Your Guide to Traditional Chinese Medicine
Learn TCM concepts, herbs, acupoints, and wellness practices — explained in plain language.
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TCM Basics
Core concepts like Yin-Yang, Five Elements, Qi, and the organ systems.
🌿Chinese Herbs
A growing database of commonly used Chinese medicinal herbs.
📜Herbal Formulas
Classic and modern herbal combinations explained.
📍Acupoints & Meridians
Explore key acupuncture points and meridian pathways.
👁️TCM Diagnosis
The four diagnostic methods: inspection, auscultation, inquiry, and palpation.
🍵Wellness & Prevention
Seasonal tips, lifestyle advice, and preventive care from a TCM perspective.
Featured Articles
Eating Vegetarian the TCM Way: What Plant-Based Diets Get Right and What They Miss
TCM is neither pro- nor anti-vegetarian — it asks whether your particular body is being nourished. The Neijing's famous line 'grains for nourishment, fruits for support, livestock for benefit, vegetables for supplement' holds the framework. Here is how vegetarians avoid the blood- and yang-deficiency traps.
Shao Yao Gan Cao Tang (芍药甘草汤): Two Herbs, One Leg Cramp Remedy
Shao Yao Gan Cao Tang is the smallest formula in the Shang Han Lun — just peony and licorice in equal parts. Zhang Zhongjing used it for calf cramps so severe the patient could not stretch; Song dynasty doctors nicknamed it 'the walking-stick-discarding decoction.' It is still the go-to TCM prescription for muscle spasm.
Why You Crave Sugar: A TCM View on the Sweet Tooth
In Chinese medicine the sweet flavor belongs to the Spleen — a little strengthens digestion, but constant sugar cravings are usually read as a Spleen crying for help, not a weak will. Here is the TCM logic behind sugar cravings and what to do about it without white-knuckling.
Latest Articles
Bie Jia (鳖甲): Softshell Turtle Shell for Deep Heat and Hard Masses
Bie Jia — the carapace of the softshell turtle — is a salty, slightly cold herb that drains heat hiding deep in the body and softens hard masses. From the Shang Han Lun's Bie Jia Jian Wan to Qing Hao Bie Jia Tang, this shell has a two-thousand-year clinical paper trail.
formulasChuan Xiong Cha Tiao San (川芎茶调散): The Song Dynasty Powder for Wind Headaches
Chuan Xiong Cha Tiao San first appeared in the Song dynasty imperial formulary of 1078 — a tea-blended powder that disperses wind to stop headaches. Four hundred years before aspirin, China's state pharmacy had a standardized headache formula, and it is still one of the most prescribed.
herbsShi Hu (石斛): The Orchid That Nourishes Fluids
Shi Hu (Dendrobium) is one of the most expensive herbs in a TCM pharmacy — a sweet, slightly cold orchid stem that replenishes the body's fluids. Here is why it earned that reputation, what the old texts actually say, and when it is worth the money.
diagnosisNose Diagnosis in TCM: Reading the 'Emperor of the Face' for Lung, Spleen, and Stomach Clues
In TCM face reading, the nose governs the Spleen and reflects Lung and Stomach states. Learn what nose color, shape, discharge, and bleeding patterns reveal about your internal health.
basicsTCM Treatment Principles (治则): Root vs Branch, Same-Disease-Different-Treatment, and the Logic Behind the Prescription
Before any formula is chosen, TCM applies treatment principles: treat the root or the branch first, treat the same disease differently and different diseases the same, adapt to season, place, and person. Learn the decision layer most introductions skip.
formulasSheng Hua Tang (生化汤): Fu Qingzhu's Postpartum Formula That Transforms and Generates
Sheng Hua Tang — 'Generation and Transformation Decoction' — is the most famous postpartum formula in TCM. Built around Dang Gui and Chuan Xiong, it expels lochia, warms the uterus, and builds Blood after childbirth. Learn its composition, logic, and safe use.