一名山药。干者佳。唐避代宗讳。改蓣为薯药。宋避英宗讳。改薯为山药。熟则
湿则滑。惟干实者入药。必以冀州所产为胜。
根味甘。气平。入手足太经阴。补脾肺之气。主治伤中。补虚羸。除烦热。补心气不足。
养
毒
性凉
补肝
泄
药
等分
即散
〔论〕薯蓣味甘。甘益中土。所取者根。其质白色。是味之归形者。肺金也。其气温而
兼平
之气
阴易
益。
为补
至于
中外
乎手
矣。
不宜与面同食。（仲淳）
〔修治〕六味丸。取山药由肺入肾以达茯苓泽泻之用。修合时。但微火烘干。如以理脾。
可
一名苦匏。即苦壶卢。凡用须择细理莹净无 翳者。乃佳。不尔有毒。
瓤及子
气味苦寒。有毒。治大水面目四肢浮肿。及黄胆肿满。利石淋。疗小便不通。治偏
通鼻塞。黄胆肿满。苦壶卢瓤如大枣许。以童便二合。浸之一时。取两酸枣大。纳两
深吸气。待黄水出良。大水胀满。头面洪大。用莹净苦瓠白瓤。捻如豆粒。以面裹煮
空心服七枚。至午当出水一斗。二日水自出不止。大瘦乃瘥。二年内忌咸物。石水腹肿
肢皆削瘦。用苦瓠膜炒一两。杏仁半两炒去皮尖。为末。糊丸小豆大。每饮下十丸。日
水下止。小便不通。胀急者。苦瓠子三十枚炒。蝼蛄三个焙。为末。每冷水服一钱。风
痛。苦壶膜取汁。以苇管灌入鼻中。其气上冲脑门。须臾恶涎流下。其病立愈。除根。
昏晕为疑。干者浸汁亦效。其子为末。吹入亦效。年久头风皆愈。 肉血翳。秋取小柄
或小药壶卢。阴干。于紧小处锯断。内挖一小孔。如眼孔大。将眼皮上下挣开。取壶
定。初虽甚痛苦。然瘀肉血翳皆渐下。不伤睛也。
〔论〕壶卢有甘苦二种。甘者大。苦者小。其质白色。而花亦白。但甘平与苦寒。味绝
不同
华而
如
何
故本经专主治水。而仲景治皮水用之。苏恭利石淋。及小便不通。皆用之。至方书又以治头
风鼻塞。所云惟苦至地。何以更能上行乎。曰。此正肺金之气化。能与足太阳合化之元机
也。阳虽自下而上。然天气之自上而下者。则心肺主之。即如纳鼻吸气以治黄胆肿满。取汁
灌鼻以愈风痰头痛。此非从上气化。而合于下之水化者乎。其化血化痰饮等治。非皆水中气
化。得火金之合。而无留碍者乎。夫足太阳之脉。直者入络脑。而肺气迫于鼻。足阳明之起
于鼻者交 中。旁纳太阳之脉。是手太阴与足太阳由上而合下以化者。固足征也。经曰。肺
和则鼻能知香臭。又曰。五气入鼻。藏于心肺。心肺有病。鼻为之不利。夫心主五臭。何以
属之肺。五气入鼻。又何以不专藏于肺。皆以金之不得离火故也。东垣谓金生于己。亦此义
耳。
【薯蓣】
又名山药。以干燥者为佳。唐代为避代宗李豫的名讳，将“蓣”字改为“薯药”。宋代为避英宗赵曙的名讳，又将“薯”字改为“山药”。煮熟后质地湿滑。只有干燥坚实的薯蓣才入药使用，其中以河北冀州出产的质量最好。
薯蓣的根味甘，气性平，归入手足太阴经（手太阴肺经、足太阴脾经）。能补益脾肺之气。主治内伤虚损，补益虚弱消瘦之体，清除烦热，补益心气不足。
【苦瓠】
又名苦匏，即苦葫芦。凡药用须选择纹理细密、晶莹洁净无斑点的，这样才好，否则有毒。
其瓤及种子气味苦寒，有毒。主治全身面目四肢浮肿，以及黄疸引起的肿胀胀满，通利石淋（尿路结石），治疗小便不通。治疗偏头痛鼻塞，黄疸肿胀胀满时，取如大枣大小的苦葫芦瓤，用童子尿二合浸泡一个时辰，取出制成两枚酸枣大小的丸剂，纳入鼻中深吸气，待黄水流出则疗效良好。对于全身严重水肿，头面肿大者，选用晶莹洁净的苦瓠白瓤，捻成豆粒大小，用面粉包裹煮过，空腹服用七枚，到中午应当排出积水一斗，第二天积水自然排出不止，身体消瘦后病愈。两年内忌食咸物。若是石水（一种水肿病）腹部肿胀，四肢皆消瘦，可用苦瓠膜炒制一两，杏仁半两炒制去皮尖，研为末，糊丸如小豆大，每次饮服十丸，直到水排尽为止。若小便不通，腹胀急迫者，用苦瓠子三十枚炒制，蝼蛄三个焙干，研为末，每次冷水送服一钱。若是风痛，取苦葫芦膜汁液，用芦苇管灌入鼻中，药气上冲至脑门，片刻间恶涎流出，疾病立即痊愈，可除病根。若是因昏晕而怀疑是风症，干品浸汁也有效。将其子研为末，吹入鼻中也有效，多年的头风均可治愈。若有胬肉血翳（眼部病变），秋季取有小柄的小药葫芦或苦葫芦，阴干，在紧小处锯断，内部挖一小孔，如眼孔大小，将眼皮上下撑开，把葫芦对准眼睛固定。起初虽然很痛苦，但瘀肉和血翳都会逐渐脱落，不损伤眼球。
【论】
葫芦有甘、苦两种。甘甜的较大，苦的较小。其质地白色，花也是白色的。但甘平与苦寒，味道截然不同。《本经》专门主治水病，张仲景治疗皮水时使用它，苏恭用于通利石淋及小便不通，都使用了它。到了后世方书又用它治疗头风鼻塞。文中说它“惟苦至地”，为什么更能上行呢？回答说：这正是肺金的气化功能，能与足太阳膀胱经合化的玄机所在。阳气虽然自下而上，然而天气自上而下运行，则由心肺主宰。就像通过鼻腔吸气来治疗黄疸肿胀，取汁液灌鼻来治愈风痰头痛，这难道不是从上焦气化，而配合下焦水化的例子吗？其化血、化痰饮等治疗作用，不都是水中气化，得到火与金相合，而没有留滞阻碍的吗？足太阳膀胱经的直行经脉进入络属脑部，肺气通于鼻，足阳明胃经起于鼻旁交于鼻中，旁边接纳太阳经的脉气，这说明手太阴肺经与足太阳膀胱经由上而下结合以化生，确实是确凿的证据。经文说：“肺气调和则鼻能辨别香臭。”又说：“五气入鼻，藏于心肺。”如果心肺有病，鼻子就会不通利。心主宰五种气味，为什么归属于肺？五气入鼻，为什么不专门藏在肺？这都是因为金不能离开火的缘故。李东垣说“金生于己”，也是这个意思。
另外，不宜与面食同食。（陈实功/仲淳语）
[Shuyu (Dioscorea Opposita)]
Also known as Shanyao. The dried rhizome is preferred. In the Tang Dynasty, to avoid the personal name taboo of Emperor Daizong (Li Yu), "Yu" was changed to "Shuyao". In the Song Dynasty, to avoid the personal name taboo of Emperor Yingzong (Zhao Shu), "Shu" was changed to "Shanyao". When cooked, it becomes moist and slippery. Only the dry and solid rhizomes are used for medicinal purposes, with those produced in Jizhou being considered superior.
The root has a sweet taste and neutral nature, entering the Hand and Foot Taiyin meridians (Hand Taiyin Lung Meridian and Foot Taiyin Spleen Meridian). It tonifies the Qi of the Spleen and Lungs. It mainly treats internal injury and deficiency, supplements emaciation and weakness, clears irritability and heat, and supplements insufficiency of Heart Qi.
[Ku Hu (Bitter Calabash)]
Also known as Ku Bao, which is the bitter gourd/calabash. For medicinal use, one must select those with fine texture, crystal clear, clean, and without spots; otherwise, they may be toxic.
The pulp and seeds have a bitter and cold nature and are toxic. They treat severe edema of the whole body, face, eyes, and limbs, as well as swelling and distension caused by jaundice. They promote urination in lithiasis (urinary calculi) and treat urinary obstruction. To treat hemiplegic headache and nasal congestion, or jaundice with swelling and distension, take a piece of bitter calabash pulp the size of a large date, soak it in two he of child's urine for one shichen (two hours), remove it, form pills the size of two sour jujubes, insert them into the nose, and inhale deeply. When yellow fluid flows out, the effect is good. For severe generalized edema with massive head and face swelling, select clean white pulp of the bitter calabash, roll it into bean-sized pellets, wrap them in flour, boil them, and take seven pellets on an empty stomach. By noon, one should excrete one dou (approx. 10 liters) of water. On the second day, water will continue to excrete naturally until the body becomes thin and the disease heals. Avoid salty foods for two years. For Shishui (edema with abdominal swelling and emaciated limbs), stir-fry one liang of bitter calabash membrane, stir-fry half a liang of Apricot Kernel (Xingren) peeled and de-husked, grind into powder, make pills the size of small beans with paste, and take ten pills per dose with drinkable liquid, until water excretion stops. For urinary obstruction with urgent distension, stir-fry thirty seeds of bitter calabash, bake three earthworms (Lougu), grind into powder, and take one qian per dose with cold water. For wind-pain, extract juice from the bitter calabash membrane, instill it into the nose using a reed tube. The qi rushes up to the brain gate, and after a moment, foul saliva flows down, curing the disease immediately and eliminating the root cause. If dizziness leads to suspicion of wind syndrome, the infusion of the dried form is also effective. Grinding its seeds into powder and blowing them into the nose is also effective, curing chronic cephalalgia. For pterygium and bloody nebula (ocular lesions), in autumn, take a small medicinal gourd or bitter gourd with a handle, dry it in the shade, saw it off at the narrow part, excavate a small hole inside the size of an eye pupil, pull the eyelids open, align the gourd with the eye, and fix it. Although initially very painful, the stasis flesh and blood nebula will gradually fall off without damaging the eyeball.
[Discussion]
Calabashes come in two types: sweet and bitter. The sweet ones are larger, and the bitter ones are smaller. Their texture is white, and their flowers are also white. However, the sweet-neutral and bitter-cold natures differ significantly in taste. The *Shennong Ben Cao Jing* specifically treats water diseases; Zhang Zhongjing used it for Pi Shui (skin edema); Su Gong used it to promote urination in lithiasis and treat urinary obstruction. Later medical texts also used it to treat cephalalgia due to wind and nasal congestion. The text states that "only the bitter reaches the ground," so how can it ascend? The answer is: This is precisely the qi transformation of Metal (Lung), which possesses the mystery of harmonizing with the Foot-Taiyang bladder meridian. Although Yang qi ascends from below, the Heaven Qi descending from above is governed by the Heart and Lung. Just as inhaling through the nose treats jaundice and swelling, and instilling juice into the nose cures wind-phlegm cephalalgia, is this not an example of upper Qi transformation combining with lower Water transformation? Do its treatments for transforming blood and phlegm-fluids not all rely on Water Qi transformation, obtaining the combination of Fire and Metal without stagnation? The straight branch of the Foot-Taiyang meridian enters and connects to the brain; Lung Qi communicates with the nose; the Foot-Yangming Stomach meridian originates beside the nose, crosses the middle, and laterally receives the Taiyang meridian. This proves that the Hand-Taiyin Lung meridian and Foot-Taiyang Bladder meridian combine from above to transform downwards. The classic says: "When Lung Qi is harmonious, the nose can distinguish odors." It also says: "The five Qi enter the nose and are stored in the Heart and Lung." If the Heart and Lung are diseased, the nose becomes obstructed. The Heart governs the five odors, why is it attributed to the Lung? Why do the five Qi entering the nose not store exclusively in the Lung? This is because Metal cannot depart from Fire. Li Dongyuan stated that "Metal is born in Ji," which is the same meaning.
Additionally, it should not be eaten together with wheat products. (Chen Shigong/Zhongchun)
[Processing]
In Liuwei Dihuang Wan, Shuyu is taken to enter the Kidney via the Lung to facilitate the action of Poria (Fuling) and Alisma (Zexie). During processing, it should only be dried over a mild fire. If used to regulate the Spleen...