一 是书独阙痘症。已详明自叙中。其余共分二十四门。虽症变多端。或有不尽于此者。更当临症消息。然大段备
具。已足该幼科纲领。
一 二十四门症候。各着四言韵语。阐明义理。不列散文者。便诵习也。但韵语中。探源析流。义尚简括。阅者当
求意旨之所在。勿以为略而短之。
一 韵语后。各采前人议论。以相发明。要皆择其至精至当。归于一是。足为幼医科律者。故书中所登。无错杂。
无重叠。无支离。无牵扯。
一 是书删繁就简。虽卷帙无多。实足发明病旨。遵守斯法。已大概无误。若更神而明之。则存乎其人矣。
一 芽儿脏气未全。不胜药力。周岁内。非重症。勿轻易投药。须酌法治之。即两三岁内。形气毕竟嫩弱。用药亦
不可太猛。峻攻骤补。反受药累。
一 儿病多由食积。固是要语。医家不可不知。然亦有禀受薄弱。或病后虚怯。其所生病。有全无食积者。不得以
此语横亘心中。仍为消导。即或有之。亦当扶正而使积自消。消息甚微。当意会毋执。
一 古人治幼儿。或专攻。或专补。或专凉。或专热。皆有偏处。是书宗旨一以中和当病为归。不敢偏于攻补凉热。
一 病家怕惊不怕泻。医家怕泻不怕惊。要知惊泻俱为重候。在病家罔知病症。固无足怪。医家既怕泻。又安得不
怕惊耶。若存不怕之念。恐有轻心妄治以致害者。不可不慎思之也。
一 古人制幼方。必使药品与幼儿相得。本与大方有别。医者固不可执古方以治今病。亦不可妄作方剂。有背古人
之意。此旨亦至微。明者自领之。
一 婴儿两三岁内。全属天真。痛痒不能自达。其时脉虽不可凭。而观色察形。或视三关指纹。医者反得根据。有
一种娇养小儿。至四五岁六七岁。知识略开。便生诈伪。不饥为饥。不渴为渴。不痒为痒。不疼为疼。父母溺爱不知。
谆谆告医。医若不察。便尔多误。此又当观色于色之外。察形于形之表。以辨其情伪者也。切勿为他瞒过。
一、本书唯独缺少关于痘症（天花）的内容。这已在作者的自序中详细说明。其余部分共分为二十四门。虽然病症变化多端，可能有未包含在此处的情况，但临证时应当仔细斟酌。不过大体上已经具备齐全，足以涵盖儿科的纲领。
一、二十四门的症候，各自采用四言韵文的形式，以阐明医理。不列散文的原因是便于诵读和记忆。但在韵文中，追溯本源、分析流变，义理尚且简明概括。读者应当探求其意旨所在，不要认为内容简略而轻视它。
一、在韵文之后，各选取前人的议论，以互相阐发说明。这些内容都经过选择，取其最精妙、最恰当的部分，归于统一的标准，足以作为幼科医生的准则。因此书中收录的内容，没有错误杂乱，没有重复重叠，没有支离破碎，没有牵强附会。
一、本书删减繁冗，追求简约，虽然卷帙不多，但实际上足以阐明疾病的宗旨。遵守这种方法，大体上不会出错。如果更能神妙地领悟并灵活运用，那就取决于医生个人的造诣了。
一、幼儿脏腑之气尚未完全成熟，承受不住药力的猛烈冲击。周岁以内，如果不是重症，不要轻易投药，必须斟酌适宜的方法治疗。即使是两三岁内的幼儿，形体和气机毕竟嫩弱，用药也不可以太猛。峻猛的攻伐或骤然的进补，反而会让幼儿受药物之累。
一、小儿生病多由食积引起，固然是重要的话语，医生不可不知道。然而也有因禀赋薄弱，或病后身体虚怯的情况，其所患疾病，有完全没有食积的。不能将这句话横亘在心中，一律采用消导法治疗。即使确实有食积，也应当扶助正气而使积滞自然消除。其中的细微差别，应当在心意中领会，不要固执己见。
一、古人治疗幼儿，有的专门攻邪，有的专门补益，有的专门清热，有的专门温阳，都有偏颇之处。本书的宗旨是以“中和”为原则，以适合病情为归宿，不敢偏向于攻、补、凉、热任何一端。
一、患病家属害怕惊风而不害怕腹泻，医生害怕腹泻而不害怕惊风。要知道惊风和腹泻都属于危重证候。对于患病家属来说，因为不懂病症，所以不足为怪；但对于医生来说，既然害怕腹泻，又怎能不怕惊风呢？如果存有不怕惊风的念头，恐怕会有轻率妄治以致造成危害的情况，不可不慎重思考。
一、古人制定儿科方剂，必定使药品与幼儿的身体特点相适宜，本来与大人的大方不同。医生固然不可以拘泥古方来治疗今天的疾病，也不可以胡乱创制方剂，违背古人的本意。这一宗旨也非常微妙，明白的人自然能领会。
一、婴儿在两三年内，完全属于天真状态，疼痛和瘙痒不能自己表达清楚。此时脉象虽然不可全凭，但通过观察面色和形态，或者查看三关指纹，医生反而有所依据。有一种被娇养的小儿，到了四五岁、六七岁，知识稍微开启，便产生欺诈虚伪的行为。不饿装作饿，不渴装作渴，不痒装作痒，不疼装作疼。父母溺爱而不知晓，谆谆地向医生告知。医生如果不加察辨，就会大多误诊。这又需要在观察色之外再观色，在察形之外再察形，以辨别其真情与伪态。切勿被他们蒙骗过去。
1. This book exclusively omits content regarding variola (smallpox/variolous diseases). This has been detailed in the author's preface. The remaining content is divided into twenty-four categories. Although pathological manifestations are diverse and some may not be included herein, one must carefully deliberate during clinical practice. Nevertheless, the general framework is comprehensively prepared, sufficient to outline the principles of pediatrics.
2. The symptoms for each of the twenty-four categories are presented in four-character rhythmic verses to elucidate medical theories. Prose is excluded to facilitate recitation and memorization. However, within these verses, which trace the origins and analyze the developments, the principles remain concise and comprehensive. Readers should seek the underlying intent and not dismiss the text as too brief or superficial.
3. Following the rhythmic verses, discussions from predecessors are selected to mutually illuminate and clarify the points. These selections are refined to retain only the most exquisite and appropriate insights, unified under a single standard, serving as guidelines for pediatric practitioners. Therefore, the content recorded in this book is free from errors, confusion, repetition, fragmentation, or forced associations.
4. This book deletes redundancy and pursues simplicity. Although the volume is modest, it effectively elucidates the essence of diseases. Adhering to these methods generally prevents errors. Further profound understanding and flexible application depend on the individual practitioner's aptitude.
5. Infants' Zang-Fu Qi (vital energy of the internal organs) is not yet fully matured and cannot withstand potent medicinal forces. Within the first year of life, unless it is a severe condition, medication should not be administered lightly; suitable treatment methods must be carefully considered. Even for children aged two to three years, their physical form and Qi are inherently tender and weak; medications should not be too harsh. Drastic purgation or sudden tonification may instead cause harm due to the drugs.
6. Pediatric illnesses often arise from food stagnation (accumulation of undigested food), which is indeed an important principle that physicians must know. However, there are also cases due to weak congenital constitution or post-illness deficiency and frailty, where the illness occurs without any food stagnation. One should not rigidly apply the rule of food stagnation and invariably use digestive-promoting methods. Even if food stagnation exists, one should support the Righteous Qi (Zheng Qi) so that the stagnation resolves naturally. The subtle distinctions require intuitive comprehension rather than rigid adherence.
7. Ancient treatments for infants sometimes focused solely on purging pathogens, solely on tonifying, solely on cooling, or solely on warming, all of which had biases. The guiding principle of this book is "Harmony" (Zhong He), aiming to suit the disease condition, avoiding bias towards purging, tonifying, cooling, or warming.
8. Parents fear convulsions (Jing Feng) but not diarrhea, while physicians fear diarrhea but not convulsions. It must be understood that both convulsions and diarrhea are critical conditions. It is understandable that parents, lacking knowledge of the disease, might not fear diarrhea; however, since physicians fear diarrhea, how can they not fear convulsions? harboring a mindset of not fearing convulsions may lead to negligent and reckless treatment causing harm. This requires careful consideration.
9. Ancient pediatric formulas were designed to harmonize with the infant's physiology, differing from adult prescriptions. Physicians should not rigidly apply ancient formulas to contemporary diseases, nor should they arbitrarily create formulas that contradict the original intent of the ancients. This principle is subtle; those who understand will grasp it naturally.
10. Infants within their first few years are entirely innocent and cannot clearly express pain or itching. At this stage, although pulse diagnosis may not be fully reliable, observing facial color and physical form, or examining the fingerprint at the Three Passes (San Guan), provides physicians with reference points. Conversely, spoiled children aged four to seven years, whose cognitive abilities have slightly developed, may exhibit deceptive behaviors: feigning hunger when not hungry, thirst when not thirsty, itchiness when not itchy, and pain when not painful. Parents, indulging their children, fail to notice and earnestly report these symptoms to the physician. If the physician fails to investigate, misdiagnosis is likely. In such cases, one must observe color beyond mere appearance and examine form beyond surface traits to distinguish truth from falsehood. Do not allow oneself to be deceived.