粒食者,生人之所资,数日乏绝,便能致命。本草有不饥之文,而医方莫言斯术者。当
以其涉在仙奇之境。非庸俗所能遵故也。遂使荒馑之岁,饿尸横路,良可哀乎,今略载其易
为者云,若脱值奔窜在无人之乡,及堕坠溪谷空井,深冢之中,四顾迥绝,无可借口者,便
须饮水服气,其服法如左。
闭口以舌料上下齿,取津液而咽之,一日得三百六十咽便佳。渐习乃可至千,自然不饥
,三五日小疲极,过此便渐轻强。复有食十二时,六戊者诸法,恐危逼之地,不能晓方面,
及时之早晚。故不论此,若有水者,卒无器,便与左手贮。祝曰丞掾吏之赐,真乏粮,正赤
黄行,无过城下诸医,以自防毕,三叩齿,右手指,三叩左手,如此三遍,便饮之后,复有
杯器。贮水尤佳,亦左手执,右手,以物扣之如法,日服三升,便不复饥,即瘥。
若可得游涉之地周行山泽间者。
但取松,柏叶,细切,水服二合。日中二三升,便佳。又掘含白茅根,洗净,切服之。
此三物得行曝燥,石上捣碎服,服者食方寸。辟一日,又有大豆者,取舍光明匝热。以水服
,尽此则解。十日,赤小豆亦佳。得熬二豆黄末,服一二升。辟十日,草中有术,天门冬,
麦门冬,黄精,葳蕤,贝母,或生,或熟,皆可单食。树木上自耳及檀榆白皮,并可辟饥也
。
若遇荒年谷贵,无以充粮应须药济命者。
取稻米一斗,淘汰之,百蒸百曝,捣,日一餐。以水得,三十日都止,则可终身不食,
日行三百里。
又方,粳米一斗,酒三升,渍之,出曝之,又渍酒尽止出,稍食之,渴饮之,辟三十日
,足一斛二升,辟周年。
有守中丸药法。
其疏诸米豆者,是人间易得易作,且不乖谷气,使质力无减耳,恐肉秽之身。忽然专御
药物,或非所堪。
若可得频营则自更,按余所撰谷方中求也。
附方
《圣惠方》绝谷升仙不食法。
取松实捣为膏,酒调下三钱,日三,则不饥,渴饮水,勿食他物,百日身轻,日行五百
里。
野人闲话云,伏虎尊师炼松脂法。
十斤松脂,五度以水煮过,令苦味尽取,得后每一斤炼了松脂。入四两茯苓末,每晨水
下一刀圭。即终年不食,而复延龄,身轻清爽。
抱朴子云
汉成帝时,猎者于终南山见一人,无衣服,身皆生黑毛,跳坑越涧如飞,乃密伺其所在
,合围取得,乃是一妇人,问之言,我是秦之宫人,关东贼至,秦王出降。惊走入山,饥无
所食,洎欲饿死。有一老公教我吃松柏叶实。初时苦涩,后稍便吃,遂不复饥。冬不寒,夏
不热,此女是秦人,至成帝时,三百余载也。
Grain food is the resource for human life; lacking it for several days can lead to death. The *Bencao* (Materia Medica) contains texts on not feeling hungry, but medical prescriptions do not mention this technique. It is likely because it involves the realm of immortals and wonders, which cannot be followed by mediocre and vulgar people. Thus, in years of famine and scarcity, corpses of the starved lie across roads, which is truly lamentable. Now, I briefly record those methods that are easy to practice: if one suddenly finds oneself fleeing in uninhabited lands, or fallen into streams, valleys, empty wells, or deep tombs, looking around with no way out and nothing to eat, one must drink water and swallow Qi (vital energy). The method of swallowing Qi is as follows.
Close the mouth and use the tongue to scrape the upper and lower teeth, collect the saliva (Jin Ye), and swallow it. Swallowing three hundred and sixty times a day is good. Gradually practicing can increase this to one thousand times, naturally eliminating hunger. After three to five days, there may be slight extreme fatigue, but beyond this point, one will gradually become light and strong. There are also various methods such as consuming "Twelve Hours" and "Six Wu," but in critical situations, one may not know the directions or the time of day. Therefore, these are not discussed here. If there is water but no vessel, use the left hand to catch it. Recite: "This is the gift of the Chengyuan officials; truly lacking grain, walking in pure red-yellow, do not exceed the doctors below the city walls, to protect oneself completely." Tap the teeth three times, gesture with the right hand fingers, tap the left hand three times, repeat this three times, then drink. Afterwards, if there are cups or vessels, holding water in them is especially good. Hold with the left hand, strike the vessel with an object using the right hand according to the method, consume three sheng per day, and hunger will cease, leading to recovery.
If one can find places to roam and travel, moving between mountains and marshes:
Simply take pine needles and cypress leaves, cut them finely, and take them with water, two he. Consuming two to three sheng at noon is good. Also, dig up white cogon grass roots (Baimaogen), wash them clean, cut them, and consume them. These three substances, if obtained, can be dried in the sun, crushed on a stone, and consumed. Eating a square-inch portion allows one to fast for one day. Soybeans are also useful; select bright ones that have been heated, take them with water, and finishing them resolves hunger. For ten days, adzuki beans (Chixiaodou) are also good. Roast soybeans into powder, consume one to two sheng, allowing fasting for ten days. Herbs in the grass include Baizhu (Atractylodes macrocephala), Tianmendong (Asparagus cochinchinensis), Maimendong (Ophiopogon japonicus), Huangjing (Polygonatum sibiricum), Weirui (Anemarrhena asphodeloides), and Beimu (Fritillaria cirrhosa); whether raw or cooked, they can all be eaten alone. White bark from trees such as Zi'er, Tan, Yu, etc., can also be used to stave off hunger.
In cases of famine when grain prices are high and there is no food to sustain life, relying on medicine to save life is necessary:
Take one dou of rice, rinse it thoroughly, steam it one hundred times, dry it one hundred times, crush it, and eat one meal a day. With just water, stopping all other food intake for thirty days allows one to never eat again for life, walking three hundred li per day.
Another prescription: Take one dou of jingmi (Indica rice), soak it in three sheng of wine, take it out and dry it, then soak it again until the wine is exhausted. Take it out, eat small amounts occasionally, and drink when thirsty. This allows fasting for thirty days; one hu and two sheng is sufficient to fast for a full year.
There is also a method for making Shouzhong Wan (Preserving the Middle Pill).
The various grains and beans listed are easily obtained and made by humans, and they do not violate the Qi of grains, ensuring physical strength remains undiminished. Perhaps bodies impure with meat cannot suddenly rely solely on medicinal substances and might not endure it.
If one can frequently manage and procure these, self-renewal will occur; seek them in my compiled Grain Prescriptions.
Attached Prescriptions:
*Shenghui Fang* Method for Fasting and Ascending to Immortality without Eating:
Take pine nuts, crush them into a paste, mix with wine, and ingest three qian. Three times a day eliminates hunger. Drink water when thirsty, do not eat other things. After one hundred days, the body becomes light, walking five hundred li per day.
Wild tales say: Master Fuhu's method of refining Pine Resin (Songzhi):
Ten jin of pine resin, boiled in water five times until the bitter taste is gone. For every one jin of refined resin, add four liang of Poria cocos (Fuling) powder. Ingest one Dao Gui with water every morning. One can fast for a whole year, extend lifespan, and feel light and refreshed.
Baopuzi says:
During the reign of Emperor Cheng of Han, hunters in Zhongnan Mountain saw a person without clothes, covered in black hair, jumping over pits and crossing streams like flying. They secretly watched his location, surrounded him, and captured him. It was a woman. When asked, she said, "I am a palace maid from Qin. When rebels from east of the pass arrived and the King of Qin surrendered, I fled in fear into the mountains. Starving with no food, I was about to die of hunger. An old man taught me to eat pine and cypress leaves and fruits. At first, they were bitter, but later became easier to eat, and thus I no longer felt hunger. I did not feel cold in winter nor hot in summer." This woman was from the Qin dynasty; by the time of Emperor Cheng of Han, more than three hundred years had passed.