By Eric Brand

I recently had the pleasure of translating a weekend course for Prof. Huang Huang from the Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine. Organized by Sharon Weizenbaum, the course was set in a beautiful location in the forests of Amherst, MA. The course was well-attended and well-organized, and I thoroughly enjoyed having the opportunity to study with Dr. Huang again. I had translated for Dr. Huang in the past and it is always a pleasure to work with him- he has a great personality, his lecture material is fascinating, and he is easy to translate for because he speaks Mandarin with a beautifully clear accent.

...

Prof. Huang Huang’s work is gradually being introduced to the West, and people seem to really enjoy learning from him. Before stopping in Amherst during his last visit, Huang Huang lectured at gigs sponsored by SIOM and the Illinois Association of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine. He has a few new books out from Eastland Press and PMPH, along with a series of live lectures that are available online from Pro-D and White Pine. His focus on classical formulas has really captured the attention of the Western world.

Prof. Huang primarily teaches about formulas from classical texts such as the Shang Han Lun (On Cold Damage) and the Jin Gui Yao Lue (Essential Prescriptions of the Golden Coffer). Over 1800 years after their initial creation, many of these simple, eloquent formulas remain among the most popular base formulas in Chinese medicine. In fact, even despite the significant cultural and medical differences between Chinese, Japanese, and Korean medicine, each region shares a common reverence for Zhang Zhong-Jing and his classical formulas.

The word “classical” is colloquially used in the English-speaking world of Chinese medicine to describe a wide range of different things. For example, we call our new prepared formula line our “Classics” line because it contains unmodified, original prescriptions from pre-modern source texts (some of these formulas come from true classical texts and others come from later generations of historical works). In the outside world, the phrase “classical Chinese medicine” has itself become something akin to a marketing term to describe all that is not “TCM,” and as such there are many different styles that are billed under the name classical Chinese medicine (the classical support for some of these schools of thought is arguably a bit stronger in some cases than others, but I’m not going to touch that topic with a ten-foot pole).

In the more strict sense of the word, the term “classical” is associated with the early works in Chinese medicine that emerged during the Han dynasty. The Nei Jing (Inner Cannon), Nan Jing (Classic of Difficulties), and the works by Zhang Zhong-Jing (now called the Shang Han Lun and Jin Gui Yao Lue) are among the core classical texts of Chinese medicine. Later medieval works from the Tang dynasty such as Sun Si-Miao’s Qin Jin Fang (Thousand Gold Formulary) are sometimes also called classics, but masters from later generations (such as Zhu Dan-Xi, Li Dong-Yuan, and Zhang Jing-Yue) came after the classical period and their work is not typically referred to as “classical” in the narrow sense of the word.

In China, there is no concept of “TCM” versus Chinese medicine as a whole. TCM was an acronym that was coined early on to describe what the Chinese simply call “zhong yi,” Chinese medicine. Chinese medicine as a whole includes both classical and modern streams of thought. The thing that we think of as TCM in the narrow sense in the West is what the Chinese call “textbook” medicine (jiao cai= curriculum texts). The Chinese equivalent of what we call “TCM” (in the narrow sense) is just the beginner textbook series. Of course, any good doctor is expected to know something beyond the basic curriculum that all students start off with. Being good implies that someone has expertise in some particular subject area, the curriculum is just the basic consensus that everyone begins with before they develop more advanced skills in a particular discipline.

In Dr. Huang Huang’s case, classical formulas are his specialty. The Western world of science and herbalism has relatively few examples wherein ancient knowledge rivals the importance of modern knowledge, so China’s long, well-preserved historical approach to medicine is one of its most distinctive and attractive characteristics. In an age where technology dominates every detail of modern medical diagnostics, the ancient wisdom of the Chinese classics draws our attention and discussion.

Huang Huang’s approach goes back to the early roots of Chinese medicine, emphasizing the relationship between the person, the disease presentation, and the formula. The formula and the pattern were one and the same in ancient texts, and Huang Huang likes to offer insight into the constitution of the patients that he feels are most suited to Chai Hu-based formulas vs. Gui Zhi-based formulas, etc. This constitutional approach is very interesting because it allows one to really think about the fundamental nature of Zhang’s formulas, their sovereign ingredients, and the subtle modifications and herb pairings that augment their fundamental nature and therapeutic direction.

When I studied in Taiwan, my teacher Feng Ye was really emphatic about the importance of classical formulas. He would emphasize that the classic texts were a deep repository of insight to solve the new clinical challenges that emerge with modern-day diseases. Feng Ye would also emphasize the importance of the relationships between the various classical formulas and the way that the classical formulas illustrate dui yao combinations that show up again and again throughout other formulas.

Over time I’ve truly come to appreciate classical formulas myself. I taught formula classes for a few years in California and I found that my appreciation of Zhang Zhong-Jing’s formulas really deepened when I had to teach about them. When I was first exposed to the formulas from the Shang Han Lun, I remember thinking that their clinical utility seemed a bit obscure- it was hard to imagine seeing patients with the disease presentation that the SHL described and it was hard to see the logic behind each formula’s construction. As time went on, however, I began to look at how these same herbal combinations became adopted and integrated into new formulas centuries later, and I came to realize that our fundamental understanding of each herb’s basic action is derived from the way that it is paired with other herbs and applied in different formulas. When we learn materia medica and then formulas in school, we assume that herb actions came first and their integration in formulas came later; however, in reality our modern understanding of single herb actions is based on the formulas that exemplify and accentuate these actions.

Having spent a lot of time in Taiwan, I like to use whole formulas as a base when I make granule prescriptions. Many of these formulas are classical formulas from the Shang Han Lun and Jin Gui, and at this point in my education I can clearly see why physicians have been fascinated with these formulas for centuries. Classical formulas are often concise and contain clear, eloquent principles that can be very effectively integrated into a modular approach of formula combining. Starting from whole formulas allows one to capture the synergy of the original formula units and it allows one to dispense herbs more quickly because fewer bottles need to be pulled off the shelf.

We’ve written a number of articles about using whole formulas together within a modular approach, but at present it seems that relatively few Western practitioners actually practice with such a method. The popularity of lecturers like Huang Huang and Arnaud Versluys clearly shows that there is rising interest in classical formulas. Nonetheless, as an herb supplier we can tell that classical formulas are underutilized by the practitioner market as a whole. For example, our new Great Nature line contains many key classical formulas such as Wen Jing Tang, Jiao Ai Tang, Gui Zhi Tang, and Huang Qi Jian Zhong Tang that remain relatively slow-moving despite the fact that they are incredibly versatile formulas. However, given the rapid state of intellectual growth that we see in the new generation of students, I think it is only a matter of time before the trend to really study and apply classical formulas rises to meet its potential.

Thanks for reading our blog!