生者天地之大德也。域中操生人之柄者三。曰君曰相曰医。夫君相调阴阳御六气。嘘为雨露。噫为雷霆。
其生人也宜。配之医。非其伦。曰子独不推夫医之所祖乎。昔者神农造医药。与饮食俱起。而本草作焉。黄帝
岐伯问答之书。三坟无传。存者素问而已。天下万世之死而致生之。皆此二书矣。流传既久。或
者乃假其书以杀人。譬之于儒。诗书发冢也。夫生人者书。杀人者亦书。何以救之。救之则仍以书。自张仲
景着伤寒书。发明素问之意。而王叔和乱之。后千斯年莫救其失。中间亦尝有人稍加是正。而述焉不精
语焉不详。故生人之功寡焉。天来先生以医世其家。其为医也。腾天潜渊。出鬼入神。若忘若遗。若思若迷。
忽焉而得。投之皆适。尝遘危疾。幸不死。矢愿活千人。既而曰吾老矣。愿不易盈也。其着书乎。于是
以素问为经。以仲景书为纬。自叔和以下。合者择之。谬者摘之。疑者释之。混者晰之。辨正三
部九候十二经二十四气。与夫八脉五脏三焦六腑四时之 。如画棋局。如观掌果。此书成活者岂千人
而已。尝与先生论医之为道。若君相之治国。大黄芒硝荡涤 结。而元气不固。奄然而亡。此商鞅之治
秦也。参苓 术养营卫。而邪气不除。蹶然而丧。此太叔之治郑也。医者以曹参之相齐。而兼孔明
之治蜀。乃可以起晋侯之膏肓。疗桓侯之骨髓。先生闻余言。未曾怖以为河汉。此书之成。犹前
志也。呜呼。泰极则剥。中古而降。民之无罪而死者。死于兵。死于刑。死于水火。死于饥寒。而
复死于疾病。医之所治者疾病耳。然苟能生之。民已去一死矣。先生既以医生人。而复以书告天下
后世之生人者。虽谓先生之书辅君相之所不及。可也。
康熙戊子长至日同里年家眷弟严虞 书
生命是天地之间最大的恩德。在世间掌握着让人生存权力的人有三类：君主、宰相和医生。君主和宰相调和阴阳，驾驭六气（风、寒、暑、湿、燥、火），呼气化作雨露，叹息化作雷霆。他们使人生存是适宜的，但若要将其与医生相比，则不在同一等级。你说难道不推究医学的源头吗？从前神农氏创造医药，与饮食文化一同兴起，于是《本草》著作便产生了。黄帝与岐伯问答的书籍，传说中的“三坟”已无流传，保存下来的只有《素问》罢了。天下万世之人由死转生，都依靠这两本书了。流传时间既久，有人便借这些书来杀人。这就好比儒家经典被用来作为盗墓的借口一样。使人活的书，杀人的也是书，如何挽救这种局面呢？挽救的方法仍然要靠书籍。自从张仲景撰写《伤寒论》，阐发《素问》的本意，却被王叔和搞乱了。此后千年无人能纠正其失误。中间也曾有人稍加校正，但叙述不精细，言语不明确，所以救人的功效很少。天来先生以医术传家，他行医时，技艺高超如腾天潜渊，出神入化，似忘非忘，似思非思，忽然间领悟，用药皆适宜。他曾遭遇危重疾病，幸免于死，于是发誓要救活千人。后来他说：“我老了，愿望不会超过这个限度。”于是他著书，以《素问》为经线，以张仲景的著作为纬线，从王叔和以下，符合原意的加以选择，谬误之处予以指出，疑惑之处加以解释，混杂之处予以厘清。辨正三部九候、十二经脉、二十四节气，以及奇经八脉、五脏、三焦、六腑、四时的关系，就像看棋盘一样清晰，像看手掌中的果实一样明白。这本书救活的人岂止千人而已？我曾与先生讨论医学之道，就像君主宰相治理国家一样。如果用大黄、芒硝荡涤体内的结滞，而元气不固守，人就会突然死亡，这就像商鞅治理秦国一样严酷。如果用参苓白术散滋养营卫之气，而邪气不能去除，人就会跌倒丧命，这就像太叔段治理郑国一样失当。医生应当像曹参治理齐国那样顺应自然，同时兼具诸葛亮治理蜀国那样的严谨，才可以治好晋侯深入膏肓的病，治愈桓侯深入骨髓的病。先生听到我的话，并不惊恐地认为这是荒诞之语。这本书的完成，还如同之前的志向一样。唉，泰极则剥，从中古时代往下，百姓无罪而死的人，死于战争，死于刑罚，死于水火，死于饥寒，又死于疾病。医生所治疗的只是疾病罢了。然而如果能救人，百姓就已经免去一死了。先生既然用医术救人，又用书告知天下后世那些救人的人，可以说先生的书辅助了君主和宰相所不及的地方。
康熙戊子年冬至日，同乡后学晚辈眷弟严虞惇 敬书
Life is the greatest virtue of Heaven and Earth. Among all things within the universe, there are three who hold the power over human life: the Sovereign, the Chancellor, and the Physician. The Sovereign and the Chancellor harmonize Yin and Yang and control the Six Qi (Wind, Cold, Summer Heat, Dampness, Dryness, Fire); their breath becomes rain and dew, their sighs become thunder and lightning. Their nurturing of people is appropriate; comparing them to Physicians is not fitting. Do you not trace the ancestry of Medicine? In ancient times, Shennong created medicine and pharmacology, rising together with diet and food, thus the *Bencao* (Materia Medica) was produced. The books of dialogue between Huangdi (Yellow Emperor) and Qibo exist only as the *Suwen* (Basic Questions), for the legendary "Sanfen" have not been transmitted. All those in the world and for ten thousand generations who go from death to life rely on these two books. After long circulation, some people falsely use these books to kill people, analogous to the Confucian saying "using poetry and history to rob tombs." The books that save lives are also the books that take lives. How to remedy this? The remedy lies again in books. Since Zhang Zhongjing wrote the *Shanghan Lun* (Treatise on Cold Damage Pathogens), elucidating the meaning of the *Suwen*, it was later confused by Wang Shuhe. For a thousand years thereafter, no one could correct its errors. Although some individuals attempted slight corrections, their narratives were not precise and their explanations not detailed, so the merit of saving lives was scant. Mr. Tianlai inherited his family's medical practice. His medical skills were profound, soaring like heaven and diving like the abyss, entering ghosts and emerging like spirits, seeming forgotten yet remembered, thinking yet lost, suddenly attaining insight, with every prescription being suitable. He once suffered a critical illness but fortunately survived, vowing to save a thousand people. Later he said, "I am old; my wish need not necessarily reach a thousand." He then wrote this book, using the *Suwen* as the warp and Zhang Zhongjing's works as the weft. From Wang Shuhe onwards, he selected what was correct, pointed out errors, explained doubts, and clarified confusions. He distinguished and corrected the Three Pulses and Nine Inspections, the Twelve Meridians, the Twenty-Four Solar Terms, the Eight Extraordinary Vessels, the Five Zang Organs, the Sanjiao (Triple Burner), the Six Fu Organs, and the Four Seasons, making them clear as a chessboard or fruits seen in the palm of one's hand. Would the number of people saved by this book be limited to merely a thousand? I once discussed the Dao of Medicine with Mr. Tianlai, likening it to the governance of the Sovereign and Chancellor. If one uses Dahuang (Rhubarb Rhizome) and Mangxiao (Mirabilite) to purge internal accumulations but the Yuanqi (Primary Qi) is not solid, the person will die suddenly; this is like Shang Yang governing Qin. If one uses Renshen (Ginseng Radix), Fuling (Poria), and Baizhu (Atractylodes Macrocephala Rhizome) to nourish Ying and Wei (Defensive Qi) but pathogenic factors are not eliminated, the person will perish abruptly; this is like Taishu Duan governing Zheng. A physician must act like Cao Can, Chancellor of Qi (following non-action), while possessing the capability of Zhuge Liang governing Shu, in order to cure Duke Jing of Jin's disease deep in the Gaohuang (epigastrium and heart region) and treat Lord Huan's disease penetrating the bone marrow. Upon hearing my words, Mr. Tianlai did not consider them absurd talk. The completion of this book is akin to previous historical records. Alas, when Taiji reaches its peak, Pi (Decay) follows. From the middle antiquity downwards, innocent people died from war, punishment, fire and water, hunger and cold, and further from diseases. What physicians can treat are merely diseases. However, if they can save them, the people have already escaped one form of death. Since Mr. Tianlai saves people through medicine and now informs future generations of saviors through this book, it may be said that his book assists where the Sovereign and Chancellor fall short.
Written by Yan Yu, fellow townsman, junior relative by marriage, on the Winter Solstice of the Wuzi Year of the Kangxi Reign.