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Gynecology is one of the most promising areas for CM practice, able to contribute effective treatments and etiological explanations for conditions like menstrual disorders or infertility, for which conventional medicine can often do no more than temporarily mask symptoms. In spite of its clinical potential, little is known in Western countries about the historical, philosophical, and theoretical foundations of gynecology in CM. It is my hope that this course offers participants a brief yet comprehensive and eye-opening glimpse into a fascinating aspect of CM that is often overlooked or misunderstood because of the fundamental differences between the ways in which modern Western and early Chinese culture look at the female body.

In this course, I therefore introduce participants to a whole new way of looking at the female body from a variety of angles, on the basis of early Chinese clinical and theoretical medical literature. We discuss

1. the treatment of female bodies in early Chinese medical classics, with a focus on menstruation, vaginal discharge, and reproduction;

2. the philosophical, cosmological, sociopolitical, and medical context of gynecology in early China; and

3. the transformation of CM gynecology up to its current state in contemporary China and the West.

I present a wealth of information to give you the foundations of knowledge that you most likely never have received or will receive in your standard CM training. In addition, though, this course has a substantial participatory component. Come prepared with an open mind and a willingness to explore and then challenge your own assumptions about the female body, Chinese medicine, and early Chinese culture. In this context, we discuss questions such as:

• What is "natural," "healthy," and "unhealthy" about the female body?

• How do we define the female body in relation to the male body?

• How do key notions about health, disease, and traetment in gynecology inform clinical practice?

• And reversely, what can we deduce about such underlying, often unexpressed concepts from looking at clinical practice?

• How do you as practitioner respond, for example, to a patient's complaint of menstrual irregularity?

• What does this interaction tell us about your patient's and your own underlying notions about gynecology?

• How can early Chinese ideas concretely benefit your patient's health?