The first text on bloodletting therapy for Western practitioners of Chinese medicine, this authoritative text explores the theory and function of bloodletting, and provides detailed instruction on its clinical use. Bloodletting therapy, which works to remove internal and external disruptions to the system through the withdrawal of small quantities of blood, has numerous benefits, especially concerning the treatment of complex or chronic disease. Yet the technique is often met with alarm in the West and side-lined in favour of less controversial treatments such as fine-needle acupuncture, and moxibustion. This book provides a concise overview of its theory, historical and contemporary relevance, and clinical guidance. With detailed reference to the classic texts, the author clarifies the fundamental Chinese medical theory related to blood and the network vessels, and provides an in-depth discussion of the benefits of and practice guidelines for bloodletting. The book includes a chapter on the classical acupuncture techniques of Tung Ching Chang whose work is attracting increasing attention in the West. Through the exploration of classic texts and contemporary standards, the book provides everything needed to gain a comprehensive understanding of the technique and to encourage its use as a viable treatment option in the West. It will be an invaluable addition to the resources available for acupuncturists, as well as students and practitioners of Chinese medicine more generally, including those interested in all Chinese approaches to health.

An invaluable guide for anyone beginning a career in acupuncture, this book offers a unique and supportive insight into the challenges and the pitfalls that the novice acupuncturist is likely to encounter, and provides encouragement and down-to-earth ideas for tackling them. Written in an easy-to-read conversational style with useful case studies throughout, this book will help newly-qualified acupuncturists to reflect on what kind of practitioner they want to be. It addresses styles of working, common mistakes, confidence with patients, becoming a better practitioner, and how to think about success and failure in the treatment room. The ultimate goal is to ensure that the practitioner ends the day refreshed and enlivened by the work and has confidence in the treatments given.

Historically, the influence of Chinese medical traditions, thought to be revealed from divine sources, extended East to Korea and Japan and as far South as Indochina, the Malay Peninsula and the Indonesian Archipelago. As the distinct medical traditions of these regions encountered the ancient medicine of mainland China, they absorbed and transformed them based on their own indigenous healing practices, and herbal and plant resources. Providing a panoramic overview of the medical traditions of China, the Malay Peninsula, the Indonesian Archipelago, the Philippines, Indochina (Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia), Korea, and Japan, Dr. Marc Micozzi offers compelling new insights into the influence of the essentially Chinese expression of vital energy (qi) in these traditions, as well as the pull of other cultural traditions, such as those of India and Islam. Dr. Micozzi discusses evidence for the efficacy of these healing practices and their many influences in the West, and explores how a Western reader might consider seeking a practitioner, as well as effective treatments, from one of these traditions. This groundbreaking book will be of interest to practitioners of Chinese and Asian medical traditions, and complementary and alternative health, as well as anyone with an interest in Chinese and Asian approaches to health and wellbeing.