Jing Fang Australia
经方澳大利啊

It is my great honour to announce the development of a comprehensive Classical Chinese Herbal Formula (Jing Fang) training program with full endorsement from Professor Huang Huang (黄煌教授) and the Nanjing International Jing Fang Institute ( )

This program is currently under development.

If you would like to be informed of the status of the training program and for all enquires, please contact Mark on: jingfangaustralia@gmail.com.au

Before the launch of the comprehensive Jing Fang training program, I will be presenting a series of short webinars via Zoom on key Jing Fang Formula Patterns, Formula combinations and their clinical applications. See the section on “Webinars” on this site.

Overview of Jing Fang Australia’s
Huang Huang Jing Fang
comprehensive training program

经方澳大利啊黄煌经方综合培训计划

Module 1: Introduction to Jing Fang

This will be a brief introduction to Classical Formulas ( Jīng Fāng经方), why it is useful to study them and how to study Jing Fang.

 We will discuss the benefits of using Jing Fang and the method of how Professor Huang Huang applies Jing Fang to treat patients in his clinic.

It will also include Professor Huang Huang’s commentary on the broader meaning of the Jing Fang characters in Chinese as well as other commentaries by historical Jing Fang Doctors about using Jing Fang.

We will also refer to the classics such as the Huang Di Nei Jing (黄帝内经), The Nanjing (難經 Classic of Difficult Issues) and other important texts. 

Module 1: Formula Patterns

 According to some sources, traditionally Formula Patterns  (Fāng Zhèng 方证) are taught before single herbs are taught. This method of teaching Formula Patterns first is used by the Nanjing International Jing Fang Institute.

 The reason for this is that Classical Formulas reflect classical physiology and can teach you about healthy physiology as well as teaching you about correcting pathology in the body.

Learning Classical Formulas first helps to guide your thinking process about using Classical Chinese Medicine and trains you to think in Classical Chinese Medicine terms.

Understanding Formula Patterns, their key indications and uses for disease conditions as a base of learning, also gives the leaner a solid foundation in the clinical application of Jing Fang.

If one learns single herbs first, one does not know how to treat diseases, and can only address symptoms, whereas when learning complete formulas we are already learning an integrated system of diagnosis and treatment. For example, if you diagnose the Formula Pattern of Xiao Chai Hu Tang (小柴胡汤) to be currently presenting, your diagnosis already gives you the treatment.

Learning Formula Patterns before Single Herbs introduces the learner to the medical tradition of becoming a Jing Fang Doctor.

When we analyse the structure of a Classical Formula and look at the traditional modifications recorded in the Shang Han Lun and Jin Gui Yao Lue (Shāng Hán Zá Bìng Lùn 伤寒杂病论) this can teach us about Classical Formula construction (the important building blocks of a herbal formula) as well as clinical applications.  

Formula Patterns will be taught through the lens of analysing Formula Families.

For example, the Gui Zhi Formula Family, Chai Hu Formula Family, Ban Xia Formula Family etc.  Here the key common herb in each formula can serve as a guiding point to understand the different herbal formula structures and formula combinations as well as how to use differential diagnosis of Formula Patterns in clinic.

We will also discuss Professor Huang Huang’s famous use of the method of Herbal Constitutions (Tǐ  Zhì体质), what this means, where this idea comes from and the benefits of considering the constitution in clinical practice.

Module 2: Single Herb Patterns

 Learning Single Herb Patterns (Yào Zhèng 药证) in greater depth is the next step in deepening your understanding and clinical application of Jing Fang.

Understanding the single herb and herbal pair building blocks of formulas can teach you how to modify formulas sparingly by selecting the most appropriate addition or subtraction to a herbal formula. It can also teach you when one herb within a formula needs to be increased or decreased, or removed which can save you from adding too many modifications to a Classical Formula.

Professor Huang Huang prefers if possible to use the original Classical Formula unmodified. However he may adjust the dosage of key herbs within the formula based upon the patient’s signs and symptoms and their underlying constitution.

Professor Huang prefers to use additions to a herbal formula sparingly to send a clearer message to the body and not overload the body with too many herbal ingredients at once. This understanding also has a basis in the classical texts of the Huang Di Nei Jing.

We will also discuss Dr Huang’s use of the key diagnostic indicators for using certain herbs such as what Dr Huang calls a “ Fu Ling Tongue” or a “Da Huang Tongue”, a “Fu Zi Pulse”, a “Huang Lian face”, a “Ge Gen back” or a “Huang Qi Abdomen” etc.

These lectures will briefly touch on the benefits and uses of using herbal pairs  (Yào Duì 药对). Including existing herbal pairs in Classical Formulas as well as adding a single herb to a formula to create the therapeutic effect of a herbal pair.

Various historical commentaries by important Jing Fang Doctors will be included to further clarify the clinical uses of each single medicinal.

Module 3: The treatment of diseases with Jing Fang

 In this section we will discuss the treatment of various disease conditions using Jing Fang. 

This topic will begin with reviewing ancient disease classifications from the Shāng Hán Lùn 伤寒论 and Jīn Guì Yāo Lüè 金匮要略that we discussed in the Formula Pattern lectures. This includes diseases such as Sudden Turmoil (霍乱 Huò Luàn) and Taxation Relapse (劳复 Láo Fù) .  And conditions such as Deficiency Taxation Disease (Xū Láo Bìng  虚痨病), Tetany Disease (Jìng Bìng 痉病 ), Dampness Patients (Shī Jiā 湿家) , Water Qi Disease (Shuï Qì Bìng 水气病), Jaundice Disease (Huáng Dan Bìng 黄疸病), Malaria Disease (Nüè Bìng 疟病), Running Piglet Qi Disease (Bēn Tún Qì Bìng 奔豚气病), Yellow Sweat Disease (Huáng Hàn Bìng 黄汗病) and Phlegm Rheum disease (Tán-Yïn Bing 痰饮病) to name just a few.

We will also review the chapters in the Jin Gui Yao Lue on Gynaecology including Pregnancy, Post-Partum diseases and Miscellaneous Women’s Diseases.

Following this we will discuss the clinical treatment of some modern diseases and how these may line up with ancient disease classifications and may be treated with Jing Fang. We will discuss Professor Huang Huang’s experience treating various modern diseases with Jing Fang, as well as the experience of other Jing Fang Doctors from China and Japan.

By looking through the lens of modern diseases we can learn how ancient disease classifications are still relevant today. Why is this? It is because learning about ancient herbal formulas and ancient disease categories can teach you about classical physiology and pathology. Diseases are always changing but human physiology does not. Our bodies may respond differently to changing diseases, but a sore throat is still a sore throat, thick yellow phlegm in the chest is still thick yellow phlegm in the chest.

A Classical Chinese Herbal Formula Pattern that is presenting and its traditional formula modifications are a mirror for what is happening in the body.

“Jing Fang treats the person, not the disease” (a favourite saying of Professor Huang Huang).

What does this mean? Simply put this means that you treat the appropriate Formula Pattern that is currently presenting and should select a herbal formula purely because of the modern disease name.  It also means that each person’s individual environment is unique and two people with the same disease name may present differently in terms of what Formula Pattern their body is asking for. Furthermore it encourages us to carefully keep in mind what the patient’s discomforts are and how we might assist in their resolution. It is interesting to note here a saying by William Osler (1849-1919) one of the fathers of modern western medicine and the first person to conduct bedside clinical training for medical students: “The good physician treats the disease; the great physician treats the patient who has the disease”.

Professor Huang Huang always emphasises treating the patient, this series of lectures on the treatment of disease will continually keep this in mind.

A person may have a disease condition that falls within a certain ancient disease category such as “Phlegm-Rheum”, or “Deficiency Taxation”, or “Malaria”, however their presentation in clinic is unique and often nuanced. In addition to this, the patient’s family history and personal medical history may also play a part in determining the correct treatment especially when treating chronic diseases.

If we clearly understand the pathogenesis of ancient disease categories, as well as the characteristics and common symptoms of the modern disease currently presenting, we can understand the most applicable Formula Pattern that might be used for the patient while also attending to the discomforts the patient is experiencing. We may also gain an insight into prognosis and progression of treatment in greater depth and clarity.

Module 4: Jing Fang Case Studies

In this section we will review case studies by famous Jing Fang Doctors including Professor Huang Huang.

Professor Huang Huang often comments that in order to go deeper into understanding Jing Fang, it is important to examine Case Studies by famous Jing Fang Doctors. This can show us the depth of classical medical understanding of some historical Jing Fang Doctors and how their treatment cuts to the heart of the problem. It can also be very useful to examine mistakes that Doctors have made and how they corrected those mistakes.

Selected clinical case studies from several eminent Jing Fang Doctors will be selected and discussed based upon Formula Patterns that you will now be familiar with. These lectures will serve as further revision of the clinical application of Classical Formulas for various disease conditions, including reviewing the structure and ingredients of Classical Formulas.

You will gain further insight into the saying in Chinese Medicine: “the superior Doctor uses one formula to treat many diseases”.

It is my intention to ask Professor Huang Huang for a Question and Answer session on this topic upon the completion of the Case Study lectures. This will be conducted on Zoom.

Module 5: Different schools of Jing Fang

 There are many different schools of thought and many famous practitioners within the world of Classical Formulas (Jing Fang). Each tradition adds their own clinical experience and has a slightly different lens through which they look at Classical Formulas and pathology.

Once your understanding of the building blocks of Classical Formulas is sound, then we can explore different ways that Jing Fang Doctors have approached the Medicine and some of the clinical observations about disease that these Doctors have reported.

We can examine the different diagnostic lenses that some Jing Fang Doctors used. For example the Liu Du Zhou clinical lineage views the Six Conformations (Liu Jing 六经: Taiyang, Yangming, Shaoyang, Taiyin, Shaoyin, Jueyin) very differently than the Hu Xi Shu lineage.

Although Professor Huang Huang does not focus heavily on the Six Conformations, we will briefly discuss different ways that Doctors have viewed the Liu Jing 六经 (a.k.a: Six Conformations/Six Divisions/ Six Patterns/Six Channels) and how this might be useful to us in clinic. We will have already discussed the important lines of the Shang Han Lun for each of the Six Conformations during the Formula Pattern lectures.  

We will also examine a few examples of the way different famous Jing Fang Doctors viewed certain diseases. It is also interesting to note here a few examples of Doctors who practiced Jing Fang differently reporting the same pathological pattern for certain diseases.

I will also share a few interesting observations from my time attending the clinic of a few well known Jing Fang Doctors in China. And as always I will continue to share insights from my clinic observation with Professor Huang Huang over the last 15+ years.

In this subject, we will explore a few key concepts in Classical Medicine in greater depth.

For example, the various definitions and clinical applications of the concept of  “Qi Hua” 气化/ 氣化 (Qi transformation) including the importance of a thorough understanding water metabolism from the classical texts, and how understand this can inform your clinical  treatment of patients, your understanding of disease and your prescription of herbs. I will also share my findings from my Doctoral research on water metabolism including the analysis of over 10 years of patients from Professor Huang Huang’s clinic.

This section will include discussion on Jing Fang Doctors that have been inspiring for Professor Huang Huang.

Such as Yoshimasu Todo (吉益东洞   Jī Yì Dōng Dòng ) and his concept of “many diseases come from one toxin”. We will clarify what this actually means in clinical practice.  We will refer back to how Professor Huang Huang understands this concept and how he uses it in his clinic.

We will also look at the clinical insights of other important Jing Fang Doctors that have inspired Professor Huang Huang such as Cao Ying Fu 曹颖甫, Xu Ling Tai 徐灵胎 and a few others.

This series of lectures shall also include historical commentaries on Classical Formulas by several other important Jing Fang Doctors. This can illuminate how these Doctors viewed Classical Formulas and classical physiology and can help us to apply Jing Fang more effectively in clinic.