Traditional Chinese Medicine Goes Global.docx

Traditional Chinese Medicine Goes Global.docx

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TraditionalChineseMedicineGoesGlobal

TraditionalChineseMedicineGoesGlobal

　　ASoneoftheworld’sancientmedicalsciences，traditionalChinesemedicine（TCM），withitsdistinctiveconceptsandmethods，isbelievedtocompensateforthedeficienciesofWesternmedicine，andisgaininginpopularityglobally.SowhatissospecialaboutTCM？

　　UrsulaWolf’sTCMStory

　　“TCMhelpedmewhenmydoctorscouldn’tfindanyeffectivewaytotreatmycondition.”SuchorsimilarcommentsarefrequentlyheardfrompatientswhohavereceivedTCMtreat-ment.Theyhaveusuallybeenplaguedbyarangeofailments，eventuallyresortingtothetraditionalmethodsoforientalmedicalsciencesbecauseconventionalWesternmedicineneitherrelievestheirpainnoroffersalong-termcure.

　　“ThehouseinthetownofBadK？

tztinginBavariaactuallylooksnothinglikeaclinic，butmorelikeahotel，”saidUrsulaWolf，whois72yearsold.Wolfknowsthisclinicverywell；itwasthefirstTCMclinicinGermanyandwheresheturnedwhenconventionalWesternmedicinenolongerhelpedherlongtermstrugglewithpain.

　　Morethan15yearsagoWolfsufferedfromprotrusionofalumbarintervertebraldisc，causingextremepainthatextendedtohertoes.Thedoctoradvisedhertohavesurgeryandwearavest-likesupporttoprotectthespinalarea.Thesurgerywassuccessful.However，ninemonthslater，thepainreturned.Shewentbacktoherdoctor，butallconventionaltherapiesachievednoresults.Thepainwasalmostunbearable.Wolfhadtorelyonheavydoseofpainkillerstogetthrougheachday.

　　In1999，theBavarianTVStationbroadcastaprogramaboutanewhospitalinthedistrictofCham，wherethemajorityofitsdoctorscamefromChina.Thereportsaidtheclinicpursueda“new”conceptbyadoptingaholisticapproachtoalldiseasesbasedonTCM.

　　WolfimmediatelytransferredtotheTCMclinic.Inthefollowingthreemonths，shewastreatedwithmethodssuchasacupuncture，tuina（aformofmanipulativetherapy），andqigong（aholisticsystemofcoordinatedbodypostureandmovement，breathing，andmeditation）.Thetherapywasaccompaniedbyanadjustmenttodietandvariousherbalteas.Afteraperiodattheclinic，Wolfcontinuedtopracticeqigongathome.Afteranotherthreemonthsthepainwasgoneandsheremainedingoodphysicalconditionforquitealongtime.

　　Twelveyearslater，however，thefamiliarsymptomsreturned.Wolfwenttoherregulardoctor，butagain，Westernmedicinefailedher.Besidesthesideeffectscausedbysomeofhermedication，thehighdosageofpainkillersputaseriousstrainonherliverandotherorgans.Wolf，whoselifequalitywasseriouslyaffected，sufferedseveredepression.SosheturnedtoTCMagainatthesameclinicasbefore.Thistimeshecompletelyrecovered.Withouttheuseofpainkillers，theTCMdoctorshelpedeliminateherpain.Today，Wolfleadsanormalactivelife.Everydayshegoesswimmingandrecentlyboughtabiketomaintainherfitness.

　　TCM：

WhatIsThat？

　　TCMandWesternmedicineareseeminglyworldsapartasregardsdesignandphilosophy.Westernmedicineischaracterizedbyacontinuousexplorationofdiseasesandtheirconsequences.Doctorsspecializeindefinedpartsofthehumanbody.Westernmedicineusuallyfocusesonthetreatmentofdiseases，butdoesn’tadoptaholisticviewtowardsthehumanbody.Incontrast，TCMfocusesonthehumanbodyasawhole，ratherthanthedisease.Thebody，innerworld，spirit，andlivingenvironmentaretheelementsthatconstituteaharmoniousentirety.Diseasesoccurwhenthisharmonyisdisturbed.Inordertomakeadiagnosiswithsuchauniversalapproach，TCMdoctorsneedtopayparticularattentiontopatients，makecloseobservations，andanalyzetheirhistory.

　　Asthenameindicates，traditionalChinesemedicineistheaccumulationofresearchresultsandknowledgeonhumanhealthovermillennia.ItactuallycomprisesthemedicalknowledgeofdifferentethnicgroupsinChina.Amongthem，theHancertainlyenjoysthegreatestinfluence，asitisthelargestethnicgroupwiththelongesthistoryofwrittenlanguage.Takenasawhole，however，TCMmorepreciselyreferstoasharedexperienceofmedicalknowledgeofallethnicgroupsinChina.

　　ThehistoryofTCMcanbetracedbacktotheShangDynasty（c.1600-1028BC）.Theunearthedinscriptionsonbonesandtortoiseshellsfromover3，000yearsagothatrecordedthemedicalsysteminembryooriginatedintheYellowRivercatchmentarea.Asearlyasabout1000BC，physiciansbegantoadoptthe“fourdiagnostics”method：

inspection，auscultation，inquiry，andpalpation?

Candsystematicuseofherbalmedicine.Acupuncturealsooriginatedinthisperiod.

　　ThefirstworkonTCMistheHuangdiNeijing，alsoknownasYellowEmperor’sInnerCanon.Thisbookexpoundsupontheinterplaybetweenhumanhealthandthechangeofthefourseasonsandtheprincipleofyinandyang.DifferentfromWesternmedicinethatfocusesondiseases，TCMwasestablishedonaholisticharmonybetweenHeaven（nature）andmanforthousandsofyears.ThegistoftheHuangdiNeijingisthathumanexistenceislikeamicrocosmintheinfiniteuniverse；therefore，peoplemustachieveconstantharmonywiththelawofnatureandthechangingseasons.Springisthetimeforbirth，summerforgrowingandflourishing，autumnforharvest，andwinterforretentionandstorage.AccordingtotheChinesetraditionalrulesofenergy，springandsummerbelongtoyang（thesun），whileautumnandwinterbelongtoyin（theshade）.Soitisimportantforpeopletoabsorbasmuchsunshineaspossibleinthefirsttwoseasons.Asanoldsayinggoes，therecanbenolifeonearthwithoutthesun；therefore，withoutyangenergyhumanscannotsubsistatall.AccordingtoTCMtheory，yangenergyisconducivetorecoveryandtransportationofqi（vitalforce），blood，andbodyfluidstoenhanceresistancetovariouspotentialdiseases.AccordingtothetheoriesrecordedinHuangdiNeijing，animportantprincipleforhealthpreservationisbeingabstinentandphysicallyactive，aswellaskeepingaregularsleepschedule.Peopleshouldneverover-eat，otherwisetheirdigestivesystemwillbeoverloaded，thusaffectingtheirentirephysicalhealth.Inaddition，whatiscloselyrelatedtophysicalhealthisthebalanceoftheinnerworld.Beingupbeat，calm，andpeacefulistheessen-tialconditionforoverallhumanhealth.　　Sinceitsinception，TCMhasundergoneconstantandcontinuousdevelopment.WiththedawnoftheConfucianera，magicalelements，beliefinspiritsandgods，andactionssuchasofferingsacrificeshadgivenwaytothesystemofTCManditsconcept.Inthiscontext，theyin-yangdoctrineandthetheoryofthefiveelementsinHuangdiNeijingwerenotonlythefoundationforthenewlyestablishedmedicinesystem，butalsoanexpressionofConfuciansociopoliticalideasandtheory.Thefiveelementsrefertometal，wood，water，fire，andearth.Theirinteractionfeaturesmutualgenerationandmutualeffectivenessifplacedindifferentorders.InclassicalChinesetheory，thelawsofnatureandenvironmentderivefromthetransformationofthefiveelements.

　　Alongsidetheaccumulationofknowledgeonherbsandmedicine，morebooksonTCMwerewritteninthefollowingcenturies.Forexample，theShanghanLun，knowninEnglishasTreatiseonFebrileDiseases，isacanonicalworkonthetreatmentoffebrilediseases.

　　TCM’sPathtoModernity

　　Inthe19thandearly20thcenturies，theexistenceofTCMwasgreatlysuppressedandoftenreplacedbyWesternmedicine.Inthesecondhalfofthe19thcentury，imperialistpowerscolonizedpartofChina’sterritoryandintroducedWesternscienceandtechnology，aswellasWesternphilosophy.ChinesepeoplewouldoftenchooseWesternmedicaltreatmentoverTCMwhentheyfellill.TCMwasincreasinglypushedoutandsomepeopleevenproposedtobanitspractice.

　　AcrucialturningpointcamewiththefoundingofthePeople’sRepublicofChinain1949.ChairmanMaoZedongrecognizedtheadvantagesofTCM?

CitcouldprovideeffectivemedicalcareforChina’shugepopulation，especiallyinruralareas，bearinginmindthelimitedfundsatthetime.Hesaid：

“Chinesemedicineandpharmacologyareagreattreasurehouseandeffortsshouldbemadetoexplorethemandraisethemtoahigherlevel.”Chinesemedicineanditstherapeuticpracticeswererebornhereafterandevolvedintoascientificsystemweunderstandtoday.

　　TheChinesegovernmentchoosesTCMasthepreferredhealthcareforthepeople，anddevelopsitthroughencouragingresearchandinnovation.Sincethemid-1980s，whenbothWesternmedicineandTCMmadehugeadvances，effortshavebeenmadetobuildanddevelopamedicalsystemthatfeaturesacombinationofTCMandWesternmedicine.Infact，muchheadwayhasbeenmadeinthisregard.Today，TCMinChinaislinkedwithWesternmedicinetoalargeextent.StudentswhomajoredinTCMarenowalsotaughtWesternmedicine.AlllicensedTCMphysicianscanalsoprescribeWesternmedicines.　　TheWorldDiscoversTCM

　　AlthoughTCMhasahistoryofafewthousandyears，itbecameknowninWesterncultureonlyafewdecadesago.SomeEuropeanscholarsfirstgottoknowaboutTCMinthe17thand18thcenturies；however，theirknowledgeofthespecificpracticeswassoonlost.Bythe1950s，theWesternworldagainbecameinterestedinthiscomplexfield.TCMgainedrealattentionandemergedintheWesternworldin1971whenJamesReston，anAmericanjournalist，wroteareportonhowhispainfollowingsurgerytoremovehisappendixhadbeentreatedbyacupuncture.HepublishedthearticleintheNewYorkTimes.

　　Today，theinternationalcommunityrecognizestheadvantagesofTCM.AccordingtoWHOs