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The Master was from Piling, surnamed Hu. He was originally a son of the Confucian scholarly class. Born with keen intelligence and wisdom, he was sent to live in a Buddhist monastery during his childhood. Upon reaching adulthood, he sought ordination as a monk, taking the Dharma name Zhuxiang (Residing in Thought) and the courtesy name Shenrou (Cautious and Gentle). He had a natural love for reading; regarding all schools of Buddhist doctrine as well as Confucian classics, histories, and philosophical works, he studied them thoroughly. Due to excessive mental exertion and depletion of heart blood, he contracted Lao disease (a chronic consumptive disease, often referring to tuberculosis or similar wasting conditions) and nearly died. At that time, Mr. Zha Liaowu practiced medicine in Jingxi. The Master went to seek his treatment and recovered after more than a year. Mr. Liaowu was from Jingxian and was a distinguished disciple of Mr. Zhou Shenzhai from Taiping. The Master was quick-witted, calm, and composed. Mr. Liaowu greatly valued him and wished to transmit his own medical knowledge to him. Consequently, the Master presented gifts to formally become his student and served him for over ten years. Fearing that the Master’s learning might surpass his own, Mr. Liaowu then directed him to study under Mr. Shenzhai. The Master traveled together with Xue Lihuan. Mr. Lihuan was also from Piling. In the spring of the Jiyi year, I had the honor of meeting him at Jiashui; he was already over seventy years old. He presented me with records of cases verified throughout his life and secret prescriptions. From this, I gained deeper insight into Mr. Liaowu’s medical scholarship. Mr. Shenzhai was famous throughout the land, and the number of disciples studying under him grew daily. While attending upon him, the Master recorded every oral instruction he received. Although Mr. Shenzhai initially left no written works, several types of recorded sayings are now circulating in the world, mostly compiled and edited by the Master. Thereafter, the Master returned to his hometown. His treatments were invariably effective, and the threshold of his home was worn down by visitors daily. However, he loved charity; although his daily income amounted to several taels of silver, he remained as poor as before. In the Gengwu year, the wife of Mr. Xiong Yushan, the magistrate of Wujiang, had suffered from a strange illness for six or seven years. The Master was invited to treat her, and efficacy was achieved in just six doses. At that time, the recommended scholars and officials all admired his miraculous skills. Consequently, he frequently traveled between Wu and Kuai regions, spending little time at home. In the Ren Shen year, having practiced Traditional Chinese Medicine (Qi-Huang school) for over ten years, I deeply admired the Master. We visited each other often, discussing matters until dawn without feeling tired. The Master would often sigh that there were few successors to his lifelong learning, speaking with regret. However, I privately believed that given his ancient demeanor and subdued spirit, he should enjoy a long life. Not long after, in mid-summer of the Bing Zi year, he suddenly fell ill. He summoned me with a handwritten letter and handed over his lifetime writings: one volume on Deficiency and Damage (Xu Sun), one volume on Tuberculosis/Consumption (Lao Zhai), one volume of notes on the Master’s teachings, one volume on examples of treating diseases, and one volume of medical cases. A few days later, he passed away peacefully at the age of sixty-five. Ten years have passed since then! I intend to have these books printed and published, and thus wrote this biography for him.