夫人大事。莫逾生死。百年之内。谁保无恙。乃一旦有疾付之庸手。甘心受害。枉死无怨。
不谓至灵者人。而至愚者亦人也。病固不得不求医。而医之明脉者盖千百不一二数也。将谓
不治。无以愈病。将听妄治。又恐丧生。余以为具慧鉴者方别妍强凭荐扬者亦须勉受唯有试
之一法庶几酌择匪谬耳。患者延医到家。切勿豫言病症。当先举手令他胗脉。察色闻声。胗
毕静默。听他何说。或者属寒属热。属虚属实。或者血虚气虚血实气实。或者外感内伤之异
。经络脏腑之别。主阴主阳。此病之大要也。虽病能固有万千。而脉只二十七种。安能一一
肖合。而此大要医者岂宜不知。得其了了言下。十应二三。便称名手。于是吾方告以得病
之
由。起居顺逆。饮食喜恶。病期久近。备详勿讳。乃听处方修剂。又问其某药当主何病君臣
佐使母子虚实之法。有犯胃气。无犯胃气。速愈迟愈。可治不治之验。或从顺治逆治。正治
反治之殊。仍求详写始末。看他学问浅深。见识高下。果属明良。信心任之。当必无虞。设
有不愈。非医之咎也。若其脉症不明。舌謇语涩。套语支吾。字迹不通。方药无法。虽承尊
贵所举。 属污谄之流。羊质虎皮。外饰为事。安可轻信之乎如此乃试医也非困医也试医者
为性命也若医果精良又何惮困乎余因是而每不平坡公所言者曰。脉之难明。古今所通患也。
至虚有盛候。大实有羸状。疑似之间。便有生死之异士大夫多秘所患。以验医之能否。吾生
平有疾。请疗必尽告以所患。使医了然。知疾之所在。虚实寒热先定于胸中。然后胗脉。疑
似不能惑也。吾求愈疾而已。岂以困医为事哉。孙真人亦曰未诊先问。最为有准。吁二公之
言。特为医者藏拙。非为病者择善也。在医者得矣。而于病者不受误耶。汪度纳交固当宽
于容人第病关生死未可不严于实医也。吾恐用医不试。误世非小特为驳正立此试法。
人的大事，没有比生死更重要的了。在百年寿命之内，谁能保证始终健康无病？然而一旦患病，就交给平庸的医生，甘心受害，白白死去而毫无怨言。
没想到最灵智的人是人，而最愚昧的人也同样是人。生病固然不得不求医，但真正精通脉诊的医生，千百人中也不到一两个。如果说因为不治疗就无法治愈疾病，如果听任胡乱治疗，又恐怕丧命。我认为，只有具备慧眼鉴别能力的人才能分辨优劣；凭借他人推荐扬名的人，患者也应当勉强接受（通过测试来验证）。唯有“试医”这一方法，或许能斟酌选择而不致出错。
患者请医生到家后，千万不要预先说出病症。应当先伸出手臂让医生诊脉，观察面色，聆听声音。诊脉完毕后保持沉默，听医生说什么。或者判断属于寒证还是热证，属于虚证还是实证，或者是血虚、气虚、血实、气实，或者是外感与内伤的区别，经络与脏腑的不同，主导阴还是主导阳。这是疾病的大要。虽然疾病的表现千变万化，但脉象只有二十七种，怎么能一一完全吻合呢？而这大要的要点，医生难道不应该知道吗？如果医生能清晰地说出这些，十句中能应验两三个，便被称为名医。于是我再告诉他得病的缘由，起居的顺逆，饮食的喜好与厌恶，病程的长短，详细告知而不隐瞒。然后听他开具处方、调配药剂。再询问他：某药主治什么病？君臣佐使、母子虚实的原则是什么？是否触犯胃气？是速愈还是迟愈？可治与不可治的征验是什么？是从治还是逆治？正治还是反治？要求他详细写下始末，以此考察他的学问深浅和见识高低。如果确实是明理良医，便信心十足地信任他，必定不会有危险。假如病情没有好转，也不是医生的过错。如果其脉症不明，舌强语涩，用套话支吾搪塞，字迹不通顺，方药没有法度，即使是受尊贵之人推荐，也属于阿谀奉承之流，如同羊身虎皮，外表装饰行事，怎么可以轻信呢？像这样就是“试医”，而不是故意刁难医生。试医是为了性命安全。如果医生果然精良，又有什么害怕被试探的呢？我因此常常对苏东坡所说的话感到不平，他说：“脉理的难以明了，是古今共同的弊病。极度虚弱却出现盛实的假象，极度实邪却出现羸弱的假象，在疑似之间，就有生死的差异。士大夫多隐藏自己的病患，以检验医生的能力。我平生有病，请医生治疗时一定把病情全部告诉医生，使医生了然于胸，知道疾病的所在，虚实寒热先在心中确定，然后再诊脉，疑惑不能迷惑他。我只求痊愈罢了，哪里是把刁难医生当作事来做呢？”孙思邈真人也说：“未诊先问，最为有准。”唉，这两位先生的话，特意是为医生掩饰短处，并不是为病人选择善策。对于医生来说得到了便利，但对于病人来说，难道不会受到误治吗？汪度结交朋友固然应当宽容待人，但病情关乎生死，不可不严格地实地检验医生。我担心使用医生而不加试探，误人不小，特为此驳斥纠正，确立这种试医的方法。
Of all matters concerning human beings, none is greater than life and death. Within a century of lifespan, who can guarantee remaining healthy? Yet, once illness strikes, people entrust themselves to mediocre physicians, resigning themselves to harm and dying in vain without resentment.
It is ironic that the most intelligent beings are humans, yet the most foolish are also humans. While it is inevitable to seek medical help when ill, truly proficient pulse diagnosticians are rare, numbering less than one or two in a thousand. One might argue that without treatment, the disease cannot be cured; yet, accepting reckless treatment risks one's life. I believe that only those with discerning wisdom can distinguish quality from inferiority. Even for those recommended by others' acclaim, patients should subject them to scrutiny. The method of "testing the physician" (Shi Yi) is perhaps the only way to make prudent choices and avoid error.
When a patient invites a physician home, they must not prematurely disclose symptoms. Instead, they should extend their arm for the physician to palpate the pulse, observe the complexion, and listen to the voice. After the pulse diagnosis is completed, the patient should remain silent and listen to what the physician says. Does he categorize the condition as Cold or Heat, Deficiency or Excess? Is it Blood Deficiency, Qi Deficiency, Blood Excess, or Qi Excess? Does he distinguish between external contraction and internal injury, meridians and zang-fu organs, Yin and Yang dominance? These are the essentials of disease. Although diseases manifest in thousands of ways, there are only twenty-seven types of pulses. How can every manifestation correspond perfectly? Yet, these essentials should certainly be known by any competent physician. If the physician articulates these clearly and two or three out of ten points prove accurate, he may be called a renowned master. Only then should the patient reveal the cause of the illness, the regularity of daily life, dietary preferences, and the duration of the disease, providing full details without concealment. Then, listen to his prescription and formulation. Furthermore, inquire: What disease does this specific herb treat? What are the principles of Sovereign, Minister, Assistant, and Courier (Jun-Chen-Zuo-Shi), Mother-Child relationships, and Deficiency-Excess? Does it violate the Stomach Qi? Will recovery be fast or slow? What are the signs indicating curability or incurability? Is the approach conforming or contrary regulation? Standard or reverse treatment? Request him to write down the entire reasoning process to assess the depth of his learning and the height of his insight. If he is indeed a wise and capable physician, trust him with confidence, and there will surely be no danger. If the illness does not improve, it is not necessarily the physician's fault. However, if his pulse and symptom analysis is unclear, his speech is slurred or hesitant, he uses clichés to evade questions, his handwriting is illegible, and his prescriptions lack methodology, even if recommended by nobility, he belongs to the sycophantic class—like a sheep wearing a tiger skin, merely superficially decorated. How can such a person be trusted lightly? This is what is meant by "testing the physician," not deliberately harassing the doctor. Testing the physician is done for the sake of life and safety. If the physician is truly excellent, why fear being tested?
I often feel uneasy regarding Su Dongpo's statement: "The difficulty in understanding pulses is a common affliction of ancient and modern times. Extreme deficiency may present with excess symptoms, and extreme excess may present with debilitated signs. Between these similarities and differences lies the distinction between life and death. Scholars often conceal their ailments to test the physician's ability. In my lifetime, whenever I was ill and sought treatment, I would inform the physician completely of my condition, allowing him to understand clearly where the disease lay, determining the Deficiency/Excess and Cold/Heat in his mind before taking the pulse, so that doubts could not confuse him. I only seek cure; I do not engage in harassing physicians." Sun Simiao also stated: "Inquiring before diagnosing is the most accurate method." Alas, the words of these two gentlemen were specifically intended to cover up the shortcomings of physicians, not to help patients choose wisely. It benefits the physician, but does it protect the patient from misdiagnosis? Wang Du argued that making friends requires tolerance, but since illness concerns life and death, one must strictly verify the physician's actual competence. I fear that employing a physician without testing causes significant harm to the world. Therefore, I refute these views and establish this method of testing physicians.