编一部书，先要有几部书可编。皇甫谧自序里那句话很干脆：「三部同归，文多重复，错互非一……乃撰集三部，使事类相从，删其浮辞，除其重复，论其精要，至为十二卷。」——三部书讲同一件事，文字大量重复，错互不止一处；于是把三部合起来，让同类的事排在一起，删掉浮辞，去掉重复，只论精要，编成十二卷。这一篇写三件事：他自己说怎么编、宋人进书序说怎么校、四库提要记下的一笔卷数账。
一、自序：三部书与一场病
三部书是哪三部，自序交代得清楚：「按《七略》艺文志，《黄帝内经》十八卷。今有《针经》九卷，《素问》九卷，二九十八卷，即《内经》也。亦有所亡失……又有《明堂孔穴针灸治要》，皆黄帝岐伯遗事也。」——《针经》九卷加《素问》九卷，二九一十八卷，就是《内经》；另有一部《明堂孔穴针灸治要》。两页关于《素问》《针经》与《内经》的关系，就只有这一句「二九十八卷，即《内经》也」；本篇因此只写这一句，不补医学史。
为什么动手编，自序也写了：「甘露中，吾病风加苦聋百日，方治要皆浅近。」——甘露年间，他得了风病，又添了百日耳聋，医方「要皆浅近」。于是有了前面那一步。书成之后他还有一句自限：「其本论其文有理，虽不切于近事，不甚删也。若必精要，俟其闲暇，当撰核以为教经云尔。」——底本议论有理，虽不合近用，也不多删；若真要精要本，等有空再核。这是他的自述，本篇照录；「甘露」年号不折公历。
二、序例：几条编书规矩
卷首还有一段「序例」，是编书的体例，不是医理：「诸问，黄帝及雷公皆曰『问』。其对也，黄帝曰『答』，岐伯之徒皆曰『对』。上章问及对已有名字者，则下章但言『问』言『对』，亦不更说名字也。若人异则重复更名字。此则其例也。」——问话一律称「问」，答话黄帝称「答」、岐伯等人称「对」；前面已出过名字，后面就只写「问」「对」；换人才重新出名字。接着一条是术语：「诸言『主之』者可灸可刺，其言『刺之』者不可灸，言『灸之』者不可刺，亦其例也。」——说「主之」的可灸可刺，说「刺之」的不可灸，说「灸之」的不可刺。这两条正是「编」的动作：统一称谓、统一术语。
三、宋人：奉诏校正
今天看到的这个本子，卷首是宋人的。林亿的进书序说：「晋皇甫谧博综典籍百家之言……取黄帝《素问》、《针经》、《明堂》三部之书，撰为《针灸经》十二卷。」又说这次校书是怎么做的：「国家诏儒臣校正医书，令取《素问》、《九墟》、《灵枢》、《太素经》、《千金方》及《翼》、《外台秘要》诸家善书校对，玉成缮写，将备亲览。」——奉诏校正，取《素问》《九墟》《灵枢》《太素经》《千金方》及《翼》《外台秘要》等书来对。序末署名三人：「国子博士臣高保衡、尚书屯田郎中臣孙奇、光禄卿直秘阁臣林亿等上。」
还有一层要标明：正文里夹的注不是皇甫谧的。四库提要说：「句中夹注，多引杨上达《太素经》、孙思邈《千金方》、王冰《素问注》、王惟德《铜人图》，参考异同。其书皆在谧后，盖宋高保衡、孙奇、林亿等校正所加，非谧之旧也。」——夹注引的书都在皇甫谧之后，是宋人校书时加的，不是原本。所以这个本子至少有两层手笔：西晋的编，北宋的校。
四、卷数账：十卷、十二卷、十三卷、八卷
卷数在各家目录里不一样，四库提要把这笔账摊开：「《隋书·经籍志》称黄帝甲乙经十卷，注曰音一卷，梁十二卷，不著撰人姓名。」——隋志作十卷（另有音一卷），梁作十二卷，且不著撰人。「《旧唐书·经籍志》称《黄帝三部针经》十三卷，始著谧名，然较梁本多一卷，其并音一卷计之欤。」——旧唐志作十三卷，这才写上皇甫谧的名字，比梁本多一卷，提要猜是把音一卷并进去算的。「《新唐书·艺文志》既有《黄帝甲乙经》十二卷，又有皇甫谧《黄帝三部针经》十三卷，兼袭二志之文，则更舛误矣。」——新唐志两样都收，提要认为更错。而提要开头自己写的是「《针灸甲乙经》八卷，晋皇甫谧撰」。四个卷数（十、十二、十三、八）并列，本篇不裁断。
篇数也有两个数，而且就在同一段里：四库提要先说「书凡一百一十八篇」，然后点出其中有几篇分上、下，几篇分上、中、下，末了说「实一百二十八篇」。两个数都照录，本篇不替它加减，也不推「平均每卷几篇」。分卷结构本页只给了前两卷的目录：卷一列十六个篇名（精神五脏论第一、五脏变腧第二……阴阳二十五人形性血气不同第十六），卷二是八条（头两条是「十二经脉脉络脉支别第一（上）（下）」，其余奇经八脉第二、脉度第三等）；卷三到卷十二，本页只有卷名，没有篇目。
五、两页之外
要注意的是：正史本传里没有这本书。《晋书·皇甫谧传》写他「居贫，躬自稼穑，带经而农」，写他「后得风痹疾，犹手不辍卷」，写他「耽玩典籍，忘寝与食，时人谓之书淫」，写他自号玄晏先生、屡召不仕；传末列他的著作——《帝王世纪》《年历》《高士》《逸士》《列女》等传、《玄晏春秋》——却没有《针灸甲乙经》。所以「编书经过」主要靠书的自序与宋人序，不是靠正史。
分线写一句：写《本草纲目》的篇目讲的是李时珍个人三十年的工夫，写《七略》的篇目讲的是刘向父子校书，本篇讲的是皇甫谧合三部书、宋人再校一遍的文本账。也不写「中医针灸奠基」这类评价，不写经络理论通论——两页给的是序、例、目录与著录。
缺口列清：本页只有卷首，各卷正文没有逐卷读过，所以不引条文、不谈穴位；卷一之外的完整篇目、皇甫谧编书的具体年份、宋校本与唐本之间的异文，也都不给。留下的是一句「撰集三部，至为十二卷」、几条序例、一份宋人校书名单、四个卷数与两个篇数。
延伸阅读：陶潜辞官的账：五斗米、公田种秫与一篇自述 · 冰：冬天凿、夏天颁、死人洗浴也用 · 殷人的帽子：冔、章甫与三代冠名
参考来源与延伸阅读
- 《针灸甲乙经》宋校本卷首（维基文库本，未与点校本复核） — The front matter of the Song edition: the Siku editors' note, Lin Yi's memorial, Huangfu Mi's own preface and the editorial rules, and the table of contents. Huangfu Mi: 'according to the Seven Summaries and the Arts and Letters treatise, the Yellow Emperor's Inner Classic was eighteen scrolls. Now there are the Needle Classic in nine scrolls and the Questions in nine scrolls — twice nine, eighteen — which is the Inner Classic… There is also the Mingtang: Acupoints, Needles and Moxa, Essential Cures, all remnants of the Yellow Emperor and Qibo. The three works come to one end, their text much repeated, and their confusions are not of one kind. In the Ganlu period I fell ill with wind and added bitter deafness for a hundred days… so I compiled the three, making like matters follow one another, cutting their floating words, removing their repetitions, discussing their essentials, until it came to twelve scrolls' (乃撰集三部，使事類相從，刪其浮辭，除其重複，論其精要，至為十二卷). The rules: 'in all questions, the Yellow Emperor and Lei Gong are both said to ask; in the answers, the Yellow Emperor is said to answer and Qibo and the rest to reply… where the person differs the names are repeated. This is the rule. Where it says 'preside over it', both moxa and needle may be used; where it says 'needle it', moxa may not; where it says 'moxa it', the needle may not — this too is the rule' (序例). Lin Yi's memorial: 'he took the three books of the Yellow Emperor — the Questions, the Needle Classic and the Mingtang — and compiled the Needle and Moxa Classic in twelve scrolls'; and 'the state ordered its scholars to collate medical books, and to take the Questions, the Jiuxu, the Lingshu, the Great Simplicity, the Thousand Ducats, its Wing, and the Arcane Essentials and other good books to compare' (國家詔儒臣校正醫書……校對), signed by Gao Baoheng, Sun Qi and Lin Yi. The Siku note carries the numbers: 'the Sui treatise calls it the Yellow Emperor's Jiayi Classic in ten scrolls, with one scroll of sounds; the Liang catalogue, twelve scrolls, without an author's name'; the Old Tang catalogue, thirteen scrolls 'and first gives Mi's name'; the New Tang catalogue has both twelve and thirteen; and the note says 'the book is in all one hundred and eighteen chapters', then counts the divisions and says 'in fact one hundred and twenty-eight chapters' (實一百二十八篇). The page's table of contents lists the chapter titles of scrolls one and two only, and the bare headings of scrolls three to twelve.
- 《晋书》卷五十一〈皇甫谧传〉（维基文库本，未与点校本复核） — The biography, which never mentions the acupuncture book. It gives his origins and habits: 'Huangfu Mi, style Shi'an, childhood name Jing, of Chaona in Anding, great-grandson of the Han grand commandant Song'; at twenty still unstudious, then moved by his aunt's tears to study with Xi Tan of the same district; 'his family being poor, he worked the fields himself, carrying books to the farm' (居貧，躬自稼穡，帶經而農); 'quiet and of few desires, he first set his mind on high things, took writing as his task, and called himself Master Xuanyan'; 'later he fell ill with wind paralysis, yet his hand never left the scrolls' (後得風痹疾，猶手不輟卷); 'he was so absorbed in books that he forgot sleep and food, and people of the time called him a book-addict' (時人謂之書淫); he refused all office. The list of his writings names the Century of Emperors, the Chronology, lives of the High-Minded, the Recluses, the Women, and the Annals of Xuanyan — no Jiayi Classic. He died in the third year of Taikang, aged sixty-eight.
