Dr. Yat Ki Lai was born in Canton in 1947 and died in San Francisco on August 13, 2019. He was 76 years old by traditional Chinese count.
Dr. Lai was determined to become a doctor by the age of 9. He began training very young, and for 10 years he was fortunate to study Chinese medicine and acupuncture through the traditional apprenticeship system with several highly respected teachers. All the while, he also studied on his own, reading available research and mining all the resources he could find. By age 20 he was practicing as a Barefoot Doctor, treating patients in the Chinese countryside.
Then in 1972, he immigrated to the U.S. and settled in San Francisco, where he left a unique and far-ranging legacy. He began treating patients almost immediately, in Chinatown. In the early years, he also led seminars and lectured widely on the principles and practice of Traditional Chinese Medicine, with the goal of increasing awareness of its effectiveness among American medical doctors, and others.
He made another huge leap in San Francisco in 1980, while main-taining a growing practice (under his wife Shana's able management), he founded the American College of Traditional Chinese Medicine (ACTCM) with three colleagues - the first school of traditional Chinese medicine in the U.S. His vision of training the first American generation of healers focused on clinical practice from the start. As a teacher, he always stressed differential diagnosis as the guiding principle and the key to achieving optimal healing. Dr. Lai was also a key figure in the legalization of traditional Chinese medicine in California, and ultimately the entire U.S.
For 43 years – from 1972 until 2015, Dr. Lai treated thousands of people, of all backgrounds and ages, who presented with every imaginable sort of ailment. Secure in his mastery of traditional Chinese medicine, he was also a fearless innovator—he kept up with the latest research and newest developments in diverse traditions of medicine, both Eastern and Western, and never stopped exploring new ways to improve treatment. He also took many risks—he took on complex cases without hesitation, including many patients whose illnesses had not responded to Western approaches. He always treated each patient with respect and compassion, and tried his very best to help them all.
Dr. Lai was fortunate to have a large circle of friends, family and colleagues, including many patients who became life-long friends. He was generous to all, and compassionate to a fault. And he was loving, caring and supportive of his family and his students. He gave special attention to each new generation, and they often idolized him in return.
We will all miss Dr. Lai. We will always remember his boisterous laugh, his loud singing, his colorful versions of Chinese tales, his didactic lectures on history and politics, and his passionate views on all things traditionally Chinese. He took many risks throughout his life, and he reaped many rewards. He enriched and improved the lives of so many, and it is no exaggeration to say that every practitioner of traditional Chinese medicine in the U.S. holds a piece of his majestic legacy.
John Mini is a graduate of the American College of Traditional Chinese Medicine (ACTCM) and a long-time student of Dr. Yat Ki Lai. He lives and practices in Tiburon, California.