🌿 Folk Prescriptions

Professor Weng Weijian, born in 1933, began studying Traditional Chinese Medicine in 1951, graduated from Beijing College of Traditional Chinese Medicine (now Beijing University of Chinese Medicine) in 1962, and has been teaching there ever since. In 1983, he established China’s first TCM Nutrition program and served as its director. In 1986, he founded the TCM Health Preservation and Rehabilitation program and served as its director. He has made outstanding contributions in TCM education, research, and fields such as dietary therapy and health preservation.
Professor Weng says the purpose of TCM nutritional health care goes beyond merely treating illness or preventing disease when healthy. Deeper still, it aims to use natural foods to keep the body in optimal (even super-normal) condition. The dual properties of food—tonification and purgation—best reflect the core of TCM nutrition. He explains that tonifying foods replenish qi, nourish blood, and enrich essence; purgative foods clear exterior conditions, reduce heat, and eliminate toxins. The significance of TCM nutrition in daily life is similar to that of medicine, unlike Western nutrition concepts that strictly separate food and medicine, denying direct health benefits from food. However, in the rising trend of “natural therapies,” the health and therapeutic roles of Chinese food have gained widespread recognition.
For decades, Professor Weng has researched ancient Chinese health-preserving medicinal foods and achieved remarkable results. He has developed thousands of recipes for Chinese health supplements (longevity diets) and medicinal health foods (herbal soups). His herbal soups do not contain actual drugs but are based on natural foods with drug-like effects, absolutely safe for the human body. Professor Weng states that TCM dietary therapy and herbal soups represent an outstanding contribution of Chinese medicine to humanity over five millennia.
With over 20 years of experience in health preservation, Professor Weng has distilled a set of health practices from the five aspects of “eating, defecating, sleeping, urinating, and moving”: eat a wide variety of foods—consume at least 30 different kinds daily—and eat breakfast carefully; ensure sufficient bowel movements, ideally twice daily, by increasing fiber-rich foods and drinking plenty of water—aim for at least eight full glasses of plain water daily; elderly people should go to bed early and rise early, sleep whenever sleepy, naturally; when urinating, bite your teeth tightly and never make noise—this strengthens teeth and, with consistent practice, alleviates or even eliminates issues like difficulty urinating; “old age begins with the feet”—the soles contain over 20 acupoints—stimulate them regularly; walking for one hour daily is beneficial. Regardless of season, soak feet in hot water for 15 minutes before bedtime. You may crush one or two liang of rhubarb, wrap in gauze, boil for 15 minutes, and use this liquid to wash your feet—this has anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, and blood circulation-promoting effects.
If you’re busy, break exercise into small segments. For example, before getting up, rub your face with both hands, moving upward from the bottom, repeatedly until cheeks glow red. Gently massage your eyes with fingers, pinch your nasal bridge, then take several deep breaths. While lying in bed, perform a wonderful exercise: tense your entire body, hold the tension, then relax completely. Repeat this three times—it activates your lungs and brings profound calm and comfort. You can also bend and stretch your fingers, rotate your ankles, and perform various waist and abdominal exercises and leg lifts. These brief bed exercises bring full-day comfort.
When washing your face, don’t rush to dip the towel in water. First open the hot water bottle, pour a little hot water onto the towel, gently warm your face. Then rinse with cold water—this not only maintains skin health but instantly energizes you.
Additionally, a basin of cold water is like a swimming pool—providing similar benefits. Before washing your face, inhale deeply, then submerge your face in cold water, exhaling slowly and extending the exhalation as much as possible. Gradually, your breathing will lengthen, lung capacity will increase, and mental clarity will improve.
Whenever possible, walk instead of standing; stand instead of sitting. Walking and standing are both forms of exercise. Busy people spend too much time sitting and too little time standing or walking. For better health, seize opportunities to stand and walk—especially when going up or down stairs.