Last updated: June 2026
Editorial Policy
Yao Shan Guide is a translation publication. We read Chinese-language sources about food therapy (yao shan 药膳) — recipe platforms, community discussions, and classical references — and translate what matters into English. This page explains how we choose sources, how translation works, how we attribute the original material, and where the line sits between cultural information and medical advice.
Informational, not medical advice
Chinese food therapy is a traditional, complementary practice. We present its concepts — constitutions, warming and cooling foods, food-herb pairings — as translated cultural and culinary knowledge, not as clinically proven treatments. Nothing on this site is medical advice, and we clearly distinguish traditional use, as described in our Chinese sources, from clinically established evidence. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider before using herbs or dietary changes to address a health condition — especially if you are pregnant, nursing, taking medication, or managing a chronic condition.
What we translate
Our coverage draws on Chinese-language primary sources that have no English edition:
- Xiaohongshu (xiaohongshu.com) — China's lifestyle platform, where seasonal eating, tonic soups, and everyday food therapy practice are documented by home cooks. We translate recurring practice, not single viral posts.
- Xiachufang (xiachufang.com) — China's largest recipe community, used for how yao shan dishes are actually prepared at home, with ratings and cook counts.
- Zhihu (zhihu.com) — China's Q&A platform, where practitioners and skeptics debate food therapy concepts in depth. We translate the debate, including the skeptical side.
How sources are selected
- We prioritize widely practiced, well-documented preparations over one-off claims. A soup that thousands of Xiachufang cooks make seasonally carries more weight than a single post.
- We translate disagreement honestly. Where Chinese sources dispute a traditional claim, we say so rather than presenting the tradition as settled.
- We do not translate sponsored placements or seller advertorial as if it were editorial, and we skip sources that make disease-treatment claims for foods or herbs.
How translation works
We use AI translation tools (including large language models) to read and draft translations from Chinese, with editorial review before publication. Specifically:
- AI does the heavy lifting: reading Chinese source pages, drafting English translations, and summarizing community consensus across many posts.
- Editorial review covers the claims: ingredient names, preparations, and the framing of traditional claims are checked against the original source before publishing.
- Terminology is standardized: Chinese terms are given in pinyin with characters and a plain-English explanation on first use (qi 气, yin 阴, yang 阳), so readers can cross-reference Chinese sources.
- Translation is interpretation. Where a Chinese concept has no clean English equivalent — 上火 ("rising heat") is the classic case — we explain rather than force a one-word translation.
Attribution
Every article that draws on a Chinese source cites that source, with a link to the original Chinese page where one exists. We treat the original platforms and texts as the authority — we are the translation layer, not the origin of the tradition.
Independence and affiliate disclosure
- No seller pays for coverage or placement, and we do not link to sellers who market foods or herbs as cures.
- Some outbound links are affiliate links and may earn us a commission at no cost to you. This never changes what we cover or how we frame it. See our affiliate disclosure.
Corrections
If you find an error — a mistranslation, a misattributed source, or a traditional claim presented without the proper caveat — email us and we will verify against the original source and correct the article, noting the update date.