典藏书目

Ge Hong stated that Gui Zhu (Ghost Transmission, a type of infectious wasting disease) is one of the Five Corpse Parasites, and it also involves various evil spirits causing harm. The variations of this disease number thirty-six, up to ninety-nine types. Generally, it causes patients to experience alternating chills and fever, dribbling urination, lethargy and silence, uncertainty about their specific suffering, discomfort throughout the body, and gradual deterioration over years until death. It transmits to others, potentially wiping out an entire family. If such signs are detected, immediate treatment is required. One beaver liver, dried in the shade and pounded into powder, should be taken in a dose of "Fang Cun Bi" (a square-inch measure), three times daily. If not cured, continue preparation and administration. *Zhou Hou Bei Ji Fang* (Emergency Prescriptions Kept Up My Sleeve) states this prescription is miraculous.

During the Xuanhe era, a Daoist priest at Tianqing Temple was extremely proficient in the ritual of Kaozhao (summoning and exorcising demons). At that time, a woman submitted a petition stating she was possessed by a spirit. The priest summoned the spirit, which spoke through him: "I am not the cause of this disaster; it is another ghost. It exploits the patient's declining fortune to cause trouble. It has now taken form as a worm in the patient's lungs, eating the lung tissues, thus causing hemoptysis and hoarseness." The priest whipped the worm and asked if it had any fears or taboos. After a long silence, upon being whipped again, it replied, "Let me speak. I only fear powdered beaver claws taken with wine, which will eliminate it." The patient's family followed this advice, and the illness was cured. This was witnessed by my own eyes. Investigating the pathology, it seems similar; beaver claws are likely related to beaver liver. (From *Benshi Fang*)

Li Yingben, a Wujie Lang (Military Officer Rank) residing in Yuanzhou, was formerly an official in the judicial office of Xiangzhou. He once offended Han Sifu, a Privy Councilor, due to clerical duties. After the war fires, he suddenly met Han in Yichun. Han said he obtained his position from General Yue's army and now lived in retirement. Li asked about his family matters calmly, but Han shed tears and said, "I previously had three children. My eldest son, while discussing the purchase of a house, entered an empty room and suddenly felt heart palpitations and severe coldness in his back, developing into Lao Zhai (Consumption/Tuberculosis), nearly dying. The illness transmitted to my second daughter. After the eldest son died, the daughter fell ill and soon passed away. Then it transmitted to my third son with identical symptoms. I was terrified, so I prayed to the City God (Chenghuang), offering noodle rice to wandering monks daily, hoping to meet a strange person, promising a reward of 300,000 coins. A few days later, in front of Kaiyuan Temple in the market, a man dressed in secular clothes, calling himself a poor Daoist, approached quickly and shouted: 'Commandant, I hear your household suffers from Transmitted Corpse Labor. I have a prescription to offer.' We entered the temple together. When asked for his name, he refused to answer and orally recited the prescription. Li immediately took out a pen to write it down. The Daoist said he intended to cross Hunan. Li invited him to eat, but he said he had already eaten. Li offered money, but he said he had his own travel expenses. Before leaving, he added: 'This medicine primarily uses Tian Ling Gai (Human Skull Cap) and Hu Fen Nei Gu (Tiger Feces containing bones); you must search carefully. Qing She Nao (Green Snake Brain) can be omitted if unavailable. One day before taking the medicine, you must solemnly sacrifice to the City God to seek his hidden assistance.' Li asked, 'If you seek help from the god, why use medicine?' The Daoist replied, 'Not so,' then bowed and departed westward. Finding the matter peculiar, Li respectfully followed his instructions. Upon preparing the medicine, Li set up five divine positions, prepared ten dishes of food, and sacrificed to the City God as if hosting honored guests; additionally, he arranged wine and food to appease the Yin soldiers; he also placed a seat for the Envoy before the sickbed. After taking the medicine for a moment, large amounts of discharge came from the viscera, including seven worms. These were red like meat but white inside, about one cun long, 7-8 fen wide, pointed at the front and square at the back, with a mouth near the front underside, surrounded by legs like fine fish bones, curved like needle tips, and dead. Trying to burn them with fire and poke them with iron chopsticks failed. The condition decreased sharply. After another dose, four small worms were expelled. From then on, he recovered, remaining healthy for ten years, with smooth skin and no further illness. The Daoist never returned. The prescription uses: Tian Ling Gai (3 qian), roasted with butter until yellow and powdered; Hu Fen Nei Gu (1 qian), human bone is best, animal bone is secondary, those from tiger intestines after slaughter are also usable; mixed with a quantity of Qing She Nao equivalent to a soybean or mung bean, roasted with butter until color changes; if no snake brain, roasting with butter alone suffices. Bie Jia (Softshell Turtle Shell), large pieces, vinegar-roasted until yellow, weighed 1 liang, preferably from a 9-jin turtle; An Xi Xiang (Benzoin) (0.5 liang); Tao Ren (Peach Kernel) (1 fen), peeled, core removed, ground into powder, sifted through silk; Bing Lang (Betel Nut) (1 fen), finely powdered; She Xiang (Musk) (1 qian), separately ground; Qing Hao (Artemisia Annua), the tip 3-4 cun, finely cut (6 liang); Chi Dou (Fermented Soybeans) (300 grains); Cong Gen (Scallion Root) (21 pieces), crushed; Dong Yin Tao Liu Li Sang Zhi (East-growing Peach, Willow, Plum, Mulberry branches) (7 stems each), thickness like a chopstick, length 7 cun, finely cut; Feng Ye (Maple Leaves) (21 pieces), optional; Tong Zi Xiao Bian (Boy's Urine) (0.5 sheng). First, decoct Qing Hao, the four branches, maple leaves, scallion roots, and fermented soybeans in 3 sheng of water measured with official vessels, reducing to about half a sheng. Strain the dregs. Add An Xi Xiang, Tian Ling Gai, Hu Fen Nei Gu, Bie Jia, Tao Ren, and boy's urine, decoct together, strain, obtaining about 4-5 he of liquid. Mix uniformly with the ground Bing Lang and She Xiang as one dose. Take warm in the morning, cover with a blanket to induce sweating. Wipe sweat with cloth and burn it immediately, fearing tiny worms in the sweat. Subsequent defecation must contain worms; if alive, burn fiercely and discard in flowing water. Crucially, the patient must not know about the medication, nor thereafter. After ten days, when vitality returns, administer another dose, burning and discarding as before, until no more worms appear. If the patient is not yet critical, this can bring peace; if critical, wait until near death, then let the next infected person take it. Although the first patient may not be saved, subsequent transmissions will surely be stopped. (From *Bai Yi Xuan Fang*, recorded from Han Sifu's grandson, Lu Shuai, Vice Minister)