Alert icon
We're changing our privacy policy. This stuff matters.  Learn more  Dismiss

Popular Misconceptions Regarding Chinese Medicine (29)

Loading...

Sign in or sign up now!
Alert icon
Upgrade to the latest Flash Player for improved playback performance. Upgrade now or more info.
1,404
Loading...
Alert icon
Sign in or sign up now!
Alert icon

Uploaded by on Apr 19, 2008

Popular Misconceptions.
It's interesting to see that there exist two different kinds of knowledge in Chinese folk medicine. One has been recorded in history books and herbal dictionaries, which we may consider standard or official. The other is being circulated around verbally among the population, which contains a lot of conflicting information not found in the written version. This video describes some of the major misconceptions spread orally among people as seen in my own personal encounters.

Magic Formula
Many Chinese believe there is a magic herbal formula for everything. If you ask for it, you are likely to get one, usually a "secret" formula. When you ask somebody else, you'll certainly get another one just as good, if not better. There is usually an interesting story as to where it comes from. The formula ranges from one herb to about thirty. It fits everybody regardless of body constitution. You can use it the rest of your life and pass it on without any modification. I've collected quite a few of those "secret" formulas. Why not? It's free, knowing that other people got them too the same way. I really wonder who and how they wrote those formulas.

Hot and Cold
Every Chinese has a different interpretation about the concept of Hot and Cold. It's more colorful than the rainbow. Which thing is considered Hot or Cold always makes an interesting argument. In my two videos about Hot and Cold, I propose using some simple and functional standards to make this concept less confusing.

Herbal Profession
Many Chinese don't believe in it and have never used herbs. On the other hand, many do, some blindly, some ask questions. The majority of people are visibly confused or frustrated because they have heard so many conflicting things all their lives. That's why my videos always emphasize the rationales of ideas and herbal applications to help dissolve some of the myths generated by humans.

Pulse Reading
This is the most mysterious aspect of Chinese medicine. It should not be unless you want to make it so.

What is pulse reading?
• Pulse reading is the last step of the ancient Chinese diagnostic rule: "Observe, listen, question, and pulse read"「望聞問切」.
• Why last step? The first three steps combined will enable obtaining most of the information and form a complete picture of the problem. Pulse reading only serves to confirm the total picture.
• Pulse reading is not counting the pulse like the nurse does.
• It's feeling the pulse with three fingers pressing at three spots on the wrist denoting: upper, middle, and lower body.
• You can write a book describing all the subtleties of the pulse. Practically speaking, there are only four types that your fingers can feel: weak, strong, "rushing", and imbalanced pulse types.
• The first three types are for inter-personal comparison. The imbalanced pulse is for intra-personal comparison.
• The pulse of a weak/sick client does not feel the same as that of a strong/healthy person. An herbalist who has seen enough people must be able to tell the difference. Besides, he/she should be able to tell the degree too, like how bad is the situation.
• A "rushing" pulse is felt if the client has a fever, or is agitated, nervous, or with high blood pressure or heart problem.
• An imbalanced pulse tells which part of the body is weak. For instance, a relatively weak pulse at the lower spot of the wrist may point to weak kidneys, bladder, lower back pain, or swollen legs.
• Pulse reading is to feel, compare, and judge the severity of a condition, not to produce an absolute measurement or testing result.

For further information, go to www.herbsandtea.com
Raw herbs or capsules can be tailor-made for your conditions.

Link to this comment:

Share to:
see all

All Comments (2)

Sign In or Sign Up now to post a comment!
  • Great video thanks!

  • thats cool

Loading...

Alert icon
0 / 00Unsaved Playlist Return to active list
    1. Your queue is empty. Add videos to your queue using this button:
      or sign in to load a different list.
    Loading...Loading...Saving...
    • Clear all videos from this list
    • Learn more