Face Reading: Self-Care and Natural Healing through Traditional Chinese Medicine

About the Author\nBorn of a family that has practiced traditional Chinese medicine for generations, Wu Jianshe, MD, has close to 20 years of experience in Chinese medical research and clinical work and has published five books on traditional Chinese medicine.\nIs it possible to take your health in your own hand without having to see a doctor? Common problems such as acne and pimples, color spots, swollen face, red veins in the eyes and on the face, and color changes in the face—what caused these things to happen? Facial diagnosis in traditional Chinese medicine can help you understand the various signals your body sends out regarding the state of your health. Facial diagnosis is an integral part of TCM’s diagnostic methods. TCM believes that all that exists on the inside of the body will ultimately reveal themselves on the outside. By observing changes occurring in the face, one can gain insight into the health status of the internal organs of the human body, thereby preventing some diseases from developing and improving one’s health as a result. Facial diagnostic method, as introduced in this book, is easy to learn and practice. Combined with pictures and texts, the book is accessible to the readers and suitable for daily home health care.\nExcerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.\nFace Reading (excerpt)\nAccording to traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), “You know the ailment when you see a person’s face, which is divine.” In fact, most diseases leave traces that can be detected on the surface of the human body where the twelve principal meridians and the Governor and Conception vessels that connect the internal organs run. That is why it is often said that “the symptoms are manifested in the four limbs and five sensory organs, while the diseases are deep in the five viscera organs (zang) and six bowels (fu).”
With a long history in China, face reading in TCM is based on thousands of years of valuable experience accumulated from generations of Chinese medical practitioners. The five sensory organs in the face are not only some of the important human organs, but they are also where the meridian pathways run, connecting the zang and fu organs inside the human body. By observing the face, a doctor can detect changes in zang-fu, qi and blood, muscles and bones, meridians and collaterals, and essential qi, thereby gathering information to make judgments on the causes of a disease, establish the pathogenesis, predict the tendency of the disease and sequela, and determine the prognosis. Such information plays a crucial role in the treatment of an ailment.
Guided by the theories of traditional Chinese medicine, face reading not only helps diagnose diseases but has also become increasingly popular for prognosis and maintaining good health. The methods it utilizes are unique and produce effective results. Both economical and safe, face reading is easy to learn and use, making it an ideal means of daily healthcare.
With the aim of disseminating the knowledge of TCM, this book first introduces the fundamentals of face reading in a systematic, scientific manner, then offers a detailed explanation of the methods used to detect many common ailments. Given the capacity of each disease’s natural self-healing power, also provided here are physiotherapeutic treatment and internal adjustment measures, such as dietary remedies, physical exercises, and emotional adjustments. Through rich content and a combination of graphics and texts that are easy to understand, this book is a practical, popular primer that even people having no knowledge of traditional Chinese medicine can understand and use for self-diagnosis and self-treatment.