传曰。仲景者姓张氏。名机。仲景其字也。南阳人。（张松北见曹操以其川中医有仲景为夸
以建安言之则松亦仲景时人）受业于同郡张伯祖。善于治疗。尤精经方。举孝廉。官至长沙太守。
后在京师为名医。于当时为上手。以宗族二百余口。建安纪年以来。未及十稔。死者三之二。而伤
寒居其七。乃着论二十二篇。证外合三百九十七法。一百一十三方。其文辞简古奥雅。古今冶伤
寒者未有能出其外者也。其书为诸方之祖。时人以为扁鹊仓公无以加之。故后世称为医圣。夫扁鹊
仓公。神医也。神尚矣。人以为无以加于仲景。而称仲景曰圣。岂非以仲景之见诸事业。载诸简
编者。皆表章天人。股肱素难。达之天下。通之古今。易简而易知易能。非神奇怪异。人之所不可
知不可能者所可同年而语哉。是故称圣焉。贾太傅曰。吾闻古之圣人。不居朝廷。必在卜医之中。
语不虚矣。然医圣也。书曰论。何也。论也者。仲景自道也。盖谓愤伤寒之不明。戚宗族之非命。
论病以辨明伤寒。非谓论伤寒之一病也。其文经也。其事则论。其心则以为始事于戚。乃不欲忘其初。
其多则惠我后人。其意则又不欲以经自居。易曰谦谦君子。此之谓也。吾故曰。名虽曰论。实则经也。
虽然若曰伤寒经。殊乖矣。必曰医经。称情哉。（论之条目。坊间行本。法则平敷瀚布。漫不可纪。
方则增补加减者。独遗桂枝附子去桂加术汤。无补而缺一。今以三百九十七者条隶六经。各有纲
纪统属。以相部领。维之使有定序。余亦章句圈绝。庶便初学易读。补方之缺者。数亦合矣。而
证外之外又无谓。疑外与列。真草皆相似。或传写之误。然人皆曰伤寒论也。金匮序略
曰。伤寒卒病论。卒读仓卒之卒。诚书之初名。此其有据也。但不知卒病二字。漏落于何时。俗
尚苟简。承袭久远。无从可稽矣。君子于此。不能无憾焉。）
万历癸巳阳月之吉九山山人方有执识
古书上说：张仲景姓张，名机，“仲景”是他的字。他是南阳人。（据记载，张松曾拜见曹操，以当地医学中有位叫“仲景”的名医而夸耀；从建安年间推算，张松也是与张仲景同时代的人。）他师从同郡的张伯祖学习医术，擅长治疗，尤其精通经典方剂。他被推举为孝廉，官职最高做到长沙太守。后来他在京城成为著名的医生，在当时属于顶尖高手。由于他的宗族二百多口人，自建安元年以来，不到十年，死了三分之二，其中因伤寒致死的占七成。于是，他撰写了论述伤寒的著作二十二篇，包括证候三百九十七法，一百一十三首方剂。其文辞简练古朴、典雅深奥，古今研究伤寒病的人，没有能超出他著作范围的。这本书被后世视为各类方剂的鼻祖，当时的人认为即使是扁鹊、仓公也无法超越它，所以后世尊称他为“医圣”。
扁鹊和仓公是神医，所谓“神”的境界已经很高了，人们认为没有什么能比得上张仲景，因此称张仲景为“圣”，这难道不是因为他所展现的医术事业、记载在竹简上的内容，都彰显了天人合一的道理，如同国家的栋梁般难以企及？他的医术通达天下，贯通古今，简易明了，容易知晓且易于掌握，并非那些怪异奇特、常人无法理解或做到的东西所能相提并论的。因此称他为“圣”。贾谊（贾太傅）曾说：“我听说古代的圣人，如果不身居朝廷高位，就一定处在占卜和医药的行当中。”这话确实不假。
然而，既然称为“医圣”，为什么书名叫《论》呢？这是张仲景自述心迹的缘故。大概是因为他对伤寒病的机理不明感到愤慨，对宗族亲人非正常死亡感到悲痛，通过论述疾病来辨明伤寒的真谛，并不是仅仅论述“伤寒”这一种病而已。书中的文字是经典般的准则，所述之事则是议论辨析，他的本意是始于对亲人的哀痛，因而不想忘记初心；书中内容繁多，是为了惠及后人；他的心意是不想自居为经书。《易经》说：“谦逊的君子”，说的就是这种情况。所以我所以说：名义上虽然叫《论》，实际上却是《经》。
不过，如果直接叫《伤寒经》，就显得有些违背情理了，必须称为《医经》，才符合实情。（关于《论》的条目，市面上流行的版本，法则平铺直叙，杂乱无章，难以计数。方剂方面，增补加减者众多，唯独遗漏了桂枝附子汤和去桂加术汤，有补无缺，显得缺失。现在我将三百九十七条证候隶属于六经体系，各有纲纪统领，相互关联，使其秩序固定。我也对章节句读进行了圈点断句，以便初学者容易阅读。补全遗漏的方剂后，数量也吻合了。至于“证外”之外又出现“无谓”二字，怀疑是“列”字的误写，真迹和草书看起来相似，可能是传抄错误。然而大家都称之为《伤寒论》。《金匮要略·序略》中说：“伤寒卒病论”，“卒”读作仓促之“卒”，这确实是该书最初的名字，这是有据可查的。只是不知道“卒病”二字是在什么时候漏掉的。世俗崇尚苟且简化，沿袭时间久远，无从考证了。对此，君子心中不能没有遗憾。）
万历癸巳年（1605年）十月初九，九山山人方有执记。
Ancient texts state: Zhang Zhongjing, whose surname was Zhang and given name Ji, with "Zhongjing" as his courtesy name, was a native of Nanyang. (Records indicate that Zhang Song once met Cao Cao, boasting about the medical expert named "Zhongjing" in his region; chronologically, from the Jian'an era, Zhang Song was also a contemporary of Zhang Zhongjing.) He studied under Zhang Bozu, a fellow townsman, excelled in treatment, and was particularly proficient in *Jingfang* (Classic Prescriptions). He was recommended as a *Xiaolian* (Filial and Incorrupt Candidate) and rose to the office of Prefect of Changsha. Later, he became a renowned physician in the capital, ranking among the top experts of his time. Due to the fact that out of more than two hundred members of his clan, two-thirds had died within less than ten years since the first year of the Jian'an era, with seven-tenths of these deaths attributed to *Shanghan* (Cold Damage), he composed a treatise consisting of twenty-two chapters. It encompassed 397 diagnostic methods and 113 prescriptions. The language is concise, ancient, and elegant. No scholar of *Shanghan* throughout history has been able to surpass its scope. This book is regarded as the ancestor of all prescriptions; contemporaries believed that even Bian Que and Cang Gong could not surpass it, hence later generations honored him as the "Medical Sage" (Yi Sheng).
Bian Que and Cang Gong were divine physicians. The realm of "divinity" is already exalted, yet people considered nothing superior to Zhang Zhongjing, thus calling him "Sage." Is this not because his medical achievements and recorded wisdom clearly manifested the principles of Heaven and Humanity, serving as pillars of strength that are difficult to emulate? His knowledge penetrated the world and spanned past and present, being simple, clear, easy to understand, and easy to practice, rather than involving bizarre or miraculous phenomena inaccessible to ordinary people. Therefore, he is called a Sage. Jia Yi (the Duke of Tai) said, "I have heard that ancient sages, if they did not hold high positions in the court, would certainly be found among diviners and physicians." These words are indeed true.
However, since he is the Medical Sage, why is the book titled "Lun" (Treatise/Discourse)? This reflects Zhang Zhongjing's self-expression. It stems from his indignation at the unclear understanding of *Shanghan* and his grief over the untimely deaths of his clansmen. He discussed diseases to clarify the nature of *Shanghan*, not merely to discuss *Shanghan* as a single disease. The text serves as canonical principles, while the content involves discursive analysis. His original intent arose from mourning for his relatives, so he did not wish to forget his beginnings. The extensive content was intended to benefit future generations, and his humility prevented him from claiming the status of a Canon (*Jing*). As the *I Ching* states, "The modest gentleman," this describes the situation. Thus, I say: although nominally titled "Lun," it is实质上 (substantially) a "Jing" (Canon).
Nevertheless, calling it directly the "*Shanghan Jing*" would be inappropriate; it must be called the "Medical Canon" (*Yi Jing*) to fit the context properly. (Regarding the entries of the "Lun," popular editions circulating in bookshops present rules in a flat, scattered manner, making them hard to count. Regarding prescriptions, many additions and modifications exist, yet the *Guizhi Fuzi Tang* (Cinnamon Twig and Aconite Decoction) and *Qu Gui Jia Zhu Tang* (Decoction with Cinnamon Twig Removed and Atractylodes Added) are uniquely omitted, creating an imbalance. Currently, I have categorized the 397 conditions into the Six Channels (*Liujing*), each with its own guiding principles and subordination, linking them to establish a fixed order. I have also punctuated the chapters and sentences to facilitate reading for beginners. After supplementing the missing prescriptions, the numbers align. The phrase "beyond the conditions" followed by "meaningless" seems suspicious; it is likely a transcription error where "Lie" (List) was mistaken for "Wu Wei," as seal script and cursive scripts can look similar. However, everyone calls it the *Shanghan Lun*. The Preface to the *Jin Gui Yao Lue* mentions the "*Shanghan Zubi Lun*" (Treatise on Cold Damage and Sudden Illnesses); "Zu" is pronounced as "sudden/hasty," which was indeed the original title, providing evidence. It is unknown when the term "Zu Bing" (Sudden Illness) was dropped. Popular habits favor brevity, and the tradition has persisted for so long that verification is impossible. Gentlemen cannot help but feel regret regarding this matter.)
Recorded by Fang Youzhi, Scholar of Jiushan, on the auspicious day of the tenth month in the Gui-Si year of the Wanli era.