仲景云。凡作汤药。不可避晨夜。觉病须臾即宜便治。不等早晚。则易愈矣。如或差迟。病即传变。
虽欲除治。必难为力。今之医者不究根源。执以死法。必汗之于四日之前。必下之于四日之后。
殊不知此大纲也。又云。甚者。病不服药。犹得中医。此为无医处而设也。苟大小便不通。可待其自
瘥乎。盖前后不得溲。必腹胀。不过数日而死矣。又况结胸瘀血。发狂发黄发斑之类。未有勿药而喜者。
智者知变。愚者执一。所以取祸也。须是随病浅深。在表在里。早为治疗。如救火拯溺。庶易瘥也。
素问云。邪风之至。疾如风雨。故善治者治皮毛。其次治肌肤。其次治筋脉。其次治六腑。其次治五脏。治
五脏者半死半生也。扁鹊望齐桓侯而走者。其以此欤。
仲景云。假令寸口脉微。名曰阳不足。阴气上入阳中。则洒淅恶寒也。尺脉弱。名曰阴不足。阳气下陷
入阴中。则发热也。此谓元受病而然也。又云。阳微则恶寒。阴弱则发热。此医发其汗。使阳气微。又大
下之。令阴气弱。此谓医所病而然也。大抵阴不足。阳往从之。故阳内陷则发热。阳不足。阴往乘之。故阴
上入阳中。则恶寒。阴阳不归其分。故寒热交争。是以发热而恶寒也。故孙思邈云。有热不可大攻之。热去
则寒至矣。
张仲景说：凡是配制汤药，不可避开清晨或夜晚，一旦发觉生病，须臾之间就应当立即治疗，不必等待早晚的特定时间，这样病就容易痊愈。如果延误了时机，病情就会发生传变，虽然想要去除病邪进行治疗，也必定难以奏效。现在的医生不探究疾病的根源，拘泥于固定的法则，一定要在发病四日之前使用发汗法，在发病四日之后使用攻下法。这实在是不明白这是总纲性的原则罢了。
张仲景又说：病情严重的，即使不服药，也比遇到庸医要好。这是针对没有良医的情况而言的。假如大小便不通畅，难道能等待它自行痊愈吗？大概前后二阴都不能排尿排便，必然导致腹部胀满，不过几天就会死亡了。更何况像结胸、瘀血、发狂、发黄、发斑这类病症，从来没有不吃药而能好转的。聪明的人懂得变通，愚笨的人固执己见，所以会招致祸患。必须根据病情的深浅，辨别是在表还是在里，尽早进行治疗，就像救火和救人溺水一样，这样才容易痊愈。
《素问》说：邪风到来时，速度像风雨一样快。所以善于治疗的医生，在皮毛阶段就进行治疗；其次在肌肤阶段治疗；其次在筋脉阶段治疗；其次在六腑阶段治疗；其次在五脏阶段治疗。治疗五脏病的患者，一半死亡，一半存活。扁鹊看到齐桓侯就转身跑开，大概就是因为这个道理吧。
张仲景说：假如寸口脉微弱，叫做阳不足（阳气虚弱），阴气侵入阳分之中，就会出现洒淅恶寒（怕冷发抖）的症状。尺脉弱，叫做阴不足（阴气虚弱），阳气下陷进入阴分之中，就会出现发热的症状。这说的是原本就患病导致的。
张仲景又说：阳气微弱则恶寒，阴气虚弱则发热。这是医生误用发汗法，使阳气变得微弱；又误用大泻下法，使阴气变得虚弱。这说的是因为医生的治疗失误而导致的疾病。大体上，阴气不足时，阳气会趋向依附于它，所以阳气内陷就会发热；阳气不足时，阴气会趁机侵犯它，所以阴气上入阳分之中，就会恶寒。阴阳不能各守其位，所以寒热相互争斗，因此出现发热且恶寒的症状。所以孙思邈说：有热证不可猛烈攻伐，热邪去除后，寒证就会随之而来。
Zhang Zhongjing stated: When preparing decoctions, one must not avoid morning or night. As soon as a disease is perceived, treatment should be initiated immediately without waiting for specific times of day or night; thus, recovery will be easier. If treatment is delayed, the disease will progress and transform. Although one may wish to eliminate the pathogen, it will be difficult to succeed. Physicians today often fail to investigate the root cause, adhering rigidly to fixed rules, insisting on applying sweating methods before the fourth day of illness and purging methods after the fourth day. They fail to understand that these are merely general principles.
Furthermore, it is said: In severe cases, taking no medicine is better than receiving mediocre medical care. This statement is set for situations where competent physicians are unavailable. If there is an inability to urinate or defecate, can one wait for spontaneous recovery? Generally, if both upper and lower orifices fail to excrete urine and stool, abdominal distension will inevitably occur, leading to death within a few days. Moreover, in conditions such as chest binding (Jie Xiong), blood stasis, mania, jaundice, and macules, there is no case of recovery without medication. The wise know how to adapt, while the foolish remain rigid, thereby inviting disaster. Treatment must be undertaken early according to the depth of the disease and whether it is in the exterior or interior, like rescuing someone from fire or drowning, so that recovery may be achieved.
The *Suwen* states: When evil wind arrives, its speed is like wind and rain. Therefore, skilled physicians treat at the level of the skin and hair; next, they treat the muscles and skin; next, the sinews and vessels; next, the Six Fu Organs; and finally, the Zang Organs. Those treated at the level of the Zang Organs have a fifty-fifty chance of survival. The reason Bian Que fled upon seeing Duke Huan of Qi was likely due to this principle.
Zhang Zhongjing stated: For instance, if the Cun Kou pulse is faint, it is called Yang insufficiency. When Yin qi enters the Yang region, it causes chills and shivering (Sa Xi). If the Chi pulse is weak, it is called Yin insufficiency. When Yang qi sinks into the Yin region, it causes fever. This refers to the condition arising from the initial pathology.
He also stated: Faint Yang leads to aversion to cold, while weak Yin leads to fever. This refers to conditions caused by physicians inducing sweating, which makes Yang faint, and then administering harsh purgatives, which weakens Yin. This denotes disease resulting from iatrogenic error. Generally, when Yin is insufficient, Yang tends to follow it; thus, when Yang sinks inward, fever occurs. When Yang is insufficient, Yin takes advantage of it; thus, when Yin enters the Yang region, aversion to cold occurs. Because Yin and Yang do not remain in their proper positions, cold and heat contend with each other, resulting in fever accompanied by aversion to cold. Therefore, Sun Simiao said: In cases of heat, one must not attack vigorously; once the heat is eliminated, cold will arrive.