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The Way of Medicine is indeed profound and subtle. The morphology of the formation of Zang-Fu organs (viscera and bowels), the origin of the starting and ending points of the meridians, the principles of the circulation of the Six Qi (Six climatic factors: Wind, Cold, Summer-heat, Dampness, Dryness, Fire), and the mechanism of the generation and restriction among the Five Elements (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water) must be thoroughly investigated and understood before one can conduct syndrome differentiation and prescribe formulas. Learning requires a foundation before it can be applied; how can one merely focus on trivial details? However, the theories regarding Zang-Fu organs, meridians, Six Qi, and Five Elements have been elaborated in detail in classics such as *Huangdi Neijing* (Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon), *Nan Jing* (Classic of Difficult Issues), *Shanghan Lun* (Treatise on Cold Damage Disorders), and *Jingui Yaolue* (Essential Prescriptions of the Golden Cabinet). Later famous physicians expounded upon the intent of these classics without holding back any insights; upon reading them, one can grasp their main purport. It is only in the aspect of syndrome differentiation and prescribing that, since the Jin and Yuan dynasties, various physicians have held divergent opinions, each displaying subjective views. This has caused subsequent practitioners to divide into different schools, unable to receive true transmission, which is a source of sighs for those concerned with the field. I have devoted myself to medicine for over thirty years. Having reviewed dozens of medical texts, apart from *Shanghan Lun* and *Jingui Yaolue*, I found very few others whose intent aligns with *Huangdi Neijing*. Only in our dynasty have numerous famous physicians emerged, such as Yu Jiayan, Xu Lingtai, Gao Shizong, Zhang Yinan, Chen Xiuyuan, and Huang Yuanyu. All of them revered Qi Bo and Huang Di in the distant past and followed Zhang Zhongjing in recent times; their works truly surpass previous sages. The discussions by these six gentlemen on the principles of Zang-Fu organs, meridians, Six Qi, and Five Elements are sufficient to elaborate on the various books of *Huangdi Neijing*. Among them, Xu Lingtai's *Yixue Yuanliu Lun* (Discussions on the Origins and Development of Medicine) is particularly refreshing and incisive. Huang Yuanyu's *Tianren Jie* (Explanation of Heaven and Humanity) and *Liuqi Jie* (Explanation of the Six Qi) are especially clear and transparent, containing insights not previously discovered. Regarding syndrome differentiation and prescribing, although Mr. Yu and Mr. Xu strongly advocated respecting ancient methods in their theoretical arguments, the contemporary prescriptions they selected still contained impurities. Mr. Gao and Mr. Zhang provided theories but no prescriptions. Only the approaches of Mr. Chen and Mr. Huang, in both syndrome differentiation and prescribing, are concise and worthy of adoption; their general principles are entirely based on the sacred classics, representing the correct path for entering the study of medicine. During my leisure time after official duties, I collected the purest essence from these two gentlemen and compiled it into one volume. For matters not covered by these two, I supplemented them with statements from other famous physicians. If practitioners hold this volume and read it carefully, pondering its meaning, they may avoid the lament of losing the way due to too many paths!

Autobiographical Preface by Yun Ge Shi, on the first day of the second month of the year Yiwei (1895).