Library

In my youth, I studied Confucianism and read Zhang Zai's *Xi Ming* (Western Inscription): "All the weary, disabled, and physically impaired in the world are my brothers." I also read Han Yu's *Yuan Dao* (On the Way): "One should provide medicine to rescue those who die prematurely." I deeply admired these words of the two sages, recognizing in them a spirit of regarding all people as kin and all things as part of one's own body. However, those who bear the responsibility of governance are only the Prime Minister who assists the Son of Heaven in harmonizing Yin and Yang (the opposing forces of nature) and regulating Yuan Qi (Original Vital Energy), so that the weary may recover and the nation's vitality may endure. Reciting these words, I earnestly desired to practice them personally, but being mediocre and dull, I was constrained by the times. Fortunately, my father's medical works were published and circulated in the regions of Yan, Yu, and Zhongyuan, aligning with the orthodox transmission of Chinese Medicine. I reflected upon this and thus abandoned Confucian studies to learn medicine, inheriting the esoteric transmissions of Qi Bo, Huang Di, Cang Gong, and Bian Que, and elucidating the secrets of Liu Wansu, Zhang Congzheng, Zhu Zhenheng, and Li Dongyuan. For eminent scholars who traveled widely and contributed to medical education at that time, I sincerely visited them to discuss theories up and down. Revering ancient philosophers from afar and taking contemporary masters as examples, I exhausted my mind and spirit, polishing and refining knowledge, maintaining a profound connection with my father for many years. Whenever treating diseases, I first diagnosed through pulse diagnosis (Pulse Diagnosis), then observed the etiology of the disease. The methods of attack and treatment, and the preparation of prescriptions, were determined by weighing the pulse and the condition before administering herbs. Adhering to this approach, the therapeutic effects were immediate and accurate. Later, I categorized pulse diagnosis, etiology, treatments, and formulas into sections, using established theories from ancient and modern times as the core principles, occasionally adding my own insights, cross-referencing and verifying, supplementing omissions, and detailing brevities, compiling them into volumes. With the thirteen branches of medicine preliminarily covered, I organized them into eight volumes, naming it *Gu Jin Yi Jian* (Mirror of Medicine Through the Ages). Medicine lies in understanding (Intent). Why use "Jian" (Mirror) as a metaphor? A mirror is empty and thus reflects everything without omission; a doctor must be clear-minded and thus detect all diseases without omission. This book examines the past, selecting verified cases from antiquity; it questions the present, selecting verified cases from contemporary times. Even hidden and chronic diseases are thoroughly discerned, similar to how a mirror reflects objects without distorting beauty or ugliness. This is what I mean by "Medical Mirror." This is the intention behind the title. Upon completion, I dared not keep it secret, so I had it printed and made public to the world and future generations, hoping it would offer slight assistance to physicians and aid patients. Although this differs in scale from governing a state like a capable minister, it can revive the sick and restore the prematurely dead, fulfilling the intent of Zhang Zai and Han Yu. Lacking eloquence, I merely outline the genesis of this work at the beginning; correcting errors and rectifying mistakes remains for later scholars.
Written by Gong Tingxian, a junior scholar from Jinxi, at Hengwo Studio, on an auspicious day in the second month of winter during the Jichou year of the Wanli era.