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There is no materia medica more comprehensive than the *Bencao Gangmu* (Compendium of Materia Medica), and it has been so for a long time. Since then, there have been numerous works that delete redundancy and simplify content to facilitate convenient reference, with varying intentions in selection and exclusion. However, regarding properties such as cold, warm, resolving, and tonifying, these works often discuss only one specific property exclusively. Even the principles of sovereign, minister, assistant, and courier (Jun-Chen-Zuo-Shi) in ancient prescriptions are merely discussed generally in terms of weight and lightness within the prescription itself. Consequently, those who know herbs do not understand formulas, and those who understand formulas still do not understand diseases, which inevitably leads physicians to make errors in treatment.

Mr. Yan Xiting, Mr. Shi Danning, and Mr. Hong Jian from Yaozhou, besides their literary achievements, were also proficient in medicine (Qihuang). Reflecting that herbs cannot be used alone and diseases cannot be treated generically, they extensively collected books from various sources, debated mutually, and compiled the *Depei Bencao* (Materia Medica on Proper Combination), consisting of ten volumes. Its collection is no less extensive than the *Bencao Gangmu*, but its focus is specifically on ancient prescriptions. The former part analyzes properties to clarify the substance, while the latter details treatments to elucidate application. By combining one herb with several others, a single herb can achieve the effects of multiple herbs; by combining several herbs to treat multiple diseases, multiple diseases can still be resolved through the efficacy of a single herb. Positive combinations naturally advocate and follow suit, while contrary combinations can also generate therapeutic effects. The subtlety of such applications is unparalleled. If readers of this book can understand diseases upon knowing herbs, and understand how to treat diseases upon understanding them, this represents a consistent principle throughout. Would it not be sufficient to be passed down through generations and spread far?

Written respectfully by Wei Zhaoyang on the 16th day of the ninth month in the Xin-Si year, the 26th year of Qianlong.

1. Herbs have relationships of aversion, enmity, incompatibility, and synergy. These are marked at the beginning of each entry so that readers can understand them clearly upon opening the book.
2. The main indications of herbs are detailed in the first item, allowing users to achieve direct therapeutic effects.
3. An herb that enters only one meridian to treat one disease will, when combined with assistant and courier herbs, be able to treat hundreds of diseases. The compatibility relationships are now recorded after the main indications, enabling practitioners to understand the infinite variations of cold, heat, purging, and tonifying. With associative thinking, application will naturally become exquisite.
4. Herbs vary in quality. In recent times, medication focuses only on "this herb treats this disease," ignoring cases where names are the same but substances differ, leading to significant disparities in efficacy. Here, detailed discussions are provided to enable those who consult this work to verify information.
5. Herbs have processing methods. When processed appropriately, their properties, flavors, and functions change. The Paozhi methods of Lei Gong are now extensively collected and detailed herein.
6. Every herb has both benefits and harms. Contraindications are specially recorded to startle the reader into caution, preventing reckless experimentation.
7. Using herbs to treat diseases involves mutual restraint. There are conditions unresponsive to hundreds of herbs that can be cured by a single herb due to this mutual restraint. Strange cases are appended to relevant entries.
8. Some herbs are readily available yet rarely used, such as Cortex Pruni Serotinae Radicis Albus (Ligen Baipi), Hemerocallis citrina (Xuancao), and Oenanthe javanica (Shuiqin). These have been carefully selected and included after thorough consideration. However, they are based on research, not arbitrary invention.
9. Following the *Bencao Gangmu* as the standard, the content is divided into twenty-five categories, totaling six hundred and fifty species. Volume One covers eighty-five species of Water, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Stone; Volume Two covers eighty-one species of Mountain Herbs and Fragrant Herbs; Volume Three covers ninety-nine species of Lowland Herbs and Toxic Herbs; Volume Four covers sixty-two species of Climbing Herbs, Aquatic Herbs, Rock Herbs, and Moss Herbs; Volume Five covers seventy-four species of Grains and Vegetables; Volume Six covers fifty species of Fruits; Volume Seven covers eighty-two species of Trees, Bamboos, and Textiles; Volume Eight covers sixty-seven species of Insects, Fishes, and Shells; Volume Nine covers forty species of Birds and Beasts; and Volume Ten covers ten species from the Human category.