Library

The *Hong Shi Ji Yan Fang* (Hong's Collected Verified Prescriptions) consists of five volumes. All the prescriptions contained therein are ones that I have used in my lifetime with verified efficacy, or those that although not yet personally used, I have heard reliable reports of their effectiveness. I had them carved into blocks in Gushu (modern-day Dangtu, Anhui) to share with the public.

Written by Hong Zun of Fanyang on the 10th day of the 12th month of the Gengyin year of the Gandao era.

The virtuous gentleman pays attention to saving and benefiting the people; amidst his studies and official duties, he does not neglect diligence. He still seeks medical prescriptions to treat diseases. Could it be that wealth and honor lead to the corruption of one's mind and body? From this, we can see that the family traditions of later generations extend far, and we can imagine the freshness and renewal of their virtues and achievements at that time. I feel ashamed that I am long poor and lazy, unable even to see the dust raised by the carriages of the nobility.

Lord Hong served as an attendant official during the prosperous times of the Song Dynasty, and his brother was a Grand Chancellor. How great was his wealth and status! Yet he earnestly never forgot matters of saving the people, compiling medical books for practice over a hundred generations.

I have never been proficient in medicine, but I enjoy collecting medical books. This is not because I truly love medical knowledge, but because I love old editions from the Song and Yuan dynasties. In mid-June of this year, a bookseller from Yangzhou informed me that he had four volumes of the Song edition of *Tai Yi Ji Ye* (Collected Works of Imperial Physicians) for sale. I asked him to bring them, but they did not arrive for a long time. I later heard they had been sold to another family, and I did not regret it much; since no previous bibliographies recorded it, and even old collectors were unaware of it, perhaps the book was not genuinely a Song edition. Later, reading Lu Qiqing's *Jia Qu Tang Mu Lu* (Catalogue of Jia Qu Tang), which listed this book, stating it was held in the Wenyuan Pavilion collection with postscripts by Yang Nanfeng and Zou Chenhu, I only then regretted not buying it earlier, though it was now too late to pursue. Coincidentally, my friend Tao Langxuan sent two copies of the Song edition of *Hong Shi Ji Yan Fang* from the capital. Upon receiving them, I was delighted, feeling my desire was slightly satisfied. This Song edition medical book is rare. Seeing the Ji family's library catalog, I checked Yanling's Song edition catalogue and confirmed it was indeed this book. The eight lines of ink writing at the end of the volume, the Ji family claimed were a poem postscript by Xianyu Shu, must have some basis for such a claim. Below "for practice over a hundred generations," there are likely missing texts; I suppose Cangwei did not lose them when collecting, hence knowing the details well. As for the date of printing, it is recorded in detail, leaving no doubt that it is a Song carving. My previously collected *Shang Han Yao Zhi* (Essentials of Cold Damage) shares the same handiwork, verifiable through the names of carvers Huang Xian and Mao Yong. Both were printed in Gushu during the Gandao era, with the Xinmao edition being one year later than the Gengyin edition. I do not know when these two books separated, nor why they reunited in the same place; is this not extraordinary and strange? I have detailed this in the postscript of that book. Here, I merely record the reason for obtaining this book and my method of verifying it.

Recorded by Rao Weng, Huang Pilie, in the 11th month of the Jiazi year.

Previously, in the Yangzhou Prefecture Study, I borrowed *Tai Yi Ji Ye*. While browsing, I noticed the characters "San Yin" (Three Causes) on the spine margin. I took *San Yin Ji Yi Bing Zheng Fang Lun* (Treatise on the Three Causes and One Principle of Disease Patterns) to cross-reference, realizing that *Tai Yi Ji Ye* was merely created by fragmenting its damaged copy. *Tai Yi Ji Ye* is actually just one item from Volume Two of *San Yin Ji Yi Bing Zheng Fang Lun*; there is no separate book by that name. The statement in *Jia Qu Tang Mu Lu* is incorrect. Upon returning home, I met Rao Weng, showed him this postscript, and told him about it, asking him to record it afterwards. If I manage to collect the original book in future years, I will surely clap my hands and laugh.

Written by Jian Ren, Gu Guangqi, in the 8th month of the Yichou year of the Jiaqing era.