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My son-in-law, Shen Yanmo Chu, came from Wuxing to pay his respects, and highly praised the medical expertise of his teacher, Mr. Mo Meishi. I then introduced my draft manuscript "Shibu Zhai" (Hall of Worldly Compensation) to Shen Yan for him to present to Mr. Mo. Meanwhile, Mr. Mo mailed his written work "Yan Jing Yan" (Remarks on Studying Classics) to me, requesting proofreading and asking me to write a preface. After finishing reading it, I could not help but sigh at the breadth of Mr. Mo's learning and the profundity of his insight; he had achieved deep understanding through personal effort and applied it with such versatility and ease.

Although texts like the *Shennong Bencao Jing* (Divine Farmer's Materia Medica), *Ling Shu* (Spiritual Pivot), and *Su Wen* (Basic Questions) were inscribed in the "San Fen" (Three Ancient Treatises), they are beyond the comprehension of those with shallow minds. As for the lineage of Zhang Zhongjing (Jinnyang), as well as the discussions in the *Mai Jing* (Pulse Classic), *Bing Yuan* (Source of Diseases), *Qian Jin* (Thousand Gold Formulas), and *Wai Tai* (External Cabinet), these describe diseases commonly encountered everywhere at all times. Yet, they are often regarded as obscure scripts like bird seals or insect characters, impossible to decipher, so much so that one cannot even utilize a single prescription or herb. How can such people be called physicians?

Mr. Mo passed the provincial examination as a Xiucai (licentiate) but was unwilling to pursue an official career. Instead, he devoted himself to minor state affairs and used his spare energy to study medical literature. He examined phonetics and provided detailed exegesis, using classics to interpret classics, and further investigated diseases through prescriptions. Consequently, disease manifestations revealed themselves clearly, and prescriptions were never superfluous. To casually praise Mr. Mo's learning as surpassing his contemporaries would be to slander him. Those who truly know him are aware that he has authored several other works. It is best to first publish this volume, so that future patients may encounter literate physicians and avoid premature death or plague. Living in seclusion, with no one else to converse with except perhaps precious inscriptions like those on Hanning Stone, I am about to row a boat along the Tiao River, ascend to Mr. Mo's hall, and verify my studies with his, though our meeting will be brief. How fortunate is Shen Yan to stand in snow at Mr. Mo's gate (to receive instruction)! This serves as the preface.

Written in bowing respect by Lu Moxiu of Yuanhe, in the third month of the Jiyou year of Guangxu (1879).
(Note: When Mr. Mo published the sixteen volumes of *Shibu Zhai Yishu* in the fourth month of the Jiashen year, he made many additions and revisions to this preface. Here, we record the original draft.)

In my youth, I studied philology (Xiaoxue) together with my fellow townsman, Mo Meishi. Later, due to various upheavals, I was busy with military campaigns traveling north and south, and we did not communicate for several years. When I returned home after observing the mourning period for my parents, we shook hands and reminisced. I found his demeanor more solemn and his scholarship more profound, and he expressed his aspiration to "be a good minister if possible, or a good physician if not." In discussing medicine, he based his reading of the *Ling Shu* and *Su Wen* on philology, rejected Song and Yuan medical theories, and advocated for Han and Tang traditions, aligning with the principles of academic discourse. Initially, I was surprised by his views, but ultimately found them irrefutable. Soon after, he presented his work *Yan Jing Yan* and asked me to write a preface.

Ancient books from the Pre-Qin period are few today. Of those that survive, most are difficult and abstruse, riddled with textual errors. They cannot be read without diligent study and deep thought, and medical texts are particularly prone to such issues. Generally, scholars of broad learning in recent times may not understand medical terminology, while practitioners often lack literacy and reading habits, treating medicine as a mere trade. Even among a few renowned masters, some focus solely on formulas while ignoring subtle meanings, or hold their own opinions while neglecting historical research. No wonder medical theory remains unclear, leading to widespread premature death and plague among the people.

Mr. Mo was concerned by this. He relied on the *Shuowen Jiezi* (Explanations of Simple Characters and Analysis of Compound Characters) to distinguish different types of hernia, and used the *Yupian* (Supplement to Characters) to clarify the differences between epilepsy and other conditions, thereby correcting previous errors. He referenced the *Chao Shi Bing Yuan* (Master Chao's Source of Diseases) regarding "evil crying," identified "zheng" as wind dementia, and consulted the *Zhou Li* (Rites of Zhou) to correct "suan xue" (sour wasting) to "suan xiao." Thus, the negligence of old annotations was addressed. The term "jiao long" (flood dragon) was identified as a corruption of "long yao" (dragon bite), with precedents for "hui yao" (roundworm bite). The symptom of "rou jing" (soft spasm) involving aversion to cold was shown to have original textual support, eliminating errors from transmission and printing. Truly, he is a meritorious servant of Zhang Zhongjing and a corrective needle for vulgar physicians. If he were to apply his learning to govern the world in the future, what limits could there be to his achievements? I merely reflect on my own vain talk of statecraft, which benefited no one, and my lack of accomplishment in writing after retiring. Reading Mr. Mo's book, I cannot help but feel ashamed.

Written in humble respect by my younger brother Lu Xinyuan, in the seventh month of the Gengwu year of Tongzhi (1870).