I lecture in various universities. One day, a teacher from the office of one university asked me for help, saying that her mother had stomach pain and had sought medical treatment everywhere to no avail. What should I do?
I happened to be there at the time, so I met and helped her analyze it. Her mother had been suffering from stomach pain for two months, and her stomach hurt, no matter the time. When I went to the hospital, western medicine treatment had no obvious effect, and the Chinese patent medicine I used was also ineffective. At that time, I saw that she was completely depressed. It happened to be winter at that time. When I checked my pulse, I felt that I was under great pressure. In traditional Chinese medicine, this is called liver wood, which is inverse and restrains the spleen and earth. It was also a cold day. People from the north cannot stand the coldness without heating in the south, so their stomach will appear. Symptoms of deficiency and cold.
At that time, I hesitated whether to soothe her liver first or warm her stomach first, because there was a question of priorities and the proportion had to be determined. Finally, she was advised to take Huangqi Jianzhong Decoction, a classic prescription of traditional Chinese medicine, to take into account both.
As a result, her mother’s stomach pain disappeared after a few days, and the feedback was good.
When I encounter stomach problems caused by deficiency and cold, Huangqi Jianzhong Decoction is my first choice. This is my experience when I was studying prescriptions with old Chinese medicine practitioners in the Northeast, especially for the stomach. The effect is very good for ulcers, so over the years, I have helped some patients with gastric ulcers recover. Here I will report my experience to everyone.
Our medical sage Zhang Zhongjing of the Eastern Han Dynasty, in "Treatise on Febrile and Miscellaneous Diseases", the first prescription at the beginning is Guizhi Decoction. This prescription is very simple, consisting of cinnamon twig, peony, and licorice. , ginger, jujube.
I always want to tell you about Guizhi Decoction, but I have only talked a little about its effect on cold urticaria. In fact, if I talk about Guizhi Decoction, I will talk about it a lot, because this The meaning of Fangzi is too profound.
Zhang Zhongjing uses Guizhi Decoction to regulate superficial deficiency and cold syndrome, that is, when the patient's righteousness is insufficient and external cold attacks, Guizhi Decoction has the effects of pungent and warm, relieving the exterior, relieving muscle secretion, and mediating the nutrient and defense functions. At this time, the patient's symptoms include headache, fever, sweating, bad wind, rhinorrhoea, retching, white coating, no thirst, and slow or weak pulse.
We have always regarded Guizhi Decoction as a prescription that relieves the spleen and stomach and harmonizes the Yingwei Qi. In fact, I have always thought that it nourishes the spleen and stomach and clears the channels of the Yingwei Qi. "Huangdi Neijing" It is believed that: "Ying comes out of the middle burner, and health comes out of the lower burner." This refers to the source and caliber of the flow of Yingwei Qi. When the patient's spleen and stomach Qi is insufficient, Yingwei Qi will cause problems, so Guizhi Decoction is used Activate the function of the spleen and stomach, making the channels of Yingwei Qi unobstructed, which can resist external evils.
Guizhi decoction is to replenish the spleen and stomach and clear the channels of Yingwei Qi. This content is not the focus of today, so I won’t talk more about it now. Zhang Zhongjing placed this prescription as the first prescription in "Treatise on Febrile Diseases". I think he had this idea: righteousness is the key, and only with righteousness can evil spirits be eliminated.
In practice, whenever I see a person with a cold who sweats every time he moves, is afraid of wind and cold, and has cold hands and feet, I should consider using Guizhi Decoction. The effect is very good.
I have said before that Chinese medicine will build a building on a foundation. Let’s take a look at the building on Guizhi Decoction.
Zhang Zhongjing doubled the amount of peony in Guizhi Decoction and added caramel to form a complete recipe for replenishing the spleen and stomach, called Xiaojianzhong Decoction.
Our current dosage of Xiaojianzhong Decoction is generally:
Nine grams of cassia twig, eighteen grams of white peony root, six grams of licorice, nine grams of ginger, twelve jujubes Each (break it open), 30 grams of caramel.
Xiaojianzhong Decoction has the effect of warming the body, replenishing deficiency, and calming the internal organs. It can be used to treat symptoms of consumptive tenesmus, occasional pain in the abdomen, warm pressure, and the pain subsides, pale tongue with white coating, or palpitations in the heart, restlessness, and dull complexion.
What is particularly noteworthy is that Xiaojianzhong Decoction can not only nourish the spleen, but also calm the liver and gallbladder, because cinnamon twig can soothe liver qi, and white peony root can soften the liver, which is equivalent to soothing the liver. The liver and gallbladder qi prevents the spleen and stomach from being disturbed by the liver and gallbladder qi, so it is named "Jianzhong".
I believe that the origin of this Xiao Jianzhong soup should be very early. In the book "Fu Xing Jue", there is Dajianzhong Bupi Tang, which is Xiao Jianzhong soup with beef. "The Yellow Emperor's Internal Classic" once said:
"Poisons attack evil spirits, five grains are for nourishment, five fruits are for help, five animals are for benefit, and five vegetables are for supplementation. The smell is combined and taken to replenish essence and replenish qi."
We always thought it was a general term, but in fact, this is the rule that guides the composition of medicines. For example, in this Bupi Decoction, cinnamon twigs, white peony roots, and zhi licorice are the medicines. Jujube is a fruit, beef is a livestock, and ginger is a vegetable. This is a certain standard in the earliest days of traditional Chinese medicine prescriptions, and it is an application of the same source of medicine and food.
On the basis of Xiao Jianzhong Decoction, plus the addition of Astragalus, it becomes the Astragalus Jianzhong Decoction we are talking about. The recipe at this time became:
Six grams of astragalus, 30 grams of maltose, nine grams of cinnamon twigs, eighteen grams of white peony root, six grams of licorice, nine grams of ginger, and twelve jujubes (Break apart).
For the astragalus in the recipe, roasted astragalus is usually used, but I am used to using raw astragalus, which will not cause internal heat.
This prescription treats the acute syndrome of deficiency and cold in the middle Jiao. Symptoms include constant tightness and pain in the abdomen, a preference for warmth and pressure, lack of breath and laziness to talk; or palpitations in the heart, restlessness due to deficiency, worsening with exertion, and a dull complexion; or accompanied by mental fatigue and weakness, soreness and weakness of the limbs, and irritability and heat in the hands and feet. Dry throat, dry mouth, pale tongue with white coating, thin and stringy pulse.
The method of boiling the medicine is to boil the six herbs with five cups of water and boil the remaining two cups, remove the residue, add caramel, and dissolve over low heat. Take one cup in the morning and evening.
The purpose of this Astragalus Jianzhong Decoction Cube is that "those who are in a hurry must be relieved with sweetness, and those who are deficient must be supplemented with warmth." The famous doctor You Zaijing of the Qing Dynasty said in "Jingui Yaolue Xindian" :
"Turisers are defined as internal deficiency, rapid pulse, and pain in the abdomen. Insufficiency means both yin and yang pulses are deficient, resulting in dizziness, palpitations, breathlessness, thirst, loss of sperm, and loss of blood. When symptoms are present, it must be relieved with sweetness, and if it is insufficient, it must be supplemented with warmth, and Huang Qi is particularly good at it."
"Jingui Yaoluo Prescription" "Yi" said:
"This recipe is made by adding Huangqi to Xiaojianzhong decoction. Huangqi is a product that can nourish qi and help the weak. If you get caramel, it will be sweet and warm to replenish qi. If you get cinnamon twig, it will warm yang." Transforming qi, white peony root has the effect of nourishing qi and nourishing qi. When combined with the whole prescription, its effect of replenishing qi and replenishing qi is better than that of Xiaojianzhong Decoction."
This prescription is good for men's deficiency and yang. Insufficient Qi, weak spleen and stomach, the effect is very good. I once saw an old Chinese medicine practitioner using it to treat men who were deficient in righteousness and prone to spontaneous sweating. After taking it for a long time, their physical condition was completely improved. This was a case I saw when I was just learning Chinese medicine, so I am very interested in Jianzhong Decoction. Fang, I have always paid attention to it.
Later, my experience is that this prescription is very effective for patients with spleen and stomach deficiency and cold, especially for gastric ulcers diagnosed by Western medicine. It is said that there are many causes of gastric ulcers, which can also be caused by taking some Western medicines. The gastric ulcers we see are mostly caused by mental stress and improper diet. Often white-collar workers who are under great work pressure and eat irregularly, often after a hungry meal or a full meal, will have this kind of problem, which is characterized by pain in the upper abdomen, mostly after meals. Western medicine examination will reveal gastric ulcers. . At this time, if you have signs of deficiency and cold, your tongue is pale, and your body is afraid of coldness, you can consider using this prescription, because this prescription has the effect of softening and slowing down the liver, and can prevent the liver qi from overpowering the spleen. At the same time, it can strengthen the middle After tonifying the spleen and strengthening the spleen and stomach, it will also be protected from the effects of liver wood.
If the liver qi discomfort is too serious, of course you must first take some medicine to soothe the liver and regulate qi. However, if the spleen and stomach are seriously weak and there is liver wood to overcome it, this prescription is suitable, and the intention is to strengthen itself. Can resist foreign enemies. In this case, obvious effects can usually be seen with just three to five supplementary medicines. If you have such problems, you can consult a doctor nearby to help you judge. I believe that many people will get rid of this disease.