Insights and Updates

When the Second Patriarch of Chan Buddhism, Huike, attained the Way, there is the following famous gong'an (encounter dialogue) about pacifying the mind: Huike asked Bodhidharma: "Can I hear the seal of the Buddha's dharma?" Bodhidharma replied: "The seal of the Buddhas' dharma is not…

The patient, Li, female, age 51, from Dongying, Shandong, was a circle friend of the Sina cancer patients' circle. First seen October 19, 2015. Before the visit, B-ultrasound at a local hospital showed that the patient's leiomyosarcoma had metastasized to multiple sites distributed within the…

This article was written in May 2013 and originally posted on my Sina blog under the pen name Huaici Jushi; the original follows below: An elderly lymphoma patient I have treated has survived for over eight years on Chinese herbs alone. Before this year's Labor…

Baohe Pills (Baohe Wan) are a very common patent Chinese medicine and are the foremost formula among the digesting and guiding agents in TCM formula studies. They are extremely widely used and can treat various pediatric conditions, gastrointestinal diseases such as gastritis and esophagitis, respiratory…

Beijing's smoggy weather weakened my immunity, and I seem to have caught something—signs of a cold, plus rather severe skin itching lately. Based on my own constitution, I prescribed myself three doses of Cinnamon Twig Decoction (Guizhi Tang). The formula is as follows: Cinnamon twig…

Chinese medicine was invented by China's ancestors and has the broadest influence within China itself, yet China's share of the global TCM export market is only in the single digits. Japan, South Korea, and India all hold a larger share of the TCM export market…

A medical scientist once joked that in the transmission of infectious diseases such as hepatitis B, doctors have made the greatest contribution. Indeed it is so: it was precisely the advent of medical devices such as syringes and scalpels that gave human disease a new…

Having treated disease for a long time and dealt with many patients, I sometimes cannot help but sigh: the patient is far harder to treat than the disease. It is especially difficult when treating patients who come to Chinese medicine. The biggest hurdle is that…

Xiangbei Yangrong Decoction originates from the Yizong Jinjian (Golden Mirror of Medicine) and was used for upper-stone-gumbo (shiju) of the qi-blood dual deficiency type. It is basically formed by adding Cyperi Rhizoma (Xiangfu), Fritillaria (Beimu), tangerine peel (Chenpi), and Platycodon (Jiegeng) to the basis of…

Xuanfuhua (Inula Flower) is an important Chinese medicinal for treating hiccups, regurgitation, dysphagia (esophageal obstruction), and cough. In Zhang Zhongjing's Jingui Yaolue (Essentials from the Golden Cabinet), Xuanfuhua Daizheshi Tang (Inula and Haematitum Decoction) is a famous formula for hiccups, regurgitation, and dysphagia; its chief…