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I had long heard of Xiaoshan's name. In the seventh month of the Jichu year, I first encountered him in Yangzhou. Seeing his sincere and earnest nature, and his dignified and solemn demeanor, one could tell at a glance that he was an extraordinary person; however, I did not know then that he possessed medical skills. By the spring of the Gengyin year, my two sons died from an epidemic disease. The plague spread almost throughout the city, so I moved my family north of the Yangtze River and became neighbors with Xiaoshan. Xiaoshan cured both children, and we visited each other morning and evening, engaging in very harmonious conversations. Thus, I was able to read thoroughly his work, "Three Medical Books of Shugu Studio." His words were not boastful or novel, but his methods all followed ancient precedents. They were meticulous and detailed, filled with deep emotion. In his syndrome differentiation (辨证), he was like Bian Que examining diseases, seeing the crux of every symptom clearly; in his prescription formulation, he was like the Prince of E using troops, unpredictable in his changes. If one follows this art, there will be no premature deaths among the people of the world. I grieved that my two sons could not be brought back to life by Xiaoshan, yet I rejoiced for the tens of millions of children in the world.

Leap Second Month, Gengyin Year of Guangxu
Your humble brother-in-law, Wang Yizheng from Xuyi, bows to write the preface.

The method of massage is commonly used by northerners. Previously, when I was in the capital, I often saw Manchu people from Zhili use this method after eating or drinking, or when they felt slightly unwell. It could relieve bloating and oppression, soothe the meridians (经络), and was indeed a good prescription for dispelling disease. Southerners specialize in using it for children, calling it tuina (推拿). Those who practice this technique are not necessarily doctors. I often saw printed copies of "Tuina Jingke" by various authors hanging in markets. Therefore, I knew that physicians tended to overlook it, while women used it as a means of livelihood. At the end of the Dinghai year, returning from the capital, I visited Zhang Guangwen Xiaoshan Rendi in the east of the city. Patients seeking treatment from near and far filled the doorway with shoes. Inside the room, hundreds of volumes of traditional Chinese medicine books were arranged纵横ly, which I frequently perused. On the desk lay a manuscript copy, marked and revised several times. Upon reading it, I found it to be "Essential Principles of Tuina." It stated that this was commissioned by Mr. Zhang of Dantu for revision and collation, with funds to be raised for printing, to widely benefit infants. Mr. Zhang, courtesy name Yanli, pseudonym Xinqiao, formerly resided west of the lake, not far from me. I had met him once at a relative's house. This ancient virtue is commendable. Who would have thought that paying attention to medicine was for the sake of saving lives and benefiting future generations? The ancients said: "If one cannot be a good prime minister, one must be a good physician." A physician's excellence lies not in the inflexibility of methods, but in emulating Changsang Jun and Bian Que. Although their texts are no longer visible, if one can obtain ancient methods and understand them divinely, one becomes the Changsang Jun and Bian Que of today. I do not understand medicine, but I still remember when I was five or six years old. My late mother told me that when I was two years old, I suffered from slow convulsions (Man Jing Zheng, a type of chronic pediatric convulsion). I was placed in an empty room with no hope of survival. An old monk from Lano Temple outside the village, who practiced Buddhist asceticism and also studied Qihuang (medicine), was invited. He urgently applied a mixture of lead powder, borneol, and oil, rubbing each palm forty-nine times. The illness soon subsided. Perhaps this was the legacy of this technique. Now, reading this book and recalling past teachings, I cannot help but shed tears. I therefore urged Xiaoshan to quickly correct and collate it, so that it might circulate early. This project was initiated by Xinqiao, collated by Xiaoshan, with Sun Dushan responsible for reference checking, HT Shiqing and Liu Shutang responsible for phonetic annotations. Zhou Lanping, Wang Yuting, Han Yi'an, along with Youqiao, the eldest son of the initiator, supervised the engraving and printing. I admire the intentions of the two Mr. Zhangs and am pleased that the gentlemen have achieved success together. Hence, this preface.

Winter, Eleventh Month, Wuzi Year of Guangxu
Written by Chen Guixin (Jiaoyu) from Ganquan.