山中古松。久为人斩伐。其枯折槎 。枝叶不复上生者。谓之茯苓拨。即于四面丈
余地内。以铁锥刺地。如有茯苓。则锥固不可拔。乃掘取之。其拨大者。茯苓亦大。（颂）
甘淡而平。气味俱薄。浮而升。阳也。东垣曰。降也。阳中之阴。（甘和而淡。淡为天
之阳。其性上行生津液。开腠理。滋水之源。而下降通水道。二说固相合。）白者入手太阴
足太阳气分。赤者入足太阴手少阴太阳气分。补心益脾。白优于赤。通利小肠。赤亦胜白。
（仲淳）诸本草和中益气。除湿理脾。调脏气。开腠理。逐水准火。生津导气。开胸腑。治
胸胁逆气。心下结痛。安心神。止忧恚惊悸。消痰润肺。止咳逆。利胸中痰水。愈消渴及呕
吐。并大肠淋沥。水肿淋结。伐肾邪长阴。治肾积奔豚。利腰膝间血。疗遗精白浊。酒浸。
与光明朱砂同用。能秘童元。（海藏）茯苓补虚劳。多在心脾之有准。（东垣）小便多者能止。
结者能通。（又）伐肾邪者。小便数能止之。小便涩能利之。与车前子相似。虽利小便而不
走气。（海
伐肾邪。取其淡而利窍。以平其气也。（类明）茯苓分阴阳而导湿。盖病于湿则阴阳混淆。
升降之职不行焉。茯苓气薄。为阳中之阴。上行导气。下行利水。故阴阳分判。而湿淫平也。
（又）茯苓利水。何又生津。讵知清阳上布。故浊阴下行。而气乃化。津乃生。经曰。脾主
为胃行其津液。是岂脾无真阳之运化。而能生胃中之津液哉。即此可悟茯苓除湿之义。凡药。
气重者主气
亦能补虚固肾。（文清）成于阴而生于阳。得老松之气浓。其质阴也。其气阳也。感土水之
气而成质。故其味甘平。补中利窍。补中则心脾实。利窍则邪热解。有补有泻之药也。（仲
淳）其治上焦或同于益真气者。以致阳而布其升清之化。或同于祛痰行气者。即于升清阳中
以达其浊阴之降。治下焦或同于分理导水者。达阴而致其降浊之化。或同于健脾和气者。即
降浊阴中以还其清阳之升。未可徒以下渗概之也。取白者。蒸晒三次。为末。以牛乳汁和膏
服之。或蜜浸。或酒浸。封固。百日后常服。不饥延年。肠化为筋。通神致灵。入五苓散。
利水除湿。暑气胜。则去桂。入六味丸。能伐肾邪。入补心丹。则补心安魂养神。得人参白
术橘皮山药扁豆芍药甘草。为补脾胃之上药。得二术泽泻车前白芍橘皮木瓜猪苓。为消水肿
之要剂。胸胁气逆胀满。茯苓一两。人参五钱。每服三钱。日三服。血虚心汗。（独心孔有
汗。别处无。）思虑多则汗亦多。宜养心血。以艾汤调茯苓末。日服一钱。浊遗带下。丈夫
元阳虚惫。精气不固。小便下浊。余沥常流。梦寐多惊频遗。并治妇人白淫白带。白茯苓去
皮四两作匮。以猪苓四钱半入内。煮二十余沸。取出日干。择去猪苓。为末。化黄蜡搜和。
丸弹子大。每嚼一丸。空心津下。以小便清为度。忌米醋。小便淋沥不禁。由心肾俱虚。神
志不守。白赤茯苓等分为末。以新汲水 洗去筋。控干。用酒煮地黄汁。捣膏搜和。丸弹子
大。每嚼一丸。空心盐酒下。消渴。由于上盛下虚。心火炎烁。肾水枯涸。不能交济而成。
白茯苓黄连各一斤。为末。熬天花粉作糊。丸梧子大。每温汤下五十丸。按世俗恒言茯苓淡
渗。观上数方。则补益心肾良多。且其用又似补阴为多。李氏所谓味重主血。义不谬也。
〔论〕 茯苓本古松灵气沦结成形。之颐谓其精英不发于枝叶。而返旋生气吸伏于踵。
所谓真人之息也。夫松秉真阳之性。凌冬不凋。乃其入土久而结茯苓。即根极至阴之下。而
真阳之凝结。更有如斯者。隐居言其性无朽蛀。埋地中三十年。色理无异。不可想见其真阳
之贞固哉。第其味淡。淡写天之阳。阳当上行。而气之薄者。为阳中之阴。又宜利水而下泄。
总
其气和。实和于至阴以归至阳。故始终惟有一淡。（海藏谓茯苓甘平。如何是渗利。兹举阳
吸阴阴归阳之义。以实甘平。然后知海藏之说不妄。盖甘具五味。平具五气。乃阴阳之合也
。）然淡本于甘。则阴阳相含之真气。已入中土而神其清浊之升降矣。诸本草谓其和中益
气。除湿理脾。逐水准火。（水火即阴阳之气所化。清阳不升。则郁而为火。浊阴不降。则
郁而为水。茯苓气阳质阴。合于水火之升降。但其味至淡。不能专功耳。）调脏气。开腠理
者。是在中土而致其清阳之气于上也。即其致清阳于上。而导浊阴于下者。亦此也。更宜究
者。清浊本之阴阳。阴阳兆于水火。水火赋之心肾。如甄权所谓善安心神。与本经忧恚惊悸
之治合。如好古所谓秘精。亦与别录长阴。日华子暖腰膝之义不远。然则用茯苓者。不得徒
守淡渗之说。而当思其从阳吸阴。吸阴归阳之元机矣。至所云安心神。秘精气。请更悉之。
心内阴而外阳。肾内阳而外阴。内者是神是主。外者是气是用。经曰。阳中之太阳心也。惟
茯苓禀真阳之粗气。却能吸阳中之阴以归阳。（阳中之阴为血。血者神气也。）是其能益心血
者也。阴既得宅于阳中。则神定而气充。是又谓之益心气耳。秘精之说。亦不外此。总之。
在上者阴宅于阳中。则火有主而下交于水。即得水中之火。从地气而蛰藏。在下者阳宅于阴
中。则水有主而上交于火。即得火外之水。从天气而发育。此所谓神足而气充。气充而精盈
。精盈而气固者也。
虚而上有痰火。下有湿热者。最宜。若劳役阳虚。小便多汗多者。禁用。（文清）衍义
补遗谓阴虚者。未宜。小便素利者。过服助燥损明。嵩言兼补阴之剂。可用。但不宜入燥剂
中耳。非比猪苓一味。诚为淡渗。阴虚者。当忌之。
〔修治〕 坚白者良。去皮。更宜水飞去筋。若误服之。令人眼中童子并黑睛点小。兼
盲目
Ancient pines in the mountains, having been felled by humans for a long time. The withered and broken parts where branches and leaves no longer grow upward are called "Fuling Bo" (Fuling stalk). Within an area more than one zhang away from the four sides of the trunk, use an iron awl to pierce the ground. If there is Poria here, the awl will become fixed and cannot be pulled out; then dig it up. Where the Fuling Bo is large, the Poria is also large. (Su Song)
Poria has a sweet and bland taste and is neutral in nature. Its aroma and flavor are both thin. It is light and ascending, belonging to Yang. Li Dongyuan said: It descends; it is Yin within Yang. (Sweetness harmonizes and blandness promotes diuresis; blandness represents the Yang of Heaven. Its nature ascends to generate fluids and open the interstices; simultaneously, it nourishes the source of water and descends to unblock the water passages. These two theories are originally consistent.) White Poria enters the Qi level of the Hand Taiyin Lung Meridian and Foot Taiyang Bladder Meridian. Red Poria enters the Qi level of the Foot Taiyin Spleen Meridian, Hand Shaoyin Heart Meridian, and Foot Taiyang Bladder Meridian. It tonifies the Heart and benefits the Spleen; white is superior to red. It promotes urination and unblocks the small intestine; red also surpasses white. (Chen Shigong)
Various Materia Medica texts state that it harmonizes the middle and benefits Qi, removes dampness and regulates the Spleen, adjusts Zang organ Qi, opens the interstices, expels water pathogens and calms fire, generates fluids and guides Qi, opens the chest and epigastrium, treats rebellious Qi in the chest and hypochondrium, pain and knotting below the heart, calms the Spirit, stops worry, resentment, fright, and palpitations, resolves phlegm and moistens the Lungs, stops cough and rebellious Qi, benefits fluid retention in the chest, cures Xiao Ke (Wasting-Thirst) and vomiting, as well as dribbling of the Large Intestine, edema and strangury, attacks Kidney pathogens and promotes genital growth, treats Kidney accumulation and Ben Tun (rushing gas), benefits blood in the waist and knees, treats spermatorrhea and leukorrhea. (Zhang Yuansu) Soaked in wine and used together with Guangming Cinnabar (Zhusha), it can secure the primal Yuan energy of youth. (Zhang Yuansu) Poria can tonify deficiency and exhaustion, with its effects primarily on the Heart and Spleen, which is a settled conclusion. (Li Dongyuan) It can stop frequent urination and unblock obstruction. (Again) To attack Kidney pathogens means stopping frequent urination when it occurs, and promoting urination when it is difficult. This is similar to Semen Plantaginis (Cheqianzi); although it promotes urination, it does not deplete Zheng Qi (Upright Qi). (Zhang Yuansu)
Attacking Kidney pathogens relies on its blandness to open orifices and thereby calm Qi. (Zhao Yikui) Poria differentiates Yin and Yang to guide Dampness. Generally, disease caused by Dampness leads to confusion of Yin and Yang, causing the functions of ascent and descent to fail. Poria has a thin Qi and belongs to Yin within Yang; it ascends to guide Qi and descends to promote urination. Thus, Yin and Yang are distinguished, and excessive Dampness is pacified. (Again) How can Poria promote urination yet also generate fluids? One must know that when Clear Yang spreads upward, Turbid Yin descends downward. Only then can Qi transform and fluids be generated. The Classic says: The Spleen governs transporting and transforming fluids for the Stomach. Does this not rely on the true Yang transformation of the Spleen to generate fluids in the Stomach? From this, one can comprehend the meaning of Poria removing Dampness. Generally, herbs with heavy Qi and Flavor mainly affect Qi but can also tonify deficiency and secure the Kidney. (Wang Haogu) Poria forms through Yin and is born through Yang, obtaining the dense Qi of old pines. Its substance is Yin, and its Qi is Yang. It acquires its form by sensing the Qi of Earth and Water, hence its taste is sweet and neutral. Tonifying the middle solidifies the Heart and Spleen; opening orifices resolves pathogenic heat. It is a herb that possesses both tonifying and draining properties. (Chen Shigong)
When treating disorders of the Upper Jiao, it sometimes acts like herbs that benefit True Qi, raising Yang to exert its ascending and clearing transformation; or like herbs that dispel phlegm and move Qi, achieving the descent of Turbid Yin amidst the ascent of Clear Yang. When treating disorders of the Lower Jiao, it sometimes acts like herbs that differentiate and guide water, reaching Yin to effect its descending and turbid transformation; or like herbs that strengthen the Spleen and harmonize Qi, restoring the ascent of Clear Yang amidst the descent of Turbid Yin. Its effects cannot be simply summarized as downward seepage. Select white Poria, steam and sun-dry it three times, grind into powder, mix with ox milk to make a paste for oral administration. Or soak in honey, or soak in wine, seal tightly, and take regularly after one hundred days. This prevents hunger, prolongs life, transforms the intestines into sinews, connects to the Spirit, and brings agility.
Added to Wu Ling San (Five-Ingredient Powder with Poria), it promotes urination and removes Dampness. In cases of prevailing Summerheat, remove Ramulus Cinnamomi (Guizhi). Added to Liu Wei Di Huang Wan (Six-Ingredient Pill with Rehmannia), it attacks Kidney pathogens. Added to Bu Xin Dan (Heart-Tonifying Pill), it tonifies the Heart, calms the Soul, and nourishes the Spirit. Combined with Radix Ginseng (Renshen), Rhizoma Atractylodis Macrocephalae (Baizhu), Pericarpium Citri Reticulatae (Chenpi), Rhizoma Dioscoreae (Shanyao), Semen Dolichoris (Baidou), Radix Paeoniae Alba (Baishao), and Radix Glycyrrhizae (Gancao), it becomes a premier formula for tonifying the Spleen and Stomach. Combined with Rhizoma Atractylodis (Baizhu/Cangzhu), Radix Alismatis (Zexie), Semen Plantaginis (Cheqianzi), Radix Paeoniae Alba (Baishao), Pericarpium Citri Reticulatae (Chenpi), Fructus Chaenomelis (Mugua), and Polyporus (Zhu Ling), it becomes an essential preparation for eliminating edema. For rebellious Qi in the chest and hypochondrium causing distension and fullness, use 1 liang of Poria and 5 qian of Radix Ginseng (Renshen). Take 3 qian per dose, three times daily. For Heart Sweat due to Blood deficiency (sweating only from the heart region, nowhere else), excessive thinking leads to more sweating. It is suitable to nourish Heart Blood by taking Poria powder mixed with Mugwort decoction, 1 qian daily.
For men with deficient and exhausted Primal Yang, insecure Essence and Qi, turbid urine, constant post-void dribbling, frequent nocturnal emissions due to dreams and fright, and for women with Bai Yin (white discharge) and Dai Xia (leukorrhea): Use 4 liang of peeled white Poria as a container, place 4.5 qian of Polyporus (Zhu Ling) inside, boil for over twenty boils, take out, dry in the sun, remove Polyporus, grind into powder, mix with melted yellow beeswax, and roll into pills the size of a bullet. Chew one pill at a time, swallow with saliva on an empty stomach. Stop when urine becomes clear. Avoid rice vinegar.
For involuntary dribbling of urine due to deficiency of both Heart and Kidney and loss of Shen control: Mix equal parts of white and red Poria into powder. Wash with fresh well water to remove fibrous roots, drain, boil Radix Rehmanniae Preparata (Shudihuang) in wine to extract juice, mash into a paste, mix with the powder, and roll into pills the size of a bullet. Chew one pill at a time, swallow with salted wine on an empty stomach.
Xiao Ke (Wasting-Thirst) arises from excess above and deficiency below, blazing Heart Fire, and dried-up Kidney Water, failing to interact and balance each other. Use 1 jin each of white Poria and Cortex Phellodendri (Huanglian). Grind into powder, cook Radix Panacis Quinquefolii (Tianhuafen) to make a paste, and roll into pills the size of a wutong seed. Take fifty pills with warm water each time.
According to common secular sayings, Poria is bland and permeating. Observing the aforementioned formulas, it is evident that it greatly benefits and tonifies the Heart and Kidney, and its usage seems to lean more towards tonifying Yin. Li's statement that "heavy flavor governs Blood" is not incorrect.
[Discussion] Poria is formed by the condensation of the spiritual energy of ancient pines. Miao Xiyong stated that its essence does not emit through branches and leaves but returns to circulate vital Qi, absorbing it into the root. This is what is called the "breath of the perfected person." Pine possesses the nature of True Yang and does not wither in winter. Yet, upon entering the soil and forming Poria over time, even rooting in the deepest Yin, the condensation of True Yang occurs in such a manner. Ju Yin (Tao Hongjing) said its nature does not rot or get eaten by insects; buried in the ground for thirty years, its color and texture remain unchanged. One cannot imagine how steadfast its True Yang is. However, its taste is bland. Bland writes the Yang of Heaven. Yang should ascend, but because its Qi is thin, it belongs to Yin within Yang, making it suitable for promoting urination and descending. Overall, its Qi is harmonious, actually harmonizing with Extreme Yin to return to Extreme Yang. Thus, it consistently embodies only "blandness." (Zhang Yuansu said Poria is sweet and neutral; how can it be permeating/draining? Here, the principle of Yang absorbing Yin and Yin returning to Yang is cited to substantiate the concept of Sweet and Neutral. Then one knows Zhang Yuansu's theory is not baseless. Sweet contains the five flavors, Neutral contains the five Qi; it is the union of Yin and Yang.) Since bland originates from sweet, the True Qi containing Yin and Yang has already entered the Middle Jiao and miraculously regulated the ascent of Clear and descent of Turbid. Various Materia Medica texts claim it harmonizes the middle, benefits Qi, removes Dampness, regulates the Spleen, expels water, and calms fire. (Water and Fire are transformed from the Qi of Yin and Yang. If Clear Yang does not ascend, it stagnates and becomes Fire; if Turbid Yin does not descend, it stagnates and becomes Water. Poria has Yang Qi and Yin substance, aligning with the ascent and descent of Water and Fire. However, its taste is extremely bland, so it cannot act alone effectively.) Regulating Zang Qi and opening interstices involves directing Clear Yang Qi to the upper body from the Middle Jiao. Directing Clear Yang upward and Turbid Yin downward is also based on this principle. What deserves further investigation is that Clear and Turbid originate from Yin and Yang, and Yin and Yang manifest in Water and Fire, which are endowed by the Heart and Kidney. As Zhen Quan said, it is good at calming the Spirit, consistent with the Classic of Original Meaning's treatment of worry, resentment, fright, and palpitations. As Hao Gu said regarding securing Essence, it is close to the meaning of *Ben Cao Jing Jiu* promoting genital growth and Ri Huazi warming the waist and knees. Therefore, those using Poria should not merely adhere to the theory of bland permeation but should contemplate its fundamental mechanism of absorbing Yin from Yang and returning Yin to Yang. Regarding the claims of calming the Spirit and securing Essence, let us elaborate further.
The Heart is Yin internally and Yang externally; the Kidney is Yang internally and Yin externally. Internally lies the Spirit and the Master; externally lies Qi and Function. The Classic says: The Heart is the Great Yang within Yang. Although Poria inherits the coarse Qi of True Yang, it can absorb Yin within Yang and return it to Yang. (Yin within Yang is Blood; Blood is the spirit and Qi.) Thus, it can tonify Heart Blood. Once Yin resides within Yang, the Spirit stabilizes and Qi fills; this is also called benefiting Heart Qi. The theory of securing Essence is no different. In summary, when Yin resides within Yang in the upper part, Fire has a master and descends to interact with Water, obtaining the Fire within Water to hibernate according to Earth Qi. When Yang resides within Yin in the lower part, Water has a master and ascends to interact with Fire, obtaining the Water outside Fire to develop according to Heaven Qi. This is what is meant by Spirit being sufficient and Qi filling, Qi filling and Essence abundant, and Essence abundant and Qi secured.
It is most suitable for deficiency with Phlegm-Fire above and Damp-Heat below. If it is Yang deficiency due to overwork, with frequent urination and sweating, it is contraindicated. (Wang Haogu) *Yan Yi Bu Yi* states it is unsuitable for Yin deficiency. Those whose urination is normally smooth should avoid excessive use, as it aids dryness and damages vision. Song stated that it can be used in formulas that tonify Yin, but should not be included in drying formulas. Unlike Polyporus (Zhu Ling), which is truly bland and permeating, Poria should be avoided by those with Yin deficiency.
[Processing] Hard and white varieties are superior. Peel the skin, and it is best to wash away fibrous roots with water. If taken by mistake, it causes small black spots in the pupil and cornea of the eyes, potentially leading to blindness.