Customer Reviews

Chinese Acupuncture and Moxibustion

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

The simple fact is that if you want to pass the NCCAOM acupuncture exam you will need this book. Otherwise don't waste your time. Even if you need to pass the exam, find other books first. This book is definitely not useful for understanding the "whys" of Traditional Chinese Medicine. It is mainly a poorly assembled mass of factoid minutiae that need to be memorized for the exam.

The language of the book is both confusing and contradictory. Often you don't know if particular terms are different because they actually represent different principles in TCM or just because it was translated differently. The diagrams for point locations are mediocre, at best. You will need to find better descriptions and diagrams to pass NCCAOM.

Most importantly, this book completely fails to provide beginning students with the conceptual overview of how TCM is used to actually diagnose and treat patients. The authors really got lost in the trees and forgot to describe the forest.

So, a big thumbs down here.

I have been studying oriental medicine for the past 5 years intensively. I am currently preparing for a trip to beijing to practice medicine in China as an internship.

After reading the previous reviews I picked up a distinct feeling from all of the reviews that is typical.

You must remember Chinese Medicine is not a light topic anyone can understand with a few reads. It is truly a differnt mindset and lifestyle.

This book is not meant as a book to teach one the precise form and techniques of acupuncture, hence the brief overview of techniques.It will be greatly appreciated once you do learn the techniques however as a guide.

If you are interested in learning TCM please keep this in mind. There is a reason all formal medicine schools in China use this book.

I was given a copy of this book when I signed up for training courses in the Nanjing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine. It isn't all bad, and I learned a lot from it. The problem is that one can learn so much more from other texts such as Maciocia's Foundations of Chinese Medicine and Deadman, Mazin and Baker's A Manual of Acupuncture. This book tries to be comprehensive, but it is, at times, incomprehensible. For example, Maciocia's writings on TCM Syndrome Differentiation is much easier to comprehend than the equivalent chapters here. In fact, I found myself studying Foundations instead of this book for such topics as the 8 principles. This book also assumes too much. It does not recognize the fact that most westerners cannot readily grasp the marked differences in western and eastern philosophy. Again, this is a topic that Foundations (and Web that has no Weaver) covers much more excellently.

Ultimately, if you must purchase only ONE book on Chinese medicine, this is neither the best nor the worst you can find, but it will be adequate. Otherwise, I highly recommend that you check out various Listmanias (Jeffrey Chapman's is quite excellent) for alternatives.

I have been training in TCM most of my life now. The thing about a lot of these transations is that people often make assumptions based on grammer ECT ... about what these books are worth ... my Chinese is OK ... but I don't have perfect grammar and most Chinese respect that. There is a bit of Chinglish in this book, but it is definately read-able. The books from the mainland are usually the ones with the clinically tested, and/or properly translated point selections and combinations. Giovanni's and Deadman's Point Selections are INSANE, most of them make NO sense from the stand point of properly trained traditional Chinese medicine, get this book for the point cominations if anything.

Seriously, don't trust some of the giovanni books ... read Deadman for his commentary it explains the reasons behind why the mainland Chinese make there choices ... but Deadman's point selections lack rational as well.

Yours,
Hastings

This book is an essential for learning Chinese medicine. It covers the principles, diagnosis, acupuncture points and technique. This book is written by Chinese authors and carries the typical language patterns that are functional, but awkward at points. Anyone who has spent time in China and read Chinese writing in English will understand what this means. I also recommend the Foundations of Chinese Medicine by Giovanni Maciocia.

Bought the Deadman DVD and found it to be disappointing (and expensive). This book covers all the bases in my opinion and is low cost relatively.

I use this book for school. I've been told by my friends that the software that comes with this book is great but I can't use it on my Mac.

This text has been everything I thought it would be, and has provided me with the information I have sought. I readily admit that I am not reading this from cover-to-cover. I predominanlty use it for point reference(s) and location(s).

In my opinion, the stated cost and information provided will be difficult to match. I highly recommend this text for any practitioner who needs to reference acupoint information.


Tony Williams

The 2006 revised edition is a good reference source. Organization is better than most, with complete meridian diagrams and point discussion. It is weak as regards Extra-meridians and their effective points, however the cranial and auricular areas are very well done.

This book is No. 1 primary source book recommended by National Certification Commissions for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine. If you are going to take the exam, it is a must ! Yes, the translation is not great, but it is understandable. Do not bypass
all the resource and information you need to take the exam.