《孫真人備急千金要方》Vol. 52

“Treatise on the Pulse of the Stomach” (Chapter One)

The treatise says: The Stomach and Spleen are paired as interior and exterior, and the lips are an external sign by which to observe their condition. The Spleen works in conjunction with the Stomach. The Stomach is the bowel-organ that receives food and drink, storing it like a granary. It weighs two jin and fourteen liang. It bends and extends, measures one chi and six cun in length, one chi and five cun in width, and five cun in diameter. It can hold three dou and five sheng of food and drink, usually retaining two dou of grain and one dou and five sheng of water.

The upper part of the Stomach is broad, and its neck is large; the chest and abdomen must expand for it to hold the five grains. Once food fills the Stomach, the Upper Burner (the upper part of the body) transports Qi, carrying out the refined, light, and easily flowing portions. The Lower Burner (the lower part of the body) then pours them downward and conveys them to the small intestine. This is the quantity of food and drink the intestines and Stomach can contain.

In a healthy person, the intestines and Stomach are not both full at the same time: when the Stomach is full, the intestines are empty; when the intestines are full, the Stomach is empty. They take turns filling and emptying, allowing Qi to move freely up and down. The Five Zang organs are thereby settled, the blood vessels flow freely, and the spirit can dwell in peace. Thus, what is called “Shen” is the refined Qi generated from food and drink. When the Qi and blood of the Five Zang organs are deficient, they can be nourished through the Stomach. The intestines and Stomach should usually retain two dou and four sheng of grain and one dou and one sheng of water.

Therefore, a person has two bowel movements a day (at this point, the Jia Yi Jing has a graphic mark whose meaning is unclear), each about two sheng and five ge. Five sheng are expelled in a day, and three dou and five sheng in seven days, exhausting the food and drink retained in the Stomach and intestines. An ordinary person who neither eats nor drinks will die after seven days, because the refined Qi and fluids produced from food and drink will have been depleted.

The Yang pulse at the right wrist’s bar position disappears, indicating that the Stomach pulse is absent. If symptoms include acid regurgitation, headache, or coldness in the Stomach, acupuncture may be applied to a point on the Foot Taiyin channel, one cun behind the main joint at the base of the big toe.

A replete Yang pulse at the right wrist’s bar position indicates excess pathogen in the Stomach. The patient may feel fullness in the intestines (the original reads “fu fu”; another version has “fu fu,” but the precise meaning is unclear) and have no desire to eat. Even after eating, the food cannot be digested. Acupuncture may be applied to a point on the Foot Yangming channel, at the site on the top of the foot where the artery pulsates.

A floating and hollow pulse has a Yang quality in its floating aspect and a Yin quality in its hollow aspect. Their combination indicates that Stomach Qi has generated heat. The text then says, “its Yang is exhausted,” meaning that the Yang pulse consequently declines and is extinguished.

A floating, large pulse at the Fuyang position—the pulse at the Stomach channel’s pulsation point on the top of the foot—indicates slight deficiency of Stomach Qi. The patient feels vexed and oppressed; the symptoms may occur twice a day and include headache and a heavy head when moving, as well as a sensation of fever, more pronounced in the morning. This is a Stomach disorder.

If the Stomach pulse beats firmly and long, and the face is red, this account says the person should suffer pain in the thigh and hip. If the pulse is soft and scattered…

…will lead to disorders such as obstruction from food and pain in the thigh. The illness first arises in the stomach, causing distension and fullness in the pit of the stomach for five days. It then passes to the kidneys, bringing pain in the lower abdomen and lumbar spine and aching in the lower legs. Three days later it passes to the bladder. Bladder illness causes pain in the back, along both sides of the spine, and in the sinews and vessels, as well as difficulty urinating. Five days later it passes to the heart and spleen. When the heart and spleen are affected, there is heart pain, blockage, pain throughout the body, and a feeling of heaviness. (The Lingshu says that the illness passes from the bladder to the heart.) If there is no improvement after three days, death follows: in winter, after midnight; in summer, at the time of day when the sun begins to incline westward.

Those with stomach illness have abdominal distension and fullness, and pain in the pit of the stomach directly opposite the heart, with pain drawing upward into both flanks. The diaphragm and throat are obstructed, making it difficult to swallow food. For treatment, needle Zusanli.

Difficulty swallowing food and obstruction across the diaphragm indicate that the pathogenic influence is in the stomach. If it is in the upper part of the stomach, press the affected area and then apply acupuncture; if it is in the lower part, use the dispersing method to expel the pathogenic influence.

Stomach distension causes abdominal fullness and pain in the pit of the stomach. The nose smells a scorched odor, eating becomes difficult, and bowel movements are hard to pass.

Stomach malaria causes a person to fall ill in the morning and feel hungry but unable to eat. After eating, the person feels distended and full, and the abdomen becomes enlarged. Needle the transverse collateral vessels on the Foot Yangming and Foot Taiyin channels to let them bleed.

When food stagnates in the stomach, eating cold food causes pain and makes eating impossible; eating warm food allows one to eat.

Illness first affects the spleen, then the pathogenic influence passes to the stomach. If a spleen cough does not go away, the person may vomit long worms such as roundworms.

When rebellious Qi remains in the stomach, a person dreams of food and drink.

Question: When examining the stomach pulse, how can one tell the signs of stomach illness? Answer: If the stomach pulse is strong, it indicates abdominal distension and fullness; if it is weak, it indicates diarrhea.

The spleen corresponds to the flesh. The condition of raised areas of flesh can be used to assess the stomach: firm, full flesh indicates a thick stomach wall; thin, coarse flesh indicates a thin stomach wall; small, thin, coarse flesh indicates that the stomach is not firm; raised flesh out of proportion to the body as a whole indicates that the stomach is positioned low. A low-positioned stomach causes constriction in the pit of the stomach; flesh that is not firm indicates slack stomach Qi; flesh that has no small nodular elevations but is taut indicates urgent stomach Qi; flesh with many small nodular elevations indicates stagnation of stomach Qi. Stagnant stomach Qi causes the upper part of the stomach to feel constricted and uncomfortable, with impaired passage.

Bian Que said: The Foot Taiyin Spleen channel and the Foot Yangming Stomach channel are interiorly and exteriorly paired. When the spleen and stomach are ill, excess conditions are harmed by pathogenic heat; when heated, they draw in fluids, and thirst is common. Deficiency conditions are harmed by pathogenic cold; when cold, one feels hungry, and pain is common. The illness begins with wind-water, a condition caused by wind and dampness, and has its root in the stomach. Symptoms first appear in the limbs; then the abdomen becomes distended, followed by swelling throughout the body. The treatment method is given in the “Treatise on Water.”

When stomach Qi is about to be exhausted and cannot be restored, death follows after five days. How can this be recognized? The tongue is swollen, the urine contains blood, and the stool is red and loose.

The Foot Yangming channel, the Stomach channel, begins beside the nose, meets at the center of the forehead, and connects laterally with the Foot Taiyang channel. It descends along the side of the nose, enters between the upper teeth, then turns back, passes around the mouth and lips, and meets at Chengjiang. It then withdraws to the back and lower part of the chin, follows the lower edge of the jaw to Daying, ascends along Jiache to the front of the ear, and passes through…

The Foot Yangming Stomach Channel, one of the body’s meridians, begins at the hairline and passes across the forehead. A branch descends in front of the Daying point, an acupoint on the face.

The channel associated with the Renying point, an acupoint on the side of the neck, runs along the throat into the Quepen, the hollow above the collarbone. It descends through the diaphragm, connects with the Stomach, and links to the Spleen. Its main course descends from the Quepen, passes along the inner side of the breast, runs on either side of the navel, and enters the Qijie, an area near the groin. Another branch emerges from the lower opening of the Stomach and descends through the abdomen to the Qijie, where it joins the first branch. It then descends past the Biguan point at the root of the thigh, reaches the Futu point on the front of the thigh, continues to the knee, enters below the kneecap, and runs down the outer front of the lower leg. It passes over the top of the foot and enters the cleft on the inner side of the middle toe. A branch separates three cun below the knee and descends into the cleft on the outer side of the middle toe. Another branch passes over the top of the foot between the big toe and second toe, then emerges at the tip of the big toe.

When the Qi and blood of the Foot Yangming Stomach Channel are out of balance, symptoms may include chills and trembling, frequent stretching and yawning, and a darkened complexion. During an attack, the patient may dislike seeing people or firelight. The sound of wooden objects may cause alarm and agitation, with a racing heartbeat, and the patient may want to shut themselves away behind closed doors and windows. In severe cases, they may feel compelled to climb high places and sing, or to run about undressed. Rumbling in the abdomen and abdominal distention may also occur. This is called “calf reversal,” referring to a disorder in which Qi in the lower leg flows counter to its proper course. This channel governs disorders related to the blood aspect. Conditions arising along it include mania, malaria, fever with profuse sweating, nasal congestion or nosebleeds, a crooked mouth, tightness of the lips, swelling of the neck, obstruction of the throat, abdominal distention, edema, swelling and pain of the knee, and pain in the chest, breasts, Qijie, thighs, outer lower legs, and top of the foot, as well as difficulty moving the middle toe.

When the Stomach Channel’s Qi is excessive, the front of the body becomes hot. When there is excess heat in the Stomach, digestion is rapid, hunger comes easily, and the urine turns yellow. When Qi is deficient, the front of the body becomes cold and shivery; if the Stomach is cold, there is fullness and distention. In an excess pattern, the pulse at Renying, the pulse point on the side of the neck, is three times stronger than the pulse at Cunkou, the pulse point at the wrist. In a deficiency pattern, the Renying pulse is weaker than the Cunkou pulse.

The Second Discussion of Stomach Deficiency and Excess (Pulse Diagnosis, Prescriptions, and Moxibustion)

Excess Heat in the Stomach

A yang-excess pulse at the right Guan position, one of the pulse positions at the wrist, indicates disease of the Foot Yangming Stomach Channel. The patient may have a headache (the Mai Jing records this as “hardness and pain in the abdomen with fever”), no sweating, and symptoms resembling warm malaria. The lips may also be dry, with frequent dry retching, and there may be breast abscesses or painful swelling of the Quepen area or armpit. This is called “excess heat in the Stomach.”

Prescription for a Decoction to Purge Stomach Heat

Three liang each of gardenia seed, blackberry lily, cimicifuga, and poria; four liang of peony; five liang of atractylodes; and one sheng each of raw Rehmannia juice and red honey.

Chop the eight ingredients, add seven sheng of water, and decoct until one and a half sheng of liquid remains. Strain out the dregs, add the raw Rehmannia juice, and bring the mixture to a boil twice. Then add the red honey and simmer until three sheng remain. Divide into three doses. Adjust the amount as appropriate for older adults and children.

Heat in the Stomach: Apply moxibustion to Zusanli for thirty cones. A “cone” is a unit of measurement for moxibustion: each moxa cone burned counts as one. This point is three cun below the knee.

Stomach Deficiency and Cold: At the right guan position—the middle section of the three positions on the cun-kou pulse—the yang aspect of the pulse feels weak. This indicates a problem in the Foot Yangming channel, which is connected to the Stomach. The patient suffers from cold in the lower legs and cannot lie down comfortably. They fear wind and cold, and often feel chilled and shiver. Their eyes feel tense; they have abdominal pain and rumbling in the intestines (the Waitai Miyao gives “ringing in the ears”); they alternate between feeling cold and hot; their lips and mouth are dry; and their face and eyes are swollen. This condition is called “Stomach Deficiency and Cold.”

Stomach-Supplementing Decoction: Treats shortness of breath, fatigue, a bitter taste in the mouth, and dull-looking skin. The formula uses arborvitae seed, fangfeng, asarum, cassia bark, and tangerine peel (two liang each); chuanxiong, evodia, and ginseng (three liang each); and licorice (one liang). Pound the nine ingredients, add one dou of water, and boil down to three sheng. Divide into three doses.

Ginseng Powder: Supplements deficiency and cold in the Stomach, and treats emaciation and pain in the joints. The formula uses ginseng, licorice, and asarum (six fen each); ophiopogon, cassia bark, and Chinese angelica (seven fen each); dried ginger (two liang); polygala (one liang); evodia (two fen); and Sichuan pepper (three fen). Grind the ten ingredients into powder and sift. After meals, take one square-inch spoonful—the ancient measure for medicinal powders, approximately one square inch—with warm wine.

Treatise on the Throat, Chapter Three: The throat is an outward sign of the condition of the Spleen and Stomach. It weighs twelve liang, is one chi and two cun long, and two cun wide. It has twelve encircling rings, corresponding to the twelve double-hours. It governs the passage through which food and drink travel, and is also where Shen and Qi move to and fro. If the Zang organs are hot, the throat swells and becomes obstructed, and Qi cannot flow freely; treat this with Crow’s-Feather Plaster (the formula is in Volume Six). If the Fu organs are cold, the throat feels blocked and uncomfortable, as though something were constantly lodged there; it may also itch and feel numb, with increased saliva. For heat patterns, use methods that disperse; for cold patterns, use methods that open and clear. If there is neither cold nor heat, regulate according to the Zang or Fu organs involved. The relevant formulas are also in Volume Six.

Counterflow Stomach, Chapter Four (Pulses, Formulas, and Moxibustion): If the cun pulse is tight and the chi pulse is rough, the patient has fullness in the chest and cannot eat without vomiting. If the vomiting stops afterward, this is because purgation was used, leaving the patient unable to eat. If the vomiting does not stop, this is Stomach Reversal; that is why the chi pulse is slightly rough.

The Fuyang pulse—the pulse on the top of the foot, used to examine the Spleen and Stomach—is floating and rough. Floating indicates deficiency of Stomach Qi; roughness indicates damage to the Spleen. When the Spleen is damaged, it cannot break down food. The patient therefore vomits at night what they ate in the morning, and in the morning what they ate at night. Food from the previous night remains undigested. This is called “Stomach Reversal.”

The pulse at the top of the foot is tight and rough; this condition is difficult to treat.

Formula for treating Stomach deficiency and vomiting food immediately after swallowing

One liang of ginseng; two liang each of Alisma and licorice; three liang each of cinnamon bark, dried tangerine peel, and dried ginger; four liang of Poria; six liang of rhubarb; and five liang of green bamboo shavings.

Coarsely chop the nine ingredients. Boil them in eight sheng of water until three sheng remain. Take seven ge per dose, three times during the day and once at night. If the patient already has diarrhea, omit the rhubarb.

Formula for treating food reflux accompanied by thirst

Four liang each of Poria, Alisma, and pinellia; three liang each of cinnamon bark and licorice.

Coarsely chop the five ingredients. Boil them in five sheng of water until two sheng remain, then divide into three doses. Another version adds four liang of fresh ginger.

Formula for treating Stomach reversal, vomiting, food that cannot be digested, and persistent vomiting

Two liang each of ginseng, Alisma, and cinnamon bark; four liang of Poria; three liang each of tangerine peel, licorice, and astragalus; one and a half liang of rhubarb; eight liang of fresh ginger; one sheng of pinellia; and three sheng of Ophiopogon.

Coarsely chop the eleven ingredients. Boil them in one dou and two sheng of water until three sheng and two ge remain. Take eight ge per dose, three times during the day and once at night. For a weak person, take six ge per dose. If the patient already has diarrhea, omit the rhubarb.

Formula for treating food eaten in the morning but vomited only in the evening, with stabbing abdominal pain after meals; this is caused by prolonged exposure to cold

Three liang of tangerine peel; two liang each of licorice, magnolia bark, Poria, cinnamon bark, asarum, apricot kernels, and bamboo bark; ten betel nuts; eight liang of Peucedanum; five liang of fresh ginger; and one liang of ginseng.

Coarsely chop the twelve ingredients. Boil them in one dou and three sheng of water until three sheng remain, then divide into three doses. Another version adds two liang of citrus peel.

Another formula

Three liang of tangerine peel; two liang each of white atractylodes and ginseng; 120 Sichuan peppercorns; one liang of cinnamon bark; and one handful of Chinese chives.

Coarsely chop the six ingredients and soak them overnight in two sheng of water. Then place them inside a sheep’s stomach … The source text ends here.

Note: Liang, sheng, and ge are ancient units of measurement. “Coarsely chop” refers to breaking the medicinal ingredients into rough pieces.

After stitching it closed, boil it in three sheng of water until the liquid has boiled away. Take out the medicine, pound it, remove the dregs, and divide it into three doses.

A Highly Effective Remedy for Rebellious Stomach Qi

Qianhu and ginger, four liang each; donkey-hide gelatin, one liang; hemp seeds, five ge; tangerine peel, three liang; cinnamon heartwood, three cun; licorice, five cun; ten jujubes; and Wuzhuyu, four ge.

Coarsely cut the nine ingredients. Boil them in three sheng of water and two sheng of wine until one sheng and seven ge of liquid remain. Divide into two doses.

Hua Tuo’s Remedy for Stomach Reversal

Stomach reversal is a condition in which food eaten in the morning is not vomited up until evening. The area below the pit of the stomach feels as hard as a cup. The patient may also have bouts of chills and fever, vomit, and be unable to eat. This is caused by cold congealing in the upper stomach region, near the entrance to the stomach. The illness may progress to lung atrophy, a kind of weakness and wasting of the lungs. The remedy is as follows:

Pearl, realgar, and cinnabar, three liang each; mirabilite, five liang; and dried ginger, ten lei.

Grind the five ingredients into a fine powder and mix with honey to make pills the size of parasol tree seeds. Take three pills before meals. If you feel some discomfort or agitation, drinking water will relieve it. There are no special restrictions on taking the medicine, and it works very well. Another version adds one liang of cinnamon heartwood.

A Remedy for Vomiting Food as Soon as It Is Eaten

Pound millet into flour and mix it with water to form seven pills, each the size of a paper mulberry fruit. Boil the pills until soft, put them in vinegar, then swallow them slowly, a little at a time. Stop taking them once you can swallow food. Millet flour may also be taken on its own.

Major Pinellia Decoction: For Stomach Reversal and Inability to Eat, with Immediate Vomiting After Eating

Three sheng of Pinellia; one sheng each of white honey and white atractylodes; two liang of ginseng; and three liang of fresh ginger.

Coarsely cut the five ingredients. Add five sheng of water and the honey, stirring repeatedly two or three hundred times. Then boil until one and a half sheng of liquid remain. Divide into three doses.

A Remedy for Vomiting Food as Soon as It Is Eaten, Accompanied by Upward-Soaring Qi

Two liang each of reed root and mao root, finely cut.

Boil the two ingredients in four sheng of water until two sheng of liquid remain. Take it all at once. Once you can swallow food, the condition is cured.

Another remedy: Drink the urine of a white horse, and the vomiting will stop.

Another remedy: Burn the gizzard of a chicken that has died and take the ashes with wine. Men should use a rooster; women should use a hen.

Another remedy: Rinse mustard seeds, dry them in the sun, and grind them into a powder. Take one square-inch spoonful with wine three times a day for seven consecutive days.

Another remedy: Apply moxibustion one cun below each breast, continuing until the illness is cured. Moxibustion should also be applied above the navel…

Apply twenty moxa cones within an area one inch across; then apply three cones to the point about three finger-widths below the inner ankle, slightly toward the front. (In the text quoted in the Waitai Miyao, “three finger-widths” reads “one finger-width.”)

Formula for treating acid regurgitation and sour fluid in the throat

One jin of qu (powdered fermentation starter) and three jin of rehmannia root.

Pound the two ingredients together, then dry them in the sun. Take with wine, one square-inch spoonful of the powder each time, for seven consecutive days.

Formula for treating belching and acid regurgitation

Half a jin of evodia fruit, three liang of fresh ginger, two liang of ginseng, and twelve jujubes.

Slice the four ingredients. Simmer them in six sheng of water until two sheng of liquid remain. Take before meals, one sheng each time, twice a day.

Formula for treating food stagnation in the middle burner and vomiting sour fluid after meals

Two liang each of dried ginger and food evodia fruit.

Grind the two ingredients into a fine powder and sift. Take with wine, one square-inch spoonful each time, twice a day. If the stomach feels cold, take this formula; it is said to work quickly.

Vomiting, retching, and rebellious Qi, fifth section

(Discussion of pulse signs, formulas, and moxibustion)

In those who vomit, the pulse may sometimes resemble that of someone just waking and rising: the Yang pulse is tight, and the Yin pulse is rapid. Such people vomit after eating. A floating and rapid Yang pulse also indicates vomiting. If the cun pulse is tight and hollow—tight in its rapid arrival, hollow under pressure—the tightness indicates cold, while the hollowness indicates deficiency of Qi and blood. Cold and deficiency interact, causing the pulse to become deep and slow. Such people experience obstruction in the throat. A rapid guan pulse indicates that the person will vomit.

If the Fuyang pulse—the pulse on the top of the foot used to assess the Spleen and Stomach—is faint and rough, faintness indicates diarrhea and roughness indicates vomiting. Food cannot be swallowed. A floating Fuyang pulse indicates that Stomach Qi is weak and there is cold in the stomach. The Qi of worry below contends with cold Qi above. Stomach Qi can then only move outward and cannot receive food, so the person vomits and cannot eat, and becomes so frightened that they seem close to death. As their emotions gradually settle, their condition improves.

When someone is vomiting and has a weak pulse and unobstructed urination, with slight fever and cold hands and feet, the condition is difficult to treat.

The text says: If vomiting occurs after taking a decoction and the medicine cannot enter the abdomen, first take three liang of licorice root, decocted in three sheng of water until two sheng remain. It is acceptable if this causes vomiting; better still if it does not. Once the condition has settled, take the other decoctions. They will then descend more easily and will no longer provoke vomiting. In general, those who vomit easily can eat more fresh ginger; ginger is a commonly used essential remedy for vomiting.

Pinellia Decoction (also called “Small Poria Decoction”), for rebellious Qi, distress in the heart, fullness of Qi in the chest and abdomen, vomiting, and Qi surging upward:

One sheng of pinellia, one jin of fresh ginger, five liang of poria, and five liang of cassia bark.

Coarsely chop the four ingredients above. Boil them in eight sheng of water until reduced to two and a half sheng, then take in three doses. If there is shortness of breath, add two liang of licorice root.

Front-Root Decoction: Used to treat alternating chills and fever, vomiting with rebellious Qi, shortness of breath, hard masses and fullness below the heart, inability to eat, and thirst. It is also used to restore and supplement weakness.

Front root and fresh ginger, three liang each; licorice root, mirabilite (taken with a decoction), and rhubarb (soaked separately), two liang each; peony root, poria, ophiopogon, Chinese angelica, pinellia, talc, gypsum, trichosanthes root, scutellaria, aconite, and ginseng, one liang each.

Coarsely chop the sixteen ingredients above. Boil them in one dou and two sheng of water until reduced to six sheng, then take in four doses.

A formula for treating vomiting, numbness and coldness in the limbs, Qi surging upward, heat in the abdomen, and dysfunction of Qi movement in the Three Burners (the upper, middle, and lower burners in traditional Chinese medicine):

Front root, ligusticum, licorice root, Chinese angelica, gypsum, ginseng, cinnamon bark, and tangerine peel, two liang each; peony root, three liang; pinellia, four liang; fresh ginger, five liang; thirty jujubes.

Coarsely chop the twelve ingredients above, add one dou and two sheng of water, then add three liang of scutellaria and boil together until reduced to three sheng. Take in three doses. Another version says to omit the scutellaria.

Wheat Decoction: Used to treat persistent vomiting.

Wheat, one sheng; ginseng and magnolia bark, four liang each; licorice root, one liang; fresh ginger juice, three he; poria, three liang; green bamboo shavings, two and a half liang.

Coarsely chop the seven ingredients above. Boil them in eight sheng of water until reduced to three sheng, strain out the dregs, and take in three doses.

Polyporus Powder: Used to treat vomiting accompanied by cold above the diaphragm.

Polyporus, poria, and atractylodes, three liang each.

Grind the three ingredients above into a fine powder and sift. Take one square-inch spoonful each time, three times a day. When thirsty, drink plenty of water.

Rhinoceros Horn and Ginseng Drink: Used to treat vomiting with rebellious Qi and weak Stomach Qi, when exposure to wind-heat also prevents eating.

Rhinoceros horn and ginseng, two liang each; Chinese chive bulb, five liang; millet, one he.

Coarsely chop the four ingredients above. Boil them in four and a half sheng of water until reduced to one sheng and seven he.

Cook the rice in a pot, divide it into four portions, and take them at intervals of about seven li shi (an ancient unit of time, roughly two hours). Take one dose first.

Formula for treating seasonal cold damage in spring and summer, when cold pathogens injure the stomach and cause vomiting due to cold in the stomach:

Two liang each of dried tangerine peel, cassia bark, and kudzu root; one sheng of cogongrass rhizome.

Cut the four ingredients into pieces. Boil them in six sheng of water until three sheng remain, then take in three portions. Continue taking the medicine, and prepare another dose once it is finished. If there is a fever, omit the cassia bark.

Minor Pinellia Decoction with Poria: Used to treat various forms of vomiting and retching, as well as hardness and fullness below the heart, phlegm-fluid between the chest and diaphragm, dizziness, and palpitations. The formula appears in Volume 18.

Formula for treating vomiting and retching:

One liang of ginseng, eight he of sesame seeds, one fen of dried tangerine peel, and eight liang of loquat leaves.

Cut the four ingredients into pieces. First boil the loquat leaves in one dou of water until five sheng of liquid remain. Add the other ingredients and boil until three sheng remain. Add the sesame seeds and drink in small amounts over several sittings.

Another formula: Cut three sheng of reed rhizome into pieces and boil in one dou of water until four sheng remain. Take in four portions.

Formula for treating vomiting and retching caused by Qi reversal, even to the point of being unable to breathe:

One sheng of fermented soybean, eight liang of Pinellia tuber, two liang of fresh ginger, and one liang each of ginseng, Chinese thorowax root, cassia bark, and licorice root.

Cut the seven ingredients into pieces. Boil them in nine sheng of water until three sheng remain, then take in three portions.

Another formula:

Fifteen jujubes, one aconite tuber, two liang of dried tangerine peel, one sheng of fermented soybean, and one liang each of fresh ginger and licorice root.

Cut the six ingredients into pieces. Boil them in nine sheng of water until two sheng remain, then take in three portions. Take the medicine three times a day.

Formula for treating sudden vomiting and retching accompanied by reversal cold:

Drink three sheng of freshly drawn cold water. This is highly effective. “Reversal cold” refers to symptoms such as coldness of the hands and feet.

Tangerine Peel Decoction: For treating retching and dry heaving accompanied by cold hands and feet:

Four liang of dried tangerine peel and half a jin of fresh ginger.

Cut the two ingredients into pieces. Boil them in seven sheng of water until three sheng remain, then take in three portions. If the symptoms do not stop, prepare and take another dose.

Formula for treating retching and inability to eat after cold damage:

One sheng of fresh reed rhizome, cut into pieces; one sheng of green bamboo shavings; three he of polished rice; and two liang of fresh ginger.

The original text does not give instructions for preparing or taking the decoction.

Take the four medicinal ingredients listed above, roughly chop them, and decoct them in five sheng of water. Reduce the liquid to two sheng and divide it into three doses. If the symptoms have not stopped, continue taking the medicine for three consecutive doses.

Another formula

Tongcao and tangerine peel, two liang each; fresh reed root, one sheng, chopped; and polished rice, three he. Roughly chop the four ingredients and decoct them in four sheng of water. Reduce the liquid to one and a half sheng and divide it into three doses.

Formula for dry retching, upward vomiting, and spitting up saliva

Pinellia and dried ginger in equal portions. Roughly chop the two ingredients and decoct them in one and a half sheng of fermented rice water. Reduce the liquid to seven ge and take it all at once, three times a day.

Formula for dry retching

Drink one cup of sheep’s milk.

Formula for dry retching

Soak horse dung in wine overnight, then drink the strained liquid.

Another formula

Moxibustion at the “Heart Master” and “Cubit Marsh” points is also effective. “Heart Master” refers to points associated with the Hand Jueyin Pericardium channel; “Cubit Marsh” is a point on the Hand Taiyin Lung channel.

Moxibustion can also be applied one cun below the nipple, for a total of thirty cones. Each cone is one portion of moxa wool burned to ash.

Another formula

If dry retching continues without stopping, and even porridge or liquid medicine is vomited back up, apply thirty cones of moxibustion to the “Intermediary Messenger” point on the hand. If the limbs are cold and the pulse is sunken, faint, or impossible to feel, the pulse will become perceptible after moxibustion. This is a method described in ancient books for urgently treating critically ill patients.

Formula for treating hiccups

Boil three sheng of fermented soybeans and drink the resulting liquid. This works well.

Another formula: Drink one sheng of ginger juice on an empty stomach.

Another formula: Reduce reed root to a thick decoction and drink the liquid.

Another formula: Apply seven cones of moxibustion to the “Receiving Fluids” point, each cone about the size of a grain of wheat.

Moxibustion may also be applied seven cones below the navel, at a distance of four finger-widths.

Formula for treating nausea

Take one sheng of bitter gourd pulp together with its seeds. Pound it, then add wine and water, three sheng in total. Boil down to one sheng and drink it all at once. Before long, something resembling toad skin will be vomited and passed; the amount will be about three sheng.

Another formula: Drink urine. Continue for one hundred days; this works well.

Another formula: Roast one sheng of hemp seeds until fragrant, then pound them and add three sheng of wine. Grind thoroughly, strain off one sheng, and drink it all at once, twice a day. After taking one shi (a unit of capacity), the condition will improve. This may also help with various illnesses and restore the appetite. Those who cannot drink wine may decide how much to take according to their tolerance.

Formula for vomiting food after eating it

Rhubarb, four liang; licorice, two liang. Roughly chop the two ingredients and decoct them in three sheng of water. Reduce the liquid to one and a half sheng and divide it into two doses.

Formula for vomiting as soon as one eats or drinks

Take three sheng of a soup made with both raw and cooked ingredients in a single dose; this will stop the vomiting.

Moxibustion (other formulas appear earlier)

For upward vomiting and inability to eat, apply one hundred cones of moxibustion to the “Heart Transporter” point.

For upward vomiting and inability to eat, when food swallowed today is not vomited until the following day, apply moxibustion to the “Diaphragm Transporter” point.

For vomiting and inability to eat, apply one hundred moxa cones at Chest Hall.

For vomiting and inability to eat, apply fifty moxa cones at Juque.

For vomiting when food cannot be kept down, apply one hundred moxa cones at the Stomach Tube in three sessions.

For vomiting up food just eaten, apply one hundred moxa cones at the Spleen Front-Mu point (the front-Mu point of the Spleen, namely Zhangmen), in three sessions.

For vomiting fluid accumulated in the stomach, accompanied by acid reflux, apply one hundred moxa cones at Divine Radiance (also called the Gallbladder Front-Mu point; the Jia Yi Jing identifies it as Riyue, the Gallbladder’s front-Mu point, located five fen below Qimen), in three sessions.

For vomiting, cholera, or vomiting blood, apply fifty moxa cones at the Hand Heart-Master channel (the Hand Jueyin Pericardium channel).

For belching, hiccups, or obstructed Qi in the chest and diaphragm, apply fifty moxa cones at the hollow beneath the armpit, below the underarm hair and near the ribs.

For hiccups, belching, and vomiting, apply one hundred moxa cones at Shiguan.

This passage comes from juan 52 of Sun Zhenren’s Essential Prescriptions Worth a Thousand in Emergencies. A “cone” is an ancient unit for measuring moxibustion, usually referring to one burning of a moxa cone; “in three sessions” means applying moxibustion on three separate occasions.