Recommended Reading
For those interested in deepening their understanding and appreciation for Chinese medicine, culture, and literature we have assembled a list of materials (arranged according to content) that you may find informative and rewarding. Some of these books can be checked out from your branch library or purchased through your local bookstore. Others are more specialized and may be unavailable at a local outlet: for these we have provided links to Amazon.com (for your convenience).
Chinese Medicine
The Web That Has No Weaver
Author: Ted J. Kaptchuk
Paperback: 464 pages
Publisher: McGraw-Hill; 1 edition (April 11, 2000)
Language: English
ISBN: 0809228408
Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 1.1 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.30 pounds
The Web That Has No Weaver is the classic, comprehensive guide to the theory and practice of Chinese medicine. This accessible and invaluable resource has earned its place as the foremost authority in synthesizing Western and Eastern healing practices. This revised edition is the product of years of further reflection on ancient Chinese sources and active involvement in cutting-edge scientific research.
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Treatment Of Infertility With Chinese Medicine
Author: Jane Lyttleton
Hardcover: 320 pages
Publisher: Churchill Livingstone (May 10, 2004)
Language: English
ISBN: 044306640X
Product Dimensions: 10 x 7.7 x 1.2 inches
Shipping Weight: 2.23 pounds
Providing a clear understanding of infertility, this practical resource analyzes and describes the diagnoses and treatment of infertility both male and female with Chinese medicine. It includes Western medical information with explanations of physiology, reproductive biology, and modern infertility treatments to expand the understanding of patient options. Content discusses all aspects of achieving a successful pregnancy, including pre-conception care, conception, pregnancy and miscarriage, and modern medical treatments.
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The Essential Guide to Acupuncture in Pregnancy & Childbirth
Author: by Debra Betts, Peter Deadman (Editor), Inga Heese (Editor)
Hardcover: 320 pages
Publisher: Journal of Chinese Medicine (May 1, 2006)
Language: English
ISBN: 0951054694
In this beautifully-designed clinical textbook, acupuncturist Debra Betts draws on more than 15 years of experience specializing in the use of acupuncture during pregnancy and childbirth. Acupuncture is an ideal form of treatment in that it offers women drug-free relief from a multitude of problems that can arise during this time. Even for conditions like morning sickness, sciatica and symphysis pubis pain, which are often regarded as part of a normal pregnancy, acupuncture can not only improve a woman's quality of life, but also prevent them from becoming serious enough to necessitate medical treatment. Pre-birth acupuncture can enhance an efficient labor, and the teaching of acupressure to a woman's partner or caregiver can make a great difference in the levels of pain experienced during labor. During labor itself, acupuncture can play a role in actively reducing the level of medical interventions such as inductions, forceps deliveries, and caesarean sections. Acupuncture can provide effective treatment for disorders such as pregnancy-induced hypertension and posterior presentation, and help induce labor, allowing women to achieve natural childbirth. Each topic in The Essential Guide to Acupuncture in Pregnancy & Childbirth is presented from both a Western and traditional Chinese medical perspective. The discussion of clinical treatments reflects what has actually worked in practice for the author and the midwives she has worked with. The text is illuminated with clinical case histories, illustrations, and color photographs. From my perspective, the use of acupuncture in pregnancy care and childbirth appears to be limited only by the reluctance of acupuncture practitioners to become involved in this specialist area. I hope that this book will go some way towards overcoming this, strengthening practitioners sense of confidence and expanding the range of treatments offered to women throughout pregnancy and childbirth.
Learn more about The Essential Guide to Acupuncture in Pregnancy & Childbirth on Amazon.com
The Tao Of Healthy Eating
Author: Bob Flaws
Paperback: 128 pages
Publisher: Blue Poppy Press; New Ed edition (January 1, 1998)
Language: English
ISBN: 0936185929
Product Dimensions: 0.5 x 6 x 9 inches
Shipping Weight: 8.00 ounces
Chinese dietary therapy is one of the most important aspects of Chinese medicine. The Tao of Healthy Eating illuminates the theory and practice of Chinese dietary therapy with emphasis on the concerns and attitudes of Westerners. Commonsense metaphors explain basic Chinese medical theories and their application in preventive and remedial dietary therapy. It features a clear description of the Chinese medical understanding of digestion and all the practical implications of this for day-to-day diet. Issues of Western interest are discussed, such as raw versus cooked foods, high cholesterol, food allergies, and candidacies. It includes the Chinese medical descriptions of 200 Western food and similar information on vitamins, minerals, and amino acids.
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Fiction
The Garden of Empress Cassia
Author: Gabrielle Wang
Paperback: 112 pages
Publisher: Puffin Books (May 1, 2003)
Language: English
ISBN: 0141316497
Reading Level: Ages 9-12
Shipping Weight: 3.04 ounces
Visit the Author's website.
The Garden of Empress Cassia was my first novel very loosely based on my own childhood. Like Mimi, I lived on top of a shop and loved to draw. And like Mimi, I felt ashamed of being Chinese.
From the Author
The idea for the book started out as a dream. When I woke up I wrote my dream down and as I wrote, memories of my childhood came flooding back to me. I remembered my mother’s gold lacquer box where she used to keep her pearls, and I remembered the shop we used to live in, filled with fascinating things from China - finely embroidered white handkerchiefs, miniature carved cork landscapes, embroidered slippers, laughing Buddhas. In between customers, my mother would sit in the corner, the gold lacquer box the size of a biscuit tin on her lap, threading pearls to make necklaces. It was a very clever box. The wooden walls slid in and out of each other so that you could make the compartments any size you wanted. One compartment held glistening white pearls, another fine silk thread, and another, little gold coils for attaching the clasps. On the lid of the box was carved a lake with willows, bridges and pavilions. For me it was a magic box.
Brief Excerpt
Open it,' Miss O'Dell whispered, as though she was about to share a secret. Mimi let the silk slip away. It was a long wooden box with a beautiful carving of a miniature oriental garden on the lid, with willows and pavilions and bridges crossing lakes. As Mimi ran her fingers over the honey-gold surface, it was like touching the finest silk or the smooth skin of a newborn baby. Flowing Chinese characters were carved around the sides and inlaid with mother of pearl.
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