Essentials of the Materia Medica (本草備要, Ben Cao Bei Yao)
Preface 序文 Essentials of the Materia Medica ( 本草備要 ) is written by Wang Ang ( 汪昻 , 1615~?) in the Qing Dynasty. This book is compiled by the author with two books, Herbal Foundation Compendium ( 本草綱目 ) and the Divine Husbandman's Herbal Foundation Canon ( 神農本草經 ). This book is a convenient study for everyday use. The feature of this book briefly describes the point, so the book is still being read by many oriental doctors and students. If the author's idea can be applied to modern oriental medicine, it will be very useful for clinical practice. Introductory Notes 凡例 （一）注本草者 , 當先注病証 . 不然 , 病之未明 , 藥於何有？從前作者罕明斯義 , 第云某藥入某經治某病而已 . 淺術視之 , 蓋茫如也 . 唯李氏《綱目》裒集諸家 , 附著論說 , 間及病源；《經疏》因之釋藥而兼釋病 , 補前人之未備 , 作後學之指南 . 茲集祖述二書 , 更加增訂 , 藥性病情 , 互相闡發 , 以便資用 . 若每處皆釋 , 則重複煩瑣 , 反生厭瀆 , 故前後間見 , 或因藥論辨 , 讀者匯觀而統會之可也 . （一） Those who annotate Ben Cao ( 本草 ) should first annotate disease pattern. Otherwise, a disease cannot be identified, where can medicines be applied to ？ ...