《孫真人備急千金要方》Vol. 63

Sun Simiao’s Essential Formulas Worth a Thousand Gold for Emergencies, juan 63, “Ren” Section

Collated and edited by Lin Yi and others, who served as Gentleman of the Court for General Service, Acting Junior Court Gentleman of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, and Proofreader of the Secret Pavilion during the Song dynasty.

First: Wasting-Thirst (six discussions, fifty-three prescriptions, seven moxibustion methods)

Discussion: People who drink alcohol for a long time invariably develop wasting-thirst disease. Even in the bitterest cold, when the sea freezes over, wine does not freeze. This shows how fiercely hot and drying wine is; nothing surpasses it. Roasted cured meat and salty foods are favorites of habitual drinkers, who eat them constantly. After a few cups, they often lose control: they drink and eat without restraint, and pay no heed to whether the pickled fish and sauces they chew are sour or salty. Year after year, they often drink through the night without losing their enthusiasm. In the end, this overheats the Triple Burner—the upper, middle, and lower regions through which Qi and fluids move, according to Chinese medicine—and dries out the five organs. Even wood and stone are scorched and cracked by fire; how could the human body not become thirsty?

Whether this illness can be cured depends on the patient. If the patient follows the prescriptions and takes care to exercise restraint, recovery may come in ten days or half a month. If the patient does not cherish their health, death may soon follow. Medical books contain many effective prescriptions and medicines, but what can they do for someone unwilling to show restraint? Three things call for particular caution: alcohol, sexual activity, and salty foods and wheat-based foods. A person who can limit these may avoid further illness even without taking medicine. For someone who cannot, even a Golden Elixir cannot save them. Reflect seriously on this and take care.

It is also said: Whether their condition improves or not, people with wasting-thirst should always bear in mind the possibility of severe carbuncles—suppurating swellings in the flesh. Why? Such patients often develop carbuncles near major joints and bones, and may even die from them. They must therefore guard especially against severe carbuncles and prepare medicines for treating sores and swellings in advance, in case of emergency.

One person suffered from wasting-thirst and frequent urination. The illness began in spring. After taking a juice made from Trichosanthes fruit and fermented soybeans throughout the summer, the treatment took effect and the thirst gradually eased. But he continued to urinate frequently, more than twenty times day and night, usually passing three or four liters in a day. Even at its mildest, the illness never fell below two liters. Only after it had persisted for a long time did the urination gradually stop. Later, he gradually ate more rich, fatty foods, yet grew thinner day by day. His throat, lips, and mouth became dry, his breathing weak, and he could not speak much. He felt troubled by internal heat, and both legs grew weak and sore. He ate twice as much as usual but still had no strength. One should understand that this illness is caused by deficiency heat. For treatment, one may take Trichosanthes juice over an extended period to clear the pathogenic heat; cow’s milk and almond cheese can help nourish the body. This method is especially beneficial.

Prescription for treating wasting-thirst and clearing excess heat in the stomach and intestines

Ophiopogon root, poria, coptis, gypsum, and fragrant Solomon’s seal (also called polygonatum; eight fen of each), and ginseng.

Longdancao, huangqin (six fen each), shengma (four fen), zhishi (five fen), powdered fresh ginger, goji berries, and trichosanthes root (ten fen each for the last two ingredients; the Waitai Miyao uses digupi in place of goji berries).

Grind the thirteen ingredients into a fine powder and mix with honey to make pills the size of wutong seeds. Take with a drink made from cogongrass rhizome and millet, ten pills per dose, twice a day. If you are still thirsty, drink the cogongrass rhizome and millet drink below until your thirst is relieved; hemp may also be consumed. To prepare the drink:

Cogongrass rhizome (chopped, one sheng) and millet (three he).

Add six dou of water to these two ingredients and simmer until the millet is fully cooked. Use the drink to take the preceding medicine.

Another formula: trichosanthes root and fresh ginger (five liang each), fresh ophiopogon juice and reed root (chopped, two sheng each), and cogongrass rhizome (chopped, three sheng).

Chop the five ingredients, add one dou of water, and simmer until three sheng of liquid remain. Divide into three doses.

Fushen Decoction clears heat and relieves thirst. It is used for excess heat in the Stomach, when a person is constantly thirsty and wants to drink frequently. Fushen (two liang; the Waitai Miyao gives fuling), trichosanthes root and fresh ophiopogon (five liang each), fragrant Solomon’s seal and zhimu (four liang each), fresh rehmannia root (six liang), wheat (two sheng), jujubes (twenty), and light bamboo leaves (chopped, three sheng).

First simmer the wheat and bamboo leaves in three dou of water until nine sheng of liquid remain. Strain out the solids, then add the remaining ingredients and simmer until four sheng remain. Divide into four doses. There is no need to take the medicine at set times; take it whenever thirsty. This formula treats not only thirst caused by Stomach heat, but thirst associated with all kinds of heat conditions.

Pig Stomach Pills are used to treat wasting thirst. One pig stomach, prepared as for ordinary cooking; huanglian and polished millet (five liang each); trichosanthes root and fushen (four liang each); zhimu (three liang); and ophiopogon (two liang).

Grind the seven ingredients into a fine powder and put it inside the pig stomach. Sew it closed and steam until very soft. While still hot, place it together with the medicine in a wooden mortar and pound until smooth. If it is too firm, mix in honey, then form pills the size of wutong seeds. Take thirty pills per dose with water, twice a day, gradually increasing to fifty pills. Take them whenever thirsty.

Another formula: trichosanthes root, ophiopogon, and lead cinnabar (eight fen each).

Poria with Spirit (the portion of poria that contains pine roots; another textual variant reads “poria”), and licorice, six fen each.

Grind the five ingredients above into a coarse powder. Take one square-inch spoonful (about a small spoonful) with jiang water, an ancient fermented drink, three times a day. The Essential Secrets from Beyond the Cabinet records that the Poria with Spirit is omitted.

Another prescription: astragalus, Poria with Spirit, trichosanthes root, licorice, and ophiopogon, three liang each; dried rehmannia, five liang.

Cut the six ingredients into pieces and decoct them in eight sheng of water. Reduce the liquid to two and a half sheng, strain out the herbs, and divide it into three doses. Take one dose each day; a course of ten doses is recommended.

Duckweed Pills, a prescription for wasting-thirst

Dried duckweed and trichosanthes root, in equal amounts.

Grind the two ingredients above into a fine powder, mix with human milk, and form pills the size of parasol-tree seeds. Take twenty pills with water on an empty stomach, three times a day. There are records of people who had been ill for three years recovering within three days of taking them. The pills work especially well for deficiency-heat.

A prescription for wasting-thirst in which a person drinks one shi of water a day

Lead oxide, two liang; aconite, one liang; kudzu root and trichosanthes root, three liang each.

Grind the four ingredients above into a fine powder, mix with honey, and form pills the size of parasol-tree seeds. Take ten pills with water three times a day; they may also be taken whenever thirst arises. Reduce the amount of aconite in spring and summer.

Coptis Pills, a prescription for thirst

One jin of coptis and one jin of fresh rehmannia. (Zhang Wenzhong says to use ten jin of fresh rehmannia.)

Squeeze the fresh rehmannia to extract its juice, then soak the coptis in it. Remove the coptis and dry it in the sun, then soak it in the juice again. Repeat until all the juice has been absorbed by the coptis and it is dry. Pound the coptis into a fine powder, mix with honey, and form pills the size of parasol-tree seeds. Take twenty pills three times a day, before or after meals. Alternatively, make a powder and take one square-inch spoonful with wine.

Trichosanthes Powder, a secret prescription for severe thirst

Dig up the trichosanthes root deep in the ground and peel it thickly until the white part is exposed. Cut it into one-inch sections and soak them in water for a day and a night, changing the water during this time. After five days, remove the sections, pound and grind them finely, and strain them through a silk bag. Dry the resulting powder in the sun. Take one square-inch spoonful with water three or four times a day. The powder may also be made into porridge and eaten with milk or cheese, without limit, until the illness is cured.

Another prescription: mix trichosanthes powder with egg, dry it in the sun, then grind it into a fine powder. Take one square-inch spoonful with water three times a day; it may also be made into pills.

Another prescription: take trichosanthes powder mixed with water, one square-inch spoonful at a time. Alternatively, mix it with honey and form pills the size of parasol-tree seeds; take thirty pills per dose.

Another prescription: take the section of well rope from seven households that lies near the mouth of the well bucket. Tie the pieces into a knot and burn them to ash. Use water drawn from the well at dawn (well-blossom water)…

If taken repeatedly no more than three times, the illness will certainly be cured.

Another prescription: Simmer bamboo roots until the liquid is concentrated, then drink it; the illness can be cured.

Another prescription: Soak fermented black beans and extract the liquid. Drink as much as you like; there is no limit.

Another prescription: Cook green glutinous millet to make a rice liquid, and drink it until the illness is cured.

Discussion

This condition, known as internal wasting, is usually caused by internal heat. The patient urinates frequently and passes more urine than the amount of water they drink, becoming extremely weak and short of breath. In internal wasting, food seems to be consumed as soon as it is eaten, eventually turning into urine; yet the patient does not feel thirsty.

In the tenth year of the Zhenguan era, Li Wenbo, governor of Zizhou, had taken white quartz for a long time. He then suddenly experienced increased sexual potency. After more than a month, he gradually began to feel thirsty. A few days later, his urine output increased greatly, and he urinated more than a hundred times a day and night. Despite treatment with many different methods, his condition steadily worsened. His limbs grew thin and weak, and he was too exhausted to get up and move. His mind became disoriented, and his mouth and tongue dried out. He eventually died. This illness is rare, but extremely frightening.

When a patient urinates frequently and has a deep, fine, faint, and weak pulse, wolfberry decoction takes effect immediately, though it is difficult to achieve a lasting cure. Lead elixir powder can also quickly relieve the condition. During treatment, the patient may also take Heat-Clearing and Supplementing Pills.

Wolfberry Decoction: For thirst and frequent urination

One jin of wolfberry branches and leaves; three liang each of coptis, trichosanthes root, licorice, and gypsum.

Chop the five ingredients, add one dou of water, and boil down to three sheng of liquid. Divide into five doses: take three during the day and two at night. For severe illness, prepare several batches. Drink whenever thirsty.

Lead Elixir Powder: For wasting thirst, reducing the frequency of urination, and also for “middle wasting”

Two fen each of lead elixir and white lead powder; ten fen each of licorice and trichosanthes root; five fen each of white bole (identified as fritillaria in the Zhouhoufang), alisma, gypsum, and red bole.

Grind the eight ingredients into a fine powder and sift. Take one square-inch spoonful with water three times a day. A robust person should take one spoonful per dose. For an illness lasting one year, take the medicine for one day; for an illness lasting two years, take it for two days, and this is said to bring a cure. Those with severe thirst should take two additional doses at night. If abdominal pain occurs, reduce the dose. The powder can also be made into pills; take ten pills per dose. Taking too many can cause abdominal pain.

Zhang Wenzhong says that those with abdominal pain should take it with rice-water gruel. The Beiji Fang says not to take it with wine, but to use malt juice instead. The Gujin Yanyan Fang says that after taking the medicine for two or three days, one should boil lamb liver until tender and eat it.

Take it on an empty stomach. It may also be prepared as a soup. In general, eat a light diet. If urination becomes frequent and the urine tastes salty and bitter, take Cistanche Pills and, alongside them, decoctions of medicinal powders to restore the body.

The recipes for Cistanche Pills and the medicinal powders to be taken as decoctions are found in Wai Tai Mi Yao, juan 11.

Fushen Pills

(In the Jiyan Fang, called “Pills for Supporting and Strengthening”; used to treat kidney wasting-thirst and frequent urination)

Poria with Spirit (Fushen), Astragalus root, ginseng, dwarf lilyturf root, licorice, golden thread, anemarrhena, and trichosanthes root, three liang each; dodder seeds, three ge; cistanche, four liang; gypsum and dried rehmannia, six liang each.

Grind the twelve ingredients into powder. Mix with three ge of ox gall and honey to form pills the size of parasol tree seeds. Take thirty pills twice a day with an imperata root decoction, gradually increasing the dose to fifty pills.

Sour Jujube Pills: A prescription for dry mouth and wasting of the body.

Sour jujubes, one sheng and five ge; vinegar-soaked pomegranate seeds, dried in the sun, five ge; raspberries and kudzu root, three liang each; trichosanthes root and poria, three and a half liang each; dwarf lilyturf root, four liang; rock honey, four and a half liang; cassia bark, one liang and six zhu; and ten smoked plums.

Grind the ten ingredients into powder and form pills with honey. Hold one in the mouth and let it dissolve slowly, at any time of day or night, allowing the saliva to moisten it until it dissolves. Then take another pill. There are no dietary restrictions.

Prescription for wasting-thirst with frequent urination, amounting to seven or eight sheng day and night

Roast deer antler until charred black, grind it into powder, and take five fen with wine. After seven days, gradually increase the dose, up to one square-inch spoonful.

Another prescription: Take two bundles of sunflower roots, each as large as a basin that holds five sheng. Wai Tai Mi Yao says to use five large jin. Add five dou of water and boil down to three dou of liquid. The patient should fast from the previous evening, then drink three sheng at once in the morning.

Another prescription: Take one sheng of fermented hemp juice; it is quite effective.

Discussion: “Excessive potency” is a condition in which the penis is firm and elongated and erections are vigorous, with seminal fluid discharging spontaneously even without intercourse. If boils and carbuncles—pus-filled swellings in the skin or muscles—appear after wasting-thirst, both conditions are caused by “heat from minerals.” In such cases, take Pig Kidney and Patrinia Decoction to restrain the mineral heat in the kidneys. White Duck Droppings Decoction is also suitable; its recipe appears below in “Chapter on Dispelling Mineral Poison.”

Pig Kidney and Patrinia Decoction

One pig kidney, one sheng of soybeans, and three liang each of qi ni and gypsum; two liang each of ginseng, fu shen (written as “fu ling” in some versions), magnetite (wrapped in cotton cloth), anemarrhena, kudzu root, scutellaria, licorice, and trichosanthes root.

Cut the twelve ingredients into pieces. Add one dou and five sheng of water. First boil the pig kidney and soybeans until one dou of liquid remains, then strain out the solids. Add the remaining herbs and boil until three sheng of liquid remain. Divide into three doses. It may also be drunk when thirsty. If there is heat in the lower burner, prepare and boil one dose each time at night. Stop taking it once the condition gradually improves.

Modified Kidney-Soaking Decoction, for kidney Qi deficiency, wasting-thirst, frequent urination, and lower-back pain.

One sheep kidney; two liang each of polygala root, ginseng, alisma, cinnamon bark, Chinese angelica, poria, dragon bone, dried rehmannia, scutellaria, licorice, and chuanxiong; five ge of schisandra berries; six liang of fresh ginger; twenty jujubes; and one sheng of ophiopogon.

Add one dou and five sheng of water to the sixteen ingredients. First boil the sheep kidney until one dou and two sheng of liquid remain. Add the remaining herbs and boil until three sheng of liquid remain. Divide into three doses.

A formula for lower-burner deficiency heat, in which heat rises to the spleen and stomach and is then transmitted from the spleen to the lungs, causing pronounced thirst:

Three sheng of chopped bamboo leaves, three liang of licorice, five liang each of trichosanthes root and fresh ginger, four liang each of ophiopogon and poria, thirty jujubes, and one sheng each of wheat and white root bark of the wolfberry plant.

Cut the nine ingredients into pieces. First boil the wheat in three dou of water until one dou remains, then strain out the solids and let the liquid stand until clear. Take eight sheng of the clear liquid from the top and skim off the foam. Use seven sheng to boil the herbs until three sheng of liquid remain. Divide into three doses.

A formula for thirst, frequent urination, and unceasing drinking caused by deficiency heat, used to clear heat and relieve thirst:

Two sheng of chopped bamboo leaves; one sheng each of wolfberry root bark and sliced fresh rehmannia; eight liang each of trichosanthes root and gypsum; and four liang each of fu shen (written as “fu ling” in some versions), Solomon’s seal, anemarrhena, and fresh ginger.

The “Rehmannia Pill” in this formula is used to treat a yellow complexion, yellowing of the hands and feet, a dry throat, shortness of breath, and a fine, rapid pulse. It also clears Heat, relieves thirst, promotes urination, and nourishes the body.

Take two sheng each of fresh Rehmannia juice and fresh trichosanthes root juice, three sheng of beef or mutton fat, four sheng of white honey, and one jin of Coptis root, ground into powder. Combine the five ingredients and simmer them together, then form the mixture into pills the size of parasol tree seeds. Take five pills twice a day, gradually increasing the dose to twenty pills. If you feel excessively chilled after taking them but remain thirsty, switch to a warming medicine once the thirst has eased.

Formula for treating thirst and frequent urination: Take six fen of fritillaria (another text gives anemarrhena), four fen each of poria and trichosanthes root, one fen of red lead, and fourteen yellow membranes from chicken gizzards. Grind the ingredients into powder and sift it. Take one square-inch spoonful at a time, three times a day. It is best to continue taking it after symptoms improve. For long-term use, omit the red lead and make the powder into pills with honey, taking them with wheat porridge.

Formula for treating thirst and frequent, copious urination: Take thirty jin of fresh trichosanthes root, cut it into pieces, and boil it in one shi of water until reduced to one and a half dou. Strain out the herbs, add five ge of beef fat, and cook until the liquid has completely evaporated. Take it with warm wine, in a dose about the size of an egg, three times a day before meals.

Formula for treating thirst and copious, clear urination that is not strangury (painful, difficult urination with dribbling afterward): Take two jin of elm inner bark, cut it into pieces, and boil it in one dou of water until reduced to five sheng. Take three ge at a time, three times a day.

Several other formulas are also given: pound a handful of adzuki bean leaves and take three sheng of the juice at once; or drink a decoction of rose root; or burn a magpie’s nest that is at least three years old, grind the ashes into powder, and take it with a drink; or hold a piece of peach gum about the size of a pellet in the mouth and slowly swallow the saliva; or take a piece of wax about the size of an egg, boil it twice in one sheng of vinegar, let it cool until warm, and drink it all at once. The text cites the Zhouhou Fang, saying that the rose root and magpie’s nest formulas are also used to treat bedwetting.

The treatise says: People often indulge themselves. When young and strong, they fail to take care of their bodies, pursuing pleasure and excessive sexual activity. As they grow older, their Kidney Qi becomes depleted and exhausted, and then…

The condition gradually worsened. The patient was still young and feared he would be unable to have sexual relations, so he took large amounts of mineral medicines. As a result, his true Qi was depleted, while the Qi of the mineral medicines grew strong without support, leaving his body weak and exhausted. His lips became dry and cracked, and semen leaked involuntarily. At times his urine was reddish-yellow and his stools hard and dry; at other times he was thirsty and passed a great deal of urine, as much as one shi in a day and night. Sometimes he was thirsty without passing much urine; sometimes he passed a great deal of urine without feeling thirsty. It seemed that all the food he ate turned into urine. These symptoms were all caused by excessive sexual activity.

People generally tend to feel thirsty in summer because the Qi of the heart is strong. When the heart’s Qi is strong, sweating comes easily. After sweating, the fluids in the kidneys become depleted and dry heat develops, causing thirst and reduced urination. In winter, people do not sweat, so they urinate more often and in greater quantities. This is a common pattern called “wasting-thirst” (xiaoke), an ancient term for symptoms such as thirst and excessive urination.

But if someone urinates frequently without drinking water, this means the kidney Qi is excessively strong. A medical classic says, “When the kidneys are replete, wasting occurs.” Here, “wasting” means passing a great deal of urine without feeling thirsty. When people who take mineral medicines urinate frequently, it is because the medicines’ effects enter the kidneys. Their force makes the kidneys excessively strong; in this state, the kidneys can process fluids, and so urine increases. If too much urine is discharged, the body receives insufficient nourishment. The Five Viscera then grow weak, and various illnesses arise.

Zhang Zhongjing said that when pathogenic heat gathers in the middle burner, the stools become hard; when it gathers in the lower burner, it can cause blood in the urine, or make urination dribble, become difficult, or stop altogether. This shows that not everyone who takes mineral medicines will urinate more. Internal heat readily causes thirst, and thirst ceases once the heat is cleared. If weakness is also present, both the heat must be cleared and the deficiency replenished for the patient to recover.

A formula for treating excessive urination without thirst, even when it progresses to death:

Five liang of oyster shell. Boil it in three sheng of the patient’s urine until reduced to two sheng, then take in two doses. The book calls this formula “miraculously effective.”

A formula for treating urinary incontinence lasting many days, with one or two dou of urine passed daily, or urine as red as blood:

Ophiopogon, eight liang; dried rehmannia, eight liang; dried ginger, four liang; tribulus, teasel root, and cassia bark, two liang each; licorice, one liang.

Cut the seven ingredients into pieces and boil them in one dou of water. Reduce to two sheng and five he, then take in three doses. Another book, Ancient and Contemporary Proven Treatments, says this formula also treats “kidney wasting,” characterized by thin legs and feet and frequent urination.

Nine-Chamber Powder: a formula for treating excessive urination or incontinence:

Dodder seed, coptis, and cattail pollen, three liang each; niter, one liang; cistanche, two liang. The text breaks off here.

Grind the five ingredients listed above into a fine powder, then add three liang of the yellow membrane from the inside of a chicken gizzard and prepare them together as a powder. Take one fangcunbi (a small ancient medicinal spoonful) each time, three times a day. After taking the medicine, wait about as long as it takes to eat a meal before taking another dose. (Qianjin Yifang records three liang of Schisandra fruit and says to take each dose on an empty stomach.)

Another prescription: deer antler (three cun), cassia bark (one chi), large aconite (three pieces), Alisma (three liang), zhizhu (a medicinal plant in the rhododendron family), and Chinese chive seeds (one sheng each). Grind the six ingredients into a fine powder and take it with rice gruel, five fenbi each time, three times a day, gradually increasing the dose to one bi.

Astragalus Decoction, for “consumption in the Middle Burner” (a type of wasting-thirst disorder), deficiency taxation, scant Qi, and frequent urination:

Astragalus, peony, fresh ginger, cassia bark, Chinese angelica, and licorice (two liang each); thirty jujubes; Scutellaria, dried Rehmannia, and Ophiopogon (one liang each).

Cut the ten ingredients into pieces and boil them in one dou of water. Reduce the liquid to three sheng and divide it into three doses, taken three times a day.

Thorn Pill, for various illnesses in men, including excessive urination and seminal emission:

Thorn sprouts, shilongrui, and Chinese dodder vine (two liang each); magnolia bark, Ophiopogon, dodder seeds, bixie (the Waitai Miyao gives “caoxie”), fragrant Solomon’s seal, arborvitae seeds, dried Rehmannia, xiaocao, Asarum, Eucommia bark, Achyranthes, cistanche, dendrobium, cassia bark, and fangkui (one liang each); aconite (half a liang).

Grind the nineteen ingredients into a fine powder, mix with honey, then pound repeatedly five or six thousand times to form pills the size of Chinese parasol tree seeds. Take ten pills with water, three times a day, gradually increasing to thirty pills, according to the body’s response.

A prescription for frequent urination with a large volume of urine:

Take one sheep’s lung and prepare it as a soup. Add a little sheep meat and season with salt and fermented beans as usual. Eat as much as desired, but no more than three sheep’s lungs.

A prescription for wasting-thirst disorder, severed Yin pulse, and vomiting food because stomach Qi is counterflowing upward:

Poria (eight liang), Alisma (four liang), Atractylodes, fresh ginger, and cassia bark (three liang each), and licorice (one liang).

Cut the six ingredients into pieces. Boil three sheng of wheat in one dou of water and collect three sheng of the liquid. Strain out the wheat, add the medicinal ingredients, and simmer until the liquid is reduced to two and a half sheng. Take eight ge each time, … the text ends here.

Another formula: Take roof tiles that have been in use for thirty years and break them into pieces about the size of a sparrow’s brain. Collect three sheng. Boil them in two shi of water from a stream flowing eastward, then strain off two dou of liquid. Add the following ingredients:

Raw white atractylodes, dried rehmannia, and fresh ginger, eight liang each; dried tangerine peel, ginseng, licorice, astragalus, and polygala, three liang each; cinnamon bark, Chinese angelica, and peony, two liang each; and thirty jujubes.

Cut up the twelve ingredients, add them to the tile liquid, and boil until three sheng remain. Divide into four doses. (The tile liquid alone may also be taken, and is said to work well.)

Formula for lingering deficiency heat, thirst, and painful discomfort in the limbs after a febrile illness

One jin of kudzu root; one liang each of ginseng and licorice; and a handful of bamboo leaves.

Cut up the four ingredients and boil them in one dou and five sheng of water until five sheng of liquid remain. Drink whenever thirsty, three times during the day and twice at night.

Bone-Filling Decoction: for consumptive weakness and thirst; said to work very well

Poria, dodder seed, Chinese angelica, Asiatic cornelian cherry, achyranthes, schisandra, aconite, morinda, gypsum, pyrrosia, and ginseng, unspecified amounts; three liang of ophiopogon; four liang each of cistanche (the Waitai miyao gives polygala instead) and cinnamon bark; one sheng of soybean sprouts; and five liang of asparagus root.

Grind the sixteen ingredients into a fine powder. Separately, take ten jin each of fresh rehmannia and trichosanthes root. Pound them and squeeze out the juice, then simmer it over a low flame until reduced by half. Add the powdered ingredients in several batches, then add three jin of white honey and one jin of ox marrow. Simmer over low heat until thick like porridge. Take about the size of an egg yolk per dose, three times a day; it may also be taken mixed with water.

Poria Spirit Powder: for deficiency heat, wasting and weakness of the limbs, persistent thirst and fever; also used for wasting-thirst and to replenish deficiency

Four liang each of poria spirit, cistanche, and fragrant Solomon’s seal; eight liang each of fresh dendrobium and coptis; five liang each of trichosanthes root and red salvia; three liang each of licorice, schisandra, anemarrhena, Chinese angelica, and ginseng; and three sheng of malted wheat (Waitai miyao gives ordinary wheat).

Grind the thirteen ingredients coarsely, sift them, and place them in a silk bag. Take three fangcun spoonfuls at a time with water…

For the previous prescription, simmer the ingredients to obtain one sheng of medicinal liquid. Take it twice a day, using one simmering for each dose.

Goji Root Decoction: Treats bitter taste in the mouth, thirst, and troublesome heat in the bones and joints caused by deficiency taxation. It is also suitable when the person sometimes feels cold.

Use five sheng of the white bark of the goji root, sliced; three sheng of Ophiopogon; and two sheng of wheat. Add two dou of water to the three ingredients and boil until the wheat is thoroughly cooked. Strain out the dregs. Take one sheng per dose, twice a day.

Three-Yellow Pill Submitted by the Grand Administrator of Ba Commandery: Treats men’s “five taxations and seven injuries,” wasting thirst, and emaciation with failure to gain flesh; it also treats women’s vaginal discharge and sudden alternations of cold and heat in the hands and feet.

The three ingredients are Scutellaria root, rhubarb, and Coptis root. Adjust their amounts according to the season:

• Spring, for three months: four liang of Scutellaria root, three liang of rhubarb, and four liang of Coptis root.
• Summer, for three months: six liang of Scutellaria root, one liang of rhubarb, and seven liang of Coptis root.
• Autumn, for three months: six liang of Scutellaria root, two liang of rhubarb, and three liang of Coptis root.
• Winter, for three months: three liang of Scutellaria root, five liang of rhubarb, and two liang of Coptis root.

Combine the amounts for the season and pound the ingredients together. Make them into pills the size of soybeans with honey. Take five pills with water, three times a day. If there is no response, gradually increase the dose to seven pills, stopping when purgation occurs. After one month, the illness is said to be cured. Long-term use is said to make the legs swift as if flying; an old book says this effect was verified. Another version says not to take this medicine during the three summer months.

Prescription for heat, thirst, headache, and high fever, as well as for women with Blood and Qi surging upward and intolerable chest oppression:

Take three sheng of cogongrass rhizome. Chop it, pound it three times, and squeeze out as much juice as possible. Drink it whenever thirsty.

Prescription for miasmal wind-heat toxins in the mountains of Lingnan that invade the kidneys, causing alternating chills and fever, weakness in the legs and feet, a hollow, distended abdomen, and thirst:

Use an unrestricted amount of Coptis root, along with fresh trichosanthes root juice, fresh rehmannia juice, and sheep’s milk. Mix the three liquids with powdered Coptis root and form pills. On an empty stomach, take thirty pills with water; make each pill the size of a chinaberry seed. Gradually increase the dose to forty pills, three times a day. Severe cases are said to be cured in five days, and mild cases in three. If sheep’s milk is unavailable, cow’s milk or human milk may be used. If the medicine is too bitter to swallow, take it with cooked wheat porridge. This prescription treats deficiency heat. Zhang Wenzhong says that Coptis Pills are also called “Sheep’s Milk Pills.”

Ass Glue Decoction: This treats deficiency heat, frequent urination, and deficiency heat that develops after long-term use of mineral-based powders. It may also be used for people whose beriberi—a term in ancient times for a range of disorders affecting the feet and lower legs—recurs easily after exposure to wind or cold, and who also have wasting-thirst (with symptoms such as excessive drinking and urination, and thirst) and a fine, weak Kidney pulse.

Ingredients and preparation:

Two sticks of ass glue, one sheng of hemp seed, one aconite tuber, two liang of dried ginger, and four liang of polygala root.

Chop the five ingredients. Boil them in seven sheng of water until two and a half sheng of liquid remain, then strain out the solids. Add the ass glue and stir until it dissolves. Divide into three doses.

The text says that if urination is frequent—dozens of times by day and night, with the total volume reaching as much as one shi—the decoction may be taken continuously for five days, with good results.

Moxibustion

The treatise says that people whose wasting-thirst illness has lasted more than one hundred days must not be needled or treated with moxibustion. After needling or moxibustion, the wound may discharge pus and fluid continuously, then develop into an abscess or ulcer, leaving the person emaciated and weak, or even causing death. Accidental injuries must also be avoided. Even a wound as small as a needle tip may cause the water one drinks to turn into pus and drain from the wound. If the discharge does not stop, the person’s life may be in danger, so great care is essential. Those who have only recently fallen ill may use the needling and moxibustion methods below.

For wasting-thirst with dryness of the throat: apply one hundred moxa cones at each of three points associated with the Stomach transport point. The points lie below the eighth vertebra, three cun apart horizontally. Another account says to apply fifty cones at the Chest Hall point and fifty at points associated with the Foot Taiyang channel.

For wasting-thirst with unbearable dry mouth: apply one hundred moxa cones at the Small Intestine transport point, located three cun apart horizontally.

For wasting-thirst with dry mouth and restlessness: apply one hundred moxa cones at points associated with the Foot Jueyin channel, then fifty at Yangchi.

For wasting-thirst with coughing and rebellious Qi: apply moxa at points associated with the Hand Jueyin channel, using as many cones as the patient’s age.

For wasting-thirst with frequent urination: apply moxa to the tips of the little fingers on both hands and the little toes on both feet, as well as to the vertebra at the nape; this is said to work well. Moxa may also be applied to one point in the central hollow of the back and two points at the waist, making three points in all. Then apply moxa at two points four cun below the Spleen transport point on the back, one on each side of the spine. At each of these points, use as many cones as the patient’s age. Also apply moxa at the two Kidney transport points and the two Waist Eye points. The Waist Eye points are three cun below the Kidney transport points, one and a half cun to either side of the spine; they can be located by pressing with the fingers. Then apply moxa at Guanyuan and at two points two cun to either side of it. Moxa may also be applied at the two Yinshi points, above the knee, three cun above Futu; locate them near the knee. The points may also be arranged in two or three rows…

About one inch above the kidney channel is a point called the “kidney system.” The Huangdi Jing says it lies one inch below the Futu point. Points such as Ququan, Yingu, Yinlingquan, and Fuliu are well suited to treating urinary incontinence. They tend to work well without damaging Yang Qi. Some also say these points can stop bedwetting.

Other points that may be used include Taixi, Zhongfeng, Rangu, Taibai, Dadu, Fuyang, Xingjian, Dadun, Yinbai, and Yongquan. Apply one hundred moxa cones at each point listed above. In ancient moxibustion, a cone was a unit of measurement, usually referring to the burning of one moxa cone.

There are forty-seven points in all across the abdomen, back, and legs. Kidney Shu, Yaomu, Guanyuan, and Shuidao may each be treated with thirty moxa cones, once every five days, for a total of one hundred and fifty cones. Yongquan may be treated with ten cones; Dadun, Yinbai, and Xingjian with three cones each; and all the other points with seven cones each. Apply moxibustion every five days. After three sessions, the symptoms should stop.

If moxibustion at points on the Yin channels brings no improvement, switch to points on the Yang channels. These points are on the outer side of the legs. Also treat Feishu and the Lung Mu point, the points on the back and chest or abdomen associated with the lungs. Select points along the channels, following the same method and using the same number of moxa cones as for conditions of the Yin channels.

If someone urinates often but passes only a small amount, has difficulty urinating, and is prone to seminal emission when straining, have them extend their hands, place their palms together, and bring their thumbs side by side so that the edges of the two thumbnails touch. Place one moxa cone at the junction of nail and skin at the base of each thumbnail. A corner naturally forms just behind this junction; place the cone in that corner, pressing it slightly onto the nail. Use one cone for both thumbs together. Treat the big toes in the same way. Apply three cones to the hands and three to the feet. Repeat the treatment after three days.

This passage comes from juan 63 of Sun Zhenren’s Essential Prescriptions for Emergencies Worth a Thousand Pieces of Gold.