branches are named Wu Hui (Black Beak); these possess abnormal Qi and specifically treat severe wind-bi syndrome. Raw Fuzi disperses yin-cold, while cooked Fuzi assists true Yuan Qi. Raw Fuzi requires removal of skin and navel; cooked Fuzi is processed with Gancao (Licorice) and Tongbian (Child's Urine). For long-term storage, boil alone in concentrated decoction of Gancao until the liquid is fully absorbed. When added to tonics for yang deficiency, process with Huanglian (Coptis) and Gancao. For Fuzi poisoning, raw Laifu Zi juice and Huanglian serve as antidotes. Modern Wufu mostly comes from Shaanxi; its texture is coarse, skin thick, color white, flesh loose, and its flavor acts quickly and passes easily, unlike Chuan Fuzi which is black-skinned, thin-skinned, tight-grained, with an acrid but not fierce taste that becomes spicier with prolonged cooking, strongly tonifying the Mingmen True Fire.
*Ben Jing* indicates it treats wind-cold cough with reverse qi, pathogenic cold-dampness, flaccidity and spasms, knee pain preventing walking, breaking up masses and accumulations, blood stasis, and traumatic injuries.
Invention: Fuzi has thick aroma and flavor with acridity, capable of circulating through all twelve meridians without restriction. It warms the spleen and stomach to relieve dysphagia, tonifies the Mingmen to rescue yang deficiency, eliminates cold pain in the heart, abdomen, waist, and knees, opens bi-dampness and flaccidity in limbs, treats persistent hiccups in typhoid, addresses stiffness and reversal of the Du vessel, rescues from painful cold hernias, consolidates chronic non-healing abscesses, and treats slow convulsions due to weak spleen in children; it must always be used after processing. Fuzi is a crucial herb for yin-patterns. In typhoid yin-patterns with reversal leading directly to the three yin meridians, or cold invasion with yin involvement, even if there is body heat but the pulse is deep-thin or floating-empty and weak, this herb is indispensable. Or if there is cold reversal with abdominal pain, deep-thin pulse, or even blue lips and contracted scrotum, raw Fuzi is urgently needed for strong warming and dispersal. The statement in *Ben Jing* regarding "wind-cold cough" likely refers to yin-cold hiccups, a textual error. Analyzing the indications in *Ben Jing*, all are caused by yin-cold pathogens invading due to deficiency. The mention of treating traumatic injuries refers to wounds where qi and blood are deficient and cold, preventing healing, not active bleeding wounds. *Bie Lu* further indicates treatment for wind-cold in the lower back and spine, podagra pain and weakness, and cold pain in the heart and abdomen, generally utilizing its power to warm meridians and dispel cold. Fuzi possesses a heroic quality and the ability to breach gates and capture generals. It guides qi-tonifying herbs to circulate through the twelve meridians to recover scattered yuan yang. It guides blood-tonifying herbs into the blood level to nourish deficient true yin. It guides dispersing herbs to open the interstices to drive out exterior wind-cold; it guides warming herbs to reach the lower jiao to eliminate interior cold-dampness. With Baizhu (Atractylodes) as an assistant, Fuzi is a supreme remedy for cold-dampness, but raw forms must be used together to unblock meridians. If qi deficiency with intense heat exists, use small amounts of cooked Fuzi to assist Renshen (Ginseng) and Huangqi (Astragalus). Obese people with dampness should also use small amounts of Wufu to move meridians. Fuzi combined with Ganjiang (Dried Ginger) and Zhi Gancao (Honey-fried Licorice) forms Sini Tang (Four Reversal Decoction), treating shaoyin channel cold patterns. Combined with Guizhi (Cinnamon Twig), Gancao, Jiang (Ginger), and Zao (Jujube), it forms Guizhi Fuzi Tang (Cinnamon Twig and Aconite Decoction), treating rheumatism with conflicting wind and dampness causing body pain and inability to turn. Combined with Baizhu, Gancao, Jiang, and Zao, it forms Zhufu Tang (Atractylodes and Aconite Decoction), treating dizziness and heaviness from wind-deficiency. Combined with Mahuang (Ephedra) and Xixin (Asarum), it forms Mahuang Fuzi Xixin Tang (Ephedra, Aconite, and Asarum Decoction), treating shaoyin disease with fever and deep pulse. Combined with Dahuang (Rhubarb), Qin (Scutellaria), and Lian (Coptis), it forms Fuzi Xiexin Tang (Aconite and Heart-Purging Decoction), treating epigastric fullness with aversion to cold and sweating. Combined with Dahuang and Xixin, it forms Dahuang Fuzi Tang (Rhubarb and Aconite Decoction), treating unilateral hypochondriac pain, fever, and string-taut pulse. Combined with Renshen, Baizhu, Lingzhi (Poria), and Shaoyao (Peony), it forms Fuzi Tang (Aconite Decoction), treating early-stage shaoyin disease with aversion to cold on the back. Combined with Fuling (Poria), Baizhu, Shaoyao, and Shengjiang (Fresh Ginger), it forms Zhenwu Tang (True Warrior Decoction), treating shaoyin disease with abdominal pain, difficulty urinating, limb pain, and spontaneous diarrhea. Combined with Ganjiang and Congbai (Scallion White), it forms Baitong Tang (White Connective Decoction), treating shaoyin disease with diarrhea and faint pulse. If there is cold reversal without pulse, dry retching, irritability, and red face, add Congbai to unblock yang qi. These are all miraculous combinations that can revive the dying instantly. Use raw or cooked according to the formula. Zhao Sizhen stated: Raw Fuzi with Ganjiang has tonification within dispersion; cooked Fuzi with Mahuang has dispersion within tonification. The choice between raw and cooked lies in these subtle applications. Cui Shi's Eight-Ingredient Pill uses Fuzi as a guide for shaoyin; later generations mistook it for a tonic, which is incorrect. Dongyuan treated yin-excess repelling yang (red face/eyes, thirst, rapid pulse that disperses on pressure) using Ganjiang Fuzi Tang plus half a jin of Renshen, curing via sweating. Shizhen stated: Yin-cold below, empty-yang above. Treating with cold herbs increases yin; treating with hot herbs causes rejection. Taking hot herbs cold allows the cold nature to dissipate upon swallowing, releasing the hot nature to cure the disease; this is the method of "hot treatment using cold administration." Fuzi has a sinking nature, warming the spleen and driving out cold; Wutou (Aconite Root) has an ascending nature, warming the spleen and removing wind. Both move without staying, hence they cause abortion and are called the chief of hundred drugs. However, in pregnancy with wiry pulse, fever, distended fetus, aversion to cold, and cold sensation in the lower abdomen like a fan, *Jin Gui* uses Fuzi Tang to calm the fetus, demonstrating divine efficacy. Regarding typhoid fever with headache, these indicate heat transmitting to the three yin meridians presenting with reversal and deep pulse, signs of deep reversal and deep heat. Fever and headache precede cold reversal and deep pulse by 7-10 days, indicating yang reversal with constipation. In epidemic heat潜伏, reversal combined with yin-deficiency internal fire郁结 causing aversion to cold, mistaken use leads to immediate deterioration. Fuzi is essential for retreating yin and restoring yang. Modern practitioners doubt and avoid it, waiting until yin is exhausted and yang is depleted, which is too late. For headache with yin-involution, cold feet, upper heat/lower cold, internal excess yin, and external deficient yang, Renshen is urgently needed to strengthen vessels and replenish origin, assisted by Fuzi to warm meridians and dispel cold. Without this, how can one save the patient?