典藏书目

Zi Hezi, in *Shi Xing San Liao* (Ten Forms and Three Therapies), recorded: Dai Ren treated the wife of Magistrate Wang for a condition characterized by **chest and diaphragm** discomfort. Dai Ren administered a **phlegm-resolving emetic**, from which the patient vomited a snow-white worm, approximately five or six *cun* long, possessing mouth, nose, and teeth, moving within the saliva. The patient, in anger, cut it in half, revealing a single strand of white hair inside.

I consulted historical records: during the Yonghui era, a monk suffered from **yige** (dysphagia/choking sensation); upon opening his abdomen, an object resembling a fish was expelled, which is referred to as a "living mass" (*sheng jia*). In the early Jiajing era, the wife of Zou Biao from Changzhou suffered from a lump on the lower left side of her **abdomen**, shaped like a plum or walnut. After a long time, she vomited it out. Initially, it appeared ulcerated like rice gruel residue; later, it resembled clam meat. When pinched open with fingers, several strands of long hair were found inside. Famous physicians ultimately failed to cure her, leading to her death. I have encountered cases of masses containing snake hair, etc., often recorded in medical texts. This may occasionally arise from food interactions, utilizing blood formation; theoretically, this might exist, and it cannot be dismissed as absurd.

In the spring of the Jiwei year of Hongzhi, a neighbor died after consuming **pufferfish** eggs. Those who ate with him urgently drank foul juice; although they remained unharmed, it took several days for them to recover. It is said that there are three types of this fish that should not be eaten: those with red eyes, those with gray spots on the back, and those with swallow-tail fins. If prepared properly, the rest can be eaten but may trigger chronic diseases. Eating the liver undercooked causes numbness on the skin; eating the meat undercooked causes abdominal distension; eating its eyes causes sourness. Only people from Jiangyin enjoy eating pufferfish eggs; they bury them in the ground for two or three nights, then boil them for a full day with red yeast rice. If the color turns bright red, it is edible; otherwise, consumption leads to death. Those poisoned can use juice from **olive** and **reed rhizome** to detoxify; applying earth slurry also works.

The wife of Liu Wenjie, near her delivery date, accidentally consumed **spotted fish**. That night, her limbs became cold (**sijue**), her chest felt full, her abdomen bloated, qi was obstructed, phlegm surged, breathing was irregular, and after a moment, she screamed and died in agitation. Alas! The spotted fish is less than three *cun* long, yet its shape resembles the pufferfish. Pregnant women should avoid eating it. *Bencao* states that pufferfish is non-toxic; thus, how toxic must the spotted fish be, let alone the pufferfish? I do not fully trust the statements in *Bencao*.

Xi Shangfu discussed: Meat from donkeys or horses that died naturally is poisonous to humans if eaten, especially their livers. Medical books state that horses are "fire animals," possessing a liver but no gallbladder, and lacking sufficient **five zang organs**; therefore, eating their liver causes death. *Records of the Grand Historian* recounts: Duke Mu of Qin lost his horses; wild men caught and ate them, totaling over 300 people. Officials wanted to punish them according to law, but Duke Mu said, "A gentleman does not harm people because of livestock. I hear that those who eat horse meat suffer injury if they do not drink wine." He then gave them all wine and pardoned them. Recently, I saw Ge Sheng become severely ill after eating horse meat. A physician instructed him to drink salt dissolved in boiled wine, which cured him. Thus, wine can detoxify horse meat. Additionally, Zhou Mi in *Guixin Zazhi* stated that horse liver is extremely toxic; however, if one wishes to eat it, boiling it with **peony root** renders it non-toxic. If accidentally ingested, drinking concentrated decoction of peony root can counteract the toxicity.