With a history of 2000 to
3000 years, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has formed a unique
system to diagnose and cure illness. The TCM approach is
fundamentally different from that of Western medicine. In TCM, the
understanding of the human body is based on the holistic
understanding of the universe as described in Daoism, and the
treatment of illness is based primarily on the diagnosis and
differentiation of syndromes. Daoism bases much of its thinking on
observing the natural world in a manner in which it operates, so it
is no surprise to find that the Chinese medical system draws
extensively on natural metaphors. In Chinese medicine, the metaphoric
views of the human body based on observations of nature are fully
articulated in the theory of Yin-Yang and the system of Five Elements
(Earth, Water, Fire, Wood and Metal).
The direct meanings of
Yin and Yang in Chinese are bright and dark sides of an object.
Chinese philosophy uses Yin and Yang to represent a wider range of
opposite properties in the universe: cold and hot, slow and fast,
still and moving, masculine and feminine, lower and upper, etc. In
general, anything that is moving, initiating, ascending, bright,
progressing, hyperactive, including functional disease of the body,
pertains to Yang. The characteristics of stillness, recipience,
descending, darkness, degeneration, hypo-activity, including organic
disease, pertain to Yin.
The function of Yin and
Yang is guided by the law of unity of the opposites. In other words,
Yin and Yang are in conflict but at the same time mutually dependent.
The nature of Yin and Yang is relative, with neither being able to
exist in isolation. Without "cold" there would be no "hot";
without "moving" there would be no "still";
without "dark", there would be no "light". The
most illustrative example of Yin-Yang interdependence is the
interrelationship between substance and function. Only with ample
substance can the human body function in a healthy way; and only when
the functional processes are in good condition, can the essential
substances be appropriately refreshed. The opposites in all objects
and phenomena are in constant motion and change: The gain, growth and
advance of the one mean the loss, decline and retreat of the other.
Traditional Chinese
medicine holds that human life is a physiological process in constant
motion and change. Under normal conditions, the waxing and waning of
Yin and Yang are kept within certain bounds, reflecting a dynamic
equilibrium of the physiological processes. Only then is the unharmed
flow of life energy (Qi) ensured. When the balance is broken, disease
occurs. Typical cases of disease-related imbalance include excess of
Yin, excess of Yang, deficiency of Yin, and deficiency of Yang.
The TCM approach treats
zang-fu organs as the core of the human body. Tissue and organs are
connected through a network of channels and blood vessels inside
human body. Qi (or Chi= vital energy) acts as some kind of carrier of
information that is expressed externally through jingluo system. Qi
is treated as the fundamental substance of the human body, and its
movements explain various life processes. Qi is formed from the
inhaled oxygen, the dietary nutrients, and the inborn primordial Qi
stored in the kidney, which may be genetically related. Qi circulates
along meridians and collaterals. A healthy body requires normal
circulations of Qi. Health problems occur if the flow of Qi is
stagnated. The circulation of Qi is also closely related to mental
conditions. Emotional instability may cause the stagnation of Qi.
Pathologically, a
dysfunction of the zang-fu organs may be reflected on the body
surface through the network, and meanwhile, diseases of body surface
tissues may also affect their related zang or fu organs. Affected
zang or fu organs may also influence each other through internal
connections. Traditional Chinese medicine treatment starts with the
analysis of the entire system, then focuses on the correction of
pathological changes through readjusting the functions of the zang-fu
organs.
Evaluation of a syndrome
not only includes the cause, mechanism, location, and nature of the
disease, but also the confrontation between the pathogenic factor and
body resistance. Treatment is not based only on the symptoms, but
differentiation of syndromes. Therefore, those with an identical
disease may be treated in different ways, and on the other hand,
different diseases may result in the same syndrome and are treated in
similar ways.
The clinical diagnosis
and treatment in Traditional Chinese Medicine are mainly based on the
Yin-Yang and five elements theories. These theories apply the
phenomena and laws of nature to the study of the physiological
activities and pathological changes of the human body and its
interrelationships. The typical TCM therapies include acupuncture,
herbal medicine, meditation and exercises like Qi-gong, Tui Na and
T’ai Chi.
