Tag Archives: chinese medical classics
靈芝 Lingzhi (ganoderma lucidum), the Spiritual Herb
The Su Wen identifies mushrooms as ‘spiritual herbs’ 芝, 神草也.* 神農本草經 Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing, The Divine Husbandman’s Classic of the Materia Medica, describes lingzhi this way: 赤芝, 味苦，平。主胸中結，益心氣，補中，增智慧，不忘。久食，輕身、不老、延年、神仙。 一名丹芝。 ‘Red mushroom: Bitter in taste, neutral in temperature, red … Continue reading
Time & Timing in Acupuncture: Zi Wu Liu Zhu Fa 子午流注法
Zi Wu Liu Zhu Fa 子午流注法 is a method of prescribing and needling the five Shu points based on the date and time of treatment. Some of the ideas involved are well-known: for instance, the circadian flow of qi and … Continue reading
The Five Changes 五變 and the Five Shu Points 五輸
Ling Shu Ch. 44 黃帝曰：願聞五變。歧伯曰：肝為牡藏，其色青，其時春，其音角，其味酸，其日甲乙；心為牡藏，其色赤，其時夏，其日丙丁，其音徵，其味苦；脾為牝藏，其色黃，其時長夏，其日戊己，其音宮，其味甘；肺為牝藏，其色白，其音商，其時?，其日庚辛，其味辛；腎為牝藏，其色黑，其時冬，其日壬癸，其音羽，其味鹹。是為五變。 Huang Di: I would like to learn about the five changes. Qi Bo: Pathological changes may occur in in the organ, and in color, time, tone, and flavor. The Liver is yang in nature. Its … Continue reading
‘Obtaining the qi’ 得氣 and ‘Arrival of the qi’ 氣至
Two Chinese terms are involved here: 得氣 ’de qi‘, obtaining the qi, and 氣至 ’qi zhi‘, arrival of the qi. In current Chinese TCM practice, no differentiation is made between the two. ‘De qi‘ is generally regarded as essential to effective acupuncture. Qi is … Continue reading
How long do the needles stay in?
Ling Shu Ch 15 delineates the warp and woof of heaven, earth, and humanity: The 28 constellations correspond to the 28 primary meridians. The total length of the 28 meridians is 1,620 cun. Ying qi travels 6 cun in the meridians … Continue reading
Dietary Prohibitions
Continuing translation of chapter 24 of Essentials from the Golden Cabinet (Jin gui yao lue) by Zhang Zhong-Jing, a 1,700 year old text. Liver organ meat, especially if it’s from an animal that died on it’s own, should not be eaten … Continue reading
Do’s and don’ts in food combination and preparation
Being an unscholarly translation of chapter 24 of Essentials from the Golden Cabinet (Jin gui yao lue) by Zhang Zhong-Jing, a 1,700 year old text. Foods and drinks sustain our lives. Their flavors and the way they are prepared are very … Continue reading