are added to drain fire, boost the lung qi, and help autumn reduction.
Excessivelyeffulgent damp heat in long summer damages the lung qi which then becomes insufficient in autumn, the season ruled by the lungs. This kind of insufficiency is called autumn reduction.
These are the medicinals in constant use when long
summer [qi] is just effulgent in the triple hiding.
The triple hiding refers to the three 10 day periods of the hot seasons as described above in Chapter Three.R E P R E S E N TAT I V E C A S E H I S T O R I E S
From “Lifting the Borders on the Clinical Use of Dong-yuan’s Qing Shu Yi Qi Tang” by Guo Jian-sheng et al., Zhe Jiang Zhong Yi Za Zhi (Zhejiang Journal of Chinese
Medicine), #6, 2004, p. 237
C A S E 1 : Hypothyroidism
The patient was a 30 year-old female who was first seen on Dec. 10, 2000 who had been suffering from hypothyroidism for half a year. She had taken Western thyroid medication to raise her hormone level but it had not improved. Therefore, she had sought out Chinese medical treatment. The patient was easily fatigued and had no desire to speak very much. Her appetite was poor, and, after eating, she easily developed duct and abdominal fullness and dis- tention. In addition, the patient was constipated, although her stools were soft. When the patient woke up in the morning, her skin felt swollen and dis- tended. The woman’s menstruation tended to be scanty in amount and pale in color and contained a small amount of blood clots. Her tongue was also pale with white, slightly yellowish fur which was slightly slimy at the root. Her pulse was fine and moderate or slightly slow. Therefore she was prescribed
Qing Shu Yi Qi Tang with additions and subtractions: Dang Shen (Radix
Codonopsitis Pilosulae), 20g, Huang Qi (Radix Astragali Membranacei), 30g,
Bai Zhu (Rhizoma Atractylodis Macrocephalae), Dang Gui (Radix Angelicae
Sinensis), Ze Xie (Rhizoma Alismatis Orientalis), Chen Pi (Pericarpium Citri Reticulatae), Shen Qu (Massa Medica Fermentata), Gu Ya (Fructus Germinatus Oryzae Sativae), Mai Ya (Fructus Germinatus Hordei Vulgaris), and Hou Po (Cortex Magnoliae Officinalis), 10g each, Huang Bai (Cortex Phellodendri),
Gan Cao (Radix Glycyrrhizae Uralensis), and Wu Wei Zi (Fructus Schisandrae
Chinensis), 6g each, Ge Gen (Radix Puerariae), 15g, Mai Men Dong (Tuber Ophiopogonis Japonici), 8g, and Xie Bai (Bulbus Allii), 7g. After taking seven packets of these medicinals, the patient’s feeling of fatigue was less and her abdominal distention was greatly reduced. Her stools were now replete and she was no longer constipated. Therefore, the original formula was contin- ued for three whole months, after which time, her T3 and T4 had returned to normal and all her symptoms were eliminated.
C A S E 2 : Type 2 diabetes mellitus
The patient was a 53 year-old female who was first seen on May 15, 2003. This patient had been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes for 10 years and had already been treated with a number of Chinese and Western medicines, how- ever with poor effects. In recent days, the patient’s blood sugar had become
elevated. Her fasting blood glucose was 8.9mmol/L. Therefore, she came for a consultation. At that time, she complained of lack of strength, sleepiness which was especially worse after eating, a bland taste in the mouth, torpid intake, abdominal distention, thin, soft stools which occurred three times per day, turbid urination, but no polydipsia, polyphagia, or polyuria. The patient’s tongue tended to be fat with white fur, and her pulse was weak. In addition, her cholesterol and blood pressure both tended to be high. Based on these signs and symptoms, the patient was prescribed Qing Shu Yi Qi Tang with additions and subtractions: Dang Shen (Radix Codonopsitis Pilosulae), 20g,
Huang Qi (Radix Astragali Membranacei), 30g, Bai Zhu (Rhizoma Atractylodis
Macrocephalae), Dang Gui (Radix Angelicae Sinensis), Shen Qu (Massa Medica Fermentata), Ze Xie (Rhizoma Alismatis Orientalis), Hou Po (Cortex Magnoliae Officinalis), Chen Pi (Pericarpium Citri Reticulatae), and Dan Shen (Radix Salviae Miltiorrhizae), 10g each, Wu Wei Zi (Fructus Schisandrae Chinensis), Huang
Bai (Cortex Phellodendri), and Gan Cao (Radix Glycyrrhizae Uralensis), 6g
each, Ge Gen (Radix Puerariae), 15g, and Mai Men Dong (Tuber Ophiopogonis Japonici), 8g. After taking seven packets of these medicinals, the woman’s blood glucose had returned to normal. Therefore, she was continued on the same formula plus 15 grams each of Shan Yao (Radix Dioscoreae Oppositae) and Fu Ling (Sclerotium Poriae Cocos). The woman then took this formula with additions and subtractions for two more months and her fasting blood glucose remained within normal parameters.
C A S E 3 : Chronic glomerulonephritis
The patient was a 30 year-old male who was first examined on July 9, 2002. One year previous, due to having caught a cold, the man had developed a fever, facial edema, and scanty urination. At the time, his Western medical diagnosis was acute nephritis. After one month of treatment, his symptoms were eliminated. However, protein in his urine was not able to be eliminated. One month prior to his visit on July 9, the man had been diagnosed with chronic glomerulonephritis. When the patient got up in the morning, his eye- lids were slightly swollen and his throat was red and felt blocked or obstructed. He was afraid of wind (or chill), and his low back was sore and distended. The man’s stools were soft, and his urination was short, slightly yellow, tur- bid, and foamy. His tongue was red with thin, yellow fur, and his pulse was floating and slightly bowstring. Proteinuria was triple plus. At first, the man was prescribed Yin Qiao Ma Bo San (Lonicera, Forsythia & Lasiosphera Powder) plus Fang Ji Huang Qi Tang (Stephania & Atragalus Decoction) with additions and subtractions: Jin Yin Hua (Flos Lonicerae Japonicae), Lian Qiao (Fructus Forsythiae Suspensae), and Sang Ji Sheng (Ramulus Loranthi Seu Visci), 15g each, Ma Bo (Fructificatio Lasiospherae Seu Calvatiae), She Gan (Rhizoma
Belamcandae), Fang Ji (Radix Stephaniae Tetrandae), Bai Zhu (Rhizoma Atractylodis Macrocephalae), and Du Zhong (Cortex Eucommiae Ulmoidis), 10g each, Niu Bang Zi (Fructus Arctii Lappae) and Gan Cao (Radix Glycyrrhizae Uralensis), 6g each, Yi Yi Ren (Semen Coicis Lachryma-jobi) and Shan Zhu Yu (Fructus Corni Officinalis), 12g each, Yu Mi Xu (Stylus Zeae Maydis), 1 bunch, and Huang Qi (Radix Astragali Membranacei), 25g.
After taking seven packets of these medicinals, the edema, red throat, and feeling of obstruction in the back of the throat were all improved, the tongue was no longer red, and the pulse was no longer bowstring. However, the pro- teinuria was still triple plus. In addition, the man was easily exhausted, eas- ily caught cold, and his stools were loose and unformed. Therefore, he was prescribed Qing Shu Yi Qi Tang with additions and subtractions: Dang Shen (Radix Codonopsitis Pilosulae), 20g, Huang Qi (Radix Astragali Membranacei), 30g, Bai Zhu (Rhizoma Atractylodis Macrocephalae), Dang Gui (Radix Angelicae Sinensis), Ze Xie (Rhizoma Alismatis Orientalis), Shen Qu (Massa Medica Fermentata), Du Zhong (Cortex Eucommiae Ulmoidis), and Chen Pi (Pericarpium Citri Reticulatae), 10g each, Sang Ji Sheng (Ramulus Loranthi Seu Visci), Yi Yi
Ren (Semen Coicis Lachryma-jobi), and Ge Gen (Radix Puerariae), 15g each, Mai Men Dong (Tuber Ophiopogonis Japonici), 8g, Gan Cao (Radix Glycyrrhizae
Uralensis), Wu Wei Zi (Fructus Schisandrae Chinensis), Chan Yi (Periostracum Cicadae), and Huang Bai (Cortex Phellodendri), 6g each, and Yu Mi Xu (Stylus Zeae Maydis), 1 bunch. After taking seven packets of this new formula, the proteinuria was only one plus. Thus the man was continued on modifications of this formula for three whole months, after which his urine was normal and all his symptoms had disappeared.
Endnotes 1 11Su Wen, Ch. 53 1 12Su Wen, Ch. 44 1
13A long lost ancient medical work
1 14Su Wen, Ch. 3 1 15Su Wen, Ch. 39 1 16Su Wen, Ch. 74 1
17 Ling Shu, Vol. 11, Ch. 73
1
18This formula is composed of: Zhu Sha (Cinnabaris), Huang Lian (Rhizoma Coptidis
Chinensis), Dang Gui (Radix Angelicae Sinensis), Sheng Di (uncooked Radix Rehmanniae Glutinosae), and Gan Cao (Radix Glycyrrhizae Uralensis).