Every time I read about the diagnosis of Yue Ren entering Guo and the observation of Marquis Qi's complexion, I cannot help but sigh with admiration for their outstanding talent. It is strange that the scholars of today do not pay attention to medicine and do not delve deeply into medical techniques, to treat the illnesses of their rulers and parents above, to save the poor and lowly from calamity below, and to preserve their own health and longevity in between, to nurture their lives. Instead, they compete for fame and power, eagerly pursuing wealth and influence, solely focused on fame and profit; they embellish the superficial and neglect the fundamental, making the exterior flourish while the interior withers. If the skin is gone, where will the hair attach? Suddenly encountering evil winds and contracting severe illnesses, when disaster strikes, they are struck with fear, lower their ambitions, and bend their principles, reverently hoping for the blessings of shamans and priests, resigning themselves to fate, and accepting defeat. They squander a hundred years of life, holding the most precious vessel, entrusting it to mediocre doctors, allowing them to do as they please. Alas! Their bodies perish, their mental activity ceases, they turn into different beings, sinking into the deep springs, leaving only tears behind. How painful! The whole world is unconscious, unable to awaken, not cherishing their lives, treating them so lightly, what glory and power can they speak of? Advancing, they cannot love and understand others; retreating, they cannot love and understand themselves. Encountering disasters and calamities, they find themselves in dire straits, confused and ignorant, like wandering spirits. How sad! The scholars of the world chase after superficial glamour, not solidifying their foundations, forgetting their bodies in pursuit of material things, as perilous as walking on thin ice, reaching this state.
My clan was once numerous, with over two hundred members. Since the beginning of the Jian'an era, not even ten years have passed, and two-thirds have died, with cold-damage disease accounting for seven out of ten. Reflecting on the past losses and lamenting the untimely deaths that could not be saved, I diligently sought ancient teachings and extensively collected various prescriptions, compiling the Suwen in nine volumes, Bashiyi Nan, the great discourse on yin-yang, the fetal and visceral drug records, and the differentiation of pulses and syndromes, creating the cold-damage disease Zabing treatise, totaling sixteen volumes. Although it may not cure all diseases, it may help to understand the source of illnesses. If one can follow what I have compiled, they will have understood more than half.Heaven spreads the Five Phases to govern all things; humans are endowed with the five constants, thus possessing the five organs; the meridians and collaterals, the yin-yang converge; the profound and subtle, the changes are difficult to comprehend. Without exceptional talent and profound insight, how can one explore their principles? In ancient times, there were Shennong, Huangdi, Qibo, Bogao, Leigong, Shaoyu, Shaoshi, and Zhongwen; in the middle ages, there were Changsang and Bian Que; in the Han dynasty, there were Gongcheng Yangqing and Canggong; since then, none have been heard of. Observing the doctors of today, they do not seek to understand the essence of the classics to expand their knowledge, each adhering to their family skills, always following the old ways, diagnosing diseases and inquiring about illnesses, focusing only on quick answers, briefly meeting, then prescribing decoctions, feeling the pulses deficiently, holding hands and feet deficiently; the three regions are not correlated; the pulse counts and breaths are not even fifty. Short-term prognosis is uncertain, the nine indicators are not even vaguely understood; the nose and forehead are not observed, it is merely peeking through a tube. To distinguish life from death is indeed difficult.
Confucius said that those who are born with knowledge are superior, those who learn are next. Extensive hearing and broad knowledge are secondary. I have long revered medical techniques, and I humbly follow these words.