清暑益气利生津

“无因羽翮氛埃外，坐觉蒸炊釜甑中”。身处三伏酷暑，动辄热迫汗泄，极易耗伤气阴，进而诱发中暑。

"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

曾经，山东菏泽一带出现过一座名城望县——冤句古城，人口密集、街市繁华，建城史长达3 000多年。盛夏期间，一位瓜农在田地中暑，不省人事。其子瓜娃请来郎中求方，却被一味主药“翠衣”难到，跑遍满城药房而不得。

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.

一筹莫展的瓜娃，在回家路上遇到个神秘的卖货郎，笑着冲自己说了句“注意脚下”，就消失不见。恍惚间，途经瓜田的瓜娃被满地藤曼绊倒，咕噜咕噜，一个浑身翠绿、圆溜溜的西瓜顺势滚到了脚下。郎中告诉瓜娃，这种西瓜的皮就叫翠衣，瓜农照方服药后很快痊愈。

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.

清暑益气 Clearing summer heat and Tonifying qi

后来，冤句古城因古黄河泛滥而湮没消失，可翠衣入药救人的故事却口口相传，翠衣解暑也被沿用至今。清代著名温病学家王孟英就以翠衣为主药，创制了防治中暑的传世良方——清暑益气汤。

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.

清暑益气汤取10味药入方。其中，西瓜翠衣、西洋参清暑益气、养阴生津，共为君药；荷梗清热解暑，麦冬、石斛养阴生津，为臣药；黄连清热泻火，知母、竹叶清热除烦，俱为佐药；粳米、甘草益胃和中，为使药。诸药合用，对暑热伤气、气阴两伤导致的发热、自汗、心烦口渴、肢节沉疼等症疗效极好。

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.

同名异方 Same Name with Different Prescription

其实，中医方剂历史上曾经出现过两种清暑益气汤，分别出自李东垣的《脾胃论》和王孟英的《温热经纬》。两者名同方异，配伍、功效大相径庭、各有所长。前者宜于体虚而感受暑湿者，后者宜于感受暑湿而耗伤气阴者。

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.

李东垣身处金元乱世，百姓流离失所、饮食无常，中暑患者多长期脾胃虚损，故以健脾益气为本，辅之清燥滋阴，适用“长夏湿胜”病证。王孟英则居于康乾盛世，时人体质普遍提升，防治中暑更加回归清热解暑的本源，侧重益气生津，宜于“暑热耗气伤阴”之证。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 ".

结语 Conclusion

“上盛下虚者十之八九”，王孟英的清暑益气汤是防治中暑的正治之法，为后世所宗。其标准密码在于“清暑益气”，结合了世人的体质变化改良创新，充分彰显中医“同病异治”的辨证施治理念。

"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.