User’s Manual to Human Body 人体使用手册

User’s Manual to Human Body 人体使用手册 吳清忠 ISBN: 7536046316 Pub. Date: 2006å¹´1月 Publisher: 花城出版社

Cross posted at http://blogs.sun.com/syw.

If a free and legal version of the same book is available online, would you go to the bookstore and buy a copy with, say, 4 dollars? The answer is over a million resounding “YES.” The physical version of this book is a best seller in China (and Taiwan alike). It has sold more than a million copies. I personally bought 10 copies; friends asked me to get them a copy while I am there. The author describes a sales peak soon after publication followed by a even stronger one a couple of months later. The 2nd one was not only stronger but also diminished much slower. Words of mouths from the 1st peak readers is the only explanation.

The central theme is an alternative to our medicine concepts. The traditional medicine training see human body as a machine with complex parts. As we get old, or subject to invasion, those parts need chemical or mechanical assistances to maintain normal operations. The picture of an old, beat-up car come to mind. The engine needs tune-up, the tires need replacements, etc. Eventually, the whole thing wears down and we kick the bucket.

Chinese think differently. The body is a system that is capable of self-healing to infinity. For it to work, it requires energy similar to power-supply for computers. When the battery runs low, many parts of your computer stop working. There is no point fixing those part; re-charging the battery will restore everything to normal. In fact, if one is careful about the energy balance, immortality is quite possible.

“Heresy,” you cried. There is no scientific proof of such non-sense. Mr. Wu answered this challenge. The medicine researchers primarily learned from autopsies; there is no more energy flow in cadavers. Since Chinese tried to achieve longevity, they study those who live well and healthy, not the sick or dead.

Hmm… The nice thing about being a Chinese is that we can work with both systems. I will practice Qi control and take a Tylenol for headache too.

如果你可以从网络上免费下载到该书的正版，你还会去书店花大约30块钱买一本吗？一百万多人肯定。该书是中国大陆最畅销的图书之一（好像在台湾也是）。已累计销售过百万本。我一个人就买了10本送人。该书的初版即创销售记录，而几个月后的再版销售更是风潮猛烈而且更持久。首批读者的口口相传功不可没。

该书呈现了一种全新的健康理念。传统医学（西医）视人体为一部复杂的机器。当我们变老或生病，我们身体的某些零件就需要化学或者机械的协助来维持正常的机能。想一部老爷车的样子吧，引擎需要调校，轮胎需要更换等等。最后，当所有的零件都不听使唤了，我们也就到时候了。

但中医不这么认为。中医视人体为一个有自我修复能力的系统。要干活就得有能量，就好像给笔记本充电一样。当电池电量低时，许多组件便停止工作。但这并不意味着你需要修复那些组件，重新充电后一切就恢复正常。理论上讲，如果一个人可以一直保持能量平衡，那长生不老也不在话下。

你肯定会说：“胡扯”。这既没有科学依据也不合情理。但吴先生这样解释：西医学者们都是从尸检中探其究竟，但尸体已经没有任何能量了。而一直在追求长生不老的中国人，往往向那些长寿、健康的人取经，他们可都是无病无灾且充满活力的。

嗯，作为一个中国人的优势就在于我们可以兼容并包。我会勤练御气之功，当然，头疼也会吃两片扑热息痛。