Yo San is a Lineage-based
School of Chinese Medicine

Yo San was born in the remote Chinese province of Peng-Yang in 1879 to a family that had for centuries passed down, from father to son, the ancient secrets of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

The loss of his father: when Yo San was seven years old, a smallpox epidemic raged through Peng-Yang. His father, a pediatrician, had traveled tirelessly from village to village saving many lives. Late one night, he set out to an unfamiliar countryside and fell from a slippery bridge to his death. That night, Yo San lost his father, his teacher, and his future.

The quest for knowledge: Yo San always felt a strong responsibility to carry on his family tradition. When he was sixteen years old, he set out to find the spiritual leaders and masters of Traditional Chinese Medicine who had fled political oppression and lived as hermits in the countryside and mountains. He stayed with them many years, learning their philosophies and secrets of the healing arts.

Establishing the college: in his thirties, Yo San left his teachers and headed for the village of Wen Zhou, where he fulfilled his dream of practicing medicine. There he established an in-home school, the College of Tao and Traditional Chinese Healing. Even through the many upheavals and shifts in the Chinese government over the years that followed, Yo San remained devoted to his students and his own busy medical practice.

Overcoming an obstacle: in 1966, the Chinese government of Cultural Revolution attacked and banned Traditional Chinese Medicine. Yo San was forced out of medical practice and teaching. Though persecuted and prevented from publicly continuing his life’s work, he continued to be an inspiration and guide to his students and all who knew him. Yo San died at the age of ninety, having fulfilled his seemingly impossible aspiration. He created a way for others to quench their thirst for spiritual and medical knowledge.

Today, our students carry on his dream and vision at Yo San University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, the 39th generation.

“Healing is an art of love, an act of universal benevolence. Studying Traditional Chinese Medicine at Yo San University is the first step toward beginning the journey of becoming a healer. As you study the medicine, you will also deepen and expand your spiritual evolvement through our Qi Development Program. As you begin to live the Tao – a truthful, natural way of life – you will learn to heal the whole person, not just the symptom or the disease.”

Hua-Ching Ni, Yo San University Chancellor, Emeritus

We founded Yo San University for the next generation of healers. Our purpose is to provide you with a place of learning based on the guiding principles of Taoism, where you may explore your own spiritual growth as an integral part of learning the healing arts.

Our origins: we opened our doors in 1989 with just eight students, offering a Master’s degree in Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine. Fifteen years later, Yo San University has evolved into a highly respected school, with an enrollment of more than 150 students. Today, Yo San is recognized as one of the finest and most academically rigorous TCM schools in the country. We are the only Taoist school in southern California.

Our clinical research: we are proud to see Yo San University’s academic and clinical program evolving further in the area of research: UCLA’s School of Public Health has chosen our community clinic as the site for a study on the effects of acupuncture on post-menopausal women, funded by the National Institutes of Health. Increasingly we are finding ways to integrate TCM and western medicine.

Practice management: as busy private practitioners ourselves, we recognize the importance of developing and honing solid practice management skills. Yo San strives to provide our students with all the necessary tools and knowledge to become competent, licensed, primary health care professionals.

We invite you: we believe there is no more rewarding profession than the one you are about to enter. By considering the study of Traditional Chinese Medicine at Yo San University you are choosing to join a growing number of healers who understand that good health is rooted in a balance of the mind, body, and spirit.
We invite you to begin your journey here with us and join the 39th generation of healers.

Daoshing Ni and Maoshing Ni