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On the Winter Solstice day of Ren-Shen in the 31st year of the Kangxi reign, Wang Jiazhan respectfully offered incense and prayed to Yao Huang (Emperor of Medicine) saying: I have heard that the *Book of Songs* states, "The Supreme Deity is present with you; let not your heart be divided." The *Book of Documents* says, "Doing good brings a hundred kinds of blessings; doing evil brings a hundred kinds of calamities." It also says, "Following the right path leads to auspiciousness; following rebellion leads to misfortune, as surely as shadow follows form or sound echoes." These are the clear instructions handed down by past sages. As for me, Wang Jiazhan, a humble commoner, born at an ill-timed moment and plagued by misfortunes, my grandmother has nurtured the orphaned line and upheld integrity for over fifty years, maintaining a single thread of lineage until today. My father is nearing eighty years old, my mother has passed away, my two younger brothers have died successively without heirs. The six children I bore all perished from smallpox (痘殇), leaving me in such isolation and peril that I reflect on myself and blame myself every day. Only this hereditary profession of Yangyi (surgical medicine) do I strictly guard according to family tradition. Whenever I witness suffering, regardless of wealth or poverty, I first harbor compassion. This steadfast heart is difficult to fully express. However, considering my own narrow and shallow understanding, yet bearing the responsibility of life and death, the burden is heavy and the responsibility great; how can there be no errors? Deep contemplation in the clear night only increases my anxiety and fear. Fortunately, in the year Wu-Chen, I finally had a son, who contracted smallpox in the winter of Ji-Si. In Geng-Wu, I had another son, who also contracted smallpox this winter. Wang Jiazhan bows his head to heaven, unable to repay such immense kindness. Sincerely fearing that my efforts to improve may be insufficient and evils may accumulate, I recall the distinction between Shun's virtue and vice, where the gap is narrower than a hair. I dare to vow and wish to establish a foundation for inheriting from ancestors and benefiting descendants. The primary emphasis is on enduring humiliation and being content with poverty, scrupulously observing this throughout life, vowing not to follow trends or boast; or when encountering critical conditions, treating them with utmost care, vowing not to neglect patients due to concern for reputation; or when encountering mild illnesses, providing timely comfort, vowing not to exaggerate achievements; or if the disease is indeed difficult and my knowledge is insufficient, carefully examining it while waiting for superior expertise, vowing not to delay and cause harm; or when encountering wealthy families, vowing not to exploit their disaster for profit; or when encountering poor people, rescuing them according to my ability, vowing not to buy gratitude or gain fame; or when dealing with local gentry, treating them according to circumstances, vowing not to flatter and defile my ancestors' names. Alas! Human life is extremely precious, and karmic retribution is inescapable. To practice medicine and harm others, or to act against conscience for profit, I will never do so. If I know this but commit it anyway, I am severing myself from Heaven. If Wang Jiazhan is entangled by worldly desires and changes his principles from beginning to end, facing both heavenly condemnation and divine punishment, he will not repent. May the deities above observe clearly. However, since strength sometimes falls short and feelings cannot bear to see, witnessing families in extreme poverty and illness, unable to sustain even basic firewood and rice, often facing unbearable tragedies, I hesitate deeply but lack the means to turn stone into gold. Therefore, I plan to set aside some funds beyond what is needed for daily expenses and clothing, to prepare various medicinal preparations, to save the lives of the poor and sick, even if only by a ten-thousandth part. Furthermore, because my mother's spirit remains exposed/unburied properly and my strength is inadequate, I vow to ensure the peace of my mother's soul, as this matter must be accomplished. What I humbly pray for is that my elderly father enjoys longevity, health, and peace, leisurely enjoying his twilight years; that my two sons stand firm and independent, continuing the scholarly heritage of our ancestors and repaying the bitter chastity of Lady Zhang (my mother). Then my wishes as a subject/son will be fulfilled. As for personal honor or disgrace, Wang Jiazhan's destiny is already fixed, and I dare not pray presumptuously. With trembling sincerity, I submit.

In the autumn of Bing-Wu, after reciting the ode to the *Dongzuo Yin Zhi Wen* (East Works Merit Text), I ordered my children to search through a volume of ancestral calligraphy and retrieve the draft of my grandfather Jianzhai Gong's "Prayer Vow to Yao Huang." Reading it made my heart pound with emotion. Ah! Taking compassion as the lifeline, taking deities as historians/inspectors, taking endurance of humiliation as the ultimate state of contentment with poverty, and taking accumulating virtue as the primary task for future planning—if one does not deeply understand the subtle interaction between Heaven and humanity, who could be so diligent, anxious, and vigilant? I am now old, fortunately benefiting from the virtue of my predecessors, extending to the present, reaching my great-grandchildren. Learning to read and write is all due to the grace of my ancestors. I respectfully copy this text so that my descendants may observe and reflect upon it morning and evening, stirring their hearts, tempering their nature, remaining gentle yet cautious, not disgracing their origins. This is the duty of this young one. Sun Dai Dong bows respectfully and records this, aged seventy-three.

Although this vow document is not a treatise on academic study, it demonstrates that only with a sincere heart can there be genuine learning. Thus, this mindset is precisely what physicians should urgently cultivate. Five generations have passed since Mr. Yunlin, and not only have excellent doctors emerged generation after generation, but the scholarly tradition has also continued uninterrupted. Who knows if this is not the reward of such a compassionate mind? Placing it at the beginning of the volume serves as evidence of our scholarly discussions.
Da Lie records this.