Depressed? Want to lose weight? Suffer from insomnia? Annoyed by frequent ailments? Desire improved sexual ability?
Readers can find helpful solutions to these problems in The Chinese Heart: Chinese Medicine and Stress Management, a beautifully illustrated book that introduces the wisdom of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). The author presents TCM theory in the most reader-friendly way "to give maximum access to any reader, assuming no previous knowledge of Chinese whatever." Chinese ideograms and their interesting etymology are illustrated in the book. Believing with Thoreau that "anything living is easily and naturally expressed in popular language," the author communicates scholarship with crisp narrative and sometimes playful spirit.
This book also provides a comparison of TCM theory to modern science and medicine to help modern people understand this theory better. Finally, it offers practical methods of stress management with specific demonstrations. Readers learn how to improve physical and mental health by practicing Chinese Qigong. Several simple and effective techniques to prevent tension and diseases include the Rejuvenating Gong for increased sexual ability, Dragon Dance Gong for losing weight and keeping a fit figure and Sleeping Gong for insomnia.
In a complimentary VCD, the Tianjin TCM University Tai Chi Chuan Championship Team presents a performance of Chinese martial art to illustrate the techniques most vividly.
Recommendation
In this volume, Miao has undertaken to explain to Westernreaders the concepts of Traditional Chinese Medicine, drawingat the same time from ancient Chinese teaching and traditions, modern Western interpreters of these traditions and Westernmedicine specialists. "the text introduces a Western audience to thisancient wisdom and practice and opens the door to understandingthese ancient beliefs and practices.
——DL Donald A.Enarson The International Organization of Anti-TB and Lung Diseases
The term“zang xiang”first appeared in the classical text, Huangdi Neijing (Canon of Internal Medicine). Literally“zang refers to organs inside the body；xiang means image orphenomenon.Therefore，zang xiang refers tO the internal organsand the external manifestations of their physiological and patho-logical states.”[1]Nevertheless，the“zang”in Traditional ChineseMedicine does not exactly represent the anatomical organs.butsystematic groupings of physiological phenomena.
The theory of zang xiang mainly concerns two major typesof organs: the zang-organs and the fu-organs.“That is why it isalso known as‘the theory of zang-fu organs.’Zang-fu is a col-lective term for internal organs；there are five zang-organs andsix fu-organs.The common function of the five zang-organs is tostore essenceiing, which is refined food nutrient responsible formaintenance of lire activities.”[1]The common function of thesix fu-organs is“transmission and transformation; in charge ofdigestion.assimilation and elimination.[2]
“Body functions are attributed mainly to the five zang-organs——usually translated as viscera or solid organs：theHeart，Lung，Liver，Spleen，and Kidney.Understanding of theirfunctions was derived from external observation rather thananatomical study and bears little relation to standard Westernunderstanding.
