典藏书目

The medical texts of the ancients contained the phrase "eyes left untreated will inevitably go blind." Later generations, failing to distinguish between similar characters (such as 'Hai' and 'Shi') or due to phonetic similarities, propagated this error, leading to the false saying that "eyes left untreated will not go blind."

Shennong tasted hundreds of herbs out of concern for the premature death of the people. Hua Tuo established ophthalmology to rescue future generations from blindness. Where there is a disease, there is a remedy; even if the medicine does not perfectly hit the target, can one recover without taking medicine?

Today's patients often disregard their vital essence (Zhen Yuan), recklessly damaging their bodies, resulting in physical debility and exhaustion of essence and blood, which generates internal fire. Consequently, wind pathogens take advantage of the opportunity to invade. The eyes are the highest orifices in the body. Fire has an upward nature; when fire meets wind, it burns more fiercely, and pathogens follow the fire's momentum outward. Once the disease strikes, if treatment is delayed even slightly, the eyes cannot be preserved, so how could they not go blind?

Moreover, eye diseases do not only manifest as fire syndromes. Fire burning the eyes is like objects falling into fire. If one stands by idly without urgent rescue and leaves it to fate, how could anything not be completely burned? If rescued promptly, some fires stop, some objects remain; even otherwise, half may be saved. This is like a fish with a scorched tail that can still transform, or a paulownia tree from under the stove that can still produce clear sounds. Thus, "eyes left untreated will inevitably go blind" is something those with wisdom understand without needing explanation. I have seen people whose eyes were ruined due to neglected treatment say, "I regret not treating it earlier." Is this not proof of "inevitable blindness"? The ancients feared this situation, hence their stern warnings to caution people, truly intending for individuals to preserve the body given by their parents (complete reception and return).

Those who are stingy and enjoy spreading rumors use the phrase "eyes left untreated will not go blind" as a shocking warning to dissuade treating their parents' illnesses, and as a straightforward statement to stop treating servants' illnesses. This cools the hearts of doctors and silences patients, serving as a supreme method for saving money and hoarding wealth. Hence, this saying remains popular and known to every household.

Nevertheless, neglecting the illness of a subordinate is called inhumanity; neglecting the illness of a superior is called unfilial piety. One who is both inhumane and unfilial is called a solitary man (tyrant/dictator). For such a person, saying "eyes left untreated will not go blind" might be acceptable.

Bu Chen Zi said: Although life, death, and illness have destined numbers, practitioners must not utter such words, nor should those seeking medical help entertain such thoughts. Medicine governs human life, rescues critical conditions, and supplements what Heaven fails to provide. Thus, the merit of a good physician sometimes rivals that of a good official. As the saying goes, "The highest physicians govern the state." The state is not governed by medicine, but by people who understand how to utilize medicine to govern. If life and death were predestined by heaven, then discussing the merits and faults of drugs would be unnecessary; consequently, illness would need no treatment, and medicine would not exist. Yet, ancient and modern medical texts explore profound mysteries and fill the world—why? From this perspective, one cannot speak of fate when facing illness. If one cannot even speak of fate, how can one claim "eyes left untreated will not go blind"? Is this reasonable?

Although so, eye diseases are indeed difficult to simply categorize as "treatable." When a disease first appears, it may be external contraction or internal injury. External contractions belong to Yang syndromes, related to the Six Qi (pathogenic factors), presenting with urgent symptoms but being easier to treat. Internal injuries belong to Yin syndromes, related to the Seven Emotions, presenting with slow progression but being difficult to treat. There are also cases that are neither purely external nor internal, where Ying and Wei (nutritive and defensive qi) are chronically deficient, diet is unregulated, and labor is frequent. Symptoms show a mix of Yin and Yang, and treatment methods fall somewhere between easy and difficult.

However, ignorant physicians who fail to examine carefully often tonify Yang in Yin syndromes, causing Yang to flourish while Yin dissipates; or suppress Yin in Yang syndromes, causing Yin to decline while Yang blazes. When harmonization and dispersion are indicated, excessive sweating leads not only to loss of Yang but also to loss of Yin. When consolidation and purging are indicated, excessive purgation leads not only to loss of Yin but also to loss of Yang. Tonifying when one should attack causes cold to settle in the middle, stifling vital energy. Warming when one should cool aids fire, consuming primordial spirit. Excessive Yang leads to Yin deficiency, essentially meaning there is no Yin. It is like charcoal roasting in a furnace; if placed in a sealed container without ventilation, the fire dies instantly and becomes cold. This is heat accumulation without release; adding closure and suffocation leads to sudden collapse. Excessive Yin leads to Yang deficiency, suppressing true Yang. It is like extreme summer heat melting metal and earth, while spring water from a stone well chills the bones. This is Yin flourishing below, forcing Yang upward, where water takes on the nature of fire.

Failing to distinguish true from false, reversing cold and heat treatments, and acting with panic and confusion upon encountering such syndromes, using needles to destroy true blood and moxibustion to agitate pathogenic evils, these various errors repeatedly invade, making the condition complex and entrenched, beyond repair even by the finest tools of Song and Lu. This is why eye diseases must never be treated recklessly, and why reckless treatment inevitably leads to blindness.

Furthermore, there are physicians who are arrogant and look down on others, unaware that they are like the white pig of Liaodong (a metaphor for ignorance), and thus unsuitable for practice. There are those who gaze greedily, taking advantage of others' crises for profit, even destroying families and states, who are improper practitioners. There are those lacking vision and consciousness, ignoring the senses and phenomena, who should not practice. Those who practice when they should not, ought not to, or are unfit to, have blinded their own eyes; it is unheard of for them to ensure others' eyes remain sighted.

Therefore, gentlemen are not bound by fatalism but guided by principle, pointing out that "eyes left untreated will not go blind" serves to correct the弊端 (drawbacks) of shallow knowledge. The *I Ching* says, "To know the subtle beginnings is divine." It also says, "Returning quickly after straying brings no great regret, supreme auspiciousness." Those with clear vision should pay attention to this. Some say: Physicians have no high or low status; skill makes one noble. Diseases have no major or minor distinction; damage to nature makes them dangerous and urgent. Therefore, if the little finger is bent, one travels far to straighten it. Since the eyes are the master of the body, forbidding treatment is not a perfect way. Moreover, physicians should have a heart of great public service, harboring only compassion. How can they use alarming words to discourage people from achieving results? Gentlemen handle matters with humility, practicing loyalty and forgiveness towards all. It is unheard of to use harsh words to abandon people to uselessness. I wish scholars and virtuous men of the world would not be greedy but embody benevolence, search widely to enrich knowledge, act with caution and reverence, and let their moral influence grow naturally, not by chance. Patients suffering from eye diseases lament their inability to find effective treatment; how could they hear "eyes left untreated will not go blind"? However, I am a practitioner with a reputation, and this serves as a warning for my own self-reflection.