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Physicians of the world, when treating diseases, if they do not first regulate the Spleen and Stomach (Spleen and Stomach) and nourish blood to calm the mind (Nourishing Blood and Calming Mind), they fail to understand the principle of root and branch (Root and Branch). Generally, when patients suffer from Spleen deficiency with fever (Spleen Deficiency Fever) and phlegm-qi obstruction (Phlegm-Qi Obstruction), without examining deficiency/excess and cold/heat, they indiscriminately administer Niuhuang Qingxin Wan (Calorie Clearing Heart Pill, a traditional Chinese medicine for clearing heat and opening orifices). Little do they know that the slightly cool nature of the medicine damages Stomach Qi (Stomach Qi), thereby losing the root. One should only warm and nourish the Stomach so that food intake gradually increases, and then attack other diseases. This is called understanding the principle of root and branch. The elders said: Learning values grasping the essentials, not greedily using many things; medication values timeliness, not strictly adhering to ancient methods. This is exactly what is meant.

The Classic says: The Spleen is called "Huang Po" (Yellow Matron), and the Stomach is called "Jin Weng" (Golden Patriarch), primarily nurturing the Five Zang and Six Fu organs. If the Spleen and Stomach are firm, then Body Fluids (Body Fluids) can circulate, and Qi and Blood (Qi and Blood) can flow, making the interior and exterior harmonious and the whole body healthy. If the Spleen and Stomach are deficient, what disease would not arise? Essentially, the Spleen and Stomach belong to Earth (Earth Element), and all things rely on it for generation. Li Kongtong said: Among the Five Elements, Wood, Metal, Water, and Fire cannot accommodate pathogenic factors; if pathogens enter, they cause damage. Only Earth can accommodate sweat; when sweat transforms, it becomes essence; when transformed, it generates Spirit (Shen). Thus, Earth alone exerts its function throughout the four seasons. In humans, the Spleen belongs to Earth, wandering and overflowing with essence fluids, transporting and irrigating the Lungs, Kidneys, Liver, and Heart. Otherwise, how can various foods eaten by humans, with their fishy, meaty, odorous, and impure qualities in the Stomach, generate Spirit and execute transformation? Zhuangzi said: "What is miraculous becomes putrid; what is putrid becomes miraculous again." This speaks of Earth.

The Five Exhaustions (Five Labors) refer to the exhaustion of the Five Zang organs, all caused by forced movement and excessive exertion, termed "Labor". The *Suoyin Xinshu* states: Receiving Qi through lust leads to Labor. The true Yuan Qi (True Primal Qi), fundamental Qi and Blood, and essence fluids of the human body are these. The condition of Lao Zhai (Chronic Consumptive Disease, similar to tuberculosis) in the world is most difficult to treat. It is generally because people indulge in alcohol and sexual desires during their prime years, depleting True Yuan Qi and failing to generate essence fluids. This leads to vomiting blood and phlegm, bone-steaming tidal fever (Bone-Steaming Fever), body heat, Kidney deficiency with seminal exhaustion, pale face with red cheeks, white turbidity, spermatorrhea, and coughing with phlegm-saliva. This is called "Fire Overacting on Metal" (Fire Overacting on Metal). Severe cases result in death within half a year; mild cases become critical within a year. Vulgar physicians do not investigate the source but recklessly administer extreme cold or extreme hot medicines. They do not know that extreme cold makes Qi more deficient, and extreme heat makes Blood more exhausted. Therefore, those who contract this disease mostly cannot avoid death due to incompetent physicians, which is truly pitiable.

Wenke Gong of Zhenze said: Physicians nowadays mostly follow Li Mingzhi (Li Dongyuan) and Zhu Yanxiu (Zhu Zhenheng). Their prescriptions rarely go beyond herbs like Ginseng (Ren Shen) and Atractylodes Macrocephala (Bai Zhu), which is known as the King's Way of medicine. Indeed, those who grasp the root have done so. However, diseases arise from changes, and Ginseng and Atractylodes cannot be effective in all such cases; thus, medicines must also change. If one can change but does not know how to adapt, it is sitting and waiting for death; if adaptation errs by a hair's breadth, it accelerates death instead. Both are unacceptable. Hence it is said: "One may stand with him [on principles], but one may not weigh with him [on discretion]." Medication that can exercise discretion (Quan) can be called wonderful. Li Mingzhi and Zhu Yanxiu never abandoned discretion. People today only imitate routine practices and do not imitate changes; is this not the difficulty in exercising discretion? (From *Zhenze Wenji*)