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Heaven generates all things with the Six Qi (Wind, Cold, Summer-heat, Dampness, Dryness, Fire), and its intricate changes possess a formless and miraculous function. The foolish find it difficult to fathom, yet human diseases arise precisely from this. Recent practitioners only know that excessive Six Qi is called the "Six Excesses" (Liu Yin) pathogenic factors; even the *Neijing* (Classic of Internal Canon) did not exhaustively explore its variations. When Six Qi injures humans, are their boundaries clear without any combined Qi? Multiplying six by six yields thirty-six types of diseases. The number of the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth begins with one and completes with three: one times three is three, three times three is nine, nine times nine is eighty-one, and then the Huangzhong (Yellow Bell) pitch-pipe is complete. For diseases caused by Six Qi, multiplying thirty-six by thirty-six yields one thousand two hundred ninety-six, thus exhausting the numbers of external contraction. This does not yet include internal injury; if internal injury is combined, the possibilities are incalculable. Alas! Recent practitioners, upon seeing any external contraction, advocate using only Chai Ge Jie Ji Tang (Bupleurum and Kudzu Decoction to Resolve the Muscle Layer); is this not absurd?

Treating external contraction is like being a general (speed is precious in warfare, strategies must be flexible and methods adaptable, expelling pathogens must be thorough, and post-treatment care must be meticulous; for every day earlier the condition is pacified, the person suffers less harm); treating internal injury is like being a prime minister (sitting calmly, silently operating the divine mechanism, no merit can be spoken of, no virtue visible, yet people enter the realm of longevity). Treating disorders of the Upper Jiao (Upper Burner) is like feathers (only light substances can lift); treating disorders of the Middle Jiao (Middle Burner) is like a balance scale (only balanced substances bring peace); treating disorders of the Lower Jiao (Lower Burner) is like a weight (only heavy substances can sink).

Since the Tang and Song dynasties, those treating warm-heat diseases initially use acrid-warm exterior-releasing herbs. Seeing that the disease is not alleviated by medicine, they recklessly use bitter-cold herbs, employing large doses of Huangqin (Scutellariae Radix), Huanglian (Coptidis Rhizoma), Zhimu (Anemarrhenae Rhizoma), and Huangbai (Phellodendri Cortex). The more they take them, the drier it becomes; even Liu Hejian fell into this fault. Bitterness first enters the Heart, and its transformation is dryness. Dryness Qi transforms into fire, manifesting as blackened teeth plates, short black tongue, and cracked black lips; this is extreme fire resembling water. Wu Keyou's opposition to this was indeed correct, but he failed to understand the principle of bitter-cold transforming into dryness, believing that Huanglian stays without moving, while Dahuang moves without staying. If Huanglian cannot be used lightly, and Dahuang is also a bitter-cold herb, yet is a hundred times more potent than Huanglian, can it be used lightly? When I use Puji Xiaodu Yin (Universal Safety Elixir to Relieve Toxicity) at the onset of warm diseases, I always remove Huangqin and Huanglian, fearing they will enter the interior and invade the Middle and Lower Jiao. In formulas where Huangqin and Huanglian should be applied, I always employ a large group of sweet-cold herbs to monitor them, ensuring they clear heat and nourish Yin without transforming into dryness. For conditions such as hyperactive Yang causing insomnia or blockage of the Fire Fu organs, in patients who are wine drinkers with loose stools and frequent defecation, I heavily use them. In the Damp-Warmth category, not only are Huangqin and Huanglian not taboo, but they are still heavily relied upon, presumably to utilize their drying properties. As the saying goes: "When medicines are used appropriately, they connect with the divine." Regarding medicines, what do physicians like or dislike? They only seek appropriateness.