Dao of Chinese Medicine: Understanding an Ancient Healing Art Review

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(More customer reviews)As a Western-trained biochemist and a critical commentator of Chinese Medicine, I read Donald Kendall's book with keen interest. For more than two decades since the rise of popularity of acupuncture in the West, Chinese Medicine has been regarded as any other folklore medicine derived mainly from empirical experience with little scientific basis, despite the fact that it has been practiced for over two thousand years and has long been the only mainstream healthcare system in China until recent century. Even today, this healing art is still practiced as a complementary medicine in China and in overseas Chinese communities.
In recent years, the quest for herbal-based alternative medicine in the West has made Chinese Medicine increasingly appealing not only to the ordinary populace, but also to western medical professionals. This ancient healing art is said to have embraced the environmental, nutritional as well as emotional influence in its etiology and be capable of providing individualized therapies which could only be realized by the future pharmacogenomic approach.
However, to most westerners Chinese Medicine is as mysterious as the Chinese Ancient Civilization it belongs. The reasons could well be that the classical cannons of this healing art are all written in very concise and hard to understand ancient Chinese, and its underlying therapeutic principles are shrouded in the ancient Chinese worldviews of Five Phases and Yin-Yang. Furthermore, most attempts in the past to interpret the principles of Chinese medicine either do not properly recognize the ultimate consistency of its functional organ concepts with modern physiology, nor all together misunderstand its essential theories of disease etiology and balance of Yin & Yang due to inaccurate translation of the some of the critical concepts. All these have led to the misperception that Chinese medicine is a totally outdated traditional therapeutic system passed down merely by generations of empirical healing experience, with little scientific basis for verification and hard to reconcile with nowadays mainstream western medicine.
It is therefore an intellectual delight to find in Dr Kendall's new book "Dao of Chinese Medicine" a fresh interpretation of this oriental healing art in terms of modern physiology. The content of this book is logically laid-out in fifteen chapters starting from the quest for the Dao, i.e., the way, and the ancient beginning of this healing art, to the interpretation of many important concepts and principles of Chinese medicine, and finally to the different approaches in diagnosis and treatment which were adopted by the Chinese physicians over the centuries and are still practiced today.
From the start, what makes this book different from most existing English texts on Chinese medicine is that Kendall derived his source material by taking on new and more accurate translations of Huangdi Nei Jing, the most reverend cannon of Chinese medicine, and successfully demystifies the misleading idea that Chinese medicine is on based energy circulation through invisible meridians. As the readers will discover, ancient Chinese medicine is not just based on an ancient philosophy of Five Phases and Yin-Yang, but is firmly rooted in empirical physiological studies, which includes, against common customs of the time, post-mortem dissection.
... I consider Dr. Kendall's book a major achievement in introducing Chinese medicine to the West in ways even Dr. Joseph Needham could not achieve in his monumental work of "Chinese Science and Technology". With over 200 citations to more than 80 treatises of the Nei Jing, this book reveals the rational basis of this ancient healing art with modern insight which will be instrumental for future application, research and acceptance of Chinese medicine in the West. The Dao is a must read for students, practitioners of Chinese medicine as well as other health specialists and individuals who would appreciate the fascinating story of the great indigenous medicine of China.
By: Kenneth J.T. Li, Ph.D.,D.Sp.
Former Assistant Director, R&D, School of Chinese Medicine, Hong Kong University

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Dao of Chinese Medicine is the first Western text to shed light on the reality of the ancient healing arts of China, revealing that Chinese medical theories are based on important physiological findings.This is in contrast to the Western interpretation, popularized since the 1940s and 50s that Chinese medicine and acupuncture involve undefined energy and blood circulating through imaginary meridians.Unfortunately, the energy-meridian idea condemned Chinese medicine to be viewed in terms of metaphysical beliefs, limiting its acceptance into mainstream health care.It also led to a growing frustration to reinvent acupuncture in Western terms before understanding the true way (dao) of Chinese medicine.Dao of Chinese Medicine sets the record straight, explaining how ancient Chinese physicians developed a physiologically based medicine with the theories supported by human dissection studies and how Chinese medical theories are consistent with 21st century explanations about how acupuncture works.

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Chinese Medical Herbology & Pharmacology Review

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(More customer reviews)This is a modern pharmacology text on herbs and prescriptions. Unlike some older texts this fine reference book includes many features not found elsewhere. It includes photographic pictures of each herb and provides in both simplified and traditional Chinese characters. The chemical composition is badly needed as both modern pharmacists and patients alike need to know what they are dealing with, other than just exotic PinYin names. The pharmacological interactions and author's comments are also welcomed as the effectiveness from modern clinical studies are required in any modern medical book. The only inconvenience I found is that the constant use of this 1200+ page book caused sore on my thumb and fingers. As more and more updates are added, frequent users would prefer a digital source (e.g., XHTML, XML etc) to get the latest update. The advantage of hypertext will allow one to navigate quickly with the click of a mouse without having to flip through pages or using indices. At present, 23% of medical professionals are now using an online source and it is expected more and more will do so to stay current. In sum, this is a highly useful book which will get to its place.

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Chinese Medical Herbology and Pharmacology integrates contemporary understanding of the ancient practice of Chinese herbal medicine with essential safety information for a context in which use of pharmaceutical and traditional medicines is increasingly integrated in the treatment of illness. In 1,266 information-packed pages, this text offers healthcare practitioners, researchers, educators and students information for a lifetime of learning and practice: 670 in-depth herb monographs; 1150 photographs, classic line drawings, and chemical structure diagrams; far-reaching insights from academic, clinical, research and regulatory professionals; traditional uses and combinations, dosages, toxicology, cautions and contraindications; safety index, herb-drug interactions, clinical studies and research; and more.

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Herbal Emissaries Review

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(More customer reviews)This book is great. It explains the modern uses of Chinese herbs as well as history & folklore. Wonderful addition to my herbal book collection. I also recommend Herbal Renaissance for western herb history. Both are by Steven Foster.

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Teach Yourself to Read Modern Medical Chinese: A Step-by-Step Workbook & Guide Review

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(More customer reviews)I have been looking for a good review of Chinese Medical terminology to aid in my writing and translation/teaching. I am fluent in Chinese but really love to get language books for reading to see how the ideas are taught and also to practice my skills. This book I felt would be very interesting.
Indeed, I will admit it is not easy to take on the project of writing such a book. Especially when one tries to take a non-speaker of Chinese to reading advanced professional literature in one volume.
I would like to say though, I found the book not that helpful in two ways. 1) The terminology although has pinyin romanization, it lacks the intonation marks. While this book is for reading, tones added will make the book able to help those wanting to learn to speak or listen to Chinese. 2) The book is full or errors. The wrong characters are written and often the meaning is either too simple or in error...so many errors!
I hope that in future editions some of the errors can be corrected-then it would be more helpful.

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This is the 1st workbook ever written specifically to help acupuncturists and practitioners of Chiense medicine to directly access the Chinese medical literature in Chinese. Conversational and easy to follow, the author shares all the "quick & dirty" methods he's used to teach himself. You can begin translating modern medical Chinese within hourse! You wil learn: how to look up a Chinese character in a dictionary; how to interpret characters once you've found them; how to use quick "cheat-sheets" for identifying acupuncture point names, medicinals, formulas, and commonly used medical words and phrases; how to purchase medical books and journals by mail; what to translate and what not to as a beginner. The book is wire-bound for ease of use.

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Western Herbs according to Traditional Chinese Medicine: A Practitioner's Guide Review

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(More customer reviews)It's a beautiful book, in fact it seems to me more like a coffee table book than a real practitioner's handbook. There are lots of beautiful full page color photos but not as much information as I'd hoped. The text and approach are good, certainly authoritative, but I expected to find many common western herbs listed. I live in Europe and most of the herbs in the book are specific to north America. Lovely book but not as useful as I'd hoped.

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The first book to exclusively use Chinese medical theories and terminology to guide practitioners of Chinese medicine in the use of Western herbs • Written entirely according to the theory, diagnosis, and treatment paradigm of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) • Explains how to combine and modify the standard TCM formulas to non-Chinese herbs suitable for Western practitioners • Includes 58 monographs of common Western healing herbs, detailing how each plant is used clinically The ever-growing number of Chinese medicine practitioners in the West has brought about an amalgamation of many styles of Chinese medicine and various other forms of medicine from around the world. This book addresses the increasing demand for knowledge of how to integrate plants from outside the standard Chinese materia medica into the fold of Chinese medical practices in the West. It is the first in-depth guide to using Western herbs exclusively according to the theories, diagnoses, and treatments of traditional Chinese medicine that harmonizes the unique terminology and theories of TCM with other botanical medicines.The book contains 58 monographs, illustrated with full-color photographs, of herbs commonly used by Western herbalists. Each herb is grouped by the basic categorization for medicinals in Chinese medicine, such as Herbs that Resolve the Exterior and Herbs that Regulate Blood. The monographs detail the energetics, function and indication, channels entered, dosage and preparation, and contraindications of each plant. The author also explains how to use the herbs to modify standard formulas used in everyday Chinese herbal medicine, based on his own clinical experience. An appendix of Western Analogs for Chinese Herbs further highlights 40 Chinese medicinals that have related species growing in the West.

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The Acupuncture Treatment of Pain: Safe and Effective Methods for Using Acupuncture in Pain Relief Review

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(More customer reviews)I checked this book out from the library. I was impressed with charts and specific points that are not described in other books. Talks about type of needle, time, and in general everything you want to know. Has meridian, point reference, Chinese name, anatomical position, depth of insertion, and any special notes you should know. Excellent reference material. I check things out thourghly before I buy. You can't go wrong w/this book. I'm purchasing this for myself now.......

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This title presents a method of effective pain control for use by those in the healing professions-acupuncturists, surgeons, general practitioners, osteopaths, chiropractors, physiotherapists, and trained nurses-as an adjunct to their normal course of therapy. It includes a formulary for pain treatment and chapters on acupuncture as anesthesia as well as its use in the treatment of addiction.

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Acupuncture Imaging: Perceiving the Energy Pathways of the Body Review

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(More customer reviews)Given the two prior negative reviews, I feel its important to provide a balancing input, particularly since I did fully enjoy this small book.
There are hints given toward the end of this book about why he uses the term "imaging". With intentional experience and time devoted to Seem's style of evaluating the person, their meridians as a whole instead of just a few selected points, before touching in order to intuitively perceive ... he suggests that some people may learn to "see" energy coursing and the places where there might be obstructions. I agree the title may lead to a little disappointment. The book is more about trying to understand the deeper dynamics of energy management in the body and prodding of it by manual exam and acupuncture rather than "imaging" in the typical use of the word.
However, if one approaches the book with an open mind, there is a lot of helpful information here. It is not a comprehensive textbook on how to learn acupuncture, and does NOT pretend to be. It is assumed that one already has acquired the basics from some perspective such as TCM, 5-Elements or one of the physicians' medical acupuncture disciplines.
Bob Flaws, in his introduction to the book, describes Mark Seem as an acupuncturist's acupuncturist, referencing the fact that Seem has devoted his career and teaching to refining a particular form of acupuncture focusing on the body's innate energetic pathways that are independent of other "assists" such as herbal preparations. As such, this short book of about 100 pages, attempts to summarize a starting point for exploring acupuncture from an energetic framework. He intentionally speaks more as a philosopher and educator rather than a "technician", sharing the accumulated impressions he has gained over his career using a psychosomatic and phenomenologic approach.
His emphasize on recruiting patients to be responsible, active participants in the pursuit of their own healing, rather becoming the passive recipients of treatments or pills is refreshing. That's always a challenge no matter how much desired for most practitioners of the healing arts. He attempts to explain how he engages his patients in this process specifically for the medium of acupuncture. These efforts are quite valuable -- yet their significance may be lost when one is at the start of acupuncture training and still attempting to absorb the massive amount of required material. Its more the type of information to which one returns after reaching a plateau that prompts a need to re-think how one organizes their own approach to the discipline. I anticipate I will want to re-read it intermittently.
Seem's pre-acupuncture background was in philosophy and psychosomatics. He then trained in a Canadian school of French-Chinese energetic acupuncture. This approach became known in France dating back to the early 1900's due to the work of George Soulle' de Morant, a Frenchman who spent at least 2 decades in China, was fluent in Chinese having learning Mandarin as a child, and translated/catalogued many original manuscripts in order to document techniques of the pre-communist era while working with Chinese physicians and acupuncturists. de Morant was awarded the highest national Chinese award for civilians and was considered a Chinese Doctor among the Chinese. He eventually returned to Europe where he was known as the Father of Energetic Acupuncture. (Besides his books on acupuncture, de Morant was a prolific writer/translator on many different aspects of Chinese life and literature.)
This French-Chinese model differs from newer TCM approaches, which at least for awhile dominated China after the Maoist reform (1950's) and also dominated the American scene when acupuncture first migrated here. Seem's book does have several recognizable features in common with the training provided to physicians through the Helm's Institute, whose founder also trained in French-Chinese energetic acupuncture in France.
Mark Seem begins with a helpful historical review regarding the development of the different schools of acupuncture and why he personally became invested in the approach he uses. He is the founder of the Tri-Sate College of Acupuncture in New York City, and has been a major national leader in training and organizations for licensed acupuncturists. He acknowledges several other sources that have influenced the development of his style that an interested reader may want to pursue for further detail (such by those by Royston Lowe, Yves Requina and Kiiko Matsumoto. The latter being a particular good source for information on Japanese meridian work. )
There are a few summary tables and diagrams but no specific treatment protocols, in keeping with his phenomenological approach of following the message he encounters from the patient's body -- not some predetermined formulae attached to either an eastern or a western medical diagnosis. That's the point.
He broadly describes his journey through a treatment process from surface energetics, through tendinomuscular meridians and then to deeper interconnections among principal meridian and/or curious meridian pathways. I strongly anticipate that travelling with him through this journey will gain in meaning the more experience one gains with acupuncture if the commitment is to move beyond "cookbook recipes" for treatment protocols.
His other textbook which I have not yet read seems to likely be more comprehensive on the basics of his style, called BodyMind Energetics.

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A practical guide to the bodymind-energetic approach of acupuncture

' Teaches readers to reorient their thinking in order to see, feel, and experience the energetic field of the body and psyche

' Explores French and Japanese influences on acupuncture and the resulting stylistic variations in the contemporarypractice of this ancient technique

' Includes guidance on treatment planning and implementation for practitioners and their patients

A pioneer in the field of body energetics, Mark Seem explains in Acupuncture Imaging how bodyworkers and their clients can develop a clear understanding of the energetic systems of the bodymind to arrive at a personal approach and treatment style in acupuncture and all other meridian therapies. He shows how to recast and reconceptualize physical, emotional, and psychological problems in terms of disrupted energy flow, enabling readers to see, feel, and experience these disturbances in a way that allows for change. By approaching the meridian systems in visual and sensory terms, a practitioner is able to tell the energetic 'story" that he or she is exploring with a patient, thereby guiding and assisting the healing process. Acupuncture Imaging will be of great help to students, teachers, practitioners, and patients of the diverse energetic and meridian therapies, particularly shiatsu and acupressure, as well as psychotherapists and those interested in Eastern concepts of medicine.

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The Handbook of Chinese Massage: Tui Na Techniques to Awaken Body and Mind Review

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(More customer reviews)Ms Mercati gives the reader a good overview of this style of massage. One problem many books on Eastern medicine concepts is that the scientific paradigm of qi, yin-yang, etc is difficult to grasp for someone who has been educated on Western scientific principles. This book starts with an introduction to the Eastern principles in a more understandable, concise fashion. This makes it good for a massage therapist who wants to expand his repertoire. At times, the anatomical descriptions are inaccurate eg: referring to the malleolus as an "ankle bone"; however, the informal style of the book keeps it interesting and readable, as well as informative.

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For the first time in the West, Chinese tui na massage techniques are brought together in an easy-to-use method for whole-body health
The Handbook of Chinese Massage integrates classic Tui Na (meaning push and grasp) techniques used in the Orient for centuries into a revolutionary method for health and well-being. Traditional Chinese massage practitioners use specific individual techniques to treat a wide variety of ailments--techniques demonstrated in this book. But after years of study in China, Indonesia, and Thailand, Maria Mercati has taken these separate techniques and combined them into a whole-body treatment never before seen in East or West. Tui Na massage stimulates the flow of qi, vital energy, in healthy individuals as well as sick ones. It requires no special equipment and is simple enough to do at home or in a chair at work.

The Handbook of Chinese Massage includes step-by-step instructions for each of the fifteen unique tui na techniques, many of which are unfamiliar to Western massage practitioners.

More than 100 color photographs and diagrams clearly show where to place your hands on the body and where to find the key meridians.

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Bodymind (Body Mind) Energetics: Toward a Dynamic Model of Health Review

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(More customer reviews)Dr. Mark Seem is a well known and respected Acupuncturist and founder of Tri-State Institute of Traditional Chinese Acupuncture in Stamford, Connecticut. The book presents theoretical foundations of the Acupuncture technique as practiced and taught by the author.
I read Bodymind Energetics about a year ago as part of my medical acupuncture study. It is a good introductory text for someone interested in Acupuncture and Energetic Medicine.
The book is accessible and well written; yes, as mentioned by the previous reviewer, it is repetitious at times, but I don't hold it against the author because the ideas advanced in the book are new for the majority of readers, and these concepts do require multiple different angles of presentations to make them clear.
One of the reviewers complained about the angry tone of the book. There is some truth in this observation. One thing we need to remember, though, is that the author of the book has Ph.D. in French Philosophy. I am not making a disparaging remark. Au contraire. What I am saying is that the author is a very intelligent and sensitive person (otherwise he wouldn't achieve what he has achieved and wouldn't be doing what he is doing!), but, judging by his (very elegant otherwise) writing style, the author's intellectual roots are undoubtedly Gallic with all the applicable stereotypes (see Monty Python and the Holy Grail or read Mark Twain's ramblings on the subject).
Just remember that there is plenty to learn from this book, and you will do much better paying attention to the content of the book, rather than tone with which it is written.
The one weakness of the book, in my opinion, is its cover: the picture of black human figure surrounded by energy field lines is somewhat misleading. I suspect that this picture scared off a lot of intended readers. Don't pay any attention to the cover: the book has nothing to do with Blavatskaya/Astral Body/Distance Healing/etc.

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Dr. Seem proposes an integration of Traditional Chinese Medicine and psychosomatics in this model of health care that acknowledges the connection of body and mind.

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Chinese Herbal Formulas and Applications Review

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(More customer reviews)I wanted "comprehensive" in my TCM formulas book, and thanks to Chen & Chen's "Chinese Herbal Formulas and Applications", I got it. The best things about it: lists literal formula names, alternate names, original source with original prep instructions and modern ones, clinical manifestations typical for appropriate use and applications thereof, detailed explanation of the formula and all ingredients, a quick-glance chart for each formula, modifications, cautions/contraindications, pharmacological effects, clinical studies and research (example: "Ban Xia Xie Xin Tang" discusses clinical studies done on its effectiveness for 4 different types of gastritis/peptic ulcers/GERD/upper GI bleeding/morning sickness/infantile indigestion/gastroptosis/gastroenteritis/stomach pain/abdominal pain/IBS/ulcerative colitis/diarrhea/cholecystitis and cholelithiasis/hepatitis/renal failure/stress and depression), herb-drug interaction(!), toxicology, and comparisons of similar formulas. YAY!

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Chinese Herbal Formulas and Applications by John K Chen and Tina T Chen. Hardcover book: 1660 pages, 680 Formulas. Dimensions: 7.75 x 11. Following the highly acclaimed Chinese Medical Herbology and Pharmacology, Dr. John Chen and Tina Chen present to you the long awaited companion volume, Chinese Herbal Formulas and Applications. Chinese Herbal Formulas and Applications takes the next step in presenting not only the traditional usage of Chinese herbal formulas, but a combined perspective of the pharmacological effects of formulas themselves with clinically relevant research evidence. As competencies in multiple healthcare disciplines continue to be raised the need for integrative understandings rise with it. Chinese Herbal Formulas and Applications brings together Chinese Herbal Medicine and expands this with the pharmaceutical effects and clinical research findings to use herbal medicines exclusively or in combination with the allopathic medicine. Enhancing the understanding of herbs and herbal formulas from multiple perspectives, Chinese Herbal Formulas and Applications is a resource for improved patient care and therapeutic outcome.OUTSTANDING FEATURES EXCLUSIVE TO Chinese Herbal Formulas and Applications Comprehensive explanation of the pharmacology of herbal medicinal formulas, and concurrent uses of herbal formulas and pharmaceuticals Documentation from clinical studies and published research Profiles of the doctors without whom there would be no Chinese medicine: insights into the historical context and backgrounds of those famous individuals who shaped our understanding of disease patterns, treatment strategies and herbal formulas. Contributions from over 100 academic, clinical, research and regulatory professionals who reviewed the text before publication, to complement the work of the authors.PLUS Detailed traditional and modern uses, preparation, administration, dosages, combinations, cautions, contraindications and toxicology Authors comments drawn from clinical experience Appendices on herbal medicine for pregnancy and postpartum careand much more

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