Editorial Standards

Tong Living publishes practical Chinese medicine education for readers who want to understand their own patterns more clearly. The purpose is to help readers ask better questions, notice context, and choose proportionate self-care. It is not to diagnose a condition from one symptom or replace individualized medical care.

How articles are developed

Each article begins with a real question a reader might ask about sleep, stress, breathing, digestion, energy, movement, daily rhythms, climate, or another aspect of everyday health. The article is designed to answer that question directly, explain the reasoning in plain language, and show which details can change the answer.

Tong Living articles are written and reviewed by Wenjing Zhao, a writer and educator with a diploma in acupuncture. Her work draws on Chinese medicine as a practical framework for observing timing, context, bodily qualities, and response.

Sources and evidence

Biomedical and safety claims are checked against current authoritative sources such as public health agencies, clinical guidance, systematic reviews, and relevant original research. Sources are linked near the claims they support or listed under Sources and further reading.

A citation is not added simply because its title sounds relevant. The source must support the specific statement being made. When evidence is uncertain, limited, or mixed, the article should say so.

Traditional concepts and biomedical facts

Chinese medicine concepts are presented as part of a traditional system of observation and practice. Terms such as Qi, Spleen, Liver constraint, Dampness, Yin, and Yang do not automatically mean the same thing as similarly named structures or diagnoses in modern biomedicine.

Tong Living does not present a traditional correspondence or body pattern as a biomedical fact unless appropriate evidence supports that exact claim. Where the two frameworks meet, the connection is explained carefully rather than assumed.

Safety boundaries

Self-care suggestions are kept gentle and proportionate. Articles name situations in which a reader should stop a practice, seek urgent help, or speak with a qualified health professional. Sudden, severe, persistent, worsening, or otherwise concerning symptoms deserve medical attention rather than online self-diagnosis.

Tong Living content is educational. It does not create a clinician-patient relationship and is not a substitute for diagnosis, treatment, or emergency care.

Review and corrections

Every article displays its publication date. Articles are revised when sources, safety guidance, or links need updating, and meaningful corrections are made promptly. Questions about an article or its sources can be sent to wenjing@tongliving.com.