The Essential Woman: Female Health and Fertility in Chinese Classical Texts by Rochat de la Vallee, Elisabeth (2007) Paperback

An understanding of women's health is essential to modern Chinese medical practice, yet it has rarely been studied from the classics. In this unique book Elisabeth Rochat draws on a range of Chinese texts both well-known and more obscure. Beginning with the balance of blood and qi she moves on to examine the different roles played by the zang fu and extraordinary meridians in creating and maintaining femininity and fertility. Suwen chapter 1 is discussed in depth, with its full exposition of the seven year cycles of the girl and woman as she commences menstruation, reaches the fullness of her fertility and then moves into menopause. There follow sections on infertility, the menopause, and various menstrual problems. While explaining theory in depth, this book is also supremely practical and will be of great help in the clinic.