I once had a Tai Chin instructor who explained the difference between Chinese and Western medicine thus: "Western medicine is based on corpses, things that you discover by cutting up dead bodies and pulling them apart. Chinese medicine is based on living flesh, things observed from vital, moving humans."

"You belong in a loony bin, you know that?" she says, punching me in the thigh harder than is strictly necessary.
"Oh, I know," I say, and dial up some music on the car stereo.