Library

Diseases have their root, just as grass has its root. If one removes the leaves but not the root, the grass remains. Treating a disease is like removing weeds. If the disease is in the Zang organs but treated by addressing the Fu organs, or if the disease is at the Exterior but attacked by treating the Interior, this not only damages the Stomach Qi (Stomach Energy) but also aids the pathogenic factors. What kind of physician is this?

My clan uncle-grandfather was seventy years old, with a robust constitution but a thin physique. In late summer, he suffered from diarrhea and dysentery. By deep autumn, hundreds of remedies had failed. Upon examination, I said: Although the illness has persisted for a long time, his spirit is not exhausted; his urination is scanty and difficult but not red; both radial pulses are choppy (Se) and slightly wiry (Xian). He reported slight fullness in the chest and diaphragm and reduced appetite. I realized: This must be phlegm-turbidity accumulated over many years, lodged in the stomach and intestines. I asked what food he preferred in his life. He replied: I enjoy eating carp; there was not a single day in three years that I missed it. I said: This is accumulated phlegm in the Lung. The Lung is the interior-exterior pair of the Large Intestine; thus, the root of the Large Intestine is insecure. One must clarify the source, and the flow will naturally become clear. I prescribed a decoction of Corni Fructus (Shanzhuyu), Tangerine Peel (Chenpi), Green Onion (Qingcong), Alfalfa Root (Mugen), and Fresh Ginger (Shengjiang), mixed with brown sugar. He drank about one bowl and induced vomiting by stimulating the throat with his finger. After half an hour, he vomited approximately half a sheng of gelatinous phlegm. That night, symptoms halved. The next morning, after drinking again and vomiting another half sheng, the diarrhea stopped. Subsequently, I administered Pingwei San (Calm the Stomach Powder) augmented with Atractylodis Rhizoma (Baizhu) and Coptidis Rhizoma (Huanglian). Within ten days, he recovered.

Wang Zhongyan from Dongyang met me on the road and told me: "Every day, the food I eat must twist and turn to descend from the diaphragm, feeling hard, rough, and causing slight pain. I have no other discomfort. What disease is this?" Upon pulse diagnosis, the right radial pulse was very choppy (Se), especially at the Guan position, while the left pulse was harmonious. I said: There is stagnant blood at the entrance of the epigastrium. Qi is constrained and transforms into phlegm; this must be caused by food. Please tell me truthfully. He was unaware himself. I asked again: "What did you eat most of last December?" He replied: "I drink two or three cups of Dian Duo Jiu (a type of wine) every morning to drive out cold." I formulated a prescription using half a silver cup of Chinese Chive Juice (Jiu Zhi), taken slowly with chilled beverage. After consuming half a jin (approx. 500g) of chives, the illness resolved. It proved true later.

Another neighbor, in his thirties, was cunning and irritable. He had long suffered from chancre (lower genital ulcer), which came and went. In early summer, he developed spontaneous diarrhea and slight chest fullness. A physician administered Zhi Zhong Tang (Regulate the Middle Decoction) for two doses, causing him to fall into a coma-like state, recovering only after a short while. I diagnosed his pulses: both were choppy (Se); upon heavy pressure, they were slightly wiry (Xian) and seemed rapid (Shu). I said: This is a severe manifestation of the chancre. I prescribed Danggui Longhui Wan (Angelica and Gardenia Pill) without Moschus (She Xiang). After four doses, diarrhea decreased. Then, I prescribed Xiao Chai Hu Tang (Minor Bupleurum Decoction) without Pinelliae Rhizoma (Banxia), augmented with Coptidis Rhizoma (Huanglian), Paeoniae Radix Alba (Shaoyao), Ligusticum Chuanxiong Rhizoma (Chuanxiong), and Fresh Ginger (Shengjiang). After five or six doses, he recovered.

These three patients all presented with a choppy (Se) pulse, some wiry and some not, yet their treatment methods were completely different. Without seeking the root, how can one discuss medication?