The biggest mistake in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) today is: the indiscriminate use of warming herbs and Fuzi (Aconite)!
Fuzi is not what is called the “king of all medicines, the crown of hot medicines!”
Is Fuzi cold or hot? Just look at the symptoms of poisoning to know: numbness of the mouth, tongue, and face, followed by difficulty in breathing and cardiac arrest. If it were truly hot, wouldn’t there be frantic running and shouting? Do not misuse it; if you encounter a true cold with weak heart fire, taking this cold Fuzi could be fatal! The fastest antidote for Fuzi poisoning is atropine; using green beans, black beans, or Fangfeng (Siler) will only complicate matters. Try taking a few tablets of atropine and see how it feels.
Extreme cold must have hidden heat, which is the basis for Fuzi to dispel dampness, clear heat, and revive yang. When dampness is removed, hidden heat is cleared, and the consumption of qi is reduced, then qi will be sufficient, and one will not fear the cold!
In the 1960s and 70s, Li Ke primarily used black Fuzi. This black Fuzi, long-soaked in bile, has very weak medicinal properties; using a pound of it casually would not cause poisoning.
However, Fuzi is still a toxic substance, and throughout history, physicians have known that ingesting even a small amount of raw Fuzi can be fatal. Even if it is processed into the ineffective black Fuzi, it is still feared to some extent. It is laughable to think that this is human nature, just like a dead tiger that one still fears to approach. Even more ridiculous is that for the dead tiger-like black Fuzi, one still claims it should be boiled for over 90 minutes. Li Ke dared to use large amounts of black Fuzi, which others feared, and this initially impressed himself and then others, leading to his rapid rise to fame.
Before 2004, black Fuzi processed with bile was still very common. After 2004, perhaps the warming faction felt that using large amounts of dead tiger-like black Fuzi was not enough, and suddenly began clamoring to improve the processing methods of Fuzi. The bile-processed black Fuzi is indeed ineffective and should be improved, as there have always been doubts about the efficacy of black Fuzi. The improved Fuzi does have medicinal effects, but incidents of Fuzi poisoning have increased since then. Medicine is medicine, not rice or cabbage that can be consumed in large quantities.
Strictly speaking, Fuzi is a half-yin, half-yang medicine that works by promoting diuresis, clearing heat, and resolving stasis. Therefore, if you use Fuzi alone too much, it may cause diarrhea! Similar to Qian Niu Zi (Morning Glory Seed). You say Qian Niu Zi is cold or hot; the books say it is cold in nature, but Li Shizhen in the “Compendium of Materia Medica” said only Li Dongyuan knew that Qian Niu Zi can activate the yang of the right kidney! How can a cold substance like Qian Niu Zi activate kidney yang? It is because Qian Niu Zi promotes diuresis, clears hidden fire, and prevents evil fire from consuming qi, thus ensuring sufficient qi to resist the cold! This is taking a few detours to become hot! And it does not mean that Fuzi, Qian Niu Zi, etc., are equivalent to Gan Jiang (Dried Ginger) or Rou Gui (Cinnamon) which are hot in nature!
Why are there so many in the TCM community who do not know how to take a detour? Alas!
Basic research has gone wrong; how can TCM develop?
In fact, the Western medical theory of inflammation is correct, but Western medicines are too cold and mostly chemically synthesized, unlike the natural properties of Chinese medicine! Many TCM practitioners see the coldness of the human body treated with Western medicine and think it should be warming, so the warming theory has become popular. Many people do have yang deficiency, but many do not see the hidden fire behind difficult and complicated diseases; treating patients this way can only lead to half-dead and half-alive.
The warming faction has an interesting phenomenon in treating diseases; it starts off effective, but later fails. Why? Because they forget the interdependence of yin and yang, which is the fundamental reason for the current stagnation in TCM development!
The warming faction and the fire god faction both claim that Fuzi is the "king of all medicines, the crown of hot medicines." But whether Fuzi is hot or cold is still debatable.For patients with severe diseases like heart failure, those studying TCM know that deep cold leads to deep heat, and deep heat leads to deep cold. For severe patients, it is often a case of both yin and yang deficiency, with cold and heat coexisting simultaneously.Li Ke claims he has never seen true yin deficiency in his life, based on this point, but this is just a cliché to encourage the younger generation.I can also say that I have never seen true yang deficiency in my life.Because yin and yang are interdependent, how can there be absolute yin deficiency or yang deficiency?In fact, Fuzi promotes diuresis and resolves stasis, and its nature is slightly cool. The Zhen Wu Decoction uses Fuzi to clear dampness and heat from the lower jiao. The Gua Lou Qu Mai Pill also uses Fuzi to promote diuresis, clear heat, and relieve thirst. Whether Fuzi is cold or hot, you will know if you try brewing Fuzi alone.If you usually fear cold, have abdominal distension, and use Fuzi alone, you will definitely feel worse, and it is very likely that the coldness of Fuzi will cause you to retch.Therefore, those who claim that Fuzi is not hot without Gan Jiang are being unreasonable; I would say that ice cubes are not hot without charcoal fire, are you not being pedantic?The warming faction has become increasingly extreme in recent years, opposing the addition of yin or cooling medicines to warming prescriptions, believing it will hinder the warming power of Gui Fuzi (Cinnamon and Aconite), which would be counterproductive. Is the theory of warm diseases, which has been around for hundreds of years, all useless, and are people fools?This is a one-sided view. It must be understood that the types of syndromes in the human body are ever-changing; it is not uncommon for those with yin deficiency and hidden heat to have internal cold. Those who have been cold for a long time must have hidden heat, and for this type of constitution, warming yang must be combined with cooling and moistening medicines as a guide. Furthermore, Fuzi is not a hot medicine.Fuzi, magnetite, dragon bone, and oyster are all cool substances, and it is precisely through the combination with Gan Jiang, Ren Shen (Ginseng), and Shan Zhu Yu (Cornus) that yin and yang are harmonized, and the combination of cold and heat allows the exceptional efficacy of the Po Ge Jiu Xin Decoction to be realized. Unfortunately, how many understand this? The path of warming has long deviated from the normal path.Academic rigidity! Stagnation! Backwardness! TCM practitioners often follow the crowd, lacking depth! The indiscriminate use of Fuzi has caused many to lose their lives!
Some say, “I used Fuzi to treat heart failure and it worked well; how can you say Fuzi extinguishes heart yang? How can you say Fuzi causes the heart to stop?”
I accept this, but the main cause of the heart failure you treated lies in the kidneys, which are not promoting diuresis. In TCM, this is known as the kidney water obstructing the heart syndrome; when kidney water is removed, the heart will be at peace, which is the same principle as with Gui Zhi Fu Ling (Cinnamon and Poria). The reason for the heavy use of Fu Ling (Poria) is right here.
Everyone wake up; many do not understand and blindly misuse Fuzi and Ma Huang (Ephedra), leading to many accidents. The blind and excessive use of Fuzi has already caused many negative issues, but many people spread misinformation, leading TCM development into a misunderstanding!
Therefore, next time you encounter someone who is talkative, frantic, and has a yang syndrome, adding more Fuzi will ensure they comply, but do not forget to add red things like Shan Yu Rou (Shan Zhu Yu) to protect the heart and liver; otherwise, cardiac arrest could occur. In fact, Ban Xia (Pinellia) can also strengthen the heart.
Finally, Fuzi is indeed a good medicine; it can be used for detoxifying boils and swellings, for tonifying the kidneys and promoting diuresis, and for heart failure caused by kidney water obstruction. It is most suitable for those with thick, greasy, damp-heat tongue coating. Those with a large, swollen, damp-cold tongue coating must definitely combine it with warming yang medicines. True cold without yang should be avoided! Use cautiously in those with weak heart and lung qi and blood! Use cautiously in those with epilepsy and few words!
The above image is a four-diagnosis data provided by a patient, who said that after taking Fuzi Li Zhong Wan (Aconite Rectification Pill), his back felt colder. Coincidentally, a friend recently told me that he had severe coldness and after taking Fuzi Li Zhong Wan, he experienced abdominal distension and diarrhea! Everyone, think about why this is? Furthermore, the current Fuzi Li Zhong Wan is all based on Dang Shen (Codonopsis), is Dang Shen the same as Ren Shen (Ginseng)? Dang Shen is for tonifying qi and nourishing yin; can anything replace Ren Shen? That is a falsehood!