Supplement to the Compendium of Materia Medica, Volume 1

...I have attached their names to preserve a record of their existence. However, if an item involves even the slightest suspicion or ambiguity, it is discarded and not recorded. Substances such as Silver Sweat original: "Yinhan" (銀汗)., Nail Frost original: "Dingshuang" (釘霜)., Chicken Cinnabar original: "Jidan" (雞丹)., Bee Urine original: "Fengniao" (蜂溺)., Cloud Root original: "Yungen" (雲根)., and Oil of Mineral Realgar original: "Shi xionghuang you" (石雄黃油). are not lacking in traditional recipes, yet it is difficult to demand proven efficacy from them. Anything resembling these has been entirely deleted or pruned from this work. I would rather endure the ridicule of being "incomplete" or "omitting" things than be misled by gullibility and pass on errors.

一 Herbal medicines constitute the broadest category, and the traditions passed down by various schools are inconsistent. In the end, I have never dared to trust them deeply. The Mirror of a Hundred Herbs original: "Baicao Jing" (百草鏡), a medicinal work by Wang Ang, which Zhao Xuemin used as a primary reference. contains the most detailed collection of these. I have only occasionally included one or two in this collection because I have personally grown them in my garden and tested them; therefore, I record them. Otherwise, I would rather be brief than deceive the world with unverified claims.

一 The Compendium original: "Gangmu" (綱目), referring to Li Shizhen's Compendium of Materia Medica. lacks a "Vine" section, instead classifying vines under the "Creeper" category. I believe that woody plants are "Vines" (teng) and herbaceous plants are "Creepers" (man); the two should not be confused or mixed together. In this work, I have created a separate "Vine and Creeper" section. The Compendium also lacks a "Flower" section, placing flowers...