Library

Usually, whenever I encountered physicians proficient in the arts of Qi Bo and Huang Di discussing medical techniques, they would invariably say: "Master Zhu Danxi's *Xin Fa* (Heart Method) states that this work integrates the essence of *Su Wen* (Plain Questions) and *Nan Jing* (Classic of Difficult Issues), and synthesizes the schools of Zhang Zhongjing, Li Dongyuan, and Liu Wansu (Dai Ren) to achieve its culmination." Whenever they presented a prescription, they would say: "This is derived from Master's original prescriptions with modifications." People's diet, regulation of cold and warmth, fortune or misfortune, and even life and death depend on this, yet they do not know what kind of person the Master was. In the Bingchen year, when I served as Magistrate of Yiwu, I learned that the Master was a native of Yiwu. Seeking his books, apart from printed editions of *Xin Fa*, no other works were known.

In the Jiwu year, while concurrently administering Wuning, I obtained a book printed during the summer heat in Wuning, titled *Danxi Zuan Yao* (Compendium of Danxi). This book was compiled by Lu Zi of Wuning based on his stone-carved editions of *Huicong* (Gathering of Collections) and *Gouxuan* (Hooking the Profound), deleting errors, correcting texts, and selecting content. I hurriedly had several copies reproduced and brought them back, believing that the true transmission and authentic imprint of the Master were fully contained therein.

In the early autumn of the Xinyou year, one day while examining students at the official residence, Professor Chen said to me: "I have heard that Danxi has a secret transmission held by his descendants, which is kept secret and not passed on." I replied, "If there is indeed a transmission, how can it be kept secret? I will urgently seek it for you." Soon, an announcement came from the courtyard, and the Master's descendant happened to arrive. Upon inquiry, he said: "My ancestor hand-copied two volumes, *Shou Jing* (Hand Mirror) and *Qiao Yin* (Woodcutter Hermit), which have been stored for a long time, and I dared not show them to others." The next day, these two books arrived. The Master's works had been transmitted for three hundred years; previous magistrates of this land had also sought and read them. Even I, holding my post for over five years, only learned of this from Professor Chen just as my term was ending and I was preparing to hand over duties. Hearing about it from Professor Chen on this day, and obtaining it from his descendant on the same day: a book un circulated for three hundred years was circulated in one day; a book not obtained for five years was obtained in one day. Could it be that the spiritual presence of the Master, along with that of Professor Chen, inspired us to extend his transmission? Could the spirits of all generations under heaven, inspiring us, Professor Chen, and the Master, have extended the nearly severed lineage and broadened the未尽 principles? The Master was born in the late Yuan Dynasty. With his talent and insight, could he not have managed worldly affairs and tested himself in governance, but instead merely applied his medical skills, later becoming prominent during the reign of Emperor Taizong Wen? Thus, while he became increasingly famous for medicine in later times, at that time he actually concealed himself through medicine, floating between fame and obscurity relying on medicine. Initially, the Master studied under Lord Xu Wenyi, delving into the study of mind and nature, inheriting the academic lineage of Kaoting (Zhu Xi). Therefore, he named his own commentary on printing *Gezhi Yu Lun* (Supplementary Discussions on Investigating Things). Since medicine emerges from the aftermath of investigating things and extending knowledge, this knowledge is indeed the derivative flow of the true vein of rectifying sincerity and making thoughts genuine. Mr. Kangjie (Shao Yong) derived numbers from principles; although numbers are principles, the Master refined medicine through principles; although medicine is principles, medicine originates from principles. How can we not believe in this and transmit it to posterity now?

Our county has historically produced many heroic gentlemen: Yan Wu in the Qin Dynasty, Luo Zhongcheng in the Tang Dynasty, Zhongjian Gong and Wenqing Gong in the Song Dynasty, and Wenxian Gong, Zhaodai Wang, and the three Gongs of Lou in the Yuan Dynasty. Some were renowned for filial piety, some for loyalty, some for integrity, and some for literary achievement. All were outstanding figures of their respective eras, still listed in sacrifices and shining in history books. Compared to these gentlemen, does the Master, who devoted himself to medicine and elucidated medicine through the Dao, yield anything? The person in charge of this printing was Medical Officer Ding Chengzu. Chengzu acquired the essence of the Master's medicine, and his character resembled the Master as well.

On the auspicious first day of the first month of winter, in the first year of Tianqi.