Hello Everyone. Thank you for dropping in on my website. This is where I try to put together in a coherent manner my ongoing findings regarding Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM).

I was born in the 70s. In the late 80s and 90s, as a young kid in Singapore, I was exposed to different facets of this traditional medicine. I remember coming home with the sprains and pains I got from playing soccer. My mum would bring my brother and me to a carpark behind that now-converted cinema close by our home. From that common location operated the “chopsticks man,” who would poke various points of your body with such finesse you imagined the pain going away.

Sometimes it did; sometimes it didn’t. But night after night, people did continue coming, and so did we. Until one day he stopped making an appearance there.

Then, it was Annie Tiang’s clinic a little further away, but not too far. I still have memories of limping in with a sprained ankle, undergoing an operation called “blood letting,” and then seeing that swell dissipate within a few days – when applying R-I-C-E to it did little to alleviate the pain. Annie would prick my ankle right after asking me if I was afraid of pain. “Not so pain,” she’d say, and then begin pricking and draining. I’ve now “blood-let” for others, and to good effect. Thank you, Annie.

There was my dad, an amateur Thai masseur who’d practice on us children with the silent expectation that we would return that treat on another occasion. As kids, we would know the difference between good and bad pain, a topic that is further discussed in acupuncture.

And there was the guy I learned from who owned a shop doing Shiatsu.

And the other man, who’s now left Singapore to resettle in Fujian, China – he’s massage you by following the channels up and down your body. He was the man who gave me the entire 12 meridians on 12 sheets of paper. Now you can look these up online…

I went on to apprentice for a year in Taiwan. There, I did more acupuncture and blood-letting. I also packed herbs and learned to do some preparation. However, with herbs, it’s not so easy to learn by doing. Which is why the Doctor suggested that I go to Mainland China to learn herbs in an institutional setting.

In my society, few people grow up wanting to become a Traditional Chinese Physician. They just read up more about it if interested. Or they go to the local Chinese Physician, a mythical figure often placed in a musty re-enactment of all things Chinese and traditional. This mythical figure will descend in carnal form to read my pulse at some point during the diagnosis, following which he’d scribble this prescriptive list of herbs that I would then bring home and create a drink with. I would often be interested to ask questions, but seldom came out satisfied. Some of them replied with a nod. Others were more benevolent and gave me a sentence or two. Notwithstanding this unrequited jab at curiosity, I remained in awe. And so continued questioning.

This site contains some answers and many more questions. I especially hope that both students and users of Traditional Chinese Medicine will benefit reading some of my articles here. Of course the disclaimer applies: this is not professional advice, read this at your own risk. More importantly, drop a comment or question when you feel like it.

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