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Xuan (Dispersing): Opens the stomach, strengthens the spleen, purges downward, promotes Qi movement, and resolves accumulation.
Sweet and warm. It can assist the Stomach Qi to ascend, thereby nourishing and supporting healthy transportation and transformation; it quickens the spleen, relaxes the intestines, harmonizes the middle jiao, directs Qi downward, resolves food stagnation, removes distension, dissipates nodules, expels phlegm, and transforms all kinds of rice, flour, fruit, and food accumulations. It is especially good at promoting lactation. (Xue Lizhai treated a woman who, after losing her child, suffered from breast swelling and tension threatening to become an abscess. He used only one or two taels of Mai Ya (Folium Hordei Germinatum), stir-fried and decocted for oral administration, which resolved immediately. Its ability to break blood stasis and disperse Qi is thus demonstrated.) Using grain to digest grain follows the principle of "similar things attract each other." It is suitable for those with stagnant grain food. However, if there is accumulation, it resolves the accumulation; if there is no accumulation, it consumes Kidney Qi. Nowadays, people mostly use Da Mai (Hordei Fructus) [sprouts], which is incorrect. It should be used after stir-frying.

Xuan (Dispersing): Strengthens the spleen and resolves food stagnation.
Sweet and warm. It quickens the spleen, opens the stomach, directs Qi downward, harmonizes the middle jiao, resolves food, and transforms accumulation. Its efficacy is similar to Mai Ya (Folium Hordei Germinatum), but its nature does not damage the Yuan Qi. (Because its taste is sweet and its qi is mild, possessing the nature of generation and transformation, it is therefore a supreme medicine for strengthening the spleen and warming the middle.) It should be used after stir-frying.

Tonifies the center and moderates the spleen.
Sweet and warm. Benefits Qi, tonifies the center, strengthens the spleen, transforms phlegm, moistens the lungs, and stops coughing. (Zhang Zhongjing used it in Jianzhong Tang, taking advantage of its sweet nature to tonify the spleen and moderate urgency.) Overuse can generate fire and produce phlegm. It is strictly contraindicated in cases of middle jiao fullness, vomiting and regurgitation, alcohol-induced diseases, and gum disease. It must not be taken by patients with Kidney disease. (If rice awns are accidentally swallowed, frequently eating Yi Tang (Maltose) yields wonderful results.)

Detoxification.
Salty, cold, and draining. Kills toxins from various medicines, hot soup, burns, and all toxins from fish, meat, vegetables, and mushrooms. When used in prescriptions, Dou Jiang (Fermented Soybean Paste) should be used; the older, the better. (For Qing Fen (Calomel) poisoning, rinse the mouth with water made from aged bean paste.)

Astringes Qi and Blood, disperses blood stasis, and resolves carbuncles and swellings.
Sour, bitter, and warm. Disperses blood stasis and treats postpartum blood vertigo. (Throw red-hot charcoal into vinegar and let the patient inhale the fumes.) Eliminates mass formations (Zheng Jia) and treats various pains in the heart and abdomen; applied externally, it treats carbuncles, sores, and swellings; kills fish and meat toxins; cures jaundice and yellow sweat. Excessive consumption damages sinews and bones, harms the Stomach, and deteriorates complexion. Rice vinegar should be used.

Xuan (Dispersing): Propagates the action of medicines.
Greatly hot and toxic. Pungent flavors can disperse, bitter flavors can descend, sweet flavors remain central and moderate, strong concentrations are particularly hot and toxic, while bland flavors promote urination. Used as a guide, it can circulate through the exterior of the entire body and lead medicines to the highest parts. Hot drinks damage the Lungs; warm drinks harmonize the middle jiao; small amounts harmonize blood, move Qi, strengthen the spirit, ward off cold, dispel evil, eliminate filth, warm the Water Zang organs, and propagate the action of medicines. Excessive drinking damages the spirit and consumes blood. (It is most capable of disturbing blood, hence the face and body turn red after drinking.) It damages the Stomach, scorches essence, generates fire and phlegm, induces anger and aids lust, leading to damp-heat and other diseases. (Ministerial Fire flares upward, scorching the Lung Meridian, causing phlegm and cough; the Spleen becomes fatigued due to fire; the Stomach vomits due to fire; the Heart becomes confused and manic due to fire; the Liver becomes irritable due to fire; the Gallbladder becomes fearful and forgetful due to fire; the Kidneys lose essence due to fire; resulting in hematemesis, Xiao Ke (Wasting and Thirsting Syndrome), consumptive diseases, Gu Ge (abdominal masses), carbuncles, ulcers, blindness, causing infinite harm. Wang Ying said: People know to avoid morning drinking but do not realize night drinking is worse. Going to bed drunk and full causes heat to obstruct the three jiao, damaging the Heart and eyes. Night Qi converges, but wine stimulates it, disrupting clarity, exhausting the Spleen and Stomach, retaining dampness, and generating fire, leading to many illnesses. Zhang Jingyue said: Wine is formed through fermentation; its nature is hot, but its substance turns into water, so its substance is cold. Yin-deficient persons who drink it damage Yin; Yang-deficient persons who drink it destroy Yang. Thus, some develop stroke due to blood failing to nourish sinews; some develop phlegm-fluids, dysentery, and diarrhea due to Spleen damage; some develop wheezing, convulsions, and pain due to floating damp-heat; some develop consumptive diseases and bleeding due to disturbed blood and damaged essence; some develop rotting sores and hemorrhoids due to damaged muscle and corrupted flesh; those who gradually develop Shui Gu (Ascites) over time are particularly numerous.) Shao Jiu (Baijiu/White Liquor) disperses cold and breaks stagnation, harming people even more. Pure liquor without dregs, aged for a long time, is best. (Brewed in the twelfth lunar month, stored properly, it remains unspoiled for decades.) It is incompatible with Lv Dou Fen (Mung Bean Powder), Zhi Ju Zi (Hovenia Dulcis Seed), Ge Hua (Puerariae Flos), and salty brine. (Saltiness resolves alcohol toxicity, representing Water controlling Fire.) The above belong to the category of brewing and fermentation.