闻之士生斯世。不为良相。当为良医。盖以良相良医皆可救斯人之疲癃生理残障。而不忍坐视其
颠连而莫告也。然非识学兼到。相固不能济世。即医亦不能济人。吾考古之名相。无识何以
旌别淑慝。求贤以辅治。无学何以本仁祖义。监古以善今。古之名医。无识何以审病源之虚
实。而调剂得其平。无学何以明脉理之精微。而制治有其要。是可知医国医人。初无二理。
为相良固难。为医良亦不易也。无怪乎求良医于当代。不少概见。惟吴中天士叶老先生庶名
克副实。不愧为良欤。粤稽叶老先生精通脉理。洞见病源。用药尤能心小胆大。当日之无远
近染 求治者。日不暇给。症多怪异。而方亦新奇。每授汤丸。无不效验。所谓不笏而饶相
业。有枢以转天心者。舍先生其谁属。所以仲升周子日侍左右。每见方案。无不汇而集之。
积成卷帙。虽人之致病各殊。投剂亦异。未可以张冠戴李。致有毫厘千里之失。然读书临症
之余。备以广博览。亦未始无旁通之益焉。其年顾亲翁。世叶岐黄。亦有见及此。因即假周
子原本。细心抄录。持以示余。乞余为序。余于披览之下。见叶先生按症酌方。各有因心之
妙用。子夏云、虽小道必有可观者焉。良不诬也。后之学人。苟勿视为古人糟粕。而能深求
精义。无负叶老先生揆方之精心。与周子汇集之苦志。则识学虽未必兼到。而亦稍稍有合乎
不为良相当为良医之遗意。岂不大有功于斯世哉。余不揣固陋。冒昧为序。望勿以言之不文
而姗笑之。幸甚。
时乾隆己丑孟夏洵愚氏朱周燮书于存古堂之邀月轩
朱周燮不知何如人。文亦未甚高。但因此序而知此册实先生门人所抄录。甚可信也。周仲升
虽署名于下。未言门人。他处亦未见之。苟无此序。无可征矣。顾其年既世叶岐黄。其子
侄辈自有承家学人。顾氏既假周本而抄录之。其侄辈又假顾本而重抄焉。则此本是矣。周氏
原本无此序。朱君为顾作序。纪年乾隆己丑。册末抄者手记亦署己丑。虽无名字可以悬揣。
所谓假叔父本者。必属顾其年之子侄无疑矣。时去叶氏未远。流传有绪。真确不疑。虽系寻
常门诊之作。寥寥数语。而处方之妙。远药之精严。有非他人所能望其项背者。玩读再三。
爱不忍释。耀卿同道得此见假。不私所宝。惠我多矣。因略为校正讹字。而记于端。
\x甲申
听闻古人常说，生活在这个世上，如果不能成为贤良的宰相，就应当成为贤良的医生。这是因为贤良的宰相和贤良的医生都能救助那些身体衰弱、残疾或患有慢性病的百姓，不忍心看着他们困苦无告而袖手旁观。然而，如果没有见识与学问兼备，做宰相固然无法治理好国家，做医生也无法救治病人。
考察古代著名的宰相，没有见识如何能辨别善恶、选拔贤才来辅助治理？没有学问如何能以仁爱为本、以道义为祖，借鉴历史以完善当今的治理？考察古代著名的医生，没有见识如何能审察病源的虚实，从而调节治疗达到平衡？没有学问如何能阐明脉理的精微，从而掌握治疗的要领？由此可知，治理国家和医治病人，其道理最初是没有区别的。做贤良的宰相固然困难，做贤良的医生也不容易。难怪在当代寻求贤良的医生，很少能见到。只有吴中的天士叶老先生，大概名副其实，不愧为贤良之人。
追溯叶老先生精通脉理，洞察病源，用药更是小心谨慎而又胆识过人。当时无论远近前来求治的人，多得忙不过来。病症多怪异，处方也新奇。每次给予汤剂或丸药，无不奏效。这真是所谓不持朝笏却拥有宰相般的功业，有枢机般的能力转动天心（顺应天道）。除了先生还有谁呢？所以周仲升先生每日侍奉在左右，每见医案，无不汇总收集起来，积累成册。虽然每个人的致病原因各不相同，投用的药剂也有差异，不能张冠李戴，导致毫厘千里的失误。但在读书和临症之余，以此作为广博见闻的资料，也未尝没有旁通互益的好处。
顾其年先生，世代传承中医学术，也有此见解，于是向周仲升先生借得原本，细心抄录，拿给我看，请求我为之作序。我在翻阅之下，看到叶先生根据症状斟酌处方，各有用心独到的妙用。子夏曾说：“即使是小技艺，也一定有可取之处。”确实没有欺骗我。后世的学医者，如果不将其视为古人的糟粕，而是能深入探究其中的精义，不辜负叶老先生推敲处方的精心，以及周先生汇集整理的苦心，那么即使见识与学问未必能完全兼备，也稍稍符合了“不为良相，当为良医”的遗意，这难道不是对世间大有功劳吗？我不揣冒昧，自谦学识浅陋，贸然作序，希望不要因为我言辞不够文采斐然而讥笑我，那就太幸运了。
时乾隆己丑年孟夏，洵愚氏朱周燮写于存古堂的邀月轩。
不知道朱周燮是什么样的人，文章水平也不算很高。但通过这篇序言可以知道，这本医案确实是叶先生的门人抄录的，非常可信。周仲升虽然署名在下面，但没有说明是门人，其他地方也没见到过。如果没有这篇序言，就无法考证了。顾其年既然世代研习中医，他的子侄辈自然有继承家学的人。顾氏既然借周先生的原本进行抄录，他的子侄辈又借顾氏的本子再次重抄，那么这个版本就是确定的了。周氏原本没有这篇序言，朱君是为顾氏作的序，纪年为乾隆己丑年，册末抄写者的手记也署己丑年。虽然没有名字可以推测，但所谓“借叔父本”的人，必定是顾其年的子侄无疑。此时距离叶氏去世不久，流传有序，真实确切不容置疑。虽然这是寻常门诊的作品，寥寥数语，但处方的精妙、用药的精严，不是他人所能企及的。反复玩味阅读，喜爱得舍不得放下。耀卿同道得到此书并借给我看，不私藏宝物，对我帮助很大。因此略为校正错字，并记录于此。
甲申年
It is heard that in ancient times, people said: "If one lives in this world and cannot become a virtuous prime minister, one should become a virtuous physician." This is because both a virtuous prime minister and a virtuous physician can save the weak, disabled, or chronically ill from suffering, and they cannot bear to sit idly by while watching them in distress without help. However, without both insight and learning, a prime minister certainly cannot benefit the world, nor can a physician benefit people.
Examining famous prime ministers of old, without insight, how could they distinguish good from evil and seek talent to assist in governance? Without learning, how could they base themselves on benevolence and emulate righteousness, using history to improve the present? Examining famous physicians of old, without insight, how could they examine the deficiency or excess of disease sources and adjust treatment to achieve balance? Without learning, how could they clarify the subtleties of pulse diagnosis and master the essentials of treatment? Thus it can be known that governing a country and treating a person share the same underlying principles. Becoming a virtuous prime minister is indeed difficult, and becoming a virtuous physician is also not easy. No wonder it is rare to find a virtuous physician in contemporary times. Only Mr. Ye Tianshi (Ye Gui) in Wuzhong seems to live up to his reputation and deserves to be called virtuous.
Tracing back, Mr. Ye Tianshi was proficient in pulse diagnosis and had clear insight into disease sources. His use of herbs was particularly characterized by carefulness and boldness. At that time, patients seeking treatment from near and far were so numerous that he had no leisure. The symptoms were often strange, and the prescriptions were novel. Whenever he prescribed decoctions or pills, they were invariably effective. This is truly what is meant by "possessing the achievements of a prime minister without holding a ceremonial tablet," having the pivotal ability to turn the will of Heaven. Who else but him could claim this? Therefore, Mr. Zhou Zhongsheng attended him daily and saw every medical case record, compiling and collecting them all until volumes were formed. Although each person's cause of illness differs and the administered agents vary, one must not confuse one with another to avoid errors of significant magnitude. Nevertheless, amidst reading and clinical practice, using these as materials for broadening knowledge does have the benefit of mutual understanding.
Mr. Gu Qinian, whose family has inherited Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) knowledge for generations, shared this view. He borrowed the original manuscript from Mr. Zhou, carefully copied it, showed it to me, and requested a preface. Upon reviewing it, I saw that Mr. Ye tailored prescriptions to symptoms, each demonstrating unique ingenuity. Zi Xia once said, "Even minor skills must have their merits." This is indeed true. Future students of medicine, if they do not regard this as the dregs of the ancients but instead deeply seek its profound meaning, thereby honoring Mr. Ye's meticulous formulation and Mr. Zhou's diligent compilation, then even if their insight and learning are not fully comprehensive, they will somewhat align with the legacy of "if not a virtuous prime minister, then a virtuous physician." Would this not be of great merit to the world? I, unassuming and ignorant, rashly write this preface. I hope you will not laugh at my lack of literary elegance. That would be most fortunate.
Written in the early summer of the Jichou year of the Qianlong reign, by Xunyu Shi Zhu Zhouxie at the Yaoyue Pavilion of Cungu Hall.
It is unknown who Zhu Zhouxie was, and his writing is not exceptionally high in quality. However, through this preface, we know that this volume was indeed copied by Mr. Ye's disciples, which is highly credible. Although Zhou Zhongsheng signed below, he did not state he was a disciple, nor is he mentioned elsewhere. Without this preface, there would be no evidence. Since Gu Qinian came from a family of TCM practitioners, his nephews and cousins naturally had successors to the family learning. Since Gu borrowed Zhou's original to copy, and his nephews later borrowed Gu's copy to re-copy, this version is established. The original Zhou manuscript did not contain this preface; Zhu wrote it for Gu, dated Jichou. The colophon at the end of the volume also bears the date Jichou. Although names are missing for speculation, the person referred to as "borrowing the uncle's book" must undoubtedly be Gu Qinian's nephew or cousin. This was written close to Ye's time, with a clear lineage of transmission, making it authentic and unquestionable. Although these are ordinary outpatient records, brief in text, the brilliance of the prescriptions and the precision of the herbal selection are beyond the reach of others. Reading them repeatedly, I cherished them and could not put them down. My colleague Yaoqing lent me this precious book, benefiting me greatly. I have therefore corrected some erroneous characters and recorded this note.
Year Jiashen