About us
Who are we?
The Jing Fang Apprenticeship was set up by Frances Turner in 2015, with Maggie Bavington, after studying in the clinic of Dr Feng Shi-Lun in Beijing. Frances had been teaching Chinese herbal medicine in the UK for some years, and realised the extraordinary potential of Jing Fang to improve our clinical efficacy.
Frances expanded the Apprenticeship in 2020 into the School of Classical Chinese Herbalism, and through 2020 and 2021 she recorded the online Jing Fang Lecture Series, making this wonderful information more widely available to English-speaking Chinese herbal medicine practitioners.
We teach Jing Fang Classical herbalism using the Jing Fang Six Syndrome Differentiation System of Dr Feng Shi-Lun and Dr Hu Xi-shu. Dr Feng’s generosity in passing this knowledge on to us foreign students is unsurpassed, and we remain hugely grateful to him, and to all those who have facilitated the development of our work. Particular thanks go to Suzanne Robidoux who translated for us and shared her knowledge with us.
Faculty
When Frances started teaching Jing Fang in the UK there was no-one else practicing Chinese herbal medicine in this way, and she taught the whole Apprenticeship herself. However, every year we see more Jing Fang practitioners qualifying and succeeding in their own practice, and there is now a group of teachers and support staff. To find out more about us, check out the SCCH faculty.
Where are we?
SCCH runs the School of Classical Chinese Herbalism from the spacious Cholsey Pavilion in South Oxfordshire, situated next to a beautiful green park.
This convenient central UK location, in South Oxfordshire, is a five minute walk from Cholsey train station, on the stopping line between Oxford and Reading. There is plenty of off-road free parking in front of the building.
We are fortunate to have the use of the whole herb dispensary and one of the clinic rooms in Cholsey Complementary Health Centre, which is housed in the Cholsey Pavilion.
Testimonials from patients, students and graduates.
Your depth of knowledge, as well as your warmth and willingness to share it, have made the last two years the most important and enjoyable of my career to date.
It has been the single most helpful thing I’ve done for my health – it’s been life changing.
It has been the most remarkable and fulfilling educational experience I have ever had, because the learning is done through observing real patients and seeing how Frances diagnoses and treats them. Every week I’m there, I learn something new whether it is about herbs or formulas or syndromes. And being at the clinic is always hugely interesting. Doing Frances’s course and learning the Jing Fang pattern diagnosis has changed the way I treat my own patients as an acupuncturist.
Thank you for bringing Jing Fang into my life, it has done miracles for my health…I feel so privileged to have discovered this lineage.
It is such a privilege to be studying the Jing Fang Apprenticeship with Frances Turner, and I cannot wait to incorporate this incredible system into my practice to help patients.
It has been rewarding and challenging to use this medicine. Every patient is a teacher!
Frances does a wonderful job of teaching Jing Fang to us in England, online and in person. It has transformed my herbal practice into being more effective, with quicker results, and being more curative.
Jing fang has given me a way of understanding herbal medicine that is both profound and effective. For that I am eternally grateful!
I have been very lucky to meet Frances Turner and study the Jing Fang tradition you have shared all over the world. It’s a truly wonderful medicine, which I absolutely love to continue learning and practicing. So many have benefited from these teachings.
Dr Feng, you have turned my world upside-down with this wonderful Jing Fang system… reading your case histories is inspirational.
The Jing Fang introductory lectures are extremely useful. The information is explained in a very clear and structured manner, with case studies that illustrate all the different formula patterns. The audio is a bonus. These lectures provide a very solid base that complement the practical side of the apprenticeship and help consolidate your learning.
It has been the most remarkable and fulfilling educational experience I have ever had.