本集所录。凡七百二十有余种。视备要加五之二。于世所常用之品。庶几备矣。惟是药
性每
随时地而少异。故陶隐居尝云。诸药所生。皆的有境界。今之杂药。多出近道。气力性理。
岂得相似。李东垣亦云。失其地。则性味或异。失其时。则气味不全。是知古人已兢兢虑之
。况至今日。而产药之地。尤多迁变。加以人情不古。作伪多方。自非别白精详。何以扩前
闻而诏来哲。汪氏备要之作。汇集群言。厥功甚伟。而辨讹考异。非其所长。亦此书之缺陷
也。（洛）识学浅陋。兹所重订。凡素所涉历而知之真者。已谨为订正。余则姑仍其旧。惟
冀海
内格致精深之士。各出新知。匡余不逮。斯实（洛）之幸。亦不独（洛）之幸矣。
乾隆丁丑中冬月长至前三日吴仪洛又书
本集所收录的药物，共有七百二十多种，比《本草备要》增加了五分之二。对于世间常用的药材，几乎已经完备了。只是药物的性质常常因为时间和地域的不同而略有差异。所以陶弘景曾经说：“各种药物生长的地方，都有特定的区域。”现在的杂药，大多出自邻近地区，其气力、性理，怎么能相似呢？李东垣也说：“失去了适宜的生长地域，药物的性味就会改变；失去了适宜的采收时节，药物的气味就不完整。”由此可知，古人对此已经非常谨慎地考虑过了。何况到了今天，产药的地方更是多有变迁，加上人心不如古时淳朴，造假手段多样。如果不是辨别得精确详细，凭什么能扩展前人的见闻并告知后来的智者呢？汪昂的《本草备要》，汇集了各家言论，功劳很大，但在辨正错误、考证异同方面，不是他的强项，这也是这本书的缺陷所在。（我）吴仪洛学识浅陋，这次重新修订，凡是平时亲身经历并确知其真性的，都已经谨慎地订正了。其余的则暂且保留原貌。只希望海内精通格物致知之理的士人，各自提出新的见解，来弥补我的不足。这确实是我的幸运，也不仅仅是我个人的幸运啊。
乾隆丁丑年（1757年）仲冬月冬至前三日，吴仪洛又记。
The herbs recorded in this collection number more than seven hundred and twenty, an increase of two-fifths over the *Bencao Beiyao* (Essentials of Materia Medica). Regarding commonly used substances in the world, they are almost fully covered. However, the properties of medicines often vary slightly with time and place. Therefore, Tao Hongjing once said: "The origins of all drugs have specific regions." The miscellaneous drugs currently available mostly come from nearby areas; how can their qi force and nature/properties be similar? Li Dongyuan also stated: "If the proper region is lost, the nature and flavor may differ; if the proper season is lost, the aroma and essence will not be complete." Thus it is known that ancient scholars already considered this with great caution. How much more so today, when the places of production have undergone many changes, compounded by people's manners being less upright than in antiquity and various methods of forgery existing. Unless one distinguishes and examines with precision and detail, how can one expand upon previous knowledge and instruct future generations? Wang Ang's *Bencao Beiyao* (Essentials of Materia Medica) compiled statements from various sources, achieving great merit, but correcting errors and verifying variants was not its strength; this is indeed a deficiency of this book. [I], Wu Yiluo, possess shallow learning. In this re-edition, whatever I have personally experienced and truly know to be correct has been carefully revised. The rest are tentatively left as they were. I only hope that scholars within the seas who are profound in the investigation of things (Gewu Zhizhi) will each offer new insights to rectify my shortcomings. This is truly my fortune, and not merely my personal fortune.
Written again by Wu Yiluo on the third day before the Winter Solstice in the mid-winter month of the Ding-Chou year of Qianlong [1757].