Fundamentals of Chinese Medicine (Hardcover)

by Nigel Wiseman (Author), Andy Ellis (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review
This book will make history. The standards set by this book cannot be neglected by anyone writing on Chinese medicine in the future. -- Professor Dr. Paul U. Unschuld

Product Description
English translations of traditional Chinese medical texts rarely have conformed to the standards required of a contribution to sinology. One exception has been the first edition of Fundamentals of Chinese Medicine, a ground-breaking translation of the Zhong Yi Ji Chu Xue which demonstrated that not only was it possible to meet scholarly expectations for the translations of T.C.M, but that the cooperation of living Chinese speaking clinicians could reveal nuances of practice. Beyond beginner's manuals, it gives English-speaking students of TCM a chance to appreciate the qualitative details available to their Chinese-speaking colleagues. It offers readers the rare opportunity to understand Chinese medicine, not as it is perceived by a Western writer, but as it is perceived and taught in China, because Chinese descriptions of TCM that confound Western expectations have not been expunged from the textual translation.

The newly revised edition incorporates experience from utilization of the work as a coursebook for teaching, not only in the West but in China. Based on the suggestion and aid of Western teachers and translators, this new, popularly priced edition features a simplified but precise English terminology, thousands of source Chinese characters, and hundreds of clinical definitions never before available in English. Contents include yin and yang and the five phases; qi, blood, essence, and fluids; the channels; the organs; diseases and their causes. Pattern identification and treatment of eight-parameter, organ, qi-blood, pathogens, and exogenous heat conditions are discussed in detail, as are the principles and methods of treatment. Illustrative acumoxa therapy has been added for Western acupuncturists.

The revised edition includes explanations of terms and an entire materia medica and formulary sufficient to practice the treatments described by the text. As such it is not only a unique, absolutely-defined and referenced text, but a self-contained and inexpensive course of study. As a basic text produced to a multi-author, multi-publisher voluntary standard, the revised Fundamentals of Chinese Medicine is a bridge between scholars and clinicians in both East and West.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 532 pages
• Publisher: Paradigm Publications (MA) (September 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0912111526
• ISBN-13: 978-0912111520
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 7.4 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,821,370 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A good rival to Maccioca's intro text., April 22, 2000

By	Thaddeus Jacobs (Santa Barbara, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Fundamentals of Chinese Medicine: Zhong Yi Xue Ji Chu (Paradigm Title) (Paperback)

This is one of the better introductory texts to the study of Chinese medical theory. What it has and others lack are helpful footnotes along the way to solidify the many, often confusing and sometime non-discernable, concepts in Chinese medicine. In addition, readers are eased into the basics of Chinese materia medica by having such information intertwined within the theoretical discourse. A real gem.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars EXCELLENT, FUNDAMENTAL, ESSENTIAL!!, October 26, 2003

By	Vanessa "musicaleyes9" (Brooklyn, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fundamentals of Chinese Medicine: Zhong Yi Xue Ji Chu (Paradigm Title) (Paperback)

This book is like a complete textbook on Chinese Medicine. It goes over all the fundamental theories in great depth and detail. Beginning with the Yin-Yang theories and going through the Five Phases, 8 principles, and everything else, this book provides all the necessary information. It does read like a textbook, but only because it IS a textbook! I am not enrolled in a school of Oriental medicine, but I bought this book and I LOVE it. It was inexpensive for its size and the amount of information it provides. I am able to read it even though I have not had any formal training in TCM, yet I think experienced students and even practitioners will find this book useful and complete.
An essential must for any TCM library!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Much underappreciated, September 5, 2006

By	Robert S. Flaws "Bob Flaws" (Boulder, CO) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Fundamentals of Chinese Medicine: Zhong Yi Xue Ji Chu (Paradigm Title) (Paperback)

I've always thought this is a great textbook on basic Chinese medicine. I wish more schools used it as their basic introductory text. The material is authoritative and the terminology is accurate. I think you get a lot of value for your money with this book. I far prefer it to Giovanni Maciocia's Foundations book. This book could solve a lot of the problems in the TCM schools in North America.