生者天地之大德，疾者有生之大患，方术者治疾之大法。昔者神农氏、黄帝氏独观太初
，旁烛妙有。味百药以辨物，审百疾以全生。其制名，其取类，其正君臣，其立佐使，其见
于太素玉册之书，雷公岐伯之问。盖皆开神明之蕴，穷阴阳之变，原性命之理，而与天地同
其复载。中古已还，镂之玉版，藏之金匮，功利及草木，惠泽及牛马，所以遗天下后世甚浓
。历年既久，流弊滋甚，糟粕具在，而精意不传。《内经》有病名而莫之究，有治法而莫之
习，极其妙至于通仙而莫之悟。人之生也，其位参于天地，其灵贵于万物，形不盈仞，而心
侔造化。昆仑尺宅，修之可以长生；寸田神牖，闲之可以反照；天关神庐，息之可以召和。
去土符，书金格，炼丹却粒，御气凌虚，不假于物而裕然自足。嗟夫！达士可以神解，昧者
且不能养其形，而况于了其心乎？内之五脏六腑，外之九窍四关，着之于色，发之于声，寓
之于三部九候，一失其平，则疾 随至。神圣治于未兆，工巧救其已然。非天下之至精，孰
能探天下之至赜？非天下之至粗，孰能佑天下之至神？朕悯大道之郁滞，流俗之积习，斯民
之沉痼，庸医之妄作，学非精博，识非悟解。五行之数，六气之化，莫索其隐，莫拟其远。
曰寒曰热，曰寒热之相搏。差之毫厘，失之千里。而有余者益之，不足者损之。率意用法，
草石杂进，夭枉者半，可胜叹哉！万机之余，着书四十二章，发明《内经》之妙，曰《圣济
经》。其意精微，其旨迈远，其所言在理，所以探天下之至赜。亦诏天下以方术来上，并御
府所藏，颁之为补遗一卷，治法一卷；卷凡二百，方几二万；以病分门，门各有论，而叙统
附焉。首之以风疾之变动，终之以神仙之服饵，详至于俞穴经络、祝由符禁，无不悉备，名
之曰《政和圣济总录》。其所载在事，所以 天下之至神。盖圣人之 世，本在于上，未在
于下，无见于上则治之道不立，无见于下则治之具不行。经之所言者道也，医得之而穷神；
《总录》之所载者具也，医用之而已病。汉张仲景作《伤寒论》，而杂之以方；唐孙思邈作
《千金方》，而继之以《翼》。以谓不如是则世莫能用其术。然之二人者，游于方术之内者也
。彼超然独见于方术之外，下顾岐伯之流而与之议，始可谓知道。朕作《总录》于以急世用
，而救民疾，亦斯道之筌蹄云耳。天下后世宜致思于忘筌蹄而自得者，俯仰之间， 笑之度
，御五行之数，运六气之化，以相天地，以育万物。至于反营魂而起当生者岂细事哉！盖将
有来者焉。
生命是天地之间最大的恩德，疾病是有生之物的最大祸患，方术则是治疗疾病的根本大法。从前神农氏、黄帝独自观察宇宙初始的混沌状态，广泛洞察精微的存在。他们品尝各种药物以辨别物性，审视各类疾病以保全生命。他们制定药名，取象比类，确立君臣佐使的配伍原则，这些内容记载在《太素玉册》等书籍中，也体现在雷公与岐伯的问答里。这大概是开启了神明蕴藏的奥妙，穷尽了阴阳变化的规律，探究了性命本源的哲理，从而与天地共同承载万物。
从中古时代以来，这些道理被刻在玉版上，藏在金匮中，其功效惠及草木，恩泽遍及牛马，留给天下后世的遗产非常丰厚。然而年代久远，流传中的弊端日益严重，只剩下糟粕留存，而精深的意旨未能传承。《内经》中有病名却无人深究，有治法却无人研习，即使达到通晓仙道的境界也无法领悟其中的奥妙。人的生存，地位等同于天地，灵性珍贵超过万物，身形不过七尺，但心神可与造化相齐。昆仑山般的头部（尺宅），修养它可以长生；一寸心田如神妙的窗户，闲暇时可以内省；天关神庐（指呼吸或丹田），调息它可以招致和谐。去除土符，书写金格，炼丹辟谷，驾驭气息凌驾虚空，不依赖外物而自然富足。唉！通达之士可以神悟，愚昧之人尚且不能保养形体，更何况是参透心性呢？
内在的五脏六腑，外在的九窍四关，表现于面色，发露于声音，寄托于三部九候的诊法之中。一旦失去平衡，疾病就会随之而来。圣人能在疾病未显现征兆时进行治理，工匠巧手能在疾病已经形成时进行救治。如果不是天下最精微的人，谁能探求天下最深奥的道理？如果不是天下最粗疏的人，谁能辅助天下最神妙的变化？我怜悯大道的郁结阻滞，世俗积习的顽固，百姓沉疴难愈，庸医妄自作为，学习不够精博，见识缺乏悟解。对于五行之数、六气之化，没有人去探索其隐秘，没有人去揣度其深远。说是寒，说是热，说是寒热相互搏结。失之毫厘，谬以千里。而对于有余的病证用补益法，不足的病证用损减法，随意使用方药，草石类药物混杂进服，导致夭折枉死者过半，这难道不值得叹息吗！
在处理万机政务之余，我撰写了四十二章的书，阐发《内经》的奥妙，名为《圣济经》。它的意旨精微，主旨深远，所言符合道理，旨在探求天下最深奥的真理。我也诏令天下呈献方术，并收集御府所藏的典籍，颁布为《补遗》一卷、《治法》一卷；全书共二百卷，方剂近两万首；按病证分门，每门各有论述，并附有叙录统领。开头讲述风疾的变动，结尾讲述神仙的服饵，详细到腧穴经络、祝由符禁，无不完备，命名为《政和圣济总录》。其中所载的内容，旨在展现天下最神妙的医术。大概圣人的治国之道，根本在于上位者的理念，实施在于下位者的执行，在上位者没有见到则治道无法确立，在下位者没有见到则治具无法施行。经典所言的是“道”，医生得到它就能穷尽神妙；《总录》所载的是“具”（工具/方法），医生运用它来治愈疾病。
汉代张仲景撰写《伤寒论》，其中夹杂了方剂；唐代孙思邈撰写《千金方》，随后又写了《千金翼方》。他们认为如果不这样做，世人就无法使用这些医术。然而这两个人，都是在方术范围内游历的人。那些超然独见于方术之外，俯视岐伯一类人并与之议论的，才称得上是懂得大道。我编写《总录》是为了急切满足世间的需求，拯救百姓的疾病，这也只是得道的工具罢了。天下后世的人应该致力于思考如何忘掉工具而自得真谛，在俯仰之间，掌握五行之数，运用六气之化，以此辅助天地，养育万物。至于挽救营魂、起死回生的大事，难道是小事吗！这大概将有后来者来实现吧。
Life is the greatest virtue of Heaven and Earth, disease is the greatest disaster for living beings, and medical arts are the fundamental method for treating diseases. In ancient times, Shennong and Huangdi independently observed the primordial chaos (Tai Chu) and widely illuminated subtle existence. They tasted hundreds of herbs to distinguish their properties and examined hundreds of diseases to preserve life. They established names, categorized by analogy, regulated the roles of Sovereign (Jun), Minister (Chen), Assistant (Zuo), and Envoy (Shi). These were recorded in texts like the *Tai Su Yu Ce* and in the dialogues between Leigong and Qibo. This likely opened the mysteries of divine wisdom, exhausted the variations of Yin and Yang, traced the principles of nature and destiny, and thus shared the burden of creation with Heaven and Earth.
Since the middle antiquity, these teachings were carved on jade tablets and stored in golden caskets. Their efficacy benefited plants and trees, and their grace extended to cattle and horses, leaving a profound legacy for the world and future generations. However, as years passed, malpractices became increasingly severe; dregs remained while profound meanings were not transmitted. The *Neijing* (*Huangdi Neijing*, Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon) contains disease names but no one investigates them, and treatment methods but no one studies them. Even reaching the level of understanding immortality, one still fails to comprehend it. Human life holds a position parallel to Heaven and Earth, and its spirit is more precious than all things. Though the body is less than seven chi tall, the mind equals the creative power of nature. The "Kunlun" (head/face), if cultivated, can lead to longevity; the "Inch Field" (heart/mind), if kept quiet, allows for introspection; the "Heavenly Gate" (respiration/dantian), if regulated, can summon harmony. Removing earth talismans, writing golden inscriptions, refining elixirs, abstaining from grain, controlling qi to transcend the void—these require no external objects yet provide abundant self-sufficiency. Alas! The enlightened can achieve spiritual understanding, but the ignorant cannot even nourish their bodies, let alone understand their minds.
Internally, the Zang-Fu organs (Five Zang and Six Fu organs); externally, the nine orifices and four gates. These manifest in complexion, emit in voice, and are located in the three positions and nine pulses (San Bu Jiu Hou pulse diagnosis). Once balance is lost, disease follows immediately. The sage treats before signs appear; the skilled artisan remedies after the condition has formed. Unless one is the most refined in the world, who can probe the most obscure? Unless one is the most coarse in the world, who can assist the most divine? I pity the stagnation of the Great Dao, the entrenched habits of common customs, the chronic ailments of the people, and the reckless actions of mediocre physicians. Their learning is neither precise nor broad, and their insight lacks comprehension. Regarding the numbers of the Five Elements and the transformations of the Six Qi, no one seeks their hidden aspects or simulates their distant effects. They speak of Cold, of Heat, of the struggle between Cold and Heat. A difference of a hair's breadth leads to an error of a thousand li. For excess conditions, they apply tonification; for deficiency, they apply reduction. Acting arbitrarily with prescriptions, mixing grasses and minerals indiscriminately, causing half of the patients to die prematurely—is this not lamentable?
Amidst my duties governing ten thousand affairs, I composed forty-two chapters elucidating the subtleties of the *Neijing*, naming it the *Shengji Jing* (*Classic of Holy Healing*). Its meaning is subtle, its purport far-reaching, and its discourse aligns with reason, aiming to explore the deepest mysteries of the world. I also decreed that medical formulas be submitted from across the realm, combined with those collected in the Imperial Treasury, and promulgated as one volume of *Supplementary Records* and one volume of *Treatment Methods*. The entire work comprises two hundred volumes, containing nearly twenty thousand formulas. Diseases are categorized into sections, each with its own discussion and introductory narrative. It begins with the variations of Wind diseases and ends with the ingestion of elixirs by immortals. Details regarding acupoints and meridians, Zhu You (spiritual healing) and talismanic spells, are all comprehensively included. It is named the *Zhenghe Shengji Zonglu* (*Comprehensive Record of Holy Healing during the Zhenghe Era*). The events recorded therein serve to demonstrate the divine efficacy of medicine. Generally, the foundation of the sage's governance lies above, while its implementation lies below. Without visibility from above, the way of governance is not established; without visibility from below, the tools of governance do not function. What the Classics discuss is the Dao (Way); physicians who grasp it can exhaust divine subtlety. What the *Zonglu* records are the tools (Ju); physicians use them to treat diseases.
In the Han Dynasty, Zhang Zhongjing wrote the *Shanghan Lun* (*Treatise on Cold Damage*), interspersing it with formulas. In the Tang Dynasty, Sun Simiao wrote the *Qianjin Fang* (*Prescriptions Worth a Thousand Gold*), followed by the *Qianjin Yi* (*Supplement to Prescriptions Worth a Thousand Gold*). They believed that without such measures, the world would not be able to utilize their techniques. However, these two individuals merely wandered within the realm of medical arts. Those who transcend and see independently beyond medical arts, looking down upon figures like Qibo to debate with them, can truly be said to know the Dao. I compiled the *Zonglu* to urgently meet worldly needs and save the people from disease; this is merely a means to attain the Dao. Future generations should strive to forget the means and attain self-realization. In the span of looking up and down, mastering the numbers of the Five Elements and operating the transformations of the Six Qi, one assists Heaven and Earth and nurtures all things. To revive the Ying (Nutrient) and Hun (Ethereal) spirits and restore the dying—is this not a significant matter? There will surely be successors to accomplish this.