Library

The book *Nang Mi Hou Shu* (Secret Throat Book) was printed and distributed by Vice-Prefect Yu Jinmen the year before last. It seems his intention was to enable people in remote villages, where no doctors could be consulted, to obtain this book, check prescriptions according to symptoms, take medicine based on those prescriptions, and thus allow everyone to treat themselves. His用心 (care/intention) can be described as utmost. Since its publication, more than ten years have passed. The previously printed copies were all distributed, and the printing blocks were lost and scattered without a trace. I pondered the前辈 (senior/predecessor)'s benevolent desire to help others and preserve life, and wished to re-print the book to make it public. However, my talent and knowledge are shallow; though I had the will, I lacked the ability. I picked up my pen many times but put it down again. Now, coinciding with the establishment of the Shaoxing Medical Association and the issuance of its newspaper, which includes a section for selected ancient texts, how dare I not contribute this work to offer my modest efforts? If this book can be popularized throughout the world, then anyone suffering from throat diseases can escape extreme danger and enter the realm of benevolence and longevity. This would indeed honor the original intent of the author, the fundamental purpose of Mr. Yu's printing, and my long-held wish to promote it. Is this not also a blessing for the people? Therefore, I state the general outline and write this preface.
Written at Shoushi Ju in Changshu in July of the Yimao Year (1915), Zhang E Ruwei.

In Chenxiang village of our county, there lived a man named Chen Ren, who was chivalrous in his youth. In the late Daoguang era, he was exiled to guard Tongguan due to some matter. His son, Chen Weiqing, missing his father's distant exile, practiced swordsmanship and spear techniques upon reaching adulthood. After more than twenty years, he traveled alone to the garrison to visit his father and returned shortly after receiving an amnesty. Chen Ren's younger brother, Chen Kunpei, was skilled in combat and also proficient in medical arts, particularly specializing in throat diseases. His prescriptions were unique and effective, but he rarely transmitted them. In the Gengshen year of Xianfeng (1860), when the Taiping forces arrived, Kunpei led his son Zhishan to resist the rebels on the road. Near a bridge, a fallen willow tree lay half-submerged in the river. Kunpei crouched on top of the willow. The rebels approached from a high bank, aiming their guns upward to shoot him, consistently hitting his eyes. Enraged, the rebels covered their eyes with bowls held in their mouths and advanced like a wall. Zhishan tried to carry his father away, but Kunpei angrily pushed him aside, choosing to fight alone. He was killed by multiple stab wounds, and the rebels subsequently chopped his body into pieces and burned it. Grieving his father's death, Zhishan swore revenge. At Daba Bridge, he killed over a hundred rebels. One day, wielding a blade, he took the opportunity to kill thirteen rebels consecutively. For thirty years of peace, he hung his sword on the wall. On dark, cloudy nights, the sword ring would make sounds, and bloodstains on the blade appeared as if freshly wiped. In his old age, deaf and blind, Zhishan recounted the events of killing rebels, his anger still vigorous. My neighbor Yan Chunyan's son suffered from throat disease in the autumn and winter of that year, which became especially severe the following spring. Occasionally selecting one or two prescriptions from the book, preparing medicine and administering it yielded immediate results. I desired to disseminate this book, but its structure was chaotic and its prescription names bizarre. I entrusted Wang Shiqiao of Xinyang and my friend Xiao Zhongfu to revise and organize it. These two gentlemen referenced various schools of thought, preserved the essence, and refined the style to be elegant and standard. Mr. Hu Henian advised colleagues to pool funds for printing. The author of this book is Yang Longjiu. Few mention his name in modern times. Without the Chen family's preservation, how much knowledge in mountain caves and hidden walls would have been lost? This concerns not just Yang's book alone.
Written by Yu Yanghao Zhongluan of Haiyu in December of the 28th year of Guangxu (1902).