CM 532 - Pre-Han Classical Texts I: Yi Jing, Dao De Jing, Huang Di Nei Jing

Credit(s): 2

This course introduces students to the foundational texts of Chinese culture and medicine: the Yi Jing (“The Book of Changes”), the Dao De Jing (“Classic of the Way and Its Virtue”), and the Huang Di Nei Jing (“The Yellow Emperor’s Internal Classic”), which has two component parts: the Su Wen (“Basic Questions”) and the Ling Shu (“Spiritual Pivot”). By studying these pre-Han classical texts, students will both broaden and deepen their understanding of the theoretical foundations of Chinese medicine and gain an appreciation of their usefulness in the modern clinic.

Attention will be paid both to how these classic texts infuse and inform Chinese medical theory and clinical practice throughout the history of Chinese medicine and the ways in which Chinese medical theory, clinical practice, and terminology has evolved since the time these texts were written.

This required course will focus on basic concepts of Chinese medicine theory and philosophy as exemplified in the Pre-Han texts. Concepts like Yin Yang theory, 3 Treasures, 4 Directions, 5 phases, and other numerologically significant ideas will be discussed in great detail with a lens towards how the perspective presented in these classics provides a fully integrated worldview that has practical applications for the practice of Chinese medicine in the modern clinic. Prerequisite(s): CM504, CM505, CM506