典藏书目

The areas under both arms, as well as the palms of the hands and soles of the feet, the inner thighs, and the scrotum are often moist as if wet with sweat and soiling clothes; this condition is named "Armpit Leakage" (Ye Lou).
(From *Yi Lin*) Liuwu Tang (Six-Ingredient Decoction)
Dried Lycium barbarum root (Gouqigen), dried Rosa multiflora root (Qiangweigen), Licorice Root (Gancao) (each 2 liang); Phytolacca root (Shanglu), Lead carbonate (Hufen), Talcum (Huashi) (each 1 liang).
Grind the above into powder, mix with a small amount of vinegar, and apply topically. When slight sweating occurs, change clothes and reapply. After three applications, it will heal. If it recurs the following year, cure it again according to this method.
Another prescription: Boil Kadsura longipedunculata (Luoshi, also known as Mumantou) in water to wash the armpits and the areas of the hands, feet, and genitals, then sprinkle Mituo Seng (Lead monoxide) powder on them. It will heal in three days.

In the southeastern regions, dampness from mountains and marshes stagnates and steams without dissipating; when it invades the human body, it acts like Taiyang disease (Taiyang Bing, a syndrome caused by pathogenic factors affecting the Taiyang channel). Therefore, one must be cautious. Only when dampness stagnates and transforms into heat does it occur that in the southeast, winters are not very cold, there is much fog but little wind, Yang Qi (vital energy associated with warmth and activity) is not secure, and during winter, Essence (Jing) is not stored properly. People, due to deficiency, contract these pathogens, resulting in symptoms such as fever, headache, dry mouth, abdominal fullness, vomiting, and regurgitation. The presentation resembles the heat syndromes of Taiyang disease. Although called mountain miasma or pestilential qi (Shanlan Zhangqi), it is actually acquired due to internal causes.

In the regions of Min, Guang, and Lingnan, although miasma exists, most people do not fall ill. Those who do contract it do so because their righteous Qi (Zhengqi, the body's resistance to disease) is internally deficient, allowing external pathogens to enter through the deficiency. Otherwise, people in the southeast would all suffer from miasma, leaving no room for other diseases. Therefore, treatment should first regulate the interior, then treat the exterior; this is called knowing the root.

Lingnan is known as a hot region and borders the sea; the land is low-lying and the soil shallow. In hot regions with shallow soil, Yang heat Qi (Yangyu Zhiqi) often leaks out; bordering the sea with low land, Yin damp Qi (Yinshi Zhiqi) is often abundant. These two types of Qi contend with each other, which is how cold and heat Qi arise. Because Yang Qi leaks out, there is no frost or snow in winter, and flowers bloom in all four seasons. People living there often have Qi stagnating upward, excessive sweating, and loose interstices (Couli, the spaces between skin and muscle where pores are located), because Yang fails to return to its origin. Because Yin Qi is abundant, mornings and evenings are foggy and dim, spring and summer bring excessive rain, and over half the year is humid and steaming. Even during the Sanfu (dog days), it is not particularly hot; continuous rain in midsummer brings chilling cold. Food, clothing, and medicines often mold. People living here mostly contract dampness, suffering from heavy limbs and fatigue, and frequently suffer from Hong Kong leg (Xianggangjiao, referring to beriberi or foot edema). This is because Yin often prevails. Since Yin and Yang Qi are biased and contend, people contract illnesses characterized by alternating cold and heat. Furthermore, since Yang heat has leaked, the person's fundamental Qi becomes insecure; Yang fails to descend and floats upward, causing patients to often experience oppression in the upper epigastrium and empty irritability in the chest. Since Yin dampness is abundant, the lower body becomes cold; Yin fails to ascend and sinks downward, causing patients to often experience heaviness and pain in the waist and knees, and coldness and cold extremities in the legs and feet. Observing the manifestations of Lingnan miasma, although varied, in eight or nine out of ten cases, Yin and Yang fail to ascend and descend respectively, resulting in upper heat and lower cold. Moreover, the upper part of the human body belongs to Yang, and the lower part to Yin. Here, contracting this pathogen, the discordant Qi of Yang heat and Yin dampness naturally leads to upper heat and lower cold syndromes. The cause of illness lies precisely in insecure Yang Qi, frequent episodes of chills and fever, and profuse sweating. If one then administers Ma Huang Tang (Ephedra Decoction), Jinfei Tang (Boiling Herb Decoction), or Qinglong Tang (Azure Dragon Decoction) to induce sweating and release the exterior, death follows immediately. Worse still, if one uses purgatives to treat chest stuffiness, given that the patient's lower body is already cold, none of those treated with purgatives survive. Such cases are iatrogenic harm by physicians. During a year when I contracted miasma, my whole family was severely affected. For the rest, I used herbs to warm the middle and secure the lower, and to regulate the ascending and descending of Yin, Yang, and Righteous Qi. Ten were cured, ten recovered. Two servants suffered from chest stuffiness, irritability, and unconsciousness. One requested cooling medicine to clear the diaphragm. Examining their conditions, I determined they had upper heat and lower cold, and prescribed Shengjiang Fuzi Tang (Fresh Ginger and Aconite Decoction) to be taken cool. Both woke up that day, claiming their chest and diaphragm felt cool, attributing it to the cooling medicine, unaware that Aconite Root (Fuzi) was used. The next day, each was given one pill of Danzhu Wan (Cinnabar Pill) to take on an empty stomach, after which they could eat congee. Then, using Zhengqi San (Righteous Qi Powder) and Pingwei San (Calm the Stomach Powder), they recovered safely. I treated more than ten others similarly, all recovering. Generally, when Aconite Root is decocted with Fresh Ginger, it can disperse, attack heat with heat, guide deficient heat downward to the Lower Jiao (Lower Burner), eliminate old cold, and consolidate Yuan Qi (Primordial Qi). If there is irritability, take it cool. If the patient is irritable, refuses to drink, and fears cold, unable to drink, it is deficient heat, not true heat; Jiang Fu Tang (Ginger and Aconite Decoction) is appropriate. Shen Cunzhong treated miasma with Seven Date Decoction (Qizao Tang), which is similar, curing in one dose. However, using Baifu Tang (Atractylodes and Aconite Decoction) worsened the illness. Baifu Tang consolidates heat but cannot disperse it; using Aconite Root alone is best. If the pulse and signs are solid, and it is not upper heat/lower cold, with yellow-red face and eyes, Aconite Root is contraindicated. If the pulse is floating, rapid, with alternating chills and fever, and no sweating, it is a Xiao Chaihu Tang (Minor Bupleurum Decoction) syndrome. If the diagnosis is doubtful, and chills and fever are indistinguishable, Jiahe San (Harmonizing Grain Powder) is suitable. If heat predominates, take it cool. Jiahe San regulates Middle Qi, ascends and descends Yin and Yang, treats lower deficiency with central fullness, cures seasonal pestilence and Taiyang disease, preventing changes. Even if it is Summerheat injury or Yang syndrome, Taiyang disease can be resolved by taking it. If cold predominates, it is especially suitable to take it for two to three days; then the chills and fever will naturally distinguish themselves, and subsequent symptomatic treatment will ensure recovery. Generally, Lingnan is low and damp, and people consume Betel Nut (Binglang), which makes Qi diffuse but not substantial. Sweating in all four seasons means sweating agents should not be used further; this principle is clear. There are cases requiring sweating or purging, but they are few. Wise practitioners should observe this.