Chinese Herbal Medicine: The Formulas of Dr. John H.F. Shen

For those who are familiar with Dr. Leon Hammer's massive tome on Contemporary Chinese Pulse Diagnosis, there are pulses that point to patterns that were advanced by Dr. Hammer's long-time teacher Dr. John H.F. Shen. Dr. Shen's patterns, being distinct in various respects from standard TCM patterns and at the very least raise the question: If I accept that this pattern exists, then just as importantly, how do I deal with this? Those who have studied up to a certain point with Dr. Hammer's designated instructors will have been exposed at least to a handful of Dr. Shen's formulas for patterns like "blood thick" and the "Qi Wild" situation among others. Discussed in this book are a large number of formulas used by Dr. Shen for various situations with some comments retained from Dr. Shen with more extensive commentary by the authors Dr. Leon Hammer and Hamilton Rotte. Anyone interested either in Contemporary Chinese Pulse Diagnosis and it's relation to treatment as well as diagnosis would of course find the book interesting. Other people who have heard of the Ding family of Shanghai might want to see some of Shen's formulas that still show some of what seem to modern practitioners of TCM as light doses of the individual ingredients. I think the literature on modern TCM is becoming more voluminous, and access in english to decent versions of the classics make it possible for people to see how modern TCM has proceeded. Even so, interpretations of what those ancient texts mean is often the province of not only ancient, but modern commentators who sometimes have differing interpretations of the "old books". This book takes a particular lineage's point of view and shows how modern practitioners trained in that line of thinking think about herb formulas. Some might complain that such use of herbs is "divergent" from the classics, but Dr. Shen was aware of this and was quoted as saying "book wrong" when confronted with a difference here or there. I think the proof lies in the clinical work done by him and those who have followed. I have had some exposure to Contemporary Chinese Pulse Diagnosis, and am not a representative of the method, but what I have been able to use so far has made a difference in how I practice Chinese medicine. I have used at least a few of Dr. Shen's formulas to good effect, so I'm encouraged to continue investigating this material. This book of course is a gold-mine of alternate information for people who want to see another line of reasoning that has come forward out of Chinese medicine's massive tradition. As a long-time practitioner of Chinese martial arts, I can say with confidence that methods in Chinese martial arts that emerged before the current government have unique elements that some of the state approved wushu sometimes lacks. I think that individual lineages sometimes can drift far from the original material, but that in and of itself doesn't mean they don't work if used as intended according to the reasoning that those lineages put forward. The proof is always in the clinic, not the drawing room. I would recommend this book especially to those who have already found the Shen/Hammer line material interesting, but I think other practitioners who have time to look at an alternate take may find themselves intrigued as well.

A great book for practitioners who have studied Dr. Shen's pulse system. The herbal formulas and theory are very clinically useful. The diagnostics and etiology of disease is very clear and practical. Much thanks to Dr. Leon Hammer and Dragon Rises organization for keeping this lineage alive. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in chinese herbal medicine and diagnosis.[...]

The book does not meet my expectation at all. The book does not deal much on the pharmacology of the ingredients.

I know the authors and highly respect them.It's so great to have Dr. Shen's Formulas in one beautifully bound book. I'm delighted Leon and Hamilton share this wealth of information.

Amazing resource! Very helpful in the clinic.