Lao Xinglin 老杏林

Welcome to the 杏林
apricot grove

“Ah — you found the grove. Sit, sit; the tea is still warm. I keep two books here: one of herbs and remedies, written plainly with my sources shown, and one of good doctors, so you can find trusted hands near you. Take what you need. The apricots are free.”— Lao Xinglin

Lao Xinglin drinking tea on a bench beneath a blossoming apricot tree, the tiger cub asleep at his feet
Lao Xinglin leaning across his consulting desk to listen to a patient, the tiger cub imitating his thoughtful pose

Where every visit begins

The Consulting Room 诊室

Come the way patients always have — with what troubles you. Say the complaint, and I will point you to the right halls, with the evidence labeled the whole way.

Sleep Stress & anxiety Digestion Headaches Colds Women's health Hair & skin Weight

九堂

The nine halls

Lao Xinglin sorting herbs at the hundred-drawer cabinet The Herb Cabinet本草 Monographs on the materia medica — properties, pairings, safety, and what the research actually says. Lao Xinglin brewing a decoction at the clay stove The Formula Book方剂 Classic formulas from the source texts — what's in them, who they're for, and how they vary. Lao Xinglin meditating at dawn beside the tiger cub First Principles基础 Qi, yin and yang, the five phases, the meridians — the ideas everything else stands on. Xing Po ladling congee at her stove while the tiger cub holds up its bowl Xing Po's Kitchen食疗 Food therapy — congee, tonic soups, and half the cabinet measured in handfuls, not grams. Lao Xinglin pouring gongfu tea into a row of tiny cups while the tiger cub waits with its own The Teahouse茶 The tea families and the evening brews — benefits with the honest evidence, and the small-pot ritual. Xiao Xing practicing tai chi at dawn while Lao Xinglin watches, the crane and tiger cub copying the pose The Courtyard练功 Tai chi, qigong, and the Eight Brocades — the moving half of the medicine, with the kindest evidence on the site. Lao Xinglin pressing a point on a patient's wrist while the tiger cub studies its own paw The Point Map穴位 Acupressure you can do with two thumbs — the famous points, the honest evidence, and one Cochrane review. Lao Xinglin reading a scroll in his study, the tiger cub asleep on a stack of books The Library书房 The classics behind the formulas — and the honest shelf: what this medicine can't do, and how to read a claim. Lao Xinglin taking a patient's pulse Find a Practitioner找医师 Licensed acupuncturists and herbalists near you, state by state. Opening soon — starting with California.
本草

From the herb cabinet

Browse all herbs →
人参rén shēn Panax ginseng · Asian ginseng The emperor of tonics — when the qi itself is exhausted, this is the root the tradition reaches for. Handle it with respect; emperors are not for every day. Slightly warmSweet · Slightly bitterSpleenLungHeart 枸杞子gǒu qǐ zǐ Lycium barbarum · goji berry, wolfberry The little red berries in every grandmother's soup pot. Gentle enough for the kitchen, respected enough for the pharmacy — food and medicine refusing to be separated. NeutralSweetLiverKidney 黄芪huáng qí Astragalus mongholicus · astragalus root The quiet worker. It lifts the qi and steadies the outside — I give it to those who catch every cold that passes the gate. Slightly warmSweetSpleenLung
Lao Xinglin smiling down at the tiger cub

Why an apricot grove?

Long ago, a physician named Dong Feng charged no fees. Cured of a serious illness, you planted five apricot trees on his hillside; a small one, just one. In time a grove of a hundred thousand trees stood around his house, and when the fruit ripened, anyone could trade a bowl of grain for a bowl of apricots — and the grain fed the poor.

Ever since, the apricot grove (杏林) has been another name for medicine practiced generously. That's the tradition this site plants itself in — and yes, the tiger is part of the story too. Someone has to guard the grove.

虎守杏林 · 誉满杏林