丹者，是皆防其入胃即化出其苦味也，若以西药局中胶囊盛之吞服，虽破者亦可用。
硫黄原禀火之精气，其挟有杂质者有时有毒，若其色纯黄，即纯系硫质，分毫无毒，为补相火暖下焦
之主药。痢证下焦凉者，其上焦恒有虚热，硫黄质重，其热力直达下焦而不至助上焦之虚热。且痢之寒者
虽宜治以热药，而仍忌温补收涩之品。至硫黄，诸家本草谓其能使大便润、小便长，西人谓系轻泻药之品，是
其性热而能通，故以治寒痢最宜也。愚屡次品验此药，人之因寒作泻者，服之大抵止泻之时多。更有五
更泻证，服他药不效，而放胆服硫黄即愈者。又间有本系因寒作泻，服硫黄而泻转剧者，惟与干姜、白术、
五味等药同用，则确能治因寒作泻而无更泻之弊。古方书用硫黄皆系制用，然制之则热力减，必须多服，有时
转因多服而生燥，实不如少服生者之为愈也。且择其纯系硫质者
用之，原分毫无毒，亦无须多方制之也。至其用量，若以治寒
痢，一次可服二三分，极量至五六分，而以治他证，则不在此例。曾治邻村张氏妇，年二十余，胃寒作吐，
所吐之食分毫不能消化（凡食后半日吐出不消化者皆系胃寒），医治半年无效，虽投以极热之药亦分毫
不觉热，脉甚细弱，且又沉迟。知其胃寒过甚，但用草木之品恐难疗治。俾用生硫黄细末一两，分作十二包，
先服一包，过两句钟不觉热，再服一包。又为开汤剂干姜、炙甘草各一两，乌附子、广油桂、补骨脂、于
术各五钱，浓朴二钱，日煎服一剂。其硫黄当日服至八包，犹不觉热，然自此即不吐食矣。后数日，似
又反复，遂于汤剂中加代赭石细末五钱，硫黄仍每日服八包，其吐又止。连服数日，觉微热，俾将硫黄减半，
汤剂亦减半，惟赭石改用三钱。又服二十余日，其吐永不反复。愚生平用硫黄治病，以此证所用之量为最大。
至于西药中硫黄三种，其初次制者名升华硫黄，只外用于疮疡，不可内服。用升华硫黄再制之，为
精制硫黄，用精制硫黄再制之为沉降硫黄，此二种硫黄可以内服。然欲其热力充足，服之可以补助元阳、
温暖下焦，究不若择纯质生硫黄服之之为愈也。
所谓“丹”，是指防止药物进入胃部后立即释放出苦味。如果使用西药局生产的胶囊盛装吞服，即使是破碎的硫黄也可以使用。
硫黄原本禀受火的精气，其中夹杂杂质的有时会有毒性；如果颜色纯黄，则完全是硫质，分毫无毒，是补益相火、温暖下焦的主要药物。患痢疾证且下焦寒冷的人，其上焦通常有虚热。硫黄质地沉重，其热力直达下焦而不会助长上焦的虚热。而且，对于寒性痢疾虽然适宜用热药治疗，但仍忌讳使用温补和收涩的药物。至于硫黄，各家本草书籍称它能润肠通便、增加尿量，西方人认为它是轻泻药，这说明它性质虽热但具有通利的作用，因此用来治疗寒性痢疾最为适宜。我多次品尝验证此药，那些因寒邪导致腹泻的人，服用后大多能止泻。更有五更泻（黎明前腹泻）的病症，服用其他药物无效，而大胆服用硫黄即可痊愈的情况。也有间或原本是因寒致泻，服用硫黄后腹泻反而加剧的，只有与干姜、白术、五味子等药物同用，才能确切治疗因寒导致的腹泻而没有加重腹泻的弊端。古方书中使用硫黄都是经过炮制的，然而炮制后热力会减弱，必须多服，有时反而因为多服而产生燥热，实在不如少服生硫黄效果好。而且选择纯系硫质的硫黄来使用，本来分毫无毒，也没有必要多方炮制。至于用量，如果是治疗寒性痢疾，一次可服用二三分，极量至五六分，而治疗其他病症，则不在此例。曾治疗邻村张姓妇女，二十多岁，胃寒导致呕吐，所吐出的食物完全不能消化（凡是进食后半日吐出未消化食物的都属于胃寒），医治半年无效，即使投以极热的药物也丝毫感觉不到热意，脉象非常细弱，且深沉迟缓。知道她胃寒过重，只用草木类药物恐怕难以治愈。让她服用生硫黄细末一两，分成十二包，先服用一包，过两个小时不觉发热，再服用一包。又为她开具汤剂：干姜、炙甘草各一两，乌附子、广油桂、补骨脂、于术各五钱，浓朴二钱，每天煎服一剂。那硫黄当天服用了八包，仍然不觉发热，但从那时起就不再呕吐食物了。后来几天，似乎又有反复，于是在汤剂中加入代赭石细末五钱，硫黄仍每日服用八包，呕吐又停止了。连续服用数日，感觉到轻微发热，便让将硫黄减半，汤剂也减半，只有代赭石改用三钱。又服用二十多天，呕吐永不复发。我生平用硫黄治病，以此证所用的量为最大。至于西药中的三种硫黄，初次制成的名为升华硫黄，只外用于疮疡，不可内服。用升华硫黄再次制成的是精制硫黄，用精制硫黄再次制成的是沉降硫黄，这两种硫黄可以内服。然而想要其热力充足，服用后可以补助元阳、温暖下焦，终究不如选择纯质生硫黄服用效果好。
The term "Dan" refers to preventing the medicine from releasing its bitter taste immediately upon entering the stomach. If swallowed in capsules produced by Western pharmaceutical bureaus, even broken pieces can be used.
Sulfur (Liu Huang) originally inherits the vital essence of Fire. Those containing impurities may sometimes be toxic; however, if the color is purely yellow, it consists entirely of sulfur substance and is completely non-toxic. It is the principal herb for tonifying Ministerial Fire (Xiang Huo) and warming the Lower Jiao (Lower Burner). In cases of Dysentery (Li Zheng) with Cold in the Lower Jiao, there is often Deficient Heat in the Upper Jiao (Upper Burner). Due to its heavy nature, Sulfur's thermal energy reaches directly to the Lower Jiao without exacerbating the Deficient Heat in the Upper Jiao. Furthermore, although Cold-type Dysentery should be treated with Hot herbs, one must still avoid Warm-tonifying and Astringent substances. Various Materia Medica texts state that Sulfur moistens the intestines to facilitate bowel movements and increases urine output; Westerners consider it a mild laxative. This indicates that while its nature is Hot, it possesses a unblocking property, making it most suitable for treating Cold Dysentery. I have tasted and verified this herb repeatedly: those suffering from diarrhea due to Cold generally find their diarrhea stops after taking it. There are also cases of Dawn Diarrhea (Wu Geng Xie), where other medicines fail but bold use of Sulfur leads to cure. Occasionally, patients whose diarrhea originates from Cold may experience worsened diarrhea after taking Sulfur alone; however, when combined with Ginger Rhizome (Gan Jiang), Atractylodes Macrocephala Rhizome (Bai Zhu), and Schisandra Fruit (Wu Wei Zi), it effectively treats Cold-induced diarrhea without the side effect of aggravating it. Ancient formularies always use processed Sulfur; however, processing reduces its thermal potency, requiring larger doses, which may sometimes cause dryness due to excessive intake. Thus, it is superior to take small doses of raw Sulfur. Moreover, selecting pure sulfur substance renders it non-toxic, eliminating the need for complex processing. Regarding dosage, for Cold Dysentery, one dose may range from 2-3 fen, up to a maximum of 5-6 fen; for other conditions, this rule does not apply.
I once treated a woman surnamed Zhang from a neighboring village, over twenty years old, who suffered from vomiting due to Stomach Cold. The vomited food was undigested (vomiting undigested food half an hour after eating indicates Stomach Cold). After six months of ineffective treatment, even extremely Hot herbs failed to produce any sensation of warmth. Her pulse was very fine, weak, deep, and slow. Recognizing severe Stomach Cold, I feared herbal remedies alone might be insufficient. I prescribed Raw Sulfur powder, 1 liang, divided into twelve packets. She took one packet first; after two hours, feeling no heat, she took another. I also prescribed a decoction: Dried Ginger (Gan Jiang) and Honey-fried Licorice Root (Zhi Gan Cao) each 1 liang, Prepared Aconite Root (Wu Fu Zi), Cinnamon Twig (Guizhi), Psoralea Fruit (Bu Gu Zhi), and Atractylodes Rhizome (Yu Zhu) each 5 qian, and Magnolia Bark (Hou Po) 2 qian, taken as one dose daily. On that day, she consumed eight packets of Sulfur and still felt no heat, yet her vomiting ceased thereafter. A few days later, symptoms seemed to recur, so I added 5 qian of Hematite (Dai Zhe Shi) powder to the decoction, continuing Sulfur at eight packets daily, which stopped the vomiting again. After several days of continuous use, she felt slight heat, so I halved the Sulfur and the decoction, changing Hematite to 3 qian. After another twenty-plus days, the vomiting never recurred. This case involved the largest dose of Sulfur I have ever used.
Regarding Western medicines containing Sulfur, the primary product is Sublimed Sulfur (Sheng Hua Liu Huang), which is used only externally for sores and ulcers and should not be ingested. Refined Sulfur (Jing Zhi Liu Huang) is made by re-processing Sublimed Sulfur, and Precipitated Sulfur (Chen Jiang Liu Huang) is made by re-processing Refined Sulfur; these two forms can be ingested. However, to ensure sufficient thermal potency to supplement Primordial Yang (Yuan Yang) and warm the Lower Jiao, nothing surpasses the use of pure, raw Sulfur.