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Posted on August 7, 2015 by Paul Brennan

PROLONGING LIFE

or RIDDING ILLNESS WITHOUT MEDICINE

by Yin Qianhe
[published by Pole Star Press, Jan, 1961, revised and republished
almost immediately by Joined in Harmony Press, Feb, 1961 (both
editions printed by Good Advice Printing House)]
[translation by Paul Brennan, Aug, 2015]

by Yin Qianhe:
Prolonging Life
[calligraphy by] Yu Youren


AUTHORS GENERAL COMMENTS

1. My main aim with this book is a hope that you will keep fit by way of internal exercise,
using psychology, physiology, and natural principles to treat and cure illness, as well as
methods of massage and first aid, and the expressing of human willpower, to dispel
illness invisibly. My compatriots, I urge you first toward health, then onward to longevity.
Laozi said [in the Ming Dynastys Complete Collection of Ancient & Modern Medical
Systems, book 100, chapter 3]: Our destiny lies with ourselves, not with Fate. It is
entirely a matter of building up ones health.

2. Everyone wants health and longevity, but the seven emotions [joy, rage, worry,
obsessiveness, grief, fear, shock] and six desires [seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting,
touching, thinking] are difficult to resist. They can subvert the path toward health and
send you down the road to wrecking your life in a moment of indulgence. If your lifestyle
is excessive, it will cause illness. Even if the illness were treated and recovered from,
your body would already have been damaged. In this book is a treasure trove of
methods for preventing illness and lengthening life.

3. Someone may say: A person who gets sick will be healed by getting injections and
swallowing medicines. Although we cannot deny the effectiveness of medicines, if a
body has already failed in its natural ability to recover from an illness, then the
medicines would be worthless anyway. Changes in metabolism are a natural
phenomena, and moreover, people consider food to be natural and know that the eating
of medicine cannot count as food. Therefore dealing with illness by way of injections and
swallowings is inferior to early prevention. By cultivating this habit, you will always
preserve your health and be happy your whole life.

4. This book is divided into two parts:

Part One has to do with internal exercise to
practice on your own and developing character. Included are the practicalities of the
interrelations of foods and the ways that foods treat illness.
Part Two has to do with
illness prevention through physiology, psychology, natural principles, and human
willpower, all of which have been subjected to careful study, scrutinizing principles to

determine what is to be left out. The methods are exquisite and the theory is clear. It
conforms to science and suits the masses.
If you get your hands on a copy of this
book and sincerely make habitual use of it, illness will be prevented, illness that you
already have will be cured, and if you have an illness that is putting you in peril, here is
something you can put your confidence in and no longer need to have any fear. You can
go your whole life without medicine and remain always healthy.

5. This book is extremely valuable for preventing illness, whether preventing or curing.
The various illnesses are all given clarifying explanations to make it easier for you to
understand and there are a few photos added to further aid you in your practice. [Of the
mere eleven photos, seven are reused from Yins Baduanjin book, and so this book
contains a scant four original photos.] The material in this book is most suited to the
requirements of those in rural households, though it is people in stressful lifestyles who
exhibit the most symptoms. There are those who think that no treatment can have quick
effects without medicine, but it is not necessary to rely only on advice from doctors.

AUTHORS PREFACE

 When I was young, I was often ill. Fortunately, I trained in martial arts and
practiced methods of meditation and cultivation, and so was able to recover my health,
as I have explained in the prefaces of my previous books. Through prolonged study of
these skills, I gradually gained understanding, and the benefits I obtained from them
doubled. I especially gave frequent study to the principles of treating illness by way of
internal exercise, seeking paths toward health.
Long ago, our ancient sages
discussed these things, for instance in the Yellow Emperors Plain Girl Classic, or in
techniques of rejuvenation [expelling old air to take in new], Hua Tuos Five Animal
Frolics, Damos Sinew Changing Classic, Peng Zus methods of walking like a bear and
stretching like a bird, or Baduanjin [eight pieces of brocade]. All of those sages
engaged in self-cultivation by way of such wonderful arts of internal exercise for keeping
fit and dispelling illness. It is very unfortunate they were unable to promote them more
widely, for in the meantime there were itinerant magicians happening to obtain a
section of unicorn hoof, themselves having no respect for the true arts, who made a big
noise about its curative effects and how it would heal a person with a single touch of it,
hoping to sway an audience for their own selfish gain, a situation not even deserving an
intelligent persons laughter.
The prevention of illness is actually more important than the curing of it. Prevention
can eliminate disease invisibly. Not only does this save money and time, it also mitigates
pain and risk. Inspired by this, I have taken the secrets of the internal exercise of the
ancient sages for keeping fit and dispelling illness, and modern knowledge of
psychology, physiology, natural principles, various methods of prevention and treatment,
hygiene, common first aid techniques, including valuable folk methods, and I have
gathered broadly from all of these things and studied deeply, examining their principles,
using the ancient as a standard for the modern and selecting from what is most
profound.
Several decades of experience have been gathered into a book as a
contribution to all, so that my compatriots can save their money, be free from suffering,
and maintain their health. So that we may discard superstitions and be rid of the
influence of traveling quacks, I also want to get everyone to know the way of prevention
being better than cure, and get rid of the suffering that comes from rashly submitting to
medicines and needles. My purpose in writing this book is for these techniques to be
known in every household, family members encouraging each other in perfecting
prevention and sincerely practicing it. Surely this will lead to marvelous effects, and then
the health of our nations people can daily improve.
A common saying goes: Healthy
poor people are happier than sick emperors. Another goes: Health is a priceless
treasure. A person who has carelessly fallen ill is embarrassed to talk about it. So he
seeks out a doctor of Western medicine and gets painful needles. Or he seeks out a

doctor of Chinese medicine and gets revolting tonics. It is still uncertain which version
will be more effective, but when the body succumbs to sickness and the mind is full of
worry, how can such suffering be endured?
It is only when we get sick that we know
the value of health, for it is only when we are healthy that we are happiest. With a
healthy body, one can then accomplish the greatest of undertakings. Someone may say:
Nowadays science is flourishing, so whenever someone gets sick, we have renowned
doctors, excellent medicine, and nothing to worry about. These words are not entirely
accurate, as this common saying says so well: No matter how effective a surgery is, it is
not as good as not being cut open. Furthermore, doctors are by no means all saints.
Sometimes finding a doctor is not easy and the charlatans that come forward can end
up killing people. It should be understood that people can keep themselves healthy. It
entirely depends on ones vitality and the recuperative capacity of ones metabolism.
Therefore it is said: Medicine will cure you when you are not terminally ill. Doctors will
cure you when you are not sick.
When we often engage in fitness exercise, it
induces us to care about good hygiene and the principles of physiology and psychology.
Making use of physical ingenuity to prevent problems before they occur is a hundred
times better than having injections or taking pills while convalescing after an illness.
Science nowadays is indeed flourishing, yet still cannot fully overcome illness, old age,
or death, nor does it have any concrete methods for prolonging or extending life.
Therefore in recent years, European and American scientists conducting health care
research have also been gradually concentrating more on prevention and issues of
cultivating the psychological and spiritual aspects, attaching special importance to
human willpower.
In compiling the internal exercises of the ancients, and the
methods ancient and modern of preventing and curing illness, I have included:
stabilizing the emotions, self-massage, breathing exercises, and meditation, as well as
transformation through psychology, regulation through physiology, and treatment by way
of natural principles. There are also some effective and easy applications of medicines,
some common sense about hygiene, prevention, and methods of first aid. Everything is
done with a scientific approach and explained in extensive detail. And so this book is
called Prolonging Life Ridding Illness Without Medicine.
If what I have written provides some benefit toward the health of my compatriots, or
further developments come about because of this book that lead to the preventing of
illness and prolonging of life throughout the nation so that all may enjoy health forever, it
will be not only fortunate for the nation, but also the fulfillment of my prayers. Therefore I
have written this book indifferent to praise or blame, success or failure, and ignoring how
crude it is. I earnestly hope for the wisest in the world to give me corrections, for which I

would feel truly blessed.

Taiwan, Jan, 1961

written by Yin Qianhe (Baiqia) of Shandong in Zhanghua,

Portrait of the author

CONTENTS

Part One: Internal Secrets of Keeping Fit and Ridding Illness Chapter
One: Cultivating what is True to Stabilize our Nature Section One: The
Real Golden Elixir Section Two: Cultivating Energy through
Meditation Section Three: Not Getting Lost in Desires
Section Four: Drinking the Longevity Potion Section Five: Calming
Your Heart and Nourishing Your Kidneys Section Six: Maintaining
Centeredness and Preserving Active Energy Chapter Two: Staying
Healthy to Live Longer Section One: Harmonious Indifference
Section Two: Using the Breath to Rid Illness Section Three:
Treasuring Good Deeds to Keep Away Calamity Chapter Three:
Selections from Elixirist Literature Section One: Adding Oil to

Receive Life Section Two: Concentrating Spirit and Cultivating Elixir

Section Three: Spirit and Energy Dependent on Quietude
Section Four: Gathering Energy and Opening Energy Junctures
Chapter Four: Techniques of Cultivating Fitness
Section One: With your hands holding each other, close your eyes and deepen your
mind. (including photo) Section Two: Click your teeth and
swallow your saliva, breathing continuously like a tortoise.
Section Three: Your tongue pressing to your upper palate, your intention is on
regulating your breath. Chapter Five: Secrets of Using
Massage to Rid Illness Section One: Wash your face and beat
your drum. (including photo) Section Two: Brightening the Eyes to be
Like Precious Pearls Section Three: Opening the Sacrum and
Raising the Shoulders (including photo) Section Four: Hugging
the Shoulders and Twisting (including photo) Section Five:
Massaging the Kidneys (including photo) Section Six:
Massaging the Jia Ji Acupoint (including photo) Section Seven:
Massaging the Elixir Field (including photo) Section Eight:
Dredge the well to wash your feet. (including photo) Chapter Six:
Meditation Section One: Standing Meditation (including photo)
Section Two: Sitting Meditation (including photo)
Section Three: Meditation Lying Down (including photo) Chapter Seven:
Qigong Section One: Explanation of Qigong
Section Two: Psychology in Qigong Section Three: Lifting the Anus
While Inhaling Section Four: Regulating the Breath Section
Five: Abdominal Breathing Section Six: The Art of Expel Old Air and
Take in Fresh Chapter Eight: Simple and Easy Massage Techniques
Chapter Nine: Sequence and Explanations for Internal Exercises
Section One: Practice Sequence Section Two:
Explaining Internal Exercise Chapter Ten: Various Sayings about
Health Section One: The Way of Health Section
Two: The Eight-Word Secret to Nourishing Life Section Three:
Health Lies Within Naturalness Section Four: A Collection of Health
Sayings Section Five: In Common Sayings Lie Truth
Section Six: There is No Secret to Long Life Chapter
Eleven: Over a Hundred Effective Folk Prescriptions Section One: The
Head Section Two: Internal Illnesses Section Three: External
Illnesses Section Four: On Eating Inedible Foods and Dealing with

Poisons Section Five: Stranguria Chapter

Twelve: Bad Combinations of Foods and Food as Treatment for Illness
Section One: Bad Combinations of Foods Section Two: Foods as
Treatment for Illness Part Two: Preventing and Treating Illness
Chapter Thirteen: Illnesses of the Head Section One:
Headache Section Two: Eyes Section Three: Ears,
Nose, and Teeth Section Four: Acute Inflammations of the Mouth
or Tongue Section Five: Sore Throat and Inflammation of
the Neck Section Six: Wrinkles are Not an Illness
Section Seven: Preventing Baldness Chapter Fourteen: Internal Illnesses
Section One: Lower Back Pain Section Two:
Methods of Preventing Varicose Veins Section Three: Preventing
High Blood Pressure Section Four: Hands-On Therapy for Blood
Stagnation Section Five: Heart Disease Section Six:
Arthritis Chapter Fifteen: Illnesses of the Digestive Organs
Section One: Chronic Gastroenteritis Section Two: Gastric Ulcer
Section Three: Acute Gastritis Section Four: Methods
of Preventing Gastric Illness Section Five: Dry Defecations and
Constipation Section Six: Childhood Diarrhea Chapter
Sixteen: Contagious Diseases Section One: Malaria Section
Two: Common Cold Section Three: Scarlet Fever
Section Four: Prevention and Treatment for Typhoid and Cholera
Section Five: Burning Fever Section Six: Recurrent Fever
Chapter Seventeen: Skin Diseases Section One: Leprosy
Section Two: Measles Section Three: Psoriasis Section
Four: Acne Section Five: Hong Kong Foot
Section Six: Foods that Lead to Skin Diseases Section Seven: Skin Ulcers
Chapter Eighteen: Sexual Illnesses Section One:
Nocturnal Emissions Section Two: Shedding Essence
Section Three: Premature Ejaculation Section Four: Impotence and
Masturbation Section Five: The Sex Dreams of Women
Section Six: Preventing Sexual Illness Chapter Nineteen:
Rescue in Life or Death Situations Section One: Emergency
Treatment in Matters of Life or Death Section Two: Sunstroke
Section Three: Emergency Treatment after Taking Poisoning
Section Four: Stroke Section Five: Electric Shock Section Six:
Drowning Section Seven: Concussions and Anemic Fainting

Spells Chapter Twenty: First Aid for External Injuries

Section One: Burns Section Two: Scaldings Section Three:
Dog Bite Section Four: Snake Bite Section Five: Cuts,
Scratches, and Abrasions Section Six: Sprains
Section Seven: Animal and Insect Bites Section Eight: Wasp or Bee
Stings Chapter Twenty-One: Food Section One: Food
Poisoning Section Two: Food and Nutrition
Section Three: The Digestion of Food Section Four: Swallowing
Foreign Objects Section Five: Foods Entering the Nose
Chapter Twenty-Two: The Pros and Cons of a Few Foods Section
One: Garlics Ability to Prevent Illness Section Two: Chinese Turnip
Section Three: Seaweed Section Four: Tobacco Section Five:
Wine Section Six: Tea Chapter Twenty-Three: The Bodys
Build Section One: Fat or Thin Section Two: On Being
Too Short Chapter Twenty-Four: Nervous Disorders
Section One: Nervous Disorders Caused by Your State of Mind
Section Two: Mental Disorders Section Three: Manic
Depression Section Four: Epilepsy Section Five: Shivering
Section Six: Hypochondria Section Seven: Unidentified
Pains Section Eight: Insomnia Section Nine: Neuralgia
Chapter Twenty-Five: Minor Issues Section One: Sleep
Issues Section Two: Sleep and Heart Attack
Section Three: Snoring and Twitching Eyelids Section Four: Sleepwalking
Section Five: Sneezing Section Six: Stuttering
Section Seven: The Benefits of Coughing Section Eight: Hiccuping
Section Nine: Splinters and Fish Bones
Chapter Twenty-Six: Attention to Hygiene Can Protect Health Section
One: Paying Attention to Hygiene Section Two: Drinking Water,
Taking Baths, and Sweating Section Three: Methods of
Rubbing Feet with Hot Water and of Sitting Baths Section Four:
Monetary Notes Can Spread Disease Chapter Twenty-Seven:
Miscellaneous Illnesses Section One: Motion Sickness
Section Two: Vitamin Overdose Section Three: Fatigue
Section Four: Becoming Ill Because of Worry Chapter
Twenty-Eight: The Will to Live Section One: The Will to Live
and Hidden Strengths Section Two: Psychological Illness Cured
by Psychological Means Section Three: Early Senility

Section Four: Suicide Chapter Twenty-Nine: Some Further Thoughts

Section One: An Assortment of Maxims Section Two:
The Vitality of Human Life Section Three: Poems about the Right or
Wrong Ways to Be Section Four: Untitled Afterword

PART ONE: INTERNAL SECRETS OF KEEPING FIT AND RIDDING ILLNESS

CHAPTER ONE: CULTIVATING WHAT IS TRUE TO STABILIZE OUR NATURE

Section One: The Real Golden Elixir

[Attributed to Zhang Sanfeng:] When quiet for a long time, the mind
will naturally stabilize. Once the mind is stable, the breath will be regulated. With a
settled mind, there will be nurturing of energy. With normal breathing, there will be purity
of mind. This is the key to stabilizing ones nature. Essence, energy, and spirit are the
three internal treasures. Ears, eyes, and mouth are the three external treasures. When
the three internal treasures are not consolidated, they drift away. When the three
external treasures are not kept centered, they harass you. Breathe quietly, long, and
continuously, energy deeply entering your elixir field. Then your mind will not think
about external things, your spirit will not wander away to external things, and your
essence will not randomly stir.
This is the real golden elixir. It says in the classics
[Altar of the Six Zen Patriarchs, chapter 5]: To be separate from what is external is Zen.
To have no disorder within is stability. When evil thoughts stir, ones innate simplicity
gets scattered, the innate quality is weakened, the acquired quality is difficult to
preserve, and there is consequently no benefit to body or mind. [From Books of Han,
Bios part 42:] Nature says nothing, the four seasons progress, and all things are
born.
The human body is a creator the same as Nature, embodying cleanliness basing
itself in stability, and taking the mind of Nature as authority. Returning to innocence thus,
the golden elixir will last forever, and you will naturally be restoring life and returning to
the root [referencing Daodejing, chapter 16]. There is a saying [from True Meaning of
the Daodejing, chapter 38]: When study gives rise to illness, taking a break is
medicine. [reminiscent of this commonsense in Ecclesiastes: Of making many books
there is no end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh.]


Section Two: Cultivating Energy through Meditation

Generally during meditation, you must gather spirit and embrace energy, your
intention and breath dwelling within your elixir field as you inhale and exhale over and
over, gathering and not scattering. Therefore energy that is internally stored and energy
that externally emanates are both associated with your elixir field. With the passage of
days and months, energy reaches to your limbs, flows through your vessels, filling tightly
and rising along your spine, traveling to your Ni Wan acupoint [another name for Bai Hui
at the crown of the head], and descending again to your elixir field. Concentrating
spirit, gathering energy, and consolidating essence are the three preparations, and with
each breath are interdependent. When your skill reaches this level, you have slightly
built a foundation.
In ancient China, there was the practice of silent meditation, which
was spread most of all by Buddhists. Buddhist silent meditation was called sitting zen.
The aim of it was stability, which can generate wisdom. Wisdom is used to achieve
Paramita [cross to the other shore / i.e. transcendent wisdom] in the quest to be
released from worldly cares. This type of wisdom expresses from ones inner being.
Once in a state of extreme quietude, it can be realized. Energy is in charge of spirit.
Shape is where spirit resides. For those whose energy had not been weakened, spirit
had not been consumed, and essence had not been exhausted, all of them achieved
long life.
Not dwelling in distracting thoughts is clarity. Being calm and unaffected is
tranquility. The Confucianists say [paraphrasing from the Da Xue]: With tranquility, there
can then be stability. With stability, there can then be peace. [The Daoists say
(attributed to Laozi in the Tai Ping Yu Lan):] To control ones thoughts is to stabilize
ones will. To quiet the body is to calm the spirit.
The cultivating of energy depends on essence. Contemplate this and forget it at the
same time. When the deeper mind is realized, then body and spirit will be merged into
one. When body and spirit are one, then internal energy will be sufficient. When your
primal active aspect is flourishing, not only will illness be eliminated, but you will also
easily happen upon illumination.
Song of Cultivating Energy throughout the Four
Seasons [from Wang Angs Collection of Prescriptions]:

In spring, xu [hushing] sharpens vision, the wood element supporting the liver.
In summer, he [scolding] expresses the heart, the fire element making you idle.
In autumn, stability is sought, the metal element moistening the lungs [by way of the xi
(sighing) sound].
[In winter,] kidneys express chui [boasting] only when necessary, the water element
establishing peace.
[In late summer,] the triple warmer expresses xi [giggling] when there is an
aggravating level of heat.
By way of long exhalations throughout the year [hu-xi (breathing)], [the earth element
in the spleen] adjusts the liver.
Never breathe audibly,
then the practice will be a superior means of preserving calm.

Section Three: Not Getting Lost in Desires

Generally, the human temperament is rather intense. The seven emotions and six
sensory pleasures are difficult to restrain. Happiness, anger, sorrow, joy, love, hate, lust,
stress, fear all will change from one to another inconsistently. One morning you are
motivated by something, then life makes you forget what you wanted to do. When you
lose track of yourself, wicked thoughts arise. When you impulsively reach for things, you
lose your sense of shame. And then desires will increase excessively.
If one gets
heavily lost in lust, it should be understood that such corruption arises from wanting.
These wants do not seem to emerge and thus lust builds unnoticed. Lustful longings are
externally empty and a lustful mind is internally fanciful. With such vain wishes, the mind
hollows, and then you will become lost in lust and lose your way. You must calm your
temperament, compose yourself, maintain stillness, and practice quietude. Restraining
anger, fire will descend. Reducing desire, water will ascend. If thoughts do not move,
you can refine essence, and naturally vitality will be assured. If your mind does not
move, vitality will be ever-present. If your intention does not move, you can gather spirit.
When the two energies merge and the three fundamentals blend, vitality is naturally
restored. The three fundamentals are essence, energy, and spirit. The two energies are
the passive and active aspects. If you do not become captivated by worldly things,
vitality will be restored, your inherent nature will remain, and naturally your spirit will be
concentrated and your temperament will stabilize. The techniques of smelting elixir and

restoring ones active aspect, and the methods of longevity and agelessness lie entirely
within this principle.

Section Four: Drinking the Longevity Potion

By constantly cultivating energy and loosening the joints, magic water (saliva) will
manifest, circulating above and below, a sweet dew descending and cycling around
endlessly, swallowed down over and over. Once skill has been achieved, spirit will not
run away, energy will not leak out, spirit will return to the acupoints, the orifices of the
body will all be unblocked, fire will descend and water will ascend, and primal energy
will flow smoothly. Sweet dew will naturally fill the mouth to be swallowed down to the
elixir field, where it condenses and is cultivated. This is called the longevity potion.
On very hot days, ones spirit easily declines and ones temperament easily becomes
irritable. You should constantly partake of this longevity potion, also known as the jade
fountain (the longevity potion being the saliva in the mouth), for when the heart
flourishes, saliva is abundant. It fill the mouth, gets steadily swallowed down, and
naturally freshens the five organs. Therefore there is a saying: For a person who wants
to not die, the jade fountain invigorates the body. This is the idea. It is also said [from
the Yellow Courtyard Classic]: The clear waters of the jade fountain soak the tongue. If
you can cultivate yourself in this manner, you can live long.

Section Five: Calming Your Heart and Nourishing Your Kidneys

In methods of taking
care of your body, calming your heart and nourishing your kidneys is the main principle.
If the heart can be calmed, then the fire of Li will not blaze outward. If the kidneys
can be nourished, then the water of Kan will not flood outward. If the fire does not
blaze outward, you will be without nervous disorders, and your heart will become still
calmer. If the water does not flood outward, you will be without ejaculation problems,
and your kidneys will become still stronger. Thus the fire does not flare upward, the mind
is calm, and the fire merely warms below. Essence and spirit are concentrated together,
forming infant breathing, and naturally you will be able to prevent illness and prolong

life. A Zen teacher said: All the doorways of enlightenment lead to the same place, but
a constant virtue starts from the heart.
As for the fire of the heart, it is the nature of
fire to burn upward. As for the water of the kidneys, it is the nature of water to flow
downward. But this shows an ignorance of infant breathing and of quiet cultivation. If it is
difficult for the heart and kidneys to cooperate, water and fire will not complement each
other, and you will easily be plagued with problems such as headaches, dizziness,
shortness of breath, and nocturnal emissions. Heart energy has to go downward and
kidney energy has to go upward for the two to work together.
Calmness in the elixir
field can dispel countless illnesses, and Buddhist or Daoist meditation is the authentic
means of achieving this. Ancient people said [Selections from Ancient Medical Texts,
chapter 1]: Be clearing your mind, you free your spirit, and then before things occur, you
will already know how they will turn out. [From Daodejing, chapter 47:] It is not
necessary to leave your house to understand people. It is not necessary to look out your
window to see the Way. The mind is like unblocked water, which after a while clears to
the point that one can see all the way through to the bottom. This is spiritual
illumination.

Section Six: Maintaining Centeredness and Preserving Active Energy

The Way is nothing but balance. Thus the Confucianists have called it
reaching the center, Daoists have called it holding to the center, and Buddhists have
called it being empty in the center. Internal elixir is deemed centeredness. It is the
key to being centered. By way of it, you will become truly balanced. If you can be
humble and sincere, it is enough to maintain your active aspect. But if you are being
dangerously thoughtless toward yourself, you will diminish your active aspect. Studying
books develops character and you should work hard at it. If you care about yourself and
yet feel compelled toward luxuries, you will sweep away all your work for the sake of
immoral conduct.
Therefore one who cares about himself must keep his character
centered. Mengzi [Zhang Sanfeng] said [Chat between Water and Rock]: Cultivate
your mind by reducing your desires. Maintain your determination by conserving your
energy. This is the genuine method cultivating the true Way. Thus Wang Shuren called
it the active brightness, Zhongli Quan called it the true active aspect, and L Yan
called it the pure active aspect. Ancient sages all guarded their active aspect.


CHAPTER TWO: STAYING HEALTHY TO LIVE LONGER

Section One: Harmonious Indifference

[From the Yun Ji Qi Qian, part 90:] A positive energy goes with spirits. A negative
energy goes with ghosts. An agitated energy goes with insects and reptiles. A random
energy goes with birds and beasts. An evil energy goes with demons. One with a violent
energy is stupid and cruel. One with a hard energy is strict and tough. One with a soft
energy is benevolent and sincere. Therefore [from Huainanzi, chapter 14:] a gentleman
is correct in his behavior, whereas a petty man is corrupt in his behavior.
When energy is mild, kind, generous, or compassionate, it leads to longevity. It
conforms to the ways of nourishing life. Thus it is said [Zun Sheng Ba Jian, part 1]:
Bland food cultivates energy. Dispelling anger cultivates temperament. Being humble
cultivates virtue. Maintaining tranquility cultivates the Way.
There is a saying [Books of Han, Bios part 6]: A harmonious energy brings luck,
[whereas a contrary energy brings the reverse.] It is also said: Indifference to your
goals is the way to realize them. Tranquility will take you far. Within patience lies the
greatest learning. Within harmony lies your true nature. When you are considerate, you
will have more room to maneuver. When you are harmonious, you will have no limits at
all. The meanings here are profound. This is all a matter of cultivation. Mind, energy,
and spirit merge into one, something far more exquisite than a materialistic approach.

Section Two: Using the Breath to Rid Illness

At the heart of it all as is the breath. Ancient people said [Peaceful Balance Chant,
attributed to the Three Mao Brothers]: The breath is a longevity medicine. The mind
makes breath a spirit. If you can make this spiritual breath abundant, you will thus obtain
immortality.
Techniques of ridding illness:
1. When empty of energy, you should
withdraw and build your resolve, nurturing yourself with internal exercise.
2. When

too full of energy, use massage and limbering exercises to disperse it.
3. When
overheated, you should blow out warm air from your mouth and draw in cool air through
your nose.
4. When chilled, you should huddle under a blanket to maintain the
temperature of your breath and stoke up your fireplace to keep yourself warm.
These
four methods are convenient at home.
[From Tao Hongjings Records on Training the
Temperament to Lengthen Life, chapter 4, where he attributes this to an earlier text
The Receiving Energy Classic says:] Blow to dispel heat, shout to dispel the effects
of wind, give a sigh of sheesh to dispel anger, give a sigh of ahhh to get energy to
lower, hiss to loosen areas of stagnation, [and yawn to dispel exhaustion.] These are all
methods of using the breath. People say: No magic tonic has ever been seen to work.
Making use of the breath to keep in good health is truly the way of ridding illness. Here
is a poem [from Leng Qians Main Ideas in Cultivating Longevity]:
When the liver hisses, the eyes darken.
When the lungs feel a choking, the hands rise.
When the heart sighs, the hands cross.
When the kidneys blow, the knees are embraced.
When the spleen shouts, the lips pout.
When the triple warmer gets overheated, the spleen is giggling.
When you blow out bad air, you suddenly want to run around.
When you hiss away illness, you quickly feel rejuvenated.
Cultivating the breath not only rids illness, it leads to great skill, produces the highest
human enjoyment, and will bring you back to your natural self, restoring you to your
original state, revealing your mind and your nature. When Nature and human are one
thing, then you will have achieved the highest level.

Section Three: Treasuring Good Deeds to Keep Away Calamity

People who pursue fame and wealth experience every sorrow there is, overwork their
bodies in every way, harm their bodies with sensual desires, waste their essence in
debauchery with women, treating night as day. Beyond being unrestrained with their
bodies, they exist in a constant confusion, getting into drunken stupors, living a life of

luxury and dissipation, polluting the air with their smoking, losing their minds in
madness, becoming ill though without disease. To return to a more detached tranquility,
treat doing good deeds as treasure, and as a means to preventing misfortune. There is
a saying [Books of Later Han, Bios part 34]: Doing good is the greatest happiness.
If you do one good deed a day, even if no good fortune comes your way because of
it, at least it will keep away misfortune. If you do one evil deed a day, even if no
misfortune comes your way because of it, it will push aside good fortune. Doing good is
like grass in a spring garden. You do not notice how much it grows in a day. Doing evil is
like a blade-sharpening stone. You do not notice how much gets honed away in a day.
There is a saying [Records of the Three Kingdoms, Books of Shu part 2]: In doing no
evil at all, there is something being done, but in doing no good at all, there is nothing
being done.
[From Lu Jianquans List of Simple Means toward Enlightenment, part 2:] Always
hearing good things, your kidneys will not lose essence. Always saying good things,
your heart will not lose spirit. [Always smelling good things, your lungs can steady your
ethereal soul.] Always seeing good things, your liver will nurture your earthly soul.
Always thinking good things, your spleen can nourish energy.
Never commit evil deeds in order to later avoid pains of conscience that no amount
of repentance can deal with. You should be aware of what you are doing and what the
future will bring. With every thought and act, be truly careful. You must not set your
sights only on temporary pleasures that will cause you lifelong regret.
There is a
saying [Book of Changes, commentary to Kun hexagram]: A household that gives to
charity will receive a greater inheritance. This is because doing good deeds can keep
away calamity. It is also said: Goods deeds are the greatest treasure throughout life.
The mind provides a fine field for all generations to plow. The most precious pearls or
jade are inferior to such a treasure. Friends of wealth and rank do not compare to
friends of compassion. Whenever truths are clearly stated, they should be abided by.
Nowadays, public morality has declined. The recent generation is weak. The Way
has faded. Treacherous swindlers and cunning villains are everywhere. Therefore
thinking people call out for moral re-armament in hopes that everyone will remedy the
situation by ridding evil and doing good deeds.

CHAPTER THREE: SELECTIONS FROM ELIXIRIST LITERATURE [specifically from
the Immortal Classic of Yin the Perfected]

Section One: Adding Oil to Receive Life

The human body contains both the passive and active energies of the
universe, made from the essence of both parents and formed inside the mother. [From
Immortal Classic, chapter 1:] We first receive energy in the womb. The fetus is made by
the mothers energy and blood, connected to the mother by but a thread which gradually
expands to a tube. Energy circulates, through the navel in front, through the kidneys
behind, up the spinal ridge, and down to the nose. This is called the earliest self.
During this time, energy comes from the mother, the mothers energy comes from the
universe, and the energy of the universe comes from the Void. It goes down this chain
without any barrier. This nourishment is innate energy, and once it reaches a sufficient
level, the baby is born and the umbilical cord is cut. Once the primal active aspect has
found its place at the navel chakra, called the mind of Nature, the baby is fueled by
acquired materials In other words, it is through breathed air and food that metabolic
function is maintained acquired energy.
As he breathes in and out, it is no longer a circuit of primal energy. From childhood
to old age as we breathe through our nostrils, we exhale our primal energy, sent out
from within, and inhale the energy of the universe, brought in from without. Provided our
original material is good, breathing can then transform the energy of the universe into
longevity Ones life is thus dependent on oneself The breathing of energy into the
acupoints will naturally have a magical effect.
Zhang Sanfeng said: If you wish to
keep a lamp lit longer, you must add more oil. In other words, living longer is a matter of
breathing more L Zu said: As the essence should be made full early, the way of
receiving life cannot be taught late. If you receive life, you will live long. If you do not,
you will die young Liu Haichan said: It is not clear why the dawn or dusk fades away.
Essence and spirit are inevitably destroyed. Through subtle wear and tear, and by way
of gradual damage, ones primal active aspect is used up, the machinery winds down,

the breath ceases, and alas, we at last give up.

These methods of cultivation are
very simple. While walking, sitting, or lying down, quiet your mind. The energy stored in
your spine, genuine innate energy, follows your breath to be mixed with the essence in
your elixir field, where our life is nourished. This stored energy is circulated from head to
the tailbone, coursing through every part, until the boundless energy of the universe fills
our finite frames. This is natural and easy. If you can concentrate spirit in your spine and
keep it there until is ripened, you will be as clear and bright inside as the moonlight on
water. You naturally will extinguish vexation, eliminate doubts, ignore distractions, and
cease to have wicked thoughts. And thus you will have genuine breath and a natural
appearance Your vitality will be long assured This is the first stage in the dual
cultivation of life and wisdom
To add oil and receive life, the most important
things are conserving essence and regulating breath: The foundation is to preserve our
essence and spirit. When essence is abundant, it transforms into energy. When energy
is abundant, it transforms into power and fills the limbs. Therefore the primal energy
within the body will thus not depart with ones exhalations, but the energy of the
universe will still enter with ones inhalations. After a long time, infant breathing will
become normal, essence and spirit will be secured, and you will be on the path to long
life.

Section Two: Concentrating Spirit and Cultivating Elixir

[From Immortal Classic, chapter 2:] We have three parts to our minds: the human
mind, the Daoist mind, and the mind of Nature. The human mind is rash, the Daoist
mind is illuminating, and the mind of Nature is quiet. When we observe the mind, we find
it is the Daoist mind that shines light on the mind of Nature. When the Daoist mind is
clear, the mind of Nature is revealed
When the six senses are stabilized and the many energy channels are calm, energy
concentrates to the sides of the spine, seeping into the life mansion, returning to the
life gate, and accumulating about an inch and a quarter below the navel, at a point
called the spirit furnace. It then flows from this acupoint in coordination with the breath
to boost vitality
Spirit is the key. It dwells in the body. Spirit and body are merged
into one. Do not neglect infant breathing. Concentrate spirit into the acupoints. Withdraw
your vision and listen inward, focusing upon yourself. You subtract [externalities] in order

to add [within], and thereby act with complete freedom. It is said in the Surangama
Sutra: If you can free yourself from one of your senses, you can be free from all of
them.
With a little bit of sincerity, you can be independent, no need to rely on anyone, and
be shining and pure. The method of concentrating spirit in the acupoints is the key to the
dual cultivation of life and wisdom If you can realize this, then welcome primal spirit
from your earliest ancestor, gathering the mind of Nature into your energized acupoints.
Continuously, without suddenness or impatience, draw it in close to you
Inhale
and exhale contain each other. Spirit and energy embrace each other. These form the
basis for training the elixir. Sink it down to your elixir field, absorb it into your soul In
supreme beauty, you melt and transform. It is like the north star, keeping to its place
while the other stars spin around it in salutation [Lun Yu, 2.1]. This is the result of your
primal spirit entering your acupoints. All of your energy is restored to its original state. All
of your spirit is listening to life. Your nature is returned to its true condition, and thus you
will be filled with elixir

Section Three: Spirit and Energy Dependent on Quietude

[From Immortal Classic, chapter 3:] The sacred valley spirit is silent. This is our true
nature. Within the spirit furnace, energy is churned out unceasingly. This is genuine
life The two merge into one. Spirit does not depart from energy. Energy does not
depart from spirit. Nature does not depart from life. Life does not depart from nature. For
each of these, they are one thing of two aspects, two aspects of one thing
Calmly breathing in silent meditation, open the sky gate to gather what is innate,
close the earth door to maintain infant breathing, receive the vital energy from the four
seasons and return to your true abode, cultivating the nature you had at birth With
some work, you can seize Nature and wall off the passage of time. It is truly the case
that: After a long period of overcast gloom, spring breezes arrive. The highest skies
clear and the dew appears
The primal spirit and genuine energy embrace and
depend on each other. Fullness of spirit and genuine essence will naturally manifest.
The body will feel calm and light. The spirit will feel full and bright Beyond nourishing
life, you will thus gradually also come to know the way of cultivating truth. Hence there is
a saying: With one thought of goodness, there is goodness. With one thought of evil,
there is evil. The practice is a matter of stillness. In a state of stillness, good thoughts
are often produced.


Section Four: Gathering Energy and Opening Energy Junctures

Opening the energy

junctures is the first step in cultivating your true self. Infant breathing is the basis of
gaining enlightenment. There has never been anyone who attended to infant breathing
who did not experience his energy junctures suddenly opening and longevity entering
into his possession. It is said in the ancient classics [Immortal Classic, chapter 4]: If
your mind is not quiet while you sit in meditation, it is like turning a millstone empty of
grain. The method is not at fault, you are, and thus it will be difficult to avoid illness when
it comes
To open energy junctures, first calm your mind and enter into trance Open the sky
gate to gather your innate nature. Close the earth door to maintain infant breath Use
intention to move energy, sinking it to your tailbone Use mind to rouse spirit, use spirit
to drive energy, use energy to soak fire, silently pouring it on. After a hundred breaths,
energy pouring down to the tailbone, the sacrum will naturally open up Once the
sacrum has opened, spirit joins with energy, and energy concentrates spirit. Your tongue
touches the upper palate. Your gaze turns inward to watch the crown of your head,
energy moving to the Ni Wan acupoint, warming it Genuine energy enters your brain
and transforms your marrow
Practice every day without fail. The energy is like
cloud vapors rising, coursing through the three junctures to go directly to the purple
mansion, where it gradually gathers and concentrates, spreading to the nine palaces.
Beyond nourishing your brain, it transforms into sweet dew and spreads through your
veins. In this way, the three junctures are cleared and your energy channels are
harmonious. Energy fills upper body and lower Moving through the twelve meridians,
energy reaches all the way to the tips of your eighty-four thousand hairs
Focus
your mind and devote your attention to this authentic precious means of cultivating life.
As the Daoists say [from the Golden Light Charm]: The mysterious beginning of the
universe is the origin of all things.

CHAPTER FOUR: TECHNIQUES OF CULTIVATING FITNESS [Much of the material in
this chapter is reworked from Chapter Eleven of Yins Baduanjin manual.]


Section One: With your hands holding each other, close your eyes and deepen your
mind. (including photo) [Much of the text for this section is also drawn from Min
Xiaogens Thirteen Ancient Cultivation Principles Explained.]

Our nations ancient sages had methods of

cultivating fitness, the practice of which could prevent disease and prolong life, so long
as it was practiced over a long period. Called refining essence and cultivating energy,
returning to the true source, here is the art:
I begin by crossing my thumbs, the
fingers curled halfway toward becoming fists. My mind is roused, but only to thinking
upon one thing balance between the passive and active aspects. With my hands now
holding each other, my mind obtains its primordial condition, and so the energy of my
whole body is now made safe, neither laboring nor idling, all gathered at the gates of
paradise. My acquired energy is in a state of smoothness and warmth. It gathers like
condensation in a fog and the droplets fall into my mind. I then should deepen my mind
so that it will become settled. This exercise will put my mind into a state of unchanging
quietude, leading me into peace and void. Once my mind slips into authentic void, the
energy of my whole body will come to it in veneration. With the energy gathered into
extreme harmony, there will then be a moment of transformation that will happen all by

itself.
Practicing this exercise will not show results in a short time. You will indeed
have to keep working at it. Do not be daunted by the difficulties. Work at it, and then
work at it more. The more you work at it, the more effective it will be.

Section Two: Click your teeth and swallow your saliva, breathing continuously like a
tortoise.

Once your mind and energy have become

tranquil while you are sitting cross-legged or in a chair, knock your teeth together thirtysix times. Then press your tongue to your upper palate for a long time to generate a
large quantity of saliva, and then swallow it down the more, the better. It says in the
Lotus Sutra: Your white jade teeth will go on to be holy relics. Your red lotus tongue is
producing a glisten. Within your throat is sweet dew slowly trickling down. Within your
mind is pure truth dripping like cool water. This is describing the exercise of knocking
the teeth and swallowing saliva.
Teeth are the outermost expression of the bones. As
they reveal the health of the body, age is also known as the years of the teeth. Teeth
are the first stage of digestion. If the teeth are not strong, it is a great hindrance to
digestion. The teeth also have a connection with the kidneys. Frequently knocking the
teeth together livens the body and refreshes the spirit, so that you will age but not
decline. The tongue is pressed to the upper palate, and so the root of the tongue is
curled back.
A tortoise breathes without interruption, which can wash through its Ren
meridian. Every winter, a tortoise will neither move nor eat, in a state hardly alive but not
quite dead, for it is hibernating. It relies entirely on the pure energy of breath for survival.
By way of Daoist breathing practice, you can significantly extend your life span, and will
then be able to practice these exercises for a long time. Generate saliva to be
swallowed down with a gulp, irrigating the five organs and pouring down into the elixir
field, getting fire to descend. This can invisibly dispel all illnesses. This swallowing of
saliva is called the wine of longevity.

Section Three: Your tongue pressing to your upper palate, your intention is on
regulating your breath. [Most of the text for this section is again drawn from Thirteen
Ancient Cultivation Principles Explained.]

The body is all mind. Its insubstantial aspect is the theoretical part of mind. Its
substantial aspect is the practical part of mind. In theory and practice, it is mind that is in
charge. Therefore to the ancient people who taught cultivation, the body is but mind.
With the tongue pressing to the upper palate, the intention is to regulate the heart.
What is the idea here? The tongue is the sprout [i.e. external expression] of the heart.
The tongue pressing to the upper palate makes the hearts spirit surge upward. Spirit is
the leader of the energy. Energy is the commander of the blood. The effect of this is that
my spirit rises to dwell in its primordial condition. With my mind on my Ni Wan acupoint,
I will naturally have a radiance. If I send this radiance to every part of my body, the
energy of my breath will follow it to my headtop, eyes, mouth, belly, and gradually
manifest outwardly from within. By sincerely practicing in this way, intent upon regulating
the breath, there will naturally be realization.

CHAPTER FIVE: SECRETS OF USING MASSAGE TO RID ILLNESS [Much of the
material in this chapter is again reworked from Chapter Eleven of Yins Baduanjin
manual.]

The massage methods of ancient times usually emerged from sources such as Hua
Tuos Five Animal Frolics, or Peng Zus methods of walking like a bear and stretching
like a bird. They each greatly conform to human physiology and are performed
according to those principles. They simultaneously cultivate the internal and external,
and so the effects of practice will be noticeable.
I hope the exquisiteness of these
exercises will not go overlooked. Sick or old people lying abed can also practice them,
and will greatly experience a strengthening of body and curing of disease. You will see
results after one month, illness will have left the body after three months, and after six
months your body will be at ease and your spirit will be abundant. Going through them
each morning without fail, the desired effect will increase with each day. They are
described individually below:

Section One: Wash your face and beat your drum. (including photo)

The human body inherently has electricity.
Generate it by rubbing. Rub your head and face until energy and blood are flowing
smoothly. You will over time be radiant with health and robust in spirit. The effects will be
the same as in modern electrotherapy. [Elixir courses through to] the area at the back of
your head called the jade pillow or clay pellet, and is the upper of the three energy
junctures. Use your fingers to flick [the back of your skull] sounding the divine drum.
By covering over your ears with both hands, your Ni Wan acupoint hears the call of
Heaven beckoning forth your life spirit, which gathers there until your hearing is keen.
This exercise is the basic method of opening the energy gates, capable of refreshing
your brain and benefiting your spirit.
To wash your face and beat your drum, start
by sitting upright, focus your spirit, settle your energy, and clear your mind. Rub your
hands together to make them hot, then put them over your face and rub, upwards from
your neck, as if washing your face. Then rub the sides of your nose until it is hot. Then
cover over your ears [and pull upward] several times. Then strike at the back of your
head by way of your forefingers flicking off of your middle fingers twenty-four times. It is
also acceptable to simply smack at the back of your head with both hands. Ever better is
to do this one hand at a time while the other hand moves to your elixir field. This is a
very easy means of refreshing your brain. Regardless of which of these methods you

use, a strong sound is best. These exercises are best for preventing nasal congestion,
unclogging ears, and treating high blood pressure. I explained this exercise in Fitness
Techniques on a Bed & Scientific Baduanjin, which can also be referred to.

Section Two: Brightening the Eyes to be Like Precious Pearls

Quietly exercise your eyes by concentrating spirit. Energy ascends to the jade pillow
and sweet dew correspondingly descends, getting swallowed down. This way of
exercising the eyes lubricates them and your gaze shines bright like pearls.
There is
another helpful method that is more vital:
Before getting up from bed, with your eyes
still closed, make many circles with your eyeballs. This is called spirit bathing the
pearls. If you do this over a long period, your eyesight will be strengthened. The
strengthening of your eye muscles will prevent every kind of eye illness.
There is a
still more important method of protecting your eyes and teeth:
When defecating in the
evening, you must not close your eyes. You should open your eyes wide and gnash your
teeth. Opening your eyes wide makes them brighter. Gnashing your teeth makes them
harder. In order to keep your spirit from flowing out with your urine, this must not be
overlooked.

Section Three: Opening the Sacrum and Raising the Shoulders (including photo)

This section of exercise is essential for

those cultivating health. As already explained, when genuine energy passes through to
the tailbone, a warm energy rushes through the spine, heating one vertebra after
another, reaching all the way to the headtop. If the sacrum area remains closed for a
long period, the two dozen vertebrae begin to silt up dirty deposits between them. If the
area goes a long time without being worked, your essence will weaken and there will be
disorders such as abdominal distension, rib pains, rectal ulcers, hemorrhoids, even
producing heart problems, or ailments such as toothache, bloodshot eyes, dizziness, as
well as carbuncles on the back, or ulcers on the mouth or head. Therefore ancient
sages invented this exercise long ago to solve their problems.
The trick was to
concentrate intention and energy in the sacrum, moving the anus as though forestalling
defecation, lifting the rectum while inhaling, and the energy withdraws and ascends. In
this way, the sacrum can gradually be opened up. I then slightly extend my head
forward, sending intention upward from below, raising my shoulders, and thus energy
ascends through my vertebrae, seeming to have the effect of lifting me, vertebra by
vertebra. When I feel this energy arriving at my Ni Wan acupoint, the first stage of skill is
complete. Elixirist texts call this reversing the flow of the Yellow River. If this method is
practiced for a long time, it can prevent countless illnesses. In the photo, it is performed
standing, but it can also be done while sitting or walking.

Section Four: Hugging the Shoulders and Twisting (including photo)

The Gao Mang acupoints on the sides of your shoulders are difficult
to reach with acupuncture or moxibustion. By frequently wrapping your hands over your
shoulders and twisting, you can dispel all illnesses. This can also exercise your chest,
abdomen, and waist. The benefits to the body are wonderful. This much I explained in
Fitness Techniques on a Bed & Scientific Baduanjin. In this book, there is further
explanation:
First put your right hand over your left shoulder, then your left hand over your right
shoulder, with your right elbow inside and your left elbow outside, and use a little
strength to cover over the hollows of your shoulders. Lift your rectum as you inhale,
bringing energy down to your elixir field which is then sent to your Ni Wan acupoint.
Without your seating posture changing, your head goes along with your shoulders and
your shoulders go along with your waist. Slowly twist to the left and right twenty times.
When your eyes are going along with the movement by turning to look toward the same
spot behind you, this indicates abundance of primal energy. There is a saying: When
illness enters Gao Mang, there is no medicine that can treat it. This refers to very
serious illness, which this exercise is used to prevent.

Section Five: Massaging the Kidneys (including photo)

Ancient people had a saying: When the kidneys are warm, essence is generated. Rub
the life gate acupoints on the kidney meridians along your back to make them very hot.
This automatically invigorates essence. Then increase the cultivation aspect to get it to
reach your elixir field for the essence to be transformed into energy, whereupon you will
be obtaining true benefit. If the essence is not moved thus, it will often go down into your
bladder, and may in a moment of sudden arousal be easily leaked away by way of
nocturnal emissions. You must then do the work of moving the energy after rubbing your
kidneys, and this will begin to reduce lower backache.
In a seated meditation
posture, rub your hands together to heat them up, then rub the life gate acupoints on the
kidney meridians along your back thirty-six times. Frequent maintenance of kidney
warmth can reduce lower backache.

Section Six: Massaging the Jia Ji Acupoint (including photo)

According to traditional Chinese
medical texts: The human body has eight extra-meridian channels. These are energy
channels and cannot be seen. If we could make a dissection of the passages of energy,
there are two meridians which are the most important. From the upper jaw, along the
nose and the top of the head, along the spine, and to the tailbone is called the Du
[supervising] meridian. Thus it is said that vitality travels along the Du meridian. From
the lower jaw, along the respiratory tract, and to the bladder is called the Ren [serving]
meridian. With regular fitness exercise, vital energy can circulate through the whole
body, the meridians unimpeded, and thus you will be free from countless illnesses.
The Du meridian has three main junctures. The sacral region is the lowermost energy
juncture. By rubbing it to make it hot, you prevent it from getting clogged up. Or if you
rub the whole spine with a cloth until the area reddens, it is also of great benefit.
Physiologists call the area all along the spine the sympathetic nervous system. The
techniques of spinal massage they have developed all conform to the concept of
opening up the Du meridian. This channel is not a pathway for circulating blood, but for
moving vital energy. Western medical studies emphasize dissection. If something can
actually be seen, then it can be believed in this is considered science. If something
cannot be found through dissection, it is judged to be unscientific. Though discussion in
traditional Chinese medicine of the energy channels has a very long history, further
deep inquire is necessary.
There was a man some years ago who had an illness
inside his spine which frequently caused him ache. When he tried to get insurance from
an insurance company, a doctor said his illness was too difficult to treat and that he
would be dead in two years, and he was therefore declined. He was therefore left with
nothing but to study meditation and massage techniques, and after several months, the
three junctures of his Du meridian had opened up and he was extraordinarily
comfortable, his spirit was flourishing, his body was robust, and he worked every day
without fatigue. Some people say this is an inexplicable mystery, but it was nothing more
than his sacrum opening up and his Du meridian coursing energy through. (The
tortoise goes through the serving meridian and the deer goes through the
supervising meridian, and thus you will have longevity.)
The Jia Ji acupoint is toward

the end of the spine, two sections above the tailbone [therefore lumbar region]. Blood
vessels to the whole body pass through this area. Rub up and down with the forefinger
and middle finger of each hand, causing the kidneys and genitals to better coordinate
with each other, improving circulation and urination, producing limitless benefit.

Section Seven: Massaging the Elixir Field (including photo)

The scrotum is greatly involved in a mans
health. Therefore the condition of the scrotum is the easiest way for a mans health to be
gauged. It is generally the case for a man that if his scrotum is warm and shrunk in, he
is healthy, whereas if it is cold and hanging loose, he is unhealthy. Observe this of an
infant boy when he falls ill, how the scrotum at such times is always loose and hanging
down.
In this exercise, a hand holds up your scrotum, thereby bringing energy and
blood to it, keeping it healthy and warm. The elixir field is like the root of a tree, and so
nurturing the elixir field is like nurturing the roots of a tree. If the roots are kept moist, the
tree will not easily wither. Rubbing your elixir field in counterclockwise circles promotes

movement in your intestines and abdomen, aiding digestion. At the same time, your
rectum lifts as you inhale, and energy moves inside while the movement proceeds
outside. Not only can this improve the functioning of the genitals, as well as treating
intestinal and stomach ailments, it also greatly helps treat hemorrhoids and rectal
prolapse.
This exercise can be performed while sitting, standing, or lying down, but
sitting is the most neutral position for it. Once you are seated upright, prop up your
scrotum with your left hand and rub your elixir field with your right hand, or prop up your
scrotum with your right hand and rub your elixir field with your left hand. If your scrotum
is able to lift without support, it is not necessary to prop it up and you can use both
hands to rub your elixir field. Your rectum and genitals lift as you inhale. With each
breath, rub your elixir field six times. Take six breaths, meaning you will rub your elixir
field thirty-six times.
A mnemonic says: With inhaling there is lifting, and thus energy
returns to the lower abdomen. With lifting there is swallowing, and thus fire and water
will be in cooperation. If a man can preserve the health of his genitals, he will never
look old. He will be able to preserve his youth and vitality, prolonging his life.

Section Eight: Dredge the well to wash your feet. (including photo)

On the sole of the
foot is the acupoint Yong Quan [bubbling well] where energy and blood course

through. By rubbing it, you can dispel inflammation, keep yourself from feeling
excessively cold in winter, or reduce sweating during summer. Doing this exercise
regularly can make your energy and blood harmonious, and you will walk with vigor and
vibrancy. This has a particularly marvelous effect upon the perambulating of the elderly.
It is also effective at treating athletes foot.
After washing your feet with water, dry
them in this way:
Using your left hand to hold up your left foot, use your right hand to
rub the Yong Quan acupoint thirty-six times, until it is very hot, then rub the whole foot
until it is hot and dried off. Switch to using your left hand to rub your right foots Yong
Quan acupoint thirty-six times, also until it is very hot, then also rub the whole foot until it
is hot and dried off. After finishing this exercise, it would be good to stand up and slowly
walk around a few dozen paces.
Practice these eight techniques every day after
waking and before going to bed. If you practice in this way without interruption, it will be
an effective training for dealing with health issues. The effects will be incredible,
although if you do it sporadically, the results will be meager.
Included is a classical
exercise formula for you to study:

A classical formula [Twelve-Part Meditation]:

[1] Sitting, close your eyes and shade your mind. Focus your spirit upon silent
meditation.
[2] Knock your teeth thirty-six times. Hold Mt. Kunlun [i.e. the back of your head] with
both hands.
[3] Your hands alternate sounding your divine drum for a total of twenty-four times.
[4] Gently sway the heavenly pillar [i.e. your neck].
[5] The red dragon [i.e. the tongue] stirs the water, swirling thirty-six times. Magic
water fills the mouth. There are three swallows for each mouthful of saliva. When the
dragon acts, the tiger [i.e. energy] chases.
[6] Holding your breath, rub your hands until they are hot. Then massage your life
gate behind you.
[7] Stop breathing with your mouth[and breathe instead through your nose]. Think the
fire of your solar plexus chakra down to your naval chakra.
[8] Roll the winch [i.e. make shoulder circles] left and right.
[9] Extend your legs in front of you and prop up the air with joined hands.
[10] Repeatedly [twelve times] lower your head toward your feet.
[11] Swirl the magic water around and around, then swallow it down nine times to

produce a gurgling sound. This will regulate all of your energy channels.
[12] After the churning of these water wheels, energy has filled the whole body. Now
evil influences will not dare to come near you, you will sleep without dreams, be
unaffected by winter or summer weather, terrible illness will never be born, and
everything will be right with the world.
I hope that you will firmly take hold of these examples of our traditional heritage. If
you absorb them all, you will reach new heights.

CHAPTER SIX: MEDITATION

Section One: Standing Meditation (including photo)

[From Double Cultivation of Life & Wisdom:] When

the sky is clear and the air is fresh, use this meditation to contribute its energy into your
vitality: Feet on the ground, facing to the sky, hands joined behind you, draw in air
descending from the sky, swallow your saliva, gurgling to your elixir field. Now slightly
close your eyes and dim your mind. Breathe and cultivate spirit. Forget the past, ignore
the future, let go of the present. Quiet your mind and be pure. Your spirit gathers and
your energy merges with it. [From Zhuangzi, chapter 11:] When your eyes see nothing,
your ears hear nothing, and your mind knows nothing, your spirit will maintain your body,

and your body will live long.

Practice this standing meditation on a crisp clear morning during the fresh air of
sunrise. Face toward the rising sun, gathering the dawn energy. Standing naturally,
extend your left foot slightly outward, as though adopting the posture of standing at
ease. Your feet are both equally on the ground, but your right foot is supporting you
more and your left foot is mainly assisting. Sixty percent of the weight is on your right
foot, forty percent on your left foot. Your hands are behind you, palms facing upward, left
hand propping up the back of your right hand. If you switch to extending your right foot
[with the weight then being more on your left foot], then reverse the hand position as
well. Breathe slowly, click your teeth, swallow down your saliva. Your body and mind will
be as invigorated as if you ate some kind of tonic. This is the method of standing
meditation.

Section Two: Sitting Meditation (including photo)

The key is to calm the spirit. Strength lies in concentrating energy. If you wish to
practice regulating your breath, you must first dim your mind and sit silently. It is not

necessary to sit cross-legged on the floor. Ordinary sitting is fine. Although everyone
sits basically the same, each persons concept of harmonizing energy and guarding
ones inner residence is unique.
The ears and eyes are the doorways, the heart the
main hall. The average mans mind lives outside of him, inviting music and sex into his
space, disturbing his center. During sitting meditation, you have to dim your senses,
calm your mind and spirit. Music and sex will then not enter, and your center will not be
disturbed. Once thoughts are not arising in your mind, then you may sit. And when your
inherent nature is unaffected, you are then in a state of meditation [or zen]. [The term
(zen) breaks down as solo revelation and hence realizing the self.] It
says in the text [Double Cultivation]: After sitting a long time, you forget all you know,
suddenly feeling as though the moon is there on the ground with you A cool breeze
blows in to refresh your lungs and liver.
During silent sitting, reduce your thoughts and desires, nurture your energy and
gather your spirit. This is the key to nourishing life. Zhuangzi was of the opinion that
[Zhuangzi, chapter 26:] quietude can cure illness. This must not be overlooked. The
way of taking care of the body is to calm the heart and nurture the kidneys. If the heart
can be calm, your fire will not blaze outward. If your kidneys can be nurtured, your
water will not leak away. You have to be free of exacerbating mental agitation. Mind
and spirit are to be gathered together, joined in infant breathing. This can prevent illness
and prolong life.
As for sitting meditation practice, without a teacher to guide you, you will perform it
incorrectly, with too much fire and eagerness. This is not only without benefit, it may
even be harmful. Such demons or obsessions will keep your mind from being calm
and thereby produce abnormal physiological reactions. Thus you must not engage in it
recklessly. As it is said: If your mind is not quiet while you sit in meditation, it is like
turning a millstone empty of grain. You have to be careful of this.
To enter a state of
meditation, it is necessary to let go of all thoughts. If you suddenly feel agitated, stop
and take a break. When practicing sitting meditation, you should control your whole
body so that your mind can be calm and settled at your lower abdomen (i.e. the elixir
field). After practicing this over a long period, the muscles of your lower abdomen will be
very elastic and you will be able to dispel stagnant blood, your internal organs will feel
more aware of imbalances, able to sense issues beforehand. Due to improved blood
circulation, it will consequently be difficult for illness to get started. Treating illness
before it starts rather than after it has become established is a hundred times more
beneficial. The sitting meditation methods are described below:

1. Single-lotus position:
Your right lower leg is over your left lower leg, or left over

right. Your tongue lightly touches your upper palate. Your intention stays at your elixir
field. After breathing through your nose for about fifty breaths, lower your tongue. The
saliva that has accumulated in your mouth should be swallowed down rather than spat
out.

2. Double-lotus position:
Put your right lower leg over your left lower leg, then also
place your left lower leg over your right lower leg. The soles of your feet are facing
upward on top of your thighs. This posture is harder to do, and you will not be able to
without patience and long practice.

3. Legs naturally crossed:

Sit with your legs very naturally crossed. The various
sitting positions all begin with ruling from behind a screen [i.e. eyelids lowered], making
the triple watching posture, meaning your eyes are watching your nose, your nose is
watching your mouth, and your mouth is watching your heart. Consciously observe
yourself. Your eyes are not fully closed, leaving a slight crack. Your mind is in shadow
and your energy is calm. There is no substance and no self. Here is an accompanying
mnemonic poem:
That sitting body is not me.
All things are empty in my sight.
Distracting thoughts have been driven away.
No emotions stir within.

In each of the sitting positions, there is a slight smiling intention. Relax your whole body.
Let everything be smooth and natural. Neither hunch your back nor stick out your chest.
Your spine should be straight. Place your hands at your lower abdomen, below your
elixir field, one hand on top of the other with its thumb below that of the other. If your feet
become numb after sitting for a long time, you may rub them with your hands or switch
them to a different position. If you are not comfortable, do not force yourself. You may
move around as you please. Below is the ancient Meditation Song [attributed to Zhang
Sanfeng] for your perusal:
When you begin to sit down and learn to meditate,
these ideas will seem obscure.
Breathe quietly and continuously,

the passive and active aspects cooking together in the cauldron.

Your nature should awaken and your vitality should pass through.
As your sit there cooking, the process should be allowed to take care of itself.
Close your eyes and watch with your mind, keeping your attention on your life essence.
The basis of it all is to clear your mind of desires and worries.

Section Three: Meditation Lying Down (including photo)

[From Double Cultivation:] A persons true self wanders off at night. If you sleep
incautiously, you might have nocturnal emissions, your energy leaking away upward.
Your primal spirit leaves, unable to rely on your body to keep it. Your three treasures are
scattered. How can the human body be at peace? When a person sleeps, his spirit
withdraws into his elixir field, merging with his energy, water and fire blended together.
Thus his spirit does not run away outward and his energy is naturally calm. Spirit resides
in the eyes by day, but is stored away to ripen in the kidneys at night
If you sleep improperly, your spirit will be disordered and you will be swirling in
nightmares, the issue of cooking with a leaking cauldron. If you wish to fix this problem,
you must use the method of five coiled dragons: Lie down with your head sideways
and your body sideways, like a coiled dragon or a dog with its legs curled in. [The five
dragons being coiled indicates the bend in each of the four limbs and the slight slouch of
the head.] One hand forms a pillow for the head, the other massages the navel area,
one leg slightly extended, the other bent in. Before the mind drifts off, the eyes become
drowsy. Then you arrive at complete emptiness and quietude. In this way, your spirit

and energy naturally return to their original condition, and your breathing naturally
becomes nourishing. You will not be regulating your breath, yet your breath will naturally
be regulated. You will not be deliberately calming your breath, yet your breath will
naturally become calm
Sleeping in this way, your body will feel stable, yet your
mind will feel clear and lively, your energy will feel harmonious and fresh, and your spirit
will feel full and bright. Bad thoughts will disappear, insomnia will be vanquished, sleep
will be without disorder, and you will doze without nightmares. How then would you not
be healthy?

1. Lying on your back:

Face upward with your legs straightened. This posture is for
practice, not for sleep. When practicing, it is used for shorter periods so the mind stays
in control. If you fall asleep, your mind will get boxed away. If you fall asleep is this
posture for a long time, it can cause four kinds of problems:
1. Your internal organs
will not be harmoniously arranged.
2. You will easily snore.
3. There will easily be
a heaviness in your chest.
4. Your legs being so straight can cause pressure in the
thighs, easily leading to nocturnal emissions.

Lying on your side:

To keep the correct posture, lie down as you would sleep on your
side. Either side is fine. Your head sideways on the pillow is angled slightly forward and
downward. One arm is bent so the hand is placed under the cheek, the other hand
massaging the elixir field. The leg below is slightly bent while the leg above is bent
halfway and in front of the leg below. Confucius said [Lun Yu, 7.16]: [Even in plain food,
mere water for drink, and] pillowing on a curled-up arm, there is joy to be found. [Wealth
and status are to me as ephemeral as clouds.] This conforms well to the method of
meditating lying down.
[There are traditionally four meditation methods walking, standing, sitting, lying down.
It is not clear why Yin did not include description of the walking method.]

CHAPTER SEVEN: QIGONG

Section One: Explanation of Qigong

Qigong was considered by our ancient sages to be the highest method of
cultivating health. It has an effectiveness that exceeds imagination. In traditional
Chinese culture there are the three schools of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism.
Confucianists talk about fulfilling ones nature. They cherish the mind to discipline the
character, keeping to the middle ground and finding that principle in everything.
Buddhists talk about non-identity. They understand truth and thereby realize their own
nature, countless ways returning to one. Daoists talk about energy. They cultivate
energy to refine their nature, the primeval condition of embracing oneness.
These
are all psychological studies, even having a deep source and a broad profound
reasoning. There is within a single theme stability. The work of making stability is the
work of nurturing energy. It can be considered a study of utilizing a return to oneness.
Energy is something invisible, yet without it, the spirit is weakened to exhaustion. When
energy seems to wane, vitality collapses, therefore whether a person lives or perishes is
entirely a matter of energy.
What actually is qigong? Superficially speaking, qi
means air. Human beings can go without air. In the absence of air, there can be no life.
As for methods of absorbing air, ways of breathing will be described below. And gong
means work. The method and the amount of time put into it build up to make a kind of
breathing exercise. Therefore breath work is as the term implies, a kind of breathing
exercise. Within breathing lies an inexhaustible element of vitality. Air is something
produced by Nature. It is more important to human life than food or water. A person
could go a week without eating or drinking, but if there is no breathing for even a short
while, the result will be death. It is clear that breathing is more important than drinking or
eating.
If you can practice qigong frequently, it will produce marvelous effects upon
your body. It might be said that qigong is a metaphysical study, but it conforms to
science. Or it might be said that it is a something refined and difficult to attain, but this is
a misunderstanding. It is precious learning for strengthening both body and mind, for
prolonging life. Its theory is profound, its method is simple, everyone can practice it, and
its effects are easily realized.
There are generally two types of qigong:
1. There is
martial qigong. When it is trained for the back, it is called back skill. When it is trained
for the belly, it is called belly skill. When struck by an opponent, there is no injury.

Therefore energy reaches to the muscles to be mainly an external phenomenon.

2.
There is the refining of energy to enhance the five organs called neigong [internal
work]. This kind of qigong draws energy into the elixir field and then spreads it to the
whole body. This kind of qigong can be called whole-bodied.
They are both
categorized as breathing exercise. Developing energy and cultivating a primal state will
nurture the body, gathering energy into an integrated whole comprising both thought
and action. Daoists cultivate energy to produce elixir. A chant says [first line of the
Golden Light Incantation]: The primordial universe is the source of all energies. This
energy is the energy from both breathing and nutrition. Without this energy, alas, death
will strike in the midst of some breath. It is thus clear that human life depends on such
energy. Therefore practicing qigong can prevent illness and prolong life.

Section Two: Psychology in Qigong

Our nations methods of cultivating the Way to nurture
health and refining energy to produce elixir are usually passed off as being mystical, too
profound to study. But generally when we talk of qigong, we do not say that it was taught
by immortals, rather that it was passed down by ancestors. If one is inclined to learn it,
the custom is that the training is especially strict and furthermore that it has to be
passed down through personal instruction. The training manuals treat it as a treasure.
Although they have been passed through many hands, repeatedly transcribed, and
so much was left out, apparently the ancient physicians discussed qigong commonly.
What they said appears difficult to understand and seems filled with obscurities. In this
way, it does not come down to us. The more it is taught, the less it gets taught, errors
compounded upon errors. Although later generations go in for more and more mystical

gibberish, practitioners are not focusing their minds anyway, and so gradually the
teaching becomes something different altogether. Therefore with the true teaching too
hard to find, the deeper levels of the teaching cannot be understood, and people end up
simply repeating the empty words of other people.
Recently there are a great many
people advocating the practice of qigong. The various types of qigong are somewhat
different, but their methods and goals are mostly the same. Although my intention in
practicing qigong is to emphasize energy, imagination is also very important. Wherever
thought goes, a mass of energy seems to follow it, passing through the whole body, and
has an indirect effect upon the beginning of illness. If we make use of imagination,
concentrating spirit and extending it to every part, this first causes intention to arrive,
then energy to course through, and then bloodflow becomes unimpeded. With both
energy and blood flowing freely, illness is naturally eliminated. Therefore in the practice
of cultivating health, imagination is indispensable.
Practice can solidify ones faith in
it, which after a long time becomes habitual. So success will naturally be assured and
effects will daily become apparent. But if it is practiced half-heartedly, there will always
be some doubts about it. If you are listening to music while practicing, or practicing while
sleepy, your intention will not be pure, your spirit will not be concentrated, and the
subtleties of the art will be nullified. Mind and body in their waxings and wanings
influence each other. When there is harmony between them, this creates a tranquil
centeredness, and they fully become one.
In the ancient Yellow Emperors Plain Girl
Classic and the Art of Lovemaking, there is the art of expel the old and take in the new,
which means breathing exercise. According to Ji Kangs cultivation theory: Breathe to
expel the old and take in the new. Eat food to nourish the body. The idea of expel the
old and take in the new is the same as ordinary breathing, but with the addition of a
special kind of exercise.
When we talk of qigong, we cannot ignore the training of the temperament.
Imagination is an important consideration when refining energy for self-cultivation.
Indeed it cannot be discussed without the concept of mental realization, which can lead
to philosophical understanding, what Confucianists call nurturing ones energy. Mengzi
said [Mengzi, chapter 2a]: I am good at nurturing my noble energy. Wang Yangming
said: Theory and energy are equally important.
Yuan Liaofan wrote his Meditation
Secrets and in recent times there is Mr. Okadas Meditation Method by Okada Torajiro.
They both of these elaborate upon the subtleties of breathing as a means of nourishing
life. Although their meditation methods are of the Tendai School and thus emphasize a
quest for stability, they nevertheless contain the Daoist methods of cultivating energy.
Therefore the training and nurturing of energy is taken seriously in all of the three
traditions of Confucian, Buddhism, and Daoism. People often engage in these exercises

not only to benefit body and mind, but also to develop the self-training required for
fulfilling some entrepreneurial ambition. Wen Tianxiang used the notion of a true
energy matches many energies to nurture his noble energy. An ancient philosopher
once said [L Kun Groanings, chapter 7]: Without energy, the tasks of the people in
the world are of no use. Therefore energy should be stored rather than leaked away,
restrained rather than roused. This also expresses the importance of cultivating energy.

Section Three: Lifting the Anus While Inhaling

The method of practicing lifting your anus while inhaling has already been briefly
described. Here it is below in more detail:
This method can be performed while
standing, sitting, or lying down. Slightly close your eyes and look upward toward your
headtop (looking with intention [rather than rolling your eyes back), your tongue touching
your upper palate. While inhaling, withdraw your anus, as though delaying a bowel
movement. At this moment, your testicles will also be drawn upward and inward. After
you inhale, hold this position without releasing until you can hold it no longer, then
exhale and switch to the second breath.
If this method is performed frequently, it will
be effective for ailments such as nocturnal emissions and hemorrhoids. If you can
perform lifting your anus while inhaling for a minute after each defecation and urination,
it will be of great help in preventing such ailments. A mnemonic goes: With inhaling
there is lifting [of the anus], and thus energy returns to the lower abdomen. With lifting
there is swallowing [of saliva], and thus fire and water will be in cooperation. It says in
the ancient Yellow Emperors Plain Girl Classic: One hand rubs while the other hand
holds, then switch hands. Do this eighty-one times, and then your genuine active aspect
will be kept from dissipating. This indeed conforms to scientific internal exercise.

Section Four: Regulating the Breath

Air going out being the exhalation and air coming in being the inhalation, one exhale
and one inhale makes one breath. When regulating your breath, you should emphasize

quietude, which calms the temperament, and then the breath can nurture the body.
Quietude is the key prerequisite in qigong. If you want to regulate your breath, you must
first regulate your body, and to regulate your body, you must first regulate your mind. But
these three things must be worked on at the same time. Therefore you must use the
correct posture when practicing. Although it can practiced when sitting, standing, or
lying down, it cannot be done in some random posture.
You must during the practice
be extra mindful. You should have a serene composure, but should also take the
exercise seriously. To regulate the mind, pay no attention to anything external. Focus
your thoughts within your lower abdomen. Create your own world of tranquility, keeping
your intention at your elixir field. Breathe naturally and quietly through your nose. You
will gradually achieve quietude, stability, delicacy, leisureliness, evenness, deep and
long well-coordinated breathing. The exercise will become so balanced, you can achieve
such long and fine breaths that your ears will cease to notice sounds.
Having
generated such subtleties, then whether walking, standing, sitting, or lying down, at any
free moment you are not disconnected from these principles. Even if you are sitting on a
bus or boat, your posture askew, you can still regulate your breath. You should maintain
this state of mind. As long as your essence, mind, and energy are at ease, you can
reduce fatigue. Breath is the root of maintaining life. It should be comfortable, natural,
long, and deep. After practicing over a long period, energy will gather into your elixir
field, and then your noble energy will naturally fill your whole body, doubling your
progress toward longevity.

Section Five: Abdominal Breathing

Pick a quiet place with lots of fresh air. Calm your mind and balance your energy. Your
head should be erect, feet spread apart to shoulder width, legs slightly bent. Your hands
are placed in front of your lower abdomen, close to your belly. Your eyes are looking
downward as your watch with your consciousness. Gather your thoughts, very naturally
keeping your intention at your elixir field. With each thought, unceasingly hold your
intention there. Now, with your mouth closed, inhale through your nose, inhaling deeply,
sending energy to your abdomen, making your belly bulge. You should not use any
intentional effort, just allow it to be natural. Then withdraw your belly to press out all the
stale air. As your belly withdraws, it hollows inward. Then inhale again as above for a

total of ten breaths.

Your internal organs will become energized and active. This
exercise can enhance their function and will aid digestion, and stagnant blood in the
abdomen will be made to flow smoothly once again. Your blood vessels will be livened
and the five major organs will be rejuvenated. The exercise has been described for a
standing posture, but can also be done while sitting, lying down, or walking. If you
practice this over a long period, it will have an extraordinary effect upon heart disease,
high blood pressure, liver disease, lung disease, and diabetes. But this is too easily
said. You must practice with patience and perseverance to get such effects.
Pregnant women and women recovering from labor must not practice this. Pregnant
women will risk having a miscarriage and women recovering from labor will risk harming
their genitals.

Section Six: The Art of Expel Old Air and Take in Fresh

To expel old air and take in fresh means to inhale through the nose and exhale through
the mouth. There is the method of swelling the belly belly breathing and also the
method of swelling both the belly and chest belly and chest breathing. Once you
have fully inhaled through your nose, swelling your belly or chest, then exhale fully
through your mouth, your belly and chest correspondingly withdrawing, and then
commence your second breath with a new inhale.
When you exhale, you should not
open your mouth wide, instead keeping your lips close together, only slightly apart.
Exhale the air from within your abdomen slowly. You should exhale as completely as the
inside of your abdomen feels to be appropriate. When you exhale, send out the impure
air from within your body. When you inhale, take in the pure air from the outside world.
While breathing, gather the beauty of sky and ground, obtain the splendor of sun and
moon, but also maintain the subtlety of breathing deep and long. Each of these methods
of breathing is a natural remedy for illness more effective than medicine.
After many
days of this, it will seem as though there is a gleaming pearl congealing into form within
your elixir field, radiating a brilliant shine outward from your body in all directions, and
this jewelness will move throughout your whole body, arriving everywhere, and
everywhere producing this glow. You will always feel heat in your thighs as you walk.
Once you reach this level, you have achieved something of the miraculous.

Congratulations to you! You have attained the goal of preventing illness and prolonging
life.

CHAPTER EIGHT: SIMPLE AND EASY MASSAGE TECHNIQUES

1. Massaging the ears:

Use both hands to rub up and down on the upper part of your
ears ten or more times. Then cover your ears with both hands and press and release
several times, the release like pulling out a cork. This can dispel ringing in your ears and
prevent hearing loss. Adding the practice of sounding the divine drum (as in Chapter
Five) prevents and treats dizziness, headache, and other ailments.

2. Rubbing the eyes:

When you awake in the morning, do not open your eyes right
away, but keep them first slightly closed and use the middle joint of your thumbs to
gently rub back and forth across your eyelids ten or more times, which will loosen your
eyelids. With your eyes still closed, rotate your eyeballs up and down, left and right, ten
or more times. This can prevent eye disease and improve vision. When urinating,
whether during the day or night, you should open your eyes wide to keep the brightness
of your gaze from drooping and draining away.

3. Massaging the nose:

Rub together your thumbs, or your forefingers at the middle
joint, to make them warm, then gently and slowly rub the sides of your nose ten or more
times. Plug your right nostril with the bent middle knuckle of your left forefinger and
inhale through your left nostril, then plug your left nostril with the bent middle knuckle of
your right forefinger and exhale through your right nostril. Doing this a few dozen times
can prevent overflowing emotions, as well as being stuffed up and other ailments.

4. Rubbing the shoulders and knees:

First use your left palm to rub your right
shoulder, then your right palm to rub your left shoulder, ten or more times each. This can
prevent arthritis in your arms. After you finish rubbing your shoulders, then work on your
knees. Use both hands to rub your knees at the same time, rubbing a few dozen times.
This can prevent arthritis in your legs, as well as enhance leg strength. This conforms to
the special practices in Chapter Five of using massage to dispel illness, and will
increase their effectiveness.

5. Massaging the whole body:

This is commonly called taking a dry bath. When you
get up each morning and are wearing only your underwear and have not yet put on
other clothes, stand with your legs spread, or in a horse-riding stance. Rub your hands
together to make them hot, then rub your whole body, from your head, face, and arms,
to your chest, belly, and legs, getting gradually quicker, until your whole body has been
rubbed uniformly and your skin is rosy and warm. If you practice this over a long time,
not only will your skin become firmer, your blood circulation will also be improved and
you will never begin to have any kind of skin disease, making this a genuinely good
piece of exercise.
I used to know well a soldier named Hu who would every morning
do this massage naked, even in the dead of winter. He never felt the cold at all and his
body seemed to produce steam. He said: If you practice this for more than ten years,
you will never have any skin diseases. It can be said that he revered the wondrous arts
of ridding illness, since his breakfasts consisted of half a cup of mung beans and a
piece of red radish. Other people would have found this unappealing, but he was
indifferent to pleasure.

CHAPTER NINE: SEQUENCE AND EXPLANATIONS FOR INTERNAL EXERCISES

Section One: Practice Sequence

When practicing, arrange a peaceful environment. Set up a quiet room with natural light,
tidy furniture, hanging drapes, and burning incense. Strive for simplicity: a desk with pen

and ink, wall hangings of Buddha images, and shelves with many books of wisdom. Do
not place many toys around you. Avoid distractions for your ears and eyes.
Many
practice in the morning or evening, and there are also those who practice at noon or at
midnight. Always begin by rinsing your mouth with warm water, then heave three big
sighs, breathing out from your belly. Sit with good posture, back slightly straightened.
Your mind should be steady and your spirit should be calm.
[1] Close your eyes and
deepen your mind.
[2] Knock your teeth together thirty-six times. This rouses the
muscles and bones of your whole body. Press your tongue to your upper palate, which
generates saliva for you to swallow down. Get at least three gulps, your intention
sending it down to your elixir field, thus bringing energy down to the five organs as well.
[3] Rub your hands together to make them hot, then rub your face as if washing, rub
the sides of your nose, and rub from your ears to the middle of your forehead. Every rub
[of this sinus massage] will cause your breath to become slightly clearer. Now cover
your ears with both hands several times, then alternately flick the forefinger off the
middle finger against your occipital bone twenty-four times.
[4] Hug your shoulders
and twist until you are looking behind yourself twenty four times.
[5] Use both hands
to massage your lower back and kidneys, up and down thirty-six times.
[6] Use your
middle and forefingers to rub your Jia Ji acupoint thirty-six times.
[7] With your left
hand drawing up your scrotum, use your right hand to rub your elixir field thirty-six times,
then switch hands and repeat.
[8] Pick up your left foot with your left hand and rub
the sole with your right hand thirty-six times, then switch to your right hand picking up
your right foot and your left hand rubbing your right sole likewise.
This set of
exercises unblocks the energy pathways throughout your body. When you have finished
these exercises, you may take a short rest, or you may choose to do some meditation,
qigong, or breathing exercises, all of which have these subtleties: they contain the gaze
of your eyes, concentrate inward the hearing of your ears, conduct breathing through
your nose, and close off the energy of your tongue.
Generate saliva, and gently
swallow it down. Have the idea of intangibly moving it, slowly and leisurely, down past
your solar plexus, through your abdominal cavity, down to your elixir field. Then take it
from your bladder into both legs, downward past your knees, then over the backs of your
feet, arriving at the soles. Then go from the soles, taking it upward again, past the backs
of your knees, lifting up to your rectum. Then go from your tailbone to the center of your
back, to both shoulders, to your brain, and envision it at your headtop. Draw it across to
your forehead and bring it back to the place of your tongue meeting your upper palate,
which is generating new saliva into your mouth to again by drawn to your elixir field, etc.
This is called the circulation of energy, which clears your vessels and orifices.
When you finish, stand up, and with your left hand on your belly and the back of your

right hand on your lower back, walk a few dozen steps like a pigeon. The stagnancies in
your body will have been washed away and your whole body will be cleared through of
obstructions, and so naturally you will be able to say you have gained more length to
your life.

Section Two: Explaining Internal Exercise

Internal fitness methods are controlled

by internal physiological changes, preserving life and health to overcome age and
promote endless youth. Death is difficult to overcome, but if you wish to put it off for a
few extra years and increase the youthfulness of your old age, this can most definitely
be done. This practice promotes internal health and extends life span more effectively
than all the medicines you might seek. There are some who say that hormone injections
can increase vitality in old age, but once you get into the habit, you have to take them all
the time for it to be effective.
Modern science usually emphasizes the physical, but
what our nations internal exercises emphasize is the mental, and so it is called
exercise aimed at the temperament. This kind of exercise not only builds the physique
and extends life span, it also focuses on the cultivation of mind and spirit. It conforms to
the Way of both sky and ground, it follows the theory of both passive and active, it
merges with the function of both movement and stillness, and it accepts the necessity
for both hardness and softness. It develops your acquired aspect to compensate for the
ways in which your innate aspect is insufficient.
The transformativeness of this
training is difficult to estimate. It says in the Historical Records [Bios part 3] that Laozi
lived past a hundred [hundred and sixty], maybe even past two hundred, for no other
reason than that his mastery of internal exercise was so profound [because he nurtured
longevity by cultivating the Way]. As Laozi said: Our destiny lies with ourselves, not
with Fate. It is entirely a matter of building up ones health.

CHAPTER TEN: VARIOUS SAYINGS ABOUT HEALTH

Section One: The Way of Health

A saying goes: Health is the basis of happiness. It is also said: Success in any
endeavor depends on the health of the body. These sayings are indeed correct, for it is
only when we have health that we are truly happy. People take note of this for the most
part, but then tend toward enjoyment and material fulfillment, with the result that they
feel still more uncomfortable. It is actually not that difficult to preserve your health
provided you do not violate the principles of health and you practice them perseveringly.
Here are listed the most ordinary pieces of advice about health, which everyone should
put into practice:
1. Do not go to sleep late at night.
2. Do not consume unwashed
foods or eat excessive amounts.
3. You should keep your living space clean and
maintain good air circulation.
4. Do not read when in a car or in strong sunshine.
5. Put on more clothes during cold weather, but not articles that expose parts to the
cold.
6. Do not let your mood become either agitated or melancholic.
7. Do not
become lazy and lethargic.
Do not look down on or neglect these small rules, instead
give them constant attention, and you will naturally reduce the approach of illness.

Section Two: The Eight-Word Secret to Nourishing Life

Restrain anger. Curb lust. Exercise more. Eat less. These eight brief words have an
extended significance. If you can put them into practice, they are the greatest ways of
nourishing life, the best methods of preserving health.
If you are not angry, your
hearts fire does not rush upward.
If you curb your lust, not only will you end up with
less guilt, you will also preserve your essence and nurture your spirit.
Frequent
proper exercise promotes blood circulation and heartier digestive function.
When you
do not eat beyond satiety, it gives a refreshing rest to your stomach and intestines.
When your digestive organs are comfortable, there will be no occurrence of painful
indigestion.
It is also said: Do not eat until you are hungry, then stop before you are
full. Food is delicious for one who is hungry. Drink is delightful for one who is thirsty.
These too are words of wisdom. It is also said: It is through the mouth that illness
enters and misfortune emerges [i.e. because of foolish eating and foolish talking].
When food is underseasoned, your energy will be clear and your spirit will be bright.
The body should be frequently worked and its meals should be frequently reduced.
These phrases are yet more wisdom.


Section Three: Health Lies Within Naturalness

A certain rich man was often ill. Even though he had plenty to eat and lots of medicine,
his health was still inferior to that of a certain poor man, and he found this to be very
strange. One day the rich man asked the poor man: The gaps in your nutrition and the
reduced circumstances of your livelihood make a very different lifestyle to mine, so why
does my health seem worse than yours? Why? Please tell me what techniques I should
study.
The poor man laughed and said: My wife was born ugly. My food grows only
a hundred paces away. My mood is always happy. The wind washes my head while I
sleep.
The rich man did not fully understand this, so the poor man explained:
Because my wife is ugly and dull, I do not get consumed by lust.
My food is nothing
exotic from over mountains and seas. I wait until I am hungry, and so some white rice
and green vegetables are perfectly fragrant and delicious. The idle fat rich think
delicacies are foods that are difficult to obtain.
I am always happy because I have no
thought of fame or wealth, and so I do not have the bitterness of frustration or
disappointment. I am content with my lot in life.
The wind washes my head because
my home has holes in it and so the fresh air flows through. While I sleep during the
night, I am getting lungfuls of fresh air.
After the rich man listened to all of this, he
sighed and repeated the common saying: Poor people are often robust while rich
people cling to medicine. True words indeed.

Section Four: A Collection of Health Sayings

1. In winter, do not get overheated. In summer, do not cool off too much. In eating, do
not get overfull. In drinking, do not take in too much. Despite their simplicity, these
phrases have deep significance, for although they are easy to say, they are difficult to
put into practice. A saying goes: If you seek longevity, you should clean out your
intestines. These are words of wisdom.

2. It is common for study to increase knowledge. It is rare for gossiping to nourish

spirit. Study is good, but good students are rare. Gossip is not good, yet gossipers are
common. [From New Books of Tang, Bios part 41:] When there are no problems in

the world, ordinary people make problems for themselves. Society nowadays is full of
such people.

3. Stand like a pine tree, sit like a bell, walk like the wind, and lie like a bow. Carefully
ponder the deeper meanings of these things.

4. When drinking wine, it is noblest to not get drunk. When looking at a beautiful
woman, it is more handsome to not get carried away with praising her. When
possessing wealth, if you do not use it dishonorably, it will not invite thieves. When
accumulating power, what is cultivated is illness and the diminishing of oneself. The
expression wine, women, wealth, and power should be ruminated upon.

5. If you want to avoid coming to grief, you must avoid drinking wine early, drinking tea
late, and having sex at dawn. Drinking wine early can delay all of your tasks. Drinking
tea late can make you irritable or cause insomnia. Having sex immediately after waking
will dramatically diminish you physically and mentally. It is also said: If you have sex
before a thirty-mile walk, you will become ill. If you have sex after a thirty-mile walk, you
will die. And so it should be especially avoided. Nowadays there are cars, airplanes,
and steamboats, and so it is not necessary to travel on foot, but if the following day you
have a lot of work to do, you should avoid being lustful the night before. If you physically
labor all day and then do not deny your desire in the middle of the night, though you may
flaunt capacity for a short while, it is extremely harmful to your body, and so it is
important to avoid it.

6. If you keep taking medicine for years, illness will never cease and you will always
have nightmares. Medicines often have side effects. By constantly taking medicine, or
thoughtlessly accepting every prescription, although one ailment may be cured, another
will be maintained. After an extended period of such dosages, your stomach lining can
become injured, resulting in demons [manifesting as indigestion, ulcers, etc]. If you
believe in demons, they will manifest. If you do not believe in them, they will not. It is
always the case that if you concentrate your mind, you will be doubtful of demons.
Ignorant people partake of superstition. When they start by perceiving evil forces,
demons follow them. Their minds are not at ease, and the more they believe, the more

they are lost, and they will never have peaceful days. Confucius said [Lun Yu, 6.22]:
Give reverence to ghosts and spirits, but from a distance. This is very fitting.

7. Beginning a meal with soup, you will avoid the need for medicine [i.e. medicine for
indigestion]. It is also said: Wolves and tigers eat their meals with no seasoning. It is
their concentration in biting and gulping that makes the flavors so delicious. And: The
smaller the amount you eat, the more of it you will taste. The larger the amount you eat,
the less of it you will taste. All of these are methods of preventing illness by way of
eating and drinking carefully.

8. A deer saves its essence, a tortoise saves its energy, and a crane saves its breath.
Thus they each achieve longevity.

Section Five: In Common Sayings Lie Truth

Common sayings
concerning health are often worth pondering. Although the words are simple, their
meaning is deep. Study them in detail and put them into practice. They are the secrets
of health and longevity. A saying goes: Parents are living buddhas. Why is it necessary
to go far away to offer incense? These words are directed at unfilial children who fight
with their fathers and scold their mothers and then go out into the world hoping to be
blessed in life, something that is fundamentally stupid. Not doing the work of preventing
health problems and then seeking out famous doctors and asking for medicine is the
same kind of stupidity. Think over this advice repeatedly.
One who can know the
ways of fitness and the methods of prevention will be restrained in eating and drinking
as well as constant in daily habits. He will not overwork himself, yet he will diligently
practice internal exercises. He will cultivate healthy habits and avoid losing his temper
over nothing. His ambitions will be pure, being of few desires. His mind will be calm,
having no fears. He will perform his labors without exhausting himself. He will have no
envy beyond his station. No charming voice or looks can distract his attention. Fame
and wealth cannot confuse his mind. His thoughts will be correct, for he will abstain from
lust. He will be in accord with his passive and active aspects, in harmony with the four
seasons, and he will be rid of all illnesses. All such people have achieved longevity.

Section Six: There is No Secret to Long Life

There are so many books and magazines about health and longevity, with titles such as
Health Secrets, Longevity Secrets, Fitness Arts, Longevity Methods, and so on.
Opinions vary and everyone is right in some way, and yet there are contradictions
among them. For instance, for each person who advocates stillness, there is a person
who advocates movement. For each person who advocates vegetarianism, there is a
person who advocates eating meat. For each person who advocates staying single,
there is a person who advocates getting married. It is thus very difficult to say for sure
which version is actually a secret to longevity.
In my own experience of ordinary health maintenance, there are no great secrets,
only a few points to pay extra attention to in regard to ones own body, the simplest
being: 1. never overeating, 2. staying in a good mood, 3. engaging in appropriate
exercise, 4. maintaining a consistent lifestyle. Although these four items are very simple,
they are nevertheless not that easy to carry out. If you can put them into practice
perseveringly, they are the simplest keys to health and long life.

CHAPTER ELEVEN: OVER A HUNDRED EFFECTIVE FOLK PRESCRIPTIONS

A saying goes: Treat serious illness with folk remedies. These words have profound
meaning. The famous ancient physician Hua Tuo had miraculously effective methods of
emergency treatment and saved countless people. Though we have not received his
teachings in detail, truly a pity, many methods have been passed down, not a mere few.
They were usually by word of mouth, for very little appears in writing, barely more than a
brief description here and there.
In the whole five thousand years of our culture,
nothing is unique. Looking through history, there are many famous doctors, all of whom
have their handy miraculous prescriptions. But their most effective ones were kept more
secret and have been passed down by chance. People nowadays consider them to be
folk recipes. It is difficult to see how their reasoning conforms to scientific principles, and
so these prescriptions get looked down on. However, I have tested them myself and can

verify them. After repeated experiment and experience, they are indeed worth passing
down. In this broad collection of simple methods [drawn largely from Qing Dynasty
compendia such as Bao Xiangaos New Compilations of Effective Prescriptions and He
Mengyaos Medical Writings], there are almost a hundred and fifty effective prescriptions
for emergency treatment that are cheap and easy, especially for any repeat treatment.
Any household that has this book can be secure in the knowledge that they can treat
themselves without medicine. Whenever you take it up, its helpful emergency aid will not
be meager. Illnesses of the head, internal illness, external illness, external injury, and
relief from poisons are detailed below for you to consult.

Section One: The Head

1. Remedy for lice:

Rubbing in a mixture of mercury and wax is extremely effective.

2. Remedy for favus:

Shave his head bald, wash it in hot water, and get rid of the
scabs. Take the outer skin of the thinner variety of wild bamboo shoots and reduce it to
ashes, then mix it with sesame oil, and apply it the skin once a day until he has
recovered from the condition.

3. Remedy for concussion:

If a person gets a concussion or has a dizzy spell, or
loses consciousness or falls into a coma, he should be laid down and covered with a
blanket to keep him warm. He should then be given several helpings of dried longan
pulp, which will help bring him out of it sooner. (There is further explanation in Part Two.)

4. Remedy for tympanitis that is producing pus:

Reduce some thick rice paper to
ashes, add a little borneol, then pestle the mixture into a powder and blow it into the ear.
This will stop the pus very effectively.
Another method that will also work is to prick
the comb of a rooster and drip the fresh blood into the ear.

5. Remedy for paralysis of the eye muscles and kerititis:

These can be cured by
slicing some raw pork, pestling some red stone resin into a powder and spreading it
onto the meat, and putting the meat over the eyes.

6. Remedy for painfully swollen eyelids:

Spread ginger juice mixed with ferrous
sulfate onto the eyelids, which will cause the pain to stop, but he has to be careful not to
open his eyes.

 A
7. Remedy for night blindness:
Frequent doses of fish oil or vitamin A will be
extremely effective. (There is further explanation in Part Two.)

8. Remedy for a whooshing headache:

For a headache that starts as a feeling of a
pressure in the head or involves an internal sound of strong wind, use 10 grams of
roasted goat manure with wine. Other medicines are not effective, but this remedy will
work. For an ordinary headache, slice open piece of raw ginger, put some realgar into
the gap, wrap it in rice paper, soak it, bake it, then place it on the temples. This is
extraordinarily effective.

9. Remedy for ringing in the ears:

Eating pork with boiled China root is miraculously
effective. Avoid tea for a full ten days. If the flesh of his face turns pale, pestle a baked
dark plum into powder, have him take it with water, and he will recover.

10. Remedy for dizziness:

Take two raw gingko nut shells, pound them down, soak
the pieces in boiling water. They are to be eaten on an empty stomach. After five doses
of this, he will be restored to normal.

11. Remedy for pus and blood in the ear that will not dry:
Take pomegranate flowers
that have been dried over a fire and pestle them into a powder, add borneal solution,
blow the mix three or four times into the ear, and there will be recovery. This will produce
sores under the ear that will pass in two or three days. If insects enter the ear, add
sesame oil to the juice of green onions and drip the mix into the ear. Human milk will
also work.

12. Remedy for dirt in the eye:

Take a twig of ox knee about two inches long, have
him chew it until it is almost like a paste, then after he spits it out, roll it into a pellet, then
press it against the corner of his eye, causing tears to flow. After a moment, the dirt will
all come out naturally. If the dirt is in the right eye, the ox knee is to be chewed with the
left side of his mouth, and if the dirt is in the left, chewed on the right. This method is
always immediately effective. If the eyes are reddened, swollen, and painful, mix some
white honey with some yellow cinnabar and apply to the temples. Then wash the pit of a
Chinese olive and use it drip human milk into the corner of the eye. This is
extraordinarily effective.

13. Remedy for dust in the eye:

Drip in juice from raw lotus root and the dust will
naturally come out. If some floating silk strands get into the eye, take a cup of cold
water, add a little table salt and 15 grams of alum, and soak the tip of the tongue. Soon
the silk will naturally come out with tears. In case of blurred vision, boil a pint of black
soybeans and 200 grams of wolfberry fruit in clean water. Eating a lot of this will be
extraordinarily effective.

14. Remedy for excessive tears:

Take the gallbladders from seven carp, mix them
with 5 grams of human milk, steam on top of rice, and apply the resulting liquid as drops
to the eyes. The production of tears will naturally withdraw. In the case of tears caused
by wind, use the gallbladder of a fresh fish steamed in water and human milk, applying
three times during the night as droplets in the corner of the eye. Or you can simmer
mulberry leaves in simmering water, then rinse his eyes with the water. After a few
treatments of this, he will recover.

15. Remedy for sores on the roof of the mouth:

These are called hanging ulcers.
When it feels like there are grapes hanging from the roof of the mouth, the tongue has
difficulty extending and withdrawing, the mouth has difficulty opening and closing, there
is bleeding from within the nose, and there is an alternation between feeling cold and
feeling hot. Quickly pestle some heated salt and alum into a powder, then use a wet
chopstick to dip into the powder and apply to the site. After three or four applications, he
will recover.

16. Remedy for incessant bleeding from mouth or nose:

Heat up some old urine and
putting the scent up the persons nose will immediately cause the bleeding to stop as if
by magic. Drinking half a bowl of the juice from pounded chives will also work.

17. Remedy for bloody nose:

In ancient China, cotton was
dipped in ink and then stuffed in the nostril. This was this most effective way of stopping
the bleeding.
Another method is to use 10 grams of unprocessed alum soaked in
warm water. Breathing in the smell of it will cause the bleeding to stop.
Another

method is to take a few pounded garlic cloves and apply them to the sole of the right
foot for bleeding from the left nostril or to the sole of the left foot for bleeding from the
right, wrapping them tightly to hold them in place, to be held the for the duration of two
incense sticks. He should endure the soreness. This will long prevent a bleeding nose.
Another method is to take some pressed fresh soil, add some juice from pounded
chives, a good helping of ink, and some heated wine. Have him take a dose of this, then
lie on his back for an hour. After three doses, the effects will be extraordinary.
Another method is to blow the ash of burned hair into the nose, mothers hair for men,
fathers hair for women. This will immediately stop the bleeding.
Another effective
method is to use take half a cup of white turnip juice, simmer it with some wine, and
pour the juice into the nose.
For when the bleeding is to the point of pouring, it best
to use cedar twigs, the kind that can be pulled from a thatched roof just under the eaves,
and burn them to ashes, pour them into soybean stock, add white sugar. Mix these three
ingredients in a bowl until the mix has turned black. Make the person drink the entire
contents of the bowl and the bleeding will be halted.

18. Remedy for runny nose:

Take 2.5
grams of alum and 20 grams of white sugar, mix them evenly, sniff into the nose, and
the problem will be halted.
Another good method is to pestle 5 grams of camphor
with 5 grams of sugar into a powder and sniff that.

19. Remedy for a swollen tongue filling the throat:

Powder 10 grams of saltpeter and
10 grams of alum, then rub the powder on the tongue. If he is spitting out foul phlegm, it
is effective to rinse some fresh tangerine leaves, pound them to extract the juice, and
have him drink it.

20. Remedy for a white coating on the tongue:

Spread 10 grams of borax and 100
grams of honey on the affected area and he will recover.

21. Remedy for toothache due to cavities:

This will be alleviated by pounding a
banana to mush, heating it, and letting it sit in the mouth.

22. Remedy for swollen tonsils:

Use a solution of 1 or 2 percent table salt and let it sit
in the mouth. Boric acid will also work.

23. Remedy for nose running with pus-like mucus:

Fry four or five pounds of raw
peanuts in a pot, and have him stir them with his own hands while they cook. [By
breathing the air from this,] he will recover. If his tears have a pus-like quality, he will feel

disgusting throughout his life. Powder some Siberian cocklebur and mix it into some
clean water. It is to be taken in doses of 5 to 10 grams at a time. This will be
extraordinarily effective.

24. Remedy for a stuffy nose that will not unclog:

Powder some rice-paper plant
stem, wild ginger root, and monks hood, mix with honey in a cotton wrap, then stuff it up
the nose. After a few days, the problem will clear.

25. Remedy for anything stuck in the nose that is causing pain and will not be dislodged:
For anything up to the size of a jujube kernel, put butter into the nose. Once it has
melted, the moistness will free the object.

26.
Remedy for reddened nose:
He should brush his teeth every morning with a pinch of
table salt, then gargle it, spit it into his hands and wash his face with it. The problem will
clear up in just over a month.
Another method is to apply chewed gingko with sweet
liquor dregs at night, then wash it off in the morning. This is very effective.
Another
effective method is to take the ash of burned buckwheat noodles, pestle it into a powder,
mix it into some sesame oil, and apply it to the site.

27. Remedy for the tongue swelling to the point that it sticks out of the mouth:
Use a
small cup of blood from a roosters comb. This will cause the tongue to withdraw.
Another effective method is to use 15 to 20 grams of genuine river lotus, simmered in
water until a scum appears on the surface, which is then used to soak the tongue.
Another method is to draw up a bucket of well-water and tip it over his head by surprise,
which will cause his tongue to naturally withdraw. This method works best during the
summer. After his tongue withdraws, you should then give him a dose of river lotus
simmered in water.

28. Remedy for sudden shrinking of the tongue:

Pierce the tip of the tongue with a
silver needle to let out the bad blood, then seal over the spot with candle wax. This will
cause the tongue to return to normal.

29. Remedy for tongue ulcers:

Pestle 15 to 20 grams of wuzhuyu berries into a
powder, mix into a good helping of vinegar, apply to the soles of both feet, and wrap with
cloth. After a while, switch to a fresh dose, and then there will be recovery. Although this
ancient recipe is effective, it is difficult to see its reasoning.


30. Remedy for sores at the corner of the mouth:
Pestle the mud and excrement from
a swallows nest into a powder, mix with some sesame oil, and apply it to the site. This
will be effective. For cuts at the corner of the mouth, apply chewed soybeans to the site.

31. Remedy for bleeding gums:

Applying
the ash of burned horse dung will do the trick.
Another method is to use eggplant
pickled in soy sauce, which will be immediately effective. Gargling chuanxiong that has
been simmering in water will also work.
Another effective method is to chew on a
piece of turnip until it is warm. After taking it out and chewing on another piece, there
will be recovery.

32. Remedy for toothache:

This can be cured by eating walnuts. Another effective
method that helps the health of the teeth is to eat lots of big-mouth fish and soybean
flour. If the toothache is almost unbearable, applying some aspirin at the sore spot can
temporarily relieve the pain. For ache from false teeth, cover some lychee nuts or dried
longan pulp with table salt, burn it all, pestle it into a powder, then rub it on the gums.
This is extraordinarily effective.

33. Remedy for pain and bad odor in the

throat:
Constantly drink a soup of simmered China root instead of tea for several
days and this will fix it.
Another good method is eating lots of cherries. If you have no
fresh cherries, cherry preserves are fine.

34. Remedy for throat illness:

Take two cloves of garlic, slit them open and stuff them
up the nose, up the left nostril for problems that are more on the right side of the throat,
up the right nostril for problems that are more on the left side of the throat. This will deal
with blood coming up from the throat.

35. Remedy for sudden loss of voice:

Pestle some monks hood into a powder, the
blow it into the throat. This will cure it. Or use a dose of fermented soybeans boiled in
soup with a good helping of wine, or half a cup of human milk with a helping of wine. For
loss of voice caused by hoarseness, roast a rooster heart on a stove until it turns yellow,
then pestle it into a powder and mix it with rice wine. Once sweat is produced from
taking this, there will be recovery. If the problem persists for a long time, it may take
three rooster hearts to recover.


36. Remedy for hoarseness:
Simmer stems of rice-paper plant in water, then have
him eat them. Or simmer some orange peel in water, then once the juice has cooled,
drink it, which will be very effective.

37. Remedy for hoarseness caused by sore throat:

Take 5 grams of dried longan
fruit, 25 grams of powdered almonds, honey, and some cherry juice wrap it all in cotton
cloth, then hold it in the mouth and drink the saliva that is generated. This will cure it.

38. Remedy for a catch in the throat:

This will be fixed by putting table salt on your
hands and rubbing his throat a few dozen times. If hot wind has caused swelling of the
cheeks, pestle the ash of some burned loofah into a powder, mix it with some water,
apply this to the face, and there will be recovery. If a chicken bone gets lodged in the
throat, drinking the juice from pounded ramie will be immediately effective.

Section Two: Internal Illnesses

39. Remedy for abdominal pain from weakened passive aspect:

If a man or woman
has cold abdominal pain after sex, quickly apply some heated salt, onion, or ginger, or
water from a boiling pot. This is a marvelous way to stop the pain. Or drink a soup of
pepper and brown sugar, or a ginger soup will work just as well. Or put a large slice of
salted ginger on the navel. This is very effective. Or trim the womans pubic hair, burn it
up, and drink the ash in rice wine. This will also do the trick.

40. Remedy for abdominal pain from worms:

If a hard area manifests in his belly,
massage it for a long time with your hands. If you become fatigued, have someone else
massage for you. After a day of this rubbing, the worms will have died and will come out
with his defecation, and he will recover.

41. Remedy for abdominal tension:

By drinking a few helpings of white sugar boiled
in wine, he will recover. If the belly distends overly during breathing, drinking some
heated aged barley malt a few times will make him recover.

42. Remedy for numbness in the belly:

This is caused by being in fierce wind. Have
him eat lots of boiled onions. Even better is eating heated and pressed onion and
ginger.

43. Remedy for swelling under the armpits:

Applying heated salt wrapped in a cloth
will deal with it. If his body responds to a change of environment by producing swelling,
eating lots of boiled large red beans, small red beans, and red-skinned garlic will dispel
the swelling. I have learned through experience that this is extraordinarily effective.

44.
Remedy for lower backache due to weak kidneys:
Take a pork kidney, pounded until
the white fibers are exposed, and a 10 gram piece of genuine tuchahoe, sliced opened,
steamed without being soaked in water so its natural juice will emerge. After eating
three helpings of this, he will recover.
Another method is to use a sheeps kidney,
sliced to expose the white fibers and soaked it in salted fish stock, and 15 grams of
eucommia ulmoides, steamed in wine. Eating three helpings of this will deal with the
problem.
Another method is to boil some white lentils in wine. Eating a helping of this
will be effective.
Another method is to put the ashes of burned loofah root, 10 grams,
into some wine and have him swallow it down. The pain will immediately cease.

45. Remedy for dysentery:
Take a
dose of pounded lotus stalk in wine, or a dose of squash stem simmered in water with
sugar. This will be immediately effective.
Another method is to use 50 grams of
wood-ear fungus, adding brown in the case of darker diarrhea and white sugar in the
case of lighter diarrhea. This will be effective in both cases.
Another method is to
roast dried ginger until it is black, then powder it once it has cooled. It is to be taken in
doses of 5 grams in millet soup. This is miraculous effective.

46. Remedy for protracted unceasing dysentery:

Eating several helpings of salted
fish cooked in sesame oil is very effective. I have had a lot of experience with this
method, though I do not see its reasoning.

47. Remedy for painful reaction to cool breezes during a bout of common cold:
Take
some tangerine leaves, ginger, onions, heat in wine, then wrap the result in cloth and
apply it repeatedly to comfort the affected area. There will then be recovery.

48. Remedy for coughing asthma:

Take half a bowl of raw Chinese yam, pound it to a
pulp, add half a bowl of sugarcane juice, mix them evenly, stew the mixture slightly, take
several doses while still hot, and there will be recovery. In the case asthma induced by

cold air, pound turnip and ephedra together, wrap in cotton, then stuff into the nose. This
is very effective.

49. Remedy for various kinds of cough:

Cook some tea leaves mixed with brown
sugar. Let the result cool and dry. Take in doses of 15 to 20 grams. This is immediately
effective.

50. Remedy for a cough due to cold:

Pound walnuts and lotus skin, add a little
crystallized sugar, heat in clean water. You will recover after a few doses.

51. Remedy for unceasing retching:

This is indeed a wretched condition. Mix
sugarcane juice and ginger juice evenly, then heat. A dose of this will pacify the
problem.

52. Remedy for when there is the urge to vomit but nothing is coming out:
Cook a
mix of green soybeans, glutinous rice, and salt. Pound it all down, add brown sugar,
simmer, and have him take a dose of the result.

53. Remedy for cold leakage:

Make a cake of ground pepper and rice, paste it over
the navel. It is also effective to use a wrap of firewood ash in cloth or make a cake of
pepper and garlic.

54. Remedy for fluid bloat:

Whenever there is excessive fluid or gas, eating lots of
wild duck is the best method of dealing with it.

55. Remedy for spitting blood:

Drinking some lotus root soup each day without fail for
a month in moderate cases, for three months in serious cases, will permanently cure the
problem. In the absence of fresh lotus root, lotus powder will also work. But the powder
should be genuine. Fake lotus powder will be not only useless, but may also cause
harm.

56. Remedy for coughing up blood:

Take a large turnip, slice the top off, scoop out
most of the meat, fill it with glutinous millet and sugar, put the top back on, bake it, then
have him eat it. This will be effective.

57.
Remedy for protracted coughing:
Mix dried haizhe skin with crystallized sugar,
steam, and eat. A deficiency of ones passive aspect produces protracted coughing. By
eating a dose of this, he will recover.
Another method is to take a piglet lung, dry it

out, pour a teacupful of sesame oil into the bronchi, tie it closed with string, stew it in a
clap pot with water overnight. In the early morning, have him eat the lung, without
adding salt, first pouring out the oil. Then have him eat a few mouthfuls of the soup, the
rest of which can be used in rice gruel. After eating both lungs, he will recover.

58. Remedy for continuous

coughing:
Take half a cup of raw ginger juice, two spoonfuls of honey, mix them
together in a teacup, then add boiling water. Have him take three or four doses heated
and he will recover.
Another method is to mix white sugar, sesame oil, and clean
water. It is to be taken in doses of three teacups per day. After a few days, he will
recover.

59. Remedy for being unable to lie down due to coughing:

Take walnut flesh, 50
grams of raw ginger, pound them down, add some lard and honey, and form pellets of
20 grams each. Every time he lies down, have him chew a pellet and swallow it with
some ginger soup. This is effective.

60. Remedy for asthma constricting the chest:

Take a cup of pear juice, half a cup of
raw ginger juice, half a cup of white honey, 15 grams of powdered peppermint, and heat
the mix by steaming it. Have him take several doses of it heated and he will recover.

61. Remedy for epileptic fit:

Put lettuce leaves in his mouth, or green grass, and he
will immediately revive. In the case of a stroke, pour egg whites mixed with sesame oil
into him and he will soon recover.

62. Remedy for inability to stop laughing:

Burn some table salt, simmer it in a helping
of river water, and drink it. After a moment, put your fingers down his throat, pressing
down the root of his tongue to cause vomiting. After he releases this heat-phlegm a
few times, he will recover.

63. Remedy for spitting blood:

When spitting blood into water, if it floats, it is lung
blood. Thoroughly boil sheep lung, then dip hyacinth tuber into the result and have him
eat it. If it sinks, it is liver blood. Thoroughly boil sheep liver, then dip hyacinth tuber into
the result and have him eat it. If it half sinks and half floats, it is spleen and heart blood.
Thoroughly boil sheep spleen and sheep heart, then dip hyacinth tuber into the result
and have him eat it. This is extremely effective.

64. Remedy for coughing and spitting blood due to overwork:

Use clear childs urine,
have him drinking it each day without skipping any. His own will also work. He is not to
eat garlic or onion, any stinky or dirty foods, and he should avoid having sex. He will
thus urinate clear urine. Take a few drops from his urinations to drink two or three times
a day, to be followed up with eating two or three southern jujubes, which will keep him
from feeling nauseated. He will see results after a month of this.

65. Remedy for hiccups:

Put the smell of burning paper into the nose to induce
sneezing. This will work like magic. It is also effective to pound juice from chives,
enough to fill a cup, and then have him drink it down.

66. Remedy for burning hiccups:

Simmer persimmon calyx in water, then have him
drink the water, and there will be recovery. If there is obstructed breathing or obstructed
appetite, take the juice of chives, pear juice, ginger juice, and human milk, mix them
together in a bowl, steam the mixture, and then have him drink the result. This is
extraordinarily effective.

67. Remedy for hiccups cause by cold damp:

Have him take two or three breaths of
the smoke from roasted yellow fish and they will cease.

68. Remedy for night sweats:

Break open five eggs without damaging the egg
whites, then steep the whites into a helping of childs urine and let sit overnight. Pour on
some cold water, heat it all, press the result, then have him eat it. There will be recovery
after several days.

69. Remedy for excessive sweating:

To be constantly sweating is to be excessively
sweating. Burn up an old cattail-leaf fan and use the ashes as a powder puff, or mix with
wine and drink.

70. Method of halting sweating:

Wash some strong pork tripe, fill it with glutinous
rice, sew it shut, cook it in a clay pot until the boiling water makes a mush of it. Then
have him eat the tripe in a soup. Dry the rice in the sun until it becomes powdery. Have
him eat it a small bowl at time, on an empty stomach. This is extremely effective.
Another method is to pestle five gallnuts into a powder and put it in the navel, covered
over with adhesive tape. This is extraordinarily effective.

71. Remedy for inability to stop urinating after drinking water:

Beat an egg, mix it with
200 grams of strong wine, boil and have him drink. He is to sleep covered with a
blanket, then avoid being in wind after waking. He will recover after a day. If his dreams
cause him to wet the bed, his internal energy is inadequate. Take twenty-four wisdomboosting nuts, simmer them with some added table salt, then have him eat a dose of it
every other day. He will recover after four doses. If a child wets his bed at night, boil
some gingko nuts with some white sugar added. After eating three doses of this, he will
recover.

72.
Remedy for disease-related heatstroke:
Mix evenly a cup of brown sugar, a cup of
raw ginger juice, a cup of boiled water, heat it up, and have him drink it right away. This
will induce sweating and it will naturally be dealt with.
Another method is to wash out
a small porcelain jar, pour in some sesame oil, seal it over with rice paper, and heat it.
Put a thin flour cake on the persons back or on the affected area, then once the oil is
sufficiently heated, put the jar on the cake, which will draw out the darker blood, and he
will recover. This is called drawing out with a cup.

73. Remedy for disease-related swelling of the belly and tension in the chest:
Heat
some high-quality wine, dip a cloth in the wine and use it to rub downward from the
chest. When the cloth cools, dip it again into the hot wine, and switch to rubbing upward.
Energy will then naturally pass through.

74. Remedy for infection in the head that

produces facial and neck swelling:
Put ten earthworms in a bowl, pour white sugar
over them, cover it, leave it for half a day until it dissolves into a fluid, dip a duck feather
in the fluid and apply to the affected area. This will cure it.
Another effective method
is to take the muddy manure from a swallows nest, pound it down, add vinegar, and
apply to the affected area.

75. Remedy for acute gastroenteritis:

Alum powder mixed in water in immediately effective. This is Hua Tuos method.
Another method is to simmer 15 grams of giant hyssop stalk, which will cause vomiting

and diarrhea to immediately cease. I have tried this repeatedly and it is miraculously
effective.

76. Remedy for twitching
muscles due to gastroenteritis:
Make him stand up and he will soon recover.
For
another method, a man can tug his penis upward, a woman can tug her breasts
downward, or the person can have both arms tugged. Applying papaya to the affected
area can also work.
Another method is to wipe the affected area with a dark cloth
soaked in boiled vinegar. Applying pounded garlic bulbs to the soles of the feet will also
work.
Another method is for the sick person to stand straight facing a wall while
another person slaps repeatedly at his knee area with warm water in order to get the
dark veins to be better revealed on the surface. Pierce a vein with a needle to make
dark blood flow out and then the problem will be dealt with.

77. Remedy for constipation:

Constipation is usually caused by a chill or fever not
letting up. Take a piece of ginger root about the size of a finger, bake it wrapped in
paper. After taking it out [of both oven and paper], dip it in sesame oil, and apply it as a
suppository. After half a day, he will defecate. This method is extremely effective.

78. Remedy for fiery excessive heat while urinating or defecating that will not go away:
Pound down three large river snails, add 1.5 grams of lake salt, place the result an
inch and a third below the navel. This will deal with it. If the urethra is swollen shut,
frequently drinking dried day lily root that has been simmered in water will naturally open
it up. Or pound down three inches of scallion bulb with 25 grams of alum mixed in. That
will open it quickly with miraculous effectiveness.

79. Remedy for bleeding during defecating:
The most effective method is eating lots
of carp boiled in wine.
Another method is to powder Chinese hawthorn fruits, boil
with Chinese mugwort leaves, and drink the soup down. He will smoothly recover.
Another method is to pound the juice from water chestnuts, enough to fill two or three
cups, then add a good helping of wine. There will be recovery after a few days.
Another method is to cook tofu with the hairs of an older person, then flatten it all out
and let it cool. Have him take 15 grams of it on an empty stomach each day. For purple
blood, add white sugar. For red blood, add brown sugar.
Another method is to slightly

cook some black soybeans, then pound them down, soak with them wine, and have him
drink the result. This will give immediate recovery.
Another method is to roast some
loofah vine until dried out, then pestle it into a powder, and have him drink it in some
weak wine. This is miraculously effective.

Section Three: External Illnesses

80. Remedy for hemorrhoids:
Take a number of
scorpions, roast them, and make use of the smoke as an incense. For internal
hemorrhoids, put 50 grams of Glaubers salt into an old chamber pot, pour in boiling
water, and have him sit with his anus over the mouth of the pot to receive the steam.
There will be recovery after a few repetitions of this. It is extraordinarily effective. For
external hemorrhoids, dry a large soft-shelled turtle head, pestle it into a powder, add a
little borneol, some sesame oil, mix evenly, and apply to the site. This is effective.
Another method is to poach an egg and add some powdered ivory to it (though not from
false teeth, which would render it ineffective). Have him take two doses of this each day
on an empty stomach. After a few days, there will be recovery.
Another method is to
pestle 10 grams of fennel seeds into a powder and have him take a dose with warm
water. For mild cases, there will be recovery after a few days.

81. Remedy for unbearable hemorrhoids:

Dry a frogs head in shade, then burn it
and make use of the fumes. This is extraordinarily effective.

82. Remedy for injury from falling:

After a serious fall, the person may be
unconscious, but as long as his body is still pliable, he can be revived. By all means
avoid crowds and noise, where your cries for help will be drowned, and quickly call out
for the assistance of his family. Sit on the ground, run your fingers through his hair,
holding him place with his arms and legs bent in like a Buddhist monk meditating.
Quickly pour some hot childs urine into him, though horse urine is even better, or some
heated wine with white sugar. In serious cases, blood clotting is common, and so
pressure should be applied at his anus area. Blow powdered pinellia ternata into the
nose, then give him a soup to drink of Chinese angelica and white sugar. This is
effective.
Another method is to tear open the skin of live chicken, dig out its
intestines, do not wash them with water, and press them onto the affected area. Even if

a person is critically ill, as long as his chest is still warm, giving him a large helping of
white sugar can also revive him.

83. Method of stopping bleeding from an external injury:

Apply thick pieces of lean
pork to the site, whatever the size of the wound, and the bleeding can be immediately
stopped. Pigskin will also work. Powdered dried ginger will also work beautifully.

84. Remedy for injury from falling:
Apply
a few ounces of dried chrysanthemum root to the site. Simmer some wine and childs
urine in a bowl, then have him drink it. As long as there is the slightest breath, he is sure
to survive.
For another method, in the case of broken bones, take a few ounces of
bamboo and soybean cooking starch, cook until yellow, add cold water, stir until very
sticky. Smear it onto a long cloth and wrap the affected area, setting the bone as it
originally was, and wrapping it tight so it will not move. It will heal after two weeks. For
setting a fracture, mix the ashes of burned crab shell into some wine. After a dose of
this, the bones will naturally be joined. Or drink vinegar that has been used to rub red
bronze, which can also get tissues and bones to unite. There is much proof of this.

85. Remedy for trauma to the tissues:
Pound some chives down to a mush and apply it the affected area. Let it sit overnight
for two nights, then there will be recovery. It is also good to mix in some white sugar and
make a wrap of it.
Another method is to pound the juice from some raw convolvulus
root and drip into the injury site. Wash the site and add new drips to it three times a day.
After half a month, even severed tissues will mend. This is miraculously effective.
Another method for dealing with trauma injuries roast some green onions, pound in
some white sugar, and apply to the affected area. This is extraordinarily effective at
immediately stopping pain.

86. Remedy for injury

to the eyes:
Use pumpkin pulp wrapped in cloth to hold it in place. This will gradually
diminish swelling and pain. After it dries, switch it with fresh pulp, and if the pupil is not
damaged and he can still see, then the riper the pumpkin, the better. Fresh foxglove can
also be used instead of pumpkin.
Another method that works is to use a slice of raw
pork, with a mix of Chinese angelica and red stone resin smeared onto the meat, and
apply it to the site. When removed, the blood will have clotted.


87. Remedy for injury to hands or feet from falling:
Pound some raw ginger and
scallion bulbs, mix with wheat flour and apply to the affected area. Massaging in raw
rhubarb mixed with raw ginger juice will also work.

88. Remedy for pus growing in muscle after suffering a broken bone:
Pound river
snails, add wine dregs, mix evenly, apply all around the affected area. If there remains a
hole, broken bone may protrude.

89. Remedy for pain from a long-term injury:

Make a motherwort paste (without
pounding it down) and form it into pellets. Have him take it in doses of dozens of grams
with some heated wine. He will recover after ten days. The effects are miraculous.

90. Remedy for swelling all over the body:

Wrap a live frog and seven croton tiglium
seeds in paper, hang it with string in a shaded breezy place. Once it is all dried out,
remove the contents from the paper, separate the head and legs into five batches, the
liver and intestines also into five batches, place them all into a porcelain bottle, which
must not be allowed to leak. When taking out each piece, bake it, pestle it into a powder,
and have him take the dose with wine. Consuming the head will dispel head swelling.
Consuming the legs will dispel foot swelling. Mild cases will take two or three days. More
serious cases will take four or five days. For very serious cases, cook some bamboo
and soybean cooking starch until it has yellowed, mix it into some vinegar, and apply it
to the affected area. This is extraordinarily effective. It is also effective when applied for
toothache.

91. Remedy for malignant boils:

The way to distinguish the type of boils is to chew
some raw soybeans. If there is no awareness of the flavor, then the boils are malignant.
Boils often produce discoloration. If not treated early, they will easily cause problems. If
they produce a flower pattern on the back, the condition is also called out of reach.
Even small ulcers are difficult to treat. If they are already festering, sprinkle the ashes of
burned hedgehog skin on the affected area. There will be full recovery after five or six
days.
Method of using a spider to draw out the toxins:
First pierce the boil with a
porcelain suture, then find a spider and put it on the boil. Once the spider sees it, it will

rush to drain off the toxins [unless of course it is a poisonous spider, in which case the
person would be receiving toxins]. After a moment, the spider will become still. Then
refresh the area by soaking it in cold water. If some pus still remains, you can use the
spider again or use another one until the toxins have been completely dealt with. This is
extraordinarily effective. Spiders are more difficult to find nowadays. This method is
included simply as an example of ancient thinking for the purpose of reference. Because
more attention is paid in modern times to hygiene, this illness has become rarer.
For
malignant boils on the fingers, pound down some walnuts and apply to the affected
area. This will immediately relieve pain and bring recovery after three days.

92.
Further remedy for malignant boils:
The juice of chrysanthemum is to be drunk down,
then pound feverfew petals and roots, collect the juice into a tea jug. It may be used with
boiled wine, but it is not as wonderful as using the raw juice. Applying the sediment to
the affected area, the boil will not stand up to it. Cover it over with cotton cloth to cause
perspiration and the toxins will naturally be dispelled. If there has to be a choice
between petals or roots, take the roots. In the absence of the roots, you may get 200
grams of dried feverfew from the pharmacy, 20 grams of licorice root, boil them in wine,
and apply this. If the tissue of the boil is raw, take the liver of a lazy frog and apply it
while it is still warm to the affected area. Do this three or four times and he will recover.
Another method is to take 15 grams of powdered alum and seven scallion bulbs,
pestle them together, then separate them into seven pieces, each piece to be drank
down with heated wine. After drinking, he should sleep. Cover him so he perspires. If he
is not perspiring, give him a cup of onion soup. After he perspires, he should continue
resting. In the case of impetigo, mix some aged powdered lime with sesame oil and
apply to the site. This is extraordinarily effective.

93. Remedy for sores from bayberry poisoning:
Use 200 grams of China root, 50 grams of honeysuckle, 50 grams of forsythia, pestled
into a powder and formed into pellets to be taken over the course of half a month. After
the doses are finished, the poison will be dispelled.
Another effective method is to
have him eat a shantongqi, i.e. an ordinary gecko. Because geckos can eat scorpions,
and spiders can eat geckos, it is a matter of fighting venom with venom. If bitten by a
poisonous snake, drinking tobacco water will taste sweet, or if a person with malignant

boils eats raw soybeans, they will not seem bitter. The principle is the same.
Another
method, called three immortals elixir, is to make doses from mixing mung beans, black
sesame, and smoked jujube. This is an excellent means of treating syphilis.

94. Remedy for ringworm:

Rub vinegar into a lychee nut and apply to the affected
area. This may be painful, but it will not cause further problems, and he will recover after
several days. Repeat if there is a relapse.

95. Remedy for when
an open sore will not close:
Put 500 grams of limestone in a basin, pour in 2500
grams of water, wait for the lime to start dissolving, then stir with a stick. Once the water
is clear, pour it gently into a bowl, but not the limestone. Soak a plain cloth in the water
and store it in a bottle until it is needed. Then cut a new piece of cloth with scissors,
soak it in the water for a moment, and place it on the affected area. Change it after an
hour or two for a fresh one. Do this three or four times a day for a few days and there
will be recovery.
Another effective method is to use longan fruit chewed down to a
paste. For a man, it is to be chewed by a woman. For a woman, it is to be chewed by a
man. Apply it to the affected area.
Another method is to put a number of whitenecked earthworms into a porcelain bottle, add some sugar, and wait a day for it change
into a fluid, then take some of the fluid and put it into the sore. After a few days, there
will be recovery.

96. Remedy for rectal prolapse:

Take the body of a bearded snail
with a spiral shell, roast it on a stove, pestle it into a powder of about 50 grams, mix it
into some lard, and apply it to the site. This is immediately effective.
Another method
is to roast a soft-shelled turtle, pestle it into a powder, mix into some sesame oil, and
apply it to the site, or apply the powder to the site taping it on with some paper. This is
miraculously effective.
Another method is to pestle some cicada legs into a powder,
mix into some sesame oil, and rub into the site. This is extraordinarily effective.
Another method is to have him eat lots of hot peppers, will cause the rectum to shrink in.
Eating just a few will not be effective. This is true for both adults and children. People
usually think of hot peppers as having a heating quality, little realizing that such foods
can dispel heat from the large intestines. Thus it is miraculously effective.

 97.
Remedy for inability to urinate:
Simmer scallions until a scum appears on the surface
of the water, then put it just below the navel.
Another method is to put the ash of
some burned mole crickets in wine. A dose of this will deal with the problem. Or simmer
a bundle of wheat stems in water. A dose of this will be immediately effective.
Another method is to wash the top of an old straw hat, simmer it in soup, then have him
drink the soup. This will bring immediate recovery. It is also effective for him to drink a
soup of simmering onions.
Another method is to pound a stick of celery to mush,
wrap it in a white cloth, squeeze out the juice, steam it, and have him eat it. This will
promote urinating. (But do not use ironware when steaming it.)
Another method is to
take a river snail, add half a spoonful of salt, pound it down, and apply it just below the
navel. This will promote urination.

98. Remedy for blood coming

out with urine:
Pound the juice from some turnip leaves, add a helping of ink, and
drink. This will bring recovery. Or dry three persimmons by roasting, pestle them into a
powder, and have him take it with millet gruel. Or pound some lettuce down to a mush
and place over the navel. Or simmer a scoop of bland fermented soybeans in a soup
and have him eat it. This is immediately effective.
Another method is to take the ash
from burned egg shells and snail shells, add fringed pink that has been fried and
pounded. It is to be taken on an empty stomach with rice wine. This is extraordinarily
effective.
Another method is to use 500 grams of black soybeans, fried and pestled
down to a powder, to be taken with heated strained wine on an empty stomach. This is
miraculously effective.

99. Remedy for pain in the foot that feels like a knife cutting:
Dip raw ginger slices in
sesame oil and rub on the tender area. Then pound the ginger with some heated wheat
cake, apply to the affected area, and the pain will immediately cease. If there is swelling
on the sole of the foot, pound down some garlic bulbs with some table salt added, and
apply. There will be recovery the following day.

100. Remedy for foot scabies:

Float a dry ham bone in rice water until the water has
steeped away its salty flavor, then pestle it into a powder, and apply it to the affected
area. This is effective.

101.

Remedy for bunions:

Pound the fleshy part of some smoked plums, add a little
vinegar, some salted water, mix evenly, and apply the result to affected area. They will
immediately be diminished.
Another method is to chew on raw turnip until it is like
mud, then apply it to the affected area. This will relieve any pain. If a foot is being
rubbed raw by its shoe, cut open the pits of dark red dates and apply them. This is
extraordinarily effective.

102. Remedy for blisters on the feet from walking:

Put fresh wheat flour into some
water and mix evenly. Apply to the affected area, let sit overnight, and there will be
recovery.

103. Remedy for stinky foot sweat:

Simmer a turnip in water, apply it to the feet
several times and this will deal with it. In the case of athletes foot, using winter melon
rind rinsed in boiled water is effective.

104. Remedy for pubic lice:

Apply some chewed gingko nuts. This is miraculously
effective. It is also effective to use chewed peach pits.
Another effective method is to
rub in mercury.

105. Remedy for unbearably itchy legs (also called hair scabies):
Make a hot
compress of leftover tofu wrapped in cloth. When it cools, switch it for a fresh one. After
being wrapped like this overnight, he will recover.

106. Remedy for finger scabies:

Pound down garden balsam mixed with sweet liquor
dregs, apply it to the affected area, and this will deal with it.

107. Remedy for a ruptured nipple:

Fry some chicken excrement until it turns white,
then pound it down. It is to be taken in doses of 5 grams each, swallowed down with
some wine. This is miraculously effective.

108. Remedy for breast abscess:

Steam some shrimp in vinegar, then apply it to the
affected area. This is effective.

109. Remedy for when the milk ducts are painfully clogged:
Smash several walnuts,
soak the pieces in wine. After taking a dose of this, she will recover. Or fry some black
sesame and powder it, then have her take a dose in some heated wine each day. This
will also work.

110. Remedy for when breast milk is

obstructed:
Take 500 grams of fresh shrimp meat (not using the shell, hairs, or feet)
and pound it all down within a porcelain vessel. Give her a helping of it mixed into some
heated aged wine. Once she has drunk her fill, she will soonafter have milk. Thereafter,
frequently consume pig feet soup for milk to be abundant. Shrimp only needs to be
once.
Another method is to use 15 grams of akebi stem simmered with two pig feet.
Once this soup is eaten, milk will easily flow.

Section Four: On Eating Inedible Foods and Dealing with Poisons

111. Remedy for eating beef that has spoiled:

Simmer a handful of rice straw in
water. Have him sip off the straw scum that manifests on the surface and then the
effects will naturally be eliminated.

112. Remedy for eating duck that has spoiled:

Rinse some glutinous rice and boil it
thoroughly. Have him drink a small cup of this and then the effects will naturally be
eliminated.

113. Remedy for eating eggs that have spoiled:

Have him drink a good helping of
vinegar and then the effects will be eliminated.

114. Remedy for eating fruits that have spoiled:

Have him drink a soup of salted
water and then the effects will be eliminated.

115: Remedy for eating watermelons that have spoiled:

A soup made of the rind will
dissipate it. This goes for all other melons as well.

116. Remedy for eating

wheat foods that will not go down:
A dose of raw ginger juice in heated wine will
naturally change the situation.
Another method is to have him take a dose of heated
raw turnip juice, which is miraculously effective. If he eats wheat that has spoiled,
drinking lots of vinegar will stop it from making him feel bloated.

117. Remedy for difficulty swallowing:

Mix some glutinous rice with some ox saliva,
mixing evenly and then forming the result into small pellets. Cook them thoroughly.
Eating them will have a miraculous effect.
Another effective method is simply to drink
a dose of ox saliva mixed with water. To get the ox to salivate, first rinse his mouth off,
then wipe salt on it. He will naturally soon start salivating. After doing this, avoid eating
beef for a while.


118. Remedy for when you get hiccups from eating food that has not gone down:
Have him drink two or three bowls of vinegar-soaked garlic juice and he will recover.
Eating lots of garlic will also expel germs.

119. Remedy for nausea or vomiting:

Take a large piece of raw ginger, cut it into thin
slices rather than breaking it, cover the slices in salt, then pile them up, packed tightly,
and wrap them round in round with rice paper until seven layers thick. Soak this in water,
cook it until it is a burned lump, take it out, pound it down, fry it with rice, and have him
eat it. This is immediately effective.

120. Remedy for accidentally swallowing foreign objects:

Take some burned carbon
that has been left on kitchen ironware, pestle it into a powder and mix it into some gruel,
then have him eat two or three bowls of it.

121. Remedy for accidentally swallowing a small iron needle:

Have
him eat lima beans with boiled chives. The needle with come out within the chives when
he defecates.
Another method is to take raw frogs eyes and have him swallow them
with some cold water. Both ends of the needle will end up in the two eyes and can then
either be spat or will come when he defecates. This is miraculously effective, though
one should never eat frog meat.

122. Remedy for accidentally
swallowing objects made of gold, silver, copper, iron, or aluminum:
Roast a sheeps
leg bone, reduce it to powder, and mix the powder into some rice gruel. Have him take it
in doses of 10 or 15 grams. The object will come out the next day. If the object was gold,
it is also effective to chew up and swallow chives soaked in sesame oil.
Another
method is to take a handful of chives, soften them in boiling water instead of cutting
them, then have him eat them plain. He will soon spit out the object or it will come out
within his defecation.
Another effective method is to eat 250 grams of sugared rice.
Another very effective method is to roast some salted Chinese olives, then pestle
them into a powder, then have him swallow the result with some clean water, and the
object will come out.

123: Remedy for accidentally swallowing a copper

coin:
Have him eat lots of water chestnuts, then naturally it will pass through. The

effectiveness of this unparalleled.

Another method is eating 10 grams of cardamom
in some hot soup, which can also pass it through.

124. Remedy for dealing

with white arsenic poisoning:
Kill a white duck and quickly have him drink its blood.
Gradually he will feel embraced by a chill [while the poison is being neutralized].
Another method that works is to have him take 5 grams of powdered siler divaricatum
with some cold water, or 20 grams of the pounded juice.

125. Remedy for dealing with an excess of anti-depressant medication:

Have him
drink cold water to dilute it. If not enough, drink juice from an indigo plant. If the
medicine suddenly causes lockjaw, the juice can be poured through the nose. Also
effective is to take refined cane sugar in cold water.

126. Remedy for an overdose of general medicinal tonics:

If one takes too much
medicine, his head will swell, his abdomen will become congested, and he will feel
bloated. Pour in a bowl of black soybeans and a bowl of mung beans, simmer until they
produce a scum on the surface, skim it off, then have him eat it cold. This will do the
trick. If his breath has become stifled and there is warmth only in his chest, he is to
avoid eating hot foods. Simmer 10 grams of siler divaricatum in water, then have him
drink it cold. This will revive him. It is also effective to eat lots of rice or brown sugar. 50
grams of licorice root, black soybeans, and mung beans produces a scum that is to be
eaten cold, and this can immediately dispel an overdose of medicine with extraordinary
effectiveness.

127. Remedy for a toxic amount of croton tiglium consumption:

Boil a pint of black
soybeans and have him drink the resultant juice mixed with cold water. It is also effective
to use coptis root that has soaked in water.

128. Remedy for a toxic amount of sulfur:

Taking a
dose of 10 grams of fangyi that has soaked in water will dispel it.
Another method
that will work is drinking a bowl of white sheeps blood to produce heat.

129. Remedy for poisoning from puffer fish and leeches:
If
someone eats the poison from a puffer fish, force him to eat lots of Chinese olives,

including the pits ground down and mixed with water. This is very effective. Another
useful method is drinking three cups of sesame oil.
Leeches enter the belly from
drinking water out in the countryside. They consume the livers blood, rendering the
persons appearance jaundiced and emaciated. There is abdominal pain that is hardly
bearable. Eating dried longan pulp or lychee nuts can help, as can balled-up tobacco tar
(i.e. the oily residue that accumulates in the bowl of long-stemmed pipe, which is to be
swallowed down as it will kill the leeches and send them out with his defecation). It is
also effective for him to constantly eat white honey. When leeches are burned in fire,
they turn to dust. If he drinks more of that water, he will only get more leeches, but if he
uses honey instead of water, he will be safe.

130. Remedy for countless poisons:

Dig three feet deep into dry ground, pour in a
bucketful of water, and stir with a stick. This water is slightly clear and is called earth
syrup. For food poisoning, have him take several bowlfuls. This is always magically
effective. Or have him drink down water that has boiled mung beans and licorice, which
is immediately effective.

131. Remedy for poison entering the bloodstream:

Give him powdered dried
hedgehog skin in a dose of 15 grams mixed with wine and it will immediately be halted.

132. Remedy to alleviate

an incapacitating hangover:
Loosen the drinkers clothing, soak his hair in fresh wellwater, and smear tofu all over his body. He will quickly recover. However, this method
should not be used during cold weather.
Another good method is to use raw clam
soaked in water.
Another effective method is to pour white turnip juice or heated urine
into him.

133: Remedy for sunstroke:

Some alum powder mixed in water will revive him. Or roll
some paper to make a tube, then light some incense at your end and blow the smoke
toward his nose to revive him. This will work like magic.

Section Five: Stranguria

The five kinds of stranguria are most often caused by men and women having sex while
unclean. There are work stranguria, air stranguria, heat stranguria, blood
stranguria, and stone stranguria. Work stranguria and air stranguria come with a
feeling of weakness, heat stranguria comes with a feeling of burning, blood stranguria

comes with a feeling of weakness and burning, and stone stranguria starts with a feeling
of burning which eventually goes away once the stone passes.

134. Remedy for work stranguria:

Wrap walnuts in mud, roast until
blackened, pestle them into a powder, have him take it in doses of 15 grams with water
on an empty stomach each morning and evening. He will recover after three to five
days.
Another method is to boil 100 grams of ox knee, and 5 grams of frankincense
in wine, and have him take it in warmed doses. The effect will seem magical. It is also
good for blood stranguria. But he must not take it if he has been having nocturnal
emissions.
For another method, if he cannot urinate, put fifteen large river snails in
water, wait for their emissions to float to the surface, then mix 0.5 grams of this pus-like
substance into some cosmetic powder, and apply it to his navel. This will have a magical
effect.

135. Remedy for air stranguria:

The lower
abdomen is urgently bloated. He wishes to urinate but cannot, and once he does, it is
often little more than drips. The treatment method is the same as for work stranguria.
Another method is to give him a dose of the green coating of some sugarcane and
boiled in wine. He will recover after three days.

136. Remedy for heat stranguria:

Urine is hot
and reddish. Urination is brief and rough. There is an urgent pain below the navel. Give
him 30 grams of talcum and 5 grams of licorice root with water. He will recover after
several days.
Another method is to boil henon bamboo leaves thoroughly and then
have him drink it as a tea. This will cause even earlier recovery.

137. Remedy for blood stranguria:
If his urine
contains droplets of blood, have him eat fried fermented soybeans is very effective. The
ox-knee method for work stranguria is also good.
Another helpful method is to is to
have him drink a tea of steeped honeysuckle.
For another method, if a mans urine
has turned white, make a small hole in a chicken egg, slip in 5 grams of unprocessed
alum powder, and cover it with a strip of red lead paper, tying it on with string. Bake it
and then have him eat the contents. He is to eat one per day, each day with an
additional 5 grams of alum powder. By the seventh day, the amount will be up to 35

grams, and then the illness will naturally be cured.

Another method is to reduce some
head hair to ashes and mix it with raw lotus root juice. Have him take it in doses of 10
grams. He will recover after three days. You can also mix pounded lotus root with wine.
And to add honey to the juice of cooked areca nuts is miraculously effective.

138. Remedy for urinary
stone stranguria:
Also called sand stranguria, there is an urgent swelling in the
lower abdomen and pain within the urethra so extreme it is as though a knife is cutting.
Pound down the shell of a river snail and have him drink it with heated wine to pass the
stone.
Another good method is to have him drink water that a copper coin has been
simmering in, which simultaneously treats air stranguria, and have him eat lots of
walnuts and boiled congee.
It is also effective to for him to constantly drink water that
corn leaves are simmering in, but he is to avoid eating salt during this time.
Another
method is to take raw onion and unprocessed table salt, pound them down, and apply to
the navel. The stone will naturally pass.

139. Remedy for all of the five

stranguria:
If in the course of time it has not passed on its own, pound the juice out of
asparagus ferns, enough to fill half a cup, and he will heal after it has been applied.
Another method is to have him eat winter melon that has been boiled with fermented
soybeans three or four times a day for seven days, and he is sure to recover.

CHAPTER TWELVE: BAD COMBINATIONS OF FOODS AND FOOD AS TREATMENT
FOR ILLNESS

Foods should be for nutrition. They should not be eaten incautiously and for the sake of
pleasing your mouth. Do not take your bodily health and strong digestion for granted. If
you improperly coordinate your foods, mixing together the wrong things, you will at best
have painful indigestion and at worst be risking your life. You have to be careful. As for
these many food combinations to avoid, they are based only on personal experience.
Although not scientifically tested, they ought to be given the benefit of the doubt,
especially in the cases where a life or death situation is mentioned. Why should you
take risks with your life? And if you are not willing to, why would you encourage others to
do so? For the sake of reference, many bad combinations of food are listed below:


Section One: Bad Combinations of Foods

1. Eating crucian carp with honeysuckle will produce an indigestion that may kill you,
likewise eating carp cooked with Japanese catnip.
2. Eating crab cooked with eggplant or pumpkin
will cause indigestion. Eating crab with ice will cause diarrhea.
3. Eating eel with prunes will cause indigestion.
4. Eating shrimp cooked with
green jujubes or pumpkin will cause indigestion, as will eating eel with pumpkin.
5. Eating eel cooked with mulberry tree bark will
produce indigestion that cannot be treated. 6. Avoid eating carp
cooked with cucumbers. 7. Eating big-bellied fish
that cigarette ash has fallen onto will cause indigestion.
8. Eating red beans cooked with plums will cause indigestion.
9. Grapes should be eaten while drinking sweet wine.
10. Eating loquats with wheat foods or red beans will cause indigestion.
11. Eating papaya with fried foods will cause
indigestion. 12. Eating chicken meat that
candle wax has dripped onto will cause indigestion.
14 [There is no 13]. Eating honey will green onions or garlic
will cause a stomachache that will break your heart.
15. Eating watermelon with eight treasures
seasoning or deep-fried foods will give you diarrhea.
16. Eating bamboo shoots with malt-sugar candy will cause indigestion.
17. Eating cassava with sesame oil, or
especially with pomegranates, will cause indigestion.
18. Eating potatoes cooked with peppermint will cause indigestion.
19. Do not eat beef that has been cooked with catfish or
especially with snails.
20. Rice that has been urinated on by house lizards will cause indigestion,
which is why leftovers must be covered.
21. Eating beef with sheeps liver will make your whole body chilled and
trembling, turn your fingernails green, and may kill you.
22. Eating donkey meat with fish will worsen hemorrhoids.
23. Eating chicken with foods made of beeswax will turn your
complexion purple.
24. Eating soft-shelled turtle with amaranth or celery will

cause immediate and dangerous indigestion, which can be dealt with by flushing
yourself through with a soup of licorice root and childs urine.
25. Eating rabbit meat with mustard
or mustard greens will make you throw up, become very cold, and pant. Eating rabbit
meat with ginseng will cause indigestion.
26. Eating torreya nuts with crab will lead to peritonitis or gastritis.
27. Eating torreya nuts after drinking alcohol will cause indigestion
that may even kill you. 28. Eating muskmelon with
snails will cause indigestion. 29.
Eating beef cooked with fried dough twists will cause indigestion that may even kill you.
30. Eating bananas with sweet potatoes will cause
indigestion. 31. After eating crucian carp with
brown sugar, you will feel your guts twisting.
32. Eating mung-bean paste after eating dog meat will cause swelling in your
intestines.

Section Two: Foods as Treatment for Illness

Human beings eat things every day. They all know that eating food allays hunger, that
food has delicious flavors, that food has nutrition. But they do not know that foods often
have curative effects, cooperating within the body to help regulate functions and invisibly
assisting people in eliminating illness. These foods are excellent medicine for treating
illness, although there are also many foods to be avoided or are harmful. Selected major
examples are listed below for your reference. Pay attention to appropriate eating in order
to be healthy and live longer.

1. Fruits and Vegetables

1. Watermelon:
It is everywhere, and here in Taiwan it grows year round. It has a
sweet flavor and a cooling quality. It can help the flow of fluids and clear away heat,
relieve fever and dissipate vexation. It also can broaden the mind and calm the
emotions, quench thirst and is beneficial for urination, alleviate the worst hangovers. It is
called white tiger soup, but eating too much of it can easily cause an illness of feeling
chilled. Those with malaria or weak digestion should not eat it.

2. Pears:
A highly esteemed fruit, their flavor is sweet and slightly sour. They have a
cooling quality. Eating them quenches thirst, dissolves phlegm, reduces internal fire,
dispels heat, and eliminates bacteria, but they most of all ease the heart and moisten
the lungs. They also cleanse you after breathing polluted air. But those who have been
overly exposed to cold, feel a chill in the stomach, or have abdominal pain must not eat
them.

3. Lychee nuts:
Their white flesh is juicy. Their flavor is sweet and tasty. Not only are
they a wonderful fruit, they also can dispel cold and diminish dampness, scatter vexation
and quench thirst, get rid of boils on the skin, boost energy and increase wisdom, and
brighten ones facial expression. Those who have internal heat should eat them rarely,
for eating them often can increase such irritating heat. If small children overeat them,
there will be abdominal bloating, which can be dealt with by eating honey or by drinking
water that lychee shells have soaked in. If the nuts are burned up, pestled into a powder,
and mixed with some wine, it can treat middle-aged women who feel their vitality has
been sapped.

4. Tangerines:
They can bring warmth, nourishment, and harmony, benefiting the
spleen and lungs, regulating the center and easing the diaphragm, drawing out
stagnancy and dissolving phlegm. But eating lots of them for a long period can diminish
vitality. The skin is used in medicines. It can moisten the skin and defeat wrinkles.

5. Papaya:
It benefits muscles and bones, regulates the immune system, calms the
lungs and eases the stomach, aids digestion and quenches thirst. It treats
gastroenteritis and muscle cramp, athletes foot and heart pain, disperses moist heat
and dispels edema, and halts vomiting. Eating it too often can damage the teeth. Those
who have many stagnancies should rarely eat it.

6. Dark plums:
They contain crucial acids, their flavor is sour, and they have a
balancing quality. They have the effects of restraining the lungs and reducing swelling.
They can calm the emotions and eliminate vexation, and also disperse toxins from
seafood. In Taiwan during the summer, it is used to make a soup to drink cold, which
quenches thirst and drive away summer heat.

7. Walnuts:
They can nourish energy and blood, treat depletion cold, lubricate

muscles and darken hair. But as they have a heating quality, they should not be eaten
too often.

8. Chinese dates:
Their flavor is sweet. They nourish the center and boost energy,
nurture the spleen and balance the stomach, generate saliva and moisten the lungs,
firm the willpower and build strength. It can dispel bad energy in the chest and
abdomen. When eating it boiled with black soybeans, it can cause weight gain. Avoid
eating it at the same time as green onions.

9. Longan fruits:
Also called guiyuan, they contain a large amount of glucose. Very
nourishing, they benefit the spleen and revive muscle. They treat blood deficiency,
wearied spirit, absentmindedness. They are rich with the power to strengthen the brain,
but those who have energetic blockages should avoid eating them.

10. Torreya nuts:

Their flavor is sweet and they have a cooling quality. They can
disperse heat and reduce phlegm, generate saliva and quench thirst, mend deficiencies
of the digestive organs. They must not be eaten with crab or while drinking wine, which
will make them minutely toxic, but this is dealt with by soaking them in bandsia rose
juice. The same is true if having them with wine and persimmons, in which case it is
dealt with by eating pineapple and drinking clean water.

11. Chestnuts:
They enrich the intestines and stomach, as well as nourish kidney
energy, and can eliminate strong body odor. Small children must not eat them often, for
they will be difficult to digest when raw and cause stagnant energy when cooked.

12. Water chestnuts:

They are slightly sweet, crispy, and smooth. They boost energy
and stabilize ones center, whet the appetite and aid digestion, eliminate excessive heat
in the chest, treat all variety of hiccups, and can break down copper items. If a small
child accidentally swallows a copper coin, eating lots of water chestnuts will deal with it.

13. Water caltrops:

They are sweet and have a cooling quality. They can quench
thirst, alleviate summer heat, and help someone sober up after drinking. The threepointed variety is called jishi. The two-pointed variety is called lingjiao.

14. Sugarcane:
It is sweet, cooling, and harmonizing. It helps the spleen and reduces
fever during humid weather, moistens tissue and quenches thirst, dissolves phlegm and

alleviates hangover. It is a diuretic and prevents defecations from being overly dry.
However, if you eat it too often, you will rot your teeth. Even though sugarcane is sweet,
you must not eat it excessively.

15. Peanuts:
Pungent peanuts can moisten the lungs. Fragrant peanuts can comfort
the spleen. They are an excellent addition among fruits and make a good side dish.
Although eating them raw may cause weight gain, eating them often will help smooth
the intestines. To eat them boiled or fried is always good, for instance eating them boiled
with sugar or drinking a soup of them. Consuming peanuts often can treat deafness.

16. Chinese olives:

They are also called the green fruit. They grow in the tropics
and are prolific in Taiwan. The flavor is sourness containing sweetness. They can be
eaten either raw or boiled. They can clear away heat and detoxify. They benefit the
throat and quench thirst. They aid the digestive organs and stop diarrhea. They calm the
emotions and sober one up after drinking. They ease digestion by reducing vexation,
able to clear out the toxins that come from eating puffer fish or soft-shelled turtle, and
helping hard fish bones to get through. Although one who is suffering from obstructions
must not eat them often. (Adding some salt can help clear obstructions.) They have a
heating quality in both tips, but not if the tips are cut off. People often eat it to eliminate
the toxins that come with puffer fish.

17. Areca nuts:

They grow in the tropics and hence are everywhere in Taiwan. They
have an astringent and warming quality, and it is a nonpoisonous plant. They can dispel
accumulated obstruction to make urination smoother and can kill germs, combat
stiffness and eliminate swelling. They reduce stagnancy in the organs, can dissolve
phlegm, and help one to sober up after drinking. For that reason, Taiwan natives love to
munch them. They look as though they would be an unhealthy treat, but they are
actually very beneficial for the body. If they are reduced to ashes and applied to sores
on the mouth, they are very effective at treating them. One whose digestive organs are
weak or whose energy is low, should avoid eating them, for they would only further
diminish energy.

18. Bananas:
They are sweet and cooling. They ease digestion and clear the lungs.

If you eat one or two bananas each day after a meal, it will be greatly beneficial toward
preventing overly dry defecations.

19. Chinese turnips:

They are also known as daikon. If you eat it raw, it causes
energy to ascend. If you eat it cooked, it causes energy to lower. It calms emotions and
boosts digestion, reduces phlegm and stops the spitting of blood. When cooked in soup
and then rinsed off, it can be applied to treat athletes foot. Drinking the juice treats
diarrhea. It dispels the effects of smoking or of breathing too much incense. Pounded
turnip can be applied to treat scald or burn injuries. It would be tedious to list all the
benefits. Turnips are called the poor mans ginseng. As it contains iodine, eating it
often is greatly beneficial to the human body.

20. Lotus root:

It can alleviate fever and dispel blood stagnation, quench thirst and
reduce irritability. It can also cure a hangover or the effects of eating seafood that has
gone bad. Cooked thoroughly so it is sweet and warming, it tonifies the stomach and
nourishes the heart, cleanses the energy and calms the spirit. It also makes an excellent
side dish.

21. Chives:
They have a pungent and warming quality. When its influence enters the
liver, it invigorates the circulation of blood and energy, refreshes the heart and tonifies
the stomach, aids the kidneys and nourishes the active aspect. They treat muscular
injury and bring relief from dog, snake, or insect bite. Eating it often can make the mind
foggy. If you want to alleviate an injury to tissues, apply pounded chives for a whole day
and night, and you will recover. Avoid eating it at the same time as honey.

22. Winter melon:

It is found everywhere and makes a good side dish. It can reduce
swelling and is a diuretic, dispels heat and benefits the spleen, produces a pleasant
sense of fullness in the chest. When pounded, the juice halts depression and detoxifies,
increases energy and makes aging more bearable. But as it has a cooling quality,
people of weak health should eat it rarely.

23. Loofah:
It is common everywhere in Taiwan, a staple of farming families. It can
cool the blood and detoxify, relieve inflammation and reduce heat, stimulate energy
channels and promote blood circulation, eliminate phlegm and diminish swelling. It
benefits the intestines and treats bleeding defecations. It also brings relief from smallpox

and poisoning. For married women who have poor energy and blood circulation,
drinking wine with loofah ash mixed in is very effective. Its quality is that of purity and
goodness, a food not to be forbidden among all others, a wonderful vegetable in all
farming households.

24. Calabash:
Among its many varieties, there is also what is called the scattered
turnip. Not only can it be hollowed out to make an old-fashioned water bottle, it can also
be eaten. It is very effective for boosting libido, dispelling a sense of internal cold and
weakness. It can also treat kidney depletion and abdominal distension. But one whose
passive aspect is chilled and blood is thinned should eat it rarely.

25. Coriander:
It is spicy and warming, fragrant and cleansing. Inwardly it clears the
heart and spleen. Outwardly it extends to the four limbs and keeps away all variety of
bad energies. For instance, in the early stages of cholera, measles, or smallpox, a
sprinkling of rice wine with coriander mixed in is effective.

ii. Meat, Fish, and Seasonings

1. Pork:
Pigs blood can nourish the blood. Pigs heart can nourish the heart. Pigs
liver can nourish the liver. It can also treat lung deficiency and cough. Pork tripe is
beneficial to the stomach and spleen. Once in the large intestine, it treats flatulence.
Once the influence of eating pigs kidneys reaches the kidneys, it treats backache and
deafness. Drinking a soup of boiled pigs feet boosts the production of breast milk.
People often delight in eating pork meat. Foreigners consider the internal organs of a
pig to be unhygienic, ignorant that they are not only nutritious, but are also effective at
treating disease. The marrow in pig bones when boiled and eaten in a soup is especially
nutritious.

2. Beef:
Abundantly nutritious, it is excellent nourishment, strengthening muscles and
bones. It was considered the best food by ancient martial arts practitioners. Cows milk
smoothes the digestion and averts the effects of tuberculosis. When a cows flesh has
turned numb, it has become infected with bacteria. You should not eat the meat of a cow
that has died from illness.

3. Mutton:
It has a greatly heating quality, boosting the primal active aspect. It is
beneficial for those with tuberculosis. It warms the core and repairs deficiency, increases

appetite, smoothes the circulation of energy and blood, boosts libido, aids the skeleton,
and benefits the marrow. After eating the meat of sheep, eat chestnuts to get rid of the
rank smell of it.

4. Dog meat:
It helps against depletion cold and boosts libido, warms the spleen
and tonifies the stomach, aids digestion and benefits the kidneys. The meat of yellow
dogs is good for the spleen. The meat of black dogs is good for the kidneys. Eating it
during the winter is particularly good for increasing heat and keeping away cold. It is
also good for treating malaria. But do not eat the meat of rabid dogs or those that have
died from illness.

5. Chicken:
The meat is sweet and warming. It enriches the blood and warms the
core. It is especially good for people with brittle bones. Because it can eat so many
kinds of bugs, the meat is good for treating insect bites. Eating rooster hearts can
strengthen the voice. Eating hen meat is very nourishing and makes an excellent meal.
But it is perhaps too expensive for ordinary people to make it a staple part of their diet.

6. Duck:
When its sweet coldness enters the lungs and kidneys, it nourishes the
passive aspect and repairs deficiency, dispels heat and relieves cough, and smoothes
the urinary tract. Those with white feathers, dark bones, and red crests are excellent for
treating tuberculosis, especially with the addition of Chinese angelica.

7. Eggs:
They boost energy and enrich the blood, balance the organs and calm the
mind, clear the throat and clarify the speech. They are beneficial for fevered delirium,
cough, and loss of voice. They are also excellent for dispelling heat and detoxifying.

8. Fish:
Apart from being nutritious, fish can make urination smoother and improve
digestion, helping water to flush out the stomach and intestines. The livers and
gallbladders of fish are especially beneficial to the eyes. Unidentified fish often contain
toxins, and so you have to be careful when choosing which ones to eat. Boney fish,
when the bones are smashed and the fish is deep fried, are not only nutritious, but also
aid in the growth of strong bones.

9. Crab:
It dispels heat and tension, eases menstruation and releases stagnant
blood, strengthens muscle and bone. Pounded crabmeat can be applied to knee rashes.

In the case of labor so difficult that the infant may die within the womb, crab claw soup
can ease the process.

10. Shrimp:
It loosens phlegm, helps in the digestion of milk, livens the muscles and
bones, and helps with impotence.

11. Frogs:
Also called heavenly chicken, they put energy into the active channels,
clean the stomach, induce sweating, bring down fevers, keep away insects, and can
treat subcutaneous ulcers.

12. Table Salt:

Table salt is a daily necessity. It can detoxify the body and stimulate
the appetite. Used in soups and baths, it can treat rheumatism. It can promote smoother
defecation and urination, and treat redness of the eyes. It enters the kidneys and
influences the bones, strengthening the muscles and bones, and treats bone disease,
toothache, and itch. Eating too much of it produces thirst and injures the lungs. Those
with blood disease, asthma, or edema should use it rarely or avoid it altogether.

13. Vinegar:
It has an acidic quality. It can help restrain the temperament, treat
stomachache and heartburn, aid digestion and detoxify, move the fluids to flush out
harmful materials, calm the emotions and dispel vexation. If you eat eggs that are hard
to digest and suffer abdominal pain, drinking some vinegar will deal with it. You must not
consume excessive amounts of it, which can damage tissues and teeth.

14: Fennel:
Not only is it flavorful, it can also stimulate appetite and relieve
inflammation, warm the kidneys and dispel chill, heat the elixir field and revive the life
gate, eliminate cold dampness, treat hernia, and send away laziness. But you must not
eat if there is a lot fire in your organs and you are easily aroused. Both fennel and star
anise are used to make perfumes, and so they should not be eaten too often.

15: Green Onion:

It contains a sulfurous compound (in its warming leaves) that can
promote perspiration and internal harmony. Eating it is beneficial to those suffering from
ailments such as stomach flu, muscle cramp, or fever. It can refresh the active aspect,
regulate the blood circulation, and cause freer sweating and urination. It detoxifies and
kills germs. It is very beneficial for women suffering from breast abscesses. But it must
not be eaten with honey, and to eat it with dates will cause illness.

16. Fermented Soybeans:

They can promote sweating to rid irritants, disperse heat
in the lungs or stomach. Eating them is beneficial for dealing with either fever or
depression, and can calm the emotions and produce harmony within. If you suffer from
seasonal affective disorder, drinking a soup of fermented soybeans is the best way to
smooth this problem.

17. Sichuan Wild Pepper:

Also called simply Sichuan pepper, its spicy heat brings
the pure active aspect into the lungs, inducing perspiration and dispelling cold. When its
influence enters the spleen, it warms the stomach, aiding digestion and reducing
bloating. When its influence enters the right kidney area of the lower back, it builds fire.
It treats painful chill in the chest and belly. It can kill fleas and germs. But eating it too
often can harm the blood and cause the mouth to become swollen or twisted.

18. Ginger:
It has a spicy flavor and a warming quality. It can dispel cold and release
tension, restore your active aspect and promote blood circulation. It can treat severe
chill and abdominal pain, and prevent miasma. It can also halt bleeding and promote
perspiration. Therefore Confucian doctors often use it to treat illness. Confucius said [It
was said of Confucius (Lun Yu, 10.8)]: He had no meals without ginger. From these
things can be seen that it is of great benefit to the human body. But if your passive
aspect is too deficient and you are having night sweats, then you should not eat it.

19. Pepper:
It has a spicy and warming quality, thus it stimulates the appetite. It
reduces chronic mucus, aids digestion, and can detoxify. For those who have a burning
cough or are spitting blood, avoid eating pepper, otherwise such ailments can be greatly
exacerbated.

20. Garlic:
This is a helpful food for northerners. It can treat abdominal obstruction
and the effects of chilly air, reduce rheumatism, boost the circulation of blood and
energy, and improve the health of the digestive organs. It kills germs and hidden
problems, and treats sunstroke and sluggish waking. It is an excellent side dish, but its
strong flavor causes bad breath, making many people hate it. It is often not eaten in
otherwise healthy households. Overeating it can irritate the liver. Avoid eating it at the
same time as honey.


21. Honey:
It moistens the organs, nurtures centeredness, harmonizes nutrition,
lubricates digestion, relieves pain, detoxifies, and rids countless ailments.

iii. Grains and Beans

1. Wheat:
It is excellent for dispelling extra heat, cultivating mental calm, is a urinary
diuretic, stops the spitting of blood and abnormal sweating. Women who eat it have
easier pregnancies, and drinking it in soup helps to diminish hot flashes.

2. Millet:
It is also called coarse rice. It nourishes the passive aspect to treat
insomnia. It unclogs the large intestines, treats knee rashes. It should be eaten often by
sufferers of lung diseases.

3. Glutinous rice:
Its sweet warmth helps depletion chill in the spleen and lungs. It
firms defecations, and it reduces excessive urination, sudden sweats, and the effects of
smallpox. But due to its sticky nature, it should be eaten less by sick people and small
children.

4. Red beans:
The red pigment in its skin has the effect of improving the circulation
of fluids. It reduces swelling and detoxifies the body, disperses stagnant blood, and can
treat athletes foot. It is a urinary diuretic, but stops diarrhea. Boiling them and drinking
the juice alleviates hangover.

5. Black soybeans:
These beans, which are everywhere, help the kidneys and boost
blood circulation, reduce anger and promote smooth urination, lower fever and dispel
inflammation, diminish swelling and relieve pain, tone the kidneys and treat backache,
detoxify the blood and prevent spasming. But when eaten after being boiled with dates,
the result can be weight gain.

6. Mung beans:
Their flavor is sweet and they have a cooling nature. They can
diminish heat and fever, wash the stomach and cleanse the heart, improve blood
circulation and detoxify. Dispelling summer heat and reducing swelling, it is a general
tonic, and in tandem with licorice can flush out countless toxins. Therefore doctors have
a three-bean drink formula, comprised of red beans, black soybeans, mung beans.
Along with licorice, they can be used in the treatment of smallpox. Though if your
digestive organs feel cold or you have diarrhea, you should not eat mung beans often.

7. Tofu:
This typical household fare can disperse heat and get stagnant blood
moving, reduce bloating in the digestive organs, clear out impurities from the large
intestine, and can be used to alleviate hangover. Soybean milk can ease constipation
and clear the throat. If you become bloated from overeating tofu, some turnip juice can
dispel it.

(Endnote: This chapter often derives its material from pharmacopeia and was checked
against voluminous medical dictionaries, so that everything listed here is reliable.)

Supplemental Entries:

1. Remedy for hernia:

Fry lychee nuts, tangerine pits, fennel, onion, and table salt in
a pot, soak the result into a cloth wrap, and apply it to the affected area. When it cools,
reheat it and reapply. After a long period, this will cure it.

2. Remedy for hernia pain:

Take burned loofah stalk and pestle it into a powder.
Swallow it in rice wine once a day. You will recover after three or four days. Another
good method is to use powdered lychee nut in rice wine.

3. Remedy for constipation:

Take pigs gallbladder fried in wine. Two doses will prove
very effective. It is also effective to use pigs gallbladder soaked in water as a
suppository.

4. Remedy for inability to urinate:

Pound the juice from green onions and have him
drink with clean water on an empty stomach. In the absence of green onions, chives will
do.
Another effective method is to pestle 5 grams of Glaubers salt into a powder, and
stuff it into the flesh of three longan fruits, then have him chew them well and swallow
them down.

5. Remedy for swelling produced by constipation:

Use seven mole crickets, roasted
and pestled into a powder, mix into clean water, and have him take it on an empty
stomach. This is immediately effective.

PART TWO: PREVENTING AND TREATING ILLNESS


CHAPTER THIRTEEN: ILLNESSES OF THE HEAD

Section One: Headache

Headache is one of the most

common ailments, experienced by upwards of eighty percent of people. It may be
merely painful or fully incapacitating, and may persist indefinitely. If you have constant
vexations, are getting insufficient rest, have job stress, have too many difficult problems
to solve, or have an aggravated nervous system, these will lead to blood swelling in the
head and producing headache.
There are a great many kinds of headaches. There
are headaches caused by internal brain disease or by external illness. Migraine is the
most commonly seen form of headache. There are headaches that are caused by fever,
high blood pressure, nervous tension, muscular strain, insufficient sleep, overworking
yourself, flu, and so on. All of these things can bring about headaches.

Treatment:

1. Treating it with massage:

Sometimes using massage techniques can be good for
treating headaches. Rub the temples with both hands, then pinch the skin with forefinger
and middle finger, causing the skin to redden, then after a slight rest, you will recover.

2. Treating it by way of posture:

If you get a migraine, you should not lie flat. It would
be eased better by standing. Instead of lying down, sit quietly on a chair. However, when
it is sinus pain that is causing a headache, standing would make it worse, and sitting is
not as good as lying down. If a headache has been caused by muscular strain,
exercising the neck muscles will produce sweating and can dispel the headache.
Treatment for a woman who has headaches after giving birth:
Steam sheeps brains
in rice wine with three slices of raw ginger. After three doses of this, she will recover. It is
extraordinarily effective.

Prevention:

1. Get abundant rest and sleep.


2. Have your meals at regularly scheduled times and in fixed quantities, and pay
attention to nutrition.

3. Engage in appropriate exercise. Both Baduanjin or Taiji Boxing / Sword are excellent
choices. Or take walks in the countryside to comfort body and mind, reducing vexations.

4. Avoid things that irritate you or make you angry. Especially avoid obsessing over
things.

5. Be forgiving toward others, understanding toward yourself, and satisfied with the
present moment. There is a saying: Enough is as good as a feast. Avoid overworking
yourself in any task.

6. Keep your nerves very relaxed. Strained nerves or muscles obstruct bloodflow,
gradually leading to headaches. It can also be effective to wash your feet with warm
water or massage your head.

Headaches are among the most common ailments.
Regardless of strong or weak person, all can succumb. There is no telling whether it will
be merely painful or it will be incapacitating. Generally it is caused by excessive fatigue,
overusing the eyes, or indigestion, nervous breakdown, heart disease, or the blood
being unable to get rid of waste products efficiently, all of which can lead to headache.
Whatever kind of headache the person has, first have him take a rest or sleep with a
bandage wrapped around his head. Or apply cotton gauze to his head soaked in icy
water. Both of these methods can ease the pain. Drinking lots of clean water will help
him perspire and to flush the intestines. Using hot water to soak his feet or rub his back,
or applying a hot water wrap, can very effectively reduce the excess blood in his head. It
is especially excellent to wash his feet with boiled water containing used tea leaves.
For a light headache, one should not rush to taking medicine. If one gets into the habit
of taking medicine for everything, he will damage your bodys power of resistance. Keep
this in mind. An easy method is for him to lie down and take droplets of raw turnip juice
into the nose.
To treat a migraine, use droplets of alcohol in the ear. For a headache
that is worse on the left side, use the right ear, and for a headache that is worse on the

right side, use the left ear. You can also use cats urine instead. For this method, rub raw
ginger on a cats nose to make it urinate.

Section Two: Eyes
A

Dry eyes:
This means a lack of vitamin A. This problem is prevalent among the
poverty-stricken masses. In the very beginning, there is an itching or burning sensation
and a slight sensitivity to light. Sometimes the eyelids are inflamed. This type of
condition is relatively widespread in our nation, in children more than adults. If it goes on
for a long time, the cornea could become infected and undergo a color change due to
the festering.

A Treatment in the early stages

is very simple. Beyond using techniques to deal with it once you notice the problem, you
should not be too stingy with money to end up simply enduring the pain. It is best to eat
lots of nutritious food. If you are able to get through three bottles of fish oil, your eyelids
with return to being smooth and will no longer be dry. Vitamin A is typically contained
within meats, fish, oils, and liver. Eating these things often will resolve the issue.

Night blindness:
This a
weakening of the vision for perceiving light, caused by a hindering of the functioning of
the eye cells. Sometimes during the day, one receives overly intense sunlight and then
feels affected when indoors, an effect which passes after a short while. This is the eyes
adjusting in response to the situation. When an ordinary person goes from a bright area
to a dark area, he requires several minutes for his light vision to be restored. When
going from a dark area to a bright area, he will experience photophobia.
Night
blindness divides into innate and acquired. Innate night blindness is a part of nature and
there is no way to deal with it. Acquired night blindness manifests due to the special
issues of eye function and is a matter of inadequate nutrition, a lack of vitamin A, often
complicated by conjunctivitis or dry eyes. During the day, everything seems normal, then
at dusk he suddenly seems to go blind. For this condition, pay attention to a nutritious
diet. If you can get through a few bottles of fish oil, you will naturally recover normal

vision.
Everyone enjoys having shining eyes. But when the eyes are getting exposed
to overly bright light, it is best to prevent problems early on. Some methods for this are
below:
You should not strain to see in bright light or overstimulate your eyes by
staring into raging flames. In fierce sunlight, you should wear sunglasses. When you feel
you have pushed your eyes to excessive fatigue, immediately take a rest. Gaze up at the
clear sky at night or watch the fresh hills after a rainfall during the day.

Protecting the eyes:

Constantly change what your eyes are looking at. Work does not
always harm the eyes, but if you are doing work such as reading, typing, sewing, then
you are indeed weakening your eyes. If you are doing these tasks for a long time, you
should gaze out a window and off into the distance.
You should also find some time
for outdoor activities in order to give your eyes more opportunity for exercise. When your
eyes feel fatigued, close your eyes for a while and let tears naturally moisten them, or
cover your eyes with your hands and gaze out toward some dark area. When going out,
it is ideal to wear dark sunglasses. During either intense sunlight or at dusk, you should
not overstrain your eyes.
Whenever some small bug flies into your eye, you should
absolutely not rub at it with your hand. It is best to lightly cover your eyes and let your
tears move it to the corner of your eye, then use a handkerchief to wipe it away.
However, the handkerchief has to be clean. If this method is not effective, use clean
warm water with a pinch of table salt to rinse your eyes. Rinsing your eyes with a boric
acid solution works even better.
If photophobia produces red and swollen eyes, it is
often effective to rinse with a boric acid solution and take a long rest. Another method if
the eyes are painfully swollen is to spread raw ginger juice mixed with green vitriol on
your eyelids, which can immediately lessen the pain. However, you should not let any
enter your eyes.

Section Three: Ears, Nose, and Teeth

The ear suffers relatively few

external illnesses, though it can become victim to diseases such as syphilis, leprosy, or
cancer, and it may suffer injuries such as frostbite, being struck, or getting cut. But even

if the ear receives external damage, the sense of hearing will not be affected very much.
Internally, the eardrum is easily damaged, usually due to excessive noise irritating the
ear. Other issues such as external objects entering the ear, for instance small insects, or
digging out excessive earwax with a probing stick, can lead to damage, causing
inflammation within the ear.
The common inflammations in the ear, apart from those
caused by external objects entering the ear, are caused by clogged eustachian tubes.
These blockages should be cleared. If there is a fluid within the ear, it has to be drained,
and if not treated early, it will fester. A ruptured eardrum is a very dangerous condition.

Treatment for pus-filled ear:

The best way is to first drip a couple drops of hydrogen
peroxide into the ear, then stuff in sterilized gauze. This will draw out the pus. Change
the gauze every few hours. After a few days, pour in a warm rinse of boric acid and
water to draw out whatever is left, and then he will recover.

Treatment for deafness:

It can be cured after several applications of dripping bird or
tortoise urine into the ear. To obtain tortoise urine, shine a mirror in its face until it
urinates. Though if the person is past forty years old, this will not be as effective.

Methods of prevention:
1.
When you have a slight itch in your ear, if there is not an excessive amount of earwax,
then be sure not to rashly dig around in your ear. Especially avoid using sharp objects or
matchstick tips to pick wax from your ear.
2.
Do your best to avoid all powerful explosive sounds. If you cannot avoid them, you
should open your mouth wide, which will balance the external pressure on the ear.
3.
When sleeping during an ear problem, sleep on that side so that any pus can easily flow
out.
4.

If your ears have some kind of illness, you must not smoke, drink alcohol, or eat
perfumed foods. If you often taking quinine [for instance to treat malaria], it could very
well cause damage or hearing loss. In such extraordinary circumstances,
conscientiously guard against this, for if ones sense of hearing is lost, it is not easily
regained.

Treatment for chronic ear inflammation or fluid discharge from the ear:
Add a small
quantity of borneol to some thick paper. Pestle this into a powder and blow it into the
ear, which can halt the oozing pus. It is also effective to use a spent lamp wick mixed
with borneal, ground down, the powder blown into the ear. As is dripping blood from a
roosters comb into the ear. In the case of hearing loss, peanut shells boiled with sugar
crystals can be very effective for restoring it.

The nose has two major functions:

1. Breathing through the nose warms the air that
is breathed in and the nasal hairs can clean the air to keep dust and germs from getting
in.
2. The nose is a specialized organ for smelling. When ones sense of smell is
impaired, there is surely some illness in the nose or obstruction to the nasal passages.
When we sleep, we should close our mouths and breathe through the nose. If you sleep
with your mouth open, your tongue is liable to feel as though it is covered in fur and your
throat dries out, easily leading to nasal congestion and respiratory illness.

Methods of protecting the nose:

1. Do not pick at your nose too aggressively. Once you have a cold, this can enable
germs to invade more easily and produce further illness.

2. Avoiding the habit of sleeping with your mouth open can improve your sense of smell.
Breathing through your mouth can lead to respiratory illness and can also weaken your
voice.

3. Do not inhale snuff, or eat foods that contain a lot of stimulating ingredients, which
can easily cause damage to the nasal membranes.

4. Always be in the habit of breathing deeply and breathing through your nose, thereby
keeping your nostrils from getting clogged.

5. Regularly performing techniques of massaging the nose can prevent the onset of all
nasal illnesses.

Preventing nose bleeds:

Illness commonly involves fever, increasing blood
circulation. The capillaries in the nose get expanded and will easily rupture, even more
easily for a person who has high blood pressure, is old, or has hardened arteries, or for
small children.

Treatment:
If someone suffers from a nose bleed, the solution is simply to apply
pressure, pinching his nose closed, and the bleeding will generally cease after five
minutes. This works even better if you stuff sterilized cotton into the nose, or you may
bunch up some tissue over the upper lip. It is also useful to apply ice to the nape of the
neck or to the head or body. Pay attention to clearing out congealed blood from the
nose. If there is also bleeding from the eyes, the treatment is to pound down a sweet
potato in a bowl, then mix the resulting juice with honey. Three sips of this will be
magically effective and will prevent the flow from restarting.

Sinus infection:
This often brings headache, runny nose, and reduced sense of
smell, and sometimes also brings low spirits, bodily fatigue, loss of appetite, reduced
memory ability, loss of determination, inability to concentrate, even insomnia. If it goes
on for a long time, it can lead to laryngitis, tracheitis, or pneumonia.

Treatment:
Quickly lie down in bed and convalesce. Drink lots of water. To apply hot
water, soak hand towels or cotton in boiling water, then wring them out and wrap them
over the nose. Frequently dripping a solution of warm water and salt into the nose to
rinse it out can be very helpful. Other tips have already been described in Section One
of Chapter Eleven.

Preventing tooth loss:

Teeth are the surplus of bones. They are the first stage of
digestion. If your teeth decay, there will be much suffering, therefore you should
conscientiously protect your teeth. After a meal, there are usually particles of foods left
between the teeth. If this residue is not removed, it will become a breeding ground for
germs, and so it is essential to brush it away well. People usually brush their teeth twice,
in the morning and at night. If you feel you are not brushing sufficiently or properly, you
should also brush once after meals. After waking in the morning, rinse your mouth right
away, though you do not need to do this right before you go to bed at night.
As for the

method of brushing your teeth, it is best if you can use straight inward and outward
strokes, not only sideways strokes. Straight strokes clean out junk from the teeth. You
can brush without using toothpaste. The best toothpaste is rather expensive, and is not
as good as brushing with table salt anyway. Some people say that brushing with table
salt can cause yellowing of the teeth, but it is also not necessary.
If you can take care
of your teeth in this way, ultimately every tooth will be preserved well. You should not
bite hard on things or eat overly cold or hot foods. You will thus not have to run to
dentists with a report of toothache!. Methods of controlling toothache have already
been described and do not need to be repeated here.

Section Four: Acute Inflammations of the Mouth or Tongue

Acute inflammations of the mouth or tongue are often caused by an unsanitary

environment or by eating inappropriate or indigestible foods. These kinds of
inflammation are thus a problem with small children. But adults also suffer from them.
The severity of the condition varies. In the beginning, there is some slight redness,
swelling, drooling, and ulcers appear in the mouth that emit a white pus, causing the
breath to stink. This condition can even cause distending of the lower jaw.

Treatment:
With this kind of inflammation, attention should be paid to hygiene.
Frequently eat fruits high in vitamins. Mix a boric acid solution or a teaspoon of table salt
into a cup of clean water and gargle it, then gargle each day after meals. After three
days, there will be recovery.

Gangrenous stomatitis:
This often spreads to the lips and cheeks. Treat it by applying
a mix of alcohol and water to moisten the affected area, and this will stabilize it.

Section Five: Sore Throat and Inflammation of the Neck

On the use of cotton gauze for this:

Put a thin clean cloth in cold water, then take it
out, wring it dry, and wrap it around the affected area, covering it well with a soft towel.
Wait until there is fever or a night has passed, then wipe the area with a cold wet towel,
then once the area is dry, cover it with cotton gauze and flannel.

Treatment for when there is facial swelling and the throat is closing off:
You can use
some earthworms and white sugar mixed evenly in a bowl and then covered. Once the

mix starts to liquefy, dip a ducks feather into the liquid and apply it to the affected area,
diminishing the symptoms. Then take excrement gathered from a swallows nest, pound
it down, and mix it into some vinegar, then apply to the affected area, and this will bring
recovery. In the case of mumps, take forty-nine small azuki beans, pestle them into a
powder, mix with water, and apply the paste to the affected area.

Section Six: Wrinkles are Not an Illness

Wrinkles accumulate as a person ages, unavoidably appearing on the face. Regardless

of man or woman, the skin after the age of twenty-five starts to decline. A phenomenon
of aging is that wrinkles appear on the face. After the age of thirty, they will only
increase. Wrinkles demonstrate our personalities, helping us express ourselves. People
will invariably age. It is not necessary to sigh at oneself in the mirror. A weary old person
has even more wrinkles. It is a sign of ones age. Nevertheless, there are hopeful young
men and women who think that wrinkled old people are not very pretty and then go get
plastic surgery.
If you are not a movie star, you do not have to go that far. It should be
understood that plastic surgery is only a temporary transformation and that a permanent
transformation is impossible. As wrinkles reach the hairline, they naturally cause the
look of the head to change. If there is a tightening applied to this skin, it will be hard to
avoid harmful consequences. What will you do if surgery causes the skin to become
even more limp? If you have no answer to this, then you absolutely must not lightly
choose to have a surgery.

Treatment:

1. Use an orange-peel wrinkle rinse:

Oranges contain nutrients that can make the
skin smooth as well as give the skin nourishment. Thus you can take some orange juice,
or pulped orange peel, soak it in wine for a week, and use it as a wrinkle rinse. You can
also apply some orange juice with boric acid and honey mixed in.

2. You should avoid getting depressed about it, instead looking at life philosophically
and putting everything into perspective. If you have wrinkles before the age of thirty, you

may wash with hot water and apply hot towels to relax the skin, then use a hand to
massage it, upward and downward, to the left and right. Washing your face with hot
water every time you go to bed at night can mitigate the appearance of wrinkles.
Although this is ever so inconvenient, at least it is not dangerous. Wrinkles are not a real
illness and should not be treated like one.

Section Seven: Preventing Baldness

Head hair is the most important part of a persons looks, especially for a woman. A head
of beautiful hair adds a great deal of splendor. Even if you have a beautiful face, if you
do not have lovely hair to complement it, it really seems as though something is lacking.
Consequently, people invariable treasure their hair. As for how exactly to prevent
balding, there is still no effective means. The hair tonics that businesses currently sell
are for the most part frauds. The same problem exists in America, ordinary people intent
on improving their looks and so frantically in love with their hair that they indiscriminately
try every tonic, be it good or bad, and thus the fake medicines sell just as well.
The
reason that peoples hair falls out has usually to do with an overly dry scalp, a period of
serious illness such as typhoid fever, or a dirty scalp full of corrosive dead skin. If such
issues continue to be ignored, they can damage hair and cause it to gradually fall out. If
you do not pay attention to these points, your head will end up shining like a light bulb,
to your ceaseless regret.

Prevention method:
Put some pure olive oil in a glass bottle, then put the bottle in hot
water to heat the oil. Then spread the oil through your hair, to the left and front, forward
and back, using a soft brush or cotton swabs, gently rubbing the roots of your hair with
the oil. Once the oil has been applied evenly, then use your fingers to scratch at your
scalp for about fifteen minutes. Leave the oil on your head for as long as you can to give
it the opportunity to seep into your scalp. Then finally wash your head with soapy water.
Do this two or three times a week for a month and your hair will never fall out. To deal
with the dirt that builds up on the scalp, it is best to wash your hair once a week. It is not
good to wash your hair too often.

Nutrition:
Eat lots of seaweed or black moss. Seaweed, which has a high vitamin
content and is delicious, can prevent both greying and balding. The wife of a Dr. George
Schofield of Philadelphia bought a silver-fox rabbit fur coat, the fur of which was long
and firm. He tracked down the source of the animal and discovered the Norwegians fed
them mostly with seaweed. He thereupon took a hundred mice, divided them into
groups A and B, and fed the A mice mostly seaweed while the B mice were left with
their normal diet. After two years, the fur of the A mice was longer, firmer, and softer.
The fur of the B mice was much thinner and gradually they lost the fur on their legs. He
then set about manufacturing doses of seaweed to promote the growth of human hair.
This remedy is currently in vogue in Norway, northern Germany, and America.
These
are but a few words on the use of seaweed, a simple and easy means of early
prevention. Until it becomes fashionable for movie stars and cultured gentlemen to
shave their heads or bald-headed women are seen as the most beautiful, here is a
method that can solve the problem.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN: INTERNAL ILLNESSES

Section One: Lower Back Pain

If joints get slightly shifted from or damaged in their position, or if atrophy of the tissues
between the vertebrae reduces blood circulation, these things will lead to lower back
pain. With a moment of carelessness during manual labor, you can happen to twist your
back. Coldness or weakness in the kidneys can also cause lower back pain. Excessive
strain or muscle fatigue are also major causes of lower back pain.

Treatment:

1. For sudden lower back pain, you should take a rest with your body curled up on a
bed. Lying on your back, raise up your head and legs, slowly arching toward each other
so your lower back is curved downward. You will feel better after a day or two of such
bed rest.

2. If you can easily bend forward to put on your shoes without too much pain, you can
perform appropriate exercise. Practicing Baduanjin can train the abdomen and spine,
increasing the lower backs capacity to curve. There is also the treatment for lower back
pain described in Section Two of Chapter Eleven.

3. While sleeping, have a plank under the bedding to keep your posture from collapsing.
You should sleep on your side with your legs bent in, and must not lie on your belly. If
the pain is very bad, you can take some aspirin. Lying down in a tub of hot water can
ease the pain. Stand by pressing your back against a wall, drawing in your belly. When
fatigued, put a foot on a stool. When seated, both legs can be propped up on the stool
with your legs crossed. It is best if you are sitting on a hard bench with a back. If you
experience strain in your back that gives you side pain, take 5 grams of powdered
catechu in some rice wine and you will recover.

Prevention:
Usually when someone speaks of a pain in the back, this person is
surely excessively fatigued, or has sprained himself through a moment of inattention
while lifting a heavy object, exerting himself inappropriately. Both of these things can
lead to pain in the back. Beyond other illnesses that give rise to back pain, ordinary
back pain can be prevented through the following methods:

1. Whenever you sit down, do not sit down too rapidly, instead be calm and unhurried. If
you sit too suddenly, you might give a jolt to your vertebrae that will affect your
dorsolumbar nerve.

2. When lifting heavy objects, you should stand by bending your knees, using the
strength of your whole body to undertake the task. Never twist your body vigorously to
lift a heavy object.

3. If you are laboring for too long a time, it is best for you to stand up, stretch out your
back, and move your body around.

4. If working seated on a chair at a desk, they should both be at a moderate height. If

you feel any back pain, stand up and press your body against a wall so that your head,

back, buttocks, and heels are all in contact with it. Then slowly walk away from it while
standing very straight. If you do this for ten minutes each day, not only will you prevent
lower back pain, you will keep yourself from becoming hunchbacked.

Section Two: Methods of Preventing Varicose Veins

Whether people have naturally weak veins or stand for long periods at their workplace,
both situations can produce varicose veins. After a long time, the veins on the calves
can rise up, becoming gnarled and twisted as though the blood vessels are earthworms.

Methods of prevention:
1.

You must not sit in one place for too long or stand for too long. If you have been sitting
for an hour, be it aboard a train, boat, plane, or at home on a sofa, you should then get
up and move around for a while. Or if you are going to be sitting for a long time on a
sofa, you can use a cushion to elevate your legs.
2.

You should engage in regular appropriate exercise, the best being walking, cycling, or
swimming. If you work as a shop assistant, you should sit on a high stool and your
stockings must not be too tight. There is a heart specialist in London who says: When
people get to be middle-aged, they should walk at least a mile every day. Moreover, they
should not choose the elevator [instead of the stairs] when going up to their offices,
otherwise they increase the risk of thrombosis in the coronary arteries. The minimum
exercise for human beings is to use their own feet to get around, but there are many
people who are not willing to exercise and cannot be bothered to walk around on their
own feet. If this behavior goes on for too long, they will become patrons of some
pharmacy.

Section Three: Preventing High Blood Pressure

High blood pressure is the most prevalent illness
nowadays. It is also the most difficult to cure. To treat it, beyond seeking the advice of a
doctor, it is very important for the victim to take good care of himself, especially in the
beginning stages. Complications of high blood pressure, such as heart palpitations,
heart discomfort, or arthritis, if not prevented early on, can lead to dangerous
consequences.
Life within this confused and restless world puts people into too
many situations of agitation. Agitated emotions lead to physiological imbalance. The
pituitary and adrenal glands do their best to resist, but after taking on such a burden
year after year, there will come a day when their capacity to resist can no longer stand
up to the increasing pressure, and naturally things will fall apart and produce suffering.
The result is hardening of the arteries and a sudden increase in blood pressure, and
thereby heart disease develops.
But the unpredictable changes in our modern world,
the sheer variety of events, increase agitation daily. I encourage you all: do not become
agitated. To say this is easy, but to carry it out is difficult. Just understand that agitation
is the source of countless illnesses. Illnesses are dangerous, and so on behalf of your
own ability to give rest to your body and mind, below are some simple methods of
preventing high blood pressure:
1. Avoid all things that irritate you, for you should
keep your emotions balanced and calm.
2. Do not partake of movies, plays, or novels
that are overstimulating.
3. Eat lots of green vegetables and fruit. Do not eat to the
point of being too full.
4. You should rarely eat salty foods, for salt can increase high
blood pressure. Rarely indulge in alcohol, tea, seasonings, or foods that are overly
stimulating.
5. Get abundant sleep and proper recuperation. You should engage in
gentle rather than strenuous exercise.
6. You must not regard your illnesses with
undue fear, because fear can increase high blood pressure.
7. Using rice as your
staple food is very beneficial toward this illness. It is said that eating cooked rice can
treat high blood pressure, results being seen after a month. White rice is quite flavorful.
There is no harm in trying it.

Section Four: Hands-On Therapy for Blood Stagnation

When a person is feverish or depressed, they will recover after a session of cupping on
the sides of the back, producing circular bruise marks. For a sore throat, there is the
method of grabbing the throat, producing red lines on the skin. For a headache, use
both hands to rub the sides of the forehead, or it is also helpful to use your middle finger

and forefinger to twist the skin on the bridge of your nose and between your eyebrows,
producing red lines. Western medicine does not deny this treatment. (See the cupping
method described in Section Two of Chapter Eleven.)

Section Five: Heart Disease

The heart is an organ composed of muscle. It lies in the chest between the lungs. It
beats day and night without rest until death. Our hearts normally beat about seventy-two
times per minute. Usually as the heart beats, we do not feel it. Because its movement
cannot be affected by our will, it does its job naturally.

Cause of problems:
Drinking alcohol, smoking cigarettes, addiction to brothels,
compulsive gambling, using drugs, drinking coffee, and engaging in strenuous exercise
all harm the heart. Common symptoms of heart attack are: rapid breathing using the
upper abdomen, chest pain that spreads to the back, unceasing coughing involving
spitting out white saliva. Quickly seat the person in a comfortable position, loosen his
clothes, stay calm to keep him at ease, and advise him to breathe deeply and slowly,
exhaling from his mouth. These things will help him to recover.

Prevention:
Good diet, fresh air, and daily hygiene all can strengthen the whole body,
but to protect the heart, you especially have to give attention to the items below:
1.
Stop drinking and smoking, and avoid drugs.
2.
Teeth with cavities or decayed roots should be treated early or pulled. If a dental
problem worsens or gum disease sets in, it should treated quickly.
3.

If ones heart disease is not severe, he can engage in mild exercise, he should eat food
that is plain and easy to digest, he must not do any excessive physical labor, and he
should clear his mind of worries. These things will help keep the heart safe.

Section Six: Arthritis

Arthritis is also called rheumatism. It divides into two types: mild and severe. When
mild, one feels some slight pain or discomfort, alternating between feeling good and
feeling bad. When severe, it is not only intensely painful, but can also become crippling.
Compared to the mild version, there seems to be pain in the muscles, nerves, and in the
fingers and toes. Arthritis commonly manifests in the upper back, lower back, knees,
ankles, hips, thighs, and shoulders. Whenever there is movement in the joints, pain is
easily produced.
If a person at age twenty-five is troubled by this illness, it can
shorten his lifespan, although this illness occurs in women more often than men. If it is
allowed to develop, the joints will have reddened swelling and become restricted in their
motion, and may even gain scarring. After a long period, such changes will become
crippling and a person may collapse from exhaustion or muscle spasm.

Treatment:
There are quite a few effective
medicines for this illness, but it is not enough to take medicine. One must make use of
physiological principles for it to be effective. For the areas where the joints can move,
the hands and feet can soak in a bucket of hot water. Bathing the limbs with heat can
relax them from spasming. To prevent fatigue, one should get abundant rest.
Appropriate massage should be performed to strengthen the joints and improve blood
circulation. To preserve the surrounding muscle, engage in specific mild exercises for
maintaining joint mobility. Then rest quietly, keeping your emotions calm. For pain relief,
it is effective to apply hot water or a hot-water bag to the affected area.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN: ILLNESSES OF THE DIGESTIVE ORGANS

Section One: Chronic Gastroenteritis

Begin by regulating your eating and drinking in order to restore intestinal function. The
less medicine you use, the better. One who puts his faith in food does not put his fate
into the hands of medicine. Eating easily digestible food and engaging in appropriate
exercise will have a beneficial effect toward this ailment. You absolutely should not
resort to a thoughtless variety of medical remedies, which will only damage your
digestive organs. Getting outdoor exercise, taking frequent baths, and massaging your
own belly will typically be effective enough.
For treating appendicitis, taking sargent

gloryvine powder with wine is effective. Otherwise, quickly get to the hospital and have
the organ removed.

Section Two: Gastric Ulcer

Gastric ulcers occur where the greater curvature of the stomach meets the pylorus
section. In this area, the sticky and springy lining of the stomach is at its tightest. If you
eat coarse food, it is very easy for it to scratch the lining. Once the lining has been torn,
it is easy for the digestive juices to flow in and create a wound, making a slight hole in
the stomach wall. This hole is called a gastric ulcer. Whenever you become agitated,
secretions suddenly increase and the acids of your stomach lining will flow along with
them. Usually where a corrosive ulcer has formed, you will sometimes feel a dull pain.
This is commonly called stomach disease. Whenever you become agitated, worried,
frustrated, or angry, your mind loses its balance and your stomach feels pain. It is good
to treat the problem as soon as you begin to feel it.

Treatment:
Within the first week, eat some ice cream mixed with milk every hour,
then move on to some eggs, then bread batter, then rice porridge, gradually reducing
the frequency of such meals, and finally eat vegetables and fruits. These things can
dilute gastric juices to protect the site of the ulcer. By using this simple treatment, there
can be recovery in three to five weeks. After that, you should keep it in mind to be
cautious with your diet for three to five months in order to avoid a recurrence. Eat many
small meals [instead of a few large ones]. Fish and meat should be eaten infrequently,
as should any foods that are coarse and irritating. Refrain from eating foods that are
excessively cold or hot. All food should be chewed well before swallowing it down. You
should not drink things such as wine or coffee heavily. If you have laryngitis, tracheitis,
or catch a cold, each of these things can easily cause your ulcer to relapse. Therefore
you have to pay attention to such illnesses. If your ulcer does recur, you should
instinctively resume your liquid diet of ice cream mixed with milk.

Section Three: Acute Gastritis

Acute gastritis is often caused by excessive eating of course food, fast food, hot drinks,
cold snacks, raw food, soft drinks, or consuming impure foods or excessive wine, all of
which may cause this illness. After such foods have already entered your stomach, your
stomach will feel unwell, you will feel sudden pain, and you will feel a slight nausea that
makes bile rise up so you taste it revoltingly on your tongue or even vomit.

Treatment:
For the victim, vomiting is the best natural method of emptying the
discomforting contents of the stomach. Make him then lie down and rest quietly. Then
take a towel soaked in hot water and wrung dry and place it around his belly under a dry
cloth. Have him repeatedly gargle with clean water. To then fast for a day will be
effective, and he should then eat only foods that are easy to digest such as a watery
gruel. An easy method for dealing with painful gas is to pestle some lychee nuts and
costus root into a powder, then have him take this with strong spirits. This is magically
effective.

Section Four: Methods of Preventing Gastric Illness

Prevention is superior to treatment. The
stomach easily falls prey to illness. The stomach is a muscular tissue. It is an exquisite
chemical laboratory in which it performs meticulous work. Inside, it secretes a fluid of
hydrocloric acid enzymes as well as a concentrated supply of lubricating mucus, then
sends material down into the intestines by way of contractions. Because a person
should safeguard this chemical process, attention should often be given to ensuring that
it proceeds very smoothly. It takes about four hours after ordinary foods have entered
the stomach for digestion to be completed, which is plenty of time for things to hinder
the process, bringing about illness or other bad consequences.
Additionally, gastric
illness is often a matter of stagnant food, stagnant water, or stagnant air, or of unclean
food that has become a breeding ground for germs. It cannot be treated with medicines,
but sometimes the use of massage techniques is extremely effective. Regardless of
what is stagnant, be it food, water, or air, a lengthy period of massage can get these
things to move at last. In the case of germs that are resistant against whatever medicine

you might be taking, they can be killed off by way of massage techniques and will then
depart with ones defecations. Massage techniques are tremendously beneficially
against gastric illness, but are not appropriate for dealing with gastric ulcers.

Prevention:
1.
Cultivate the good habit of eating foods on schedule. Do not frequently snack between
meals, instead give your stomach a rest during that time.
2.
Do not eat foods too fast, eat foods simply because they are tasty, or eat to excess. If
you do not chew your food thoroughly, you will be giving your stomach more work to do
and make digestion difficult.
3.

You should not eat too large a variety of foods, nor eat things that are too salty or too
sweet. All of these things influence digestion. To eat candy on an empty stomach is
harmful to the stomach lining. Eating foods that are too cold or too hot, eating too much
or drinking too much all of these things are unacceptable to the stomach. Foods that
are excessively seasoned not only harm the stomach lining, they are also harmful to the
liver and kidneys. Before or after eating or drinking, to be overexcited, anxious, fearful,
or angry all hinder the stomachs chemical process.
If you eat or drink a lot of
something that you are unable to digest, it can be vomited out or come out later by way
of diarrhea, but the stomach has already been harmed. To maintain the robustness of
the stomach, you must be careful what you eat. Once gastric illness is generated, you
are sure to experience an endless suffering. Generally, foods that have a very potent
smell or are stimulating should rarely be eaten. For easily digestible foods, fruits are
best.

Section Five: Dry Defecations and Constipation

Dry defecations and constipations are often caused by eating foods that are not suitable
for the season you are in, the result of an irregularity in life. This kind of illness is not

something that a simple laxative or intestinal lavage can deal with. If you have cultivated
good habits, do not use any such purgatives, for then it could be even more problematic.
If you have no other illnesses, it would be best to use no medicine at all. It is better to
mindfully take care of yourself.
Some people think that for a bowel movement to
happen too quickly is vulgar. They might go into the bathroom with not only some toilet
paper, but also a couple of newspapers, reading through five or six articles with nothing
yet coming out. It is not only unhygienic to sit on an unclean toilet for an extended period
of time, it can also cause your blood pressure to rise. Or if you push with too much
effort, you might cause rupturing to your anus, which can cause your blood pressure to
abruptly spike, hardening the cerebral artery, and easily causing disaster, commonly
leading to fainting in the bathroom. High blood pressure added on top of ones problems
with constipation is a great menace in life.

Prevention:
You should eat proper foods, maintain a regular lifestyle, get plenty of
sleep, do not overwork either your body or mind, chew your food thoroughly before
swallowing, eat plenty of grains, vegetables, fruits, and drink plenty of water. Eat
vegetables such as carrots, bamboo shoots, and pumpkin. Fruits such as bananas,
peaches, pears, and papayas can be eaten frequently. You should not drink strong tea
or eat lots of lean meat. Your bowel movements can thus be smooth.

Exercise:
Engage in fitness exercises while on your bed. Practice deep breathing out
in the fresh air or go for walks. Practice all the soft movements of Baduanjin. If you can
put these things into practice consistently, not only will they promote digestion, they will
also improve blood circulation, and thus your abdominal organs will become increasingly
livened, giving you enormous benefit.

Section Six: Childhood Diarrhea

For the health of your children, it is essential to prevent diarrhea, and so you should pay
attention to every aspect of their daily life.
1.2.3.
4.5. 6.

Prevention:
1. Kill all flies.
2. Keep food clean. All eating utensils should be
washed each day in boiling water to disinfect them.
3. Pay attention to the sanitary
conditions of your home, both inside and out.
4. Teach your children to cultivate good

hygiene habits.
5. They should rarely eat snacks between meals, and they should not
eat foods or fruits from night markets.
6. Do not allow your children to go near people
with enterogastritis. They should not be playing with toys or eating food in the same
room as sick people, for their bodies are delicate and it is easy for illness to be
transmitted to them.

There are many kinds of diarrhea. Regardless of adult or child, if it goes on for a
protracted period, it becomes dysentery. The main symptoms are mushy watery
defecations with a particularly foul odor. They may be as wet as water itself, or occur
many times. It is caused by overeating or by eating foods that are unclean, moldy, or
toxic. Or it may be caused by contracting a virus, or by excessive anxiety or fear. Or it
may come about due to muggy summer days when one is affected by excessive
moisture in the air and toxic vapors can get inside the body. All of these things can lead
to diarrhea. If it is dysentery that is bloody or clear, or alternating between bloody and
clear, or so extreme that it is occurring ten times a night, this is a very bad illness.

Recuperation:
Keep him from eating anything, drinking only thin tea, salted water, or
boiled cows milk, and convalesce quietly in bed. Covering the belly with a cloth soaked
in hot water can reduce abdominal pain.

For treatment, these effective methods build upon those described in Chapter Eleven:
1.
Use a dose of raw pulped lotus root in heated wine.
2.

Cook dried ginger until blackened, then pestle it into a powder after it has cooled. Use in
doses of 5 grams with rice-cooked water and a pinch of sugar. Use brown sugar for
bloody dysentery, white sugar for clear dysentery, both for dysentery that alternates
between bloody and clear. With doses of this, there can be recovery.
3.
If dysentery continues for a long time without recovery, serve salted fish fried in sesame
oil. Several helpings of this will be effective.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN: CONTAGIOUS DISEASES


Section One: Malaria

Malaria, common in the tropics, is the mischief of small parasites. Once a person has
been bitten by a mosquito, the parasites enter the bloodstream. Sufferers of this illness
may experience sudden changes of temperature, nausea, vomiting, and coma. Once a
person has caught malaria, you should make him comfortable. When he shivers, give
him hot water to drink, as well as a hot water bottle and a hot water sponging. If he has
a fever, apply ice or cold water to his forehead, chest, and whole body. Or have him
drink orange juice or lemonade. If he greatly sweats, mop it up with a dry cloth. Food
should be particularly nourishing in order to replenish the deficiency in the blood.
Quinine is the medicine specially used to treat malaria, but it produces ringing in the
ears.

Prevention:
The most important thing is to exterminate mosquitoes and their eggs.
Keep a sanitary environment and drainage system. For sleeping at night, use a
mosquito net, and do not let many people enter it. Nowadays, facilities are kept
completely sanitary and so there are very few victims. If you contract this disease, eat a
lot of dog meat, the effects of which are like a panacea.

Section Two: Common Cold

The flu is brought about by a particular type of germ which builds up in the mucus of the
nasal cavity or windpipe. The germ is very prolific, thus when there is coughing or
sneezing, these mucus particles get scattered through the air and can infect other
people, spreading regardless of age with equal ease. This illness is complicated by
being so very common, and so you should be especially aware of it.

Prevention:
The victim should be isolated, he should cover his mouth with his hand
when he coughs and his handkerchiefs should then be disinfected. When going near
him, you should be wearing a surgical mask. During the contagion period, he should
rarely go to any public places. For individual prevention, you should engage in plenty of
outdoor exercise to increase your robustness, get regular and sufficient sleep, and food

should be hygienic. If you fear you have already caught a cold, you should lie in your
bed and rest, soak your feet in hot water, put a hot compress on your chest, drink plenty
of fluids to make it easier to perspire, or drink a lot of salted water.

Treatment:
American doctors once conducted public experiments in which they use
salted water to treat the common cold. The method was that when a patient started
sneezing, it was a sign of the onset of flu, and he was given an ounce of thick salty soup
to drink in order to keep him from getting a runny nose. After drinking it, he did not talk
of feeling very thirsty and did not want to drink water. It is ordinarily maintained that
when one catches a cold, one should drink lots of water. This method happens to work
upon the reverse principle. There is usually no harm in drinking salted water, for it takes
the fluids within the body that would become nasal mucus and turns them instead into
urine. If the nose stays dry, one can avoid becoming contagious as well recover earlier.
(All the methods above have been touched on in Chapter Eleven.)

Section Three: Scarlet Fever

Scarlet fever commonly gets called heat stroke. This illness is extremely contagious
and can often result in death. Symptoms are: high fever, inflamed throat, shivering,
vomiting, and convulsions.

Treatment:
The victim should convalesce in bed and drink lots of clean water to help
flush out the virus from the internal organs faster and produce smoother defecations. If
the temperature is too high, wipe the body down with cold water or apply a cold wet
cloth to the forehead to reduce the heat. Once the heat seems to subside, bathe him
with soapy water. He should eat foods such as thick soup or thin gruel and drink orange
juice or heated lemonade mixed with clean water. Those with robust builds should eat
little. If his temperature is not high, you can use a wrapped hot compress.

Section Four: Prevention and Treatment for Typhoid and Cholera

Prevention maintain a sanitary environment and individual hygienic habits:

1.
Drinking water should be boiled.

2.
Do not use impure cold water to brush your teeth or gargle.
3.
Do not eat uncooked food.
4.
Do not eat food that has been eaten at by flies or mosquitoes.
5.
Leftovers that have become moldy cannot be eaten.
6.
You must not eat muskmelon and cucumber raw. You should only eat them after they
have been rinsed in boiled water and the skins have been peeled off.
7.
Wash your hands before a meal.
8.
Do not have any contact with an infected person.
9.
Being careful when working with foods, frequently engaging in appropriate exercise, and
bathing are good habits which can strengthen your resistance.
10.
Do not frequent public places for your amusement. The air will be foul and it will be easy
to become infected.

Treatment:
1.

Cholera comes with abdominal pain and cramping in the thighs. To force oneself to
stand can sometimes help. Additionally a man can pull his genitals upward and a
woman can stroke her breasts downward. Having a helping of fried papaya is also good,
as is applying pulped garlic bulbs to the soles of the feet, telling a sick person to stand
facing a wall and dip his hands in warm water then slap his thighs ten times, or using
acupuncture needles to pierce the bulging blue veins and get the blackened blood to
flow out. There will then be recovery.
2.

When infected with cholera, there may be vomiting, diarrhea, dizziness, high
temperature. Use a smooth bowl, pour in a cup of hot water, add one or two spoonfuls of
sesame oil, mix them well, feed it to the victim, who is sitting upright, gradually giving

more until the bowl is dry, then repeat. This will induce red spots to arise on his back,
the pathogens will correspondingly descend, his stomach will growl greatly, all aches will
diminish, and the victim will recover after some sleep. This is a convenient and effective
method.

Section Five: Burning Fever

When a person is feverish, the pulse and breathing are increased, and there is
headache and nausea. When fever manifests, one must rest in bed in a shady, wellaired, clean room, and refrain from all activity. The ordinary persons body temperature
is generally between 97.2 and 99.5 degrees. If a fever is not too high, one can go out for
a walk and amuse oneself. Have him eat many tangerines or drink juice from tangerine
concentrate. The reason for this is that tangerines can reduce a fever and keep it from
rising, and if sickness intensifies, will promote bowel movements. Have him drink lots of
clean water, eat little food, or skip meals. It is effective to rub the body with warm water,
then cold water, then wine, then wipe the head and body with a cold cloth, then have
him drink lots of cold water. This is because there is too much waste within the body and
it needs to be sweat out from the kidneys. One with a high fever should drink lots of cold
water to help bring his temperature back down to the right level.

Section Six: Recurrent Fever

This illness is a kind of acute infectious disease, resulting in a squirming in the blood
that manifests as a sudden fever. If headache and backache persist for several days,
then subside, then return after several days, this illness is most often the reason. This
illness seems a lesser issue, but it is more serious in tropical places and results in death
more often there. When looking into this illness, it appears to result from being bitten by
lice, bedbugs, or fleas. This kind of squirming effect is often due to the excrement of
such pests. After a person has been bitten, he will damage his skin by overscratching
the itch, and then this illness with naturally invade.

Prevention:
This illness is transmitted from lice or bedbugs. Therefore personal
hygiene is extremely important. Both clothing and bedding should be frequently
changed and washed in order to keep away such pests. If you happen to be traveling in
a populous region, temporarily residing in hotels or inns, you should be especially
careful of all their bedding and should frequently check it for any bugs hiding in it. If you
unfortunately get bitten, scrub yourself with strong alcohol or have a hot-water bath. Be
sure not to scratch yourself, thus avoiding damaging your skin, which would get you
infected by the toxins.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: SKIN DISEASES

Section One: Leprosy

Leprosy has been a horrible disease in our nation for several thousand years. It
damages nerves, which eliminate pain, but also leaves one devoid of joy for the rest of
ones life. This disease is contagious and can take three to five years to manifest. There
is to this day no effective cure for it. If you happen to catch it, it is a tragic thing, and so
you should especially beware it.

Prevention:
Those in leprous areas must vigorously practice good hygiene to keep
germs from having any way of generating and spreading. An infected person will have
contagious fluids on his body and in his mouth and nose. Any clothing that contains
bacteria should be boiled in water. If a patient is having regular and healthy defecations,
it will be beneficial for him to work and exercise. Food should be fresh. It is best to eat
fresh fruits and vegetables. The condition can be gradually diminished.

Section Two: Measles

Measles is a contagious disease, very easily transmitted. The respiratory tract becomes
congested and so one may also catch a cold. The sufferers are usually children.

Treatment:
Victims should convalesce in peace in a well-aired warm room so as not
to catch a cold. They should scrub with and gargle boric acid. In order to maintain
cleanliness every day, they should rinse with hot water. They should be kept
comfortable. Eating little food and drinking lots of water will be beneficial.


Section Three: Psoriasis

This illness is tenacious. After recovering from it, it will easily recur.

Treatment:
The most important thing is to stabilize the victims emotions. Ones mood
and psychological state can worsen the condition, and so he should have a quiet
lifestyle. He should abandon all unnecessary projects and all anxieties, concentrating
only on getting plenty of sunshine, as well as taking hot baths and using hot
compresses, and be able to soften and eliminate trivial interests. Steam baths can be
effective. If ringworms are making red circles on his head, the most effective treatment is
to apply the yoke of a boiled egg to the skin.

Section Four: Acne

Acne is excessive facial secretion due to the skin drying and changing its nature, its
pores clogged and starting to store away material, leading to an endocrine imbalance,
the sexual moistures getting unevenly distributed and hindering the digestive processes.

Treatment:
Wash your face every day with warm soapy water, eat few fatty foods,
drink lots of water, and do not put lotion on your face after shaving.

Older people and small children rarely experience this. It is an ailment of adolescence.
However many or few have to deal with it, it generally takes two or three years to fade
away, and can clear up after getting married. But there are some for whom it can get
worse with age, arising most of all on ones shoulders, back, and arms, though the
whole body can be troubled by it, sometimes producing thick swelling and pain. Some
say this ailment comes from an excess of estrogen. Others say it is a response to
hormonal imbalance. Still others say it is due to obstruction in the digestive organs.
Whatever the case, one has to have a calm state of mind and frequently wash ones
face with soapy water to be able to mitigate it.

Section Five: Hong Kong Foot (or Athletes Foot)

Hong Kong foot (also called stinky foot disease) is a common skin disease for those
who wear shoes in summer. It gives rise to small blisters that produce pus, usually
between toes and under the arches, appearing as irregular spots. It is caused by
wearing leather shoes or rubber shoes which often do not allow the feet to breathe. It
can also be transmitted through use of outdoor showers.

Treatment:
More often go barefoot or wear Japanese sandals rather than wearing
rubber or leather shoes. If you wear such shoes, it is better for them to have extra room
for your toes, or that they have small holes in them, so as to avoid constricting the toes.
Nylon socks do not absorb sweat and yet they stimulate perspiration, and so they
should not be worn. Every day, perform a saltwater rinse and then dry the soles of your
feet and between your toes. After washing, and before the skin wrinkles, it is also
effective toward prevention to use the method of dredging the well to wash your feet. It
is very useful to put talcum powder on your feet, but that also should be wiped away
afterward. Victims of athletes foot should eat lots of brown rice and wheat bran, which is
very effective against this condition. It is also good to wash your foot in water that has
been used for boiling turnips. If your condition also includes swelling, eat several meals
of boiled soft-shelled turtle with garlic and you will see results.

Section Six: Foods that Lead to Skin Diseases

Whenever we see someone whose body has turned yellow but feels no pain,
there are people who think it means the illness of jaundice and then seek out medicine.
After getting thoroughly checked over, it turns out nothing is wrong. This illness is
usually the result of eating too many carrots or tangerines, or too much pumpkin or
papaya, which gives rise to yellowing skin. Having eaten more than is necessary, these
yellowing elements are overflowing in the blood. The effect manifests most of all in the
palms and the soles of the feet, resulting in this disorder. If you turn yellow, do not get
into a panic about it, just eat less of these foods and let the yellowing slowly fade. (If you
are worried about jaundice, it is effective to take five doses of 10 grams of powdered
cucumber stem in clean water, or you may use powdered cucumber seeds instead of

the stem.)
And then there is mango, called the king of the tropics. But since it is in a
toxic family of fruits, there are some people who are allergic to it and for whom eating
the fruit causes the area around the mouth and the hands to break out in small itchy red
blisters. For them the fruit is chemically the same as poisonous plants. The toxic
elements lie in the skin and the stem, and an allergic person can become ill from a mere
touch. But the fruit itself has no allergens, and so if someone without an allergy to it
removes the skin, the fruit can then be eaten without any harm.

Section Seven: Skin Ulcers

Skin ulcers are a kind of toxic bacteria that goes along with waste and which at the
same time enters the fat lining, soonafter passing through and deeply invading the
tissues. The resulting pus is often produced around hair follicles and nearby tissue is
thereby often destroyed. When the pustule around the hair finally breaks open, the pit
that is left will gradually be filled in by regular tissue, but will leave a tiny mark.
Sometimes due to the spread of a virus, other hair follicles become infected. In this way,
a cluster of sores is produced which may spread in that area or over the whole body.

Treatment:
A hot compress wrapped in cloth can ease the pain. If you rub with a hot
wet cloth, it will encourage the sores to develop faster, and then if you cut them open,
they will frequently heal quickly, and this too will ease the pain. Frequently washing with
soapy water or taking baths will encourage the skin to be smooth and strong, keeping
this ailment from arising.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: SEXUAL ILLNESSES
[Warning: The somewhat neurotic fear of sex throughout this chapter may not be
suitable for all audiences.]

Section One: Nocturnal Emissions

Nocturnal emissions
are caused by emotional agitation, a stimulation during the day leading to fantasizing.
Longing for someone during the day, you will dream about that person during the night.

When you awaken, you realize you must have had a nocturnal emission, for you had not
been masturbating. This condition mainly occurs in men. For women, it is termed sex
dreams. When a man sees sexiness, he gets excited and his penis becomes erect. The
mouth of his urethra then discharges some viscous fluid which is not semen but can
instead be termed prostate secretion. In the case of urinating or powerfully sneezing,
viscous liquid emerges and yet there seems to be no excitement manifesting, and
certainly no semen. As for associated lower back pain, it is emotional mischief, a bodily
symptom with an emotional cause. Morning erections are caused by stimulation due to
pressure within the bladder from filling with urine.

The Different Kinds of Nocturnal Emissions:

1.

To have emission whether dreaming or not:

When a man reaches his pubescent
years of age sixteen or seventeen, he must not associate with the opposite sex. The fire
of lust is then so strong that there is no way to dispel it, and so he commits inappropriate
abuses, inventing methods of masturbation. (Masturbation often appears because of
instruction from bad friends or emerges unintentionally from oneself.) Masturbation is
the most harmful thing one can do to ones body. This is because there is a specific
channel for venting ones sexual passion, that being the sexual congress between
husband and wife, the harmonizing of the passive and active aspects, the natural way of
the two relieving each other. Masturbation is the active aspect alone with its passions
and is no way to be releasing semen. It is opposition to the natural principal of passive
and active complementing each other, which has always had harmful results. After a
long time, the barrier will slacken when you enter sleep, whether you be dreaming or
not, and semen will ooze forth without your being aware of it. This is a nocturnal
emission whether dreaming or not dreaming.
2.

Nocturnal emissions caused by seeing sexual images:

To daily see beautiful women
or obscene pictures, or look at pornographic magazines, it engraves upon the mind
thoughts which linger at night. The penis will erect and semen will flow out. Or at night
when thinking about meeting and having sex with a lover, the penis will stick out and
semen will flow out. After the emission, you will awake. If this condition goes on for a
long time without treatment, there will be emissions without there even being dreams.

There will be emissions even when one is exhausted. It may get to the point that you will
emit upon seeing a beautiful woman. If this condition daily worsens, then after a long
time, your spirit will be worn out, your eyes will look deeply sunken, you will have lower
backache, you will be a sad sight to see, a thoroughly pitiful specimen that every
compassionate person would feel sorry for. Such are results of this condition.

Prevention:
Some people say that when semen fills up, it will naturally flow out. Such
a statement seems reasonable but is actually untrue. After all, how does the body of a
weak person have enough to produce nocturnal emissions? I believe it is better to
simply not have nocturnal emissions at all. Rather than mindlessly eating all day, to
engage in useful activities, such as reading beneficial books, regularly engaging in
outdoor exercise, or traveling, will utterly eradicate the minds instinctive fantasies and
the body will naturally and gradually become healthy and robust, dreams will daily
reduce, and nocturnal emissions will reduce with them. There is a common saying:
When well-fed and warmly clothed, we think about sex. When starving and cold, we
begin to think like thieves. Repeatedly ponder these words.

Treatment:
Nocturnal emissions are in the category of emotional injury, an anxiety
requiring psychological treatment, with an emphasis on psychotherapy.
1.

Maintain disciplined thoughts:

There is a saying [Guwen Guanzhi (Unparalleled
Classical Prose), part 10]: When we are moved by things, we will waste our essence
on them. You should not look at, talk about, or listen to improprietous things. See
women without looking at them. Regard beautiful women as snakes and scorpions. With
this broader perspective, naturally wicked thoughts will not arise.
2.

Do not let your penis touch things:

After sleeping on your back, you cannot control
yourself. If your penis touches something, you will have an erection, and this condition
will thus easily occur. If you have this condition, it is best not to wear underwear or sleep
on your back. Instead get into the habit of sleeping on your side curled up like a dragon.
You should get married early. Then once you are married, you should engage in
intercourse only moderately. This is a way to recover without medical help.
For
another effective method: when lying on your back, put a gallnut kernel in your navel,
covered with something to keep it from falling out.

3.
Stick your feet out:
By sticking your feet out from your covers, you cool your feet. This
will keep your internal fire from being too vigorous and thus your libidinous condition will
not manifest. In the evening, you should practice sitting meditation.
4.
Be cautious at daybreak:
This condition often occurs at dawn while asleep. Make use
of the methods above to daily recover day by day.

Recuperation:
Avoid drinking strong tea, reduce excitement, and absolutely avoid
drinking wine in order to prevent your fire from flourishing. If you rarely look at obscene
pictures, wicked thoughts will not arise. If you have nocturnal emissions, masturbation
will only make the problem worse. Also avoid spicy foods, which consume your passive
energy and help your fire to surge, and is thus of little use. Especially forbid yourself
from being angry. If you are becoming weak due to nocturnal emissions, the treatment is
to take 10 grams of lotus seeds, 0.5 grams of cinnabar, pestle them into a powder
together, and take with clean water. After several doses, you will recover.

Section Two: Shedding Essence

Shedding of essence is when a bachelor runs to sex, frantic with lust, takes extreme
delight in it, and ejaculates so powerfully that he cannot make it stop. This is commonly
called orgasmic shock [or shedding maleness]. This condition is extremely
dangerous. Because he has expelled too much semen, his vitality is suddenly lost, he
drips with cold sweat, his body weakens, and he might even die on top of the womans
belly.

Treatment:
When a man sheds his essence, unable to stop ejaculating, the woman
must not panic and force his penis out. Instead in this critical moment, she should use a
needle to poke the mans buttocks and cause him pain. When the nerves receive this
stimulation, his ejaculation will cease. If his penis were pulled out, his energy would flow
away and he would die. If a man has this condition, the woman should blow air into his
mouth, and if a woman has this condition, the man should blow into her mouth. If the
mans breath is warm and he has revived from the brink, but his mouth is firmly closed,
you can put a thin bamboo tube into his throat and blow through from the other end. Do

not be at all shy about this, but nor should you frighten him out of his shell, for it may
lead to an illicit-love homicide case in which your moral standing would plummet and
you would become infamous, and if you were to try to hide it away, it would only
strengthen the case against you. You must not overlook this.

Recuperation:
Abstain from sexual intercourse for three months to rebuild vitality,
paying attention to nutrition in order to recover it that much faster. You must not be
undisciplined and dissolute at such a time, you should maintain control. There is a
saying: Pleasure must not be extreme, for extreme pleasure gives rise to sorrow. Desire
must not be unrestrained, for indulgence will lead to disaster. Engrave this in your mind.

Section Three: Premature Ejaculation

Premature ejaculation is when semen leaks out before intercourse has even started or
has just started. As a result of excessive masturbation over a long time, the semen
escapes too easily. It is common among men who have not yet had sex with a woman,
for old men who have become weak, and for men who have sex too quickly because
they have no self-control. They then blame the woman, become filled with angst, then
sink into regret and depression. If it is fought against, the problem will only become
much worse. It does not compare to cultivating ones primal energy and waiting for the
moment.

Recuperation:
1.
Avoid foods that are spicy, fried, or rich. Absolutely avoid masturbating and abstain from
sex for a year, causing your essence to be gradually restored and more firmly retained.
2.

Be mindful of keeping body and mind in good health. You must not be too impatient or
enthusiastic, pushing yourself obsessively. You should be deeply training your energy
with internal exercises so that you can deal with an assailant if you are attacked, but
keep the training at a moderate level. The Song of Not Leaking:
In the midst of desire, be without desire.
Be one with the dirt, but do not be soiled by it.
You should move in and out slowly.
Be balanced in your releasing of either essence or saliva.

3.

If you are a victim of this illness, the best advice is to get psychotherapy. Get up every
morning at dawn, go into some spacious surroundings, and do deep breathing
exercises, or practicing Baduanjin or Taiji Boxing is even better. At night, perform
massage and fitness techniques to move the energy of your elixir field. The elixir field is
the acupoint for the kidneys. After practicing over a long period, the kidney energy will
be strengthened. Once your essence is sealed in firmly, you will naturally be free of the
condition of premature ejaculation.

Treatment:
Earthworm and garlic pellets take twenty-two earthworms from chive
soil, break them open, rinse well with running water, add chive juice, pound the mixture,
and form into pellets. Take in doses of 25 grams swallowed down with heated wine, one
dose per day. After a week, you can last for a long time without fatigue.

If your erections easily harden and easily soften, then when hard, you will experience
premature ejaculation. If you can keep yourself from becoming hard, apply Glaubers
salt, working it in with both hands, then you will not harden to the point of full erection
and will avoid ejaculating prematurely. If desire causes you to have a hard erection,
apply strong liquor with light mud onto your pubic area. If you rashly get lost in passion
whenever you have an erection, this condition will be difficult to recover from. It would be
better to have no erection at all and instead rest calmly. When tuberculosis victims often
have very hard erections and think that much more about sex, they exhaust their sexual
essence, drying up their purity in a fire of lust. The crazier the fire, the more their
passive energy is consumed. If this illness goes untreated, erections will always result in
premature ejaculations, kidney essence will run dry, the body will become gaunt in
appearance, and the cheeks will wither and redden. If the tuberculosis worsens, the
problem will become dangerous. If you care about your body and cherish your life, you
should give this particular attention.

Note: On the subject of stranguria, see Section Five of Chapter Eleven.

Section Four: Impotence and Masturbation

Impotence is when the penis stays soft and does not rise. There is natural impotence,
damage-induced impotence, and fear-induced impotence, but for the most part, it comes
from excessive masturbation. Having too many ejaculations damages the penis, making
it numb, paralyzed in a state of softness. When one is young and masturbates too much
or has too much sex as an adult, he becomes unable to perform under ordinary
circumstances, and whenever he sees a woman, he hates her beyond compare. Losing
his joie de vivre, he plays with himself in hopes of hardness, with the result that the
opposite occurs, leading to infinite regret and a silent unhappiness of self-blame and
shame, a nervous breakdown involving thoughts of hating the act altogether.

Prevention:
Natural impotence is not easy to treat. To deal with the other kinds, avoid
masturbation and intercourse. Instead of having a mentality of resisting the problem, you
should be calm and practice seated meditation, having a quiet state of mind until semen
is again abundant, cultivating your energy. Rub your testicles a hundred times each,
every morning and evening for three months, and you will have hard erections.

Treatment:
1.

Eat sparrow meat. Eating boiled sparrow meat in the winter can boost your active
aspect, and sparrow eggs work even better. Sparrows are the most wanton of birds,
copulating a hundred times a day without weakening. Its penis is particularly hard. If you
are capable of eating ox penis, dog penis, or snake penis, they are greatly beneficial.
2.

Use the tip of a worn-out writing brush:
Take a writing brush that is no longer good for
writing characters and each day put 25 grams of it into three bowls worth of clean water,
then cook it until there is nothing left but the warm dregs of it. Take this dose for three
days and you will see results. This method channels the wrist strength developed from
writing characters over and over. It is especially good for treating fear-induced
impotence. Many ancient Chinese methods get reused because although their principles
are beyond comprehension, their effectiveness cannot be described in words. Such is
the wonder of traditional Chinese medicine. In ancient times, there were effective
methods of rubbing the penis and massaging the testicles to promote erections. These

must be complemented with internal exercise. Use exercises to settle your energy, use
energy to gather spirit, and use spirit to boost essence. When your essence is
abundant, your erections will be hard.
3.

Take a dose of 10 grams of powdered fire-dried silk moth every day. At the end of a
month, you will feel extraordinarily reinvigorated. Because the silk moth mates
constantly from birth to death, it therefore increases stamina during intercourse.

Masturbation:
This crime is easily committed by both men and women, generally out
of a lack of common sense. They fail to understand the natural function of the
reproductive organs, resulting in reckless abandon. They do not understand how
harmful it is and that it frequently results in moral degeneracy, having a strong influence
on the development of body and spirit. Therefore people who habitually commit this
crime have to be given detailed guidance. They should understand that sex between two
people is a sacred act. How can it be trivialized and abused, so arbitrarily spoiled just to
satisfy ones debauched desire? Section One of this chapter already addresses this
issue and so it is not necessary to reiterate it here.

Section Five: The Sex Dreams of Women

When a woman sleeps and has dreams of having sex with men that cause her vulva to
become wet with sexual secretions, these are sex dreams. The male ailment of
nocturnal emission has already been described. Below are the types of female sex
dreams and their treatments:

1. Depression and sex dreams:

A maiden or widow often loses her temper. Her liver
has been injured, and so her spirit is not at ease. She enters into dreams of sex with
men and is unable to control herself. When she wakes, her vulva is wet with sexual
secretion, her body is fatigued, she has no thought for food or drink, she is taciturn and
unhappy, and appears distracted. For a long time her spirit will become increasingly
wearied. Her face will sallow, her body will become frail, and sometimes she will not
want to keep living.

Treatment:


She should go on scenic tours to gladden her emotions, or engage in interesting
exercise and activities to bring contentment to her mind and regulate her anger, and
thus her psyche will be daily eased.

Hang a piece of realgar against your vulva, commonly called evil ghost charm. This
has proven to be very effective. It is commonly said that realgar can keep away devils,
but cannot actually exorcise them. Because realgar evokes the energy of the penis and
produces a heat, it can relieve irritability and dispel depression, and is thus able to bring
about results.

2. Unfocused thought and sex dreams:

A women who is lascivious while holding to
the precepts of Li-ism [a tradition of ascetic self-restraint] is unable to reach her goal, for
her lust is a blazing fire and she is unable to hold it back. She thinks about sex
constantly. While she sleeps, she dreams of sex with men and is unable to control
herself. When she wakes, her vulva is wet with sexual secretion, her body is fatigued,
and yet her desire is still more heated. Her sex dreams become increasingly frequent.
As she begins to appear emaciated, worn out, and more distracted, her ailment is
becoming hazardous for her.

Treatment:
Be pure in mind and have few desires. Do not think wicked thoughts. In a
state of anxiety about this predicament, young women should hurry up and get married,
and widows should remarry. This will bring the passive and active [or in this case, male
and female] energies back into harmony, and the ailment will naturally disappear.

Additional treatments:
1.

Hot moisture and sex dreams:

Beyond the methods above, you must not drink
alcohol or eat highly greasy foods. Avoid looking at obscene images or listening to
obscene music, and you especially must not watch pornographic films.
2.

Other methods for treating the vulva:

Use the method of your lifting your anus while
inhaling, apply ice, boil and eat a two-pound soft-shelled turtle, dab hot soup on the
affected area with silk fabric, or pestle some fire-dried bone into a powder and sprinkle it
on the affected area. This is extraordinarily effective.

3.
Stranguria has already been discussed in Chapter Eleven, Section Four [Five], and so is
not repeated here.

Conclusion:
A mans essence should be seen as a treasure. The more essence he
has, the healthier he will be. The less essence he has, the weaker he will be. He must
not arbitrarily spoil himself by rashly wasting it. So many of the youth of today are
masturbating, carelessly using up their essence, masturbating simply for the pleasure of
it, and despoiling their very natures, abandoning themselves to dissipation, a great pity.
[From the Book of Documents, document 27:] Man is the most intelligent of animals.
Nature makes use of our hands, wanting our bodies to do great things. If we end up
using our hands to harm or ruin ourselves, the result will be countless illnesses one after
another, and so we should stop ourselves before it is too late. From the endless sea of
suffering, we should turn our head toward the shore [of enlightenment]. Take heed
and be careful.

Section Six: Preventing Sexual Illness

Those of you who are young should train your body and mind, studying diligently and
preserving the health of your whole body, which is a great undertaking. Those of you
who have not yet suffered from these illnesses, beware of them before you take a wrong
step. Those of you who have already slipped should mend your ways without delay.
Below are six methods of avoidance:

1. Food and Drink:

Food and drink should be mild so that sexual desire will be
reduced. By avoiding alcohol and eating large amounts of meat, you will keep from
boosting your animal vigor and an overly strong desire for sex.

2. Constant work means constant exercise just as diligent study means serious
scholarship:
Lust diminishes the self and laziness corrupts the personality. A
common saying goes: When well-fed and warmly clothed, we think about sex. Another
goes: Countless types of illness come from a lazy lifestyle. Therefore in the prime of
life, one should devote ones attention to ones profession. Our hard work exercises us
and keeps our minds from being distracted.

3. Proper recreations:
Mountain climbing, swimming, reading newspapers, studying
literature, music, chess, calligraphy, and painting are all activities which can mold your
temperament and express your ambitions, and can also keep you away from perverse
paths. Apart from having a proper profession, proper work to do, you should also seek
to have properly beneficial diversions.

4. Education:
The main essential that determines everything is education. If you
receive a good education, study hard, adhere to proper etiquette, keep to correct
thinking, stay dignified in your aspirations, and maintain good habits, you will naturally
keep wicked thoughts at bay.

5. Admonishments which are to come from teachers and parents:

Teach men and
women that marriage is the proper course and that without it they can slip into depravity.
Advise them not to read pornographic literature, look at pornographic images, watch
pornographic films, or listen to obscene songs, and especially warn them about the risk
of diseases that can come from brothels.

6. Do not be seduced:
Do your best to avoid brothels, prostitutes, promiscuous
women, and idle loafing playboys. Preserve your honor. Do not be tempted by jezebels
nor lured by gigolos.

CHAPTER NINETEEN: RESCUE IN LIFE OR DEATH SITUATIONS

Section One: Emergency Treatment in Matters of Life or Death

Different kinds of suffocation can by divided into drowning, hanging or strangling, being
overwhelmed by fumes, and being choked with smoke. Even though the cause may be
different, in all of these cases it is a matter of air being unable to get through to the
lungs, therefore the treatment in each case is almost the same. Artificial respiration is
still considered effective among the ancient repertory of techniques. Yet although

blowing air into a persons lungs is effective, it is seen as merely a matter of blowing air
from mouth to mouth. There are people who think that kissing someone at deaths door
is filthy, but such a trivial consideration should be disregarded when saving someones
life.
To perform artificial respiration, turn the victim on his back, bringing him down to
lie flat on the ground. The rescuer squats down beside him to give aid, with one hand
lifting his lower jaw and opening his mouth, the other hand squeezing his nose, and
quickly blows air into his mouth. This will cause his lungs to expand. Once his lungs
have expanded fully, stop blowing in air. His lungs will then shrink on their own. Repeat
this process over and over for up to twenty minutes or until he is revived. Someone
recently designed a rubber tube, one end going into the victims throat, the other end
being blown through by the rescuer. This is more hygienic than mouth-to-mouth
resuscitation. The different situations are described below:

1. Method of rescuing someone from drowning:

Lift him out of the water, force his
mouth open, bracing it open with a stick placed sideways in his mouth, to make the
water flow out. Use a bamboo tube to blow into his ears. Put him on the back of an ox,
belly downward, and support him with a hand as you make the ox walk slowly. In the
absence of an ox, you can also lie the victim down and sway him, or put a round barrel
under his belly and roll him back and forth along it. Then press on his back, and the
water will naturally flow out from his mouth, and there will also be expression of urine
and feces. If you are out of breath, get someone to perform artificial respiration for you.
Then pour raw ginger juice into the victim and also wipe his teeth with it. If it happens in
winter, remove his clothes to have them dried, apply heated salt to his belly, then smear
his body in warm ash, and he will soon recover. Warm ash can absorb water. This is
demonstrated by the fact that drowned flies can quickly revive when buried in ash. If the
victim happens to laugh, he must quickly cover his nose and mouth. There should also
be no embers still burning in the ash that is applied. The rescuer has to understand this.

2. Method of rescuing someone from hanging:

If someone has hanged himself, you
absolutely must not immediately loosen the cord [as that would only cause him to fall],
instead urgently use your knee or thigh to brace the person between the legs a

hanging men from behind, a hanging woman from the front. Then cover his nose and
mouth with a towel and slowly let him down, while another person clutches at his hair to
keep his head from falling. Rub his throat, massage his chest, and knead at his belly,
while the other person rubs his hands and feet, slowly moving his limbs. Use a bamboo
tube to blow into his ears and do not stop talking to him. Then prick a chickens comb
and drip its blood into his nose left nostril for men, right nostril for women, roosters
blood for men, hens blood for women. Then perform artificial respiration and he will
immediately begin breathing out from his mouth, and then give him some ginger soup to
moisten his throat. If you use this method of rescue and his breathing ceases,
alternately blow on and rub the warm area below his solar plexus many times, and he is
sure to recover. A common saying goes: The hanging didnt kill him. It was being taken
down that killed him. This describes a rescuer who is eager to save someone but does
not understand the techniques of how to do it.

1. Method of rescuing someone from being overwhelmed by fumes:

For a person
who has been overwhelmed by coal gas or flowery perfumes and is on the edge of
death, revive him by moving him to be facing into the wind to flush out his nose and
mouth, and quickly apply the juice from a pulped turnip over and over. After he awakens,
give him some sugar-sweetened water, and he is sure to recover.

1. Method of rescuing someone from smoke inhalation:

This situation is very serious.
Use of strong liquor is much better than opium. If a person has swallowed matches,
quickly pour in soybean milk. In the absence of soybean milk, a gypsum solution will be
equally effective.

These emergency techniques are the correct and convenient methods. These methods
should be carefully read and studied. Make sure your family members and neighbors
thoroughly understand them. If you encounter a dangerous situation, what should you
do or not do before seeking out a doctor? When you understand all of these methods,
every situation will be under your control. By keeping calm, you can reduce the fear and
panic of victims and others around you. By these means, you will surely be able to
prevent coma and quicken revival.

Section Two: Sunstroke

When in sweltering summer heat, unbearable

mugginess, and among the mosquitoes and flies, eating is no fun and sleep is spoiled,
emotions turn nasty and the mind gets confused, and then there is no enjoyment in the
workplace, one easily makes mistakes on the job, and the stuffiness causes dizziness
and fainting. When vapors rise like ghosts, it is easy to become angry with other people,
or for ones sex drive to be revved up, and the bodies of agitated people become more
agitated still. Unless you heighten your vigilance, you will become controlled by the
summer heat. There is a saying: With calmness comes coolness. To be calm is to
keep a cool head. To be agreeable to situations no matter what, you should maintain a
cool calm. For a strategy of dealing with the summer heat, here is a happy-go-lucky
poem from Bai Juyi [Melting Away the Heat]:
[How to get rid of vexing summer heat
and be at ease within my courtyard?
There are no extra things before me
and a fresh breeze at the window.]
Heat disperses because of my peace of mind
and cool air is born in this empty room.
Now my body is content.
Though it remains a nuisance to be among other people.
Relief from summer heat is the greatest skill.
Sunstroke is when exposure to the suns ultraviolet rays is too intense for the cranial
nerves to bear. If someone becomes irritable and demented, then slips into
unconsciousness or faints away unable to fight against it, quickly put him in a place
where the air is pleasantly cool or indoors, loosen his clothes, slightly lift his head, give
him cold water to drink, rub his whole body with cold water, rub his head with a cold
cloth, then give him an enema with about a pound of salt solution, for it is important to
increase the bodys liquid content.
A sunstruck person is not willing to be exposed to
strong sunlight. If his mind is racing, he is out of breath, or his body is weak, it will
usually cause him to collapse in a faint. Then his face will redden, his skin will be
burning hot, his pulse will be very fast, his breathing will be rapid, and he will lose
consciousness altogether. If there is no one to rescue him, his situation is extremely
dangerous. Use as much cold water as you can get, use an ice pack as a pillow, and

rub him down constantly with cotton dipped in alcohol. After he resumes consciousness,
he can be given cold drinks or hold ice cubes in his mouth. Wrap his head with a cold
cloth. You must not overstimulate him.

Emergency treatment for protracted sunstroke:

You should move into a shaded place
with fresh air to keep his temperature down. If he is perspiring excessively, give him
some lukewarm tea or salt solution to drink down. With quiet rest and lots of nourishing
food, he will recover.

Section Three: Emergency Treatment after Taking Poisoning

A person takes poison usually with the shortsighted idea of
committing suicide, but sometimes a person gets poisoned simply from carelessly taking
the wrong medicine. Regardless of poisoning being motivated by suicide or happening
due to taking the wrong medicine, the faster treatment is given, the better. You should
quickly seek to be able to restore life to the person. Maintain your composure and act
fast to get the filth out of him. You must stay calm and not panic. It is best to get him to
vomit out all the poison.
It is relatively easy to save a poisoned person if you are able
to know he has eaten something poisonous. Regardless of what poison he has taken,
first use a large quantity of clean warm or cold water, or iced beer, or other liquids, and
pour them down into his belly, at least six or seven glasses full, which starts by diluting
the poison. Then you may use some baking soda, a small quantity of potassium
permanganate, table salt, or even soap powder, not to wash his guts, but to make him
vomit. These things are in every household.
Force the victim to drink large quantities
of water. Once he can drink no more, put your hand to the back of his tongue and
induce him to vomit, vomiting out all the water he has drank. After he has finished
vomiting, again make him drink a large quantity of water in order to vomit again in the
same way. Go through this two or three times. If he is able to speak, it generally means
he will recover.
1.

When a child is poisoned through taking the wrong medicine, you can make him drink a

large cup of cows milk. After he has finished drinking all of it, put a finger in his mouth
and press on the root of his tongue to make him vomit. Or wash out his guts by making
him drink large quantities of water. If he is having difficulty breathing, you must give him
artificial respiration, which can also be performed by several people in turns, until he can
breathe again of his own accord.
2.
For swallowing a dose of kerosene: You should give the person an emetic, as explained
above. That will do the trick. (Turnip juice is best.)
3.
For someone has eaten rotten food, he must swallow lime water and a gruel of cows
milk and egg whites, and he will then recover.
4.
For someone who has swallowed down overly alkaline liquids, you should pour vinegar
or lemon juice into him.

Whatever the poison, if some of it makes contact with the skin, wash the whole area
with soapy water. Induce vomiting or flush his guts as is appropriate. Cows milk with
egg whites can be used as an emetic. If he is breathing rapidly, apply artificial
respiration. Be sure not to shout and make noise. It is most important to make him
comfortable. Give attention to these methods of prevention:

1. Do not keep poisons in the same place as ordinary medicines. Generally a household
keeps medicines in reserve. But over time, medicines can go bad. Be sure not to hold
on to or use medicines that have passed their time. You will thereby avoid getting
poisoned.

2. Be sure not to put poisons (such as rat poison) in an obvious place so that children
can get their hands on them.

3. Poisons have to be specially labeled so it is easy to distinguish them and to keep from
eating poisons by mistake. Especially avoid storing them in dark places where you may
feel around for what you seek and grab the wrong medicine by mistake.

4. Medicines have to be specially labeled. If the name on a label has faded away, you
should never make a guess as to what it is and take a dose.

5. Colorings often contain poisonous substances. Candies and toys are colored.
Generally, anything artificial uses such colorings, and they more or less all contain
toxins. Prohibit children from eating or licking them in order to prevent poisoning.

Section Four: Stroke

With
the onset of a stroke, there is a sudden headache or burning dizziness, the face turns
pale, the breathing becomes irregular, the lips pull back, the cheeks swell, the limbs go
numb, and there is nausea. If there is then a cerebral hemorrhage, one immediately
loses willpower. Secondary symptoms include: one eye closed while the other is open,
the face functioning on only one side, stiff limbs with half the body nonresponsive,
speech difficulties or inability to make words, and gradual descent into coma. A stroke is
most likely caused by high blood pressure or hardened arteries, mostly affecting older
people, usually above the ages of forty or fifty.

Prevention:
If your blood pressure is too high, you should avoid having agitated
emotions, should not take part in boisterous social occasions, find a way to lose some
weight, and get at least eight hours of sleep every night.

Emergency response:
You should gently turn the stroke victim on his back, place his
head and shoulders onto a tall pillow, and loosen the clothing around his neck and
chest. Do not tell him to move, for stillness will keep blood vessels from rupturing.

If a stroke jumps
right into a coma, his breathing will appear to slacken or his breath will be all pushed
out, and he will need immediate first aid:
Raise his head and shoulders so he is lying
comfortably, and keep his body warm. On his head apply a cold compress, clear his
rectum with an enema, and move his hands and feet. This will help him regain
consciousness more quickly. Then give him some egg whites mixed with sesame oil and
he will recover.

Section Five: Electric Shock

When electricity enters, it must exit. A household runs on a hundred and ten volts of
alternating current. Contact with it can be fatal. The shocked area gets burned,
sometimes causing blood vessels to get cooked and made to hemorrhage without
leaving a mark. Upon contact with high voltage, it transmits through your central
nervous system and you will fall down unconscious, nerve centers paralyzed, respiration
halted, and you may die.

Treatment:
If someone gets knocked down by an electric shock, you should not
immediately reach out your hand to drag him away, instead first use a bamboo or
wooden stick to push away any exposed wiring. If you are inside the house, quickly
unplug the device or flick off the circuit breaker switch to disconnect the current. Then
you can touch the shocked person. Immediately apply artificial respiration. It may take
several hours for the person to revive from this, so wait until they have become a stiff
corpse before giving up hope and ceasing to attempt emergency resuscitation.

Section Six: Drowning

For a victim of drowning, put a pillow or some bedding under his belly, draw out his
tongue so his throat will be clear and nothing will obstruct his breathing, and with his
face aligned to one side, forcefully press on his back to make the water come out. Wait
until the water has finished coming out, then apply artificial respiration to urge him back
to consciousness. Whether someone has drowned, suffocated, received an electric
shock, been overwhelmed by some kind of fumes, or whatever other cause, these all
require the response of artificial respiration, which should be implemented quickly.
If
the person still cannot breathe on his own, quickly inspect his chest, or gently turn his
body over to be facing down and forcefully press the area between his shoulders with
your palms, then shake him to clear any foreign object that might be in his throat
[although it would probably be a good idea to check if there is an object lodged in his
throat before you start blowing air into him which would only lodge it deeper]. Once he
has revived, you should not let him (or her) get up, instead move him to a place with
fresh air, make him lie down on a warm and soft mattress, and rub his body and limbs
until he has completely recovered. You may refer to emergency techniques that have
already been described in previous sections.


Section Seven: Concussions and Anemic Fainting Spells

This is a sudden damaging jolt to the brain. Within twenty-four hours, this kind of shock
can lead to coma. If the persons hands and feet are paralyzed, and his pupils are
unevenly dilated, it is only a temporary state, but if there is no one around to rescue him,
it will be difficult for him to regain consciousness and he may even die.

Emergency treatment:
Quickly lie him on his back so he is looking up at the sky,
head slightly tilted upward. Apply cold water to his head, hot water to his limbs. It is an
excellent thing to give him salted water to drink. The method of mixing it is very simple:
mix together a teaspoon of table salt, a half tablespoon of soda, and a teaspoon of ice
water. Drinking this is very effective. After he wakes, give him lots of longan soup to eat.

In a fainting spell due to anemia, one temporarily loses consciousness. The reason for
his strength suddenly weakening is a lack of blood in his brain. It often happens due to a
sudden fright. When his strength weakens, if he is not given emergency care, his
situation will become more perilous.

Emergency treatment:
Get him to lie down on his back with his head lower than his
body to help the blood return to his brain. Apply cold water to his face and wipe his lips
with a cold wet cloth. He should not get crowded around with many people, so as to
keep the air from getting stifled. Once he moves his hands and feet, and then finally
revives, you can give him warm water to drink. Still he must be given quiet and rest until
he completely recovers. After he recovers, attention should be paid to his nutrition.

CHAPTER TWENTY: FIRST AID FOR EXTERNAL INJURIES

Section One: Burns

 If
someone has been burned, you can spread clean ointment on the injured area. Usually
some vaseline hair gel with baking soda mixed in will work when applied to the injured
area. If after the gel is applied the pain is still severe, have him lie down so his head is
lower than his heart and dispel the warmth of his lower body by removing his clothing to
give the injured area more room and comfort. (If his clothes do not have an opening, you
may use scissors.) Take a washcloth soaked in water and wrap the site with it, then
wrap over it with something dry such as a cotton material.
Later apply some warm
baking soda solution to moisten the site. Or apply cool white flour paste to the site. Or
pour out a bowl of live earthworms onto the site. Or use some powdered sugar mixed
with water applied to the site with a chicken feather, which will immediately relieve the
pain and miraculously heal the injury after three days. If using cooked dry medicines,
they are to be eaten with a half and half solution of vinegar and water. Have him drink
plenty of water and convalesce restfully. It is best to be on a nourishing liquid diet.
For a minor burn, running some tap water over the injured area will reduce pain. If the
skin is blistered, you can apply vaseline or mineralized oil, then cover the site with
sterilized cotton or a gauze bandage to prevent any infection forming. Frequently apply
salted water to help eliminate the fluid from within the blisters.

Section Two: Scaldings

If someone has been scalded by hot soup, first loosen his clothes, stay calm, and do not
rub the area entirely dry. Do not let him in a confused panic sip at any hot tea or coffee.
If the injured area is intensely painful, you can soak it in cold water from a basin. It is
best to add a little bit of baking soda to the water. You must not use water that is not
clean. If freckles are produced, you can rub at the site with cod-liver oil. Vaseline, lard,
or vegetable oil will work equally well. Other types, such as kerosene or tung-tree oil
must not be used.
If there are blisters, rub the affected area with boric acid, chilled
face cream, or cold water. Smaller blisters should not be poked at. Larger blisters can
be cut open at the root to release their fluid, which can be gently pressed out. His skin
should not be diminished. Wait instead for it to naturally peel away. In the case of using
boiled medicines, they are to be eaten with a half and half mix of vinegar and water.
Have him drink plenty of water and convalesce restfully. It is best to be on a nourishing

liquid diet. The principles for treating scaldings are almost the same as for treating
burns.

Section Three: Dog Bite

When a person has been bitten by a dog or some other animal, deal with the wounded
area by first washing it clean with soapy water and rinsing it with running water. This
gets rid of the saliva of the animal. If an animal is rabid, the rabies virus can be
transmitted to the human body. After washing, use a clean knife to gash the area and
cause it to bleed, then wrap it with sterile bandages. Tying it with a clean handkerchief
will also do, as will spreading sugar on the wound.
If he is bitten out in the
countryside rather than in a city, get him out of the wind and forcefully squeeze out
blood, then use your own urine to clean the entire area of the wound. If you happen to
find some fresh cow dung, smearing that all over the wound would be even better. Or if
you can get an unripe grapefruit, pressing its skin to the wound is also good. Or you
may burn some old bamboo chopsticks, pestle the ashes into a powder, and mixed them
into some sesame oil, which will bring recovery.
Medicinal prescription for a bite from
a rabid dog:
Take black and white nuggets of realgar, 10 grams each, plus 15 grams
of shengjun, pestled together into a powder, then add 200 grams of brown sugar, mixed
well into some cold water, and then have him take the whole dose. It will have a rapid
effect.

Section Four: Snake Bite

If someone is bitten by a snake, the skin will bruise or swell. Immediately have him lie
down and calm himself in order to cause the blood to reduce its spreading of the venom.
Use a handkerchief or necktie to tightly bind up the discolored area to reduce the
potency of the venom. Then take a sharp knife, sterilize it with fire, and cut open the bite
site. Suck the blood, then spit it out. If there is swelling, it is useful to wipe the wound
with some gasoline, or if there is someone smoking a long-stemmed pipe, smearing on
some of the tobacco tar would be better still. Or if you have him drink water through the

pipe, it can negate some of the poison within him. Or take five Nanjing worms, smash
them into mush, and smear it onto the wound. The best medicine is to drink rice wine
mixed with bedbugs. Or cut off the head of a white chicken and drip its blood onto the
wound, which can help him recover easily.

Prevention:
Umbrella snakes often sleep on beds. In the morning, they sometimes
sleep among peoples shoes or find coolness in bathtubs or shower rooms. For those
who live in mountain forests amid snake-infested areas where there is no electric
lighting at night, if you walk around either indoors or outdoors, carry a flashlight and a
small stick with you. If you plant loquats or sweet-scented osmanthus outside your
home, snakes will not dare enter. The excrement of geese also prevents the
encroachment of snakes. If you surround your home with it, snakes will keep their
distance and not dare to enter.

Snake meat is edible and extremely nutritious. The eyes of poisonous snakes are
medicinal for human eyes, as are the gallbladders. The blood of poisonous snakes is
even more nourishing. The reproductive organs of snakes are a hormonal medicine.
Eating the lower half of a snake roasted on a spit can boost libido. Roasted snake meat
pestled into a powder can be taken as a medicine to treat burning cough or tracheitis.

Section Five: Cuts, Scratches, and Abrasions

People who labor a lot are bound at some point to have these kinds of minor injuries.
When a cut occurs, quickly wash the entire area thoroughly under running water, then
dry the site with sterilized cotton, and bind it up. If you have iodine or some other
antiseptic, to apply a little of that is even better. Never ignore these small injuries. If dirt
enters a cut, there is often a danger of tetanus. Where there is no clean water in areas
of the countryside or in mountainous areas, people use their own saliva to clean their
cuts. They first suck at the wound, causing blood to come out, then lick the whole area
around the wound clean, then wrap it with a relatively clean cloth in order to avoid risk of
infection. Saliva can disinfect a cut like a kind of penicillin, able to kill about seventy-five

percent of the bacteria. Using saliva to clean a cut is not the most hygienic way, but as
first aid when there is nothing else, it is the thing to do.

Section Six: Sprains

When a person moves mindlessly, such as getting up too vigorously after lying down,
standing too suddenly after sitting, or when picking things up, or suddenly turning
around, he may feel a discomfort in his waist or neck that leads to pain. These are
cases of people who do not exercise regularly moving with slackened muscles and no
coordination of consciousness, resulting in the sinews and bones losing their harmony
and the muscles getting twisted. If someone received this kind of injury, promptly elevate
his injured part into a comfortable position and put an ice pack or chilled towel on the
affected area, which can reduce pain and swelling. Then slowly move the injured joint
and gently massage to promote bloodflow. Rubbing in a little bit of alcohol would make it
even better. Trivial sprains will heal quickly.

Section Seven: Animal and Insect Bites

If someone carelessly
happens to get bit by an animal, you should wash the injured area under the faucet,
rinsing away the animals saliva, then wash the area with soap. Wipe it with medicine
and cover the area with a clean cloth. If he has been bitten by a rabid dog, after washing
the site, quickly suck out the animals infecting saliva, tightly wrap the area, and urgently
seek out a doctor.
For insect bites, rinse the area clean with tap water, then
vigorously rub it with soapy water, and then apply a paste of baking soda and water.
After it has dried, brush it off and again wash with soapy water. Take a cloth soaked in
cold water, wring it out, and use it to cover the area. This will reduce both the pain and
swelling, encouraging faster healing.

Section Eight: Wasp or Bee Stings

If someone gets stung by a bee, wasp, or yellow jacket, pry the stinger out with a sterile

needle if there is one, pour cold water all around the site to reduce pain, or put an ice
pack on the site, and have him relax while the venom gets absorbed. If he has received
many stings and the sensation is too intense, the pain too much to bear, then quickly
soaking the sites in cold water or soda can reduce the pain. In the case of a bee sting, it
is very effective to apply a mix of brown sugar with pounded cooked rice.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE: FOOD

Section One: Food Poisoning

Food poisoning is usually a matter of germs in unclean

food entering the body, sometimes in conjunction with eating inappropriate foods or with
eating too much. There are some fish, crabs, or raw plants which often contain harmful
toxins. Eating them by mistake results in poisoning. Furthermore, leftover foods that
have been ignored too long, becoming moldy and stinking, can when mixed up among
other foods result in poisoning.
Usually after two or three hours, or perhaps four or
five hours, these effects will manifest: diarrhea, sweating, fever, the mouth and face will
become pale. The effects may continue for up to two or three days, and may even go so
far as to result in death. Although the substances will have been eliminated after several
days, the limbs will lack strength, the appetite will be greatly decreased, the abdomen
will not feel comfortable, and the stomach will have been damaged.
Whenever I have
heard of a village farmer who contracted a deadly food poisoning after stuffing himself
with seafood or wild plants, commonsense was rather meager. What about the
commonsense of people in bounteous cities? An instance of food poisoning occurred at
a huge banquet in a large restaurant. After greatly feasting, some people had vomiting
and diarrhea while others in the gathering complained noisily of a problem. On all of
these occasions, I heard that samples of the food were taken for chemical analysis
which resulted in generally the same conclusion: that this is an issue deserving attention
and that those who have a vigorous appetite should be that much more mindful.

Treatment:
If you realize you have become a victim to food poisoning, quickly eat lots

of very salty things and drink lots of clean water. Do not eat more of the food! Salt can
disinfect the toxins, while water can dilute and disperse them. This treatment can make
an ill person recover sooner. Once poisoned, the symptoms are: face turns pale, there is
sweating, limbs feel cold, there is vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, fever, the feces
may contain pus, and you will experience suffering. At some point you will discover
something yummy and devour it ravenously, bringing harm to your belly, grief to your
spirit, and receive misery. You must never treat your life so jestingly. Although the
classical medicine texts say it can be cured after twenty-four hours, there is still damage
that has been done to the digestive organs.

Prevention:

1. Foods that are not fresh should not be eaten. Leftover foods that have been sitting
around for a long time should not be eaten simply because of guilt over wasting them. If
you are not sure about meats and vegetables, then do not recklessly eat them. Foods
that counter each other should not be eaten together. Whenever you go out to eat or
drink, pay special attention. Do not greedily eat excessive amounts of delicious food. At
every evening feast is a glutton who does not eat throughout the day so that he can then
stuff himself at the appointed time. You must not possess this behavior, for excessive
fullness is sure to make you ill.

2. Modern fertilizer and pesticides all contain toxic substances. If applying fertilizer by
hand, you should be careful. Whatever you may eat, you must first wash your hands,
otherwise you will swallow down some contamination and greatly put yourself at risk.
Apples always have a coating of toxic preservative on their skins. When eating an apple,
paring away its skin or washing it well will make it safe to eat. Never give market-bought
apples to children to eat. There is too much of a risk of poisoning. You must not be
careless.

Section Two: Food and Nutrition

People eat and live, and if they do not eat, they die. If the food is not appropriate, if food
is eaten without discrimination, or food is eaten to excess, these things can cause
illness. Therefore food should be nutritious rather than simply delicious or copious.

Human food always has to go through a process of transformation (i.e. digestion) in

order for nutrients to be sent through the blood to the bodys various tissues, supplying
them with their requirements. The waste product that is left over from digestion is then
collected into the excretory organs to be drained away. Just like the charred remnants of
fuel in a mechanical furnace, the waste product of your processed fuel has to get
eliminated. There are three goals when eating food:

1. To supply fuel, providing the body with strength as well as generating heat to maintain
the bodys temperature.

2. To supply material for continuous reconstruction inside the body.

3. To supply various enzymes to regulate assimilation of foods.

Although food can provide heat and function, you should be cautious when selecting
raw foods, seeking clean items and avoided dirty germ-ridden ones. For the most part,
food is fine once it has been cooked, for these reasons: 1. Cooking food can kill germs,
thus making it safer than raw foods. 2. Cooking food makes it easier to digest. 3.
Cooking food makes it more flavorful.

Section Three: The Digestion of Food

Food and drink are best when simple. If there is too much variety to your food, there will
be too much complexity in their ingredients, they will not be complementing each other,
and they will always end up hindering digestion. For ordinary foods in the stomach to be
digested takes about three or four hours. Therefore between meals, you ought to give
your stomach a rest. If you have not finished digesting, but you keep on adding more
helpings of food, you will only wreck the functioning of your stomach. This is indeed the
greatest error in eating and drinking. Therefore the three daily meals should have fixed
times, and the foods at supper should be easily digestible or should be of a small
variety.
When you are tired, you must not eat a lot, and after eating should not
immediately engage in strenuous exercise. If after a meal you can rest for half an hour, it
is appropriate to then begin some exercise. Appropriate exercise will be of great benefit

to the digesting of food, by way of gently wriggling the intestines.

Whenever you
finish a meal, you should not have an uncomfortable feeling. Ideally you should feel
hungry again four or five hours later. Hence an ancient thinker said: Stop before
becoming full. Eat only after becoming hungry. This is also a secret to cultivating health.

Section Four: Swallowing Foreign Objects

If it is something round and smooth, such as a copper coin or a gold ring, it can often
down unimpeded. If you swallow something with sharp edges, you then will have a big
problem.

Emergency treatment:
Swallowing large quantities of something that has been
mashed, such as potatoes or sweet potatoes, can help the object travel properly through
the intestines. Such a remedy has already been described in Section Four of Chapter
Eleven and so does not need to be repeated here.

Section Five: Foods Entering the Nose

For foods entering the nose, you can use a finger to push down on the side of the
opposite nostril, and then blowing out forcefully can dislodge the object. Or you can use
some soft material to lightly tickle the membrane inside the nose, stimulating a sneeze
to dislodge the object. If some external object has become packed deeply into the back
of a nostril, then push down on the side of the opposite nostril and forcefully inhale. This
can usually cause the object to fall into your mouth and can then be spat out. Various
remedies for nasal ailments have already been described in Section Four of Chapter
Eleven.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO: THE PROS AND CONS OF A FEW FOODS

Section One: Garlics Ability to Prevent Illness

Northerners in China all love to eat green onions and garlic, steamed buns soaked in
garlic, thin pancakes wrapped around green onions. These make an excellent meal,

delicious to eat, but it turns out nowadays that they are actually not that nutritious. They
may be very simple recipes, though they are really just enough to keep up your strength,
and is that really enough? Though the onions and garlic may boost vitality. Recently,
scientists have been considering their vitamin content and germ-fighting effectiveness.
They are unusually easy to absorb. If you have pinworms in your belly, an enema
with garlic and cows milk will be very effective. If you have ringworms on your scalp, a
garlic rub is more potent than other medicines. Garlic has the effect of boosting appetite,
is astonishingly powerful at fighting germs, can add vitamins and prevent fatigue, and
can also prevent muscle ache. Therefore garlic is of tremendous value in preventing
illness and protecting health. The curative effects of foods have already been explained
in previous chapters.

Section Two: Chinese Turnip

The Chinese turnip is sweet and tasty. One of the vegetables used daily within
households, it is not only cheap and delicious, it also greatly benefits the fluids on ones
heart and other organs, treats the spitting up of blood that comes from weak lungs,
breaks up phlegm, and produces calm. People only know it as a meal addition and are
not aware of it as an effective medicine. It has a good effect upon ones liver and bile. It
is also a good medicine for preventing skin disease. Because it can boost metabolism, it
should often be eaten, and it is better to eat than other tonics. It detoxifies and it treats
the misery that comes from inhaling coal fumes. When boiled in a soup, it treats
athletes foot. When pounded down, the juice is excellent for applying to burns.

Section Three: Seaweed

Seaweed is high in vitamins, as well as calcium, iron, sodium, and especially iodine.
Japanese make a tea out of it. Frequently eating kelp can prevent early greying and
balding, it can dispel fever, weakness, and stiffness, and it can treat tumors or scrofula.
It also promotes comfortable sleep. Its greatest effect is that it can treat goiter (swelling
of the neck), and it is also beneficial for asthma and tracheitis.
The three foods above
are just examples. The rest of the curative foods are too numerous to describe in full.
You may refer to Chapter Twelve.

Section Four: Tobacco

Cigarettes, alcohol, and tea are common human addictions, and are the most
widespread. The amount of money spent on them every year is difficult to estimate. As
to the harmfulness of each, opinions differ, but common knowledge impresses upon us
that smoking is more harmful than beneficial, and is addictive. With the first puff, a
person feels it to have a bitter and acrid taste, and coughs. If you inhale smoke often
enough, this sensation will decrease and you will then become addicted. The tobacco
plant contains nicotine, which is a toxic substance. One drop of nicotine can kill a
mouse.
When a person inhales this poison, it can irritate the blood vessels, easily
causing them to be overstimulated in their function, and consequently can lead to low
blood pressure. It can also irritate the trachea, sometimes causing a dry cough. If you
are inflicted with this dry cough, you should stand up for yourself, and quit! Smoking
increases the risk of lung cancer and can even aid the developing of stomach cancer.
Therefore cigarettes are very harmful and not very beneficial. They are also a waste of
money. Ideally you should not use cigarettes at all. It is really not that difficult to quit
smoking, it is just a matter of willpower. Once you have quit completely, you will no
longer be risking the dangers that come with them.

Section Five: Wine

Wine is a mixture of alcohol, flavorings, and water. The part of it that influences the
human body is the alcohol. Alcohol can stimulate the stomach membrane, quickening
absorption. That is why after drinking two cups of it, we feel our faces blush. The rest of
it goes along with food into the intestines, and the blood then sends alcohol to each part
of the body. If your stomach is empty, it is easy to become drunk. Drinking after a meal,
the effect will be lessened. Once a person has become drunk, the greatest effect is
upon the brain. It can cause one to lose ones self-control, become overexcited, even a
small amount will produce a strong increase in sexual desire, and one will easily make

indiscreet remarks. Drinking excessively can be poisonous. It can potentially produce

severe headaches or cirrhosis of the liver.
In addition to losing your judgment,
excessive drinking will cause you to lose your dignity, reduce your moral sensibilities,
and be rendered incapable of tasks you could perform prior to drinking. For some
drunkards, after three cups their basic nature will arise, and after drinking excessively,
they will turn into savages. If they then continue to drink, they will lose control and there
is no telling what they might do. It is easy for them to lose all restraint and make fools of
themselves. If in front of close friends or family, they will not lose too much face. But if
they are in a public place, making a spectacle of themselves for all to behold, they will
utterly disgrace themselves. Are they not aware when sober how to behave in public?
There are also those for whom it is a sleeping draft, who drift off upon drunkenness
setting in, so much so that they may not wake for several days. Compared to the drunks
who are continuously shouting and cursing, they are somewhat preferable. But still, why
bother anyway?
Some people are of the opinion that drinking wine is one of the life
arts. This kind of art is not to be taken seriously. One may participate on special
occasions, for instance partaking of a small quantity while at a casual dinner among
close friends. As long as you stop before going too far, it is acceptable. As for seeing
wine as your destiny, or forming a habit of drinking heavily, spending the whole day in a
drunken stupor that delays every important task, or becoming riotously obnoxious, these
things should be carefully avoided.

Section Six: Tea

Chinese people pay a great deal of attention to tea, making it into a high-class
beverage. Tea is used in the receiving of guests, looked upon as a form of politeness.
Beyond quenching thirst, it also can stimulate the heart, increase blood circulation, and
is used as a diuretic, flushing out toxic substances, and thus it can detoxify.
The
warmth of tea can aid your recovery from illness and quickly return you to a normal state
of comfort, and so it can be described as a dose of good medicine. It also contains a
certain amount of vitamins, can make you feel energized, can refresh you when tired,
and can enhance muscular function. For these reasons, old people should drink it.
However, if you drink too much of it, it will chill your lower abdomen [lower warmer].
[Tea is described here in rather glowing terms. The categorizing as an addiction to
beware of is in its overuse, particular in Asians cultures. Drinking tea is wise, but
drinking it in massive quantities is foolish. It is important to be aware that all teas, except
herbal teas, are caffeinated. A typical cup of black tea has about half the caffeine of a

cup of coffee, and green tea usually about half the caffeine of black tea. If you are in the
habit of drinking two dozen cups of otherwise healthy green tea throughout your day,
you are basically drinking half a dozen cups of coffee every day. Yin does not discuss
the caffeine element but does point out the effect on the lower abdomen. In addition to
adversely affecting the nervous system, excessive caffeine wearies the organs of the
lower abdomen, particularly the kidneys. When our kidneys are worn out, we indeed
experience a kind of chill in that area.]

The three addictions above are best next engaged in at all. If you do engage in them, be
able to control yourself so as to keep them at an appropriate level.
If you treat
smoking as a meal, swallowing smoke and emitting fog until your lips become like
burned incense and your hands are stained yellow, it will be especially incompatible with
health.
If you are every day grasping a wine bottle and residing in a drunken stupor,
not only will this get in the way of important tasks, it will also bring you disgrace.
As
for addiction to regular consumption of tea, although it is not greatly harmful, it is also
not the most beneficial thing.
In difficult times, as in war, we seek simple things in life.
But these particular things are unnecessary, more harmful to the body than beneficial. I
advise you to rarely smoke and drink, and to curb these addictions altogether is best.
Methods of curbing these addictions are below:

Curbing your use of tobacco:

You should embrace determination. Rarely go near
people who are smoking and avoid places that have a cigarette smell. After a meal,
gargle silver nitrate solution (in a measure of 50 grams), which causes a person to feel
disgusted by cigarette smoke, to not desire it when it is inhaled, and can pacify irritation
in the throat. When you feel withdrawal, you can chew on gentian root. Take a hot bath
three times a week, making you perspire to release the tobacco element you have
accumulated in your body. Drink as much clean water as you can, get plenty of exercise,
and do not let your mind become idle. You will thus naturally be able to quit.

Curbing your use of wine:

Drink lots of laxatives. Take hot baths to make you perspire
(while applying cold water to your head) or perhaps have a cloth-wrapped hot compress
applied to your back, both being methods to cause perspiring and help drain it away. Or
you may rub your body with cold water. In eating and drinking you should avoid all

stimulants. Eat lots of fruits and vegetables. Maintain a mentality of resolution and do
not be lured back to alcohol. If you go back and forth between avoiding it and using it,
you will only make it harder to break the habit completely.

Curbing your use of tea:

Between the pros and cons of tea, it is best to drink it thinly
steeped and just a few cups. You should not drink too much of it, as it would bring a chill
to your lower abdomen. It would be better to simply drink clean water anyway.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE: THE BODYS BUILD

Section One: Fat or Thin

A person who is too fat is not good-looking, has difficulty moving, is also easily at risk for
high blood pressure, as well as swelling of the bladder or gallbladder. However, a
person who is too thin is also displeasing to the eye. It is best to have the right balance
between fat and skinny.
A fat person is not necessarily at risk for high blood
pressure. Boxing master Wang Shujin is a fat man. He is over fifty years old, his height
is 56, and he weighs 265 pounds. That he is fat is obvious, yet he is not only without
illness, his movement is also nimble, and this is simply because he practices Taiji
Boxing and has internal skill. Although his body is fat, he is also healthy. He has recently
received an invitation to teach martial arts in Tokyo. Thin people without illness who
have spirit are also capable. For fat people who desire to lose weight or thin people who
desire to gain weight, here are some methods:
1.

To lose weight:
You do not need to endure the pains of hunger, merely restrict your
consumption of foods high in carbohydrates. By being perseverant and strategizing,
your appetite can be naturally reduced. Each day, have your three meals and plenty of
clean water, but reduce your intake of salted meats and seasonings, as well as pickled
meats and salted products. Of fruits, eat only pomelos, turnips, watermelon, bananas,
and peaches, avoiding the rest. With each meal, drink tea or unsweetened coffee. For
the most part, engage in suitable exercise. For the rest, be mindful of what you eat and

drink. You will thus naturally be able to lose weight. To do more exercise and more work
will increasingly consume your strength, and you have to plan out your nutrition to make
up the deficit yet not have food end up getting stored in your body.
2.

To gain weight:
There is a common saying: A broad mind goes with a plump body.
There is much truth in this, so long as one does not abuse the concept. One can eat,
drink, get lots of sleep, and one will naturally gain weight. If you want to gain weight
quickly, you should eat more fatty foods, such as mutton stew, large black soybeans,
round jujubes, and frequently drinking beer, but only as far as your appetite will allow
these things. Do not overthink and engage often in light exercise, then you will after a
month see the desired result.
If you are fat without illness, being somewhat fat is
harmless. If you are thin and have spirit, there is equally little to worry about in being
thin. Whatever shape you naturally have, it is not necessary to have anxiety about it.

Section Two: On Being Too Short

Some are born to be short and some become that way
while developing due to malnutrition. There is currently still no effective method of
making a short person tall, nor of shortening of overly tall person. To force the body to
shorten would injure the body. Height is usually congenital. If you are congenitally short,
it will be difficult to stretch you any further. If you are developmentally short, it can be
remedied within the first thirteen years.
First you should give attention to exercising
appropriately. According to the principles of exercise and stretching, if you work at
stretching every day, cartilage will harden, then regenerate, then harden lengthened,
and then bone structure will naturally be extended. If you suspend with both hands from
horizontal bars, or if you hang by your chin and let your arms correspondingly hang
down, it will have a pronounced effect on the growth of your body. Reaching out with

climbing movements is also very beneficial.

The next thing to pay attention to is the
nutritional quality of your diet, eating many eggs, fish, greens and other vegetables,
which contain high levels of calcium carbonate.
Exercise should be consistent,
optimistic, and meaningful. If you are always able to implement the advice above, surely
your body will be lengthened and fit.
But shortness is a fundamentally trivial defect. It
does not diminish ones moral qualities. Shorter people often have a higher intelligence
and wisdom, taking advantage of their other strong points and working hard in their
pursuits. In developing a moral sense, there is inner beauty, which is superior to outward
beauty and is the secret to success. It is always of more lasting value than external
beauty. In ancient times, the prime minister of the kingdom of Qi, Yan Ying, was very
short. The most outstanding American president, Lincoln, was born very ugly. They both
did great things. How many tall handsome men can compare to them?
Being short is
not something you need to worry about. People do not worry about physiological
shortcomings as much as psychological defects. They do not worry so much about
physiological health, more about psychological health. Our nations great ancient
historian, Zuo Qiuming, and Americas great modern educator, Helen Keller, were both
blind, yet they made brilliant contributions to mankind in the fields of history and
education that were in no way inferior to the achievements of people with sight.
Therefore I say: Dont fret about your height, just your lack of rising to the challenge.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR: NERVOUS DISORDERS

Section One: Nervous Disorders Caused by Your State of Mind

Emotional agitation is the source of countless illnesses. When a person who sinks into a
pit of vexation, who has a strong temperament of being often worried or anxious, is then
placed in a difficult predicament, anger builds on top of anxiety, and the muscles
become tensed and trembling. If this kind of trembling tension goes on for a long time, it
will easily become nervous illness brought about by state of mind, commonly involving
headaches, high blood pressure, and pounding heartbeats, leading to insomnia. If an ox
or a dog or a car suddenly appears, he will break into a cold sweat and gasp with an
inability to breathe easily. His heart will pound, his eyes will widen, his blood vessels will
be constricted, and he will feel dizzy. This is extremely dangerous. When a person who

has such a condition and is in denial about it, honest examination does not take place
and illness emerges. This is nervous disorder brought about by state of mind.

Prevention:
1.
Maintain a calm state of mind with settled emotions. Cultivating good habits often
causes mood to lighten.
2.
Do work that interests you, and when it gives rise to any agitation or frustration, take a
rest. Avoid stimulating foods. Often eat fruits and vegetables.
3.

You should not obsess over bodily illnesses and you should especially not engage in the
worries of the man from Qi [referring to Liezi, chapter 1 a man who was so worried
about the possibility of natural disasters occurring that he could not sleep or eat]. Delight
in association with other people and express interest in them. A solitary attitude is of the
greatest harm to the body.
4.

When a situation cannot be changed, either figure out a way to live with it as it is or step
away from it for a while. Otherwise you will worry about it all day and become annoyed,
only increasing nervous disorder. For this reason, there is a state hospital in America in
which they use recitation of poetry to treat nervous disorders, and this has obtained
good results. By focusing the mind on interpreting phrases, there is little mental leisure
left for obsessing over illness, and gradually illness is naturally mitigated. You might as
well give the reciting of elegant and lofty poetry a try, for there is no harm in it, only
benefit.
5.

Constantly get in the habit of talking in a humorous and cheerful way. Frequently
praising other people makes them happy and gives you happiness too. Happiness is
your own responsibility. Happiness you find yourself is better than happiness given to
you by other people. Happiness that is given to you by other people can be taken back,
whereas happiness you find yourself is a permanent part of your heart. Therefore health
experts encourage that individuals should each day sweat once and laugh three times.
A face that does not know how to smile is like a bud that does not bloom, causing the

rest of the plant to become lifeless. Thus a melancholy state of mind easily produces
many illnesses.
6.

Hesitation is inferior to decisiveness. As you mull over a situation, the more you think
about it, the more you get stuck [the classical phrase here being drill into the oxs
horn], and this causes you to become so confused that you render yourself not only
unable to solve a problem, but also increasing your own capacity for illness. With an
open mind, darkness changes to become light. With a pure heart, ugliness transforms
into beauty.
7.
You should divert your nervous attention by changing your environment. Climb tall
mountains to look at grand scenery or go to the ocean to observe the horizon,
comforting yourself by broadening your mind.
8.

Song Dynasty philosopher Zhu Xi wrote: The wide ocean admits the leaping of fish.
The empty sky admits the flight of birds. Your clothes flap atop a mile-high ridge. Your
feet are washed in a thousand-mile flow. The moon climbs high into the sky. The wind
blows along the surface of the water. Pearls hidden away in the depths have a natural
luster. Jade hidden away in the mountains has a natural splendor. There is breadth of
spirit in deeply savoring simple things.

Above are many methods of diverting your state of mind. If you can put them into
practice with steadfast determination, then you can prevent the approach of mental and
nervous disorders.

Section Two: Mental Disorders

Mental disorders are usually the result of being unable to adapt to or control
your circumstances, defeat taking shape in the form perhaps of failure in your
undertakings or loss of your property, or you may suffer tarnishing of reputation or

difficulties in romance. Human affairs build up complex emotions. If we unable to find a

way to settle them, we get thrown into illusion, confusion, worry, regret, or unease. A lot
of irritation or depression in the mind will result in insomnia, and you will feel each day
like you have reached a dead end.
Mental disorders have the same symptoms as
nervous disorders, sometimes exhibiting strange or eccentric behavior, sometimes
seeming as though there is no problem at all. Victims of mental disorders do not
themselves recognize that they have a disorder, and even when their moods are
abnormal, they are not aware of it. Mental disorders sometimes exhibit delirium,
sometimes heart palpitations, sometimes whole-bodied shaking, sadness or fearfulness,
melancholy or worry, feeling stupid, meeting tasks with indifference or dissatisfaction.
For these kinds of illness, there are no medicines that can be effective. The most
essential means of recovery from mental disorders is psychotherapy.
Attention must
be given to being in the right profession, for work can reduce all doubts and cursings.
There are two kinds of suffering in the world: ceaseless toil and constant idleness. In the
case of the former, you can obtain your requirements, but in the case of the latter, not
only will you gain nothing, you will also lose what you have. The misery of toil can be
alleviated by taking a rest from it or by completing a project. For the misery of idleness,
there is no medicine that can treat it and you can only exhort the person to go do some
work. Being in the right job is a good medicine for treating illness and you might as well
give it a try. This is why Tao Kan of the Jin Dynasty moved bricks [from his study to his
courtyard and back again every day] and Zeng Wenzheng walked three thousand paces
after a meal, both of them fearing illness resulting from idleness.

Section Three: Manic Depression

Manic Depression is commonly called lunacy. Mania with depression is a kind of

illness that manifests as two aspects. When in a deranged state, there is disheveled
hair, a dirty face, a babbling mouth, crazy laughter, hitting and cursing others, ripping of
ones own clothes, neither eating nor sleeping these are all depictions of the manic
state. When in the reverse state of depression, one becomes suicidal and emotionally
numb, always slipping into boredom and gloom, with knitted brows, shineless eyes, and
sluggish thoughts. There is a constant timidity and loss of self-confidence. Everything
that happens to him seems to have no flavor and he only feels like dying.
As for the
two aspects of this illness: When he slips into the manic state, his thoughts are random,

his mind distracted. He looks upon human life as something trivial and pointless,
wishing in vain that his fantasy world would never end. During the depression phase, he
condemns himself, looks down upon life, sighs endlessly, and as his mind is empty, it is
difficult to predict his actions.
This illness cannot be treated only with medicine. He
must be met with a calm mind and appropriate nursing. Generally he will improve after
three months and can be restored to normal after six months.

Treatment:
1.

[During the manic phase,] pay attention to his eating and excreting. Use psychology to
understand him and physiology to calm him. Do not make his mind more agitated. Get
him to gently use up his energy. Do not cause him to become self-destructive or harmful
towards other people. Once unimportant things have induced him to rant and rail, then
go along with his mindset and indirectly guide him toward being cheerful.
2.

During the depression phase, try out other psychological methods of giving him support.
At the same time, get him to be around friends and get him out into better surroundings
so he can frequently be in touch with the things that are most important. It can also be
curative to give him mild tasks.

Section Four: Epilepsy

When an epileptic attack occurs, the victim loses consciousness and falls down, his
limbs and jaw twitch, and he froths at the mouth. He might also bite his own tongue,
defecate, or slip into a coma.

Treatment:
Quickly support the victim to keep him from injuring his head, loosen his
buttons, and put a cork or wood chip between his teeth to keep his tongue from being
bitten. If he does not awaken, you can let him rest, but you must cover him to keep him
warm. After he awakens, give attention to his excreting and eating. He must not drink
alcohol or smoke. He should eat and drink in moderation, should eat easily digestible
foods, lots of fruits and vegetables, and drink lots of water. When his defecations are
regular and smooth, attacks will be rare. An emergency technique: put some cabbage
leaves in his mouth and he will immediately regain consciousness.


Section Five: Shivering

Shivering is when the muscles of the whole body contract. At the beginning of illness,
there is first a weariness, then a shivering hits the body, starting as an abnormal chill in
the hands and feet, which then spreads through the whole body and produces shivering.

Treatment:
Quickly make use of a hot-water bath to soak his feet or wrap his body in
wet cloths. Have him lie in bed and rest, cover him with many blankets, put a hot-water
bag under his feet, and have him drink hot water with brown sugar and ginger. These
things will help his body warm up and perspire, discharging waste material from within
his body. His sickness can thus be lightened or he may recover altogether.

Section Six: Hypochondria

An individual human life is complicated. We eat and drink many kinds of things. If eating
and drinking are irregular, the body will feel uncomfortable, life will be unbalanced, and
the mind will not be at ease. That is why some people get so impetuous whenever they
encounter a complex situation. They feel incapable of dealing with it, easily get angry,
and often worry so much that their minds lose their grip on reality and their imaginations
run away with them. At first dejected, they then become distrustful. From their
psychological state comes a physiological reaction. They get insomnia and have a
nervous breakdown, symptoms manifesting such as dizziness and a pressure in the
brain.
From that point on, they overreact to small issues, suspecting they are ill,
fearful that serious illness is on the way and that they cannot live long. It should be
understood that the human metabolism aligns with the seasons, and that we naturally
adapt physiologically in response to the weather. If we happen to feel unwell, we do not
need to be alarmed so long as in body and mind we are behaving normally every day,
living according to standards, and are performing our activities in a balanced way.
If
you keep your conscience clear and are indifferent to success or failure, then what is
there to worry about and where will illness come from? A common saying goes: In your
behavior toward others, as long as you have not done anything you will regret, it is not
necessary to go so far as to fear ghosts will come calling you to justice in the middle of

the night. It is also said: The fear of death is where ghosts come from. And I say: A
worried mind is often ill. Fools bring trouble upon themselves. I hope you will ponder
these words over and over.

Section Seven: Unidentified Pains

About unidentified pains, a famous Dr. Price
said: Do not put all your confidence in the wonders of medical science and then take
risks. You should understand that a great many illnesses, including heart disease,
neurasthenia, and others, still do not have any medicines that can thoroughly cure
them.
Unidentified pains are difficult to treat with medicines. In its regular state, the
human body will only produce pains when they are generated by emotional stress, such
as headaches, heart pains, stomachaches, facial neuralgia, muscle aches, limb pains,
or eye pains. Every kind of sudden onset of pain is for the most part due to
accumulation of unreasonable irritations. When your emotions are agitated or you are
overly anxious, pains will be generated. If you have received more than your fair share
of insult, forced to endure injustice and bad treatment, been excessively aggravated, of
if you have accumulated either hate or melancholy for too long a time, it will lead your
muscles to tighten and your digestion to slow down, interfering with both your breath and
your blood circulation.
If this kind of tension cannot be eliminated, an unstable
situation for mind and body will continue until your whole body gets worn out, resulting
in insomnia and madness that runs the gamut of emotions from jealousy to hatred to
grief to arrogance and so on. Then on some occasion of elation, you will start to weep,
or on some occasion of excitement, you will feel disgusted with it. The result is
unidentified pains as described above. What medicine would be able to treat such an
affliction?

Treatment:
Open your mind to self treatment. Do not worry at all about excesses that
have already passed. Cultivate body and mind, above and below, with some kind of
training. First try methods of loosening psychological restrictions, then your body will
relax along with the transformation of your mind, and these unidentified pains will fly
away far from you. Engage in outdoor exercise or take walks, practice fitness techniques

on the bed, or exercises to build up the body and maintain health, or practice a Taiji
Boxing set, all of which can harmonize breath and blood, forming strength.

Section Eight: Insomnia

There are a great many causes of insomnia, both external and internal. Whatever the
causes may be, they all come down to overstimulation of the brain cells. When a person
wants to sleep, there are three factors: quiet, darkness, and warmth. With these three
things at the right level, it is easy to fall asleep. Sounds, bright light, cold, heat, and
odors are all things that stimulate body and mind, having an influence on sleep by
keeping the mind from becoming quiet. Externally caused insomnia is when you are
agitated or fatigued due to external stimulations. As for worry, anxiety, fear, delusion,
melancholy, depression, pessimism, nervous breakdown, and so on when these
things rush through the brain incessantly, it is even more impossible to sleep. The more
agitated your mind, the more excited your nerves, and you will be anxious all night long.
Long periods of insomnia bring the most awful suffering and often spark suicide.
Frequent use of sleeping pills can become toxic and also diminishes their effectiveness
anyway, giving a false sense of sleep, and it is not known how many people this
troubles. A person who has a slight experience of insomnia or sometimes gets
insufficient sleep will start to have a fearful mind that has an influence on him the whole
day. It should be understood that sleep duration is different for each person and thus we
cannot say that it is wrong to get less than eight hours. Though not quite enough, it is
harmless, and you should not worry about it being a problem. Deep dreamless sleep
makes it easiest to recover from fatigue. Such a state can be arrived at about an hour
before midnight, but will be most successful two hours after midnight.


Treatment:
Due to the psychological causes
of insomnia, you should strive to take situations philosophically, stay calm, and at the
same time give attention to improving your lifestyle. For dinner, you should not drink tea
or coffee, or eat irritating foods. You should get to bed early and not feel anxious about
anything. Use your mind hardly at all, not reflecting on the days mishaps, and certainly
not dwelling on them. While lying in bed, the air in your bedroom should be free-flowing,
maintain the appropriate level of darkness, and do not have noise going on in your
room. Improve the state of your bedroom to make it more comfortable. Stack your
pillows slightly higher to keep blood from pouring so much into your brain.
Your
dinner should not be too heavy or too late. Drinking down a soup of boiled tangerine
leaves with some brown sugar added will also dispel insomnia, though avoid using any
irritating foods. You should not look at pornographic materials or read stimulating books
or periodicals. You should not strain your mind with thinking about difficult problems. You
should also not fear that you are about to have a bout of insomnia, instead maintain an
attitude of indifference to it.
At dusk, you can do some light exercise or take a walk.
Before sleeping, have a hot bath or do some light massaging of your skin to draw blood
to your bodys surface, which will help you enter sleep. Sleep is a natural physiological
phenomenon and you should fall asleep sooner or later. Sleeping pills cannot be used
all the time because they will become ineffective over a long period, as well as build up
into a toxicity. To cover your head with a moist towel, close your eyes in meditation, and
silently count up to a hundred can also be helpful.
If you really cannot enter into
sleep, you can sit up and wrap yourself in a blanket, hugging your pillow, calm your
energy, close your eyes, and silently chant I want to sleep in your mind to hypnotize
yourself into sleeping. Your head and upper body will naturally start to slowly sway like a
round-bottomed doll. Allow yourself to naturally topple and be sent to sleep. Whatever
the posture, it will be easier to sleep as long as it is natural. For example, when a baby
cries, quickly put him in his cradle and he will stop crying, and then after rocking his
cradle for a long time, he will go to sleep. Or when riding a train, it is easier to sleep
when it starts moving then when it stops. These methods are based on basic principles.

Section Nine: Neuralgia

Agitated nerves can cause pain, In the case of facial neuralgia, there is a great deal of
suffering. Whenever this illness manifests, there are spasms. The cause of it is illness in
the nerves of the head or filth that has accumulated in the mind from protracted worry or
an angry temperament. The mind is thus not open and energy does not run smooth.

There is a psychological influence on the body, leading to the rise of neuralgic

spasming.

Treatment:
If there is a bad tooth or any sickness in the mouth, that should be treated
first. Also pay attention to proper eating and drinking, and sufficient fresh air. Good
hygiene and a philosophical approach to life will cause the victims health to improve.
When this illness occurs, you can apply either hot water or a hot-water bag. For this kind
of illness, medicine should not be administered in case a dependence on it gets
developed.

If you seek to make progress in body and mind, there is nothing better than to have a
quiet contentment in the mind, always seeing a bigger picture, and do charitable deeds.
By feeling sympathy and helping others, you are sure to obtain better health for yourself.
If you enjoy helping people, you will be that much happier yourself. It is a panacea for
ridding illness. People should seek inner cheer rather than external thrills. The things
that made Confucius happy were all internal. If you seek for things that are external, you
will instead have a frustrating life. There is a saying that goes: One who is
understanding is always content. One who can endure is naturally calm. This is very
meaningful. It is also said: By being selfless, you will have a cheerful mood. By not
grasping for things, you will naturally be content.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE: MINOR ISSUES

Section One: Sleep Issues

People between the ages of eighteen and fifty sleep eight hours every night, depending
on the person. When sleep is inadequate, and there is no time in the day to catch up,
you can refresh yourself by taking off your hat and shoes and doing some stretching.
Babies sleep two thirds of a day, adults only one third. Six year olds sleep for eleven
hours, fifteen year olds for nine hours, twenty year olds for eight hours, sixty year olds
for seven hours. There are sometimes exceptions and old people may sleep even
longer. People who get little sleep can add naps throughout the day. Sleep is related to
psychology, for instance some people are sure to sleep heavily after drinking tea or
coffee in the evening, whereas others feel the addition of drinking tea or coffee makes it
difficult to get to sleep.
If you are having a lot of nightmares, they arise because of
excessive emotional stimulation which sometimes causes your body to be
correspondingly agitated, the pulse through your organs increasing while you are
breathing. Lying flat on your back is the major cause of dreaming. It is best to be curled
up lying on your side. (The method of meditating while lying down has already been
explained in Chapter Six.) There is a simple method of preventing yourself from lying on
your back during sleep: you can place something like a small rubber ball or a hairbrush
behind you, and so you will not be able to sleep unless you sleep on your side. After a
long time, you will be able to naturally. Do not worry if you suffer from insomnia or
occasionally sleep for only one or two hours. You will feel only a little uncomfortable the
next day and there will be no other harms. You can also take naps throughout the day to
compensate.
By brushing aside fears of insomnia, you will cultivate a sleep habit that
will gradually become normal. Overthinking or being overexcited often makes it difficult
for people to sleep. Sleep is a rest for the brain, and for the senses of seeing, hearing,
touching. After sleeping, your body has been rejuvenated, not only due to the reversing
influence of sleep, but also because it gives your muscles abundant rest. If a nights
sleep does not refresh your body, then when you wake up, your neck will surely feel
sore, or your limbs will feel stiff, aching, and weak.
Old people are less active than
young people. They sleep less than young people, but they must take many naps
throughout the day to compensate for it. I have heard that Napoleon only got three hours
of sleep a night. It was not that he was extra nourished or unusually strong or a magic
man, he was simply taking naps during the day to make up for the sleep he missed
during the night, what is termed a sleeping-rooster sense.
A persons cranial nerves

are easily fatigued. If you work too long or wear yourself out dealing with your tasks,
your brain will promptly hit you with feelings of drowsiness. If you are weary in body and
mind, then when drowsiness comes, you will struggle against it, opening your drowsy
eyes wide, forcing yourself to function. But this is just like ignoring a red light and
dangerously crossing at an intersection, tempting an accident. High blood pressure and
gastric ulcers begin because of this. Therefore when you are drowsy, except for special
circumstances, as long as you are not snoring mightily or are in inappropriate
surroundings, you may harmlessly have some temporary sweet dreams. Not only will
you then be a person who enjoys long life and happiness, you will wake up with the
world-conquering vigor of a Napoleon.
Amidst the lifestyle of our complex modern
world, there are burdened people who have decided their sleep schedule cannot be
shifted at all, which seems unrealistic. If you can make use of a brief moment of leisure,
grab some sleep when it is called for. Within the methods of health maintenance, it is the
simplest and cheapest that are the best. Sleep can be considered the trump card of
health techniques.

Section Two: Sleep and Heart Attack

Sleep can produce occasions of agitation. People generally assume that sleep at night
will not produce heart attack. It should be understood that grinding of teeth or talking in
ones sleep are manifestations of agitation during sleep, and that the body in a state of
rest does not always indicate calmness of mind. Dreams are hidden thoughts. The
disappointments or dissatisfactions you face are sometimes expressed in dreams.
Therefore you should lie down on your side with your knees bent, because the five
organs are like chimes, which would not produce sound unless they are hanging. If you
are able to talk in your sleep, how can your spirit be quiet?

Section Three: Snoring and Twitching Eyelids

Snoring is caused by the nasal passages being plugged up. If you do not have other
illnesses, it can be corrected. One of the main causes is lying flat on your back, and this
is because it makes the base of your tongue droop backward.

Methods of prevention:
Place a hard object or perhaps a hairbrush behind the

person who snores in order to keep him from lying on his back. Another method is to tie
his pillow to his neck in the proper position. Snoring happens to both men and women,
although women snore less and quieter than men. However, regardless of whether it is
of a high or low pitch, no one finds it to be a pleasant or welcome sound. To a group of
sleepy people, the sound is slightly annoying. But to people with insomnia, it is very
irritating. And to a couple of newlyweds, it is even more irreconcilable.

Twitching eyelids:
In the past, people were very superstitious, and they considered
twitching of the eyelids to be an omen of good or bad fortune. The twitching of the left
eye meant wealth and the twitching of the right eye meant suffering. In other words,
when your left eye twitches, you will get rich and be extraordinarily happy, and when
your right eye twitches, you may struggle against or be beaten by someone. People took
this so seriously that on some days they would not leave their homes and dwell in fear
and overcaution. This can be considered a kind of absurd superstition.
It should be
understood that the twitching of eyes is an ordinary kind of physiological phenomenon. If
people overuse their eyes, look at things in overly strong light, or get insufficient sleep,
this can lead to the eyelids becoming fatigued, cause the muscles of the eyeballs to
shrink, or cause twitching of the eyelids. However, when the eyelids twitch, it can mean
you have other problems. Beyond using your eyes excessively, if the preventative
methods for problems with the eyes that have been previously explained can be
followed, then twitching of the eyelids can be avoided.

Section Four: Sleepwalking

Sleepwalking is a mysterious condition. There is no medicine or medical

treatment for it. One can walk or perform some actions while deep asleep without the
slightest knowledge of it. It is genuinely incredible. It is said to be intuitive reactions to
the stimulations of a passionate subconscious which are not passed through the
cerebrum and are instead sent directly to the motor functions. It generally starts in
childhood in order to occur in adults.
When sleepwalking begins, it starts from
dreaming, which then becomes noisier, then the arms move and the body rises up, then

the body leaves the bed and begins to walk. While sleepwalking, although the eyes are
open, there is no sense of vision, nor is there any sense of touch or hearing. If you call
to the person or talk to the person, he has no awareness of it, and yet he can think,
perform calculations, draw, and can even contemplate suicide. He will not be able to
wake up until he returns to normal sleep.
In England there was a sleepwalker who
killed his wife and cut her up into pieces, in London another who grabbed his son and
threw him down from a wall. While sleepwalking, you may forcefully attack someone,
perceiving only some masked visage calling out or vaguely responding to you. There is
no medicine able to cure this ailment.

Treatment:
It should be given attention while one is still a child. Between the ages of
ten and twenty, it is easiest to treat with psychotherapy. Do not give children anxiety over
poor schoolwork. They should not be receiving punishment from teachers or
admonishment from parents. They should have no worries about getting laughed at for
having no money to burn or nice clothes to wear, or getting insulted for growing up ugly
or small in stature. If these things can be grabbed and cast aside, a child will be able to
sleep content.
Adults who sleepwalk will often have a little more awareness of it.
They should pay attention to emotional stability, foster sanguine thoughts, be more
tolerant of trivial issues rather than making a big deal out of them, and gradually they
will naturally be cured. Generally, children who sleepwalk are likely to snap out of it upon
getting married. This is because once they settle into the lifestyle of having a household
of their own, it results in psychological stability.

Section Five: Sneezing

Sneezing does not necessarily mean you are catching a cold. It can occur due to
smelling strong odors, or because you are tired or worried. If your nose is running in the
middle of the night, it still does not mean you have caught a cold, simply that your nose
has become unwell. Sneezing is not a serious ailment, yet you should avert it, and to do
this you ought to reduce the amount of dust and airborne pollens in your home. Stay
away from strong perfumes and keep the air in your home from becoming too dry. A
saltwater nasal rinse will clear your nose.

Section Six: Stuttering

This is a habit developed from childhood of an overeagerness to speak which makes it

impossible for words to come out, taking the form of stuttering. There are no medicines
that can treat it. For an analogy, if you take a small-mouthed bottle full of water and
decide to pour out the water, the water will not pour out smoothly if you hold the bottle
straight upside-down, but will flow out smoothly if you hold the bottle at a slight angle.
Speech is the same. Before speaking, first compose your thoughts. Do not be anxious
to speak, but instead speak slowly and clearly, and then naturally you will not stutter. If
you practice this for merely a couple of weeks, you will then be able to speak quickly
without any occurrence of stuttering.

Section Seven: The Benefits of Coughing

On coughing:
The function of coughing is to send secretions within the lungs and windpipe outside the
body, at the same time preventing foreign objects from entering the respiratory tract.
Safeguarding respiratory function is a benefit.
Everyone thinks of coughing as a
symptom of illness. People usually do not know that coughing is the bodys weapon of
defending against and treating illness. It is not at all as everyone thinks it is a definite
indicator of more harm than good. For patients lying abed in hospitals, there are a great
many doctors encouraging them to cough. For a light cough, you should never
thoughtlessly take medicine.
Using the method of breathing in steam can have an
immediate impact on the mucous membrane of the windpipe, very effective for reducing
phlegm. Insert a rubber tube plugged with gauze into the spout of a pot of boiling water
and use your mouth to suck the steam from the tube. This can aid in eliminating infected
respiratory mucus.

Section Eight: Hiccuping

Hiccuping does not amount to any kind of serious illness, but when it happens for a long
period, it hinders both eating and sleeping, and in that case becomes a dangerous
problem. Hiccuping sometimes happens due to eating too much and too quickly. It can

also happen from drinking liquids that are too hot or too cold, or being overstimulated by
overseasoned foods, as well as inhaling cold air, excessive smoking, or from
inflammation in the throat from catching a cold.
1.

Methods to relieve hiccuping:

Poke the stem of a chicken feather up the persons
nose to make him sneeze. Or take him by surprise by poking him in his back or his butt
with a nail, the shock of which will snap him out of it. When an infant hiccups during
breastfeeding, put some sweetened water on his tongue. All of these methods can work.
2.

Method of fighting fire with fire [the Chinese phrase actually being attacking poison
with poison]:
When hiccuping is caused by overeating, eating a little bit more can
ironically overcome it. Also effective is to slowly swallow ten mouthfuls of tea, drink a
cup of salty water, drink a little bit of vinegar, drink a cup of clean water, or perhaps
some cows milk.
3.

Method of submission to the breath:

Take seven or eight deep breaths, then hold
your breath for a minute. Deeply breathing into a bag is also effective.
4.

Stick your tongue out as far as you can and hold it there for a moment with your arms
raised up and hanging over a shoulder pole. Or shut your eyes and press on your
eyelids with both hands while standing up straight and turning your body around for
several circles. Or make a telephone call to a friend and tell him to at some point
suddenly shout out your name so you have to respond. All of these things are effective.
The most interesting way is to put a cup of clean water on a table, stretched your arms
out to the sides, reach out with neck, grab the cup with your mouth, and drink down all
the water. This can also do the trick.

Section Nine: Splinters and Fish Bones

1. While women are at their kitchen chores or men are at work in the fields, a moment of
carelessness can get their hands poked by a splinter. When they try to pull it out but are
unable to, they get very anxious about it and hastily prick at it with a needle until they

are bleeding, and this is not necessary. They can use a cotton swab dipped in vinegar,
wrapped to the site, and wait for a while, perhaps through an evening, and then it will be
very easy to pull out. A piece of fresh rubber soaked in water applied to the site can also
work.

2. Fish are tasty and delicious, but beyond their deliciousness, they contain bones.
Whenever small children eat fish, a moment of inattention will commonly result in
swallowing a fish bone or in being pricked in the gums. They will want to spit the bone
out but be unable to, to pull it out but be unable to, will feel pain and begin to cry. If you
encounter this kind of situation, you must by no means scold the child, since adults who
are not careful swallow fish bones too. Quickly give the child some vinegar to drink. The
fish bone will then be easily and naturally swallowed down the rest of the way. Also
effective is eating water-soaked Chinese olive pits wrapped in persimmon preserves, or
drinking garden balsamic that has been boiled in water, and freshly pounded Chinese
olive juice works even better.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX: ATTENTION TO HYGIENE CAN PROTECT HEALTH

Section One: Paying Attention to Hygiene

As long as you
do not live in vast high-rise tenements, you ought to be conforming to the requirements
of hygiene, such as: adequate light, good air circulation, a clean source of water,
garbage is kept at a good distance, insects are kept away, and the gutters, patios,
kitchens, and bathrooms are all kept sanitary. Everyone in a household adults,
children, servants should maintain cleanliness in their daily lifestyle, and everything in
life should have an orderliness. Thus illness naturally can be decreased. Hygiene is a
matter of commonsense, and by way of it, society will advance and transform. People
usually only have a superficial understanding of this.
Health is the greatest happiness
in life. Only those with healthy bodies can do great things or shoulder large
responsibility. To protect the bodys health, you must carefully observe hygiene. It truly is
the key to longevity. During our lives, we should make a contribution, all of us fulfilling
our duty so as not to dishonor the older generation that gave us life. To maintain health,

it cannot be overlooked for even a day. Modern people also advocate mental hygiene,
which has already become an international phenomenon with the same importance as
general sanitation.

Section Two: Drinking Water, Taking Baths, and Sweating

When a person often drinks clean water, the water inside can rinse away dirty material
inside the belly and clean the digestive organs. Through bathing, water externally can
wash dirt off the skin. Drinking plenty of clean water and bathing regularly are methods
of preventing illness internally and externally. Thus people have said: Sunshine, air, and
water are the three most important things for human life.

1. Cold-water bath:
A cold-water bath is an excellent natural tonic. When a person
takes a cold-water bath, he first feels chilled, then gradually feels warm. Regular use of
cold-water baths causes the blood vessels to initially contract and then stimulates them,
refreshing the body and rousing the stomach, spurring appetite, and can also spark the
bodys internal capacity for resisting illness.

2. Warm-water bath:
When tired people bathe before sleeping, they can use warm
water, because warm water can have a calming effect on a tired person, able to make
the muscles and nerves of the whole body relax. After bathing, change into clean
clothes and go to bed. It will be much easier to go to sleep. However, it is easy to catch
a cold after a warm bath, and so you must pay particular attention. For sick people,
apart from the seriously ill who cannot move without assistance and need help to get
bathed, all those who can move on their own can take a bath every day. It is of the
greatest benefit to people.

3. Sweating can protect ones health. If a person has a fever but is not sweating,
something is wrong. Do not be put off or annoyed by a person who sweats easily. That
only shows that you have the delicate nerves of a modern person, overreacting to
everything. People who sweat easily are sensitive and emotional, and can be described
as emotionally rich and benevolent. They make good friends, for they have a strong
sense of justice and affection. To be with this type of person when he loses his wife, one

has to be extremely considerate. It is a good match to choose a person who sweats

easily as a friend or lover, for you will generally not get abandoned. (The exception to all
of this is a person who has an illness of sweating abnormally.)

Section Three: Methods of Rubbing Feet with Hot Water and of Sitting Baths

1. Method of rubbing feet with hot water:

Soak the sick persons feet in a basin of hot
water. This will make him feel very comfortable. After removing his feet from the basin,
rub them dry, and use a hot towel to rub his calves. Keep the room at a proper
temperature. Then rubbing his chest, back, and arms will help him toward recovery.

2. Method of hot or cold sitting bath:

Regardless of man or woman, when there is
inflammation in the buttocks, rectum, or genitals, use two basins of water, one cold and
one hot. First sit the patient in the hot water, then pour the cold water over his buttocks
or genitals. After performing this over a long period, there will naturally be recovery. This
is the method of replacing hot with cold.

3. Method of wrapping with a hot compress:

Among the various methods of using
bathing to treat illness, wrapping with a hot compress is best. Not only does it affect the
bodys surface, its influence can penetrate to the deeper layers. If used on a place
where there is pain, it will be very effective at stopping the pain. The method of wrapping
a hot compress is very simple. Use a pot or basin full of boiling water, put a woolen cloth
or thick towel into the water to soak it up, hold both ends and wring it out so it is merely
damp, then it should be spread open and applied gently to the affected area. Open up
another dry towel and wrap it over the damp towel. Leave the wrappings on the painful
area for four or five minutes, then changing the wrappings. Repeat this process for a
total of four or five times, then rub the skin with alcohol and wipe it dry. This will be very
effective.

4. Method of alternating cold and heat:

If a limb, a hand, or a foot has any sores or

swelling, this method is very effective: Fill two half buckets, one with cold water, one with
hot water. The hot water should be as hot as you can bear, and the cold water should
extremely cold, ideally with ice in it. The affected area should be placed first in the hot
water, soaking for about half a minute, then quickly take it out and soak it in the cold
water for a few seconds. Again lift it out and put it in the hot water. The temperature of
the hot water should be maintained. Alternate between soaking in the cold water and hot
water for about twenty minutes. After soaking in the cold water for the last time, the area
should be wiped dry. If there is any broken skin at the affected area, add a teaspoon of
lysol to each bucket to sterilize it.
For sores or swelling on the limbs, this method is
particularly effective. For swellings on the neck or a sore throat, treating it by wrapping a
cold wet towel is likewise very effective. The Austrian doctor Vincent Priessnitz created
methods of treating illness with cold water that are world-famous. New generations of
doctors continue to experiment with techniques of hydrotherapy, and there are many of
these people. The methods are compatible with the methods of applying water above.

Section Four: Monetary Notes Can Spread Disease

Money is everywhere and it is an evil thing. It can buy life, but
it can also get you killed. People think it will save them from hunger and cold. People
think it will bless them with honor and glory. Because of this, bandits and gangsters are
induced by it to lose their minds and become brutal, while corrupt officials are seduced
by it to become black-hearted and envious [red-eyed]. People often treat it as a
treasure and indeed overlook that it is extremely filthy and capable of transmitting
infectious disease.
Bank notes flow from place to place incessantly, regardless of
currency. Once they are made, there is no knowing how many times they have changed
hands, between rich person and poor, between nobility and peasant folk. However
many, they have all had contact with each other. [Similar to the idea that you have sex
with every person your partner has had sex with, you touch every dirty person who has
held that note.] People who love it fear they cannot get enough. People who hoard it fear
they cannot keep it secret enough.
In the midst of serious illness, even on the verge
of death, people cling to it and hide it upon their persons. It dwells in a moist
atmosphere of sweat and is often carried in the vicinity of peoples reproductive organs.
Also, within gambling venues, every one of the variety of people there has it, even those
among them who are ill with malignant skin ulcers, easily transmitting illness to the other

people there, leading to a wide spreading of disease. Just imagine the level of filth that
money achieves. Using a microscope to observe germs, they are more than countless.
When counting bank notes, you absolutely must not use your tongue to lick your fingers.
To do a lick with each count is the easiest way to transmit disease.

Points for attention:

1.
Bank notes are printed with a high-quality glue. If you are counting bills, you can use
drops of water to count them, for you must not count by licking your finger over and over.
2.

Regardless of the amount of money that you have touched, whenever you eat food you
should first wash your hands properly. Never be careless and forget to wash. Otherwise,
since money carries every kind of bacteria, you will unknowingly swallow germs down
into your stomach.
3.

Children are fond of money, but you should not allow them to play with it. Children often
put money in their mouths, where germs invade easiest. There are people who do not
know how disease starts. Perhaps the thing you treasure most will bring you disaster.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN: MISCELLANEOUS ILLNESSES

Section One: Motion Sickness

What is commonly called motion sickness happens when you are riding in a boat,
plane, car, or train. This condition has many characteristics, such as pale complexion, a
listless look in the eyes, an icy coldness in the hands and feet, weak pulse, fear of
turning around, shortness of breath, nausea, vomiting, sensitivity to noises and smells,
sensations of pain.

Prevention:
Usually about thirty percent of people suffer motion sickness, the only
distinction being between a light condition or a serious condition. Taking medicine for
either case is inferior to prevention. Methods of prevention are explained below:
1.

When riding on board a ship, do your best to be situated near a window to get fresh air,

stay far away from the smell of engine fumes, try to keep your cabin clean, and do not
mingle among crowds. The sight of someone being seasick will stimulate you into
feeling the same.
2.
Keep your bed warm, try to stay calm, do not read, and do not absent-mindedly snack
on things.
3.
Do not take part in banquets that take place at the front of the ship. Also do not drink
alcohol or eat to the point of being full. Eat only bland foods. And you must not smoke.
4.

When you are feeling dizzy, you must not push yourself to eat or drink. When your belly
demands food, you can only eat fruit, ice cream, or tomato juice. Once you can go a day
without dizziness, you will from that point gradually improve.

Section Two: Vitamin Overdose

Vitamins are like beautiful prostitutes that are in high demand, especially by high
officials and notable gentlemen, fashionable women so spoiled they think they can eat
many snacks without any harm. Foods are not good if they are lacking in nutrition, but
eating too many vitamins can lead to vitamin overdose. If a person goes hungry, the
stomach lining feels unwell, whereas if he eats too much, the stomach lining gets
stretched and is equally uncomfortable. Whenever I see an enthusiastic housewife
worry that her children are not getting sufficient vitamins, she pours such large
quantities into them that she outwits herself by instead giving rise to anorexia and an
unhappy feeling, or problems such as nausea, dizziness, melancholy.
If you have
such a blind faith in vitamins, I ask you if would someday try eating half a pound of them
and do you think that would make you feel that much better? That would be making a
joke out of life, like pulling on the plants to help them grow [Mengzi, chapter 2a]. The
best principle in health care is to seek to do what is suitable. Taking medicine is not a
matter of the more, the better. You absolutely must not abuse it. Some people are
impatient for their bodies to get better, so they take pills and get injections, and the result
achieved is the opposite. Once they are getting injections because of a runny nose, this
is no different from taking hits of morphine.


Section Three: Fatigue

There is psychological fatigue and physical fatigue, and there is good fatigue and bad
fatigue. Good fatigue is when one works very long or uses much strength, both
producing tiredness. After these kinds of fatigue, he will eat a lot of food and have
delicious sleep, and upon waking he will feel so pleasant. However, some people have
an irritable personality and are unable to eat or sleep. While working, they feel fatigue
first in their nervous system, then in their muscles. Muscular fatigue can be dispelled by
a hot-water bath, a massage, or a rest. But nervous fatigue is a more genuine
weariness. As this kind of fatigue proceeds, it becomes an emotional fatigue. False
fatigue is psychological fatigue, fatigue which manifests regardless of working long or
only briefly. This puts him in a kind of life or death state in which he is instantly inspired
to collapse in drowsiness. When such fatigue hits, he should drink some tea or coffee or
spend some time with friends. People who do physical labor should have limits. They
must not overwork themselves, which will harm the body.

Getting rid of fatigue:

Fatigue divides into the physical and the psychological.
Physical fatigue is easier to recover from, and does not even require you to lie down in
bed and rest. Psychological fatigue is harder to recover from, for it requires a kind of
mental training. Some ways of recovering from physical fatigue are described below:
1.
Leisurely walk, straightening your back, pacing through your house with measured
steps. This can relieve pressure on your organs.
2.

Meditation:
Sit in a chair without leaning back into it, feet flat on the ground, back
straight, both hands on your knees. Sit relaxed, breathing slowly and deeply. The act of
expelling old air and taking in new air can refresh your spirit. Even if you sit for only a
few minutes a couple times a day, it is particularly effective. If you meditate on a sofa

when you are fatigued, you can also draw in your thighs and shoulders, relaxing and
curling ten or twenty times, and then when you stand up, you will feel a renewed
strength.
As for psychological fatigue, once we reach middle age, we experience
grief, disappointment, bitterness, failure. When we feel in our minds the burden of
unforeseen responsibility, we feel in our bodies physical fatigue. But what most erodes
our spirit is regret. We regret bad things we should not have done and good things we
did not do. If you are obsessively regretting, you will never get any peace. You should
understand that nobody sells a medicine for regret. Doctors say: Emotional agitation is
the source of countless illnesses. We should have the attitude of: Everything of
yesterday is dead. Everything of tomorrow is alive. This is the way to start living your life
again.
3.

Physical fatigue is easy to treat, whereas psychological fatigue requires psychotherapy.

Discard everything that bothers you. You do not have to deal with what you have done
before, nor even remember it. I have the willpower to not punish myself for the life I have
led, and I instead move on to new paths with new possibilities. You can prevent
psychological fatigue. All you need is to have an attitude of indomitable drive. The body
will correspondingly become tougher, and thus mind and body will be strengthened
together. Nothings stopping you.

Section Four: Becoming Ill Because of Worry

Ones mental state has a large

influence upon ones body, for the mind is a willful and clever place and there are many
deep illusions in an untrained body. The body might feel slightly unwell simply in relation
to physiological changes and adjustments of metabolism caused by the weather and the
changing seasons. This is not a trivial thing because it can lead to excessive fears,
turning contentment into harshness, increasing in severity until illness fully arises in the
person. With no other cause than this, doubts can turn into real problems.
Therefore
it has been said: Some people who slightly feel unwell will through their own delusions
become ill. Often because of such a psychological error, they end up actually getting the
illness they were worrying about. Thus many illnesses are the result of depression,
worry, or regret. These kinds of moods can all diminish ones capacity for living, inducing
illness and harming the body, hence becoming sick because of worry. You have to be
careful of them. Ones willpower toward health recovery is very potent. Although it is
difficult to avoid worrying about illness, you should firm up your determination and strive
to be healthy, for extraordinary effects will manifest within your unconscious mind.
There are some people who are unsociable and exist apart from the group, who think
very highly of themselves and criticize others: This one is not good and that one is
really bad There seems to be no one in the world who is good enough for them. But
society is so broad, they are not aware of everyone, hence they are lonely recluses,
pessimistic about the times and damning toward the world. Depression results in their
minds.
What is an effective means of saving the world? Contribute something to it!
The natural answer is: You may have crafty solutions, but why can you not accept
people? You are so good at being opinionated that you actually cannot see what is
beautiful. You have only been relying on being clever about trivial things and have gotten
wrapped up in your own petty world, coming to a dead end. To get people to follow your
lead would be a joke. I ask you to enlarge your vision and silently strive to sympathize
with others and collaborate with their talents. To only cherish the narrow-minded notion
that everyone else is wrong and only I am right is intolerable. You should understand
that this is really a case of a seed being planted in ground that is too hard and getting
swept away, or of someone with a wondrous pearl who never shares its shine with
anyone else. The moral is: be a part, not apart. By frequently doing good deeds for
others, you will never be lonely.
There is a saying: Depression fears loneliness.
People are not spirits. They cannot exist in solitude. They live and they die, and each
persons wisdom is finite. It is essential for us to help each other and work together.
Within human sympathy and understanding lies warmth, and this warmth sometimes

surpasses the power of medicine. When you have worries, you should not obsess over
them. It is best to tell them to someone you respect and trust, explaining them to
someone who will understand. Venting your concerns will not only relieve gloom, it can
also bring you inspiration and help to reduce problems.
Idly worrying is the most
bitter thing. Work is the best medicine to counter it. It is not work that injures the body, it
is worry. Worry is like rust on a knife, which can slowly erode it into scrap iron. When a
person is idle all day with nothing to do, worry intrudes, opening the way to worse foes
that will cause greater worries. There is a saying: Worry can hurt you. Anger can get
you killed. You have to be careful.
Ways of distracting yourself away from worry:
mountain climbing, going fishing, reading books, playing chess, taking walks, practicing
boxing arts, visiting friends who are in the hospital, or doing farm labor are all good
remedies for reducing worry. When somebody worries to an extreme, such low spirits
lead to illness. Very bored and lazy, spirit dejected, he seeks advice from the best doctor
who finds there is no illness because it is too difficult to diagnose. However, if this
person does not find a method of dealing with it, the problem will not go away.
The
doctor will then ceaselessly advise him to get up early each day and take a walk. After a
month of this, he may say there has been no effect, and the doctor will tell him: Stop
walking with your head down. You should raise your head as you walk and observe all
the birds in the forest, and listen well to their calls. After a month of doing it this way, he
will indeed have results. Depressed people ought to try this, for they may receive a quiet
inspiration. Nature supplies us with many vehicles for the journey to enlightenment. The
subtle voice of Nature is loudest at dawn.

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT: THE WILL TO LIVE

Section One: The Will to Live and Hidden Strengths

The reason why life can be a sustained splendid
youthfulness is not only a matter of eating and drinking well. There has to be a kind of

unshakable power of control over ones life. This is the will to live. Because some people
lack determination, they are easily hindered throughout life. This does not mean their
lives will be shortened, but that their bodies will be filled with illness and they will never
be at peace.
There are very few problems in our lives that cannot be solved. When
we encounter difficulties that we cannot escape from, it is not merely due to pressure
from external circumstances, it is because we have not sought thoroughly inside
ourselves for our hidden strengths and have not invited those strengths to come out. We
are thus unable to find solutions to problems or are sometimes clinging to solutions that
are worthless and are unwilling to accept any advice. When we reject solutions to
problems, then what are we to do? We are only heading down a self-destructive path.
It should be understood that people are for the most part responsible for their own
bodies. We want to achieve things, but very few of us accomplish our goals. Why is
this? It is because of a lack of determination in life and an overlooking of hidden
strengths. That being the case, how can we finish anything? How can we overcome
obstacles to obtain great success and great fulfillment? The answer is: we need to
develop determination, formulating long-term plans and various possible methods for
cultivating it. Once we have determination, our lives become enriched and cheerful and
we can reach the highest peaks.
People seek longevity not only to live long, but also
to live better. For life to have meaning, we must first eliminate the temptation for
hindrances that shorten life. From childhood to old age, we all should perseveringly
cultivate willpower and practice effective exercises to draw out our hidden strengths. To
work consistently all day long without tiring, maintaining enthusiasm for it, and keep a
steadfast faith in yourself in whatever you do, it is easy to develop limitless ability. Below
are two examples of drawing out hidden strengths:
1.

Thirty-seven years ago, when I was only twenty, my body was thin and weak. I had quit
school and was unemployed. One day, the household next door caught fire, threatening
disaster upon our family, so we urgently rushed to save all our things. I was able to grab
a cabinet that weighed about two hundred pounds and move it outside, to the surprise of
everyone. Once the fire had been extinguished, I wanted to carry the cabinet back into
the house, but then I could not do it and had to ask for help to lift it. I examined for why I
was able to before but not after. It was simply because my emotional state activated my
hidden strength.
2.

There was a certain woman, on her deathbed with illness, filled with medicines and
seeming too weak to survive. Her son failed to return in the afternoon, and her mind was
so anxious about it that she could not hold back her moans, and the severity of her
illness increased. Then suddenly someone came in and said: Your son is on top of a
mountain fighting with people. His life is in great danger. As soon as she heard this, she
ran out to the hills, her hidden strength emerging. When people have the will to live,
their hidden strengths become even more formidable.

Section Two: Psychological Illness Cured by Psychological Means

There are many people who constantly complain about indefinable

problems and consult doctors all day long, but whatever the treatment, their illnesses go
unchanged. Their problems are peculiar and many: such as a feeling of weakness in the
limbs, an inability to sleep, lower backache, nervous breakdown, listless spirit, and so
on. They can all be attributed to a common issue, that of an indescribable feeling of
exhaustion for which there seems to be no remedy. These people often admire those
who can eat their fill, get adequate sleep, diligently carry out their work, and wake after
a sound sleep with high spirits and a body full of vigor.
But those who talk about
themselves in more crestfallen terms do not want to eat or drink or work, and they wake
more tired than when they went to sleep. It should be understood that people with
exuberant spirit do not necessarily have exceptional vitality, they simply use body and
mind more effectively and appropriately. But how does one actually get oneself into such
a state of vigor? Internal struggles are generally hidden within, therefore doctors cannot
treat people with psychological illness, for they seem to be ill but are not ill.
A person
with an internal conflict is like a nation undergoing a civil war or a desperate armed
rebellion, and if they cannot relieve the emotional pressure building up for a long time,
they will become ill even though without sickness. It seems to be the kind of illness that
would call for the assistance of a doctor, but even doctors with miraculous medical skills
cannot cure illness that is only in your mind. If the cause of a psychological illness
cannot be eliminated, the physical manifestation of the illness cannot be treated, and
thus to entirely rely on medicines would be completely ineffective. Hence: psychological
illness requires psychological treatment. Below are three examples of this:

1.

The son of a rich old Mr. Zhang was walking through Blue Rock Pass in Laiwu [in
Shandong]. There was a huge boulder hanging at an angle beside the path and people
were walking under it. When Zhangs son saw this, he was shocked, expecting it would
fall at any moment and crush who knows how many people to death. He hastened home
and occupied his mind with finding a way to remove this boulder, thinking hard and
anxiously, but did not come up with a solution. However, he did succeed in making
himself ill to the point of being completely bedridden and in a state of such mental
distraction that no medicines had any effect.
He gradually became emaciated,
making his family very worried, and they spared no expense in bringing in famous
doctors and seeking the best medicine. Among them was a doctor Ye who was very
clever. He noticed the boys tightly knit brow and that it represented a secret worry. He
inquired into it, but got no answers.
Craftily discovering what was on the boys mind,
he returned to the family a few days later and proclaimed loudly to Mr. Zhang: I heard
some news of a boulder hanging over Blue Rock Pass. Apparently it has fallen down
due to the wind and rain.
Right after he had finished saying these words, he
suddenly heard Zhangs son ask from his room: Did it crush anyone to death?
Doctor Ye said: It happened in the middle of the night and didnt hurt anybody.
The
son sighed and said: Now I can put my mind at ease. And consequently he rapidly
recovered.
2.

There was a certain man whose joy withdrew and he became unwilling to live amongst
other people. He gradually become ill and was hospitalized, but after much examination,
no particular illness was diagnosed. His parents asked what was wrong with him, but
there was no answer. Then it was discovered that in the office where he worked there
was a very disagreeable coworker positioned to his left who continually stared in his
direction, and one day there was suddenly another equally disagreeable coworker
placed to his right. All day long, he could only lower his head and do his work while
inside he suffered extraordinarily and consequently became ill.
The doctors told him
it was not necessary for him to be hospitalized or take medication, he should simply

learn to cooperate with people and enjoy the company of others, and then his illness will
cure itself. What after all would be the use of medication for such a condition?
3.

The young child of a certain widow went missing, disappearing without trace. It was
uncertain whether he was alive or dead. After a long period of worry, she became ill,
depression and exhaustion set in, rendering her completely bedridden and barely
breathing.
She then heard two people talking in front of her door: She cannot die. If
she dies, her son will be an orphan and that would be too painful for him.
The other
person said: Ive heard that her son has an artistic talent and has been discovered by
some art group who wants to train him. Theyve put him into a specialized study
program that wont let him contact his family until after he has completed a year of
study
As these words came into her ears, hope sprung up, reviving her will to live,
shaking her out of her disheartened state, bringing great consolation to her burdened
mind. With the emerging of a livening hope and courage, she consequently recovered
from her illness.
If subtle comforting comments are applied appropriately, they can
produce excellent results. Not only can they change ones temperament, they can also
treat illness. For such illnesses, there seem to be no effective medications, therefore
psychological illness requires psychological treatment.

Section Three: Early Senility


The signs of early senility are listless spirit,
weakness of mind, a man (or woman) who has not yet reached old age but is hunched
over and walking with a limp as though carrying the whole world on his shoulders, his
spirit full of suffering, his face always toward the ground. Even though only thirty or forty
years old, he seems to be in the autumn of his life. He is lethargic, seeming to look
through everything rather than at it, as though he is almost dead. We can judge him (or
her) as having too early given up the struggle to survive, surrendering to feelings of selfdestructiveness.
People are old not merely because of their years, but because of
their emotional reaction to things. They are like the type of people who upon losing all
their money go grey overnight and kill themselves. There are people who encounter
misfortune and are undaunted, who fight through it, then seek out a new path and forge
ahead. Although their faces become more wrinkled, these are the marks of battling on
through bad luck. Circumstances cannot shake a determined person. Not only does he
not bow his head in surrender, he develops new abilities. There is a saying: When hand
and brain work together, the outcome is beautiful for both. For people who are good at
using both brain and body, they will simply not become senile.
For those who think
that it is not necessary after completing school to continue to seek learning, they will not
be able to obtain either knowledge or joy. They will only succeed in ruining themselves
by more easily leading themselves toward senility. When people stop learning, they
easily start to become senile, and when people lose interest in human affairs, they too
easily start to become senile. When people stop exercising, their bodies will start to
become frail. It should be understood about human physiology that their is no specified
age at which people need to stop exercising, nor a specific age at which decrepitude will
begin.
Some old people completely lack signs of senility. They continue to have a
comfortable demeanor, preserving their youthful vigor and bodily function. They hear
and see well, they have a friendly disposition, a compassionate mentality, a sharp
intellect. All the way to their deaths, they maintain the dignity and wisdom of the highest
quality of person. These are the old people we cannot help but admire.
The
American folk artist Grandma Moses started her studies when in her seventies. She is
now a hundred years old and is still very healthy in her work. She has said: Forget
about your age and just think about helping other people. The best way is to not know
what old age is. The famous scholar L Xinwu once wrote: From now on, be resolved
to raise up your true spirit. Half your life is already spent. But theres still another half!
From these examples can be seen that even at fifty or sixty years old, vitality still
flourishes.
While we seek longevity, it should not only be a matter of more years but
especially of livelier years. Take a look at a very old tree. The older it gets, the more it

flourishes, branches and leaves thickening, roots getting stronger, still thriving and
progressing. Old youthful people are the same. The addition of new tree rings does not
restrict the developing of ones vitality. The ancient Roman philosopher Cicero said that
the golden years of ones life are in old age. Notice the proud chrysanthemums in an
autumn frost, or the plum blossoms shining in winter, and the verdant evergreens.
Witness even more the powerful elegant beauty of old people.

Section Four: Suicide

Suicide and murder are both crimes, because they are by nature the same,
only different in the way they are performed. However, suicide compared to murder is
even more impulsive and cruel. Suicides can be divided into about four different types:
1. To give life out of loyalty, dying righteously for a just cause:
This kind of suicide
can be considered an exception, for it is not only guiltless, it is heroic and admirable.
2. Suicide on impulse:
This is when body and mind receive a serious blow, or in a
rage or bout of extreme grief, one suddenly becomes tired of the world. At least this kind
of person will only make one attempt. If in the course of trying to kill himself, he
sufficiently vents his feelings and sees his error, or if he happens to be rescued by other
people, he will give up his thoughts of death and never make a second attempt. This
kind is usually committed by short-tempered emotional people.
3. To commit suicide

because of depression:
Depression is a nervous disorder, often involving
contemplations of suicide due to endlessly failing to achieve ones goals. This kind is
usually committed by weak cowards.
4. Fake suicide:
When some people happen
to become unsatisfied with their circumstances, are humiliated by other people, or feel
pressured by other people, they often threaten to kill themselves. They usually do not
carry it out, they only want to kill themselves as a passive-aggressive tool, using suicide
as a way to threaten other people.
The three crimes above are carried out by
cowards who do not have the guts to stand up to other people, killing themselves for
lack of courage. Such people are an absolute disgrace. It is not that death is a crime,
but that those who die in this way are such a disappointment.
People in society have
a contradictory way of viewing suicide, on one hand sympathizing, and on the other
condemning. In our history, suicide has not been uncommon. Sometimes it was
committed by heroes who are even to this day praised and pitied, other times it was a
pointless act that people have reviled. In my opinion, beyond the first type of suicide, the
rest are all crimes. It should be understood that people really are rarely incapable of
resolving their situations. However bad things may be, it is not going to go on like that
forever. You may think that suicide is a way of solving a problem, but who is going to
deal with the situation you leave behind? Your death is not going to be enough to make
up for the misery you pass down to other people.
There are even more people who
kill themselves because of disappointment in love. It is often uttered: What could be
more glorious than to die for love? Rather pathetic. There are also people who say:
People die like falling petals anyway, turning into ghosts and blowing away in the wind.
This is a still more deviant and shameless view. It should be understood that true love is
pure and of undoubted value. But is not life itself of even more worth? It has been
observed that the youth of today are increasingly thinking life cheap because of
disappointment in love. I cannot help but feel sorry for them and say: Love is precious.
Life is more so. These are indeed words of weight.
The ancient Greeks dealt with
suicide by cutting off the bodys arms to demonstrate punishment for it. The people of
Athens considered suicide the destruction of ones personal duty, an insult to society,
and they did their utmost to eliminate it. Early people have often condemned suicide and
have gone so far as to drag suicide corpses through the market to demonstrate
punishment for it. It was also seen as a violation against the responsibility given to
people by God. The Christian Church declared that the soul of one who commits suicide
will be sent to Hell, never to leave. In England even by the end of the seventeenth
century, people who committed suicide continued to be hung by nooses from platforms
to publicly expose them, and their property was usually confiscated. It was considered a
double offense: a violation against God and an act of damage to the nation.

Nowadays, suicide is common in society. It engenders sympathy and pity, but this
mentality does not help. Although there is a valiant way to give ones life, this is a weak
generation and that first type of suicide is the rarest. It seems that no one is afraid of
death, and yet there is no problem that cannot be solved. It should be understood that
our parents gave us life, every inch of us. Teachers and friends then help us to grow into
complete people. We should vigorously throw ourselves into ambitious enterprises so as
not to dishonor the life our elders have given us.
Death is not sufficiently feared. It
should be respected. To give ones precious life for the nation and the people is
honorable, therefore Wen Tianxiang wrote [from Crossing the Lingding Estuary]:
People have always died. But my loyalty will live on in memory. There is honor in such
heroism. But there is a saying: Death is as heavy as Mt. Tai, and yet as light as a goose
feather. People get one and only one death, and after death, there is no living again.
Ancient people saw their bodies as gifts from their parents and thus did not dare to be
injured. Life is sacred and the body is precious. So how can anyone in the misjudgment
of a moment so casually throw it away?

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE: SOME FURTHER THOUGHTS

Section One: An Assortment of Maxims

Ancient
heroes met with great humiliations, receiving them calmly as though not even aware of
what was happening to themselves, serving as examples to us in later days. When
people have small setbacks, they become angry and depressed, dying young. Even
those with much learning fall into oblivion. Therefore study the greatness of Gou Jian
and Fan Li [who are classical examples of persistence], and avoid the stresses of Qu
Yuan and Jia Yi [who are classical examples of whining].
The more difficulty a
fearless person faces, the more courage he musters. He does not tremble or shrink
away. He stands up straight and stays steadfast in his determination. He dares to tackle

any problem, shrugs off every misfortune, laughs at every obstacle. Suffering privation
will not diminish him, it will instead only reinforce his resolve. He becomes heroic,
worthy of admiration by the whole world. Such people never let Fate get in the way.
When people become adults, they grow out of these ideas, finding them to be of no
value. Reduced to being a bag of blood with some bones in it, they eat whenever they
are hungry, drink whenever they are thirsty, and want sex whenever they feel restless.
When poor, they think about wealth, and once wealthy, they think about power. When
they feel angry, they rant and rave. When they feel sad, they get lost in grief. When they
feel hard-pressed, they become overwhelmed. When they feel happy, they become
lustful. Basically, they give in to their primal instincts, then grow old and die, no different
from animals.
There is no shame in being poor. What is a shame is to be poor and
have no ambition. There is nothing vile in being humble. What is vile is to be humble
and have no ability. There is nothing pitiable about being old. What is a pity is to be old
with an empty life. There is nothing to grieve in death. What is to be grieved is to die and
go unremembered.
Mengzi said [Mengzi, chapter 6b]: When Nature bestows
responsibility on a person, it first tests his willpower, works his body, starves him, makes
him destitute, and ruins whatever he tries to do, thereby activating his mind and building
his endurance, making him able where he used to unable. Those of you who want to kill
yourselves when you meet with inescapable hardships, read these words carefully, for
they can inspire. Enlightenment is not just for the wise. It can happen to anyone, such is
its mysterious power.

Section Two: The Vitality of Human Life

We think that to have life is to be alive and to

not have life is to be dead. But while we call the death of the body death, it is the death
of the mind that is truly death. There are so many zombies walking through the world,
people whose minds have already died. Thus there is a saying [from Zhuangzi, chapter
21]: There is no sorrow greater than the death of the mind. [The death of the body
takes second place]. Once we have life, we should earnestly be alive. But being alive
requires a kind of power to enrich us and push us forward. We call this power vitality.

It says in the Book of Changes, Qian hexagram [hexagram 1]: Just as Nature acts
with vigor, a gentleman ceaselessly improves himself. The universe is eternally
renewing itself due to its energy of constant motion. A person is a microcosm of the
universe. You have to have a way of striving to improve yourself in order to have a
genuinely ceaseless vitality.
Albert Einstein said: Death should not be feared. One merely goes quietly to sleep.
And on that day, one no longer needs to fear the difficulties of life. One need only fear
the loss of aspirations and beliefs while alive. It is the chasing of superficial externalities
which poison and pinch at the soul. If we truly want to be alive, we will do things to
make us feel alive, and then our will to live shall become a formidable power of
resistance against all difficulties.
A persons instincts generally contain two strong
impulses: one being the determination to survive, the other being self-destructiveness.
People who create and discover things have a stronger instinct to survive and are
consequently full of vitality. If we wholeheartedly seek to be alive, we will then not fear
death, and in not fearing death, we will not bring about death, and thus we will truly be
alive. To ceaselessly improve yourself expresses the vitality of being alive.

Section Three: Poems about the Right or Wrong Ways to Be

1. On Perseverance

You should not be discouraged when
others overpower you. Give them no grieving complaints as they step on you.
At times when others wound you, gritting your teeth in patience is an effective tonic.
When the way ahead is rough and difficult to travel, persevere and strive like a
legendary horse.
In the midst of suffering, there is no use for doubts. Heroes ancient and modern have
all made such mistakes. There are men of great talent, men of great achievement, and
men of great awareness. True greatness always comes from perseverance.
Remember these words: Do not seek to win for only a day. Calculate success or
failure for your whole life. Once in your coffin, your life will become clear, and it will be
determined whether your efforts amounted to little or much weight.
Persevere! Persevere! By being indomitable, you will succeed.

2. True Strength




One who goes against his
conscience to behave crudely and rashly he seems resilient but is actually compliant.
One who strives for the highest ideals and suffers humiliation with patience he
seems compliant but is actually resilient.
One who cheats others and is miserly he seems smart but is actually stupid.
One who is trustworthy and is willing to endure hard work he seems stupid but is
actually smart.
One whose body is tall but fat, and so he easily becomes ill he seems strong but is
actually weak.
One whose body is thin but his spirit is abundant, and so he never needs medicine
he seems weak but is actually strong.
Whatever manner of treachery or cruelty you may perpetrate, what kind of person
would that make you? And what would it get you? You would only return to being a good
person with nothing.
If you had enough power to abuse people or enough talent to deserve pride, would
this truly make you an extraordinary person?
To be sneaky and behave with indifference, to flatter and beg for mercy this really
is ignorance of the judgment of the world.
Stand upon a solid base, allowing the true strength within to express from your
conscience.
Fear nothing! Dare to do everything! Be a person who can do anything!

3. New Lease on Life

After you fall down, get up again. If you failed last year,
this year you will succeed, or maybe after another year, or two, or three. Have
confidence that sooner or later you will succeed.
It is lucky chance that graces people with positions of nobility. Do not be envious or
jealous. Do not go along with the classical notion that starving to death is a small matter
compared to losing face.
What kind of a world are we living in now? What sort of a place is this? The aim in
human life is to be of service to others, not to strive for fame and wealth.

People whine and make their cynical comments, momentary flauntings of wit that are
of no help to anyone. And yet: Remote hills produce uncut jade. Imperial courts have a
vulgar smell. So why should we consider whether our position in society is high or low?
A person of genuine talent has gone through trial and training to deserve admiration.
To become dispirited or disappointed is tantamount to suicide. By rousing your spirit,
people will admire and emulate you, and you will then be an example to all.
Worrying once leads to illness. Worrying over and over leads to ruination. If you are
good at preventing it, you will no longer have illness and you will not lose the health of
your body.
Receiving is inferior to giving. Judgment is inferior to forgiveness. Criticism is inferior
to encouragement. Sorrow is inferior to cheer.
Just wait for the moonlight to shine. Do not seek for flowers that have already wilted.
Forget what is past and look ahead to the new.
The sun breaks through the dawn clouds and ascends.

4. Lucky Me

There are ill people who have abundant food but no desire
to eat, and there are poor people who have a vigorous desire to eat but no food. I have
both the desire to eat and food to eat. How fortunate I am!
Many who were born in the same year as myself have died, but I still have a healthy
life. How fortunate I am!
There were people last night who suffered from insomnia, but I slept very deep.
There were people this morning who could hardly eat a bit of breakfast, but I gobbled
many things that were fragrant and sweet. How fortunate I am!
Some people form friendships and later in an instant become enemies. My close
friends persistently care about me. How fortunate I am!
Some people wear almost nothing in summer and yet sweat buckets, then wear fur
coats in winter and yet frostily exhale. I have only two shirts that I wear all year round
without feeling any difference. How fortunate I am!
Some people argue over inheritance. I instead am the first among my relations, old
or young, to get up and sing. How fortunate I am!
My troubled friends, everything can be okay right now. You only need to change your
state of mind and you will be able to handle anything.


Section Four: Untitled

,

Before dawn, there lingers a
moment of darkness. Once the darkness goes, there is glorious light.
Regardless of how cold it is, determination will not turn to ice.
Pure jade cannot be allowed to tarnish. A pure soul cannot be allowed to decay.
A gleaming sharpened sword cannot be allowed to rust. A gurgling river cannot be
allowed to silt up.
To linger on the verge of death just for the sake of one more breath cannot be
counted as life. Gloomy pessimism wounds both body and mind.
There will be more people with strong belief and they will never be dispirited.
Belief is power. Struggle is merely life.
Belief is a seed that eventually sprouts through the hard earth.
It is the flowing water that breaks through mud or ice built up on a riverbed.
It is the rooster announcing the dawn.
It is the wintersweet coming into bloom in the countryside amongst wind and snow.
It is the fearlessness of gold toward being melted down.
It is the brush fire burning everything to replenish the decayed soil.
Past pains sink into the ocean. Fresh flowers refill the mountains.
Friends! Lift up your hands, firmly believe, and fight on through. Let us grab life and
express it, reclaiming days of bird song and fragrant flowers [i.e. springtime / youth].

(Note: When I previously published this piece in the Zhanghua County Teachers of
Literary Arts Magazine, it was laughed at.)

A Final Song:

Once longevity has been fully understood,

to go from old age back to youth is not a strange thing.
Take care of your body and then it will always be in good order.
Prevent illness and then good heath will never be far away.

AFTERWORD

This book is not intended as a substitute for doctors. It is for causing everyone to
know the ways of internal exercise and illness prevention, so that they will understand
the basic common sense of hygiene and how willpower can bring about soundness of
body and mind to mitigate illness, as well as the significance of psychology in dispelling
illness. Although science is flourishing nowadays and medicine has become so
sophisticated, human lifestyles are now more varied and the symptoms of illness that
are expressed are more numerous, a new kind appearing with each day, evolving
endlessly.
As I have but little talent and shallow learning, what I have been able to
present here is not even one ten-thousandth of the material. I hope that you will study
these principles, realize their methods, and sincerely abide by them, or that you will go a
step further and spread them widely out of a sense of self-love and caring for others, of
self-help and helping of others. That would be the fulfillment of this book, for how could
a person keep this all for himself?
I now conclude with the principles of selfcultivation as expressed by a wise man of a previous age:
Just as a cartload requires a cart under it,
or a light must have an object to shine upon,
a person without health
cannot do anything.
Reduce your desires and cleanse your mind.
You are then ready for cultivation to enrich your body.
The fresh will replace the stale
and you will be boosted in abilities.
In life, there is failure as well as success.
Do not feel disgraced by it.
Have a princely calm.
Why fret, why worry?
All living things are so thrilled to be alive.
So why should the humans be so sad?
All have evolved to be so different, but are all from the same source,
the same original Oneness

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