Library

Treats Shaoyin disease at its onset, characterized by anhidrosis (absence of sweating), aversion to cold, absence of headache, desire to sleep, fever, and a deep pulse.
Mahuang (Ephedrae Herba, removed nodes) 2 liang, Xixin (Asari Radix et Rhizoma) 2 liang, Fuzi (Aconiti Lateralis Radix Praeparata, one piece, processed). Use one dou of water, first boil Mahuang until reduced by two sheng, remove the foam on the surface, add the remaining herbs, boil to obtain three sheng, strain, take one sheng warm, three times daily. Mahuang Fuzi Xixin Tang (Cinnamon Twig, Aconite, and Asari Decoction) manifests both the methods of releasing the exterior and warming the meridians. Anhidrosis and aversion to cold are similar to Taiyang disease; absence of headache, deep pulse, and desire to sleep are all Shaoyin syndrome manifestations, indicating Shaoyin affliction. If there is no fever, warm tonification should be used (using Fuzi Tang); if there is fever, the pathogen still involves the Taiyang meridian. Therefore, Mahuang and Xixin are used to release the exterior, while prepared Fuzi warms the meridians to prevent collapse of Yang. (Shaoyin governs the interior and should not present exterior syndromes. However, fever appearing immediately after wind-cold invasion indicates the pathogen still links with Taiyang and has not fully entered the Yin level, so it can still be guided outward. Thus, Xixin guides Mahuang into Shaoyin to lift the newly entered pathogen, allowing it to resolve via the Taiyang meridian. Yet, fearing that the True Yang in the Kidney may escape with sweat, prepared Fuzi must be used to warm the meridians and secure the Kidney, avoiding the risk of Yang collapse from excessive sweating. This is the method for inducing sweating in Shaoyin exterior diseases without interior syndromes.)

Treats Shanghan (cold damage) where stagnant heat is trapped inside, presenting with sweating only on the head, dysuria (difficulty urinating), and jaundice (yellowing of the body).
Mahuang (Ephedrae Herba, removed nodes) 2 liang, Lianqiao (Forsythiae Fructus) 2 liang, Chixiaodou (Vigna Semen Rubrum) 1 sheng, Sheng Zibai Pi (Phellodendri Cortex or Catalpa Bark, raw) 1 sheng, Xingren (Armeniacae Semen Amarum) 40 pieces, Gancao (Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma) 2 liang, Shengjiang (Zingiberis Rhizoma Recens) 2 liang, Dazao (Jujubae Fructus) 12 pieces. Use one dou of rainwater (laoshui), first boil Mahuang until it boils again, remove the foam, add the other herbs, boil to obtain three sheng, strain, and divide into three warm doses. (Rainwater collected from the ground is called laoshui; it is chosen for its thin taste, which does not aid damp-heat.) Mahlian Lianqiao Chixiaodou Tang (Mahuang, Forsythia, and Red Adzuki Bean Decoction) combines Xingren, Gancao, and Zibi; boiled with laoshui and added ginger and jujube, it effectively clears stagnant heat and resolves jaundice. Dampness exits from the Yin level to the Taiyang meridian (This is a method of resolving both interior and exterior. Whether the heat originates from Taiyang or Yangming, when combined internally with dampness from Taiyin, it forms stagnant heat leading to jaundice. Although the disease progresses from exterior to interior, the adherent pathogen should exit from Yin to Yang. Xingren and Chixiaodou drain damp-heat from the muscle layer; Shengjiang and Zibai Pi drain damp-heat from the skin and muscles; Gancao and Dazao stabilize Qi in the Taiyin; Mahuang causes damp-heat to exit via sweat to the Taiyang meridian; Lianqiao guides damp-heat out via urine to the Taiyang meridian; laoshui assists the medicinal power to move from Yin to Yang. The classic states: "Severe dampness above leads to heat." If dampness moves downward, heat resolves, and jaundice recedes.) Jaundice resolves through sweating without leaving residual turbidity. This formula is applied because an exterior syndrome exists; if there is no exterior syndrome, Yinchenshao Tang (Artemisiae Scopariae Decoction) should be investigated. (This formula resolves jaundice via sweating, whereas Yinchenshao Tang resolves jaundice via purgation, distinguishing between cases with and without exterior syndromes.)