Library

I have privately reflected that Bian Que, Lu Yi, and Huan Shi were renowned physicians of ancient times, and outstanding representatives have appeared in every generation. The secret prescriptions preserved in stone chambers and golden casseroles (Shi Shi Jin Kui, referring to precious medical texts) have been passed down through generations. Medical formularies are widely circulated, their number so vast as to fill ox-carts and heap up like mountains (Han Niu Chong Dong), making them too numerous to appreciate fully. However, most medicines come from decoction recipes, and materials must be purchased from market stalls. For the elderly in remote villages and the poor in mountain valleys, if they suddenly suffer from severe illness at dusk, there are few who do not find themselves helpless and waiting for death.

My friend, Mr. Ding Youxiang, moved by deep compassion and earnest concern, collected and compiled a book titled *Ji Yan Liang Fang* (Extremely Effective Good Prescriptions). Its principles are concise, and its methods aim for efficacy. The medicinal ingredients therein, such as white rice and red salt, are prepared in every household; herbs like Cheqiancao (Plantago seed/Herba Plantaginis, referred to here as Niuxiu) and Mapo (Fomes mushroom/Hericium erinaceus or similar, referred to as Mapo) are known to everyone. These are indeed excellent prescriptions for saving the world and miraculous techniques for rescuing people. Now, I will have it printed on pear and jujube wood blocks (Zao Li, referring to printing plates) and share it with those of like mind. I know that benevolent gentlemen everywhere will surely rejoice. This book is simple yet clear, beneficial yet inexpensive. It will surely be distributed according to the prescriptions, bringing benefits to impoverished households. It is expected that in remote corners, those with terminal illnesses will recover, and ordinary citizens' ailments will vanish quietly. Thus, it will not fail to honor Mr. Youxiang's thirty-year perseverance in accumulating wisdom piece by piece (Ji Ye Cheng Qiu, meaning collecting small things to form something great). Therefore, I am happy to write this preface.

On the sixth day of the middle ten-day period of late summer in the sixth year of Guangxu, Huang Yigu of Ya San Di wrote the preface.

I am naturally disinclined to frivolous play; I only record what is worth noting in books, and I particularly enjoy copying experiential medical prescriptions to help others. Consequently, acquaintances often show me good prescriptions. Later, I traveled through Qi, Lu, Yan, and Zhao regions, and circled the frontier lands for nearly thirty years, gathering these prescriptions until there were thousands. Applying them according to proper methods, they invariably achieved results based on the syndromes. Thus, those seeking prescriptions increased daily. In the Wuyin year of Guangxu, while touring Liaodong, I met Prefect Zhu Beiyuan. Xu Jinzhai, a Juren (degree holder), saw them and was extremely impressed. Both gentlemen were proficient in Traditional Chinese Medicine (Qi Huang, referring to the Yellow Emperor and Shennong, symbolizing TCM). They believed that the prescriptions contained inconceivable subtleties beyond the imagination of ordinary practitioners. Considering that major cities abound with doctors and pharmacies, whereas remote poor villages often lack solutions, and cases of misdiagnosis by quacks are countless, I selected several frequently effective and extremely simple prescriptions. I organized them into four volumes and submitted them to the printers to spread them widely, thereby alleviating suffering and distress.

Written in mid-summer of the Gengchen year of Guangxu at Jiaoyu Shanfang, Ding Yaochen of Kuaiji recorded this.