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TEN KEY FORMULA FAMILIES IN CHINESE MEDICINE By Huang Huang (Trans. Michael Max) Eastland Press, Seattle, 337 pages £29.99
In the preface to this book, Dr Huang says it was written for thosebegirming their study of Chinese medicine. As someone who feels perpetually stuck at the "just begiruTing" stage, I think it will keep me going for quite some time to come. It is full of treasure, and presents a whole new way of approaching diagnosis and formulas. What's more, it's highly portable. With approximately 340 pages of attractively presented text (plus the occasional cartoon) it weighs in at just 598g, making it unlikely to cause shoulder strain if carried on public transport (which is where much of my ongoing study seems to occur).
The basic premise underlying Dr Huang's approach is that certain herbs and, by extension, certain herbal formulas, match a particular constitution or a specific constellation of signs and symptoms presented by someone with that particular constitution. The translator, Michael Max, helpfully points out that this method of clinical reasoning draws on the Japanese Kampö tradition and has historical roots that can be traced back to the early Qing dynasty and further to passages in the Shâng Han Lùn. Dr Huang explains it thus: "No matter which [differential diagnostic] system is used, the result is always an herbal formula.... The matching of herbs and presentations, or formulas and presentations, is the fundamental principle of clinical work in Chinese medicine."
He focuses on 10 key herbs - gui zhl, má huáng, chai hú, shí gâo, dà huáng, huáng lian, zhì fu zi, gòn jiàng, huáng qí, and zhì Van xia - and the 'family' of formulas based on them. Each family is given its own chapter and together they encompass 64 classic herbal formulas (the vast majority of which...