Category: Interview

“I believe that, one day, Chinese medicine
and Western medicine will perfectly integrate together.”
An interview with Mr. Zhang Yingqing,
TCM Doctor and Founder of Jus-Tao-Lab

In 1995, at the age of 16, Zhang Yingqing entered a special class for gifted young people at Jilin University, studying Theoretical Physics and Micro Electronic Techniques. In 2005, he got a PhD diploma at the Shanghai Institute of Technical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, specializing in space optical remote sensing and payload. In 2008, he joined the solar energy engineering and technological research center under the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology as deputy chief engineer and vice general manager. He has participated in many ‘863’ and ‘973’ basic research projects in China and is an expert in optical, mechanical and electronic integration equipment, new energy resources, silicon material and more. He has been listed in the Shanghai Rising-Star Program and he is Minhang Science and Technology leading personnel, an expert in special fields awarded by the Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality, and an Advanced Individual awarded by the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology.

Surprisingly, this elite scientist then passed the Physician Assistant National Certification Examination and obtained doctor’s qualifications. As a master in both Chinese and Western medicine, he is especially proficient in TCM and herbs. Since the first day of operation, his clinic has always received an endless stream of visitors. Why does he give up the shining future of science and engineering and dedicate himself to the medical industry? With great curiosity, SpaChina interviewed him.

Why did you change your career path and become a doctor?

At the beginning, I didn’t plan to change my career path. However, during my post-graduate studies, I often got sick because of a weak physical condition. Then I began to learn about herbs and traditional Chinese and Western medicine. In the process, my interest was greatly aroused. Since then, for 12 years, I have been involved in medical knowledge and the study of various clinical cases. Later, I received the invitation from Jus-Tao. The people there shared the same interest and vision with me, so I decided to become a doctor.

But actually, in my heart, I feel guilty towards the university and institutes who fostered me. I should have made more scientific achievements and I could have been a good engineer. I should have made more contributions to the science world. But I selfishly chose the job I am interested in. Nevertheless, I just follow the voice in my heart. 

With a solid background in science and engineering, I have a very rigorous logic in my mind. There are still many people who criticize me for not having a TCM mind. In fact, I don’t have a Western medicine mind either. I just care the clinical result. As long as it’s effective, what mind I have is not important at all. Maybe because I shifted to the job half-way, I can jump out of the box rather than being shackled by conventions. The human body is an exceedingly sophisticated system, it is impossible to describe it with a simple theory that is easy to understand. If you can clearly understand all the theories, of course it’s good. But you also need strict and repeated tests. If you fail to deeply comprehend the theories in certain aspects, it doesn’t matter either. You can just study it like studying a black box, observing the input and output and focusing on the result.

Why are you so deeply attracted by TCM?

Because I clearly see the clinical effect of TCM and how it helps me and people around me. Such positive feedback draws me deeper into love with it.

Many people speak badly of TCM because they are not healed and many others speak highly of TCM because they have experienced the effects. Even the best TCM doctor is not able to cure all diseases because medicine is such a profound and difficult realm. If you demand a doctor to be able to cure every patient he meets, this is impossible. No medical branch can do this.

In my opinion, TCM practitioners need to pay more attention to the clinical results because many TCM theories are somehow not put into practice. Though it may be a long way to go, we have to move toward this direction. Meanwhile, the accumulation of practice and experience is very important. Why do people trust elderly TCM doctors? Because they have more experience.

I love to try medicine. I want to see how the body will react after taking the medicine. I had a lot of medicine at home and the record is over 150 different medicine at one time. I have tried most of them. Of course, I don’t advise you to do so because of the high risks. I once got toxication after taking monkshood. My whole body became numb and I was paralyzed for a time. On another occasion, I had an allergy to stiff silkworm. I kept trembling and could hardly even make a telephone call to seek help. Like most science lovers, we are keen on doing experiments and don’t mind trying them on ourselves.

Younger generation have less and less knowledge of TCM. What do you think are the reasons for this?

It is understandable that young people don’t trust TCM because TCM is not explained with modern technical language and so does not conform to the teaching of modern science. Many people become TCM fans not because they have comprehended the TCM theories but because they have met excellent TCM doctors and experienced the benefits. So this is a problem of TCM itself. No one is born to love or hate TCM. Most people are objective. So I believe that the development of TCM will depend on its clinical results, its continual integration with modern science and technology and the further elaboration of medicine theory.

The government is greatly supporting the development of TCM with concrete policies. How do you see the prospects of TCM in China?

I stay very optimistic on the development of TCM. TCM is very effective in healing certain diseases such as chronic diseases like hypertension, hyperlipidemia and hyperglycemia, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, and diseases caused by viruses, as well as many other difficult miscellaneous diseases which modern medicine fail to cure. In fact, the strong points of TCM haven’t been given full play. For instance, TCM is little seen in the area of acute disease treatment at present, but there are great possibilities. A thing with value will surely be created in the future.

Of course, Western medicine also has its merits. I often read the theory of Western medicine and acquire a lot of useful knowledge. I have a lot of friends who study Western medicine and I always consult them.

I believe, one day, Chinese and Western medicine will perfectly integrate together. The rise of gene science might be an opportunity for this integration. I have a friend who got his PhD in Germany and specializes in gene detection. He is recently doing a lot of fundamental research on the integration of Chinese and Western medicine. All medicine branches share the same goal – human health. So we need to have an open mind and keep learning from each other.

After leaving your previous field of technology, what have you achieved?

I left the field of technology in 2012 and participated in the foundation of Jus-Tao, a brand of TCM knowledge and services, as its general manager. At the same time, I opened my own TCM clinic. Until 2017, the clinic’s compound annual growth rate was 30%.

In 2015, based on my years’ of deep study of herbal medicine and love of product development, I developed a skincare product range targeting skin regeneration. In fact, I originally planned to develop drugs, but the requirements for private development of medicine is too high. So I turned to develop skincare products. After being recognized by the friends around me, I began mass production in 2018 and established the skincare brand Jus-Tao-Lab. In 2019, Jus-Tao-Lab joined Wu Xiaobo’s New Maker Acceleration Plan.

Please tell us more about Jus-Tao-Lab skincare products.

The development of this product range is an application of TCM surgery. TCM surgery has almost quit the stage. We can’t find it either in dermatology departments or surgery departments. Few people know or are interested in knowing the effect of TCM dermatology. Most hospitals use hormone drugs to solve skin problems.

But many herbs and plants have good effects in solving skin problems. We developed a product with the ingredients of lithospermum and Chinese angelica which are good for healing skin scald and eczema. Coptis and golden cypress have remarkable effects on skin diseases of heat-toxicity. We use very simple recipes, with at most three plant ingredients. I personally prefer simple recipes. Basically, the recipes with complicated ingredients are ignored by me. 

Jus-Tao-Lab emphasizes herbs rather than TCM medicine in order to attract more of the people who are against TCM. We don’t want to give them the feeling of taking medicine, but rather to enjoy pure natural products. Only when they have experienced the effects will they be interested in learning more about TCM.

I think I am born to be a researcher and developer. If I discover a plant with good effects, I will surely make something out of it and let more people try it. This is the original intention of creating the Jus-Tao-Lab skincare products.

We are now mainly developing products to repair skin injury and improve skin health. We don’t work on whitening or acne removal products. Our aim is to make the skin healthier. But amazingly, after using the products for a certain period, the guests find that their skin turns whiter and their acne fades away. That is because when the skin becomes healthy, its metabolism and self-repair ability will also increase and the melanin will naturally decrease. Secondly, the herbal ingredients may have some great effect and potential beyond our imagination. At present, our products mainly target guests over 30 years old or those who sustained skin injuries during plastic surgeries. The price is medium. Our goal is to fulfil the development value and product value, as well as benefit more people.

What’s your development for the next 5 years?

In the next 5 years, I will keep on doing research & development in order to create more products. But it needs time. Five years is not at all long for R&D work. The present range, from development to manufacturing, takes 4 years and we are still updating some of the products. I hope that, in the future, Jus-Tao-Lab can become a representative of high-quality “Made-in-China” products.

“The value of traditions is that they can benefit humankind.
That is why we want to pass them from generations to generations.”
An interview with Mr. Nakamura Genko, a master of Wushu and TCM

With an education and training background in Beijing Sports University, Jiangsu Wushu Team, Beijing Wushu Team of Beijing Shichahai Sports School and Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Mr. Nakamura Genko has learnt Wushu (Chinese martial arts) in China since he was 10 years old. He is an international wushu master specializing in swordsmanship, spear play and Taichi. He won 40 medals in different Wushu competitions worldwide. He later became a coach certified by the Japanese Olympic Committee and dedicated himself to athlete training. The athletes whom he has trained have totally won 63 gold medals, 74 silver medals and 73 bronze medals.

Now Mr. Nakamura Genko is the representative member of the International Association of Traditional Chinese Medicine and representative director of DIAMOND Co., Ltd. He has acquired China’s Senior TCM Practitioner certification and 5th Duan (Wushu ranking system) awarded by the Chinese Wushu Association. He won the first prize at the International Taijiquan Sports Meeting – Taijiquan & Sword in 2011, the second prize at the International Wushu Tournament – Spear Play and the third prize at the International Wushu Tournament – Swordsmanship in 1988. SpaChina interviewed this master of Wushu and TCM from Japan.

Why did you come to learn Wushu and traditional Chinese medicine in China?

When I was young, I watched a lot of movies of Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan and Jet Lee. Their Wushu skills left a deep impression in my heart. I also wanted to be as handsome as them. This was my simple wish as a 10-year-old child at that time. However, the years of practicing Wushu was not so easy. Yet there are also beautiful encounters and stories along the way. I came to China to learn Wushu when I was a little child. Since then, to practice Wushu has become the thing which I keep doing the whole life.

I have joined competitions as a Wushu athlete since 1985. In 1988, I won prizes in international competitions on behalf of Japan. In 1999, I became the coach of Japan’s national Wushu team. It was then I began to realize that, because of lack of adaptation to the environment of the place where the competition is held, to the climate and food, the athletes suffer both physical and mental weariness and even injuries. I couldn’t find any effective way to improve their health condition. So I strongly felt the urge to learn a technique which could keep or enhance the athletes’ health state by integrating training, environment, diet, mentality and the body.

I told many Chinese Wushu trainers of my thoughts and the feedback they gave me was the same: to learn traditional Chinese medicine. In TCM, there are not only ways to heal injuries and discomfort of the body, but also ways to prevent diseases and promote the overall health state. Therefore, in order to let the athletes have better performance, I walked into the TCM world.

What special experience did you have when you were in China?

When I was in China, I also learnt the Chinese way of thinking. For example, in one project, I was deeply impressed by the working manner of the team – “hold the same goal; study, share, test, and improve the accuracy together.”

Every national sports team in China has a doctor who helps to maintain the physical and mental health of the athletes in their daily practice, gives them guidance on diet, rest and exercise, and tailors management programs according to the individual’s physical condition and tiredness level. During practice, the athletes, doctor and trainers share all the information of technology, science and medical treatments. They carefully analyze which action cause an injury and why this happens, and etc. Afterwards, they conceptualize and quantize the causes. All the trainers in the national sport system can have access to the information. This is really an amazing way of management.

This is what Japan doesn’t have. In Japan, people don’t like to share their experience with others or learn from other’s research results. The more experience they have, the more reserved they are. Most of them just care about their own performance and positions. This is a pitiful thing. The team spirit and mutual sharing attitude of China’s experts really touch me. I think it’s related to the historical and cultural depth of the country, as well as the country’s wish to develop more quickly, and the people’s characters as being open-minded.

What are you doing now in the realm of TCM?

Now I am dedicated to three parts concerning TCM in Japan.

Firstly, promotion of TCM diagnostics and consulting. TCM is a medicine of “nature” and “sensibility”. “Get up at sunrise and rest at sunset; warm the cold and cool the heat.” TCM is filled with dialectical understanding toward the rules of Nature. It is a systematic traditional medicine branch that has independent outlook on physiology and pathology, as well as unique way of diagnosis.

In the field of TCM, there is a famous saying: the best doctor intervenes before the onset of illness, the middle-level doctor intervenes near onset of illness and the low-level doctor intervenes when there is illness. TCM believes that the best thing is to treat the person when there are some signs of illness. Next is the early phase treatment and the worst is the treatment after the disease has occurred. Because when the illness has occurred, it needs much more time, energy and money input. And one may be still hard to fully recover. Actually, “intervention before the onset of illness” is not a disease treatment but a wellness regimen. The magic of TCM is that it can detect the moment when one’s body falls out of balance. So if we have mastered TCM, we will be able to take good care of our own health and the health of our family members. In 2018, medical expenses in Japan exceeded 40 trillion yen and it keeps increasing. So the promotion of TCM’s illness prevention concept is greatly contributive to society.

Secondly, promotion of Tuina. When I learned TCM at school, my major was Tuina. It is an absolutely safe treatment without the use of medicine or tools, but only with “hands”. As I said, the reason why I chose TCM was that I wanted to help athletes recover from practice injuries. So Tuina is the best choice.

Most people think that Tuina mainly works on muscles and bones. In fact, its healing effect can also reach the internal organs, heart, brain and mental state. I have found many interesting cases in the clinical practice of Tuina. For example, Tuina helps to improve the situation of patients of cerebral infarction who are paralyzed half of the body and suffer amyotrophy. It can regulate the blood glucose level of patients of diabetes, and quicken the recovery from bone fracture and ligament rupture. There are many more cases that demonstrate the effects of Tuina. Also, through palpations during Tuina, the doctor can detect the signs of polyp and other diseases caused by poor lifestyle.

Although Tuina is not an official diagnostic in modern medicine, it works well to detect the signs of illness and improve the health condition. One of my missions is to let more people in Japan understand the importance of Tuina, train more Tuina therapists, and make Tuina a “family medicine”. It will help to prevent diseases and safeguard the whole family.

Thirdly, the promotion of therapeutic diet. TCM advocates the homology of medicine and food. After understanding the present physique and health conditions, we can try corresponding food material and cooking method that target the conditions. Of course, they must be delicious and are able to be enjoyed daily.

True therapeutic diet is not simply putting herbs and tonics into the food, but to develop a “dialectical diet” that can target the health conditions by choosing the right food materials. Further, don’t choose materials that are hard to buy. Rather, you need to cook with materials which you can easily get in the supermarkets. Also, don’t just stick to Chinese cuisine, you can make Japanese, Italian, French dishes as well. Through this, we will make great contributions to relieving the government’s burdens in fiscal expenditure on medical treatment.

Please share with us your ideas on the early detection of illness caused by lifestyles and activation of natural healing and self-repair of the body.

In short, it means a perception of one’s own lifestyle, and an understanding of oneself.

We need to know what conforms to the laws of Nature. Over-use of resources, informatization, computerization and the blind pursuit to convenience in the modern society are in fact all against the laws of Nature. People less and less use their muscles, yet more and more use their eyes and brain. The result is modern diseases caused by improper lifestyle. So it becomes increasingly important to activate the natural healing and self-repair mechanism of the body and to live harmoniously with Nature. Otherwise, we will suffer great loss both physically and mentally.

 Therefore, we need to understand the ways to reach the balance of the body and heart. Different from modern medicine, TCM which has several thousand years of history, is an accumulation of natural law and knowledge that keeps improving and passing down. People are of course a part of Nature. The tradition of “natural healing” deserves our greater attention. Modern people easily get too excited in all kinds of activities and thrills. As a result, people become more and more numb toward the balance of the body. We should sensitively feel and understand the change of our physical and mental coming so as to prevent the onset of the disease. 

The most direct way to activate natural healing and self-repair is to “return to Nature”.

What is the situation of TCM and Wushu in Japan?

There are some differences between TCM and traditional Japanese medicine. In China and the whole world alike, TCM is known as a medical system that integrates modern medicine and traditional medicine.  Excellent TCM doctors usually hold both a modern medicine certificate and traditional medicine certificate. The modern medicine targets symptoms alleviation and traditional medicine seeks the roots of the illness. Working together, they give a complete cure.

Traditional Japanese medicine is a medical approach that gives traditional medicine prescriptions based on the diagnosis of modern medicine. Traditional medicine is a natural medicine to balance and heal while modern medicine aims to solve the symptoms as quickly as possible. The advantages of traditional Japanese medicine is that there are very strict requirements on the formulation of the medicine, manufacturing process and packaging, as well as strict sanitary and quality management of medical material like acupuncture needles. So safety can be guaranteed. I really love these two countries. I hope to see the integration of TCM and traditional Japanese medicine in the future.

Concerning martial arts, there are judo, karate and kendo in Japan. When Japanese hear the word “Wushu”, they will naturally associate it with wrestling. So when people hear “Chinese Wushu”, they will immediately think of the stars in the movies who have incredible skills of martial arts. But in fact, in modern times, Wushu is a way to strengthen the body and mind, improve the health, confidence and happiness. This is the essence of Chinese Wushu in modern times. To me, Wushu is a matter of art and wellness.

In addition to Wushu, Tuina and therapeutic diet, what else do you do?

I also operate art studios. Art and color enter into the body and heart from one’s eyes and influence one’s emotions and even the functions of the internal organs. It is consistent with the yin-yang, five elements, and fengshui principles in Chinese tradition. The studios are filled with an atmosphere of art which delivers a subtle influence of energy. Guests love to come and receive my treatments and advice.

Based on my own experience and clinical tests, I apply the wisdom of space and “qi” in the studios, according to TCM yin-yang and five elements theory and color psychology. My studio “ART” is located in Ginza. I make a flexible use of nature and art so as to bring qi and energy to guests. This is an art and healing center that aims to convey joy. The website is http://kiartginza.com. I have another studio called Mii Art Tokyo. We deliver the lively female portrait artworks created by Japanese artists to the healing centers and beauty salons worldwide. The studio’s website is http://miiarttokyo.com.

I also decorate my own house with a lot of artwork. I love such beautiful flow of “qi”.

What do you like to do in your daily life?

In my daily life, I live with the people I love, eat the food I like, and do things that attract me. My way to keep healthy is to form positive interpersonal relationships and a wholesome mind. To love myself is to love my family members. I am keen on discovering happiness in details and harboring a thankful heart. I seize every moment of joy to carefully savor and reflect. My favorite thing is to take a walk with my wife, enjoying the beautiful scenery and feeling the happiness of being at present.

Everyone has his life span. I want to experience this life to its fullest. Even the difficult and stressful moments are gifts in the path of life. TCM and Wushu have special meaning to my life. I feel the responsibility to participate in the promotion and development of Chinese traditional healing culture. The value of traditions is that they can benefit human kind. That’s why we want to pass it generations after generations. This is also the value of my life. My personal website is http://nakamuragenko.com.