世人对于中西医学之评判。辄谓西医擅外科。中医精内病。按之实际。西医诊疗内病。固多特过中医之处。中医对
于外科。讵无捷效良方。以内外科疾患衡量中西医学之高下。实至无据之谈也。今就简册所载。撮述数事。以明中医确
有愈外症之经验效方焉。冷庐医话卷五云。“同邑郑拙言学博。性喜单方。言其经验最灵者有四。道光壬寅年。馆乐平汪
军门家。粪门前。肾囊后。起一坚块。渐觉疼痛。虚寒虚热时作。案头有同寿录。检一方云。‘跨马痈初起。用甘草五钱。
酒水各一碗。煎服。’如方服之。块渐软。次日略出清水。不数日全愈。”（圭按跨马痈即悬痈。喜多春香城亦认粉甘草膏
为此症良药。）毛达可便易经验集缠喉风秘方条下云。“常熟赵氏祖传缠喉风药甚效。而方极秘惜。一日。赵氏子与友章
甘饮。询其方不答。酒次。赵喉间痛不可忍。乃大声曰。‘为求猪牙皂角来。’来则细捣。以醋调入喉五匙。嗽痰大吐。
痛立止。余药涂颈上。干则易之。其乳蛾即破而愈。后章传人颇众。”（圭按皂角治喉风。李氏纲目亦极言其效。）梅氏验
方新编天虚我生弁言云。“先慈每年必以芙蓉花浸盐 中。明年夏日。小儿有患疮节者。敷之立愈。又以初生之鼠。渍菜
油中。患汤火伤者。得此立止其痛。又于梅雨时捕集蜒蝣。与梅子同腌。遇喉症辄应手而愈。予皆亲身所曾实验者也”
南京医学报第五期包蘅村曰。“咸丰十一年及同治二年。先父行医香港。是时港埠未辟。居民犹鲜。风俗强悍。不受法律。
且好食禾虫。以故下流社会之人。每患疔毒。一患疔毒。又不肯忌荤。故走黄之症独多。先父每以芭蕉根捣汁。令冷冻饮料
之。虽遍体走黄者。无不愈。”上举四例。虽病之轻重不同。而收效之速则一。且余所述。仅四事耳。若博稽方书。类夫
此项之纪载与良方。正难屈指而计。讵医籍所记。尽皆子虚乌有耶。故余以为中医外科之治疗。除器械、消毒、手术外。
其余方药。正不让泰西医术也。仲圭少习内科于王香岩夫子。读书之暇。录有方外奇方。凌临灵方。医学体用等书。业
由吉生先生采入三三医书行世。乃者。上海世界书局辑印珍本医书集成。宣扬国粹。良足钦佩。仲圭寝馈此道。垂二十
年。深信中医之效方妙药。不至废弃。故于本书重版之日。再抒其管见。以就正世之贤达焉。
民国二十五年四月下浣。杭州沈仲圭叙于粮道山。
世人对中医和西医的评价，往往认为西医擅长外科，而中医精通内科疾病。但根据实际观察，西医在治疗内科疾病方面，确实有许多优于中医的地方；然而，中医在外科领域，难道就没有见效快、疗效好的良方吗？用内外科疾病的诊治水平来衡量中西医的高下，实在是没有依据的空谈。现在我就根据书籍记载，简要叙述几件事，以证明中医确实拥有治愈外科病症的经验效方。
《冷庐医话》卷五记载：“同乡郑拙言学博，性格喜欢收集单方，他说自己经验最灵验的有四个案例。道光壬寅年（1842年），他在乐平汪军门家做馆师。有一天，他肛门前方、阴囊后方长出一个坚硬的肿块，逐渐感到疼痛，时常出现虚寒或虚热的症状。案头放着《同寿录》，查阅其中一方说：‘跨马痈初起时，用甘草五钱，酒水各一碗，煎服。’按照方子服用后，肿块逐渐变软，第二天稍微流出一些清水，没过几天就完全痊愈了。”（圭按：跨马痈即悬痈，喜多春香城也认为粉甘草膏是治疗此症的良药。）
毛达可《便易经验集》“缠喉风秘方”条下记载：“常熟赵氏祖传的缠喉风药非常有效，但方子极其保密珍惜。一天，赵氏的儿子和朋友章甘饮酒，询问这个方子，对方不回答。酒过三巡，赵氏喉咙痛得难以忍受，于是大声喊道：‘快去求猪牙皂角来。’取来后细细捣碎，用醋调匀灌入喉咙五匙，咳嗽吐出大量痰液，疼痛立刻停止。其余的药涂抹在脖子上，干了就更换。他的乳蛾病也因此破溃而愈。后来章甘将此法传授给很多人。”（圭按：皂角治疗喉风，李时珍《本草纲目》也极力称赞其疗效。）
梅氏《验方新编》天虚我生序言中说：“家母每年必定将芙蓉花浸泡在盐中，到了第二年夏天，如果有小孩患疮节，敷上此药立刻痊愈。又用刚出生的老鼠，浸泡在菜油中，遇到烫伤或火烧伤的人，用上此药立刻止痛。又在梅雨时节捕捉蜒蝣，与梅子一起腌制，遇到咽喉病症，往往一用就愈。这些都是我亲身实验过的。”
南京医学报第五期包蘅村说道：“咸丰十一年（1861年）及同治二年（1863年），先父在香港行医。当时港口尚未开发，居民很少，风俗强悍，不受法律约束，且喜欢吃禾虫。因此，下层社会的人常常患上疔毒。一旦患了疔毒，又不肯忌口荤腥，所以发生‘走黄’（毒邪内陷）的症状特别多。先父常用芭蕉根捣汁，让患者冷冻后饮用。即使是全身遍发走黄的重症，没有不痊愈的。”
以上列举的四个例子，虽然病情轻重不同，但收效之迅速是一致的。而且我所叙述的，仅仅四件事而已。如果广泛考证方书，这类记载和良方正数不胜数。难道医籍所记录的，都是虚无缥缈的吗？所以我以为，中医外科的治疗，除了器械、消毒、手术之外，其余的方药，并不逊色于泰西（西方）医术。
沈仲圭年轻时跟随王香岩夫子学习内科，在读书之余，抄录了《方外奇方》、《凌临灵方》、《医学体用》等书，这些书业已由吉生先生采编入《三三医书》刊行于世。如今，上海世界书局编辑印刷《珍本医书集成》，宣扬国粹，实在令人钦佩。沈仲圭沉浸于此道近二十年，深信中医的有效方剂和妙药不会废弃。所以在本书重版之际，再次抒发我的浅见，以求教于世间贤达。
民国二十五年（1936年）四月下旬，杭州沈仲圭叙于粮道山。
The public's evaluation of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and Western medicine often holds that Western medicine excels in surgery, while TCM is proficient in internal diseases. However, according to actual practice, although Western medicine indeed has many advantages over TCM in treating internal diseases, does TCM not have effective prescriptions with rapid results for surgical conditions? Measuring the superiority of TCM and Western medicine based on their treatment of internal and surgical diseases is truly an unfounded claim. Now, based on records in books, I briefly narrate a few cases to demonstrate that TCM indeed possesses empirical and effective prescriptions for curing external lesions.
"Cold Cottage Medical Conversations" (Lenglu Yihua), Volume 5, states: "Mr. Zheng Zhuoyan, a learned scholar from my hometown, liked collecting single-herb prescriptions. He said his most effective experiences included four cases. In the Renyin year of the Daoguang reign (1842), he served as a tutor at the residence of Military Commander Wang in Leping. One day, a hard lump appeared in front of his anus and behind his scrotum, gradually becoming painful, accompanied by intermittent deficiency-cold or deficiency-heat symptoms. On his desk was a book titled 'Tongshou Lu'. He consulted a prescription there which stated: 'For early-stage Kuama Yong (Horse-Riding Carbuncle), use five qian of Gancao (Licorice Root), decocted with one bowl of water and one bowl of wine.' After taking it as prescribed, the lump gradually softened. The next day, some clear fluid oozed out slightly. Within a few days, he recovered completely." (Note by Gui: Kuama Yong is synonymous with Xuanyong [Carbuncle between the anus and scrotum]. Xida Chunxiangcheng also considered Fen Gancao Gao [Powdered Licorice Ointment] as a good remedy for this condition.)
In Mao Dake's "Bianyi Jingyan Ji" (Collection of Convenient Empirical Experiences), under the section "Secret Prescription for Chanhou Feng (Choked Throat Wind)," it is recorded: "The Chanhou Feng medicine passed down by the Zhao family in Changshu was very effective, but the prescription was kept extremely secret. One day, Mr. Zhao's son was drinking with his friend Zhang Gan. When asked about the prescription, he did not answer. After several rounds of drinks, Mr. Zhao's throat became unbearably painful, so he shouted loudly, 'Go get Zhiya Zaojiao (Gleditsia Sinensis Fruit with Spines)!'" Upon arrival, it was finely pounded, mixed with vinegar, and five spoons were poured into the throat. This induced coughing up of large amounts of phlegm, and the pain stopped immediately. The remaining medicine was applied to the neck, replaced when dry. His Ru'e (Tonsillitis) also ruptured and healed. Later, Zhang Gan taught this method to many people." (Note by Gui: Zaojiao treats Houfeng; Li Shizhen's "Bencao Gangmu" also highly praises its efficacy.)
In the preface to Mei Shi's "Yanfang Xinbian" (New Compilation of Verified Prescriptions), Tianxu Wosheng wrote: "My mother used to soak Furonghua (Hibiscus Flower) in salt every year. By the following summer, if children suffered from Chuangjie (sores/nodules), applying this would cure them instantly. She also soaked newborn rats in Caixiang (Rapeseed Oil); for burns or scalds, applying this stopped the pain immediately. During the Plum Rain season, she caught Yan'you (mayflies) and pickled them with Meizi (Plums). For throat disorders, it worked promptly. I have personally experimented with all these methods."
Bao Hengcun, in the fifth issue of the Nanjing Medical Journal, stated: "In the 11th year of Xianfeng (1861) and the 2nd year of Tongzhi (1863), my father practiced medicine in Hong Kong. At that time, the port was undeveloped, residents were scarce, customs were fierce, laws were disregarded, and people loved eating Hechong (Rice Worms). Consequently, people from the lower classes often suffered from Dingdu (Carbuncles/Furuncles). Once infected, they refused to avoid meat, leading to frequent occurrences of Zouhuang (Spreading Poison/Internal Collapse). My father often used Bajiaogen (Banana Root) crushed into juice, letting patients drink it chilled. Even in cases of widespread Zouhuang throughout the body, none failed to recover."
Although the severity of the diseases in the above four examples differed, the speed of their effectiveness was consistent. Moreover, what I have described are merely four cases. If one extensively consults medical texts, such records and excellent prescriptions are too numerous to count. Are the records in medical books entirely fictitious? Therefore, I believe that in TCM surgical treatment, apart from instruments, disinfection, and surgery, the remaining herbal prescriptions are no inferior to Western medical techniques.
Shen Zhonggui studied Internal Medicine under Master Wang Xiangyan in his youth. During his spare time from reading, he copied books such as "Fangwai Qifang" (Extraordinary Prescriptions Outside the Canon), "Linglin Ling Fang," and "Yixue Tiyong." These works had already been compiled by Mr. Jisheng and published in the "Sanyan Yishu" (Three Three Medical Books). Recently, Shanghai World Book Bureau edited and printed the "Zhenben Yishu Jicheng" (Integrated Collection of Precious Medical Books) to promote national essence, which is truly admirable. Having immersed myself in this field for nearly twenty years, I firmly believe that effective TCM prescriptions and miraculous medicines will not be abandoned. Thus, on the occasion of this book's reprint, I express my humble opinions again to seek correction from worthy scholars.
Late April, 25th Year of the Republic of China (1936). Shen Zhonggui, written at Liangdaoshan, Hangzhou.