Daoism Series 31:
肘後備急方
Prepared Emergency Formulae Behind the Elbow
Below is an excerpt of apassage from Ge Hong (283-343), a famous Daoist alchemist and physician of the Eastern Jin Dynasty (317–420), reproduced from his work Prepared Emergency Formulae Behind the Elbow. He also authored the renowned Daoist and alchemical text Master of Embracing Simplicity as well as Biographies of Spirit Immortals:
治卒魇寐不寤方第五
(5) Methods for Treating Sudden Nightmares and Bad Dreams
臥忽不寤，勿以火照，火照之殺人，但痛囓其踵及足拇指甲際，而多唾其面，即活。
When someone lies down and suddenly/unexpectedly does not awaken from sleep, do not illuminate [the person] by fire, as the fire’s illumination will kill the person; instead, painfully pinch from their heels and the border of the big toe’s nail, and spit numerous times on the person’s face; as a result, they will promptly revive.
又治之方。末皂角，管吹兩鼻中，即起。三四日猶可吹。又以毛刺鼻孔中，男左女右，輾轉進之。
Furthermore, there is a method as treatment. Blow pulverized zaojiao with a tube into the two nostrils and promptly they will get up. One may blow [this powder] for three to four days like this. Furthermore, irritate the inside of one nostril by a hair; for males the left, for females the right, turning and rolling as one inserts [the hair].
又方 以蘆管吹兩耳，並取病患發二七莖，作繩納鼻孔中，割雄雞冠取血，以管吹入咽喉中，大效。
Another method, blow with a reed tube into the both ears; also fetch fourteen strands of head hairs from the one suffering from illness and make them into a thread into the nostrils. Cut apart a cockscomb and obtain the blood, and blow it with a tube into the throat; it is greatly effective.
Post-Scriptum: The full article will be published as part of a book, entitled ‘The Arts of Daoism’ about meditation, stillness cultivation, abstention from grains [bi gu辟谷], sleeping gong [shui gong 睡功], dreams, vegetarianism and diet in Daoism, formulae for fasting and meditation incense, including several chapters from the alchemical classic The Essentials of the Shortcut to the Great Achievement [da cheng jie yao 大成捷要]. It will be a mixture of anecdotal and oral transmissions from my teacher Li Shi Fu and translations of a number of chapters from ancient texts. It is set to be released early 2021, and the editing process has reached the final chapter..
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