Abstract： This article introduces Chief Physician GAO Jianzhong's clinical experience in treating atopic cough based on the principle of "knowing the pathogenic factor by its manifestation" from the perspective of dryness pathogen. "Knowing the pathogenic factor by its manifestation" is one of the diagnostic approaches in Chinese medicine. Based on this diagnostic principle，Chief Physician GAO believes that chronic cough is often caused by the "dryness pathogen" and is frequently complicated by pathological products such as phlegm-heat and cold-fluid retention. The common clinical syndromes include：first，wind-dryness invading the lung，for which it is appropriate to use pungent-cool and sweet-moistening herbs to diffuse the lung and relieve cough， with modified formulas such as Sangxing Decoction or Sangju Decoction；second，phlegm-heat obstructing the lung with lingering wind-dryness，for which it is suitable to drain the lung，resolve phlegm，disperse wind，and moisten dryness，often employing modified Dingchuan Decoction； third， latent cold-fluid retention with wind-dryness constricting the lung， for which dispersing wind， moistening dryness， warming the lung， and resolving fluid retention are advised， using modified Xiaoqinglong Decoction combined with Sangxing Decoction.