医道始大着矣。先君菊潭翁甫以医鸣世。载诸郡志。足征也。尝谓礼曰。医仅足以济一方。汝其求之孔孟。以大
其施乎。爰命业儒。补郡庠弟子员。屡试弗捷。贡太学生。受临清州 。奈世方以资格待仕进。而礼又素性弗克
脂韦。于时仕甫三载。即谢政归。因思先正有云。不用于时。则当为明医以济
世。乃因究心医业。博观前辈遗书。汗牛充栋。言各有长。然纷纭浩漫。靡有归一。苟非神而明之者。莫窥其涯。
是以庸医贸贸。未免执一废百。而以药试病。其为仁术之累多矣。礼幼侍先君。颇知梗概。既而锐意钻研。殚心
穷究。乃克会通诸家之说。撮其枢要。析其淆乱。间附己意。以成全书。凡十卷。先审病以定名。次原病以着论。
论确而后察脉。脉明而后处方。汤液丸散。用各有宜。编讫。题曰医圣阶梯。夫神圣工巧。医之等级也。然必由
易简。而后极至可臻。志于医学人。苟能于是书而寻绎焉。则向往不迷。而神圣之域。不于此而可渐跻乎。于戏。
凡厥有生。受形天地。五方之水土不齐。七情之感人亦异。安得滞于闻见之偏。而不知变通之妙哉。是集也。合
The Way of Medicine was thereby greatly elucidated. My father, the Old Man of Jutan (Ju Tan Weng), had just gained fame in the world through his medical skills, a fact recorded in the local gazetteers of various commanderies, which serves as sufficient evidence. He once cited the *Book of Rites* (*Liji*), saying: "Practicing medicine is merely sufficient to relieve one region; you should seek the teachings of Confucius and Mencius to expand your benevolence." Thus, he ordered me to study Confucianism and become a student member of the commandery school (Xiucai). However, I failed repeatedly in the imperial examinations. Later, I was recommended as a student at the Imperial Academy (Taixue) and studied in Linqing Prefecture. Unfortunately, the society of that time treated official advancement solely based on seniority and qualifications, and my nature was inherently unsuited to being slick or obsequious. After serving in office for only three years, I resigned from public duties and returned home. I then recalled the words of the sages: "If not employed by the times, one should become a enlightened physician to save the world." Consequently, I devoted myself to the study of medicine, widely reading the remaining works of predecessors. The books were so numerous that they filled the house to the rafters and made the oxen sweat. Each work had its merits, yet their contents were chaotic and vast, lacking a unified focus. Unless one could divinely comprehend and clarify them, no one could fathom their boundaries. Therefore, mediocre physicians, acting blindly, inevitably adhered to one aspect while discarding hundreds of others, using drugs to test diseases, which caused much harm to this art of benevolence. In my childhood, I attended my father and knew the general outline. Later, I dedicated myself to intensive research, exhausting my mind to explore thoroughly, until I could integrate the theories of various schools, extract their essentials, clarify the confusion, and occasionally add my own insights, thus completing the entire book. It consists of ten volumes. First, examine the disease to determine its name; second, trace the origin of the disease to present the theory; after the theory is established, observe the pulse; once the pulse is clear, prescribe the formula. Decoctions (Tangye), pills, and powders are used according to their specific appropriateness. Upon completion, I titled it *The Ladder to the Medical Sage*. "Divine, Sacred, Skillful, and Ingenious" represent the levels of medicine. However, one must start with simplicity and ease to eventually reach the highest attainment. Those who aspire to medicine, if they can ponder and explore this book, will not lose their way in their pursuit, and the realm of the Divine and Sacred can gradually be ascended from here. Alas! All living beings receive their form from Heaven and Earth. The soil and water of the five directions are not uniform, and the influence of the Seven Emotions varies. How can one remain stuck in biased observations and fail to understand the subtleties of adaptation? This collection synthesizes...