典藏书目

The practice of curing diseases through incantations and spells has existed since ancient times. Often, the wording is not elegant or refined, yet the therapeutic effects are remarkably miraculous, defying ordinary rational explanation. The wet nurse of my wife, an old woman surnamed Gu, specialized in reciting the "Luling Chi" (Imperial Edict Command) spell for treatment. The method involves placing the right hand on the site of a scorpion sting, reciting the incantation seven times in one breath, and then making a sweeping gesture as if removing something. Within moments, the pain ceases. Another spell for treating Snake Coiling (Herpes Zoster/Shingles) states: "Heavenly snake, earthly snake, green earth flat black snake, thirty-six snakes, seventy-two snakes, snakes emerge, snakes advance, Supreme Lord Lao Jun, act immediately according to the imperial edict." If a person's shadow is pecked by a snake, red nodules appear on the waist with pain and itching; if it spreads to the heart, it becomes incurable. This condition is named Snake Coiling, also known as Body-Coiling Dragon. The treatment involves holding a stalk of rice straw in the right hand, its length equal to the circumference of the waist, facing the affected area, and reciting the incantation seven times in one breath. Then, swing the arm to place the straw on the door threshold, cut it into seven pieces with a knife, burn them, and the ailment will be cured immediately. There is also a remedy for centipede stings: urgently use your hand to write the character "Tian" (Field) in the mud under flower branches, ensuring no one sees you. Take this mud and apply it to the site of the centipede sting. [Bingzhang] Note: The treatment of disease through Zhuyou (incantations and talismans) originated in ancient times. Those who have mastered this profession are most numerous in Hunan Province; they can barely achieve subsistence but cannot use this to amass wealth.

For oil stains on clothing, the best cleaning method is the facial application technique (utilizing flour adsorption). Mix raw wheat flour with cold water until uniform, apply it thickly to the stained area, let it dry completely overnight, and then wash with boiling hot water and soap pods (Gleditsia sinensis fruit). The oil will dissolve without leaving a trace.

Medical texts record dietary taboos, some of which have no antidote. These are recorded here as a warning. For Sha syndrome (sand poisoning) abdominal pain, mistakenly consuming ginger soup; for Ding sores (furuncles/boils), mistakenly consuming hemp flowers; for bone-steaming consumption resembling deficiency syndromes, mistakenly consuming Rehmanniae Radix (Sheng Dihuang); for Qingjin Zhang (i.e., Wu Sha Zhang/black sand swelling), mistakenly diagnosing as a Yin syndrome and administering corresponding medicine; extreme thirst desiring water, mistakenly drinking water from a vase; consuming donkey meat together with Schizonepeta (Jingjie); consuming meat exposed to dripping water from thatched eaves; eating three-legged turtles; consuming food that has passed through thorny forests; old chickens that have eaten centipedes become toxic, and mistaken ingestion causes poisoning; venom from snake saliva secretly entering food and beverages consumed.
[Bingzhang] Note: Food poisoning cases are numerous; this is merely a glimpse. For instance, Xu Zhongke documented such cases in Volume 24 and 25 of his *Commentary on the Golden Cabinet Essentials* and in *Compilation of Antidotes*. Severe cases result in death from poisoning. Those bearing the responsibility of saving lives should pay attention to this.