On the Development of Chinese Medicine and Western Medicine in China Today from the Differences between Chinese Medicine and Western Medicine Chinese medicine and Western medicine are two different branches of medical field, these two medical systems respectively originate in China and Europe. But with the introduction of Western medicine in China, the debate on the two has never stopped. In fact, Chinese medicine and Western medicine are completely different academic systems, the two in the theoretical basis, diagnostic methods, therapies, the nature of drugs, etc. are significantly different. Moreover, in the practice of modernday China, Chinese medicine and Western medicine binary coexist.
Firstly, the theoretical basis of traditional Chinese
…show more content…
Chinese medicine is to look, smell, ask, cut “four clinics” as the basic skills, and to complete the diagnosis process. While the Western medicine is the use of physical and chemical analysis, instrumentation and other modern science and technology as the main means of diagnosis. The former is through the phenomenon to see the essence of the method, that is, “view the shape of internal factors” observation method. The latter in addition to the diagnosis of symptoms, laboratory diagnosis, there are experimental diagnosis, X-ray diagnosis, electrocardiogram and ultrasound and radioactive nuclear element scanning diagnosis, involving bacteriology, cytology, serology, immunology, parasites and other aspects complex check. So it is clear that their diagnosis means is not the same. Thirdly, the treatment of Chinese medicine and Western medicine is different. Chinese medicine is based on the overall concept and dialectical diagnosis and treatment as the basic characteristics, while Western medicine is to clear the local lesions for the purpose. Chinese medicine believes that the human body is an organic whole, the organs, tissues and organs are physically interrelated, interactively in pathology, interact in pharmacology, so only a disease caused by all diseases, and no disease caused by a disease of the theoretical roots. So it is clear that their treatment is not the …show more content…
In fact, Chinese medicine has been marginalized, and western medicine has become the status of mainstream medicine in China and world. But according to the statistics from World Health Organization, 4 billion people across the world use Chinese herbal medicine in their medical treatment, which account for 80% of the world population. “Being representative of purely natural medicine, Chinese medicine has become the medicine with the most promising future of development. Some well-known medicine companies in western countries, therefore, take advantage of the bountiful resource of Chinese medicine, plentiful TCM prescriptions of Chinese patent medicine without much sense of protecting their intellectual property rights, abundant resource of Chinese herbal medicine, and low-cost human resources in China, and trap all kinds of technical hindrance to prevent Chinese patent medicine in China from entering international markets to compete; while at the same time, the western companies import from China the low-priced raw materials of Chinese medicine, and then after the processing and selling the products labeled with their own brands, they gain huge amount of profits from the international market and even back in China.” (Zhou, abstract) So, in the face of this situation, China has been reviving traditional Chinese medicine since the 1970s. In order to revitalize traditional Chinese
When caring for Taoist’s patients, the most important thing to remember is their need to restore balance. For them, this may not be achieved through traditional medical practice; however, this does not mean that we should do nothing. Taoists do not believe in artificial or arbitrary healing. Healing must be natural and spontaneous (Tai, 2009). If we try to force medical treatments on them, it may in turn do more harm than good and cause great suffering. Taoists see artificial treatment as a source of evil; however, if the treatment follows the flow of Tao, it is regarded as natural and therefore allowed (Tai, 2009). For example, if a Taoist patient is in need of mechanical ventilation to sustain life, it is no longer natural. The only way to natural care for that patient, without disrupting the Tao, is to provide palliative care and ultimately let the
Medicine within the Chinese culture is often being used to cure sickness and infection and to raise the forte of the frail and elder people (Purnell, 2013).
The Web That Has No Weaver: Understanding Chinese Medicine by Ted J. Kaptchuk is a non-fiction book describing the philosophy of traditional Chinese medicine and how it compares to Western medicine. This book does not focus on a specific time period or regions where Chinese medicine is practiced. Rather, it centers on the logic behind Chinese medicine. After studying Chinese medicine in Macao, Ted Kaptchuk returned to America and realized that he could not abandon what he learned just because it was different from Western medicine. Chinese medicine is over two thousand years old and textbooks have dated back to the Han dynasty (202 B.C.E.-220 C.E). These texts will continue to adapt, just as traditions adapt over time. Chinese medicine is still
The traditional Chinese treatment of acupuncture is an affective alternative medicine that has been around for thousands of years. Acupuncture is one of the most researched and documented alternative medicines around (Acupuncture). Although a vast majority of people believe Western medicine is the only cure to sickness, many people benefit from acupuncture everyday. Most people disregard the ancient art all together without giving it a chance because are scared of the needles it involves. Also, since no accurate scientific explanation of how and why it works has been found, people shy away from it. The healing powers of the body are taken to a whole different level with this alternative medicine.
Medical practices used in place of modern medical treatments. Medical systems that are complete diagnostic and treatment methods used in traditional and non-traditional Chinese medicine such as homeopathy and naturopathic medicine.
Chao Yuanfang, an imperial court physician of the Sui Dynasty (the dynasty that came before the Tang), compiled Treatise on Causes and Symptoms of Diseases and started the
In contrast to stoicism and Buddhism, Confucianism mostly focuses on the collectivism and familism. It makes people find solution to their problems by themselves. Whether it is a physical or psychological distress, it should be solved by the help of family members (Jin, 2017, pg. 37) Therefore, Chinese people considered that if they seek help from outside of the family it should be a loss of face for them. They think it is better not to bother others rather than facing challenges with in your emotions. By doing this, pain assessments of Chinese people are always inaccurate (Jin, 2017, pg. 38). As discussed above the ethnic background of Chinese culture and pain; there is some
Alternative medicine is novel to many western healthcare practices today, however its roots date back to more than 5000 years ago. The origin of alternative medicine is difficult to illustrate because it has influences from many diverse cultures including indigenous populations in the Americas and European civilians such as Romans and Greeks. However, many historians credit the Eastern traditions such as Ancient Chinese, Ancient Indian, and Ancient Egyptian practices as the true pioneers to alternative medicine as we see today. Alternative medicine has transversed to the West as many healthcare practices are in the pursuit of integrating eastern medicine ideals to their already established western medicine. However, how do these practices
Whether eastern-based medicine or western medicine, there is a multitude of so-called healing modalities. A plethora of industries is available to get their share of the huge financial pie. The pharmaceutical industry is one of the
Wang Qing-ren (1763-1831) was a famous physician of traditional Chinese medicine during the Qing Dynasty. He wrote the Yi Lin Gai Cuo (Correcting the Errors in the Forest of Medicine), his only published work, which first appeared in print in 1830 just a year before he died. Since then, it has been re-published numerous times in China, Japan and Korea, and is considered “one of the most reprinted books in all of Chinese medicine” (Minehan, 2007). The book was found to be controversial because it challenged many long-held beliefs in Traditional
Eastern and Western practices differ on many levels. One of the main differences between these two methods is the way in which medicine is actually practiced. Western medicine is heavily
Traditional Chinese medicine, or TCM, is one of the oldest systems of medicine to exist among humans, and it is extremely prominent to this day. According to legend, the system has been in use since the third millennium BCE. The views of such an old system differ greatly from those found in modern western medicine. Perhaps most prominent is the fact that TCM focuses more on the patient than the illness. The system considers the human to be a microcosm of the universe, implying that the body is affected by the traditional Taoist forces of yin and yang, the five elements, and Qi in the same way the cosmos are. Each of these forces act upon the “zang fu,” or organ system, directly influencing a patient’s health. Healers use qigong to assist in the restoration of stability in the body. Achieving balance, both internally and externally, is the most important aspect of healing in TCM.
TCM, or Traditional Chinese Medicine, can be traced as far back as 1000 BC, where stone acupuncture needles were believed to be used. Texts from that period also talked of Yin and Yang and other concepts. The first written work on TCM is titled the Yellow Emperor’s Inner Classic, Huangdi Newijing (Gascoigne 11). This book was written in 300 BC, but entries date back to the early 2700’s BC. The book is still used in universities of Chinese Medicine around the world and is often called the bible of TCM. Today, TCM is still thriving in China and all of Asia. In recent years, information on TCM has become available to people in the United States. The United States has several schools of TCM, and it is now much easier to buy the necessary
One important aspect of Chinese culture is Traditional Chinese Medicine, also known as TCM. Chinese medicine has been around for quite awhile, and is still around today. In the United States, we see it as acupuncture and massage. TCM is still widely popular in its home country where it is still practiced as it was a few centuries ago. Chinese medicine is evolving to our modern day times, but it is keeping close ties to its roots. Chinese medicine is also becoming more affluent in different parts of the globe. It is a major part of Chinese history and culture, and the people who participate in it do so with great respect. With Chinese medicine, there is great history, procedures, risks, and how it lives in the modern world.
Historical data illustrates medicine classification in accordance to branches. This was started long during Zhou Dynasty. The fast class focused on medicine used while treating diseases such as dietetic, conducting of surgery as well as veterinary medicine. This medicine was subdivided into about nine additional types; it didn’t end here but as medicine advanced this was further taken to ten subdivisions in total. New players realized that the field was so deep thus while trying to meet expectation they didn’t stop here but kept on achieving new discoveries leading to new classification. It was also clear that they consider specializing in specific field to facilitate efficiency thus assuring great results as well. Cupping therapy is known to have been in existence for a considerable time now of over a thousands years. According toe medical history it