阳盛阴虚,则邪乘虚入里,下之则愈,汗之则竭其津液而死。阳盛阳虚,则邪客于
腠里而未能入,汗之则愈,下之则引贼破家而死。若应用小柴胡汤和解,误用承气汤致
身热黄者,死。中暑热病,误用燥剂者,死。肾虚受寒,内逼浮阳之火泛上,面赤烦
躁,身有微热,渴欲饮水,不能下咽,大便或闭、或利,小水淡黄,或呕逆,或气短,
或郑声,或咽痛,状似阳证,误投寒凉者,立死。阴证身热,面赤足冷,烦躁揭去衣
被,脉来数大无力,若不急用加减五积散冷服,而误用凉药者,死。伤寒汗多,复利小
便者,死。阳明病潮热汗多,小便因少,若利之,加喘渴者,死。湿病,若发其汗,使
人耳聋不知痛处者,死,病患烦燥,自觉甚热,他人以手按其肌肤,殊无大热、此为无
根失守之火,用凉药者,死。
伤寒六经传变,自表入里,三阳为表,三阴为里,自浅而深,六经传尽,必无出而
再传之理。成氏以六日厥阴传经已尽,七日当愈不愈,再自太阳传出,复至厥阴,十三
日不愈,谓之过经坏病。此等注释,谬误殊甚。马玄台辩之,谓太阳至厥阴,犹人入户
升堂,以入于室,太阳为三阳,最在外,阳明为二阳,在太阳之内,少阳为一阳,在阳
明之内,此三阳之在表也。太阴为三阴,在少阴之内、少阴为二阴,在太阴之内,厥阴
为一阴,在少阴之内,此三阴之在里也。故一日始于太阳,二日传阳明,三日传少阳,
四日传太阴,五日传少阴,六日传厥阴。经文之论,次第相传,亦言其大概耳。所云七
日不愈再传经者,七日行经未尽,仍在太阳一经也。如仲景所谓,太阳病头痛七日自
愈,以其行经尽也。若欲再作经者,针足阳明,使经不传则愈。可见太阳一经,有传之
七日以上者、则阳明、少阳,亦可羁留,过经不解,故针阳明中土,使不再传,此谓行
其经未尽,未尝曰传其经尽也。若云六经传尽,复自厥阴外出,而再传太阳,则有二阴
三阴一阳二阳以格之,有容自外入内,又自内而越于外之理。风寒之邪,郁久成热,入
人脏俯,岂两阴交尽于里?复能变寒,而从皮毛之外,再入太阳以为害者哉!成氏之
谬,不辨可知也。
When Yang is excessive and Yin is deficient, pathogenic factors will enter the interior by taking advantage of the deficiency. In this case, purgation (Purgative method) will lead to recovery, while sweating (Sweating method) will deplete body fluids and cause death. When Yang is both excessive and deficient (referring to a complex state of internal Yang heat excess and external Yang deficiency or simultaneous excess of both), pathogenic factors lodge in the interstices (Couli) but fail to penetrate deeply. Sweating will lead to recovery, whereas purgation will be like inviting thieves to break into the house, causing death. If Xiaochaihu Tang (Minor Bupleurum Decoction) should have been used for harmonization, but Chengqi Tang (Major Order the Qi Decoction) was mistakenly used, resulting in fever and jaundice, death ensues. For summerheat-heat diseases, if dryness-promoting agents are mistakenly used, death ensues. When Kidney deficiency is complicated by cold invasion, internal cold forces floating Yang fire to surge upward, manifesting as red face, irritability, slight body heat, thirst with inability to swallow water, constipation or diarrhea, pale yellow urine, vomiting or regurgitation, shortness of breath, muttering (Zhengsheng), or sore throat. These symptoms resemble Yang syndromes; if cold-natured medicines are mistakenly administered, immediate death occurs. In Yin syndromes presenting with body heat, red face, cold feet, irritability with removal of clothes and blankets, and a rapid, large, and forceless pulse, if Jiajian Wuji San (Modified Five Accumulations Powder) is not urgently administered cold, and cooling medicines are mistakenly used, death ensues. In Shaoyang disease, if excessive sweating is followed by diuresis, death ensues. In Yangming disease, with tidal fever and excessive sweating leading to reduced urine output, if diuresis is forced, resulting in worsening asthma and thirst, death ensues. In dampness diseases, if sweating is induced, causing deafness and loss of sensation to pain, death ensues. If a patient feels irritable and extremely hot, but palpation reveals no significant heat on the skin, this is "fire without root due to loss of control"; if cooling medicines are used, death ensues.
The transmission of the Six Meridians in Cold Damage proceeds from the exterior to the interior: the Three Yang meridians represent the exterior, and the Three Yin meridians represent the interior, progressing from shallow to deep. Once the transmission through all Six Meridians is complete, there is no logical basis for it to exit and transmit again. Cheng Wuji stated that after six days of transmission completing at Jueyin, if not cured on the seventh day, it transmits out from Taiyang again, returning to Jueyin, and if not cured by the thirteenth day, it is called "passing the meridian and becoming a damaged disease." Such annotations are profoundly erroneous. Ma Xuantai refuted this, stating that transmission from Taiyang to Jueyin is like entering a house: first ascending to the hall, then entering the inner room. Taiyang is the First of Yang, located most externally; Yangming is the Second of Yang, inside Taiyang; Shaoyang is the Third of Yang, inside Yangming. These Three Yang are in the exterior. Taiyin is the First of Yin, inside Shaoyin; Shaoyin is the Second of Yin, inside Taiyin; Jueyin is the Third of Yin, inside Shaoyin. These Three Yin are in the interior. Thus, on the first day, transmission begins at Taiyang; on the second day, it reaches Yangming; on the third, Shaoyang; on the fourth, Taiyin; on the fifth, Shaoyin; and on the sixth, Jueyin. The scriptural discussion of sequential transmission merely outlines the general principle. The claim that transmission continues after seven days implies that the journey through the meridians was incomplete, and the pathogen remains within the Taiyang meridian alone. As Zhang Zhongjing stated, headache in Taiyang disease often resolves spontaneously after seven days because the journey through the meridian is complete. To prevent further transmission, one may needle the Foot-Yangming meridian to stop the spread, thereby achieving cure. This indicates that Taiyang transmission can last more than seven days, and Yangming and Shaoyang may also linger, failing to resolve after passing their time limits. Therefore, needling the Earth element of Yangming prevents further transmission. This is described as "the journey through the meridian being incomplete," not as "the completion of transmission through all meridians." If one claims that after completing transmission through all Six Meridians, the pathogen exits from Jueyin outward and re-transmits to Taiyang, it would have to pass through Two Yin, Three Yin, One Yang, and Two Yang, which act as barriers. There is no rationale allowing pathogens to move from exterior to interior and then suddenly emerge from interior to exterior. Wind-cold pathogens, after lingering and transforming into heat, enter the viscera and bowels. How could they, having reached the convergence of two Yins in the interior, revert to cold and re-enter Taiyang from the skin and hair to cause harm? Cheng Wuji’s error is evident without further debate.