The Way Of Thinking In Chinese Medicine

Chinese Medicine is an outstanding scientific proposition system with its own structural, methodological and theoretical prerequisites flowing into the specific practices that make Chinese Medicine popular in the Western world. However, we should be aware of the fact that Chinese Medicine is challenged in its existence because it is widely unknown. Fostering the understanding of Chinese Medicine in various aspects is, hence, the main aim of this book that gives interesting insights into the discussions on current developments in Chinese Medicine research.

A short and thoughtful introduction to traditional Chinese medicine that looks beyond the conventional boundaries of Western modernism and biomedical science Traditional Chinese medicine is often viewed as mystical or superstitious, with outcomes requiring naïve faith. Judith Farquhar, drawing on her hard-won knowledge of social, intellectual, and clinical worlds in today’s China, here offers a concise and nuanced treatment that addresses enduring and troublesome ontological, epistemological, and ethical questions. In this work, which is based on her 2017 Terry Lectures “Reality, Reason, and Action In and Beyond Chinese Medicine,” she considers how the modern, rationalized, and scientific field of traditional Chinese medicine constructs its very real objects (bodies, symptoms, drugs), how experts think through and sort out pathology and health (yinyang, right qi/wrong qi, stasis, flow), and how contemporary doctors act responsibly to “seek out the root” of bodily disorder. Through this refined investigation, East-West contrasts collapse, and systematic Chinese medicine, no longer a mystery or a pseudo-science, can become a philosophical ally and a rich resource for a more capacious science.

Established by the Western Han dynasty more than 2,000 years ago, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is currently finding increased acceptance. A General Introduction to Traditional Chinese Medicine explores the thinking behind TCM, its philosophy-based theory, and its cutting-edge uses in today’s clinical practice. The book covers: Establishment and characteristics of TCM’s theory Establishment and development of TCM’s clinical system. Basic features of TCM TCM’s philosophical bases: primordial qi, yin-yang and Five Elements TCM’s medical model, method, and architecture Organized to make information easily accessible, each chapter contains: Goals & Requirements and Key Contents to enable readers to understand the core and the outline of the chapter Endnotes for readers to learn some cultural and historical information peculiar to China Glossary for readers to understand more specific information about TCM and Chinese culture Complete with chapter outlines and ancillary material, this carefully designed guide brings a time-tested practice back to the future.

One of Canada’s most trusted and beloved health practitioners introduces Western women to the wisdom of traditional Chinese medicine and the time-tested practices that have helped optimize physical and emotional health for centuries. Since establishing her practice in Canada twelve years ago, Dr. Xiaolan Zhao has treated thousands of women suffering from fatigue, PMS, infertility, depression, menopausal symptoms and other gynecological disorders — health problems that are all too common in the West but less so in China, where traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has been an integral part of women’s lives for thousands of years. As a physician originally trained in Western medicine who later took up the practice of TCM, Dr. Zhao has seen how effective the Chinese approach is for her patients, and she’d like to see more Canadian women incorporating its wisdom and practices in their own lives, as a complement to their regular health care. In Reflections of the Moon on Water, she explains the unique philosophy behind the healing tradition, a way of thinking that is liberating and empowering for women. Sharing stories from her own life and the lives of her patients, Dr. Zhao shows that we have nothing to reject about our feminine selves, and explains how we can develop new relationships with our bodies and our emotions. There is so much every woman can do in terms of ongoing and preventative self-care to improve her health and vitality and prevent illness. By making simple changes in diet, exercise routine, sex life and the way we deal with stress and our emotions, we can profoundly improve our health now and into the future. "Many Westerners think Chinese medicine sounds too complicated or too esoteric. They find discussions of yin and yang, or the life energy known as qi intimidating. In fact, Chinese medicine is very simple and accessible. Many of the herbs we use are ordinary ones. Sometimes, I might treat a patient’s sinus condition with eucalyptus or other familiar herbs, and she’ll say, "Oh that smells just like what my grandmother used to give me." So much of Chinese medicine is based on intuition and common sense. Although the history behind TCM is 5,000 years old — 4,500 years older than our scientific traditions — it is knowledge open to anyone." —excerpt from Reflections of the Moon on Water

This book is a traditional Chinese medicine family "rebel" self-description! After Mr. Liu Lihong book, "Thinking about TCM", another book of thinking about TCM and realizing the rare masterpiece of life! This book started from the memory of the mother of TCM treatment, all the way to write, there is the magic of TCM, there is the truth of TCM, There are differences between traditional Chinese medicine and Western medicine, wisdom in life, open-minded mind, things that modern people often ignore, and there are many questions worth pondering.

This book is intended as an introduction to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) for students, practitioners, or lay people with a general interest in Chinese medicine. It provides a clear and compact delivery of TCM's reasoning, history, philosophy, theory, and treatment principles. The author has approached this from the perspective of the reasoning behind Chinese medicine, its philosophical foundations, and its approach to treatment. The text is accompanied by clear and bold graphical illustrations to allow for an easier understanding.

In this book, we endeavor to introduce readers to the cultural background, origins and historical development of traditional Chinese medicine. We surveyed the most important events in its long history and the conditions that influenced its development, including the cultural and philosophical ideas and assumptions that led to the development of the particular methods and techniques of healing that characterize Chinese medicine. Our goal is not to give an exhaustive survey of the history and philosophy of Chinese medicine, but rather to convey the patterns of its development and allow readers to gain an understanding of the distinctive features of traditional Chinese medicine.

This volume presents texts written by Austrian and Chinese experts in the field of Traditional Chinese Medicine. The issue the authors worked on is the basic problem how to make a different system of medical thinking plausible for the Western world, especially for Western medicine. This issue is considered from different viewpoints - from the viewpoint of Western medicine that is familiar with Chinese medicine and contrariwise from the viewpoint of Chinese Medicine that is familiar with its Western counterpart and from a philosophical viewpoint. In this way both differences in the theoretical systems of Western and Chinese medicine and problems of adequate translation are profundly discussed.