内经云。人之所受气者。谷也。谷之所注者。胃也。胃者。水谷气血之海也。又曰。人
以水
谷为本。故人绝水谷则死。又曰。人受气于谷。谷入于胃。以传于肺。五脏六腑。皆以受气
。又曰。真气者。所受于天。与谷气并而充身也。又曰。谷不入。半日则气衰。一日则气少
矣。又曰。营气之道。纳谷为实。又曰。脾者。仓廪之官。胃者水谷之海。六腑之大源也。
又曰。五脏皆禀气于胃。胃者。五脏之本也。又曰。有胃气则生。无胃气则死。李士材曰
。婴儿既生。一日不再食则饥。七日不食。则肠胃涸绝而死。经云。安谷则昌。绝谷则亡
。
犹兵家之饷道也。饷道一绝。万众立散。胃气一败。百药难施。一有此身。必资谷气。愿饮
食之于人。不綦重欤。岂知近日医流。毋论大人小儿。凡遇发热。不分表里
虚实。便一概禁绝其饮食。而惟扬属为尤甚。至有饿不死伤寒之说。愚夫愚妇。习焉不察
。
至死不悟。嗟乎。胃气者。元气也。饮食者。人之所赖以生者也。人非饮食。何以生乎。且
夫风寒外感。未曾传里之时。其邪在表。里本无病。其人自能食。若表不解。邪传入里。其
人自不能食。方其在表能食之时。医者妄绝其饮食。是先绝其胃气也。胃气一伤。则诸脏无
所禀气而皆伤矣。诸脏之气皆伤。则正不胜邪。正不胜邪。则无以捍御外侮。势必邪气乘虚
内陷。而直入堂奥矣。若曰风寒宜饿。试问仲景先生伤寒论第一条。风伤卫。服桂枝汤后。
令人 热稀粥一升余。以助药力。谷气内充。则邪不能入。且俾胃中阳气鼓动。邪自作汗而
解者。为何说也。况汗生于阴。非饮食无以生阴长阳。所宜禁者。生冷粘滑。肉面五辛。酒
酪
臭恶等物耳。此或因从前病家。不耐甘淡。仍食粘滑肉面之物。医者不免有勿多食之戒。愚
者闻之。错会其说。遂至承认袭谬。贻害至今。杀人无已。在大人或可自知饥甚难支。犹可
追呼索食。在小儿则口不能言。任人布置。势必轻病变重。辗转呻吟。不至饿死不止。伤
心
惨目。莫此为甚。间有愈者。亦必羸弱不堪。致使壮者怯而弱者夭。孙真人云。小儿有病。
宜单乳不哺。足可证今人清饿之谬历览名家所着之书。亦从未有饿之一字。盖人之既长。
全资谷气以为生。婴孺之时。必赖乳饮以为命。吾今与医家病家约。凡于
外感之症。毋论大人小儿。若其能食者。不必禁其食。不能食者。当思所以食之。要之能食
之病。其病必不死。虽弗药可也。不能食之病。除伤食恶食外。医者务求
其所以而治之。俾其能食。则其病亦自愈。有志于生命者。慎毋以习俗相沿。亦蹈饿人之弊
也。吾特于此谆谆而详戒之。
《黄帝内经》说：人从外界摄取的气，来源于谷物。谷物进入人体的部位是胃。胃，是水谷化生气血的海洋。又说：人以水谷作为生存的根本，所以人如果断绝了水谷的摄入就会死亡。又说：人通过谷物获取气，谷物进入胃后，将精气传输给肺，五脏六腑都从中获得滋养。又说：真气，是由先天之气与后天谷气相结合而充满全身的气。又说：如果不进食，半天时间气就会衰弱，一天时间气就会减少。又说：营气的生成之道，在于摄入谷物以充实体内。又说：脾，是负责储藏和运输的官员；胃，是水谷的海洋，也是六腑的大源头。又说：五脏都依赖胃气来滋养，胃，是五脏的根本。又说：有胃气就能生存，没有胃气就会死亡。李士材说：婴儿出生后，一天不吃两次饭就会饥饿，七天不进食，肠胃就会枯竭断绝而死亡。经书说：能安受谷气则昌盛，断绝谷气则灭亡。这就像军队中的粮道一样，粮道一旦断绝，数万士兵立刻就会溃散。胃气一旦败坏，各种药物也难以施展疗效。既然有了这个身体，就必须依赖谷气来维持。希望人们重视饮食，难道这不非常重要吗？
岂不知现在的某些医生流派，不论大人还是小孩，凡遇到发热症状，不分表证里证、虚证实证，就一概禁止其饮食，其中扬州地区的情况尤为严重。甚至出现了“饿不死伤寒病”的说法。愚昧的百姓习以为常而不加察觉，直到死也不醒悟。唉！胃气就是元气，饮食是人赖以生存的条件。人如果没有饮食，怎么能生存呢？况且风寒外感，在尚未传入体内的阶段，邪气还在体表，体内本来没有病，病人自然能够进食。如果表证不解，邪气传入体内，病人自然就无法进食。当邪气在表、病人还能进食的时候，医生错误地禁止其饮食，这是先断绝了病人的胃气。胃气一旦受损，那么各个脏腑就无法获得滋养而全部受伤。各个脏腑的气都受伤了，正气就不能战胜邪气。正气不能战胜邪气，就没有能力抵御外来的侵害，势必导致邪气乘虚内陷，直接深入内脏深处。如果说风寒病适宜通过饥饿来治疗，试问张仲景先生在《伤寒论》第一条中提到，风邪伤及卫分，服用桂枝汤后，让人喝热稀粥一升多，以此来帮助药力。谷气在体内充盛，邪气就不能侵入，并且让胃中的阳气鼓动，邪气自然随着汗液排出而解，这是为什么呢？况且汗液生于阴液，没有饮食就无法滋生阴液、长养阳气。真正应该禁忌的是生冷、粘腻滑肠、肉类面食、五辛（葱蒜韭薤兴渠）、酒酪以及气味臭恶的食物罢了。这或许是因为从前有些病人不耐受甘淡口味，仍然食用粘滑肉面等食物，医生不免有“不要多吃”的告诫。愚笨的人听到这话，误解了其含义，于是沿袭错误，贻害至今，杀人无数。对于成年人来说，还可以自己知道饥饿难耐，还可以呼喊索要食物；但对于小儿来说，他们口不能言，只能任人摆布，势必导致轻病变重，辗转呻吟，不到饿死不止。这种伤心惨目的情况，没有比这更严重的了。偶尔有痊愈的，也一定瘦弱不堪，致使强壮的人变得怯弱，虚弱的人夭折。孙思邈说：小儿有病时，适宜只喂母乳而不添加辅食，这足以证明现在人清肠饿腹的错误。遍览名医所著的书籍，也从未有过“饿”这一字。大概人长大后，完全依赖谷气来生存；婴幼儿时期，必须依赖乳饮来维持生命。我现在与医生和病人家属约定，凡是外感病症，不论大人小孩，如果能进食的，不必禁止其饮食；如果不能进食的，应当想办法让其进食。总之，能进食的病，病情必然不会致死，即使不用药也可以。不能进食的病，除了伤食或厌恶食物外，医生务必探求其原因并加以治疗，使其恢复进食能力，那么病也会自愈。有志于珍爱生命的人，千万不要因为习俗沿袭，而重蹈饿人的弊端。我特别在此谆谆告诫并详细说明。
The *Huangdi Neijing* (Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon) states: The qi that humans receive from the outside world comes from grains. The organ where grains enter is the Stomach. The Stomach is the sea of water and grains, the source of qi and blood. It also says: Humans take water and grains as their foundation; therefore, if a person cuts off water and grains, they will die. It further states: Humans receive qi from grains. When grains enter the Stomach, they transmit essence to the Lungs, and all five zang organs and six fu organs receive qi from it. It also says: True qi (Zhen Qi) is received from Heaven (innate constitution) and combines with grain qi (acquired nutrition) to fill the body. It also says: If one does not eat, qi becomes weak after half a day, and diminishes after one day. It also says: The way Ying Qi (Nutrient Qi) functions is by accepting grains to become substantial. It also says: The Spleen is the official of granaries; the Stomach is the sea of water and grains, the great source of the six fu organs. It also says: All five zang organs rely on the Stomach for qi. The Stomach is the root of the five zang organs. It also says: With Stomach qi, there is life; without Stomach qi, there is death. Li Shicai said: After an infant is born, if they do not eat twice a day, they will be hungry; if they do not eat for seven days, their intestines and stomach will dry up and cut off, leading to death. The classics say: Being able to accept grains leads to prosperity; cutting off grains leads to demise. This is like the supply line in military strategy: once the supply line is cut, tens of thousands of soldiers will scatter immediately. Once Stomach qi fails, even hundreds of medicines are difficult to apply. Since one has this body, one must rely on grain qi. Is it not extremely important to value food and drink?
Yet, who would know that some modern medical practitioners, regardless of whether the patient is an adult or a child, upon encountering fever, indiscriminately prohibit diet without distinguishing between exterior/interior or deficiency/excess syndromes. This practice is particularly severe in the Yangzhou region. There is even a saying that "one cannot starve to death from Shanghan (Cold Damage)." Ignorant people have grown accustomed to this without scrutiny, remaining unaware until death. Alas! Stomach qi is Yuan Qi (Original Qi); food and drink are what humans rely on to live. How can humans survive without food and drink? Moreover, when Wind-Cold invades externally, before it transmits to the interior, the pathogen remains at the exterior level, and the interior is originally free of disease. The patient can naturally eat. If the exterior syndrome is not resolved and the pathogen transmits inward, the patient naturally loses their appetite. During the time when the pathogen is at the exterior and the patient can still eat, if a doctor erroneously prohibits eating, this is first cutting off the patient's Stomach qi. Once Stomach qi is damaged, all other organs lose their source of qi and are injured. When the qi of all organs is injured, Zheng Qi (Upright Qi) cannot overcome Xie Qi (Pathogenic Qi). If Zheng Qi cannot overcome Xie Qi, there is no ability to defend against external aggression. Consequently, Xie Qi will inevitably sink inward through the deficiency, entering directly into the innermost chambers. If one claims that Wind-Cold should be treated by starvation, let us ask: In Article 1 of Zhang Zhongjing’s *Shanghan Lun* (Treatise on Cold Damage), regarding Wind injuring the Wei (Defensive) layer, after taking Guizhi Tang (Cinnamon Twig Decoction), the patient is instructed to drink more than one sheng of hot thin porridge to assist the medicinal power. When grain qi fills the interior, the pathogen cannot enter; furthermore, it stimulates the Yang qi in the Stomach, causing the pathogen to resolve through sweating. Why is this stated? Besides, sweat is generated from Yin fluids; without diet, one cannot generate Yin and nourish Yang. What should truly be prohibited are raw/cold foods, sticky and slippery foods, meat, wheat products, the Five Pungents (garlic, chives, leeks, scallions, Chinese chives/alliums), wine, dairy, and foul-smelling foods. This prohibition may stem from previous cases where patients could not tolerate bland, sweet flavors and continued eating sticky, meat-heavy, or wheat-based foods, prompting doctors to warn "do not eat too much." Fools heard this and misunderstood the meaning, thus perpetuating errors and causing harm to this day, killing countless people. For adults, they can realize extreme hunger and difficulty bearing it, and can still call out to demand food. However, infants and young children cannot speak and are subject to others' arrangements. This inevitably turns mild diseases into severe ones, leading to groaning and suffering, only stopping at starvation. Nothing is more heartbreaking and horrifying than this. Occasionally, those who recover are left extremely emaciated, causing strong individuals to become weak and weak individuals to perish. Sun Simiao said: When children are ill, it is appropriate to feed only breast milk and not supplementary food, which sufficiently proves the error of modern practices involving fasting and emptying the gut. Scanning through books written by renowned masters, the character "starve" (e) never appears. Generally, adults rely entirely on grain qi for survival; infants and toddlers rely on milk and drinks for life. I hereby make an agreement with doctors and families: for all exterior contraction syndromes, regardless of age, if the patient can eat, there is no need to prohibit food; if they cannot eat, one should seek ways to facilitate eating. In summary, diseases where the patient can eat will not be fatal, and medication may not even be necessary. For diseases where the patient cannot eat, excluding cases of food stagnation or aversion to food, the doctor must strive to find the cause and treat it, enabling the patient to eat again, in which case the disease will heal itself. Those dedicated to preserving life must not follow customary habits and fall into the trap of starving patients. I earnestly and detailedly warn against this here.