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[Cistanche Herba (Rou Cong Rong)]
Flavor and Nature: Sweet, slightly warm; non-toxic. It primarily treats five types of exhaustion and seven types of injuries, tonifies the middle jiao, eliminates cold-heat pain in the urethra, nourishes the five zang organs, strengthens yin, benefits essence and qi, promotes fertility, and treats abdominal masses (zheng jia) in women. Long-term use makes the body feel light.

Chen Xiuyuan stated: Cistanche is generated from horse essence falling to the ground. Using it to treat deficiency of essence follows the principle of "similar energies seeking each other." Whenever five types of exhaustion and seven types of injuries persist for a long time without healing, they invariably damage one's yin. Cistanche tonifies the essence of the five zang organs; when essence is sufficient, yin becomes sufficient. The urethra is the pathway for essence; when essence is deficient, cold-heat sensations and pain occur; when essence is sufficient, the pain ceases. (Furthermore, its slippery nature removes adhesion.) Essence is produced by the five zang organs but stored in the kidney. When essence is sufficient, yang qi rises and erects; firm essence leads to fertility. Abdominal masses (zheng jia) in women are all caused by blood stasis; when essence is sufficient, qi becomes充盈 (abundant); when qi is abundant, stasis moves. Ye Tianshi annotated: To say that zheng jia is treated because salty flavors soften hardness, slippery flavors remove adhesion, and warm flavors dissipate nodules is a superficial understanding of Cistanche.

Zhang Yin'an stated: Horses are fire animals, while essence belongs to water-yin. Cistanche arises from sensing horse essence; its shape resembles flesh, and its flavor is sweet and warm. It likely inherits the qi of Shaoyin water and fire and returns to the earth element of Taiyin Kun. Earth has a gentle nature, hence the name "Cong Rong" (soft and pliable).

[Rehmanniae Radix (Di Huang)]
Flavor and Nature: Sweet, cold; non-toxic. It primarily treats fractures with severed tendons, internal injury, expels blood bi (obstruction), fills the bone marrow, and promotes muscle growth. Decoction can eliminate cold-heat accumulations and remove bi syndrome. Fresh root is particularly effective. Long-term use makes the body light and prevents aging.

(Referencing Ye Tianshi): Rehmannia has a cold nature and enters the Foot-Shaoyin Kidney Meridian. Its sweet flavor is non-toxic and enters the Foot-Taiyin Spleen Meridian. Its heavy and turbid aroma indicates yin; yin is the guardian within. "Internal injury" refers to the damage of true yin guarding the middle jiao. Rehmannia is sweet and cold, replenishing the essential fluids of the middle jiao, thus treating this condition. Blood bi is characterized by blood deficiency causing obstruction and stagnation. Rehmannia's sweet flavor nourishes spleen blood, and its cold nature benefits kidney qi; when qi and blood circulate, obstructions open. The kidney governs bones; benefiting the kidney ensures sufficient water to moisten the spleen; moistening the spleen ensures sufficient earth to make muscles plump. Decoctions eliminate cold-heat accumulations because decoctions have a sweeping action, capable of clearing both cold and heat accumulations. Generally, sweet flavors relieve urgency, and slippery flavors remove adhesion. Furthermore, removing bi means not only expelling blood bi but also removing bi affecting the skin, muscles, tendons, and bones. Removing bi from these tissues allows for the treatment of fractures and severed tendons. Long-term use results in a light body and youthfulness because the congenital and acquired sources exchange qi, allowing primordial qi and grain qi to be retained together. Fresh root is superior because its original nature is preserved.

Chen Xiuyuan stated: In the *Shennong Bencao Jing*, Rehmannia was called "Earth Marrow" (Di Sui); in the *Erya*, it was called "Qi". After the Tang Dynasty, it underwent multiple steaming and drying processes to become Prepared Rehmannia (Shu Di Huang), removing its bitter taste. This is quite suitable for pills tonifying the kidney-warming meridians; however, it is highly inappropriate for decoctions or formulas for nourishing blood and cooling blood. Essentially, Rehmannia relies on its cool and slippery, circulating properties. Once cooked, it becomes cloying and loses its coolness, completely losing its original nature. Xu Lingtai analyzed this in detail, yet some practitioners remain obstinate.

He further stated: When diseases reach their extreme, they inevitably affect the kidneys. Affecting the kidneys indicates a critical condition. There are urgent purgative methods like Dachengqi Tang, warming and consolidating methods like Taohua Tang, methods to restore yang like SiNi Tang and Baitong Tang, methods to rescue yin like Zhuling Tang and Huanglian Jizihuang Tang, methods to promote water metabolism like Zhenwu Tang, and warming-tonifying methods like Fuzi Tang. All these are used to save critical conditions. Zhang Jingyue created heretical theories, claiming that all diseases arise from the kidney and should be treated from the kidney. He mistakenly regarded Rehmannia, listed as a top-grade tonic in the *Shennong Bencao Jing*, as a medicinal herb for treating disease. (*Neijing* states: Grains nourish, fruits assist, vegetables fill, and toxic drugs attack pathogens. The top-grade herbs listed by Shennong are mostly dietary items like grains, fruits, and vegetables, evident from the phrase 'long-term use'. If sages' medicines cured diseases instantly, why mention long-term use? Attacking pathogens usually involves toxic drugs.) Rehmannia is moistening and cloying, which instead draws pathogenic qi to linger in the Shaoyin meridian without an exit. Consequently, even if Ginger and Aconite no longer generate heat, Scutellaria and Phellodendron no longer clear cold, Ginseng and Atractylodes no longer tonify, and Mirabilite and Rhubarb no longer purge, what is the reason? It is due to the cloying and adhesive nature of Prepared Rehmannia. Pregnant women take Sigewu Tang as the main formula; adding attacking and breaking herbs according to symptoms does not harm the fetus because the Prepared Rehmannia in Sigewu Tang protects the fetus. Understanding its ability to protect the fetus reveals its harmful ability to protect pathogens. Cloying substances adhere best, like oil mixing into flour; once attached, they cannot be removed. Whenever pathogens are present but this drug is misused, all medicines fail. Patients do not blame the harm of using Prepared Rehmannia; instead, they consider cases ineffective despite prior use of Prepared Rehmannia as terminal syndromes. Is this not the sin created by Zhang Jingyue?