典藏书目

Compounding prescriptions and administering medicines, is this not the physician's specialty? Matching a specific herb to a specific formula, and using a specific formula for a specific disease, merely taking them and applying them—passed down from father to son, teacher to student—is but a craft. Establishing a prescription is like a scholar writing an essay, expounding upon the theme without omission; administering medicine is like a military strategist dispatching generals, knowing the enemy's situation and utilizing talent according to capacity. The *Classic* states: Observe the clarity of the eyes (*Shi Jing Ming*), inspect the five colors, observe whether the Zang organs are in excess or deficiency, assess the strength or weakness of the Fu organs, and note the flourishing or declining state of the physique. By cross-referencing these factors, one determines the division between life and death. Only by doing so can one speak of medicine. If one rigidly adheres to established formulas to treat diseases, without understanding the fundamentals of the Five Movements and Six Qi (*Wu Yun Liu Qi*) and the origins of life and death in the meridians, one might indiscriminately apply dispersing and releasing methods for headache, thereby harming those with Yang deficiency headache; apply reducing and purging methods for distension and fullness, thereby harming those with Qi deficiency central fullness; apply cooling methods for body heat, thereby harming those with Yang deficiency fever; apply cold-natured herbs for dryness and thirst, thereby harming those whose internal fluids are exhausted. Zhang Zhongjing stated in his preface: "If one does not ponder and seek the principles of the classics to expand upon what one knows, but instead relies solely on family techniques and perpetuates old customs, it will be truly difficult to distinguish life from death." From this, we see that established formulas are not to be overly relied upon; the administration of medicine is indeed difficult. Physicians who rely merely on technical skills should change their approach and pay closer attention!

Humans are born endowing themselves with the Yin and Yang Qi of Heaven and Earth, and formed through the essence and blood of parents. Upon leaving the womb, the physical form of the Zang and Fu organs is not yet fully developed, yet the Qi of Yin and Yang is already established. This form and this Qi rely primarily on breast milk. Minor ailments often stem from disharmony of the fundamental Qi; thus, one should not recklessly administer drugs. Even if medication is necessary, it should aim to harmonize the fundamental Qi. If one indiscriminately administers herbs for dispersing, resolving phlegm, or clearing heat, it will not only be of no benefit but will cause harm. Xuanyuan (Yellow Emperor) and Qibo discussed medicine, describing the pathways of meridian circulation and the principles of blood and Qi intersection. These mechanisms of ascending, descending, entering, and exiting within the upper, lower, interior, and exterior were originally not differentiated by age. For thousands of years, the orthodox path has been lost, and empirical techniques have proliferated. They do not understand how meridian blood and Qi ascend and descend, or enter and exit. Lacking clarity on the fundamentals, they concluded that adults and children require separate departments and distinct treatments. Once treatment was divided, each department sought out medical texts, while pediatrics relied on secret rhyming formulas. Ignorant and confused, they spread toxicity throughout the world. When encountering illness, they would say, "Do not give breast milk." Little do they know that nine-tenths of infant illnesses are mild, and only one-tenth are severe. Only renowned physicians, who understand the roots of the Zang organs and recognize the basis of Yin and Yang, can treat according to the meridians and save patients using proper methods! Now, having cut off breast milk and further administering resolving agents, even mild cases might occasionally recover spontaneously. However, if there is a deviation in blood and Qi causing fever, or if internal Spleen and Stomach deficiency generates phlegm, such cases absolutely cannot be cured. Worse still, as phlegm increases, the resolving agents become harsher; as heat intensifies, cooling agents are more heavily administered. They persist until death without changing course, claiming that despite such treatment, the disease remains uncured, leaving them helpless. This is truly lamentable! Infants are like the initial sprouts of living things; their intestines are narrow and stomachs small. They rely on tangible food (breast milk) to nourish intangible Qi mechanisms; cutting this off is inadvisable. Even if one argues that excessive milk intake causes sudden stagnation, one must realize that after a week without food, the stomach is empty, and a single dose of digestion-promoting herbs will resolve the stagnation. In healthy individuals, food enters the stomach and is transformed and transported continuously; multiple meals a day result in excretion the next day. For infants fed milk, digestion occurs immediately upon ingestion, and transformation/transportation is particularly rapid. If one cuts off the milk that nourishes the Stomach and instead administers drugs that damage the Stomach, even a healthy infant may fall ill, let alone one who is already sick! One might argue: "The child suffers from external Wind-Cold and internal retention of milk/food, presenting with chills, fever, and chest/diaphragmatic fullness. If dispersing and resolving methods fail, how can food be tolerated?" Yet, who knows this is incorrect? Wind-Cold is not truly external invasion, and food retention is not truly internal obstruction. It is simply that ancient sages did not explicitly state this, so how could the world know? The human body possesses the Qi of the Three Yin and Five Zang organs, and the Qi of the Three Yang and Six Fu organs, integrating into the Twelve Meridians where blood and Qi circulate. Externally, Qi moves from muscles to the surface, traversing the whole body to resist external aggression; internally, Qi moves from Zang to Fu, returning to the Stomach to digest food. If one claims external invasion, why do wealthy children, swaddled tightly and rarely leaving home, suffer frequent invasions? Why do poor children, exposed to wind and cold without avoiding external pathogens, suffer fewer invasions? Those who are exposed but do not get sick have no external invasion; those who are not exposed but get sick actually originate from internal generation. If one claims internal retention, why is there no food retention during periods of health when milk is frequently consumed? Why is there food retention after illness begins when milk is withheld daily? If one says the illness initially stemmed from food retention which persists to this day, ask yourself: What is the nature of the human Stomach organ? If food remains in the Stomach undigested for so long, the True Qi of the Stomach must be exhausted, leaving no room for medical intervention. Food located in the Upper Jiao is called "retained food" (*Su Shi*); once it enters the Stomach, it decomposes and transforms. If the Upper Jiao is unclear, the patient will reject even water and view food as an enemy. Why does a sick infant crave drink and salivate at the sight of food? From this, we see that the theory of "external Wind-Cold and internal milk/food retention" should be discarded. Medical texts fabricate falsehoods, and pediatricians kill lives daily. To whom shall the blame be attributed? Heaven! Does Heaven not wish for the people to survive, hence using pediatricians as its instruments?