Shown here is the introductory volume to an extensive set of medical, philosophical, and literary writings by the famous physician Lê Hữu Trác (commonly known as Hải Thượng Lãn Ông, 1720–91). The full set includes 61 volumes, plus this head volume or introductory volume, and an end or addendum volume. The set also includes two prefaces: one by Hải Thượng, the author, written in the year 1770, the other by Lê Cúc Linh. In this volume, there is one article on common rules and conventions used in the series, one table of contents, an article on the ceremony to ancient masters, ceremonial poems, declaratory or informational poems, descriptive poems, and poems lecturing on the art of medicine. The copy of this great work at the National Library of Vietnam is missing volumes 15, 16, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, and 24. The subjects covered by Hải Thượng in his encyclopedic work include: fundamentals of traditional medicine; medical and curative practices; the effects of weather on health; the properties, usage, compilation, and prescription of medicinal herbs and plants; gynecology and obstetrics; pediatrics; the essentials of various illnesses; smallpox; measles; cases specific to males and females; and the medical discoveries and theories developed during his practice as a physician.