Blue Poppy Book Review

Statements of Fact in Traditional Chinese Medicine

This is a pithy, succinct translation of many of the most relevant "statements of fact" or "technical sayings" of Chinese medicine. These sayings are simple statements of fundamental TCM concepts, such as "the liver and kidney have the same source" or "when yang is not upborn, the clear and turbid lose their places." These statements are the premises on which the logical process of Chinese medicine is predicated. This book is the only comprehensive set of English translations of such technical sayings. There is no expansion or elaboration of any of the statements, although in fairness, to include such would have resulted in a much larger, more expensive, and less convenient book.

The first edition included the original Chinese language text and Pinyin romanization for each of these sayings; the omission of thereof in the revised edition is regrettable. It does, however, include more technical sayings than the previous edition, although many have essentially the same meanings, phrased in different ways, and Bob writes in the preface to this book that he has done a more accurate job of translating them using Wiseman terminology than he did in the first edition. Of special value in either edition of this book is the extensive chapter on disease mechanisms, a subject which has received short shrift in the English language literature on Chinese medicine. This chapter alone makes it a worthwhile read.

The revised edition is small enough to fit in a shirt pocket, which means it's convenient to carry around for study or reference. Bob emphasizes that one should learn as many of these sayings by rote as possible, and I agree that this is useful, such sayings having been a mainstay of my own training in Chinese medicine.

Jeffrey Chapman, L.Ac.