唐孙真人着千金要方。谓生民之道。莫不以养小为大。若无小卒不成大。故孙氏方先小儿而后丈夫耆老。实崇本之
义。譬夫良苗嘉植。初生之日。不克培其根本。去其蝥贼。鲜有不夭折者。即幸而长成。其华实亦必不茂。则小儿科之
急需讲求。洵医林之先务也。惟小儿气质微弱。有病每不能自为陈说。故医家目为哑科。最不易治。习是科者。必先于
天时之寒暖。地势之高下、以及人身十二经脉之环周。奇经八脉之起止。三百六十五穴之部位。平日了然于心。临证复
察色听声。反复推求。始能洞悉病情。而不致偾事。故尚书谓保民如保赤子。良以保民者。必周知民间之疾苦。所恶
勿施。所好与聚。而民始治。犹保赤者。必诚求赤子之隐曲。时其饥饱。适其寒温。而赤子始安。余以辁材。奉命巡阅
两湖。督理军务。兼长民政。夙夜只惧。不惮博访诹谘。期举闾阎之疾苦。扫除而廓清之。为吾乡父老昆弟谋乐利而策
安全。顾箕毕之好恶不同。一人之耳目有限。往往事与愿违。力不从心者。时或不免。至此始恧然于保民之难。愈憬然
于保赤之不易。适吾宗北承孝廉倦游回鄂。携有手校小儿卫生总微论方二十卷。余素稔小儿科之难。而善本尤不易得。
因捐资付梓。复商之北承孝廉。重加雠校。以免鲁鱼帝虎。贻误将来。庶几保民之愿。虽未尽偿于目前。而保赤之心。
尚幸流传于后世。至此书为医学之宝笈。幼科之金针。前人序论。言之綦详。兹不赘述。
岁次甲子首夏两湖巡阅使督理军务兼湖北省长黄冈萧耀南衡山叙于武昌节署
唐代孙思邈撰写了《千金要方》。他认为，养育百姓的道理中，没有比把养护儿童看得更重要的了。如果没有幼小的士兵，就无法成就强大的军队。所以孙氏的医方编排顺序是先讲小儿科，然后才是成年男子和老年人，这确实体现了尊崇根本的意义。这就好比优良的禾苗和美好的植物，在刚出生的时候，如果不能培育好它的根基，除去害虫，很少有不夭折的。即使侥幸长成，它的花和果实也一定不茂盛。因此，儿科急需讲求研究，确实是医学界的首要任务。
只是小儿体质微弱，生病时往往不能自己陈述病情，所以医生称儿科为“哑科”，是最不容易治疗的。学习这一科的医生，必须先对天时的冷暖、地势的高低，以及人体十二经脉的循环周流、奇经八脉的起止点、三百六十五个穴位的部位，平时在心中了然于胸。临证时再观察面色、听取声音，反复推求分析，才能透彻了解病情，而不至于把事情办砸。
所以尚书（指古代官职或泛指高位者）说保护百姓就像保护婴儿一样。确实是因为保护百姓的人，必须周全地知晓民间的疾苦，把百姓厌恶的不施加给他们，把百姓喜欢的聚集起来，这样百姓才能安定。就像保护婴儿的人，必须真诚地探求婴儿隐秘的需求，按时调节他们的饥饱，适应他们的寒温，这样婴儿才能安宁。
我凭借浅薄的才能，奉命巡视两湖地区，督办军务，同时掌管民政事务。我日夜敬畏谨慎，不敢懈怠，也不怕广泛访问咨询，希望列举出民间的疾苦，扫除并廓清它们，为我家乡的父老兄弟谋划安乐利益并策划安全保障。然而，人的喜好不同，一个人的耳目有限，往往事情与愿望相违背，力量赶不上心愿的情况，时常难免发生。到了这时，我才惭愧地感到保护百姓很难，更加深刻地体会到保护婴儿的不易。
恰逢我的同宗北承孝廉厌倦官场游历回到湖北，携带有亲手校勘的《小儿卫生总微论方》二十卷。我向来深知小儿科的困难，而且善本尤其不容易得到。于是捐资刻印此书，又与北承孝廉商量，重新加以校对，以避免文字错误贻误将来。或许保护百姓的愿望，虽然目前在眼前未能完全实现，但爱护婴儿的心意，幸好能流传于后世。至于这本书是医学的宝贵典籍，儿科的金针指南，前人的序言和论述已经说得非常详细，这里不再赘述。
岁次甲子年夏初，两湖巡阅使、督办军务兼湖北省长、黄冈人萧耀南衡山，叙写于武昌节度使署。
In the Tang Dynasty, Sun Simiao (Sun Zhenren) authored the *Qianjin Yaofang* (Essential Prescriptions Worth a Thousand Gold). He stated that in the way of nurturing the people, nothing is greater than treating the care of children as paramount. Without young soldiers, a great army cannot be formed. Therefore, Sun’s medical texts prioritize pediatrics before addressing adult men and the elderly, which truly embodies the principle of revering the root. It is like fine seedlings and good plants; on the day they are born, if their roots are not cultivated and pests are not removed, few will survive to maturity. Even if they luckily grow up, their flowers and fruits will surely not be abundant. Thus, the urgent need to study pediatrics is indeed the primary task of the medical field.
However, children have weak constitutions and often cannot describe their own illnesses when sick, so physicians refer to pediatrics as "Ya Ke" (Mute Department), which is the most difficult to treat. Practitioners of this specialty must first have a clear understanding in their minds regarding the warmth and coldness of heavenly conditions, the high and low aspects of geographical terrain, as well as the circulation of the Twelve Meridians (Twelve Primary Channels) of the human body, the starting and ending points of the Eight Extraordinary Vessels, and the locations of the 365 acupoints. Upon clinical examination, they must observe complexion and listen to voice, repeatedly analyzing and deducing, only then can they thoroughly comprehend the condition and avoid mishandling the case.
Therefore, it is said that protecting the people is like protecting an infant. Indeed, one who protects the people must fully understand the hardships of the common folk, refrain from imposing what they dislike, and gather what they desire, so that the people may find peace. Similarly, one who protects an infant must sincerely seek out the infant's hidden needs, regulate their hunger and fullness in time, and adapt to their temperature comfort, so that the infant may remain secure.
With my humble talents, I was ordered to inspect the Lianghu region, supervise military affairs, and concurrently manage civil administration. Day and night, I live in awe and fear, not daring to neglect broad inquiries and consultations, hoping to identify the hardships of the populace, eliminate them, and plan for the welfare and safety of my fellow countrymen. However, preferences vary among individuals, and one person's senses are limited. Often, events do not align with wishes, and strength falls short of intent, which occasionally occurs. At this point, I felt ashamed at the difficulty of protecting the people and became even more aware of the challenge of caring for infants.
Coincidentally, my clansman, Xiao Lianke Beicheng, returned to Hubei after growing weary of official life, bringing with him a hand-collated copy of the *Xiao'er Weisheng Zongwei Lunfang* (Comprehensive Discussion on Infant Hygiene) in twenty volumes. Having long known the difficulties of pediatrics and the scarcity of good editions, I donated funds for its printing. I also consulted with Xiao Lianke Beicheng to re-collate and proofread it, thereby avoiding textual errors that might mislead future generations. Perhaps the wish to protect the people, though not fully realized in the present, allows the heart for protecting infants to fortunately be passed down to posterity. As for this book being a treasure trove of medicine and a golden needle guide for pediatrics, previous prefaces and discussions have explained this in great detail, so I shall not repeat them here.
In the early summer of the Jiazi year, [Xiao] Yaonan Hengshan, Inspector-General of Lianghu, Supervisor of Military Affairs, and Governor of Hubei Province, from Huanggang, wrote this preface at the Jiedushi Office in Wuchang.