《急救仙方》Vol. 4

The "Section on Aiding Women" in the fourth volume of Ji Jiu Xian Fang (Emergency Immortal Formulas) specifically addresses women's ailments. Medical texts record that Cyperi Rhizoma (a qi-regulating herb) serves as a miraculous remedy for women, commonly used to promote blood circulation. When combined with Linderae Radix (another qi-regulating herb), it harmonizes the balance of qi and blood, preventing either excessive yang or deficient yin.

From maidenhood to womanhood, females are inherently yin in constitution, with blood as their foundation. The root of their illnesses often begins with emotional disturbances affecting qi movement, leading to qi-blood imbalance, which eventually develops into serious conditions. Blood, belonging to yin, is naturally gentle and moist, making it susceptible to external influences: heat causes reckless movement and bleeding, cold leads to congealment and clotting, overexertion disrupts blood circulation, and emotional fluctuations result in qi stagnation and blood stasis.

The ancient physician Chao Yuanfang observed that blood requires a cool environment for proper production and transformation. If medicinal treatment fails to balance cold and heat appropriately, it may delay recovery in mild cases or endanger life in severe ones—thus utmost caution is necessary. The formulas recorded here employ herbs with mild properties, aligning with the Dao of nurturing life—neither excessively cold nor hot—effectively promoting qi and blood circulation. They are suitable for women of all ages, whether pregnant or postpartum.

A special reminder to practitioners: do not underestimate these herbs due to their common nature. This formula is truly an essential treasure for women's health and healing, and should be applied as prescribed. The specific prescription is as follows:

Yixiang Sishen San (Extraordinary Fragrance Four Spirits Powder), also known as Sishen Tang (Four Spirits Decoction), specializes in treating women's qi-blood imbalances and various pregnancy or postpartum disorders. Although women rely on qi and blood as their foundation, it is often qi movement that becomes disordered first, subsequently affecting blood circulation and causing illness. This formula embodies profound medical principles:

Ingredients: Cyperi Rhizoma (hair removed and stir-fried, 0.5 jin), Linderae Radix (stir-fried, 4 liang), honey-fried Glycyrrhizae Radix (1 liang). Crush the herbs, then take 5 qian of the mixture per dose. Add one bowl of water with 3 slices of fresh ginger and 1 jujube, decoct until reduced to 70% volume, strain, and take warm on an empty stomach. Alternatively, include a 3-cun section of scallion white during decoction. For treating different symptoms, modify according to the variations recorded later—results will manifest swiftly.

This passage primarily discusses traditional Chinese herbal formulations for addressing various female disorders related to Qi-blood imbalance, irregular menstruation, and associated symptoms. Below are specific conditions and their corresponding herbal recommendations:

For cases of obstructed Qi-blood circulation manifesting as chest oppression and abdominal distension, one may add Perilla leaves (紫苏叶) to the decoction. When emotional disturbances like fright, grief, or mood swings damage the heart-mind (Shen), causing heart-abdominal pain with abnormal facial complexion, the same formula applies.

For Qi-blood deficiency with edema or other Qi stagnation disorders, Acorus calamus (石菖蒲) can be added to the decoction. When experiencing blood vessel irregularities, rebellious stomach Qi with vomiting or regurgitation, take five slices of charred aged ginger (prepared by burning then slicing) decocted with a pinch of salt. This also applies to cold-invaded spleen-stomach conditions.

For blood stasis symptoms like dizziness, chest congestion, or stabbing pain, add a small sip of quality vinegar to the prepared decoction. If menstrual irregularities with abdominal/lumbar pain occur due to exposure to wind-rain or fright during menstruation, add a pinch of roasted fennel seeds to each dose.

When Qi-blood obstruction causes panting and edema, add fresh ginger and Perilla leaves. For bloody sputum, hemoptysis, or metallic taste in throat, include 3-4 mulberry leaves (preferably from flowering mulberry trees).

For constipation due to Qi-blood stagnation, add Citrus aurantium (枳壳) or green tangerine peel (青皮, white pith removed). Cold-deficient blood with stasis pain, uterine coldness, abnormal uterine bleeding, frequent urination, or hematochezia resembling "intestinal wind" requires adding roasted Evodia fruit powder (吴茱萸) – this formula is alternatively called "Channel-Warming Decoction" (温经汤).

Excessive menstruation or flooding due to channel heat calls for fresh Rehmannia (生地黄). When blood stasis ascends causing stomach discomfort with hiccups/coughing, add three ginger slices and five persimmon calyxes (柿蒂).

For Qi-blood stagnation with dizziness and stabbing heart-abdominal pain, decoct Alpinia officinarum (高良姜) and red peony root (赤芍药) in equal parts water and rice wine. Pregnant women experiencing food-induced chest oppression, belching, or bloating should add Aucklandia root (南木香) or Amomum fruit (砂仁).

When late-term pregnancy causes chest discomfort from fetal pressure (called "fetal suspension" 子悬), decoct ginger slices with Perilla leaves. Postpartum Qi-blood disorders of unclear nature – whether deficiency/excess or hot/cold patterns – require customized prescriptions based on specific manifestations.

This passage presents several medicinal formulas and therapeutic methods for treating gynecological disorders. First, regarding postpartum care: if a new mother suffers from lower abdominal stabbing pain below the navel due to cold invasion (known as "cold mounting"), she may take a decoction of roasted evodia fruit. For uterine prolapse caused by excessive straining during childbirth (commonly called "swelling disorder"), begin with qi-regulating and intestine-calming herbs, while simultaneously using a fumigation wash made from ailanthus root or twigs combined with scallion whites and Sichuan pepper to help the uterus return to position—this method also works for ordinary women suffering from this condition.

The Black Rhinoceros Pill is an excellent remedy for regulating blood vessels, dispelling wind, and replenishing deficiency, suitable for various disorders related to the "Sea of Blood" (TCM term for the uterus). Conditions like blood wind, blood cold, blood stagnation, or irregular blood qi can all benefit from this formula.

To prepare: Take May silkworm droppings (select clean specimens, stir-fry until smoky, 300g) and giant aconite (processed by cracking open with heated ash, then removing skin and tips, 75g). Grind these into fine powder, cook with vinegar into a paste, and form pills the size of sterculia seeds. Take 30 pills per dose, normally taken with mild vinegar soup or warm wine.

Specific administration methods for different symptoms: For irregular menstruation or cycle disorders, use mild vinegar soup or warm wine as the carrier. For blood deficiency with yin depletion, amenorrhea lasting months, sallow complexion, emaciation, unrelenting lumbar/abdominal pain, and leg cramps, take with wine infused with fried black beans. For meridian stagnation with heavy lumbar pain persisting for months, use wine infused with achyranthes root. For premature menopause before age fifty with spinal pain and numb legs/blurred vision, take with tea or wine. For coughing/vomiting blood due to rebellious blood qi, use scallion white or mulberry leaf decoction. For blood pain with cold-wind invasion accompanied by dizziness, take with wine quenched by a red-hot iron weight or swallow powdered furnace hearth soil.

These formulas emphasize precise symptom differentiation, employing different combinations and administration methods to regulate various stubborn gynecological conditions.

This passage primarily discusses ancient medicinal formulas and administration methods for treating gynecological disorders and Qi-Blood imbalances. For various symptoms, specific herbal treatment plans are provided:

For abnormal menstrual bleeding (such as metrorrhagia, leukorrhea with yellow or white discharge), one may use wine-steeped fried herbs, or administer with mugwort vinegar decoction. Alternatives include wine-soaked fried black beans, cottonseed ash blended with wine, or decoctions of mugwort, sanguisorba, and cypress leaves—preferably alternated with the Ai Cu Tang (Mugwort Vinegar Decoction) recorded in the "Formulary of the Bureau."

For chest oppression and irritability caused by Blood-Qi attacking the heart (called "blood stupor"), fry pig's blood vomitus with a small amount of sesame oil, then take with wine.

When Blood deficiency with Wind excess leads to convulsions, swollen/painful feet, or cramps, administer with Chaenomeles decoction. Alternatively, steep angelica, Chaenomeles, and achyranthes in wine, or use wine with fried black beans and notopterygium, while fumigating and washing affected areas with Polygonum orientale stem-leaf decoction.

For lumbar blood stasis pain (due to obstructed Qi-Blood in the Foot Taiyang channel), first chew a pinch of fennel with warm wine, or take wine-soaked fried black beans for better effect.

For numbness and soreness in limbs due to Qi-Blood deficiency, take wine-steeped fried ginger. For floating/swollen teeth, headaches, tinnitus, deafness, or itchy skin sores caused by Blood deficiency with ascending Wind pathogens, administer with schizonepeta spikes/leaves or fresh scallion tea—before or after meals.

For cold eyes with tears and blurred vision due to Liver deficiency generating Wind, take with Alisma decoction or black bean soup at any time. For wind-cold invading blood vessels causing lumps, cough, or wheezing, administer with mulberry root-bark decoction. For bloody stools, use decoctions of Platycladus or sanguisorba.

Finally, the formula "Puhuang Heishen San" (Pollen Typhae Black Spirit Powder) is mentioned—suitable for both unmarried and married women to regulate cold deficiency constitutions and Qi-Blood disorders, including prenatal/postpartum blood stasis, blood dizziness, and lochia stagnation. It particularly emphasizes taking "Wujin San" (Black Gold Powder) on the first postpartum day to stop bleeding and resolve stasis, then switching to this formula from the second day onward to promote stagnant blood discharge and new blood generation, preventing various diseases. This formula has demonstrated excellent efficacy through long-term validation.

This passage describes several medicinal pill formulations and their applications for treating gynecological disorders. The primary ingredients include black beans, cyperus rhizome (Xiangfu), dried ginger, and fresh rehmannia root, which are ground into powder and prepared in two forms: as a powdered formula (sanji), where two qian of the powder are taken before meals with warm wine; or as pills the size of phoenix tree seeds, with thirty pills per dose taken with warm wine or rice water.

Usage varies according to symptoms: For postpartum abdominal pain caused by stagnant blood, the medicine is taken with a child’s urine. In cases of retained dead fetus, seven fen of the medicine is administered with vinegar-boiled black bean decoction. For retained placenta, it is taken with a mixture of child’s urine and wine. Postpartum lochia obstruction with fainting or unconsciousness requires warm wine as the delivery medium, or in severe cases, wine quenched with a red-hot steelyard weight.

These formulas have multiple names: Beneficial Yin Elixir (Yiyin Dan), Penetrating Truth Pills (Tongzhen Wan), Victorious Golden Elixir (Shengjin Dan), Golden Hairpin Decoction (Jinchai Jian), Life-Preserving Pills (Baosheng Wan), and Fourfold Harmonizing Center Pills (Sishun Lizhong Wan). The latter refers specifically to the phoenix-tree-seed-sized pills prepared with honey.

Special applications for specific conditions include: For postpartum weakness with excessive sweating, thirty pills are taken on an empty stomach with rice water. When prepared as honeyed pills the size of slingshot pellets (called Life-Preserving Pills), they treat morning sickness (ezu) and fetal instability during pregnancy—one pill is chewed thoroughly and taken with ramie root or gentian-boiled glutinous rice water. The same formula also addresses persistent uterine bleeding during pregnancy.

This passage presents various medicinal prescriptions and administration methods tailored to women's symptoms during different pregnancy stages and postpartum recovery, categorized as follows:

For early pregnancy symptoms caused by excessive fetal Qi (vital energy) — including chest tightness, vomiting, excessive phlegm, loss of appetite, and abdominal distension — use decoctions made from scraped light bamboo shavings and aged tangerine peel as delivery vehicles. These can be combined with Poria and Pinellia Decoction or Two Matured Ingredients Decoction.

In cases of fetal movement with bleeding due to sexual intercourse (termed "fetal injury"), administer the medicine with warm wine. For women prone to habitual miscarriage or persistent spotting, warm wine helps regulate Qi and blood to stabilize the fetus.

When premature labor signs appear before full term, use anemarrhena root decoction. For fetuses pressing upward against the diaphragm without descending, administer with ligusticum (chuanxiong) decoction. During the seventh and eighth months, regular consumption of bitter orange and glutinous rice decoction nourishes the fetus and blood, facilitating smooth delivery.

Postpartum recovery employs "Victorious Golden Elixir" to treat various postnatal disorders, taken with warm wine or rice water. For blood deficiency or consumptive blood disorders, "Yin-Nourishing Elixir" is similarly administered with warm wine or rice water.

For pale complexion with prominent veins — symptoms of blood-cold conditions — wine proves particularly effective. Adolescent girls regulating irregular menstruation with turbid discharge and abdominal pain use "Golden Hairpin Decoction" delivered with menstrual-regulating wine.

A special note addresses adolescent girls whose menarche is followed by one-to-two-year gaps or three-to-five-month intervals between cycles. This stems from insufficient Qi-blood development, requiring herbal nourishment to restore natural flow. Without intervention, blood stagnation may form clots leading to consumptive disorders, treatable with complementary "Eaglewood Surpassing Gold" formulas.

This scripture primarily discusses the principles of prenatal and postnatal care for women, along with the applications of several specific medicinal formulas.

Regarding prenatal care, the text emphasizes that the embryo is extremely fragile in its early stages and can easily be affected by cold or heat, potentially leading to miscarriage. During this period, one must exercise caution with medicinal treatments, avoiding potent decoctions that might harm the fetal Qi (vital energy). Strong emotions, such as anger, can also damage the fetus.

For postnatal recovery, the scripture notes that due to significant blood loss during childbirth, the body is in a weakened state, with diminished organ function. Even minor illnesses at this stage can lead to serious consequences. The text warns against using excessively cold or hot medicines; even in cases of wind-cold fever, mild remedies should be applied gradually. If warming and tonifying treatments are necessary, they should be introduced step by step.

Several specific formulas are mentioned:

1. Great Sage’s Pill for Penetrating the True (Dasheng Tongzhen Wan): Used to treat various common ailments in women.

2. Notopterygium (Qianghuo) Stir-Fried with Black Beans and Taken with Wine: Combined with Minor Life-Prolonging Decoction (Xiao Xuming Tang) and Blackthorn Pill (Wu Jing Wan), this formula treats wind-stroke symptoms such as facial distortion and opisthotonos (arched-back spasms).

3. Formulas Taken with Warm Wine or Rice Water: These address conditions like multicolored vaginal discharge, Qi and blood deficiency, pale or bluish complexion, and postnatal recovery within the first hundred days. They help eliminate stagnant blood, generate new blood, replenish Qi, nourish deficiency, regulate the Chong and Ren meridians (key channels in women’s health), and prevent various illnesses.

Finally, the scripture highlights the use of Major Angelica Decoction (Da Danggui Tang): This is prescribed for difficult labor, such as when contractions occur without progress or when the amniotic sac has ruptured but delivery is obstructed. Such complications often arise from premature use of labor-inducing drugs or maternal fright. The formula, composed of mild herbs like Sichuan angelica (Chuan Danggui), Rehmannia (Dihuang), Ligusticum (Chuanxiong), White Poria (Bai Fuling), Licorice (Gancao), and Red Peony (Chi Shaoyao), aids in smooth childbirth.

This medical prescription primarily discusses several formulas for treating difficult labor and postpartum recovery. The first formula combines Zhiqiao (bitter orange) and Guixin (cinnamon bark), with a dosage of three qian each time. Boil the herbs in water until reduced by 30%, then add a small amount of powdered Ruxiang (frankincense) and continue boiling before taking it warm. If the baby has been delivered but the placenta remains, first tie the umbilical cord tightly while administering Heishen Powder, Duoming Elixir, and this formula. For postpartum abdominal distension, Xiao Heishen Powder can be used, mixed with vinegar charcoal to regulate stomach Qi. Light congee is recommended, and those who drink alcohol may take small amounts but must avoid excess.

The Tuozhu Elixir is for inducing labor and should only be taken when genuine labor pains become unbearable in the lumbar and abdominal regions. Typically, one or two pills will facilitate smooth delivery, but it shouldn't be used casually. These pills are made from fried Cheqianzi (plantago seeds) and Jiusheng Tusizi (cuscuta seeds processed with wine), prepared on clear mornings during the first ten days of the lunar month. They're mixed with Poposuan grass juice and vinegar-fried flour paste to form pills the size of ginkgo seeds, then coated with cinnabar. Take half or one pill at a time, dissolved in Laoya sour leaf juice and taken with vinegar soup.

The Ruxiang Decoction uses powdered transparent Ruxiang (frankincense) and should be taken during severe lumbar and abdominal pain—either seven fen or half a cup per dose, steeped in boiling water. If labor is prolonged due to premature exertion causing obstruction, this can also be administered. Those who drink alcohol may use wine as a medium to help unblock meridians and relieve pain, benefiting the mother without excess that might harm the fetus.

The final formula for difficult labor combines three gold foil sheets with three rabbit-hair brush tips (burned to ash) powdered and mixed with yellow wax to form pills the size of wutong seeds. Take one dose with wine. If delivery hasn't occurred within a day, grind half a liang of mica powder into fine particles and take a portion the size of an egg.

This passage records several ancient Chinese emergency medical prescriptions primarily used for obstetric and gynecological emergencies. The first formula, "Divine Response Powder" (Shenying San), combines equal parts of plant soot (from stove bottoms) and angelica dahurica root, ground into powder. A dosage of two qian is taken mixed with half a cup each of healthy child's urine and quality vinegar, followed by hot water. This prescription was reputedly miraculous for difficult childbirth, having reportedly saved three to five thousand lives.

For retained dead fetus, two qian of crude saltpeter powder mixed with child's urine could be administered. In severe cases showing blue fingernails, cyanotic tongue, abdominal distension, or even fecal breath odor, the Pingwei Powder formula was first taken in two divided doses—each decocted with one cup each of water and rice wine, then boiled with saltpeter powder before warm consumption. This was said to transform the dead fetus into bloody discharge for expulsion.

The "Pregnancy Detection Decoction" (Tantai Tang) determined pregnancy status: chuanxiong rhizome powder taken with mugwort tea on an empty stomach. Slight abdominal movement indicated pregnancy, while umbilical pulsation (or lack thereof) suggested blood stasis requiring early blood-activating treatment.

The compound "Myriad Remedies Powder" (Wanfang San) contained atractylodes, tangerine peel, green tangerine peel and other herbs, decocted with one-and-a-half cups water and five ginger slices. Ingredients were modified symptomatically: fennel for abdominal pain, fried radish seeds for edema, evodia for chills, cyathula root for back/leg pain, or chaenomeles for headaches. Administration required warm consumption while avoiding raw, cold or toxic foods.

These formulas reflect ancient Chinese medical experience in obstetric emergencies, featuring now-unconventional ingredients like child's urine and stove soot that characterized historical therapeutic approaches.

This scripture primarily discusses two types of traditional Chinese medicinal formulas and their applications.

The first is a versatile remedy for various symptoms. Fangfeng (a medicinal herb) should have its root crown removed, while Xixin should have its leaves discarded. Chuanwu (a toxic herb requiring processing) may be added. Different symptoms call for additional ingredients: joint pain requires roasted fennel; chills from colds call for scallion whites; persistent fever (discontinue once fever subsides) also uses scallion whites; wheezing requires ophiopogon root; thirst calls for smoked plum or kudzu root; coughs need honey-fried mulberry root bark; lung damage requires schisandra or mulberry leaves; feverish irritability with dark urine needs plantain, cogongrass rhizome, or rush pith; excessive menstruation requires carbonized palm fiber; diarrhea requires roasted glutinous rice or nutmeg; labor induction uses ramie root; and irregular menstruation calls for vinegar-fried mugwort leaves.

The second formula, "Jiyin Dan," specifically treats women’s ailments before and after childbirth. The primary ingredient is Xiangfu (processed with vinegar, wine, brine, and child’s urine), combined with eleven herbs including Lindera root, Chinese angelica, and bugleweed, ground into powder and formed into pills with vinegar-cooked flour paste. Dosage is thirty pills per intake. For non-pregnant women, additions like burreed tuber or zedoary may be included; postpartum cases may use plant soot or motherwort.

These prescriptions meticulously detail herb processing methods (e.g., roasting, soaking, honey-frying) and symptom-specific modifications, embodying the tailored diagnostic approach of traditional Chinese medicine.