一、录此百种，原以辨明药性，阐发义蕴，使读者深识其所以然，因此悟彼，方药不致
误用，非备品以便查阅也。览者勿以不载常用之药为疑。
一、诸药有独具之性者，则用详解。其兼长可互见者，俱不重出，推类自明。
一、此解亦间有与前之相同者，但彼只释其所当然，而未推测其所以然。知所当然，则
用古之方，能不失古人之意；知所以然，则方可自制，而亦能合古人制方之义也。故此解皆
着其所以然之故，而浅近易晓者则略焉。
一、所解诸药，乃就市中所有，审形辨味，以合经义。至古今土产各殊，或有尚非正义
与尚有遗义者，则俟知者正之。
一、诸药有所出地名，杂以后汉时郡县，陶隐居疑为仲景、元化等所记。是《本经》所
载，
已不皆神农以来所产之地矣。今之所产，又大半非汉时所产之地。欲尽考其实，固无从也，
故不复列而解之。
一、本经所载，一名甚多，因无可解，故亦不列。
一、品第及字样，俱依明重刻宋大观刊唐慎微本所载白字《本经》。考陶隐居本草，有
朱书墨书之别，朱书为《神农本经》，墨书为《名医别录》。开宝间重定印本于《本经》易朱
书为白字，《大观》本遵之。虽未必无传讹，而取其古，犹胜于近刻也。
一、详解只此百种，余亦颇有略为解者，以资人者浅，一概不存。
一、收录这一百种药物，原本是为了辨明药性，阐发其深层义理，使读者深刻认识其中的原理，由此及彼，从而避免方药的误用，并非为了罗列品种以便查阅。阅读者不要因为没有记载常用药物而感到疑惑。
一、对于具有独特药性的药物，则进行详细解释。那些兼有长处且可以互相参照的药物，均不重复列出，通过类推即可明白。
一、这里的解释也有与前文相同的地方，但前文只解释了“应当如此”（现象/规范），而未推测“之所以如此”（原理/机制）。懂得“应当如此”，使用古方时就能不违背古人的本意；懂得“之所以如此”，就能自行制定方剂，也能符合古人制方的原则。因此，这里的解释都着重阐明其原理，而对于浅显易懂的内容则简略处理。
一、所解释的这些药物，都是依据市场上现有的药材，通过审视形态、辨别气味，以符合经典医籍的义理。至于古今产地各不相同，有的可能不符合正统含义或还有遗漏的含义，那就等待知情者来纠正。
一、各种药物都有出产地名，其中混杂了后汉时期的郡县名称，陶弘景怀疑这是张仲景、华佗等人所记录的。这说明《神农本草经》所载的产地，已经不全是神农以来出产药物的地方了。现在的产地，又大半不是汉代时的产地。想要完全考证其实情，本来就没有途径，所以不再列出并加以解释。
一、《神农本草经》所载的药物，往往有很多别名，因为无法解释，所以也不予列出。
一、药物的品级分类及文字字形，都依据明代重刻的宋代大观年间刊印的唐慎微版本中所载的白字《神农本草经》。考证陶弘景的本草著作，有朱书（红字）和墨书（黑字）的区别，朱书代表《神农本草经》，墨书代表《名医别录》。开宝年间重新定稿印行的版本将《神农本草经》中的朱书改为白字，《大观》本遵循了这一做法。虽然未必没有传抄错误，但取其古朴，仍然胜过近世的刻本。
一、详细解释的只有这一百种，其余药物也有略微解释的，但因为对人们帮助较浅，一概不予保留。
1. The selection of these one hundred herbs is intended to clarify their medicinal properties and elucidate their underlying principles, enabling readers to deeply understand the rationale behind them. This allows for inference from one case to another, preventing the misuse of prescriptions and drugs; it is not meant to serve as a comprehensive catalog for reference. Readers should not doubt the absence of commonly used herbs.
2. For herbs possessing unique properties, detailed explanations are provided. Herbs with overlapping advantages that can be cross-referenced are not repeated; their nature can be understood through analogy.
3. Some explanations here may overlap with previous texts, but the previous texts only explained "what ought to be" (normative aspects), without exploring "why it is so" (mechanistic principles). Understanding "what ought to be" ensures that when using ancient prescriptions, one does not deviate from the original intent of the ancients; understanding "why it is so" enables the formulation of new prescriptions that align with the principles of ancient formula construction. Therefore, these explanations focus on the rationale, while omitting content that is superficial and easy to understand.
4. The herbs explained herein are based on those available in the market, examining their morphology and distinguishing their flavors to conform to the principles of the classic texts. Regarding differences in geographical origins between ancient and modern times, some descriptions may not reflect orthodox meanings or may contain omissions; these will await correction by knowledgeable scholars.
5. Various herbs have listed places of origin, which include commanderies and counties from the Later Han Dynasty. Tao Hongjing suspected these were recorded by Zhang Zhongjing, Hua Tuo, and others. This indicates that the origins recorded in the *Shennong Bencao Jing* (Divine Farmer's Materia Medica) do not necessarily reflect locations where herbs were produced since the time of Shennong. Furthermore, current production areas differ largely from those of the Han Dynasty. Since it is impossible to fully verify the historical reality, these details are no longer listed or explained.
6. The *Shennong Bencao Jing* often lists multiple aliases for a single herb. Due to the inability to provide meaningful explanations for all, these are not listed.
7. The classification grades and character forms follow the white-character edition of the *Shennong Bencao Jing* found in the Ming dynasty reprint of the Song Dynasty Daguan era edition compiled by Tang Shenwei. Research into Tao Hongjing’s materia medica reveals a distinction between vermilion ink (red characters) and black ink. Vermilion ink denotes the *Shennong Bencao Jing*, while black ink denotes the *Mingyi Bielu* (Record of Famous Physicians). During the Kaibao era, the reprinted edition changed the vermilion characters of the *Bencao Jing* to white characters, a practice followed by the Daguan edition. Although this may introduce transmission errors, its antiquity makes it superior to recent editions.
8. Detailed explanations are provided only for these one hundred herbs. While other herbs have been briefly explained elsewhere, they are omitted here as their utility to the general reader is limited.