User's Manual to Human Body 人体使用手册 吳清忠 ISBN: 7536046316 Pub. Date: 2006年1月 Publisher: 花城出版社

Cross posted at http://www.nomadicminds.org

If a free and legal version of the same book is available online, would you go to the bookstore and buy a copy with, say, 4 dollars? The answer is over a million resounding "YES." The physical version of this book is a best seller in China (and Taiwan alike). It has sold more than a million copies. I personally bought 10 copies; friends asked me to get them a copy while I am there. The author describes a sales peak soon after publication followed by a even stronger one a couple of months later. The 2nd one was not only stronger but also diminished much slower. Words of mouths from the 1st peak readers is the only explanation.

The central theme is an alternative to our medicine concepts. The traditional medicine training see human body as a machine with complex parts. As we get old, or subject to invasion, those parts need chemical or mechanical assistances to maintain normal operations. The picture of an old, beat-up car come to mind. The engine needs tune-up, the tires need replacements, etc. Eventually, the whole thing wears down and we kick the bucket.

Chinese think differently. The body is a system that is capable of self-healing to infinity. For it to work, it requires energy similar to power-supply for computers. When the battery runs low, many parts of your computer stop working. There is no point fixing those part; re-charging the battery will restore everything to normal. In fact, if one is careful about the energy balance, immortality is quite possible.

"Heresy," you cried. There is no scientific proof of such non-sense. Mr. Wu answered this challenge. The medicine researchers primarily learned from autopsies; there is no more energy flow in cadavers. Since Chinese tried to achieve longevity, they study those who live well and healthy, not the sick or dead.

Hmm... The nice thing about being a Chinese is that we can work with both systems. I will practice Qi control and take a Tylenol for headache too.