Library

Xunzi said, "If one wishes to observe the traces of sage kings, one should look at those that are manifest." The Way of Qibo and Huangdi (Yellow Emperor) can now be said to be quite manifest! Examining the *Ling Shu* (Spiritual Pivot), *Su Wen* (Basic Questions), *Nan Jing* (Classic of Difficult Issues), and Zhang Zhongjing, followed by Liu Wansu (Hejian), Li Dongyuan (Dongyuan), Zhu Danxi, and other sages of past dynasties, those who established their own schools are too numerous to count. Although they vary in purity and impurity, if one can extract their essence and discard their dregs, is not each of them a teacher for later generations? I devoted myself to this path since my coming-of-age ceremony (age 20), immersing myself in it for over thirty years. Whenever I had free time from clinical practice, I would take the books of former orthodox masters, read them repeatedly, and whenever I encountered refined language, I would jot it down. As years passed, the volumes accumulated, becoming chaotic and disordered. Therefore, I reorganized them, categorizing them into sixteen volumes, titled *Yi Shu* (Medical Narratives). Wu Chunlu, a Censor, saw it and praised it, saying, "Medical books are so numerous that oxen break their backs carrying them, filling the halls; it is indeed difficult for learners to read them all. This collection, less than a foot thick, yet highlights the key points of ancient and modern works, collecting and compiling them comprehensively, allows learners to follow the correct path after reading it. It is truly a raft of treasure in the forest of medicine!" I am ashamed of my shallow knowledge, having failed to see all the books of former masters; my glimpse through a tube inevitably invites ridicule from the elegant scholars. However, I do not wish to discard the insights gained from decades of browsing, and I hope future gentlemen will supplement its omissions.

Preface by Cheng Wenyou of Gushui, in the first ten days of the spring month of the Bingxu year, the sixth year of Daoguang.

In the Dingmao year of Jiaqing, I returned south due to mourning for my mother and stayed as a guest in Daliang, where an official in the envoy's office was critically ill. At that time, Mr. Cheng Xuanxian, a fellow graduate with Juesheng, was treating him. He arrived early and administered medicine, achieving immediate effect. In May of that year, I parted from Xuanxian. In the autumn of the Jisi year, I arrived in Xin'an and met Xuanxian, who frequently spoke of his impending illness. Nine years later, I came again to Ziyang, and Xuanxian indeed fell ill. He showed me a manuscript and said, "I fear that there are too many patients and too many errors by those treating them. Thus, I compiled this work for reference during clinical practice, but unexpectedly, I became ill myself." Alas! Patients suffer from disease, and he himself fell ill; if disease were always on oneself rather than on others. Xuanxian's body was sick, but his heart was never sick. Extending this mindset, one could use it to govern a state. His book consists of sixteen volumes, covering more than one hundred categories. It draws from over three hundred sources, with the main idea focusing on "treating disease before it arises" (Zhi Wei Bing), which aligns with the ancient ideal of "perfect cure" (Shi Quan). Readers will naturally savor and select what suits them, so I need not elaborate further. Here I narrate the beginning and end of his writing, so that people may know his intentions.

Written with respect by Wu Gengmei of Chunlu at Gu Huai De Tang, in the first month of summer (Mengxia) of the Dingchou year of Jiaqing.