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

2026-01-05T14:54:46-05:00By |Blog, Books, Chinese Translation, Classic Formulas, 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 […]

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 […]

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