About Yu Yuan

Dr. Ruowen Xu (TCM)

Chinese Medicine Practitioner · Acupuncturist

Dr. Ruowen Xu is an AHPRA-registered Chinese medicine practitioner and acupuncturist. He graduated from RMIT University with a double degree in Health Science and Applied Science (Chinese Medicine), and has maintained an active clinical practice for many years.

Since 2016, Dr. Xu has studied under Dr. Aihua Zhao, a Chinese medicine clinician and inheritor of a Beijing family lineage spanning three generations of imperial physicians. Dr. Zhao's great-great-grandfather, great-grandfather, and grandfather all served as imperial court physicians in the Qing Imperial Medical Academy. Her grandfather, Zhao Wenkui, served as head of the Imperial Medical Academy in the late Qing period, and her father, Zhao Shaoqin, was a renowned modern Chinese medicine scholar and Lifetime Professor at Beijing University of Chinese Medicine. Dr. Zhao was raised within this family tradition while also receiving modern medical education. She graduated from both Beijing University of Chinese Medicine and Peking University Health Science Center, has more than 50 years of experience in Chinese medicine practice, and led the Beijing Tong Ren Tang Shanghai Clinic for over 20 years. Dr. Xu has been deeply shaped by the Zhao family tradition, with particular emphasis on correlating pulse findings with clinical presentation, pattern differentiation, and rigorous prescription practice. The Zhao family lineage, as preserved in Wenkui Pulse Studies, places strong emphasis on the relationship between pulse signs and disease mechanisms, and on deriving therapeutic principles from pulse assessment. This pulse-based tradition continues to influence Dr. Xu's clinical judgement and diagnostic approach.

Dr. Xu has also studied for many years under Shi Qi, former President of Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Lifetime Professor of Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and recipient of the title National TCM Master — the highest honour in the field of traditional Chinese medicine in China. Over more than 60 years of clinical and academic work, Shi Qi dedicated himself to integrating traditional Chinese medicine with modern science and advanced the academic concept of the holistic treatment of chronic musculoskeletal disorders. His landmark monograph, Chinese Medical Osteo-Internal Medicine, helped establish this field and filled a gap in Chinese medicine scholarship. Inheriting this academic lineage, Dr. Xu places particular emphasis on the holistic treatment of chronic musculoskeletal and spine-related disorders, addressing local pathology and systemic imbalance together. Within this tradition, he emphasises the combined use of herbal medicine and acupuncture, integrating internal and external treatment while attending not only to local symptoms and structural strain, but also to constitutional state, disease mechanisms, and long-standing imbalance.

Clinically, Dr. Xu is skilled in combining Chinese herbal granule prescriptions with acupuncture treatment, with a strong emphasis on the holistic management of complex chronic conditions. His clinical focus includes spine and musculoskeletal pain, chronic strain, women's health, digestive disorders, sleep disturbance, anxiety and stress-related symptoms, as well as kidney- and urinary-related concerns.

Dr. Xu consults in both English and Chinese and places great importance on clear, thorough, and respectful communication. He is committed to helping patients from different language backgrounds understand their condition, treatment strategy, and goals of care more accurately, while feeling professionally supported, listened to, and respected throughout the consultation process.