Face Reading in Chinese Medicine

As you might guess, Chinese medicine takes a much more holistic approach to diagnosis and treatment. Face reading in Chinese medicine is something you will not find in your doctors office.

Face Reading in Chinese Medicine

Face Reading is a very ancient practice that dates back to the time of Confucius. It has been used as an aid in Classical Chinese Medicine to understand the personality, past history, and future prospects of a person. It is thought that the face represents the persons energies, his health, and his fortune. These things are important if one is to live in harmony with the five elements, Yin and Yang, and even the seasons.

There has been a resurgence of interest in face reading in the West in the past 20 years as other elements of Traditional Chinese Medicine such as acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine grew in popularity. Increased interest in the principles of Feng Shui and Qi Gong have contributed to the interest in face reading as well.

Although face reading first appeared around the 6th century B.C., the earliest forms were thought to be more associated with magic and Taoist shamans. It was not until around 220 B.C. that face reading became a part Chinese life. It was around this time that major works devoted to the discipline were written. These books, the Golden Scissors and Bamboo Chronicles detailed a much more organized approach to the art.

The face is divided into three divisions stating from the top to the bottom. Each face is seen as a map that tells of the past, present, and future health of the person. Chinese philosophy and the underlying philosophy behind Traditional Chinese Medicine do not consider a persons future to be predetermined. This means that face reading is not considered fortune telling at all. The future health of a person is indicated, but can be altered by changes in lifestyle and diet. It is a core belief of Chinese Traditional Medicine that the part contains the whole. This means that the face not only gives indications of past and future health concerns which are valuable in diagnosing illness, but also gives indications of the current health and status of body parts and organs.

It is interesting to note that the English language has many expressions that relate various traits to parts of the face. Examples are: keeping a stiff upper lip; paying through the nose; two faced; keeping ones nose clean; and chinless wonder. It is thought that these expressions, whose origins are mostly unclear, relate to face reading. Face reading is an important tool in the TCM concept of treating a disease by understanding the cause of disharmony that has allowed it.