《急救仙方》Vol. 3

“Promoting Hemorrhoid Detachment” Method: Although the hemorrhoid is hard, it has not fallen off. This medicine can help it detach on its own. Take two qian of Baicaoshuang, one qian of powdered ginger, and Sichuan aconite root. Grind them into a fine powder, thin it with well water, then dip a brush in the mixture and dab it onto the hemorrhoid. After a short while, the hemorrhoid will fall off.

“Hot Compress” Method: After treatment with a withering medicine—a topical drug that dries up the hemorrhoid so it detaches—if the healthy flesh hurts during a bowel movement as though pricked by needles, and the pain extends to the root of the kidney, warm a piece of clothing over a fire and press it against the painful area three to five times. The pain will then stop.

“Water-Clearing Ointment”: There is concern that toxic fluid from the hemorrhoid’s root may seep out, contaminate the surrounding healthy flesh, and cause sores. To protect the area around the lesion, spread the ointment on oiled paper and apply it there. The paper need not be attached continuously underneath; simply place it over the area.

“Drawing Out Hemorrhoids” Method: Take one qian each of natural magnetite and fresh ginger, and grind them separately into fine powders. Take half a qian of alum, calcine it until dry, and grind it finely. Add three tips of raw Sichuan aconite. Grind the ingredients into a powder, mix it with scallion juice, and apply it to the anal opening. Once the hemorrhoid’s nipple-like tip protrudes, use the withering medicine.

Another prescription: Calcine magnetite, quench it in vinegar nine times, grind it into powder, and wash it with water to remove impurities by settling. Separately, grind together calcined alum, large aconite, pangolin scales, and borax. Use it in the same way as the previous prescription. Once the hemorrhoid protrudes, switch to a cleansing medicine.

“Song of the Twenty-Four Types of Hemorrhoids”: This condition is often caused by excess in five areas: drinking alcohol, sexual indulgence, anger, exposure to wind, and irregular eating.

Hemorrhoids are divided into twenty-four kinds, grouped into eight sets of three. Examine them carefully; do not let the illness linger. If it worsens, its appearance alone can make a person shudder. The water-chestnut hemorrhoid has a strange shape, and the lotus hemorrhoid is hard to look at. There are also the bowel-perforating hemorrhoid and the mouse-nipple hemorrhoid. These conditions are often associated with drinking alcohol and sexual excess. Other kinds include the flower-turning hemorrhoid, the honeycomb hemorrhoid, male and female hemorrhoids, mother-and-child hemorrhoids, and the coiled-bowel hemorrhoid. The Dark Pearl hemorrhoid has an even stranger shape, while the bowel-hooking hemorrhoid causes piercing pain. The walnut hemorrhoid and the flowing-Qi hemorrhoid are also troubling. The □-zi hemorrhoid grows inside, while the chicken-heart hemorrhoid develops outside. The coral hemorrhoid has a frightening appearance, and there is also the danger of rectal prolapse. Internal hemorrhoids are red and do not protrude; the bowel-entwining hemorrhoid coils around inside. The hanging-pearl hemorrhoid is harder still to treat, and in a long-standing case it may become comb-shaped. Never casually cut or cauterize the affected area, lest this endanger life. With suitable medicines, the root of the illness can also be removed.

The following are methods for using the medicines.

Red-Flesh Paste, for treating hemorrhoids.

Take one qian each of cinnabar and red lead, and half a qian of frankincense; grind each finely. Take one liang of white alum and half a liang of arsenic. First spread the white alum as a base and heat-calcine it until it is about seventy percent done; then add three croton seeds.

Grind the ingredients above into a fine powder. For each use, take two qian of the powder and simmer it together with three cantharides and one liang of sesame oil, until the cantharides and croton seeds turn red. Remove these two ingredients and use only the oil to mix with the powder, making a paste. Apply it as a plaster, sized to the affected area. Replace it every one or two days and inspect the area after about six or seven days. When the affected area turns black, stop using this paste and switch to “Breaking Medicine.” Whether or not the affected area has already broken open, a paper wick dipped in the medicine may be inserted into the sore.

Golden Flower Powder, for washing hemorrhoids.

Take half a qian of Wumingyi, one liang of phellodendron bark, half a liang of coptis, and half a sheng of raw black beans. Grind into a fine powder. Wash the affected area with warm water, then apply Sea-Clam Powder.

Dragon Bone and Sea-Clam Powder.

Take one liang of elm seeds, one qian each of dragon bone and sea clam, and half a qian of calcined litharge. Grind into a fine powder. Sprinkle the powder over the affected area first, then apply a hemorrhoid plaster. Replace the dressing once a day.

Frankincense Paste, for applying to hemorrhoids.

Take equal parts of evodia, bletilla, ampelopsis root, coptis, phellodendron bark, and Chinese angelica.

Take four liang of sesame oil and add a willow branch three chi and four cun long. Boil them together until the branch turns black. Add the medicinal powder prepared earlier, then add the plaster for external application to hemorrhoids. Apply once a day.

Frankincense Plaster, for external application to hemorrhoids

Cornelian cherry, Bletilla rhizome, Chinese actinidia root, Chinese goldthread, Amur cork tree bark, and Chinese angelica root, in equal amounts.

Take four liang of sesame oil and add a willow branch three chi and four cun long. Boil them together until the branch turns black. Add the medicinal powder prepared earlier and continue boiling until the liquid turns purple. Strain out the dregs through silk, then bring the liquid to a boil several more times. Add litharge and one or two qian of frankincense, and cook until it forms a paste. Store it in a ceramic jar. Apply a small amount to the sore; it is said to act quickly.

For treating hemorrhoids: First take medicine to clear blood stagnation, twice a day, then take the medicine for hemorrhoids.

Angelica Drink, for clearing blood stagnation

Chinese goldthread, hemp seed, and Chinese angelica root, half a liang each.

Grind the ingredients into powder. Take one qian at a time, chew it, and wash it down with warm wine. In addition, just before a bowel movement, take one Tongzhen Pill.

Tongzhen Pill, simmered with ginger

Prepared galangal, prepared chebula, cinnamon bark with the skin removed, costus root, nutmeg, Psoralea fruit, fennel, fenugreek, and sal ammoniac, one qian each.

Grind the ingredients together and mix them with vinegar-thickened flour paste to form pills the size of wutong seeds. Take one qian’s worth of the medicine with Chinese quince and ginger. Wrap it in damp paper and simmer until fragrant and cooked through, then wash it down with warm wine.

Xia Gao Powder, for loss of appetite

Kushen, one liang; prepared zedoary, peeled Alpinia oxyphylla fruit, and roasted Japanese catnip flower spikes, one liang each.

Grind the ingredients into powder. Take one qian at a time with one cup of water. Add ginger and honey, simmer until reduced to eight-tenths, then add salt. Take on an empty stomach.

Intestinal-Washing Rhinoceros-Horn Powder

Drynaria rhizome and pangolin scales, stir-fried with clam powder, two liang each; licorice root and raw corydalis rhizome, half a liang each.

Grind the ingredients into a fine powder. Take half a qian at a time, mixed with tea, on an empty stomach.

Pain-Relieving Wheat Decoction Powder

Talc, three qian; soft-shelled turtle shell, half a qian; Sichuan aconite, with the skin and tips removed, one liang; large-leaved gentian root, half a qian; and hogfennel root, half a liang.

Grind the above ingredients into a fine powder. Take two qian each time and boil them with thirty-five wheat grains until the liquid is reduced to seventy percent of its original amount. Drink it warm. It may be taken at any time; benefit should be seen after three or four doses.

Black Spirit Astragalus Powder

One liang each of Chinese ink, one ox horn, one snake slough, three whole areca nuts, Sichuan pangolin scales, Vitex seeds, black dog spine (with the hair, root, shell, and outer skin removed), and white …; half a liang of yellow Jingzi; and ten Zaojiao pods called “cai ya.”

Grind the above ingredients into a fine powder. Take five snake gourds, remove the seeds, and fill them with the powder. Place them in a new earthenware jar, seal it with yellow clay, and fire it until the smoke has cleared. Remove the contents, grind them into powder, and add one qian each of myrrh and green costus root.

Take seven and a half liang of white Wu Yu and one liang of Schizonepeta. Grind them into a fine powder and mix it with the prepared medicinal liquid. Take two qian each time, washed down with walnut wine, three times daily; it may also be taken with tea.

Wind-Dispelling Powder

Equal parts croton seeds (with the oil removed), prepared rhubarb, mirabilite, “qi” shell, and aged tangerine peel (with the coarse outer layer removed). Grind the ingredients into a fine powder. Take two qian each time, boil in one cup of water until reduced to seventy percent, and drink warm. If bowel movements remain difficult after taking it, it may be taken again after two or three days.

Mu Tong Powder

One qian of ginseng; equal parts blister beetles (roasted, with shells, legs, and wings removed), wormseed, rhubarb, oyster shells (calcined), and bitter orange; half a liang of Hua Cheng Qie; and a little clove.

Grind the above ingredients into a fine powder and form pills the size of Chinese parasol tree seeds using glutinous rice paste. Take five pills each time, washed down with prepared sugar water. The source specifically cautions that this medicine may be unsuitable for use.

Pus-Draining Paste

Equal parts sea gold dust, frankincense, white Bletilla rhizome, and realgar. Grind into a fine powder, place it in the wound, then cover with frankincense plaster.

Plantain Powder

One qian each of food Sichuan pepper, plantain seeds, realgar, frankincense, red bole, and dragon bone, used raw. Grind the above ingredients into a fine powder and sprinkle it over the wound, then apply frankincense plaster to hold it in place. Do this twice daily. If the wound is dry …

Take one qian each of Sichuan pepper, plantain seed, realgar, frankincense, red halloysite, and dragon bone. Use them raw, grind them together into a fine powder, and sprinkle it over the sore. Then apply frankincense salve and press it in place. Do this twice a day. If the sore is dry, apply only the frankincense salve. If clear, watery fluid is draining from it, pour in the medicine below and apply the green salve.

Qing Salve for Watery Discharge

Take three Chinese gallnuts and one qian each of raw corydalis and alum. Grind them into a fine powder and take a small amount each time. If clear, watery fluid is draining, put the powder on paper, cover it with medicated plaster, and insert the paper into the sore.

Golden Flower Powder

Take one liang each of turmeric, honey-fried licorice, prepared dried ginger, and stir-fried sophora flower. Grind them into a fine powder. Take two qian each time on an empty stomach, with rice water made by boiling aged rice.

Pangolin Scale Powder

Take one liang each of Chinese gallnut and raw Sichuan pangolin scale. Stir-fry them until charred black but with their medicinal properties still intact, then grind them into a fine powder. If bloody fluid is discharged, take two qian each time on an empty stomach, with aged-rice water.

Bowel-Relieving Powder: For Bloody Diarrhea from Intestinal Toxins

The formula is listed under the name “yearling, fairy herb, and sheng, each 10 guan; guanzhong, one liang.” Grind into a fine powder. Take two qian each time, mixed with wine infused with musk. The names and dosages of the herbs in the original are corrupted and confused, so they are transcribed here as they appear in the surviving text.

For internal hemorrhoids, first apply scallion-juice salve, then take Bowel-Washing Angelica Pills, followed by Blood-Removing Angelica Powder and Blood-Removing Coptis Pills. The next day, apply Red Flesh Salve. While taking the medicines, avoid foods thought to cause blood toxins to congeal and stagnate. When taking medicine to dispel wind, do not rub or move the affected area. If foul fluid drains out, damaging the surrounding healthy flesh and forming a sore, use Harmonizing Wind Salve. If the affected area restricts movement, spread the medicine on cotton, place it over the hemorrhoid, support it with a cotton pad, and bind it with cloth. Change the dressing twice a day: use it for ten days in severe cases and eight days in milder cases.

If the hemorrhoids affect the intestines, or there is severe malignant stagnation and pain around the waist, apply cinnamon-bark salve to the waist. If there is distressing, oppressive pain, take Heart-Opening Powder daily, then take, in order, Dingge Powder, Baked Ginger Pills, and Immature Bitter Orange Powder. Wash the area with Sea Clam Powder and apply frankincense salve. To reduce the hemorrhoids and regulate the intestines, apply Hemorrhoid-Reducing, Intestine-Regulating Powder; to constrict the intestines, apply Summit Powder.

If hemorrhoids remain unhealed for a long time, they may develop into fistulas. Even without abstaining from alcohol or sexual activity, one should take medicine for treatment. First, use a thin paper wick to probe the size and depth of the opening. Then take Tongzhen Pills and Astragalus Powder. Apply Red-Flesh Paste to a paper wick and insert it into the lesion five or six times a day. Separately, shape Frankincense Paste into a paper wick and place it against the opening once a day. After doing this three to five times, the medicine can be inserted into the lesion. When removing dead tissue, if blood-tinged fluid flows out, stop inserting the medicine for the time being. First apply Pus-Collecting Paste for three days, then wash the lesion with a cleansing medicine for three days. After that, sprinkle Dragon Bone and Clam-Shell Powder and Plantain Powder into the opening twice a day, while also taking medicine internally, for no more than three doses. Once the medicine reaches deep inside, fluid flowing out indicates that the treatment is beginning to take effect.

There is another reportedly highly effective prescription for hemorrhoids:

Arsenic (the original does not specify which substance this name refers to) and frankincense, half a qian each; alum, saltpeter, and green vitriol, one liang each; and a little musk.

Use an iron or copper pot. Put the “arsenic” in the bottom first, then layer alum, green vitriol, and saltpeter over it, in that order. Once the ingredients melt into a liquid, add powdered frankincense and stir. When the mixture has hardened like stone, remove it and leave it on the ground overnight to disperse its “fire toxin”—the dry, hot toxicity attributed to medicines after calcination. Grind it into a fine powder, then add the musk and grind them together, along with a little borneol. Mix with saliva and apply around the lesion three times a day. It is said that the hemorrhoidal mass will dry up and fall off on its own.

Another prescription: Soak bitter orange in water and remove the pulp. Peel each pair of fruits and place a single croton seed between them, then tie them together with thread. Put them in a silver or stone vessel, add rice vinegar until it stands about a finger’s breadth above the ingredients, and boil until the vinegar has dried up. Remove the croton seeds, roast the bitter orange until dry, and grind it into powder. Mix with vinegar to form pills. Take fifteen pills at a time on an empty stomach with tea, or swallow them with saliva.

For intestinal bleeding with bloody stools, a term for one kind of blood in the stool, take Stomach-Calming Powder with added teasel root, decocted and taken.

Another prescription: add forty-nine grains of wheat and omit Japanese angelica root (xuduan).

For hemorrhoids that have ulcerated and broken open, place equal amounts of cured lard and lotus receptacles in a pot. Heat over a low flame, and when they begin to smoke lightly, fumigate the affected area.

For bloody stools caused by pathogenic Wind, grind Chinese gallnuts into a fine powder. Take two qian each time, washed down with musk wine.

For treating hemorrhoids:

Four liang of alum, one fen of green vitriol, half a liang of arsenic, and half a liang of mirabilite.

Combine the alum and mirabilite, and put a small portion into a Jian bowl (a ceramic tea bowl). Place the arsenic in one whole piece in the center, then cover it with the remaining powder. Heat it from all sides using about two jin of charcoal. Once the medicinal liquid boils, let it dry, then cover it with fine powder and store it in a ceramic container. The medicine must be calcined over a fire for a long time; it is effective when it turns yellow and causes no pain when used. If it turns red, do not use it.

For external hemorrhoids, the amount of alum may be halved. To make the medicine act more quickly, mix it with saliva before applying; to reduce pain, mix it with licorice decoction. The medicine can be stored for a long time without spoiling and can also relieve pain. First boil cogongrass roots in water and wash the affected area while the liquid is hot, then apply the medicine. Change the application three to five times during the day and night.

Hemorrhoids that flare up and cause pain are often accompanied by constipation. Take Broad-Bowel Pills and ensure the bowels move freely. Do not use smoke to fumigate the inside of the intestine, as this will cause harm. In hot weather, add herb soot and mix the medicine with red lead before applying.

After hemorrhoids have fallen off, if the anus is swollen and painful, wash it with a decoction of pagoda-tree bark. Then mix the medicine with saliva, grind bitter orange on a roof tile, and apply it. If the anus cannot contract, prepare a decoction of scouring rush and mirabilite and apply it as a wash; usually one or two applications are enough to produce results. Before the hemorrhoids fall off, boil yellow citrus peel and mint in water, mix the medicine with saliva, and apply it to the anus. This is especially suitable in summer.

The following is the initial prescription for the cleansing wash:

Akebia stem, baical skullcap root, phellodendron bark, and black beans.

Boil the ingredients, then wash the affected area with the hot liquid three times in succession.

End of juan nine of Emergency Rescue Immortal Prescriptions.

The ninth scroll of Immortal Remedies for Emergencies concludes here.

Treatise on the Methods of the Supreme Clarity Purple Court Immortal Remedy for Expelling Consumptive Disease

This text has been passed down for a long time. Its author calls himself “the old man,” but his name is unknown. I dare not presume to supply one; those who know more about the matter may investigate it.

Throughout my life, I have studied medicine and pharmacology, treated patients in critical condition, carefully read medical books such as the Mingtang on acupuncture and moxibustion, consulted the classics, examined the waxing and waning of the Five Viscera, and reflected on the medical arts of the ancients. People in the world often find these principles difficult to investigate. For example, what caused Duke Jing of Jin to die, and how was the Crown Prince of Guo brought back to life? Scraping bone and rejoining sinews, or opening the abdomen to remove diseased matter, are even more remarkable examples of medical skill.

Among illnesses, transmitted corpse disease—the ancient name for certain contagious, persistent forms of consumption—is the most difficult to identify. Though it begins in one person, it can take many forms as it progresses. If a physician can distinguish the pulse and determine the root of the illness, treatment is not difficult. Even a small mistake, however, may lead to grave consequences. The ancients held that transmitted consumptive disease was caused by the spread of calamity through the Three Corpses demons and possessing spirits, and the Nine Worms, a term used in ancient medical texts for disease-causing creatures within the body. Here I will describe its origins in detail, to help those who do not yet understand them.

General Discussion of Transmitted Consumptive Disease

The wasting disease known as “corpse-transmitted consumption” (a disease ancient people believed to be contagious and passed down through generations) was thought to begin when the mind and spirit became afflicted: Qi became constrained and the blood stagnated, thereby forming worms. Excesses in eating, drinking, and sexual activity, as well as excessive worry and depletion of Jing and Qi, could all lead to this illness. The saying “worms transform into gu” means that after blood congeals, Qi nourishes it. Qi and blood retained in the womb become healthy vital energy; when Qi stagnates, lumps form, and when they gather around the heart, they are called worms. These accounts all attribute the illness to an imbalance of the mind and spirit, and to depletion through worry and brooding.

The “Three Corpses and Nine Worms,” a concept in Daoist texts used to explain disease-causing worms within the body, were said to cause harm, and treatment required understanding their nature. Of the nine worms, six were said to pass through six generations, while the other three—the hedgehog worm, roundworm, and pinworm—were not contagious. Some of the six transmissible worms were thought to arise from hidden pathogens within the body; others were said to spread through close contact among relatives.

When the illness first took hold, a person would become mentally unsettled and breathe irregularly. At this stage, it was especially important to abstain from alcohol and sex and regulate one’s diet. Otherwise, symptoms might arise such as vexing heat in the five centers (the palms, soles, and center of the chest), night sweats associated with the heart and kidneys, and a restless, pounding heart. If this condition persisted for ten days, the person might rapidly become emaciated, with a yellow, glossy complexion. If they trusted an unscrupulous ritual master and sought blessings recklessly, or received mistaken treatment from an incompetent physician, the illness could drag on for years. By the time the patient recognized its severity, the consequences might no longer be reversible. After the patient died, their siblings, descendants, and relatives might continue to be affected generation after generation, eventually endangering the whole family.

The scripture says that the six worms travel through four parts of the body every ten days, then repeat the cycle. The illness flares when it encounters Wood Qi, and the worms begin feeding only after the first day of spring. During an outbreak, they feed once every three days and withdraw after five days. The whole body aches during an outbreak, supposedly because the worms are feeding. Once they withdraw, they return to their lairs and sleep in a drunken stupor for five days, and the illness temporarily subsides. Talismans and medicines should be applied only after the worms have withdrawn and fallen asleep; at the wrong time, the treatments may make them harder to subdue. Each kind of worm travels through twelve places in the body, so the six worms occupy seventy-two places in all. A month is divided into three ten-day periods. In the first period, the worms’ heads point upward as they travel from the heart to four places in the head; in the middle period, their heads point inward as they travel from the heart to four places near the navel; in the final period, their heads point downward as they travel from the navel to four places in the feet. Anyone applying talismans or medicines must know where the worms are. The scripture also says that the worms can sense the effects of medicine, so treatment requires careful assessment. To remove the worms without replenishing the body is shallow, rash practice: it wastes money and cannot cure the illness at its root.

The master said that the first step in treating corpse-transmitted consumption is to understand that healthy vital energy and poisonous Qi operate together. According to the scripture, when the Qi of the internal organs stagnates, it forms worm-like shapes; male worms grow on Yang days and female worms on Yin days. The worms first feed on the fatty tissue of the organs, which makes them white. Once the five Zang organs and six Fu organs are damaged, a person’s skin becomes loose and wrinkled and their hair falls out. In women, menstruation stops; the blood vessels are damaged and can no longer nourish the organs. After seventy days, the body’s flesh and blood have been consumed, and the worms turn yellowish red. As the muscles are damaged, the person grows steadily thinner; food can no longer be transformed into muscle, the sinews slacken, and the body struggles to support itself. After one hundred and twenty days, the flesh and blood are exhausted, the worms turn purple, and they begin to consume the Jing and marrow. When the worms enter the kidneys and feed on Jing and Qi, they turn black. Once they consume the bone marrow, the person becomes weak and powerless, bedridden and unable to rise.

The scripture also says that worms which remain for a long time grow hair. Their hair is mottled in color and gathers the Qi of the five Zang organs and Five Phases. After being transmitted to three people, they can fly and take on the shape of birds, in many different forms. If they enter the Kidney channel and leave a person debilitated and bedridden, there is no way to save them. According to old methods, when the worms are white, they may first be purged from the body, followed by thirty days of medicinal treatment to restore the patient. When they are yellowish red, the restorative treatment lasts sixty days. When they are purple-black, the illness has penetrated deeply and treatment must continue for one hundred and twenty days. Another account says that if the worms’ heads are red and they are consuming the patient’s flesh and blood, treatment is still possible; if their mouths are white and they are consuming the patient’s marrow, they are difficult to cure, and the only recourse is to prevent further transmission to descendants. The scripture says that if treatment begins within sixty days of the illness’s onset, about seven or eight people out of ten can be saved; if it begins within eighty days, about three or four out of ten can be saved. Beyond that point, whether a person’s life can be preserved is uncertain, and treatment can only aim to spare future generations from the harm.

Later.

First generation: Treatment for a worm-like illness using a daily wandering diet

“Early-stage consumption disease” refers to the period just after a person has contracted the illness, when its cause is still unclear. The patient continues to eat and drink as usual, but gradually begins to feel their body growing thin. If treatment is delayed, the illness worsens. When a doctor does not understand its cause and prescribes the wrong medicine, the patient often dies as a result.

According to the text, after entering the body and taking up residence there, these worms vary in size. They disrupt sleep and dreams, unsettle the mind and spirit, scatter the attention, reduce appetite, and cause the body to waste away. Other symptoms include aching limbs, weary joints, alternating chills and fever, stiffness and tightness in the back, headache, a bitter mouth and dry tongue, a poor complexion, clear nasal discharge, frequent spontaneous sweating, difficulty walking, and eye pain.

The text also says that the worms become active on the bing and ding days. After gorging themselves, they return to the area of the Heart-Shu point—a point on the back associated with the heart—and cycle repeatedly among four points. Treatment is suitable only when the worms are heavily intoxicated: moxibustion is used to draw them out, followed by the powder for nourishing the heart and guarding the spirit. Moxibustion is a traditional therapy that warms acupuncture points with burning mugwort.

Second generation

“Recognized consumption disease” refers to an illness that has already passed into the patient, who has also become aware of being ill. The patient often has ominous dreams at night, accompanied in dreams by the dead. On waking, they feel low, dazed as if drunk, and mentally unsettled. Everything they eat seems to trigger the illness. At times, they may also suffer rebellious Qi and abundant phlegm, be affected by what is called “wind toxin,” experience discomfort in the limbs and tightness in the chest, and gradually waste away, with their joints becoming withered.

Other possible symptoms include vomiting sour fluid, acid rising in the stomach, dry and chapped lips, a bitter mouth, nasal congestion, chest pain, aching in the back, frequent spontaneous sweating, and stabbing pain in the lower back and knees. These symptoms should be treated promptly. If treatment is delayed too long, the illness becomes difficult to cure and may even threaten the patient’s life.

The worms mentioned earlier can cause shortness of breath, dry lips and mouth, worsening cough and aversion to cold, irritability and chest tightness, brittle, scorched hair that falls out, abdominal distension and acid reflux, and a gradual loss of bodily fluids followed by frequent thirst. Other symptoms include clear nasal discharge, weakness in the limbs, a red or yellow complexion, dry, emaciated skin, weakness in the lower back and knees, aching along the spine, vomiting blood or pus, difficulty speaking, nasal congestion and headache, and excessive phlegm in the chest. In severe cases, the person feels oppressed in the chest and vomits blood, then may collapse rigidly to the ground and lose consciousness.

It is said that these worms feed on Geng and Xin days. Once drunk, they return to the Feishu points, located on the back and associated with the lungs. They take turns moving among four points in a repeating cycle. Treatment is possible only when the worms are heavily intoxicated: a physician removes them and then regulates and replenishes lung Qi, after which the symptoms improve and the person’s weakness can be remedied.

Third Generation

The Third Generation refers to “transmitted corpse consumption,” a wasting illness said to pass from one person to another. The patient grows thinner by the day, then undergoes a sudden change in appearance, living in constant anxiety and fearing each night that death is near. Without a skilled physician, death may be imminent.

The worms mentioned earlier can cause stagnation in the Three Burners—the upper, middle, and lower functional regions of the internal organs—and frequent drowsiness. The person may vomit bitter fluid or clear water; the mouth may taste sweet or bitter, and sticky saliva may obstruct the throat without clearing. Abdominal distension and rumbling in the intestines may follow. Sleep is easily interrupted by sudden waking; sores appear in the mouth and nose, the lips turn black, and the complexion becomes bluish. The body grows thinner, the mind becomes unsteady, and the Hun and Po seem unsettled. Food is difficult to digest, breathing becomes labored, the voice grows hoarse, and the eyes are often blurred and teary.

It is said that these worms feed on the Gengyin day. Once drunk, they return to the Jueyin point, associated with the Jueyin meridian. They take turns moving among four points in a repeating cycle. Treatment is possible only when the worms are heavily intoxicated. After removing them, one regulates and replenishes Qi, and the illness will usually improve.

Fourth Generation

The worms of this generation resemble tangled threads and hide among the organs in the abdomen.

The worms of this generation resemble pig’s lungs and hide in the abdomen.

The worms of this generation resemble snakes or venomous serpents and hide among the five internal organs.

These worms, described earlier, live as parasites inside the human body. They weaken the internal organs and cause rumbling in the stomach and intestines, vomiting, and damage to the body’s central Qi. Other possible symptoms include alternating chills and fever, abdominal swelling, prominent tendons and veins, pain in the lower back, weakness and weight loss, irregular diarrhea, difficulty walking, wasted limbs, shortness of breath, and a bitter taste in the mouth with a dry tongue. Patients eat and drink a great deal but still constantly crave sour or salty foods.

These worms are active on the days of Wu and Ji. After feeding, they return in a drunken state to the Spleen Shu point, a point on the back corresponding to the spleen, and circulate repeatedly along the limbs. Treatment is possible only when the worms are thoroughly drunk. After removing them, the spleen must also be regulated and nourished for the patient to recover. The “Spleen Shu,” the “days of Wu and Ji,” and the worms’ activity are concepts drawn from the Daoist medical and divinatory framework of the scripture.

Fifth generation:

This worm is shaped like a rat, or like a small bottle. It forms a seamless whole, with no distinction between inside and outside, or front and back.

At times this worm appears to have a head but no feet; at other times, feet but no head.

Its form is constantly changing. It resembles essence and blood, and dwells in the Yang Palace.

These worms enter the Liver channel and then settle in the Kidneys. After absorbing Blood and Qi, they undergo changes. They make a person prone to anger, with Qi surging upward; the tendons and bones contract, and the limbs grow weak. The lips turn black and the complexion bluish. The person alternates between chills and fever, suffers pain in the lower back and spine, and lacks the strength to rise or sit down. Headaches feel as though the head has been struck with an axe. The eyes often hurt, seem veiled by a film, and water more than usual. There may be stabbing pain in the shoulders and back, general weakness and emaciation, and withered hands and feet. The patient often remains bedridden and struggles to move, as if afflicted by wind-stroke; the limbs become numb, and the abdomen often hurts. Black spots appear before the eyes. At times, the person suddenly collapses and loses consciousness. Dreams often bring ominous portents, and on waking the whole body is drenched in cold sweat.

Some people retain their usual healthy, rosy complexion when the illness strikes. Others seem to possess spiritual insight and can tell what will happen in the future. After feeding on the day of Guiwei—a day in the traditional sexagenary cycle—these worms return in a drunken state to the Liver Shu point, an acupuncture point on the back corresponding to the Liver. They take turns staying among four points, repeating the cycle. They can be treated only when they are thoroughly drunk. After the worms are removed, the Liver must also be nourished and restored for the illness to be cured.

Sixth Generation

The worms of this generation have fully formed wings and legs. They can travel far and spread illness; these so-called “flying corpses” cannot be treated by ordinary methods.

One kind of worm resembles a horse’s tail. There are two, one female and one male.

Another kind resembles a tortoise and hides in the person’s five viscera.

Another kind resembles a lump of rotten dough. It varies in length, and some resemble flying birds.

The worms mentioned earlier dwell in the kidneys and are connected to the spine. They make a person ravenously hungry and eager to eat anything, yet the person gradually grows thin and weak in the lower back and knees. Other symptoms include cold marrow, heat in the bones, and withered limbs. At times, the vision seems filled with sparks of fire; at others, it grows dim. The ears often ring with a hollow sound. The genital area may be damp and sweaty, or dry and itchy; cold sweat may also break out, with perspiration as oily as grease. Dreams of intercourse with ghosts are common.

In addition, the urine becomes yellow or reddish, and the person wakes feeling dazed and muddled. A hard lump forms below the navel, and at times Qi surges upward into the chest. Things may appear veiled in bright colors; the chest and abdomen feel troubled and restless; the joints ache; and appetite comes and goes. There may also be shortness of breath and coughing.

It is said that these worms feed on the days of Chou and Hai in the Chinese calendar. Once drunk, they return to the Shenshu points—points on the back corresponding to the kidneys—and take turns dwelling in the four points, repeating the cycle. When the worms are thoroughly intoxicated, treatment can be given. After removing them, the person should be nursed back to health with medicines that tonify the kidneys and replenish Jing (essence). The formula mentioned here is called Chaiyu Yingsan.

This is Su You’s account.

The symptoms of illnesses called “transmitted corpse” usually first appear in the chest: tightness and distension in the chest and flanks (the sides of the chest), pain and feverish discomfort in the back, blurred vision, and weakness in the limbs. The patient wants to lie down and rest but often cannot sleep. The back feels stiff and painful, and the lower back and knees feel weak and sore. The patient lies down much of the time and gets up little, appearing as though they are pretending to be ill.

Each morning, the patient may seem to have a fair amount of energy, as if nothing is wrong. After midday, the limbs grow slightly warm, the complexion turns pale, and the patient likes to watch people pass by. They often feel angry and flare up over the slightest displeasure. When walking or standing, their feet feel weak. At night they sweat in their sleep, dream of consorting with ghosts or of the dead, and are often startled and afraid. At times they gasp for breath; at others, they cough. Though they want to eat, they can manage only a little, and the illness is critical.

Sometimes the patient appears to be in fairly good spirits, but has occasional diarrhea, distension and weakness in both flanks, a dry mouth and nose, and frequent sticky phlegm. At times the lips turn red; at others, the patient becomes drowsy. The body gradually grows thin and weak, like a fish in a drying pool, while the patient remains unaware that the illness is nearing its end.

It is also said that transmitted corpse illness often arises without any obvious cause and may afflict anyone, regardless of age or sex. The ancients believed it began when the Five Phases overcome one another: the pathogenic force took root inside the body, and its toxic Qi spread through the five viscera, gradually wasting the person away until death. After the patient died, the illness would pass to someone else in the household. This is why it was called “transmitted corpse,” or “transmitted contagion.” At first, when the patient alternately lies down and gets up, the condition is called “concealment and collapse.” When gasping and coughing appear, it is called “lung atrophy and cough.” Fever in the joints and deep within the body is called “bone steaming.” When the pathogenic force spreads further into the five viscera, the condition is called “recurrence and spread.” The ancients believed that without treatment, the illness could strike the members of a household one after another. When men or women developed the illness through debility, it was called “extreme exhaustion.” In the Wu and Chu regions it was called “dribbling,” while in Ba and Shu it was also called “extreme exhaustion.”

The course of this illness begins in the kidneys. When the kidneys are first affected, the channels in the lower back and both legs ache, and the lower back becomes stiff and tight. The feet feel weak when walking or standing. Appetite declines, and the ears often hear a whistling sound like wind. At night, there may be involuntary urination or seminal emission during sleep, sweating in the genital area, and a general feeling of weakness and exhaustion.

After affecting the kidneys, the illness next passes to the heart. When the heart is first affected, the person is easily startled awake at night and often feels afraid, with palpitations and a sensation that something is suspended in the chest. Breathing becomes faint, as if about to stop. The person may dream of people who have died. Sometimes there is night sweating, food tastes bland, sores appear in the mouth, and the heart feels agitated and hot; the person wants only to lie down and sleep. Symptoms are milder in the morning and worse in the evening. The cheeks and lips turn red, as if rouged; at times, the palms and soles also feel hot and restless.

After affecting the heart, the illness next passes to the lungs. When the lungs are first affected, there is coughing and loss of strength, with a dull ache in the chest. Sometimes breathing becomes labored, and symptoms worsen after exertion. The nose and mouth are dry, and the person cannot distinguish pleasant from foul odors. If a smell is detected, it seems only like something decayed and rotten. Sometimes there is nausea and mental confusion, with an urge to vomit. The skin becomes dry and often painful, or feels as if insects are crawling over it. Fine flakes of dry skin peel away, resembling bran.

After affecting the lungs, the illness next passes to the liver. When the liver is first affected, vision becomes blurred and the face loses its color. The person often frowns and cannot see far. The eyes are persistently dry and gritty; at times they become red and painful, or the whites turn yellow. In both morning and evening, the person feels dull and hazy and often wants to close their eyes. Yet when it is time to sleep, they are often unable to do so.

After affecting the liver, the illness next passes to the spleen. When the spleen is first affected, the sides of the rib cage feel distended, and food is difficult to digest. Sometimes there is diarrhea, with what appears to be worms in the stool. At times the abdomen hurts, becomes bloated, and rumbles like thunder; the lips become dry and cracked, or sores and swellings appear. The hair becomes dry, tangled, and dull. Sometimes Qi surges upward, causing the shoulders to lift as the person gasps for breath and brings up reddish-black mucus. When these symptoms appear, the condition is considered difficult to treat.

Here, “passes” refers to the account in ancient medical texts that explains changes in the course of illness through transmission among the Five Viscera. The symptoms listed in the passage are descriptions from traditional medicine.

Bone steaming, yandie, recurrent transmission, corpse affliction, consumptive affliction, worm affliction, toxic affliction, heat affliction, ling affliction, food affliction, ghost affliction, and others were all called “transmitted-corpse disease,” an old term for a group of severe, lingering illnesses believed to spread from person to person. The word zhu means “to pour into” or “to transmit.” The ancients believed that disease qi descended from above and entered the body. Because the illness seemed to pass on to others, it was called zhu.

These illnesses were said to take twenty-two, thirty-six, or even ninety-nine different forms. In general, they could cause alternating chills and fever, night sweats, dreams of sexual intercourse with ghosts, seminal emissions, cloudy urine, and dry, bristling hair. Sometimes lumps appeared in the abdomen, or several small nodules formed on either side of the back of the head, appearing and disappearing over time. Patients might also become despondent and cough up copious phlegm, or cough up pus and blood, with symptoms resembling lung atrophy or lung abscess. They might develop diarrhea, grow progressively thinner and weaker, and be unable to support their own bodies. The illness could persist for months or even years and ultimately prove fatal. The ancients also believed that the disease of the deceased could continue to spread to their relatives, in severe cases wiping out an entire family.

There were also flying-worm, hidden-corpse, cold-corpse, mourning-corpse, and corpse-affliction diseases, collectively called the “Five Corpse Diseases,” as well as illnesses known as “great attached affliction” and “small attached affliction.” Patients often could not say where they felt discomfort; their whole bodies simply felt unwell. The ancients believed these illnesses were also accompanied by ghostly forces harming the body. Their symptoms were numerous and constantly changing, making them difficult to predict; from ancient times to the present, few people were truly cured. As for remedies involving raccoon bones, otter liver, the human skullcap, or a copper nose lock, the author considers them empty talk with no practical effect. The author believes that only moxibustion at Gaohuangshu, an acupoint on the back, using the Cui family’s method, might offer some hope—perhaps about a fifty percent chance—if treatment begins early. In the late stages, moxibustion is unlikely to work.

Various Symptoms of Consumptive Disease

The patient fears the cold but also develops a high fever, sweats spontaneously, has a pale complexion, dry eyes, and a bitter taste in the mouth. Their mind becomes confused and unsettled, and they are afraid to go out alone. The ancients believed this meant the disease qi had reached the liver.

The patient alternates between chills and fever, has a dark complexion and a dry nose, appears confused and becomes forgetful, and has difficulty passing stool, though at times the stool is loose and watery. Sores may also develop in the mouth. The ancients believed this meant the disease qi had reached the heart.

The patient fears the cold and also develops a fever, has a bluish complexion and yellow lips, and finds the tongue stiff and difficult to move. Food tastes bland, the limbs grow thin, and saliva dribbles from the mouth. The ancients believed this meant the disease qi had reached the spleen.

The patient experiences alternating chills and fever, a flushed face, a dry nose, and thirst. The body hair becomes dry and falls out; the patient coughs and breathes rapidly, sometimes bringing up white sputum or sputum streaked with blood. This indicates that the pathogenic influence has reached the lungs.

The patient experiences chills and fever, a yellowish complexion, and dry outer ears. The joints ache, and the urine is bloody and cloudy, or dribbles without stopping. This indicates that the pathogenic influence has reached the kidneys.

The condition called “consumptive steaming” is divided into twenty-four types, each of which can be distinguished by its symptoms. Loss of eyebrows, brittle, scorched hair, and rough, cracked skin indicate that the pathogenic influence is steaming the spleen.

The body feels hot to another person’s touch, but the patient feels cold and shakes violently. This indicates that the pathogenic influence is steaming the muscles.

Scorched hair, nosebleeds, or blood in the urine indicate that the pathogenic influence is steaming the blood.

The body suddenly becomes hot, the patient feels restless and agitated, and the pain is like a pinprick. This indicates that the pathogenic influence is steaming the channels.

Dry, brittle nails, blurred vision, and tight, painful flanks indicate that the pathogenic influence is steaming the sinews.

Blackened teeth and tooth roots that are painful and dry, together with soreness at the Dazhu acupuncture point, indicate that the pathogenic influence is steaming the bones.

Pain in the back and spine, and aching in the bones of the lower legs, indicate that the pathogenic influence is steaming the brain.

In men, involuntary emission of semen; in women, involuntary sexual arousal. These indicate that the pathogenic influence is steaming the Jade Chamber, referring to the reproductive organs.

Alternating chills and fever, discomfort in the upper abdomen, swollen eyelids, and inner agitation indicate that the pathogenic influence is steaming the Triple Burner, the upper, middle, and lower burners in Chinese medicine.

Yellow-red urine that is cloudy and thick like paste indicates that the pathogenic influence is steaming the bladder.

Difficulty passing stool, alternating bouts of diarrhea and constipation, and rumbling in the abdomen indicate that the pathogenic influence is steaming the small intestine.

Abdominal distension with a dull ache, and dryness and pain on the right side of the nose, indicate that the pathogenic influence is steaming the large intestine.

Dryness of the mouth and nose, abdominal distension, restless sleep, and persistent spontaneous sweating indicate that the pathogenic influence is steaming the stomach.

A bitter taste in the mouth, deafness, and pain beneath the ribs are signs that “steaming” pathogenic influence has affected the gallbladder. Cramping in the abdomen, a heavy, obstructed feeling during bowel movements, and blockage of the anus are signs that it has affected the ileum, the lower section of the small intestine.

Pain in the lower abdomen, slack and weak sinews, and involuntary erection of the genital organ are signs that “steaming” has affected the zongjin, the region governing the genital organ and its associated sinews.

Blurred vision and tearing, sometimes accompanied by dizziness and vertigo, along with irritability, a quick temper, and unstable emotions, are signs that “steaming” has affected the liver.

Dry, withered ears, aching pain in the lower back and legs, and difficulty with everyday activities are signs that “steaming” has affected the kidneys.

A troubled, unsettled mind, involuntary nocturnal emissions, and a continuous flow of semen are signs that “steaming” has affected the right kidney and the heart’s bao luo, the network of channels associated with the heart and reproductive function.

A blocked, constricted feeling in the chest and diaphragm, attacks of pain, and distress when bending forward or leaning back are signs that “steaming” has affected the diaphragm.

Though these symptoms differ, their underlying cause is often related to infestation by worms. When treating illnesses of the heart and lungs, this root cause must also be eliminated.

Bathing method

Fragrant herbs are loathed by the Three Corpses and Nine Worms. Boil them in water and bathe with it, and the worms will die. Of all the illnesses people suffer from today, none is more serious than consumption. Even the finest physicians across the land have difficulty curing it. Once someone falls ill, the disease often spreads to their descendants, in-laws, and clanspeople. That is why it is called “transmitted consumption.” It can bring ruin upon an entire household or clan, and so everyone fears it. Some people burn the bodies of the dead or send their coffins out onto rivers and lakes, refusing to bury the sick in the ground. Kinfolk set aside the bonds of blood, and spouses abandon the vows they once shared. This misery is truly heartbreaking and deserving of pity.

As soon as someone realizes they have this illness, they should first destroy the Three Corpses and Nine Worms. Without doing so, medicine will have no effect, and scarcely one person in ten will survive. People often keep this method hidden and do not pass it on, believing illness to be retribution for deeds in a former life and resigning themselves to suffer until death. This belief is mistaken. I now record a prescription handed down by the highest sages, in the hope that it may save lives.

In the third or fourth month, gather five leaves of fragrant herb and pound them to a paste. Remove your clothes and sit on the paste, allowing its fragrance to enter the lower part of the body and then spread through the abdomen. Do this from morning until night, and the Three Corpses and Nine Worms will all be expelled. The Three Corpses and Nine Worms dwell constantly in the human body, eager to take human lives. On each Gengshen day, they report a person’s transgressions to Heaven, causing that person to die young.

Thus, the Collected Teachings of the Scripture on the Three Corpses of Lord Lao says: When people are born, their bodies depend on their parents and receive the vital essence of the Five Grains. Therefore, everyone has corpse worms in the abdomen, where they harm the body. On the night of Gengshen, the corpse worms report a person’s transgressions to the Heavenly Emperor. The Heavenly Emperor records these offenses and strikes the person’s name from the register of life and death, causing them to die soon: the Hun soul rises to Heaven, the Po soul sinks into the depths, and only the corpse worms remain in the human world, becoming ghosts. If they are not offered sacrifices at the proper times, the corpse worms will wreak havoc and endanger a person’s life.

The method of observing Gengshen.

People live in the world in great numbers, whether they are kings and ministers, monks and Daoist practitioners, or ordinary people. Women are especially severely affected by this illness. Those who cultivate the Dao cannot seek long life unless they eliminate the “Three Corpses and Nine Worms”—entities that, according to Daoist belief, dwell in the human body, harm body and mind, and obstruct cultivation.

On each Gengshen day, one of the days in the sexagenary cycle, practitioners should stay awake through the night and keep watch until dawn. They may sleep only when they feel tired and weakened, and should have someone wake them frequently. In this way, the Three Corpses cannot leave the body and ascend to Heaven to make their report.

The Great Emperor’s Mysterious Statutes (Dadi Xuanke) says: “On the eighth day of the sixth month and on Gengshen days, the Northern Emperor opens the gates of all beings and hears petitions concerning every kind of ritual service. When a person’s accumulated offenses reach five hundred, that person is certain to die.” Therefore, one should keep vigil on Gengshen days to subdue the Three Corpses. Keeping these vigils over a long period can sever the Three Corpses’ hold, leaving the mind and spirit clear and the Five Spirits at peace.

Whenever the worm spirits stir at night, click the teeth thirty-six times, cup the heart with the left hand, and call the Three Corpses by name: Upper Corpse Peng Ju, Middle Corpse Peng Zhi, and Lower Corpse Peng Jiao. This will keep them from causing harm. As a regular practice, trim the fingernails on Gengshen days and the toenails on Chou days, another day in the sexagenary cycle. On the sixteenth day of the seventh month each year, burn the clippings from the fingernails and toenails to ash and swallow them with water. It is said that this destroys all the Three Corpses and Nine Worms. This practice is called “Slaying the Three Corpses.”

Method for Preparing Medicines

Whenever preparing medicine, first observe purification, focus the mind with reverence, and burn incense. Clean a room and keep out chickens, dogs, cats, children, women, and anything else considered impure. Then proceed with the verification.

In Hunan, there was an elder whose Daoist name was Qing. On the twelfth day of the eighth month in the second year of Tianfu under the Southern Yue, he obtained an old prescription said to date from the time of the King of Yue. It began with the King of Yue’s account, followed by a medicinal prescription and methods for using talismans. Afterward, Qing used this method to treat more than ten thousand people. In the ninth year of Chunhua, he passed it on to Counselor Ding. Later, in the seventh year of Xiangfu, a Thunder Envoy obtained the prescription and saved more than a hundred people.

The account left by the King of Yue says: The household of the prince consort Liu Zhi had more than three hundred people. The family bought a maid surnamed Feng, whose given name was Pengshu. She suddenly came down with alternating chills and fever, and medicine had no effect. After more than a hundred days, she had grown extremely weak and suddenly died. Within five days, Liu Zhi’s son Liu Xiang, who was twenty years old, suddenly contracted the same illness as the maid. After more than a hundred days of treatment with medicine, he too suddenly died. Later, more than a hundred other people fell ill with the same disease, and all died of it.

Not long afterward, the prince consort also suddenly developed chills and fever, and medicine was ineffective. The King of Yue posted a notice at the palace gate, summoning renowned physicians and giving them ten days to diagnose and treat the illness. When Li Tong, a Daoist from Mount Mao, came into the city, he asked the Heavenly Envoy about the illness. The envoy said, “No one recognizes this disease. Can you treat it?” Li Tong replied, “This disease takes many forms. Some people die without any apparent cause; others receive things in dreams, see insects, or dream of traveling with someone. Some dream of drinking and eating with others, talking with them, or encountering an evil wind while coming and going. Patients may have chills and fever, or they may cough. The illness can also spread to the relatives of those who were sick before. Their clothes and household belongings can become contaminated with the disease energy as well.

“The contagious energy of this illness carries corpse worms. The corpse worms mostly fly into clothing and bedding, where they turn into eggs. As soon as they come into contact with a person’s Qi and blood, they immediately become worms. They enter through the hair and pores, first feeding on the blood vessels, then gnawing at the five viscera, causing the person to grow thinner day by day. Once the worms have gnawed into the heart, they turn into ghosts, and medicine can no longer cure the illness. If they have not yet reached the heart, the patient can be cured by taking medicine and using talismanic methods to expel the worms. After the disease energy has spread eight or nine times, if only corpse energy remains and there are no longer any worms, taking medicine to expel foul matter that is blue-yellow and glue-like will also bring the patient safely through.

“Immediately remove the patient’s clothing and dispose of all belongings used by the dead. Do not let these things remain in the house for three days, and do not have the patient gather or store them. If you do not believe this and leave the things close at hand as before, you will contract the illness just as the people did earlier.” Liu Zhi then boiled the “Ghost-Crying Decoction.”

A formula for treating “transmitted corpse consumption” (an old term for contagious, persistent pulmonary illnesses) and the so-called “consumption worms” within the body is called “Ghost-Crying Decoction.”

The ingredients are: the crown of the skull, roasted with clarified butter; softshell turtle shell, roasted with clarified butter; bupleurum, with its roots removed; asafoetida, benzoin, and Japanese shield fern; twenty-one peach kernels, with their skins and tips removed; ten parts costus root; half a he measure of fermented black beans; half a handful of sweet wormwood; two inches of raw licorice root, chopped; one part each of areca nut; half a part of cinnabar, ground separately; and one qian of musk, ground separately.

Also take a barefoot centipede, place it in a bamboo tube, and soak it in ginger juice. Once dry, use one part. Then take one part of black chicken droppings: first feed the black chicken hemp seeds continuously for five days, then collect its droppings for the formula.

First grind betel nut and four other medicinal ingredients into a fine powder. Mix them thoroughly and divide the powder into three portions, for three separate doses. Take the medicine on a Jian or Chu day within the six Jia days (specific days in the traditional sexagenary calendar).

First soak the eleven ingredients listed above overnight in two sheng of a boy’s urine. Place the medicines outdoors, where the stars are visible, and decoct them at the fourth watch, reducing the liquid to about four-fifths of its original volume. Strain out the dregs and divide the liquid into three portions. For each dose, take one portion of the powder together with one portion of the liquid.

At the beginning of the fifth watch, while the liquid is still warm, drink one dose all at once, then lie down and sleep peacefully. After two or three shichen, take the second dose. At sunrise, if you feel the need to move your bowels, wait until you do; if you feel no such urge, take the third dose. If you have already moved your bowels, there is no need to take the third dose.

Catch the excrement and worms that are expelled in a basin. The scripture says the worms may resemble dung beetles, snakes, centipedes, spiders, or earthworms. Immediately burn the worms and excrement with oil and fire. Also remove and burn the clothes and bedding that have been in contact with the body. After taking the medicine, eat scallion porridge. The scripture says that dreaming of someone weeping and taking leave during the night, several days after taking the medicine, confirms its efficacy.

The scripture also says that if the extracted worms have blue, red, or yellow mouths, the illness may still be treated; if their mouths are black or white, it is considered incurable, though future harm can still be prevented. When preparing this medicine, do not let the patient smell it or know about it, and keep the patient away while it is being decocted. The medicine must not be prepared in the patient’s home.

Treating consumption by extracting worms: the empirical Tianlinggai Powder. This is an empirical prescription for treating consumption and extracting the so-called “worms”; it is called “Tianlinggai Powder.”

First take a piece about the size of two fingers from the crown of the skull, wash it clean with water boiled with sandalwood, then coat it with ghee and roast it while reciting this incantation seven times: “Spirit of Thunder, holy Mother of Lightning, when you encounter consumptive disease, you must bring it to an end. Hasten, in accordance with the statutes and commands.”

Grind two fen of asafoetida into a fine powder. Separately grind three fen of musk, one fen of cinnabar, and three fen of benzoin. Chop the benzoin with a copper knife, place it in a mortar and grind it, then mix it with the other medicines. Take five chicken-heart-shaped areca nuts and grind them into powder. Grind two fen of chained Euphorbia kansui into powder; one version of the prescription omits this ingredient.

Grind all six ingredients to a very fine powder and mix them evenly. Take three large qian each time, washed down with the decoction prepared below.

Take fourteen stalks each of Chinese chives and scallions, two handfuls of sweet wormwood, and two stalks of licorice, each about five inches long. Also take two handfuls each of peach twigs, willow twigs, mulberry root bark (another version gives mulberry twigs), and sour pomegranate root (another version gives pomegranate twigs), each handful about seven inches long. Choose tender peach twigs and the other branches that grow toward the southeast.

Gather the herbs in a clean place. Put four sheng of a young boy’s urine in a silver or stone vessel and simmer it, alternating low and high heat, until the liquid is reduced to one sheng. Strain out the herbs and divide the liquid into three cups to mix with the powder prepared earlier. Take it at the fifth watch, before dawn: if the patient is male, a woman should prepare the medicine; if the patient is female, a man should prepare it.

If you feel you are about to vomit after taking the medicine, use white plum flesh to stop the vomiting. Near the end of the fifth watch, rumbling in the abdomen is taken by the prescription to mean that worms, yellow water, and abnormal stool or other matter are about to be expelled. If nothing is expelled after one dose, wait as long as it takes to walk five to seven li, then take another dose. Take a third dose at daybreak, warming the liquid before drinking it each time. If diarrhea continues without stopping, grind equal amounts of dragon bone and coptis root into powder, mix five qian with warm water, and then eat white plum congee to recuperate.

The following is an account of the prescription’s actual effects.

The old man Yan received this remarkable prescription from the old man Lao, and it repeatedly proved effective when used. I have appended one or two cases here so that later readers may learn of its therapeutic effects.

On Its Verified Effects

The daughter-in-law of You Lie, an official from Shaowuning who served as a Vice Director of the Bureau of Offices, fell ill at the age of sixteen. Her whole body was feverish, and she coughed up phlegm and saliva. Her menstruation stopped and she lost her appetite. She was ill for more than a year, and many doctors failed to cure her. She later took the Tianlinggai Powder, a formula named for the human skull, and expelled a worm shaped like a centipede. Someone used tongs to put it into a pan of boiling oil, then threw it into the river. After that, she recovered.

A man in his thirties had been weak and ill for a long time. He ate a great deal but could not put on flesh. He needed to eat meat every day; if he became even slightly hungry, his abdomen would hurt, and he would feel tired and weak. He took the Tianlinggai Powder and expelled ten small red worms. One was slightly purple, larger than the others, and had fine hairs on its head. He was then treated with further medicines to restore his health and recovered. He also took genuine Suhexiang Pills.

A fifty-year-old man drank several liters of wine every day. If he did not drink on an empty stomach, his hands and feet would tremble. After drinking a liter, the shaking eased somewhat; when he became drunk, his hands and feet stopped trembling. People commonly called this “wine sickness.” The doctors thought it was “wind tremor,” but repeated acupuncture and medication over many days had no effect. They then suspected a worm disorder. After taking the Tianlinggai Powder, the man expelled something like a dark plum. When it was prodded, it proved to have legs and looked very much like a spider. His illness immediately disappeared, and he stopped drinking wine as well. These effects are indeed as described. Anyone investigating cases of this kind should examine them carefully.

The “Musk Powder” recorded in The Upper Clarity Purple Court Immortal Prescriptions for Pursuing and Treating Consumptive Disease was used to treat steaming bone fever caused by “corpse transmission” in men and women, as well as illnesses known as the “five consumptions” and related conditions. “Corpse transmission” was an ancient term for certain diseases believed to spread from person to person and gradually damage the body. “Steaming bone” refers to a prolonged fever, with heat felt as if it were rising from within the bones.

The prescription lists one fen each of human skullcap and musk, one liang of bupleurum, and half a liang of rhinoceros horn shavings; one handful each of donkey-hide gelatin, peach twigs growing toward the east, sweet wormwood, willow twigs growing toward the east, and pomegranate peel; three inches of licorice root, measured to the length of the patient’s middle finger; and seven inches each of Chinese chive bulbs and scallion whites. The original phrase “men left, women right” means that the ingredient is taken from the left or right side according to the patient’s sex.

Grind the medicinal ingredients listed above into a fine powder and soak them overnight in two and a half sheng of a boy’s urine. The next day, boil the mixture in the morning and evening until one sheng and a half of liquid remains, then strain out the dregs and take it. If the patient is a man, a woman should prepare the medicine; if the patient is a woman, a man should prepare it. While the medicine is boiling, keep cats, chickens, dogs, donkeys, horses, Buddhist monks and nuns, pregnant women, strangers, and people in mourning away so they cannot see it.

When the medicine is ready, divide it into three doses. Add three qian of powdered betel nut to each dose and take it warm. Take one dose, then wait about as long as it takes to walk three to five li before taking the next. If you are worried about nausea, hold a white plum in your mouth to prevent vomiting. After taking three to five doses, if the illness is stopped, foreign matter will be expelled in the stool. If you pass worms resembling hair or a horse’s tail, your body turns red and your mouth turns black, or you feel something crawling over your body like ants in a sensation that is hard to describe, you may drink scallion porridge after purging to restore your strength, while taking a decoction of Fushen Powder to nourish the Five Viscera.

For one month while taking the medicine, avoid exposure to wind and abstain from greasy foods, damp dough foods, salty foods, and the meat of cattle, pigs, chickens, ducks, and dogs. The scripture says that taking this medicine can bring recovery the same day. For treating “taxation illness”—a condition the scripture describes as persistent and difficult to cure—it must be taken continuously for many days, or even a year. If the root of the illness has not been completely removed, this formula may be used. For a long-standing or severe illness, take no more than two doses; for a mild case, one dose is enough.

Fushen Powder is used for illnesses of varying duration. The scripture says that if red worms are passed, the condition can still be treated. If the worms’ abdomens are black, whether the patient can be cured is uncertain. If their abdomens are white, this indicates that they have eaten into the bone marrow, and the condition is almost incurable. In that case, take the restorative formula Fushen Powder.

One liang each of Fushen, Fuling, ginseng, Yuanzhi with the pith removed, dragon bone, cinnamon, licorice, and dried tangerine peel, stir-fried; one and a half liang each of Chinese angelica and Schisandra; two liang of astragalus; and fifty-six jujubes.

Grind these ingredients into a fine powder and divide it into eight doses. For each dose, take one portion of the powder, add seven jujubes and two qian of fresh ginger, and boil in one and a half sheng of water until one sheng remains. Take it after the preceding medicine, or on an empty stomach. The scripture says that its effects are remarkable and describes it as a proven secret formula transmitted by a divine being, which has saved hundreds of people over the years.

Miraculous-Effect Powder: Used to treat various forms of “consumptive disease with transmissible qi”—an ancient term for certain illnesses believed to spread from person to person and to be caused by consumptive worms. It was said to kill the worms. This formula was passed down from the Prince of Heyuan’s residence and reportedly treated many people; its efficacy was said to be beyond measure.

Take two jin of Sichuan pepper. Remove the peppercorns that have no seeds or whose seed openings are closed. Dry-fry the rest until they release moisture, then grind them into powder. Take two qian per dose on an empty stomach, mixed with rice water. Alternatively, use wine and flour paste to make pills the size of parasol-tree seeds; take thirty to fifty pills per dose.

Immortal Secret Prescription: Expelling Consumptive Worms.

Grind the medicine into powder. Take two qian per dose on an empty stomach, mixed with rice water. Alternatively, use wine and flour paste to make pills the size of parasol-tree seeds; take thirty to fifty pills per dose.

Immortal Secret Prescription: Expelling Consumptive Worms.

Take seven stems each of green mulberry bark, willow branch, plum branch, pomegranate branch (one version omits this ingredient), and peach branch that grew facing east. Each stem should be about four cun long. Also take seven scallions, one qian of asafoetida, ground separately, one fen of genuine benzoin, with any stony impurities removed, and a handful of green mugwort. If green mugwort is unavailable, use mugwort seeds instead.

Except for the asafoetida and benzoin, decoct the other ingredients in one and a half sheng of a young boy’s urine. When the liquid has reduced by half, strain out the herbs. Dissolve the asafoetida and benzoin in the liquid, then boil it for ten or so rolling boils. Strain out the dregs, let the liquid cool until warm, and divide it into two doses.

Separately grind cinnabar and betel nut into powder, half a qian of each; grind a little musk separately. Grind all three ingredients very finely and divide them into two doses. Take one at the first watch before dawn and the second at around three o’clock. Around the hour of the Snake, the medicine should begin to warm and, according to the formula, the worms should be expelled. The worms are said to be red if there is still hope of saving the patient, and green if the illness is considered incurable.

Place the expelled worms immediately in hot oil and fry them to kill them. Then give the patient hot congee and hot rice, and keep them warm and resting. Avoid cold or raw foods and anything considered poisonous. Also give the patient paper pills beforehand; their preparation is described below.

Choose an auspicious day to prepare the medicine, burn incense, and offer prayers to Heaven and Earth. Have the patient set up a bed in the direction associated with blessings and virtue before taking the medicine. The formula also says not to tell the patient what ingredients are in the medicine beforehand, and not to let cats or dogs, people wearing mourning clothes, those considered impure, or women see it.

Golden Clarity Powder, used to replenish those whose liver has been exhausted by extreme strain.

Ginseng, anemarrhena rhizome, poria, clove, gentiana macrophylla with the root crown removed, honey-fried licorice root, and calcined gypsum. The medicinal aromas must not be smelled by cats or dogs, people in mourning, those in unclean places, women, and others.

Golden Clarity Powder, used to replenish those whose liver has been exhausted by extreme strain.

Take equal amounts of ginseng, anemarrhena rhizome, poria, clove, gentiana macrophylla with the root crown removed, honey-fried licorice root, and calcined gypsum.

Grind the ingredients into a fine powder. Take two qian at a time. Add a three-inch length of the white part of a scallion to one cup of water, and boil until about four-fifths remains. Drink warm.

Vigil-Soul Powder, used to replenish those whose heart has been exhausted by extreme strain.

One liang each of white poria, clove, and chebula; and one fen each of platycodon root, peony root, notopterygium root, and honey-fried licorice root.

Grind the ingredients into a fine powder. Take two qian at a time. Add a silver earring and a three-inch length of the white part of a scallion to one cup of water, and boil until about four-fifths remains. Drink warm.

Soul-Rest Powder, used to replenish those whose spleen has been exhausted by extreme strain.

One qian each of white medicinal yam, platycodon root, ginseng, chebula peel, poria, honey-fried licorice root, and clove.

Grind the ingredients into a fine powder. Take two qian at a time. Add one fen of honey to one cup of water. Drink warm.

Soul-Rest Powder, used to replenish those whose spleen has been exhausted by extreme strain.

One qian each of white medicinal yam, platycodon root, ginseng, chebula peel, poria, honey-fried licorice root, and clove.

Grind the ingredients into a fine powder. Take two qian at a time. Add a spoonful of honey to one cup of water, and boil until about four-fifths remains. Drink warm.

Deficiency-Forming Powder, used to replenish those whose lungs have been exhausted by extreme strain.

Half a liang each of immature bitter orange with the pith, peel, and core removed; gentiana macrophylla with the peel and core removed; white poria; peony root; ephedra with the joints removed; corydalis; and angelica, washed and prepared as described in the source text; and half a liang of toasted fennel. One fen of honey-fried licorice root.

Grind the ingredients into an extremely fine powder. Take two qian at a time. Add a pair of silver earrings and five drops of honey to one cup of water, and boil until about four-fifths remains. Drink warm.

Infant-Nurturing Powder, used to regulate and replenish kidney deficiency and exhaustion.

One fen each of black-fried cyperus rhizome, prepared aconite (one piece), aucklandia root, and white tribulus with its spines removed; half a liang of white poria; and one qian of honey-fried licorice root.

Grind the ingredients into a fine powder. Take two qian at a time. Add seven slices of ginger and the white part of a scallion to one cup of water, and boil until about seven-tenths remains. Take on an empty stomach.

Here, “extreme strain” and “deficiency and exhaustion” are terms used in ancient medical texts for disorders involving exhaustion and weakness of the internal organs. A fen, qian, and liang are traditional units of medicinal weight. The source text describes adding a silver earring to the medicine while boiling it, a special practice found in ancient formula books.

“Dragon Gall Pill” is used to treat emaciation and weakness caused by accumulated heat, along with poor appetite. It is also used to clear and drain congested pathogenic heat, disperse sores and swellings, ease discomfort in the muscles and bones, and resolve stagnant toxic influences.

The prescription lists Chinese gentian, bupleurum, cortex lycii, and scutellaria. Another version omits scutellaria and adds poria and vinegar-fried soft-shelled turtle shell, one liang of each. It also includes peach kernels, with the skin and tips removed; gardenia; aged tangerine peel; Chinese angelica; rhubarb; and honey-fried licorice, half a liang of each. Grind the ingredients into a fine powder and make pills the size of parasol tree seeds with refined honey. Take twenty pills on an empty stomach with warm water. Reduce the number as appropriate for children.

“Peerless Pill” is used to treat what was called “transmitted corpse consumption,” an old term for a kind of contagious wasting illness. The source says it can be cured after taking the pills for a month; other forms of wasting and emaciation may respond after several doses.

The prescription contains placenta, also called human placenta, two liang. Boil it in vinegar, soak it overnight, then dry it over a low heat and grind it into powder. Add peony and vinegar-fried soft-shelled turtle shell, half a liang of each. It also lists balloon flower, huanglian, prepared rhubarb, honey-fried licorice, Chinese gentian, sophora root, yellow yam, anemarrhena, fritillaria with the core removed, Autumn Stone ground to powder, fermented soybean heart calcined over a fire, zedoary, sal ammoniac, and rhinoceros horn shavings, two fen of each. The source notes that one version of the prescription omits rhinoceros horn. Grind the ingredients into a fine powder and make pills the size of parasol tree seeds with refined honey. Take twenty pills with warm wine. For intestinal worms or heat in the abdomen, take them before meals; if the heat is above the diaphragm, take them after meals.

The first “Life-Saving Powder” prescription lists vinegar-fried soft-shelled turtle shell; the skull of the Heavenly Spirit Cover, soaked in vinegar overnight, coated with butter, and roasted until yellow; bupleurum with the rootlets removed; sweet wormwood; and anemarrhena, one liang of each. Add licorice and ginseng, half a liang of each; four pieces of asafoetida the size of dates; a handful of scallion whites; and twenty-one peach kernels, with the skin and tips removed and toasted with bran.

A later entry for “Life-Saving Powder” repeats the same prescription and specifies twenty-one peach kernels.

Grind the skullcap and softshell turtle shell into a fine powder. Add ginseng, anemarrhena, bupleurum, and licorice, and pound them all together. Then add the white part of scallions, sweet wormwood, peach kernels, and asafoetida. Pound the mixture into a cake, dry it over a low fire, and grind it into powder. Weigh out two qian for each dose and boil it in two bowls of a young boy’s urine until reduced to one bowl. Strain out the dregs, then leave the liquid outdoors overnight to receive the dew of the stars. At the third quarter of the fifth watch, around the early morning hours, slowly drink half a bowl, then cover the patient with clothing and bedding and let them rest in bed. After daybreak, warm the remaining medicine and drink the other half. Then support the patient as they walk five to seven steps. For three days, do not wash the hands, face, or fingers; the growth of hair is taken as evidence that the medicine has worked. Each morning, first eat “Baiyang Touzhi.” (The name of this medicine, or the wording here, is uncertain in the original; it is retained as written.)

Tianzhu Huang Drink

Tianzhu Huang and Mai Men Dong, with the cores removed, one liang each; ginseng, poria, licorice, Xia Shen, raw rehmannia, dried Yuanzhi with the cores removed, fangfeng, and dragon bone, half a liang each; seven pieces of Yuanhusuo; eleven pieces of betel nut; rhinoceros horn, processed separately.

Coarsely chop or grind the ingredients. Boil them in two and a half sheng of water until reduced to one sheng, then divide into three portions and drink warm. Avoid all poisonous substances while taking the medicine. When using it to treat a patient who has been bedridden for a long time, first examine the color of the hair on the ten fingers: if it is white like lotus root, the patient is considered treatable; if it is purplish black, the condition is considered difficult to treat.

Musk Powder

This formula is used for women or unmarried young women with internal accumulation of heat and abdominal distension, as well as “bone steaming,” an old term for a condition involving prolonged fever, wasting, and similar symptoms. It is also used for unmarried young women whose menstrual flow has stopped and who suffer from wasting and feverish exhaustion.

Four liang of weilingxian, ground into a fine powder; one fen each of realgar and musk, ground separately; one liang of dried lacquer, broken into pieces and fried until the smoke has dispersed.

Grind the ingredients into a fine powder, then mix and grind them together again. For each dose, take one large qian and boil it in a bowl containing eight fen of water until reduced to six fen. Take it on an empty stomach, together with the dregs. The original says that the medicine causes filth to be expelled, which it regards as the root of the illness. Because this medicine is difficult to take, it may instead be made into pills the size of Chinese parasol tree seeds using steamed-bun paste. Take fifteen to twenty pills with tea, then take peach-kernel powder.

Take the Taoren Decoction together with the dregs. Afterward, foul, filthy toxins should be expelled; these are the root of the illness. The Taoren Decoction is difficult to swallow, so it may be made into pills with steamed-bun paste, each about the size of a parasol-tree seed. Take fifteen to twenty pills at a time with tea, then take the Taoren Powder.

Taoren Powder

Peach kernels, soaked in hot water and stripped of their skins and tips, then fried with flour until yellow; red poria, one liang each. Peeled peony root and ginseng, three qian each; four areca nuts; dried tangerine peel, three fen, with the white inner layer removed; rhinoceros horn and benzoin, one fen each; musk, two qian.

Grind the ingredients into a fine powder and mix thoroughly. Take two qian at a time, add five slices of fresh ginger and one cup of water, and decoct until six tenths of the liquid remains. Take morning and evening before meals. If the expelled worm’s head is red, continue with the Tianzhuhuang Drink to nourish and protect the heart. Even if no worm is expelled, first take the Tianzhuhuang Drink to protect the heart.

Chaihu Powder, used to treat children’s “steaming bone” disorder (a condition in which pathogenic heat penetrates deeply and produces heat within the bones), as well as fever in the flesh after an attack of cold damage. Hot scallion is used to relieve muscle fever after cold damage; the meaning of the original text here is unclear.

Bupleurum, Sichuan rhubarb, dry lacquer that has been stir-fried, gentian root, licorice, and Indian jalap, one liang each; soft-shelled turtle shell, three liang, roasted with vinegar.

Chop the ingredients. Take one qian at a time, add one cup of water and a pinch of wheat, and decoct together until seven tenths of the liquid remains. Let it cool, then take.

To extract the worm medicine: Take one woodpecker, four liang of cinnabar, and four liang of lean pork. Keep the woodpecker without food for a day and a night. Grind the cinnabar into grains about the size of mung beans, mix them into finely chopped pieces of meat, and feed them to the bird. The source then says, “If there is no woodpecker,” but the text that follows is damaged and disordered, so no substitute method can be determined from it.

Seal the woodpecker in salt mud and place it inside, then calcine it over a strong fire through the night. Take it out the next day before sunrise, without breaking the clay seal. Bury the seal, with the bird still inside, about two feet underground; retrieve it after a day and a night. Grind it to a fine powder in a silver vessel, mix it with ash-free wine, and take it as one dose, adding a little musk. Keep the patient in a tent with all sides tightly closed. Have iron tongs ready; when the worm comes out of the patient’s mouth, seize it at once and fry it to death in boiling oil. You may prepare a strong fire and boiling oil beside the patient beforehand. Once the worm has emerged, immediately decoct Jiahe Powder and give it to the patient, then let the patient eat porridge. After that, decoct and administer the medicine as on the previous night. The incantation is: “Om ma wu □ hong hong zha.”

Worm-Fishing Pill: One and a half liang of magnetite; if it has holes, grind it carefully into powder. Half a liang of dragon bone; one liang of sal ammoniac, unground; one qian of musk; and half a liang of greasy powder, ground separately.

First make the medicinal wax into pills about the size of a small peach, and take one pill at a time. Pierce a small hole through the pill with a needle, pass a blue silk thread through it, and tie a large old coin to the end of the thread. At dawn, have the patient sit upright facing northwest and swallow the pill with warm water. When it reaches the throat, have them close their mouth and bite down on the coin. When they feel nauseated, they should vomit. The worms they bring up will vary in shape; fry them immediately in hot oil to kill them.

If no worms come up, but only a few streaks of blood or one or two he of phlegm and saliva, this too is considered a sign that they are out of danger. Afterward, have them take their usual medicines to regulate Qi and Blood and restore the Spleen and Stomach. They may be expected to recover within two or three days. The used pill can be washed in warm water and given to one or two other people. For consumption believed to spread from one person to another, a single pill can save two people.

The Divine Worm-Fishing Powder That Saves Lives

One and a half qian of female cloves, half a liang of wine wax, one piece of soft-shelled turtle shell with the shell intact, two qian of water-ground sulfur, and one stone swallow. First calcine the stone swallow over a fire, then quench it in vinegar seven times.

Grind the ingredients into a fine powder and use wax to form pills the size of mung beans. Take one pill at a time and place it on a hook. Attach a line one zhang and two chi long, smear a little snow ointment on the line, and cover the pill with a piece of silkworm cocoon. Have the patient eat the snow ointment first, then swallow the pill in one gulp. After a while, when the line begins to move, pull it out forcefully. If a worm comes out with it, fry it in boiling oil to kill it.

Prepare this medicine before dawn on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month. Take the paper pill first, then follow the method called the “Secret Method of the Immortals.”

Method for Taking the Paper Pill

To treat consumption believed to spread from one person to another, first observe a fast and pray with sincerity. Face the sacred figures, burn incense, and then take the paper pill. Coat the paper with egg white and prepare it before dawn on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month. Take the paper pill first, then follow the “Secret Method of the Immortals.”

For treating chuan-shi disease (a term used in ancient times for a group of illnesses believed to be contagious and to drain the body), the practitioner should first observe a fast, then burn incense and pray with focused reverence to the sages and perfected beings. Afterward, take paper pills. Coat paper with egg white, let it dry, cut it into coin-sized pieces, and swallow them; then take the pills or powder mentioned earlier.

Spirit-Penetrating Powder, for treating corpse-consumption (an ancient term for illnesses involving chronic debility, wasting, coughing, and related symptoms).

One aconite, one liang of rhubarb, and two zi of bezoar.

Grind these ingredients into a fine powder. Take seven handfuls each of peach twigs, willow twigs, and green mugwort. Chop them and soak them overnight in half a bowl of a child’s urine. At the fifth watch the next morning, boil the mixture several dozen times, strain out the herbs, and stir half of the powder into the liquid to take. After taking it, cover yourself with clothes and bedding and lie down so that harmful matter can be expelled from the body. According to the text, there is no need to take another purgative to force evacuation. Catch the discharge in a basin and inspect it for foreign matter. The text describes four kinds of worms: one with a head like a horse’s tail, one like tangled hair, one like a centipede, and one like an egg or a wad of torn cotton.

Afterward, someone must examine the discharge. Avoid hard foods, tea, roasted foods, crab, blood, raw, cold, or greasy foods, and preserved foods, among other things. Then take the medicine again.

Half a liang each of licorice, coptis, Chinese angelica, and costus root.

Put two sheng of wine in a ceramic vessel and boil it down to five he; pour off the medicinal wine. Then simmer the four ingredients listed above, observing their consistency, and form them into pills the size of parasol tree seeds. Take thirty pills on an empty stomach and again in the evening, with wine or salty broth.

Purple River Chariot Elixir, for treating flying corpse and ghost fixation (ancient terms for sudden or persistent, difficult-to-cure illnesses believed to be associated with demonic affliction), wasting and emaciation, panting, coughing, and related conditions. Form the medicine into pills the size of parasol tree seeds. Take thirty pills on an empty stomach and again in the evening, with wine or salty broth.

Purple River Chariot Elixir, for treating flying corpse and ghost fixation, wasting and emaciation, panting, coughing, and related conditions.

Preparation: Take the placenta of a male fetus (the Purple River Chariot). First wash it in water containing Chinese honeylocust fruit, then rinse it in a small metal pot with rice vinegar and drain it dry. Prepare a small roasting cage and seal its sides tightly with paper to keep the heat from escaping. If no small roasting cage is available, use a small basket, remove its base, and seal it with honey. Place the placenta on top and roast it over a fierce fire, covering it with ginseng seeds, until it is thoroughly dry and weighs only about twelve or thirteen copper coins. Once completely dry, add the ingredients that follow.

Take one and a half liang of ginseng and half a liang of elecampane. Take one liang each of fried white atractylodes, white poria, poria with hostwood, Chinese angelica, and prepared rehmannia. Separately grind four qian each of frankincense and myrrh, and two qian each of cinnabar and musk. Grind everything into a fine powder and mix well. Knead it with red wine into pills the size of parasol-tree seeds. Take fifty pills each time, twice a day: once on an empty stomach and once at noon. Swallow them with a decoction of ginseng. The pills may also be made with refined honey.

Bright Eyes Elixir. Another transmission of the formula says it can expel corpse worms and treat chuanshi lao, an ancient term for a kind of contagious wasting illness.

Take forty pellets of white-rabbit droppings collected on the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival; those gathered outdoors are preferable. Add niter, a mineral medicine. Grind the ingredients into a fine powder and form it with refined honey into pills the size of parasol-tree seeds.

Take seven pills each time. Pound half a liang of raw licorice, add one cup of water, and knead it to extract a concentrated juice. If the patient is frail, roast the licorice first. Take the medicine at dawn, on an empty stomach. Before taking it, tell the patient not to be anxious; it is fine to let the liquid cool before drinking it. Once the symptoms improve slightly, wait two days before taking it again. The passage of worms is the measure of its effect. It must be taken during the first ten days of the lunar month.

Qinghao Drink, for treating consumptive illness.

Take one sheng of seeds and five liang of leaves from red-rooted sweet wormwood, three liang of dried peach branches, one liang each of tender bupleurum and licorice, three liang of tender willow branches, two liang of goji bark, and one liang of “□-seed kernels.” Adjust the amounts as appropriate to the patient’s strength or frailty.

Coarsely chop the ingredients. For each dose, take three qian, add one cup of water and two dark plums, and boil until reduced to seven-tenths. Drink warm at any time.

Bupleurum Powder, for strengthening those weakened by deficiency.

Take one liang each of bupleurum, ginseng, white poria, platycodon, peony, green tangerine peel with the white pith removed, Sichuan angelica soaked overnight in wine, ophiopogon with its core removed, Sichuan lovage, cimicifuga, mulberry root bark, white atractylodes soaked overnight in rice-washing water, and licorice.

Grind the ingredients into a fine powder. Take two qian each time, add one cup of water, and boil until reduced to seven-tenths. Drink warm.

Turtle-Shell Decoction, for strengthening those weakened by deficiency.

Take one turtle shell, roast it in vinegar until it turns yellow, then combine it with bupleurum with the root heads removed, Sichuan angelica, honey-fried licorice root, platycodon, red peony root, and ginseng. Add one cup of water and simmer until seven-tenths remains. Drink the liquid warm, all at once.

Turtle-Shell Decoction: For replenishing deficiency and debility.

Take one turtle shell and roast it in vinegar until yellow. Use one liang each of bupleurum with the root heads removed, Sichuan angelica, honey-fried licorice root, platycodon, red peony root, and ginseng; half a qian of musk; peeled almonds with their tips removed, dry-fried; one qian each of huanglian, lycium bark, and Xuanlian; half a liang of costus root; three liang each of genuine clarified butter and white honey; and half a liang of official cinnamon, scraped free of its coarse bark and not roasted.

Grind the ingredients into a fine powder. Simmer one jin of sweet wormwood with five sheng of children’s urine until about two sheng of sweet-wormwood liquid remain. Strain out the herbs, then add the clarified butter and honey and continue simmering until the mixture forms a paste. Let it cool, then stir in the powdered herbs and form pills the size of parasol-tree seeds. Take fifteen pills at a time with warm wine, or with rice water, three times a day. In autumn and winter, seven tender buds from a peach or willow tree may also be added and decocted with the Bupleurum Powder mentioned earlier.

Guan Zhong Pills: For expelling the Three Corpses and Five Worms.

Use five fen of guanzhong, said to kill the hidden corpse; three fen of white huanlu, said to kill worms; three fen of shuqi, said to kill white worms; three fen of magnolia bark, said to kill lung worms; four fen of langya seeds, said to kill stomach worms; four fen of silkworms, said to kill diaphragm worms; six fen of leizhu, said to kill red worms; three fen of realgar, said to kill corpse worms; and five fen of wuyi, said to kill cha worms.

Clean and dry the ingredients by roasting them, then fry until yellow and grind into a fine powder. Mix with refined honey and form pills the size of parasol-tree seeds. Take five pills at a time with river water, three times a day, gradually increasing the dose to ten and then twenty pills. The text claims that after twenty days of taking them, all illnesses will be cured and the Three Corpses and Nine Worms will perish on their own. Those taking the pills must observe purification and act reverently. It also says that women who take them can become pregnant.

Cassia-Heart Pills: Said to be a formula used by immortals to expel the Three Corpses and Nine Worms.

Use three liang of prepared rehmannia root, half a liang of dry lacquer that has been fried, and one liang of cassia heart.

Grind the foregoing ingredients into a fine powder and make them into pills with refined honey, each about the size of a parasol tree seed. Take seven pills at a time with rice water.

Realgar Pills are also used to drive out the Three Corpses and Nine Worms—unclean influences or creatures believed in Daoist thought and ancient medicine to inhabit the body and harm health.

Grind realgar into a fine powder. Take one liang each of realgar and pine resin.

Melt the pine resin and form it into pills about the size of a lotus seed. Swallow one pill on an empty stomach at dawn for seven days. It is said that this will eliminate the Three Corpses.

Bone-Lightening Powder is used to treat consumptive illness and drive out the Three Corpses and Nine Worms.

Grind realgar into a fine powder. Take one liang each of realgar and pine resin.

Melt the pine resin and form it into pills about the size of a lotus seed. Swallow one pill on an empty stomach at dawn for seven days. It is said that this will eliminate the Three Corpses.

Bone-Lightening Powder is used to treat consumptive cough—a persistent cough caused by chronic illness and debility.

The ingredients are smoked plums, gentian root, Chinese false hellebore, fritillaria bulbs, anemarrhena rhizome, vinegar-prepared soft-shelled turtle shell, platycodon root, large-leaved gentian root, bupleurum, honey-fried licorice, peeled [unreadable] fruit, ginseng, sweet wormwood boiled in wine, stir-fried donkey-hide gelatin, and apricot kernels with their skins and tips removed, stir-fried with bran.

Dry the ingredients in the sun and grind them into powder. Take a piece of fine Beijing ink, one cun long, grind it with well water drawn at dawn, and mix it with the medicinal powder to form a cake about the size of a thumb. Leave it to dry in a well-ventilated place, then use it after fourteen days. For each dose, take one cake and grind it with well water until dissolved.

Separately, grind fifty [the source gives no unit] of myrrh into one cup. At the fifth watch, take another two qian of powdered yellow bark and simmer them together for a few boils. Pour the liquid into the cup and stir continuously until it can be swallowed easily. Rise gently at the fifth watch and take the medicine, then lie down at once with the patient on their back. In severe cases, it is said that no more than three doses are needed.

Gecko Powder is also used to treat consumptive illness with wasting.

Use one liang of white Poria, remove the dark skin, and dry-fry it in a pot over low heat. Take two liang of mulberry root bark, brush it with butter and vinegar, and roast it five times, until it turns yellow. Soak six liang of apricot kernels in hot water, remove the skins and tips, and pick out any kernels that have two seeds. Spread them on paper in a pot and dry-fry them, then pound them into powder and use mulberry paper to absorb all the oil. Brush the Anemarrhena with butter and vinegar, then fry it until it is yellow and thoroughly cooked.

Take one male and one female gecko. First soak them thoroughly in butter and vinegar, then roast them over low heat until dry. Brush them again with butter and vinegar and roast them five to seven times, until they are yellow and thoroughly cooked. Do not let them burn, or their medicinal strength will be impaired. Brush two liang of fritillaria with butter and vinegar and roast until yellow, repeating this three to five times. Pound three liang of licorice root, brush it with butter and vinegar, and roast it three to five times, until it turns purplish yellow. Choose a large one liang piece of ginseng, brush it with butter and vinegar, and roast it three to five times, until it is yellow and thoroughly cooked.

Take forty coins’ worth of fine butter, cut it into dice-sized pieces, and melt it in a pot. Add half a sheng of very sour, aged rice vinegar and mix well. Use this mixture to brush the medicinal ingredients listed above as they are roasted. Do not add too much vinegar; a little over four ge is about right and makes it easy to brush on. If the mixture is too thin, the ingredients are difficult to roast.

Grind all the ingredients into powder. For each dose, take two large qian and simmer them in one zhan of water until reduced to seven-tenths. Drink warm. Avoid greasy, raw or cold foods, and anything poisonous. In people who have suffered from a cough for a long time, the cough may worsen at first after taking this medicine. Continue taking it diligently; only after a long period will the condition settle. Take care of yourself as well.

This formula treats taxation fever—fever arising from chronic illness or overexertion—and eases deficiency, debility, and coughing.

Another formula: Take one pair of geckos, wash them, soak them in wine and vinegar, then roast them until yellow. Add half a liang of Scutellaria root, along with Picrorhiza, Chinese gentian, licorice root, fresh Rehmannia, prepared Rehmannia, sweet wormwood, and ginseng. After taking it for a period of time, the condition will settle. Take care of yourself as well.

This formula treats taxation fever and eases deficiency, debility, and coughing.

Immortal Remedies for Urgent Use

Take one pair of geckos. Wash them clean, soak them in wine and vinegar, then roast until yellow. Use half a liang each of Scutellaria root, Picrorhiza root, Gentianopsis root, licorice root, fresh rehmannia root, prepared rehmannia root, sweet wormwood, ginseng, stir-fried bupleurum, ephedra, anemarrhena rhizome, fritillaria bulb, and apricot kernels with the skins and pointed tips removed (the original says, “take the two kernels and use the tips”). Use one liang of soft-shelled turtle shell, roasted with wine and vinegar. Add one qian each of platycodon root, Chinese gentian, and costus root.

Grind the ingredients into a fine powder. Take it with a decoction of smoked plums, ginger, and dates.

A Formula for Treating Consumptive Weakness

Use one jin of apricot kernels.

Chop six liang of fresh ginger. For someone with a cough, add four liang of ginseng, also chopped. Put these in a new earthenware pot and add one dou of river water that has not touched the ground or a container. Heat it over charcoal, alternating between a low flame and a high flame, until all the water has boiled away. Strain out the ginger and ginseng residue, then let the mixture cool. Take five to seven apricot kernels at a time, frequently.

A Formula for Treating “Transmitted Corpse” Consumption

Take one cup of a child’s urine and one cup of wine made without ash, and pour them into a new porcelain bottle. Put in one whole pair of kidneys, seal the bottle, and secure the seal with clay. In the evening, warm it over a low flame until cooked, then stop heating at midnight. At the beginning of the fifth watch, heat it again. Open the bottle, drink the wine, and eat the kidneys. The original says that even people with severe illness may see results after taking it for a month, and that those who are habitually thin and weak may also take it. This method uses blood to replenish blood; the original considers it better than using mineral and plant medicines.

Another Formula

Take one otter liver, dry it in the shade, and pound it into powder. Take one square-inch spoonful (about a spoonful of medicine powder) three times a day; it is said to be effective.

Another Formula

Roast the “red □ child” (the medicine name is missing a character in the original; a note gives its common name as “king melon”) until dry, then grind it into powder. Mix it with warm wine and take it; it is said to be effective.

Illustrations and Preface to the Yellow Emperor’s Moxibustion Treatment for Twenty-One Kinds of Consumptive Disease

The human body possesses spiritual awareness, receives the Qi of Heaven and Earth, and also embodies the Five Constant Virtues: benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trustworthiness. If the body is not properly regulated and cared for, it can develop severe illness. Medical writings attributed to Qibo and the Yellow Emperor describe such disorders extensively. Six older methods have also been handed down, some of which show results when used on their own.

Bone-steaming disease is also called “transmitted corpse,” “decaying entanglement,” “hidden affliction,” or “unprovoked illness.” In men, the original Qi is the foundation; in women, the sea of blood—the place where blood gathers, according to Chinese medicine—is the source. When the disease takes hold, the hair becomes dry, brittle, and sparse, sometimes clumping together and sometimes falling apart. A mass may form in the abdomen, or a lump may grow on the crown of the head. The person sweats during sleep and dreams of having intercourse with ghosts. Although their eyesight may seem clear, their limbs are weak, their breath rises in rebellion, and their appetite declines. They gradually grow thin and frail; after years of illness, they may die.

I was once fortunate enough to serve as an assistant administrator of Luozhou. In the space of thirty days, I used moxibustion to save thirteen people. The number I cured over the years is beyond counting. As for treatments involving raccoon-dog bones or otter liver, I have only heard of them in old accounts. Methods involving “gold teeth” or “copper noses” have seldom seemed effective. This prescription is better able to rescue people in danger. It is not only for bone-steaming disease; it can also treat wind disorders, miasmatic illness, consumptive disease, and disorders caused by malign influences. The range of symptoms it addresses is broad, and many have been cured with moxibustion, too many to describe one by one.

I have written down the general outline, but I fear errors may creep in as it is passed from person to person and mislead later generations. So I have drawn a diagram of the acupuncture points to make them easy for readers to understand. I hope this method will spread throughout the land, so people can keep it on hand for use when needed. When there is no good physician and one must seek another remedy, it is not difficult to use this method to save a life. How could anyone facing this illness fail to treat it with due care?

Feishu point: There are two Feishu points, located below the third thoracic vertebra, one and a half inches to either side of the spine. They may be used to treat epilepsy, counterflow of Qi in infants, asthma, vomiting, abdominal distension, rigidity of the back, alternating chills and fever, poor appetite, abdominal pain, itchy skin, transmitted-corpse disease, bone-steaming disease, and coughing due to lung disorders. Insert the needle three fen and retain it for seven breaths. Once Qi arrives, apply three moxa cones—three cones of mugwort per treatment.

Jueyinshu point: There are two Jueyinshu points, located below the fourth thoracic vertebra, one and a half inches to either side of the spine. They may be used to treat counterflow of Qi, vomiting, heart pain, spasms of the sinews and vessels, and oppression in the chest. Insert the needle three fen, then apply three moxa cones.

The two Jueyin points lie below the fourth vertebra, one and a half cun to either side of the spine. They treat vomiting caused by rebellious Qi, gripping pain in the heart, and oppression in the chest. Insert the needle three fen and retain it for seven fen. Once Qi arrives, apply three moxa cones.

The Xinshu point lies below the fifth vertebra, one and a half cun to either side of the spine. It treats wind affecting the heart, mania and epilepsy, disordered Qi movement, grief with weeping, distention in the heart and abdomen, absence of sweating, accumulations and stagnation with cold binding, retching and inability to eat, vomiting immediately after eating, cough, edema, and eye pain. The source text says this point should not be treated with moxibustion. The needle may be inserted three fen and retained for seven breaths. Once Qi arrives, apply the reducing method and then use three moxa cones.

The Ganshu point lies below the ninth vertebra, one and a half cun to either side of the spine. It treats dry mouth, distention of the limbs after wind-stroke, shortness of breath, inability to eat, indigestion, vomiting blood, blurred vision, obstruction and pain in the chest, shoulder pain, and cold shan (abdominal pain caused by cold). Insert the needle three fen and retain it for seven breaths. Once Qi arrives, apply three moxa cones.

The two Pishu points lie below the eleventh vertebra, one and a half cun to either side of the spine. They treat distention of the lower back and body, diarrhea, dysentery, heaviness of the body, weakness in the limbs, jaundice, accumulations of pathogenic Qi, abdominal pain, and alternating chills and fever. Insert the needle three fen and retain it for seven breaths. Once Qi arrives, apply three moxa cones.

The two Shenshu points lie below the fourteenth vertebra, one and a half cun to either side of the spine, opposite the Geshu points. They treat deficiency taxation, deafness, edema from Kidney deficiency, gripping pain in the lower back, turbid urine, genital pain, blood in the urine, seminal emission, the five taxations and seven injuries, cold vomiting, aching and gripping pain in the feet and knees, a desire for solitude, and swelling of the whole body like edema. Insert the needle three fen and retain it for seven breaths. Once Qi arrives, three moxa cones may be applied.

Dazhu, Geshu, Danshu, Sanjiaoshu, Weishu, and Xuanshu each have a pair of points, one on either side. They are located at the first, seventh, eleventh, thirteenth, thirteenth, and twentieth vertebrae, respectively. Applying moxibustion at the Sihua and Gaohuang points is also considered effective. Here, “moxibustion” means the traditional therapy of warming acupuncture points with burning mugwort. “Bronze figure” refers to a human model or acupuncture-point chart used as a guide for locating points.

To locate the points, have the patient stand upright and hold down a thin cord with the sole of one foot. For a man, begin with the left foot; for a woman, with the right. Measure the cord from the sole up the leg to the prominent transverse crease behind the knee, then cut it there. Next, locate the points according to the method shown on the bronze figure.

Then have the patient sit upright, part the hair, and measure downward from the middle of the back of the neck along the spine. Place the end of the cord against a vertebra and mark the corresponding position. The patient should remain seated in the posture shown on the bronze figure. Next, pick up the cord at its midpoint, measure it to the tip of the nose, and hold it there; mark both ends. Then lay this length of cord against the previously marked position on the spine and make another mark, using the vertebra as the reference.

The latter part of the original repeats some of the point-locating steps; the account above combines them according to the text as it stands.

Fold a thin cord at the marked point and straighten its two ends, taking care to keep it level and free of any slant. The points opposite the two ends of the cord are the acupuncture points. The fold in the middle is not an acupuncture point, so do not apply moxibustion there.

Another method of locating the points is to have the patient sit upright with the shoulders drawn slightly inward. Take a thin cord and let it hang down in front of the body, with both ends reaching the Jiuwei point, near the lower end of the breastbone. Cut the cord, then take it around to the back and let it hang down, positioning its midpoint at the Adam’s apple. When the two ends hang over the back, mark the points on the midline of the spine opposite the ends.

There is yet another method: have the patient sit upright with the mouth closed, and measure the width of the mouth with a cord. As in the method above, use the points opposite the two ends of the cord as the moxibustion points.

Together with the points mentioned earlier, this makes four points in all. Apply moxibustion to each point seven to twenty-one times at first, then gradually increase to one hundred and fifty cones. One burning of a moxa cone is called one application. After moxibustion, wait until sores are about to form at the treated points. Then hang the cord used earlier to measure the width of the mouth over the spine on the back, and use the points opposite its two ends as acupuncture points. Apply moxibustion as before. Count these as the four points mentioned earlier: apply moxibustion to each seven to twenty-one times, gradually increasing to one hundred and fifty cones. Then wait again until sores are about to form at the treated points. Next, hang the cord used to measure the mouth over the spine, aligning its midpoint with the spinal midline and measuring carefully. Mark the points opposite the two ends of the cord and apply moxibustion as before. These points are called the “Four Flower Points.” Avoid applying moxibustion on “Days of Separation,” a term from traditional calendrical divination for days considered unsuitable for certain activities. The results are said to be especially good if mugwort is gathered on the third day of the third lunar month.

For one hundred days after the illness has been cured by moxibustion, be careful with your diet, avoid sexual intercourse, and rest quietly and sleep well. If after a month you still feel that you have not recovered, apply moxibustion again at the old points using the original method; this is said to eliminate the illness completely. You should also take medicine after moxibustion; the prescription is given below.

I have carefully read the old man’s preface. It already describes in detail the symptoms of “transmitted corpse,” an ancient term for a class of contagious illnesses that gradually waste away the body. As for the claim that applying moxibustion at the Xinshu point, a point on the back associated with the heart, draws out worms, a check of the Tongren Classic, a text on acupuncture points, shows that this method should not be used. Gao Sizhao was known among people as a good physician. Yet methods of treatment differed in ancient times, and that alone does not prove that any of them had a sacred or miraculous efficacy.

There is a method: On a Guihai day (one day in the sexagenary cycle), at the second night watch—that is, around nine to eleven in the evening, the time said to be when “the six spirits gather”—remove the clothing from the lower body and stand upright. Mark with a pen the slightly sunken spots on either side of the waist; in acupuncture, these two points are called the “waist eyes.” Then lie face down on a bed and apply seven moxa cones to each point (one small portion of burning moxa is called a cone), fourteen cones in all. The scripture says that the labor worms may be vomited or expelled, after which one can be safe; it also claims that this can eradicate them and prevent further transmission.

Taking medicine after moxibustion

Take two sheng each of fresh rehmannia juice, sweet wormwood juice, mint juice, a child’s urine, and good wine. Boil them together until they form a paste. Separately, take one liang each of bupleurum with the rootlets removed, vinegar-roasted soft-shelled turtle shell, and large-flowered gentian; take half a liang each of musk, finely ground separately, and cinnabar.

Grind the latter five ingredients into a fine powder and mix them into the paste to make pills the size of parasol tree seeds. Take fifteen to twenty pills at a time with warm wine. Avoid raw and cold foods and so-called “toxic foods.”

Another method for extracting the worms

To extract the lao worms, apply seven moxa cones at one point on the “three-joint bone” and at each of the two Gaohuang points. Afterwards, follow the dietary regimen and then take medicine to expel the worms. The scripture says that the expelled worms may look like tangled threads or red coins.

Spring formula

Take realgar, sulfur, one castor bean (with its oil removed), and seven fermented black soybeans. Grind them together and make pills the size of parasol tree seeds, following the method described above. Take one he of a child’s urine, collected before the child has eaten, and one cup of wine, and use this to swallow the pills.

Summer formula

Take “lufuzi,” henbane seeds, sulfur, one castor bean (with its oil removed), and seven fermented black soybeans. Make pills by the method described above and take them with the decoction mentioned earlier.

Autumn formula

Take tin ash, realgar and orpiment, mung bean flour, seven fermented black soybeans, and one castor bean (with its oil removed). Make pills from them and take them with the decoction mentioned earlier.

In winter, take pills made from realgar, orpiment, tin ash, croton seeds with the oil removed, and seven fermented soybeans, swallowing them with the decoction mentioned earlier.

A Remedy for Consumptive Disease in the Jingming Method

Transmitted by Master Yuzhen, the ritual master: Before administering this remedy, first complete the Lian Du ritual according to proper procedure, a Daoist rite of prayer and exorcism, purification, and the release of the dead. Next, take five qian of southern-costus root, chop it finely, and place it in a clean, new earthenware vessel. Simmer it over low heat until a strong extract forms, then divide the extract into two portions and set aside the costus residue.

Chop nine jin of green mugwort and place it in a clean iron pot. Add water and simmer it for an entire day. Strain out the herbs and retain the concentrated liquid. Add the reserved costus residue and simmer again, then strain out the residue. Combine the mugwort liquid with one portion of the concentrated costus extract and simmer over low heat until it forms a paste.

Separately, grind five qian of cinnabar into a fine powder and mix it with the other portion of the costus extract. Write the Five Qi Talisman, a Daoist talisman named for the five kinds of Qi, and use it in the Lian Du ritual. Burn the talisman, put its ashes into the costus extract, then use this liquid to dissolve the mugwort paste and give it to the patient. Be sure not to let the patient know, and carry out the procedure with sincere devotion. Also keep other people and livestock from seeing it. It is said that this will certainly be efficacious, and that the remedy is especially effective when used by someone who performs this method.

End of Immortal Remedies for Urgent Needs, juan 11.