"There is a defining moment in the study of Chinese language when you realize that the page of text you are looking at is actually right side up. While this seems like a ridiculously simple skill, it is, in fact, one of the cornerstones on which one builds a foundation of understanding. In any endeavor, we must be able to orient ourselves; we need a compass that helps us to navigate."
-Michael Max-
This is a monumental task as many of these chapters had not been translated into English and this is what inspired Eran to complete this work. As one reads Eran's book, it cannot be helped to catch a glimpse into historical medical practices, learning and thought processes of the time, but also we can envision a medical intervention plan to care for the sick at a time when Western medicine and its tools were infants or did not exist at all.
Many practitioners of today may ask, "why should I study these books?" A fair question, but as Eran points out so eloquently that all formulas utilized today have mostly all come from traditional formulas. It is the essence of understanding the formula and how it was designed. It was not designed with biochemical analysis, but a thorough understanding of flavor relationships and the interaction of the six conformations (Taiyang-Jueyin). These formulas are based on thousands of years of great success and the test today is to apply these to modern clinical situations and observe their respective efficacy.
Eran Even is not a hobbyist translator either. Eran began his studies in Chinese medicine and language in Vancouver and continued in China at the Beijing University of Chinese medicine training under one of China's great acupuncturists, Dr. Bai Yu Lan, to further his understanding of Chinese medicine. He also studied under Professor Fan Zheng Lun at the Ping Xin Tang clinic and with Dr. Huang Huang at his clinic in Nanjing. This experience is what Eran brings to his work, his life, and his book that he has painstakingly translated over the past several years. It is a book to not only keep on your shelf, but to exhaust its wealth of information in your clinical experience.
Volume 1-3 of this translation was first produced by Sabine Wilms. Even though this episode was with Eran Even, her dedication and work in the translation of the first 3 volumes cannot be understated or overlooked for a second. Click here to see Sabine's other publications.
Eran and his wife Christine also have a business that includes plant-based oils and essential oils, along with food-grade ingredients and Chinese herbs, to make products that are both highly effective and honestly natural. They have a consistent philosophy to test their products on the "two-legged" participants and not the animal kingdom. Their skin care line is called Sola Skincare and they are skillful at choosing ingredients based on their specific properties to enhance one's skin. Here are a few examples.
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Sola Skin Care Products |
"Translating texts such as the Jin Gui Fang Ge Kuo is difficult at best, and Eran has done a marvelous job in rendering the original Qing Dynasty Chinese into English. This is an important achievement that deserves wide study"
-Z'ev Rosenberg-