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I have often said that serving the state and benefiting the people should not be judged by whether one is in office or in seclusion. To save hundreds of millions of living beings is a great deed, but to save the lives of hundreds of millions for generations to come is an even greater achievement. Therefore, a skilled physician holds a status comparable to that of a virtuous chancellor. My grandfather and father both gained fame for their medical skills. In the regions south of the Yangtze River, those chronic and severe ailments could only be treated by these two distinguished figures. When the common people had no one to appeal to, they donated medicines to treat them. During my leisure time from official duties, I did not hesitate to inherit our family tradition, exploring and gathering knowledge from within it. Thus, I was able to converse with medical practitioners and fully understand their techniques. For excellent physicians, I always maintained clear insight and was never deceived by mediocre individuals. In the winter of the Yichou year, I served as the Director of Studies in Danghu County. Scholars competed to present their writings to me for critique; I read the *Yijing* (Book of Changes) and chanted the *Shijing* (Book of Songs) tirelessly. However, I desired to visit one or two extraordinary individuals to discuss matters of health preservation, yet remained ignorant of any such persons. The following year, I met Mr. Sun Duiwei. Our conversations were invariably novel and insightful; when his medical skills were tested, they proved effective every time. By observing the nine orifices and correlating them with the five Zang organs, he discerned the degrees of deficiency and excess, and determined the rhythms of favorable and adverse conditions. His understanding of clinical presentations allowed him to stand alone among physicians across the nation. Mr. Duiwei built his residence here, which naturally differs from the ordinary; this is indeed a verification of the spirit of the land manifesting in its people. One might ask: Is this true? I say: No. Is Beigu Mountain truly a place of outstanding people and spiritual energy? Mr. Duiwei himself was not particularly outstanding, nor was the place especially spiritual. In his youth, he was quick-witted and agile, studied the Classics and History, and performed exceptionally well in imperial examinations, believing that obtaining official rank was as easy as picking up grass. Yet, due to his frail constitution, he suffered from illness. Consequently, he abandoned the Confucian classics and sought refuge in the *Suwen* (Basic Questions) and *Nanjing* (Classic of Difficult Issues). He transferred the agility he possessed as a scholar-official to becoming a master physician, a transition as effortless as turning over one's hand, relying not merely on the spiritual energy of Beigu Mountain. Now, his medical doctrine is widely practiced, and in the blink of an eye, he has saved countless lives, yet he remains unsatisfied with his achievements. Thus, he compiled and published a collection, revising and editing chapters from the *Lingshu* (Spiritual Pivot), *Huangting Neijing* (Yellow Court Inner Landscape), Shuhe (Wang Shuhe), Hejian (Liu Wansu), Dongyuan (Li Gao), Danxi (Zhu Zhenheng), and others. He added his own unique interpretations. His lifelong expertise is contained in this compilation. Someone questioned me: "Why does Xu Zongyin not write books?" I replied: "Human disease lies in the subtleties of the mind and the profound nuances of pulse changes, which cannot be fully conveyed through words. This manuscript by the Sun family may well be mere dregs." I answered him: "After twenty years of painstaking study and verification through extensive experience, what cannot be verbally conveyed is now expressed in language. Only Mr. Sun could produce such a book. In the past, Ge Hong copied the *Jingui Fang* (Prescriptions of the Golden Cabinet) into one hundred volumes and the *Zhoubi Jiyao Fang* (Essential Prescriptions for Emergencies) into four volumes, perhaps out of a desire to do good, aiming to save lives for generations to come. Does Mr. Duiwei not have lofty aspirations? My grandfather and father were renowned for their accumulated family virtue. Though I am unskilled, I humbly accepted the vacancy, serving twice as an official, unsure how many lives I saved. However, with a compassionate heart, I preferred gentle restraint over harsh severity; I preferred erring on the side of leniency (releasing the guilty) rather than conviction (wrongfully punishing the innocent). This was to align with the benevolence of the Sage Emperor, which is like heaven itself, to nurture the vital Qi of the nation for hundreds of seasons. My private wish was simply this. The elders of the village privately considered this evidence of deep-rooted family virtue, which makes me feel even more ashamed. Recalling where Mr. Sun excelled, I believe the Sun clan will prosper in the future. My words serve as a guarantee.

In the mid-autumn season of the Wuyin year of the Chongzhen era, Yang Wenqing, Chengdelang (Counselor of Imperial Service) and Magistrate of Jiangning County, fellow townsman and humble student, wrote this bowing at the Momo Pavilion on Yuhuatai."