Academic Level Courses for Traditional Chinese Medicine

Course Description

What the Heart, Pericard and San Jiao really are, and what their relationship is, has confused many students and practitioners till today. Without a clear understanding of their functions and influences, effective clinical treatment will be difficult.

Heart and Heart protector (Pericardium, Xinbaoluo) are the double aspect of one zang. One aspect, expressed through the blood and blood circulation, is more involved in the participation with the other zang, for the maintenance of the various functions of life (ministerial fire). The other, expressed through the presence of the spirits, is more related to the personal awareness, the unity and quality of the self (sovereign fire). These two aspects intertwine in normality and pathology.

Through classical medical texts, especially Neijing and Nanjing, we will study the relationships of the San Jiao with the Heart, the Heart protector (xin bao) or Pericardium, Mingmen and the Fire element (ministerial Fire), as well as with the Kidneys and the Water element. We will examine its function toward the Anterior and Posterior Heaven Qi (wei-defense qi, ying-nutrition/construction qi, zong-ancestral/gathering qi), and toward the metabolism and circulation of the fluids (liquids) in the body.

We are very happy that prof. dr. Elisabeth Rochat de la Valée, one of the leading experts in TCM classics and Chinese classics, is lecturing this course. Without her work many scholars, students, and practitioners would not be where they are today.

What you will learn during this course

During this course you will learn the following:
Heart: what is it, its functions, connection with the Shen, relation with Pericard.
Pericard: what is it, its functions, relation with the Heart.
San Jiao: what is it, its functions, relation with the body.

One might think that the functions of these organs were clearly described in books on TCM fundamentals. However, misinterpretations and errors in translations did not give the whole picture. During this course the exact meaning of the descriptions in the TCM classics will be revealed. At the end of this course you will for example, know the real meaning and influences of Heart - Emperor.

About the Lecturer

prof. dr. Elisabeth Rochat de la Vallée studied literature, philosophy, and Chinese in Paris and Taiwan, and from 1970 onward she collaborated with the late Fr. Claude Larre and Dr. Jean Schatz on classical Chinese thinking and medical texts. She teaches at the Jesuit University in Paris and is the senior lecturer at the European School of Acupuncture.

She teaches worldwide as well at CTA, and her books are published through Monkey Press and available from the CTA bookshop.

Elisabeth was born in Paris in 1949. She studied philosophy, literature and classics at the Paris University and completed her Masters degree in Classics. When she was 20 she met Claude Larre s.j. while he was working on his PhD thesis on the Huainanzi and making a translation of the Laozi. As a result of his influence she began to study Chinese, working with him on Chinese classical texts. She also studied modern Chinese with a native speaker and spent a year in Taiwan to further her studies.
In the early 1970s Father Larre met Dr Jean Schatz, a western physician and acupuncturist, and together they began to work on translations of the classical medical texts. At this time Elisabeth embarked on a study of Chinese medicine, and together with Dr Schatz and Father Larre, began the first study group of the classical medical texts in Paris. This lead to the founding of the European School of Acupuncture in Paris in 1976. From this work together Father Larre, Dr Schatz and Elisabeth co-authored A Survey of Chinese Medicine, published in 1979. Under the auspices of the Ricci Institute in Paris, Elisabeth also published numerous booklets on the seminal texts of Chinese medicine and philosophy including Rooted in Spirit (Lingshu chapter 8) and Suwen chapters 1-11. Elisabeth also co-authored translations and commentaries on Zhuangzi and Huainanzi, and presented a study of the Mawangdui funeral banner.

In the mid 1980s Elisabeth began to accompany Father Larre on his teaching engagements in both the UK and the US. Her encyclopedic knowledge of the medical texts and Father Larre's subtle understanding of the background culture and philosophy combined to produce a unique teaching team.

Elisabeth worked closely with Father Larre on the Grand Ricci dictionary, managing the project as father Larre's health declined. The first edition - two volumes of single characters - was completed in 1999. The second edition of seven volumes was finally published at the time of Father Larre's death in December 2001. This awesome achievement is testament to an inspiring collaboration which lasted over 30 years.

Elisabeth continues to teach worldwide, working with both classical medical and philosophical texts.

Long CV and bibliography can be found here.