故司寇潜江云密刘公。道德洽闻。以刚肠直节名于海内。年登八十。称 造 遗之
老。生平于书。无所不读。而尤笃好轩岐之学。探赜反约。竭三十年之力而本草述成。其曰
述者。本经合论。曲鬯旁通。以明夫不居作者。骥夙获撰杖。辱公呼为小友。甲辰阳月。访
公于家。公神明不衰。剧谈弥夕。酒阑烛 。自云。不佞壮而多病。以医药自辅。看题处方。
良用娱
虽古人之好 好屐。诚弗若也。笔其所见。幸底于成。子其为我序之。 诿郑重而别。
逾年乙巳。公正星辰之位。又逾年。乃克为序。序曰。本草古三坟之书。秦火所未焚者也。
汉平帝征天下。通知逸经古记天文历算钟律国小史篇方术本草。及以孝经尔雅教授者。在所
为驾一封轺传。遣诣京师。而本草之名始着。梁七录载神农本草三卷。汉之张机华佗着其论。
梁之陶弘景增其注。唐之苏陈补其阙。宋之刘翰集其成。明之王氏李氏缪氏广其目。而本草
之书乃备。神农本草。朱字。譬则经也。诸家增补。朱墨错互。譬则传注笺疏也。医之为道。
五运六气。相为负胜。人固有之。物亦宜然。葶苈死于盛夏。款冬菀于霜雪。寒暑之异也。
鸡逾岭而黑。 鹆逾岭而白。山川之异也。酒饮之一石而不乱。有濡辄颠眩者。漆终日搏洒
无害。有触之疮烂者。禀赋之异也。黄精钩吻。一物而异性。乌头附子。同生而异用。药之
以好辨而为功也。岭南多毒。而有金蛇白药以治毒。湖南多气。而有姜橘茱萸以治气。鱼鳖
螺蚬。治湿气而生于水。麝香羚羊。治石毒而生于山。药之以相胜而为用也。触类引伸。引
绳切墨。沉研钻极。割剥理解。 后说之 驳。入先圣之阃奥。公之德远矣。余于是窃有说
也。始余读本草而有未合也。已而读内经而无不合也。已而更读易而益无不合也。内经以人
之一身。合周天三百六十度。此乾坤之策也。本草凡天施地生。水火土石。飞走草木。此万
物之数。万一千二百之五十策也。神而明之。以观其会通。得意忘言。而遗筌蹄。公之述本
草也。其在斯乎。其在斯乎。唐宋以来。名臣留心医道者。余得三人焉。狄梁公功在社稷。
勋业盖代。而有胸后下针鼻端疣落之术。陆宣公经济宏深。有唐龟鉴。而有谪居荒陬。集录
古方之事。范文正出入将相。先忧后乐。而有不为宰相则为名医之愿。公心三公之心。学三
公之学。归欤投老。区区以方技自见。研露点笔。十易削 。后之君子。读其书而论其世。
可以知其为人也。若余也。采天随之杞菊。制颓 于刀圭。窃公绪余。附于应璩百一之义。
其戋戋者耳。聊藉斯文。托公书以不朽而已。
康熙丙午仲冬月竟陵吴骥谨序
所以，司寇、潜江人云密刘公，道德声望广为人知，以刚正不阿的节操闻名于天下。他年届八十，是备受推崇的德高望重之老前辈。他平生读书无所不读，尤其笃爱黄帝内经与岐伯（轩岐）的医学学问。他探究深奥的道理并返归简约，耗尽三十年心血完成了《本草述》。所谓“述”，是指阐述《神农本草经》并结合相关理论，曲折详尽地旁通引申，以阐明不居功自傲的态度。我早年曾获得拄杖的资格（指年老），承蒙刘先生称呼我为小友。甲辰年十月，我去家中拜访刘先生，先生精神神明不衰，彻夜长谈。酒尽烛残时，先生自己说：“我年轻时多病，靠医药来辅助身体，看方开药，确实很有乐趣。”虽然古人喜好穿木屐（谢灵运典故），但实在比不上这种乐趣。先生写下他的见解，幸而得以完成，嘱咐我为其作序。我郑重接受后告别。
过了一年到乙巳年，先生已去世（星位陨落）。又过了一年，我才得以作序。序文说：《本草》是古代三坟之书，没有被秦朝的战火焚烧毁掉。汉平帝征召天下精通逸失的经典、古记、天文历算、钟律、国小史篇、方术、本草以及教授孝经、尔雅的人，都为他们准备一辆带篷的小车，派遣他们前往京城，从此“本草”之名开始显著。梁代《七录》记载有《神农本草》三卷。汉代张机、华佗撰写了相关论述；梁代陶弘景增加了注释；唐代苏敬、陈藏器补全了其缺漏；宋代刘翰集其大成；明代王好古、李时珍、缪希雍等人扩充了其条目，于是《本草》一书才完备。《神农本草经》如同经典正文，各家增补的内容如同传注笺疏一样交错其中。
医学之道，五运六气相互克制胜复，这是人体固有的规律，万物也应当如此。葶苈子在盛夏死亡，款冬花在霜雪中茂盛，这是寒暑气候的差异。鸡翻过山岭羽毛变黑，鸲鹆翻过山岭羽毛变白，这是山川地理的差异。有人喝一石酒也不乱，有人沾湿就头晕目眩，这是禀赋体质的差异。漆树终日接触涂抹无害，有人触碰却疮烂，这也是禀赋的差异。黄精和钩吻，同是一物却性质不同；乌头和附子，同生一处却用途各异。药物之所以要仔细辨别才能发挥功效，正是基于这些差异。岭南多毒物，但有金蛇、白药可以治疗毒邪；湖南多瘴气，但有生姜、橘子、茱萸可以调理气机。鱼鳖螺蚬生于水中，能治疗湿气；麝香羚羊生于山中，能治疗石毒。药物之所以能发挥作用，是因为它们能以相克制胜的原理来应用。触类旁通，引伸推理，如拉线用墨斗一样严谨，深入钻研，剖析理解，驳斥后世的谬误，进入先圣的深奥境界，刘先生的德行真是深远啊。
我对此私下有一番说法。起初我读《本草》，觉得有些地方不合心意；后来读《黄帝内经》，发现没有不合意的地方；再后来读《易经》，更加觉得没有不合意的地方。《内经》将人的身体对应周天三百六十度，这是乾坤的策数。《本草》涵盖天地生成、水火土石、飞禽走兽、草木昆虫，这是万物之数，即万一千二百五十策。神妙地阐明它，观察其会通之处，领会意旨而忘记言语，抛弃工具（得鱼忘筌），刘先生的《本草述》，大概就在于此吧？大概就在于此吧！
唐宋以来，名臣中留心医道的，我找到了三个人：狄仁杰（狄梁公）功在社稷，勋业盖世，却有胸背下针、鼻端疣落的技术；陆贽（陆宣公）经济宏深，著有《唐龟鉴》，却在被贬谪荒远之地时，收集记录古方的事迹；范仲淹（范文正）出入将相之间，先忧后乐，却有“不为宰相则为名医”的愿望。刘先生怀有三位三公的心志，学习三位三公的学问，晚年归隐养老，仅仅通过医术来展现自己。我研露点笔，反复修改十余次。后来的君子，读他的书并了解他的时代，就可以知道他是怎样的人了。至于我，采集天随子（陆龟蒙）的杞菊，制成药丸，借用刘先生的绪余，附合应璩《百一诗》的意义，不过是些许微末之作罢了。姑且借助这篇文章，依托刘先生的书使其不朽而已。
康熙丙午年仲冬月，竟陵吴骥恭敬作序。
Therefore, Liu Gong (Mr. Liu) of Yunmi, Qianjiang, who held the position of Sikou (Minister of Justice), had his moral virtue widely known and was famous throughout the country for his upright integrity. Having reached the age of eighty, he was revered as a venerable elder. Throughout his life, he read all kinds of books, with a particular devotion to the medical learning of Xuānqí (referring to Huangdi and Qibo). He explored profound mysteries and returned to simplicity, exhausting thirty years of effort to complete the *Bencao Shu* (Record of Materia Medica). The term "Shu" (Expounding) refers to elaborating on the *Shennong Bencao Jing* (Divine Farmer's Materia Medica) combined with theoretical discussions, extending meanings comprehensively to clarify the attitude of not claiming authorship credit. I, having long been eligible for the staff of honor (indicating old age), was humbly addressed by Mr. Liu as a "little friend." In the tenth month of the Jiachen year, I visited him at home. His spirit remained sharp and undiminished; we talked deeply until late into the night. As the wine ran out and the candles burned low, he said, "In my youth, I suffered from many illnesses and relied on medicine to assist my body. Reading prescriptions and formulating remedies was indeed a source of entertainment." Although it may not equal the ancient pleasure of wearing wooden clogs (a reference to Xie Lingyun), it is certainly a unique joy. He wrote down his insights, which fortunately came to completion, and entrusted me with the task of writing a preface. I accepted this responsibility solemnly and took my leave.
A year later, in the Yisi year, Mr. Liu passed away (his star position fell). Another year passed before I could finally write the preface. The preface states: The *Bencao* is one of the ancient Three Fens (ancient classics) and survived the burning of books during the Qin dynasty. Emperor Ping of Han summoned individuals across the realm who were proficient in lost classics, ancient records, astronomy, calendar calculations, bell tuning, local histories, arts of healing, materia medica, and those who taught the *Classic of Filial Piety* and *Erya*. They were provided with covered carriages and dispatched to the capital, marking the first time the name "Bencao" became prominent. The *Qilu* (Seven Catalogs) of the Liang Dynasty recorded three volumes of the *Shennong Bencao Jing*. Zhang Ji and Hua Tuo of the Han Dynasty wrote commentaries on it; Tao Hongjing of the Liang Dynasty added annotations; Su Jing and Chen Cangqi of the Tang Dynasty supplemented its omissions; Liu Han of the Song Dynasty consolidated its achievements; and Wang Haogu, Li Shizhen, and Miao Xiyong of the Ming Dynasty expanded its entries, thus making the *Bencao* texts complete. The *Shennong Bencao Jing* serves as the classic text itself, while the additions by various schools are like commentaries and exegeses interwoven with red and black ink.
The way of medicine involves the mutual overcoming and dominance of the Five Movements and Six Qi, which is inherent in humans and should also apply to things. Tingli (Descurainiae Semen Lepidii seu Lepidii Semen) dies in midsummer, while Kuandonghua (Fritillariae Thunbergii Bulbus) thrives in frost and snow; this is due to differences in cold and heat. Chickens turn black after crossing mountains, while Quyu (Sturnus vulgaris) turns white after crossing mountains; this is due to differences in mountains and rivers. Some can drink a stone of wine without disorder, while others become dizzy upon slight dampness; this is due to differences in constitution. Contacting lacquer all day causes no harm to some, while others suffer from sores upon contact; this is also due to constitutional differences. Huangjing (Polygonati Rhizoma) and Gouwen (Gelsemium elegans) have different natures despite being similar items; Wutou (Aconiti Radix) and Fuzi (Aconiti Lateralis Radix Praeparata) grow in the same place but have different uses. Medicines must be carefully distinguished to achieve their efficacy. Lingnan has many toxins, but Jin She Bai Yao (Golden Snake White Medicine) can treat them; Hunan has much miasma, but Shengjiang (Zingiberis Rhizoma), Juhua (Citri Reticulatae Pericarpium), and Zhuyu (Evodiae Fructus) can regulate qi. Yu, Bie, Luo, and Xian live in water and treat dampness; She Xiang (Moschus) and Ling Yang Jiao (Antilopis Cornu) live in mountains and treat stone toxicity. Medicines function through the principle of mutual overcoming. By analogy and extension, adhering strictly to principles, delving deeply, analyzing and understanding, refuting later erroneous theories, and entering the profound secrets of the sages, Mr. Liu's virtue is far-reaching.
I have privately formed an opinion on this. Initially, when I read the *Bencao*, I found discrepancies. Later, when I read the *Neijing* (Inner Canon), I found no discrepancies. Finally, when I read the *Yijing* (Book of Changes), I found even fewer discrepancies. The *Neijing* correlates the human body with the 360 degrees of the celestial sphere, representing the numbers of Heaven and Earth. The *Bencao* covers heaven and earth generation, water, fire, earth, stones, flying creatures, walking beasts, plants, and trees, representing the number of all things, specifically the 12,150 counts. Illuminating this spiritually and observing its convergence, grasping the meaning while forgetting the words, and discarding the tools (getting the fish and forgetting the trap), Mr. Liu's *Bencao Shu* lies precisely here. Precisely here! Since the Tang and Song dynasties, among famous ministers who paid attention to medical arts, I have identified three: Di Renjie (Lord Liang of Di) had merit to the state and peerless achievements, yet possessed techniques of needling the chest and back and removing warts from the nose tip; Lu Zhi (Lord Xuan of Lu) had profound economic wisdom and authored the *Tang Guijian* (Mirror of Tang), yet while exiled to remote areas, he collected and recorded ancient prescriptions; Fan Zhongyan (Lord Zheng of Fan) served as general and chancellor, worried before others and rejoiced after, yet harbored the wish to be a renowned physician if not a chancellor. Mr. Liu shared the heart of these three dukes, studied their learning, retired in his old age, and sought to distinguish himself merely through medical skills. I have revised my draft ten times. Future gentlemen, by reading his book and discussing his era, will know what kind of person he was. As for me, I gather Qiju (Lycium and Chrysanthemum) from Tian Sui Zi (Lu Guimeng), prepare pills using precise measurements, borrow from Mr. Liu's residual insights, and attach them to the meaning of Ying Qu's *Baiyi Shi* (Poem of One Percent). This is but a trivial contribution. I merely rely on this text to entrust Mr. Liu's book to immortality.
Preface respectfully written by Wu Ji of Jingling in the middle winter month of the Bingwu year of the Kangxi reign.