疾病之最惨最酷最易传染而不忍目睹者。曰瘟疫。曰疠疯。仲景瘟疫论。兵燹后尽失其传。赖姑苏吴又
可特辟手眼。破叔和之藩篱。接长沙之心传。参伍错综。委曲详明。至今兆民赖以生全。独疠疯几千百年。
明哲代出。无不为之束手。圣如丹溪。治效四人。后三人犹复发而毙。以故患是疾者。戚里恶闻。骨肉远避。
痛苦之余。求死不能。求生不得。甚至有投水悬梁。自戕其命。而衔冤地下者。则疠疯之惨酷。比之瘟疫。殆
尤甚矣。乾隆嘉庆间。是疾吾省罕见。今则村落中十里五里。处处咸有。天地杀厉之气。愈积愈盛。或目为
正报。或诿为劫运。余窃非之。夫病各有因。外而六淫。因乎天也。内而七情。因乎人也。疠疯则地气所主。而
天与人从此应之。大抵染是疾者。惟东南最盛。大河以北未有也。岂非东南地势卑下。鱼鳖龙蛇之蟠踞。
湿极生热。热极生湿。二气互蒸。常则为岚为雾为烟瘴。变则另有一种浊气秽气毒瓦斯。与夫似浊非浊。似
秽非秽。似毒非毒之气。从地而起。人在气交中。如鱼在水。无隙可避。轻则伤及肌肤。重则伤及筋骨。又重
则伤及脏腑。苟非有人焉。仰观俯察。洞见其源。而设法以救之。岂能使民无夭札哉。余赋性素懒。攻举子
业。亦不求甚解。而于岐黄术独好深湛之思。每念百病皆有方法。何疠疯一门。独无专书行世。岂天道之
好杀与。抑人事有未尽与。尝以此语质之全石刘席观先生。先生曰。是书吾家藏有善本。系庐陵萧君晓
亭所手着。治经千人。应如桴鼓。尝欲刊印万本。遍送乡场应试诸公。惜有志未逮。临终以其书授余。谓余
能不负所托。今老矣。恐此书不成。无地见晓亭矣。子其有意乎。余闻而喜出望外。急索其书而读之。见其
论证精细。处药和平。而又曲尽变态。得心应手。洞垣窥墙之技。不是过矣。爰集同人注而梓之。斯亦儒者
随地济人之端乎。抑余因之有感矣。方今天下经验奇方。当不止此。如芜湖之药酒。通州之眼药。以及化
痞诸膏。要皆私诸一家。以为子孙射利之途。晓亭不传其后嗣而独传先生。先生亦不传其后嗣而独传
余。非晓亭不能知先生。非先生亦不能不负晓亭。而诸君子之慷慨好义。俾余与先生与晓亭终相与有
成也。亦非偶然矣。是为序。
道光十二年庚寅秋后一日钤阳春台袁世熙序
疾病中最悲惨、最残酷且极易传染，令人不忍目睹的，是瘟疫和疠疯（麻风病）。张仲景所著的《瘟疫论》，在战乱后已经失传。幸亏苏州的吴又可独具匠心，打破了王叔和理论的束缚，承接了张仲景的心法，通过错综复杂的分析，详尽而清晰地阐述了病情，至今亿万百姓依靠它得以生存保全。唯独疠疯病，几千百年来，虽然明智的医生代代出现，却都对此束手无策。即使是像朱丹溪那样圣明的医生，治愈了四个人，但后来这三个人仍然复发而死。因此，患有这种病的人，亲戚邻里厌恶听闻，骨肉至亲远远避开。在痛苦之余，想死不能，想活不得，甚至有投水自尽或上吊自杀，带着冤屈死去的。那么疠疯病的惨酷，比起瘟疫来，大概更加严重了。
在乾隆、嘉庆年间，这种病在我省还很少见，现在则在村落中，每隔十里五里，到处都有。天地间的杀厉之气，积聚得越来越盛。有人将其视为正报（因果报应），有人推诿为劫运（灾难运气）。我私下认为这是不对的。各种疾病各有成因，外在的六淫（风、寒、暑、湿、燥、火六种外感病邪）由天所致，内在的七情（喜、怒、忧、思、悲、恐、惊七种情志变化）由人所致。而疠疯则主要由地气主导，天和人都随之感应。大致感染这种病的，以东南地区最为盛行，黄河以北还没有。这难道不是因为东南地势低洼，鱼鳖龙蛇盘踞其中，湿气极盛而生热，热极盛而生湿，这两种气息互相蒸腾，常态下形成岚气、雾气、烟瘴，变异时则产生另一种浊气、秽气、毒瓦斯，以及那种似浊非浊、似秽非秽、似毒非毒的气，从地面升起。人在气交之中，就像鱼在水中，没有缝隙可以躲避。轻则伤及肌肤，重则伤及筋骨，更重则伤及脏腑。如果不是有人仰观俯察，洞察其源头，并设法去救治他们，怎么能使百姓不遭受早夭和残废呢？
我生性一向懒惰，攻读科举学业，也不求甚解，但对于岐黄之术（中医）唯独喜爱深入思考。常常想到百病都有治疗方法，为什么疠疯这一门，唯独没有专门的书籍流传于世？难道是天道喜好杀戮吗？还是人事有未尽之处呢？曾经以此话向全石刘席观先生请教。先生说：“这本书我家藏有善本，是庐陵萧晓亭先生亲手撰写的。治疗经过千人，反应迅速如击鼓应槌。我曾经想要刊印万本，遍送乡试应试的各位士子，可惜有志未遂。临终前将这本书交给我，说希望我不辜负他的托付。现在我老了，恐怕这本书无法完成，再也见不到晓亭先生了。您是否有这个意愿呢？”我听后喜出望外，急忙索取这本书阅读。看到它论证精细，用药平和，又穷尽了病情的各种变化，得心应手，那种洞见病灶内部的技术，也不过如此罢了。于是召集同好者注释并刻印出版。这也是儒者随地救济他人的开端吧。或者我因此有所感触：当今天下经验奇方，应当不止于此。比如芜湖的药酒、通州的眼药，以及化痞的各种膏药，都私藏在一家，作为子孙谋取利益的路径。晓亭不传给他的后代而单独传给先生，先生也不传给他的后代而单独传给我。不是晓亭不能了解先生，不是先生也不能不辜负晓亭。而各位君子的慷慨好义，使得我与先生与晓亭最终能够有所成就，也不是偶然的了。这就是序言。
道光十二年庚寅年秋后一日，阳春台袁世熙序
Among diseases, the most miserable, cruel, and easily contagious ones, which are unbearable to witness, are plague (Wenyi) and leprosy (Lifeng). Zhang Zhongjing's *Treatise on Plague* was lost after the wars. Fortunately, Wu Youke of Suzhou broke through the barriers of Wang Shuhe's theories with his unique insights, inheriting the core transmission of Changsha (Zhang Zhongjing). Through intricate analysis, he explained the conditions in detail and clarity, upon which millions rely for survival today. However, regarding leprosy, although wise physicians have emerged generation after generation over thousands of years, they have all been at a loss. Even such a sage as Zhu Danxi cured four patients, but the latter three relapsed and died. Consequently, those suffering from this disease are shunned by relatives and neighbors, and even flesh-and-blood kin keep their distance. Amidst the pain, they cannot die nor live; some even commit suicide by drowning or hanging, dying with grievances underground. Thus, the cruelty of leprosy is arguably even more severe than that of plague.
During the Qianlong and Jiaqing reigns, this disease was rare in our province, but now it is prevalent everywhere in villages, every five or ten li. The killing and harsh qi of heaven and earth has accumulated and intensified. Some attribute it to karmic retribution (Zhengbao), while others dismiss it as calamitous fate (Jieyun). I privately disagree. Every disease has its cause: external Six Excesses (Liuyin, i.e., wind, cold, summerheat, dampness, dryness, fire) stem from heaven, and internal Seven Emotions (Qiqing, i.e., joy, anger, worry, thought, grief, fear, fright) stem from humans. Leprosy, however, is primarily governed by local earth qi, to which heaven and humans respond accordingly. Generally, infections of this disease are most prevalent in the southeast, whereas they are absent north of the Yellow River. Is it not because the southeastern terrain is low-lying, harboring fish, turtles, dragons, and snakes? Extreme dampness generates heat, and extreme heat generates dampness. These two qi mutually steam and ferment. In normal states, they form mountain mists, fog, and miasma; when altered, they produce turbid qi, foul qi, toxic gases, and other qi that is neither clearly turbid, foul, nor toxic, rising from the ground. Humans exist within this qi interaction like fish in water, with no gap to avoid it. Mild cases injure the skin and muscles; severe cases injure sinews and bones; even more severe cases injure the zang-fu organs. If there were no one who observes heaven and earth, penetrates to the source, and devises methods to save them, how could people be spared from premature death and disability?
I am naturally lazy and did not seek deep understanding in my studies for the imperial examinations, but I have always cherished profound contemplation of Qi-Huang medicine (Traditional Chinese Medicine). I often pondered: since all hundred diseases have treatment methods, why is there no specialized book on leprosy circulating in the world? Is it that the Way of Heaven loves killing? Or is human effort insufficient? I once posed this question to Mr. Liu Xiguan from Quanshi. He said, "My family possesses a fine copy of this book, handwritten by Mr. Xiao Xiaoting of Luling. It has treated thousands of patients with efficacy as immediate as a drumstick striking a drum. I intended to print ten thousand copies and distribute them to scholars taking the provincial exams, but my ambition remained unfulfilled. On his deathbed, he entrusted the book to me, urging me not to fail his trust. Now that I am old, I fear this book will remain unfinished, and I shall never see Mr. Xiaoting again. Do you have the intention?" Hearing this, I was overjoyed, immediately requested the book, and read it. I found its arguments meticulous, its prescriptions gentle, and its handling of various pathological changes masterful and intuitive. Its skill in seeing through the walls of pathology was unsurpassed. Therefore, I gathered colleagues to annotate and publish it. This serves as an example of Confucians practicing charity wherever they are. Furthermore, I am moved by this incident. Today, empirical miraculous prescriptions under heaven should not be limited to this. For instance, medicinal wines from Wuhu, eye drops from Tongzhou, and various plasters for dissipating masses are all kept private by families as means for descendants to profit. Mr. Xiaoting did not pass it to his heirs but exclusively to Mr. Liu; Mr. Liu did not pass it to his heirs but exclusively to me. It is not that Mr. Xiaoting could not know Mr. Liu, nor that Mr. Liu failed to honor Mr. Xiaoting. Rather, the generosity and righteousness of these gentlemen enabled me, Mr. Liu, and Mr. Xiaoting to ultimately achieve success together, which is no coincidence. This is the preface.
Preface by Yuan Shixi of Yangchun Terrace, on the first day after autumn in the Gengyin year of the 12th Reign of Daoguang