典藏书目

Chicken, fish, shrimp, crab, and other seafood; mushrooms, shiitake (Xiangxun), rapeseed, scallion, garlic, chili pepper (Dajiao), black pepper, wheat flour products, Chinese chive, alcoholic beverages, sesame, fennel, mutton, tobacco, dried shrimp, yellow croaker, pheasant, bamboo shoots, persimmon, vegetable oil, matsutake (Songgu), eggplant, ginger, winter melon (Fanggua), peach, plum, apple, pear, chestnut, shrimp paste, wood ear mushroom, grape.

Guizhi Tang (Cinnamon Twig Decoction) ingredients: Cinnamomi Ramulus (Guizhi), Asari Radix et Rhizoma (Xixin), Ephedrae Herba (Mahuang), Pinelliae Tuber preparatum (Nanxing), Aconiti Lateralis Radix Preparata (Fuzi), Euphorbiae Pekinensis Radix (Daji), Aconiti Radix (Wutou), Pharbitidis Semen (Heiqiu, divided into white and black varieties).
All the above pungent, dry, and strong-flavored foods, as well as fruits, should be strictly prohibited from consumption. Additionally, washing hands and feet with cold water, walking barefoot on the ground, wading in rain or water, insomnia at night, cooling off outdoors on summer nights, and exerting oneself under the scorching sun during the day can all trigger the disease. One must especially avoid fried and stir-fried foods, and abstain from gambling, anger, and sexual exhaustion. For infants breastfeeding, their mothers must also strictly observe these prohibitions. If one cannot maintain abstinence, not even one in a hundred will show improvement. Even if abstinence is attempted but not sustained, patients often give up halfway due to slow results, wasting all previous efforts. Countless cases of death or disability occur this way, which is truly lamentable. Therefore, those who wish for an easy recovery from this disease must pay close attention to the aforementioned prohibitions.

Pork, pig lung, pig kidney, pig stomach, wild duck, sea cucumber, mussel (Dancai), squid, kelp (Kunbu), daylily (Huanghua), tofu, lotus root starch, mung bean, sweet sauce, soy sauce, fermented soybean (Douchi), rice vinegar, lard, radish, cowpea, lily bulb, glutinous rice, soft-shelled turtle, eel, bean powder, lotus seeds with skin, longan, red date, rice flour, yam, soybean oil, refined sugar, domestic duck, pigeon egg, turtledove.
All the above foods are suitable for clear stewing. Foods that are deep-fried, smoked, or roasted are strictly prohibited and should not be eaten.

In Huangpaoling, about ten li from my residence, the daughter of the Sun family had just been married for a year when nodules appeared on her left neck, protruding like an inverted bowl. There were over forty nodules of various sizes; those that ulcerated had wounds three to four fen deep, weeping blood and serum. Whenever they ulcerated, she would cry out day and night. On her right neck, the largest nodule was the size of a chicken egg, and there were more than ten smaller ones. Initially, a physician used medicine to relieve pain and surgically excised the large nodule. It was extremely hard; the outer layer resembled bone and required an axe to break, revealing jade-white powder inside. At that time, there were only a few nodules, but they multiplied rapidly. The girl's parents considered it an incurable disease. They then consulted my old friend Liu Kaijia, who invited me to the girl's home. Upon examining her pulse, I said, "This is the most severe type of Luoli (scrofula/cervical lymphadenitis). Fortunately, it has not yet progressed to Xulao (consumptive disease), so treatment is still possible, but it will take several months to fully recover." The girl's parents, desperate for her survival, rejoiced and said, "If you can cure her, we are willing to wait patiently for six months or a year, and we will strictly follow all your dietary and lifestyle restrictions." Every seven days, they sent a sedan chair to fetch me. After three to four weeks, the pus and blood dried, and the ulcers began to heal. Within a month, more than half had disappeared. Over the next two months, following internal and external treatments systematically, the nodules on her neck gradually resolved. She took Guipi Wan (Restore the Spleen Pill) and Yangrong Wan (Nourish the Younger Brother Pill) to restore her health, and gave birth to a son the following year.

While walking outside Pinghu Gate in Wuhan (E-yuan), I saw a woman holding a three- or four-year-old child on a boat, crying incessantly. I asked what was wrong. The woman replied, "My child fell ill last night with unknown symptoms, starting with chills and fever, crying until dawn. He kept waving his hands toward his throat, which appeared quite red and swollen, with a nodule on each side. Now his voice is hoarse, and he is exhausted beyond repair." I said, "This condition is called Tiemen Shuan (Iron Door Bolt), a type of Tan (phlegm) disorder. If not treated urgently, the throat gate will close tightly, blocking respiration. You should immediately use sesame oil and rush pith (Dengcao) for external treatment. After fire therapy, the child should be able to cry out." I added, "Since emergency measures have already been taken, there is no further danger." I then prescribed Tiankuizi (Tiankui Root) 3 qian, steamed with rock sugar and drunk. The child recovered in two or three days.

The concubine of my classmate Zhang Ciye suffered from severe Luoli in the Gui Chou year. Zhang was awaiting appointment in the provincial capital, and his concubine accompanied him. I was residing in the Provincial Council at the time, and Zhang invited me to treat her. She reported being five months pregnant, with nodules rising like chicken eggs below both ears, and over twenty smaller nodules like chess pieces along her neck. Below her chin, one nodule had ulcerated and discharged fluid when she drank tea. There were also four or five egg-sized nodules on the inner and outer aspects of both elbows. Her pulse was deep, rapid, and slippery. I diagnosed this as Gouteng Chuang (Gourd Vine Disease, resembling tuberculous lymphadenitis or syphilitic chancre) and stated it was treatable. We used external fire therapy and internal cooling herbs to secure the fetus and resolve stagnation. Any herbs in the prescription that might harm the fetus were removed. After two weeks, granulation tissue formed, appetite returned, and the elbow nodules reduced by seventy percent. Later, she contracted Diphtheria (Baihou) and mistakenly took medication from another doctor, resulting in insomnia all night. I advised that Baihou contraindicates pungent, drying, and dispersing agents, which explains the danger. She resumed my prescription, and sleep and appetite normalized. Weekly fire therapy continued without interruption. The formula focused on resolving stagnation, tonifying the spleen, securing the fetus, and nourishing blood. She recovered within two months and delivered a boy that winter.

My wife's elder brother's concubine lived separately in a villa due to the strictness of the principal wife. Burdened by sorrow and illness, she developed Luoli on both sides of her neck. Her pulse was short and choppy. I said, "This is Jinliu (fibroma/nodule caused by emotional constraint), induced by worry. We must first resolve her emotional depression before treating the physical lesion." After over a month of treatment, the nodules completely disappeared without a trace. However, since her sorrow remained unresolved, the root cause persisted. More than a year later, she died from hemoptysis and deficiency-fire syndrome. The Book of Songs states, "Women are prone to sentimentality." It also says, "Gather its mang." "Mang" refers to Beimu (Fritillaria Bulb), which resolves phlegm and opens depression. Thus, Beimu is a key herb for treating phlegm disorders, especially suitable for women.

A sixteen- or seventeen-year-old girl working in the Pan family's noodle shop in the county town had several Luoli nodules on her neck. My physician had reduced them significantly, repeatedly instructing her to avoid bread and other triggering foods. She initially remembered, but later, impatient with the slow recovery, she listened to another doctor's advice, ignored dietary restrictions, and fed her daughter bread daily. I was away in Mayi at the time. When I returned the following year, neighbors told me the girl had died from the disease over a month prior. Alas! How shallow was the love of Mrs. Pan for her daughter!

My clan grandson's wife had several Luoli nodules on her neck, some as large as chicken eggs. Multiple physicians failed to cure her completely. Upon inquiry, I learned that her husband refused to hire help, forcing her to do household chores like washing clothes and rice in cold water, which could not be avoided, thus preventing healing. Despite my repeated warnings, the grandson did not listen. Months later, she returned for treatment. She now presented with tidal fever and bone-steaming heat, retrograde menstruation with hemoptysis, and established Laozai (tuberculosis). The ulcerated areas oozed pus continuously. I said, "The situation is hopeless; no remedy exists." She died less than half a month later.

An infant in swaddling clothes was brought to my home by his mother for treatment. There was only one nodule below the ear. I applied external therapy, expecting quick recovery. Three or four days later, the mother returned, saying, "The redness and swelling remain unchanged, and the baby cries day and night. What should I do?" I asked, "Have you forbidden cold water baths?" She replied, "Yes, but I stir-fry fresh vegetables with vegetable oil and reduce the amount, thinking it harmless." I said, "Harmful substances are dangerous regardless of quantity." I continued the original treatment and instructed her to avoid cold water and vegetable oil. The baby recovered in a few evenings. Therefore, for breastfeeding infants, mothers must strictly adhere to all prohibitions to ensure smooth treatment.

A fourteen-year-old farm boy had a nodule on his lower back, egg-sized, non-red and non-swollen, and another on his right buttock, bowl-sized. Onset was accompanied by alternating chills and fever, with redness and swelling. I diagnosed this as Chan Yao Tan (Waist-Wrapping Phlegm) and Wei Du Tan (Spinal Phlegm). After nearly half a month of treatment, near recovery, the intense summer heat led him to sit outside the eaves at night. Near midnight, pain and swelling recurred with high fever. His father carried him to me the next morning. I said, "He was injured by dew moisture. Resume the previous treatment and add damp-resolving herbs." Recovery took an additional two weeks. Farmers often walk barefoot in summer, but after fire therapy, shoes must be worn to prevent dampness and cold water exposure. Physicians must warn patients of this to avoid futile medical visits.