Why Undertake CPD in Jing Fang?
What is Jing Fang?
Jing Fang means formula pattern. It is a name used to describe herbal medicine practice that uses the formula patterns in Zhang Zhong Jing’s Han Dynasty Classical texts; the Shang Han Lun (Treatise on Cold Damage) and the Jin Gui Yao Lue (Prescriptions from the Golden Cabinet). We teach the Six Syndrome Differentiation System approach to Jing Fang classical herbalism, taught to us by Dr Feng Shi-Lun.
I’ve trained in TCM Herbal Medicine – why do I need Jing Fang?
Jing fang is a complete system of herbal medicine that allows practitioners to diagnose and understand patients with clarity, and to prescribe herbs modify formulas with focus and intention.
- Jing Fang is manegable. It utilises a focused number of herbs, along with formulas that are often small and conscise, but still incredibly effective in practice. It enables our learning to become manageable, and our study becomes rewarding and not overwhelming.
- It is systematic. The Six Syndrom Differentiation system gives us a clear diagnostic process that we can use in clinic to improve the heath of our patients.
- It guides us along the patient journey. Jing Fang helps us to answer fundamental questions, such as why do our patients suffer from certain health conditions, and how do we use herbs to help them.
- It allows us to understand change. With Jing Fang we can more clearly understand how are patients’ symproms are changing, and gives us the tools to modify our prescriptions to manage the change.
Difference in Practice
In TCM we are taught to decide on formulas based on organ patterns (such as Kindney yin deficiency, or yang deficiency, or St heat, or Liver heat or GB heat, or Invasion of wind cold or heat and so on.
In practice patients present with a combination of different patterns (both excess and deficient), with pathogens located on both the interior and exterior, as well as with contradicting symptoms of heat and cold, dampness/phlegm and dryness and so on.
Jing Fang allows us to locate and understand the nature or the pathogen (heat and cold, empty or full, interior and/or exterior etc). This allows us to better deal with contrasting combinations of symptoms/syndromes.
In TCM, formula selection and adjustment can carry a huge and unmanageable number of combinations, especially in chronic or complex disease patterns.
In Jing Fang similar presentations can be effectively dealt with a relatively small number of prescriptions and additions and subtractions.
Complex Cases
A large part of Jing Fang theory centres around the ‘half and half’ Syndromes: Shaoyang and Jueyin. These Syndromes are not addressed in TCM. They give practitioners the tools to understand complex cases – patients who present with a wide variety of seemingly contradictory symptoms. These are often chronic, long-standing conditions, with complicated histories.
Conditions that often fall into this category include:
- Chronic fatigue and post viral syndromes
- Hormonal imbalances, such as menopause
- Low immunity and persistent infections
- Complex emotional issues
By giving practitioners a deeper understanding of these Syndromes, Jing Fang enables a clearer understanding of complex cases, which results in a huge positive difference to being able to prescribe effectively.
In China, the Classical Jing Fang approach of treating the person, not the disease, has been criticized as unscientific. In answer to this accusation, Professor Hu Xi-Shu would often say:
“Etiology, pathology and disease location constitute the three elements of disease classification. Western medicine can clearly tell people the name of their disease, even if cannot cure it, therefore it is scientific. Chinese medicine can cure diseases, but cannot clearly name them, so it is unscientific”.
The famous 19th Century doctor Jiang Taiyin said:
“Chinese medicine stems from experience and is based on clinical evidence, which is scientific in nature. It comes from experiments on people, that are more reliable than experiments on animals!”
Dr Feng Shi Lun
Frances Turner
Dr Feng is an experienced doctor with immense practical experience, and to have his support and teaching as part of our clinic and Jing Fang Apprenticeship is an honour.
We are fortunate that Suzanne Robidoux has facilitated the translation of his work into English, helping him to spread the Jing Fang Six Syndrome Differentiation System to the West. Dr Feng’s approach to Jing Fang can be further explored on the Chinese Medicine Traveller website.
Frances Turner has developed this Jing Fang qualification programme after studying with Dr Feng in Beijing in 2014, 15 and 16, and running the Jing Fang Apprenticeship in Oxfordshire for 10 years.
Start your journey into Jing Fang with SCCH
If you are interested in any of our Jing Fang CPD options, please contact us using the form below and we’ll send you more details.
Testimonials from patients, students and graduates.
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.
It has been rewarding and challenging to use this medicine. Every patient is a teacher!
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.
Jing fang has given me a way of understanding herbal medicine that is both profound and effective. For that I am eternally grateful!
It has been the single most helpful thing I’ve done for my health – it’s been life changing.
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.
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.
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.
Dr Feng, you have turned my world upside-down with this wonderful Jing Fang system… reading your case histories is inspirational.