Li Dongyuan is a representative figure of the four great families of the Spleen and Stomach School (Butu School) in the Jin and Yuan Dynasties. His representative works include Distinguishing Puzzles from Internal and External Injuries, Treatise on the Spleen and Stomach, and Secret Collection of Orchid Chamber.
Li Dongyuan said in "On the Spleen and Stomach": "If the stomach is deficient, the five viscera, the twelve meridians, the fifteen collaterals, and the four limbs will not have the energy to operate, and all kinds of diseases will arise. How can one end be able to cure them?" He also said: "If Improper eating and drinking will damage the stomach qi, and if it cannot be restrained, it will be dispersed in the liver, returned to the heart, overflowed in the lungs, and stored in the kidneys." From this, the principle of "there is life if there is stomach qi, and death if there is no stomach qi" is believed. It is the foundation of life, and the spleen and stomach are the source of vitality, and then put forward the "spleen and stomach theory" that "internal injury to the spleen and stomach can cause all diseases to arise", and formulated a new prescription with the effects of nourishing the middle qi, strengthening the spleen and stomach - tonic Zhongyiqi Decoction, Shengyang Yiwei Decoction, and Tiaozhong Yiqi Decoction all use Milkvetch Root as the main medicine.
There are 10 prescriptions of Milkvetch Root membranaceus in "Internal and Internal Injury Discrimination", and the most appropriate description of the effect of Milkvetch Root membranaceus is "invigorating the middle and replenishing qi", and the matching ones are Atractylodes macrocephala and ginseng, which can be described as the three methods of invigorating the middle qi. Axe; when raising Yang Qi, cohosh and Bupleurum must be used; Milkvetch Root is used in Dongyuan, and tangerine peel must be added to prevent the Milkvetch Root from supplementing and stagnation. Mr. Yue Meizhong said, "This is a great invention of Dongyuan. .”
Li Dongyuan put forward a new theory of "sweetness and warmth to eliminate severe fever" for internal injury and heat syndrome, regardless of the customs. He said: "People who are sick, have a bad diet, and are injured by hard labor. Therefore, there are many internal injuries due to overeating, and occasional external injuries. The world does not know that the evidence of insufficient vitality is often regarded as evidence of external injury, wind and cold. As for the heart and lung regurgitation, it’s the most important thing, so it’s safe to not die?” ("Internal and Internal Injury Discrimination") He thinks that this is "there is no sun to protect its body, not to let the wind and cold, but to generate cold and heat, all of which are caused by the spleen and stomach It is also caused by the deficiency of qi." Therefore, he proposed that "the sweet and warm medicine should be used to supplement the middle, raise the yang, and relieve the fire by purging the sweet and cold to heal." "Nei Jing" says that the laborer warms it, and the damaged one benefits it. Gaiwen can remove severe heat, so avoid bitter and cold medicines that can relieve the stomach." ("Distinguishing Confusion from Internal and External Injuries") The representative prescription of sweet and warm medicine is Buzhong Yiqi Decoction.