《孫真人備急千金要方》Vol. 25

Qibo said that stroke generally takes four forms: first, hemiplegia; second, wind-induced flaccidity; third, wind-induced loss of consciousness; and fourth, wind-related impediment. Many illnesses with sudden onset are caused by pathogenic Wind. At first, their symptoms may be mild and difficult for others to notice, so the patient should take a Life-Preserving Decoction as soon as possible and receive moxibustion at the relevant transport points—acupoints through which the Qi of the channels flows and that are used to treat disorders of the internal organs. Wind can cause many illnesses; the four forms Qibo described are among the most severe.

Hemiplegia: One side of the body cannot move. The muscles on that side cease to function and become painful, but speech remains normal and the mind is clear. The illness lies between the skin and the interstitial tissues. Warming the patient and letting them rest, so that the body sweats, may help; recovery may be possible by supplementing what is deficient and reducing what is excessive. The Jiayi Jing says that when warming the patient and inducing sweat, the Ju point should be needled.

Wind-induced flaccidity: The body is painless, but the limbs cannot move. The mind is somewhat disturbed, though not severely; speech is slightly slurred, but the patient can still understand others. This condition can be treated. If it becomes so severe that the patient cannot speak, it is incurable.

Wind-induced loss of consciousness: The patient suddenly falls unconscious and becomes unresponsive. The throat feels blocked, the tongue is stiff, and speech is impossible. The pathogenic influence first enters the Yin aspect, then the Yang aspect. Treatment should first supplement Yin, then drain Yang, and induce sweating. If the body becomes supple after sweating, this is a sign the patient may survive. If no sweat appears and the body remains rigid, the patient will die within seven days. The Chaoshi Bingyuan gives another account: if the area beneath the eyes, the bridge of the nose, and the sides of the philtrum turn white, the condition may still be treated. If one side turns black and the other red, and the patient spits up frothy saliva, it is incurable.

Wind-related impediment includes damp impediment, widespread impediment, sinew impediment, vessel impediment, muscle impediment, skin impediment, bone impediment, and womb impediment. Each has different symptoms. They may resemble stroke in outward appearance, but can be distinguished by the pulse: the pulse is weak and rough, and common symptoms include numbness and diminished sensation throughout the body.

Wind often enters through the transport points on the back that correspond to the five internal organs, then causes illness in the related organs. Lung illness develops most suddenly because the lungs govern the breath and regulate the Qi of the other organs. A person with Wind affecting the lungs lies on their back, with a distended chest, shortness of breath, a dull head, vexation in the chest, and sweating. Observe the color from beneath the eyes along both sides of the nose, extending down toward the corners of the mouth. If the area is white, the condition may still be treated: immediately apply one hundred moxa cones at the Lung Shu point, the back point corresponding to the lungs, and administer a Life-Preserving Decoction. The dose should be reduced for children. If the area is yellow, it means the lungs have been damaged and the Blood and Qi have also changed; the patient cannot be saved. Such a person will next ramble incoherently…

If a person reaches out and grasps at empty air, points at the ground, or keeps pinching their clothes and feeling along the seams, they will die after several days.

If suddenly struck by a violent wind pathogen, a person may become confused and dazed, and speak incoherently. At times the breath grows faint, and they can scarcely speak. Without prompt treatment by a physician, they often die that same day. As soon as symptoms appear, moxibustion should be applied at points such as Feishu, Geshu, and Ganshu, for several dozen zhuang (a unit of moxibustion, meaning the amount of mugwort burned in one moxa cone), and a decoction to continue life should be given immediately; this may save them. If saliva or spittle flows out uncontrollably, decoction should also be taken after moxibustion. When the Yang channels are attacked by wind pathogens, a person may likewise become dazed and speak incoherently. The symptoms resemble Wind in the Lung, but the illness progresses more slowly, and death may come only after a longer delay.

A person with Wind in the Liver can only crouch; they cannot lower their head. A slight bluish-green tinge around the eyes and extending to the forehead is a sign of Wind in the Liver. If the lips are bluish-green and the face yellow, treatment is still possible: moxibustion should be applied urgently at Ganshu for one hundred zhuang, and the person should take a decoction to continue life. If the bluish-black color is pronounced, and one side of the face is yellow while the other is white, the Liver has been damaged and the person cannot be saved; they will die within a few days.

A person with Wind in the Heart can only lie on their back and cannot turn onto their side. They feel distress in the Heart, become confused, and may even lose consciousness; they also sweat. These are signs of Wind in the Heart. If the lips are bright red, treatment is still possible: moxibustion should be applied urgently at Xinshu for one hundred zhuang, and the person should take a decoction to continue life. If the lips turn bluish-green, white, yellow, or black, the Heart has been damaged. If the face is swollen and the person often trembles, they cannot be saved and will die within five or six days. (Another account says they will die after about ten days.)

A person with Wind in the Spleen can only crouch. Their abdomen is distended, their whole body is yellow, and they vomit salty fluid. Treatment is still possible: moxibustion should be applied urgently at Pishu for one hundred zhuang, and the person should take a decoction to continue life. If the skin beneath the eyes and the hands and feet turn bluish-green, they cannot be saved.

A person with Wind in the Kidneys crouches and has pain in the lower back. If yellow patches no larger than a bingci (an ancient kind of flatbread) have not yet appeared on both flanks, treatment is still possible: moxibustion should be applied urgently at Shenshu for one hundred zhuang, and the person should take a decoction to continue life. If the teeth turn yellow and red, the hair at the temples stands upright, and the face takes on an earthen color, they cannot be saved.

A person with Wind in the Large Intestine has continual intestinal rumbling while lying down. Moxibustion may be applied at Dachangshu for one hundred zhuang, and the person should take a decoction to continue life. When a pernicious wind pathogen attacks the body, it damages Yang Qi. The Yang Qi is first attacked at the body’s surface, where the pathogen remains in the skin before passing into the minute vessels. When the minute vessels are full, it passes into the network vessels; when those are full, it passes into the major channels, eventually producing illness within the body…

When the six bowels are hot, a person may be unable to sleep peacefully and may cry incessantly. A hard, large pulse indicates an excess pattern. “Excess” means that the body’s surface is firm and the interior is full: pressing down is difficult, and pressure causes pain. Branch channels that diverge from the main channel are called “collateral vessels.”

Wind evil—a category of disease-causing influence in Chinese medicine—may cause cold evil or heat evil to invade the interior. It may also bring on severe wind, hemiplegia affecting one side of the body, or sudden wind evil. Thus, wind exposure on a Jia or Yi day in spring is called Liver wind; on a Bing or Ding day in summer, Heart wind; on a Wu or Ji day at the end of each season, Spleen wind; on a Geng or Xin day in autumn, Lung wind; and on a Ren or Gui day in winter, Kidney wind. When wind evil enters the transport points of the five zang organs and six fu organs—the points through which channel Qi flows in and out—it can produce wind disorders of the corresponding organs. Wind evil enters through its respective gateways, and whichever area it injures may develop localized wind. When wind Qi travels upward along Fengfu, a point at the back of the neck, it produces brain wind; when wind evil enters the head, it produces eye wind. Exposure to wind after drinking alcohol produces wine wind; being exposed to wind while sweating during sexual activity produces internal wind; exposure to wind just after washing the hair produces head wind; prolonged exposure to wind while staying indoors produces intestinal wind; and when wind evil attacks the interstices between the skin and muscles, it produces draining wind.

For this reason, wind is said to be the precursor of many diseases. Once wind evil changes, it can bring on other illnesses, whose manifestations have no fixed pattern. This shows that wind evil moves readily and changes often. If it remains in the skin and flesh, unable to escape inward or disperse outward, it changes in nature according to whether a person is active or at rest. When wind evil encounters cold, food becomes difficult to swallow. When it encounters heat, the muscles waste away and alternating sensations of cold and heat arise. If it encounters an excess of Yang Qi, it prevents sweating; if it encounters an excess of Yin Qi, it causes spontaneous sweating.

When a person with a stout build is exposed to wind, the thick muscles make it difficult for the wind evil to escape outward. This makes heat patterns more likely, and the eyes may turn yellow. When a thin person is exposed to wind, the muscles are thin and sweating is frequent; the body feels cold, and the eyes water. When wind evil meets loose interstices, it disperses outward, causing waves of chill, as though water were flowing inside the body, or at times as though air were being blown through a bamboo tube. These are the corresponding symptoms. When wind evil meets closed interstices, it lies dormant inside the body, causing fever and distress in the chest. These, too, are corresponding symptoms.

Exposure to wind just after eating produces stomach wind. Symptoms include fear of wind, profuse sweating around the neck, obstruction of Qi below the chest and diaphragm, difficulty swallowing food, abdominal distension, a thin body, and an enlarged abdomen. When wearing too few clothes, a person may feel abdominal fullness and distress; after eating cold foods, diarrhea may continue without stopping. Entering water to soak or bathe just after eating hot food can cause the abdomen to swell and produce water disease, a disorder chiefly characterized by the accumulation of fluids in the body.

Exposure to wind after drinking alcohol causes what is called “leaking wind.” Symptoms include fear of wind, excessive sweating, shortness of breath, dry mouth, and easy thirst. Coming near clothing makes the body feel as though it is burning. Sweat pours down during meals, the joints feel weak and slack, and the person does not want to move.

Exposure to wind just after washing the hair causes “head wind.” Symptoms include fear of wind, excessive sweating, and headache.

Exposure to wind just after sexual intercourse causes “internal wind.” The person fears wind and sweats so much that the clothes become soaked.

“Lao wind” affects the area below the lungs. The patient’s upper body is stiff, the eyes seem ready to protrude, and the mucus brought up resembles nasal discharge. The patient fears wind and shivers with cold. Observe the patient for three to five days: if their awareness becomes clouded and their vision unclear, this is the condition. By the seventh or eighth day, if they can discharge through the mouth or nose a slightly blue-yellow, pellet-sized plug of pus, the illness is improving. If they cannot, the lungs will be damaged.

When wind pathogen enters the skin and flesh, it causes itching and may produce wind rash, pruritus, or sores. When wind pathogen penetrates deeper and clashes with cold pathogen, the flesh becomes wasted. If pathogen enters deeply on one side of the body and the body’s vital Qi is depleted, one side may become paralyzed. If it enters the joints or sinews, the sinews may contract and stiffen. When pathogen affects the organs, a person may dream that the organs have grown large and the body small; when it affects the bowels, they may dream that the organs have grown small and the body large. When wind pathogen travels along the meridian corresponding to the day and enters the brain, it causes dizziness and blurred vision. If it enters the eyes, vision becomes unclear or doubled. When wind pathogen enters the organs and cold remains lodged inside, unable to disperse, it may cause loss of voice, throat obstruction, and an unresponsive tongue. Without timely treatment by medicine or acupuncture, wind pathogen may travel along the meridians into the organs, causing sudden loss of voice, limp or rigid limbs, and even death. If wind pathogen enters the Yang meridians, it may cause madness; if it enters the Yin meridians, it may cause epilepsy. When Yang pathogen invades the Yin aspect, the patient becomes quiet; when Yin pathogen invades the Yang aspect, the patient becomes angry.

If sweating is brought on by eating hot food or bathing in hot water, the skin’s pores open and wind pathogen may leave on its own. At that point, the flesh may feel as though it is being pricked with needles. The same sensation may arise when walking or exerting oneself to induce sweating.

Whenever the flesh feels as though it is being pricked with needles, this means the pores are closed and pathogen is lodged in the flesh, on the verge of moving outward. “Muscle-Releasing Decoction” may be used to treat it.

Twitching eyelids or lips, or a crooked mouth and eyes, are all caused by wind pathogen entering the meridians. One should therefore take “Minor Continuation of Life Decoction” promptly, massage with “Eight Winds Powder,” “Divine Clarity White Ointment,” and “Salvia Ointment,” and select acupuncture points along the meridians for needling and moxibustion.

The various forms of impediment disease, involving numbness, pain, or difficulty moving the limbs, arise when wind, cold, and damp pathogens invade the spaces between the muscles together. The pathogens press together and congeal into “foam”; when they encounter cold, they gather and compress the flesh. Damage to the flesh causes pain. The pain concentrates the spirit and Qi in the affected area, which then produces a sensation of heat. Once heat develops, the pain eases, and this is followed by cold and numbness.

When Wind pathogen predominates on one side, unilateral impediment may occur. Impediment disorders arise when a pathogenic factor has not yet entered the internal organs but has invaded the body’s surface and lodged between the skin and muscles. This prevents true Qi from circulating freely and gives rise to impediment.

When Wind predominates, the limbs become numb and swollen, and the pain shifts from place to place; this is called moving impediment. When Cold predominates, pain occurs; this is called painful impediment. When Dampness predominates, the affected area feels heavy and the pain remains in one place; this is called fixed impediment. If one feels damp with cold sweat, and the pathogen moves only up and down along the blood vessels, unable to spread to either side, this is called pervasive impediment. When impediment in the muscles comes and goes, affecting the left side on the left and the right side on the right, it is called unilateral impediment.

People with little Yang Qi and abundant Yin Qi develop internal chill when impediment strikes. Those with abundant Yang Qi and little Yin Qi develop fever along with the impediment.

Among the various impediment disorders, those in which Wind predominates are relatively easy to cure. Disorders located between the skin are also easy to treat, while those that penetrate deep into the sinews and bones are difficult to heal. If impediment persists and the pathogenic Qi penetrates deeply, the circulation of Ying and Wei Qi—the Qi that nourishes and protects the body as it moves inside and outside the channels—becomes obstructed, and the channels and collaterals may periodically close. The patient then gradually loses the ability to feel pain.

If Wind impediment goes untreated for a long time, the feet may feel as though they are treading on ice and then, at other times, as though immersed in hot broth. The abdomen, thighs, and lower legs may feel uncomfortable and agitated, accompanied by irritability and headache. When the pathogen injures the Spleen and Kidneys, the patient may frequently vomit and feel dizzy, and may sometimes sweat spontaneously. If it injures the Heart, dizziness and blurred vision may occur; if it injures the Liver, the patient may feel grief and fear, with shortness of breath and a sense of oppression; if it injures the Lungs, breathing may become labored. The original text says that this disorder is fatal if it does not resolve within three years; another account says death may follow in just three days.

After the Taiyang channel is affected by Wind, a further exposure to Cold and Dampness may cause the condition to develop into convulsive disorder, marked by tightening sinews and a rigid body. During an attack, the mouth is clenched and cannot be opened, and the back becomes stiff and arched, as in an epileptic seizure. The head shakes, the patient makes a sound like a horse’s neigh, and the lower back and spine bend backward. Ten attacks may recur in quick succession; breathing seems close to stopping, sweat pours out, and the condition may suddenly worsen.

Women who have recently given birth, people whose blood and vessels have been depleted after metal-inflicted wounds such as those from swords, and children with umbilical Wind may all develop convulsions. The text holds that adults who develop convulsive Wind after exposure to Cold or Dampness will often die. Convulsions may also occur when the heat pathogen in a warm disease becomes intense and penetrates deeply into the Kidneys, or when a child has a severe fever during an epileptic seizure. Convulsive disorder, loss of speech, fainting, and mania can share similar signs. For this reason, prolonged fainting should be carefully assessed to avoid mistaking it for mania. In severe cases, the patient may feel a “ce-ce” pain in the ear. The original text attributes this to Wind entering the Kidney channel; without treatment, the pathogen may penetrate further into the Kidneys, causing the whole body to suddenly stiffen as if dead. The text recommends taking two or three doses of Minor Renewal of Life Decoction, a formula for conditions such as stroke. If there is only ear pain, swelling, and discharge, forming a boil or abscess, it says the condition is not life-threatening.

Particular care should be taken to guard against Wind. The original text also records acupuncture at the artery in front of the ear and at Fengfu, and says the treatment works very well.

“On Various Wind Disorders, Chapter Two” (the second chapter on various Wind disorders, with formulas and moxibustion methods)

Minor Renewal of Life Decoction: Used to treat sudden stroke with a critical condition, when the body is either limp or rigid, and the mouth and eyes…

Used to treat symptoms of stroke such as a stiff tongue and inability to speak, confusion, and agitation of the mind and spirit. This prescription is usually effective and does not weaken the patient.

Ma Huang (ephedra), Fang Ji (Stephania root; omitted in Cui’s Waitai Miyao), Ren Shen (ginseng), Huang Qin (Scutellaria root), Gui Xin (cinnamon bark), Gan Cao (licorice), Shao Yao (peony root), Chuan Xiong (ligusticum), and Xing Ren (apricot kernels), one liang each; Fang Feng (Saposhnikovia root), one and a half liang; Fu Zi (aconite), one piece; and fresh ginger, five liang.

Cut the twelve ingredients into pieces. First, boil the Ma Huang in one dou and two sheng of water for three boils, skimming off the foam. Then add the remaining ingredients and simmer until three sheng of liquid remain. Divide into three doses. The treatment is very effective. If the illness has not resolved, prepare and take another three or four batches; the patient will usually improve. Whether the medicine induces sweating depends on the severity of the pathogenic Wind and the patient’s constitution and degree of deficiency. One person whose feet had become weak from Wind disease recovered after taking six or seven batches of this prescription. Those prone to Wind rashes may take it regularly when rainy weather or seasonal changes occur, to prevent loss of speech.

Another text says that for symptoms of confusion, Fu Shen (poria with hostwood) and Yuan Zhi (polygala root) may be added. If the patient already has distressing pain in the joints and internal Heat, remove the Fu Zi and double the amount of Shao Yao. (Xiaopin Fang and Qianjin Yifang give the same instructions. Shenshi Fang and Gujin Lüyan have different accounts: Gujin Lüyan uses Bai Zhu (Atractylodes rhizome) instead of Xing Ren; Jiuji Fang omits Chuan Xiong and Xing Ren, making ten ingredients in all; and Yannian Fang omits Fang Feng.)

Small Continuation-of-Life Decoction (Xiao Xu Ming Tang): Treats clouded consciousness after a stroke, inability to identify where pain is located, bodily stiffness that prevents turning over, impaired movement of the limbs, and incontinence of urine and stool. This prescription resembles the Great Continuation-of-Life Decoction and is especially suitable for those who have lost blood after childbirth, as well as for the elderly and children.

Ma Huang, Gui Xin, and Gan Cao, two liang each; fresh ginger, five liang; Ren Shen, Chuan Xiong, Bai Zhu (Xing Ren is used in the previous prescription), Fu Zi, Fang Ji, Shao Yao, and Huang Qin, one liang each; Fang Feng, one and a half liang.

Cut the twelve ingredients into pieces. Boil them in one dou and two sheng of water until three sheng of liquid remain. Divide into three doses. (Gujin Lüyan omits Gui Xin and calls this prescription “Continuation-of-Life Decoction.” Hu Qia Fang and Qianjin Yifang give the same account.)

Another prescription: Treats Wind disease of many years’ duration, in which the patient sometimes sings, sometimes weeps, sometimes laughs loudly, and speaks incoherently about all manner of things.

Ma Huang, three liang; Ren Shen, Gui Xin, and Bai Zhu, two liang each; Shao Yao, Gan Cao, Fang Ji, Huang Qin, Chuan Xiong, and Dang Gui, two liang each.

Cut the ten ingredients into pieces. Boil them in one dou and two sheng of water until three sheng of liquid remain. Divide into…

Take it three times a day. After each dose, cover yourself with a quilt and let your body sweat.

Major Life-Prolonging Decoction is used to treat sudden loss of voice and inability to speak after Wind Evil has invaded the liver. According to the old method, either the Major Life-Prolonging Decoction or the Minor Life-Prolonging Decoction may be used. The two formulas can also be combined to treat pathogenic influences affecting the Five Viscera, hemiplegia, and illnesses caused by Wind Evil.

Eight liang of ephedra; four liang of gypsum; two liang each of cassia heartwood, dried ginger, and chuanxiong; one liang each of angelica and skullcap; thirty apricot kernels; and one sheng of bamboo sap.

Cut the nine ingredients into pieces. First boil the ephedra twice in one dou of water, skimming off the foam each time. Add the remaining ingredients and boil until four sheng remain, then strain out the dregs. Add the bamboo sap and boil for a few more cycles. Divide into four doses. If speech returns after taking it but the illness has not yet fully resolved, take the Minor Life-Prolonging Decoction. The old formula did not include bamboo sap; it was added later, and the book says it works very well. The formula recorded in Qianjin Yifang also includes licorice.

Another formula treats cases in which Wind Evil penetrates deep into the viscera, causing sudden inability to speak, dragging weakness in the limbs, and pain or itching in the flesh and skin that the person cannot feel.

Three liang each of duhuo and ephedra; one liang each of chuanxiong, fangfeng, angelica, kudzu root, ginger, cassia heartwood, poria, aconite, asarum, and licorice.

Cut the twelve ingredients into pieces. Boil them in one dou and two sheng of water until four sheng remain, then divide into five doses. Give half the amount to elderly people and children. If the illness begins with spontaneous profuse sweating, reduce the ephedra; if there is no sweating, use the formula as written. If Qi surges upward, add two liang of evodia and one liang of magnolia bark. For dry retching, add one liang of aconite. For hiccups, add two liang of tangerine peel. For shortness of breath in the chest, add twelve jujubes. For palpitations and unease in the heart, add one liang of poria. If there are signs of heat, remove the ginger and add kudzu root.

At the onset of illness, do not casually add or remove ingredients. First prepare three doses according to the formula. After four or five days, assess whether the patient’s condition is deficient or excessive and adjust treatment accordingly. Administer the decoction, perform acupuncture, and apply moxibustion at the appropriate points. Acupuncture and moxibustion are two traditional treatments: needling and the application of burning mugwort.

Another formula has the same indications as the Major Life-Prolonging Decoction above and is suitable for women who have given birth, elderly people, children, and others.

Three liang each of ephedra and chuanxiong; two liang each of dried ginger, gypsum, ginseng, angelica, cassia heartwood, and licorice; and forty apricot kernels.

Cut the nine ingredients into pieces. Boil them in one dou of water until three sheng remain, then divide into three doses.

This entry notes that the formula included in the Waitai Miyao is called “Life-Sustaining Decoction.” Fan Wang also records it, saying it is a formula by Zhang Zhongjing, though the original version was missing two ingredients.

Xizhou Life-Sustaining Decoction: Used to treat “wind-stroke paralysis” (numbness and inability to move voluntarily after a stroke; another version reads “entering the viscera,” meaning that the pathogenic influence has penetrated deep into the internal organs). The patient loses sensation in the body and cannot control it; cannot speak; is mentally confused and does not recognize people; has a cramped, rigid body and back pain, and cannot turn over.

Formula: Six liang of mahuang, four liang of gypsum, two liang of cinnamon bark, and one liang each of licorice, chuanxiong, dried ginger, scutellaria, and angelica, together with thirty apricot kernels, for a total of nine ingredients.

Cut the ingredients into pieces and boil them in one dou and two sheng of water. Boil the mahuang first; after it has boiled twice, skim off the foam from the surface. Add the remaining ingredients and boil until four sheng remain. Take one sheng for the first dose. If you can still feel your condition after taking it, do not fall asleep right away. Cover yourself thickly so that your body sweats lightly. After you sweat, gradually remove some of your clothing and bedding; do not cover yourself so thickly again. You may then sleep.

If you do not sweat after the first dose, take another sheng. Once you begin to sweat, gradually reduce each dose to five he. Take the doses at intervals; after you feel settled, continue taking it, but do not drink it all at once. Once you have sweated and your condition improves, stop taking it. Eat as usual; no foods need to be avoided, but keep out of the wind.

This formula is also used to treat rebellious Qi, coughing, and labored breathing. It may also be taken when the face and eyes are severely swollen and the patient can only lie down; it works very well. If the liquid does not go down after someone takes this decoction, have another person blow on the patient’s back, and the liquid will descend.

Patients who already have cold sweats must not take this decoction. Those who are frail and thin should take only small doses at a time; five he is suitable. In the past, people gave this decoction to women after childbirth or to frail patients, and deaths often occurred. This was usually because they took two sheng at once, an excessive dose, and because the liquid was cloudy. As long as the liquid is clear and taken little by little, stopping when it produces a light sweat, there is generally no problem.

(The formula is called “Great Life-Sustaining Decoction” in the Hu Qia formula and the Record of Ancient and Modern Prescriptions.)

Great Life-Sustaining Powder: Used to treat the eight winds, the twelve forms of impediment, and other disorders involving wind pathogenic influences, as well as paralysis on one side of the body, numbness, painful stiffness in the hands and feet, inability to extend or bend the limbs, and dizziness so severe that the patient cannot get up unaided. The patient may be unsteady when standing or lying down, or may feel unsteady and terrified after lying down, as though about to fall to the ground. Other symptoms may include night sweats, impotence when faced with sexual activity, and vaginal discharge with infertility in women. If wind pathogenic influences penetrate deeply into the Five Zang organs, the patient may also become frightened, feel that ghosts are coming to seize them, or seem to consort with ghosts and spirits; they may weep in sorrow, become dazed and unsettled, or suddenly feel the urge to run away.

Formula: Mahuang, aconite, fangfeng, cinnamon bark, licorice, Sichuan pepper, apricot kernels, gypsum, ginseng, peony, angelica, and lǘrú (the Qianjin Yifang gives chuanxiong).

Scutellaria, poria, and dried ginger, one liang each.

Grind the fifteen ingredients above into powder and sift it. Take it with wine, one square-inch spoonful each time. This was an ancient measure for powdered medicine, roughly equivalent to a spoonful. Take it twice daily. Then increase the amount as appropriate, until the body can tolerate it and the treatment begins to work.

Xuming San, a decoction powder for treating wind disorders of varying severity.

Ephedra, ligusticum (Sichuan lovage), pubescent angelica, fangji, licorice, and apricot kernels, three liang each; cinnamon bark, aconite, poria, cimicifuga, asarum, ginseng, and fangfeng, two liang each; gypsum, five liang; atractylodes, four liang.

Coarsely sift the fifteen ingredients above. Measure out five square-inch spoonfuls and place them in a small silk bag. Boil them with four sheng of water and three liang of fresh ginger until two and a half sheng remain. Divide the liquid into three doses. Take it daily without interruption, and carefully avoid exposure to wind and cold. It works very well.

I once suffered a stroke, with unclear speech and dragging, weak limbs. I took this formula four times a day, continuously for ten days and nights, and eventually recovered.

Paifeng Tang, a decoction for treating men and women whose internal organs have been invaded by pathogenic influences such as wind arising from deficiency and damp cold, causing symptoms including incoherent speech and mental confusion.

When liver wind strikes, the face turns bluish green, and the person feels distressed, vomits froth, experiences fullness in the ribs and flanks, and has a heavy, dizzy head and difficulty hearing speech. One side of the body may also become disabled, the sinews may tighten, and the person may lie curled up. When heart wind strikes, the face turns red and fever comes on suddenly; the person is prone to sorrow and anger, and may stare wide-eyed and cry out. When spleen wind strikes, the face turns yellow, the body becomes numb, and walking is impossible. Food has no taste, sleep and dreams become disordered, and the person may dream of walking with the dead. When lung wind strikes, the face turns pale, coughing and labored breathing occur, and pus and blood may be coughed up. The breath surges upward, and sudden shortness of breath may occur. When kidney wind strikes, the face turns black, the hands and feet become clumsy, and lower back pain makes it difficult to bend forward or lean back. Numbness, aversion to cold, and bone pain may also occur.

These symptoms cause alarm and fear, an unsettled mind, confused thoughts, and forgetfulness. This formula can calm the spirit and settle the mind. It also helps sharpen hearing and vision, and promotes the free flow of the internal organs. It treats wind disorders of all kinds.

White dittany root bark, atractylodes, peony, cinnamon bark, ligusticum, Chinese angelica, apricot kernels, fangfeng, and licorice, one liang each; pubescent angelica, ephedra, and poria, three liang each; fresh ginger, four liang.

Cut the thirteen ingredients above into pieces. Boil them in one dou of water and reduce the liquid to three sheng. Take one sheng per dose, cover yourself with bedding, and rest until you sweat lightly. You may take three doses.

Da Bafeng Tang, a decoction for severe wind invasion causing stubborn numbness, dragging limbs, and inability to move the hands and feet.

Pian Ku (hemiplegia, or paralysis affecting one side of the body), numbness and weakness in the limbs, or symptoms caused by Wind pathogenic influence entering the Five Zang organs: a dazed expression, disordered speech, forgetfulness, and sometimes fear in the heart. Other symptoms may include joint pain, dizziness and distress, stiffness in the lower back, inability to bend forward or lean back, abdominal distension and loss of appetite, and coughing. Some people, at the onset of illness, suddenly collapse and lose consciousness, then become unable to speak or even lose their voice; one side of the body cannot move, and the limbs feel numb and heavy. These conditions are caused by physical weakness and by failing to avoid wind and cold when young, while relying on one’s strength. The prescription is as follows:

Two and a half liang of Danggui; one and a half liang each of Wuweizi and Shengma; one liang each of Wutou, Huangqin, Shaoyao, Yuanzhi, Duhuo, Fangfeng, Chuanxiong, Mahuang, Qinjiao, Shihu, Renshen, Fuling, Shigao, Huangqi, and Ziwan; forty apricot kernels; two liang each of Gancao, Guixin, and Ganjiang; and one sheng of soybeans (the Qianjin Yifang records two ge).

Coarsely cut the twenty-three ingredients. Combine one dou and three sheng of water with two sheng of wine and decoct until four sheng remain. People with robust constitutions should divide the dose into four portions; those with weaker constitutions should divide it into six.

Ba Feng San is used to treat conditions caused by the Eight Winds (eight kinds of Wind pathogenic influence that invade the body) and the Twelve Bi (twelve categories of painful obstruction). These include hemiplegia, pain in the joints throughout the body, wasting of the muscles, and involuntary twitching of the skin; the sinews and vessels may also become slack or painfully contracted, with pain that shifts from place to place. Other symptoms may include sudden dizziness, derangement of consciousness, confused and incoherent speech, disordered speech and conduct, and falls. Blisters may appear on the body or face, or yellow sweat may seep out and stain the skin. The skin may at times be dry and at times damp; the complexion may suddenly turn red or white, or become blue-green or black. The body may also arch backward, and the person may alternate between feeling cold and hot. The prescription is as follows:

One jin each of Mahuang and Baizhu; two jin of Qianghuo; one jin and five liang of Huangqin; half a jin of Dahuang; ten liang each of Gualou Gen, Gancao, Luanjing, Tianxiong, Baizhi, Fangfeng, Shaoyao, Tianmendong, and Shigao; five sheng each of Shanzhuyu, Shizhuyu, and Zhulü; fourteen liang of Yinyu; thirty pieces of Fuzi; five liang each of Xixin, Ganjiang, and Guixin; and six liang each of Xionghuang, Zhusha, and Danshen.

Grind the twenty-five ingredients into powder and sift. Take with wine, one square-inch spoonful at a time (a level spoonful measured with an ancient implement for dispensing powdered medicine). At first, take it daily…

After taking it for thirty days, reduce the dose to twice daily. After another fifty days, you should begin to feel its effects. After taking it for a full hundred days, the illness may be cured. If you continue taking it for a year, your body can return to normal; long-term use is also beneficial. Take it before meals.

Small Eight Winds Powder treats disordered consciousness resembling drunkenness, incoherent speech, palpitations and fear; seeing ghosts and strange beings in a daze; emotions that shift between joy, anger, grief, and worry; oppression in the chest and confused consciousness; low spirits, shortness of breath, inability to speak, and forgetfulness when speaking; pain in the heart that sometimes reaches the back; loss of appetite, fear of wind, and inability to leave the bed curtains; recurring pain and fever, aversion to the sound of people’s voices, and inability to feel pain or itching; trembling throughout the body, sweating, sudden bodily retraction, heaviness and swelling of the head, loss of sensation in the fingernails, and stiffness of the neck; a crooked mouth and face, limbs that cannot move or have become numb, paralysis on one side of the body, and tendons and vessels that cramp and twitch, making it impossible to bend or straighten the limbs. This formula is indicated for all these symptoms.

Ingredients: five fen each of Tianxiong, Angelica, and ginseng; four fen each of Fuzi, Tianmendong, Fangfeng, Sichuan pepper, and Duhuo; three fen each of Wutou, Qinjiao, Xixin, Baizhu, and dried ginger; two fen each of ephedra, Shan Zhu Yu, Wuweizi, Jiegeng, Baizhi, Chaihu, and Mangcao.

Grind the twenty ingredients into a fine powder and sift, then mix thoroughly. Take half a fangcun spoonful (an ancient small measure for powdered medicine) with wine. Gradually increase the dose to one fangcun spoonful, taken three times daily. If you feel a prickling sensation in the body, this indicates that the medicine is taking effect.

Wutou Decoction treats illnesses caused by the pathogenic influences known as the Eight Winds and the Five Corpses. These influences move about between the chest and heart and spread into the limbs, coming and going unpredictably. The patient becomes short of breath and may even feel close to death.

Ingredients: two liang each of Wutou, peony root, dried ginger, cinnamon bark, Xixin, dried Rehmannia root, Angelica, Evodia fruit, and licorice.

Cut the nine ingredients into pieces. Boil them in seven sheng of water until two and a half sheng remain. Divide the decoction into three doses.

Cang’er Leaf Powder treats various wind disorders.

At noon on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, cut the leaves of Cang’er (cocklebur) together with their roots. Wash and dry them in the sun, then pound them and sift the powder. Take one fangcun spoonful with wine or rice liquid, three times daily. Alternatively, mix the powder with honey to make pills and take ten pills at a time; ten pills contain approximately the same amount of medicine as the one fangcun spoonful mentioned above. For mild wind disorders that are easy to treat, take it twice daily.

When pathogenic wind is present in the body, small bumps resembling millet grains, sesame seeds, or beans may appear on the skin. This shows that wind toxin is emerging from the body. The bumps may be punctured with a pi needle (an ancient type of needle) to release yellow fluid; stop once the yellow fluid has drained away. On the fifth day of the fifth month, gather plenty of Cang’er leaves and place them in a cool, shaded place…

Store it in a large jar and take it as needed. This herb wards off evil influences. Those visiting the sick or checking on their condition may take it beforehand; after taking it, they will not feel afraid. During epidemics or when the climate is unsettled, the whole family may take it. It may also be taken for abdominal fullness, inner distress, or fever. It can also kill intestinal parasites, treat hemorrhoids, and improve the appetite. It is best taken continuously for a year. It may be gathered and used on the seventh day of the seventh month or the ninth day of the ninth month.

Prescription for attacks of Heart Wind with deficiency heat, causing disorientation, inner distress, numbness on one side of the body, and contraction of the sinews and channels:

Five sheng each of Jingli and Zhuli; one sheng each of white bark of goji root and fresh Ophiopogon; three he of fermented soybeans; two liang each of ginseng, poria, gardenia seed, Scutellaria, Chuanxiong, cinnamon heart, asarum, apricot kernel, saposhnikovia, and white fresh bark; three liang each of fresh ginger, gypsum, and licorice.

Chop the eighteen ingredients. Simmer them with two dou of water, Jingli, and Zhuli until three sheng of liquid remain. Divide into four doses. Leave between doses approximately the time it takes a person to walk six or seven li. Take five batches in all, leaving three days between batches. Another version adds three liang of fangji.

Prescription for disorientation, fright, and fear caused by deficiency heat:

Three sheng of Jingli, two sheng of Zhuli, three he of fermented soybeans; eighteen zhu of bezoar; three liang each of fresh Ophiopogon and ginseng; two liang each of cimicifuga, iron essence, asparagus, dragon teeth, poria, and gardenia.

Chop the twelve ingredients and simmer them in two dou of water until three sheng remain. Strain out the dregs. Add the bezoar and iron essence, then simmer for another five or six boils, until two sheng and seven he remain. Divide into five doses and take warm, leaving between doses approximately the time it takes to travel ten li.

Rehmannia Decoction: For inner distress caused by Wind-Heat, and heat between the Spleen and Stomach that prevents eating.

Two sheng each of fresh rehmannia juice and goji root juice; three sheng each of fresh ginger juice and butter; five sheng each of Jingli and Zhuli; eight liang each of asparagus and ginseng; six liang of poria; four liang each of rhubarb and gardenia seed.

Of the eleven ingredients, first pound and sift five of them into a powder. Simmer the rehmannia and the other juices to make a decoction, then add the powder and stir until evenly mixed. The source gives the dose here as “seven,” possibly a unit of measure. Take twice daily, gradually increasing the dose.

After taking the medicine for twenty-one days, reduce the dose once the symptoms have eased.

Another prescription: Scutellaria root, dried indigo plant, peony, and sage (three liang each); gardenia seeds and fresh kudzu root (six liang each); antelope horn (five liang); and fermented beans (one sheng, wrapped in cotton cloth).

Chop the eight ingredients. Boil them in seven sheng of water until two sheng and five he are left. Divide into three doses.

A prescription for accumulated heat and wind: Chinese wolfberry root bark, Solomon’s seal (Polygonatum odoratum), red sage root, astragalus, ophiopogon, and water plantain (three liang each); clarified honey and ginger juice (one he each); and fresh rehmannia juice (one sheng).

First boil the nine ingredients in six sheng of water until two sheng remain, then strain out the dregs. Add the fresh rehmannia juice and simmer over low heat until one sheng remains. Add the honey and ginger juice, bring to a boil once, and the medicine is ready. Take three he warm, twice a day.

Great Wind-Expelling Decoction: Treats fever after windstroke, absence of sweating, painful restlessness in the joints of the limbs, acute abdominal pain, and inability to urinate or defecate.

Saposhnikovia root, Chinese angelica, ephedra, atractylodes, and licorice (eighteen zhu each); Scutellaria root (thirty zhu); dried rehmannia, Cornus fruit, poria, and aconite (one liang each).

Chop the ten ingredients and boil them in nine sheng of water until two and a half sheng remain. Take seven he per dose. If urination and defecation are obstructed, add rhubarb and ginseng (eighteen zhu each), thirty jujubes, and three liang of ginger. Boil until three sheng remain and divide into three doses. The Shen Shi Formula adds one liang of asparagus root.

Great Euphorbia Bath Decoction: Treats fever after windstroke.

Euphorbia and Sophora root, in equal amounts.

Grind the two ingredients into a coarse powder. Take half a sheng of the powder, add it to one dou of white vinegar rice-wash water, and bring it to a boil three times. When it has cooled to a suitable temperature, wash the body from top to bottom. Stop when the body begins to feel cold; it is said to work quickly. For a child, take a pinch of powder between three fingers, boil it in four sheng of rice-wash water, and bathe the child.

Golden-Tooth Wine: Used to treat “Eight Winds” and “Five Zhus,” ancient collective terms for various wind evils and disease influences that have persisted for years without cure. The patient’s whole body feels weak and dragged down, and they cannot turn over or change position. They limp when walking and have difficulty controlling their body. At times, the jaw suddenly locks, the voice is lost, and speech becomes unclear. The sinews and vessels of the limbs, back, and spine may become tense, swollen, and painful, with pain that moves from place to place. Other possible symptoms include fatigue and aversion to cold, accumulations, shortness of breath, alternating chills and fever, disorder of the Three Burners (upper, middle, and lower), impaired transformation and transport by the spleen and stomach, food stagnation, sour regurgitation, vomiting, and an inability to transform eaten food into flesh. For such conditions, which physicians find difficult to cure, the following prescription is used:

Break up the gold teeth into grains of rice, place them in a small silk bag, and put the bag together with dried Rehmannia root, Kochia seeds (if the seeds are unavailable, use the stems; Su Gong says they should instead be replaced with Cnidium seed), Sambucus root, aconite, Saposhnikovia root, Asarum, and poison oak, four liang of each; Notopterygium, one jin (the Hu Qia fang uses Angelica pubescens instead); and Sichuan pepper, four ge. These ten ingredients should be roughly chopped and placed in a silk bag.

Soak the bag in four dou of wine in a porcelain jar. Seal the jar so that no wine vapor escapes. Soak it for three or four nights in spring and summer, and six or seven nights in autumn and winter. When the wine is ready, strain out the herbs and take one ge each day. The text says this wine is not toxic and may be taken until one feels slightly drunk. Take it regularly, keeping a steady level of wine’s effects in the body without interruption. After finishing one batch, it is said, all the ailments treated by this remedy will be cured, and the body will be strengthened. When the wine is finished, add three liang of each herb and five liang of Sichuan pepper, then soak them in wine as before, but do not add more gold teeth. If your constitution tends toward cold, add four liang of dried ginger. The text claims that this wine is more effective than acupuncture and moxibustion, with notable results in treating limb weakness and restricted movement caused by various wind disorders.

The version in the Zhouhou Beiji Fang differs: it adds four liang each of Cimicifuga and dried ginger, two liang of ginseng, and five liang each of Dendrobium and Achyranthes, while omitting Sambucus root, for fourteen ingredients in all. Su Gong’s version omits Rehmannia, for thirteen ingredients. Another recipe uses four liang of Tribulus and three liang of Astragalus; the Hu Qia fang adds four liang of teasel root, for eleven ingredients. The Qianjin Yifang adds four liang of Skimmia and omits poison oak.

The wine of Ma Guan, Prefect of Changshan, is said to dispel pathogenic wind, promote the free flow of the blood vessels, replenish Jing and Qi, and harmonize the six viscera. It is also said to sharpen hearing and vision and give the complexion a healthy glow; white hair can turn black, and lost teeth can grow back. After twenty days of taking it, one’s physical strength doubles; after sixty days, one feels full of vitality; after eighty days, one can write at night; and after a hundred days, one reaches what the text calls a state of “spiritual illumination.” The text further claims that it enhances sexual potency, restores the vigor of a thirty-year-old, and can even enable a person to draw a bow or crossbow. An eighty-year-old who takes it may also be able to father a child. It is prescribed for all disorders of the lower back and knees as well.

The ingredients are two liang of fresh Aconitum (used raw); one liang each of pokeweed root, azalea, and Sichuan pepper; one large Aconitum tuber; five aconite tubers; and three liang each of cinnamon bark, Chinese-leaf honeysuckle, Skimmia, and dried ginger, for ten ingredients in all. Roughly chop the herbs, place them in a silk bag, and soak them in three dou of wine for five days in spring and summer, or seven days in autumn and winter. Strain out the herbs. Take half a ge at first, then gradually increase the dose to two or three ge.

Pound the dregs into a powder. Take one square-inch spoonful—a small measure used in ancient times—with wine, three times a day, until the condition improves.

In summer, if you are concerned that the wine may turn sour, seal the wine jar with oiled paper and store it in a well, close to the surface of the water. This will help keep the wine from turning sour. (The formula recorded in the Qianjin Yifang omits shanglu and guixin, and contains eight ingredients.)

Barbarian Wine: Used to treat longstanding wind disorders, stiffness and contraction of the sinews and bones, wasting of the body, and illness so severe that a person has been bedridden for thirty years. It is also used for various serious wind disorders and loss of the eyebrows.

Ingredients: dried dihuang, duhuo, danshen, and yushi (one liang each); maimendong, fuzi, and gansui (two liang each); chishizhi (two and a half liang); dried ginger, wuyi, yuanhua, and baiziren (one he each); suzi (one sheng); roucongrong, fushen (called “fuling” in the Qianjin Yifang), jinya, shuyu, baizhu, duzhong, shinan, jingjiezi, shanzhuyu, and kuandong (eighteen zhu each); baizhi, wuhui, wutou, renshen, langdu, shujiao, fangfeng, xixin, fanshi, hanshuishi, niuxi, mahuang, qiongqiong, danggui, chaihu, shaoyao, muli, jiegeng, gouji (called “gouqi” in the Qianjin Yifang), and tianxiong (half a liang each); shihu and guixin (six zhu each).

Cut up the forty-five ingredients and soak them in two dou of wine. Soak for three days in summer, six days in spring and autumn, and nine days in winter. Take half a he each time. Prepare the mixture in a sealed room, out of sight of women and domestic animals. For the three days before combining the ingredients, clear the mind and observe ritual abstinence. (The Qianjin Yifang omits qiongqiong and says it is better to add forty jujubes.)

Another formula: Used to treat the Eight Winds, the Twelve Bi impediments, paralysis of one side of the body and difficulty moving the limbs, retained food, longstanding cold and deficiency, the Five Taxations and Seven Injuries, as well as lingering disorders after childbirth and irregular menstruation.

Ingredients: yushi, guixin, baizhu, langdu, banxia, shinan, baishizhi, longdan, xuduan, yuanhua, baishiying, daizhe, liru, shiwei, xuanshen, tianxiong, fangfeng, shanzhuyu, jiegeng, lili, juanbai, xixin, hanshuishi, wutou, zhuzhu, shujiao, and baizhi.

Qinjiao (a medicinal herb used to dispel wind and dampness), calamus (one liang each), alum, aconite, and Polygala (two liang each), gypsum (two and a half liang), and one centipede.

The medicines listed above comprise thirty-four ingredients. Chop them, soak them in two dou of wine for four days, and take one ge twice daily for ten consecutive days. Then strain out the dregs, dry them in the sun, pound them, and sift them into a powder. Take one fangcunbi measure (an ancient implement for measuring powdered medicine, roughly equivalent to a spoonful) with wine twice daily, adjusting the dose according to the body’s response.

The formula recorded by Hu Qia contains forty-two ingredients. It omits cinnamon bark, asarum, monkshood, Chinese azalea, and Sichuan pepper, and adds mirabilite, Changshan, Scutellaria, Coptis, rhubarb, ephedra, Rehmannia, Peucedanum, licorice, dodder seed, peony, and aster (one liang each), plus ten apricot kernels. Pound and sift them together, then place them in a silk bag. Separately, use three dou of water, three jin of wine starter, and three dou of millet to prepare cooked grain as for brewing wine. Put the medicine bag into the brewing ingredients. Steep for seven days in spring and autumn, ten days in winter, and three days in summer. Once the wine is ready, take half an eggshell’s worth three times daily. Alternatively, dry the medicines in the sun and grind them into powder; take one fangcunbi measure with wine twice daily, until the body feels warm.

Lu King’s Wine: Used to treat dizziness, a restless spirit, deafness, dim vision, tearing, loss of smell, sores and ulcers in the mouth, toothache caused by wind, scrofula (swollen lymph nodes in the neck), sores beneath the throat, feverish agitation, cold hands and feet, Qi surging upward, pain in the chest, ribs, and shoulder blades, inability to raise the arms above the head or fasten a sash, inability to bend or straighten the lower back, and weakness, numbness, or difficulty standing for long in the legs and feet. It is also used for the eight winds, twelve impediments, five relaxations, six contractions, hemiplegia, paralysis affecting one side of the limbs, and tendons and vessels drawn into spasms so that the limbs cannot bend or extend. It is prescribed as well for throat obstruction and difficulty swallowing caused by so-called “thief wind,” or for sensations like an awl or knife piercing the skin, with pain that shifts from place to place. The scripture also says that if such illnesses go untreated for a long time, they may penetrate the Five Viscera, settle beneath the heart or in the gaohuang (a region ancient physicians considered difficult to treat), or move through the limbs. Some areas may feel cold, as if wind had blown over them, or illness may arise from accumulated cold and dampness. The formula is also said to be used for wind-dampness, the five strains and seven injuries, deficiency and debility, and various other conditions.

The formula lists: evodia root, monkshood, and Chinese azalea (thirty zhu each); Chinese aconite, fangji, and dendrobium (twenty-four zhu each); asarum, achyranthes, licorice, arborvitae seeds, tetrapanax pith, cinnamon bark, Qinjiao, capillary wormwood, Asiatic cornelian cherry, Scutellaria (called astragalus in Hu Qia’s version), aconite, and Indian acanthus.

Dried Rehmannia root, cowherb seed (the Hu Qia version has “asparagus root,” while the Supplement to the Essential Prescriptions Worth a Thousand Gold has “Wangsun”), Eucommia bark, Alisma rhizome, Chinese photinia, Saposhnikovia root, and polygala root (ten or eight zhu each; the text reads as given).

Chop the twenty-five ingredients and soak them in four dou of wine for ten days. Take one ge each time, gradually increasing the dose to four or five ge, until the body responds and the desired effect is reached. The Supplement to the Essential Prescriptions Worth a Thousand Gold calls this formula “Duke Lu’s Wine.”

(The Hu Qia version gives a different method: use dried ginger and omit Stephania root. Put the herbs in a silk bag and soak them with two dou of water and two jin of wine starter for three or four nights, then remove the bag. Steam two dou of millet and add the herbal liquid to brew the wine. Once the wine is ready, drink a portion about the size of an egg twice a day, increasing the amount gradually until the desired effect is reached.)

Another formula treats one-sided paralysis caused by pathogenic Wind, including severe cases in which death seems imminent, or illness brought on by exposure to Wind while working. It is also used for inability to move the limbs, walk, or dress oneself, as well as for cramped sinews and vessels, limping, and limbs that are sluggish or stiff. Further uses include vaginal discharge in women, postpartum Windstroke, and the “five taxations and seven injuries” (a general term for various forms of overexertion and debility).

Dried ginger, podophyllum, cassia bark, licorice, lovage root, Chinese teasel root, Chinese wild ginger, aconite, Japanese gentian, monkshood, gypsum, and aster root (five liang each); kudzu root, rice-paper plant pith, Saposhnikovia root, Biota seeds, Chinese morinda root, dendrobium, Chinese photinia, Asiatic cornelian cherry, and buttercup root (four liang each); asparagus root and Achyranthes root (eight liang each); twenty aconite tubers; and half a sheng of Sichuan pepper.

Chop the twenty-five ingredients and soak them in five sheng of water for three nights. Add one jin of wine starter and two dou of glutinous millet, then soak for another three nights and strain out the herbs. Steam one dou of glutinous rice, add it to the liquid, and ferment the mixture for three nights to make the medicinal wine. Eat first, then take half a ge twice a day. Once the rice has been fully digested, remove the herbs, dry them, grind them into powder, and take the powder.

Angelica Pubescens Wine: A formula used to treat the Eight Winds (a general term for various pathogenic Winds) and the Twelve Bi (a general term for various painful impediments).

Angelica pubescens and Chinese photinia (four liang each), Saposhnikovia root (three liang); aconite, monkshood, Chinese monkshood, and Eurasian beechdrop (two liang each).

Chop the seven ingredients and soak them in two dou of wine for seven days. Take half a ge three times a day, until the desired effect is reached.

Moxibustion

Bian Que said: If someone is suddenly struck by severe Wind and experiences distress and unbearable pain, even to the point of imminent death, apply moxibustion to the feet immediately.

At the crease below the big toe, apply the number of moxa cones corresponding to the patient’s age, and the condition can be cured. A “cone” is the unit used to count one burning of a moxa cone during moxibustion.

If the sinews are cramped and walking is impossible: if the cramping is at the inner ankle, apply forty cones above the inner ankle; if it is at the outer ankle, apply thirty cones above the outer ankle. This is said to bring a quick cure.

If the eyes roll upward, apply twenty cones behind the inner and outer corners of both eyes. If the patient cannot speak, apply one hundred cones over the third vertebra. If the patient does not recognize people, apply seven cones at the end of the hypochondrium.

If the eyes roll upward, the jaw is clenched, and there is severe abdominal pain, apply fourteen cones at the first crease below the scrotum. This method is also effective for sudden loss of consciousness.

For chronic wind disorders, sudden attacks of wind disorders, and wind disorders of varying severity and duration: the patient may fall ill suddenly without realizing it, or may experience abdominal and chest distension, paralysis on one side of the body, a clenched jaw and inability to speak, drooling, closed eyes and deafness, a cold and rigid body, agitation and confusion, unpredictable changes in mood, bluish-purple lips, pale lips, upward-rolling eyes, or arching of the body. As soon as an attack is noticed, apply seven cones in sequence at each of the following points:

First apply moxibustion at one point, Shenting, directly above the bridge of the nose at the hairline. Then apply it at two points, Qucha, each one and a half cun to either side of Shenting. Next, apply it at two points, Shangguan, also called Kezhuren, in the hollows along the upper edge of the protruding bone in front of the ears; at two points, Xiaguan, in the hollows beside the arteries below the front edges of the ears; and at two points, Jiache, in the hollows near the angles of the jaw. Apply it at one point, Lianquan, in the hollow beneath the chin, behind the bone; at one point, Xionghui, two cun above Shenting; at one point, Baihui, at the very center of the crown; at two points, Benshen, two fen into the hairline directly above the ears (another version gives four fen); at two points, Tianzhu, in the hollows outside the two large tendons at the back of the neck, within the hairline; at one point, Taodao, in the space below the prominent vertebra at the base of the neck; at two points, Fengmen, one and a half cun to either side below the second vertebra; and finally at two points, Xinshu, one and a half cun to either side below the fifth vertebra.

The names and locations of these points are traditional acupuncture descriptions recorded in the source text. “Wind disorder” is also a category of illness in ancient medical texts.

Apply moxibustion to the two Liver Shu points, with seven moxa cones at each. They are located below the ninth vertebra, one and a half inches to either side of the spine. Next, apply moxibustion to the two Kidney Shu points, with seven cones at each. They are below the fourteenth vertebra, one and a half inches to either side of the spine. Then apply moxibustion to the two Bladder Shu points, with seven cones at each. They are below the nineteenth vertebra, one and a half inches to either side of the spine.

Next, apply seven moxa cones to each of the two Quchi points. With the elbow bent, locate each point in the hollow at the outer bend of the elbow. Apply seven cones to each of the two Jianyu points, located in the hollow between the two bones at the center of the shoulder. Apply seven cones to each of the two Zhigou points, located three inches above the back of the wrist, on the outer forearm between the two bones. Apply seven cones to each of the two Hegu points, located in the hollow between the bones at the base of the thumb and index finger. Apply seven cones to each of the two Jianshi points, located three inches above the palm, between the two tendons. Apply seven cones to each of the two Yanglingquan points, located in the hollow below the outer side of the knee, in front of the prominent bone. Apply seven cones to each of the two Yangfu points, located in the hollow above the outer ankle, at the end of the fibula. Apply seven cones to each of the two Kunlun points, located in the hollow behind the outer ankle and above the heel bone.

For wind disorders, apply two hundred moxa cones each to Shangxing and Baihui, two hundred and forty to Qianding, and three hundred each to Naohu and Fengfu. Another account says that for “great wind,” seven hundred cones should be applied to Baihui.

For various wind disorders, locate points on either side of the spine, level with Dazhui at the back of the neck, two inches and three tenths from the spine. Use the patient’s own finger widths to measure. Apply one hundred moxa cones on each side, continuing until the illness is cured.

For ringing in the ears caused by wind disorders, measure eight and a half tenths of an inch from behind the ear, then apply moxibustion in the hollow found inward from that point. This is said to treat various wind disorders; people with mania may also be treated at this point. Apply one hundred cones each in front of and behind the ear gate.

For sudden illness accompanied by fear of wind and a feeling of impending death, inability to speak, or numbness and loss of sensation in the muscles, apply moxibustion at the fifth vertebra, a point called “Organ Shu.” Apply one hundred and fifty cones, up to a maximum of three hundred. The source says this will bring about recovery.

The Heart Shu point is beside the fifth vertebra—some accounts place it beside the seventh—directly opposite the heart and three inches from the spine horizontally. It is used to treat heart wind, abdominal distension, inability to digest food, vomiting blood, and aching, painful, and emaciated limbs.

For a thin, frail body, loss of appetite, nosebleeds, blurred vision, pain at the shoulders and beneath the ribs, or cramping in the lower abdomen, apply moxibustion for two or three hundred zhuang (a unit of measurement for moxibustion, referring to one burning of a moxa cone).

Dachangshu (the large-intestine-associated acupuncture point on the back) lies beside the sixteenth vertebra, one and a half cun from the spine on each side. It treats wind disorders, rumbling in the abdomen, diarrhea, difficulty digesting food, cramping pain in the lower abdomen, stiffness and pain in the lower back, difficulty passing urine or stool, and inability to eat. Apply one hundred zhuang of moxibustion, once every three days.

Yemen lies one cun beneath the armpit, among the clusters of hair. It is also called Taiyangyin and Yejian. Apply fifty zhuang of moxibustion to treat wind disorders.

Juegu lies three cun above the outer ankle. Apply one hundred zhuang of moxibustion to treat heaviness of the body, inner agitation, and pain in the lower leg caused by wind disorders.