一 注本草者。当先注明其所以主治之由。与所以当用之理。使读之者有义味可咀嚼也。
兹集药性病情。互相阐发。庶便资用。若每处皆释。则重复烦琐。反生厌渎。故前后间见。
或因药论辨。读者汇观而统会之可也。
一 上自神农本草经。以至李氏纲目。俱递有收载。自纲目以后。收载绝少。如燕窝之
类。
一 自古本草以至近今本草。俱有是名。而今并无是药者。如预知子之类。俱为削去。
一 药品主治。诸家析言者少。统言者多。如治痰之药。有治湿痰者。有治燥痰者。诸
书第以除痰概之。头痛之药。有治内伤头痛者。有治外感头痛者。诸书惟言治头痛而已。此
皆相反之证。未可混施。举此二端。其余可以类推矣。又止言某病宜用。而不言某病忌用。
均属缺略。兹集并加详注。庶无贻误。
一 每药先辨其气味、形色。次着其所入经络。乃为发明其功用。而以主治之证。具列
于后。其所以主治之理。即在前功用之中。不能逐款细注。读者详之。
一 徐之才曰。药有宣、（上升下行、曰宣）、通、补、泻、涩、滑、燥、湿、（即润也）、
轻、重十种。是药之大体。而本经不言。后人未述。凡用药者。审而详之。则靡所失遗矣。
今为分阐。以标于本药之上。（此十剂也、陶隐居多寒热二剂、兹不具述、然本集燥剂、即
陶氏之热剂、而通剂、乃徐氏之燥剂也。）
一 药品主治。已注明某脏某腑者。则不更言入某经络。以重复无用也。
一 阴、阳、升、降、浮、沉。已详于药性总义中。故每品之下，不加重注。
一 采用诸书。悉标其名氏。使知为先哲名言。有可考据也。间有删节数行数句者。以
限于尺幅也。有增改数句数字者。务畅其文义也。其间广搜博采。义图贯通。取要删繁。词
归雅饬
一 凡假药不可不辨。如花草子、伪沙苑蒺藜。香栾、伪枳实枳壳之类。始则以伪乱真。
渐
一 同是药名。而力量浓薄悬殊。性味优劣迥别。如野白术与种白术、并江西白术之类。
至
一 本药而杂别种在内。用者即不能取效。如肆中柴胡。夹杂白头翁、小前胡、远志苗、
丹参等于内。不细为拣去。不唯无益。而反有害矣。亦断不可不正之。
一 药品修治。必须如法。今肆中熟地黄用煮。菟丝饼加面之类。制治乖方。断不可用。
俱为正之。
一 凡可以救荒者。收载稍繁。以其有裨于生成之实用也。
一 养生与治病。食物之宜否。关系非细。故收载不厌其繁。
第一条：注释本草书籍的人，应当首先注明药物主治病症的原因，以及应当使用此药的道理，使阅读的人有义理滋味可以细细咀嚼体会。
本集将药性与病情互相阐发，以便便于参考应用。如果每一处都加以解释，就会重复繁琐，反而让人产生厌烦轻慢之心。所以在前后文中间出现（相关论述），读者汇总观察并融会贯通即可。
第二条：上起《神农本草经》，下到李时珍的《本草纲目》，都有陆续收录。自《本草纲目》以后，收录的药物就极少见了。例如燕窝之类。
第三条：自古以来的本草著作直到近年的本草著作，都有记载某些名称，但如今并没有这种药物的情况。如预知子之类，都被删去。
第四条：关于药品的主治功效，各家分析得少，笼统概括的多。例如治疗痰证的药物，有的治疗湿痰，有的治疗燥痰，各种书籍只是用“除痰”来概括；治疗头痛的药物，有的治疗内伤引起的头痛，有的治疗外感引起的头痛，各种书籍只说治疗头痛罢了。这些都是相反的证候，不可以混淆施用。列举这两点，其余的可以类推了。又比如只说某病适宜使用，而不说某病禁忌使用，都属于缺漏。本集都加以详细注释，以免贻误后人。
第五条：每种药物先辨别其气味、形状和颜色，其次注明其所入的经络，然后阐明其功用，并将主治的证候全部列在后面。其所以能主治的道理，就在前面的功用阐述之中，不能逐条详细注释，请读者仔细研读。
第六条：徐之才说，药物有宣、通、补、泻、涩、滑、燥、湿、轻、重十种分类。（上升下行称为宣）；（即润也）。这是药物的总体分类，而《神农本草经》中没有提及，后人也没有详细论述。凡是用药的人，审慎地详细考察它，就不会有什么遗漏失误了。现在为这十类分别进行阐发，标注在每种药物之上。（这就是所谓的“十剂”，陶弘景大多分为寒热两剂，这里不详细叙述。然而本集中的燥剂，就是陶氏的热剂；而通剂，乃是徐之才的燥剂。）
第七条：药品主治中，已经注明某脏某腑的，就不再说明进入哪条经络，以避免重复无用。
第八条：阴、阳、升、降、浮、沉的理论，已经在《药性总义》中详细说明，所以每种药物之下，不再加重注。
第九条：采用各书的内容，都标明其名称，使人知道是先哲的名言，有据可考。偶尔有删节几行或几句的，是因为篇幅有限。有增改几句或几个字的，是为了使文义通畅。其中广泛搜集博采众长，意图贯通义理，选取要点删除繁冗，言辞归于雅致工整。
第十条：凡是有假药不可不辨别。例如花草子假冒沙苑蒺藜，香栾假冒枳实、枳壳之类。起初是以假乱真，逐渐……（原文此处似有缺漏，按语境理解为误导消费者或混淆视听）。
第十一条：同样是药名，但药力浓淡悬殊，性味优劣截然不同。例如野白术与种植白术、江西白术之类。（原文此处似有缺漏，按语境理解为需仔细区分）。
第十二条：本药中混杂了其他种类在内，使用者就不能取得疗效。例如药铺中的柴胡，夹杂白头翁、小前胡、远志苗、丹参等在里面，如果不仔细拣选去除，不仅无益，反而有害。也必须坚决纠正这种现象。
第十三条：药品的炮制修治，必须合乎法度。如今药铺中熟地黄用煮的方法，菟丝饼加面粉之类，炮制方法违背常理，绝对不可使用。都已予以纠正。
第十四条：凡是可用于救荒的食物，收录稍多，因为它们对维持生命有实际的益处。
第十五条：养生与治疗疾病，食物的适宜与否，关系非比寻常。所以收录不厌其烦（详尽）。
Article 1: Commentators on Materia Medica should first clarify the reasons for the therapeutic indications of each herb and the rationale for its application, so that readers may find profound meaning to ponder. This collection elucidates the properties of herbs in relation to pathological conditions to facilitate practical reference. If every instance were explained individually, it would become repetitive and tedious, leading to reader fatigue. Therefore, relevant discussions are interspersed throughout the text; readers are advised to synthesize and comprehend them holistically.
Article 2: From the *Shennong Bencao Jing* (Divine Farmer's Materia Medica) up to Li Shizhen's *Bencao Gangmu* (Compendium of Materia Medica), there has been continuous recording of substances. However, since the *Bencao Gangmu*, new additions have been scarce. Examples include foods like bird's nest.
Article 3: Substances mentioned in ancient and recent materia medica texts that no longer exist or are unavailable today, such as Yuzhizi (Fructus Preoculis), have been omitted.
Article 4: Regarding therapeutic indications, previous works often provide generalizations rather than specific analyses. For instance, regarding phlegm-resolving herbs, some treat damp-phlegm while others treat dry-phlegm, yet many texts simply categorize them under "resolving phlegm." Similarly, for headache remedies, some address internal injury-induced headaches while others address external contraction-induced headaches, yet texts merely state "treats headache." These represent contradictory syndromes and must not be confused or applied indiscriminately. By citing these two examples, one can infer the rest. Furthermore, stating which diseases a herb is suitable for without mentioning contraindications is an omission. This collection provides detailed annotations to prevent medical errors.
Article 5: For each herb, its flavor and nature, shape, and color are analyzed first, followed by its meridian tropism. Its functions are then expounded, and its therapeutic indications are listed subsequently. The rationale for its efficacy is inherent in the description of its functions; thus, item-by-item annotation is not feasible. Readers are urged to study carefully.
Article 6: Xu Zhicai stated that drugs fall into ten categories: Xuan (Dispersing/Ascending-Descending), Tong (Unblocking), Bu (Tonifying), Xie (Draining), Se (Astringing), Hua (Slippening), Zao (Drying), Shi (Moistening/Lubricating), Qing (Light), and Zhong (Heavy). These constitute the general framework of pharmacology, though they are not explicitly detailed in the *Bencao Jing* nor fully elaborated by later authors. Practitioners must examine these categories meticulously to avoid omissions. This collection elucidates these ten categories, placing them above each relevant herb. (Note: These correspond to the "Ten Categories" or *Shi Ji*. Tao Hongjing largely categorized them into Cold and Heat. In this collection, the "Zao" (Drying) category corresponds to Tao's "Heat" category, while the "Tong" (Unblocking) category corresponds to Xu Zhicai's "Zao" (Drying) category.)
Article 7: If a herb's indication already specifies a particular Zang or Fu organ, its meridian tropism is not repeated to avoid redundancy.
Article 8: Theories of Yin/Yang, Ascending/Descending, and Floating/Sinking are detailed in the "General Principles of Herb Properties"; therefore, redundant notes are omitted for individual herbs.
Article 9: Sources from various texts are cited with their names to attribute them to past sages and allow for verification. Occasional deletions of several lines or sentences are due to space constraints. Additions or modifications of words or sentences are made to ensure clarity and coherence. Extensive research was conducted to integrate principles, select essentials, eliminate verbosity, and refine the language to elegance.
Article 10: Adulterated drugs must be identified. For example, Huacaozi is used to fake Shayuan Jili (Astragali Complanati Semen), and Xiangluan is used to fake Zhishi (Aurantii Fructus Immaturus) and Zhike (Aurantii Fructus). Initially, this deceives through substitution... [Text incomplete in source].
Article 11: Herbs sharing the same name may vary significantly in potency and quality of nature/flavor. For example, wild Baizhu (Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma) differs from cultivated Baizhu, and varieties from Jiangxi differ from others... [Text incomplete in source].
Article 12: Contamination of a primary herb with other species renders it ineffective. For instance, Chaihu (Bupleuri Radix) sold in pharmacies may be adulterated with Baitouweng (Pulsatillae Radix), Xiao Qianhu, Yuanzhi Miao (Polygalae Herba), or Danshen (Salviae Miltiorrhizae Radix et Rhizoma). Failure to carefully sort and remove these impurities not only fails to produce therapeutic effects but may cause harm. Such practices must be strictly corrected.
Article 13: Processing and preparation of herbs must follow proper methods. Current practices in pharmacies, such as boiling Shudihuang (Rehmanniae Radix Praeparata) or adding flour to Tusibing (Cuscutae Semen Praeparatum), deviate from standard processing and are unacceptable. These have been corrected in this text.
Article 14: Foods useful for famine relief are included more extensively because they serve the practical purpose of sustaining life.
Article 15: The suitability of food for health preservation versus disease treatment is of significant importance. Therefore, entries regarding dietary therapy are recorded comprehensively.