Chai Hu Gui Zhi Gan Jiang Tang (line 147)

伤寒五六日，已发汗而复下之，胸胁满微结，小便不利，渴而不呕，但头汗出，往来寒热，心烦者，此为未解也，柴胡桂枝干姜汤主之。
This verse translates as: Cold damage has lasted for five to six days, the person has already perspired and also precipitated, the chest and ribs are distended and slightly stuck. Urine is hindered, there is thirst, no nausea, and there is perspiration only on the head, heat and cold come in cycles, and there is [...]

Use of Gua Di San to induce emesis (line 166)

病如桂枝证，头不痛，项不强，寸脉微浮，胸中痞硬，气上冲咽喉，不得息者，此为胸有寒也。当吐之，宜瓜蒂散。
The illness appears to be like cinnamon twig pattern, [but] there is not headache or stiffness of nape, the cun pulse is slightly floating, there is a hard glomus in the chest, with qi shooting up the throat without ceasing. This is Cold in the chest region. Treat by inducing emesis using Gua Di San [...]

Prescribing using Han Dynasty measures of quantity

Mastering the quantity of each herb used is very important in clinical practice. This is especially so when we want to practice prescribing 经方 i.e. those created by Mr. Zhang Zhongjing.
桂枝汤 as an example:
In 桂枝汤, 3 liang each of 桂枝 and 芍药 are used, and the function of 桂枝 is to 解肌祛风、调和营卫.

If we increase the [...]

麻子仁丸 – and why your shit is hard.

The first verse:
“趺阳脉浮而涩，浮则胃气强，涩则小便数，浮涩相搏，大便则硬，其脾为约，麻子仁丸主之。” (line 247)
Here we get a glimpse of the unfettered logic of Zhang Ji and perhaps all his predecessors and post-decessors. He says that the fuyang pulse is floating and rough (literally: astringent). And then he explains why: floating means that the stomach qi is strong (from this we know that during exterior [...]

About 苓桂剂

Naming them:

苓桂甘枣汤
苓桂术甘汤
苓桂甘姜汤（aka 茯苓甘草汤）
五苓散

Understanding the first two:
The first two are under 虚证 in the textbook. The former for 心阳虚, the latter for 脾虚.
“发汗后，其人脐下悸者，欲发奔豚，茯苓桂枝甘草大枣汤主之。” (line 65)

Think of this decoction as 桂枝甘草汤 (4两:2两) with alot of 茯苓 (8两) added. And 大枣 too.
Why add 茯苓? My take on this is to consider a verse in 《金匮要略》：“假令瘦人，脐下有悸 ，口吐沫涎而颠眩，为水也，五苓散主之。”
桂枝 is the [...]

Treatment for Fluid Counterflow

Fuling gancao tang (茯苓甘草汤) is quoted in line 74 of SHL, where a comparison is made between it and wulingsan (五苓散). Use wuling  san (五苓散) if there is thirst after the sweating; use fuling gancao tang (茯苓甘草汤) if there is no thirst.
伤寒厥而心下悸，以先治水，当服茯苓甘草汤，却治其厥。不爾，水渍(zi3)入胃，必作利也。 (line 356)
Additional comments:

渍(zi3) means 渍浸, which means ‘to steep in water.’
Already here, Zhang [...]