Face Reading in Chinese Medicine

by Lillian Bridges

For many centuries, face reading has provided an insightful aspect of traditional Chinese medicine. Based on an understanding of the shapes, markings and features of a face, a therapist can learn more about the health and life of a patient, relating to the principles of Chinese medicine. In addition to understanding how the body's internal functions - physical, psychological and emotional - can be seen on a face, readers will also learn to evaluate non-verbal expressions and assess personality from the features and markings.

Technical and detailed information is presented in an upbeat, insightful and highly readable manner. This is the first book to focus on the deeper aspects of the face reading and diagnosis, and as such to make therapists and patients more conscious of their actions, reactions and the consequences of their behaviour relating to health.

Genres: Health, Traditional Chinese Medicine, Nonfiction, Medicine, Psychology, Alternative Medicine

232 pages, Paperback

First published August 20, 2003

Reviews

[Jenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you’re the type of person who believes in fate, destiny, horoscopes and the like, you should definitely pick this book up. Face reading was something that I thought was really phony, even though I believe in horoscopes. But after I went through a few of the main facial features, like the eyes and the nose, I realized how part of my personality was already predetermined by the size of my lips and the way my cheeks are structured.
I would also recommend this book to people who do not believe in the power of face reading. Try it for yourself and see if it works. I know I did! I would have to say about ninety-five percent of the time, the readings are accurate. I think I went a little crazy when I tried this experiment on my family, friends, and some celebrities. The most surprising thing I found was how this also works on video game characters.
All in all, the whole concept is amazing. Really, this is a good read and you do not even have to read the entire book; you can skim to the parts of the face that you want to learn about, but beware, doing this might make you want to read everything! There were some parts of my face that I could not even match to the given descriptions, which really made me think about how diverse humans really are. I think the important message that this book held was how unique every single person is, no matter who that person is or where they are from. Everyone has potential that they have not yet discovered.

[Sagan Morrow · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read this book quite a few times over the years, and absolutely love it. Bridges has a beautiful writing style and is so personable. The concepts outlined in this book are easy to understand as a layman, and it's so fascinating! I also really appreciate all the photos and diagrams that illustrate the concepts.

This book has inspired me to go for my certification in face reading, and in the meantime, it's a book that I refer to again and again. One of my all-time favourites.

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting book. Two basic ideas really appealed to me: the idea of original face (or who we were each born to be/designed to be) and the observation that our faces acquire markings. There were also two ideas about how these markings acquired, the new-to-me idea that single significant events can mark particular parts of the face, and the more familiar-to-me idea that some markings result from habitual expressions. Some tidbits I liked:
*concerning the appearance of grief lines, Bridges writes that we are only meant to feel our own grief (this is so tough to do in the media environment we live in now).
*the idea of Jing (finite-ish life energy you are born with), and Qi (energy you can replenish every day). I loved the advice to pay attention to whether food you are eating feeds your Jing. That kind of explains how I feel about eggplant, so much more satisfying than chocolate (though I do eat chocolate so much more often).
*attention to shapes and parts of faces I might not always zero in on. It helps me look more closely at faces if there might be some meaning attached to it. We are meaning-makers, right? Nothing seems judgmental either. For example, Bridges says according to this canon, a person with a short nose likes to have fun, while a person whose nose goes long towards the mouth works hard and is proud of their accomplishments. One message that kept coming across was to think twice about plastic surgery because it could change your experience of confidence, etc...

And the idea that we can reverse some of our wrinkles by trading in the habitual emotions for transcendent emotions. Definitely something I could get behind: makes life more enjoyable and would be cheaper and less painful than procedures.

[Mrs D · Rating 5 out of 5]

the leading author on this subject. Read and you will understand why.

An in-depth book and full of knowledge. Put into practice and you will see how amazing her work is. Every time I read it I understand more and more.

[Jean Simmons · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was mostly interested in this for picking up on illnesses by looking at the face but I thought the personality stuff was fascinating. I’m definitely noticing a lot more about the faces I see. I will probably reread this, possibly several times.

[Courtney · Rating 4 out of 5]

So fascinating. Wish I could retain more of this information!

[Shridevi · Rating 4 out of 5]

By this way we can diagnose patients condition...... It s the best way

[I am infinitely financially wealthy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read and an even more must re-read.

[Angelina Davydova · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful book! Very useful for everyone :)

[Bono · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice intro into tcm

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

i love her. amazing speaker and her stuff is really interesting.