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In treating women's diseases, there are situations where one cannot fully adhere to the methods of the sages (ancient renowned physicians). Nowadays, families of wealth and status reside in deep inner chambers, within curtains and canopies, and often cover their arms with silk. Consequently, the physician is unable to employ the divine skill of observing complexion and is unable to fully exert the subtlety of pulse diagnosis. Among the four diagnostic methods (Inspection, Auscultation and Olfaction, Inquiry, and Palpation), two are deficient. The Yellow Emperor said: "In general, when treating disease, one must observe the patient's form, qi, color, and luster. When form and qi are harmonious, it is called treatable; when the color is floating and bright, it is called easily curable. When form and qi are discordant, it is called difficult to treat; when the complexion is dull and lacks luster, it is called difficult to cure." He also said: "The way of diagnosing disease lies in observing a person's courage or timidity, as well as their bones, muscles, and skin, to understand their condition and establish diagnostic methods." If a patient's pulse does not correspond to the illness, and the physician cannot see their form and complexion, relying solely on the pulse to prescribe medicine—can this work? In this regard, how can one exhaust the art of medicine? This is a common malpractice among physicians. Since society cannot change this, physicians must diligently inquire to ascertain the truth and base their treatment on it. However, when patients' families see the physician asking numerous and urgent questions, they suspect the physician's pulse diagnosis skills are inadequate, and often refuse to take the prescribed medicine. There are many such cases. Even Bian Que was not trusted when he observed the complexion of the Duke of Qi, let alone in cases where the face is not even visible. Alas!

There are those among friends, relatives, and acquaintances of patients who come to inquire about the illness. These individuals have never experienced medical practice nor read any prescriptions, yet they boast of their understanding and discuss heterodox theories. Some claim it is deficiency (Xu syndrome), some claim it is excess (Shi syndrome), some say it is wind pathogen, others say it is qi stagnation. Amidst these chaotic and contradictory false statements, the patient's mind is confused, not knowing whom to believe. Time drags on, and time waits for no one, eventually leading to disaster, after which everyone scatters. Suppose there is a brilliant physician who can discern the depth of the disease, consults medical texts, and is well-versed in materia medica. If the examination is disrupted by such interference, it will cause great harm to human life, let alone those who make reckless judgments!

Zhou Shun from Poyang, whose medical skill was considered perfect (having ten successes out of ten cases), stated: "Ancient formularies such as *Taiping Shenghui Fang* (Holy Benefit Formulas), *Qianjin Fang* (Thousand Gold Prescriptions), and *Waitai Miyao* (Essential Prescriptions from the Imperial Cabinet) discuss etiology, pulse patterns, symptoms, and acupuncture methods, all of which should not be discarded. However, the dosage in prescriptions differs greatly from modern practices. Those who do not deeply investigate their principles should not use them recklessly." There was a case where someone suffered from an eye disease and used an ancient formula, resulting in the eyes protruding. There was also a woman who, suffering from postpartum illness, used a suppository formula from *Waitai Miyao*, only to subsequently suffer from lochia retention that persisted for life. A scholar once suffered from weak legs; despite having shelves full of medical texts and mountains of accumulated medicines, his condition worsened. I now discard all such approaches and simply use a camphorwood bucket filled with water for foot soaking, placing camphor between the thighs and securing it with leg bandages. After more than a month, health was restored as before. This disease is common in the south and must be known. Zhou Shun is indeed a renowned physician, and his words are certainly not baseless; therefore, I record this here.