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There are eight essential principles in treating diseases. If these eight principles are not carefully examined, the disease cannot be eliminated. It is not that the disease itself is incurable, but rather that the physician lacks the methods to cure it. Therefore, one must distinguish and examine these eight essentials to avoid errors.

The first is called "Deficiency" (Xu), specifically the Five Deficiencies. A fine pulse, cold skin, shortness of breath, diarrhea of both bowels, and inability to eat constitute the Five Deficiencies. The second is called "Excess" (Shi), specifically the Five Excesses. A surging pulse, hot skin, abdominal distension, obstruction of both bowels, chest stuffiness, and dizziness/confusion constitute the Five Excesses. The third is called "Cold," referring to accumulated cold affecting the Zang-Fu organs. The fourth is called "Heat," referring to accumulated heat affecting the Zang-Fu organs. The fifth is called "Evil" (Xie), indicating pathogenic factors external to the proper state of the Zang-Fu organs. The sixth is called "Righteous/Normal" (Zheng), indicating conditions not caused by external pathogens. The seventh is called "Interior" (Nei), indicating the disease is located inside the body. The eighth is called "Exterior" (Wai), indicating the disease is located on the exterior of the body. Having first examined these eight essentials, combined with the examination of six pulses, analyzed the origin of the disease, and followed by the four diagnostic methods of Inspection, Auscultation-Olfaction, Inquiry, and Palpation, what disease would be incurable? (From *Bencao Yan Yi*)

To treat a disease, one must first investigate its source and observe its pathogenesis. If the Five Zang organs are not yet deficient, the Six Fu organs are not yet exhausted, Qi and Blood are not yet depleted, and Spirit has not yet scattered, medication will surely lead to recovery. If the disease has already formed, half may be cured; if the disease momentum has passed (indicating late stage or severe depletion), full recovery will now be difficult.

*Huainanzi* states: Shennong tasted the flavors of hundreds of herbs. At that time, he encountered seventy types of toxins in a single day. *Shiben* states: Shennong harmonized medicines to save people. Thus, the hundred medicines indeed began with Shennong. Some accounts in *Shiji* claim Fuxi tasted the herbs, which is incorrect. Tao Hongjing of the Liang Dynasty wrote in the preface to his *Bencao*: Shennong governed the world, promoted the use of medicines to treat illnesses, and saved those suffering from premature death or injury. Gao's *Xiaoshi* states: Yandi (Flame Emperor) tasted hundreds of medicines to treat diseases, experiencing death and resurrection many times during this process. *Diwang Shiji* states: Yandi tasted the flavors of plants and trees, promoting medicines to treat illnesses, resulting in four volumes of *Bencao*. By the Liang Dynasty, Tao Hongjing and the Tang Dynasty's Li Shiji provided annotations, expanding it to twenty volumes. During the Kaibao era of our dynasty, it was re-collated. In the Jiayou era of Emperor Renzong, Yu Xi and others were ordered to compile various theories on miscellaneous drugs into *Zhuben Zhu Bencao*. In the biography of Yu Zhining in the *Book of Tang*, Yu Zhining stated: Ban Gu only recorded the *Huangdi Neijing* (Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon) and did not record the *Bencao*; it was only mentioned in the *Qilu*. People call it Shennong tasting herbs. Texts prior to the Yellow Emperor were not transmitted in written form but passed down orally until Tongjun and Leigong recorded them in chapters. However, the commanderies and counties mentioned often contain language characteristic of the Han Dynasty figures Zhang Zhongjing and Hua Tuo. Regarding this, Tao Hongjing of the Liang Dynasty believed this book should be classified similarly to the *Suwen* (Basic Questions), while other aspects align with Zhining's view. (From *Shiwu Jiyuan*)