夫痘胎毒也伏於有形之始因感而𤼵為生人所不能免然其𤼵也或染時氣或感風寒或因飲食或由驚恐以病引病為患多端變更莫測且其間順吉者少險逆者多有千方百計而不能冀其愈於萬一者此其所以為難也 古有種痘一法起自江右達於京畿究其所源云自宋真宗時峨眉山有神人出為丞相王旦之子種痘而愈遂傳於世其説雖似渺茫然以理揆之實有參贊化育之功因時制宜之妙盖正痘感於得病之後而種痘則施於未病之先正痘治於成病之時而種痘則調於無病之日自表傳裏由裏達表既無諸證夾雜於其中復有善方引導於其外薫蒸漸染胎毒盡出又何慮乎為患多端變更莫測以致良工束手於無可如何之地耶此誠去險履平避危就安之良法也 然種痘一科多口傳心授方書未載恐後人視為虛誕之辭相沿日久無所考稽使至理良法竟置無用之地神功湮没豈不大可惜哉今将種痘一法細加研究審度精詳纂輯成書永垂千古庶為種痘之津梁咸登赤子於夀域也 嘗考種痘之法有謂取痘粒之漿而種之者有謂服痘兒之衣而種之者有謂以痘痂屑乾吹入鼻中種之謂之旱苗者有謂以痘痂屑濕納入鼻孔種之謂之水苖者然即四者而較之水苖為上旱苖次之痘衣多不應騐痘漿太渉殘忍故古法獨用水苖盖取其和平稳當也近世始用旱苖法雖㨗徑㣲覺迅烈若痘衣痘漿之説則斷不可從 夫水苖之所以善者以其勢甚和平不疾不徐漸次而入既種之後小兒無受傷之處胎毒有漸發之機百發百中㨗於影響盡善盡美可法可傳為種痘之最優者其次則旱苖雖烈猶與水苖之法相近兒體壮盛猶或可施 旱苖種法用銀管約長五六寸曲其頸碾痘痂極細納於管端按男左女右對凖鼻孔吹入之至七日而亦𤼵熱今時多用此法蓋取其簡便㨗入不致脱落而有透洩苖氣之患也苐恐後人用之不善輕吹之則不驟入重吹之則迅烈難當且恐流涕過多苖隨涕去往往不騐今欲垂法後世當取其法之和平稳當萬全者而則效之此所以獨取於水苖也 小兒出痘者當長漿漿足之時則彼痘氣充盛取其貼身裏衣與未出痘之兒女服之服二三日夜間亦不脱下至九日十一日始𤼵熱此乃衣傳然恐氣薄不透多有不熱不出其法不靈故不可用 擇小兒出痘之順者取其痘漿以棉拭之分男左女右塞入鼻中亦能發痘但取痘漿之時不令本家知覺揑破痘漿盜以作種使彼真氣宣洩毒不能解此忍心害理不仁之事也同志者切宜深惡而痛絶之又豈可尤而效之也哉

Smallpox is a fetal poison. It lies hidden in the body from the moment the body takes shape, and it breaks out when something sets it off. No one born can escape it. It may break out when a child catches a seasonal qi, or is chilled by wind and cold, or from food and drink, or from a fright. One illness leads to another, the harm takes many forms, and its changes cannot be foreseen. Besides, few cases go smoothly and many are dangerous. In some, a thousand remedies and a hundred plans cannot give one chance in ten thousand of recovery. That is why it is so hard [to treat]. In the past there was a method of planting smallpox. It began in Jiangyou and spread to the capital region. As for where it came from, people say that in the time of Emperor Zhenzong of the Song, a holy man came out of Mount Emei and planted smallpox in the son of the chancellor Wang Dan, and the boy recovered. From then on it was handed down in the world. The story may seem far-fetched. But judged by reason, the method truly helps [Heaven and Earth] in their work of creating and nourishing life, and it wisely suits the treatment to the time. Natural smallpox is caught after one falls ill, but planted smallpox is given before any illness. Natural smallpox is treated when the illness has already taken hold, but planted smallpox is managed on a day when the child is well. [The poison] passes from the outside of the body to the inside, and from the inside back out to the surface. No other illnesses are mixed in, and good prescriptions guide it from outside. Steamed out little by little, the fetal poison comes out completely. Then why fear harm of many kinds and changes no one can foresee, which leave good doctors helpless? This is truly a fine method for leaving danger behind and walking on level ground, for avoiding peril and reaching safety. But planting smallpox has mostly been taught by word of mouth, from teacher to pupil, and medical books have not recorded it. We fear that later generations will take it for empty, foolish talk. If this goes on for long, there will be nothing to check it against. Then this perfect principle and good method will be cast aside as useless, and its wonderful power will be lost. Would that not be a great pity? So we have studied the method of planting smallpox in detail, weighed it carefully and precisely, and compiled it into a book to hand down for a thousand ages. We hope it will be a bridge for those who plant smallpox, and bring every infant safely to a long life. I have looked into the methods of planting smallpox. Some take the fluid from the pustules and plant that. Some dress a child in the clothes of a child with smallpox. Some grind the scabs to powder and blow it dry into the nose; this is called the dry seed. Some moisten the scab powder and put it into the nostril; this is called the water seed. Comparing the four, the water seed is best and the dry seed next. Smallpox clothes usually do not take, and smallpox fluid is too cruel. So the old method used only the water seed, because it is gentle and safe. In recent times people began to use the dry seed. It is quick and direct, but it is felt to be a little too fast and violent. As for smallpox clothes and smallpox fluid, those methods must never be followed. The water seed is good because it acts very gently. Neither fast nor slow, it enters little by little. After it is planted, the child suffers no harm, and the fetal poison has a chance to come out gradually. It succeeds every time, as surely as a shadow follows a body or an echo a sound. It is perfect in every way, a method to follow and hand down, the best way of planting smallpox. Next comes the dry seed. It is violent, but still close to the water-seed method, and it may be used if the child is strong and sturdy. For the dry-seed method, use a silver tube about five or six inches long, bent near the end. Grind the smallpox scabs very fine and put the powder in the end of the tube. Aim it carefully at the nostril, the left for a boy and the right for a girl, and blow the powder in. By the seventh day there is fever, [as with the water seed]. Many people use this method nowadays. It is simple and quick, and the seed cannot fall out and let its qi escape. But we fear that later people will use it badly. Blown too lightly, the powder does not go in at once; blown too hard, it acts too fast and violently for the child to bear. Then too, if the nose runs too much, the seed washes out with the mucus, and often it does not take. Since we wish to hand down a method to later ages, we should choose the gentle, safe, and wholly reliable one and follow it. That is why we choose only the water seed. When a child with smallpox reaches the stage when the pustules fill with fluid, and they are full, its smallpox qi is at its strongest. Take the shirt that child wears next to the skin, and have a boy or girl who has not had smallpox wear it for two or three days, without taking it off at night. On the ninth or eleventh day, fever begins. This is passing it on by clothing. But we fear the qi may be too thin to get through. Often there is no fever and no pox comes out. The method is unreliable, so it must not be used. Choose a child whose smallpox is going smoothly. Wipe up the fluid from its pustules with cotton, and put the cotton into the nose, the left for a boy and the right for a girl. This too can bring out the pox. But when they take the fluid, people pinch the pustules open without the family knowing, and steal it to use as seed. This lets the sick child’s true qi leak out, so that its poison cannot be cleared. It is a cruel, wrong, and inhumane thing to do. All who agree with us should hate it deeply and put a complete stop to it. How could anyone condemn it and then do it himself?