Contemporary Chinese pulse diagnosis: a modern interpretation of an ancient and traditional method

Contemporary Chinese pulse diagnosis™ (CCPD) is a system of pulse diagnosis utilized by Dr. John He Feng Shen, OMD, and documented by Dr. Leon Hammer, MD, in the book Chinese Pulse Diagnosis, A Contemporary Approach. It is the traditional method of the Ding medical lineage from the Shanghai region and dates to the 15th century in Chinese language texts. The fundamentals of this system are, however, much older and can be directly traced to the Neijing Suwen. Having been passed from the last direct inheritor of Ding knowledge (Dr. Shen) to modern practitioners of Chinese medicine by way of Dr. Hammer and his students, it represents an important system of advanced diagnosis. Although modern diagnostic technology provides very sophisticated diagnoses, for these instruments to be effective, the disease process must already have a physical manifestation. CCPD, on the other hand, provides the earliest warnings of physiological processes, which if left unchecked may result in the subsequent appearance of a disease. This article describes the derivation and the principles of this system of pulse diagnosis and explores its successful integration into the modern practice of Chinese medicine.