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Traditional Chinese medicine (also known as TCM, simplified Chinese: 中医; traditional Chinese: 中醫; pinyin: zhōngyī) includes a range of traditional medical practices originating in China. Although well accepted in the mainstream of medical care throughout East Asia, it is considered an alternative medical system in much of the western world.
TCM practices include such treatments as herbal medicine (中药), acupuncture, dietary therapy, and both Tui na and Shiatsu massage. Qigong and Taijiquan are also closely associated with TCM.
TCM theory originated thousands of years ago through meticulous observation of nature, the cosmos, and the human body. Major theories include those of Yin-yang, the Five Phases, the human body Channel system, Zang Fu organ theory, six confirmations, four layers, etc.
Much of the philosophy of traditional Chinese medicine derives from the same philosophy that inform Taoist and Buddhist thought, and reflects the classical Chinese belief that the life and activity of individual human beings have an intimate relationship with the environment on all levels. In legend, as a result of a dialogue with his minister Qibo (岐伯), the Yellow Emperor (2698 - 2596 BCE) is supposed by Chinese tradition to have composed his Neijing Suwen (《内经·素问》) or Inner Canon: Basic Questions, also known as the Huangdi Neijing (Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon). The book's title is often mistranslated as Yellow Emperor's Classic of Internal Medicine. Modern scholarly opinion holds that the extant text of this title was compiled by an anonymous scholar no earlier than the Han dynasty just over two-thousand years ago.
During the Han Dynasty (202 BC –220 AD), Zhang Zhongjing (张仲景/張仲景), the Hippocrates of China, who was mayor of Chang-sha toward the end of the 2nd century AD, wrote a Treatise on Cold Damage, which contains the earliest known reference to Neijing Suwen. Another prominent Eastern Han physician was Hua Tuo (c. 140 – c. 208 AD), who anesthetized patients during surgery with a formula of wine and powdered hemp. Hua's physical, surgical, and herbal treatments were also used to cure headaches, dizziness, internal worms, fevers, coughing, blocked throat, and even a diagnosis for one lady that she had a dead fetus within her that needed to be taken out. The Jin dynasty practitioner and advocate of acupuncture and moxibustion, Huang-fu Mi (215 - 282 AD), also quoted the Yellow Emperor in his Jia Yi Jing (甲乙经/甲乙經), ca. 265 AD. During the Tang dynasty, Wang Bing claimed to have located a copy of the originals of the Neijing Suwen, which he expanded and edited substantially. This work was revisited by an imperial commission during the 11th century AD.
There were noted advances in Chinese medicine during the Middle Ages. Emperor Gaozong (r. 649–683) of the Tang Dynasty (618–907) commissioned the scholarly compilation of a materia medica in 657 that documented 833 medicinal substances taken from stones, minerals, metals, plants, herbs, animals, vegetables, fruits, and cereal crops.[2] In his Bencao Tujing ('Illustrated Pharmacopoeia'), the scholar-official Su Song (1020–1101) not only systematically categorized herbs and minerals according to their pharmaceutical uses, but he also took an interest in zoology.[3][4][5][6] For example, Su made systematic descriptions of animal species and the environmental regions they could be found, such as the freshwater crab Eriocher sinensis found in the Huai River running through Anhui, in waterways near the capital city, as well as reservoirs and marshes of Hebei.[7]
Contact with Western culture and medicine has not displaced TCM. While there may be traditional factors involved in the persistent practice, two reasons are most obvious in the westward spread of TCM in recent decades. Firstly, TCM practices are believed by many to be very effective, sometimes offering palliative efficacy where the practices of Western medicine fail or unable to provide treatment, especially for routine ailments such as flu and allergies, or when Western medicine fails to relieve patients suffering from chronic ailments. TCM has been shown to be effective[citation needed] in the treatment of chronic, functional disorders, such as migraines and osteoarthritis, and is traditionally used for a wide range of functional disorders. Secondly, TCM provides an alternative to otherwise costly procedures whom many can not afford, or which is not covered by insurance. There are also many who turn to TCM to avoid the toxic side effects of pharmaceuticals.
TCM of the last few centuries is seen by at least some sinologists as part of the evolution of a culture, from shamans blaming illnesses on evil spirits to "proto-scientific" systems of correspondence;[8] any reference to supernatural forces is usually the result of romantic translations or poor understanding and will not be found in the Taoist-inspired classics of acupuncture such as the Huang Di Nei Jing. The system's development has, over its history, been analysed both skeptically and extensively, and the practice and development of it has waxed and waned over the centuries and cultures through which it has travelled[9] - yet the system has still survived thus far. It is true that the focus from the beginning has been on pragmatism, not necessarily understanding of the mechanisms of the actions - and that this has hindered its modern acceptance in the West. This, despite that there were times such as the early 18th century when "acupuncture and moxa were a matter of course in polite European society"[10]
The term "TCM" describes the modern practice of Chinese medicine as a result of sweeping reforms that took place after 1950 in the People's Republic of China. The term "Classical Chinese medicine" (CCM) often refers to medical practices that rely on theories and methods dating from before the fall of the Qing Dynasty (1911). Advocates of CCM portray it as less influenced by Western and political agendas than TCM.
[edit] Timeline
Macerated medicinal liquor with wolfberry, tokay gecko, and ginseng, for sale at a traditional medicine market in Xi'an.
The history of TCM can be summarized by a list of important doctors and books.
* Unknown, Huángdì nèijīng (黃帝內經/黄帝内经) (Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon) - Sùwèn (素问/素問) and Língshū (灵枢/靈樞). The earliest classic of TCM passed on to the present.
* Warring States Period (5th century BC to 221 BC): Silk manuscripts recording channels and collaterals, Zubi shiyi mai jiu jing (足臂十一脉灸经/足臂十一脈灸經) (Moxibustion Classic of the Eleven Channels of Legs and Arms), and Yinyang shiyi mai jiu jing (阴阳十一脉灸经/陰陽十一脈灸經) (Moxibustion Classic on the Eleven Yin and Yang Channels). The latter was part of a cache of texts found in Mawangdui in the 1970s.
* Han Dynasty (206 BC–AD 220) to Three Kingdoms Period (220 - 280 AD):
o Zhenjiu zhenzhong jing (针灸枕中经/鍼灸枕中經) (Classic of Moxibustion and Acupuncture Preserved in a Pillow) by Huà Tuó (华佗/華佗).
o Shanghan zabing lun (伤寒杂病论/傷寒雜病論), which has since been split into two texts: the Shānghán lùn (伤寒论/傷寒論) ("Treatise on Cold Damage [Disorders]" - focusing on febrile conditions attributed to "Cold") and the Jingui yaolue (金匱要略) ("Essentials of the Golden Cabinet" - focusing on "miscellaneous illnesses") by Zhāng Zhòngjǐng (张仲景/張仲景).
* Jìn Dynasty (265-420): Zhēnjiǔ jiǎyǐ jīng (针灸甲乙经/鍼灸甲乙經) (Systematic Classic of Acupuncture and Moxibustion) by Huángfǔ Mì (皇甫谧/皇甫謐).
* Tang Dynasty (618–907)
o Beiji qianjin yaofang (备急千金要方/備急千金要方) (Emergency Formulas Worth a Thousand in Gold) and Qianjin yifang (千金翼方) (Supplement to the Formulas Worth a Thousand in Gold) by Sūn Sīmiǎo (孙思邈/孫思邈).
o Waitai miyao (外台秘要/外臺秘要) (Arcane Essentials from the Imperial Library) by Wang Tao (王焘/王燾).
* Song Dynasty (960 – 1279):
o Tóngrén shūxué zhēnjiǔ tújīng (铜人腧穴针灸图经/銅人腧穴鍼灸圖經) (Illustrated Manual of the Practice of Acupuncture and Moxibustion at (the Transmission) (and other) Acu-points, for use with the Bronze Figure) by Wáng Wéiyī (王惟一).
* Yuan Dynasty (1271 to 1368): Shísì jīng fāhuī (十四经发挥/十四經發揮) (Exposition of the Fourteen Channels) by Huá Shòu (滑寿/滑壽).
* Ming Dynasty (1368 to 1644): golden age of acupuncture and moxibustion. Many famous doctors and books. To name only a few:
o Zhēnjiǔ dàquan (针灸大全/鍼灸大全) (A Complete Collection of Acupuncture and Moxibustion) by Xu Feng (徐凤/徐鳳).
o Zhēnjiǔ jùyīng fāhuī (针灸聚英发挥/鍼灸聚英發揮) (An Exemplary Collection of Acupuncture and Moxibustion and their Essentials) by Gāo Wǔ (高武).
o Zhēnjiǔ dàchéng (针灸大成/鍼灸大成) (Compendium of Acupuncture and Moxibustion) by Yáng Jìzhōu (杨继洲/楊繼洲), completed in 1601.
o Běncǎo gāngmù (本草冈目/本草綱目) (Compendium of Materia Medica) by Lǐ Shízhēn (李时珍/李時珍), the most complete and comprehensive pre-modern herbal book (completed in 1578).
o Wenyi lun (温疫论/溫疫論), by Wu Youxing 吴有性 (1642).
* Qing Dynasty (1644-1912):
o Yizong jinjian (医宗金鉴/醫宗金鑒) (Golden Mirror of the Medical Tradition) compiled by Wu Quan (吴谦/吴謙) under imperial commission.
o Zhenjiu fengyuan (针灸逢源/鍼灸逢源) (The Source of Acupuncture and Moxibustion) by Li Xuechuan (李学川/李學川).
o Wenre lun (温热论/溫熱論), by Ye Tianshi (叶天士/業天士).
o Wenbing tiaobian (温病条辨/溫病條辨) (Systematized Identification of Warm-factor disorders) compiled by Wu Jutong (吴鞠通) in 1798.[11]
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