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Although I possess a slight understanding of medical arts, I am essentially a Confucian scholar. Confucians adhere to the teachings of the Sage; every word they speak is cautious, so how could I dare to enjoy debating? Nevertheless, if medicine does not lead to killing people, it is acceptable not to debate; if medicine kills people and I am unaware of it, it is acceptable not to debate; if the killing occurs only at that moment and does not poison future generations, then even without debating, it might be permissible. However, unfortunately, contemporary physicians do not truly understand medicine; they know only how to seek profit, treating human lives as worthless grass and weeds, remaining calm and unaccustomed to such strangeness. Even those who have dabbled slightly in medicine cause harm through their bias, which is more severe than other physicians. They fail to realize that among ancient medical texts, only Zhang Zhongjing’s (Han Dynasty) *Shanghan Lun* (Treatise on Cold Pathogenic Diseases), which carefully applies treatment based on syndrome differentiation, is unbiased and independent, serving as the sage of medicine. From Wang Shuhe (Jin Dynasty) onwards, all have exhibited bias. By the Jin-Yuan period, Liu Wansu, Zhang Yuansu, Zhu Zhenheng, and Li Dongyuan were known as the Four Great Masters. Medical theory became more prominent, yet their biases became even more pronounced. Hejian (Liu Wansu) advocated the use of cooling agents; Danxi (Zhu Zhenheng) emphasized nourishing Yin; Dongyuan (Li Dongyuan) focused on warming and tonifying; Jiegu (Zhang Yuansu) was Dongyuan’s teacher, likely transmitting the Dao to his senior disciples without establishing separate works. Later, during the Ming Dynasty, Wang Lun, Xue Ji, Zhang Jingyue, and Feng Zhaozu were also called the Four Great Masters. Generally, they followed Dongyuan’s theories, leaning towards warming and tonifying, with Zhang Jingyue being particularly biased! If physicians had carefully consulted and applied these methods appropriately—using Hejian’s formulas for heat syndromes, Danxi’s for Yin deficiency, Dongyuan’s for Spleen deficiency, and Jingyue’s for deficiency-cold—which book would not be readable? Why blame Jingyue for misleading people? Yet today, physicians know of *Jingyue Quanshu* (Complete Works of Zhang Jingyue) but have not studied the entire work. They merely obtain one or two warming and tonifying prescriptions, revere them as family secret methods, thereby causing death to others and even self-harm. Successors follow this pattern without change. If my descendants do not learn to clearly distinguish and discriminate, how can we know they will not also harm others and themselves? As for Wu Keyi’s *Wenyi Lun* (Treatise on Pestilential Febrile Diseases), it is fundamentally flawed. Anyone with basic knowledge should not suffer from it. Regrettably, ignorant individuals regard it as a unique miracle, killing countless people; moreover, they transmit it to disciples, mutually endorsing each other, causing harm even greater than those biased towards Jingyue. The *Neijing* (Inner Canon) instructs: Do not reinforce excess; do not deplete deficiency; do not bring disaster upon people. What kind of disaster is this? If we do not urgently clarify and distinguish these issues, although we may satisfy the Confucian teaching of speaking cautiously, how can we fulfill our original intention of saving the world, and how can we rectify the academic standards of our descendants? Thus, do I enjoy debating? No, I am compelled to do so!
Prefaced by the Old Man Ru Mei in the Han Yi Hall in the third month of spring, in the 28th year of the Daoguang reign.