丹溪朱氏云。素问。载道之书也。词简而义深。去古渐远。衍文错简。仍或有之。故非吾儒不能读。信哉言也。余
蚤承箕裘之业。奉先考蓝溪公之庭训。而治斯经。颛主王太仆次注。 枕。十余年矣。然间有于经旨未惬当者。又
有厝而不及注释者。虽经嘉 阁臣之校补。犹未能精备焉。于是采择马莳吴昆张介宾等诸家之说。更根据朱氏之言。参之
于经传百氏之书。以补其遗漏。正其纰缪。至文本同异。释言训义。凡可以阐发经旨者。简端行侧。细字标识。久之至
侧理殆无余地矣。迨庚戌冬。擢于侍医。公私鞅掌。呼吸不遑。遂投之橱中。不复为意。辛酉秋。以忤旨被黜。而就外
班。遽为闲散。是以再取而翻之。欲有所改补。奈何年逾半百。双眸昏涩。不能作蚕头书。因窃不量荒陋。别为缮录。
厘成八卷。名曰素问识。如其疑义。则举众说。不敢决择是非。诸家注解。与王旧说。虽异其旨。亦可以备一解者。并
采而载之。虽未能掸斯道之至赜。钩经文之深义。然视之明清诸注。句外添意。凿空臆测。以为得岐黄未显之微言者。
其于讲肄之际。或有资于稽考欤。呜呼。先考逝矣。而六年于今。其将质谁。 初完。不禁废卷而三叹也。
文化三年丙寅岁。秋九月十有一日。书于柳原新筑。丹波元简廉夫。
Zhu Danxi once stated: "The *Suwen* (Basic Questions) is a text recording the Great Dao. Its language is concise while its meaning is profound. As time has passed since ancient times, there are still instances of superfluous characters and disordered bamboo slips. Therefore, only those Confucian scholars who are well-versed in classics can read it." These words are indeed trustworthy.
I inherited my family's medical profession from an early age and, adhering to the teachings of my late father, Lord Lanxi, I devoted myself to studying this classic. Regarding annotations, I primarily relied on Wang Bing's (Wang Taipu) secondary commentary, persisting in this for over ten years. However, occasionally I found interpretations that were not entirely appropriate regarding the purport of the scriptures, and there were omissions where no annotations were provided. Although corrections and supplements had been made by ministers of the Grand Secretariat during the Jiajing reign, they were still not precise and complete enough.
Consequently, I selected theories from various scholars such as Ma Shi, Wu Kun, and Zhang Jiebin. Furthermore, based on Zhu Danxi's statements and referencing texts from the classics, commentaries, and hundred schools of thought, I supplemented omissions and corrected errors. Regarding textual variants, explanations of terms, and elucidation of meanings—all that could help expound the purport of the scripture—I marked them with small characters at the margins or sides of the lines. Over time, even the texture of the paper seemed to have no room left.
When winter arrived in the Gengxu year, I was promoted to Imperial Physician. Burdened by both public and private duties, I had no leisure to breathe, so I put the book away in a cabinet and ceased to pay attention to it. In the autumn of the Xinyou year, I was dismissed for offending imperial will and transferred to an external, idle post, suddenly becoming free from official duties. Thus, I took out the book again to review it, intending to make revisions and supplements. Alas, having surpassed fifty years of age, my eyesight became dim and dry, preventing me from writing neat small script (can tou shu). Therefore, presumptuously relying on my own humble learning, I recopied and organized it anew, dividing it into eight volumes, and named it *Suwen Shi* (Insights into the Basic Questions).
Where doubts existed, I presented various opinions without daring to arbitrarily judge right from wrong. Annotations from various schools, even if their purports differed from Wang Bing's old commentary, were included if they could serve as alternative explanations. Although I failed to thoroughly explore the utmost profundity of this Way or hook the deep meanings within the scriptural text, compared to many commentaries from the Ming and Qing dynasties that added subjective meanings beyond the sentences and speculated vacuously, claiming to uncover hidden subtle words of Qibo and Huangdi, these contents might perhaps aid in research and verification during study and discussion.
Alas! My late father has passed away, and six years have elapsed since then. To whom shall I turn for guidance? Upon completing the draft, I could not help but sigh three times after putting down the scroll.
On the 11th day of the 9th month of autumn, in the Bingyin year of the Culture era (Bunka 3), written at Liuyuan Xin Zhu. Danbo Yuanjian, courtesy name Lianfu.