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Also known as Kujiu (Bitter Wine). Only rice vinegar is used for medicinal purposes. Preparation method: During the Sanfu days (the hottest period of summer), take one dou of warehouse rice, wash it clean, steam it into cooked rice, spread it out to cool until yellow, sun-dry and winnow it clean. Take another two dou of warehouse rice, steam it into cooked rice, mix evenly with the previous rice, put it into a jar, cover with water, seal tightly, and place in a warm area. It will be ready after twenty-one days. (Li Shizhen) In the Jiangbei region, the method for making vinegar is: use one dou of late-season rice to make cooked rice, ferment with Qinghao (Artemisia annua L.) for three days, drain the yellow liquid. For every bowl of rice, add two bowls of cold water and four liang of liquor starter (Jiuqu), put into a jar and seal tightly. After seven days, stir once every morning with a willow wood stick. After forty-nine days, remove the dregs and boil. This vinegar is not very strong. Initially, it is very bitter, hence called Kujiu (Bitter Wine). (Chen Cangqi)

Taste: Sour, bitter. Temperature: Warm. Meridian Tropism: Jueyin Liver Channel. Antagonistic to Clam meat. Indications: Eliminates carbuncles, swellings, and various toxins; resolves masses and hard accumulations; dissipates nodular qi and sour fluid/phlegm-fluid in the heart.

[Discussion] The function of vinegar generally derives from its sour astringent property. Why can it also eliminate carbuncles and resolve masses? The book states: "Wood is called Quzhi (curved and straight); Quzhi produces sourness." Wood belongs to Yang, representing the mechanism of desire to rise. This interpretation is plausible. The *Neijing* states: "Sour enters the sinews; do not eat much sour when there are sinew diseases." Therefore, those with sinew spasms, hemiplegia, or difficulty bending and extending hands and feet should avoid it. It also states: "Excessive sour taste causes Liver Qi to overflow..." (The original text here has omissions, implying that excessive sour intake leads to overflowing Liver Qi).

[Processing] Vinegar made from fried rice in the south is the strongest. When used medicinally, it must be diluted with one part water to half part vinegar before use. As an adjunctive or guiding herb, glutinous rice is specifically used. The orthodox preparation uses clear water and white flour starter (Qu). Those made with other ingredients are merely Li (sweet wine), not Jiu (liquor). Jiu is brewed using Qu (starter culture), while Li is brewed using Nie (sprouted grain). Their flavors and properties differ, so their therapeutic effects should also differ. (Zhang Yuansu) In ancient times, when making Qu, no other herbs were added, so its potency was concentrated, surpassing other liquors.

Taste: Bitter, sweet, acrid. Temperature: Greatly Hot. Toxicity: Toxic. Indications: Promotes the action of drugs, disperses various evil toxic vapors, moderates drinking, nourishes Spleen and supports Liver, unblocks blood vessels, nourishes skin and muscles, moves Qi and strengthens Spirit, resists cold, eliminates sorrow, wards off fog and dew, repels pestilence. *Bowuzhi* records: Three people traveled in the morning mist; one drank alcohol, one ate a full meal, one fasted. The fasting person died, the full-eater fell ill, the drinker remained healthy. This demonstrates the effect of warding off evil. It can guide drugs into various meridians, not only similar to Fuzi (Aconiti Lateralis Radix Praeparata). Used mildly as a guide, it can penetrate the exterior of the whole body to the highest levels. Those with mild flavor promote urination and descend rapidly. (Li Haogu) When great cold freezes the sea, only wine does not freeze; its hot nature stands alone among all substances. Drinking too much causes physical exhaustion and mental confusion, which is due to its toxicity. (Meng Xian) Wine generates heat within dampness. If not so, it would damage the Heart and eyes. Night Qi converges, but wine disperses it, leading to chaos. (Wang Haogu) Eating mustard and spicy foods after drinking alcohol relaxes the sinews. Diseases such as phlegm-fluid retention, edema, Xiao Ke (Wasting-Thirst), spasms, and pain, as well as all toxic drugs, are treated by avoiding Zhi Qiao (Aurantii Fructus), Ge Hua (Puerariae Flos), Chi Dou Hua (Vigna umbellatae Flos), and Lv Dou Fen (Phaseoli Radiati Semen Pulvis) because Cold overcomes Heat.

Shaojiu (Distilled Liquor) Taste: Sweet, acrid. Temperature: Greatly Hot. Toxicity: Greatly Toxic. Indications: Eliminates cold accumulation and cold qi, dries damp-phlegm, opens depression and stagnation, stops watery diarrhea, treats Huoluan (Cholera-like syndrome), malaria, Ye Ge (Dysphagia), cold pain in the heart and abdomen, Yin Du (Yin Toxin) nearing death, kills parasites, repels miasma, promotes urination, firms stools. Effective for washing red, swollen, painful eyes. Mixed with water and drunk, it suppresses downward movement, regulates water passages, and results in long, white urine. Drunk in summer months, it induces sweating, relieves chest oppression, and cools the body. Washing red eyes with it induces tearing, reduces swelling, and disperses redness. This is a Cong Zhi (Treating according to the disease's nature) method. Someone suffered from red eyes; drinking Shaojiu with salt stopped the pain and reduced swelling. Because Shaojiu has a penetrating nature, guiding Salt to unblock collaterals, it opens stagnation and disperses pathogenic heat. It is also a Fan Zhi (Counter-treatment) and Jie Ji (Relieving crisis) formula. (Above: Li Shizhen) It disperses severe cold, superior to Rice Wine. In winter and spring cold months, use one cup of Ganju Tang (Chrysanthemum Decoction)... (Text missing here) Above Li Shizhen) Salt, cold water, and Lv Dou Fen (Phaseoli Radiati Semen Pulvis) detoxify it.