輕宣潤燥祛秋邪

“夜涼枕簟滑，秋燥衣巾輕”。秋季天干物燥，邪氣入侵人體肺部，容易誘發(fā)頭痛發(fā)熱、干咳口渴等癥狀，亦稱“秋燥”病。

"In autumn the weather is cool at night and the body is vulnerable to autumn-dryness." The weather is dry in autumn and the lung is vulnerable to autumn pathogenesis so it is easy to cause headache and fever, dry cough and thirst. The symptoms are called "autumn-dryness diseases".

霜打桑葉天賜藥

Legendary medicine of mulberry leaves

相傳很久以前，達(dá)木和母親久居藥山，靠種地打柴為生。一年秋天，老太太突然一病不起，頭痛欲裂、咳嗽不止，用了各種藥方始終不見起色。聽說藥山上青華觀的老道士醫(yī)術(shù)高明，達(dá)木急忙上山求醫(yī)，臨行前還貼心地?zé)送腴_水，放到母親的床邊。

求醫(yī)歸來，達(dá)木卻發(fā)現(xiàn)母親的病情已經(jīng)好轉(zhuǎn)。仔細(xì)詢問后才知道，母親起床后，發(fā)現(xiàn)碗里落了幾片順著窗口飄進(jìn)的桑葉，清水已被泡成了淡綠色，老太太口渴難耐，硬著頭皮喝了下去。沒想到，頭痛、咳嗽的癥狀后來卻明顯減輕。達(dá)木笑著告訴母親，老道士開的偏方，也是以霜打桑葉為主藥，真是無巧不成書。果不其然，按照老道士的偏方服藥，老太太沒過幾天就徹底痊愈。

According to legend, a long time ago, Damu and his mother lived in Yaoshan Mountain, living on farming and chopping firewood. One autumn, the mother suddenly fell ill, with a splitting headache and coughing. Various remedies were used but failed. Damu heard that the old Taoist priest of Qing Hua Taoist temple on Yaoshan Mountain was good at healing, so he hurried to the mountain to seek medical help. Before leaving he thoughtfully boiled a bowl of water and put it at the bedside of his mother.

Returning from seeking medical help, Damu however found that the mother's condition had improved. After careful questioning, he found the answer. After his mother got up, she found a few mulberry leaves floating in the bowl along the window, and the water had been soaked into a light green color. The old lady was so thirsty that she had to drink the water. Unexpectedly, the symptoms of headache and cough were later significantly reduced. Damu smiled and told his mother that the old Taoist's prescription also included frosted mulberry leaves as the main medicine. What a coincidence! As expected, the old lady was completely cured within a few days after taking the medicine according to the old Taoist's prescription.

名方問世惠后人

Famous Prescription Benefiting Future Generations

達(dá)木求藥的故事很快流傳開來，以桑葉入藥治病也逐漸得到推廣。到了清代，溫病大家吳鞠通總結(jié)前人經(jīng)驗(yàn)，以桑葉為主，配合杏仁、梨皮等，創(chuàng)制了治療外感溫燥證的名方——桑杏湯，惠及后人無數(shù)。

桑杏湯處方共7味藥，包含桑葉、杏仁、浙貝母、沙參、梔子、梨皮和豆豉。其中桑葉外散溫燥，杏仁宣肺止咳，為君藥；豆豉透邪解表，貝母潤肺化痰，為臣藥；沙參、梨皮、梔子，養(yǎng)陰潤肺、清熱除煩，共為佐藥。全方合用，燥熱除而肺津復(fù)，可有效治療干咳少痰、咽喉干燥、口干、頭痛、身熱不甚、口鼻干燥等多種病癥。

The story of Damu seeking medicine soon spread, as well as the treatment with mulberry leaves was gradually promoted. In the Qing Dynasty, Wu Jutong, an expert in warm diseases, summed up the experience of the predecessors and created the famous prescription "Sang Xing Tang" for treating external warmth and dryness with mulberry leaves as the main ingredient, together with almonds and pericarp of bretschneider pear, which benefited countless descendants.

The prescription of "Sang Xing Tang" consists of seven herbs, including Mulberry leaves, almond, fritillaria thunbergii, adenophora stricta, gardenia jasminoides, pericarp of bretschneider pear and tempeh. Among them, mulberry leaves dispell warmth and dryness while almond promotes the lung and relieves cough. As a result, mulberry leaves and almond are regarded as the monarch medicine. Tempeh outthrusts pathogen through the exterior，F(xiàn)ritillaria thunbergii moistens the lung and dissolves phlegm，so they are regarded as the minister medicine. Adenophora stricta; pericarp of bretschneider pear and gardenia jasminoides nourish yin and moisten the lung, clear heat and eliminate annoyance. The three medicines are regarded as assistant medicine. The whole prescription can effectively treat dry cough with little phlegm, dry throat, dry mouth, headache, body heat, dry nose and mouth.

輕藥切記勿重用

Never overuse light medicine

“治上焦如羽，非輕不舉”，吳鞠通在《溫病條辨》中指出，治療上焦病證應(yīng)以輕清升浮的藥物為主，用藥劑量要輕，煎煮時間要少，慎用苦寒沉降之品。

桑杏湯同樣如此，原方用藥極輕，包括君臣在內(nèi)的5味藥，皆僅取3克，嚴(yán)格遵循“輕藥不得重用，重用必過病所”的原則。

"Treat the upper jiao like a feather and never overuse light medicine" , as Wu Jutong pointed out in "Item Differentiation Of Warm Febrile Diseases". Treatment according to the diseases in upper jiao should be based on light and clear herbs with characteristic of ascending and floating, with light doses and less decoction time, and with caution to use bitter and cold sinking medicines.

The same is true when using "Sang Xing Tang". The original formula is extremely light. Five herbs including the monarch medicine can only be taken 3 grams. The principle that "lighter herbs should not be overused, or it will cause overtreatment" must be strictly followed.

結(jié) 語

Conclusion

“透泄溫燥不傷津，涼潤肺金不滋膩”，桑杏湯的標(biāo)準(zhǔn)密碼在于“輕宣潤燥”四個字，尤其適用病情初期癥狀較輕者，祛除溫?zé)嵩镄?，呵護(hù)秋季健康。

It is important to disperse the lung with fluid production and nourishment. The standard password of "Sang Xing Tang" is "dispersing the lung and dispelling dryness with clear and light herbs". "Sang Xing Tang" is especially suitable for those with mild symptoms in the early stage of the disease, to eliminate warm and dry pathogen and take care of your health in autumn.