Library

The *Hong Shi Ji Yan Fang* (Hong's Collected Verified Prescriptions) consists of five volumes, personally compiled by Hong Wen'an of the Southern Song Dynasty. Wen'an was his courtesy name; his given name was Zun, and his style name was Jingyan. He was the second son of Hao. He was selected through the examination for Broad Learning and Eloquent Writing (Boxue Hongci), initially taking up the post of Corrector in the Secretariat Library (Mishu Sheng Zhengzi). During the reign of Emperor Xiaozong, he rose to the position of Academician of the Zizheng Hall (Zizheng Dian Xueshi). When Zun took the examination for the Imperial Academy (Zike), Emperor Gaozong, owing to the distant mission of Hao (referring to his father Hong Hao's mission to the Jin dynasty), extended imperial favor to his son and ordered Zun to enter the library academies. Entering the library academies immediately upon passing the literary examinations began with Zun and was not an established precedent. In the dynasties since the founding of Song, rulers and ministers prioritized caring for the people. The government established Huiji Bureaus (Huiji Ju) to provide medical treatment and medicine to the poor. Consequently, scholar-officials also paid much attention to medical prescription books. Works such as the widely circulated *Su Shen Liang Fang* (Excellent Prescriptions of Su and Shen) and Xu Xueshi's *Ben Shi Fang* (Prescriptions from Actual Cases) were likely due to the fashion of that time. Ancient physicians formulated prescriptions with profound meanings. Modern mediocre doctors, unaware of these principles, arbitrarily add or subtract ingredients, thereby inviting ridicule that "learning medicine is a waste of effort." I recall Mr. Sun Yuanru stating: "Today, external medicine often achieves miraculous results, while internal medicine does not; this is because external medicine uses ancient prescriptions, whereas internal medicine does not." Previously, I had commissioned the printing of a book titled *Yi Jian Fang Lun* (Discourse on Easy-to-Use Prescriptions) by the Cheng family of Xin'an, hoping that people would slightly understand the original meaning of ancient prescriptions. Now, reprinting Mr. Weng's book seems to share my sentiments.
— Preface by Shi Yunyu of Wu County

The *Hong Shi Ji Yan Fang* appears only in the bibliography of the Ji family of Yanling. Apart from the Song edition, no other copies are known to exist. Therefore, I copied a duplicate from the Song edition and have now entrusted it to woodblock printing. The book comprises five complete volumes. It lacks a preface but contains a table of contents spanning five pages. Items No. 1, No. 2, and No. 4 were supplemented by copying in earlier times; here, they are distinguished by finer ruled lines (usi lan), following the example of Jigu Ge's supplementation of Song editions using manuscript copies. There are variations in characters between editions. For instance, "Niu Huang Jiao Sai" (Ox Horn Cheek) is sometimes written as "Sai" (Cheek); some say "Yi Zhi" (One Branch), others "Yi Ge" (One Piece); and "Man Huo" (Slow Fire) is sometimes written as "Man Huo" (Slow Fire). Additionally, Huang Qin (Scutellariae Radix) resembles an arrow shaft, two to three chi long, with a head that is not "You"; "You" is suspected to be a typo for "Cha" (Forked). After washing and cutting into cun-length pieces, the □ wall is broken by pounding and moistened thoroughly with salt water. The □ character indicates a place eaten by insects; the radical suggests it might be the character "Xian" (County/Hanging), which I have supplemented based on context. Other names of block-cutters in the spine center that were eaten away by insects are left blank, as they are insignificant and will not be supplemented. The above points are merely cited as examples to show that the original Song print is thus, and there are no errors, corruptions, omissions, or losses involved in this republication. Generally, in medical prescription texts, significant differences lie in herb names, dosages, and processing methods; other minor variations need not be discussed in depth. Upon completion of the printing, I requested a preface from the Old Man of Duxue. He wrote to me saying: "Regarding the Jiaogan Dan (Heart-Kidney Intersection Pill) mentioned yesterday, I suspect the dosage of Xiang Fu (Cyperus Rhizome) is too heavy. Checking the medical books in my collection, I found it prescribed as one piece of Xiang Fu paired with four liang of Fushen (Poria with Hostwood). Your copy lists one jin of Xiang Fu. I privately believe that one piece of Xiang Fu cannot weigh one jin; it is likely a scribe's error. Please check the original again." This is certainly out of caution. However, I subsequently verified this using two entries from this formula: Jiangqi Tang (Qi-Descending Decoction) and Ya Yao (Dental Medicine). One uses half a jin, the other five liang. Since Jiangqi Tang uses it, the original prescription of one jin is not erroneous. Such is the obsession with Song editions. I record this together to question those deeply versed in medical theory, to clarify right from wrong.
— Postscript by Huang Pilie of Wu County, Early Autumn of the Jimao Year of the Jiaqing Reign