Insights and Updates

"Shibiao San" (Exterior-Solidating Powder) comes from the Yilue Liushu (Six Books on Medical Outlines). The formula consists of prepared aconite (Fuzi, stir-fried) 1 liang 5 qian (45 g), dong quai (Danggui) 3 liang (90 g), schisandra berry (Wuweizi) 1 liang 5 qian (45 g), and…

The day before yesterday I met with a patient's family member—a young woman of twenty-six who had just graduated from college and was working as a teacher in a small city. Her father had just died of COVID during last year's pandemic, and her mother…

Guzheng Shenxiao San (Magical Tympanites Powder) comes from Zhang Zhaozhen's Chuimo Youde Ji (Personal Reflections) of the Qing dynasty. The formula consists of fried malt (Chao Maiya), areca nut (Binglang), and Euphorbia kansui (Gansui), each 1 qian (3 g). Powder the above medicines finely; each…

Character advances with tolerance; tolerance grows with knowledge. Hence one who would deepen his character must broaden his tolerance; and one who would broaden his tolerance must enlarge his knowledge. — Cai Gen Tan (Conversations from a Vegetable Root) In a normal, steady life, the…

In my youth I listened to rain on a singing-tower, red candles dimming the silken curtains. In my prime I listened to rain in a traveler's boat, wide river, low clouds, a lone goose crying in the west wind. Now I listen to rain beneath…

There are no miracles, only the routine. — Zhou Youguang During the days this August when I had a mental breakdown, once I went to dig the soil in my small vegetable garden, and as I dug I heard a splashing, fluid-shifting sound. I looked…

In the evening, riding my bicycle back from the vegetable garden at the foot of Fragrant Hills, I looked up and saw a bright moon hanging high in the sky. In that moment my heart suddenly became incomparably light and at peace. In my mind…

In classical Chinese, "ying" (goiter) is a tumor growing on the neck. Around the year 100 AD, Xu Shen's Shuowen Jiezi (Explaining Graphs and Analyzing Characters) explained this term. Zhang Hua, the naturalist of the Western Jin dynasty, further pointed out in his Bowu Zhi…

Human beings have a right to be imperfect, and this right should not be taken away. Not only that, people should also have the right to desire the things they want and to have their own needs. Even if compromise is required, it should be…

Umbilical therapy (qifa) is a method by which medicinals are placed on the navel, with or without heating, and exert a certain therapeutic effect through transdermal delivery at the umbilical region. Ascites patients who cannot take oral medication may try umbilical therapy, but it is…