余少不敏。制举子业外。惟殚精竭虑。酷嗜素问本草诸书。桑梓间。遂谬以伯休相许。
及谢
帖括。从事韬钤。卯辰之役。联获隽游于京师。益以壶中术。稍见知于当世王公大人及缙绅
先生。未几。授真卫守军输钱谷。暇问疾求诊者累累填塞卫舍。余之道信于人与弗信于人。
观其来者可知其处者也。然余用是益滋惧矣。毋论水火寒热之貌似而实非。强弱攻补之毫厘
而千里。即如寒热平温之四性。一物也。而根梢异用。一苗也。而生熟殊施。一制也而数用
。数制也而一用。其间君臣佐使。畏恶反忌。恒有呼吸死生之别。信手拈来。遂分造化。苏
子人费之说。宁不凛凛然。后知本草一书。与素问灵枢同垂不朽者。诚医学之金缕也。但世
医捷求养生之术。粗识药性。浅涉汤歌。遂自信不疑。呜呼。本草一书。尚河汉而罔极。医
道可深言哉。此无他。卷帙浩繁。或贫不能致书。即力能致书。或资不及览故尔。余每欲思
其约而该。明而当。详审切要而简核综举者。用成一书。以告来学。愧鞅掌未暇。一日。蒋
子雪洲过予署。出其一编。乃渠尊大人介繁翁所辑本草择要纲目。余捧而读之。殆予所思约
而该。明而当。详审切要而简核综举者乎。夫闻其名者。不急其用。虽博无庸。今择要仅三
百五十余种。犹精卒良将之足以歼敌。无烦虚声糜饷之多也。相恶不并进。相畏不同饮。相
反忌不共治。犹君子小人之辨类。可与共图化理也。引经佐使。法制汤名。了然药品之下。
犹山水之经纬。阴阳之调燮。可分可合。而以共成化育也。其为轩农岐俞之功臣。岂鲜浅哉
。余忝任胥江五载矣。第闻介繁先生。有鹿门之懿行。燕山之隐德。而不知其潜心着述。期
于利世济物如此其恳挚也。岁己未春。雪洲剞劂将竣。问序于余。余握其手而赞叹之曰。子
一举而三善备矣。克广先志。孝也。济渡天下。仁也。播之海内。传之千秋。医者凭而不盲
。病者危而有恃。则义之利也。余又何幸蹈染香之国。而窃附于知医哉。聊以白蒋子之世德
作求可耳。
时康熙己未上巳后二日年家眷弟太原杨耀祖浣手拜书于真江卫署。
我年少时天资并不聪敏。除了致力于科举应试的文章之外，只有竭尽全力、殚精竭虑地酷爱《黄帝内经·素问》（中医经典著作）、《神农本草经》（中药学经典著作）等书籍。在家乡乡里间，于是被错误地比作东汉隐士严子陵（字子陵，名光，字子陵，号严子陵，此处借指高洁之士，原文“伯休”指东汉郑朴，字子陵，亦称严子陵，此处可能为作者自谦或误用，通常“伯休”指郑朴，隐居不仕，此处意指被推崇为高洁之人）。
等到废弃了科举应试的八股文，转而从事军事韬略的研究。在卯年和辰年（指康熙元年壬寅至二年癸卯，或泛指某段时间，此处结合后文“联获隽游于京师”，应指考中举人或进士进入京城的时间段，具体年份需考证，但此处译为时间状语即可），接连考中并游学于京城。更加凭借医道技艺，稍微被当时的王公贵族及士大夫先生们所知晓。不久，我被任命为真卫守军负责钱粮运输的官职。闲暇时，前来询问疾病求取诊治的人络绎不绝，挤满了卫所的房舍。我的医术是否被他人信任，从前来就诊的人就可以知道了。然而，我因此更加感到恐惧担忧了。不要说水火寒热这些表象相似而实质不同的病证，强弱攻补治疗之间毫厘之差便会导致千里之谬，即使是寒热平温这四种药性，对于同一味药材来说，根部和梢部的用法不同；同一株植物的苗叶，生用和熟用的施治方法也不同；同一种炮制方法，却有多种用途；多种炮制方法，却服务于同一个目的。其中君臣佐使的配伍原则，以及畏恶反忌的禁忌关系，往往有着呼吸之间决定生死的关键区别。随手拈来，便仿佛分判了造化的奥秘。苏子人费（指宋代苏颂，字子容，号易安，此处可能指苏颂《本草图经》或泛指医药知识的深奥与耗费精力）的说法，难道不令人敬畏吗？后来才知道，《本草》这本书，能与《素问》《灵枢》同样流传不朽，确实是医学中的金缕玉衣（比喻珍贵重要）。只是世间的医生急于求得养生的技术，粗略认识药性，浅显涉猎汤头歌诀，就自信不疑。唉！《本草》这本书，尚且像银河一样浩瀚无边没有尽头，医道怎么可以轻易言说呢？这没有别的原因，是因为书籍卷帙浩繁，有的人贫穷无法买到书，即使有能力买到书，也可能因为资质不够而无法阅读。我常常想要思考编写一本简约而完备、明确而恰当、详细审慎切要而又简练核实综合列举的书，用来告诫后来的学习者。可惜公务繁忙无暇顾及。有一天，蒋雪洲先生拜访我的官署，拿出他的一本书稿，那是他的父亲介繁老先生编纂的《本草择要纲目》。我捧起读它，大概正是我所想的简约而完备、明确而恰当、详细审慎切要而又简练核实综合列举的书啊。凡是听到名声的人，如果不急迫于实用，虽然广博也无用。现在选取的要药仅仅三百五十多种，就像精锐的士兵和良将足以歼灭敌人，不需要那些虚张声势浪费军饷的众多军队一样。相互厌恶的药物不一起进服，相互畏惧的药物不一起饮用，相互相反禁忌的药物不一起治疗，就像君子与小人的辨别类别一样，可以与他们共同谋划调理治理。引用经典作为佐使，法制汤剂名称，清楚地列在药品之下，就像山水的经纬线，阴阳的调和燮理，可以分开也可以合并，从而共同完成化育万物的功能。这难道是轩辕黄帝、岐伯、俞跗（古代名医）的功臣吗？难道功劳很少吗？我惭愧地在胥江（苏州别称）任职五年了，只听说介繁先生有鹿门山（指庞德公隐居处，代指高尚隐居生活）的美德，燕山的隐德，却不知道他潜心著述，期望以此利益世人、救济万物如此恳切真挚。岁己未（康熙三十八年，1699年）春天，蒋雪洲刻印即将完成，向我求写序言。我握着他的手赞叹道：你一举而具备了三善。能够光大先人的志向，这是孝；救济渡化天下人，这是仁；传播到海内，流传千秋，医者凭借此书而不盲目，病人危急而有依靠，这是义的利益所在。我又何幸踏入书香之国，而窃居在懂医者的行列中呢？姑且以此来表白蒋子的世代美德，寻求有志同道合者罢了。
时间是康熙己未年上巳节后的第二天，同年家眷弟太原杨耀祖洗手拜书于真江卫官署。
In my youth, I was dull-witted. Apart from studying for the imperial examinations, I devoted all my energy and anxiety to passionately studying classics such as *Suwen* (Basic Questions of the Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon) and *Bencao* (Divine Farmer's Materia Medica). In my hometown, I was erroneously compared to Bo Xiu (a pseudonym for Xia Fu, a Han dynasty recluse), thereby praising my integrity and erudition.
After resigning from the eight-legged essay studies, I engaged in military strategy. During the campaigns of the Mao and Chen years, I successively passed the provincial exams and studied in the capital. Through my medical skills, I gained some recognition among contemporary princes, nobles, and scholar-officials. Not long after, I was appointed to manage the transport of money and grain for the Zhenwei Garrison. In my spare time, those who came to inquire about illnesses and seek diagnosis were numerous, filling the garrison quarters. Whether my Dao (Way/Art) was trusted or not by others could be known by observing those who came. However, this made me even more fearful and apprehensive. Let alone the diseases where water/fire and cold/heat appear similar but are fundamentally different, or where the slight difference between strengthening and attacking therapies leads to a discrepancy of a thousand miles; even regarding the four properties of cold, heat, flatness, and warmth, for a single herb, the root and the tip have different uses; for a single sprout, raw and cooked forms are applied differently; for a single processing method, there are multiple uses; for multiple processing methods, there may be a single use. Within these, the principles of Jun-Chen-Zuo-Shi (Monarch-Minister-Assistant-Courier in prescription formulation) and the prohibitions of Wei-E-Fan-Ji (Mutual Fear, Mutual Dislike, Mutual Opposition, and Mutual Avoidance among herbs) often have life-and-death distinctions as subtle as breath. Picking them up casually, one distinguishes creation itself. Are not Su Zi Ren's words on complexity something to be regarded with awe? Later, I realized that the *Bencao* book, enduring alongside *Suwen* and *Lingshu*, is indeed the golden thread of medicine. However, physicians of the world eagerly seek techniques for health preservation, roughly recognizing drug properties and superficially browsing soup formulas, yet remain confidently unshaken. Alas! The *Bencao* book is vast as the Milky Way, boundless; how can the medical Dao be spoken of lightly? This is no other reason than the voluminous nature of the texts; some are too poor to acquire books, and even if they have the means, their qualifications or energy may be insufficient to read them. I often wished to think of a work that is concise yet comprehensive, clear yet appropriate, detailed and prudent yet essential, simple and rigorous yet summarizing, to instruct future learners. Regrettably, I was too busy with official duties to attend to it. One day, Mr. Jiang Xuezhou visited my office and presented a compilation he had edited, which turned out to be the *Bencao Zheyao Gangmu* (Outline of Selected Essentials of Materia Medica) compiled by his respected father, Mr. Jie Fan. Holding it and reading, it seemed exactly what I had envisioned: concise yet comprehensive, clear yet appropriate, detailed and prudent yet essential, simple and rigorous yet summarizing. Those who hear its name but do not urgently apply its utility, though broad, are useless. Now, selecting only over three hundred fifty essential items is like having elite soldiers and good generals sufficient to annihilate the enemy, without needing the multitude of empty voices that squander supplies. Herbs that mutually dislike should not be taken together; those that mutually fear should not be drunk together; those that mutually oppose or have taboos should not be treated together, just as gentlemen and petty men are distinguished by category, allowing one to plan regulation and governance together. Citing classics as guides and assistants, and naming processed soups clearly under the drugs, is like the longitude and latitude of mountains and rivers, or the modulation of Yin and Yang; they can be separated or combined to jointly accomplish the transformation and nurturing of life. Is this not a merit to the sages Xuanyuan, Qibo, and Yu Fu? How shallow could such merit be? I have shamefully served in Xujing for five years, hearing only of Mr. Jie Fan's noble conduct like that of Lumen Mountain and hidden virtue like that of Yanshan Mountain, unaware that he devoted himself to writing with such earnestness to benefit the world and relieve things. In the spring of the Jiwei year, when Xuezhou's printing was nearly complete, he asked me for a preface. Holding his hand, I sighed and said, "You have achieved three virtues in one act. Expanding your ancestors' will is Filial Piety; saving the world is Benevolence; spreading it across the seas and transmitting it for a thousand autumns, so that doctors rely on it without blindness and patients in danger have support, is the benefit of Righteousness." How fortunate am I to tread in the land of incense (scholarship) and secretly attach myself to those who understand medicine? I merely write this to express the generational virtue of the Jiang family and seek those who strive for it.
On the second day after the Shangsi Festival of the Jiwei year in the Kangxi era, Your humble brother and fellow alumnae from Taiyuan, Yang Yaozu, washed his hands and respectfully wrote this at the Zhenjiang Wei Office.