External liniments (Yàojiǔ, Dieda jiu) wài yòng yào jiǔ · 外用药酒（跌打酒）

Alcohol-based herbal extracts rubbed onto unbroken skin over sore or bruised areas — a fixture of the die-da tradition and of martial-arts injury culture. The alcohol base carries the herbs and produces a warming sensation; formulas vary enormously by lineage and region.

Two cautions recur in the literature. First, "external use only" is a real instruction: several traditional liniment herbs are toxic if swallowed, and poisoned-children case reports exist. Second, broken skin, mucous membranes and bandaged heat-wrap over fresh liniment can all increase absorption — the warming that feels therapeutic is the active extract entering tissue. Keep it on intact skin, and keep it away from children.