Library

My maternal grandfather, Mr. Wang of the Zhuoya style name, in the Jiawu year of the Qianlong reign, reached the age of seventy-nine. As his illness progressed to the point of impending death (Yi Ze, 易箦), he wrote a manuscript by hand and instructed me, saying: "This is the *Shen Zhai Yi Shu* (Remnant Books of Shen Zhai) from the Ming Dynasty. The woodblock printing has not yet completed half; I hope you will finish this task and fulfill my ambition." I respectfully accepted his teaching and withdrew after agreeing. Thus, in the winter of that same year, I continued to publish the remaining parts, completing the work into ten volumes. After the carving work was finished, I wrote this preface: The gentleman's given name was Qi, courtesy name Zaihan, pseudonym Zai'an, also known as Zhuoya. In his later years, he called himself the Old Man of Xushan. Before reaching the age of twenty (Ruoxiang, 弱冠), he passed the examination to become a *Dizi Yuan* (Disciple Member, i.e., a scholar-official candidate) and immediately established a private school at my residence. The gentleman's father, Mr. Songgu, discussed books and history with him morning and evening, exploring past and present, and extending to Feng Shui (Qingniao Yanyin, 青鸟演禽), divination (Shishi, 蓍筮), Daoist talismans (Yunzhuan, 云篆), and Buddhist scriptures (Beiyewenzhi, 贝叶之文). He collected and read widely, working diligently to the point of forgetting sleep and food. The gentleman was frugal, plain, and valued righteousness. Losing his wife in his prime, he did not remarry nor accumulate wealth. Any income he received was provided to the engravers to print his annotated collections of Li Taibai and Li Changji, as well as twelve types of works including *Yilin Zhiyue* (The Moon Pointed to in the Medical Forest). Many other works remained unprinted. This *Shen Zhai Yi Shu* was obtained in his later years, but the manuscript copy was incomplete and crude. Borrowing a collection held by Mr. Zhang Dongfu, the volumes were finally complete. Shen Zhai, whose given name was Zhigan, was a person from Dongwu during the late Ming Dynasty, famous for his medical skills. He authored several books, and his theories were cited in *Zhangshi Yitong* (Zhang's Comprehensive Medical Guide). This edition was collated by a man named Qiu, a fugitive from Gouwu. Its literary meaning was rather unpolished. Generally, Shen Zhai's disciples recorded what their master taught; the language was mostly plain, lacking experts to elucidate the profound meanings, causing readers to often complain of its obscurity. Mr. Dongfu facilitated understanding when he was young, and Mr. Zhuoya carefully revised and organized it, thus creating a complete book. I have no deep insight into the principles of *Qihuang* (Qi Bo and Huang Di, representing Traditional Chinese Medicine theory). However, relying on the gentleman's extensive reading of various classics and his decades-long passion for herbal prescriptions and techniques, his contribution can be said to supplement what was previously lacking in the world. Therefore, its benefit to the medical path is unquestionable. With the transmission of this book, Shen Zhai's name will also be transmitted, and the fugitive from Gouwu will not have wasted decades of research; his name will also be remembered. Is it merely for fame? If there are people in the world who study it repeatedly and use it to treat various diseases, thereby achieving immediate effects, although they may derive the core principles from Shen Zhai, the ultimate credit for completing this book and benefiting future generations belongs to whom if not the gentleman? For this reason, I dared not abandon his trust to the weeds but ultimately fulfilled my promise.
Zhao Shuyuan of Renhe, styled Shitang, respectfully wrote the preface.