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(Recorded in the Lower Grade of *Mingyi Bielu*)
[Flavor and Nature] Sour, bitter, warm, non-toxic.
[Indications] Eliminates carbuncles and swellings, dissipates water qi (pathogenic fluid accumulation), kills evil toxins (pathogenic factors).
[Evidence] It is said: Vinegar is also known as *zuo*, *xi*, or *ku jiu* (bitter wine). It can be brewed from five grains, chaff, lees, malt sugar, and fruits. For medicinal use, only vinegar brewed from late-season *jing* rice (indica rice) is considered superior; that from early rice is secondary; and that from glutinous rice and *shu* rice (sticky millet) is inferior. The method is as follows: During the three dog days (Sanfu period), take one dou of aged warehouse rice, wash it clean, steam it into cooked rice, spread it out to cool until slightly yellow, sun-dry and winnow it, then rinse it thoroughly with water. Add two dou of aged warehouse rice, wash clean, steam into cooked rice, mix evenly with the previously prepared rice. After the heat has dissipated, put it into a jar, pour in water covering it by about one cun, seal tightly, and place in a warm spot. It will be ready after twenty-one days (three seven-day periods). Glutinous Rice Vinegar: On the Autumn She day, take one dou of glutinous rice, wash and steam it. Use one part of small qu (fermentation starter) made on the sixth day of the sixth lunar month, mix evenly with the rice, add two dou of water, put into a jar, seal, and ferment for twenty-one days. Millet Vinegar: Take one dou of aged millet, wash and soak for seven days, steam it, wash and rinse again, add double the amount of water, put into a jar, seal tightly, stir once in the morning and once in the evening. It will be ready after seven days. Wheat Vinegar: Take two dou of wheat, soak in water for three days, steam until cooked, put into a jar, cover with water above the wheat, seal tightly, and let it mature for forty-nine days (seven seven-day periods). Barley Vinegar: Take one dou of barley, soak in water for three days, steam until cooked, spread out to cool, sun-dry, rinse with water. Then take two dou of barley, steam until cooked, mix evenly, put into a jar, add water, seal, and ferment for twenty-one days. Malt Sugar Vinegar: Take ten jin of malt sugar and thirty jin of water, boil until dissolved. When warm, add twenty liang of white qu powder, mix evenly in a jar, seal the mouth, expose to sunlight, and ferment for twenty-one days. Vinegars brewed from lees, chaff, and various fruits are not suitable for medicinal use and are not recorded here in detail.
[Commentary] It is said: *Jing* rice is irrigated grain, which becomes sour when fermented. Sourness belongs to the Wood flavor. This indicates that Wood originates from Water; therefore, the method favors vinegar brewed from *jing* rice. Essentially, sour fluids nourish Liver Wood and are indeed substances related to the substance and function of the Liver. The *Shurangama Sutra* states: "Discussing sour plums, acid saliva flows from the mouth." Even if merely spoken of, with earnest instruction, one still salivates profusely. How much more so for those that can resolve carbuncles, reduce swelling, and treat skin affections? They can certainly eliminate pathogens. Drinking or eating them gathers fluids, moistening the body like a swamp nourishing dry grass. If one considers this to be an inherent property of the Liver, forgetting the source is a common error. Its main function is to dissipate water and kill evil; for moistening dampness, it returns to the element of Water. For proliferating evils, does it not cause Heart Fire to descend and retreat? It assists the Gallbladder as a guide, promoting...