So, I love books. If you were to come into either my office or home, you’ll see them everywhere and because of that I’m very grateful to have married someone who is also a fan of books and tolerant of my bad behavior of having them just about all over the place in just about all of my spaces. This year I thought I’d try to start a new tradition of blogging about my favorite recommendations for those who might be similar in their love of books and inhabit the same sphere of interests that I do. Some of these books have been sitting on my shelf for some time now, so it also gives me a chance to write a bit about them and encourage my colleagues to check them out and read them for themselves. Here we go…
Complete Compendium of Zhang Jingyue Vol 1-3
By Zhang Jingyue; Trans. by Allen Tsuar, Ed. Michael Brown
Purple Cloud Press, 2020
Purple Cloud Press in general has become one of my favorite newer publishers. Their mission focus is, “to the dissemination of various forms of traditional Chinese culture including medicine and healing, martial arts, Tai Chi and Qigong, philosophy, spiritual practice and art,” and their books clearly reflect that. This first book I’ll review is a translation of the first three volumes of the Complete Compendium of Zhang Jingyue 景岳全書, a massive work written by the late Ming Dynasty physician Zhang Jingyue (Zhang Jiebin; 1563-1640). Zhang is also the author of the Lei Jing (類經; 1624), an important commentary on the Huang Di Nei Jing. His Complete Compendium however was finished several years later in 1640, which collected and summarized his lifetime of medical understand and clinical experience, making it the lasting voice of one of later Imperial China’s most influential physicians.
In essence, I can state confidently that the main theme of this text is the Principle 理 that underlies Chinese medicine as a whole. This idea of Principle is a Neo-Confucian concept that there is some underlying organizing system that is at the heart of the universe and all that it contains, including within the heart of the practice of medicine. That means that the physician’s job is to look at signs and symptoms, understand their meaning, and then penetrate the fundamental mechanisms of the body that have become diseased in the specific patient in front of them. In today’s Chinese medicine in the west I’ve observed that we are, in some corners, moving further and further away from this idea evidenced by post after post on Facebook where acupuncturists ask, “what is the best point/herb/formula for [insert disease name here].” We see the same with the, to me, very bizarre thinking that so-called “orthopedic acupuncture” (i.e., acupuncture that focuses on a western understanding of anatomy) is the only effective way to treat pain with needles. There is a place for empirical formulas for sure, and I think that orthopedic acupuncture is very useful (I actually taught a semester on the topic at Pacific College several years ago). But to think that our own medicine is no longer useful, or that concepts of channels, or Yin-Yang don’t actually enhance treatment, is simply giving up on a medicine that is both profound, and incredibly effective. We sometimes just don’t bother to deeply ponder and then understand the structure of medical thinking that defines Chinese medicine (hint – the therapies we do don’t define Chinese medicine, the underlying thinking does). It would seem though that this isn’t a new phenomenon. In this text Zhang even laments, “Alas! Where can I find those who have communion with the bright spirit and perceive the formless, with whom I can share these discussions about our profession.”
But I digress…
In these first few volumes of the Complete Compendium Zhang lays out for readers a detailed and very cogent discussion of fundamental concepts in medicine starting with Yin and Yang followed by the Six Transformations (六變) of exterior, interior, cold, heat, vacuity and repletion. This should sound familiar to readers since they are, of course, the Eight Principles. And, this should also challenge one of the commonly heard false narratives in some corners of Chinese medicine today that Eight Principle diagnostics are somehow a modern creation of Communist medicine that don’t reflect pre- mid 20th century practice. To help the reader and aspiring (or even experienced practicing) physician understand these concepts, Zhang continues with a discussion of the Ten Questions as a way to illuminate and understand Principle. I think these sections would even be an excellent introduction to these crucial topics for new Chinese medicine students as, in my opinion, the discussion is better than that found in just about all of our basic entry level textbooks.
Throughout the volume Zhang also discusses the importance of Ming Men, the concepts of Early and Later Heaven, and the importance of protecting the Yang Qi through warm supplementation. He does this though without dogmatically clinging to the idea, for example, that all patients should be given warming and supplementing treatment. Zhang’s goal is unblind us, and liberate us from the habits of treatment based on disease, or a dogmatic approach to treatment. Instead he tries to get us to see the uniqueness of each patient by seeing their root, following that very admonition we see in the Nei Jing that seeking the root is the imperative of medicine.
Although Zhang was primarily an herbalist, this book should grace the shelf of both herbalists and acupuncturists because of its very clear explanation of the underlying structure of our medicine.
Complete Compendium of Zhang Jingyue Vol 50-51 (Part 1)
By Zhang Jingyue & Chen Xiuyuan; Trans. by Allen Tsuar, Ed. Michael Brown
Purple Cloud Press, 2022
My next review is of the second of Purple Cloud Press’ Zhang Jingyue Collection, its next installment of the Complete Compendium of Zhang Jingyue 景岳全書. Where the previous volume discussed Zhang’s deep insight into medical theory and diagnosis, this current volume gives us the practical application thereof.
The main theme at the beginning of this volume is Zhang’s Eight Strategies of New Formulas 新方八畧引 which include supplementing (補), harmonizing (和), attacking (攻), dispersing (散), cooling (寒), heating (熱), securing (固), and corresponding (因). These methods eventually lay the ground for a discussion of formulas in a similarly arranged eight sections which Zhang calls his Eight Battle Arrays of New Formulas 新方八陣 – a name genuinely worthy of a Wuxia novel devoted to medicine!
This book, part 1 of this section of the Complete Compendium, covers the first four of the Battle Arrays with discussions of 71 formulas. Some of these are quite commonly used and important formulas today; for example, we have elucidations of Zuo Gui Yin, You Gui Yin, Zuo Gui Wan, You Gui Wan, and Chai Ling Yin. For each of the formulas Zhang gives us a description, ingredients, and cooking methods. Another thing Zhang provides is short case studies. The use of case studies to teach Chinese medicine is something both historically important and clinically useful (dare I say vital). As a teacher of case studies at the advanced practice doctoral level I think this is something we don’t utilize enough in our entry level masters or entry level doctoral education, and is notably absent in basic textbooks. As such, I appreciate Zhang’s allow us readers to sit beside him in the clinic as he sees actual cases. Another thing I appreciated about his cases in this volume is that they are not all immediately successful. He shares with us his initial failures in treatment, and how he reasoned his way to success. These include instances when herbal treatment alone fell short and he needed other therapies such as moxibustion to ultimately achieve clinical results.
The other feature of this volume is the inclusion of critical writings by Chen Xiuyuan 陳修園 (1766-1833), a Qing dynasty physician of great importance to the history and modern practice of our medicine. Let’s just say that Chen, a proponent of conservative approaches to Shang Han Lun and other canonical texts, was not a fan of Zhang’s approach to medicine. Chen accuses Zhang of never having read the Shang Han Lun, and thus not understanding real approaches to medicine and thus harming people with his methods. Ouch! There are also other additional commentaries included by other physicians. These are a very useful addition to this translation and they illustrate the scholarly written discussion throughout history that really is a vital part of Chinese medicine. Nothing has come down throughout time that has not been interpreted and reinterpreted by real physicians, with real clinical practices. It is an encouragement to us modern readers that we need to evaluate everything we take in and make it relevant to our own clinical practices. As it is said in Chinese, 盡信書不如無書 – believing everything you read in a book is worse than not having that book at all.
But, in the end, I think Zhang would value dissenting voices. One of his own stated goals is to break physicians out of a rigid approach to medicine or rigid application of formulas. Like a masterful military strategist, the physician needs to flexibly adapt to the uniqueness of any situation. Zhang understands the seemingly contrary nature of his writing then, to use set formulas to teach people how not to rely on set formulas. To use concrete examples, to illustrate formless Principle. This though, is exactly why this volume and the one I reviewed above my kind of books.
Healing Virtue-Power: Medical Ethics and the Doctor’s Dao
By Sun Simiao & Sabine Wilms
Happy Goat Productions, 2022
This is really an excellent little book that should be required reading for all those who practice East Asian Medicine. While a book presumably on medicine, it really is a discussion on developing Dé 德, a word commonly translated as Virtue, but one that Dr. Wilms renders as Virtue-Power hinting that it is this Dé that gives the physician potency. As Wilms quotes, a line from a thousand years ago tells us that, “for a person who lacks enduring Virtue-Power, it is impossible to become a physician” 無恆德者，不可以作醫. Dé, at heart, is also about how we really become human, in addition to becoming a competent physician.
Wilms opens the book with a great introduction that brings up questions more so than giving answers or prescriptions. It is an invitation to readers to think about the role of medical ethics today, how we can define medical ethics beyond what we would normally consider it to be, and how we can consider moving beyond just methods so as to develop virtuosity in practice. Since it was so engaging, I read and reread the introduction a few times and thought about it for a few weeks before I went on to the rest of the book.
To really explore these topics the bulk of the book is a translation and discussion of Sun Simiao’s two essays “On the Professional Practice of the Great Doctor,” and the “On the Sublime Sincerity of the Great Doctor.” These two essays are presented in the original Chinese, Pinyin transliteration, and then Dr. Wilms’ translation. As someone who likes to read the original Chinese text and think about how it was translated, this is a welcome feature. And, as always, Wilms’ discussion is both thoughtful and thought provoking.
One thing I really love about the book is Wilms’ conversational style of writing. It is almost as if I, as the reader, am just sitting together with her in the presence of Sun Simiao discussing life through the lens of medicine. Really, it is through conversation and interaction with others that we learn about life, and about medicine. When we can’t have that conversation in person, having a conversation through the written word is a way to sustain the heart. So, until my friend Sabine and I can meet again in person, share a cup of Pu-Erh, or walk with our dogs together, I’m happy to chat with her through this, her latest book.
Primer for Translating Daoist Literature
By Louis Komjathy
Purple Cloud Press, 2022
This is not a book on Chinese medicine, but rather language and Daoism, both topics that I know many of my readers will appreciate. This is also an excellent offering from our friends at Purple Cloud Press, although in their collection of books related to philosophy and spiritual practice.
When I was young my initial interest in Chinese and broader East Asian culture came first from my exposure to martial arts and East Asian spiritual-religious traditions such as Chan (Zen) Buddhism and Daoism. Unfortunately for all of us, back then much of the treatment of Daoism was a sort of go-with-the-flow New Age glossing over of a very deep and meaningful tradition, and this was a great disservice. Over the last few years though I’m pleased to be witnessing what I think and hope will be the successful transmission of authentic Daoism to the western world. We see this with groups such as Parting Clouds as well as with the publication of books such as this one.
While there have been quite a few texts on the market devoted to reading and translating classical Chinese, and there are also some devoted specifically to classical Chinese in medical texts, this is the first to my knowledge on translating Daoist literature. In this book Louis Komjathy, a scholar of Daoism with a Ph.D. from Boston University, presents 28 lessons (maybe because there are 28 Lunar Mansions?) on important passages taken from very early literature such as the Nei Ye and Zhuang Zi, to later writings important to Daoism. Each lesson provides context for the piece, important Daoist technical vocabulary, and discussion of aspects of language such as classical Chinese grammar. In doing so the reader can improve skills of translation while studying important themes within the context of Daoism.
That said, while this is a book on translating Daoist literature, it will be of interest to anyone interested in Daoism whether or not they intend to translate texts for themselves, and even if they don’t read classical Chinese. This book really does offer insight, using original source material, into the philosophy, history and practice of authentic Daoism as a tradition. For those who do have some familiarity with modern or classical Chinese, or other East Asian languages such as Japanese, this is an excellent way to get started on an under-explored aspect of Chinese religion and culture through original classical literature. Finally, for western Daoists or aspiring Daoists, this will be an enduring and essential reference for us to keep on our shelves.
Thanks to all my readers and to those of you who have come to the end of this rather long blog post. Hopefully some of these books will end up on gift lists either to yourself or to friends (I’m giving some to friends myself). I wish everyone a beautiful holiday season, and a healthy and prosperous, on all levels, New Year.