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Zhang Fengkui's *Shangshu Quanshu* (Complete Book on Injury by Summerheat) reviewed ancient case records and skillfully adapted the theories of Miao Xiyong (Miaosheng), making him a master of discourse. However, his explanation of epidemic diseases (Yi Zheng) was unclear, which is of significant importance to medicine. Even scholars as profound as Li Dongyuan and as erudite as Zhu Danxi followed conventional views without providing definitive interpretations. Recently, Mr. Yu Jiayan, with his talent for integrating past and present, wrote groundbreaking arguments that cleared away the obscurities in Wang Shuhe's works and elucidated the profound mysteries of Zhang Zhongjing's theories. He did not plagiarize old ideas but established new principles, causing previous misconceptions to dissolve like ice melting. His therapeutic methods surpassed those of millennia past, directly revealing insights previously unexpressed by predecessors. Who can say that modern practitioners are less refined than ancients? Therefore, I append this work to inform medical professionals.

Heaven and Earth take the generation of life as their intent; the four Qi (Energies)—Cold, Heat, Warmth, and Coolness—cycle perpetually without change since antiquity. Humans living within this realm fall ill due to exposure to Cold or Summerheat only because of irregular daily routines, unregulated diet, deficient Qi, and weak constitutions; they invite these pathogens upon themselves, rather than it being the fault of Cold or Summerheat themselves. Such cases account for only one or two in a thousand. If Cold and Summerheat were lethal energies that caused immediate illness upon contact, humanity would have perished long ago. Would this be the natural way of Heaven and Earth to generate humans? While abnormal climate occurring out of season can be termed "abnormal Qi" (Bu Zheng Zhi Qi), it should not be called "epidemic Qi" (Yi Qi). Why? Because when people are exposed to abnormal Qi, some get sick while others do not; it cannot be generalized. In contrast, epidemic Qi affects everyone regardless of wealth, poverty, age, gender, or constitution, spreading door-to-door and region-wide with identical transmission patterns, leaving no one exempt. This occurs primarily after wars and great famines, especially during years of starvation. Displaced people fill the fields, corpses line the roads. Some flee to towns, others gather in counties or capitals. With improper settlement and insufficient relief efforts, even the Emperor far away has no means to respond. Groups of three or five die daily. Graves are shallow and coverings thin. When spring warmth arrives and earth Qi moves, loose soil collapses, exposing white bones. Blood and water flood the area. Death Qi, corpse Qi, turbid Qi, and foul Qi rise with the earth Qi, mixing into the pure Qi of heaven, transforming the life-generating Qi of Heaven and Earth into a lethal energy. This energy is formless, shadowless, soundless, and odorless, entering through the mouth and nose, directly attacking the Zang-Fu organs. It blocks healthy Qi and fills the body with pathogenic Qi, leading to sudden death beyond remedy. The *Shuowen Jiezi* states: "Yi means all people are sick." Disaster brought by malevolent spirits is named Yi. The *Liji Yue Ling* (Record of Rites, Monthly Ordinances) says: "In the first month of Spring, the former kings buried bones and flesh." This is because in this month, heavenly Qi descends and earthly Qi rises, and there is fear that foul odors from bones might mix with the ascending/descending Qi, harming living beings; thus, they are buried. This preempts nature's flaws and constitutes great merit.

Humans exist within the intersection of Qi, like fish in water; even a tiny impurity makes survival impossible. If ash were thrown into rivers or oil into ponds, few fish would survive. How is human infection by epidemic Qi any different? Thus, since ancient times, sage rulers and virtuous ministers assisted in cosmic transformation, regulated Yin and Yang, prevented epidemics in peacetime, and defended against disasters by boiling porridge and distributing medicine during crises, ensuring no premature deaths and achieving social harmony. Literati interpreting "burying bones and flesh" merely as extending grace to the dead missed the point. Should only spring bones receive grace, while summer, autumn, and winter bones do not?

Recently, meddlesome individuals set up altars and factories. During years when children contract smallpox, they purchase deceased bodies of infants. Even if already buried, they dig them up, piling them like mountains, and burn them. Flames rage, stench reaches heaven, gods and men hold their noses. Toxic fumes and foul odors spread, causing infants to develop strange syndromes resembling smallpox, rash, or macules but distinct from all. Within one or two days, patients become critical. Even skilled physicians dare not treat them, leading to mutual astonishment and claims of divine punishment. They fail to realize the cause. Countless innocent children have suffered unjustly over recent years. Thirty miles outside the city, such cases vanish, proving the source. Alas! Heretical practices confuse and deceive the public. Ignorant people praise them, gathering crowds, donating money, chanting in unison, running madly. This contradicts the meaning of the former kings' burial rites. I mention this alongside the discussion on epidemics, hoping medical students will pay attention. Lin Qilong Beihai of Yuyang recorded at Buzhuo Studio.