典藏书目

Bie Jia (Tartar Testudinis Carapax), salty in flavor, neutral in qi, non-toxic. It should be used after being stir-fried with vinegar. It dissipates pi masses (abdominal masses fixed in one place and painful), jia masses (abdominal masses shifting position and painless), polyps, yin erosion (ulceration of the external genitalia), hemorrhoids, and ju sores; it eliminates emaciation and bone-steaming fever due to consumptive disease (lao), and treats alternating chills and fever due to malaria; it heals intestinal abscesses and reduces swelling, promotes the discharge of blood stasis, and induces abortion.

The meat of the soft-shelled turtle is also not cold in nature. The cartilage under its neck need not be removed. Bie Jia excels at attacking hard accumulations without damaging healthy qi. For any stagnation or obstruction in the upper or lower jiao that cannot be eliminated, it is suitable for use. However, it should be ground into powder and taken mixed with liquid. People today usually stir-fry it into slices and decoct it in herbal soups, which fails to achieve its efficacy.

Some doubt whether the meat tonifies yin while the shell attacks hardness, suggesting these effects are contradictory within the same substance. This is likely incorrect. Since the soft-shelled turtle is inherently a yin entity, using yin to tonify yin, what is there to doubt? Your doubt arises from the shell's ability to attack hardness. Do you not know that the turtle's nature is good at hiding? Whenever there is even a small crevice, the turtle uses its shell to drill into it. Thus, its power lies entirely in the shell. Therefore, using the shell to attack hardness has profound rationale and is not merely subjective speculation.

Someone asks: Can Bie Jia be used in large doses? I reply: Although its nature is good at attacking, its flavor still tonifies. The meat tonifies more than it attacks, whereas the shell attacks more but also tonifies significantly.

Someone asks: Does Bie Jia effectively kill tuberculosis worms (lao chong)? I reply: If it did not kill these worms, how could it eliminate emaciation and bone-steaming fever? Why would bone-steaming disease involve worms? Generally, worms arise naturally from damp-heat; they are not solely caused by contagion. Due to heat, sweat occurs; due to sweating, heat returns again, resembling the regularity of tides and the precision of yin-yang cycles. How can worms not arise? Moreover, these worms do not grow between the intestines and stomach but specifically within the bone marrow. Without Bie Jia, how can one enter the deepest yin realm and guide other yin-natured herbs to nourish the marrow? If one only heavily tonifies yin without using worm-killing ingredients, the generated marrow will merely suffice for the worms' consumption. However, most worm-killing drugs deplete the marrow. Once the worms die, the marrow becomes empty, heat remains unremoved, and if heat persists, worms regenerate, leading to an endless cycle of illness. Bie Jia kills worms while tonifying the water of extreme yin, making it most suitable for treating bone-steaming disease.

Someone asks: Regarding Bie Jia killing worms in the bones, what herbs should be paired with it to both kill worms and tonify marrow? I reply: To kill worms in the bones, a single ingredient, Bie Jia, is sufficient. The accompanying yin-tonifying herbs require discussion. I, Chen Shiduo, received transmission from an extraordinary person and wish to discuss this formula with the world. The prescription is as follows: Bie Jia 1 jin, stir-fried with vinegar; Digupi (Cortex Lycii) 0.5 jin; Mudanpi (Cortex Moutan) 4 liang; Shudi (Radix Rehmanniae Preparata) 1 jin; Shanzhuyu (Fructus Corni) 0.5 jin; Dili Fen (Powder of Dioscorea esculenta/Bamboo Potato) 0.5 jin; Baishao (Radix Paeoniae Alba) 4 liang; Baizhu (Rhizoma Atractylodis Macrocephalae) 4 liang; Yiren (Semen Coicis) 4 liang; Xuanshen (Radix Scrophulariae) 3 liang; Bei Wuweizi (Fructus Schisandrae Chinensis) 2 liang; Shashen (Radix Glehniae seu Adenophorae) 6 liang. All are ground into powder. Shanyao (Rhizoma Dioscoreae) 1 jin is made into a paste to bind the pills. Long-term consumption will result in the death of all worms and the cure of bone-steaming fever. [Commentary: This formula is extremely unique and efficacious; it is urgently indicated for tuberculosis.] Observing this formula, its brilliance lies in using Bie Jia as the sovereign herb, with Dili Fen and Shanzhuyu as assistant and guiding herbs, to attack and kill internal and external worms. Its further brilliance lies in the group of yin-natured herbs being neither cold nor hot, cooling the heat in the bones thereby generating essence in the bones. With both tonification and attack applied simultaneously, it seems suitable for long-term use to achieve results. There are certainly discerning individuals in the world who will understand the妙 (wonder) of this formula.

Some doubt that while Gui Jia (Testudinis Carapax) can be decocted into paste, Bie Jia alone has no such preparation. Could it not be made into paste? However, both turtles and soft-shelled turtles are yin entities. Why did ancient authors never mention this? I reply: The use of Bie Jia in paste form was discussed by predecessors, but they briefly mentioned it without detailed explanation. Now I will elucidate its principles fully.

Although Gui and Bie belong to the same yin category, their natures differ. Gui prefers emergence, while Bie prefers submersion; Gui is quiet and still, while Bie is active and restless. Therefore, Gui excels in tonification, whereas Bie excels in attack. Gui can be made into paste to nourish yin, while Bie is best ground into powder to attack hardness. Tonifying agents can be taken long-term for benefit; attacking agents achieve success through temporary use. Although Bie Jia can be included in formulas for tonifying yin and attacking hardness, allowing for prolonged use to nourish yin, it ultimately cannot be used alone as a decocted paste for daily consumption like Gui. This is why ancient practitioners selected Gui for paste preparation and exclusively discarded Bie Jia.