Library

In the Gengshen year, a friend brought me a copy of *Obstetric Heart Method* (Chanke Xinfa) printed and gifted by a philanthropist. This book covers all aspects of treatment for conditions before and after childbirth, being both concise and comprehensive, brief yet inclusive. It is truly a mentor for clinical practice and a standard for treatment. After browsing it, I had long desired to make it public to the world. Thus, I commissioned Mr. Qiu Jisheng, Director of the Sansany Medical News Agency in Yue, to print and circulate it, offering it to my colleagues. It may provide some minor benefit.

Recorded by Xu Zhaonan Boying, pseudonym Shushengsheng from Hanjiang, at Zhengli, in the sixth month of summer in the 12th year of the Republic of China.

In the early winter of the Jichou year during the Guangxu reign of the Qing Dynasty, five days after my wife gave birth, she presented with a red face and panting. The physician diagnosed it as an external pathogenic factor and treated her with Mahuang Xingan Gaotang (Ephedra, Apricot Kernel, Licorice, and Gypsum Paste Decoction) and Da Qinglong Tang (Major Blue Dragon Decoction). After taking the medicine, she sweated profusely for several days, eventually leading to an incurable condition. Two years later, in the Xinmao year, I偶然ly encountered the book *Seed and Obstetric Heart Method* (Zhongzi Chanke Xinfa) at a relative's house. Its prescriptions for symptoms before and after childbirth were quite concise, and it explicitly stated that Mahuang (Ephedrae Herba) is a contraindicated herb for postpartum use. Therefore, I copied it. Since then, whenever any childbirth-related symptoms occurred in my family, following the prescriptions yielded miraculous effects. It is indeed the golden needle (key method) for obstetric diseases and a precious raft for physicians. Recently, printed editions have become rare, and the number of people borrowing manuscript copies has increased daily. With only a few copies remaining, this is a matter of great concern. Hence, I decided to have it printed to benefit both myself and others, hoping that Mr. Wang Puzhai’s compassionate heart for saving the world may be preserved for a long time.

Respectfully recorded by Cheng Rongze from Hecheng, in the third month of the seventh year of the Republic of China.

Mr. Wang Puzhai’s *Obstetric Heart Method* was previously available only in manuscript form. My younger brother, nephews, and I donated funds to have it printed and made public. From pregnancy and impending labor to all methods of regulation and treatment after childbirth, everything is handled with meticulous precision and completeness. The opening chapter focuses on methods for conception (Zhongzi). Generally, there are all things, then men and women; men and women, then husband and wife; husband and wife, then father and son. Childbearing is a natural law of heaven and earth. Why seek specific methods for conception? Is this not involving human intervention? In fact, this is said for those who find it difficult to conceive. Those who struggle with infertility may do so because the virtue of their ancestors has waned, because of mutual astrological clashes between husband and wife, or because of inherent physical frailty and essence deficiency. Although fate and numbers are hard to predict, these three factors are generally close to the truth. Thus, in seeking conception, there are preliminary steps to take. The first is accumulating virtue. There are many books advising goodness since ancient times, but I particularly admire the words of Emperor Liu Bei (Han Zhaolie Di): "Do not fail to do good because it is small; do not do evil because it is small." If one always does small goods, one can understand how to do greater goods. However, great goods require great resources, strength, and especially great opportunities, which are rare. As for small goods, throughout a day, from morning to night, in every action, word, entry, and exit, there is always virtue to be accumulated. Virtue, whether hidden or manifest, means not missing any opportunity for goodness when it arises. Goodness must start from ethical relationships to have a foundation. Extending this, one helps others, and further, benefits all living things. Accumulation means gathering over time. Day by day, month by month, small accumulations lead to greatness, filling the measure of goodness. To do good, one must first eliminate evil. Everyone knows that great evils harm heavenly principles and damage yin virtue, so they are avoided. But small evils are often ignored. One should know that regardless of size, if even a subtle thought or minor act damages the harmony of heaven and earth, it must be guarded against. The main point is to remove harshness and follow loyalty and sincerity, ensuring that within one's heart lies nothing but compassion and a spirit of life-giving vitality. Practiced over time, this naturally supports ancestral virtue, mitigates astrological clashes, and fulfills the way of inheriting the past and initiating the future. The second aspect is restraining desires. While righteous people avoid illicit affairs, even within marriage, restraint is necessary. Restraint means control. Without restraint, using limited spiritual energy to satisfy endless lust is like accelerating a river until the water dries up or squandering family wealth until poverty ensues. The *Yan Si Jing* states: When primordial essence is exhausted and desire burns while spirit tires, how can one hope for offspring? Only by restraining desires can one ensure sufficient spirit and clear mind, resulting in healthy, strong, long-lived, smart, and upright children. As the saying goes: "Those with few desires have many sons; those greedy for lust have no descendants." This clearly shows the necessity of restraining desire. Observing Mr. Puzhai’s book, he specifically highlights that the method for conception begins with accumulating virtue and preserving yin, showing that virtue is the root of conception. For those with thin essence and weak constitutions, there is the Wuzi Zhongyu Dan (Five Seeds Jade-Planting Pill) formula to replenish essence. However, rather than relying on medicine to replenish essence after it is depleted, is it not better to restrain oneself to prevent depletion? Even if one is constitutionally weak, only by restraining desires can medicinal tonics be effective. Therefore, while printing this book, I elaborate on these points above. Someone might ask me: "Your theory is correct, yet you still have no heir?" I reply: "This is what the ancients meant when they said, 'At fifty, one knows the errors of the previous forty-nine years.'"

Recorded by Li Chaoheng from Shimen, on the second day of the upper ten-day period of the late autumn of the Jiazi year, in the ninth year of the Jiaqing reign.