The Medicine Box [Hardcover]

Shan-Tung Hsu (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2007

Danny O'Connor has just graduated from acupuncture school in Seattle when a gift from his grandfather--who is thought to have passed away--is presented to him on his twenty-eighth birthday. The mysterious contents lead him on a quest for knowledge in China, a journey of discovery and transformation where he gets a modern perspective on an Ancient culture. Like a traveler in a maze, Danny finds himself on a winding path that moves from one intriguing person and bizarre circumstances to another, as he explores how the ancient arts of Chinese healing, energy work, feng shui, and Taoist Inner Alchemy still live vibrantly in the modern world. The fascinating story of Danny's journey--and ultimately what he finds--is rooted in facts so strange they go beyond fiction. It's a story filled with profound yet simple truths that will resonate with you for a long time.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Winner of Gold in the Independent Publisher's 2007 Multicultural Fiction Adult category. --http://www.independentpublisher.com

One of the most clearly presented and painless introductions available on the fundamentals of the most important Chinese contributions to the sciences of human existence, physiology and healing. Hsu skillfully applies the Socratic method to Chinese metaphysics via the medium of a quietly engaging novel. The more elusive secrets of Chinese medicine are revealed to us through the heart and mind of a sincere young American doctor seeking practical knowledge and the secret to an ancestral riddle, in a beau ideal of modern China. Recommended for those seeking orientation in a sea of confusing books on the Taiji, Yin Yang and Five Element Theory, Feng Shui and Qi Gong. --George Soler

With a touch of Harry Potter-esque intrigue, this engaging tale stealthily tempts you away from your everyday world, into a treasure hunt through the ancient world of esoteric Chinese arts and sciences. With simple and yet deep explanations, Dr. Hsu seduces your mind and heart into a deeper understanding of universal principles that link you with the universe within and around you, past and present. As a master of ancient Chinese arts and sciences as well as a Western- trained scientist, Dr. Hsu makes plain the operative principles of Traditional Chinese Medicine, chi gong, feng shui, and other subjects. --Louise Anita Davis

About the Author

Balance, naturalness and common sense are the core of Dr. Hsu's feng shui teaching. Dr . Hsu's understanding of ancient Chinese philosophy, Taoist and Buddhist meditation practices, and energy work of Qigong and Tai Chi, combined with his extensive scientific background and his decades of experience in the practice and teaching of feng shui, have created a unified understanding of the relationship between human beings and their environment. Dr. Hsu emphasizes that the true feng shui principles are universal; they are independent of religion, culture, and custom. Born in Taiwan, Dr. Hsu was guided by his father and other masters, from childhood on, in all aspects of the disciplines that involve the development and exploration of life force (chi or qi). His formal education, on the other hand, which culminated in his Ph.D. from the University of Washington, provided the balance of rigorous scientific training.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 463 pages
• Publisher: Blue Mountain Feng Shui Institute; 1st edition (January 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0967690226
• ISBN-13: 978-0967690223
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.1 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,044,739 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Medicine Box, March 19, 2010

By 

whiteBull "whiteBull" - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Medicine Box (Hardcover)

My background is in mathematics (PhD) and computer sciences (MS). It also includes interest and practice of yoga, since 1971; and qigong, since 1984.

This book is a novel. It offers new insights into several areas of Chinese culture through engrossing adventures of American-Chinese, Danny, in China. Danny went to China to learn more about Chinese Herbal Medicine in order to unravel the meaning of a herbal recipe left to him by his Chinese grandfather as a gift.

Chinese culture pulls Danny inside very deeply. He learns about properties, smells, and appearance of 300 herbs in 3 months in Beijing. This includes their use in healing recipes and in conjunction with principles of Yin and Yang and five elements theory. He gets new insights into these theories that are not easy to find available in English. Further, Danny meets a healer, who lets him experiences Yin and Yang directly as Qi sensations using circular walk around a tree 7 times in each directions.

He learns that healing is frequently possible by means of Qigong, Feng Shui, massage, and folk methods, not recorded or taught anywhere, not just by means of acupuncture and herbs. Danny receives insight and experience into longmeng pai meditation training.

Several books and teachers available in US mention a kind of relaxation technique called song, important in many kinds of qigong. (see as an example, Qigong Empowerment, by Shou Yu Liang and Wen Chin Wu). Danny's training includes a distinctive way of training song and an extra insight that song opens the body/mind to profound interaction with nature. Danny receives deeper meditation experiences, while the reader receives a view on longmenpai practices that may not be easy to find in other sources about long meng pai such as Opening the Dragon Gate by Wang LiPing students.

Danny learns and experiences many insights in Feng Shui, not easy to find in many other Feng Shui books available in US. He also receives an idea that form produces energy and gradually absorbs and experiences it in the rural settings of China under guidance of a very sharp witted Chinese healer. There is enough details in the book to practice and experience some techniques of Feng Shui, qigong, yin and yang and five elements theory.

I find the book rich and rewarding. It also contributes a unified view on the Chinese cultural elements that may not be easy to find in other sources. One example of this is a unification of qigong and feng shui by means of experiencing qi.

The idea of qigong/feng shui unification is usually not available in feng shui books. Sometimes the possibility of unification of feng shui and qigong is denied by well known feng shui teachers. I find this work of Master Shan-Tung Hsu standing out in content and its lucidity as well as in its masterfully intriguing manner of presentation. The book is also available from Blue Mountain Institute in Seattle.