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In ancient times, Mr. Su Dongpo (Su Shi) said: "Although medicines are administered by the hands of physicians, prescriptions are mostly transmitted from the ancients." Since the time of Huangdi (Yellow Emperor) and Qibo, there have been successors in every generation; only by extensively reading various books can one be called a national master. Some say that those who can diagnose diseases through observation are termed "Divine" (Shen); those who can diagnose through listening and smelling are termed "Sage" (Sheng); and those who can diagnose through questioning are termed "Skilled" (Gong). As for diagnosing the depth and superficiality of pulses, counting respiratory cycles, and thereby being able to treat, these individuals have attained the way of "Skill" (Qiao). Thus, when treating patients clinically and applying methods such as promoting circulation, tonifying, and purging, is it sufficient to merely follow established prescriptions of the ancients to complete the task? Therefore, the subtlety of divine transformation and application lies in the physician's mind, yet the rules and standards cannot be abandoned in favor of subjective self-will without consulting medical texts.

Mr. Gu Lianjiang, a Confucian scholar from the Jianghuai region, practiced medicine for three generations. Having resided in Guangling for over forty years, he has cured countless cases of trauma and chronic ailments using herbs like *Litchi chinensis* fruit (Danli) and *Ganoderma lucidum* (Qingzhi), helping patients recover health and longevity. He reflected that the works of Zhang Zhongjing, Liu Wansu, Zhu Danxi, Li Dongyuan, as well as contemporary scholarly writings, had exhaustively elaborated on internal conditions (Neizheng), while treatments for external diseases (Waike) were sporadic and incomplete. Undeterred by the passage of time, he devoted his spirit and energy to collecting definitive theories from ancient and modern sources, compiling them into a collection titled *Yangyi Daquan* (Complete Collection of Surgeons' Medicine). He sought my opinion. After reading it several times, I deeply admired Mr. Gu's profound scholarship and sincere dedication.

Mediocre physicians in the world often fail to understand the Zang-Fu organs (Viscera and Bowels) and do not follow the meridians. When prescribing for clinical cases, they recklessly violate the established methods of the ancients and rely on their own subjective judgments, a practice particularly prevalent in surgery. Upon accidentally obtaining an effective empirical prescription, they hoard it as their private property and keep it secret from others. They fail to realize that the sages of old established regulations and recorded them in books precisely to provide norms for future generations. By keeping them secret and silent, merely to boast of cleverness and skill, claiming to be unique experts, how narrow-minded is this perspective! Mr. Gu is different. He begins by expounding on the *Huangdi Neijing* (The Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon), then details the meridians and collaterals, and categorizes topics systematically; none of this lacks the famous words of the sages. Precious prescriptions and secret principles are all listed and recorded, revealing his profound foundation. It is said that descendants of good physicians must be enlightened individuals. With the publication of Mr. Gu's book, it will rival the fame of the Apricot Grove (Xinglin, a metaphor for the medical profession) and the Orange Well (Jujing, another metaphor for benevolent healing). I hope that practitioners of this discipline will hold this volume as a standard, thereby honoring the intent of the ancients to benefit humanity. Being unskilled myself, I am happy to take up the pen and write this preface.

Written by Wang Lidew of Xinxin Jiantang on the third day before the Winter Solstice in the mid-winter of the Gui-Si year of the Qianlong reign [1773].