Conclusiones

In China an extremely organized system of healing developed during the period known as the Han dynasty (approxi- mately 213 BCE–240 CE). At this time in

Chinese history the country was finally reunited into one empire after hundreds of years of fighting in the Warring States period (476–221 BCE). Both Confucian

and Taoist philosophies emerged from the Warring States period, and both of these philosophies had an important

While discussing a patient’s state of health, TCM doctors observe other indicators, including skin color- ing, body structure, tone of voice, and scent.

P hoto: B ruce H ands / © T ony S tone I mages

impact on TCM. At the time of the Han dynasty there were many different kinds of healers and teachers in China. Confu- cianism was the main political power in court. During this time Ssu-ma Chien became the Grand Historian of the Court, and great importance was placed on organizing and recording written records. During this time three books were written that are still considered the cor- nerstones of TCM. The first was called the Yellow Emperor’s Internal Classic (Huang di-nei Jing or simply Nei Jing). The Nei Jing refers to both Taoist and Confucian concepts. The Taoist perspec- tive of health emphasizes living in har- mony with nature and achieving longevity. The Confucian ideals describe an integrated system within the human body that reflected the orderly social structure finally made possible in one unified state.

This organized structure was eventu- ally mapped into the specific lines and pathways we see on acupuncture charts.

The lines or pathways are usually called meridians. Places where the qi comes right up to the surface are called acu- points. The qi is believed to circulate through this system connecting the deepest internal organs to places on the skin where the energy can be influenced and treated. The points can be treated with needles (acupuncture), heat (moxi- bustion), or manipulation (acupressure). The qi system was described in more detail in the second book, called the

Classic of Difficult Issues (Nan Jing). The Nan Jing is believed to have been written

at least one hundred years after the Nei

Jing. The Nan Jing refers to information

in the Nei Jing and expands on those ideas. The Nan Jing goes so far as to say that a person’s health can be directly analyzed just from carefully feeling the

qi and blood as it moves through the

radial artery in the wrist. This is called the radial pulse. Modern practices of TCM still use this map of the qi system to diagnose and treat their clients.

Traditional Chinese Medicine

The third book is believed to have been written around 220 CE. Written by a

very famous physician and scholar named Zhang Zhong-Jing, it is called the Treatise on Harm Caused by Cold (Shang Han Lun). This book deals with how outside influences such as colds, flu viruses, and plagues can attack and make people sick, and describes how to treat these problems with Chinese herbal medicine.

Zhang Zhong-Jing described six specific layers of the body’s defense sys- tem and matched these with already rec- ognized meridian pathways. He described the qualities of illness as they invaded each layer and gave specific herbal formulas that could be used for treatment. Using a wide variety of herbs given in specific dosages, he created for- mulas that could match detailed patterns of diagnosis. Zhang’s use of herbal medi- cine introduced a whole new level of sophistication within the possibilities of TCM. While he cannot be credited with inventing Chinese herbal formulas, his ability to understand and match patterns of illness with the herbs that will cure them place him as one of the founding fathers of Chinese herbal medicine.

Over the next 1,500 years, China con- tinued to develop and perfect the ideas that originated in the Han dynasty. Many physicians and scholars continued to practice and write about their ideas and results. Ideas that were originally used by particular authors and schools of thought were eventually homogenized into guiding principles for one predomi- nant system of medicine.

By the end of the Ming dynasty (1643

CE) another idea, now described as the

eight principles, began to emerge. This model included all of the dynamics that impact health. These are internal and external factors, hot and cold, yin and yang, and excess vs. deficiency. This model was used to integrate many of the previous models in TCM. The Ming was the last dynasty in which traditional Chinese medicine continued to evolve and flourish without being influenced by Western thought and medicine.

The introduction of Western culture in China began a period of slow decline for TCM. The obvious realities revealed through anatomical study made many Chinese physicians and scholars feel less confident in some of TCM’s less tangible theories. The Chinese government also applied political pressures that affected the publication of certain literature. Eventually there began a trend to weed out the more “esoteric” ideas from Chi- nese medical literature. While ideas as fundamental as the qi and blood remained intact, references to the spiri- tual components became more and more simplified. Under the Communist regime, many ideas came to be viewed as superstitious and unscientific. These ideas were disregarded and systematical- ly eliminated from revised texts.

To this day very little of original TCM literature has been translated into West- ern languages. Subsequently, TCM is often described in terms of the clinical approach presently being used in hospi- tals in mainland China. While this sys- tem offers very effective clinical applications for the treatment of dis- ease, much of the broader perspective and theories remain buried in literary Chinese characters.