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Dahuang (Rhei Radix et Rhizoma) purges blood stasis and descends to clear heat; Tinglizi (Descurainiae Semen Lepidii Semens, Periplocae Semen) purges qi obstruction and drives out water. For any condition where pathogenic water is hard and stagnant in one location, obstructing the descending function of the Lung, Tinglizi is indicated for all such cases.

Gansui (Kansui Radix) has a bitter and sweet taste; its therapeutic scope is in the middle and lower jiao, capable of promoting the drainage of fluids and food channels; therefore, it treats retained fluid and old food retention. Tinglizi has a bitter and acrid taste; its therapeutic scope is in the upper jiao and the exterior, only promoting the drainage of water passages; therefore, it treats qi stagnation, dietary accumulation, and alternating cold and heat. This can be verified by the indications for Daxiexiong Tang (Major Xiongxia Decoction) and Daxiexiong Wan: Dahuang sweeps away excess and washes away heat, reaching the upper, middle, and lower jiao simultaneously; its nature is extremely harsh and severe, so it serves as the sovereign drug in both the decoction and the pill, acting as the primary medicine to break through chest congestion. In Daxiexiong Tang, Mangxiao (Natrii Sulfas) and Gansui are added; one is boiled for only one or two boils, while the other involves adding the powder directly; this is because both substances tend to descend rapidly, and the intention is to make them linger in the chest and diaphragm to transform water and food accumulations and soften hardness. The indication for Daxiexiong Wan states that the neck is stiff, resembling Roujing (Soft Spasm). The term "neck stiffness" is indeed the core of this syndrome. According to the *Suwen* (Basic Questions), when Taiyin governs the interior, the neck feels like it is being pulled. "Neck feeling like being pulled" refers to dampness rushing upward. Here, the stiffness is not a pulling sensation but rather water binding in the Lung without doubt. It says "resembling soft spasm," indicating similarity yet difference from soft spasm. Then how should it be treated? Chest congestion arises from erroneous use of purgatives; due to this error, healthy qi becomes deficient and pathogens enter, causing water-fluids and old food to bind together and fail to descend. Tracing back the entering pathogen, it is the yang pathogen from the unresolved Taiyang disease. Yang pathogens consume body fluids, causing the sinews to lose nourishment and resulting in neck stiffness. At this point, one should drain the harmful water, moisten with fluids to soften the sinews, and vigorously purge the excess heat in the heart and stomach. Thus, the use of Dahuang, Mangxiao, and Gansui is consistent, but the method varies, and additional herbs are suitable. Xiren (Prunus Armeniaca Seed) and Mangxiao ground together serve to moisten fluids and soften the neck; Gansui boiled with honey serves to stabilize healthy qi and resolve bindings; Tinglizi drains lung water and is the specialized agent in this formula for resolving water binding. Changing the decoction to a pill is because neck stiffness cannot be treated hastily. Tinglizi and Gansui...

Cheqiancao (Plantaginis Herba), also known as "Ju", is described in *Shenxian Fushi Jing* (Classic of Immortals' Dietary Therapy) as effective in treating difficult labor in pregnant women and enabling conception. Lu Ji stated that young shoots eaten as vegetables are very slippery; nowadays, people no longer consume them. Since the shoots are so slippery, its seeds treating difficult labor naturally derive their efficacy from lubricating the fetus for delivery. However, the claim that it enables conception seems unconvincing. One must realize that for weak women suffering from infertility, the priority is tonifying the Chong and Ren vessels; otherwise, it may have the opposite effect. Cheqianzi (Plantaginis Semen) does not do anything else; its ability to enable conception is essentially derived from its treatment of difficult labor.

Cheqianzi is an herb that drains damp-heat from the Bladder. The *Shennong Bencao Jing* (Divine Farmer's Materia Medica) indicates it treats Qi Long (urinary difficulty), relieves pain, promotes water pathways, and facilitates urination. The *Mingyi Bielu* (Record of Famous Physicians) records its ability to brighten the eyes and treat redness and pain. Ancients believed that Cheqianzi benefits the water gate while securing the essence gate, which seems to imply kidney tonification. However, Fuling (Poria) promotes urination regardless of whether heat is present, whereas Cheqianzi is only indicated when heat is present. If Fuling can still attack kidney pathogens, then what kind of "securing of the essence gate" does Cheqianzi perform? This deserves deep reflection.