Special Guest Profile: Prof. Zhi Ming Liu

April 18, 2024

Professor Zhi Ming Liu, the Grandmaster of TCM

Dr. Zhi Ming Liu, born in 1925 at Xiangtan, prefecture-level city in Hunan province of China, is one of the few TCM doctors in China awarded the title of National TCM Grandmaster of China. He is one of the president-appointed national medical experts, and a mentor for the first, sixth, and seventh graduate classes of national TCM practitioners. His academic credentials include serving as first inaugurated group of National TCM training instructors, as first inaugurated TCM doctoral supervisor, as a post-doctoral supervisor, as a post-doctoral mentor, and first privileged group of medical experts awarded financial grants from the State Council of China. Not only Dr. Liu came from a TCM lineage inherited for seven generations, he also practiced traditional Chinese medicine for more than eighty years. He served in many terms as the deputy chairman of the academic committee and a member of the educational certification committee of the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences and Guang-Anmen Hospital. He was the vice president of the China Association of Chinese Medicine and a member of the sixth, seventh, and eighth National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference. He is currently an advisor to the China Association of Chinese Medicine and a member of the first inaugurated academic department of the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences.”

In 1954, Dr. Liu responded to the Chinese government's request to participate in the establishment of the Chinese Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine (now the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences). He was the youngest member of the selected team of TCM experts that is still alive today, making significant impact in the field of traditional Chinese medicine in the prevention and treatment of Japanese encephalitis, schistosomiasis, and pediatric viral pneumonia for over a decade. He attended several academic exchanges in different countries, receiving high praises and respects from the local scholars and residents for promoting the traditional Chinese medicine internationally.”

At age of hundred, Dr. Liu continue to engage in clinical research and to mentor future TCM doctors at the Guang-Anmen Hospital of the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences. His wealth of knowledge in traditional Chinese medicine covers from internal medicine, gynecology, and pediatrics, as well as exogenous fever, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, geriatric diseases, tumors, rheumatic diseases, nephritis, diabetes, hyperthyroidism, etc. His representative works include ‘Simplified Compilation of Traditional Chinese Medicine Internal Medicine’, ‘Traditional Chinese Medicine’, ‘Zhi Ming Liu’s Medical Case Analysis’, ‘Chinese Traditional Chinese Medicine Kunlun? Liu Zhiming Volume’, ‘Master of Traditional Chinese Medicine Zhi Ming Liu’s Clinical Experience Collection’, etc.. He published over 200 research papers in both Chinese and international journals. To past down the knowledge of traditional Chinese medicine, he mentored hundreds of doctors, doctoral students, post-doctoral fellows, and proteges. His contributions to cultivate talents and to advance traditional Chinese medicine had influenced generations of doctors.

Dr. Liu, devoted his life to traditional Chinese medicine since his youth, from as a protege of a famous doctor, to practicing medicine in the three regions of Hunan, then to becoming a nationally renowned doctor in China. Because of being skeptical, genuine, and hard working, his dedications to the clinical practice, scientific research, and training in the field of traditional Chinese medicine were highly appraised nationally in China, winning different outstanding achievement awards from the Chinese Ministry of Health and others. In 2009, Dr. Liu was awarded the title of “Doctor of National Capital”. In 2014, Dr. Liu was honored with the title of "National TCM Grandmaster of China“ jointly-awarded by the Chinese National Health and Family Planning Commission, the Chinese Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, and the Chinese National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Dr. Ru Xiu Liu

Dr. Ru Xiu Liu, chief physician, professor, doctoral supervisor, postdoctoral supervisor, appointed professor of Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, among the first group of TCM disciples of Dr. Zhi Ming Liu, and the instructor for the 4th and 5th classes of TCM practitioners graduated under the "Double Hundred Projects" of TCM knowledge inheritance and transfer work in Beijing. 

Study and Work Experience: Being the first born of Dr. Zhi Ming Liu, Dr. Liu inherited the first hand TCM knowledge and influenced by her father’s idealism of “serving the public and upholding highest medical ethics“. After secondary school years, Dr. Liu followed her father’s footstep to pursue in the path of Traditional Chinese Medicine profession. She was admitted into Hunan Medical University with excellent grades. Soon after graduation, she spent ten years working at Xiangya hospital’s internal medicine, cardiology departments. She had solid foundations of Western medicine combined with wealth of clinical experiences. She was known to have unconventional and unorthodox insights in her treatment for cardiovascular diseases. In 1991, in response to the call from the Ministry of Human Resources, the Ministry of Health,  and National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine’s objective for transferring the wealth knowledge of famous but ailing TCM doctors, Dr. Liu was recruited to study in China Academy of TCM at Guang 'anmen Hospital, under the instruction of her father, Dr. Liu Zhiming. She continued to work in Guang 'anmen Hospital in the present days. She devoted her life to the knowledge and clinical experience transfer of Dr. Liu Zhiming and further advanced innovation in the TCM fields.

Specialties: Dr. Liu specialized in the treatment of all types of arrhythmias, coronary heart disease, hypertension, heart failure, cerebrovascular disease, sub-health and other major intractable diseases of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular medicine, using integrated treatments combining both Traditional Chinese Medicine and Western Medicine. Her treatments, especially in arrhythmias, had distinctive results. Her treatments for ventricular, Bradyarrhythmia, atrial fibrillation, tachy-slow arrhythmia in the clinical settings also received outstanding results. In addition, she invented a prescription formula for promoting Yang and activating blood (to strengthening heart and to reinvigorating the arteries) for treatment of coronary heart diseases involving refractory angina pectoris, which would benefit many patients. The formula had obtained approval for clinical trial. Her formula would reduce the symptoms for angina pectoris patients, decreasing the amount of nitroglycerin needed, stabilizing the heart rhythms, narrowing or even eliminating arterial plaque, coronary stenosis and stent, and possibly bypassing surgery restenosis. 

Scientific Research: Over the years, Dr. Liu has devoted herself to the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular diseases with integrated Chinese and Western medicine. She was one of the first to undertake a national science and technology grant project named "11th five-year plan", three national natural science foundation projects, five state administration of TCM scientific research related topics, two Beijing natural science fund projects, and other national and provincial projects, a total of eighteen projects. She published more than 140 scientific papers both in national and internal journals, six included in SCI, and authored four books. She had two TCM invention patents and won five science and technology awards from Beijing Association of Traditional Chinese Medicine and China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences. She was awarded the first prize of National Academic Experience Inheritance Work Paper for TCM Experts and the Doctor Award for Outstanding Contribution to World Traditional Medicine. The master's and doctoral dissertations from students under her supervision have won 5 Excellent Dissertation Awards of China Academy of TCM Sciences. Two master's students and one doctoral student under her supervision won the national scholarships, among which one master's student and one doctoral student were rated as outstanding graduates. The outbound postdoctoral thesis she supervised won first-class prize of national excellent postdoctoral thesis. She was awarded "Yifang" title as an excellent mentor. She trained more than 40 postdoctoral, master and doctoral students and apprentices.

Dr. Rong Gang Li

Professor Li with PhD in TCM is a disciple of Dr. Liu Zhi Ming. He is the inventor of UTCMH acupuncture treatment system and the author of "UTCMH Science of Acupuncture“. Dr. Li is also the founder of Home of Canadian TCM Society with mission to advocate TCM in the local communities and to build a solid foundation for the TCM industries in BC, Canada.

Contributions in TCM research and teaching

In his nearly thirty years of teaching, scientific research and clinical practice, Dr. Li accumulated a wealth of TCM knowledge. He taught in several different internationally acclaimed Traditional Chinese Medicine colleges, training the next generation of TCM doctors and acupuncturists. . During his early teaching days, he noticed the need for well-translated TCM textbooks written in English for non-Mandarin speaking students. Thus, he authored a series of TCM textbook in English, such as  "Acupoints", "Acupuncture Therapeutics", "Acupuncture and Moxibustion Law", "Acupuncture and Moxibustion Medical Record Discussion", "Acupuncture Safety" and others. His former students, across the global, all had positive influences in educating and promoting Traditional Chinese Medicine in their local communities.

Invention of UTCMH Acupuncture treatment system

Professor Li was not only proficient in classical acupuncture techniques that considered by many as lost art, he also, from the TCM diagnosis to acupuncture methodology, using references from the TCM classics such as “Huangdi Neijing”, "Nanjing", "Treatise on Febrile Diseases", "Acupuncture and Moxibustion“, developed a new paradigm of high efficacy acupuncture treatment system, named UTCMH acupuncture treatment system. He published the book “UTCMH Science of Acupuncture" documenting the complete treatment framework, including “UTCMH Study of Clinical TCM Diagnosis”, “UTCMH Study of Acupuncture Points”, “UTCMH Study of Acupuncture Prescriptions”, and “UTCMH Study of Clinical Acupuncture Treatment Strategies“, etc…. Dr. Li defined new standards for TCM diagnosis, acupoint selections, needling techniques, and acupoint prescriptions. He formulated clinical operating standards and norms for nine of the most common sub-health groups. This newly developed treatment system was highly effective for treatment in internal medicine, gynecology, dermatology, ENT, cancer and intractable diseases. Focusing on stimulating the body’s immune system response and changing the body’s internal environment holistically, Dr. Li’s new acupuncture treatment system also had remarkable results in prevention, treatment and rehabilitation of various chronic diseases, geriatric diseases and their sequelae, achieving fundamentals of TCM principles to treat both the patient’s body holistically and the disease itself. Dr. Li taught his treatment system worldwide, attracting students around the globe. Professor Li established and standardized his acupuncture treatment system, making it highly operable with reproducible results, meeting the need for high efficacy treatment in clinical practice. The UTCMH acupuncture treatment methodology opened up the treatment scope beyond the common conception for acupuncture. Tens of thousands of patients benefited from this treatment system. From 2017 to 2020, dozens of training classes and seminars were taught in Canada, China and other parts of the world.

Contributions and Social commitments

Professor Li was a TCM activist, passionately planning or sponsoring several large-scale TCM internationalization promotion events. In 2017, he successfully hosted four high calibre international conferences and forums themed at promotion of Traditional Chinese Medicine for health and wellness. He also built a team of volunteers, relentlessly advocating for development of TCM industries in BC, Canada. Professor Li founded the non-profit TCM organization “Home of Canadian TCM Society” with the mandate of selfless dedication, professionalism, public welfare-focused, charity, and knowledge inheritance. The large-scale Chinese medicine community activities he sponsored include the BC’s very own TCM Chinese New Year Gala, the largest Chinese and Western medicine free clinic in Vancouver’s history, and the free clinic for BC Translink employees. Concurrently, he also participated in China’s "Beijing Fair“, "Traditional Medicine Forum" and other economic, trade and public welfare activities to share the BC experience with other TCM communities in China. Due to his outstanding contribution, on February 18, 2020, the BC Provincial Legislature praised the contributions from Professor Li and his team from Home of Canadian TCM Society. The acknowledgement was a vary rare and honorable moment in the history chapter of International TCM development.

Awards received

• In 2019 "China Health Forum", Professor Li was awarded the honorary title of "2019 Healthy China Outstanding Public Welfare Individual Award".

• On January 4, 2020, the Canadian Chinese Federation awarded Professor Li the "2019 Community Contribution Award“.