Insights and Updates

Every day I witness the deaths of roughly 3–10 cancer patients. This is because my articles carry considerable influence among cancer patients, so many cancer patients and their families add me on WeChat. I often see obituaries posted in my Moments; each obituary means a…

For a long time I have focused on TCM anticancer research and generally do not treat diseases other than tumors, but by chance I do treat a few patients with other illnesses. This year I treated four rhinitis patients; three had fair results, and one…

In the Wan's Nü Ke (Wan's Gynecology) there is a formula called "Kai Yu Er Chen Tang." It is composed of Chen Pi (Tangerine Peel), Fu Ling (Poria), Cang Zhu (Atractylodes Rhizome), Xiang Fu (Cyperus), and Chuan Xiong (Sichuan Lovage), each one qian; Ban Xia…

Everyone except God must speak with data. —Siddhartha Mukherjee, The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer After more than ten years of treating cancer according to traditional TCM pattern differentiation, I am deeply disappointed in the efficacy rate of relying on TCM observation,…

When desire is smaller than ability, a person is very happy; the reverse is very painful. There are two things I insist on doing every day: one is, several times a day amid the morning bells and evening drums, reminding myself to control my desires…

I cannot remember when I bought Roads to Heaven (Kong Gu You Lan) by the American Bill Porter; I only vaguely recall buying it about ten years ago, and after that I also bought another of his books, Zen Baggage.At the end of last month,…

Wang Gua, also called Tu Gua, is a perennial herbaceous vine of the genus Trichosanthes in the gourd family (Cucurbitaceae), distributed throughout eastern, central, southern, and southwestern China. Its fruit, seeds, and root can all be used medicinally. As early as the Han dynasty, Zhang…

Until I moved house once, I had no idea just how many books I had bought. Between my home and the study I rent, I have seven bookcases in all, and every one is stuffed with books in layer upon layer. If I did not…

On September 1st the children went back to school and my wife went back to work; the house was left to me alone again, far quieter than during the summer break. I like quiet. Alone at home, after striking the singing bowl a few times…

Si Cao Tang is a decoction I devised myself: Xianhe Cao (Agrimonia, fresh 100–300 g, dried 30–100 g), Fengwei Cao (Pteris, fresh 100–200 g, dried 30–100 g), Yimucao (Motherwort, fresh 30–100 g, dried 10–30 g), and Hanlian Cao (Eclipta, fresh 30–100 g, dried 10–30 g).