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Rooted in Spirit: The Heart of Chinese Medicine
This book is both a translation and interpretation of Chapter 8 of the Huangdi Neijing Ling Shu, which described the ancient Chinese view of how the emotions influenced physical health. The heart was the center of a living being and the home of Spirit, and the peace and health of the heart could be compromised by human emotions. Larre's interpretation stresses the communication needed between patient and doctor to design a therapy geared specifically to each patient's authentic nature.
199 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 1995
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
January 6, 2008
A bit difficult to get into. I'm ordering a copy in the original French, hoping that will be more clear. Nevertheless, a book which I constantly reference for its commentary on chapter 8 of the Lingshu.
September 28, 2023
This is much better than the Survey of Chinese Medicine I recently read. The translation is much more readable and modern, but I still think it's not an easy read. The text is dense and the typesetting seems dense as well. They also drew their own Chinese characters which weren't always the best.
The book mostly comes from Suwen Chapter 8 and it's about the spirits. There are 5 spirits and the Heart is the center. Kidneys hold the Will or Zhi, Liver holds the Hun, Heart holds the Shen, and really all of them, and Spleen holds the Yi intent.
The book doesn't go into how to really treat them, this is more to understand and be able to diagnose. Even still, it doesn't really go into how to diagnose a relatively healthy person with some need. Most of the signs and symptoms are fine. In that case, this book isn't all that helpful. This is more theory.
I find the text to be somewhat dry.
I do like that they put in the text of the Suwen and then the pinyin and translated it in English. We get all three. Translation is so fascinating. The Chinese can say so much with so few characters.
I'm glad I read this, but this isn't one I'd start with. I'd start with the individual organ books they do. They read much better.
The book mostly comes from Suwen Chapter 8 and it's about the spirits. There are 5 spirits and the Heart is the center. Kidneys hold the Will or Zhi, Liver holds the Hun, Heart holds the Shen, and really all of them, and Spleen holds the Yi intent.
The book doesn't go into how to really treat them, this is more to understand and be able to diagnose. Even still, it doesn't really go into how to diagnose a relatively healthy person with some need. Most of the signs and symptoms are fine. In that case, this book isn't all that helpful. This is more theory.
I find the text to be somewhat dry.
I do like that they put in the text of the Suwen and then the pinyin and translated it in English. We get all three. Translation is so fascinating. The Chinese can say so much with so few characters.
I'm glad I read this, but this isn't one I'd start with. I'd start with the individual organ books they do. They read much better.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews