ClassicalChineseMedicine.org

Chinese Symbol Science: A Pathway to Clinical Practice

2022-09-28T14:19:47-07:00Tags: , , , , , , , , |

WITH HEINER FRUEHAUF
INTERVIEW BY BOB QUINN

One question students and practitioners of Chinese medicine frequently ask Heiner Fruehauf, "How does one translate the symbolism and cosmology inherent in classical Chinese medicine into a modern clinical practice?" This article is a recent dialogue between Heiner and his colleague Bob Quinn where they discuss the role of ancient cosmology, symbolism and dreams in the context of clinical diagnosis and treatment. (August 2022)

The Yijing (I-Ching) and the Cycles of Nature

2023-02-15T16:12:18-08:00Tags: , , , |

Since ancient times, humans have sought to understand the cycles of nature. In China, this knowledge was codified in the esoteric classic known as the Yijing—the Book of Changes. Join us as we explore the Yijing as a vivid example of how our ancestors viewed humanity’s connection to the cosmos, and how they created an intricate map of symbols that relate our existence to the larger cycles of nature.

The Superior Physician: Medical Practice As Seen Through the Yijing’s Junzi (2 Parts)

2017-04-01T18:55:21-07:00Tags: , , |

BY SUZANNA LOWBEER

Our associate has contributed this two-part research paper to our collection of work as an abbreviated version of a project that garnered the Best Thesis award during her academic tenure. These articles describe the role of the junzi by the Yijing as a person who recognizes himself as an instrument of heaven, and whose main purpose is to help others using diagnostic and treatment knowledge, by integrating with the community he[she] serves, and by illustrating to other healers the importance of spiritual cultivation in one's practice.

Clinical Realizations of a Chinese Medicine Physician: The Principle of Supporting Yang (2 Parts)

2017-04-01T18:55:51-07:00Tags: , , , , , , , , , , |

BY LU CHONGHAN
Assistant Professor, Department of Fundamental Studies, Chengdu Universty of TCM; Lineage Holder of the “Fire Spirit” School of Sichuan herbalism

TRANSLATED BY KENDRA DALE

In this passionate lecture, the main successor of the Sichuan “Fire Spirit” school of aconite, ginger, and cinnamon usage reveals the clinical secrets of his herbal lineage. In an unveiled challenge to the textbook parameters of TCM, Dr. Lu contents that support of yang-qi must override most superficial symptoms of heat and yin deficiency.

LECTURE TRANSCRIPTS

Proposing a Renaissance of Chinese Medicine

2022-09-07T11:12:54-07:00Tags: , , , , , , |

BY LI ZHICHONG
TRANSLATED BY NATHAN GARRETTSON

The latter half of the 19th century up and through the 20th century has been a time of great political, economic, cultural, and scientific transformation in China. Chinese Medicine, as a shining gem of traditional science and culture has undergone many assaults, which has led to the field sinking into a sort of quagmire, and it has had to fight bitterly for its own survival. This course of events has come to be called the “Hundred Years of Perplexity.” In the last twenty years, through serious contemplation and reflection on its causes we have become more and more clear how the course of history has chained the study of Chinese Medicine to these complex shackles.

Cultivating the Flow: A Concept Of Evolutive Well-Being that Integrates the Classic Traditions and Quantum Science

2022-09-07T10:49:13-07:00Tags: , , , , , , , , , |

BY HEINER FRUEHAUF

Approaching the end of the 20th century, we are confronted with a number of fundamental issues regarding the quality, if not the general purpose, of human existence. One of them is the gradual demise of the Western-scientific health care system, which has fostered a revival of the age-old discussion about the nature of health, illness, and well-being. In the process of developing alternative approaches to healing, holistic medical discourse has consistently emphasized the “diseased” quality of illness and its therapeutic implications, i.e. the consequent restoration and maintenance of “ease.” However, definitions of the ease state often fail to go much beyond the biochemical aspects of well-being, and thus end up being classified according to the same parameters they were trying to overcome.

Philosophical and Cosmological Texts From the Formative Period of Chinese Medicine (The Han and Pre-Han Periods of Chinese Antiquity)

2022-09-07T13:11:34-07:00Tags: , , , , , , |

COMPILED BY HEINER FRUEHAUF

Chinese medicine is a microcosmic branch of ancient Chinese philosophy and cosmology. The better one understands the philosophical foundations of Chinese medicine, the deeper one’s knowledge of its core concepts and terminology can be. Theories such as yin and yang, the five phase elements, the hierarchical relationship between matter, energy, and consciousness, the supremacy of spirit, and the twelve organ networks were first mentioned in the Daoist and Confucian classics of the Han and Pre-Han periods of Chinese antiquity (fl. 700 BC - 200 AD) before they appeared in the keystone works of Chinese medicine. The following represents a comprehensive list of relevant philosophical, scientific, and literary works from the formative period of Chinese medicine in English translation.

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