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A skilled physician cannot cure diseases without medicines, just as a capable general cannot defeat enemies without troops. The formation of troops is easy to see; those who are good at using them can use what is meant for killing to save lives. The nature of medicines is difficult to exhaust; those who are not good at using them may instead use what is meant for saving lives to kill people. Alas! This is truly awe-inspiring! Cold (Han), Heat (Re), Warm (Wen), Cool (Liang) properties, and Pungent (Xin), Sweet (Gan) flavors were transmitted by *Zhouhou Beiji Fang* (Prescriptions Kept in the Sleeve for Emergency Use) and *Qianjin Fang* (Essential Prescriptions Worth a Thousand Gold), and were secreted in *Waitai Miyao* (The External Cabinet's Secret Essentials). The formulas recorded therein are countless. From this perspective, it is not only difficult to examine pulses and apply formulas, but distinguishing medicines is even more difficult. Precious minerals and metals, strange herbs and plants, flying creatures, swimming animals, and plants are numerous and diverse. Due to different climatic conditions, there is little communication between North and South; some are not found in China proper, while others are beyond human reach. If one wishes to discern truth from falsehood with just a glance, how can *Bencao* (Materia Medica) and *Tujing* (Illustrated Classics) be separated for even a moment? What is circulated in the world includes the three-volume *Shennong Bencao Jing* (Divine Farmer's Materia Medica). Tao Hongjing of the Liang Dynasty divided it into seven volumes. Su Gong and Li Ji of the Tang Dynasty further supplemented it to twenty volumes, creating separate illustrations of medicinal forms as *Tujing*, making the book roughly complete. During the Kaibao era, Emperor Taizu ordered Lu Duoxun and others to verify merits and faults, adding many new drugs, known as *Kaibao Bencao*. In the early Jiayou era of Emperor Renzong, Zhang Yuxi, Lin Yi, Su Song, and Zhang Dong were commissioned to provide supplementary annotations. Based on the Tang *Tujing*, new illustrations were created, and over a thousand additional drugs were added. Thus, lost items were collected, errors corrected, and the work published by the relevant government office and distributed throughout the empire. As a technique for longevity, health preservation, and saving lives, nothing was omitted. However, physicians of the time, adhering to old habits and narrow views, made arbitrary interpretations. Holding a few decoctions, if they happened to succeed a few times, they considered themselves capable of treating infinite diseases. When questioned about their theoretical explanations, they remained ignorant. To them, *Bencao* and *Tujing* seemed like empty words. Moreover, in remote prefectures and small counties, even if there were eager readers, where could they obtain these books? Chen Zicheng of Langzhong loved learning in his youth and had a particular fondness for medicine. He was well-versed in various schools of thought. He worried that these two works were not widely circulated and that students could not possess both. Therefore, he combined them into one volume, appended ancient and modern discussions along with his own observations, and organized them into twenty-three volumes, titled *Chongguang Buzhu Shennong Bencao Bing Tujing* (Revised and Expanded Annotated Divine Farmer's Materia Medica with Illustrated Classics). The text expounds the theories, and the images display the forms; opening the book yields both benefits simultaneously. One does not need to travel to distant lands or mountain peaks and riverbanks to see the myriad varieties of drugs clearly presented before one's eyes; it is like a geographer consulting the *Zhifang* (Records of Offices/Geography) or a military officer inspecting weapons in an arsenal. Chen's ancestors served as generals and ministers, referring to the "Six Dukes of Four Generations" mentioned by Ouyang Xiu; Chen was their great-grandson. Orphaned young, he served his mother in the Jianghuai region, closing his door and living on a vegetarian diet to support her. Gentlemen praised his filial piety. Occasionally encountering rare diseases where other physicians stood amazed and helpless, Chen would calmly examine the pulse and say, "Administer such-and-such formula, and recovery will occur within such-and-such hours," which invariably proved true. Thus, although Chen's learning originated from books and images, his profound insight transcended these two sources, and how could it be confined? The eras of Guiyuuqu and Qibo are too distant for me to know. How do they compare to Qin Yueren (Bian Que), Chunyu Cangong (Chunyu Yi), Hua Tuo, and their contemporaries? Those with discernment will know. On the first day of the fourth month of the seventh year of Yuanyou [1092], Lin Xi of Changle, Left Chaoqing Dafu, Serving as Daizhi of Tianzhang Pavilion, Prefect of Hangzhou Military and Civil Affairs, Concurrently Director of Encouraging Agriculture within the Jurisdiction, Commander-in-Chief of Military Guards in West Route of Liangzhe, Concurrently Supervisor of Military Patrols in this Route, Shang Qingche Douwei, Recipient of Purple Gold Fish Bag, wrote the preface.