🌿 Folk Prescriptions

In early Qing dynasty, Jiangsu province produced a famous physician named Ye Gui. Born into a family of doctors, he studied diligently from childhood and successively apprenticed under seventeen renowned physicians, absorbing diverse expertise and eventually becoming the founder of the school of warm-heat diseases in traditional Chinese medicine.
One summer day, Ye Gui was invited to the home of Lü Weiqi, a wealthy official in Nanjing known as the "Iron Chicken" for his stinginess. Three or four days earlier, the official’s son, annoyed by the extreme heat, had gone alone to the back garden’s lotus pond to cool off. While lying there, he fell asleep. Upon waking, he felt unbearable itching all over his body, with pain wherever he touched—even clothing became unbearable. Ye Gui carefully examined the patient and found no redness, swelling, fever, or chills. The complexion was normal, appetite unchanged, and pulse steady—no signs of internal organ disease. So Ye Gui went to the spot where the young man had rested. Seeing lotus blossoms floating gently on the water, willow trees shading the bank, he scrutinized the willows and ground, suddenly having an insight. He returned to the room and prescribed a formula: "Three shi (approximately 300 kg) of white glutinous rice, washed and steamed until cooked, formed into rice balls, made for three consecutive days." He explained: "The young man’s illness is caused by evil influences in the body, which can only be expelled by rice cake balls. The method of expelling evil must be carried out at the busiest place in Nanjing, setting up a stall to distribute rice balls for three days. Give four balls to anyone wearing ragged clothes." Hearing this, Lü Weiqi felt as if stabbed in the heart, but for his son’s sake, he reluctantly complied.
On the third evening, Ye Gui brought two rice cake balls to the young man’s bedroom and rolled them over his body, arms, and legs. Amazingly, the boy—who moments ago had been crying out in agony—now leapt up, completely recovered.
A few days later, Ye Gui returned home. But news of his clever cure for the strange illness had already spread throughout his hometown. His disciples eagerly asked for clarification. Ye Gui calmly replied: "The young man’s illness isn’t really strange. The key is to identify the root cause. I noticed many tiny caterpillars had fallen from the willow trees, exposed to sunlight, shedding countless fine hairs. These hairs are so small they’re invisible to the naked eye, so the boy didn’t realize it. But when they touch the skin, they pierce and cause severe pain. Without understanding this, one cannot find the cause. These hairs cannot be removed directly, but the sticky rice balls can effectively adhere to and remove them. Thus, the illness was cured."