典藏书目

All plum trees can be used, with the green calyx variety (Lv E Mei) being the best. All plum flowers have an aroma, and their branches are emerald green. These branches bear no leaves; only bare stems emerge from the fissures of the branches. Xue Zhengjun (Xue Shengbai) once stated that using them to unblock qi stagnation in the upper and lower jiao is effective. This refers to "qi twigs" rather than "stems"; for medicinal use, one should employ plum stems (Mei Geng) that still bear leaves and form complete branches. *Bencao Gangmu* (Compendium of Materia Medica), in its section on plums, records the fruit, kernel, root, and leaves, but omits the stem.

*Baochan Shenxiao Fang* (Miraculous Formula for Protecting Fetal Life) and *Daode Ji* state: For women who habitually miscarry after three months of pregnancy, and for whom all other medicines have failed, decoct three to five plum stems into a concentrated soup and drink it. Follow this with longan soup. There will be none who fail to preserve the fetus.

Xuezhi (Snow Lotus), also known as Xuelihua (Snow Flower), is produced in extremely cold regions such as northwest Yili and Jinchuan. The snow there does not melt until spring and summer. Among the snow grows a herb resembling lotus flowers, standing alone on a single stalk, elegant and lovely amidst the snow. In the spring of Wuxu year, I personally saw it at the residence of Governor Shi. It is slightly thinner than the lotus flower; its petals are thin, narrow, and long, reaching three or four cun, resembling the tip of a brush. It is said that when soaked in wine, its color turns slightly red. Local inhabitants consume it as an essential herb for tonifying yang. *Yi Jiuyou Shihua* (Recollections of Past Travels in Poetry) mentions: Xuelianhua (Snow Lotus) preserves primordial qi for millennia; it grows deep in the snow, resembling a lotus, standing about one zhang high. When used to brew wine, it greatly enhances the spring atmosphere, embodying the principle that extreme yin generates yang. It is also produced in places like Barkol.

*Xibei Yuji* (Records of the Northwest Regions) notes: Snow lotus grows in accumulated snow, with a single stalk bearing twin blossoms. When soaked in wine, the liquid turns greenish-blue. Its nature is intensely hot. People claim its efficacy is similar to that of *Curculiginis Rhizoma* (Xianmao) and *Lycii Fructus* (Gouqi), yet unaware that its harm is akin to arsenic and poison. The toad's toxicity surpasses even that of the lotus. My nephew Tu Jiannan returned from Hami carrying snow lotus flowers, so I inquired about their effects. He stated that there is Tianshan Mountain there, covered in snow throughout winter and summer, where lotuses grow in the snow. Those produced at the peak of Tianshan are considered first-rate, though they are unobtainable; those from the mountainside are second-rate. They exist in male and female varieties. Locals harvest and dry them, selling them in pairs. Their nature is intensely hot; they can tonify yin and benefit yang. For elderly men suffering from absolute yang deficiency, consuming them soaked in wine can enable eighty-year-olds to sire children. Their nature is intensely hot, treating all cold syndromes. This substance originates from extremely cold places, precisely due to the generation of yang from extreme yin. Zhu Paishan’s *Ganyuan Xiaoshi* (Brief Records from the Citrus Garden) states: Snow lotus grows in Tibet, where snow persists. In late spring and early summer, it emerges from the snow, resembling a rooster's comb, with flowers and leaves closely mimicking each other. The flower stands about one chi high. Male and female plants grow together; the female has round flowers, the male has pointed flowers, both dark red. Their nature is intensely hot; they dispel cold diseases and aid sexual function. Wealthy families compete to acquire them for treating sexual disorders.

*Luan Yang Xiaoxia Lu* (Summer Amusements by Luan River) records: Beyond the frontier, there is snow lotus, growing in the accumulated snow of lofty mountains, resembling modern daisies, hence named "lotus." It necessarily grows in pairs; the male is slightly larger, the female smaller. However, they do not grow together nor share the same root, usually separated by one or two zhang. Seeing one allows one to find the other without fail, much like *Cuscutae Semen* (Tusizi) and *Poria* (Fuling), which transform from a single qi and are connected by energy. Whenever one spots this flower, approaching silently ensures successful harvesting; if one points it out to others, it shrinks back into the snow, leaving no trace. Even searching during snowfall yields nothing. Plants possess consciousness; the reason is inexplicable. Locals say mountain deities cherish them, perhaps this is true. Growing in extreme cold yet possessing intense heat, this demonstrates that yin and yang qi have excess but never total absence. Accumulated yin congeals externally, while pure yang knots internally. This corresponds to the Kan hexagram, where one yang line is trapped between two yin lines, and the Bo and Fu hexagrams, where one yang line resides above or below five yin lines. However, when soaked in wine as a tonic, it often causes reckless bleeding due to blood heat; if combined with aphrodisiacs, the disaster is even more severe. Heaven and earth require balanced yin and yang for all things to grow; the human body requires balanced yin and yang for meridians to harmonize. Thus, *Suwen* (Basic Questions) states: Excess leads to harm, restraint brings balance. Since Zhu Danxi proposed the theory that "yang is often in excess and yin is often deficient," physicians lost the original intent, often using bitter-cold herbs to damage vital qi. Zhang Jianbin and others overcorrected, leaning excessively toward tonifying yang. Consequently, the misuse of Ginseng (*Ren Shen*), Astragalus (*Huang Qi*), Cinnamon Twig (*Guizhi*), and Aconite Root (*Fuzi*) led to fatal errors. This ignorance of the Yi Jing’s principle of supporting yang, and the warning in the top nine line of the Qian hexagram regarding regret from excessive yang, resulted in increasing desires and widespread frailty. Warm-tonic formulas show quick, minor effects, leading many to believe in them firmly. Therefore, I assert that those who bias toward suppressing yang follow Han Fei’s Legalist philosophy; those who bias toward tonifying yang follow Shang Yang’s strategy for wealth and power. Initially, both yield results, but when imbalances become entrenched and irreversible, the damage to the root is identical. The efficacy of snow lotus, in preventing harm, follows this same logic.

To treat measles that fail to erupt or internalized measles, use only one petal, add it to the decoction, and immediate effect is observed. This has been verified repeatedly (according to Chen Haishu).