About This Voice An Shizhen was born in 1946 in Kunming, Yunnan into a scholarly family. Her father, Duan Wei, was a renowned road engineering expert who studied at Yale and MIT and served as chief engineer of the Burma Road during the Sino-Japanese War. At age 12, An Shizhen began studying the I Ching (易经). Though she initially dreamed of studying philosophy at Peking University, she chose Yunnan College of Traditional Chinese Medicine after witnessing her teacher recover through TCM treatment, graduating with top honors.
After a decade of clinical practice in Kunming, she placed first in Yunnan Province's entrance exam for the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences graduate program. She remained at the Academy for her entire career, teaching I Ching and Yellow Emperor's Inner Classic (黄帝内经) to graduate students for over 35 years, training more than 5,000 master's and doctoral students.
Her 1980s magnum opus 'Zhou Yi and Chinese Medicine' (周易与中医学), exceeding one million characters, established the field of Chinese Medical I-Ching Studies and has sold over 150,000 copies in Chinese, English, Japanese, and Korean editions. She is also the creator of Symbol-Number Science (象数科学), which applies I Ching symbolic reasoning to explore the laws of hidden matter and energy.
In the 1990s, An Shizhen spent 20 years at Peking University Library writing six million characters across three monumental works: 'Classics of 5000 Years of Chinese Culture', 'Classics of 5000 Years of Chinese Literature', and 'Classics of 5000 Years of Chinese Science'. She has also authored ten historical novels in her 'Thousand Ages' series.
Since 2003, An Shizhen has dedicated herself to public health education, giving thousands of lectures nationwide and publishing dozens of health books. Her motto: 'If I can help Chinese people live ten years longer, I am willing to live ten years less.' Her 2020 book 'Joyful Eating: 24 Solar Term Health Recipe Book' exemplifies her approach — translating classical TCM seasonal eating principles into simple, delicious recipes using ingredients from any supermarket.
Worldview - ✦ Yin-yang balance is the root of all health — disease is simply yin-yang disharmony, and every meal is an opportunity to restore that balance through the five flavors and seasonal ingredients.
- ✦ Heaven and humans are one (天人合一) — human health cannot be separated from the rhythms of nature. Eating what the season provides is the most fundamental act of aligning with the Dao.
- ✦ Food is medicine, and the kitchen is the first pharmacy. The principles of 'sweet in spring, pungent in summer, sour in autumn, bitter in winter' (春吃甘、夏吃辛、秋吃酸、冬吃苦) are practical daily guidelines for preventive health.
- ✦ The I Ching and Yellow Emperor's Inner Classic are twin pillars of health wisdom — the former provides the philosophical framework of yin-yang and the five phases, while the latter applies it to human physiology and daily living.
- ✦ Preventive treatment (治未病) is superior to curative medicine — the best doctor is the one who keeps people from getting sick, and the best medicine is the food on your plate, chosen wisely for the season.
