Library

We, the present generation, when reading the books of the ancients, can elucidate the profound essence contained within them. Furthermore, we do not remain stuck in ancient methods, but instead establish our own school. In this way, we can trace back to the level of the ancients. Who says that people of the past and present cannot compare? Is the Way of Medicine any different?

The monk Xin Chan (Heart Zen) has extensively collected medical cases from famous doctors of antiquity, copying no less than dozens or hundreds of volumes. Each volume is appended with commentary, which often hits the mark precisely. His regular script (Kaishu) is upright and clean; truly excellent. Regarding this matter, I wonder when you will attain complete clarity; it can be said that you are both diligent and steadfast.

You have been residing as a guest in Hangzhou for several years. Yet, scholars and officials, carrying gold and silk, come to invite your services, arriving at your door day after day. I often joke with you, saying, "Since you are an outsider of the secular world (a monk), what will you do with these meager sums?"

You replied that there are three major matters where my wishes remain unfulfilled: my parents' tomb is not yet interred, and my heir is not yet determined; the collateral branches of my family are poor and destitute, and those who need funds for marriage or burial have not yet received the necessary support. Hearing this, I rose up abruptly and said, "Nature and human sentiment are both satisfied here." This is learning with a solid foundation. That an outsider of the secular world can achieve this makes us, the laypeople, feel deeply ashamed.

Moreover, your ambition is to surely succeed. I have seen you selecting and evaluating various medical cases; even in severe cold and heavy snow, you hold the pen, warming your fingers with your breath, often working tirelessly until the fourth watch of the night. With concentrated sincerity and pouring out your heart's blood, it seems as if you converse with spirits and laugh with ghosts, hearing their words as if they were present. The books placed on your desk include the *Famous Doctors' Cases* by Xu Lingtai, Xue Yipiao, Ye Tianshi, Yu Jiayan, the Lu family grandfather and grandson (Lu Yangyu), and the Jiang father and son, as well as Wei Yuheng's *Continued Famous Doctors' Cases*. You extract their essence and discard the dregs, supplementing what is incomplete to achieve a grand synthesis. Truly, this is the direct transmission of Huangdi (Yellow Emperor) and Qibo, and the secret lore of the Qingnang (Green Bag).

In your spare time, when diagnosing and treating patients, your case manuscripts pile up like inches of thick mud. Occasionally, when you prepare to return home by boat, you ask me to help finalize them. I possess only a shallow foundation in Chan (Zen) Buddhism and Confucian cultivation, having been influenced by Buddhist teachings. Yet, your attainment is so refined. How could there be anyone in the world without a fundamental basis who could discuss the Great Dao?

When Xin Chan eventually fulfills his wishes and returns to the mountains, if someone with great power publishes your annotated editions, there will surely be those with keen insight who know that you devoted yourself to the ancients and achieved results in the present. They will then evaluate Xin Chan just as Xin Chan today evaluates the ancients. Xin Chan is in the prime of life and enjoys great fame. He has techniques for preserving health, divine calculation, and subtle truths and mysteries, through which he comprehends the transmission of the Nanhai Lamp (Buddhist Dharma). Apart from you, who else can continue this lineage? Your profound attainments will advance beyond this; this is merely the horn blowing to start the journey. Xin Chan, strive hard! I shall wipe my eyes and wait for your achievements.

Written by Xu Yinzhi Songqiao Fu of Pingyang, at his residence in Qinglong Temple, Qiantang, in the first month of Gengyin year, 16th year of Guangxu.