Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM)

Traditional Chinese Medicine is a branch of medicine believed to be based on more than 3,500 years of Chinese medical practice. Chinese medicine includes various forms of herbal medicine such as:

• acupuncture
• bloodletting (báguàn)
• gua sha (scraping therapy using a tool on the skin to stimulate circulation, relax muscles, or perform lymphatic drainage)
• massage (tui na)
• bone setting (die-da)
• exercise (qigong)
• dietary therapy

One of the fundamental principles of Traditional Chinese Medicine is that the body’s vital energy circulates through channels called meridians. Meridians branch throughout the body and connect to organs and their functions. Through the meridians, the organs release toxins into the lymphatic system, from where the body should eliminate them through urination with the help of the kidneys (which cleanse the body like a washing machine and are therefore very important organs) or through sweating (exercise, sauna, or high body temperature when ill).

Traditional Chinese Medicine and its history

In ancient times, the ancestors of the Chinese nation sought to determine how certain creatures and plants could serve as remedies for specific illnesses and pain relief. Gradually, they mastered their application. As time passed, people began actively searching for such remedies and methods to prevent and treat diseases. Sayings such as “Shennong (the Divine Farmer) who tasted a hundred herbs” and “food and medicine coming from the same source” are characteristic of those years.

In the Western Zhou dynasty, physicians began to be classified into four categories:

• Dietitians (experts who, by applying the principles of proper nutrition, plan menus for individuals or groups, advise them, and help in food selection), similar to today’s nutritionists.
• Doctors of decoctions (extracting active medicinal components from plants, roots, flowers, etc.)
• Doctors who holistically help patients through acupuncture, vacuum therapy with hot cups (a glass or porcelain cup heated with hot air and placed on the skin at specific points where organ meridians end, acting like a vacuum to draw out toxins and even tumors through the lymph to the skin’s surface, where pores then expand and toxins are released). They also prescribed treatments and diets.
• Veterinarians.

During the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, Bian Que built on the experiences of his predecessors and introduced four diagnostic methods:

• Inspection
• Auscultation (listening to the internal sounds of the body, usually with a stethoscope) and smelling
• Inquiry and palpation (a medical diagnostic method using the fingers or palms to determine the position, size, firmness, or sensitivity of specific organs), laying the foundation for TCM diagnosis and treatment.

Huang Di Nei Jing (Yellow Emperor’s Inner Canon)

Huang Di Nei Jing (Yellow Emperor’s Inner Canon) is a book compiled during the Qin and Han periods, offering systematic discourses on:

• Human physiology
• Pathology
• Symptoms of diseases
• Preventive treatment
• Principles and methods of treatment

This book defined the framework of TCM, serving as a guide in the development of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and provides information derived from clinical experiences that were transformed into a written theoretical system.

Lang Shang Han Za Bing (Treatise on Febrile Diseases – conditions related to fever and various illnesses), compiled by Zhang Zhongjing of the Eastern Han dynasty, advanced the principles and methods of treating febrile diseases caused by external factors. It presented rules and principles for differentiating patterns of various diseases caused by internal disorders.

Zhen Jiu Jia Yi Jing (AB Classic of Acupuncture and Moxibustion) by Huangfu Mi, written during the Western Jin period, explained the concepts of zangfu (internal organs) and jingluo (meridians and collaterals). This marked the point when the theory of jingluo and acupuncture began to take shape.

Traditional Chinese Medicine and its characteristics

Throughout its development spanning several millennia, Traditional Chinese Medicine has expanded its fundamental knowledge through many innovations, and remedies for various diseases have found increasing application.

During the development of Chinese medicine, certain characteristics emerged that symbolize Traditional Chinese Medicine. Some of these characteristics are:

• Opening toward a holistic perspective (treating any subject as a complete system, studying the whole person—both physically and psychologically—for the purpose of treating illness).
• Traditional Chinese Medicine considers the relationship between humans and nature to be an inseparable whole. For this reason, it holds that the natural and social environment affects our health.
• Creating harmony in health. Traditional Chinese Medicine teaches that a person’s physical health depends on the harmony of functions among different organs in the body. The main cause of illness is the disruption of the body’s balance due to the influence of internal and external factors.
• Emphasis on preventive treatment. In this regard, Traditional Chinese Medicine believes it is better to prevent the onset of disease before it develops. Therefore, TCM holds that lifestyle is closely connected to health. It is considered that people can improve their health by:
  • understanding their own emotions
  • balanced work and rest
  • healthy diet and exercise

Fields of Traditional Chinese Medicine

Generally speaking, Western medicine certainly has its advantages and is suitable for treating acute diseases, while Traditional Chinese Medicine is suitable for treating chronic conditions or overall health. Below are several fields of Chinese medicine.

Yin and Yang are ancient Chinese concepts. Yang is associated with the white male principle and is outward-focused, while the black Yin symbolizes the female principle, which is inward-focused.

Yin and Yang symbolize opposites / dualities in the world, such as:

• light and darkness
• the male and female principle
• high and low
• warm and cold.

But Yin and Yang nevertheless complement and cooperate with each other, and together they form a unity.

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The Five Phases, sometimes also translated as the theory of the “Five Elements,” are based on the assumption that all phenomena in the universe and nature can be broken down into five elemental qualities. These are:

• wood
• fire
• earth
• metal
• water.

These qualities govern different organs in the body, namely:

• wood – liver and gallbladder
• fire – heart and small intestine
• earth – spleen and stomach
• metal – lungs and large intestine
• water – kidneys and bladder

Qi (Chi)

In Traditional Chinese Medicine, the concept of Qi is defined by five “cardinal/main functions”:

• Activation – all physical processes in the body, especially the circulation of all bodily fluids such as blood within the vessels.
• Warming – the body, especially the limbs.
• Defense – against external factors.
• Containment – of bodily fluids, i.e., the retention of blood, sweat, urine, semen, etc.
• Transformation – of food, drink, and breath into Qi, blood, and fluid.

A deficiency of Qi will be marked by:

• especially pale skin, low spirits
• lack of strength
• spontaneous sweating
• reluctance to speak
• slow digestion
• shortness of breath (especially during exertion)
• pale and enlarged tongue.

Traditional Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture

Acupuncture is a form of alternative medicine and a key component of Traditional Chinese Medicine, in which thin needles are inserted into the body.

There are various approaches to practicing acupuncture, and techniques differ depending on the country in which it is performed. It is most commonly used in an attempt to relieve pain. Acupuncture is generally used only in combination with other forms of treatment.

Acupuncture is performed by sterilizing the skin and inserting needles, which most often have a plastic guide tube.

Since most pain is felt in the superficial layers of the skin, rapid needle insertion is recommended. Acupuncture can be painful. The skill level of the acupuncturist can affect how painful the needle insertion will be, and a sufficiently skilled practitioner can insert the needles without causing pain.

Die-da

Die-da, or Dit Da, is a traditional Chinese bone-setting technique usually performed by martial artists.

With their knowledge of Chinese medicine, they apply this technique to treat traumas and injuries such as bone fractures, sprains, and bruises.

Such bone-setting practice is not common in the West.

The prevalence of Traditional Chinese Medicine

Traditional Chinese Medicine has spread to 183 countries and regions worldwide. According to the World Health Organization, 103 member states have approved the practice of acupuncture, 29 countries have adopted special regulations on traditional medicine, and 18 countries have included acupuncture in their medical insurance provisions. TCM medicines have gradually entered the international pharmaceutical system, and some of them, in addition to China of course, have also been registered in:

• Russia
• Cuba
• Vietnam
• Singapore
• the United Arab Emirates and several other countries.