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China, known as a long history and
large population, is a nation with a venerable civilization.
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has been playing an
important and effective role in curing illness, promoting and
maintaining health of Chinese for the last three thousand
years. Traditional Chinese medicine is a complete medical
system that has diagnosed, treated, and prevented illness.
While it can remedy ailments and alter states of mind, Chinese
medicine can also enhance recuperative power, immunity, and the
capacity for pleasure, work, and creativity. Two classic
medical texts, the Huang Di Nei Jing (The Yellow
Emperor Classic of Internal Medicine, compiled from 100
B.C. to 100 A.D.) and the Nan Jing (written circa 100 to
200 A.D.) were important early documents that presented the
core concepts of TCM, and they have informed generations of scholars
and practitioners ever since.
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It wasn't until 1971, however, that
Western world really became aware of TCM and of acupuncture in
particular. This came about because James Reston, a New York
Times reporter became stricken with appendicitis while doing
a story on a ping-pong tournament in Beijing, and was treated for
post-surgical pain with acupuncture. In a front-page Times Story
he wrote, "I've seen the past, and it works!" This
exposure came at a time when many Americans were looking for a
more holistic, naturalistic   approach
to health care, and caused quite a stir among the Western medical
community. Since then, acupuncture has become a widely accepted
form of treatment in the US and UK, and other aspects of TCM are
gaining supporters as well.
The Basic
Principles of TCM
The Chinese approach to understanding
the human body is unique. The principle and practices of TCM is
based on the Daoist understanding of a universe where everything
is interdependent and mutually interactive. Within this universe
our mind, body and spirit are merely different manifestations of
the same life force and consequently cannot be considered
separately. The Chinese believe that health is achieved, and
disease prevented, by maintaining the body in a 'balanced state'.
This concept was applied to both individuals and society at large.
In individual terms the ancient Chinese physicians preached
moderation in all things, such as alcoholic intake and
gastronomic excess. They also stated that daily activities should
include mental as well as physical tasks. The wealthier Chinese
visited their doctor when they were well, paying a retainer to
the doctor to keep them healthy. If they became ill the doctor
lost his fee.
Such a highly sophisticated and personal
system of health care is impracticable within the current
limitations of Western society, but the concept behind such ideas
represents a radically different approach to health and disease.
Practitioners of Chinese medicine define
their patient’s illness in terms of that naturally emerge from
the Daoist philosophical principle.  The
diagnosis will place the signs and symptoms into an
interdependent tapestry where physical symptoms and emotional
reactions are set alongside social and environmental factors in
order to understand how the energy dynamics of the individual
lead to health and disharmony.
As TCM evolved over the centuries, it
came to include treatment of disease using acupuncture, herbal
medicine, dietary principles, physical manipulation of the body
tissues, therapeutic exercise and movement (Tai Chi), and the
mind-body practice of Qi Gong.
Most of people in the West are very
difficult to understand their health and sickness in terms of
Chinese medicine. Therefore it is very important to understand
what is Chinese medicine all about. In order to explore this
different frame of reference, the following concepts will be
described.
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