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The ancients spoke of the "Three Immortalities": establishing virtue, establishing merit, and establishing words (writings). What kind of person am I? How dare I speak lightly! Nor do I dare to boast of my own merits and virtues.

Since childhood, I have been frail and prone to illness. Desiring to read medical texts, I purchased a large collection of medical books left behind by Wu Lin Seng, a skilled physician from Wuzhen in our county, from a bookseller. From Huangdi (Yellow Emperor) and Qibo to Zhang Zhongjing, down to the annotations and discussions of various schools up to the present, I collected them all without exception, gradually grasping their essence. Consequently, I abandoned other studies and followed Master Wu Guniann of our county in learning, exploring the origins of writings by famous physicians of past dynasties, seeking guidance and correction at every turn. Having read through ten thousand volumes, we discussed biased or erroneous points, sometimes talking from dusk until dawn. The Master was nearing seventy years old, seeing patients daily; although he had spare time, he did not decline to be weary, and earnestly instructed me: Medicine concerns life and death; one cannot be casual. Every disease originates from a specific meridian. When examining pulses and differentiating syndromes, one must be especially cautious, for a miss is as good as a mile. If one errs by a hair's breadth, the result will be off by a thousand miles.

The Master took out a manuscript and said: *Bencao Fen Dui* (Classification of Materia Medica into Formations). This takes the meaning that using medicine is like using troops. The Zang-Fu organs are like geographical terrain; prescribing formulas is like deploying formations; using herbs is like dispatching generals and soldiers. If the root of the disease lies in which meridian, the Jun herb (Sovereign herb) acts as the main general and is marked on that meridian. Chen herbs (Minister herbs), Zuo herbs (Assistant herbs), and Shi herbs (Envoy herbs) act as additional troops. One must understand the geography (terrain/organs), deploy the formation (formula), and upon striking once, eliminate the enemy's momentum, which is what is meant by the disease retreating. Then, with proper regulation and care, and normal daily routine, it is like the aftermath management of a military campaign, allowing the people to live in peace and work happily. If the command is not precise, and one misses the opportunity even slightly, it leads to total defeat; this is like using medicine imprudently, treating human lives as if they were grass.

Regrettably, physicians nowadays, upon arriving at a patient's home, do not first examine the pulse or assess the syndrome. Instead, they listen to the patient's self-description of symptoms, then immediately prescribe a few herbs, saying, "This decoction treats [condition]." With only a superficial knowledge, believing that a certain herb can cure a certain disease, treating illness in this manner would cause benevolent people to ponder deeply and feel intense indignation. Although those practicing medicine follow the theory of the Four Diagnostic Methods (Wang Wen Wen Qie - Observation, Auscultation/Olfaction, Inquiry, Palpation), "Observation" involves viewing the complexion. As the classics state: "Green should resemble the luster of dark jade, not the dullness of indigo." "Auscultation and Olfaction" involve listening to the clarity, turbidity, pitch, and volume of the voice, corresponding to the five tones (Gong, Shang, Jue, Zhi, Yu) and the five Zang organs. "Inquiry" involves asking about age, gender, habitual labor and rest, preferences, onset time, initial disease, and previous medications, aiming to identify the source of the disease. "Palpation" is the most critical task. Diagnosing pulses such as floating, deep, slow, rapid, slippery, choppy, large, small, long, and short, appearing at the Cun, Guan, and Chi positions on both wrists, allows one to distinguish deficiency, excess, exterior, interior, cold, and heat. Determining which meridian the syndrome originates from, applying herbs of cold, hot, warm, or cool properties, determining the formula and administering it, with proper coordination of Sovereign, Minister, Assistant, and Envoy herbs, is like pouring boiling water on snow—rapidly effective, causing all ailments to vanish, thereby bringing the dying back to life. How could there be harm?

All medicines have benefits and harms. Knowing only the benefits but ignoring the harms is like charging forward while disregarding the rear. I have practiced this profession for over twenty years. Upon encountering a syndrome, I think carefully and discriminate clearly before writing the prescription, correcting biases and saving from errors, resulting in fewer misdiagnoses. I carefully identify the origin and physical characteristics of medicinal materials and personally taste their flavors and odors, ensuring that pharmacies dare not substitute fake products and mislead people.

The Master's book *Fen Dui* has not yet been published. Therefore, I compiled various Materia Medica works, added notes on the harms of medicines to diseases, annotated them item by item, and renamed it *Bencao Hai Li* (Harms and Benefits of Materia Medica). I hope contemporary colleagues will know that where there is benefit, there is necessarily harm, and absolutely avoid superficial understanding, unclear differentiation of syndromes, and reckless prescribing, which wastes human lives. Thus, not presuming my own ignorance, I collected statements from famous physicians of ancient and modern times, deleted redundancy, simplified content, wrote this book, submitted it for printing, made it public, and sought corrections from enlightened scholars within and beyond the seas. This is also one aspect of being cautious regarding illness.

Preface by Ling Huan, courtesy name Xiaowu, of Wuxing, in the Renxu year of Xianfeng.