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(Collect the roots. Soak them overnight in thick rice washing water. The foul odor will float on the surface. Must be washed repeatedly. Then steam them. From Si hour to Shen hour, take out, dry in the sun, and slice for use.)

[Flavor and Properties]
Bitter, cold, non-toxic. Qi sinks, belonging to pure Yin. Enters the Foot-Shaoyin Kidney meridian, serving as the Sovereign herb (Jun Yao).

[Indications]
Chest and abdominal qi stagnation, masses and accumulations (Zheng Jia Ji Ju), jaundice. Dribbling after urination. Draining water retention. Eliminating carbuncles and swellings. Tonifying the Middle Jiao, brightening the eyes, and stopping tearing. Treating cold pain in the abdomen. Abdominal pain due to sudden evil invasion. Nourishing Liver and Gallbladder Qi. Calming the Five Zang organs. Harmonizing Stomach Qi. Increasing appetite. Lightening the body and stabilizing the mind. Benefiting essence and opening the nine orifices. Clearing latent heat causing intestinal dysentery. Stopping thirst and sobering up from alcohol. Treating yellow-red urine. Healing malignant sores and lower body lesions. Treating shin soreness caused by malicious parasites. Killing gut worms. Stir-fried until carbonized but retaining its nature, taken with rice decoction. Treating intestinal wind bleeding and hot dysentery. Soaked in wine and drunk to treat scabies and kill parasites. Treating sores, erythema, alopecia of eyebrows. Clearing high fever causing somnolence. Treating skin and muscle irritability caused by hot toxic wind pathogen. Li Shizhen said: Zi and Wu hours correspond to the transformation of Shaoyin Ministerial Fire. Therefore, the bitter-cold nature of Kushen (Sophorae Flavescentis Radix) and Huangbai (Phellodendri Cortex) can both tonify the Kidney. This is likely due to their ability to dry dampness with bitterness and remove heat with cold. Heat generates wind; dampness generates insects. Thus, they can also treat wind diseases and kill parasites. They are suitable only for those with weak Kidney Water and victorious Ministerial Fire. If there is fire decline, cold essence, insufficiency of true Yuan Qi, or in elderly people, they should not be used.

Incompatible with (Beimu [Fritillariae Bulbus], Tusizi [Cuscutae Semen], Loulu [Euphorbiae Humifusae Herba]). Counteracted by (Lilu [Veratri Rhizoma]).

[Flavor and Properties]
Sweet, bitter, neutral, slightly cold, non-toxic. Floats and raises Yang. It is a guiding herb for the Foot-Yangming Stomach and Foot-Taiyin Spleen meridians. Select those with white exterior, black interior, and dense texture, called "Ghost Face Shengma". Remove rootlets and head rhizome before use.

[Indications]
Warding off epidemic pestilence and miasma. Headache. Sore throat. Mouth ulcers. Seasonal febrile diseases. Floating and rotting gums with foul odor. Guiding Congbai (Allii Fistulosi Bulbus) to disperse Wind-Cold in the Yangming meridian. Guiding Shigao (Gypsum Fibrosum) to stop toothache in the Yangming meridian. Guiding Renshen (Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma) and Huangqi (Astragali Radix) to ascend. Combined with Chaihu (Bupleuri Radix) to guide ascending and generating Qi upward. Combined with Gegen (Puerariae Lobatae Radix) to induce sweating in the Yangming meridian. Therefore, Shengma Gegen Tang (Cimicifugae and Pueraria Decoction) is the main formula for dispersing in the Yangming meridian. If used initially when Taiyang syndrome appears, it will inevitably transmit to the Yangming meridian, causing harm. Additionally, Shengma can resolve toxin from smallpox/measles, but only usable during initial fever. After eruption, it should not be used due to Qi deficiency. For diarrhea after smallpox/measles, it can be stir-fried. If macules do not emerge, dispersing methods are contraindicated, and it should not be used. For epistaxis and hematemesis, Xijiao Dihuang Tang (Rhinoceros Horn and Rehmannia Decoction) is indicated. If Rhinoceros horn is unavailable, Shengma can substitute for it. Not because Shengma replaces Rhinoceros horn, but because it guides Dihuang (Rehmanniae Radix) and other herbs into the Yangming meridian. For Taiyang syndrome with spontaneous sweating, which indicates exterior deficiency, it is generally contraindicated. For Taiyang syndrome with absence of sweating, this herb is suitable to induce dispersion.

Gegen

[Flavor and Properties]
Sweet, pungent, neutral, non-toxic. Ascending and Yang-raising. It is a meridian-traveling herb for the Yangming meridian.

[Indications]
Xiaoke (wasting-thirst syndrome) and high body heat. Treating headache from Shanghan (Cold Damage) and Zhongfeng (Wind Strike). Resolving the muscle layer, releasing the exterior, and inducing sweating. Opening interstices (Cou Li). Its Qi is light and floating, stirring up Stomach Qi to ascend. Zhu Shi said: For severe headaches that persist despite treatment with Lianxu Congbai Tang (Nelumbinis Plumula and Allium Decoction), Gegen Congbai Tang (Pueraria and Allium Decoction) should be used. It seems Gegen is also a Taiyang herb. However, Zhang Zhongjing's treatment of combined Taiyang-Yangming disease adds Mahuang (Ephedrae Herba) and Gegen to Guizhi Tang (Cinnamon Twig Decoction). There is also Gegen Huanglian Huangqin Jieji Tang (Pueraria, Coptis, and Scutellaria Muscle-Resolving Decoction). This is to judge the pathway of Taiyang entering Yangming, not necessarily a Taiyang herb itself. Although Gegen can indeed block the path of Taiyang entering Yangming, who knows that for early Taiyang disease without entry into Yangming presenting with headache, one must not immediately administer dispersing agents like Shengma Gegen. Doing so might instead guide pathogens into the Yangming meridian, causing the disaster of "inviting thieves to break the house." Furthermore, Zhang Zhongjing has Gegen Tang (Pueraria Decoction) for treating Shanghan, primarily for high heat, resolving the muscle layer, and opening interstices. If the condition involves smallpox/measles, Gegen Tang is also an appropriate formula. But who knows that once red spots appear in smallpox/measles, one must not reuse Shengma Gegen Tang, as it would further deplete the exterior and increase the risk of ulceration. Some say Gegen is a miraculous herb for treating thirst due to Spleen deficiency. Yet others say it should not be used in large doses, fearing it damages Stomach Qi. Why? Who knows that the Spleen is the residence of fluids. If Spleen Qi fails to extend, fluids are depleted. With Gegen to raise and generate Yang Qi, the Spleen receives nourishment. If mistakenly treated solely as a Spleen herb and over-dispersed, how could Stomach Qi remain undamaged?