Northern is hosting a Fulbright Scholar this semester who is a doctor of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), a master of martial arts and a therapeutic massage healer. Master Han Jingsheng, pictured right, is sharing his professional expertise and insights on Chinese culture with NMU classes. As an added perk for the broader campus community, he will offer free training in traditional Chinese movement and acupressure. The drop-in sessions are scheduled from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. each weekday in February in the Whitman Hall commons.
Master Han was born into a family of two TCM doctors and kung fu masters. He combined the training from his father and grandfather with his college education in nursing to establish One Finger Zen Mindfulness Clinic (Yizhi Chan Tui Na). His practice in the city of Zhuhai is guided by Zen Buddhist principles, focusing on the mind-body connection and its impact on human health.
According to a recent issue of Newsweek, alternative therapies are becoming more popular in the United States and they are no longer relegated to the outer fringe of medicine. Some doctors incorporate alternative techniques in their practices to complement traditional treatment approaches.
“Western medicine relies on scientific tests and lab work and what can be seen,” said Master Han through interpreter Z.Z. Lehmberg (English), pictured left. “TCM is more mysterious to some because it deals with things one cannot see and therefore can’t be explained as well. It is about understanding the body as a whole – looking past the pain in a finger, for example, to determine how it might be affected by other places.”
Lehmberg helped coordinate Master Han’s visit to NMU. She had visited his clinic in the summer of 2006 while leading a study tour in China. She also joined a recent NMU administrative delegation on its trip to the country, which included a stop at his clinic.
Master Han said he is still orienting himself to the Marquette and NMU communities. He was accompanied to the Upper Peninsula by his wife and his 14-year-old son, who is enrolled at Marquette Senior High School for the semester.
He visited Cumberlidge's lab under the Fulbright occasional lecture program, which facilitates travel for scholars within their host country. Aside from working with Cumberlidge on aspects of freshwater crab systematics and discussing future collaborative efforts, Karunarathna presented a biology seminar on the ecology of the freshwater crabs in Sri Lanka. He also gave a presentation to a geography class on Sri Lanka and its culture. |
Fulbright Scholars Visit NMU
Another Fulbright Scholar, biologist Indika Karunarathna, was on campus last week. He is pictured with Neil Cumberlidge (Biology). Both men share a research interest in freshwater crabs. Karunarathna is a visiting fellow in the department of organismic and evolutionary biology at Harvard University.
