Library

The *Bencao* (Materia Medica), since ancient classics, has seen additions and revisions in every dynasty. However, excellent editions that are rigorously examined, detailed yet concise, and pertinent to essentials have ultimately been difficult to find. My friend, Mr. Chen Huiting, is from a prominent family in Pinghu, eastern Zhejiang. His literary achievements and moral conduct are well-known. He was once a youth in the local school system but failed to succeed in the eight-legged essay examinations for the civil service. Amidst unrest caused by bandits, he went to the regions of Yong and Liang to work as a private secretary, assisting in military affairs through his writing skills, and gained the appreciation of those in power. In middle age, due to waiting for a post as an assistant magistrate, he stayed temporarily in Wumen (Suzhou). He worked with me in the medical bureau, engaging in daily activities together for twelve years. He showed me two volumes of *Bencao Cuoyao* (Essentials of Materia Medica) compiled by hand. The language is concise and clear, and the description of medicines is brief yet comprehensive. It is indeed a shortcut for practitioners and a bridge for students of medicine. If it were published and made available to enthusiasts, allowing those studying medicine to keep it on their desks for easy reference, and even allowing non-practitioners to keep a copy for use when exposed to cold or rain, serving as an aid to dispelling illness and preserving health, the merit would be immeasurable. Would it not be far more than just diagnosing patients in the medical bureau? I have high hopes for Mr. Chen, so I have written these few words at the beginning of this booklet.

Written by Li Jinghan from Shiluo, Shanxi, five days after the Mid-Autumn Festival in the 19th year of Guangxu.

My nature is dull and stupid. I know clearly that without memory and insight, one cannot thoroughly understand subtleties and adapt flexibly to treat people's diseases. However, my passion for medicine has persisted for over thirty years without any fatigue. Therefore, I have extensively collected prescriptions and medicines from various masters of ancient and modern times, deleting complexity and retaining simplicity, annotating under each herb: its taste, nature, meridian tropism, specific diseases it treats, combinations with other herbs for treating specific diseases, and whether it should be used raw or cooked, roasted or stir-fried, powdered or used alone for specific conditions. Furthermore, I have noted in detail which herbs assist each other (*Xiang Xu*), oppose each other (*Xiang E*), fear each other (*Xiang Wei*), are incompatible (*Xiang Fan*), enhance each other's efficacy (*Xiang Shi*), or neutralize toxicity (*Xiang Sha*). I have added no subjective speculation. Now, during spare time from public duties at the medical bureau, I have recorded them sequentially, placing them on my desk for easy consultation, merely to supplement my lack of memory and insight. If one claims that by this one can thoroughly understand subtleties and adapt flexibly to treat diseases, how dare I make such a claim?

Recorded by Chen Qirui (Huiting) from Danghu on the full moon day of the sixth month in the 12th year of Guangxu.

The compilation of this volume is similar to Yang's *Gouyuan Yue* and Liu's *Bencao Shu*, merely trimming the superfluous. Initially, I did not know of the existence of the *Gouyuan* edition. Only after completing the compilation did I get to read it. Unexpectedly, my clumsy compilation seems to have trimmed the superfluity of *Gouyuan* again, which is quite remarkable. The table of contents follows the classification of Water, Fire, and Earth sections, which does not align uniformly with the Wood and Grass sections, so it is attached at the end of the scroll. The list of medicines is relatively complete, slightly increased compared to brevity, and slightly reduced compared to comprehensiveness. Indications strictly follow classical principles. The format is identical to *Gouyuan*, using herbs as the warp and formulas as the weft, summarizing the essentials, allowing one to infer other cases from one example. If one wishes to investigate everything in full, there are naturally books by various masters available. (Additional note by Huiting)