The Great Intent

It is a difficult job to read traditional Chinese medical canons in the classical style – even for the young Chinese – but an exceptional translation into English can miraculously benefit scholars worldwide who wish to study the real ancient meaning of Chinese medicine. Richard Bertschinger’s The Great Intent is such a book. — Professor Dr Bo-Ying Ma, MD, MA, PhD, FRSM, Chairman of the Federation of Traditional Chinese Medicine, UK

If you love Chinese medicine, read this book. You will actually feel that you are part of a centuries-old tradition. In a way, it’s a bit like having the handouts from a Ming dynasty college. But it’s more. Richard, in a labour of love, conveys across centuries some of that ineffable “stuff” called wisdom. — John Hicks, joint principal and co-founder of the College of Integrated Chinese Medicine

The Great Intent by Richard Bertschinger truly demonstrates that the Chinese acupuncturists were much more adept at using language to aid learning when compared to the simple mnemonics and acronyms used in Western medicine. This unique book would be of great interest to experienced acupuncturists wishing to understand more about the complexities of traditional assessment, diagnosis and treatment. — Helen Oakes, Clinical Editor of the Journal of the Acupuncture Association of Chartered Physiotherapists

The heritage of the ancient Chinese masters has made its way down to us via the written and the oral traditions, the latter partly in the form of songs and odes. Richard Bertschinger had the inspiration of translating for the Western world Yang Jizhou’s written collection of these odes. The Great Intent is an absolute must for any practitioner of Classical Acupuncture. — Dr Hamid Montakab, author of Acupuncture for Insomnia and founder of the Academy of Chinese Healing Arts, Switzerland