Biography
Giovanni Maciocia (1945 – 2018) was a highly respected author, lecturer and practitioner of Chinese medicine. He trained in England at the International College of Oriental Medicine graduating in acupuncture in 1974 after a three-year course. He went on to study Western herbalism and graduated from the National Institute of Medical Herbalists in 1977. He attended three postgraduate courses in acupuncture (1980, 1982, 1987) at the Nanjing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, one of the foremost teaching institutions in China, where he was later appointed Visiting Professor in 1996. There he gained invaluable knowledge and clinical experience helped by his ability to read Chinese which gave him access to Chinese medicine textbooks, old and modern.
Well known for his rigorous and meticulous style, he combined a thorough knowledge of Chinese medicine with 39-years clinical experience. While firmly rooted in traditional Chinese medicine, Giovanni’s ideas were nonetheless innovative. He adapted the theories of Chinese medicine to better address Western conditions and Western diseases not prevalent in ancient China.
Giovanni authored many articles published in professional journals. He notably formulated an innovative and original new theory on the aetiology and pathology of asthma and allergic rhinitis. He also formulated a theory on the aetiology, pathology, diagnosis and treatment of M.E. (Post-Viral Fatigue Syndrome) which, being a new disease, did not exist in the Chinese literature. This article was published in a Chinese medical journal, an honour rarely bestowed on foreign writers in China.
Giovanni is the author of several seminal textbooks on Chinese Medicine: Tongue Diagnosis in Chinese Medicine, The Foundations of Chinese Medicine, The Practice of Chinese Medicine, Obstetrics and Gynaecology in Chinese Medicine, Diagnosis in Chinese Medicine, The Channels of Acupuncture, and The Psyche in Chinese Medicine. His books represent important milestones in the development of Chinese Medicine and have widely contributed to its spread in the West. Translated into several languages, they are used as reference texts by the most important academic institutions of Chinese medicine and by practitioners all over the world.
In 1994 he founded Su Wen Herbs, a company which oversees the production of his line of herbal formulas under three lines: The Three Treasures, Women’s Treasure, and The Little Treasures. The formulas are based on classical Chinese formulae, adapted by Giovanni to address patterns more commonly seen in clinical practice in the West.
Giovanni was honoured by his inclusion in the brochure celebrating the 50th anniversary of the foundation of the Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, where he is described as the “Father of Chinese Medicine in Europe”.
