Core Thinking of Huáng Yuányù’s One Qi Flowing in an Unbroken Cycle

2026-01-01T12:49:24-05:00By |Articles, Blog, Books, Chinese Translation, Huang Yuanyu|

I have begun an exciting project translating Huáng Yuányù’s work. Huáng Yuányù lived from 1704 to 1758 (Qīng dynasty, Qianlong era). To introduce the flavor of his work, I am posting a translation of an excerpt from an article I found about him[1]. The title of the article is 黄元御一气周流核心思维, Core Thinking of Huáng Yuányù’s One Qi Flowing in an Unbroken Cycle.

In truth, Huáng Yuányù does not present a formal doctrine named “One Qì Flowing in an Unbroken Cycle” in his texts. Instead, his work consistently assumes the unity of qi. It explains physiology and pathology in terms of the disruption of the circulation of that single qi, primarily through ascent and descent centered on the spleen–stomach axis. The modern term “One Qì Flowing in an Unbroken Cycle” is a retrospective synthesis of these ideas.

What is exciting to me about Huáng Yuányù’s work and perspective is that it so closely aligns with my own as it has developed throughout my career. I hope it interests you as much as it does me!

黄元御一气周流核心思维

Core Thinking of Huáng Yuányù’s One Qi Flowing in an Unbroken Cycle

清朝乾隆年间，有一个著名的医学大师叫黄元御。30岁那年，不幸罹患眼疾，因被庸生误治，左目失明，身体差点垮掉，因此满怀愤怒，以毕生心血精研《黄帝内经》、《难经》、《伤寒杂病论》等古圣经典，集中华经典医学之大成，开创“天人合一，一气周流”理论。

During the Qiánlóng reign of the Qīng dynasty, there was […]

Read More
 0

Preface for New Enriching Case Record Book

2025-12-22T15:38:46-05:00By |Blog, Books, Chinese Translation, Classic Formulas|

The following is a preface to the recently published book “Medical Cases from the Flower Charm Studio” which was translated by Lorraine Wilcox and edited by Marnae Ergil.  The preface is written by Sharon Weizenbaum. Here is an excerpt from the book to download

The book is currently available for purchase from the Purple Cloud Institute.

 

The job of a translator is not only to accurately render the original writer’s voice and intention but also to choose, among a plethora of possibilities, the text to translate. The choices are vast, given that a considerable percentage of Chinese medical written records have not been translated into English. In choosing Medical Cases from the Flower Charm Studio by Gù Déhuá, Lorraine Wilcox provides a great service to our community of practitioners.

This text records twenty-nine of Dr. Gù’s complex and often dangerous cases. In many instances, other contemporaneous published case records are quite short, giving only a simple intake, diagnosis, and formula choice with little discussion; frequently, doctors provided no more than the initial and follow-up formulas. In Dr. Gù’s records however, she takes the reader through up to fifteen clinical encounters with a single patient, allowing us to see how the terrain of the case shifts over time in response […]

Read More
 0

Zhīzǐ Gānjiāng Tāng for Overthinking Insomnia

2025-12-10T12:11:20-05:00By |Blog, Chinese Translation, Classic Formulas, Diagnosis, Individual Herbs, Our Courses|

Zhīzǐ Gānjiāng Tāng for Sleep

Zhīzǐ Gānjiāng Tāng is another teeny-tiny formula,[1] consisting of zhīzǐ, 3 g, and gānjiāng, 6 g. It is mentioned only in clause 80 of the Shānghán lùn, where it states, “In cold damage, the doctor used pills to purge strongly. Body heat remains, and there is slight vexation. Zhīzǐ Gānjiāng Tāng rules.

Let’s break this down a bit, starting with “cold damage.” Cold damage is often considered a term limited to the causative factor of the Máhuáng Tāng pattern. However, when thoroughly reading the Shánghān zábìng lùn, it is clear that Zhāng Zhòngjǐng used it in a much broader way than this. His use of the term cold damage can be summarized as an event that blocks the flow of the life-force yáng in the body. This is in contrast to the term wind-strike, which is also a much broader term than simply the causative factor causing a Guìzhī Tāng pattern. Wind-strike can be summarized as an event that leaves aspects of the body too open and thus prone to leakage. Hence, we have cold damage expressing blockage and wind-strike expressing leakage.

In this case, a blockage, cold damage, was understandably treated with strong purgation. Though we think of purgation […]

Read More
 0

Zhīzǐ Chǐ Tāng for Insomnia with Anguish

2025-12-03T13:56:25-05:00By |Blog, Classic Formulas, Diagnosis|

In the last post, I wrote about two formulas for insomnia, Zhīzǐ Chǐ Tāng and Zhīzǐ Gānjiāng Tāng. Zhīzǐ Chǐ Tāng is an odd, teeny-tiny formula, and the way it works may be difficult to understand, especially the use of dàndòuchǐ, which we probably learned as primarily an herb for resolving the exterior. In this post, I will explain the mechanism of this formula as I understand and use it. How does it treat “anguish in the heart” type insomnia?

Before diving into that, I want to share a recent message from a student who suffered from a rash after a profound loss:

“I kept thinking about how you talked about Zhīzǐ Chǐ Tāng and how it was for anguish in the heart. That word, anguish,  is exactly how I’ve been feeling from the moment of loss.
Anyway, I took some ideas from the formula you originally suggested for me, which already had zhǐshí and zhīzǐ, and added a high dose of dàndòuchǐ, and it was like a lock-and-key magic!  After 3 1/2 months of this rash being so, so stubborn, it started to change dramatically. For the last week and a half, every morning when I wake, the rash is better and better, and I even think something feels a little emotionally lighter as well.
So thank […]

Read More
 0

Two Excellent Zhi Zi (栀子Gardenia Fructus) Formulas for Sleep

2025-11-24T10:31:39-05:00By |Blog, Classic Formulas, Individual Herbs|

As a continuation of the discussion on using classical formulas for sleep issues, I will now introduce two very effective zhīzǐformulas: Zhīzǐ Chǐ Tāng and Zhīzǐ Gānjiāng Tāng. As you recall in the previous post, my student Sylvia described the use of Zhīzǐ Chǐ Tāng and how she differentiated the pattern.

First, let’s talk about zhīzǐ. It is the fruit of the gardenia plant. In his poem, Shěn Zhòu[1] of the Ming Dynasty described the gardenia flower like this:

“雪魂冰花凉气清”

Snow ghost, ice flower, with its clear, cold Qi

According to Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing, zhīzǐ‘s flavor is bitter and its nature is cold. It is said to enter the heart, lung, stomach, liver, and San Jiao channels.[2] It is effective in discharging fire and dispelling vexation, clearing heat through benefiting urination, cooling blood, and resolving toxins.

Zhīzǐ‘s key action is to disinhibit the shàoyáng great sweeping motion. The motion of shàoyáng is to pivot. The shàoyáng pivot is responsible for pivoting imperial fire, which has descended into the body through the joint motions of shàoyīn and yángmíng, into its position within the body as ministerial fire. If the shàoyáng pivot motion is inhibited, the descending heat, which is none other […]

Read More
 0

Differentiating Several Patterns that can Explain Insomnia

2025-10-27T17:35:31-04:00By |Blog, Classic Formulas, Neijing, Our Courses, Shang Han Lun Physiology|

One of my students, Polina Shneyderman, recently posted her results using Zhīzǐ Chǐ Tāng as follows:

I wanted to share a case that was helped so much by a tiny formula I learned from Sharon in her GMP. I have a patient who is a textbook Guìzhī Tāng pattern and who has done really well on different modifications of Guìzhī Tāng. She has Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, where her body produces too much collagen, and as a result, she has heart palpitations, agitation, and very loose joints. Guìzhī Tāng has helped with heart palpitations, periods, cold, and body aches. One thing I could not tackle was her waking up before her alarm in the morning, feeling a sense of terror or fear of missing something important.
I learned from Sharon that there is a formula called Zhīzǐ Chǐ Tāng—zhīzǐ and dàndòuchǐ—and that it can help with this kind of terror. I added these two herbs to her formula, and she now sleeps soundly and peacefully until her alarm wakes her up. The bonus—her blood pressure is normal now, too—patients with EDS tend to have dangerously low blood pressure.
Just wanted to share a success story and thank Sharon and other White Pine mentors who help us all be better clinicians.

In the next post, I will discuss this […]

Read More
 0

Zǐwǎn (紫菀, Aster tataricus) for Constipation

2025-11-24T10:02:08-05:00By |Blog, Chinese Translation, Individual Herbs, Opening Through|

I am currently in a translation workshop, led by Stephen Boyanton, with Lorraine Wilcox and others. The quirky cases Lorraine shares are a constant delight for the participants. Recently, she shared a case in which the doctor spun the patient on a home-made wheel until he vomited to obtain a cure for the patient’s insanity. In another case, the patient had a lump due to grief, and the doctor successfully treated him by teasing him until he laughed so hard he could barely stand it. These cases are wonderful and will hopefully find their way into a book for all to enjoy and learn from.

Today, Lorraine posted this case in our new White Pine Circle Translation Support Group. It is from Volume 2 of 俞弁《續醫說》 Xù Yī Shuō by Yú Biàn (1522, Míng):

宋蔡元長苦大便秘，國醫用藥，俱不能通利，蓋元長不肯服大黃故也。時史載之未知名，往謁之閽者，齟齬久之，乃得見既而診脈，史欲出奇曰：請求二十文錢。元長問何為，曰：欲市紫菀耳。

(Northern Sòng dynasty prime minister) Cài Yuánzhǎng suffered constipation. The Imperial Doctors used herbs, but nothing could free his stool. It was probably because Cài Yuánzhǎng was not willing to take dàhuáng. At the time, Shǐ Zàizhī was not a well-known doctor. He called on Cài, but the gatekeeper argued with him for a long time. Eventually, Shǐ got to see Cài and took his pulse. Shǐ was about to leave and strangely asked for 20 coins. […]

Read More
 0
Skip to content
Go to Top