血,罔顾气血之亏损而急于解毒,是犹不虑我兵之羸弱而急于杀敌也。故毒有不必
解者,又有不可解者,若小儿禀赋强壮,胃气好,饮食如常者,其血气自旺,自能送
毒瓦斯以成功,其痘自始至终多顺证,此不必解毒者也;若其禀赋素弱,脾胃又弱,出
痘时饮食又少,或泻或渴,或腹胀或手足冷,或气短促,或失声,痘或出不快,或
根窠不红活,或色白而顶陷,或当灌脓不灌脓,或当结痂不结痂,皆由气血不能送
毒瓦斯,此不可解毒者也。当速用温补以扶胃气而助血气,若用参 归术等而力不及,
即加入木香、丁香、桂附等佐之,亦不为过,又何可参入芩连蒡翘等凉品以监制温
补之力而损血气乎?所谓丹溪未尽其妙者此也。丹溪又教人用犀角地黄汤以解痘毒,
后人沿其说,失其初意,相习用之以为奇妙而不知其害,盖心者血之主,心之所以
能主血者,以其属火也,痘疮属心火,正藉心火以运用一身之血而成功,岂心火可
泻而去之乎!盖人身之血,温则流行,寒则凝滞,犀角地黄汤凉心经而泻心火,心
经既凉,心火既泻,则一身之血气凝滞不行,何以运化痘毒而成脓结痂乎!则内攻
Blood [Xue], disregarding the deficiency of Qi and Blood [Qi Xue] while hastily seeking to resolve toxicity [Jie Du], is akin to neglecting the weakness of one's own troops while hastening to kill the enemy. Therefore, there are toxins that need not be resolved, and those that must not be resolved. If a child possesses strong congenital endowment [Bian Fu], good Stomach Qi [Wei Qi], and normal diet, their Qi and Blood will naturally flourish, naturally able to expel toxic factors [Du Wa] to achieve success; their smallpox [Dou Chuang] will generally present as favorable syndromes from beginning to end. This is the case where resolving toxicity is unnecessary. However, if the congenital endowment is inherently weak, the Spleen and Stomach are also weak, and during the eruption of smallpox, food intake is scant, accompanied by diarrhea or thirst, abdominal distension or cold hands and feet, shortness of breath or loss of voice, slow eruption of lesions, non-vibrant roots [Gen Ke], pale color with depressed tops, failure to suppurate when pus should form, or failure to scab when crusts should form—all these result from the inability of Qi and Blood to expel toxic factors. This is the case where resolving toxicity is contraindicated. One should promptly employ warming and tonifying methods to support Stomach Qi and assist Blood. If the efficacy of herbs such as Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma (Renshen, 人参), Angelicae Sinensis Radix (Danggui, 当归), and Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma (Baizhu, 白术) is insufficient, adding Costus Root (Muxiang, 木香), Clove (Dingxiang, 丁香), Cinnamon Twig (Guizhi, 桂枝), or Prepared Aconite Root (Fuzi, 附子) as adjuvants is not excessive. How could one introduce cooling substances such as Scutellariae Radix (Huangqin, 黄芩), Coptidis Rhizoma (Huanglian, 黄连), Arctii Fructus (Niubangzi, 牛蒡子), and Forsythiae Fruit (Lianqiao, 连翘) to constrain the power of warming tonification and thereby damage Qi and Blood? This is where Zhu Danxi’s [Zhu Zhenheng, 朱震亨] theories were found lacking in subtlety. Zhu Danxi further taught using Rhinoceros Horn Decoction (Xijiao Dihuang Tang, 犀角地黄汤) to resolve smallpox toxicity. Later generations followed this doctrine, losing its original intent, habitually using it as a marvel without realizing its harm. The Heart [Xin] is the master of Blood; the reason the Heart can master Blood is because it belongs to Fire [Huo]. Smallpox relates to Heart Fire [Xin Huo], which relies on Heart Fire to circulate the Body's Blood to achieve success. Can Heart Fire simply be purged and removed? Generally, Body Blood flows when warm and stagnates when cold. Rhinoceros Horn Decoction cools the Heart Meridian [Xin Jing] and purges Heart Fire. Once the Heart Meridian is cooled and Heart Fire purged, the Body's Qi and Blood will stagnate and fail to move. How can they transform smallpox toxicity into pus and scabs? Thus, internal attack [Nei Gong] ensues.