Insights and Updates

The "Ten New Measures" released today mean that the shift in our country's pandemic-control policy is essentially complete.After three years of fighting the epidemic, we have been comparatively lucky: our building door was temporarily locked down only one night, and that happened while we were…

During the Jin-Yuan period in China, society was turbulent, with wars and plagues following one after another. The common people suffered terribly, illness was widespread, and the population dropped sharply. This particular historical period, however, also stimulated the development of medicine. Li Dongyuan, one of…

In Lianhe Zaobao's annual "Character of the Year" poll, the character receiving the most votes this year was "chaos" (luan). This character aptly captures the state of the whole world in 2022.Since abandoning its zero-COVID policy on April 27 and choosing to coexist with the…

In the Yu Yao Yuan Fang (Formulas from the Imperial Pharmacy Office) there is a formula called "Bawei Kuandonghua San" (Eight-Ingredient Coltsfoot Flower Powder). It consists of: Coltsfoot flower (Kuandonghua, washed and dried), Aster rhizome (Ziyurong), Schisandra fruit (Wuweizi), and prepared Licorice (Zhi Gancao), each…

In the book He's Heart Transmission on Consumption (He's Xulao Xinchuan) there is a formula called Qingjin San (Metal-Clearing Powder). It consists of: Ophiopogon (Maidong) 4 qian (12 g), Asparagus (Tiandong) 2 qian (6 g), Lily bulb (Baihe) 1 liang (30 g; double the dose…

Whenever society falls into some kind of crisis, rumors inevitably spring up everywhere. Many people are swayed by them. Lately there have been especially many rumors, and numerous patients and their families have come to me asking me to verify claims that are plainly contrary…

Recently many friends have asked me how we should protect ourselves now that the country's pandemic-control policy is undergoing major change. Considering that most of my readers are cancer patients and their families—this group is indeed the most vulnerable—I feel it is necessary to write…

First, let me explain the meaning of the term I coin in this article, the "lying-down lockdown" (tangfeng). A popular expression these days is "taking a shot while lying down," meaning an innocent person gets hit by a bullet they never deserved. By the "lying-down…

Two buildings in our community are locked down; today ours, fortunately, remains unsealed, the only building left in the neighborhood where one can still move about freely. But most people in Beijing’s Haidian District are already working from home, and to avoid trouble the great…

Last night our community finally had two confirmed cases; two of our three buildings were locked down, and our own building was lucky enough not to be sealed. But when I went out I saw community workers busy moving shelving units downstairs, apparently preparing for…