治胁痛口苦, 耳聋耳肿, 筋痿阴湿, 热痒阴肿, 白浊溲血.
龙胆草 ( 酒炒 ) 黄芩 ( 炒 ) 栀子 ( 酒炒 ) 泽泻 木通
车前子 当归 ( 酒洗 ) 柴胡 甘草 生地 ( 酒炒 ) 水煎服.
【注】胁痛口苦, 耳聋耳肿, 乃胆经之为病也. 筋痿阴湿, 热痒阴肿
,白浊溲血, 乃肝经之为病也. 故用龙胆草泻肝胆之火. 以柴胡为肝
使.以甘草缓肝急. 佐以芩, 栀, 通, 泽, 车前辈大利前阴, 使诸湿
热有所从出也. 然皆泻肝之品, 若使病尽去, 恐肝亦伤矣, 故又加当
归,生地补血以养肝. 盖肝为藏血之脏, 补血即所以补肝也. 而妙在
泻肝之剂, 反作补肝之药, 寓有战胜抚绥之义矣.
治肝脏火实, 左胁作痛.
黄连 ( 炒 ) 六两 吴茱萸 ( 汤泡 ) 一两, , 右为末, 作丸.
【集注】胡天锡曰: 此泻肝火之正剂. 肝之治有数种; 水衰而木无以
生,地黄丸, 乙癸同源是也; 土衰而木无以植, 参苓甘草剂, 缓肝培
土是也; 本经血虚有火, 用逍遥散清火; 血虚无水, 用四物汤养阴.
至于补火之法, 亦下同乎肾; 而泻火之治, 则上类乎心. 左金丸独用
黄连为君, 从实则泻子之法, 以直折其上炎之势; 吴茱萸从类相求,
引热下行, 并以辛燥开其肝郁, 惩其扞格, 故以为佐. 然必本气实而
土不虚者, 庶可相宜. 左金者, 木从左而制从金也.
治疗胁肋疼痛、口苦，耳聋耳肿，筋脉痿软伴阴部潮湿，热邪引起的阴部瘙痒肿胀，白浊及尿血。
龙胆草（酒炒） 黄芩（炒） 栀子（酒炒） 泽泻 木通
车前子 当归（酒洗） 柴胡 甘草 生地（酒炒） 用水煎服。
【注释】胁痛口苦，耳聋耳肿，是胆经的病症。筋痿阴湿，热痒阴肿，白浊溲血，是肝经的病症。因此使用龙胆草来清泻肝胆之火。以柴胡作为引经药引导药力入肝经。以甘草缓解肝气的急迫。佐以黄芩、栀子、木通、泽泻、车前子大力通利前阴，使各种湿热之邪有出路排出。然而这些药物都是泻肝的品类，如果病邪完全去除，恐怕也会损伤肝脏正气，所以又加入当归、生地来补血以滋养肝脏。因为肝是藏血的脏器，补血就是补肝的方法。其妙处在于，在泻肝的方剂中，反而起到补肝的作用，蕴含了战胜病邪与安抚正气并重的意义。
治疗肝脏火气实证，左侧胁肋疼痛。
黄连（炒）六两 吴茱萸（汤泡）一两，研为细末，制成丸剂。
【集注】胡天锡说：这是清泻肝火的正宗方剂。肝脏的治疗有多种情况；肾水不足导致肝木无法滋生，用六味地黄丸，体现乙癸同源的理论；脾土虚弱导致肝木无法扎根，用人参、茯苓、甘草等药剂，通过缓和肝气、培补脾土来治疗；本经血虚而有内火，用逍遥散清火；血虚无阴液滋润，用四物汤养阴。至于补火的方法，也与补肾相同；而泻火的治疗，则类似于治心。左金丸单独使用黄连作为君药，遵循“实则泻其子”的原则，以直接折抑肝火上炎之势；吴茱萸顺应同类相求的道理，引导热气下行，并利用其辛燥之性开通肝郁，惩戒其抵触格拒之性，所以作为佐药。但是必须患者本气充实且脾土不虚，才适宜使用。所谓“左金”，是指肝木之气从左升发，而用金（肺/辛味）来制约它。
Treats hypochondriac pain and bitter taste in the mouth, deafness and swelling of the ears, flaccidity of tendons with dampness in the genital region, itching and swelling of the genitals due to heat, leukorrhea (white turbid discharge), and hematuria.
Longdan Cao (Gentianae Radix, stir-fried with wine) Huangqin (Scutellariae Radix, stir-fried) Zhizi (Gardeniae Fructus, stir-fried with wine) Zexie (Alismatis Rhizoma) Mutong (Akebiae Caulis)
Cheqianzi (Plantaginis Semen) Danggui (Angelicae Sinensis Radix, washed with wine) Chaihu (Bupleuri Radix) Gancao (Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma) Shengdi (Rehmanniae Radix, stir-fried with wine). Decoct in water and take orally.
[Note] Hypochondriac pain and bitter taste in the mouth, deafness and swelling of the ears, are diseases of the Gallbladder Meridian (Dan Jing). Flaccidity of tendons with dampness in the genital region, itching and swelling of the genitals due to heat, leukorrhea, and hematuria, are diseases of the Liver Meridian (Gan Jing). Therefore, Longdan Cao is used to drain the fire of the Liver and Gallbladder. Chaihu is used as the guiding herb for the Liver. Gancao is used to relieve the urgency of the Liver. Mutong, Zexie, and Cheqianzi are added as assistants to strongly promote urination through the anterior orifice, allowing various damp-heat pathogens to have an exit. However, these are all herbs that drain the Liver; if the pathogenic factors are completely eliminated, it is feared that the Liver Qi itself may be damaged. Therefore, Danggui and Shengdi are added to nourish blood and tonify the Liver. Since the Liver is the organ that stores blood, nourishing blood is equivalent to tonifying the Liver. The brilliance lies in the fact that within a formula that drains the Liver, there is a counteracting effect of tonifying the Liver, embodying the principle of both defeating the enemy and pacifying the populace.
Treats excess fire in the Liver, causing pain in the left hypochondrium.
Huanglian (Coptidis Rhizoma, stir-fried) 6 liang Wuzhuyu (Evodiae Fructus, soaked in hot water) 1 liang. Grind into fine powder and make into pills.
[Collected Notes] Hu Tianxi said: This is the orthodox formula for draining Liver fire. There are several types of treatments for the Liver; when Kidney Water is deficient and cannot generate Liver Wood, Liuwei Dihuang Wan is used, reflecting the theory that "Yi and Gui share the same source" (Liver and Kidney share the same origin); when Spleen Earth is weak and cannot support Liver Wood, formulas containing Renshen, Fuling, and Gancao are used to soothe the Liver and fortify the Earth; when the primary disease involves Blood deficiency with internal fire, Xiaoyao San is used to clear heat; when Blood deficiency lacks Yin fluids, Siwu Tang is used to nourish Yin. As for methods of tonifying Fire, they are similar to those for the Kidney; but for treating Fire by draining, they are similar to treating the Heart. Zuojin Wan uses Huanglian alone as the Sovereign herb, following the method of "draining the son when the mother is excessive," to directly suppress the upward flaming tendency of Liver fire. Wuzhuyu follows the principle of seeking similarity among like substances, guiding heat downward, and using its pungent and dry nature to open Liver stagnation and punish its resistance, thus serving as an Assistant herb. However, this is only suitable when the patient's original Qi is substantial and the Spleen Earth is not deficient. "Zuojin" means that Liver Wood qi ascends from the left, and is controlled by Metal (Lung/Pungent flavor).