Library

1. Both the *Suwen* (Basic Questions) and the *Lingshu* (Spiritual Pivot) each contain eighty-one chapters. Within them, discussions on disease patterns (bingzheng), pulse manifestations (maihou), zang-fu organs (zangfu), meridians and collaterals (jingluo), acupuncture and moxibustion (zhenjiu), and herbal prescriptions (fangyao) are intermixed. Reading them can be bewildering without a clear guide, making it difficult to grasp their essence.

This compilation excludes methods of acupuncture and moxibustion. The remaining content is divided into nine sections, categorized for ease of reference. Within each section, there is logical coherence between preceding and succeeding items, and the number of sections remains consistent with the traditional concept of "nine."

1. Regarding the *Suwen*, during the Tang Dynasty, Wang Bing (styled Qixuanzi) provided annotations, which served as the pioneering work in commentary. His notes supplemented aspects not covered in the original text, demonstrating merit to the ancient sages. However, due to the passage of time, there are occasional errors and omissions. Furthermore, influenced by the scholarly climate of that era, some parts were left unannotated. In the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, annotations by Ma Shi (styled Xuantai) and Wu Kun (styled Hegao) appeared as subsequent works, theoretically clarifying the canonical meaning further. Yet, Ma's annotations contain numerous inaccuracies and perfunctory explanations, rendering them effectively useless; he also criticized Wang's work, remaining silent when doubts arose, which was an error of immodesty. Wu's annotations occasionally elucidated points and supplemented previous incompleteness, but often altered the original text, raising concerns about arbitrary modification. My available references were limited to these three books. After completing the manuscript, I encountered the *Suwen Jizhu* (Collected Annotations on the Suwen) by Zhang Yin'an (Zhang Zhicong) and his colleagues, published in the Gengxu year of the Kangxi reign. They discarded older texts and offered many subjective interpretations, likely presuming to fathom the sages' minds through personal bias. This collection follows existing annotations seventy percent of the time and adds my own insights thirty percent of the time. I either condense verbose passages, correct errors, clarify meanings, elaborate on obscure points, or mark items as doubtful. The aim is concise language and clear meaning, hence the title *Yue Zhu* (Abridged Annotations). It took over thirty years to complete this book. I am unsure if it is entirely appropriate, and I invite scholars to offer guidance.

1. Prior to this, the *Lingshu* had no annotations. Its text is archaic and profound, with numerous technical terms, causing readers to furrow their brows. Physicians generally neglected it. It was not until the Ming Dynasty that Ma Shi provided annotations. His explanation of meridians and acupoints was quite detailed and clear, benefiting later learners. Although there are some discrepancies, considering it was a previously feared and difficult text, his effort to establish a platform for study far surpasses the annotations of the *Suwen*.

1. The *Suwen* covers various therapeutic methods with detailed text and comprehensive meaning, resulting in more discursive prose. The *Lingshu* focuses specifically on acupuncture and moxibustion, containing more descriptive and numerical/procedural text. This collection prioritizes the *Suwen* and treats the *Lingshu* as secondary. Where the two texts overlap, the *Suwen* version is adopted. Since acupuncture differs from herbal medicine, and this collection has no space to cover it extensively, all such content is omitted. However, since citations in the *Suwen* often derive from the *Lingshu*, the latter precedes the former historically. The *Suwen* builds upon the *Lingshu*, enriching it, thus its textual meaning is more detailed.

1. The discussion of Five Movements and Six Qi (Wuyun Liuqi) in the *Suwen* is vast, profound, and subtle. The description of meridians and acupoints in the *Lingshu* is meticulously analyzed. These are indeed sacred texts of secret wisdom, understandable only by the divine and sagely. This collection aims to compile essentials and cannot include extensive excerpts. Those seeking deep mastery should study the complete original works.

1. The "Wang Zhu" cited herein refers to the annotation by Wang Bing, Grand Tutor of the Palace Library (Taipu) and styled Qixuanzi, from the Tang Dynasty. The "Xin Zhengjiao" refers to the corrected text compiled by Lin Yi and others, Secretaries of the Imperial Library, during the Song Dynasty. The "Ma Zhu" refers to the annotation by Ma Shi, styled Xuantai, from the Ming Dynasty. The "Wu Zhu" refers to the annotation by Wu Kun, styled Hegao, from the Ming Dynasty. The "Zhang Zhu" refers to the annotations by Zhang Zhicong (styled Yinan) of Wulin and his contemporaries from our dynasty.

Recorded by Wang Ang