（柔滑）开胸利膈通肠滑胃
白苣（专入肠胃）。有似莴苣。（叶有白毛。折有白汁。）味苦气寒。无毒。故治亦载开
胸利膈
。通肠滑胃。然冷气人食之。其气益冷。产后食之。寒入小肠而痛甚迫。与酪酥同食。则能
生虫之为害耳。
（柔滑）除胸膈肠胃湿热水道不通
莴苣（专入肠胃）。由于白莴国来。故以莴名。味苦气冷。微毒。（莴苣虫不敢近。蛇虺
触之
。则目瞑不见物。人中其毒。以姜汁解之。紫莴苣有毒。入烧炼用。江南人盐晒压实。以备
方物。名莴苣笋。）治专通经达络。利水通道。解毒杀虫。凡人病因热湿。而见胸膈填胀。
眼目昏暗。乳汁不通。小便闭塞等症。用此治无不效。如乳汁不通。则用莴苣菜煎酒以服。
小便不解及或尿血。则用莴苣菜捣敷脐上。沙虱水毒。则用莴苣菜捣汁以涂。蚰蜒与虫入耳
。则用莴苣菜捣汁以滴。及或和雄黄等分为丸。蘸油入耳以引之类。凡此因其味苦。苦则能
以降气。因其气寒。寒则能以解热故耳。至书既言治能明目。而又言其多食则使人目昏。无
非因其热极伤目。则目得此以明。过服生寒。而目不明。则目又得因此而暗。无他义也。子
能下乳利水。并治阴肿。痔漏下血伤损作痛。功与莴苣菜略同。
（柔滑）解时行诸热毒
菜（专入肠胃）。即俗所言 菜者是也。味苦而甘。大寒体滑微毒。（禹锡曰。气平。）
考
书言此捣汁以饮。能治时行壮热。及解风热诸毒。夏月以菜作粥。及或捣汁。亦能解热治毒
。止痢止血生肌。捣叶以敷禽兽诸伤灸疮。此皆以寒疗热之法耳！若使脾虚人服之。则有腹
痛之患。气虚人服之。则有动气之忧。与肠滑人服之。则有泄泻之虞。至云治能补中理脾
。皆是书中语欠分辟。徒以启人妄用之阶。非实义也。茎烧灰淋汁洗衣。洁白如玉。
(Soft and smooth) Opens the chest, benefits the diaphragm, unblocks the intestines, and lubricates the stomach.
Baiju (White Lettuce) (specifically enters the Stomach and Intestines). It resembles Woju (Lettuce). (The leaves have white hairs; when broken, it exudes a white juice.) Its taste is bitter, its nature is cold, and it is non-toxic. Therefore, its therapeutic effects are recorded as opening the chest, benefiting the diaphragm, unblocking the intestines, and lubricating the stomach. However, for individuals with cold qi, consuming it will further increase the coldness in their body. For postpartum women, consuming it allows cold to enter the Small Intestine, causing severe pain. Consuming it together with cheese or butter can generate parasites, leading to harm.
(Soft and smooth) Eliminates damp-heat in the chest, diaphragm, and intestines, and unblocks the water passages.
Woju (Lettuce) (specifically enters the Stomach and Intestines). It is named "Wo" because it was introduced from the country of "Baiwo". Its taste is bitter, its nature is cold, and it is slightly toxic. (Insects called "Woju chong" dare not approach it; if snakes touch it, they become blind and cannot see objects. If humans are poisoned by it, ginger juice can resolve the toxicity. Purple lettuce is toxic and used in calcination processes. People in the Jiangnan region salt, dry, and compress it for preservation as a specialty, naming it "Woju Sun".) Its therapeutic action specifically focuses on unblocking meridians and reaching collaterals, promoting urination and unblocking channels, detoxifying, and killing insects. Whenever people suffer from diseases caused by heat and dampness, presenting symptoms such as fullness and distension in the chest and diaphragm, dim vision, blocked lactation, or urinary retention, using this herb is invariably effective. For blocked lactation, decoct Woju vegetable in wine and ingest it. For urinary retention or hematuria, crush Woju vegetable and apply it to the umbilicus. For sandfly or water toxins, crush Woju vegetable into juice and apply it topically. For centipedes or insects entering the ear, crush Woju vegetable into juice and drip it into the ear. Alternatively, mix it equally with Realgar, form pills, dip them in oil, and insert them into the ear to draw out the pests. All these methods work because its bitter taste can descend qi, and its cold nature can clear heat. Regarding texts stating that it improves vision while also claiming excessive consumption causes dim eyesight, this is merely because extreme heat damages the eyes, and taking this herb restores clarity; conversely, excessive intake generates cold, causing dimness, thus darkening the eyes again. There is no other profound meaning. It can also promote lactation and diuresis, and treat yin swelling, hemorrhoids with bleeding, and trauma pain. Its efficacy is roughly similar to that of Woju vegetable.
(Soft and smooth) Resolves various heat toxins from epidemic febrile diseases.
Cai (Vegetable) (specifically enters the Stomach and Intestines). This refers to what is commonly known as "Cai". Its taste is bitter and sweet, its nature is greatly cold, its texture is slippery, and it is slightly toxic. (Yuxi stated: its nature is neutral.) Examining the books, it is recorded that crushing this vegetable into juice and drinking it can treat severe fever from epidemic diseases and resolve various toxins from wind-heat. In summer, making porridge with this vegetable, or drinking its crushed juice, can also clear heat, resolve toxins, stop dysentery, stop bleeding, and generate flesh. Crushing the leaves and applying them to wounds on birds and beasts or moxibustion sores are all methods of treating heat with cold! If taken by those with Spleen deficiency, there is a risk of abdominal pain; if taken by those with Qi deficiency, there is a concern of disturbing the vital qi; if taken by those with slippery intestines, there is a danger of diarrhea. Claims that it tonifies the middle and regulates the Spleen are merely imprecise statements in the texts, serving only as a gateway for reckless use, rather than reflecting true principles. Burning the stems to ash and leaching the juice for laundry results in whiteness like jade.