Pictured above is high-quality Rou Gui (Cinnamomi Cortex). Specifically known by trade names such as “Qing Hua Gui” or “An Nan Gui,” this type of Rou Gui comes from Vietnam so it is often called Vietnamese cinnamon. It is more expensive than the standar… more »

Pictured above is a section of the old city district in Xi’an, China.  Xi’an, originally called “Chang An,” was the Chinese imperial capital during the formative Qin dynasty, and it remained the capital in the Han and Tang dynasties.  The Han and Tang w… more »

By Eric Brand Last week I had a very wonderful opportunity: I was invited to attend the opening ceremony of an incredible ginseng exhibition in Hong Kong.  The site of the exhibition was the museum at Hong Kong Baptist University’s Chinese Medicine Aut… more »

by Honora Lee Wolfe We always hear that we have to “network” to build our practice. “Join the Chamber of Commerce, Kiwanis, the PTA, and Toast Masters,” business teachers say. I myself have said that you should go to every fundraiser, party, speech, se… more »

by Shawn Kirby L.Ac. “The alchemical operation consists essentially in separating the prima materia, the so-called chaos, into the active principle, the soul, and the passive principle, the body, which were then reunited in personified form in the coni… more »

By Eric Brand China is the original homeland of tea, and to this day China produces over 90% of the world’s green tea.  Tea was a focal point of trade for centuries, and has long been one of China’s most important exports.  In fact, until recently the… more »

By Eric Brand I’ve been off the blogosphere for the past few days due to an intensely demanding travel schedule combined with an equally intense bout of food poisoning. All in all, China is a pretty safe place to travel as far as food goes, and I’ve o… more »

by Christian Nix I haven’t heard anything official, but I suspect the Hospitalito in Santiago, Atitlan may have to change its name. The inauguration of the new building – more than five years in the making – was Friday, November 19, 2010 and the size a… more »

By Eric Brand Above is a picture of me next to some large fresh ginseng roots preserved in alcohol.  This photo was taken at the establishment of my organic ginseng connection in China, at their southern wholesale distribution branch.  Regular readers… more »

by Honora Lee Wolfe One of the things that many acupuncturists struggle with is what records they should keep on their patients and for how long. It’s actually quite a list and I will openly admit that it has never been my strongest suit! I think it's… more »

By Eric Brand Pictured above are two specimens of whole Tian Ma (Gastrodiae Rhizoma), taken at an herb market in Guangzhou, China.  Most practitioners are used to seeing Tian Ma sliced, but quality differentiation is most easily performed when the whol… more »

By Eric Brand We’ll be returning to the travel blog for the next few weeks, as I am in China on a scouting mission with one of my colleagues at Blue Poppy.  We are scouting some new products to add to our lines, such as exotic tea, moxa, and Chinese sc… more »

by Kevin Ergil, L.Ac. Those of you who are acupuncturists practicing Chinese herbal medicine outside of New York may be surprised to learn that the use of herbs is not established in our acupuncture law. Some acupuncturists who practice in New York and… more »

This morning I was listening to an online marketing presentation about ways to become irresistible to your customers. One of the things they discussed that struck me as really relevant and important for people in the business of healing was to create a… more »

Ban Xia (pinellia) is a toxic medicinal, and has been subjected to pao zhi to reduce its toxicity since ancient times.  Sheng (unprocessed) Ban Xia is still used for external applications, but all internal applications generally use processed Ban Xia. … more »

by Malia Kirby [video:youtube:hEeP40saE-I] more »

by Shawn Kirby L.Ac. My good friend and colleague Eric Brand went down to Taos, New Mexico, recently to visit with his friends at Redwing Books, Bob Felt and Martha Fielding. While he was there he inherited a little piece of Acupuncture history that… more »

Source: Wen Bing Tiao Bian (Systematized Identification of Warm Diseases).  [1798 CE] [video:youtube:hEeP40saE-I] Ingredients Sang Ye (桑叶 mulberry leaf, Mori Folium) 2.5 Qian (7.5 g) Ju Hua (菊花 chrysanthemum, Chrysanthemi… more »