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The Way of Medicine encompasses the authority of a sovereign, a father, a teacher, and a prime minister. Its scholarship explores the subtleties of Heaven's Dao (the natural order) and human nature/life destiny (Xingming). Thus, the gentleman extracts its essence to cultivate himself and extends his surplus efforts to benefit the world; this is the Art of Benevolence (Ren Shu). However, later generations regarded it merely as a technical craft, and many scholars and literati neglected its study. Did not Sima Guang say: "When successful, one becomes a good Prime Minister; when unsuccessful, one becomes a good Physician"? How can medicine be despised for being humble?

In my youth, I had a weak constitution, dull intellect, and arduous aspirations. I exhausted myself studying books and painstakingly reciting writings. Suffering from illness and nocturnal emissions, numerous treatments failed to cure me. Later, while serving in office and traveling to Ciyang in Chu, I invited Mr. Hu Shen'an from Huangzhou, a learned scholar, to treat me in the official residence study. After three months, I recovered. Mr. Hu was the nephew-grandson of the famous Ming physician Li Binhu (Li Shizhen). He therefore taught me the secret classics of Xuanqi (referring to Yellow Emperor and Qibo), explaining the principles of pulse diagnosis, disease mechanisms, and drug properties in meticulous detail. Mr. Hu also privately revered Zhu Danxi (Zhou Zhihe, courtesy name Lijia). Subsequently, entering Shu, I further consulted and verified the works of various sages, grasping their key points, and immersed myself in this field for over twenty years.

Upon returning home, those who requested consultations observed me witnessing contemporary physicians treating diseases by ignoring the root and focusing on symptoms, thereby needlessly causing death, which filled me with profound sorrow. This was due to no other reason than that half of those practicing medicine were unprincipled individuals, and the methods they practiced were entirely incorrect. They did not understand the classics, preferring heterodox paths. Thus, those specializing in Shanghan (Cold Damage) neglected miscellaneous diseases; those emphasizing Spleen and Stomach feared purgative or attacking methods; those aware of Damp-Heat secretly applied warming and tonifying therapies. Some adhered rigidly to established prescriptions without understanding flexible adaptation; some indulged in subjective theories to fabricate novel claims; some relied on eloquence to flatter and deceive, disregarding human life. Such chaotic and erroneous practices are indeed akin to traitors and rebels against Xuanyuan and Qibo (the founders of Traditional Chinese Medicine).

Alas! Physicians suffer from many ailments themselves; how can one first cure the physician so that the patient may be cured? Therefore, I exerted my limited wisdom to elucidate the depths of the *Ling Shu* and *Su Wen*, expounded upon the principles of true and false pulses, clarified the appropriateness and contraindications of drug properties, revealed the emptiness and fullness of disease mechanisms, and hung up clear mirrors as warnings for both physicians and patients. Grasping the essentials of the Five Qi, returning to the Unity of Yuan Qi, I wrote for several months until completing the manuscript. It consists of six volumes, totaling ninety thousand characters. Lingering long, I still felt the methods were incomplete. Happening upon two or like-minded friends who read it, they said, "Mastering one principle allows one to comprehend ten thousand; how can you say it is incomplete?" They urged me to quickly print it to save both the "physician-diseased" and the "patient-diseased" in the world. I donated funds to gather carvers and prepare the blocks, intending to make it public to benefit learners. Yet I worried it might be discarded unused (covered by a pot).

I reflect that this book elucidates the mysteries of the *Shennong Bencao Jing* and *Huangdi Neijing*, expresses indignation at the errors of contemporary physicians, and stems from my own passionate zeal. If these few words attract blame, making the correct path difficult to clarify, and slander rises daily like barking dogs, what then? Han Yu stated, "If one writes history in leisure, one will either face human disaster or heavenly punishment." In the past, Bian Que, the divine physician of Yue, was jealousously murdered by his colleague Li Xi. Li Dongyuan also said, "Even if writing continues endlessly, vitality diminishes; dying after completing a book is better than living uselessly." Thus, heroes throughout history have often sacrificed themselves for the Dao. If this discourse can spread to bring the world into an era of longevity and peace, why should I, foolish and incompetent as I am, hesitate to bear personal guilt? May future gentlemen understand my intention to "save" and "rectify."

Written by Xiao Jing, courtesy name Wanyu, pseudonym Tongyinzi of Fujian, on an auspicious day in the early part of the second month of spring, in the Jiashen year of the Chongzhen reign [1644].