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[Litsea Fructus] Also known as Jinlingzi. The variety produced in Shuchuan is of the best quality. It blooms with red-purple flowers in March and April. The fruit is like a bullet in size, green when raw and yellow when ripe, harvested in December. Its taste is sour and purely bitter, its nature is cold, its qi is thin while its flavor is strong, possessing a descending property. It enters the Heart, Liver, Kidney, Small Intestine, and Bladder meridians.

Litsea Fructus belongs to "Yang within Yin," but when used, it moves from Yang into Yin, thereby capable of guiding Yang Qi into the Yin aspect. It mainly treats heat-jue (cold extremities due to internal heat) causing heart pain, abdominal pain in the upper and lower regions, hernia, promotes urination, and treats parasitic hemorrhoids. Medical texts mostly advocate its use for hernia syndromes,其次 (secondarily) for spermatorrhea and asthma, various rebellious Qi rising upward causing headaches, pain in the heart, hypochondrium, epigastrium, and lower back, accumulations, frequent urination with strangury, hematuria, hematochezia, diseases of the anterior yin, and dental diseases.

Litsea Fructus is a medicine for the Qi aspect of the Lower Jiao. (Note by Langfeng) It is an agent that resolves heat and dissipates nodules. (Note by Hao) Pain above and below the umbilicus, as well as sudden heart pain, are all due to Qi stagnation and Fire. Litsea Fructus is sour and bitter, capable of inducing vomiting and purging heat. (Note from Leiming) Litsea Fructus treats Yin deficiency leading to Yang-jue, such as heart pain and epigastric pain syndromes; it also treats Yin excess with Yang sinking, such as hernia syndromes.

When combined with Achyranthes Root (Niuxi), Papaya (Mugua), Tangerina Peel (Juhong), Lychee Seed (Lizhihe), Eucommia Bark (Duzhong), Morinda Root (Bajitian), Tree Fruit (Wushuizi), and Fennel (Huixiang), it treats Kidney deficiency hernia. For hernia swelling and pain, there are five, four, and seven processing methods, all recorded in Li Shizhen's *Bencao Gangmu*. In men, hernia originates from injury to the organ's own Qi, involving the Bladder connecting to the Small Intestine Qi. Take one hundred Litsea fruits, soak in warm water, remove the peel; take two hundred Cardamom seeds (Badou), slightly broken, and two sheng of flour. Place them together in a copper pot, stir-fry until the Litsea fruits turn reddish-brown, then remove and cool. Remove the pits and grind into powder. Discard the Badou and flour. Take three qian per dose, mixed with hot wine or vinegar water. Another prescription: add half liang of salt-stir-fried Fennel.

For treating Ren Xiao (Kidney Xiao) and Gao Lin (Chyluria), where the disease is in the Lower Jiao, use equal parts of Bitter Chinaberry (Kulianzi) and Fennel, stir-fried.

[Discussion] Litsea Fructus inherits the Yin Qi of Heaven and obtains the bitter flavor from Earth. Bitter corresponds to entering the Heart. However, since the Kidney is the counter-transformation of Heart Fire, and flavor follows Qi, generally speaking, bitter-cold substances tend to enter the Kidney, yet Litsea Fructus uniquely enters the Heart, as stated by Li Dongyuan. (Li Dongyuan said: Enters the Heart and Small Intestine.) Why? Because its initial taste is sour, becoming purely bitter later. It inherits the bitter-cold nature, primarily descending to expel heat. Essentially, it combines the origin of Wood and Fire, guiding Qi to reach Yang, thus resolving heat and dissipating nodules. This differs significantly from other bitter-cold herbs that directly suppress heat. Generally, originating from Wood and Fire to achieve bitter-cold allows it to guide Yang back. Therefore, when Yin Qi declines at the lower part causing heat-jue heart pain, this herb is indispensable. (If it were merely considered a heat-clearing herb, how could bitter-cold downward-draining herbs supplement the declining Yin Qi?) As a medicine for the Qi aspect of the Lower Jiao, it is frequently used for hernia, based on this principle. Hernia pathology mostly occurs in the Kidney and Liver regions, but the cause is Cold stagnation transforming into Heat. Cold consolidates the Qi of the Kidney and Bladder, while Heat relates to the Ministerial Fire of the Jueyin. This herb, rooted in the counter-transformation of Sovereign Fire, naturally enters the Kidney; combining with Wood-Fire Qi transformation, it naturally penetrates the Liver. This is what is meant by guiding Qi to reach Yang and simultaneously resolving heat and dissipating nodules. (The meaning of "penetrating the Liver" is the same as originating from Wood-Fire to achieve bitter-cold. Zhang Jiegü treated pain in the urethra using raw Licorice root tip, but added Corydalis Rhizome and Bitter Chinaberry, which was particularly effective. For strangury with pain radiating from the urethra to the hypochondrium, he used Shen Ling Hu Po Tang, with Bitter Chinaberry as the sovereign herb. The *Neijing* states: The Foot-Jueyin meridian circulates around the external genitalia and connects to the Liver. It also states: The collateral of the Foot-Jueyin ascends along the tibia to the testis and knots at the penis. This confirms this herb is a specific agent for entering the Liver.) Some prescriptions stir-fry it with Radish Seed (Laifu), Morning Glory Seed (Qianniu), and Mylabris (Banmao), borrowing their Qi to break hardness and resolve depression to assist this herb's nodule-dissipating function. Others guide it with Psoralea Fruit (Guzhi) and Fennel, employing "treating cold with heat" to penetrate the heat within the cold, completing this herb's heat-expelling function. Thus, its main indications can be understood. However, hernia is sometimes called Small Intestine Qi or Bladder Qi, implying that Qi disease of the Small Intestine and Bladder constitutes hernia. One must not treat hernia apart from the Small Intestine and Bladder, nor should one equate hernia solely with them. The human body possesses only Water and Fire Qi. The Heart and Kidney are the vessels of Water and Fire, while the Small Intestine and Bladder are the mansions of Heart-Kidney Qi transformation. If those suffering from hernia ignore the Kidney, Small Intestine, and Bladder and speak only of the Liver, consider how the Liver can transmit Yin to Yang reaching Heaven, and Yang to Yin coiling into Earth, without relying on Water-Fire Qi transformation and movement. Relying on the function of the Small Intestine and Bladder (Hand-Taiyang Bing Fire ascending, Foot-Taiyang Ren Water descending), how can a single Yin serve as the sole envoy? Hence, treating hernia apart from the Small Intestine and Bladder is illogical. If the disease is confined to the Small Intestine and Bladder without affecting the Liver, the treatment method is indeed different. Disease in the Liver involves the Cold-Water organs suppressing the True Yang within the Water, causing the Liver's ascending Yang to stagnate. This affects the Spleen, also located inferiorly, leading to Cold-Dampness synthesis, further obstructing Jueyin Qi, worsening Ren Mai disease, as described by Li Dongyuan. (Li Dongyuan stated: Rebellious Qi of the Foot-Taiyang Bladder ascends to meet the Hand-Taiyang Small Intestine meridian descending, preventing the Foot-Jueyin meridian from extending the Ren Mai. The Jueyin meridian rebels like a great river, causing Yang Qi to sink, resulting in bilateral testicular swelling, termed hernia. Severe cases become masses.) As for diseases originating in the Small Intestine and Bladder themselves, whether due to excessive Fire and deficient Water, or flooding Water and deficient Fire, treatment should be tailored to the specific situation, not casually equated with hernia treatment. In summary, Litsea Fructus treats hernia, but its efficacy manifests in the Bladder, which begins with the Small Intestine. From flowering and fruiting in March-April, through Summer Solstice to winter harvest, it essentially utilizes Wood-Fire Qi to achieve Cold-Water effects, completing its function. If Cold-Water Qi is heavily stagnant, without utilizing Wood-Fire Yuan Qi to open and guide it, how can hernia be cured? Moreover, for external stubborn cold accumulation, without bitter-cold properties, how can Wood-Fire Qi penetrate condensed cold to guide Qi? Perhaps Ba Dou Qi is borrowed to harmonize bitter-cold and penetrate Yang. Regarding Li Dongyuan's statement that it enters the Small Intestine and first enters the Heart: Human Fire originates from Water; Water is the source of Fire, and the Heart is the master of Fire. Litsea Fructus uses Wood-Fire Qi to achieve Cold-Water effects. Thus, for lower Jiao Yin deficiency with Yang-jue, it uses the Master of Fire (Heart) to guide return, as seen in heat-jue heart pain. When Yang returns to Yin, Yin guards Yang. For lower Jiao Yin shadowing with Yang sinking, it uses the Master of Fire to penetrate, as seen in cold-stagnation-heat hernia. When Yang penetrates Yin, Yin no longer binds Yang. Its efficacy acts in the lower part, but the mechanism of guiding/penetrating lies in the upper part, hence it is first stated to enter the Heart.

Furthermore: Originating from Wood-Fire to achieve bitter-cold means Wood-Fire Qi enters the hand, not conflicting with warming-tonifying flavors. Gradually entering to achieve bitter-cold differs from sudden warming-tonification of deficiency-cold, as there is a guiding Qi of similar nature, allowing tonification to succeed. For example, treating lower Jiao Yang deficiency causing leakage, using it to assist tonifying Yang deficiency follows this principle. Understanding this allows extrapolation for treating Yin/Yang deficiency in other syndromes.

Not suitable for Spleen-Stomach deficiency-cold. (Note by Zhongchun)

[Processing] Soak in wine, steam until soft, remove peel and pits, take pure flesh, dry in sun. Or boil in wine, boil in salt, stir-fry with bran, stir-fry with Ba Dou, stir-fry alone, or do not process, according to syndrome suitability.

[Bark, Root Bark, and Wood Bark of Bitter Chinaberry]
Taste bitter, nature slightly cold, slightly toxic. Mainly treats wandering wind-heat toxin, wind-rash, malignant sores, scabies, and childhood high fever (decocted for washing). Treats Xiao Ke (wasting-thirst) with parasites. Take fresh white bark of Bitter Chinaberry root (Ri Hua Zi said: Male roots are red, toxic, causing vomiting/diarrhea and death). Take one handful, cut and bake, add a little Musk, two bowls of water, decoct to one bowl. Drink on an empty stomach. Even if weak, it is acceptable. Afterwards, pass three or four worms, resembling silkworms but red. Thirst stops instantly. This reveals that Xiao Ke syndrome involves parasites consuming body fluids.

[Differentiation and Treatment] Red male roots are unusable; white female roots are used for medicine. For every one liang of herb, add fifty grains of glutinous rice, decoct together to reduce toxicity. If diarrhea occurs, stop it with cold congee; if no diarrhea, induce sweating with hot scallion congee.