清暑益氣利生津

“無因羽翮氛埃外，坐覺蒸炊釜甑中”。身處三伏酷暑，動輒熱迫汗泄，極易耗傷氣陰，進而誘發中暑。

"In dog days, the weather is as hot as sitting in the steam kettle." During Sanfu, the hottest and dampest period of the year, it is easy to sweat in the dog days.People are vulnerable to heat stroke by deficit ofqiandyin.

翠衣救人 Watermelon rind saving life

曾經，山東菏澤一帶出現過一座名城望縣——冤句古城，人口密集、街市繁華，建城史長達3 000多年。盛夏期間，一位瓜農在田地中暑，不省人事。其子瓜娃請來郎中求方，卻被一味主藥“翠衣”難到，跑遍滿城藥房而不得。

Once, there was a famous city Yuanju in the area of Heze in Shandong Province in ancient China.The city was densely populated, bustling market with a history of more than 3,000 years.Once during the summer, a melon farmer suffered heat stroke in his field and became unconscious.His son asked the doctor for a prescription, but he was stuck with the main medicine, "Cui Yi", and go around the city pharmacies but failed.

一籌莫展的瓜娃，在回家路上遇到個神秘的賣貨郎，笑著沖自己說了句“注意腳下”，就消失不見。恍惚間，途經瓜田的瓜娃被滿地藤曼絆倒，咕嚕咕嚕，一個渾身翠綠、圓溜溜的西瓜順勢滾到了腳下。郎中告訴瓜娃，這種西瓜的皮就叫翠衣，瓜農照方服藥后很快痊愈。

At a loss, the son met a mysterious grocer on his way home.The grocer smiled and said "watch your step", and disappeared.In a trance, passing through the melon field of the melon, the son was tripped by melon vine.A watermelon rolled down to the feet.The doctor told the son that watermelon rind was what was called "Cui Yi".The melon farmer quickly recovered after taking the medicine as prescribed.

清暑益氣 Clearing summer heat and Tonifying qi

后來，冤句古城因古黃河泛濫而湮沒消失，可翠衣入藥救人的故事卻口口相傳，翠衣解暑也被沿用至今。清代著名溫病學家王孟英就以翠衣為主藥，創制了防治中暑的傳世良方——清暑益氣湯。

Later on, the ancient city disappeared due to the flooding of the ancient Yellow River, but the story of "Cui Yi" medicine saving people was passed down from mouth to mouth and the prescription of "Cui Yi" for clearing summer heat has been used up till now.Wang Mengying, a famous therapeutic scientist in the Qing Dynasty, created the heirloom prescription for heatstroke prevention and treatment, Qing Shu YiQi Tang, using watermelon rind as the main medicine.

清暑益氣湯取10味藥入方。其中，西瓜翠衣、西洋參清暑益氣、養陰生津，共為君藥；荷梗清熱解暑，麥冬、石斛養陰生津，為臣藥；黃連清熱瀉火，知母、竹葉清熱除煩，俱為佐藥；粳米、甘草益胃和中，為使藥。諸藥合用，對暑熱傷氣、氣陰兩傷導致的發熱、自汗、心煩口渴、肢節沉疼等癥療效極好。

The prescription of Qing Shu Yi Qi Tang was based on 10 herbs.Watermelon rind and American ginseng are used to clear the heat, tonifyqi,nourishyinand supplement body fluid.So they are regarded as the monarch medicine.The Lotus Petiole clears heat and relieves summer heat, while the Liriope graminifolia and Dendrobium nobile Lindl nourishyinand promote the production of body fluid.They are used as minister medicine.Rhizoma coptidis clears summer heat and rhizoma anemarrhenae and folia bambosae remove heat and irritation.They are used as the assistant medicine.Japonica rice and licorice benifit the stomach and harmonize the body.They are used as the guide medicine.The combination of these herbs is very effective in treating fever, spontaneous sweating, heartburn and thirst, and sunken pain in the limbs caused by summer heat andqi-yindeficit.

同名異方 Same Name with Different Prescription

其實，中醫方劑歷史上曾經出現過兩種清暑益氣湯，分別出自李東垣的《脾胃論》和王孟英的《溫熱經緯》。兩者名同方異，配伍、功效大相徑庭、各有所長。前者宜于體虛而感受暑濕者，后者宜于感受暑濕而耗傷氣陰者。

In fact, in the history of Chinese medicine, there have been two kinds of Qing Shu Yi Qi Tang, respectively from Li Dongyuan's "Treatise on the Spleen and Stomach" and Wang Mengying's "Compedium on Epidemc Febrile Diseases ".They are of the same name with different Prescription.The combination and efficacy are different and each has its own strengths.The former is suitable for those who feel summer dampness due to body deficiency, while the latter is suitable for those who feel summer dampness due to depletion ofqiandyin.

李東垣身處金元亂世，百姓流離失所、飲食無常，中暑患者多長期脾胃虛損，故以健脾益氣為本，輔之清燥滋陰，適用“長夏濕勝”病證。王孟英則居于康乾盛世，時人體質普遍提升，防治中暑更加回歸清熱解暑的本源，側重益氣生津，宜于“暑熱耗氣傷陰”之證。Li Dongyuan lived in the chaotic era of the Jin and Yuan dynasties, when people were displaced and their diet was unpredictable, and most of the heatstroke patients suffered from long-term deficiency of the spleen and stomach, so the treatment was based on nourishing the spleen andqi, supplemented by clearing dryness and nourishingyin.The therapy was suitable for "continuous dampness due to summer heat".Wang Mengying, on the other hand, lived in the prosperous era of emperor Kang Xi and Qian Long in Qing Dynasty, when people's physique was generally improved, so the prevention and treatment of heat stroke returned to the original source of clearing heat and relieving summer heat, focusing on nourishingqiand producing body fluid.The therapy was suitable for the symptom of "Deficit ofqiandyindue to summer heat ".

結語 Conclusion

“上盛下虛者十之八九”，王孟英的清暑益氣湯是防治中暑的正治之法，為后世所宗。其標準密碼在于“清暑益氣”，結合了世人的體質變化改良創新，充分彰顯中醫“同病異治”的辨證施治理念。

"Nine out of ten people are of syndrome of excess in upper and deficiency in lower." Wang Mengying's Qing Shu Yi Qi Tang is the correct treatment for heat stroke, and has been the standard for future generations.Its standard code lies in "clearing the heat and nourishing theqi", which combines the physical changes of the people to improve the innovation and fully manifests the concept of "different therapies for the same disease" in Chinese traditional medicine.