Insights and Updates

Human beings are complex animals, with a hypocritical and cunning side; few people are entirely truthful. Many years ago I read a book titled Lying: What You Don't Know About It, by an American expert on lies named Charles Ford. I have forgotten most of…

Original headline: Fudan University sells anti-tumor drug patent to a U.S. company for a record US$65 million. On March 15, Fudan University and the U.S. company HUYA (Huya Bioscience) reached an agreement in Shanghai: Professor Yang Qing of Fudan's School of Life Sciences licensed, for…

When a person has many faults but does not know it himself, and ceases the striving of his heart, his sins come upon him like water flowing into the sea, gradually growing deep and broad. But if a person who has faults understands his errors,…

Over the years I have worked with a great many cancer patients and their families. Again and again I have met relatives who ask me to conceal the patient's true condition from him. Such a practice does far more harm than good. When patients do…

In an era saturated with noise, silence and stillness have become exceedingly rare. Everyone is in a hurry to express themselves to the world in one form or another—through words or through adornment—displaying themselves to the full. We have forgotten that a certain innate human…

The recipe of Winter Melon Liquid (Donggua Ye) is recorded in the medical writings of the late renowned TCM physician Liu Minshu. Winter Melon Liquid is specifically indicated for deficiency-type edema. When edema arises after a prolonged illness, or the mild ascites of cancer patients…

Because of work, I had the chance to converse at length on two occasions with Dr. Liu Guangrun, a fellow of the American College of Cardiology, a renowned American cardiologist, and a Chinese-American medical doctor. These two conversations had a great influence on me. Dr.

Biejia Jian Wan is a classic famous formula from the Han-dynasty Zhang Zhongjing's "Jingui Yaolue" (Essential Prescriptions from the Golden Cabinet). Modern pharmaceutical versions are sometimes called Renshen Biejia Jian Wan (Ginseng Soft-Shelled Turtle Shell Decoction Pill). Its ingredients include soft-shelled turtle shell glue (Biejiajiao),…

Chaihu Qinggan Tang (Bupleurum Liver-Clearing Decoction) comes from the Ming-dynasty famous surgeon Chen Shigong's "Waike Zhengzong" (Orthodox External Medicine). Its composition is 3 g each of Ligusticum chuanxiong (Chuanxiong), Angelica sinensis (Danggui), white peony (Baishao), rehmannia raw (Shengdi), bupleurum (Chaihu), scutellaria (Huangqin), gardenia (Zhizi), Trichosanthes…

Prunella (Xiakucao, Selfheal spike) is a very common Chinese medicine. Its actions are to clear liver heat, dissipate nodules, promote urination, and lower blood pressure. It can be used to treat scrofula (lymph-node tuberculosis), thyroid nodules, mammary hyperplasia, and also eye pain, photophobia and tearing,…