Insights and Updates

Recently some sociologists have found that the upper limit of the number of people a person should associate with over a lifetime is around 150. More associations than that wear out body and mind, directly affecting physical and mental health. For many of us, 150…

Today the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party closed. Though I do not care about politics, deep down I truly hope our China can become stronger. I believe that only when our country grows strong will Chinese civilization stand tall once more among the…

Although traditional medicine and modern medicine differ in their understanding of many issues, they are of one mind on how best to preserve human health. Ancient Egyptian medicine, India's Ayurveda, China's TCM, and modern medicine all regard emotional equanimity, a reasonable diet, and moderate exercise…

The debate between Chinese and Western medicine has a long history. As early as the Meiji Restoration in Japan, a controversy arose between kampo physicians (TCM) and Dutch-style physicians (Western medicine). With the arrival of Western civilization—especially the influence of anatomy brought by the Dutch—the…

When I open my news app, every day I am flooded with reports of the latest, most heartening medical breakthroughs. My instant-messaging tools keep pushing all kinds of medical news that other people have seen and sent to me. Over time I have grown tired…

Da-Ji and Xiao-Ji (Thistles): Common TCM Herbs for Hemostasis, Detumescence and Reducing Ascites in Cancer Patients Da-ji (Cirsium japonicum, Japanese thistle) and xiao-ji (Cirsium setosum, field thistle) are two of the most commonly used TCM herbs for cooling blood, detumescence, hemostasis and pain relief. In…

I first came to know phoenix-tail fern when, on a herb-gathering trip with my father, I spotted a clump of it growing by a roadside gully. My father told me this herb was called phoenix-tail fern, and he mentioned a liver-cancer patient in our village…

Bleeding is one of the most common symptoms in cancer patients: hemoptysis in lung cancer, hematemesis in gastric cancer, bloody stools in bowel cancer, and vaginal bleeding in cervical and ovarian cancer, among others, are all frequently seen clinically. Generally, bleeding of various kinds in…

How am I to exist? It is a question every heart must face often. Life is never static. Every change puts us at a new crossroads and forces us to ask: How am I to exist? There is no fixed, standard answer. At every stage,…

Sima Qian wrote the following at the end of the chapter "Biographies of Bian Que and Cang Gong" in the Records of the Grand Historian: "Whether a woman is beautiful or plain, once she enters the palace she is envied; whether a scholar is worthy…