橘皮宽膈降气消痰逐冷有殊功他药多贵新唯此贵陈须洞庭者最佳外舅莫强中知丰城县得
疾凡
食已辄胸满不下百方治之不效偶家人辈合橘红汤取尝之似有味因连日饮之一日坐厅事方操笔
觉胸中有物坠于腹大惊目瞪汗如雨急扶归须臾腹疼下数块如铁弹子臭不可闻自此胸次廓然盖
脾之冷积也抱病半年所服药饵凡几种不知功乃在一橘皮世人之所忽岂可不察哉其方橘皮去穣
取红一斤甘草盐各四两水五碗慢火煮干焙捣为末点服又古方以橘红四两炙甘草一两为末汤点
名曰二贤散以治痰特有验盖痰久为害有不可胜言者世医虽知用半夏南星枳实茯苓之属何足以
语此(同上)
诸药中犀最难捣必先镑屑乃入众药中捣之众药筛罗已尽而犀独在余偶见一医僧元达为解
犀为
小块方半寸许以极薄纸裹置怀中使近肉以人气蒸之候气蒸熏浃洽乘热投臼中急捣应手如粉因
知人气能粉犀也今医工莫有知者(归田录)
常见世人治年高之人疾患将同年少乱投汤药妄行针灸以攻其疾务欲速愈殊不知上寿之人
血气
已衰精神减耗危若风烛百疾易攻至于视听不至聪明手足举动不随其身体劳倦头目昏眩风气不
顺宿疾时发或秘或泄或冷或热此皆老人之常态也不须紧用针药务求痊瘥往往因此别致危殆且
攻病之药或汗或吐或解或利缘衰老之人不同年少年少之人真气壮盛虽汗吐转利未至危困其老
弱之人若汗之则阳气泄吐之则胃气逆泻之则元气脱立致不可救此养老之大忌也大体老人药饵
止是扶持之法只可用温平顺气进食补虚中和之药治之不可用市肆赎买它人惠送不知方味及野狼
虎之药与之服饵切宜审详若身有宿疾或时发动则随其疾状用中和汤药调顺三朝五日自然无事
惟是调停饮食根据食医之法随食性变馔治之此最为良也(养老奉亲书)
橘皮具有宽胸膈、降逆气、消痰饮、驱散寒邪的独特功效。其他药物大多以新鲜为贵，唯独橘皮以陈久者为佳，其中洞庭湖地区出产的橘皮最为上乘。我的岳父莫强在担任丰城县知县时患病，凡是吃完饭后就觉得胸口胀满，食物无法下行。用了各种方法治疗都不见效，偶然间家人调制橘红汤让他品尝，觉得味道不错，于是连续几天饮用。有一天他在公堂上正提笔写字时，突然感觉胸中有物体坠入腹中，大惊失色，瞪大眼睛，汗如雨下。急忙扶他回家，片刻之后腹部疼痛，排出几块像铁弹子一样坚硬的粪便，气味臭不可闻。从此以后，胸中豁然开朗。这原来是脾脏的冷积所致。他抱病半年，服用的药饵有好几种，不知道功效竟然在于一片橘皮。世人所忽视的东西，怎么可以不仔细考察呢？其方剂用法是：橘皮去掉白色瓤，只取红色外皮一斤，甘草和盐各四两，用水五碗，用慢火煮至水干，焙干后捣成粉末，每次取少量冲服。另外古方中以橘红四两、炙甘草一两，研成粉末，用开水冲服，名叫“二贤散”，用来治疗痰饮特别有效。大概痰饮日久危害极大，有说不完的危害。世间的医生虽然知道使用半夏、南星、枳实、茯苓这类药物，哪里谈得上理解这种（橘皮治冷积）的道理呢？（同上）
在各种药物中，犀角最难捣碎，必须先刮成薄片屑，然后放入众药中一起捣碎。当其他药物都已经过筛罗完毕，而犀角却还留在臼中。我偶然见到一位医僧元达将犀角解为小块，大约半寸见方，用极薄的纸包裹，放在怀中贴近皮肤，利用人体的热气蒸熏它，等到热气蒸熏透彻，趁着热的时候投入臼中急捣，应手之间就变成粉末。因此我知道人的热气能使犀角变成粉末。现在的医生工匠没有谁知道这种方法。（出自《归田录》）
常见世人治疗年高老人的疾病，像对待年轻人一样乱投汤药，胡乱进行针灸来攻伐疾病，务必想要快速痊愈。却不知道长寿之人的气血已经衰弱，精神减耗，生命危殆如同风中残烛，各种疾病容易侵袭。至于看东西听声音不再灵敏聪明，手脚举动不随意跟随身体意志，身体劳累疲倦，头目昏眩，风气不顺，旧疾时常发作，或者便秘或者泄泻，或者怕冷或者发热，这些都是老年人的常态。不需要紧急使用针药务必求得痊愈，往往因此另外招致危险。况且攻治病邪的药物，有的通过发汗，有的通过催吐，有的通过和解，有的通过泻下。因为衰老的人不同于年轻人，年轻人的真气壮盛，即使经过汗、吐、下法治疗，也不会导致危困。但年老体弱的人，如果用发汗法则阳气外泄，用催吐法则胃气上逆，用泻下法则元气脱失，立刻导致不可救治。这是养老的大忌。大体上对老人的药物治疗只是扶持的方法，只可用温和平顺气机、增进食欲、补虚损、性质中和的药物来治疗。不可使用市场上购买或他人赠送的、不知方义药味以及如狼虎般猛烈伤身的药物给老人服用，切需审慎详细。如果身上有旧疾或者时常发作，则根据疾病的状况使用性质中和的汤药调理顺适，三朝五日自然就没有事了。只有调停饮食，根据食医的方法，随着食物的性味变化来制作菜肴，这才是最好的方法。（出自《养老奉亲书》）
Tangerine peel (Chenpi) possesses unique merits in widening the diaphragm, directing rebellious Qi downward, resolving phlegm, and dispelling cold. While most herbs are prized for their freshness, tangerine peel is valued for being aged; among these, those from Dongting Lake are considered the best. My maternal uncle, Mo Qiang, while serving as the magistrate of Fengcheng County, fell ill. After every meal, he experienced chest fullness and food stagnation. Various treatments proved ineffective. Once, family members prepared a decoction of red tangerine peel (Juhong) for him to taste. Finding it palatable, he drank it continuously for several days. One day, while presiding over court and holding a brush, he suddenly felt an object drop from his chest into his abdomen. He was terrified, eyes wide open, sweating profusely like rain. He was hastily supported back home. Shortly after, abdominal pain ensued, and he passed several hard stools resembling iron pellets, with an unbearable foul odor. Thereafter, his chest felt clear and open. This was actually cold accumulation in the spleen. Having been ill for half a year and taking various medicaments, he did not realize that the efficacy lay in a single piece of tangerine peel. How can one neglect to examine things overlooked by the common people? The prescription is as follows: Remove the white pith of tangerine peel, retaining only the red outer skin (one jin), along with licorice root (Gancao) and salt (four liang each). Boil in five bowls of water over slow fire until dry, then bake, grind into powder, and take orally with water. Additionally, an ancient formula uses four liang of red tangerine peel and one liang of honey-fried licorice root, ground into powder and taken with hot water, named "Er Xian San" (Two Sages Powder). It is particularly effective for treating phlegm. Phlegm, if retained for a long time, causes immeasurable harm. Although contemporary physicians know to use herbs such as Pinellia Rhizome (Banxia), Acori Tatarinowii Rhizome (Nanxing), Aurantii Fructus (Zhishi), and Poria (Fuling), how can they compare to this understanding? (Ibid.)
Among various drugs, rhinoceros horn (Xijiao) is the hardest to crush. It must first be shaved into thin flakes before being added to other herbs for pounding. When all other herbs have been sifted, the rhinoceros horn remains intact. I once observed a physician-monk named Yuanda who cut the rhinoceros horn into small pieces, approximately half an inch square. He wrapped them in extremely thin paper and placed them in his bosom, close to his flesh, utilizing human body heat to steam them. Once thoroughly steamed and warmed, he immediately threw them into the mortar and pounded vigorously, resulting in a fine powder instantly. Thus, I learned that human breath/heat can pulverize rhinoceros horn. Few modern practitioners know this method. (From *Guitian Lu*)
It is common to see people treating illnesses in the elderly with the same aggressive methods used for the young, indiscriminately administering herbal decoctions and acupuncture to attack the disease, striving for rapid cure. They fail to realize that in longevity individuals, Qi and Blood are already declining, spirit and essence are depleted, and life is precarious like a candle in the wind, making them susceptible to various diseases. Their hearing and vision may no longer be sharp; limbs may move involuntarily or weakly; the body feels fatigued; the head and eyes are dizzy; wind-qi may be disordered; old ailments may flare up intermittently; constipation or diarrhea may occur; sensations of cold or heat may arise. These are normal states for the elderly. There is no need to urgently employ needles and drugs to demand a complete cure, as doing so often leads to further danger. Moreover, drugs used to attack pathogens induce sweating, vomiting, harmonizing, or purging. Young people possess robust True Qi; even after sweating, vomiting, or purging, they do not face critical peril. However, in frail elderly persons, sweating depletes Yang Qi; vomiting causes Stomach Qi to rebel upward; purging leads to the collapse of Yuan Qi, potentially causing immediate untreatable conditions. This is a major taboo in caring for the elderly. Generally, medication for the elderly should focus on support and maintenance. Only mild, harmonizing, Qi-regulating, appetite-stimulating, deficiency-nourishing, and neutral-natured herbs should be used. One must avoid purchasing market drugs or accepting gifts whose ingredients and properties are unknown, especially avoiding harsh, wolf-like, or tiger-like potent drugs. Careful scrutiny is essential. If old ailments flare up, treat according to symptoms using neutral herbal decoctions to regulate and smooth the condition; within three to five days, matters will naturally resolve. The best approach is to manage diet according to the principles of dietary therapy, preparing dishes based on the nature of foods. This is the finest method. (From *Yanglao Fengqin Shu*)