藥yào對duì方fāng一yī口kǒu湯tāng,，不bù對duì方fāng一yī水shuǐ缸gāng

What does 藥對方一口湯，不對方一水缸 (yào duì fāng yī kǒu tāng, bù duì fāng yī shuǐ gāng) mean?

藥對方一口湯，不對方一水缸 (yào duì fāng yī kǒu tāng, bù duì fāng yī shuǐ gāng) is a colloquial saying (súyǔ 俗語). Word for word it reads "When medicine matches the formula, one mouthful of broth suffices; when it doesn't, a whole water vat won't help." In use it means: Accurate diagnosis and precise prescription are everything in medicine. A correctly targeted treatment works with minimal dosage, while a mismatched remedy fails no matter how much is consumed. You reach for it when you want that idea in one breath, and the Water note it carries is why we hand it to those born in the Year of the Rooster.

Literally: "When medicine matches the formula, one mouthful of broth suffices; when it doesn't, a whole water vat won't help."

The reading

Accuracy in diagnosis matters more than quantity in dosing. A prescription that precisely matches the patient's pattern of illness works with startling efficiency, and a small cup of decoction begins shifting the body back toward balance. The same herbs, wrongly combined or aimed at the wrong pattern, accomplish nothing even in enormous quantities. This saying reminds practitioners that medicine is an art of precision, not of volume.

What kind of proverb it is

• Typesúyǔ 俗語
• FocusPresent-minded
• Element水 Water
• Zodiac tie雞 Year of the Rooster

Source Traditional folk medical proverb from Chinese herbal medicine practice

Sits beside

Keep reading

Return to the Proverb Pond to draw another of the eighty-seven, or hear one read aloud. Read the rest of its chapter in Wisdom & Learning, or follow the years these lines belong to: Year of the Rooster, Year of the Rat, and Year of the Ox.