Library

In the eleventh day of the sixth month of the Bingchen year of the Jiajing reign (1556), His Majesty Emperor Shizong dispatched Chen Wangmo, Earl of Pingjiang, bearing imperial credentials and edicts to confer upon me the title of Prince.
At that time, it was the height of summer heat. I respectfully attended to my duties without sparing myself from exhaustion. My condition involved phlegm-fire accumulation, dizziness, asthma, coughing, swelling and pain in the knees and toes, rendering me unable to walk or move. Illnesses struck throughout the seasons, and the suffering was unbearable. My legitimate eldest son, Zhu Chaoyu, invited numerous physicians for treatment, but all proved ineffective; this was indeed a chronic, entrenched disease. By the fifth month of the Bingxu year of the Wanli reign (1586), the condition flared up again, becoming precarious.
My eldest son was terrified day and night, praying to Heaven to take his place, in a state of panic and helplessness. Heaven granted a fortunate opportunity: Mr. Gong Yunlin from Jinxi happened to be engaged by Governor Hongxi Zhong, traveling from Bianliang. I had the honor of meeting him, inquired about his medical scholarship, and learned that his father, Master Xiyuan, had long been renowned for their family's hereditary tradition of Confucian medicine. Deeply admiring him, I extended an invitation with great ceremony, engaging Mr. Gong as a distinguished guest within my household.
Moved by my sincerity, Mr. Gong said, "Those who manage state affairs should strive to be virtuous ministers, assisting a sage ruler to achieve an era of peace and prosperity; those who specialize in pulse diagnosis and herbal prescriptions should strive to be excellent physicians, elevating the people to a realm of benevolence and longevity. I am unworthy and cannot become a virtuous minister to glorify the peaceful reign, but I wish to save the world through medicine, safeguard the Prince's health to enjoy a long life, increase his years, and perpetuate the national lineage." He then carefully examined my condition, prescribed formulas and medications. The effects were immediate and responsive. Within ten days, I gradually left my bed; after another ten days, I could walk on the ground; and after yet another ten days, I recovered completely. A thirty-year chronic ailment was cured overnight. Alas! How miraculous! Is Mr. Gong not a saint in medicine? I then inquired thoroughly about his accumulated knowledge. He presented two volumes, *Jin Gu Yi Jian* (Mirror of Medicine Through the Ages) and *Zhong Xing Xian Fang* (Immortal Prescriptions from Planting Apricots), which had already been published. Readers marveled at them, feeling as if intoxicated by the spring breeze. However, he felt these did not fully exhaust his profound insights. Thus, synthesizing the essential principles of a hundred schools, he compiled the collection *Wan Bing Hui Chun* (Ten Thousand Diseases Return to Spring). Its subtleties and profundities have already been prefaced by various eminent scholars. What more is there to say? Moved by his kindness and deeply appreciating his benevolent intention, I dare to offer a few words as a postface.
The book is named *Wan Bing Hui Chun* because "ten thousand" encompasses all numbers, so "ten thousand diseases" implies comprehensiveness; "spring" harmonizes with renewal, so "return to spring" implies the generation of all life. Just as all things, after the harsh and killing winter, are restored to the flourishing harmony of a warm spring—this is the creation of Heaven. Mr. Gong has mastered this transformative power. This work will greatly benefit society. To heal the nation and the people, how does it differ from being a virtuous minister? Therefore, I have it printed to widely disseminate its teachings.
On an auspicious day in the first month of autumn of the Wuzi year, the sixteenth year of the Wanli reign (1588), Zhu Huqin, Prince Haiyang of the Zhou Fiefdom, composed this text.