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Huangdi stated, "One cannot revive the dead without killing the living." Bianque cited this saying to imply that if a disease has already manifested, even if Huangdi and Bianque were alive, they could not restore the patients to life; this is self-evident. For those who originally had no illness or only minor ailments but were subjected to erroneous acupuncture treatment, leading to irretrievable consequences, the fault lies with incompetent physicians. However, the wives, children, and parents of the patients shift the blame to fate and destiny, while these incompetent physicians chatter defensively, claiming they have done their utmost, failing to realize that the patient could not withstand such harm. The world is so vast, time so long and enduring, and incompetent physicians are so numerous as to fill the universe. If one were to calculate the number of people killed or maimed daily by their ruthless hands and hearts, listing their surnames and names, and preserving their medical records, compared to registers of adjudicating prisoners, the numbers would be ten or a hundred times greater, or even tens of millions of times greater, with no limit in sight. Fortunately, they conceal and deny each other's mistakes, remaining silent and not informing others; thus, their medical records vanish like fire in the wind or yin-fire, extinguishing at any moment, leaving the world unaware. Only one or two master physicians, who examine pulses carefully, apply acupuncture appropriately, and prescribe medicines cautiously, combined with encountering patients who are blessed with thick fortune and long life, happen upon the right occasion, causing those with flaccidity to rise immediately. Consequently, these masters love to discuss and propagate these cases, regarding some as effective and others as empirical experience, recording them into books and establishing them as medical cases. From the Song Dynasty to the present, there have been several hundred families. Those who transmit medical skills treasure their prescriptions, and those who mystify their techniques anxiously pass them on, listening intently. Hang Zi said, "Alas, how excessive is their self-satisfaction!" From the perspective of Yin and Yang, there are twenty-five types of human constitutions; for every type of person, there is a corresponding disease, and for every disease, there is a physician capable of treating it. A physician must know the person, know the timing, know the pulse, and guide according to the trend. Huangdi and Bianque are not far from us; if one does not read the books of Huangdi and Bianque but attempts to practice their techniques, the dead cannot be revived, and the living may be brought to death. It is said, "Learning medicine incurs great expense." Human types number up to twenty-five, yet a physician kills if they do not study for even one day. Where should the path of learning come from? It is said: Read the books of Huangdi and Bianque. Is Huangdi still alive? Answer: He is dead. Is Bianque still alive? Answer: He is dead. The collected cases remain, which serves to elucidate the purport of their works. As the collected cases are transmitted, it can be said that Huangdi and Bianque are still alive today. Jiang Huannan compiled and published the cases of former sages, and my friend Wei Yuheng further expanded upon them. Incompetent physicians viewing these regard them as discarded straw dogs, whereas Hang Zi views them as introductory materials for medicine. Why? Because Mr. Yuheng is one who can read the books of Huangdi and Bianque. Those who mold clay must have a form; those who chop wood to make an axe handle must have a model. Using these as the form and model for learning medicine means one has grasped more than half of the subject. What are these merely medical cases?
Written by Hang Shijun of Renhe