Insights and Updates

The patient suddenly feels a burst of qi surging upward from below—from the lower abdomen, or from the navel, or from the throat—as if a little pig were running inside the body, with a sensation of oppression so severe as to feel near death. At…

Mahuang Lianqiao Chixiaodao Tang (Ephedra, Forsythia, and Rice Bean Decoction) is a classical formula from Zhang Zhongjing's Treatise on Cold Damage (Shanghan Lun). Its composition is: 6g of Ephedrae Herba (Mahuang, nodes removed), 6g of Forsythiae Fructus (Lianqiao), 40 pieces of Armeniacae Semen (Xingren, peel…

Today a gastric cancer patient from Guangdong Province consulted me because, after sunbathing, his skin was sunburned and the pain had radiated to his axillary lymph nodes. He asked whether he had developed axillary lymph node metastasis or bone metastasis. On close inquiry, it turned…

The castor bean is the seed of Ricinus communis, a plant of the Euphorbiaceae family and the Ricinus genus. Castor is an annual tall herb distributed throughout the country; in tropical or southern regions it often becomes a perennial shrub or small tree. The castor…

Li-Fraumeni syndrome (LFS) is a familial genetic disease with an incidence in the general population as high as 1 in 20,000. It is inherited in an autosomal dominant manner, and the mutated gene is TP53, located at chromosome 17p13. Li-Fraumeni syndrome is one of the…

This outbreak of the epidemic in Beijing has lasted for more than 40 days. Tomorrow we can finally basically return to normal life, although it is still hard to say whether the epidemic will rebound. It is just that from now on, Beijing residents, like…

Xiebai San (White-Dispersing Powder) is a classical famous formula from Key to Therapeutics of Children's Diseases (Xiao'er Yao Zheng Zhi Jue) by Qian Yi, a renowned physician of the Song Dynasty. The formula consists of 30g each of Cortex Lycii Radicis (Digu Pi) and Cortex…

On June 3, 2022, the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, which was the Dragon Boat Festival. I made my first harvest on my balcony vegetable garden. This batch of vegetables had been sown on April 20 and grown for over fifty days. For…

Howling winds and raging rain make birds huddle; clear sunlight and gentle breezes make grass and trees thrive. Thus heaven and earth cannot be without harmonious warmth for a single day, and the human heart cannot be without a joyful spirit for a single day.

Shanghai, locked down for two months, finally lifted its controls today, and I am genuinely happy for its residents. Beijing's Haidian and Fengtai districts remain under upgraded controls, and we must continue this summer of "holing up at home." For someone who loves nature like…