人有恒言曰。用药如用兵。以药之不可轻用也。然苟用得其当。又未尝不应手取效。药
到病除。是操何术以致哉。则曰非读本草不为功。顾读本草之难也。神农本草经尚已。然其
中词旨奥衍。义蕴宏深。往往皓首穷年。每苦未能得其要领。后世着本草者杂出。人自为说。
学人既无所适从。且累牍连篇。虽有聪颖之儒。亦苦记诵之匪易。于此欲求一善本本草。使
人人得而读之。且读之无不人人称便者。盖戛戛乎其难之。今年冬月。吴君静甫以张君兆嘉
先生所着本草便读见示。并嘱为弁言。余读之。见其着墨无多。而一药之中。凡性味气质。
以及经络脏腑。与一切配合炒制之法。靡不备具。言虽简而意自赅。学人读之。既省记诵之
烦。又悟指归之趣。以此称便。便何如矣。有志业医者。果能守是编为楷模。将见用力少而
成功多。由是玩而味之。更由是神而明之。夫如是各家之本草可以参。亦如是各家之本草可
以废。岂惟便于一时已哉。千百世之后。吾知因利乘便。阴受是编之福者当不少也。是为序。
光绪十六年岁在庚寅嘉平月赐进士出身同知衔知武进县事愚弟吴炳拜撰
本草一书。名人着述甚多。而求其便于读者不数觏也。东垣药性赋。云林药性歌括。未
尝不简便易读。而考其所入脏腑。所行经络。与夫一物而枝本异用。一名而种类异宜。
均未详列。则虽读犹之不读也。李士材医宗必读本草二卷。句联字偶。缕晰条分。习医家无
不读之称
便。然而脏腑经络。未经组织。枝本种类。未尽周备。终不足使读者快然。近时善本如陈修
园之本草经读。黄元御之长沙药解。玉楸药解。几于家置一编矣。而经读意存复古。句读悉
本经文。仍不便于读也。长沙药解。句斟字酌。便于读矣。而玉楸药解。不无参差之处。读
之而犹多未便。于以叹本草读本之尽善者。诚不易觏也。岁壬辰张君兆嘉。出所着本草便读
示余。属为弁言。余读之。见其于性味甚辨晰也。脏腑经络甚周至也。枝本之用。种类之宜
甚明备也。而字句之不锤自炼。对偶之不琢自工。非数十年积学深思。寻绎乎圣经。研求乎
物理。而又具救世之苦心。存提携后进之隐念者。未易臻此诣也。余欣喜过望。为世之读本
草者幸焉。是为序。
光绪十八年岁次壬辰愚弟恽思赞顿首拜撰
人们常说：用药如同用兵。这是因为药物不可轻易使用。然而，如果使用得当，也未尝不能手到病除，药到病除。这是凭借什么方法达到这种效果的呢？回答说：不研读《本草》就不能成功。但是，研读《本草》的困难在于，《神农本草经》虽然经典，但其中词意深奥，义理宏大深远，往往有人穷尽一生白头皓首，仍苦于难以掌握其要领。后世撰写本草著作的人纷纷出现，各持己见，学者们因此无所适从；而且篇幅冗长，即使是有聪慧资质的儒生，也苦于记忆背诵不易。在这种情况下，想要寻求一部优秀的本草书籍，使人人能够阅读，且阅读后人人都觉得方便，这确实是非常困难的。
今年冬天，吴静甫先生出示了张兆嘉先生所著的《本草便读》，并嘱咐我为其作序。我阅读此书，发现其笔墨不多，但在每一味药中，凡是药物的性、味、气、质，以及所属经络脏腑，和一切配合、炒制的方法，无不具备。言语虽简练而意义自完备，学习者阅读它，既节省了记忆背诵的繁琐，又能领悟其旨趣的妙处。以此称为“便”（方便），方便到了极点。有志于从事医学的人，如果能以此为楷模，将会见到用力少而收效多。由此细细玩味，进而融会贯通、神明变化。像这样，各家本草可以参看，也可以废弃。岂止是便利于一时而已！千百世之后，我知道因利乘便，暗中受这部书福泽的人应当不少。这就是序言。
光绪十六年岁在庚寅（1890年）十二月，赐进士出身、同知衔、武进县知县愚弟吴炳拜撰。
关于《本草》一书，名人著述很多，但求其便于读者阅读的却很少见到。李东垣的《药性赋》，云林的《药性歌括》，并非不简便易读，但对于药物所入脏腑、所行经络，以及同一药物枝与根作用不同、同一名称种类适宜性不同的情况，都没有详细列出。那么，虽然读了也等于没读。李士材的《医宗必读·本草》二卷，句式对仗，条理清晰，习医者无不阅读并称便。然而，对于脏腑经络，未经系统组织；枝与根的作用、种类的适宜性，未尽周全完备。终究不足以使读者感到痛快满意。近时的善本如陈修园的《本草经读》，黄元御的《长沙药解》、《玉楸药解》，几乎家家都置备了一部。但《经读》意在复古，句读完全依据经文，仍然不便于阅读。《长沙药解》字斟句酌，便于阅读了，但《玉楸药解》却不无参差之处，读起来仍有多处不便。由此感叹，本草读本中尽善尽美的，确实不容易遇到。
壬辰年（1892年），张兆嘉先生拿出他所著的《本草便读》给我看，嘱咐我作序。我阅读后，发现其对性味的辨析非常清晰，对脏腑经络的论述非常周详，对枝与根的作用、种类的适宜性也非常明备。而且字句不经锤炼自然精炼，对偶不经雕琢自然工整。如果不是经过数十年积累学问、深入思考，寻绎经典圣经，研究物理规律，又具备救世的苦心，存有提携后进的隐念，是不容易达到这种境界的。我欣喜若狂，为世上读本草的人感到庆幸。这就是序言。
光绪十八年岁次壬辰（1892年），愚弟恽思赞顿首拜撰。
It is a common saying that "prescribing medicine is like deploying troops." This is because medicines should not be used lightly. However, if used appropriately, they can indeed yield immediate results, with the medicine arriving and the disease departing. What method achieves this? The answer is: success cannot be attained without studying the *Bencao* (Compendium of Materia Medica). Yet, the difficulty in studying *Bencao* lies in the fact that although the *Shennong Bencao Jing* (Divine Farmer's Materia Medica) is classic, its language is profound and its meanings are deep and extensive. Often, people spend their entire lives until their hair turns white, yet still struggle to grasp the essentials. Later authors of *Bencao* works emerged one after another, each presenting their own theories, leaving students at a loss as to which path to follow. Moreover, these works are voluminous; even for scholars with keen intellects, memorization and recitation are arduous tasks. In such circumstances, seeking an excellent edition of *Bencao* that everyone can read and find convenient is indeed extremely difficult.
This winter, Mr. Wu Jingfu presented to me the *Bencao Bian Du* (Convenient Reading of Materia Medica) authored by Mr. Zhang Zhaojia, and requested that I write a preface. Upon reading it, I found that while the text is concise, within each herb entry, all aspects including nature, flavor, qi, quality, meridian tropism, zang-fu organ associations, and all methods of processing and frying are fully detailed. The language is brief yet comprehensive in meaning. For students, reading it saves the trouble of rote memorization and allows them to appreciate its underlying principles. Thus, it is called "Bian" (convenient), offering unparalleled convenience. Those aspiring to practice medicine, if they take this book as a model, will find that they can achieve great results with little effort. By carefully savoring it, and further by mastering it intuitively, one may then consult other *Bencao* texts or even discard them. It is not merely convenient for the present time! Thousands of years hence, I know that many will benefit from its utility and receive its blessings. This is the preface.
Written by your humble brother Wu Bing, Prefect of Wujin County, with the title of Tongzhi and the degree of Jinshi conferred by imperial examination, in the twelfth month of the Gengyin year of the Guangxu era (1890).
Regarding the *Bencao*, there have been many writings by famous scholars, but editions that are truly convenient for readers are rarely seen. Li Dongyuan's *Yaoxing Fu* (Ode to Drug Properties) and Yunlin's *Yaoxing Ge Kuo* (Song of Drug Properties) are indeed simple and easy to read. However, they do not detail which zang-fu organs the drugs enter, which meridians they traverse, nor do they thoroughly explain cases where different parts of the same plant (branches vs. roots) have different uses, or where the same name refers to different species with varying suitability. Therefore, reading them is akin to not reading them at all. Li Shicai's *Bencao* section in *Yizong Bixiu* (Essential Readings for Medical Practitioners), consisting of two volumes, features parallel sentences and clear categorization, making it a standard text for medical students who find it convenient. However, it lacks systematic organization regarding zang-fu and meridians, and does not comprehensively cover the uses of branches/roots or species variations. Thus, it ultimately fails to satisfy the reader completely. Recent high-quality editions, such as Chen Xiuyuan's *Bencao Jing Du* (Reading of the Divine Farmer's Materia Medica), Huang Yuanyu's *Changsha Yaojie* (Explanation of Drugs from Changsha), and *Yuqiu Yaojie* (Explanation of Drugs from Yuqiu), are almost found in every household. Yet, *Jing Du* aims for antiquity, adhering strictly to the original text's punctuation, making it inconvenient to read. *Changsha Yaojie* is well-crafted and readable, but *Yuqiu Yaojie* has inconsistencies, making it still somewhat inconvenient. From this, we sigh that a perfect *Bencao* reader is indeed hard to come by.
In the Renchen year (1892), Mr. Zhang Zhaojia showed me his *Bencao Bian Du* and asked for a preface. After reading it, I observed that its analysis of drug properties and flavors is very clear, its discussion of zang-fu organs and meridians is thorough, and its explanation of the uses of branches/roots and species suitability is complete. Furthermore, the phrasing is naturally refined without forced polishing, and the couplets are naturally balanced without deliberate carving. Such achievement is unlikely unless one has accumulated learning and deep thought over decades, explored the classics, studied natural laws, possessed a sincere desire to save lives, and harbored a hidden intention to guide junior practitioners. I was overjoyed and felt fortunate for those who study *Bencao* in the world. This is the preface.
Respectfully written by your humble brother Yun Sizan, in the Renchen year of the Guangxu era (1892).