三坟之书，神农预其一。百药既辩，本草存其录。旧经三卷，世所流传，名医别录，互
为编
纂。至粱·正白先生陶景，乃以别录参其本经，朱、墨杂书，时谓明白；而又考彼功用，为
之注释，列为七卷，南国行焉。逮乎有唐，别加参校，增药八百余味，添注为二十一卷。本
经漏功则补之，陶氏误说则证之。然而载历年祀，又逾四百，朱字、墨字，无本得同；旧注
、新注，其文互阙；非圣主抚大同之运，永无疆之休，其何以改而正之哉！乃命尽考传误，
刊
为定本；类例非允，从而革焉。至如笔头灰，兔毫也，而在草部，今移附兔头骨之下；半
天河、地浆，皆水也，亦在草部，今移附土石类之间。败鼓皮移附于兽皮，胡桐泪改从于木
类。紫矿亦木也，自玉石品而取焉；伏翼实禽也，由虫鱼部而移焉。橘柚附于果实，食盐附
于光明盐。生姜、干姜，同归一说。至于鸡肠、蘩蒌、陆英、蒴 ，以类相似，从而附之。
仍采陈藏器《拾遗》、李含光《音义》，或讨源于别本，或传效于医家，参而较之，辨其臧
否。至如突屈白，旧说灰类，今是木根；天麻根解似赤箭，今又全异。去非取是，特立新条
。自余刊正，不可悉数，下采众议，定为印板。乃以白字为神农所说；墨字为名医所传；唐
附、今附，各加显注；详其解释，审其形性，证谬误而辨之者，署为今注；考文记而述之者
，又为今按。义既刊定，理亦详明。今以新旧药合九百八十三种，并目录二十一卷，广颁天
下，传而行焉。
上古“三坟”之书，神农氏的著作位列其中。百草的药性既然已经辨别清楚，《本草》便记录了这些内容。旧有的《神农本草经》共三卷，在世间流传；《名医别录》与之相互编撰补充。到了南朝梁代，正白先生陶弘景，便将《名医别录》的内容参合进《神农本草经》中，用红、墨两色分别书写，当时人们认为非常清晰明白；他又考证药物的功效，为之作注释，将其列为七卷，在南国通行。
等到唐代，又进行了额外的参校，增加了八百多种药物，添加注释后扩充为二十一卷。对于《本经》遗漏的功效予以补全，对陶弘景错误的解说予以证实纠正。然而，距离那时已经过去四百多年，朱字（代表古经）和墨字（代表别录）原本应当相同的地方却不再一致；旧的注释和新的注释，文字互相缺失。如果不是圣明的君主顺应大同之世的气运，享有永久的福泽，怎么能改正并确立它呢！于是命令全面考证传抄中的错误，刊刻成定本；如果分类体例不恰当，就随之改革。
至于像笔头灰，其实是兔毫，却列在草部，现在移到兔头骨之下；半天河、地浆，都是水，也列在草部，现在移到土石类之间。败鼓皮移到兽皮类，胡桐泪改从木类。紫矿也是木类，从玉石品中取出；伏翼（蝙蝠）实际上是禽类，从虫鱼部中移过来。橘柚附于果实类，食盐附于光明盐类。生姜、干姜，归于同一说法。至于鸡肠、蘩蒌、陆英、蒴藋，因为类别相似，从而附入相应类别。
仍然采纳陈藏器的《拾遗》和李含光的《音义》，有的追溯源头于其他版本，有的传承效用于医家，参考比较它们，辨别其优劣。至于像突屈白，旧说认为是灰类，现在是木根；天麻根的解释似乎与赤箭相似，现在又完全不同。去除错误的，选取正确的，特别设立新条目。其余刊正的内容，无法一一列举，广泛采纳众人意见，定为印板印刷。于是用白字表示是神农所说的；用墨字表示是名医所传的；唐代的附注、现在的附注，各自加上显著标注；详细解释，审察其形态性质，证明谬误并辨别的，署名为今注；考证文献记录并陈述的，又作为今按。义理既然刊定，道理也就详细明了。现在以新旧药物合计九百八十三种，连同目录共二十一卷，广泛颁布天下，流传施行。
The ancient "Sanfen" (Three Great Treatises) texts include those attributed to Shennong. Once the properties of hundreds of herbs were distinguished, *Bencao* (Materia Medica) preserved their records. The old classic consisted of three volumes, circulated in the world; *Bie Lu* (Separate Records of Famous Physicians) was compiled mutually with it. By the Liang Dynasty, Tao Hongjing, styled Zhengbai Xiansheng, integrated the content of *Bie Lu* into the *Ben Jing* (Classic of Materia Medica), using vermilion and black ink respectively, which was considered clear and understandable at the time; he further investigated the functions of these substances and provided annotations, arranging them into seven volumes, which circulated in the southern regions.
Upon reaching the Tang Dynasty, additional verification was conducted, adding over eight hundred medicinal items, and expanding the annotated text to twenty-one volumes. Omitted functions in the *Ben Jing* were supplemented, and erroneous explanations by Tao were verified and corrected. However, more than four hundred years had passed since then; the vermilion characters (representing the ancient classic) and black characters (representing the separate records) no longer aligned where they originally should have been identical; old and new annotations suffered from mutual textual omissions. Unless a sage ruler governed during an era of great unity and enjoyed boundless blessings, how could such corrections be made? Thus, an order was issued to thoroughly investigate transmission errors and publish a definitive edition; inappropriate classifications were reformed accordingly.
For instance, "Bitou Hui" (Pen-tip Ash), which is actually rabbit hair bristles, was previously listed in the Grass category; it is now moved under Rabbit Skull Bone. "Ban Tian He" (Half-Heaven River) and "Di Jiang" (Earth Slurry), both being water-related, were also in the Grass category; they are now moved among the Earth and Stone categories. "Bai Gu Pi" (Rotten Drum Skin) is moved to Animal Skin; "Hu Tong Lei" (Hu-tong Tear/Resin) is changed to follow the Wood category. "Zi Kuang" (Purple Resin) is also wood, taken from the Jade and Stone section; "Fu Yi" (Flying Bat/Vesperugo), being a bird-like creature, is moved from the Insect and Fish section. "Ju You" (Citrus and Pomelo) are attached to the Fruit category; "Shi Yan" (Salt) is attached to Guangming Yan (Bright Salt). "Sheng Jiang" (Fresh Ginger) and "Gan Jiang" (Dried Ginger) are归 (guī - classified together) under one explanation. As for "Ji Chang" (Chicken Intestine), "Fan Lou" (Artemisia selengensis), "Lu Ying" (Euphorbia lathyris), and "Shuo Di" (Polygonum multiflorum), due to similarity in category, they are attached accordingly.
The works of Chen Cangqi's *Shi Yi* (Supplementary Records) and Li Hanguang's *Yin Yi* (Phonetic and Semantic Explanations) are still adopted; some trace origins to other editions, others transmit efficacy known to physicians. These are compared and evaluated to distinguish their merits and faults. For example, "Tu Qu Bai," formerly said to be ash-type, is now identified as a wood root; the root of "Tian Ma" (Gastrodia Elata), whose explanation seemed similar to "Chi Jian" (Rhizoma Gastrodiae), is now found completely different. Removing the incorrect and selecting the correct, new entries are specially established. The remaining corrections cannot be enumerated in full; after widely collecting opinions, a printing block edition is finalized.
Thus, white characters denote what Shennong said; black characters denote what famous physicians transmitted; Tang-era attachments and current attachments are each clearly marked; detailed explanations that examine form and nature, proving errors and distinguishing truths, are signed as "Jin Zhu" (Current Annotation); those that verify texts and record accounts are designated as "Jin An" (Current Commentary). With principles established and logic clarified, the new and old medicines total nine hundred and eighty-three types, along with the table of contents, comprising twenty-one volumes. This is widely promulgated throughout the realm for circulation and practice.