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"Treatise on Cold Damage and Miscellaneous Diseases"

The discourse states: Every time I read about Bian Que's diagnosis in the State of Guo and his observation of Duke Huan of Qi's complexion, I cannot help but sigh with admiration for their outstanding talent!

It is strange that scholars living in the present age do not pay attention to medicine and pharmacology, nor do they carefully study medical prescriptions and techniques.
They fail to treat diseases of rulers and parents above;
Fail to rescue the poor and lowly from distress below;
And fail to preserve their own bodies for longevity and nourish their lives within.
Instead, they compete in pursuing labor and power, craning their necks to admire powerful nobles;
Diligently and anxiously, they only devote themselves to fame and profit.
They embellish the trivial details while neglecting and abandoning the fundamental principles;
They are gorgeous on the outside but vicious on the inside. If the skin does not exist, where can the hair attach?
Suddenly encountering pathogenic wind-qi, they suffer from extraordinary illnesses;
When disasters and calamities strike, they tremble in shock.
They lower their ambitions and submit their integrity, reverently hoping in shamans and prayer masters;
When resources are exhausted, they resign themselves to heaven, surrendering their hands to accept defeat.
They entrust their century-long lifespan and their precious body vessels
To mediocre physicians, allowing them to act arbitrarily. Alas, how lamentable! The body perishes, spirit and consciousness vanish, becoming an alien object, hidden deep in the springs of the underworld,
Only leaving others to weep in vain! The mediocre people are bewildered throughout the world, unable to awaken;
They do not cherish their lives, acting so lightly towards life, bewitched by what glory and power?
Advancing, they cannot love or understand others; retreating, they cannot love or understand themselves;
Encountering disaster and misfortune, they dwell in perilous circumstances; Ignorant and obscure, their minds are like wandering souls.
How sorrowful for those who rush into the world, galloping in competition for vanity, failing to consolidate their roots, forgetting their bodies to pursue external things, as precarious as walking on ice over a valley, reaching such a state!

My clan has always been numerous, originally comprising two hundred persons. Since the first year of Jian'an, less than ten years have passed, yet two-thirds of them have died, seven out of ten due to cold damage.
Moved by the loss of the past and grieving the untimely deaths that could not be saved, I diligently sought ancient teachings and extensively collected various prescriptions.
I compiled and used: *Suwen* (Basic Questions), *Jiujuan* (Nine Volumes, i.e., *Lingshu*), *Bayishinan* (Eighty-One Difficulties, i.e., *Nanjing*),
*Yinyang Dalun* (Great Treatise on Yin and Yang), *Tailu Yaolu* (Records of Fetal Development and Pharmacology),
and combined pulse differentiation and syndrome identification to compose the *Treatise on Cold Damage and Miscellaneous Diseases*, totaling sixteen volumes. Although it may not cure all diseases completely,
it allows one to see the disease and know its source. If one explores the collections I have made, one will have understood more than half.

Heaven distributes the Five Elements to operate all categories of beings; Humans receive the Five Constants, thereby possessing the Five Zang Organs.
The meridians, fu organs, and acupoints connect yin and yang; Profound and subtle, changes are difficult to exhaust.
Unless one possesses high talent and profound insight, how can one explore its principles and implications?
In ancient times, there were Shennong, Huangdi, Qibo, Bogao, Leigong, Shaoyu, Laoshi,
Zhongwen; In the middle ages, there were Changsang Jun and Bian Que; In the Han Dynasty, there were Gongcheng Yangqing and Cang Gong;
Since then, no such figures have been heard of.

Observing today's physicians: They do not think to ponder the essence of classics to expand their knowledge;
Each inherits family skills, consistently following old traditions. When examining illnesses and asking about diseases, they focus merely on eloquence.
After a brief conversation, they immediately prescribe herbal decoctions.
They palpate the cun pulse but not the chi pulse; they hold the hand pulse but not the foot pulse.
The Renying and Duyang pulses are not compared among the three positions.
Counting breaths during rapid pulsations, if it does not reach fifty beats,
They cannot determine short-term prognosis or make diagnoses.
The nine pulses leave no impression; the Mingtang, Que, and Ting areas of the face are not observed at all.
This is merely looking through a tube. To distinguish between death and life is truly difficult.

Confucius said: "Those who know from birth are superior; those who learn are next best; those who hear much and know widely are of the third rank."
I have long admired medical arts; please let me practice these words!

*Medical Mirror Golden Standard*: Annotation on Zhang Zhongjing's Complete Works, *Treatise on Cold Damage*
<> Compiled by Wu Qian et al. of Qing Dynasty · *Medical Mirror Golden Standard* (Annotation on Zhang Zhongjing's Complete Works, *Treatise on Cold Damage*)

Annotation on Zhang Zhongjing's Complete Works, *Treatise on Cold Damage*

The *Treatise on Cold Damage* was authored by Zhang Ji of the Later Han Dynasty, elucidating the profound meanings of the *Neijing* (Inner Canon).
It does not quote a single sentence from ancient scriptures; all insights stem from original creativity.
Its principles are comprehensive, and its methods are complete.
Generally, ancient scriptures had methods but no specific formulas. From this work began having both methods and formulas.
It initiates the legal procedures for ten thousand generations, truly being a sacred book of the medical gate.
However, due to the passage of time, parts are missing, and there are many errors in compilation and transcription.
Now, extensively collecting annotations from various schools, adopting their essences, correcting errors, deleting杂乱 (mixed/chaotic) content, supplementing omissions,
and revealing remaining profundities, to propagate them throughout the world, thus the great laws and subtle words will be further illuminated for ten thousand generations!