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Eliminate heat, clear the spirit, and resolve food stagnation.
Bitter, sweet, and slightly cold in nature. It descends qi and resolves food stagnation. It removes phlegm-heat, relieves vexation and thirst, and clears the head and eyes. (Because it absorbs the ascending and dispersing qi of early spring, it has many functions of organizing and肃ifying the upper jiao.) The *Tangye Jingfa* states: "How can bitter-cold herbs circulate to clear the head and eyes?" Meng Quan replies: "When heat sinks downward, the upper part naturally becomes clear." It awakens from drowsiness. (It can clear the spirit; Jingyue says: "Drinking strong tea prevents sleep because the heart qi is damaged.") It resolves the toxicity of alcohol, greasy food, and roasted/grilled foods. (Boiled strongly with equal parts of ginger, named Ginger Tea Drink, it treats red and white dysentery. Tea aids yin, ginger aids yang, balancing cold and heat, and it can also relieve summerheat and resolve alcohol/food toxicity.) It promotes urination and defecation. It stops headaches.
Central cold and wind-stroke, caused by phlegm-jue with qi rushing upward, is called Phlegm-Jue Headache. Boil tea alone, drink freely to induce vomiting until bile is expelled, then thirst ceases and recovery occurs. It cures sores. Treats cold stomach. (Strong tea can induce vomiting.) Resolves lipids. (Most effective at removing oil.) Drinking tea after alcohol introduces it into the Bladder and Kidney meridians. Those with masses, hernias, or edema should especially avoid it on an empty stomach. Sweet-tasting and fine-textured tea is good. (Tea inherits the purest qi of heaven and earth, grows in barren sandy soil, specifically nourished by cloud dew, free from dust impurities, thus it can clear the heart and cleanse the stomach and intestines, being a noble and pure product. Many past people said its bitter-cold nature harms the spleen and stomach, and that excessive consumption causes yellowing and emaciation; these comments refer only to coarse, bitter, and astringent teas. Therefore, for medicinal use, top-grade tea must be selected to have beneficial effects.) Tea seeds crushed into kernels are used for washing clothes to remove grease. The above effects are similar.

Also known as Gua Ding. Promotes circulation and induces vomiting.
Bitter and cold. Slightly toxic. Enters the Yangming (Stomach) meridian. It is an emetic. It expels wind-heat, phlegm, and saliva. Upper diaphragm retained food. (Expelling pathogenic factors from the upper jiao, as the classics state: "For those high up, cause them to ascend"; "For those above, induce vomiting"; "For stagnant wood, promote unblocking." This is the principle. In Gudi San, the bitterness of Gudi and Dan Chi causes ascent, and the sourness of Chixiaodou causes vomiting, expelling有形 (formidable/pathological) matter from the upper jiao, allowing Wood Qi to flow freely, Heaven and Earth to interact, and all things to prosper. Danxi said: "Vomiting contains the meaning of dispersion." Hezi said: "Various sweating methods exist in ancient formulas, but inducing sweating via vomiting is rarely known by the world. Thus I once said: Vomiting method combines sweating method, this is likely why.") It treats wind-dizziness headache. Vexation and insomnia. Epilepsy and throat obstruction. Fullness and hardness in the upper epigastrium. Dampness in the head and eyes. (Insufflated into nose.) Edema and jaundice. (Or decocted with Chixiaodou, or insufflated into the nose to extract yellow fluid.) Various damp-heat diseases. (*Leibian* says: A woman suffered from incessant wheezing. She met a Daoist who taught her to take seven Gudi grains, stick them in the nose, and after three applications, the illness was swept away. When using vomiting methods, one must choose clear weather, before Si/Wu hours. Let the patient fast overnight; acute cases do not need to observe this strictly.) Damages stomach and injures blood. Depletes qi and steals spirit. If there is no excess pathogen in the upper body, do not administer lightly. (If vomiting is indicated but the stomach is weak, substitute with Shenlu.) Sweet melon (commonly known as ripe melon). Cold in nature. Slightly toxic. Damages yang. (Although it can relieve summerheat, eating too much in summer often leads to diarrhea in late autumn. All melons are cold and purgative, especially early ones.) Melon leaves do not induce sweating. Crush and apply juice externally.