元代原本《活幼心书》共三卷，每半页十一行，每行字数在二十一二字之间不等。这应该是至元甲午年（1294年）曾氏的原刻全本，是艺风前辈所收藏的士礼居版本。关于作者德显的生平出处已无确凿考证可查，但本书对病证的辨析详细明确，处方的制定精当审慎，确实是仁者之言。作者在自序中详尽叙述了学术渊源，极有心得体会。因此我重新刊刻此书，以使其广泛流传。
该书与《衡阳县志》及各家著录多称为《新书》，黄跋偶有沿袭这一错误。《千顷堂书目》和光绪年间的《湖南通志》，依据抱经堂补写的元代方志，均记载为二卷，大概也是未曾见过全书的缘故。明代宣德庚戌年有过修补本，日本享保甲寅年也曾进行校刻，但都不如这个版本好。于是委托翟君展成、凤翔萧君伯丞、延平等人数次仔细校对，改正了许多错误，并在书后附上校勘记。其中明显无误的内容，不再赘述列举，希望后来的读者有所参考。
宣统二年庚戌二月 武昌柯逢时
The original Yuan edition of *Huoyou Xinshu* (Treatise on the Heart of Pediatric Care) consists of three juan (volumes). Each half-page contains eleven lines, with each line containing between twenty-one and twenty-two characters. This is likely the complete original block-printed edition from the Jiawu year of Zhiyuan (1294), preserved by Senior Yifeng as part of the Shiliju collection. The origins and biographical details of the author, Dexian, cannot be verified; however, this book provides detailed and clear differentiation of syndromes (Bianzheng, syndrome differentiation) and precise formulation of prescriptions, truly representing the words of a benevolent person. In his preface, the author thoroughly expounds upon the academic lineage, demonstrating profound personal insights. Therefore, I have arranged for its re-engraving to facilitate wider dissemination.
Consistent with the *Hengyang County Gazetteer* and various bibliographic records, the work is often referred to as *Xinshu* (New Book); the postscript by Huang occasionally perpetuates this error. The *Qianqing Tang Shumu* (Catalogue of Qianqing Hall) and the Guangxu-era *Hunan Tongzhi* (General History of Hunan), relying on the Yuan gazetteer supplemented by the Baojing Hall, both record the work as two volumes, presumably because they had not seen the complete text. A repaired edition existed from the Gengxu year of the Xuande reign in the Ming Dynasty, and it was collated and printed during the Kōhō Jōin year in Japan; neither compares favorably to this edition. Consequently, I entrusted Mr. Zhai Zhancheng, Mr. Xiao Bocheng of Fengxiang, and Mr. Yanping to conduct repeated proofreading and collation, correcting numerous errors, and appended a record of these corrections at the end. Matters that are clear and beyond doubt are not reiterated, hoping that future scholars may find them useful for reference.
Second month of the Gengxu year, Xuantong Era (1910)
Ke Fengshi, Wuchang