(Part 2) Top products from r/ChineseMedicine

I am a beginner as well, but I will share the books I'm working my way through. They are not necessarily all beginner books as they range from general overviews to very thorough reference manuals. I hope you find something on the list that helps.

Most have Kindle samples you can download if you use Amazon.



Between Heaven and Earth: A Guide to Chinese Medicine https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00F8FA6ZG/


The Web That Has No Weaver: Understanding Chinese Medicine https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00XAZ625E/


The New Chinese Medicine Handbook https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0179ZS8R0/


The Spark in the Machine: How the Science of Acupuncture Explains the Mysteries of Western Medicine
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ICS8MIE/


The Healer Within: Using Traditional Chinese Techniques To Release Your Body's Own Medicine Movement Massage Meditation Breathing https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00D184QVW/


Optimal Healing: A Guide to Traditional Chinese Medicine https://www.amazon.com/dp/0979948495/





Healing With Whole Foods: Asian Traditions and Modern Nutrition (3rd Edition) https://www.amazon.com/dp/1556434308/


Recipes for Self Healing https://www.amazon.com/dp/0952464020/


The Ancient Wisdom of the Chinese Tonic Herbs https://www.amazon.com/dp/0446675067/


The Way of Qigong: The Art and Science of Chinese Energy Healing https://www.amazon.com/dp/0345421094/


Fundamentals of Chinese Medicine: Zhong Yi Xue Ji Chu (Paradigm title) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0912111445/


Secrets of Self-Healing: Harness Nature's Power to Heal Common Ailments, Boost Your Vitality,and Achieve Optimum Wellness https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000ZJY5X4/


The Acupuncture Handbook: How Acupuncture Works and How it Can Help You https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GW4MG3W/


The Chinese Way to Healing: Many Paths to Wholeness https://www.amazon.com/dp/0595399509/


Acupuncture Points Handbook: A Patient's Guide to the Locations and Functions of over 400 Acupuncture Points https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07D35N6SJ/


The Root of Chinese Qigong: Secrets of Health, Longevity, & Enlightenment https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01FIICLXC/


Chinese Medical Herbology & Pharmacology https://www.amazon.com/dp/0974063509/


Chinese Herbal Medicine: Materia Medica, Third Edition https://www.amazon.com/dp/0939616424/





Finally, here's a few books by Mantak Chia that are profound, enlightening, vulgar, dangerous, or just aweful, depending on who you ask. I haven't read any of them but they made my list for some reason just to check out. I have a feeling he's an author people very much either like or dislike:

Chi Self-Massage: The Taoist Way of Rejuvenation https://www.amazon.com/dp/1594771103/


Awaken Healing Through the Tao: The Taoist Secret of Circulating Internal Power https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01NGTUSV4/


Awaken Healing Light of the Tao https://www.amazon.com/dp/0935621466/


Healing Light of the Tao: Foundational Practices to Awaken Chi Energy https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004J4WM6S/

Most people and schools would probably recommend you start with Ted Kaptchuk's The web that has no weaver. Instead I prefer to breakdown my recommendation depending on whom is asking, and why. For patients who want to learn more about CM for diy health purposes, I recommend Legget's book which is 40% TCM theory explanation, and 60% application of those theories to everyday diet. For potential students, I recommend this translation of a first-year textbook for CM students in China, by the excellent Nigel Wiseman. For those interested in the more esoteric theoreticals of CM, I recommend anything by Elisabeth Rochat de la Vallee.

And, for anyone really interested in reading "oldest and most enduring book" in Chinese Medicine - which should be every student and practitioner of CM - I would suggest a good translation of the Huangdi neijing. Note my emphasis on a good translation, which sadly excludes the Veith and Ni editions, both of which are quite terrible. If you can get past the dubious biomedical equivalencies he likes to make,Y.C. Kong's translation is composed of important textual excerpts neatly arranged by topic, making it both cheaper and more beginner-friendly than the Unschuld translation.

I didn't down vote you, I think it's a valid question.

The way I look at five phases is just a way of understanding the nature, and then a way to understand disease. If two organs are diseased, say fire and earth, it just allows you to create a pattern and facilitate your understanding of that treatment. If fire is stronger than earth, or earth is stronger, than you would change your treatment accordingly.

If you do enjoy reading about this stuff, I've looked at it briefly but this is very good https://www.amazon.com/Chinese-Medicine-Liberation-Inner-Documennts/dp/0989167933

Some of the authors in there argue against the use of 5 phases, as you have said mumbo jumbo. It's a good look at how TCM came to be, but very big. There is also some famous Japanese herbalists who chose to ignore the 5 phases as well, mainly Todo Yoshimasu.

I enjoy your posts because it makes engaging discussion, and if you don't have people challenge you and just accept what you are told then what's the point...

https://www.amazon.com/Chinese-Acupuncture-Paradigm-George-Soulie/dp/0912111313

The second book on your list was a great read.

I'd also recommend the the book 'the spark in the machine'

As for nei jing translations, unschuld has the best one. It's expensive though. But no worries, a quick google search just showed me you can download an entire PDF of the 1500+ pg book for free here. Enjoy.

http://www.biblio.nhat-nam.ru/Huang_Di_Nei_Jing_Su_Wen-Unschuld-Tessenow-1-2.pdf

I was fortunate, while in school, to come across this text (https://www.amazon.com/Tongue-Lingual-Coatings-Chinese-Medicine/dp/B0000EH2KR/ref=sr_1_15?ie=UTF8&qid=1541863665&sr=8-15&keywords=tongue+diagnosis+in+chinese+medicine) with about 275 tongue images.

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And really as far as 'in practice' is concerned you need to look at a lot of tongues. When I was first learning, with everyone I met, it was, "Hi, how are you, may I see your tongue and feel your pulse?" I mean for years. Not just healthy people, see if you can go to retirement homes, homeless shelters, other places where people, alas, won't be in the best health. Talk to your teachers/ mentors, etc. If you are on this path, you will need the help of others to learn how to help others. A quick google search found several good articles:

https://www.sacredlotus.com/go/diagnosis-chinese-medicine/get/tongue-diagnosis-chinese-medicine

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http://www.giovanni-maciocia.com/tonguegallery/ - Maciocia's book is considered good, but has few pictures

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This one (https://www.amazon.com/Modern-Tongue-Diagnostics-Chinese-Medicine/dp/1717777058/ref=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&qid=1541863665&sr=8-13&keywords=tongue+diagnosis+in+chinese+medicine) looks interesting, but it's only 121 pages at $124. Which doesn't seem right.

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http://www.acupunctureandherbalmedicine.com/the-four-examinations-part-2-tongue-diagnosis-in-chinese-medicine/

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http://www.acupunctureandherbalmedicine.com/the-four-examinations-part-2-tongue-diagnosis-in-chinese-medicine/

Think about a chilli pepper vs aloe vera. It's just a pretty basic example. There is a book that I've found quite useful on the topic. Its called "Helping ourselves -A guide to Traditional Chinese Food Energetics". Pretty simple and understandable, and also it got lots of charts/listing of nearly all common (and uncommon) foods, drinks, vegetables, legumes, herbs and so on.
https://www.amazon.com/Helping-Ourselves-Traditional-Chinese-Energetics/dp/0952464004/ref=sr_1_sc_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1468676439&sr=8-1-spell&keywords=helping+ourselves+guide+to+traditional+chinesen+food

I started reading the much lauded Between Heaven and Earth, but have found it actually quite hard to grasp the concepts.

A lot of amazon reviewers recommend it for beginners, but the book still feels advanced for me.

I don't know if I'm maybe approaching it wrong?

I don't have much background about Chinese Medicine, aside from casual discussions with friends who have tried it.

You might be interested in Dragon Rises Red Bird Flies by Leon Hammer, M.D. It's a book about psychology and Chinese medicine. Dr. Hammer was a practicing psychiatrist and psychoanalyst for many years before he began studying and practicing Chinese medicine. Gives many interesting insights based on his personal experience.
DRRBF

>Because it's a shitty school.

really?! the shaolin monastery, perhaps the most legendary and iconic external martial art (shaolin kung fu) school trained its students heavily in qigong. in fact, the legend of bodhidharma holds that martial arts BEGAN when bodhidharma invented the internal and external styles after meditating in a nearby cave for 9 years. the two sides of the coin (internal and external) are truly one.

>No. Martial arts are designed for combat, whether it be self defense or not. You may learn a martial art to get fit, but if that is what the martial art is for, it might as well be tae bo.

that's fine!

>Because it is an exercise, similar to a wall sit.

what is qigong other than a form of exercise?

>Stupid. No.

hmm, darn. well someone did write a book about that.

>The goal is to be able to handle the combat if it arises, even if you are taught to avoid it in the first place. Defensive techniques are still application of the martial art.

is it still combat if one of the 'participants' is merely absorbing and reflecting the incoming energy without adding their own?



look my only point is that there just might be something to the internal styles and maybe it is worth finding out on your own. at least then you'll know for sure either way, right?

I never really enjoyed reading The Web that Has No Weaver or Between Heaven and Earth. A fairly light, easy read that I think is a pretty damn decent introduction for lay people is Wood Becomes Water:

https://www.amazon.com/Wood-Becomes-Water-Medicine-Everyday/dp/1568362099/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1517792067&sr=8-1&keywords=wood+becomes+water

This is the best book https://www.amazon.com/Foundations-Theory-Ancient-Chinese-Medicine/dp/1848192622

I haven't read Between Heaven and Earth. The Web That Has No Weaver is good but dated.