Well, here we are at Halloween again. This is a festival to celebrate those who have passed on and is a time when the veil between the worlds is supposed to be thinnest, thus we can communicate more easily with those who have departed.

This year I would like to take this moment to express my gratitude to those who have gone before me in Jing Fang and helped me to get to where I am. There are many people without whom I could not have done what I have done, and quite a few of them are still alive, so I propose to honour all of them, alive and dead.

Firstly, I would like to thank Dr Feng Shi-Lun. Without you, I would not have the knowledge that you have given me of Jing Fang Classical Herbalism. Your generosity has enabled me to do this work and to help many others to do it as well. I remember Suzanne saying that there was a moment when she was sitting with Dr Feng, and he was saying he was sad that this classical medicine was not going to survive. In China, it is very hard for Jing Fang, because it is not the mainstream Chinese medicine in the hospitals. For a young doctor to succeed, they have to work their way up in the hospital hierarchy. So, while young doctors often follow Dr Feng for a time, it is almost impossible for them to follow him for the length of time needed to really embody Jing Fang.

This was what impelled Suzanne to offer to translate Dr Feng’s work into English and to translate his clinicals for us English-speaking foreign students. It was also what impelled him to agree to teach us. Thank you Dr Feng for doing this and bringing the light of Jing Fang into my life.

Secondly, I would like to thank you, Susanne Robidoux. Your tireless work for worldwide Jing Fang dissemination is unsurpassed, and you have a great flare for transmitting this information. Thank you for translating for Dr Feng, and then for creating study materials such as your book with Dr Feng, the Six Syndrome Guide, and the DVDs of Dr Feng’s lectures. You have contributed so much to this field.

Thirdly, I send heartfelt gratitude to Professor Hu Xi-Shu, who was the teacher of Dr Feng. Without his extraordinary work, there would not be this system of Jing Fang around today. In 2014 Dr Feng took us to the grave of Professor Hu, and we laid fruit and flowers on it.

And finally, I would like to thank the staff and apprentices at the School of Classical Chinese Herbalism, and those who have attended my Jing Fang Lecture Series. We are all learning together and sharing cases, discovering what this medicine will do in our local area, and learning how to navigate the banning of certain herbs by substituting them with other herbs while keeping the formulas effective and strong. In particular, I would like to thank Vasanthy Watt, Susanne Mounter, Gail Newton and Anna Morshead, Andrew Nuttall and Vivien Tang for taking on specific responsibilities and helping me with the Jing Fang Apprenticeship, and also Paola Campanelli, Deirdre Murphy, Kathleen Dowd, Sara Rajadel, Martin John and many others for your interesting cases and pertinent questions.