余大父釜山先生笃志艺林,驰誉江左,及门问业者多所显贵,而再入棘闱弗利,竟以逢掖老。吾父幼敏慧,
大父奇爱之,希其早就。不虞大父勿遘一疾,治不能瘥,遗命吾父曰∶“汝不为良相,且为良医”!无何,吾
父兼失所恃,阻试有司,遂改业医,自号念山。五十载以来,颇以是术名于世,吴城内外,老幼男女病伤寒、
痘疹者,得吾父即全活,难以数计。生不肖,体弱而多 ,力不能终举子业,吾父即命弃去,训读岐黄诸书。
如是者几易寒暑,稍有所得,则出云洲翁所着《明医指掌》示不肖曰∶“向尔所习仲景伤寒、东垣内伤、河间
热病、丹溪杂证,此学之博者也,约而精则有是书,尔其宗之”。余敬受命,朝研细考,始喻其旨,真所谓抉
秘钩玄,远绍诸家之说,分标治本,阐明运气之宜,善哉!所微憾者,拘于图而局于论,显于证而晦于脉,详
于方而略于法,翻检尚有纡回。乃不惴,原其所载,目则分之以门,方则聚之以类,而附列歌、注,各以己意
参入。俾学人因脉辨证,缘证施法,弹指顷顷,便度津梁,而余亦借是多所解悟。盖余不幸,不生先生之世,
犹幸去先生之世未远,可以私淑门墙也。当世钜公,愿共鉴之。
天启二年九月吉旦 长洲后学 邵达行甫谨述。
我的祖父釜山先生立志于学术,在江浙一带享有盛誉,登门求学的弟子中多有显贵之人,但他再次参加科举考试却未获成功,最终只能以儒生身份终老。我的父亲自幼聪慧敏捷,祖父对他格外喜爱,期望他能早日成才。没想到祖父突然染病,治疗未能痊愈,临终前留下遗命对我的父亲说:“你如果不能成为优秀的宰相,就去做一名优秀的医生!”不久之后,我的父亲又失去了依靠(指母亲或家庭变故),被官府阻止参加科举考试,于是改行从医,自号念山。五十年来,他凭借医术闻名于世,苏州城内外患有伤寒、痘疹的男女老少,只要得到我父亲的诊治就能保全性命,人数难以计数。
我不才,身体虚弱且多病,无力坚持完成举业(科举学业),父亲便命令我放弃这些,转而研读岐黄(中医)诸书。像这样过了将近几个寒暑,我稍有心得时,父亲拿出云洲翁所著的《明医指掌》给我看,说道:“你之前所学的张仲景的伤寒论、李东垣的内伤论、刘河间的热病论、朱丹溪的杂证论,这些都是学问广博的部分,而其中概括精要的就是这本书,你要以它为师。”我恭敬地接受教诲,早晚钻研考证,才明白其中的旨意,这真是揭示秘密、探究深奥之处,远承各家学说,分别标举治本之法,阐明五运六气适宜之理,好啊!美中不足的是,该书受限于图表和论述,在症状表现上明显而在脉象上晦涩,在方剂上详细而在治法上简略,翻阅检阅时仍有迂回不畅之处。于是不揣冒昧,根据原书记载的内容,将目录按门类划分,将方剂按类别聚集,并附上歌诀和注释,加入自己的理解参入其中。使学习者能够依据脉象辨别证候,顺着证候施以治法,弹指之间便能渡过学习的津梁,而我借此也获得了许多领悟。大概我不幸,没有生在先生那个时代,但庆幸离先生的时代不远,可以私下仰慕并追随他的门墙。当今的各位大人物,希望能共同鉴察。
天启二年九月吉日 长洲后学邵达谨述。
My grandfather, Mr. Fushan, was dedicated to scholarship and enjoyed a great reputation in the Jiangzuo region (Jiangsu and Zhejiang). Many of his disciples who came to study under him achieved high status, yet he failed in his subsequent attempts at the imperial examinations and ultimately passed away as a common scholar (Fengye). My father was naturally quick-witted from childhood. My grandfather cherished him greatly and hoped for his early success. Unexpectedly, my grandfather fell ill suddenly; despite treatment, he did not recover. His dying wish to my father was: "If you cannot become an excellent prime minister, then become an excellent physician." Shortly thereafter, my father lost his support system and was barred by the authorities from taking the civil service exams. Consequently, he changed his profession to medicine and adopted the pseudonym Nianshan. For fifty years, he gained fame for his medical skills. In and around Suzhou, countless men, women, children, and elders suffering from Cold Damage (Shanghan) or smallpox/rubella (Douzhen) were saved by my father's care, their number being incalculable.
I, though unworthy, had a weak constitution and suffered from frequent illnesses, making it impossible for me to continue with the scholarly pursuits required for the imperial examinations. My father ordered me to abandon these studies and instead read the classics of Qihuang (Traditional Chinese Medicine). This continued for nearly several seasons. When I had gained some understanding, my father presented to me the book *Mingyi Zhizhang* (Illustrated Guide to Clear Medicine) written by Master Yunzhou, saying: "The Zhang Zhongjing's Treatise on Cold Damage, Li Dongyuan's Treatise on Internal Injury, Liu Wansu's Treatise on Heat Diseases, and Zhu Danxi's Treatise on Miscellaneous Disorders that you have previously studied are broad fields of learning. However, this book summarizes them concisely and precisely. You should take it as your master." I respectfully accepted his instruction, studying and verifying day and night until I grasped its essence. It truly reveals secrets and explores profound mysteries, inheriting the theories of various schools, distinguishing root causes, and elucidating the appropriateness of the Five Movements and Six Qi (Wuyun Liuqi). Excellent! The only regret is that it is constrained by diagrams and discussions, explicit in symptoms but obscure in pulse diagnosis, detailed in formulas but brief in therapeutic methods, leaving room for further exploration upon review. Therefore, without presuming to overstep, I organized the original content by categorizing the chapters into sections and grouping the formulas by type, adding rhymed verses and annotations, and incorporating my own interpretations. This allows students to differentiate syndromes based on pulses and apply treatments according to syndromes, crossing the bridge of learning in an instant, while I also gained much insight through this process. Alas, I was unfortunate not to be born in Master's era, yet fortunate that the time since has not been long, allowing me to privately emulate and follow in his footsteps. May the distinguished gentlemen of the present age kindly consider this.
On an auspicious day in September of the second year of Tianqi, Shao Da, a junior scholar from Changzhou, respectfully recorded this.