Posted in Acupuncture, Culture, Curiosity, Health, Herbs, Language, Wellness on Aug 21st, 2008 No Comments »
There is a method of telling fortunes in Taiwan. Actually, there are many methods of telling fortunes in Taiwan. 算命先生 fortune tellers in Taiwan are as numerous as psychotherapists in any trendy west coast American city, and for the most part serve the same function. Which is to help us ask the questions that get [...]
Posted in Herbs on May 13th, 2008 No Comments »
Sometimes it is referred to as the “women’s ginseng.” A panacea for the health concerns that include monthly cycles and changes of life. In western vocabulary it is called Angelica. It has a sweet aromatic fragrance with an affinity for nourishing the blood and improving its circulation. While there is no such thing as a [...]
Posted in Health, Herbs, Medicine on Mar 2nd, 2008 No Comments »
.
It is a common question,
These herbs, will I need to take them forever?
It is a usually a question asked by someone that is already taking pharmaceutical drugs. Taking drugs for a problem, and then other drugs to allievate the side-effects of the cure, and sometimes even others to deal with the side effects of the [...]
Posted in Curiosity, Health, Herbs, Medicine on Jul 17th, 2007 No Comments »
It is a curiosity. Perhaps it is because Yong Kang clinic looks like something from outside the brittle borders of our country. The walls are lined with assorted jars full of bark, leaves, twigs, and roots. This stuff looks like it means business. I should not be surprised when people walk in and ask:
So, what [...]
Posted in Herbs, Language, Medicine on Apr 19th, 2007 2 Comments »
It was bound to happen sooner or later.
十大類方 (shi da lei fang), the book I’m in the process of translating is getting site of its own. While items of general interest pertaining to health and vitality will still appear on this blog. The new site Classic Formulas will host information that is more geared to [...]
Posted in China, Health, Herbs, Medicine, Travel on Apr 15th, 2007 2 Comments »
I’m just not a Mahuang kind of guy. I don’t have the physique, nor the kinds of health problems that Mahuang kinds of people tend to have.
Anyway, Mahuang scares me a bit. It is one of the herbs along with Fu-zi, Da-huang, and Huang-lian that demand respect and sharp clinical skills to use safely. I [...]
Posted in Health, Herbs, Medicine, Prostate, Wellness on Jan 16th, 2007 2 Comments »
One of the things that was terribly shocking to me when I returned to the US from Asia, were all the advertisements for pharmaceuticals.
They were everywhere!
Buses, TV, magazines, radio, billboards.
It was a constant bombardment of better living through chemistry. Well, maybe better living, I generally find the side-effects to be either entertaining, or terrifying.
I was [...]
Posted in Health, Herbs, Medicine, Wellness on Dec 26th, 2006 No Comments »
It has been a curiosity to me for some time now.
How those of us in the West. Those of us grown and cultured to fierce independence and the holy grail of individually have created a medicine of off the shelf, one size fits all.
Meanwhile, our brethren in the East, with their intense focus on [...]
Posted in Herbs, Taiwan, Trauma, Travel on Nov 15th, 2006 4 Comments »
Maggie should know better.
After all, she’s Taiwanese.
Like most businesses, 85度c Taipei’s new cool hip 24 hour coffee joint and bakery, near the vivid and colorful Yong He night market, has glass doors that slide slowly open.
Unlike American doors that trip the IR beam from meters away, the Taiwanese doors require you get right up to [...]
Posted in China, Herbs, Medicine, Prostate, Wellness on Nov 6th, 2006 No Comments »
Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province, like so many Chinese cities, is all scooters and sprawl, pedicabs, cars, and endless traffic jams as newly moneyed Chinese join the rat race of consumerism.
In addition to being the home of that uniquely spicy and tongue numbing delight, 麻辣火鍋. Sichuan is also a province rich in agriculture, and [...]