School's out, but the bell rings for TCM

Retired researcher Yang Zhixun holds TCM classes every weekend for dozens of children in town. Wang Jing / China Daily

Liu Shangjin puts his three fingers on an old man's right hand wrist to feel his pulse and then talks about his health condition using difficult Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) terms. His skillful technique makes him look like an experienced TCM doctor, but in fact he is only 11 years old.

While his peers attend Olympics mathematics, Cambridge English and other classes to get ready for the highly competitive middle school entrance exam, it is routine for Liu to participate in Yang Zhixun's TCM class every Sunday, where he has learnt to feel a patient's pulse which is a basic skill in TCM. But he not only studies TCM theories, he also learns Chinese traditional medical ethics and virtue, which are an indispensable part of the classes.

Liu is among dozens of students aged from four to 15 at a 100-sq m apartment in Chaoyang district learning Traditional Chinese Medicine with Yang Zhixun, free of charge.

The retired researcher, now 67, wrote a succinct 6,000-word treatise, based on the medical classic book of the Yellow Emperor, for children to memorize and practice.

His introductory course, which has been running for one and a half years, is held every Saturday morning, while the advanced class on Sunday morning has been running for almost four years. Each class has around 30 children and parents.

The class, launched about four years ago, has all expenses covered by Yang, including the costs of renting an apartment and buying different medical materials.

Different types of herbs and materials are brought to the classes for students to learn their functions. Many students already know the functions of 30 different herbs and materials, according to Yang.

In the afternoon, students go downstairs from the classroom to the clinic Yang opened to practice the skills they learned in the morning.

Though Yang majored in mechanics at university, Yang's father was one of the most famous TCM doctors in Shanghai, and during his spare time Yang learnt TCM from his father and started to treat the people around him. From then on, Yang's life always included the practice of TCM. While doing his own job as a scientist on petroleum strategic research, he continued to study TCM and see patients.

Due to his outstanding achievements in TCM, he was invited to become a doctor at the Capital Institute of Pediatrics (CIP) on retiring as an engineer, and he began his close involvement with children and TCM.

"Parents who brought their children to see doctors at CIP always asked me to tell their children to get rid of some bad habits," he said. "After I explained to many children one by one how to have a healthy life style in accordance with TCM, I realized I could start a class and teach them all at the same time."

Whenever Yang teaches his young students a new TCM theory, he will tell them tales about the doctor who invented the theory.

In his class, the students will learn about the renowned TCM doctor, Li Shizhen, who traveled extensively across China to collect information on the functions of plants, animals, minerals and so on.

"By telling them stories about these famous doctors and setting an example myself, I hope they can understand the real essence of learning TCM is to help people and apply this to real life," he said.

Yang also teaches TCM at Dinganli Primary School in Chongwen district once a week.

"I am not expecting my students to make a living from TCM, I just hope they acquire some basic knowledge about it and learn how to be a good person," he said.

Parents are confident of the benefits of the courses for their children; many of the parents say they have witnessed major changes in their children after attending Yang's class.

"I am not worried about Liu's study even he spends a day learning about TCM while his classmates are working on subjects which are examination related, "Liu's mother surnamed Ren said. "I think other children are only studying knowledge while Liu is studying wisdom."

After studying for four-years, Liu not only knows how to feel a person's pulse to determine what ailments are the problem, he has also acquired a very healthy lifestyle, because he understands regular habits are very good for his health, according to Liu's mother.

A more positive and healthier personality is one of the major reasons that Liu keeps attending the class, his mother explained.

She said he has learnt to discipline himself. He doesn't get angry. He knows what is right and what is wrong, while previously, before attending the class, if we didn't fulfill his desire, he would be upset the whole day.

"He is now more mature than other children his age," she added.

The young TCM practitioner also passes on his knowledge to those around him.

"My grandpa is a big meat eater. I always tell him to eat more vegetables and fruits because excessive input of meat is bad for one's liver and stomach which may lead to high blood pressure," Liu said.

Even Liu's teachers often seek advice from him.

"My art teacher gets angry easily, I tell him to always keep a balanced state of mind otherwise it will hurt his liver and cause a bloated belly," he said.

"We don't know if he will become a professional TCM doctor or not in the future, but we know he will benefit from the class his whole life," his mother said.

(China Daily 04/06/2010 page36)