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The Web That Has No Weaver : Understanding Chinese Medicine Paperback – May 2, 2000
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A Doody’s Core Title for 2022!
The Web That Has No Weaver is the classic, comprehensive guide to the theory and practice of Chinese alternative medicine. This accessible and invaluable resource has earned its place as the foremost authority in synthesizing Western and Eastern healing practices. This revised edition is the product of years of further reflection on ancient Chinese sources and active involvement in cutting-edge scientific research.- Print length528 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherMcGraw Hill
- Publication dateMay 2, 2000
- Dimensions5.4 x 1.01 x 8.2 inches
- ISBN-100809228408
- ISBN-13978-0809228409
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Ted J. Kaptchuk, O.M.D., is associate director of the Center for Alternative Medicine Research and Education at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston and an assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School.
About the Author
Ted J. Kaptchuk, O.M.D., is associate director of the Center for Alternative Medicine Research and Education at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston and an assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School.
Product details
- Publisher : McGraw Hill; 2nd edition (May 2, 2000)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 528 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0809228408
- ISBN-13 : 978-0809228409
- Item Weight : 1.25 pounds
- Dimensions : 5.4 x 1.01 x 8.2 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #27,472 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #6 in Chinese Medicine
- #45 in History of Medicine (Books)
- #47 in Immune Systems (Books)
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Understand the angle from which Dr. Kaptchuk comes from. This text definitely sees foundational TCM and Taoist constructs as needing explanation, justification, and analysis from Westerners. This is a flaw: it makes this text apologist in tone when one reads the chapter endnotes. It is classic Westerner behavior to have to explain and provide academic expositions on things which to the Chinese just exists. Of course there is compare/contrast of Western/Eastern in China as well, but is this so germane to a layman's book about the mechanisms of TCM? I do not think so. I believe that it detracts form the text.
Note that Dr. Kaptchuk, now a Professor at Harvard University, stopped practicing Chinese Medicine over 25 years ago. His chief interest now is the placebo effect, and the role of suggestion and the mind in healing. This echoes other Anglophone TCM authors (Eckman, Worsely, Macioca to a much less extent) who put what I feel is overemphasis and 'over interpretation' into terms and constructs which they feel correlates to individual human choice and thought. Through reading (translations) of Daoist texts, especially 'The Secret of the Golden Flower' and the books of Eva Wong, It is clear that these sorts of 'things' are the domain of Daoism, and that a contemporary TCM doctor, who has not immersed him/herself in the practices elucidated in the ancient and medieval Chinese texts, is ill-advised to walk in this muck: this is not what they are qualified to do. An orthopedist/internist/other specialist does not prescribe Zoloft, even if they are qualified to do so.
Coming to terms with life as it is lived is not an easy task, and it is foolish to think that seeing a Chinese Medical doctor will do much towards this end. What a TCM doctor can do is replace destructive practices (lifestyle, certain medications) which can lessen the obstructions towards a fuller, healthier life in the holistic sense. To think though that the bodhi/moksha will occur through contact with an acupuncturist is delusional and destructive. Freedom from lower back pain, asthma, or irritable bowels? Certainly. A resolution to life's existential questions? find your nearest yoga teacher or meditation center: the TCM clinic is no place for that. These stages are beyond what we define as 'holistic health' and without deep and serious study, which can be independent/concurrent with acupuncture studies, TCM doctors are not qualified for this pursuit.
Read Kaptchuk for the terse descriptions of the Vital Substances, Zang Fu, Meridian Channels, Pulse Diagnosis, Tongue Diagnosis, and so forth. Do not get mired in his descriptions of Shen, Po, and Hun. While valuable, to me they left too many questions opened and not answered, and the chapter endnotes do not provide a resolution. For this, as stated above, you must seek out a qualified teacher (the only one I know of who is publicly presenting in the US is Dr. Jeffrey Yuen jadepurityfoundation.org) for transmission
I had the first edition and admit I did not finish it. That was nearly 2 decades ago. I am not sure whether it was too far a stretch from my western graduate school and medical school education...or that I was just too busy to devote sufficient time and attention combined with an open mind.
I now have the 2000 edition. I intentionally approached this time with an open and curious mind -- looking for the bridges between eastern and western concepts of health and illness. Instead of rushing through to condense it into logical, highlighted memory bites, I simply let it wash over me. And during this time I attempted to let my western concepts of how the body works float in a suspended state to be retrieved and integrated at a later time.
I found that it provides a detailed but very readable "sky-view" of oriental medicine. It is not intended to provide specific treatment or diagnostic recommendations for an individual patient. Rather it builds the concepts upon which these later efforts can be refined. When you can see the bird's eye view of the terrain from above, its easier to see how cities, trees and rivers relate to each other and then draw your own map.
Reading from this perspective I truly enjoyed the book, its artistry and the holistic, natural metaphors connecting the microcosm of the body with the greater world and universe in which we exist. Refreshing!!!
I found it to be a wonderful invitation into the world of eastern medicine, whetting a respectful longing to learn more. I'm probably glad I lost the first edition and started over with the newer one.
**I just found the original site of the pulse diagrams' flaw. In his first edition (1983), the very first diagram on page 161 (Figure 19) is the one and only diagram showing the confused placement of 'skin' and 'bone.' Apparently this is the diagram that was selected, copied and repeated throughout much of his 2nd edition's pulse diagrams, like a virus. Funny how Ted emphasized the importance of the TCM pulse taking examination and how this ended up poorly edited.











