Li Shi-Zhen's Exposition on the Eight Extraordinary Vessels (Qi jing ba mai kao) is among the most remarkable texts in the Chinese medical literature. Bringing together writings on acupuncture, herbal medicine, and internal cultivation (nei dan), it argues that aspiring adepts and physicians alike must understand the full scope of the extraordinary vessels if they hope to achieve their respective goals.

Although the Exposition is a cornerstone of the extraordinary vessel literature, it is rarely, if ever, considered on its own terms. Li's approach to extraordinary vessel acupuncture and herbal medicine reflects a perspective that differs considerably from the strategies familiar to most modern readers. His work on the extraordinary vessels is every bit as innovative in its own milieu as his other seminal writings, Pulse Studies of the Lakeside [Recluse] (Bin-Hu mai xue) and Comprehensive Outline of the Materia Medica (Ben cao gang mu), are in theirs.

This volume is the first translation of the Exposition published in English, and it is among the most comprehensive discussions of the text available in any language. It is divided into five parts. Part I provides an introductory overview of the main themes running throughout the text: theory, acupuncture, herbal medicine, internal alchemy, and pulse diagnosis. Part II contains the Chinese text and translation of the Exposition itself. Part III presents extensive commentaries on the text, and Part IV discusses the influence of Li Shi-Zhen's extraordinary vessel writings on subsequent pre-modern and modern physicians. Part V consists of appendices containing tables of herbs, prescriptions, acupuncture holes, and the people and books mentioned in the Exposition. There is also an extensive bibliography, point/hole and herb/formula index, and general index.

About the authors
Charles Chace has been a student of Chinese medicine, its language and literature, for over twenty-five years. He graduated from the New England School of Acupuncture in 1984. He is the author and translator of a wide variety of books and articles on acupuncture and Chinese medicine including A Qin Bowei Anthology, translations of the writings of one of the architects of modern Chinese medicine, with Yang Shou-Zhong; a translation of the first textbook of acupuncture from 100 C.E., The Yellow Emperor's Systematic Classic of Acupuncture and Moxibustion (Huang Di zhen jiu jia yi jing ); and, with Miki Shima,, Channel Divergences, Deeper Pathways of the Web. Charles maintains a private practice in Boulder, Colorado.

Miki Shima was originally trained as a linguist and holds a Master's degree in general linguistics from the University of Michigan. At the age of 15 he began taking classes in classical Chinese, a study that has continued to the present. Before coming to America, Shima was trained by Irie Tadashi, L.Ac., in acupuncture, by Terutane Yamada, M.D., in Kampo herbal medicine, and by Grand Master Sango Kobayashi in the art of Yi jing in a traditional apprenticeship for many years. He passed the California Acupuncture Board Examination in 1979 and was appointed to the State Acupuncture Board in 1982 by Gov. Edmund Brown. After serving on the board for seven years, he was elected President of the California Acupuncture Association in 1989. He obtained his Doctorate of Oriental Medicine (OMD) from American Graduate School of Oriental Medicine on the subject of "Shang Han Lun Formula Analysis" in 1985, and was given a Life Time Achievement Award from the American Association of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (AAAOM) in 2004. He has taught over 200 clinical workshops and has published Medical I Ching, Channel Divergences (with Charles Chace), and 16 clinical DVDs on Japanese acupuncture and Kampo medicine. He is now in private practice in Corte Madera, California.

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502 pp

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Acupuncture