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Which is more dear, reputation or life? Which is more valuable, life or wealth? To use the Pearl of Sui Hou to shoot at a sparrow in a thousand-ren height, the world would surely laugh at him. Why is this? Because what is taken is light and what is abandoned is heavy!

My broken body is now sixty-five years old; my hearing and vision have been lost by half. My meridians are boiling, causing vexation in the heart. My body drifts like a boat among many currents; when I close my eyes, my soul seems to go with the waves. My spirit and qi are weaker than before, and my food intake is less than in the past. Merely coping with social obligations makes all illnesses worsen. Considering what I possess (my health), is it not even more precious than the Pearl of Sui Hou! If one rests content with a simple diet, reduces thinking and desires, speaks little to nourish Qi (vital energy), avoids reckless exertion to nourish the form, keeps the mind empty to sustain Shen (spirit), and accepts longevity or premature death, gain or loss as determined by destiny, then with such lightness regarding gain and loss, Blood and Qi will naturally harmonize. Evil pathogens will have no place to reside, and how can illness intensify? If one can maintain this, one is nearly approaching the Dao (the Way), which can be said to grasp its true essence.

Qi is the ancestor of Shen; Jing (essence) is the child of Qi. Qi is the root and foundation of Spirit and Essence. How great it is! Accumulate Qi to form Jing, accumulate Jing to perfect Shen. One must be clear and tranquil, guiding oneself with the Dao, thereby becoming one with Heaven and Humanity. Those who possess the Dao can achieve this; what kind of person am I? I merely advise speaking sparingly.

The Yellow Emperor composed the *Neijing* (Classic of Internal Canon); his concern for the world and future generations was indeed profound and sincere. Qin Yueren (Bian Que) expounded the *Nanjing* (Classic of Difficult Issues) to verify it. Shanghan (Cold Damage) diseases are the most severe; Zhang Zhongjing extensively discussed them, establishing principles for ten thousand generations. Regarding illnesses of internal injury to the Spleen and Stomach, although other texts contain some explanations, they are brief and not detailed. My teacher, Master Dongyuan, wrote *Bian Zheng Nei Wai Shang* (Discrimination between External and Internal Injury) and *Pi Wei Lun* (Treatise on the Spleen and Stomach) to supplement this gap. The Master once reviewed the discussions in the *Neijing*, noting that throughout the four seasons, nourishing Stomach Qi is fundamental. The principle of Zong Qi (Gathering Qi) holds that consuming grain is precious. Generally, when food enters the Stomach, its essence floats and overflows, transmitting upwards to the Spleen. The Spleen scatters the essence, sending it upwards to the Lung. This harmonizes the hundred vessels, nourishes Shen, benefits the joints, opens the nine orifices, and nourishes the will. However, due to irregular diet, untimely rest, reckless labor, or emotional fluctuations of joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure, the Yuan Qi (Original Qi) of the Stomach is injured. This causes the Ying Yun Qi (Nutritive and Transporting Qi) to diminish, unable to transmit essence to the skin, hair, and meridians. Consequently, various evil pathogens enter through the deficiency, generating phlegm within the body and forming chronic diseases, leading to the dissipation of True Qi. The onset of disease initially presents as Re Zhong (Heat in the Middle), where Heart Fire invades the Spleen; later it transmits to Han Zhong (Cold in the Middle), where Kidney Water insults Earth. Thus, he established treatments for the middle and late stages, along with the system of Jun-Chen-Zuo-Shi (Sovereign-Minister-Assistant-Courier) herb roles, and regulations regarding meridian contraindications, disease contraindications, and seasonal contraindications. This enables students to understand the disease, use the appropriate medicines, comprehend through mental integration, trace back to the source, reaching far back to Xuanyuan (Yellow Emperor) and Qibo, matching seamlessly. As Mr. Luqi said: "Master Dongyuan's learning is the royal way of medicine!" This book demonstrates this clearly.
On the third Shangsi day of the third month in the Bingzi year of the Zhiyuan era, disciple Luo Tianyi respectfully wrote this preface.