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It is suitable to decoct all kinds of nourishing and tonifying medicines. When using fire, old reeds and withered bamboo should be used as fuel, taking advantage of their mild heat which does not damage the medicinal power. Mulberry wood fire is chosen for its ability to assist the medicinal power. Charcoal provides a slow-acting heat, while oak charcoal provides intense heat. For warming and nourishing purposes, rice bran, horse manure, or cow manure may be burned, as their gentle heat allows the medicinal power to spread evenly throughout the body. (Li Shizhen)

Whenever taking herbal decoctions, even if the ingredients are of superior quality and processed according to proper methods, if the person boiling the medicine is careless or hasty, uses improper water, or fails to control the heat intensity correctly, the medicine will be ineffective. Observing that the quality of tea flavor and the taste of rice depend on the success or failure of water and fire cooking, one can infer the importance of proper decoction. Therefore, decocting medicine requires a deep pot sealed tightly, fresh water, vigorous initial fire followed by gentle simmering, administered according to standard procedures; there is no case where it would fail to be effective. (Further discussion)

Moxibustion with mugwort treats hundreds of diseases. If treating various wind-cold disorders, adding a small amount of sulfur powder yields particularly good results. For moxibustion, it is appropriate to use a Yang Sui (concave bronze mirror) to catch sunlight and generate fire, thereby obtaining the true fire of the sun. Alternatively, drilling fire from locust wood is also excellent. In emergencies when these are unavailable, pure sesame oil lamps or candle flames may be used to ignite the mugwort stem attached to the moxa cone. This moistens the moxibustion wound until it heals without pain. Fires generated by striking metal, hitting stones, or drilling wood into stone must not be used. Fire has no inherent form but takes shape through the material it burns. The fire from metals and stones is fiercer than that from plants. Among fires derived from wood: pine fire is difficult to heal diseases; cypress fire damages the spirit and causes excessive sweating; mulberry fire damages muscles; zhe wood fire damages qi and vessels; jujube fire causes internal bleeding and vomiting blood; orange fire damages Ying and Wei (nutritive and defensive) meridians; elm fire damages bones and leads to loss of willpower; bamboo fire damages blood vessels and harms the eyes. (Li Shizhen)

Appendix: Yang Sui refers to the fire mirror mentioned in the *Rites of Zhou*. It is cast from copper with a concave surface. After being rubbed to generate heat, it is held facing the sun, and mugwort placed upon it catches fire. (Li Shizhen)

Oils can dispel wind and resolve toxicity; fire can unblock meridians. Only lamps burning Hu Ma You (Sesamum indicum Oil) or Su Zi You (Perilla Seed Oil) can brighten the eyes and treat diseases. Lamps made from fish oil, poultry or beast oils, rapeseed oil, cottonseed oil, tung oil, soybean oil, or naphtha produce smoke that damages the eyes and cannot treat diseases. (Li Shizhen)

Fire-lamp cautery treats pediatric convulsive disorders characterized by coma, spasms, upward gaze, and other symptoms. For cases where the head tilts backward due to fright, cauterize the fontanelle and the areas above and below the eyebrows. For eyes rolling up and unable to look down, cauterize the areas above and below the umbilicus. For unconsciousness, cauterize the palms and soles, and the areas above and below the heart region. For clenched fists and upward-gazing eyes, cauterize the vertex of the head and both palms. For mouth contraction with white foam discharge, cauterize the areas above and below the mouth, as well as the palms and soles. For headache with distending pain, observe the prominent collateral vessels on the forehead and temporal regions, and cauterize them with a lamp wick dipped in sesame oil—this is highly effective. External hemorrhoids with swelling and pain can also be treated this way. For newborns whose breath is nearly stopped due to exposure to cold, do not cut the umbilical cord immediately; instead, wrap them quickly in heated cotton wool, warm the placenta, and pass a lit lamp wick back and forth below the umbilicus to allow warmth to enter the abdomen; once Qi returns, consciousness will naturally recover. Additionally, heating a copper spoon handle and applying it to the inner eyelids removes wind and reduces redness, which is very effective. For intestinal colic, Yin-Yang abdominal pain, cold extremities, provided there are red spots on the body, dip a rush pith in oil, light it, and cauterize the red spots.