Library

(Below, a total of thirteen volumes are listed.)

I have observed that ancient prescriptions scattered among various medical texts are numerous and mixed. Some appear repeatedly across different categories, while others overlap with each other. To understand their applications, extensive reading is indeed difficult; to collect them all would merely add to confusion. Therefore, I have selected the essential ones and classified them into eight "Arrays" (classification systems): Tonifying (Bu), Harmonizing (He), Attacking (Gong), Dispersing (San), Cooling (Han), Heating (Re), Consolidating (Gu), and Causal/Specific (Yin). Beyond these eight arrays, I have additionally listed prescriptions for Gynecology (Fuke), Pediatrics (Xiaoer), Smallpox/Rash diseases (Douzhen), and Surgery (Waike). Furthermore, within these prescription groups, they are still organized by category, so that unorthodox and orthodox methods are laid out systematically, and slow and urgent treatments are presented together. One may discard shortcomings to adopt strengths, or compare one formula with another. With clear insight, everything becomes as bright as the sun and stars. By extending this knowledge and applying it through analogy, relying on the standards of the ancients while gaining flexibility in application, one achieves mastery in medicine. This represents a foresight step. I hope my fellow practitioners will examine this carefully.

The first is the Tonifying Array (Bu Zhen): The critical point between life and death lies in the root. Once Yuan Qi (Original Qi) is depleted, without tonification, how can recovery be achieved? Hence, there is the Tonifying Array.

The second is the Harmonizing Array (He Zhen): When a disease exists in a state between deficiency and excess, involving Qi and Blood, neither tonification nor attack is appropriate. To achieve balance, treatment must be gradual. Hence, there is the Harmonizing Array.

The third is the Attacking Array (Gong Zhen): When pathogenic factors are entrenched and deep, resembling a strong enemy, rapid elimination is required and cannot be delayed. Hence, there is the Attacking Array.

The fourth is the Dispersing Array (San Zhen): When pathogens are at the muscle and surface level, they should be expelled outward. If resistance is not established early, the disease will inevitably deepen. Hence, there is the Dispersing Array.

The fifth is the Cooling Array (Han Zhen): When Yang hyperactivity injures Yin, and Yin exhaustion leads to death, one must either eliminate fire or nourish Water (Kidney Yin). Hence, there is the Cooling Array.

The sixth is the Heating Array (Re Zhen): When Yin extremity leads to the loss of Yang, and Yang depletion results in death, one must either dispel cold or assist Fire (Yang). Hence, there is the Heating Array.

The seventh is the Consolidating Array (Gu Zhen): When Yuan Qi is damaged, leading to both deficiency and slipping/leakage, which worsens daily and does not stop until fully arrested, consolidation is necessary. Hence, there is the Consolidating Array.

The eighth is the Causal/Specific Array (Yin Zhen): When diseases present similarly and treatments are alike, using formulas based on specific syndromes sometimes requires no alteration. Hence, there is the Causal/Specific Array.

Appendix: Four Additional Arrays: Beyond the Eight Arrays, ancient prescriptions cover areas not fully addressed, such as the differences in menstruation, pregnancy, and childbirth in women; the differences in nurturing, fright, and malnutrition (Gan syndrome) in children; the variations in emergence and transformation in smallpox/rashes; and the distinctions in meridians, zang-fu organs, and interior-exterior relationships in surgery. Adapting to circumstances with flexible changes, treatments differ accordingly. Therefore, the titles of these four additional arrays are listed below.