凡汤内用芒硝、饴糊、阿胶者,须候汤熟,绞净清汁,方纳于内,再上火煎二三
沸,烊尽乃服。
凡汤内加酒、醋、童便,竹沥,姜汁者,亦用煎好绞汁冲服。
凡汤中用沉香、木香、乳香、没药一切香窜药味,须研细末,待汤熟先绞汁,小盖调服讫,然后尽饮。
凡通大便丸药,或有巴豆硝黄者,必用蜡化为衣,取其过膈不化,能达下焦,脾胃
免伤。尚人体壮实,毋以此抱。
凡病在胸膈以上者,先食后服药;病在心腹以下者,先服药而后食;病在血脉四肢
者,宜空腹而在旦;病在骨髓者,宜饱满而在夜;调理脾气者,宜食远而徐徐服之,药
后勿就进食。调补肾元者,宜食前而顿服多服之,药后便可进食,若血食美味者更佳,
盖助精血发生尤捷耳。故在上者,不厌频而少;在下者不厌频而多。少服则滋荣于上;多服则峻补于下。
凡煎汤液丸散,必托诚慎亲信之人,而隐微不可不慎也。煎药器皿洗涤洁净,清新
甜水,慢火煎熬,按分滤净,投服自效。每有煎药托之婢仆,或用烈火速干,而药汁未
出;或有沸溢,真汁而添人茶汤。制丸作散,灰土杂乱;炮炙失宜,水酒妄渍。则方
药虽当,而功效难求矣。
得土中清阳之气,禀春生少阳之令而生。味甘微寒,无毒。气味均齐,不浓不
薄,生多于降。又曰∶微温者,言其功用也∶云微寒者,言其所禀也。有采来入沸
汤,略沸即取起,焙干或生,置无风处阴干。凡带生而采者,有皮力大;过熟而采
者,无皮力驯。临用切薄片,银石器中慢火熬汁。如入丸散,隔纸微火焙燥。如欲久
藏,和炒米拌匀,同纳瓶中封固,则久藏不坏,且得谷气也。
人参味甘,合五行之正;性温,得四气之和。受天春升生发之气,禀地清阳至和之
精,状类人形,上应瑶光;故能回阳气于垂绝,却虚邪于俄顷,功魁群草,力等珍丹。
入脾、肺二经,诸虚皆调,五脏均补。虚人服之,如阳春一至,万物发生,犹饥得食。
渴之得饮。至如肥白人任多服。苍黑人宜少投,亦言其概耳。益五脏真元不足,理肺金
虚促短气,泻心肺脾胃火邪,治劳伤虚火上逆,健脉理中,生津止渴,开心益智,滋补
元阳,却惊悸。除梦邪、肠胃中冷、心腹鼓痛、胸胁逆满;破坚积,宣壅滞,除健忘,
兴阳道,益精神,安魂魄。气壮而胃自开,气和而食自化,退虚火之圣药也。功专补
中,然有虚寒虚热之宜忌。今古议论,纷纭不一,总寒热不拘,而虚实须别。如止虚
弱,单服何疑?倘有寒热偏症,便兼药用,寒温热凉,配制得法,则寒热皆所相宜,但
贵审虚实之的确耳。气虚者固不可遗,血虚者亦不可缺,无阳则阴无以生,而血脱者补
气,气为水母也。诚能挽功垂绝,从无形生出有形。多服宣通,少服壅滞。同苓术则燥
湿,同熟地则滋补,同麦冬则清润,所佐异而功效便殊矣。至若肺脉洪实,火气方逆,
血热妄行,气尚未虚,痧症初发,斑点未形,伤寒始作,邪热方炽,用之殆害,咎在
人而不在药耳。至于醒酒之功,以酒能大伤元气,故培精力,以胜酒毒也。及久溃痈
疽,外科掺药中用之,久患目疾,眼科净药中用之,咸获其效,则其内服补虚培元之
功,更可见矣。无神之肌肉皮毛受伤,皆假此而保全,何况有神有情之脏腑!气血阴阳
危困,能不藉此以挽救乎!?若炼膏投服,功力更优,韩飞霞曰∶人参炼膏回元气
于无何有之乡。一切产后病后,及痈疽出脓后,元气未复者大获奇效。
主治(痘疹合参) 治痘之圣药也。戒用于三日之前,补元气而和中,生津液而止
渴,安神健脉,托里排脓,气虚痘疹必用,既可补中以杜内陷,复能固表以免外剥,使
正胜于邪,驱毒出外,俾毒假浆成毒,从浆
化,虽有强邪,勿能为害。盖无形之元气,能生发而不穷,则有形之疾病。渐可消弭于
无事也。但热毒盛时禁用;血热痘初禁用;痰壅症禁用∶肺热咳甚者禁用。必不得已,
以苦茶汤浸过用无妨,此权宜之术耳。有同陈皮煎服者,反能盗泄元气。故补太虚之
证,所不宜并服也。古人消导药中用之,使气壮而营运自健,助其脾之所能也。发散药
中用之,乃养正而驱邪得力,令邪无可留之地也。
凡汤剂中使用芒硝、饴糖糊、阿胶的,必须等待药汤煎好,绞取并过滤出纯净的药汁后,才能将这些药物加入其中,再次上火煎煮二三沸,待其完全溶化后方可服用。
凡汤剂中加入酒、醋、童便(儿童尿液)、竹沥(竹子燃烧产生的汁液)、姜汁的,也使用煎好并过滤出的药汁冲服这些辅料。
凡汤剂中使用沉香、木香、乳香、没药等一切芳香走窜的药物,必须将其研磨成细末,待药汤煎好后先绞取药汁,用小盖碗调匀服用完毕后,然后再饮尽剩余的药汤。
凡是治疗大便不通的丸药,如果含有巴豆、芒硝、大黄等峻下药物,必须用蜡包裹作为衣层,目的是让其在经过膈部时不融化,能够直达下焦,从而避免损伤脾胃。如果人体质壮实,不必拘泥于此法。
凡病位在胸膈以上的,应先吃饭后服药;病位在心腹以下的,应先服药后吃饭;病位在血脉四肢的,宜在清晨空腹时服用;病位在骨髓的,宜在饱食后的夜晚服用;调理脾气的,宜在饭后较长时间徐徐服用,服药后不要立即进食。调补肾元的,宜在饭前顿服或多服,服药后即可进食,如果食用血肉之品或美味佳肴更佳,因为这能更迅速地辅助精血的生成。所以病在上部的,不厌其烦地少量多次服用;病在下部的,不厌其烦地少量多次但剂量稍多。少量服用则滋养上部;大量服用则峻补下部。
凡煎煮汤液、制作丸散,必须委托诚实谨慎的亲信之人,细微之处也不可不小心。煎药的器皿要洗涤洁净,使用清新甜美的水,用慢火煎熬,按分量过滤干净,投服自然见效。常有将煎药托付给婢女仆人的,有的用烈火快速烧干,导致药汁未出;有的发生沸腾溢出,真药汁流失而添入茶汤。制作丸散时,混杂灰土;炮制加工不当,用水酒随意浸泡。那么即使方药对症,也难以求得疗效了。
人参得自土地中清阳之气,秉承春季生发少阳之令而生。味甘微寒,无毒。气味均匀,不浓不薄,生发作用多于沉降作用。又说:说它微温,是指其功用而言;说它微寒,是指其所禀受的性质而言。有采集后放入沸水中,稍微煮沸即取出,焙干或生用,放置在无风处阴干。凡是带皮采挖的,药效较大;过熟才采挖的,去皮的药效温和。临用时切成薄片,在银器或石器中用慢火熬汁。如果入丸散,隔纸用微火焙燥。如果想要长久保存,与炒米拌匀,一同装入瓶中密封,则长久保存不坏,且能得谷气。
人参味甘,符合五行中正之性;性温,得四时气候之和。承受天地春季升发之气,禀受大地清阳至和之精,形状像人形,上应瑶光星;所以能在阳气垂绝时挽回阳气,在短时间内驱除虚邪,功效居众草之首,力量等同珍贵丹药。入脾、肺二经,各种虚证都能调理,五脏均能补益。体虚之人服用,如同阳春一到,万物发生,就像饥饿得到食物,口渴得到饮水一样。至于肥胖白皙的人任其多服,苍黑瘦小的人宜少用,这只是一般性的说法。它能补益五脏真元不足,调理肺金虚弱导致的短气,泻除心肺脾胃的火邪,治疗劳伤导致的虚火上逆,强健脉理中气,生津止渴,开心益智,滋补元阳,驱除惊悸,消除梦魇,治疗肠胃寒冷、心腹鼓胀疼痛、胸胁逆满;破除坚硬积滞,宣通壅塞停滞,消除健忘,兴阳道,益精神,安魂魄。气壮则胃气自然开通,气和则食物自然消化,是退除虚火的圣药。功效专于补中,但有虚寒与虚热的适宜与禁忌。古今议论,纷纭不一,总之寒热不拘泥,但虚实必须辨别。如果只是虚弱,单服有何怀疑?如果有寒热偏症,便需兼用其他药物,寒温热凉,配制得当,则寒热皆相适宜,只贵在审察虚实的确切而已。气虚者固然不可遗漏,血虚者也不可缺少,无阳则阴无法生成,血脱者补气,因为气为水之母。确实能挽救垂危之功,从无形生出有形。多服则宣通,少服则壅滞。与人参、白术同用则燥湿,与熟地黄同用则滋补,与麦冬同用则清润,所佐使不同而功效便殊异了。至于肺脉洪实,火气正逆,血热妄行,气尚未虚,痧症初发,斑点未现,伤寒刚开始,邪热正炽盛,使用人参会有危害,这是人的过错而非药的过错。至于解酒的功效,因为酒能大伤元气,所以培补精力以胜酒毒。以及久溃痈疽,外科掺药中使用,久患眼疾,眼科净药中使用,都获得其疗效,那么其内服补虚培元的功效,就更可见了。无神气的肌肉皮毛受伤,都借此保全,何况有神有情志的脏腑!气血阴阳危急困顿,能不借此来挽救吗?!如果炼成膏剂服用,功力更优,韩飞霞说:人参炼膏能将元气挽回于虚无缥缈之乡。一切产后病后,及痈疽排脓后,元气未恢复者,大获奇效。
主治(痘疹合参) 是治疗痘疹的圣药。戒用于出痘前三天,补元气而和中焦,生津液而止渴,安神健脉,托里排脓,气虚型痘疹必用,既可补中以杜绝内陷,又能固表以免外剥,使正气胜于邪气,驱毒外出,使得毒假借浆液化成毒,从浆液转化,虽然有强邪,也不能为害。因为无形的元气,能生发而不穷尽,则有形的疾病,逐渐可消弭于无事之中。但热毒盛时禁用;血热痘初起禁用;痰壅症禁用;肺热咳甚者禁用。如果不得已,用苦茶汤浸泡后使用也无妨,这是权宜之计。有与陈皮一起煎服的,反而能盗泄元气。所以补太虚之证,不宜并服。古人将人参用于消导药中,使气壮而运化自然强健,助其脾之所能。在发散药中使用,乃是养正而驱邪得力,令邪气无处留存之地。
Whenever **Mangxiao** (Natrii Sulfas) is used in a decoction, along with **Yihu** (Maltose Paste) or **Ejiao** (Donkey-hide Gelatin), one must wait until the decoction is cooked, strain it to obtain the pure liquid, and then add these substances into it. Boil again for two or three boils until they are completely melted before taking.
When adding wine, vinegar, **Tongbian** (Child's Urine), **Zhuli** (Bamboo Sap), or **Jiangzhi** (Ginger Juice) to a decoction, use the strained decoction to mix and take them.
For aromatic and penetrating herbs such as **Chenxiang** (Aquilaria Wood), **Muxiang** (Aucklandiae Radix), **Ruxiang** (Olibanum), and **Moyao** (Myrrha) used in decoctions, grind them into fine powder. After the decoction is ready, strain it first, mix the powder with a small amount of the liquid in a covered cup, consume it, and then drink the rest of the decoction.
For pills intended to unblock the bowels, if they contain harsh purgatives like **Badou** (Crotonis Fructus), Mangxiao, or **Dahuang** (Rhei Radix et Rhizoma), they must be coated with wax. This ensures they do not dissolve at the diaphragm but reach the lower jiao, thereby sparing the spleen and stomach from damage. However, this precaution is unnecessary for individuals with robust constitutions.
For diseases located above the chest and diaphragm, take medicine after meals; for diseases below the heart and abdomen, take medicine before meals; for diseases in the blood vessels and limbs, take them on an empty stomach in the morning; for diseases in the bone marrow, take them at night when full. To regulate the spleen qi, take the medicine slowly long after meals, and do not eat immediately after taking it. To tonify kidney essence, take it before meals in a single dose or multiple doses; food can be taken after medication, preferably meat or delicious foods, as this accelerates the generation of essence and blood. Therefore, for upper body ailments, frequent small doses are preferred; for lower body ailments, frequent larger doses are acceptable. Small doses nourish the upper body; large doses strongly tonify the lower body.
When decocting liquids or preparing pills and powders, entrust the task to honest, cautious, and trusted individuals; even subtle details require care. Wash decoction vessels thoroughly, use fresh sweet water, simmer over low heat, filter accurately according to dosage, and administration will naturally be effective. Often, decoction is entrusted to maids or servants who may use high fire to dry it quickly without extracting the juice, or allow it to boil over, losing the true juice and replacing it with tea water. In making pills and powders, ash and dirt may contaminate them; improper processing and arbitrary soaking in water or wine occur. Thus, even if the prescription is correct, efficacy is hard to achieve.
Ren Shen (Ginseng Radix) derives its nature from the clear yang qi of the earth and is born under the command of spring's growing shaoyang energy. Its taste is sweet and slightly cold, non-toxic. Its aroma and flavor are balanced, neither strong nor weak, with ascending properties outweighing descending ones. Some say it is slightly warm, referring to its function; others say slightly cold, referring to its inherent nature. It can be collected, briefly boiled in hot water, removed, dried by baking or air-drying in a windless place. Those harvested with skin have stronger potency; those harvested when overly ripe and peeled have milder potency. Before use, slice thinly and simmer in silver or earthenware pots. For pills and powders, dry lightly over paper using mild heat. For long-term storage, mix with roasted rice, seal in a jar, and it will remain intact while absorbing grain qi.
Ren Shen tastes sweet, aligning with the central element of the Five Elements; its nature is warm, harmonizing with the four seasons. It receives the ascending and generating qi of heaven's spring and the refined clear yang spirit of the earth. Its shape resembles a human form, corresponding to the Yao Guang star. Thus, it can restore yang qi at the brink of collapse and dispel deficiency pathogens instantly. Its merit tops all herbs, and its power equals precious cinnabar. It enters the Spleen and Lung meridians, regulating all deficiencies and tonifying all five zang organs. When taken by deficient persons, it is like spring arriving, causing all things to grow, akin to hunger being satisfied by food or thirst quenched by drink. Generally, obese and fair-skinned people can take more, while dark and thin people should take less, though this is a generalization. It benefits the deficiency of true yuan in the five zang organs, regulates shortness of breath due to lung metal deficiency, drains fire pathogens from the heart, lungs, spleen, and stomach, treats upward reversal of deficiency fire due to labor injury, strengthens pulses and regulates the middle, generates fluids and relieves thirst, opens the mind and enhances wisdom, tonifies primal yang, dispels palpitations, eliminates dream disturbances, treats cold in the intestines and stomach, drum-like pain in the heart and abdomen, and fullness/reversal in the chest and hypochondrium; breaks down hard accumulations, promotes stagnation, removes forgetfulness, stimulates sexual function, benefits spirit, and calms the soul. When qi is strong, the stomach opens naturally; when qi is harmonious, food digests easily. It is a holy medicine for retreating deficiency fire. Its primary function is tonifying the middle, but there are indications and contraindications for deficiency-cold and deficiency-heat. Ancient and modern discussions vary, but generally, cold and heat are not rigidly restricted, whereas deficiency and excess must be distinguished. If it is merely weakness, why doubt single usage? If there are specific cold or heat symptoms, combine with other herbs; if cold, warm, cool, or hot herbs are combined properly, both cold and heat conditions can be treated suitably. The key lies in accurately assessing deficiency and excess. Qi deficiency cannot be overlooked, nor can blood deficiency. Without yang, yin cannot generate; thus, in blood loss, tonify qi because qi is the mother of water. It truly saves critical conditions, generating the tangible from the intangible. Large doses promote circulation; small doses may cause stagnation. Combined with **Fuling** (Poria) and **Baizhu** (Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma), it dries dampness; with **Shudi Huang** (Rehmanniae Radix Preparata), it tonifies; with **Maidong** (Ophiopogonis Radix), it clears and moistens. Different adjuvants yield different effects. However, if the lung pulse is surging and solid, fire qi is reversing, blood heat causes reckless bleeding, qi is not yet deficient, sand disease has just started with no spots formed, or cold damage has just begun with intense pathogenic heat, using Ren Shen is dangerous. The fault lies with the person, not the herb. Regarding its ability to sober up alcohol: since alcohol greatly damages yuan qi, Ren Shen tonifies vitality to overcome alcohol toxicity. In chronic ulcerating sores, it is used in external surgical applications; in chronic eye diseases, it is used in ophthalmic preparations, both showing efficacy. Thus, its internal function of tonifying deficiency and supporting yuan is evident. Even injuries to muscles and skin lacking spiritual connection are preserved by it, let alone organs with spirit and emotion! When qi, blood, yin, and yang are in crisis, how can we not rely on it for rescue?! If processed into a paste, its efficacy is superior. Han Feixia said: "Ren Shen paste restores yuan qi to the realm of nothingness." It yields miraculous results in postpartum conditions, post-illness states, and after pus discharge from sores where yuan qi has not recovered.
Main Indications (Combined Analysis with Smallpox/Rash Diseases): It is the holy medicine for treating rash diseases. It is contraindicated three days before the appearance of rashes. It tonifies yuan qi and harmonizes the middle, generates fluids and relieves thirst, calms the spirit and strengthens pulses, supports the interior and expels pus. It is essential for qi-deficiency type rashes. It tonifies the middle to prevent internal collapse and secures the exterior to prevent external erosion, allowing righteous qi to overcome pathogenic qi, driving toxins out. It allows toxins to transform through pus formation. Even with strong pathogens, they cannot cause harm. Because intangible yuan qi generates endlessly, tangible diseases gradually dissipate. However, it is contraindicated when heat toxin is abundant; when blood heat is present at the initial stage of rashes; in phlegm obstruction syndromes; and in severe cough due to lung heat. If unavoidable, soaking it in bitter tea soup before use is permissible as a temporary measure. Taking it with Chenpi (Citri Reticulatae Pericarpium) while decocting may instead leak yuan qi. Therefore, it should not be taken together for conditions of extreme deficiency. Ancients included it in digestion-promoting formulas to strengthen qi and enhance transport, assisting the spleen's function. In dispersing formulas, it nourishes righteousness to aid in expelling pathogens, leaving no room for pathogens to remain.