Chinese Traditions

We highlight several easy to source Chinese medicinal herbs that are also excellent culinary herbs. Chinese dietary therapy emphasizes the concept of Yao Shi Tong Yuan 药食同源 “medicine and food have the same origin”.

Chinese medicine has a long history in the US, even before the Chinese ever set foot in America. During America’s colonial period, Chinese tea, and herbs such as rhubarb, cinnamon, cardamon, and camphor crossed the ocean to the new world, just as Appalachian wild ginseng went east. White Americans learned about Traditional Chinese Medicine not only through the herbs they consumed, but also through European and American merchants, missionaries, and medical scientists who went to China, studied, and sometimes adopted Chinese therapeutic practices. Read on to learn more about the history of TCM in America.

The hexagram Lín 臨 corresponds to the twelfth month of the lunar calendar which is usually found in January or early February. The character Lín 臨 is translated as “coming just before” or “just about to occur” and in most translations of the I Ching, it is rendered as “Approach”. Since this is written in February and the solar calendar places Spring several weeks hence, I see this as “The Approach of Spring”. The hexagram consists of the three broken lines representing Earth above the trigram for Lake. The two yang lines of Lake are rising into and beginning to nourish the Earth, a powerful image for the approach of Spring.

The Lunar New Year arrives on January 22nd and brings us the Year of the Yin Water Rabbit. You may also see it referred to as the Black Rabbit since black is the color of Water. What does the Rabbit have in store for 2023? The biggest difference is that last year was a Yang year and this year is a Yin year. Yin and Yang are opposites, and we really see the difference in these two years. Look at the contrast between the two animals representing the energy of Wood: the Tiger and the Rabbit. They’re pretty extreme opposites. One is a top of the food chain aggressive predator, and the other is a shy prey animal. That’s a pretty extreme contrast.

For the last 3,000 years, Chinese people have celebrated the Mid-Autumn Festival on the 15th day of the 8th month on the Lunar calendar (September 10 this year). This important holiday gathers family and friends to give thanks for a good harvest and to celebrate the harmony between each other and in society. We've also included a recipe to make your own mooncakes!

We all know herbs are amazingly effective, but have you ever wondered how their secrets were discovered? Did Shen Nong really taste them all and watch their effects in his see-through belly? How did they get their names? What are their backstories? Dr. Skye Sturgeon reads an excerpt from the book Chinese Herbal Legends where we learn the legend of Dang Gui.

The hexagram associated with the fourth month of the Chinese lunar calendar or May on the solar/Gregorian calendar is Jiě 解/ Deliverance or Relief (#40). In the sequence of the gua, Jiě 解 follows Jiān 艱/ Difficulty or Hardship because things cannot remain in hardship without end. Many of us have been ill, many have lost friends or family, and nearly all of us have been frightened. Certainly, the isolation has engendered anxiety, depression, or feelings of loneliness. The I Ching promises Deliverance or Relief from these conditions.

Breathe your way to harmony, balance, health, and well-being. Practicing Qi Gong yourself and teaching it to your patients is one of the most beneficial aspects of Chinese medicine. It can be engaged anywhere and by anyone, including those who are bed-ridden or in a wheelchair. In Qi Gong breathing, the action is focused on the exhale by intentionally contracting the diaphragm and abdominal wall muscles, squeezing out the carbon dioxide until the lungs are empty.

The Lunar New Year in 2022 brings us the Year of the Water Tiger. Lunar New Year 2022 arrives on February 1st and brings us the Year of the Yang Water Tiger. You may also see it referred to as the Black Tiger, since black is the color of Water. What does the Tiger have in store for 2022? Last year was Yin Metal Ox, so we know 2022 must be a Yang year. In the production/ creation cycle of the flow of the elements (Wood -> Fire -> Earth -> Metal -> Water), we see that Water comes after Metal. That gives us a Yang Water Year...

This goji, red dates, angelica and lamb soup recipe is from Zhang Zhongjing’s "Essential Prescriptions of the Golden Cabinet". It has the therapeutic effects of nourishing Qi and Blood, warming the Heart and Kidney, strengthening the Spleen and Stomach, and strengthening the body, making it a very suitable tonic for winter.

A special dish for festive occasions, 8 Treasure Duck is a delicacy you can make at home. The “8” refers to there being 8 precious ingredients stuffed into a duck and braised. Fillings, marinades, and preparation methods may vary by region, so feel free to put your own spin on it.

The winter solstice has always been celebrated in China as the resting time of the year. In winter the life energy is still underground. The Return of Light is just beginning; therefore, it must be strengthened by rest so that it will not be dissipated by being used prematurely. This principle of allowing energy that is renewing itself to be reinforced by rest, applies to all similar situations. The return of health after illness, the return of understanding after an estrangement: everything must be treated tenderly and with care at the beginning, so that the return may lead to a flowering in its due course.

The Dragon Boat Festival 端午節 (for 2021, it falls on Monday, June 14th) is not only about boat races and delicious rice dumplings, but since ancient times was a time to focus on health.  The lunar date of the Festival, the 5th day of the 5th month, was considered a poisonous and evil day in the minds of the ancients. In fact, as this date signaled the beginning of hot, dry/muggy summer weather, people were prone to get sick, and plagues and epidemics were not uncommon. Various customs developed to ensure peace and avoid disaster, such as collecting herbs, hanging moxa, sprinkling realgar wine on walls, doors, and windows and drinking Pu huang wine. Read on to learn more about this ancient tradition!

For practitioners of Chinese medicine, the black interior and paradoxical white feathered exterior represent and mirror the consolidation of Yin and Yang. Thus, the black-skinned silkie chicken is considered especially valuable medicinally and nutritionally. In Chinese dietary therapy all black foods are considered to be very helpful for treating Kidney disharmonies and the Blood, because black is the color associated with water and with the Kidneys in the five phases/wu xing.

We're sharing a delicious and time-honored family recipe. It contains nutrients derived from pork and black chicken, as well as tonifying herbs to promote a woman’s optimal health during pregnancy.