Classical Chinese Medicine

The English edition of Liu Lihong’s milestone work is a sublime beacon for the profession of Chinese medicine in the 21st century. Classical Chinese Medicine delivers a straightforward critique of the politically motivated “integration” of traditional Chinese wisdom with Western science during the last sixty years, and represents an ardent appeal for the recognition of Chinese medicine as a science in its own right. Professor Liu’s candid presentation has made this book a bestseller in China, treasured not only by medical students and doctors, but by vast numbers of non-professionals who long for a state of health and well-being that is founded in a deeper sense of cultural identity. Oriental medicine education has made great strides in the West since the 1970s, but clear guidelines regarding the “traditional” nature of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) remain undefined. Classical Chinese Medicine not only delineates the educational and clinical problems faced by the profession in both East and West, but transmits concrete and inspiring guidance on how to effectively engage with ancient texts and designs in the postmodern age. Using the example of the Shanghanlun (Treatise on Cold Damage), one of the most important Chinese medicine classics, Liu Lihong develops a compelling roadmap for holistic medical thinking that links the human body to nature and the universe at large.

This volume completes a trilogy (Lee, 2012, 2017) on the philosophy of medicine, Western and Chinese. Its immediate prequel (Lee, 2017) sets out in general outline the philosophical and methodological core of Classical Chinese Medicine (CCM); this volume fleshes out that “skeleton” by examining in detail its peculiar concepts and characteristics, such as Getihua/Personalised Medicine, Preventive Medicine, Tianren-xiangying (Macro-Micro-cosmic Wholism), Zhèng-Fang Wholism (Wholism at the level of diagnosis and treatment), and Mind-Body Wholism (the person as primitive concept). CCM is here shown to instantiate “ecosystem science”, which is post-Newtonian in orientation, departing from familiar Newtonian landmarks such as Reductionism and linearity, resting on thing-ontology for a non-reductionist, non-linear science. This approach highlights a rich irony and paradox: namely, how CCM in being backward-looking (relying on classical texts as foundational texts and prescriptions of some two thousand years standing) simultaneously manages to be at the cutting edge of scientific thinking today.

This book makes Classical Chinese Medicine (CCM) intelligible to those who are not familiar with the tradition, many of whom may choose to dismiss it off-hand or to assess it negatively) . Keekok Lee uses two related strategies: arguing that all science and therefore medicine cannot be understood without excavating its philosophical presuppositions and showing what those presuppositions are in the case of CCM compared with those of biomedicine. Such excavations enable Lee in turn to demonstrate the following theses: (1) the metaphysical/ontological core of a medical system entails its own methodology, how to understand, diagnose and treat an illness/disease; (2) CCM rests on process-ontology, is Wholist, its general mode of thinking is Contextual-dyadic, its implicit logic is multi-valent, its model of causality is non-linear and multi-factorial; (3) Biomedicine (in the main) rests on thing-ontology and dualism, is Reductionist, its logic is classical bi-valent, its model of causality is linear and monofactorial; (4) hence to condemn CCM as “unscientific”/”pseudo-scientific”/plain “mumbo-jumbo” while privileging Biomedicine as the Gold Standard of scientificity is as absurd as to judge a cat to be inferior to a dog, using the criteria of “goodness” embodied in a dog-show.

The Nature of Classical Chinese Medicine: The foundational context to re-unite myriad styles. (Book 1 of 2 - Foundation and Constitution, Energetic Anatomy and Physiology) This book (in two parts) is an extensive research project into the original essence of Classical (Han-dynasty) Chinese medicine. It is and investigation to look at how medicine might have been understood and connected to from the origin of Taoist Non-duality as expressed in the Tao Te Ching. There are today myriad styles and approaches to energy-medicine all over the world, and even within Chinese medicine itself. This book aims to connect to the unifying principle that is inclusive not exclusive, and as such has the potential to unify all medicine. This book attempts to clarify theoretical positions but with the key realization that Classical books were only pointers to instinctual health and the nature-led healing that occurs when ""self"" and hierarchical egotism drop out.

The authors look at TCM treatments for a wide range of common & more difficult problems, such as: eczema; gangrene; depressions; palpitations; & many more. Material is structured in such a way as to be easily accessed in clinical situations

An illustrated introduction to the history and theory of traditional Chinese medicine, exploring diagnostic methods and techniques such as acupuncture.

Assists in the diagnosis of conditions resulting from fluid pathology and discusses approaches to treatment using both herbal remedies and acupuncture. The text is augmented by clinical cases and listings of formulae and herbs used in treatments.