典藏书目

Eagles catch and eat the meat of various birds to nourish their bodies, and do not consume grasses or trees. In the Song Dynasty, a man kept an eagle that he loved dearly. Believing that eating meat would make the eagle fat and healthy, he daily ordered his cook to skin hundreds of birds, chop the meat into balls, and feed them to it, ensuring it ate until overly full. He mixed spicy flavors like pepper and chili into the meat to make it fragrant and delicious. The eagle ate too much, and soon its crop and intestines rotted and stank, leading to death. This is akin to patients with wind disease (leprosy) who should regulate their diet, keep flavors bland, and nourish themselves with vegetables. If they are not cautious and indulge in rich, sweet, fragrant, and spicy delicacies, it is like the eagle eating seasoned meat patties; this will not only fail to nourish life but also jeopardize the remaining lifespan.

When the whole body breaks out in mottled redness and swelling, presenting red, black, and five-colored patterns, it indicates that cold-dampness, wind-pathogens, and toxic vapors have flowed into the interior, filling the five zang organs and dispersing through the meridians and bones. The disease condition has become severe, with internal pathology manifesting externally.

Humans rely on the circulation and moistening of qi and blood for smooth, lustrous skin and radiant appearance. If the facial complexion appears dark like smoke-stained, dull like coal soot, or uneven like dusty decay, it signifies that qi and blood are no longer contained, internal fluids are dried up, primordial qi is damaged and leaking outward, spirit is deteriorating and departing, and the nutritive and defensive systems are severely diseased. Without rapid rescue, premature death will ensue immediately. The manifestations of wind disease constitution are limited to six types: pain, itching, numbness, ulceration, exhaustion, and distension. Ancient texts state that onset on the head and face is called "Shun Feng" (Smooth Wind), while onset on the waist and feet is called "Ni Feng" (Reverse Wind). If symptoms appear first in the upper part, the pathogen is abundant there; if first in the lower part, the pathogen is abundant below. The collateral branches of the fourteen meridians circle the crown and intersect at Baihui (GV20), where qi and blood circulate ceaselessly day and night. The orifices of the five zang organs all connect to the face. Thus, the face is the convergence point of all yang meridians and uniquely resistant to cold. When various qi forces press upward, organ diseases first manifest on the head and face as qi and blood rise, leading toxins outward. If onset begins between the waist and hips, qi and blood stagnate, and toxins bind and obstruct, causing discomfort above and below. The thick muscles of the thighs cannot store toxins; if disease appears first in the lower part, qi and blood draw toxins downward, making the condition increasingly deep, difficult for medicinal power to reach, and hard to expel. Classics state: the upper half of the body corresponds to Heaven's Yang, and the lower half to Earth's Yin. Onset from above is Yang within Yang; qi exiting from above is favorable, and attacking it easily disperses the pathogen. Qi moving downward is unfavorable, and attacking it yields poor results. Upper onset gathers pathogens above; lower onset gathers pathogens below. Danxi stated: when qi is affected, disease is mostly above; when blood is affected, disease is mostly below. This is because the nature of qi moves upward, and the nature of blood flows downward. Therefore, those with many upper diseases have deficient qi, and those with many lower diseases have exhausted blood. Wind belongs to Yang, while Leprosy (Li) belongs to Yin. Thus, leprosy sores appearing first on the lower body are easier to treat, while those on the neck and face are ominous and carry the risk of residual toxicity. The Stomach and Large Intestine, receiving everything without exception, are called the "Granaries of Hundred Acceptances." Wind-toxic qi accumulates here. When it erupts, it is like a cloth bag holding items; once perforated, everything leaks out. Similarly, in the human body, if there are ulcers, healing cannot be rapid, and toxic vapors gradually exit.

Treatment should guide phlegm out, remove dampness, benefit qi, clear yang, needle Weizhong (BL40), puncture swellings to drain toxic blood. This is the most efficient method. Among thousands of remedies, the principle remains the same. When wind-dampness invades, deficiency fire arises, phlegm moves due to fire, and qi stagnates turbidly, causing toxin aggregation in swollen areas; needling disperses this. For example, treating purple cloud swellings with small moxa cones allows fire energy to penetrate the skin, drawing out pathogens. Weizhong (BL40) is located in the center behind the knees, between the two tendons, also known as Xuehai (SP10) or Blood Pool; bleeding it with a three-edged needle is miraculous. Bafeng (EX-UE11) and Baxie (EX-UE9) are located at the cross-points behind the proximal interphalangeal joints of fingers and toes. Insert a needle straight into the Tiger's Mouth (LI4) area 3 cun deep, using reducing methods, without moxibustion. These meridians, along with Weizhong of the Bladder Meridian, treat leprosy-induced paralysis, insensitivity, contractures, and weakness.

Aconite (Fuzi), Calomel (Qingfen), and Arsenic Trioxide (Pishuang) must strictly never be administered recklessly. Ginseng (Renshen), Astragalus (Huangqi), Atractylodes (Baizhu), Ligusticum (Chuanxiong), and Angelica (Danggui) should be selected carefully. Treatment prioritizes dispelling wind, purging fire, killing parasites, and detoxifying, supplemented by nourishing blood, strengthening yuan, guiding stagnation, and firming sinews. When blood is sufficient, wind dissipates naturally; when qi is clear, wind scatters naturally. This is the definitive teaching of sages, unchangeable through eternity.

There are quacks using the "Eight Generals Soul-Chasing Formula," containing arsenic, ground beetles, centipedes, etc. Others recklessly use ash from Black-banded Snake (Wushao She) and Red-banded Snake (Chi She), secretly adding it to medicine for patients under the guise of "using poison to attack poison," causing great harm. An ancient formula, Zuixian San, used Calomel as the main ingredient. While it might temporarily alleviate symptoms, it leaves toxins in the viscera, causing excruciating pain in all joints until death. It causes swellings to become flaccid. If toxins invade the Heart Meridian, elbows and knees swell and ulcerate, sinews detach. If invading the Liver Meridian, eyebrows and hair fall out, skin becomes shiny but dull. If invading the Spleen Meridian, appetite becomes erratic with hoarseness, eyelids droop causing blindness, flesh hardens with lymph node swellings, mouth deviates, dizziness, and pain occur. If invading the Lung Meridian, phlegm surges, throat obstruction occurs, nose destroys and rots, hands and feet contract. If invading the Kidney Meridian, limping, knee stiffness, joint soreness, brain splitting sensation, and penile ulceration/falling off occur. If invading the Stomach Meridian, whole-body nodules, pus, foul odor, paralysis, distension, diarrhea, dysentery, and abdominal pain occur, becoming lifelong afflictions. Patients with wind-leprosy have intense heat, drying blood and desiccating hair/skin. Adding hot herbs like Aconite (Fuzi) and Sichuan Aconite (Chuanwu) is like throwing wood on a fire. Eyelashes sweep dust away from eyes, hence they blink constantly. If dry heat causes them to fall out, dust enters eyes, causing constant rubbing, leading to redness, ulceration, and major harm. Moreover, if deficiency fire blazes, true water (Kidney Yin) declines. Using Aconite and Wu Tou falsely to tonify Yang only aids fire, dries Yin, depletes Kidney Water, ignites lustful fire, and accelerates death. Others falsely claim using snake/scorpion poison attacks poison to lure wealth, not knowing leprosy forms from accumulated toxins. Adding poisonous drugs is like adding fire to fire, gathering bandits, assisting evil pathogens, penetrating marrow, and destroying life. Can this be used? Wind disease involves blood deficiency, which is Yin deficiency. Quacks prescribe heavy tonification with Ginseng and Astragalus, not realizing Astragalus tonifies Qi, thereby aiding Yang pathogens and consuming Yin blood. Classics state: taking Qi-tonifying herbs when blood is deficient further depletes blood, worsening the disease daily, potentially causing death. Like water in a ditch drying up in the wind, blood deficiency contraindicates Qi-tonifying herbs. Ginseng benefits qi, generates fluids, and harmonizes the middle; it can only be taken post-illness. It aids Taiyin fire, so it is contraindicated for lung heat. Excessive use causes ginseng toxicity, wheezing, and phlegm surge. Scrophularia (Xuanshen) is superior for capturing blood, returning to origin, clearing wandering fire from five zang, and is a key herb for wind disorders. Atractylodes regulates spleen and removes dampness; Ligusticum is the Qi-medicine within blood, moving blood stasis in the qi level; Angelica is the master blood medicine, activating blood to return to meridians. Ancient sayings: To treat wind, one must nourish blood; sufficient blood extinguishes wind. To treat wind, one must regulate qi; clear qi scatters wind. These are profound insights. Strengthening Yuan prevents flaccidity; firming sinews prevents contractures; resolving phlegm clears qi; lowering fire nourishes blood. These are the three essentials of treating wind.

One must abstain from desires and sexual activity, avoid all foods that stir wind, damage blood, ruin qi, such as fishy/fresh meats, pungent-sweet flavors, fruits, melons, noodles, and starches, to prolong life. Otherwise, recurrence is inevitable even after cure.

For wind disease patients, not avoiding toxic foods is the start of aggravation; not abstaining from sex is a sign of accelerated death. Danxi said: Of five treated cases, only one poor woman with a bland diet and few desires lived a long life, due to strict abstinence. Others relapsed due to lack of discipline. Sun Simiao treated dozens, yet none avoided relapse, not because he couldn't cure them, but because they lacked dedicated adherence. Pork and lamb stir qi and wind; beef and donkey meat cause stagnation; liquor stirs fire; wheat/noodles stir dampness; rich and sweet foods must be avoided. Only eel is comprehensive in efficacy; boids, snakes, and clams are best for killing parasites; black duck cools blood and tonifies yuan, aiding medicinal power. Peppers, mustard, green onion, garlic, ginger, and eggplant strongly induce disease and must be cut off. Without strict abstinence, even if cured, toxins will recur, leading to conditions like eczema, bi-syndrome, erosive tinea, eventually becoming fatal.