Shanghai Pathways

Taking gao fang in winter was part of an elegant lifestyle in traditional Chinese culture. It is a condensed semi-solid paste, including about 40 different herbal medicines and animal materials like the turtle shell, donkey skin, and deer horn. In addition, foods such as lotus seeds, dates and crystal sugar are added to improve the taste. Some varieties are available ready-made while other variations can be made directly by pharmacists according to a TCM doctor's prescription. After drying or other processing of the ingredients, the prescribed herbs must be cooked and filtered. Then the pharmacist follows the complicated and time-consuming process of making the Gaofang, which requires an experienced professional. The processing is complicated, and now this 2hrs gao fang workshop provides a detailed explanation. Most of the herbs you are going to use in this workshop could be found in Chinese herbal shops, and you will have the chance to process herbals on your own with special tools.

What you will learn in this workshop:

• A Brief history of Chinese herbals

• Basic principles of Chinese herbalism

• Properties of Chinese herbs

• The Four Natures

• The Five Tastes

• The Four Actions

• Meridian Attribution

• Therapeutic actions of a number of selected herbs

• Using herbal remedies for disease prevention and longevity

• Preparing basic herbal recipes (the hands-on part of the class)