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Wu Dingsan, with a constitution characterized by the qualities of wood and fire, and a habitual indulgence in rich and greasy foods, suffered from hypochondriac pain and a condition at Zhongwan (CV12) that persisted for two years. The pain would surge from the left side directly upwards to the heart, causing unbearable distress. After prolonged pain, he would vomit a few mouthfuls of thin saliva before gradually finding relief. Initially, the episodes occurred once a day, but later they increased to several times a day, leading to mental fatigue, timidity, and an indescribable sense of anxiety and epigastric upset. Doctors, without seeking the root cause, treated him with methods to control phlegm and guide out phlegm, but to no avail. As time dragged on until the spring, one day the pain and vomiting became much worse, with hematemesis of two bowls, unconsciousness, and a surging of qi, with eyes staring as if dead. He was then given Ginseng and Chinese Angelica, which gradually brought him back to consciousness. After that, his spirit and appearance suddenly declined, and he secluded himself, sitting quietly, unwilling to engage in conversations with guests. However, the symptoms of qi rushing up to the heart, chest distension, and epigastric fullness still occurred once a day. He refrained from taking medicine, finding it difficult to decide between attacking and tonifying, and only consumed ginseng soup daily. When I passed by his door, he invited me in for a consultation.
After carefully inquiring about his condition, I understood the whole story. I said, it is a liver qi disorder. Upon diagnosis, his pulse was found to be wiry and large. Zhang Zhongjing said, jueyin disease is characterized by consumptive thirst, qi rushing up to the heart, a burning pain in the heart, hunger without appetite, hence the symptoms of epigastric upset and anxiety, indicating that liver qi is rebellious and stagnant fire is burning internally. Following Zhang Zhongjing's method for treating chest distress, I used Gardenia Fermented Soybean Decoction to vent the stagnant fire, incorporating Ye Tianshi's method of promoting collaterals and descending qi to control liver rebellion. After prescribing several doses, the symptoms gradually improved.

Prescription: Gardenia, Fermented Soybean, Curcuma Root, Chinese Angelica, Rosewood, New Red Silk, Onion Stalk, Platycladi Seed
Later, it was diagnosed that the previous method of venting stagnation and descending rebellion, although it cured a two-year chronic illness in a few doses, was only a temporary solution and not to be relied upon for long, as it had more bitter and pungent flavors and fewer sweet and neutral properties, and should only be used until the disease is cured, not excessively. It is urgent to change the prescription appropriately. A revised prescription of Four Gentlemen Decoction plus Peony Root and Milkwort Root was made, and it was advised to continue taking it as much as possible.