Library

In the summer of the Jia-Yin year of Shaoxi (1194), I traveled to Changsha and passed through Xinyu. I visited my old friend, Scholar Xie Changguo, who held the title of Han Zhang Academician, at his residence. Master Xie hosted me for a drink, and during our conversation, he spoke in detail about the words and deeds of Mr. Guo Yong, styled Changyang Chonghui.

He then presented several volumes of medical and calendrical books, saying, "These are works authored by Master Guo." I had not studied either of these fields and could not gauge the depth of their theories; therefore, I requested to take them home, intending to study them carefully and seek profound understanding during my leisure time. However, due to busy public and private affairs and constant travel by water and land, I had no rest throughout the year and thus did not have the opportunity.

The following summer, I fell seriously ill and nearly died. Fortunately, Wang Hanboji, the son of an old friend, visited from Jinhua, and Fang Shimiao, a relative and friend, came from Jixi. Together, they examined my condition. Within a few days, I began to show signs of recovery. When asked about the Changyang medical books entrusted by Master Xie, both gentlemen eagerly requested to see them. I produced the books for them, and they expressed surprise and joy, saying, "This is a remarkable book!" Although its theories appear to be derived directly from ancient classics without addition or subtraction, the ancient classics are profound and vast, making them difficult to explore. In contrast, this book categorizes content clearly and presents it in an accessible manner. How can we ensure its wide dissemination so that practitioners of medicine may own copies in every household and recite them daily, thereby understanding the origins and developments of the medical doctrines of ancient sages, rather than finding them too difficult?

I recall that when Cai Zhonghui served as the Prefect of Changle, he banned the evil practices of shamans and mediums who caused death through sorcery and gu poison. Furthermore, he selected intelligent commoners and taught them medicine so they could treat illnesses. This reflects the heart of a benevolent person. Currently, Zhan Qingshanyuan, the Military Commissioner of Fujian, effectively fills the void left by Master Cai, prioritizing benevolence and kindness in his administration. I attempted to convey this matter to him, hoping he might be interested. Upon urgent inquiry, Yuan Shan replied with respect: "I respectfully agree." Consequently, I commissioned the two gentlemen to collate, correct, print, and supplement the book, recording these details to send along.

Furthermore, I have often stated that while ancients employed various methods for pulse diagnosis, the method of inspecting the Cun, Guan, and Chi positions is currently the most prevalent and important. Moreover, this theory is detailed in the first chapter of the *Nan Jing* (Classic of Difficult Issues), indicating it is not merely vulgar folklore. Therefore, Master Guo's book records these statements extensively and employs Ding Deyong's method of "closely arranging three fingers" to explain them. The theories in the *Nan Jing* are already perfect; however, regarding Ding Deyong's method, I personally suspect that because the examiner's fingers vary in thickness and the patient's arms vary in length, using this method for comparison may not yield a definitive conclusion.

Upon careful examination of how the classics define the boundaries of Cun and Chi, they calculate distances forward or backward from the Guan position towards the Yuji (LU10) and Chize (LU5) acupoints. Thus, the Guan position must be fixed, just as Yuji and Chize are externally visible and identifiable beforehand. Among various theories lacking definitive consensus, only the *Qian Jin Fang* (Essential Prescriptions Worth a Thousand Gold) suggests that the bone at the Cun Kou position is naturally higher, with the Guan and Chi positions derived subsequently from this point. Its sequence and positional adjustments seem inconsistent with the classic texts. Conversely, the popular pulse rhymes (five- and seven-character verses) circulating among the populace, though linguistically crude and evidently not from Wang Shuhe's original work, correctly identify the high bone as the Guan and distinguish the anterior-posterior positions as Yin and Yang of Cun and Chi. This seems to align with the original intent of the *Nan Jing*. However, eminent physicians of today, considering it apocryphal, discard it and shy away from discussing it. As I am not an expert in the Dao of medicine, I cannot rectify this. I tentatively attach this discussion here, awaiting judgment from those more knowledgeable.

Written by Zhu Xi, styled Hongqing Waishi, of Xin'an, on the Bing-Wu day of the fifth month, in the Yi-Mao year of Qingyuan (1195).