1. Dr. Zhang believes that if one does not have this diverse knowledge, thenone cannot treat a complex human being properly.
张院长认为，（一名医生）如果没有多元化的知识储备，将不能处理好复杂的医学问题。
2.Another step up in the pyramid is thinking, whichis the ability to correctly organize and apply knowledge and treatment that students must learn through experience and proper diagnosis.
位于金字塔相对高层中还有一个是思想，它能够让学生正确的运用所学到的医学知识并应用于临床实践诊疗中。
3.A great doctor must always be aware of andguided by two things: compassion and empathyfor thepatients, being able to feel their pain as if itwere one's own; and gratitudetoward the patientsfor entrusting the doctor with their health.
“大医”必须具有的两种素质：能够对病人身心苦疾感同身受（慈悲心）、感恩病人将其健康（信任）托付给自己（感恩之心）。
4.Dr. Zhang utilizes this model with his owntheories and techniques to create a complete system. His diagnostic system wasadapted from the Chi Fu Diagnosis Method in the Nei Jing (Chapter 17). Andafter practicing on himself for three years, he perfected his own Yuan TongAcupuncture method.
His theory of physiological spaces (the spacesthat exist in the body), inspired by the Dao De Jing, underlines all of thesesystems. He often says that once one truly understood the importance role ofspace in pathogenesis, one could detect and treat any disease before it evenforms. Current medical research and treatment (both Western and Eastern) areall focused on the physical parts of the body, which often misses many warningsigns.
张院长结合这种理论模型和自己的理论知识、实践经验创立了一个较为完善的（理论）系统（生命空间论），他独特的尺肤诊断法来源于《黄帝内经》，其元通针法则来自于3年的自我临床试验实践。
他创立的生命空间论的灵感来源于《道德经》。他说，了解了生命空间的真谛，便可以在任何疾病发生之前进行有效的预防和治疗。而当前医学的研究与治疗主要集中在人体的实体层面，这常常会忽视很多（身体的）重要警示。
5.A lady in her 60's was given the same diagnosisat several AAA hospitals (highest standard hospitals in China). She hadsustained nerve damage and would never walk again. Dr. Zhang said, "Icannot make any guarantees, but let's work on it together." After onetreatment, the lady was able to stand and even walked to the bathroom on herown. She said in bewilderment, "what shall I do with my wheelchair?"Dr. Zhang explained that although there may have been nerve damage, that was aresult. The tightness of the muscles in her back was the cause. The loss ofspace around the nerve starved the nerve of nutrients and eventually led tonerve damage. If you open up the spaces (relax the muscles), then she wouldhave a chance to recover. Proper diagnosing was crucial to treatment of thislady.
案例一：某60岁女性患者，被知名三甲医院诊断判定神经损伤，将不能正常行走。院长针灸一次以后，患者可以离开治疗室自己行走至洗手间。患者困惑的说，那我的轮椅怎么办？院长解释说，患者虽然神经层面有损伤，但是由于背部的肌肉紧张度过高导致的，神经由于周围肌肉紧张度过高导致的压迫，缺乏营养支持，如果能让神经周围的空间正常，将有可能康复。（可见）正确的诊断是治疗的关键。
6.Dr. Zhang discovered the Wei Ji Syndrome throughhis years of experience and observations and named it after Hexagram 64 of theYi Jing, which features water on the bottom and fire on top (cold below, heatabove). This syndrome is predominantly found in the female population and maymanifest as the following: cold in the lower abdomen and limbs, soreness in theback and neck area accompanied by dizziness and decrease in memory, heatsymptoms such as acne or mouth ulcers, emotional issues etc. Often, the patientfeels discomfort but nothing will show in medical tests. However, using Dr.Zhang's diagnostic method, one can see that physiological spaces have alreadybeen reduced (often by cold) and with time, the symptoms will worsen and thepatient's normal endocrine functions, circulation and metabolism will beaffected. Left untreated, physical changes will occur, such as fibroids, breasthyperplasia, and thyroid issues. Dr. Zhang often warn patients who have earlysymptoms of what may follow and some of them return years later to seektreatment after symptoms appear as he foretold.
张院长发现的“未济综合征”，命名来源于易经64卦，上火下水。女性患者多见，小腹凉，手足凉，颈背痛、头晕、记忆力减退、痤疮、口腔溃疡、情绪不稳定等现象常见，而依靠现代医学手段却常常检查不出异常（点击阅读更多详情）。从张院长的诊断理论来看，随着时间的迁延，生理性空间逐渐因寒而变的狭窄，患者血液循环、机体代谢、内分泌会受到影响，如果不及时治疗，会产生子宫肌瘤、乳腺增生、甲状腺问题等器质性病变。张院长常常提醒患者可能存在的疾病前兆，也有些人在数年后预言的疾病发生后回来就医。
7.其他：在这里学习期间遇到不少因为滥用抗生素导致的肾脏出现问题的儿童。这些孩子，常常需要补益肝肾治疗几个月甚至数年，才能使过往的这些激素带来的副作用清除掉。这些孩子的父母甚至不知道最开始的基础病因就是因为寒，而激素根本无法解决这个问题。
张院长平素博览群书，涉猎广泛、除专业知识外，大数据云计算、甚至纳什均衡等，他说这些有助于更好的了解世界，更好的对待病人。他最喜欢的是佛道哲学，他说这可以人成为一个更好的人。
（以上为小编翻译整理，不到之处，欢迎交流指正！）
作者背景简介：
Sze K. Chan，曾经是一名专业的翻译人员，本科毕业于哥伦比亚大学，研究生毕业于美国著名中医学院，2013年5月初见张克镇院长，被院长精湛的医术以及所具有的深厚的人文素养与气度深深折服，并于2015年6月前往北京泰济堂中医医院进行中医临床学习，现在纽约一家中医针灸工作室工作。
纽约中医工作室联系方式：http://www.kunjitang.com/?nsukey=w4DEJtlepvjnWJ%2BEs736hE7JMS3ZS4Ht8sAp8H%2B3qzzsxLQdRehCODLMOwLP66NYWPD8JLJovgScV6LLOfOT7g%3D%3D&from=timeline&isappinstalled=0（点击）
原文:
Footsteps of the Sages: An Apprenticeship with Dr. KezhanZhang
By Sze K. Chan, MSTCM, LAc, Dipl OM
When I met Dr. Kezhen Zhang in May 2013, I was his translator and the integrity, creativity, and passion he demonstrated as a practitioner and advocate of the medicine convinced me to travel to Beijing to study with him.
I shadowed Dr. Zhang at his hospital, Beijing Tai Ji Tang Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, listening to patient intakes and observing his treatments, as well as watching him explaining the cases to his students (who were mostly Masters or post graduate level). This pyramid below is a schematic of how he perceives and practices the medicine.
Intellectual knowledge falls on the bottom and includes a wide range of subjects, not just Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), but also Western Medicine (WM), modern technology, the sciences, cultures, and more. Dr. Zhang believes that if one does not have this diverse knowledge, then one cannot treat a complex human being properly.
Knowledge needs to be applied; therefore, the next step is teaching techniques and skills by which one practices the medicine. Dr. Zhang adapts his teaching method to the individual student. For example, the Socratic method is used to open the mind and let the students absorb and develop the skills on their own while the more traditional clinic/demonstrative method is to show the student exactly what they should do and expect them to follow.
Another step up in the pyramid is thinking, which is the ability to correctly organize and apply knowledge and treatment that students must learn through experience and proper diagnosis.
On top of the pyramid is ethics/morality, which Dr.
Zhang feels distinguishes the great from the good.
A great doctor must always be aware of and
guided by two things: compassion and empathy
for the patients, being able to feel their pain as if it
were one's own; and gratitude toward the patients
for entrusting the doctor with their health. This is the heart of a healer and must preside over all the other aspects.
Dr. Zhang utilizes this model with his own theories and techniques to create a complete system. His diagnostic system was adapted from the Chi Fu Diagnosis Method in the Nei Jing (Chapter 17). And after practicing on himself for three years, he perfected his own Yuan Tong Acupuncture method.
His theory of physiological spaces (the spaces that exist in the body), inspired by the Dao De Jing, underlines all of these systems. He often says that once one truly understood the importance role of space in pathogenesis, one could detect and treat any disease before it even forms. Current medical research and treatment (both Western and Eastern) are all focused on the physical parts of the body, which often misses many warning signs.
A few cases of actual patients demonstrate how his system works.
A lady in her 60's was given the same diagnosis at several AAA hospitals (highest standard hospitals in China). She had sustained nerve damage and would never walk again. Dr. Zhang said, "I cannot make any guarantees, but let's work on it together." After one treatment, the lady was able to stand and even walked to the bathroom on her own. She said in bewilderment, "what shall I do with my wheelchair?" Dr. Zhang explained that although there may have been nerve damage, that was a result. The tightness of the muscles in her back was the cause. The loss of space around the nerve starved the nerve of nutrients and eventually led to nerve damage. If you open up the spaces (relax the muscles), then she would have a chance to recover. Proper diagnosing was crucial to treatment of this lady.
There were quite a few children who came in for kidney issue during my stay. Dr. Zhang explained that due to the overuse (abuse) of antibiotics (via IV) in China, especially on children with a simple cold or flu. Many of these children sustained internal organ damage (kidney and liver in TCM and WM), which later may develop into renal disease (e.g. glomerulonephritis). Hospitals may then give them Corticosteroids as treatment, which induce further damage and all kinds of strange symptoms may appear (e.g. purpura, vomiting and nausea, palpitations and other heart conditions, edema, etc.). Dr. Zhang often must spend a few months to a year treating these children, mainly to tonify their liver and kidney, but usually he had to first treat the initial cold that was never cleared. Often, these patients and their parents did not even know the origin of their years of health problems was one simple cold.
Dr. Zhang discovered the Wei Ji Syndrome through his years of experience and observations and named it after Hexagram 64 of the Yi Jing, which features water on the bottom and fire on top (cold below, heat above). This syndrome is predominantly found in the female population and may manifest as the following: cold in the lower abdomen and limbs, soreness in the back and neck area accompanied by dizziness and decrease in memory, heat symptoms such as acne or mouth ulcers, emotional issues etc. Often, the patient feels discomfort but nothing will show in medical tests. However, using Dr. Zhang's diagnostic method, one can see that physiological spaces have already been reduced (often by cold) and with time, the symptoms will worsen and the patient's normal endocrine functions, circulation and metabolism will be affected. Left untreated, physical changes will occur, such as fibroids, breast hyperplasia, and thyroid issues. Dr. Zhang often warn patients who have early symptoms of what may follow and some of them return years later to seek treatment after symptoms appear as he foretold.
Dr. Zhang truly integrates Western and Eastern medicine in his hospital. His background as a medical doctor made it easy for him to transition between the two. He has also reclaimed the "art" in Chinese medicine, treating each patient uniquely, according to his or her individual stories/lives. He explains disease using Western concepts but treats according to principles in Traditional Chinese Medicine. What is the liver channel? It is a system that links together much of the female reproduction related organs and endocrine functions, such as the Uterus, breasts and thyroids. Why are we dizzy (or our heads hurt) after we have been exposed to wind or cold? Because wind/cold constricts the skin/muscles of the neck (esp. the nape), hence treating the Taiyang channel works because it releases the muscles of the neck and allows for normal circulation again. These are just examples of how he translates Chinese theory into the language of Western medicine.
Dr. Zhang often refers to the first chapters of the Su Wen, which stress the importance of disease prevention and maintaining good health through lifestyle. Is the pattern differentiation method that we currently use true "prevention" if we are detecting functional changes that are results of an already existing pathological development? How can we prevent these pathological changes from even happening or catch them in their earliest stages? When we are busy, it's easy to become reliant on techniques. But if we do not diagnose the cause, we cannot return the patient to health completely.
Demonstrating an insatiable quest for knowledge, Dr. Zhang studies every night, immersing not just in books that are relevant to TCM, but also subjects as diverse as bioengineering, cloud computing, even mathematics, such as the Nash Equilibrium. He believes that at the highest level of thought, all these subjects are linked and can be understood if not in their specifics, at least in relation to the general law (dao) that underlies life and the universe. This "extracurricular" knowledge allows him to better understand our world, which helps him when he treats patients. His favorites books are about Buddhist and Daoist philosophy, which he says can guide one to become a better person, and thereby, a better practitioner. The last book he bought before I left was about the Butterfly Effect (he finds it fascinating).
It is said that a person cannot proclaim himself a master; it's what he does and the respect that he inspires that lead others to bestow that title upon him. By this definition, I can say that I have been fortunate to study with a true Master, following in the footsteps of the Sages of Antiquity.
Sze K. Chan is a graduate of the American College of Traditional Chinese Medicine. After graduation, she continued her studies at Beijing Tai Ji Tang TCM Hospital with Dr. Kezhen Zhang. Prior to her career in Traditional Chinese Medicine, she was a professional translator. She currently practices in New York City at her clinic, Kun Ji Acupuncture.
