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Xiangru (Moslae Herba) has an aromatic odor and a pungent taste. All schools regard it as an essential herb for treating summerheat. However, summerheat presents in different patterns, and treatment methods vary accordingly. If one indulges in cooling off and consuming cold substances, causing yang qi to be suppressed by yin-cold, resulting in illness with symptoms such as headache, fever, aversion to cold, and dry mouth, or if cholera-like vomiting and diarrhea occur, it is indeed appropriate to use Xiangru to ascend and disperse wind-cold, eliminate dampness, harmonize the stomach, and strengthen the spleen. Ancient formulas also include Dashun San (Great Harmony Powder). Generally, the use of Xiangru in summer months is analogous to the use of Mahuang (Ephedrae Herba) in the three winter seasons. However, it should not be used lightly in cases of qi deficiency. For individuals whose daily routine is irregular, diet is unregulated, and who are worn out by labor and overexertion, suffering from summerheat with profuse sweating, dry thirst, panting, and a pulse that is Kou (cork-pulse, floating and empty) or deficient, or slow and fine, or accompanied by vomiting or diarrhea, these are insufficiency syndromes caused by internal injury from fatigue. One must use Qingshu Yiqi Tang (Clear Summerheat and Boost Qi Decoction) or Renshen Baihu Tang (Ginseng White Tiger Decoction), removing Shigao (Gypsum Fibrosum) and other bitter-cold herbs, focusing instead on herbs that boost qi and clear fire; this would be excellent. In cases of summerheat injury complicated by latent yin deficiency (internal cold due to yang deficiency), one must set aside seasonal conventions and treat based on symptoms. If Xiangru is indiscriminately administered in such cases, it will deplete true yang, inevitably leading to the disaster of fright and collapse of yang, severely violating the contraindication of "making the deficient more deficient." For those with both robust constitution and excess pathogenic factors suffering from summerheat, administering Xiangru water will invariably lead to recovery. Nowadays, people brew Xiangru as tea during summer regardless of whether they have summerheat injury. They do not realize that aromatic scents promote dispersion, and pungent flavors promote scattering; for those with deficient yuan qi, this反而会招致暑邪 (attracts summerheat and invites strike). It is similar to the harm of sudden death caused by long-term consumption of Chuanxiong (Ligustici Chuanxiong Rhizoma). Some say Xiangru effectively treats various types of edema. Edema is mostly due to kidney storage deficiency; it is only effective for Shen Shi Rui Zhu Wan (Shen Shi's Rue and Atractylodes Pill) when the physical constitution and qi are not yet emaciated, and the disease is in the meridians and fu organs. However, it cannot be applied uniformly. Only those who understand the principles of qi transformation can discuss formulas for treating edema. Consider what the meaning of qi transformation is.

Xu Xueshi stated in *Ben Shi Fang*: When treating shaoyang disease, physicians must attend to the exterior and interior, following the proper sequence. Once, Fan Yun, an official under Emperor Wu of Liang, contracted an epidemic febrile disease. He summoned Xu Wenbo for diagnosis. At that time, Emperor Wu was about to receive the Nine Bestowals (the highest honor granted to ministers), expected imminently. Fan Yun feared he would not survive to witness it and sought a rapid cure. Xu Wenbo said, "This is easy, but I fear you will not rise again in two years." Fan Yun replied, "If I hear the Dao in the morning, I am content to die in the evening," let alone two years. Xu Wenbo then heated charcoal bricks, spread Tao Ye (Peach Leaf) and Bo Ye (Cupressus Leaf) upon them, and instructed Fan Yun to lie on them. After a short while, sweat appeared, and powder was applied. By the next day, he had recovered. Two years later, Fan Yun indeed passed away. Using diaphoresis prematurely still shortened his lifespan; how much more so would ignoring the exterior-interior relationship and timing in pursuit of a quick cure? Tao Ye-induced diaphoresis is also a good method, yet even this carries warnings; how can one not be cautious? My commentary: The sweating, vomiting, and purging methods in *Shanghan Lun* are not inherently bad. Although suitable for people in the northwest with robust constitutions and excess pathogenic conditions, they must now be carefully considered. Assuming the climate in the southeast is gentle and weak, and constitutions are not solid, even if symptoms indicate the need for sweating, vomiting, or purging, it is appropriate to adopt clearing and resolving methods, transcending rigid rules to achieve the subtlety of curing without sweating, vomiting, or purging, thereby preserving the ethereal and pure yuan qi, avoiding the secret shortening of life through reckless medication. This preservation is of great importance, yet many do not understand. The Classics state: "When pathogenic qi is excessive, it is excess; when essence and qi are depleted, it is deficiency." Generally, diseases manifesting as excess are rooted in qi deficiency. Knowing how to treat the excess but failing to rescue the deficiency will make the deficiency worse and the excess more entrenched, leading to peril. Thus, the Classics say: "If one cannot treat the deficiency, what is there to ask about the rest?" Sweating certainly resolves exterior pathogens, but if the exterior pathogen is mild, light sweating might impair wei qi. Vomiting certainly clears middle jiao accumulation, but if the accumulation is not full, light vomiting might impair stomach qi. Purging certainly drains interior excess, but if the interior excess is not firm, rash purging might impair ying qi. Impairment of wei qi, stomach qi, and ying qi leads to the impairment of yuan qi. Once yuan qi is damaged, the elderly perish, and the young fail to recover. Moreover, it is not just this. I often see contemporary physicians, regardless of the disease, indiscriminately using Maiya (Hordei Fructus Germinatus), Shanzha (Crataegi Fructus), Shenqu (Massa Medicata Fermentata), Juhong (Exocarpium Citri Reticulatae Rubrum), and Banxia (Pinelliae Rhizoma) as spleen-strengthening agents, and Qingpi (Aurantii Fructus Pericarpium), Zhike (Aurantii Fructus), Zhishi (Aurantii Fructus Immaturus), Houpo (Magnoliae Officinalis Cortex), Binglang (Arecae Semen), and Xiangfu (Cyperi Rhizoma) as qi-regulating agents, claiming that a strengthened spleen improves appetite and regulated qi alleviates disease. What these practitioners call "strengthening the spleen" actually damages it; what they call "regulating qi" actually depletes it. Incompetent doctors save costs by selling cheap herbs, and foolish people prefer cheapness while ignorantly accepting self-harm; their errors are equivalent. These people also do not understand. I sigh that Fan Yun sacrificed his real life for vanity. If he had visited the fishing terrace of Chisongzi, what would he have thought?