养生之术。凡百有节。人之寿夭。在乎调摄。一有所偏。百病俱发。五劳七伤。损伤气
血
酿成阴虚。痰咳喘热。脉来涩数。病成虚怯。犹树根枯。治当补接。斡旋元气。滋阳枯竭
神医妙手。庶免夭折。病者心坚。嚼钉咬铁。调摄经年。药饵千帖。妄想要息。房劳要绝。
恼怒要除。饮食要节。欲犯丝毫。噬脐莫及。洗心涤虑。谨遵成法。云林格言。非为浪说。
却病延年。千金秘诀。
一羊城马伏所。昔遘沉 。诸医罔效。召予治愈。遂成莫逆之交。万历庚戌夏。乃郎年
二旬
余。素禀清弱。酷嗜酒欲。频年遭惊骇。至今遂成虚劳之恙。召予至。诊其六脉。弦数无力
其症潮热憎寒。盗汗如雨。时微痰嗽。手掌热而手指冷。心惊悸而梦遗。以上诸症。皆系
肾水枯竭。心血干涸。相火上炎。熏克肺金。元气受伤。脾胃亏损。而脏腑气血皆耗惫矣。
余治以十全大补汤。看病加减施治。用地黄丸壮水之主。以制阳光。加归、麦、酸、志。以
补心血。用瑞莲丸、白雪糕。以补元气脾胃。每日如此服之。如弹天平一般。不可偏胜。倘
万有一偏。则病剧不可复救药矣。何也。若偏于补阳药多。则阳旺而阴愈消。相火愈炽。则
咽喉肿痛。生疮声哑之症。可立而待矣。若偏于补阴药多。而用地黄、当归。泥滞脾胃。不
运而为痢泻。肿胀喘满等症生焉。所以用药。不可偏胜。有如此矣。余将前四药服之。旬
日。颇有微效。分付病家。执此以往。调摄期以岁年。投剂积以千百。度可免危而就安也。
余缘有司召。遂暂离而去。殊料病家欲速即愈。更医。不审病由。误认为阳虚。辄投乌、附
、参、 之类。数服。诸症消减。一家欣然。而反罪余用归、地之过。遂连进补阳之药。不
半月而阳火愈炽。则喉痛声哑诸症出矣。病之至此。虽日进归、地数斤。亦无用矣。医者至
此。急进人乳、童便以遏其火。将脾胃复惫。以致上热未除。而中寒复生。泄泻之病又作。
若两斧之伐一枯树。不数月而告终矣。吁。医者不悟妄治之失。病家不悔欲速之瘥。可胜
叹哉。
养生的方法，关键在于凡事都要有节制。人的寿命长短，取决于调养摄生是否得当。一旦有所偏颇，各种疾病就会并发。五劳七伤会损伤气血，酿成阴虚，出现痰多、咳嗽、气喘、发热等症状，脉象表现为涩而数，疾病发展为虚怯之证，就像树根干枯一样，治疗应当补益接续，斡旋元气，滋润阳气的枯竭。只有神医妙手，才能避免早夭。病人必须意志坚定，要有嚼钉咬铁般的毅力，坚持调养数年，服用千剂药物。要妄念全消，断绝房事，消除恼怒，节制饮食。如果稍有违背，后悔就来不及了。洗涤心灵杂念，严格遵守既定法则，这些格言并非空话，而是防病延年、价值千金的秘诀。
在羊城马伏所那里，他过去曾患重病，众医无效，召我治愈后，我们便成了莫逆之交。万历庚戌年夏天，他的儿子二十多岁，平时体质清弱，酷嗜酒色，连年遭受惊吓，至今形成了虚劳的病证。我受邀前往，诊察其六部脉象，弦细、数急且无力。症状表现为潮热恶寒，盗汗如雨，偶尔轻微痰咳，手掌发热而手指发冷，心惊悸动且梦遗。以上诸症，都是由于肾水枯竭，心血干涸，相火上炎，熏灼克制肺金，导致元气受伤，脾胃亏损，脏腑气血都耗竭疲惫了。
我用十全大补汤，根据病情加减施治。用地黄丸壮水之主以制约阳光（相火），加当归、麦冬、酸枣仁、远志来补益心血。用瑞莲丸、白雪糕来补益元气和脾胃。每天如此服药，就像弹天平一样，不可偏向任何一方。倘若万一偏颇，那么病情加重就无法挽救了。为什么呢？如果偏重于补阳药过多，则阳气旺盛而阴液更加消损，相火更加炽盛，咽喉肿痛、生疮声哑等症状就会立刻出现。如果偏重于补阴药过多，使用地黄、当归等滋腻药物，会阻滞脾胃，使其不能运化，从而产生痢疾、腹泻、肿胀、气喘胸满等症状。所以用药，不可偏胜，道理就是这样。我将前四种药物让他服用，十几天后，颇有微效。嘱咐病家，拿着这个方子继续治疗，调养期望以年计，投药积累以千百计，大概可以免除危险而获得安康。
我因为被官府征召，暂时离开。没想到病家想要快速痊愈，更换了医生。新医生不审察病因，误认为是阳虚，就投用乌头、附子、人参、肉桂之类温补药物。服了几次，诸症减轻，全家都很高兴，反而怪罪我使用当归、地黄的过错，于是连续进服补阳药物。不到半个月，阳火更加炽盛，喉痛声哑等症状又出现了。病情到了这种地步，即使每天进服几斤当归、地黄，也没有用了。医生到了这一步，急忙用人乳、童便来遏制火势，但此时脾胃已经极度疲惫，导致上部的热邪未除，中焦的寒邪又生，泄泻的病证再次发作。这就像两把斧头砍伐一棵枯树，不出几个月就结束了生命。唉！医生不明白妄治的错误，病家不后悔求速愈的心态，真是令人叹息啊。
The art of health preservation lies in moderation in all things. A person's longevity or premature death depends on proper regulation and care. If there is any bias or excess, myriad diseases will arise simultaneously. The five labors and seven injuries damage Qi and Blood, leading to Yin deficiency, which manifests as phlegm, cough, asthma, and fever. The pulse becomes choppy and rapid. The disease develops into a state of deficiency and frailty, resembling withered tree roots. Treatment should focus on tonifying and reconnecting, maneuvering Yuan Qi (Original Qi), and nourishing the depletion of Yang. Only the skillful hands of a divine physician can prevent premature death. The patient must possess firm resolve, akin to chewing nails and biting iron, adhering to regulation for years and taking thousands of prescriptions. One must extinguish delusional desires, abstain from sexual activity, eliminate anger and indignation, and regulate diet. Any slight violation will make regret come too late. Purify the mind and thoughts, strictly follow established methods; these maxims from Yunlin are not empty words but thousand-gold secrets for preventing illness and prolonging life.
In Yangcheng, at the residence of Ma Fusuo, he once suffered from a severe illness that all physicians failed to cure. After I treated him successfully, we became bosom friends. In the summer of Gengxu year of the Wanli era, his son, aged over twenty, had always possessed a delicate and weak constitution. He was addicted to alcohol and lust and had been frequently startled by fright over the years, eventually developing consumptive disease (Xu Lao). Upon invitation, I examined his six pulses, finding them wiry, rapid, and forceless. His symptoms included tidal fever and aversion to cold, profuse night sweats like rain, occasional mild phlegmy cough, hot palms but cold fingers, palpitations with anxiety, and nocturnal emissions. All these symptoms stem from the exhaustion of Kidney Water and Heart Blood, with Ministerial Fire flaming upward, scorching and impairing Lung Metal. This injures Yuan Qi and damages the Spleen and Stomach, causing the Qi and Blood of the Zang-Fu organs to become exhausted and depleted.
I treated him with Shiquan Dabu Tang (Complete Great Tonifying Decoction), modifying it according to the condition. I used Dihuang Wan (Rehmannia Pill) to strengthen the source of Water to control the Sunlight (Ministerial Fire), added Danggui (Angelicae Sinensis Radix), Maidong (Ophiopogonis Tuber), Suanzaoren (Ziziphi Spinosae Semen), and Zhizi (Polygala Root? Note: Context implies Yuanzhi/Zhigancao usually, but text says 'Suan, Zhi' likely Suanzaoren and Yuanzhi/Gancao. Given 'Bu Xinxue', Yuanzhi is common. However, standard WHO term for 'Zhi' in this context often refers to Yuanzhi or Zhigan. Let's stick to literal 'Zhi' if ambiguous, but typically 'Yuanzhi' fits 'calming spirit'. Actually, 'Suan, Zhi' likely refers to Suanzaoren and Yuanzhi. Or Suanzaoren and Zhigancao. Let's use Sour Jujube Seed and Polygala Root for clarity based on common pairings for heart blood/spirit, or simply list ingredients. Text says 'Gui, Mai, Suan, Zhi'. Gui=Danggui, Mai=Maidong, Suan=Suanzaoren, Zhi=Yuanzhi (Polygala Root) is most likely for calming spirit/heart.) to tonify Heart Blood. I used Ruilian Wan (Auspicious Lotus Pill) and Baixue Gao (White Snow Cake) to tonify Yuan Qi and the Spleen-Stomach. Medication was administered daily, balanced like a scale pan, avoiding any bias. If even a slight bias occurs, the disease will worsen beyond remedy. Why? If biased toward excessive Yang-tonifying herbs, Yang will flourish while Yin further depletes, and Ministerial Fire will blaze more fiercely, leading immediately to sore throat, swelling, sores, and hoarseness. If biased toward excessive Yin-tonifying herbs, using cloying substances like Dihuang and Danggui will stagnate the Spleen and Stomach, impairing transportation and transformation, thereby generating dysentery, diarrhea, distension, fullness, and asthma. Thus, medication must not be biased, as illustrated.
After administering the first four types of medicine for ten days, there was slight improvement. I instructed the family to continue with this prescription, regulating care over years and accumulating hundreds of doses, hoping to avoid danger and achieve safety. Due to an official summons, I temporarily left. Unexpectedly, the family, eager for a quick cure, changed physicians. The new doctor, failing to examine the root cause, misdiagnosed it as Yang deficiency and prescribed herbs such as Wutou (Aconiti Lateralis Radix Preparata), Fuzi (Aconiti Radix Preparata), Renshen (Ginseng Radix), and Rougui (Cinnamomi Cortex). After several doses, symptoms subsided, and the family rejoiced, blaming my use of Danggui and Dihuang. Consequently, they continuously administered Yang-tonifying medicines. Within half a month, Yang fire blazed even more fiercely, and symptoms like sore throat and hoarseness reappeared. At this stage, even consuming several jin of Danggui and Dihuang daily would be useless. The physician, realizing the crisis, urgently administered human milk and child's urine to suppress the fire. However, the Spleen and Stomach were already critically depleted, resulting in upper heat remaining unremoved while middle jiao cold arose, causing diarrhea to recur. This was like felling a withered tree with two axes; within a few months, life ended. Alas! The physician did not realize the error of reckless treatment, and the family did not repent their desire for a hasty cure. What a sigh-worthy tragedy.