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The principles of medicine are subtle, and the practice of medicine for infants and children is even more so. The illnesses of adult men and women are often caused by the Seven Emotions (joy, anger, worry, thought, sadness, fear, and fright). When they contract an illness, they can usually perceive their own discomfort and adjust their lifestyle and care accordingly. Even when seeking medical treatment, the therapeutic effect is shared equally between the physician and the patient; thus, treatment is relatively easier. In contrast, infants within one month of birth are called *qiangbao* (swaddled infants); those at one year old are called *ying*; three-year-olds are called *hai*; children aged seven or eight who are losing teeth are called *taochen*; ten-year-olds are called *zizi*; and sixteen-year-olds are called *tong*. Infants and toddlers cannot speak, or if they can, they cannot express themselves fully; older children can speak but lack the ability to self-care. Illnesses in infants and children depend entirely on the physician, who acts as a surrogate mother for many infants; therefore, treatment is not easy. Cang Gong, a famous physician of the Western Han Dynasty, said, "The essence of medicine lies in intention." The profound meaning of this statement is that intention serves as the key to managing the life of an infant. However, the scope of intention is limited by what the body can sense; where the body cannot sense, intention reaches its limit; where intention cannot reach, the efficacy of herbs is also limited. Only by employing infinite methods and formulas can one ensure that herbs are not limited by intention, and intention is not limited by physical sensation. In the past, Han Yu, in his essay *Yuan Dao*, used the metaphor of "passing the fire from one torch to another until the original fuel is exhausted" to describe the transmission of the Dao. Is this not analogous to the transmission of pulse diagnosis and medical skills, like a fire that never goes out? My family has been engaged in traditional Chinese medicine for nine generations. Physicians have passed down knowledge from grandfathers to sons and fathers to sons, accumulating experience akin to the saying, "Three broken arms make a good physician." We have studied various internal medicine specialties extensively, with a particular focus on pediatrics. I, Wang Dalun, have devoted myself to searching ancient texts and exploring contemporary practices, verifying the theories of sages, and compiling verified effective prescriptions. After years of accumulation, this volume was compiled. It consists of two main parts: *Xinfa of Smallpox and Measles* and *Collected Essentials for Infants and Children*, followed by empirical formulas for external diseases, collectively titled *Wang Family Manuscripts*. When encountering a disease, one selects a formula based on symptoms; upon examining the condition, one administers medication appropriately. This may be considered a continuation of the legacy of "transmitting the fire." Presuming my ignorance and shallowness, I have submitted this manuscript to the printers to share it with my peers, hoping it will assist in the examination of young children's pulses. I await the corrections and deletions by experts, believing it may offer some minor benefit.
Dedicated by Wang Dalun of Yigang in the ninth lunar month of the second year of Tianqi (1622)