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In the *Shanghan Lun* (Treatise on Cold Damage), when discussing the indication for diaphoresis (sweating therapy), it is stated that whenever sweating is indicated but no specific decoction is provided, pills or powders may also be used, with the key being that recovery is marked by perspiration; however, this is not as effective as decoctions which can be adjusted according to symptoms. When discussing the indication for purgation (draining downward), it states that for administering purgatives, decoctions are superior to pills and powders. Examining Zhang Zhongjing's works, aside from decoctions such as Guizhi Tang (Cinnamon Twig Decoction) and Mahuang Tang (Ephedra Decoction), there are no other diaphoretic pills or powders. The statement mentioned above reveals that in ancient prescriptions, decoctions, pills, and powders were selected flexibly according to circumstances, unlike the later rigid view that different therapeutic methods must correspond to different formulas. Examples cited by Zhang Zhongjing include Lizhong Wan (Regulate the Middle Pill) and Lizhong Tang (Regulate the Middle Decoction), Banxia San (Pinellia Powder) and Banxia Tang (Pinellia Decoction), Didang Wan (Attack the Stasis Pill) and Didang Tang (Attack the Stasis Decoction), and Zhizhu San (Spider Powder) and Zhizhu Wan (Spider Pill), which are the most prominent. For post-illness hypersalivation, Lizhong Wan is used; for Xiongbi (Chest Bi syndrome/Obstruction of the Chest), Renshen Tang (Ginseng Decoction) is used; for hardness and fullness in the lower abdomen with clear urination and manic-like behavior, Didang Tang is used; whereas for mere fullness in the lower abdomen with clear urination, Didang Wan is used: does this not demonstrate the principle of varying methods according to symptoms? Furthermore, in the Taiyang Chapter, it is said: If cold damage persists for thirteen days without resolution and delirium occurs after passing through meridians, it indicates internal heat, and a decoction should be used for purgation; if urination is clear, stool should be hard, yet diarrhea occurs, and the pulse is harmonious, it indicates the physician incorrectly used a pill for purgation, which is not the correct treatment; if spontaneous diarrhea occurs, the pulse should be faint and extremities cold, but now it is harmonious, indicating interior excess, so Tiaowei Chengqi Tang (Stomach-Regulating Major Yellow Decoction) is the primary prescription. Here, "pill" refers to Tiaowei Chengqi Wan. This condition is suitable for purgation via decoction rather than pill, hence the clarification is particularly explicit. Moreover, Zhang Zhongjing has Mahuang Tang, while *Shenshi Fang* (Deep Master Formulas) directly uses Mahuang San (Ephedra Powder); Zhang Zhongjing has Ganjiang Fuzi Tang (Dried Ginger and Aconite Decoction), while *Zhouhou Beiji Fang* (Handbook of Prescriptions for Emergencies) changes it to Jiangfu Wan (Ginger and Aconite Pill); Zhang Zhongjing has Zhi Zhu Tang (Immature Bitter Orange and Atractylodes Macrocephala Decoction), while Zhang Jiegu changed it to Zhi Zhu Wan (Immature Bitter Orange and Atractylodes Macrocephala Pill). Local gazetteers of our Huzhou region record cases where Xiaochaihu San (Minor Bupleurum Powder) failed to cure disease, but changing it to a decoction resulted in efficacy; all these suffice to prove my argument.

The two books *Shanghan Lun* and *Jingui Yaolue* (Essential Prescriptions from the Golden Cabinet) by Zhang Zhongjing were collectively known in antiquity as *Shanghan Zabing Lun* (Treatise on Cold Damage and Miscellaneous Diseases) ("Za" [Miscellaneous] might be a corruption of "Cu" [Hasty], where "Cu" is an ancient variant of "Za"; do not interpret it as cold damage being a hasty disease). *Waitai Miyao* (Prescriptions Worth a Thousand Gold for Emergencies) collectively refers to them as *Shanghan Lun*. What is referred to as *Shanghan Zabing Lun* discusses miscellaneous diseases within the context of cold damage, not miscellaneous diseases in general (as discussed elsewhere). Relying solely on this book is insufficient for treating miscellaneous diseases; thus, *Qianjin Yaofang* (Prescriptions Worth a Thousand Gold) exists. Sun Simiao also traces his roots to Zhang Zhongjing, but his detailed analysis of symptoms, flexibility in medication, and comprehensive methods for miscellaneous diseases are several times more extensive than Zhang Zhongjing's works. It is not that Zhang Zhongjing was less virtuous or capable than Sun Simiao, but because Zhang named his book with the character "Han" (Cold), he naturally focused exclusively on the variations of cold-related pathologies, excluding other etiologies. In contrast, *Qianjin Yaofang* comprehensively discusses hundred diseases, aggregating various causes such as wind, rain, cold, heat, diet, living conditions, yin-yang imbalance, and emotional disturbances according to the disease. Therefore, the intent behind their respective works differs, leading to differences in detail and brevity. Readers who can appreciate the strengths of each will excel in both cold damage and miscellaneous disease treatments. Since dogmatic scholars have regarded *Jingui Yaolue* as the sole authority for all miscellaneous diseases, dismissing *Qianjin Yaofang* as a biased text, it is no wonder that academic understanding has become narrow and therapeutic methods deficient!