《孫真人備急千金要方》Vol. 73

Sun Zhenren (Perfected Sun), Qianjin Yaofang (Essential Prescriptions Worth a Thousand in Gold for Emergencies), Juan 73

(Collated and revised by Lin Yi and others, Fenglang of the Song dynasty, Vice Minister of the Imperial Court of Sacrifices, and Collator of the Secretariat Pavilion)

Prescriptions for Detoxification and Miscellaneous Treatments

Chapter 3: Resolving the Toxicity of the Five Minerals (Discourse, Prescriptions, and Symptoms)

Discourse: Some hold that without taking mineral drugs, many things go wrong. Foul sores, scabies, and ringworm, epidemic fevers, and malaria recur year after year, and one cannot rest peacefully in sleep or in eating, and daily life is uncomfortable. These troubles not only harm one's own health but also affect fertility and the raising of children. Therefore, when mineral drugs remain in the body, all affairs proceed smoothly and securely. In short, the Five Minerals (mineral substances in the ancient materia medica) must not be neglected.

A person past the age of thirty may take mineral drugs. Those of robust build should not take them carelessly. Those over forty must take them. Those over fifty may take one dose every three years, those over sixty one dose every two years, and those over seventy one dose each year.

It is also said that after fifty, a person's jing (essence) and qi gradually decline, and mineral drugs may still offer benefit. After sixty, the body weakens, and mineral drugs then become less effective. For this reason, one should often take them so that the hands and feet stay warm and the marrow remains full. This allows one to adapt to cold foods, to move lightly and nimbly, to endure both cold and heat, and to avoid many illnesses, which is why they are considered so necessary.

All mineral drugs must be thoroughly processed before use. When a mineral drug takes effect, there are usually symptoms such as aversion to cold, headache, and chest oppression. The attacks follow a set timing, resembling warm malaria. When these signs appear, do not pour cold water over the body. Once one is chilled, the symptoms will stop. All cold foods must be avoided, and only wine should be drunk warm. Various remedies for relief are described later. Treatments for the back boils that arise from a mineral drug reaction are found in other chapters.

It is also said that people who take mineral drugs are very ill-suited to eating miscellaneous and mixed foods. Even when a table is laden with dishes, one should not indulge, and one must especially avoid eating too much meat. When foods are mixed together and eaten in excess, they may clash with one another and stagnate without being digested, which in turn may provoke a reaction to the mineral drug. So long as one regulates oneself according to these methods and guards oneself with care, the mineral drugs will bring benefit. One should not take other medicines on top of them.

When I was thirty-eight or thirty-nine, I took five or six liang of ru shi (milk stones, mineral preparations made from stalactite and similar substances). Since then, I have come to understand their nature firsthand and have gained considerable familiarity with the rules for their regulation and use. Those who cultivate life should attend to these matters and examine them closely.

Nevertheless, milk stones must come from places where the stone is clean in texture and lustrous in color, and where it bears patterns like lace or bird feathers and is white overall before it may be used as medicine. If the place of origin and quality do not meet these standards, one must be extremely cautious and must never take them. Mineral drugs of this kind mostly cause death, and they are even more deadly than zhen poison.

The quality of purple stone and white stone must be such that both are clear and translucent inside and out, bright and unblemished; otherwise they must not be taken.

As for the Five-Stone Regenerating Powder (Wushi Sheng Shengsan) of the Cold Stones, older accounts hold that this prescription did not exist among the famous physicians of high antiquity and was first used by a certain Marquis He at the end of the Han. Since the time of Huangfu Shi'an, everyone who has taken this kind of medicine has suffered ulceration of the back and bodily decline, and has ended in disaster. Since I came to understand such matters, I have personally witnessed a considerable number of officials and common scholars harmed by it. Thus it is better to eat wild kudzu than to take the Five-Stone Powder. This shows that its toxicity is extremely fierce, and one must never be careless. Anyone who recognizes this should burn the prescription the moment they encounter it and not keep it for long. The indications and countermeasures recorded here are intended only for those who have already taken the powder. This formula should disperse like smoke; it need not be preserved, lest it harm living beings.

The Scallion-White and Fermented Soybean Decoction is used to counter reactions caused by stalactite (zhongru) and white atractylodes (baizhu), and it may also be used against trichosanthes (gualou). It acts chiefly on the lungs and can affect the head and chest. When the potency of white atractylodes arises, it intensifies the reaction of stalactite, producing chest oppression and shortness of breath. When the potency of stalactite arises, it intensifies the reaction of white atractylodes, producing headache and eye pain. Although stalactite has no direct antagonistic relationship with sea clam shell (haige), the sea clam shell can nonetheless provoke stalactite, and when stalactite is active, eye pain and shortness of breath appear. Sometimes, when white atractylodes is active, it also provokes a stalactite reaction, directly causing headache and chest oppression. Nevertheless, the symptoms produced by stalactite and white atractylodes generally fall within these ranges. Although the specific symptoms differ, the treatment is the same.

When a drug reaction has just begun, if one can identify the trigger, notice the body's abnormality, and find the symptoms match those described above, this formula should be taken without delay.

Scallion white (half a jin), fermented soybeans (two sheng), licorice (three liang), and ginseng (the version recorded in the Waitai Miyao uses one sheng of evodia fruit instead).

Chop the above four ingredients. First boil the scallion white in one dou and five sheng of water, strain out the scallion, and take eight sheng of the broth. Add the remaining ingredients and simmer, reducing to three sheng, to be taken in three doses. Immediately after taking the decoction, have someone massage the body and shake the limbs, and let the patient chew food in the mouth. Then have the patient lie supine, covered with warm clothing, and once sweating occurs, remove the covering. When the steam from the decoction has dissipated, one may eat cold tao-rice and dried meat.

If the symptoms are still not relieved after taking this formula, take the Cinnamon Bark Decoction.

Cinnamon Bark Decoction: licorice (three liang), cinnamon bark (two liang), fermented soybeans (two sheng), and scallion white (half a jin). Combine these four ingredients and administer them according to the method above.

If, after taking this formula, residual heat and drug vapor still remain in the lungs, then take the Cinnamon Bark Decoction again, using cinnamon bark and ophiopogon (maimendong), three liang each, together with ginseng……

Licorice (two liang), fermented soybean (two sheng), and white scallion (half a jin).

Decoct these six ingredients together, following the method described above. This formula has the same ingredients as the Maimendong Decoction given below, which treats the skin eruptions that can appear after a sweating treatment. The only difference is a slight variation in dosage.

Duzhong Decoction

Sulfur is paired with Siler root (fangfeng) and asarum (xixin) to regulate chiefly the spleen and kidneys, and it is also commonly used for disorders of the lower back and legs. Siler root can stir up the potency of sulfur, causing vexing heat, leg pain, lower back pain, irritability and unstable emotions, or persistent diarrhea. Siler root and asarum can stir up the potency of sulfur, but sulfur cannot stir up theirs. Take this formula as soon as the first signs of these symptoms appear.

Eucommia bark (three liang), bitter orange (zhishi), licorice, apricot kernel (each two liang), fermented soybean (one sheng), and gardenia seed (fourteen pieces).

Decoct these six ingredients together, following the method described above. If the symptoms do not ease, take it again.

Damainu Decoction

Damainu (four liang), licorice, ginseng, mirabilite (mangxiao), and cassia bark (guixin), each two liang, and ophiopogon root (maimendong) (half a jin).

Decoct these six ingredients together, following the method described above. If the symptoms ease after taking it, but the spleen and kidneys still hold residual heat, or cold patterns reappear, it may be taken again.

Ginseng Decoction

Ginseng, dried ginger, licorice, and Chinese angelica (dangui), each one liang, and one aconite root (fuzi).

Decoct these five ingredients together, following the method described above.

Raw Ophiopogon Decoction

White quartz is paired with aconite to regulate chiefly the stomach, and it is also used for disorders of the spleen and kidneys. Aconite can stir up the potency of white quartz, causing vexing heat and abdominal distension. White quartz can stir up the potency of aconite, causing vomiting, inability to eat, lockjaw, difficulty speaking, and pain in the hands and feet. Take this formula as soon as these symptoms first appear.

Raw ophiopogon root (four liang), licorice, and ephedra (mahuang), each two liang, and fermented soybean (two sheng).

Decoct these four ingredients together, following the method described above. If the symptoms do not ease, it may be taken again.

Rhubarb Decoction (if there is vexing heat, add asarum, five liang)

Rhubarb (three liang), fermented soybean (two sheng), licorice (two liang), and gardenia seed (twenty pieces).

Decoct these five ingredients together, following the method described above. Take it repeatedly until the patient has a bowel movement, then stop taking the medicine……

After finishing the earlier medicine, if the heat has not yet subsided and symptoms such as upward gaze of the eyes and thirst appear, take the following Gualou Root Decoction (gualou gen, Trichosanthes root, traditionally used to clear heat and generate fluids).

Gualou Root Decoction

Gualou root (Trichosanthes root), damai nu (four liang), licorice (two liang), fermented soybean (chi, two sheng), and fresh scallion white (half a jin). Decoct these five ingredients together by the method described above and take the decoction in several small doses. When about one sheng of liquid remains, the patient may eat a little thin gruel to lightly nourish the mouth. If the symptoms have eased but residual heat remains in the stomach, take the following Mirabilite Decoction (mang xiao, Glauber's salt).

Mirabilite Decoction

Mirabilite (two liang), cinnamon bark (two liang), tongcao (three liang), licorice (three liang), white atractylodes (one liang), twenty jujubes, and twenty-one Chinese plum kernels. Decoct these seven ingredients together by the method described above. If the patient has abdominal distension, remove the mirabilite and add ginseng (two liang).

Ginseng Decoction

Purple fluorite (zishiying) is paired with ginseng and is used to treat disorders of the heart and liver, and also disorders of the lower back and legs. Ginseng activates the properties of purple fluorite, and the Waitai Miyao notes that asarum (xixin) also activates them. When sudden sharp pain in the heart, palpitations, inability to sleep, confusion of mind, forgetfulness, manic agitation or stupor, a constant urge to sleep, or irritability and disorderly thinking with a tendency to anger appear, along with fluctuating severity, alternating chills and fever, deafness, or dim vision, attention must be paid to the effects of the drug combination.

Although fangfeng does not directly activate purple fluorite, purple fluorite may in turn activate fangfeng. Both the Chao Shi Bing Yuan Hou Lun and the Waitai Miyao state that although fangfeng is not directly paired with purple fluorite, it may still activate its properties, and if ginseng is present in the formula, fangfeng may further stimulate ginseng's properties mutually, causing heart pain and vexing heat. This formula should be taken as soon as stiffness of the head and neck is first felt. (The Waitai Miyao records that Mahuang Decoction is taken at this point.)

Ginseng and white atractylodes (three liang each), licorice (omitted from the formula recorded in the Waitai Miyao), cinnamon bark (two liang), asarum (one liang), and fermented soybean (three sheng).

Decoct these six ingredients together by the method described above. If anger is pronounced, add rhubarb, scutellaria, and gardenia, three liang each. If forgetfulness, disorderly behavior, or manic agitation persists, take the following Raw Ophiopogon Decoction. The Waitai Miyao states that this formula is used for the reactive illness that follows poisoning by yushi (arsenopyrite).

Raw Ophiopogon Decoction

Raw ophiopogon (sheng maimendong) and scallion white (half a jin each), and licorice (three liang).

Take one liang of ginseng and two sheng of douchi (fermented soybean). Take these two ingredients together, following the method described earlier. After taking the medicine, lie down on a warm bed, cover yourself with blankets, and place a fire beneath the bed to keep warm. Chew on something to keep the mouth busy so that the body perspires slightly. Usually the symptoms ease within a day. If heat still remains in the chest, the dose may be taken once more.

Renshen Tang Fang (Ginseng Decoction)

Take three liang each of ginseng, fangfeng (saposhnikovia root), and licorice; two liang of cinnamon bark; and one liang each of fresh ginger and baizhu (atractylodes). Combine these six ingredients and take them following the method described earlier.

Damai Chao Fang (Roasted Barley Flour)

Red halloysite (chishi zhi) is used in opposition to platycodon (jiegeng), and its main effects are on the heart and the chest and back. If the properties of platycodon become active, one may experience heart pain, chills and shivering, cold hands and feet, and restlessness in the chest. If the properties of red halloysite become active, one may experience headache, red eyes, and fever throughout the body. When these symptoms are first noticed, this preparation may be taken with warm rice wine. The amount of wine should be determined by whether the patient can drink alcohol. Once the effect of the wine takes hold, the symptoms will ease, and the preparation may then be taken.

Take barley and roast it until it sweats and dries, taking care not to scorch it. Hull it by pounding, then grind it finely, sift it through silk gauze, and take it mixed with cold water. The Qianjin Yifang (Supplement to the Essential Prescriptions Worth a Thousand in Gold) says: after roasting, remove the husks, rinse thoroughly, steam until cooked, dry in the sun, roast again until fragrant, and finally grind into a powder.

Congbai Douchi Tang (Scallion and Fermented Soybean Decoction)

Lead-arsenic stone (yushi) has no specific corresponding medicine, and its main effects are on the stomach. When its properties become active, a person may feel agitated in the heart, be unable to open or close the mouth, suffer pain and stiffness in the joints, and sometimes develop sores in scattered places. This preparation should be taken as soon as its activity is first noticed. The Waitai Mishu (Secret Essentials from the Outer Terrace) says that Maimendong Decoction may be taken instead.

Take half a jin of scallion white, two sheng of douchi, and two liang of licorice. Boil these three ingredients in six sheng of water until two and a half sheng remain, and take the liquid in three divided doses. If sores suddenly break out over the whole body after the medicine has dispersed, this preparation is also suitable.

Sheng Maimendong Tang Fang (Fresh Ophiopogon Decoction)

Take five liang of fresh ophiopogon (shengmaimendong), three liang of licorice, two liang of cinnamon bark, one and a half liang of ginseng, half a jin of scallion white, and two sheng of douchi. Combine these six ingredients and take them following the method used for the Jiezhongru Decoction.

Atractylodes (baizhu) is used in opposition to stalactite (zhongru). When the properties of atractylodes become active, one may experience headache, eye pain, or fever throughout the body, and the treatment is the same as for an active stalactite.

Aconite (fuzi) is used in opposition to white quartz (baishiying), and also to red halloysite. When the properties of aconite become active, one may experience vomiting, pain in the hands and feet, stiffness of the body, joint pain, or stiffness of the neck and swelling of the face and around the eyes. The original text is incomplete from this point.

After drinking wine, taking chao (roasted grain flour) will usually relieve the reaction on its own. If it does not, the reaction caused by baishiying (white quartz) may be treated together with it.

If renshen (ginseng) is taken with zishiying (purple quartz) and the renshen triggers a reaction first, there may be feverish agitation and stiffness of the head and neck. Treat it together with the reaction caused by zishiying.

Dahuang Huangqin Decoction

Jiegeng (platycodon) is paired with chishizhi (red halloysite), and it may also be paired with fuling (poria) and muli (oyster shell). When jiegeng triggers a reaction, there may be headache, reddened eyes, and high fever throughout the body. Treat it together with the reaction caused by chishizhi. If fuling triggers a reaction, there may be high fever and vexation, and the following formula may be taken:

Dahuang (rhubarb), huangqin (scutellaria), and zhizi ren (gardenia seed), three liang each; chi (fermented soybean), one sheng; and congbai (white scallion), chopped, one sheng.

Coarsely chop these five ingredients, decoct them in six sheng of water, reduce to one and a half sheng, and take it in three divided doses.

When muli triggers a reaction, the limbs may run hot, the chest and abdomen may feel vexed, and thirst may be severe. Treat it together with the reaction caused by chishizhi.

Ganjiang (dried ginger) has no particular corresponding substance.

Gualou Root Decoction

Haige (clam shell) is paired with gualou (trichosanthes). If haige triggers a reaction first, the hands and feet may feel feverish and agitated. If gualou triggers a reaction first, there may be clenched jaw and chills, along with clear nasal discharge. The following formula may be taken:

Gualou root and gancao (licorice), two liang each; dahuang, one liang; and zhizi ren, fourteen pieces.

Take these four ingredients together, and handle the reaction as for zhongru (stalactite).

When baishiying triggers a reaction, there is first abdominal distension, followed by fever.

When shiliuhuang (sulfur) triggers a reaction, the whole body becomes feverish, accompanied by pain in the lower back and knees.

When yushi (arsenic sulfide) triggers a reaction, the whole body becomes feverish, and at times the jaw clenches.

When muli triggers a reaction, there is headache, vexation, and fever.

When fuling triggers a reaction, it presents directly as headache.

When jiegeng triggers a reaction, the head and face become hot.

When haige triggers a reaction, the heart feels hot. Among these substances, apart from haige, medicinal bathing is suitable when these reactions appear.

When zishiying triggers a reaction, there are alternating chills and fever.

When chishizhi triggers a reaction, the jaw clenches, the body is feverish, and there are headache and reddened eyes. When either of these two substances triggers a reaction, drinking wine is a suitable way to treat it.

When shiliuhuang, yushi, jiegeng, muli, or fuling triggers a reaction, medicinal bathing is suitable. When baishiying triggers a reaction, a brief medicinal bath may also be used. For all other substances, medicinal bathing is not suitable. When yushi triggers a reaction, bathing alternately in cold and hot water is advised. When the reaction from fuling appears mainly as heat in the head, the body may be washed with cold water and then soaked.

During medicinal bathing, use warm water at first when there is fever, and switch to cold water afterward. Take care not to wash the head during the bath. The hair may be hung down, and two or three sheng of water poured over it. For any substance for which medicinal bathing is suitable, if the symptoms ease after bathing, the treatment is effective. If the condition is not yet cured, other methods should be used.

Reactions to drugs such as chishi zhi (red halloysite) and zishi ying (purple fluorite) are suited to treatment with wine, and drinking alcohol relieves them. However, the methods for treating episodes caused by different drugs are not the same. Some respond to cold methods, others to wine, and the two cannot be applied indiscriminately.

Another account holds that when cold-food powder (hanshi san) causes an episode, the potency of the herbs readily dissipates, while the mineral ingredients, being heavy and sluggish, remain in the stomach and so often cause the condition to recur. When taking the powder, one may place a single dose in a silk bag, put the bag into four he of wine, seal both the mouth of the bag and the wine vessel, let it soak overnight, and then drink the wine. The quantity should be judged according to the traditional method and the individual's constitution. In this way the potency of the herbs and the minerals acts together, the minerals no longer lodge in the stomach, and the episodes can be avoided. This method is said to be very effective.

Gardenia and Fermented Soybean Decoction (Zhizi Chi Tang): Used for episodes caused by eating leftover food, spoiled meat that has gone foul, or leftover vegetable soup.

Thirty-seven gardenia fruits, three sheng of fermented soybeans, and three liang of licorice. Cut the three ingredients into pieces, decoct them in eight sheng of water, reduce the liquid to three sheng, and take it in three doses. Ginseng and fresh scallion white may also be added.

Scallion White and Fermented Soybean Decoction (Congbai Chi Tang): Used for episodes caused by missed meals, excessive drinking, or intoxication.

One jin of scallion white, two sheng of fermented soybeans, five liang of dried ginger, and two liang of licorice. Cut the four ingredients into pieces, decoct them in seven sheng of water, reduce the liquid to three sheng, and take it in three doses. If the symptoms are not relieved after taking it, the following may be continued:

Regulate the Center Decoction (Lizhong Tang):

Three liang each of ginseng, licorice, and atractylodes, and two liang of dried ginger. Cut the four ingredients into pieces, decoct them in six sheng of water, reduce the liquid to two and a half sheng, and take it in three doses.

Ginseng Decoction (Renshen Tang): Used for episodes caused by excessive anger.

Nine fen each of ginseng, bitter orange, and licorice; six fen each of atractylodes, dried ginger, and trichosanthes root. Cut the six ingredients into pieces, decoct them in nine sheng of water, reduce the liquid to three sheng, and take it in three doses. If the patient is short of breath, it should be sipped in small amounts, more often. The Supplement to the Prescriptions Worth a Thousand in Gold (Qianjin Yifang) records that this formula treats cases in which, after a drug reaction, the qi rises upward, the chest and abdomen are racked with cramping pain, and the patient cannot breathe, a critical condition.

For episodes caused by excessive sexual activity, the Astragalus Decoction is suitable, but the original text omits the prescription at this point.

If an episode is caused by excessive exposure to cold, high fever often follows. In such cases, one may bathe the body in cold water and then drink five or six shi of mixed water (warm water made by blending raw water with hot water). Afterward, eat a small amount of warm food and drink a little warm wine.

Hot-and-Cold Compress Method: If urination or defecation is blocked, or urine dribbles with difficulty or contains blood, or the genital area is painful, these are caused by heat (qi), and this method may be used. First apply a cold object to the lower abdomen, then a hot one, and then a cold one again. If urination becomes more frequent, this too is caused by cold; attend to warmth and rest, and it will improve on its own.

Remedy for Diarrhea After Taking the Medicine: Chew dried fermented soybean (chi) and swallow it, and the diarrhea will stop. The more that is taken, the better the effect.

Areca Nut Decoction: After taking the powder (san), if the body suddenly swells, this is mostly due to excessive exposure to cold. Take thirty areca nuts (binglang), crush them, and boil them in eight sheng of water down to two sheng, then take in two divided doses. Another account says: grind the areca nuts into powder and sift it. Separately, cut the areca husks finely and boil them in seven sheng of water down to two sheng. After straining out the dregs, add the areca nut powder and take in two divided doses.

Remedy for Boils After Taking the Powder: Stir-fried turnip seed (manjingzi), apricot kernel, coptis (huanglian), and lead white (hufen), one liang each, and mercury (shuiyin), two liang. Grind the turnip seed and apricot kernel separately into pastes, then mix them with pork fat until the mercury is fully incorporated. Apply to the affected area three times a day and once at night.

Remedy for Redness and Swelling After Taking the Powder: Raw rehmannia (shengdihuang), five liang; rhubarb (dahuang), one liang; raw pokeweed root (shengshanglu), three liang; and forty apricot kernels. Cut the four ingredients finely and soak them in vinegar overnight. Then add one sheng of pork lard and simmer until the pokeweed turns black. Strain out the dregs and apply to the swollen area three times a day and once at night.

Remedy for Fine Sores After Taking the Powder: Coptis (huanglian) and mirabilite (mangxiao), five liang each. Cut the two ingredients finely and boil the coptis in eight sheng of water until reduced to four sheng. Strain out the dregs, then add the mirabilite and let it dissolve. Soak a cloth in the liquid and apply it to the sore, changing the cloth often and covering the affected area as fully as possible.

Remedy for Unbearable Sore Pain After Taking the Powder: Take three liang of cold stone (lengshi), sift it into a fine powder, and sprinkle it onto the sore five or six times a day. The sore will soon dry out, and the pain will ease at once.

Remedy for Sudden Pain After Taking the Powder...

Duck Feces Decoction for Dispersing Heat (Yatong Tang Jiesan Chushi Fang)

Finely chop five liang of dried ginger and decoct it in five sheng of water. When the liquid is reduced to three sheng, strain out the dregs, add one ge of honey, stir well, and take it all at once. If the illness has not improved, decoct and take it once more.

White duck feces (duck dung, five sheng, rinsed with two and a half dou of boiling water, allowed to settle, and two dou of the clear liquid taken), gardenia kernels twenty, fermented soybeans three sheng, ephedra eight liang, cold stone two liang, licorice five liang, and gypsum three liang.

Of these seven ingredients, first chop five finely and decoct them in the duck feces liquid until six sheng remain. Strain out the dregs, then add the fermented soybeans and bring the liquid to a boil three times. Take it in divided doses of five ge each. If the body feels chilled and urination flows freely, lengthen the intervals between doses. If the heat remains intense and the urine is scanty and red, the five-ge limit need not be observed, and the medicine may be taken continuously. After taking it, move about moderately and gradually increase food intake, neither eating too little nor eating too much at once.

Jiesan (Dispersing Powder): For Vigorous Heat with Pronounced Repletion Heat and Red Urine and Stool

Cimicifuga, rhubarb, coptis, licorice, and phellodendron, three liang each; peony, six liang; scutellaria, four liang; gardenia kernels, fourteen; chopped bamboo leaves and fermented soybeans, one sheng each; and white duck feces, five ge.

Chop the eleven ingredients above. First decoct the white duck feces and bamboo leaves in three dou of water until one dou and two sheng remain. Strain out the dregs, allow the liquid to settle, and take one dou of the clear medicinal liquid. Then add the remaining herbs and decoct until three sheng remain, to be taken in three divided doses. If there is wheezing or a sensation of qi rushing upward, add five ge of apricot kernels. If the abdomen is distended, add three liang of gypsum.

Xiasan Method (Purgative Method): For Fever and Lethargy After Taking Powders

The Qianjin Yifang (Supplement to the Prescriptions Worth a Thousand Gold) states: "Whenever fever recurs repeatedly after taking powdered medicine and becomes unbearable, the medicine may be expelled by purgation." It further states: "All elixirs and mineral medicines may likewise be treated by this method."

Cook three sheng of broomcorn millet into a thick gruel, add one jin of rendered pork fat, and mix thoroughly. Begin fasting the evening before. The next morning, take the gruel on an empty stomach, eating as much as possible. The medicine should be expelled by evening, with very good effect. If the medicine has not been fully expelled and the heat symptoms recur, prepare and take it again.

Another Formula

Five jin of fatty pork, and half a jin each of scallion white and xie (Allium chinense). Boil the three ingredients together and prepare them in the usual way. Fast the evening before, and take the dish the next morning, eating it all if possible. If the medicine has not been fully expelled, take it again the following day.

Another Formula: For Frequent Recurrence of Medicine-Induced Fever and Lethargy, Intended to Expel the Medicine by Purgation

The original text breaks off at this point, and the remainder cannot be translated.

Take a set of pig kidney fat (the fat surrounding a pig's kidney), keeping it from contact with water. Roast it over a fire and collect the oil that flows out. When the temperature is suitable, take it in doses of three he (an ancient unit of volume, whose exact equivalent varied across periods), five or six times over a day and night, for a total of up to five or six sheng. After two days, the medicine will gradually be expelled with the stool.

Another prescription: Use fatty pork to make one sheng of meat broth, seasoned in the usual way. Drink it all at once on an empty stomach in the early morning. After a while, a sound like thunder will rise in the abdomen. When the sound stops, the medicine will be expelled with the excrement. Collect it in a vessel and rinse it with water, and stones may be recovered. If the stones have not all been expelled, repeat the preparation above once more.

—From the Sun Zhenren's Essential Prescriptions for Emergencies Worth a Thousand Gold, vol. 73