This book is the first English translation of a rare medieval Chinese manuscript with the full title Fǔxíngjué zàngfǔ yòngyào fǎyào ("Secret Tips for Helpful Action: The Key to Using Medicinals on the Zàngfǔ Organs").

In addition to an elegant yet literal annotated translation of the complete text by Dr. Sabine Wilms, this book includes a lengthy scholarly introduction, analyzing the history of the text and its relationship to an ancient mythological Tāngyèjīng ("Classic of Decoctions"), with which it is sometimes wrongly identified. The eminent jīngfāng practitioner Sharon Weizenbaum has kindly contributed a foreword and clinical commentary.