徵四失论篇/Zheng Si Shi Lun

(The Four Reasons in the Failure of Treating)

黄帝在明堂，雷公侍坐。黄帝日:夫子所通书受事众多矣，试言得失之意，所以得之，所以失之。雷公对日:循经受业，皆言十全，其时有过失者，请[吴本“请”作“愿”]闻其事解[按“事”字衍]也。

Yellow Emperor was sitting in the Bright Hall and Lei Gong was keeping accompany. Yellow Emperor asked:"You have been reading medical books and learning medicine for a long time, can you tell me your opinion about the reasons of the success and failure in treating, and what disease can be cured and what disease can not be cured?" Lei Gong answered: "In the proccess of receiving the medical education, I heard only the treating could achieve a complete curative effect, but in practice, I had failure often, I hope to know the reason."

帝日:子年少智未及邪，将言以杂合耶?夫经脉十二，络脉三百六十五，此皆人之所明知，工之所循用也。所以不十全者，精神不专，志意不理，外内相失，故时疑殆。诊不知阴阳逆从之理，此治之一失也。

Yellow Emperor said: "It is because you are still young, and your intelligence is not enough, or you have some miscellaneous theories in your mind and you can not concentrate your thought in learning. There are twelve channels and three hundred and sixty five collaterals in human body, they are known to all and they are followed and applied by physicians in treating. The failure of achieving a perfect curative effect is due to the inability of concentrating one's mind, fail to do any mental analysis and unable to know the channels' conditions by inspecting the complexion.  Thus, perplexity and trouble often occur.

"When one does not understand the principle of Yin and Yang and the agreeable and adverse property of the disease, it is the first reason of the failure in treating.

受师不卒，妄作杂术，谬言为道，更名自功，妄用砭石，后遗身昝，此治之二失也。

"When one abandons his medical learning by half way and treats the disease in some other way, exaggerates his treating as the truth, or to plagiarizes the achievement of the predecessors as his own skill by changing its name, applies the needle indiscriminately, and as a result, it will bring troubles to himeslf. This is the second reason of the failure in treating.