該書的出版前言,Macon說:“1859年,英法聯軍在北京燒毀圓明園時,一名士兵發現了一盒由皇室精心保存的中文手稿。看到裡面有神秘的圖畫,士兵把它們交給了Lypia小姐,我從她那裡得到了這些圖畫。在翻譯這部手稿時,我發現它們是一位中國先知關於中國朝代興衰、更替和社會動盪的預言。一切都寫得很清楚。因此,歷代皇帝禁止此書出版,以免擾亂民心,招致惡果。現在這部手稿落到了我們的國家,我們可以研究它。這確實是我們的幸運。上述幾行文字就是針對此手稿而來。馬康,1867年。”(In 1859, when the allied English and French troops burnt the Yuan Ming Yuan in Peking, one of the soldier discovered a box of manuscript in Chinese which had been carefully preserved by the imperial family. Seeing that they contain pictures the soldier presented them to Miss Lypia from whom I secured the same.In translating them I found that they represented the predictions of a Chinese prophet with reference to the rise, the fall, the tranquility, and the turbulence of China. Everything was very plainly written. The emperors of the past dynasties prohibited their publication for they might disturb the minds of the people and lead to bad consequences.It is indeed our good fortune that they had come into our country and that we may study them. These lines are written as an introduction.Macon ,1867)