What
is Chinese Medicine?
How Old is Chinese Medicine?
What are the Principles of Chinese Medicine?
What Treatment Methods are used in Chinese Medicine?
Where can I get more Information?
What is Chinese Medicine?
Chinese Medicine is also commonly referred to as
"Traditional Chinese Medicine" or TCM; it is so
called because of it originated in mainland China.
Chinese Medicine refers to the ethnic medicine that has
been practised in China since prehistory. Chinese
Medicine has also been a major influence on the
traditional medicine of Japan. Chinese Medicine is a
complete system of treatments that has been traditionally,
and is still today the mainstream medicine in China.
There are many types of treatment associated with Chinese
Medicine; those most commonly used and therefore usually
associated with Chinese Medicine in the West however are Acupuncture and Chinese Herbal
Medicine.
Click on this button for more information on Acupuncture
Other common approaches are: Moxibustion,
cupping, massage, press point therapy, manipulation and
hydrotherapy.
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How Old is Chinese Medicine?
As we have seen, Chinese Medicine consists of many
treatment approaches; these treatment approaches did not
all develop at the same time and at the same place in
China, but all have their own history. Some form of
Herbal Medicine was probably practised by all early
humans, including the first humans in China, evidence of
the presence of which dates back more than 1.5 million
years. The first evidence of the type of medicine that
led to the Chinese Medicine in use today however, dates
back to about 6000 BC, which was during the neolithic (new
stone age) period. Stone tools from this period have been
found that were specially shaped for making small
incisions in the skin, which was the early form of
acupuncture. It is also believed that moxibustion
developed around this time. It was not until the Shang
Dynasty (c. 1600 - 1100 BC) that bronze casting
technology was developed, which enabled the manufacture
of metal acupuncture needles which could, like modern
needles, be inserted in the skin and left in place. The
first known medical treatise called the "Huang Di
Nei Jing" (The Yellow Emperor's Classic of Internal
Medicine), was compiled between 475 and 221 BC. This
volume records the medical philosophy and methods of
treatments that are still a part of Chinese Medicine
today. The Chinese written symbols or ideograms, which
have changed little over the centuries, have provided a
continuity of knowledge and tradition that has not been
parallelled by any other culture.
Chinese Medicine, which embodies a complete and holistic
treatment system, is still an integral and most important
part of everyday life in China and is actively supported
by the Chinese Government through research, education and
hospitals. This stands in sharp contrast to the ethnic
medical traditions of the West, which have been
persecuted and suppressed since the Renaissance, and have
been replaced by the relative newcomer Allopathic
Medicine as the mainstream medicine.
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What are the Principles of
Chinese Medicine?
Athough the philosophy of Chinese Medicine is very
ancient, its principles were only first set down around
400 BC. by Lao Tzu in his book the "Tao Te Jing",
or "Classic of The Law". This book expounds a
natural and ecological philosophical system which
promotes the concept of health and prosperity through the
awareness and observance of the immutable cosmic law, the
"Tao". It states that there are two opposing
and equal forces in the universe, the dark, static and
negative force "Yin" and the radiant, active
and positive force "Yang". It explains that
there is a natural interaction between the opposing
potentials of these two forces, which manifests as a flow
of energy called "Qi".
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Chinese Medicine philosophy considers there to be a
number of different forms of Qi in the body, but the most
important type of Qi as far as treatments are concerned,
is the Qi which is perceived to flow along the 12 "Meridians",
or energy lines.
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Medicine Philosophy 
These
Meridians are associated with certain major
organs of the body as follows:
- Lung Meridian
- Colon Meridian
- Stomach Meridian
- Spleen Meridian
- Heart Meridian
- Small Intestine Meridian
- Bladder Meridian
- Kidney Meridian
- Pericardium Meridian
- Triple Warmer Meridian
- Gallbladder Meridian
- Liver Meridian
The flow of Qi is governed by the time of the day, the
seasons of the year, the traditional 5 elements, cold,
heat, dampness, dryness, etc.; and by internal factors
such as the emotions and the indiscriminate use of food
Chinese Medicine therefore, sees health as a balance in
the body of the two opposing forces Yin and Yang, which
provides a harmonious and correct flow of Qi. It
considers that an unbalanced diet, lifestyle or
environment will disrupt this balance and thus the flow
of Qi; this in turn manifests as the symptoms of disease.
The aim of the practitioner of Chinese Medicine is to
restore health by removing the cause, correcting abnormal
function, opposing the imbalance and normalising the flow
of Qi.
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What Treatment Methods are used in Chinese Medicine
Chinese Medicine uses a number of modalities:
- Herbal Medicine - this is the oldest form
of Chinese medicine.
This treatment originally required the patient to
boil up medicinal plants and other medicinal
substances, and drink the resultant liquid. These
days Chinese Herbal Medicine is more commonly
administered in the convenient form of powders
that can be dissolved in water, or in the form of
pills. Herbal Medicine is usually used to
counteract the effects from excessive cold, heat,
dampness, dryness, etc., and to restore normal
function of the organs.
- Acupuncture
(from the Latin: Acu = fine needle + punctura)
refers to the insertion of very fine needles into
specific points on the body which are
traditionally known to regulate the flow of Qi.
Acupuncture when done by an expert Chinese
Medicine practitioner is rarely painful, but is
relaxing and provides a sense of renewed energy
and well-being. The aim of Acupuncture is to
restore the normal the flow of Qi in the
Meridians. As such it is used to relieve pain and
restore normal homeostasis.
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information on Acupuncture
- Moxibustion is the application of heat to
specific points or areas on the body. A
smouldering roll or small cone of dried and
compacted herbs usually provides the heat source.
Moxibustion may be used by itself, but is most
commonly used as an ancillary to acupuncture for
"cold", that is, chronic diseases.
- Cupping. In this modality glass or acrylic
suction cups are applied to specific areas of the
body. It is mainly used for conditions that are
associated with "stagnation" which
often manifests as chronic pain.
- Massage (Tui-Na). Chinese Massage uses a
number of techniques, which are designed to
release tightness in tissues, stimulate specific
points or areas, and facilitate the flow of Qi.
Chinese massages are usually very relaxing,
highly invigorating or both.
- Surgery (this was always regarded as a
last resort, although effective anaesthesia which
used a combination of Acupuncture and Palina wine
or Acupuncture and opium, has been available for
over 2000 years. This was because Confucian
ethics frowned on surgery as it regarded the
human body sacred and inviolable).
- Other therapeutic methods:
- Diet therapy.
- Manipulation.
- Breathing exercises (Qi-Gong).
- Exercise therapy (Tai-Qi).
- Hydrotherapy.
- Heliotherapy.
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Where can I get further
Information ?
To enquire about a qualified member Chinese Medicine practitioner in your
area, contact:
Traditional Medicine Network.
P.O. Box 346,
Elizabeth, South Australia 5112.
Phone/Fax: (08) 8254 8602
Int'l. phone/fax: + 61 8 8254 8602
Email:
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