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Depressed fire should be treated by dispersing. Dispersal allows the stagnant fire to scatter and heat to dissipate. For light, ascending, and diffusing actions, use scallion (Cong Bai), fermented soybean (Dou Chi), lotus leaf (He Ye), and forsythia (Qiao); for ascending and penetrating actions, use cimicifuga (Sheng Ma), pueraria (Ge Gen), bupleurum (Chai Hu), and ligusticum (Xiong). Add a few appropriate herbs based on the specific syndrome to disperse it. As stated in the *Huangdi Neijing* (Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon): "The body feels like a burning charcoal; it is resolved through sweating." This refers to this method of treatment. To vent rashes and macules, use hawthorn thorn (Jiao Ci), cicada slough (Chan Yi), reed rhizome (Lu Sun), and west river willow leaves (Xi He Liu Ye). Once the rashes and macules are vented, the depressed fire naturally溃s from the exterior.

Excess fire should be treated by purging. For mild cases, use gardenia (Zhi), scutellaria (Huang Qin), coptis (Lian), and phellodendron (Bo). Simply use bitter-cold herbs to clear the heat. For severe cases, use mirabilite (Xiao), rhubarb (Huang), and aloe (Lun Hui). Salty-bitter herbs that descend must be used to purge the excess fire downward.

Deficiency fire should be treated by tonifying. If fever is due to yang deficiency, Li Dongyuan's Buzhong Yiqi Tang (Tonify the Middle and Augment the Qi Decoction) should be the principal formula. This aligns with Li's principle that "sweet-warm substances can eliminate great heat." If sudden heat is due to floating yang, Jiming Liushen Tang (Master Ji's Six-Spirit Decoction) should be the principal formula. As Zhang stated: fever recurring after releasing the exterior, recurring after purging the interior, recurring after promoting urination post-recovery, or heat persisting despite nourishing yin and clearing heat—these occur because yuan qi (original qi) has no place to reside. In such cases, Baoyuan Tang (Preserve the Origin Decoction) and Guipi Tang (Restore the Spleen Decoction) are used to eliminate deficiency heat.

In cases of yin deficiency with hyperactive fire: if caused by heart yin deficiency, Ejiao Huanglian Tang (Donkey-Hide Gelatin and Coptis Decoction) is the principal formula; if caused by liver yin deficiency, Dan Di Siwu Tang (Moutan and Rehmannia Four-Substance Decoction) is the principal formula; if caused by spleen yin deficiency, Hei Guipi Tang (Black Restore the Spleen Decoction) is the principal formula; if caused by lung yin deficiency, Qingzao Jiufei Tang (Clear Dryness and Rescue the Lungs Decoction) is the principal formula; if caused by kidney yin deficiency, Zhibai Dihuang Tang (Anemarrhena, Phellodendron, and Rehmannia Pill) is the principal formula; if caused by Chong and Ren vessel yin deficiency, Zi Ren Yiyin Jian (Nourish Ren and Benefit Yin Decoction) is the principal formula. If the stomach function is not yet robust, nourishing stomach yin must be the primary priority. Western ginseng (Xi Shen), bird's nest (Yan Wo), white fungus (Yin Er), white hair stone dendrobium (Bai Mao Shihu), and ophiopogon (Mai Dong) are the principal herbs.

However, for yin fire (false fire), the method of guiding fire back to its source should be employed. The strategy is to break yin cold and return yang, using aconite (Fu Zi), dried ginger (Gan Jiang), and cinnamon bark (Gui Zhi) as the principal herbs. These may be supplemented with sweet-salty substances like roasted licorice (Zhi Cao) or child's urine (Tong Bian); or with shell/turtle substances for anchoring yang like oyster shell (Mu Li) or turtle plastron (Gui Ban); or with sedating substances like Black Tin Pill (Hei Xi Dan); or with substances that harmonize heart and kidney like magnetite and cinnabar pill (Ci Zhu Wan); or with substances that grasp qi like umbilical cord (Kan Qi) and gecko tail (Jie Wei); or with substances that stop sweating like schisandra (Wu Wei Zi) and ephedra root (Mahuang Gen). All these are essential herbs described by ancient masters as "guiding fire back to its source" and "leading the dragon into the sea."

[Lian's Commentary]: What is called yin fire is actually the primordial yang within the Mingmen (Gate of Life). It is also known as yuan qi (original qi) or true fire. It cannot be seen or touched. It resides within blood and qi, governing them prior to their manifestation. Its root lies where Daoist texts call the Dantian (Elixir Field), the *Nanjing* (Classic of Difficult Issues) calls the Mingmen, and the *Neijing* describes as the "small heart" beside the seventh vertebra. Yin-yang opening and closing exist here; inhalation and exhalation depend on here. Without fire, it warms all parts of the body; without water, it moistens all parts of the body. As long as this single thread of life remains unbroken, the vital energy is not exhausted. This cannot be understood through anatomy nor perceived through microscopes. Therefore, great physicians of antiquity, when diagnosing diseases and determining life and death, did not look at the severity of the illness but at the presence or absence of yuan qi. If yuan qi is undamaged, even severe illness will not lead to death; if yuan qi is damaged, even mild illness can lead to death. There are distinctions within this: some suffer yuan qi damage first and then develop disease; these are incurable. Some develop disease first and then damage yuan qi; prevention is essential here. Others damage yuan qi through mis-treatment. Some have damaged yuan qi but not severely, allowing for preservation. Success depends entirely on careful examination during the four diagnostic methods at the bedside. When yin fire rises and primordial yang escapes outward, there are sudden stroke syndromes and chronic disease syndromes. Sudden strokes often involve yang being forced by yin, leading to dispersion or flight. Chronic diseases often involve yin exhaustion leading to yang collapse, resulting in desiccation or withering. A single error in medication leads to immediate disaster. Regarding prescriptions, Yu's tonifying formulas already cover extensive methods, so further elaboration is omitted.