Opening Ceremony EN

Trying to understand Chinese medicine from a Chinese perspective makes us reach almost automatically for the ancient medical classics. Too readily, perhaps, as these perspectives continued to develop over time, adding depth and richness to classical knowledge, or developing entirely new lines of inquiry and understanding. In this talk, I will focus on Wang Yangming’s 王陽明 (1472-1529) “teachings on the mind/heart” (xinxue 心學) as an important example. Wang Yangming was one of the most important philosophers in the history of Chinese thought, and his ideas had a profound influence on Chinese medicine at the time. Of particular interest are his teachings on how the heart/mind connects us to the ten thousand things in the world outside, and how this impinges on learning, teaching, and clinical practice.