〔害〕吐血因于虚寒者，非其所宜。因寒发哕，中寒呕吐湿痰，停饮发热，并不宜服。
〔利〕甘寒，入心、脾、胃、小肠四经，凉金定喘，平血逆，清血瘀，利水湿，疗淋沥
崩中
。
茅花止血，茅针溃痈，一针溃一孔。能泻火消瘀，凉血止哕。
〔修治〕三月采针，四月采花，六月掘根，去毛用。
〔害〕苦寒之极，不利于脾胃虚寒，伤寒温疫，非阳明实热者，不宜用。痘疮非火热郁
滞，
因而紫黑干陷倒靥者，不宜用。
〔利〕苦寒入心（一作胃），清痰火，消食积，大解五脏实热，治阳毒发狂，清痘疮血
热，解
百毒，敷疔肿。金汁主治同人中黄而功胜，泻实热。
〔修治〕用竹筒刮去青皮，纳甘草末于中，紧塞其孔，冬月浸粪缸中，至春取出，洗悬
风处
，阴干取末。制金汁法∶棕皮绵纸，上铺黄土淋粪，滤汁入新瓮，碗覆埋土中一年，清若泉
水，全无秽气，胜于人中黄，年久弥佳。
〔害〕虽为益阴除热之要药，若脾胃虚弱，时泄泻者勿入。须先理脾胃，俟泻止用之。
须同
山药、莲肉、车前、茯苓相兼，则无润肠之患。故云，脾滑者勿用。
〔利〕甘微温，滋肝益肾，填精坚骨，助阳，养营，补虚劳，强筋、明目、除烦、止渴、
利
大小肠，故又为温大肠猛将。
〔修治〕九月采子，酒润一夜，捣烂入药。或用炭。以甘州河西所产，红润少核者佳。
[Bai Mao Gen (Imperata Rhizome)]
[Contraindications] It is not suitable for hematemesis caused by deficiency-cold. It should not be used for hiccups triggered by cold, vomiting of damp-phlegm due to middle-jiao cold, or fever caused by retained fluid retention.
[Efficacy] Sweet and cold in nature, it enters the Heart, Spleen, Stomach, and Small Intestine meridians. It clears Lung heat to stabilize asthma, regulates rebellious blood, resolves blood stasis, promotes diuresis to remove dampness, and treats strangury (dysuria) and metrorrhagia (uterine bleeding).
Mao Hua (Cattail Pollen/Reed Flower) stops bleeding; Mao Zhen (Reed Shoot) can disperse abscesses, with one shoot capable of draining one pore. It clears fire, eliminates stasis, cools blood, and stops hiccups.
[Preparation] Collect shoots in March, flowers in April, and roots in June. Remove root hairs before use.
[Ren Zhong Huang (Human Excrement Paste)]
[Contraindications] Extremely bitter and cold, it is detrimental to those with Spleen-Stomach deficiency-cold. For Shanghan (Cold Damage) and warm epidemics, it is not indicated unless there is Yangming excess-heat. It is not indicated for chickenpox/smallpox lesions that are purple-black, dry, and sunken due to heat-fire stagnation without proper eruption.
[Efficacy] Bitter and cold, it enters the Heart meridian (or Stomach meridian according to some texts). It clears phlegm-fire, resolves food accumulation, greatly clears excess-heat from the five zang organs, treats mania due to yang-toxin, clears blood-heat in chickenpox/smallpox, detoxifies hundred poisons, and is applied externally for carbuncles. Jin Zhi (Human Feces Juice) has similar indications to Ren Zhong Huang but is more potent, specifically for purging excess-heat.
[Preparation] Scrape off the green skin of a bamboo tube, insert powdered Licorice Root inside, tightly seal the opening, and immerse it in a fecal pit during winter. Retrieve it in spring, wash it, hang it in a ventilated place, dry it in the shade, and grind it into powder. Method for preparing Jin Zhi: Place loess on brown skin and cotton paper, filter human feces through it, collect the filtrate into a new urn, cover with a bowl, bury it in the earth for one year. The resulting liquid is clear as spring water, odorless, superior to Ren Zhong Huang, and improves with age.
[Gou Qi Zi (Lycium Fruit)]
[Contraindications] Although it is an essential herb for nourishing yin and clearing heat, it should not be used if the Spleen and Stomach are weak and frequent diarrhea occurs. One must first regulate the Spleen and Stomach and wait for the diarrhea to cease before using it. When combined with Dioscorea Rhizome, Lotus Seed Flesh, Plantago Seed, and Poria, it avoids the side effect of lubricating the intestines. Hence, it is said that it should not be used for loose stools due to Spleen deficiency.
[Efficacy] Sweet and slightly warm, it nourishes the Liver and Kidney, fills essence, strengthens bones, assists yang, nourishes nutritive qi, tonifies deficiency-wasting conditions, strengthens sinews and bones, brightens the eyes, relieves irritability, quenches thirst, and promotes urination in the large and small intestines. Therefore, it is also regarded as a powerful agent for warming the Large Intestine.
[Preparation] Harvest fruits in September, moisten with wine overnight, crush, and add to prescriptions. Alternatively, roast over charcoal. Those produced in Hexi, Ganzhou, which are red, lustrous, and have few seeds, are considered the best.