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Zhang Rubi, Prefect of Nan'an from Songjiang, once suffered from a slippery and rapid pulse accompanied by white turbidity (white discharge from the urethra). He had long taken kidney-tonifying medicines without effect. One day, he met a Daoist priest who advised him to take Jiu Zheng Huanglian Wan (Alcohol-Steamed Coptis Pill), after which his illness was instantly cured. The preparation method is as follows: Take one jin (approx. 500g) of Xuan Huanglian (Coptis chinensis), remove the roots, soak in wine overnight, place in a steamer, and steam repeatedly until black. Remove, dry in the sun, grind into fine powder, and make pills with honey the size of tung tree seeds. Take thirty pills swallowed with wine at noon and before sleep. This formula also treats zangdu lower rectal bleeding (hematochezia caused by intestinal damp-heat).

Youhuan Jiwen records that Cheng Shasui suffered from xuelin (dysuria with blood) for which all medicines failed. While reading Bencao, he saw that winter melon treats wulin (five types of strangury). Thus, he boiled and ate it daily, recovering on the seventh day. According to Riyong Bencao: Winter melon has a moving and urgent nature; those with chronic illness or yin deficiency should avoid it. It can be eaten only after Frost's Descent; otherwise, it causes fanwei disease (a type of gastrointestinal disorder resembling dysentery). For obese people, eating winter melon leads to thinning. Nowadays, people often regard it as a tonic, which is incorrect. The powder of dried melon seeds treats white turbidity and leukorrhea; used alone in large doses and taken with wine, it is effective.

A man surnamed Wu from Mudu suffered from jinghua (seminal emission/leakage) for which no medicine worked. Someone taught him a technique: press the flanks and abdomen, contract the weilu (tailbone area), hold breath, close eyes, and feel the head as if pressed by a stone. Then guide qi directly from the back into niluan (the brain/cranial cavity), swallow, and return to dantian. Repeat without counting, performing this while walking, standing, sitting, or lying down. Simultaneously, instruct him to take Baozhen Wan. After half a year, his complexion became lustrous, and the disease did not recur. This technique can also treat toufeng (head wind/headache). (From Xishang Futan)

Niushuntou Cao, also known as Zaokuling, grows in places like Huangyanling on West Mountain. Harvested and processed... it can treat mengyi (nocturnal emission), proving highly effective in repeated trials. (From Dongyuan Yulu)

In the summer of Wuzi year of the Yongle era, Yu Wenqi suffered from nocturnal emission. His body was emaciated, complicated by alternating phlegm and wheezing, leaving him unable to rest day or night. Various doctors were summoned, but his condition worsened. Finally, Sheng Qidong was invited. He said, "This is yang collapse. Urgent treatment brings life; delay brings death. Only heavy doses of potent herbs can cure it." Thus, he used Fuzi (Aconite Lateral Root) and Tianxiong (Aconitum Kusnezoffii Root), assisted by Renshen (Ginseng), Fuling (Poria), and Baizhu (Atractylodes Macrocephala Rhizome). Dosages were increased during the day and halved at night. From autumn to winter, he consumed about a hundred Fuzi, plus unspecified amounts of other herbs, until the disease subsided. (From Sheng Family Genealogy)

Regarding various blood disorders, physicians often assume heat and attack it with bitter-cold herbs, remaining unaware until death. They fail to realize that bitter flavors drain earth; earth corresponds to the spleen and stomach, which are the root of the whole body. If fire pathogenic factor causes disease, draining earth fails to eliminate fire but damages the spleen and stomach first. Spleen/stomach damage leads to stomach deficiency; stomach deficiency prevents ying qi (nutritive qi) from nourishing the vessels. Yuan qi (original qi) does not follow natural rhythms; qi transforms with yin silently, muscles become cold, and treatment becomes difficult. According to Chushi Yishu: Among patients with various bleeding disorders taking cold-cool herbs, none survive out of a hundred; those drinking urine have one survivor out of ten. Yang Renzhai's Zhizhi Fang states: For hematemesis, decoct Ganjiang (Dried Ginger) and Gancao (Licorice Root) as a soup, or use Siwu Lizhong Tang. Such treatments invariably cure. Using Shengdi (Rehmannia Root), Xijiao (Rhinoceros Horn - now prohibited/substituted), and Oujie (Lotus Node) makes rescue difficult. When xiang huo (ministerial fire) is active causing reckless blood flow, strictly prohibit astringents. Clear the exterior and purge the interior; blood will stop naturally. Using astringents first moves one far from life. In men and women with blood disorders, diffuse patterns or bright red color indicate heat; clots or dark purple color indicate cold. Do not rigidly adhere to the theory that "blood flows freely when heated." Ancient texts say: Cold water forms ice; cold blood forms clots. Xuanzhu Jing's Ten Formulas section states: Warm qi makes blood slide; cold qi makes blood coagulate. Although there are cases of middle jiao cold qi deficiency and yin-yang disharmony causing reckless blood flow, as the classics state "when yang is deficient, yin must escape," the method should use acrid-warm herbs, adding Guigui (Cinnamon Twig) and Ganjiang (Dried Ginger). When the middle jiao warms, blood returns to its vessels. Hematemesis, epistaxis, and bloody diarrhea share these patterns. Pulse diagnosis is essential to clarify. One must not casually use cooling herbs, thereby shortening lives.