Applied Channel Theory in Chinese Medicine by Wang Ju-Yi

REVIEW

Applied Channel Theory in Chinese Medicine: Wang Ju-Yi's Lectures on Channel Therapeutics first struck me as having one of the driest and least interesting titles I could think of – in fact it almost stopped me buying it. However, after almost a decade of ownership I would instead call it 'The Book Most Important To Save in a Fire’. It is, in my opinion, one of the most important books ever written in the English language on acupuncture practice and I am still reading and learning from it today.

As well as being dry the title is also a bit misleading. 'Applied Channel Theory' suggests a book delving into a niche of acupuncture theory. Instead this is a book that goes into all aspects of acupuncture practice – starting at qi, moving into the channels, the six divisions – and only then applies this to the practice of acupuncture. Wang Ju-Yi's style of acupuncture relied heavily on channel palpation and it is this that makes up the core raison d'etre of the book: however, this book also contains everything within it a novice would need to start understanding the theory and practice of acupuncture... and, to do it well!

The writing of the book is worth understanding. Professor Wang Ju-Yi was a renowned acupuncturist in China with over 50 years’ experience and who lectured at the Beijing University – but he spoke not a word of English. For his work to reach an English audience he needed a translator, and this was done studiously and faithfully over almost a decade by Jason Robertson, the co-author. For this Jason Robertson truly deserves the gratitude of the English-speaking acupuncture community.

The book is littered with clinical gems such as Wang Ju-Yi's use of point pairs

The book can essentially be divided into three parts, although not actually laid out in this way. The first part explains the physiology of qi, channels and the six divisions. The explanations given here are simply the best I have ever read on this subject. They are so profound and clear that they completely revolutionised my understanding of acupuncture practice.

As a rule Wang Ju-Yi anchors his understanding within the classics while bringing this into a modern perspective. He is aware that what we are trying to understand is the body and not the classics and that the classics exist as a guide, albeit one of extreme importance. In fact, when Wang Ju-Yi first discovered the channels could be palpated and used clinically to diagnose illness he kept quiet about it – his colleagues in 1950s China simply would not accept any practice not rooted in the classics. It was only on finding mention of it in the Divine Pivot that he was bold enough to expound his findings to his colleagues.

That said, the book is not without its flaws, primarily borne (in my opinion) from the fact that the co-authorship makes it a translation of Wang JuYi's work as well as his language. But although some explanations of the concepts are clumsy and can make for difficult reading, this is forgivable given the ambition and scope of the book. Furthermore, I should add that I find all books I read on acupuncture (as well as medicine?!) seem to suffer from this to some extent.

The true beauty in Wang Ju-Yi’s book lies in its slightly rough-hewn nature borne from the fact that it emerged from a living breathing clinic, rather than dry academic study. Robertson’s energy and determination to understand Wang Ju-Yi's medical genius is truly that of a worthy student. As such the book is littered with clinical gems which will enrich your practice, such as Wang Ju-Yi's use of point pairs and his exposition of the process of needling itself.

It would be lovely to provide more examples of how brilliant this book is, but if you are curious then you simply have to buy it and start reading. The likelihood is that over the next few years and decades the great insights within this book will be clarified further, and the clinical insights absorbed into general practice and accepted as rote – then the Applied Channel Theory may no longer be as revolutionary as it is now. But until that time this work absolutely has to be on your bookshelf, just as it sits on mine – to read, peruse, reference, or in the catastrophic event of a fire, to save.

Dan Keown

Acupuncturist: Kent