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[Flavor and Nature]
Sweet, neutral, non-toxic. Ascending with slight descending action. Yin within Yang. Enters the Foot-Taiyang (Bladder) and Foot-Shaoyin (Kidney) meridians.

[Indications]
Malaria. Promotes water passage. Relieves severe heat caused by Cold Damage (Shanghan) and epidemic febrile diseases. Induces sweating. Mainly treats abdominal swelling, fullness, and acute pain. Treats thirst, dispels dampness, and removes mental restlessness (Ao'ao). Drains the Bladder. Opens the interstices (Couli). Therefore, Zhang Zhongjing uses Zhu Ling (Polyporus) to induce sweating in cases of Xiao Ke (Wasting-Thirst disease) with floating pulse, difficulty in urination, and slight fever; when a patient desires to drink but vomits immediately after drinking, it is called "Water Reversal" (Shui Ni); during winter, coughing resembling malaria is also treated with Zhu Ling. These refer to Wu Ling San (Five-Ingredient Powder with Poria). These effects utilize bitter flavor to drain stagnation, sweet flavor to gather Yang Qi, and bland flavor to benefit orifices. Its strength lies in dispelling dampness and promoting diuresis. Long-term use damages Kidney Qi and blurs vision. Users should avoid this.

[Flavor and Nature]
Sweet, cold, non-toxic. Sinking and descending. Slight Yang within Yin. Enters the Foot-Taiyang (Bladder) and Foot-Shaoyin (Kidney) meridians.

[Indications]
Expels retained water in the Bladder and San Jiao (Triple Burner). Benefits the five types of Lin syndrome (dysuria). Unblocks water passages. Excels at promoting water metabolism. Raises Yin Qi. Stops seminal emission, Xiao Ke (Wasting-Thirst), and dribbling. However, the *Shennong Bencao Jing* states that long-term use of Ze Xie (Alisma Rhizome) makes ears and eyes clear; Bian Que states that excessive use causes blindness. Why is this? Generally, when Spleen and Stomach accumulate damp-heat, one experiences heavy head, blurred vision, and tinnitus. Ze Xie渗利 (seeps out) the dampness, and heat follows. When Earth (Spleen) receives its proper command, clear Qi ascends. Thus, its efficacy excels in nourishing the Five Zang organs, boosting Qi and strength, treating vertigo, and clarifying the ears and eyes. If used for a long time, the descending action becomes excessive, preventing clear Qi from ascending, leading to latent consumption of True Yin. Since the Kidney opens into the eyes, how can it not cause blindness? Furthermore, mediocre physicians fail to understand this. Seeing Zhang Zhongjing use Ze Xie Tang for miscellaneous diseases involving Zhi Yin (branching fluid retention) causing mental cloudiness, using Da/Xiao Ze Xie Tang for Cold Damage, and Wu Ling San for diarrhea, they conclude that Ze Xie mostly drains the Kidney. Whenever encountering symptoms of seminal emission and Kidney slipping, they dare not use it. They recklessly write books claiming that Ze Xie in Ba Wei Wan (Eight-Ingredient Pill) acts as a guiding agent for Fu Zi (Aconite Root), Rou Gui (Cinnamon Bark), and Dang Gui (Angelica Sinensis) to enter the Kidney meridian, thereby draining the Kidney, and even propose removing it. How could they know that Di Huang (Rehmannia Root), Shan Zhu Yu (Cornus Fruit), Fu Ling (Poria), and Mu Dan Pi (Moutan Cortex) in Ba Wei Wan are all herbs entering the Kidney meridian, and Fu Zi and Rou Gui originally belong to the Right Kidney and Ming Men (Gate of Life)? They reach their destination without needing Ze Xie's guidance. The reason for using Ze Xie is indeed that in tonic formulas, there must be herbs that drain pathogenic factors; once pathogens are removed, the tonic herbs can take effect. This is essentially tonification through draining.