Secret Surgical Formulas of the Immortals 仙传外科秘方

Compiled by Zhao Yizhen in the early Ming Dynasty.

It is recorded as eleven volumes in Bibliography of National History by Jiao Hong.

The book is included in the Taiping Section of The Daozang.

Secret Surgical Formulas of the Immortals

At the beginning of the book, there are prefaces written by Zhao Yizhen and Wu Youren in the wuwu year of the Hongwu reign period (1378), stating that this book was originally composed by Yang Qingsou and later passed down to Zhao Yizhen through several hands. Before his death, Zhao instructed his disciples to print and distribute the book to the world. The entire book is divided into thirteen categories, discussing prescriptions for treating various internal, external and miscellaneous diseases respectively, with a particular focus on external conditions such as carbuncles, ulcers and furuncles. It contains more than 400 prescriptions, including not only traditional proven remedies but also a wide range of folk effective prescriptions, making it a clinically practical monograph on external medicine. The compiler of this book, Zhao Yizhen (also known as Yuanyangzi), was the fourth-generation patriarch of the Jingming Dao in the late Yuan and early Ming dynasties. At the end of the book, there is an appendix titled Treatise on Practicing Beneficence Whenever Possible, exhorting people to do more good deeds such as helping the endangered, rescuing the afflicted, practicing almsgiving and refraining from killing. It is evident that the compilation and publication of this book reflect the Jingming Dao’s emphasis on doing good deeds to benefit the world, which is closely related to the doctrines of Taoism and Five Elements.