张景岳曰。予向同数友。游寓榆关客邸。内一友素耽风月。忽于仲冬一日。夜叩予户。
张皇求救。云所狎之妓。忽得急证。势在垂危。倘遭其厄。祸不可解。予往视之。见其口吐
白沫。僵仆于地。以手摸之。则口鼻四肢俱冷。气息如绝。陡见其状。殊为惊骇。因拽手诊
之。则气口和平。脉不应证。予意其脉和如此。而何以证危如是。沉思久之。岂即仲景所云
诈病耶。复诊其脉。安然如故。遂大声于病妓之旁曰。此病危矣。须用极大艾丸。连灸眉心
人中小腹数处。方可活。惜花容损坏耳。余寓有艾。宜速取来灸之。然火灸尚迟。姑先与一
药。使其能咽之后。倘有声息。则生意已复。即不灸亦可。若口不能咽。或咽后不苏。当速
灸可也。病妓闻予之言。窃已惊怖。惟恐大艾着身。药到即咽。咽后少顷。即哼声出而徐动
徐起矣。次日问之。乃知为吃醋而发也。
震按此条乃人病脉不病。尚易揣度。次条所载金吾公二外家相竞。一系燕姬。其母助恶叫
喊
撒泼。遂致气厥若死。自暮及旦不苏。景岳初诊之。见其肉浓色黑。面青目瞑。手撒息微。
脉又伏。渺若脱。意其真危也。欲施温补。恐大怒之后。逆气未散。欲用开导。恐脉之似绝
虚不能胜。请再诊之。则前此撒手。今忽十指交叉于腹。因而动疑。及着手再诊。似有相
嫌不容之意。卒然猛扯之。力强且劲。益疑将死之人。岂犹有力如是。乃思其脉若此者。或
因肉浓气滞。北人禀赋使然。或因两腋夹紧。奸人猝诈所致。遂用前法。以恐胜之。药甫到
咽即活。此比前案更难识别也。
张景岳说：我曾经和几位朋友，一同旅居在山海关的客店中。其中一位朋友向来沉溺于风月场所，忽然在仲冬的一天夜里，慌张地敲开我的房门求救。他说他所宠幸的一位妓女突然得了急症，情况危急，濒临死亡。如果遭遇这种不幸，灾祸将无法解脱。我前往诊治，看见她口吐白沫，僵直仆倒在地，用手触摸她的身体，发现口、鼻、四肢都冰冷，气息微弱得好像断绝了一样。乍一看这状况，我非常惊骇。于是拉过她的手来诊脉，却发现气口（寸口脉）平和，脉象与病症不符。我心里想，脉象如此平和，为什么病症却危重到这种地步？沉思良久，难道这就是张仲景所说的“诈病”吗？再次诊察她的脉象，依然安然如故。于是我在患病妓女的旁边大声说道：“这个病很危险了，必须用极大的艾丸，连续灸眉心、人中、小腹等几个部位，才可以救活。可惜要损坏花容了。我住处有艾草，快去取来施灸。然而火灸还稍慢，暂且先给一服药，让她能咽下去之后，如果有声息，说明生机已经恢复，即使不灸也可以。如果口不能吞咽，或者吞咽后没有苏醒，应当迅速施灸。”患病妓女听到我的话，私下里已经惊恐害怕，唯恐大艾团烧在身上，药一到嘴就吞了下去。吞咽后过了一会儿，她就哼出声来，慢慢活动并起身了。第二天询问她，才知道是因为吃醋而引发的。
俞震按语：这一条案例是人出现病症而脉象正常，尚容易推测判断。下一条案例记载金吾公的两个外家亲属互相争斗，其中一人绑缚了一位歌姬，其母亲助纣为虐，叫喊撒泼，导致该歌姬气厥而死状，从傍晚到天亮都没有苏醒。张景岳初次诊治时，见她肌肉丰浓、肤色黑，面色青暗、眼睛紧闭，手松不开、气息微弱，脉象又伏匿细微，渺茫得像要脱失一样，认为她是真的病情危重。想要施行温补疗法，又担心大怒之后，逆乱之气尚未消散；想要使用开导疏通的方法，又担心脉象似绝属虚证，不能承受攻伐。于是请求再次诊察。此前她松开的手，现在忽然十指交叉放在腹部，因此产生怀疑。等到着手再次诊脉时，似乎有一种嫌弃、不容许触碰的意思。突然猛地拉扯她的手，发现力气强劲有力，更加怀疑将死之人，怎么还会有这么大的力气？于是想到她的脉象如此，或许是因为肌肉丰浓导致气机阻滞，是北方人的体质禀赋使然；又或许是两腋夹紧，被奸人突然假装生病所致。于是采用前面的方法，以恐惧战胜她（利用情志相胜原理）。药刚送到嘴边咽下人就醒了。这比前一个案例更难识别。
Zhang Jingyue said: I once traveled with several friends and stayed in an inn at Yuguan (Shanhaiguan). One of my friends, who was accustomed to indulging in romantic affairs, suddenly knocked on my door in a panic one night in mid-winter. He sought urgent help, saying that a prostitute he favored had suddenly suffered from an acute condition, her situation being critical and on the verge of death. If such misfortune were to befall her, the disaster would be irreparable. I went to examine her and saw her vomiting white foam, lying stiffly on the ground. Upon touching her, I found her mouth, nose, and limbs all cold, and her breath so faint it seemed as if it had ceased. Seeing this state suddenly, I was greatly alarmed. Therefore, I pulled her hand to take her pulse, but found the Cun Kou (radial artery pulse) peaceful, and the pulse did not correspond to the symptoms. I thought to myself: why is the pulse so peaceful while the symptoms are so critical? After deep contemplation for a long time, could this be what Zhang Zhongjing referred to as "feigned illness" (Zha Bing)? I examined her pulse again, which remained calm and unchanged. Then, loudly beside the sick prostitute, I said, "This illness is critical. It requires large moxa cones to be applied continuously to several points including the Baihui/Giant Vertebra area (specifically mentioned as eyebrow center Renzhong), the Philtrum (Renzhong), and the lower abdomen to save her life. Unfortunately, her beauty will be damaged. I have moxa at my residence; fetch it quickly for application. However, fire moxibustion is still too slow. For now, give her a decoction first so she can swallow it. If she regains consciousness after swallowing, her vital energy has recovered, and moxibustion may not even be necessary. If she cannot swallow or does not revive after swallowing, then perform moxibustion immediately." Hearing my words, the prostitute was secretly terrified, fearing the large moxa cones burning her body. She swallowed the medicine as soon as it reached her lips. A short while after swallowing, she began to groan, moved slowly, and eventually sat up. The next day, upon inquiry, I learned it was triggered by jealousy over vinegar (a metaphor for romantic jealousy).
Yu Zhen commented: This case involves a patient presenting with symptoms but a normal pulse, which is relatively easy to deduce. The next case recorded involves two relatives of the Jinwu Duke competing with each other. One party bound a singing girl, and her mother assisted in the malice, shouting and throwing a tantrum, resulting in the girl suffering from Qi syncope appearing as death, remaining unconscious from dusk until dawn. When Zhang Jingyue initially examined her, he observed her flesh was thick and complexion dark, face blue-green, eyes closed, hands relaxed/open, and breath weak. Her pulse was hidden and minute, faint as if departing. He considered her condition truly critical. He wished to apply warming and tonifying methods but feared that after great anger, the rebellious Qi might not have dissipated. He considered using guiding and unblocking methods but feared that since the pulse appeared near-extinction and deficient, she could not withstand attack. He requested to re-examine her. Previously, her hands had been open, but now they were suddenly crossed with ten fingers over her abdomen, raising his suspicion. When he touched her hand to take the pulse again, there seemed to be a look of dislike and refusal to allow contact. Suddenly pulling her hand strongly, he found the force vigorous and powerful, further suspecting that a dying person would not possess such strength. He reasoned that her pulse characteristics might be due to thick flesh causing Qi stagnation, inherent to the constitution of people from the North; or perhaps caused by tightly clamping the armpits, a sudden feigning by a deceitful person. Thus, he used the previous method, employing fear to overcome her (utilizing the principle of emotional counteraction). As soon as the medicine reached her throat, she revived. This case is more difficult to identify than the previous one.