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Chai Hu (Bupleuri Radix, 1 liang 5 qian) Gan Cao (Licorice Root, processed with honey) Huang Qi (Astragali Radix, Minister herb) Cang Zhu (Atractylodis Rhizoma, soaked in rice water, remove black skin, slice, sun-dry, chop and stir-fry) Qiang Huo (Notopterygii Rhizoma et Radix, each of the above herbs 1 liang) Sheng Ma (Cimicifugae Rhizoma, 8 qian) Ren Shen (Ginseng Radix, Minister herb) Huang Qin (Scutellariae Radix, each of the above herbs 7 qian) Huang Lian (Coptidis Rhizoma, remove stamens, process with wine, stir-fry 5 qian, Minister and Assistant herb) Shi Gao (Gypsum Fibrosum, a small amount, used mildly during late summer, discontinued afterwards, an expedient measure)

The above ingredients are coarsely crushed. Take 3 qian per dose, add two cups of water, decoct to one cup, remove dregs, and take warm. Administer after breakfast and before lunch, every other day. During medication, food intake should be reduced, and food should be palatable. After taking medicine, avoid speaking for about one or two shichen (2-4 hours), as well as alcohol, wet noodles, and strong spices, lest these damp-heat substances further assist fire pathogenic factors and damage Yuan Qi (Original Qi). Also avoid cold water, cold-cool diuretic foods, and various fruits, lest Yang Qi fail to flourish. Warm food and bland flavors are suitable to assist Yang Qi. Generally, this method and these medicines aim to raise and float Yang Qi. Diuretic and bland flavors are Yin-nourishing and thus strictly forbidden. However, there are expedient uses. For instance, if Kidney Fire is hyperactive and the Du, Ren, and Chong meridians are vigorous, use Huang Bo (Phellodendri Cortex) and Zhi Mu (Anemarrhenae Rhizoma), washed with wine and stir-fried over fire. Dosages should be adjusted according to the condition; long-term use is contraindicated to avoid nourishing Yin excessively and causing harm. If urination is obstructed, promote diuresis; if defecation is difficult, promote bowel movement; this is also an expedient measure. Once relief is achieved, discontinue use. Although dietary restrictions are established, forbidding all edible items would deprive Wei Qi (Stomach Qi) of nourishment; thus, appropriate foods should be consumed expediently to nourish the Stomach.

Appendix:
...When food enters the Stomach, Yang Qi ascends. Body fluids and Qi enter the Heart, penetrate the Lungs, fill the skin and hair, and disseminate through the twelve meridians. The Spleen receives Qi from the Stomach and irrigates the four directions, nourishing Blood and Qi. Now, improper diet damages the Stomach, and fatigue/injury damages the Spleen. When Spleen and Stomach are deficient, Fire Pathogenic Factors invade, generating intense heat. One must first tonify the source of the Spleen via the Heart's domain, as Earth is born from Fire. Simultaneously, clearing excessive Fire in the Spleen and Stomach treats the branch (symptoms) first and the root (cause) later.

Moreover, when Damp-Heat combine, Yang Qi declines daily. Deficient Yang Qi cannot ascend, causing Spleen and Stomach Qi to sink downward into the Kidney and Liver, resulting in a state resembling only Autumn/Winter without Spring/Summer. Spring governs ascending, Summer governs floating; in humans, these correspond to the Liver and Heart. Weakness leads to excess Yin Qi, preventing Yang Qi from circulating. The Classics state: "Yang originates from Yin." Only by clearing Fire within Yin and using light-flavored Wind-dispelling herbs to raise and expand Yang Qi can Yin Qi remain unharmed and Yang Qi generate. The Commentaries say: "Begin at the start, maintain order without error," referring precisely to this principle.

The *Su Wen* chapter "Si Qi Tiao Shen Da Lun" states: "If Heaven is bright, the Sun and Moon lose their clarity; pathogens harm the empty orifices. Yang Qi becomes blocked, Earth Qi obscures brightness, clouds and mist become impure, leading to a failure of white dew to descend. In humans, this occurs due to Stomach deficiency allowing Fire to invade. The Spleen is injured by fatigue; fatigue consumes Qi, Heart Fire blazes, blood vessels boil, causing Blood disorders. Yang Qi fails to regulate, Yin Fire flares upward into the orifices, burning the entire body. Using hot drugs to dry the Spleen and Stomach would be doubly erroneous."

The Stomach is the Gang (Solid/Yang aspect) of the Spleen; the Spleen is the Rou (Soft/Yin aspect) of the Stomach; this defines Interior-Exterior relationships. Improper diet injures the Stomach first, leaving the Spleen without reception, then injuring it; fatigue injures the Spleen first, impairing its ability to move Qi for the Stomach, then injuring it. Although the sequence of disease differs, the pathogenic factor received is the same. The Stomach is the Sea of the Twelve Meridians; all meridians receive Blood and Qi to nourish the body. The Spleen receives from the Stomach and circulates Qi and Blood. When Spleen and Stomach are deficient, pathogens from the Twelve Meridians emerge variably. For example, inability to eat and muscle wasting is the primary disease. The pulse at the Right Guan position is slow and weak, which is the primary pulse. If the pulse in this region/syndrome additionally shows a Wiry (Xian) quality, or symptoms include fullness/closure of limbs, difficult urination/defecation, or tendon spasms, this is Liver-invading-Spleen-Stomach disease. Add Wind-dispelling herbs to the primary formula to clear it. If the pulse shows Surging (Hong) and Large qualities, or symptoms include muscle fever, vexatious heat, red face, inability to eat, or muscle wasting, this is Heart-invading-Spleen-Stomach disease. Add herbs to clear Heart Fire. If the pulse shows Floating (Fu) and Choppy (Se) qualities, or symptoms include shortness of breath, Qi rebellion, wheezing/cough, profuse phlegm, or dry skin, this is Lung-invading-Spleen-Stomach disease. Add herbs to clear Lung substance and tonify Qi. If the pulse shows Deep (Chen) and Fine (Xi) qualities, or symptoms include fearfulness and yawning, this is Kidney-invading-Spleen-Stomach disease. Add herbs to drain floating Kidney Water and subdue latent, blazing Yin Fire.

The Classics state: "Diseases have contrary and compliant aspects; treatments have correct and reverse approaches." Excluding the four reverse treatment methods, we discuss no further. It further states: "Only Yangming and Jueyin do not follow the root or branch but follow the Middle." Commentators explain that Yangming is superior, revealing Taiyin in the middle; Jueyin is superior, revealing Shaoyang in the middle. I disagree. This "Middle" does not refer to interior/exterior or upper/lower middle, but is an indeterminate term, urging clinicians to weigh the condition and medicate according to the mean. Hand and Foot Yangming and Jueyin constitute Zhong Qi (Middle Qi), located at Mao and You divisions, the gates of Heaven and Earth. Spring and Autumn Equinoxes divide Yin and Yang, containing differences between Water and Fire. Moreover, Hand Jueyin is the leader of the Twelve Meridians, governing the source of generation/transformation; Foot Yangming is the Sea of the Twelve Meridians, governing circulating Qi; all meridians rely on them. When discussing Yangming or Jueyin combining with other meridions to cause disease, one must medicate according to the Middle, like a weight on a balance beam: if at the ends, there is a center between the ends; if at the jin (unit), there is a center within the jin. This is said to elucidate that Spleen-Stomach diseases cannot be deduced uniformly or treated monotonously, teaching that all hundred diseases arise from Spleen-Stomach decline. A slight error brings immediate disaster. Assuming the time is Late Summer, the prescription is formulated within the command of Late Summer, a time when Principal Qi is weak and Guest Qi is vigorous. Future prescribers should follow this method, adding seasonal herbs, naming it Bu Pi Wei Xie Yin Huo Sheng Yang Tang (Tonify Spleen-Stomach, Drain Yin Fire, Raise Yang Decoction).