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Brother Bingnan has a constitution prone to Fire, preferring coolness and disliking heat. In summer, he often rinses sweat with cold water and finds pleasure in sleeping exposed on stone floors. He has long suffered from Phlegm-Fire (a pathological condition characterized by phlegm and heat), for which the prescription uses Shengdi (Rehmanniae Radix), Danpi (Moutan Cortex), Maidong (Ophiopogonis Radix), Shanzhi (Gardeniae Fructus), Gualou (Trichosanthis Fructus), Huangqin (Scutellariae Radix), and Zhimu (Anemarrhenae Rhizoma). Taking this when symptoms flare up brings immediate relief. He even took this formula for other ailments, along with consuming tripe and lung wonton soup, with sweating resolving the condition.

During leisure time, he mentioned this to me. I said, "Medicines for treating Phlegm-Fire should indeed be cooling. However, adhering to a single formula for all diseases seems illogical. If it were a Yin syndrome of Cold Damage (Shanghan), it might cause harm; one must be cautious in the future."

One day, he indeed contracted an Yin-Shu pattern (summerheat-cold injury due to excessive cooling), presenting with alternating chills and fever, body pain, fine pulse, and cold limbs. I administered Fuzi Lizhong Tang (Aconite Decoction to Regulate the Middle) without effect. After forcing him to take more, his condition worsened, so he firmly refused further medication. He requested tripe and lung wonton soup. I told him that meaty, greasy foods would aid the pathogenic factors and advised against giving them, but he did not listen. After eating, he sweated and felt relieved. He wished to take his usual Phlegm-Fire formula, but his family dissuaded him. Nevertheless, he took it. The illness subsided, and there was no subsequent harm. I reflected that within such close proximity, human constitutions differ so greatly. Thus, considering the differences in geography and climate between North and South, how much greater must the variations in people and their diseases be? The *Yi Fa Fang Yi Lun* (Treatise on Different Methods and Appropriate Prescriptions According to Regions) in the *Suwen* (Basic Questions) cannot fail to be carefully studied.

In the autumn of the Jiazi year of the Jiaqing reign, while I was in a neighboring village, I happened to meet Mr. Yu Langting, who said: "A few days ago, I visited and treated a woman in the Fu household. Her condition was very strange. Initially, she had unexplained fever. The physician diagnosed it as Fire and administered many cooling medicines. Gradually, it transformed into a consumptive weakness (Xu Qie). Now both her pulse and symptoms are deteriorated. What is the reason?" I said, "Unexplained fever is rarely heard of. If it has transformed into weakness, it is mostly because cooling medicines were overdosed, damaging the Primordial Qi (Yuan Qi)."

The next day, Brother Yinnan's daughter developed eruptions on her lower legs, dense and resembling brocade patterns. Her pulse was harmonious, and upon inquiry, her sleep and appetite were normal with no other illnesses. I said, "No medicine is needed." Brother Yinnan said, "She is approaching a critical period for marriage; how can we abstain from medicine?" I informed him of what Mr. Yu had said, and he finally followed my advice. Later, the eruptions receded, and she remained safe. Had we indiscriminately prescribed decoctions at that time, would we not have followed the same disastrous path as the woman in the Fu household?