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Douchi (Fermented Soybean) tastes bitter, is cold in nature, and is non-toxic. It primarily treats Shanghan (Cold Damage disease), headache with alternating chills and fever, miasma and toxic pathogens, restlessness and chest oppression, deficiency-type labor with panting and rapid breathing, and coldness and pain in both feet. It can also kill various toxins found in the fetuses of six domestic animals.

Tao Hongjing stated: Douchi is commonly used in food. During spring and summer when the weather is unharmonious, after steaming and frying, it is soaked in wine and taken, which is excellent. According to Kang Bo's method: First, mix with vinegar and wine, steam, and dry; then mix with sesame oil, steam, and dry again. Repeat this process three times. Then, add ground Sichuan pepper and dried ginger powder, mix well, and take with meals. This is superior to the oil douchi made today. People suffering from foot conditions often soak douchi in wine and apply the residue to their feet, resulting in recovery. The best quality comes from Xiangyang and Qiantang, characterized by strong fragrance and richness; taking the center part is even better. Minister Yuxi and others respectfully note according to *Yaoxing Lun* (Treatise on the Nature of Medicinals): Douchi, obtaining "Liang" (likely a textual error or specific context), kills toxins of the six domestic animals. Its taste is bitter and sweet. It primarily treats bloody dysentery feeling like stabbing. Use one sheng of douchi, soak in water just enough to cover it, boil for one or two boils, squeeze out the juice, and take in one dose. If not cured, take again. For sudden dysentery with abdominal pain due to Shanghan, use one sheng of douchi and one handful of cut scallion white parts, boil further until the soup turns black, remove the douchi, and divide into two doses. If not cured, take again. Roasted into powder, it stops sweating and primarily eliminates restlessness. It treats epidemic febrile diseases and induces sweating. It also treats painful, ulcerated sores on the penis: mix one part douchi with two parts wet mud from earthworms, grind with water, apply topically, change when dry, and avoid hot food, wine, vegetables, and garlic. For sores in the chest caused by wind-cold-heat pathogens, fresh ones can be crushed into pills for oral administration, which is effective. Chen Cangqi stated: Douchi from Puzhou tastes salty and is non-toxic. It primarily resolves vexation and heat, heat toxins, alternating chills and fever, deficiency labor, regulates the middle jiao, induces sweating, opens joint passages, removes fishy odors, and treats nasal congestion due to Shanghan. Its preparation method differs from other douchis, and its flavor is intense. Shanzhou also has douchi juice that does not spoil for years, greatly resolving vexation and heat. In medicinal use, it is not like modern douchi hearts because it contains no salt. Meng Shen stated: Douchi can treat patients with chronic night sweats. Take one sheng, lightly stir-fry until fragrant, soak in three sheng of clear wine for three days, take the juice, and let the patient drink it at any temperature. If not cured, prepare three or two more doses to stop the sweating. Ri Huazi stated: It treats poison ingestion, gu qi (poisonous gas/miasma), malaria, bone-steaming consumption, and dog bites.

*Tujing Bencao* (Illustrated Classic of Materia Medica) details this under the entry for Da Dou Huang Juan (Yellowed Soybean Sprouts).

*Shiliao* (Food Therapy) stated: Douchi juice from Shanfu is far superior to ordinary douchi. Make huang zheng (fermented soybean starter) from soybeans, adding four sheng of salt and four liang of Sichuan pepper per dou of beans. Sun-dry for three days in spring, two days in summer, and five days in winter. When half-cooked, add five liang of fresh ginger. It is clean and refined, surpassing fermentation in horse manure. Huang zheng can be replaced with good quality douchi hearts.

*Shenghui Fang* (Holy惠 Formulas): Limit douchi heart usage to sufficiency. If stinging occurs, chew douchi and apply as a poultice. After a short while, if mold appears on the douchi, it heals. If not, chew and apply again, day and night without interruption, until mold appears.

*Buyu*: Take three sheng of douchi and three sheng of water, stir to extract juice and drink. Moxibustion with Ai Ye (Mugwort) should be performed gently to maintain warmth. If there are existing ulcer holes discharging fluid that does not resolve after three or four days, causing chest... Divide into three doses, take twice daily. Mix, take three times daily, incomparable. Also, bleeding from each point like needle holes. Take three [units] of douchi...

*Xin Jing* (Mirror of the Mind): Primarily treats wind toxicity, spasms and stiffness of feet and knees, and pain in bone joints.

[Various Formulas]: Method to ward off epidemic warmth: Roast douchi and Baizhu (Atractylodes Macrocephala Rhizome), chop fourteen pieces, add three sheng of water, decoct to obtain one sheng, and drink. Another formula for children with alternating chills and fever, invaded by evil qi: Gather douchi with yellow clay, bake until cooked, cool, remove, grind douchi into powder. Mix equal parts of douchi and garlic, pound evenly, form pills the size of wu zi seeds. Each dose... Later, when toxic vapors attack hands, feet, and cause general edema, use Douchi Wine Formula: Lightly stir-fry five he of douchi... Yao Hezhong treated pediatric erysipelas (Dan Du), broken into sores with yellow fluid discharge. Scorch douchi until... After febrile disease attacks eyes causing nebulae: Burn fourteen douchi pieces, grind into powder, blow into eye using a tube... To treat miscarriage with complete blood loss, vexation, and fullness: One sheng of douchi, three sheng of water, boil three times... Grind into powder and apply, not exceeding three or four times. Mao Ting Ke Hua: Small toads are toxic. If the owner suffers from urinary retention, lower abdominal distension, and pain leading to death: Take one he of raw douchi, pour into half a bowl of fresh well water, soak until the water becomes thick/concentrated, drink in one dose, and recover.