Academy of Classical Chinese Medicine, founded by Paul McCarthy, ACCM is devoted to broadening the practice of Acupuncture, Herbal Medicine and other Daoist Healing Arts by reclaiming the heritage of Classical Chinese Medicine as guided by the Daoist Priest - Master Jeffrey C. Yuen.
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I first met Jeffrey in 2003 while attending a weekend seminar held in Regent’s College, London on the Eight Extraordinary Channels of Classical Acupuncture.
I was aware that Jeffrey was an 88th Generation Daoist Master of the Shang Qing Tradition of Daoism which is an oral tradition so my expectation was that he would be relatively old and sage like, probably wearing traditional Daoist robes and perhaps even looking like Lü Dongbin.
To my great surprise, Jeffrey turned out to be a relatively young-looking, casually dressed, Chinese man who had earlier been helping to set up the room by arranging chairs and desks and setting up the overhead projector and screen.
My initial perspective was “where is the old sage I was expecting and what am I going to learn from this young man?” I had originally studied these channels with the renowned scholar and writer Giovanni Maciocia.
Within ten minutes of Jeffrey speaking I was astounded, literally blown away with the depth and breadth of his knowledge and the wonderful way he transmitted this knowledge to the class. I remember thinking, “I wish I had this teacher earlier in my career as now I’m going to have to re-learn all my Chinese Medicine (TCM) and see it all from a more classical perspective.
In 2006, I established ACCM which is dedicated exclusively to promoting Jeffrey’s teachings to a national and international audience. He is a peerless mentor and teacher, a heart-centred practitioner in all the healing modalities Chinese Medicine, and a man who lives in harmony with the Daoist philosophy and religious principles he teaches. He is a living international treasure.
Over the years we have become very close and I view Jeffrey as my Mentor and Healer, but more importantly, as a true friend.
“What can I say about someone who I have come to cherish as a beloved friend, student- teacher, and brother?”
When we first met in London many years ago, Paul came with a group of his Irish colleagues to whatever class I was teaching and I sensed a bit of curiosity (perhaps maybe even skepticism) from his group — but that was their issue.
My intention at that time (lesser nowadays) was to plant seeds of awareness in other countries regarding the endless wonders of Chinese medicine that I felt was lacking at that time in the schools and colleges of Chinese medicine around the world (and sadly even in China). So when Paul invited me to come to Dublin, I felt the opportunity to continue to spread the wisdom of Chinese medicine and more importantly, honoured and humbled that he felt there was an audience among the Irish acupuncture community for these teachings.
Each time spent together only deepen our relationship and respect for each other, though admittedly, much of which evolved from humor and wit — mostly from the holy Irish man.
Kidding aside, I also witnessed a man of integrity as a healer and someone truly committed to cultivation and servitude to his patients, family, and friends. After spending time together in many travels, from places in China, United States, to Europe, I’m always moved by his care, concern, and sometimes reality checks. We often synch up in our thoughts and as such, Paul was so natural to get along with. I believe I can say there’s no pretense in our relationship, and that he genuinely shares my mission of disseminating what I consider the essence of Classical Chinese Medicine.
For his efforts, I feel a deep sense of gratitude to him on behalf of myself and the ancestry that I represent. His creation and development of ACCM and this website are testimonials of his sincerity and dedication.
As I write this reflection, I can’t help but to feel blessed that we met along the way and continue to look forward to our journey together as friends, student-teacher, and brothers.
Classical Chinese Medicine (CCM) has her roots deeply entwined with the philosophies of Daoism, Confucianism, and Buddhism. It has evolved from the classical teachings of the ancient Daoist medical texts of China. These include the, Huangdi Neijing – Su Wen, Tai Su, Ling Shu; the Nan Jing; Mai Jing, Shang Han Lun; Jia Yu Jing and the teachings from the Imperial Medical Academy of the Song Dynasty and the subsequent Four Great Masters of the Jin-Yuan period – Liu Wansu, Zhang Congzheng, Li Gao and Zhu Danxi.
ACCM is committed to enriching the practice of Acupuncture by reclaiming the heritage and legacy of Classical Chinese Medicine. Highlighted in this undertaking is the study of the ancient Daoist texts, the history of ideas and their influence in the development of styles of practice.
Many of the ancient Daoist medical texts have been lost or discarded over the millennia as China has undergone many cultural and political upheavals. For example, the rise of Neo-Confucianism in the eleventh century CE, where the old Daoist philosophy and medical texts were banned or destroyed and again in the nineteenth century with the introduction of Western Medicine in China when there was an attempt to “Westernize” Chinese medicine.
Training in Chinese medicine in Ireland and most Western countries today typically focuses on the practice and principles of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). This is the system of medicine that evolved following the Cultural Revolution in China. During the development of TCM in the 1950’s many of the roots of the medicine were lost in an attempt to unite and systematize various styles and traditions in order to popularize and promote Chinese medicine in China and throughout the world. Less emphasis was placed on the emotional and spiritual components of illness and healing.
