病者之爱恶苦乐，即病情虚实热之征。医者望色切脉而知之，不如其自言之为尤真也。
惟病
明明为医者言之，则医者正可因其言，而知其病之所在以治之。乃不以病患自知之真，对症
施治，反执己之偏见，强制病患，未有不误人者。如《伤寒论》中云∶能食者为中风，不能
食者为中寒。则伤寒内中风之症，未尝禁其食也。乃医者见为伤寒之症，断不许食。凡属感
证，皆不许其食。甚有病已半愈，胃虚求食，而亦禁之，以至因饿而死者。又《伤寒论》云
∶欲饮水者，稍稍与之。盖实火烦渴，得水则解，未尝禁冷水也。乃医家凡遇欲冷冻饮料之人，
一概禁止。并有伏暑之病，得西瓜而即愈者。病患哀求欲食，亦断绝不与，至烦渴而死。如
此之类，不可枚举。盖病者之性情气体，有能受温热者，有能受寒凉者；有不受补者，有不
禁攻者，各有不同。乃必强而从我意见，况医者之意见，亦各人不同，于是治病之法，无一
中肯者矣。《内经》云∶临病患问所便。盖病患之所便，即病情真实之所在。如身大热，而
反欲热饮，则假热而真寒也；身寒战，而反欲寒饮，是假寒而真热也。以此类推，百不失一。而世之医者，偏欲与病患
相背，何也？
惟病患有所嗜好，而与病相害者，则医者宜开导之。如其人本喜酸，或得嗽症，则酸宜忌；
如病患本喜酒，得湿病，则酒宜忌之类。此则不可纵欲以益其疾。若与病证无碍， 病患之
所喜，则从病患之便，即所以治其病也。此《内经》辨证之精义也。
The patient's preferences and aversions, as well as their sensations of pain and pleasure, are signs indicating the deficiency or excess, heat or cold of the disease. A physician knowing this by observing the complexion and palpating the pulse is not as accurate as hearing it directly from the patient's own words.
As long as the patient clearly states their condition to the physician, the physician can use these statements to identify the location and nature of the disease for treatment. However, instead of utilizing the truth known by the patient to apply symptomatic treatment, some physicians stubbornly adhere to their own biases and forcibly compel the patient to comply, inevitably causing harm.
For instance, in *Shanghan Lun* (Treatise on Cold Damage Diseases), it is stated: "Those who can eat have Wind-Strike (Zhongfeng); those who cannot eat have Cold-Strike (Zhonghan)." Therefore, for symptoms of Wind-Strike within Cold Damage diseases, there was no prohibition against eating. Yet, some physicians, seeing a Cold Damage pattern, absolutely forbid food. For all exogenous patterns, they forbid eating. Even when a patient is half-recovered and has a weak Stomach Qi craving food, they are still forbidden to eat, leading to death by starvation.
Furthermore, *Shanghan Lun* states: "If one desires water, give it to them gradually." Since excessive Fire causing restlessness and thirst is relieved by water, there was never a prohibition against cold water. Nevertheless, some physicians universally forbid patients who desire cold drinks or frozen foods. There are cases where patients with latent Summerheat disease recovered after eating watermelon. When patients pleaded to eat watermelon, physicians refused, resulting in death from severe thirst and restlessness. Such examples are too numerous to mention.
This is because patients' temperaments and constitutions vary; some can tolerate warm and hot substances, while others can tolerate cold and cool ones; some cannot withstand tonification, while others cannot withstand purgation. If one insists on forcing the patient to follow the physician's opinion—and since physicians' opinions also differ among individuals—then none of the treatment methods will hit the mark accurately.
*Neijing* (The Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon) states: "When attending to patients, inquire about what they find comfortable." The comfort preferred by the patient is precisely where the true nature of the disease lies. For example, if the body is extremely hot but the patient desires hot drinks, it indicates false Heat and true Cold; if the body is cold and shivering but the patient desires cold drinks, it indicates false Cold and true Heat. By applying this logic, one rarely misses. Why, then, do modern physicians deliberately go against the patient's wishes?
Only when a patient's preference is harmful to their condition should the physician guide and dissuade them. For instance, if a person naturally prefers sour flavors but contracts a coughing disorder, sour flavors should be avoided; if a patient enjoys alcohol but suffers from Dampness disease, alcohol should be avoided. In such cases, one must not indulge desires to exacerbate the illness. However, if the preference does not interfere with the disease pattern, one should follow the patient's comfort, which constitutes the method of treating the disease. This is the profound essence of syndrome differentiation in *Neijing*.