We Westerners like Daoism. I like Daoism. The Dao De Jing is the most translated book into English and therefore celebrated as one of the classics of Chinese culture (even though most people in Chinese speaking countries have never read it and have no interest in it). This does not make it central to the ideas contained in classical Chinese medical texts. In fact, even the term Daoism (Taoism) is problematic. For more on this, I highly recommend this article by Nathan Sivin.

If I were to narrow down any one philosophical thought as predominate in the earlier classics, I would have to say Legalism takes the prize. The zang-organs are given categories that correspond to government posts. The character 治 is used for the verb “to treat”; this is the same verb used to represent “to govern.” There are countless essays that equate treating disease with managing the affairs of the state.

This is not likely to be a poplar stance, as most of the modern teachers who have a following use Daoism as the basis for what they teach. I think there is nothing wrong with this, and I am attracted to such things myself. The difference, for me personally, is that I see this as a modern interpretation of classical medicine which often superimposes ideas on to texts. We want there to be a Daoist basis of the medicine, so we see it even when it is not there.

When I first embarked on the journey of learning to read classical Chinese medical texts, I also believed that Chinese medicine was rooted in Daoism; in fact, I had always been under the impression that it snubbed Confucianism and Legalism. This idea hampered my progress. I was always looking for something that wasn’t in the texts, therefore I didn’t understand the texts. It wasn’t until I started exploring Chinese philosophy in depth that I realized that Chinese medical writers were versed in all classics of philosophy. Very few medical writers snubbed any one tradition, and they often used aspects of all philosophies including “Daoism.”

I do not want to discourage people from developing interest in a Daoist Chinese medicine. There are certainly examples of Daoism in medicine, it’s just that they do not exist everywhere. I simply want to encourage people to become much more versed in philosophy and Chinese history so that they can have a better grasp of the texts they are learning to read.

Ling Shu Chapter 55

The superior physician treats that which is not yet ill. The inferior physician treats that which is already ill.

This is a fairly famous statement, which is often interpreted to be a call to preventative medicine. Modern physicians often complain that patients come in with specific complaints and it is impossible to treat what is not yet ill. I find this stance strange, as if we are to believe if someone has a disease which has already become manifest, the practitioner is prevented from treating what is not yet ill.

At any rate, the following quote from Nanjing has a completely different interpretation of the above passage:

Treating what is not yet ill means that when one sees illness in the liver (for example), this (can be) transmitted to the spleen. First fill (shi2) the spleen qi so that there is no way for it to accept the liver’s evil qi. This is what is called treating what is not yet ill.

As you can read, the writer of the Nan Jing felt that the meaning of treating what was not yet ill did not mean some psychic rendering of signs and symptoms, but a way of treating a person who comes with a specific complaint. One might go so far as to suggest that when the superior physician sees that one zang-organ has been afflicted by evil qi, the zang-organ in the control/destruction (ke) cycle of the five phases needs to be supported.

The Jin Gui Yao Lue explains this method works because when the spleen is supplemented,

it can injure the kidney. If the kidney is injured, then water doesn’t move. If water doesn’t move, then fire becomes abundant. If fire becomes abundant then the lung is injured. If the lung is injured then metal doesn’t move. If metal doesn’t move then the liver becomes abundant and is naturally cured. This is the secret meaning of supplementing the spleen to cure the liver.

As can be seen from both the Nan Jing and the Jin Gui Yao Lue, the superior physician understands the consequences of the actions of treatment through the five phase relationships. This may or may not have been the meaning intended by the Ling Shu; however, the closer a commentator is to the classic being commented, the more likely I am to take their claim to understanding it seriously.

In modern times, the five phases are relegated to old quackery that needs to be replaced with rigid diagnostic strategies and a focus on patient complaints to determine the affected system. If the five phases are not ignored, they are often taken to be central to Chinese medicine and not well balanced with the many other aspects of the medicine discussed in the classics.

In most modern schools, students are taught to observe, ask questions, palpate, form a treatment strategy based on the affected system, and then treat the affected organ or meridian directly.

This is almost the exact definition of the inferior physician from the same chapter of the Ling Shu.

I have no major qualms with the article itself, but take exception to one of the quotes he uses to make the point that studying the classics can be “dangerous.” Any disagreements I have with Dr. Hammer’s article are the same disagreements I have with the quote from James Ramholz, which reads:

“Unfortunately, the classics are actually poor teaching tools. They often mention things without clear details or explanations. Commentaries sometimes sound as if they’re about completely unrelated topics. Even if when we read the original text in Chinese, its meaning, translation, and interpretation are frequently in dispute. The classics are actually the starting point for study and research, not the accumulation or final arbiter of what can be known.”

Let me say first that I entirely agree with the last sentence. Every aspect of Chinese medicine, including the classics, is indeed a starting point. This is a big part of what makes the medicine, for me personally, a study which I never tire of. There is no final arbiter of what can be known. Thousands of pages of classical Chinese medical texts sit in libraries and have yet to be analyzed, much less written about in English. What can be known about Chinese medicine? Every piece of knowledge is the beginning of the next discovery.

I find all of the other statements are based on common misunderstandings of classical texts. Below, I will take each part of this statement and explain my thoughts on why each one misses the mark:

Unfortunately, the classics are actually poor teaching tools. They often mention things without clear details or explanations.

No specific classic is named here, so I will be forced to follow suit and also make generalizations. The assumption here is that the writing of the classics is flawed because modern readers find them unclear and want more explanations. A lack of explanation can be simply explained by the author assuming the reader would understand the text. The authors of classical texts could not have possibly had western readers of the future in mind when they wrote. They were writing for the audience of their time and based what they wrote on the “common knowledge” of their time.

It is also important to remember that the literacy rate in China was extremely low up until the last 30 years or so. The author’s audience was small and consisted of the period’s brightest scholars. Only the most wealthy and educated could read such classics. These texts were written for people well versed in not only medical classics, but in every aspect of current and historical literature. We shouldn’t be surprised that we are not as equipped to easily comprehend these texts.

Expecting medical books to give readers “clear details” is also a very modern notion. The classics were not written as treatment manuals, but as foundational theory books. The cosmology that underlies classical texts was known by readers of the time. Practical application of that theory was not learned through books, but through apprenticeships.

If the classics are poor teaching tools today, this is our responsibility. Our inability to use them shows a lack of knowledge on our part and has nothing to do with the authors of those texts. If we want to use the classics as teaching tools, then we need to first find out what pieces of information we are lacking.

Commentaries sometimes sound as if they’re about completely unrelated topics.

I have never found this to be a problem when reading texts in classical Chinese. At times, I find commentaries that do not seem to address the preceding passage directly. In the mind of the commentator, what they wrote is related, so the modern reader’s challenge is to find that connection.

Again, we have to look more closely at the period a text was written and when it was commented. A 16^th century text commenting on a 2^nd century text is explaining the text for 16^th century readers. If hundreds of years separate a text from its commentary, we must assume that what was common knowledge during the time of the text was no longer common when the commentary was written. Historians even use data on which parts of a text were commented and compare them with which parts were not to gleam important historical data. For a modern reader to say that commentaries seem unrelated misses the most basic reason for a commentary, which is to explain the text to their audience.

The above sentence repeats the same mistake from the first, which  is to assume that any historical text was written for us, with our current notions of culture, the body, and medicine. They were not. Assuming such texts should address our needs is unrealistic.

Even if when we read the original text in Chinese, its meaning, translation, and interpretation are frequently in dispute.

We must remember that, in spite of modern China’s wish to proclaim otherwise, there was not a wholly unified China that existed over the last 3,000 years. China’s history is complicated; when we consider all of the changes in dynasties, wars, famines, movements, rebellions, plagues, religions, uprisings, and regional distinctions over time, we have a very complicated history that occurred in the geographical region we now call China.  The cultures of the Han and Tang dynasties, for example, cannot be treated as part of some imagined “one China.”

Each new era had its own distinct culture that needed to reinterpret the classics according to that culture. Many of the historical periods of China faced the same problem we are facing today: how do we interpret and use this medicine? This is not a new problem, as evidenced by the need for the commentaries spoken about earlier.

I find the disputes about meanings of the classics to be one of the most interesting aspects in the history of Chinese medicine. What is the Triple Warmer? What is the Shen? What is the Ming Men? In my own work, I have no desire to try to define these things concretely. I could argue that the Ming Men, for example, is the eyes. I could use the Nei Jing to back up my claim. However, I would be ignoring the many other writings that claim that the Ming Men is the right kidney or the space between the kidneys, among other possibilities. In my view, the need to define these things concretely does not reflect the spirit of the classics, but is a projection of our own culture, which wants conclusions based on concrete evidence. The classics had no such expectation.

In Classical Chinese Medical Texts (Ch. 6), one of the texts I used is from The Classic of Difficulties. One sentence makes a statement about the San Jiao, which was debated in later times. I find the sentence impossible to interpret with 100% certainty. Initially, I wanted to take this chapter out of the book because I was afraid readers would want something more concrete. In the end, I left it because readers need to know classical medical texts contain many statements that are wide open to differing interpretations. I do not see this as a problem, but more as one of the most fascinating aspects of the medicine.

I think Dr. Ramhoz’s quote above has helped to illustrate what I find to be the final barrier to entering the next stage of development in Chinese medicine: drop all assumptions and expectations, forget the world you live in just long enough, and the world of the classics will become wide open to you.

]]> http://windstonepress.com/2009/04/19/leon_hammer/feed/ 0 windstonepress http://windstonepress.com/2009/03/11/about-the-mp3-files/ http://windstonepress.com/2009/03/11/about-the-mp3-files/#comments Wed, 11 Mar 2009 12:19:47 +0000 windstonepress http://windstonepress.com/?p=529 ]]> Many people are downloading the PDF sample for “How to Use This Book.”

When I was writing the book, I had no idea that Windstone Press would offer MP3 recordings for each chapter (I don’t think they knew it either). For those who will have the recordings, this is a great benefit to studying.

At first, I thought it wouldn’t do much good. This is a reading book, after all. I only put the pinyin in the book for people who could already speak and read Mandarin so that they could use other dictionaries and compare definitions.  Looking back at my own education in Chinese language, I realize that recordings of the textbooks I was using were essential for both reading and speaking. Reading while listening to the sounds helps readers focus and use more of their brain. You will remember more by listening.

The recordings are basically set up as follows: each of the 15 chapters has its own file. Each chapter file starts with a reading of the Vocabulary, number by number. For the earlier chapters, each character is repeated twice (through Unit one I believe). After the Vocabulary section, the text is read. Each unit gets a little faster, but the rate is still good for beginners and not too boring for those who can speak Mandarin already.

I suggest using the recordings on the “second pass” through each section. In other words, study the Vocabulary as outline in the introduction first, then go through again with the recordings. When you finally approach the text, read them as outlined in the introduction first, then use the recordings.

When using the review pages (the first page of each chapter), you can use the recordings especially when you are having trouble remembering the text. This will certainly help your ability to memorize the texts.

All in all, I’m really happy they are offering these recordings. I think they will  be of great benefit to everyone using this book.

About twelve years ago, while still a graduate student of Chinese medicine, I came across various copies of translations of the classics. What I read made no sense to me, so I asked some of the teachers who taught my classes. The overall response I got was, “Don’t worry about that.” This made me even more curious. How could I just forget the classics of the medicine I was studying?

I started getting my hands on anything I could read. I loved reading Paul Unschuld’s books, but in a very sneaky sort of way. I then started to discover academic work by Nathan Sivin, Charlotte Furth, Benjamin Elman, and others. They seemed to contradict much of what I was hearing from my teachers and I would use their work to ask more probing questions of my teachers.

After about a year of trying to understand the medicine through translations of the classics, I was told by a teacher whom I respected greatly that if I really wanted to get into the deeper meaning of classical texts, I would have to study Chinese…and not just Chinese, but classical Chinese. I was not excited by this.

Upon graduation, I vowed that after practicing for five years I would move to China and study the language. After a year in private practice, I was already quite bored. I missed the camaraderie that came with having classmates who were grappling with the same questions I had. I decided to keep practicing and enrolled in local Chinese courses. This was very satisfying at first, but after a year I realized I was no closer to being able to tackle Chinese medical texts.

I enjoyed clinical practice. Helping people with their physical, spiritual, and emotional issues was very satisfying; on the other hand, the desire to go more deeply into the medicine was eating away at me. After three years of practice (to the day), I decided to take on studying Chinese full time. I packed up as much as I could carry with me on a plane and gave the rest to the local Salvation Army. I gave up essentially everything I had built, but I knew I was treading the right path for me at that time.

My initial plan was to come to Taiwan for just one year, then apply for a graduate program in the UK or back in the US. I wanted to go all of the way through to PhD and not stop until I was done. After one year in Taiwan (studying Chinese 10 hours per week for the entire year), I realized I still needed more training. I couldn’t get through a modern Chinese book, let alone a classical text. For most of this time, I was working for a publishing company translating from Chinese to English. Most of the books I worked on were Chinese language textbooks. I didn’t realize how valuable this experience would be at the time-it was just a way to pay the bills.

After two years of studying and working, I received a full scholarship to attend the Chinese University of Hong Kong for two years. At this time, I decided to ramp up my knowledge of classical Chinese. I read and studied every book available.

Many of the classical Chinese textbooks I found to be great resources, but they do not cover medical literature. I probably spent about a year in total devoted to learning to read classical Chinese. The books that used English to teach classical Chinese were initially very helpful. After mastering these, I started reading classical Chinese to modern Chinese translations of medical texts.

I often asked myself, “Why is no one creating a good classical Chinese to English textbook?” Finally, I sat down at my computer and outlined what such a book would look like. I pulled some medical texts from my bookshelf and included what I found to be the best methods from all of the Chinese-English books. After a few chapters were put together, I had the beginnings of a textbook.

At the time, I was about to begin my second semester in Hong Kong and didn’t have time to work on the book. I was not serious about finishing it and was hoping someone else would pick up on the idea and do it. After about a month into the semester, I realized I was miserable in the academic world and knew I would only grow more miserable. I decided to give up the scholarship and went back to Taiwan.

The first few months, I had forgotten about the book. I traveled a lot and worked on bits and pieces. At some point, I looked at what I had put together and realized it could be a book-and a very useful one. I decided to start taking it seriously, which meant that I had to throw out a lot of what I had already done. I needed to consider what beginners could handle, check to be sure I was teaching each new character, make the texts short but still useful, explain the grammar in a way that could be understood, and make sure all of the texts followed one another in a language learner’s logic.

For the last six months or so, I have done nothing but work on this book. My goal throughout writing it was to create the book I wish I had when I started working on learning to read classical Chinese medical texts. I hope you will find that it makes tackling more difficult aspects of the medicine much easier.

]]> http://windstonepress.com/2009/03/02/the-unpublished-introduction/feed/ 4 windstonepress http://windstonepress.com/2009/02/18/traditional-chinese-medicine-tcm/ http://windstonepress.com/2009/02/18/traditional-chinese-medicine-tcm/#comments Wed, 18 Feb 2009 09:32:24 +0000 windstonepress http://windstonepress.com/?p=402 ]]> The differences between Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), classical Chinese medicine, and modern medicine are mentioned frequently all over the internet. Many say that the creation of TCM was a deliberate act to destroy the medicine, but is this true? Why is a tradition created? What purpose does it serve?

The development of TCM was a necessary step for me to study the medicine I now practice. In fact, if it were not for TCM, chances are I would have never had the chance to study Chinese medicine at all. Although I do not practice TCM as taught in modern-day schools-and have no interest in doing so-I appreciate that without it I have no idea what I would be doing today.

There is a history behind traditions in medicine. During the Song-Jin-Yuan period, a few authors came up with some innovative ideas based on the classics, picking out pieces and developing “new” ideas. By the Ming and Qing dynasties, a bit of a separation was created because such authors’ works had contradictions. There had always been contradictions in Chinese medicine, and before this time authors were intent on resolving them by integrating all ideas. For the first time, a movement toward picking and choosing one contradiction over another began.

By the Ming and Qing dynasties, “study groups” began forming. Other groups who wanted to ignore the Song-Jin-Yuan era writers begin to emerge and call for a return to the earlier classics. Also during this time, medicine as practiced in the West also began to make its way into China. To the Chinese, this too was just medicine as practiced by foreigners. Much of it was rejected outright as complete insanity until the late 19^th century.

So how did TCM come about? The medicine practiced before the beginning of the 20^th century was on its way out long before the Cultural Revolution. Chinese intellectuals who started studying materialistic philosophies hated the traditional cosmology, some arguing that it was destroying China and that anything related to it must go. Sun yat-sen, the first leader of Republican China after the empire fell, was trained in western medicine in Japan and had many people close to him that wanted to rid the country of its medicine.

When Mao’s communist party took over, there was already a widespread movement to rid the country of traditional medicine. Mao was eager to drop the medicine until he found out the medical infrastructure to replace it didn’t exist. TCM was born out of the PRC government trying to solve a health crisis after the only medicine that had an infrastructure was already being pulled apart. TCM saved Chinese medicine from complete annihilation. Let’s stop tearing it down and appreciate it for what it is.

After about a week of us working, she emailed me to let me know her three year-old daughter, Isa, had been diagnosed with leukemia. I cannot imagine what it is like to hear that one’s child has leukemia. I felt like I was punched in the gut when I heard the news, so I can only imagine my friend and her husband felt like they had garbage trucks dropped on them.

A childhood friend of hers, who runs her own business selling handmade jewelry and other accessories, designed two cute hats to raise money for my friend. I have decided to follow suit.

I am giving 10% of my profit from sales of Classical Chinese Medical Texts directly Isa’s family. Windstone Press has decided to also give 10% of the profits for all three volumes to her family for the first year each book is out.

The type of leukemia Isa has is very treatable, but the course of treatment could be as long as three years. The family has moved into an apartment near the hospital so they can be close to their daughter while she receives chemotherapy and other treatments. I hope that by providing part of the proceeds of this book, they will have a little less to worry about while they are caring for their daughter.

Just go to the family’s blog to get an up-to-date account of what the family is dealing with. You can also support them through Isa’s Hats (which is where I was inspired to do something).

Having a good dictionary to reference is important. First, get a good English-Chinese dictionary. Nigel Wiseman’s Practical Dictionary is a great place to start. I have not found this directly helpful when it comes to reading classical texts, but grasping medical terminology at many levels will be useful when these texts are approached. I understand that this dictionary will be available through Pleco, which is a digital dictionary program with several dictionaries inside, making it easy to compare definitions. If you are serious about learning to read classical Chinese, Pleco is an indispensable product. If you can read modern Chinese definitions in a dictionary, then get the 漢語大辭典 (hanyu da cidian). This is by far the best Chinese-Chinese dictionary with nearly 1 million entries and it’s available in CD-ROM format (Pleco does not plan to carry it, so you will have to buy it separately). If you don’t want to spend the money on a Chinese-Chinese dictionary, then go to http://dict.revised.moe.edu.tw/, which is a free dictionary by the Ministry of Education in Taiwan. It has examples of characters and how they are used in classical texts. Only Wiseman’s dictionary is medical, but you will need at least one good non-medical dictionary to get through classical texts. If anyone has experience with these, or helpful dictionaries, then leave a comment.

There are not any books that approach classical Chinese medical texts in a ‘textbook’ fashion, which is why I wrote Classical Chinese Medical Texts and why we are planning at least one more volume. Sorry, this book is the only choice you have for now! I do highly suggest Edwin Pulleyblank’s Outline of Classical Chinese Grammar for those who want to understand the grammar of classical Chinese. This book is worth the price tag. I have not found another book that address classical grammar in as detailed a manner as this book.

For learning the language, the above list should give you more than enough resources. You might also want to take advantage of other Chinese learners’ tips. Below are some links to sights that have forums for Chinese language learners.

Pleco Forums

Forumosa (Chinese learners in Taiwan)

Chinese Forums

Over the last few years, there have been a number of translations available and most of these do not include the Chinese. The only really great translations I have read are Nigel Wiseman’s translation of the Shang Han Lun and Paul Unschuld’s translation of the Nan Jing. These both include the original Chinese, are very well-done and I highly recommend them (There may be others that I have not seen). However, many people believe they can learn to read classical Chinese by comparing the translations to the original Chinese. This is a mistake and will result only in frustration.

Let’s take Chinese out of the picture to make this point clear. If someone wants to learn French, they have a lot of options. The best way would probably be to take some introductory courses, get a grasp of the language, and then move to France for a while. Taking courses in France while interacting with the people would be great for language development. Others might take years of courses as part of a university minor, for example. They could probably take a yearly vacation to France and do pretty well.

Let’s say another person only wants to read the language and they don’t want to learn to speak. There are many academics who do this for research purposes. How could they go about this? People would first need a good set of textbooks that suit their level. Obviously, such a person would want to start at a beginner’s level and work their way up to advanced. Such books build vocabulary and grammar step-by-step, building the learner’s skills. Second, they would need a good dictionary. A good grammar guide would probably help those who are more analytically oriented.  At some point, the student might look for a teacher who can help them with problem areas. Within a short period of time, this learner would have all of the tools needed to read the language well; even complicated texts can now be worked through with the help of a good dictionary. Let’s say another person decides to order one copy of The Little Prince in English, and another copy in French. They sit down with each text and compare. They try to figure out how the verbs are conjugated and which English word matches each French word. They might consult dictionaries to help in this endeavor. The second learner would probably give up within a very short period of time.

The problem today is that most people are using the second method to study classical Chinese and they think they have a good grasp of the language. I often see blog posts on the web where people offer up their translations of medical texts. The problem with this is that these are medical texts. Practitioners may think they are reading something accurate and treat themselves or another person. I’m not saying never put translations on the web; I’m only saying that those who do should be really sure that what they post is accurate and will do no harm.

In all of my writings, my goal is to move away from translation and into explanation. The profession needs more people who understand the texts and are willing to put their conclusions based on that information out there through teaching. Even the best translations can never fully represent the original Chinese perfectly. These are very different languages with an entirely different set of assumptions. Even in doing the translations for Classical Chinese Medical Texts, which are included only to make the Chinese clear for the reader, I was often frustrated in trying to come up with a way to render the Chinese into English so that people could follow the characters and grammar. This resulted in some translations which could be better from an English perspective, but that reflect the Chinese more accurately. I would never translate in such a direct way out of the context of a book that is trying to teach classical Chinese. (This is a complicated issue, so I might write more on it in the future) I believe a translation can either teach or be rendered beautifully into the target language-it can’t always do both. All of the translations I have seen on the market were not written as teaching tools, do not contain grammar explanations, and therefore cannot be used as language teaching or learning tools.

I am sure I have seen all of the translations of medical texts that don’t include Chinese. I don’t recommend any of them. In fact, I would urge people to avoid them unless their understanding of classical Chinese is good enough to compare them to the original texts, as reading only the English can cause a great deal of confusion. Poorly done translations hurt the medicine. Some believe that by making them available in English, they are doing a great service; however, a translation that does not do justice to the original leads people to make assumptions about the medicine that are just not accurate. I can already hear people protesting: If I want to read the classics, and there is only one available translation, then I should read it! I disagree. If someone were to say there is a brand of pain relief medication that reportedly works well, but that most of the indications and warnings are inaccurate to the point that no one understands the mechanism of that drug, should it be ingested? If someone wants to read the classics, they should either wait for a good translation of it or learn to read Chinese. These texts are not novels and to treat people in clinics we need reliable information to be informed. If your first rule is to do no harm, avoid these translations. There is no doubt that this leaves a big hole in the medicine. Why not help fill it? If you are willing to do the work to learn this language, then you can. You don’t have to become a translator-actually, it’s better not to. You can add to your understanding of the medicine through the original texts and pass that information on to others.

This article has focused more on what not to do. My next post will focus on some practical tips, websites, dictionaries, and books that are helpful in learning to read classical Chinese medical texts.

After I moved my entire life to another city and started a practice, something was alive in me again. I was seeing patients and they were getting better-and they were paying me! I was doing well in every respect. I hit another bump in the road after about two years of practice. By that time, money and business were overshadowing the medicine, and I was losing interest. The daily routine of dealing with calls, tax filing, advertising, office management, and other related issues were sucking the life out of me. That is when I realized I needed to have a toolkit at my disposal so that Chinese medicine continued to be something that inspired my life.

Several years of studying Chinese in Taiwan and Hong Kong has certainly helped me overcome any sense of being bored with the medicine. After all, there are thousands of texts sitting in libraries that have hardly been read, let alone translated or commented on. Now that I have finished writing a book on such texts, that world is also starting to lose its freshness. Reading through several-hundred year-old medical texts doesn’t always revive my spirits, anyway. In addition, most of the current English language literature on Chinese medicine either bores me or makes me roll my eyes. There needs to be something besides books.

I have discovered a number of forums and blogs online that are written by students and practitioners. Among the best is Eric Grey’s blog called Deepest Health. His excitement about the medicine is contagious and reading his blog reminds me of why I started studying the medicine in the first place, and why I was such an overzealous student. There is a forum called TCM Student, which while not very active, is loaded with opportunities to help struggling students. The most import thing I do, however, is take long breaks from ANYTHING related to Chinese medicine, history, philosophy, language, or culture. The latter is hard giving that I live in Taiwan; if I need to, I can just go to Starbucks, read Harry Potter and forget that I am surrounded by the culture.

Given that the book is coming out in a month or so, I am looking forward to a little break. I have had my nose in medical texts for the last several months, both for the book that is coming out and selecting texts for volume two. I still need to finish the introduction, so it will be a few weeks before I can find a nice beach to lie on and forget, for just a while, that I know anything about Chinese Medicine. When I get back, hopefully the medicine will be new and fresh again…as it always is.