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[Classified as Middle Grade in the *Shennong Bencao Jing* (Divine Farmer's Materia Medica)]
Vertical penetration from bottom to top is termed "Shu Qiong" (Vertical Exhaustion), while horizontal extension from inside to outside is termed "Heng Bian" (Horizontal Pervasiveness).

【Flavor and Nature】Sweet, bitter, warm; slightly toxic.

【Indications】Primarily treats cough with rebellious Qi (Ke Ni Shang Qi), loud borborygmus (Lei Ming), throat obstruction (Hou Bi), descending Qi, postpartum lactation disorders, metal wounds (Jin Chuang), cold heart syndrome (Han Xin), and奔豚 disease (Ben Tun).

【Commentary on the Kernel】It is said: The leaves of all apricot trees are round with pointed tips. In the second and third lunar months, they bloom with pale red flowers, charming and beautiful, comparable to peach blossoms, making them also lovely. Therefore, poets often mention plum and apricot together as "Mei Xing," likely due to the similarity of their leaves; or peach and apricot as "Tao Xing," likely due to the proximity of their flower colors. There are varieties with many leaves, yellow flowers, or double petals. Single-petal varieties bear fruit; sweet and sandy-fleshed ones are called "Sha Xing" (Sandy Apricot); sour and yellow ones are called "Mei Xing" (Plum Apricot); greenish-yellow ones are called "Nai Xing." Jin Xing (Golden Apricot) is as large as a pear and yellow like an orange. *Xijing Zaji* (Miscellaneous Records of the Western Capital) records that apricot flowers in Penglai come in five colors. In the north, there is a meat apricot, red, large, and flat, called "Jin Gang Quan" (Diamond Fist). Some say that when apricots ripen, if the color is cyan-white, mountain apricots are suitable for medicinal use, and only the kernels should be collected. Processing method: Soak in boiling water to remove the skin and tips. For every jin (approx. 500g) of apricot kernels, boil together with one jin of Bai Huo Shi (White Fire Stone) and three he of black beans in flowing water from the east. Cook from Si hour (9-11 AM) to Wu hour (11 AM-1 PM), strain out, split open until golden-colored, dry in the sun, and then use. Stir-frying enhances its efficacy. It is incompatible with Huang Qin (Scutellariae Radix), Huang [missing character], and Ge Gen (Puerariae Lobatae Radix). It fears [missing character] Cao.

【Commentary】It is said: The branches, leaves, flowers, and fruits of the apricot tree are all red. The flesh texture and collaterals resemble Ying Blood (Nutritive Blood). Its flavor is bitter and warm. It is the fruit of Sincerity, possessing both the form and function of the Heart. The kernel contains the whole body, with pores revealing beginnings, and the pivot mechanism being quite sharp, relating to the biased use and Qi of the Heart. Cough with rebellious Qi, borborygmus like thunder, throat obstruction, cold heart, and Ben Tun disease—all these conditions involve Qi rising only without exiting, where the normal rotation fails. The apricot kernel activates the mechanism of "Heng Bian" (Horizontal Pervasiveness), allowing "Shu Qiong" (Vertical Exhaustion) to rotate following the Jade Balance (Big Dipper). This represents the divine pivot turning without returning, thus grasping the mechanism. Regarding cough with rebellious Qi, breath sounding like thunder, and throat obstruction: this can be attributed to insufficient Fire Function of the Heart; or to external pathogenic constraints; or that external constraints cause insufficient Fire Function of the Heart; or that insufficient Fire Function of the Heart leads to external constraints. Regarding cold heart and Ben Tun disease: this can be attributed to insufficient Fire Substance of the Heart; or insufficient Fire Function of the Heart; or that insufficient Fire Function leads to insufficient Fire Substance; or that insufficient Fire Substance leads to insufficient Fire Function. Generally, Fire loves to manifest its function through things, thereby manifesting its substance through function. Ben Tun disease is an accumulation of the Kidney, rushing upward to attack the Heart. This occurs because below the position of Fire, Water Qi supports it. If Fire is insufficient, the supporting Qi becomes hyperactive, causing harm. This differs from cases caused by erroneous sweating which leads to supportive Qi imbalance; erroneous sweating expels excess Qi, whereas here, rising is excessive. Descending Qi refers to transforming vertical exhaustion and horizontal pervasiveness; "descending" here does not mean lowering, as lowering involves Metal nature, which contradicts the command of Fire. Postpartum lactation belongs to Jia Zhe (breaking shells/birth), but resolving Fu Quan (nurturing/completeness) relies entirely on Heng Bian; only with Heng Bian can Jia Zhe occur. Metal blade wounds involve severed flesh texture and un-nourished collaterals. Apricot excels in treating collaterals, still... (To fully understand the nature of a substance, one must first observe its characteristics. For example, Peach is the fruit of the Lung; the Lung governs hair/skin; peaches have fuzz, specializing in hair. Apricot is the fruit of the Heart; the Heart governs vessels; apricots have veins, specializing in vessels. However, what is specialized is where affection lies; where affection lies is where nature arises. Humans suffer from not knowing nature. If one can exhaust the nature of one thing, one can understand the characteristics of all things. To exhaust the nature of one thing is like the essence of a thing having a specific focus; nothing will fail to reveal its nature.)