The Great Intent

The Great Intent is a book with Acupuncture Odes, Songs and Rhymes by Richard Bertschinger.
For centuries songs and rhymes have been used by physicians in China as a means of memorising and passing on methods of practice and behaviour, moral attitudes, effective points, diagnostic tips and rules of thumb.
This book offers newly translated poems with a rich insight into the life and thought of these skilled doctors, as well as practical indications for treatment. Contemporary acupuncturists can see from these poems the depths of the tradition, better understand a breadth of diagnostic skills and treatment planning, and as a result greatly improve their appreciation of intent within their own practice.
Richard Bertschinger shows that the poems also serve as a gentle introduction to the philosophy behind acupuncture practice.
This book is the first translation of these acupuncture odes, songs and rhymes from the Great Compendium of Acupuncture and Moxibustion compiled by the Chinese physician Yang Jizhou during late Ming China.
It includes a comprehensive introduction that places the work in historical, cultural, and medical context, a symptom index, a point index glossary and a list of helpful points for common signs and symptoms encountered in acupuncture and physiotherapy clinics.