As for botanical treatments, (from the traditional perspective), it was Shen Nong who discovered the medicinal strength of plants. Medicine first began to be organized into a system some two thousand years before Christ. The legendary founder of organized medicine was Huang Di.

Around 2200 BC, a figure known as Yi Di perfected the process of distillation, which made possible the production of alcohol. From then on, alcohol in which medicinal herbs were macerated was used as a remedy. The use of medicinal liqueurs to treat illness came into being after Yi Di's discovery of distillation.

Around 1700 BC lived a prime minister of the Shang Tang dynasty called Yiyin.

He was learned in medicine and pharmacology. The prescription branch of Chinese medicine (fangji xue) owes its development to Yiyin. Before him, plants were used separately, mostly one at time. Yi Yin devised formulas that combined several plants and made decoctions (tangye) of them, giving rise to the prescription's branch. It was during this period, approximately from 1700 BC to 1100 BC that acupuncture, pharmacology, medical doctrine and the prescription branch developed.

The years from 770 BC to 221 BC are known as the Spring-and-Autumn and Warring states Period. It was during this period and from 221BC until 220 AD that the One Hundred Schools together made great strides and Chinese culture underwent a period of brilliant development. This period witnessed the expansion of the theoretical doctrines of the various schools, such as those of Confucius and Mengzi, and those of Yin Yang and the Five Elements.

It was during this period that the Huang Di Nei Jing appeared. It was during this period that the theories of Chinese medicine began to be perfected. Thus we are witnessing here the formation of a structured body of theories. These theories and the strategies in their application became systematized into a diagnostic system.

Today Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is a medical construct which is used to diagnose and treat the human body. The observation, study, and treatment of disease has existed in China for millennia. Over the centuries, TCM Doctors have gained a wealth of experience and knowledge regarding the diagnosis, etiology, pathology, symptom identification and clinical treatment of various syndromes and diseases.

TCM developed the worlds first anesthesia and began describing cancer treatment at 1600BC, by 475 BCE seven distinct forms of cancer were categorized and being effectively treated. TCM developed massage, heat therapy, music therapy, acupuncture, qi gong, diet therapy, calisthenics, brain surgery, bone setting and the first vaccines. Herbal formulations developed to a high degree and were carefully engineered to account for side effects. This is why TCM herbal formulas enjoy a high success rate, while having some of the lowest toxicities of medical grade substances.

New tools and techniques have been traditionally absorbed and utilized by Chinese Medicine doctors for the past few millennia. Medical influences on TCM have come from African, Greco-Arabic, and European medical traditions. As Chinese power and influence spread they were able to cultivate exotic herbs and categorize them according to their complex understanding of the human body. Even today modern medications are also classified and added to TCM pharmacopeias to better aid TCM doctors in drug/herb synergy and lend a more in depth understanding to the effects and side effects of new drugs. The key difference is not in the tools used but the strategy and methodology of their application.

Many modern medical discoveries are starting to repeat medical truths first recorded by TCM Doctors over 2000 years ago. As modern research comes out and is interpreted by allopathic doctors it is also studied by TCM doctors who often have a more inclusive paradigm in which to interpret and classify this data.

Examples of organizations supporting TCM

World Health Organization
Harvard Medical School
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Harvard Medical School
Chinese University of Hong Kong
Munich University
Organization of CICMR
University of Western Ontario
McGill University
University of Manitoba
Francis Law (Simon Fraser University)
University of British Columbia
University of Manitoba
BC Cancer Agency
University of Ottawa
University of Manitoba
HK Baptist University
Peter Chan (Health Canada)
Chinese University of HK
Health Canada
University of HK
University of Calgary
Lancet Medical Journal
University of Chicago Medical Center
US Pharmacist
Duke University Medical Center
M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.

Common Qustions

Is TCM Chinese folk medicine?
TCM doctors and researchers have used both inductive and deductive logic and methods to prove and disprove the actions of various herbs and therapies. TCM is not folk medicine, although many folk remedies have found their way into TCM just as aspirin was based in the folk belief that willow park could stop pain.

Is Chinese Medicine holistic?
There is a misconception that Allopathic (western) medicine loves pills and surgery and that TCM is non-invasive, natural and affects the mind, body and spirit. The truth is that any reaction we have to medicine is holistic as the whole body is eventually affected. This means that surgery and psychology are both holistic because they will eventually affect the whole organism. The key difference is whether the diagnostic systems and treatment protocols are done with regard to what may happen to the rest of the body. TCM was one of the first medical systems to effectively employ brain surgery while modern MD’s urge patients to change their diet and adopt breathing techniques to relieve stress. Phrases like “Natural” and “Holism” depend more on doctors’ individual philosophy than their medical tradition.

Every system of medicine strives to be holistic; TCM recognized and categorized these interrelationships early on. New medical systems such as psyconeuroimmunology are also making great strides towards bringing more “holism” into Allopathic medicine. These new developments also bridge the gaps between TCM and Western Medicine and pave the way for a truly holistic and effective system of medicine.

Do TCM and Allopathic Medicine disagree?
Both Allopathic and TCM doctors are generally in support of anything proven to be safe and effective. There are certain theoretical differences as well as the understanding the physiology of the human body. As better research comes out on the human body, both medical traditions are finding increasing common ground.

TCM describes various body functions originating from the organs while Allopathic and certain Taoist medical traditions maintain that they originate in the brain. The brain and internal organs are connected by nerves and hormones that work on feedback cycles. This is like pondering where the wheel on your bike begins when a stick gets in the spokes. It’s better to simply remove the stick so you can keep riding. The same is true of many human diseases.

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