（瓜菜）降气利水通淋消疸解心肺热邪
匏瓠（专入心胃大小肠。兼入肺）。种类。其形有大有小。有长有短。其味有甜有苦。（锦
囊
曰
。长大如东瓜者名瓠。矮似西瓜者名匏。腰细头锐者名葫芦。柄直底圆者名瓢子。为菜瓠。
有苦甜二种。甘者大。苦者小。又曰。或以鸡粪壅之。甘或变为苦耳。）其性有平有寒。（甘
多平。苦多寒。）其用有利有害。利则不但可作器用。（时珍曰。壶匏之属。既可烹。晒又可
以为器。大者可为瓮盖。小者可为瓢樽。为腰舟。可以浮水。为笙可以奏乐。肤瓠可以养豕
。犀瓣可以浇烛。其利溥矣！）且能下水降气。利水通道。以治淋闭疸黄。面目浮肿之症。（
腹胀黄肿。用亚腰壶芦连子烧存性。每服一个。食前温酒下。不饮酒者白汤下。十余日见效
。又用汁滴鼻内。即来黄水。）入心与肺。以除烦热消渴之症。（服丹石人最宜。）烧灰存性
研末。以擦腋下瘿瘤之症。（长柄葫芦最佳。）捣叶为茹。孙思邈称其甘平。可以耐饥。花须
阴干。李时珍指其煎汤可以解毒稀痘。（经验方。七八月取壶芦须如环子脚者。阴干。于除
夜煎汤浴小儿。可以免痘。）至子则能入肾以治诸般齿病。及或目翳鼻塞。（齿龈或肿或露。
齿
摇疼痛。用八两同牛膝四两。每服五钱。煎水含漱。日三四次。鼻塞血翳 肉。用子煎汁以
治。）此皆有利之处。盖天生此一物。以为暑时必用之需也。其言有害之处。亦复不少。扁
鹊云。患虚胀者不得食之。食则患永不瘥。苦者尤伤胃气。不可轻试。凡苦寒药皆能伐胃。
不独此也。本经治大小浮肿。又云下水令人吐。大伤中气。今人治黄胆水气。大小便不通。
或浸火酒饭上蒸。或实糖霜 存性。必暴病实病。庶可劫之。若久病胃虚误服。必致吐利不
止。往往致毙。可不慎欤？
匏瓠（主要入心、胃、大肠、小肠经，兼入肺经）。其种类众多，形状有大有小，有长有短；味道有甜有苦。（《锦囊》记载：长得像冬瓜的叫“瓠”，矮得像西瓜的叫“匏”，腰部细头部尖的叫“葫芦”，柄直底圆的叫“瓢子”，作为蔬菜食用的是“瓠”。分为苦、甜两种，甘甜的个头大，苦涩的个头小。又说：如果用鸡粪施肥，甘甜的可能变为苦涩。）其药性有平和与寒凉之分。（甘甜的多为平性，苦涩的多为寒性。）其作用有利也有害。利处在于不仅可以作为器具使用。（李时珍说：壶、匏之类，既可以烹煮，晒干后也可以做器皿。大的可以做瓮盖，小的可以做瓢和酒杯，做成腰舟可以浮水，做成笙可以演奏音乐，肤瓠可以用来养猪，犀瓣可以用来浇蜡烛，其便利非常广泛！）而且能够下行水利、降气，通利水道，用于治疗淋证、闭证、黄疸、面目浮肿等症状。（对于腹胀黄肿，用亚腰葫芦连同种子烧至存性，每次服用一个，饭前用温酒送服，不饮酒的用白开水送服，十余天见效。另外用汁液滴入鼻内，即可流出黄色脓水。）入心和肺经，以消除烦热、消渴等症状。（服用丹石类药物的人最适合。）烧成灰并保留药性，研成粉末，用来擦拭腋下的瘿瘤症状。（长柄葫芦效果最佳。）将叶子捣碎作为蔬菜食用，孙思邈称其味甘性平，可以耐饥。花须阴干，李时珍指出煎汤可以解毒、稀释痘毒。（经验方：七八月份取像环子脚一样的葫芦须，阴干，在除夕夜煎汤给小儿洗澡，可以避免出痘。）至于种子则能入肾，治疗各种牙齿疾病，以及目翳、鼻塞。（牙龈或肿或露，牙齿松动疼痛，用八两种子同四两牛膝，每次服用五钱，煎水含漱，每天三四次。鼻塞、血翳息肉，用种子煎汁治疗。）这些都是有利的方面。大概上天生成这一物品，是为了作为暑天必不可少的必需品。其有害的说法也不少。扁鹊说：患有虚胀病的人不能吃它，吃了就会患病永远不愈。苦涩的味道尤其损伤胃气，不可轻易尝试。凡是苦寒的药物都能损伤胃气，不仅仅只有这一种。《本经》治疗大小浮肿，又说利水会让人呕吐，严重损伤中气。现在人治疗黄疸、水气病，大小便不通，或者浸泡在火酒中蒸饭上，或者填入糖霜烧至存性，必须用于暴病、实证，才可以强行攻逐。如果是久病胃虚误服，必然导致吐泻不止，往往致死，能不谨慎吗？
(Gourd vegetables) Possess the effects of descending Qi, promoting diuresis, relieving strangury, resolving jaundice, and clearing heat pathogens from the Heart and Lungs.
Baohu (Peking Gourd / Bottle Gourd) (primarily enters the Heart, Stomach, Large Intestine, and Small Intestine meridians, and secondarily the Lung meridian). There are various species; their shapes vary in size and length, and their tastes range from sweet to bitter. (*Jinnang* records: Those long like winter melons are called "Hu"; those short like watermelons are called "Pao"; those with a narrow waist and sharp head are called "Hulu" (bottle gourd); those with a straight handle and round bottom are called "Piaozi" (ladle gourd), used as vegetables. There are two types: bitter and sweet. The sweet ones are large, the bitter ones are small. It is also said that if fertilized with chicken manure, the sweet variety may turn bitter.) Its nature can be neutral or cold. (Sweet varieties are mostly neutral; bitter varieties are mostly cold.) Its utility has both benefits and drawbacks. The benefit lies not only in its use as a vessel. (Li Shizhen stated: Items such as Hu and Pao can be cooked, dried for use as containers. Large ones serve as lids for jars, small ones as ladles and wine cups. Made into waist boats, they float on water; made into sheng flutes, they produce music. Fu-hu can be used to raise pigs, Xi-ban for candle holders. Their utility is extensive!) Moreover, it can promote urination downward, descend Qi, unblock water passages, and treat conditions such as strangury, retention, jaundice, and edema of the face and eyes. (For abdominal distension with yellowish swelling, burn an Ya-yao Hulu [waist-narrowed bottle gourd] including seeds until carbonized but retaining efficacy. Take one unit before meals, washed down with warm wine; if unable to drink wine, use plain water. Improvement seen within ten days. Alternatively, drip juice into the nose to discharge yellow fluid.) Entering the Heart and Lungs, it eliminates vexation-heat and thirst conditions. (Most suitable for those taking Dan-shi [mineral pills].) Burned to ash and retained efficacy, ground into powder, it is applied to rub scrofula and tumors under the armpits. (Long-handled Hulu is best.) Leaves mashed and eaten as vegetables; Sun Simiao praised them as sweet and neutral, capable of sustaining hunger. Flowers should be dried in shade; Li Shizhen pointed out that decoction can detoxify and mitigate smallpox severity. (Empirical prescription: In July or August, take Hulu vines shaped like ring feet, dry in shade, decoct on New Year's Eve to bathe infants, preventing smallpox.) As for the seeds, they enter the Kidney to treat various dental diseases, as well as leukoma and nasal congestion. (If gums swell or recede, teeth loosen and hurt, mix eight taels of seeds with four taels of Achyranthes Root (Niuxi), take five qian per dose, decoct in water for mouthwash, three to four times daily. For nasal congestion, blood leukoma, or polyps, treat with seed decoction.) These are all beneficial aspects. Heaven likely created this item as a necessity for the summer season. However, there are considerable warnings regarding harm. Bian Que stated: Those suffering from deficiency-type distension must not eat it; doing so will cause the illness to never resolve. Bitter varieties especially damage Stomach Qi and should not be tried lightly. All bitter-cold medicines can impair the Stomach, not just this one. *Shennong Bencao Jing* treats general edema but warns that promoting urination may induce vomiting, severely damaging Middle Qi. Currently, people treat jaundice and hydrops with urinary obstruction by either steeping in fiery wine over steamed rice or stuffing with sugar frost and burning to carbonization. This aggressive method is only suitable for acute excess syndromes to forcibly purge pathogens. If mistakenly taken by those with chronic illness and deficient Stomach Qi, it inevitably leads to incessant vomiting and diarrhea, often resulting in death. Can one not be cautious?