泻热，补劳
苦寒。得春木少阳之令最早（二月生苗），故入少阳、厥阴（肝胆）血分。
治骨蒸劳热（童便捣汁，取汁熬膏），蓐劳虚热（凡苦寒之药，多伤胃气。惟青蒿芳香
入脾，独宜于血虚有热之人，以其不犯胃气也），风毒热黄，久疟久痢，瘙疥恶疮，鬼气尸
疰（时珍曰∶《月令通纂》言伏内庚日，采蒿悬门庭，可辟邪。冬至元旦，各服一钱亦良，
则青蒿之治鬼疰，盖亦有所伏也），补中明目。
童便浸叶用，熬膏亦良。使子勿使叶，使根勿使茎。
大燥，回阳，补肾命火，逐风寒湿
辛甘有毒，大热纯阳。其性浮而不沉，其用走而不守，通行十二经，无所不至。能引补
气药以复散之元阳，引补血药以滋不足之真阴，引发散药开腠理，以逐在表之风寒（同干姜
、桂枝，温经散寒发汗），引温暖药达下焦，以祛在里之寒湿（能引火下行，亦有津调贴足
心者。入八味丸内，亦从地黄等补阴）。
治三阴伤寒（吴绶曰∶附子阴证要药。凡伤寒传变三阴，中寒夹阴，身虽大热，而脉沉
细者；或厥阴腹痛，甚则唇青、囊缩者，急须用之。若待阴极阳竭而用之，已迟矣。东垣治
阴盛格阳，伤寒面赤目赤，烦渴引饮，脉七八至。但按之则散，用姜附汤加人参，投半斤，
得汗而愈，此神圣之妙也），中寒中风（卒中曰中，渐伤曰伤。轻为感冒，重则为伤，又重
则为中），气厥痰厥（虚寒而厥者宜之。如伤寒阳盛格阴，身冷脉伏，热厥似寒者，误投立
毙，宜承气、白虎等汤），咳逆（风寒）呕哕（胃寒），膈噎（膈噎，多由气血虚、胃冷、胃
槁而成。饮可下而食不可下，槁在吸门，喉间之厌会也。食下胃脘痛，须臾吐出，槁在贲门，
胃之上口也，此上焦，名噎。食下良久吐出，槁在幽门，胃之下口也，此中焦，名膈。朝食
暮吐，槁在阑门，大、小肠下口也，此下焦，名反胃。又有痰饮、食积、瘀血壅塞胃口者。
如寒痰胃冷，则宜姜、附、参、术；胃槁者，当滋润，宜四物牛羊乳，血瘀者加韭汁。当与
韭汁、牛乳二条参看论治），脾泄（命火不足），冷痢寒泻，霍乱转筋（脾虚，寒客中焦为霍
乱。寒客下焦肝肾为转筋。热霍乱者禁用），拘挛风痹，症瘕积聚，督脉为病，脊强而厥，
小儿慢惊，痘疮灰白，痈疽不敛，一切沉寒痼冷之证（经曰∶阴盛主内寒，阳虚生外寒）。
助阳退阴，杀邪辟鬼（本草未载），通经堕胎（凡阴证用姜、附药，宜冷服，热因寒用也。
盖阴寒在下，虚阳上浮。治之以寒，则阴益盛，治之以热，则拒格不纳。用热药冷冻饮料，下嗌
之后，冷体既消，热性便发，情且不违，而致大益，此反治之妙也。又有寒药热饮治热证者，
此寒因热用，义亦相同也。经曰∶正者正治，反者反治。如用寒治热，用热治寒，此正治也。
或以寒治寒，以热治热，此反治也。经所谓必伏其所主，而先其所因。盖借寒药、热药为反
佐，以作向导也，亦曰从治。王好古曰∶用附子以补火，必防涸水。如阴虚之人，久服补阳
之药，则虚阳益炽，真阴愈耗，精血日枯，而气无所附丽，遂成不救者多矣）。
母为乌头，附生者为附子，连生者为侧子，细长者为天雄，两岐者为乌喙。五物同出异
名。
附子以西川彰明赤水产者为最，皮黑体圆、底平八角、重一两以上者良（或云二两者更
胜，然难得）。生用发散，熟用峻补（赵嗣真曰∶仲景麻黄附子细辛汤，熟附配麻黄，发中
有补；四逆汤生附配干姜，补中有发，其旨微矣。丹溪曰∶乌附行经，仲景八味丸用为少阴
向导，后世因以为补药，误矣！附子走而不守，取其健悍走下，以行地黄之滞耳。相习用为
风及补药，杀人多矣。昂按∶附子味甘气热，峻补元阳。阳微欲绝者、回生起死，非此不为
功，故仲景四逆、真武、白通诸汤多用之。其有功于生民甚大，况古人日用常方，用之最多
，本非禁剂。丹溪乃仅以为行经之药，而云用作补药多致杀人，言亦过矣。盖丹溪法重滋阴
，故每訾阳药，亦其偏也。王节斋曰∶气虚用四君子汤，血虚用四物汤，虚甚者俱宜加熟附
。盖四君、四物，皆平和宽缓之剂，须得附子健悍之性行之，方能成功。附子热药，本不可
轻用，但当病，则虽暑热时月，亦可用也）。水浸，面裹煨，令发坼，乘热切片，炒黄，去
火毒用。又法，甘草二钱，盐水、姜汁、童便各半盏，煮熟用（今人用黑豆煮亦佳）。畏人
参、黄 、甘草、防风、犀角、绿豆、童便。反贝母、半夏、栝蒌、白芨、白蔹。中其毒者，
黄连、犀角、甘草煎汤解之，黄土水亦可解。
乌头功同附子而稍缓。附子性重峻，温脾逐寒；乌头性轻疏，温脾逐风。寒疾宜附子，
风疾宜乌头。
乌附尖吐风痰，治癫痫，取其锋锐，直达病所（丹溪治许白云，屡用瓜蒂、栀子、苦参
、藜芦等剂，吐之不透。后用附子尖和浆水与之，始得大吐胶痰数碗）。
天雄补下焦命门阳虚（寇宗 、张元素皆曰补上焦。丹溪曰∶可为下部之佐。时珍曰∶
其尖皆向下生，故下行。然补下乃所以盖上也，若上焦阳虚，则属心、肺之分，当用参、
，不当用雄、附矣），治风寒湿痹，为风家主药，发汗又能止阴汗。
侧子散侧旁生，宜于发散四肢，充达皮毛，治手足风湿诸痹。
Clear heat, tonify deficiency and exhaustion.
Bitter and cold in nature. It earliest conforms to the seasonal command of Shaoyang Wood in spring (sprouts in February), thus entering the blood aspect of the Shaoyang and Jueyin (Liver and Gallbladder) meridians.
Treats bone-steaming deficiency fever (crush leaves with child's urine, extract juice and boil into paste), postpartum deficiency fever (Most bitter-cold herbs tend to damage Stomach Qi. Only Qinghao has an aromatic scent entering the Spleen, making it uniquely suitable for those with blood deficiency and heat, as it does not invade Stomach Qi). Treats wind-toxicity heat jaundice, chronic malaria, chronic dysentery, scabies, sores, and malignant ulcers; Gui Zhu Shi Zhu (ghostly possession and lingering diseases) [Li Shizhen stated: "Yueling Tongzuan" records that harvesting Artemisia on Geng days during the Dog Days and hanging it at the gate can ward off evil. Taking one qian on Winter Solstice and New Year's Day is also beneficial. Thus, Qinghao's treatment of ghostly diseases likely has some basis]. Tonifies the Middle and brightens the eyes.
Use leaves soaked in child's urine; boiling into paste is also good. Use seeds, not leaves; use roots, not stems.
Greatly drying, restores Yang, tonifies Kidney Mingmen Fire, expels Wind-Cold-Dampness.
Pungent, sweet, toxic, greatly hot and purely Yang. Its nature floats rather than sinks, its action moves rather than stays, circulating through all twelve meridians, reaching everywhere. It can guide Qi-tonifying herbs to restore scattered Yuan Yang, guide Blood-tonifying herbs to nourish deficient True Yin, guide dispersing herbs to open Cou Li (pores/skin interstices) to expel Wind-Cold from the exterior (when used with Ganjiang/Dried Ginger and Guizhi/Cinnamon Twig, warms meridians, scatters cold, induces sweating). It guides warming herbs to the Lower Jiao to dispel interior Cold-Dampness (can guide fire downward; sometimes mixed with saliva and applied to Yongquan/BL-1 on the sole. In Bawei Wan/Eight-Ingredient Pill, it works alongside Dihuang/Rehmannia Root to tonify Yin).
Treats Taiyin, Shaoyin, and Jueyin Shaoyang cold damage [Wu Shou said: Fuzi/Aconite Root is the essential herb for Yin syndromes. Whenever Shanghan/Cold Damage transmits to the Three Yin stages, or there is Cold damage with Yin involvement, where the body is very hot but the pulse is deep and fine; or Jueyin abdominal pain, even to the point of blue lips and retracted testicles, it must be used urgently. If waited until Yin is extreme and Yang is exhausted, it is too late. Li Dongyuan treated Yin excess repelling Yang, where Shanghan presented with red face and eyes, irritability, thirst for drinking, and a pulse beating 7-8 times per breath but scattering upon pressure. He used Jiang Fu Tang/Ginger and Aconite Decoction plus Renshen/Ginseng Root, administering half a jin, resulting in sweating and cure. This is a divine efficacy.] Treats Zhong Han/Mid-Cold and Zhong Feng/Mid-Wind [Sudden onset is called Zhong/Mid; gradual injury is called Shang/Wound. Mild cases are Gan Mao/Common Cold, heavier are Shang/Wound, heaviest are Zhong/Mid]. Treats Qi Jue/Qi Syncope and Tan Jue/Phlegm Syncope (Suitable for deficiency-cold syncope. For example, in Shanghan with Yang excess repelling Yin, presenting with cold body and hidden pulse, if mistaken for cold-type syncope due to Heat Jue/Heat Syncope mimicking cold, immediate death ensues; Chengqi Tang/Bowel-Purging Decoction or Baihu Tang/Greater White Tiger Decoction should be used instead). Treats Ke Ni/Cough and Reverse Flow (due to Wind-Cold), Ou Yue/Vomiting and Hiccups (Stomach Cold), Ge Ye/Regurgitation and Dysphagia (Ge Ye often results from Qi and Blood deficiency, Cold Stomach, or Withered Stomach. Liquids pass but solids do not; the withering is at Xi Men/Absorbing Gate, the epiglottis in the throat. Food causes epigastric pain then is vomited shortly after; the withering is at Ben Men/Receiving Gate, the upper opening of the stomach, belonging to Upper Jiao, named Ye/Dysphagia. Food is vomited after a long time; the withering is at You Men/Secluded Gate, the lower opening of the stomach, belonging to Middle Jiao, named Ge/Regurgitation. Morning food vomited in evening; the withering is at Lan Men/Screen Gate, the lower openings of Large and Small Intestines, belonging to Lower Jiao, named Fan Wei/Reverse Stomach. There are also cases of Phlegm-Fluid, Food Retention, or Blood Stasis blocking the Stomach opening. For Cold-Phlegm and Cold Stomach, Jiang/Ginger, Fu/Aconite, Renshen/Ginseng, and Baizhu/Atractylodes Macrocephala Rhizome are suitable. For Withered Stomach, moistening is needed, using Siwu Tang/Four Substances Decoction with Cow/Sheep milk. For Blood Stasis, add Jiuzhi/Chinese Chive Juice. Refer to the discussions on Jiuzhi and Cow Milk.) Treats Pi Xie/Splenic Diarrhea (Mingmen Fire insufficiency), Leng Li/Cold Dysentery and Han Xie/Cold Diarrhea, Huo Luan/Zhuan Jin/Vomiting-Disorder with Muscle Cramps (Spleen deficiency, Cold invading Middle Jiao causes Huo Luan. Cold invading Lower Jiao Liver/Kidney causes Zhuan Jin. Contraindicated in Heat Huo Luan). Treats Ju Luan/Tendon Contracture and Feng Bi/Wind Bi Syndrome, Zheng Jia/Ji Ju/Masses and Accumulations, Du Mai Disease (Disease of the Governor Vessel), stiff spine and syncope, Xiao Er Man Jing/Infant Slow Convulsion, Dou Chuang Hui Bai/Smallpox turning gray-white, Yong Ju/Carbuncles and Ulcers failing to heal, and all conditions of Deep Cold and Stubborn Cold [The Classic states: Yin excess leads to internal cold; Yang deficiency leads to external cold].
Assists Yang and retreats Yin, kills evil and wards off ghosts (not recorded in Ben Cao), unblocks meridians and induces abortion [When treating Yin syndromes with Jiang/Ginger and Fu/Aconite, take cold. This is "Treating Heat with Cold" method. Because Yin-Cold is below and Deficient Yang floats upward. Treating with cold herbs makes Yin stronger; treating with hot herbs causes rejection and non-absorption. Using hot herbs taken as cold drinks: after swallowing, the cold nature dissipates, then the hot nature activates. The condition is not violated, yet great benefit is achieved. This is the subtlety of Counter-Treatment. Similarly, taking cold herbs hot to treat heat syndromes is "Treating Cold with Heat," with identical logic. The Classic states: Regular treatment follows regular methods; counter-treatment follows counter methods. Using cold to treat heat, heat to treat cold is Regular Treatment. Using cold to treat cold, heat to treat heat is Counter-Treatment. The Classic says: One must subdue the primary factor and address the cause first. Borrowing cold or hot herbs as counter-agents serves as a guide, also called Following Treatment. Wang Haogu said: When using Fuzi to tonify Fire, one must prevent Water depletion. For those with Yin deficiency, long-term use of Yang-tonifying herbs will make deficient Yang more blazing, True Yin more depleted, Essence and Blood daily枯萎 (wither/dry up), and Qi having no attachment, leading to many incurable cases].
The mother root is Wu Tou/Aconite Lateral Root. The lateral bud is Fu Zi/Aconite Root. Connected buds are Ce Zi/Side Aconite. Long and thin ones are Tian Xiong/Heavenly Male. Those with two prongs are Wu Hui/Aconite Beak. These five substances come from one source but have different names.
Fu Zi from Chi Chan in Zhangming, Sichuan is best. Black skin, round body, flat bottom with eight angles, weighing over one liang is good (some say two liang is better, but hard to obtain). Raw use for dispersing, cooked use for vigorous tonification [Zhao Sizhen said: Zhang Zhongjing's Mahuang Fuzi Xixin Tang uses cooked Fuzi with Mahuang, dispersing with tonification; Sini Tang uses raw Fuzi with Ganjiang, tonifying with dispersing. The intent is subtle. Zhu Danxi said: Wu and Fu circulate meridians. Zhang Zhongjing used them as guides for Shaoyin in Bawei Wan. Later generations mistakenly used them as tonics! Fuzi moves without staying, taking its robust nature to descend, to move the stagnation of Dihuang. Habitually used for Wind and tonification, it has killed many. Wang Ang notes: Fuzi is sweet and hot, vigorously tonifying Yuan Yang. For those with faint Yang about to vanish, restoring life from death, this herb is indispensable. Thus Zhang Zhongjing used it frequently in Sini, Zhenwu, and Bitong Decoctions. Its merit to humanity is great. Ancients used it frequently in daily prescriptions; it was never a forbidden agent. Danxi only viewed it as a meridian-circulating herb and claimed using it as a tonic kills many; his words were excessive. Danxi's method emphasized nourishing Yin, thus often criticizing Yang herbs, which was his bias. Wang Jiezhai said: For Qi deficiency use Sijunzi Tang, for Blood deficiency use Siwu Tang, for severe deficiency both should add cooked Fuzi. Sijunzi and Siwu are mild and slow agents; they need Fuzi's robust nature to succeed. Fuzi is a hot herb, not to be used lightly, but when indicated, even in hot summer months, it can be used.] Soak in water, wrap in flour, bake until cracked, slice while hot, stir-fry until yellow, remove fire toxicity before use. Another method: Cook with 2 qian Gancao/Licorice Root, half cup salt water, ginger juice, and child's urine until cooked (using black beans today is also good). Incompatible with Renshen/Ginseng Root, Huangqi/Astragalus Root, Gancao/Licorice Root, Fangfeng/Saposhnikovia Root, Xijiao/Rhinoceros Horn, Ludou/Adzuki Bean, Tongbian/Child's Urine. Antagonistic to Beimu/Fritillaria Bulb, Banxia/Pinellia Tuber, Gualou/Trichosanthes Fruit, Baiji/Bletilla Rhizome, Bailian/Polygonatum Rhizome. For poisoning, decoct Huanglian/Coptis Rhizome, Xijiao/Rhinoceros Horn, and Gancao/Licorice Root to detoxify; Yellow Earth Water can also detoxify.
Wu Tou/Aconite Lateral Root has similar effects to Fu Zi but is milder. Fu Zi is heavy and harsh, warming Spleen and expelling Cold; Wu Tou is light and dispersing, warming Spleen and expelling Wind. Cold diseases suit Fu Zi, Wind diseases suit Wu Tou.
Wu Fu Jian/Aconite Tips induce vomiting of Wind-Phlegm, treating Epilepsy, utilizing their sharpness to reach the disease site directly [Zhu Danxi treated Xu Baiyun, repeatedly using Genti/Garlic Mustard Seed, Zhizi/Gardenia Fruit, Kushen/Sophora Root, Lilu/Veratrum Rhizome, etc., but vomiting was incomplete. Finally, he used Aconite tips mixed with grain water, achieving massive vomiting of sticky phlegm in several bowls].
Tian Xiong/Heavenly Male tonifies Lower Jiao Mingmen Yang deficiency [Kou Zongshi and Zhang Yuansu both said it tonifies Upper Jiao. Zhu Danxi said: Can assist the lower part. Li Shizhen said: Its tips grow downward, thus descending. However, tonifying the lower covers the upper. If Upper Jiao Yang is deficient, it belongs to Heart and Lung, requiring Renshen/Ginseng and Huangqi/Astragalus, not Tian Xiong or Fu Zi]. Treats Wind-Cold-Damp Bi Syndrome, being the chief herb for Wind pathogens, inducing sweating and stopping Yin-sweat.
Ce Zi/Side Aconite grows on the sides, suitable for dispersing the four limbs, filling skin and hair, treating Wind-Damp Bi syndromes of hands and feet.