Reprint of: Essence of traditional Chinese medicine / compiled by Asiapac editorial; illustrated by Fu Chunjiang; translated by Y.N. Han. 2003.

For over two thousand years, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has made many significant contributions to China's growth and prosperity. This textbook, based on the unique characteristics of TCM, discusses its principle theories and presents a comprehensive daily practice guide for health maintenance and disease treatment. The book provides clinical practitioners with a fundamental understanding of the essence of TCM.We highly recommend this book for students interested in TCM, Chinese medicine doctors and other healthcare professionals, biomedical researchers, and interested individuals. Readers will benefit from the inspirational viewpoints discussed in the book.

The Fundamentals of Chinese Medicine is an international collaboration of Chinese medicine experts from both China and the west, and co-written by an experienced practitioner who has been teaching the subject in western schools. This book covers the theory of traditional Chinese medicine and discusses the topic in greater depth than any English language textbook available today. An abundance of classical references are also included here. The material in this text comprises course material for a professional course of training in TCM, which is also the basic material for studying and comprehension of other more advanced courses in TCM. The main contents include the physiological basis of essence-qi, yin-yang and the five phases, followed by the theories of essence, qi and blood, fluids, and spirit. Organ manifestation, channel and collateral theory, constitutional theory, etiology and patho-mechanism, and also principles of prevention and treatment are expounded upon. The knowledge in this textbook is approximately equal to that for students of TCM colleges in China, and coincides with the requirements in the Examination Syllabus for TCM Professional Practitioners Worldwide.

The beneficial health effects of daily chi-gung practice have long been known in China, but in the West, chi-gung is becoming increasingly used for general well-being and to complement conventional medical treatment. The Essence of Chi-Gung is an easy-to-use workbook that teaches the fundamentals of chi-gung practice and provides a safe, basic daily regimen that can be adapted for people of all ages and physical abilities. The view in Chinese medicine is that good health is maintained by circulating and increasing chi, the vital life energy that we are all born with. In chi-gung practice, slow, rhythmic breathing is synchronized with body movements, in a way which is beneficial to both the nervous and immune systems and to overall health. This manual includes over fifty step-by-step illustrations of the warm-up exercises and movement forms.

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.

Complete with descriptions of the seven traditional theories, herbal medicine, and the principles of modifying and composing everyday prescriptions, this text is part of a two-volume set that illustrates the relationship between medicine of the East and West.