Library

*Hua Shi Zhong Zang Jing* (Hua's Classic of the Middle Cavern), recorded in Zheng Qiao's *Tong Zhi: Yi Wen Lue* (Comprehensive Records: Bibliography). It consists of one volume. Chen Zhensun, in his *Shu Lu Jie Ti* (Bibliographic Notes on Books), also states that it was authored by Hua Tuo (courtesy name Yuanhua) of Qiaojun during the Han Dynasty. The *History of Song: Yi Wen Zhi* (Bibliography of the History of Song) erroneously attributes the work to Huang Gai.

The version currently circulating in the world comprises eight volumes, which Wu Mianxue published within the *Gu Jin Yi Tong* (Ancient and Modern Medical Orthodoxy). In the Dingwei year of the Qianlong reign, I entered the Hanlin Academy and was in the capital, where I saw a handwritten manuscript by Zhao Mengfu (style name Ziang, pseudonym Songxue Daoren, posthumous title Wenmin). The upper scroll of this manuscript begins with the tenth chapter, "Xing Ji Ze Mai Ji" (Nature Taboos Lead to Urgent Pulse), and ends with the twenty-ninth chapter, forming one volume. The lower scroll begins with "Wan Ying Wan Yao Fang" (Myriad Response Pill Prescription) and continues to the end, forming another volume. The middle scroll is missing. Upon careful examination, it was confirmed as an authentic original. Later, this book came into the possession of Grand Secretary Zhang Jinfang, whose younger brother copied the manuscript and presented it to me. In the Wuchen year of the Jiaqing reign, while on leave returning south, I visited Zhou's collection in Suzhou (Wumen) and found a Yuan dynasty handwritten manuscript, also claimed to be Zhao Mengfu's work, containing upper, middle, and lower scrolls, but lacking the two chapters: "Lun Zhen Za Bing Bi Si Hou Di Si Shi Ba" (Discussion on the Signs of Inevitable Death in Miscellaneous Diseases, Chapter 48) and "Cha Sheng Se Xing Zheng Jue Si Fa Di Si Shi Jiu" (Observation of Voice, Color, Form, and Symptoms to Determine Death Methods, Chapter 49). By collating the previous two versions, it was found that the Ming printed edition had omissions and errors in every chapter, totaling several hundred characters. The names, order, and dosages of the medicinal ingredients were all altered by later generations, and some prescriptions were even deleted. Currently, the two handwritten manuscripts by Zhao Mengfu are taken as the definitive text. The literary meaning of this book is archaic and profound, suggesting it was written by someone from the Six Dynasties period, rather than being a forgery by later eras. According to the *Sui Shu: Jing Ji Zhi* (Bibliography of the Book of Sui), there exists a volume titled *Hua Tuo Guan Xing Cha Se Bing San Bu Mai Jing* (Hua Tuo's Observation of Forms and Colors and Canon of the Three Pulse Regions), which is suspected to be the middle scroll, specifically the two chapters following "Lun Zhen Za Bing Bi Si Hou," hence absent from Zhao's handwritten copy. I dare not definitively confirm this. The name Zheng Zhuzhong does not appear in historical records; Chen Zhensun also noted that the author claimed to be the grandson of Master Hua, stating the book was obtained through a dream from a stone casket, which cannot be verified. The preface ends with "Preface in the Ninth Month of Autumn, Year Jiayin." Although ancients used the Ganzhi (Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches) system for dating years without explicitly writing the character "year," the suspicion remains that this preface is apocryphal. As for the variations in volume divisions (one, three, or eight volumes), these are alterations made by later people. The marginal notes in Zhao's handwritten manuscript include taboo characters for Emperors Gaozong and Xiaozong of the Song Dynasty, and mention differences between the Library Edition and Lu Edition, indicating it was hand-copied from a Song edition. Since the Yuan Dynasty did not observe Song taboos yet retained these characters, it reflects the cautious and skeptical attitude of ancient scholars. This book was not included in the *Siku Quanshu* (Complete Library of the Four Treasuries), and since I have encountered two excellent copies of Zhao's handwriting, it is urgent to print it for the benefit of fellow enthusiasts. The prescriptions in the lower scroll, such as "Wan Ying Wan," treat diseases using pills and powders, without decoctions. The ancients matched herbal dosages according to the Five Zang organs, Five Flavors, and the generative numbers of the Five Elements. However, modern physicians arbitrarily increase or decrease dosages, failing to understand the principles of Sovereign, Minister, Assistant, and Courier (Jun-Chen-Zuo-Shi) compatibility. Thus, the ancients sighed that "not taking medicine is the practice of a mediocre physician." It should be known that surgical pills and powders generally use ancient dosage formulas, resulting in efficacy superior to internal medicine. This serves as clear evidence that ancient prescriptions should not be arbitrarily modified. I possess many Song edition medical books, which sufficiently prove the fallacy of Ming dynasty scholars tampering with ancient texts. Alas, there are no individuals deeply versed in medical theory to verify these matters with me. Prefaced on the Fourth Day of the Tenth Month, Wuchen Year, Thirteenth Year of Jiaqing, at Pingjin Pavilion, Ande Commissioner's Office, by Sun Xingyan.