Traditional Chinese Medicine

Traditional Chinese Medicine Overview

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), or sometimes called Chinese medicine (CM), is a traditional medical system. It has a holistic approach to diagnosing, preventing and treating diseases by identifying patterns and then applying the individual or combined therapies of acupuncture, Chinese herbal medicine, tuina - a therapeutic massage; and other techniques.

Its unique characteristics which distinguish it from ‘orthodox’ medicine are rooted in the "concept of holism - zheng ti guan nian" and "treatment according to syndrome differentiation - bian zheng lun zhi". It is essential to recognise that the fundamental theory of TCM includes those of Qi, Yin Yang, the five elements, zang-fu, the four diagnostic methods and syndrome differentiation systems.

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is one of the world's oldest medical systems still widely practised today. It is a unique and independent medical system which originated from China and developed down through the centuries imbued with the spirit of Chinese civilisation and culture. For thousand of years, TCM has played a major role in maintaining the health of Chinese people.

Chinese Medicine was established through centuries of trial and error processes, taking a very long time from the beginning of the practice of Chinese Medicine to the establishment of a complete theory.
Thus although physical evidence for TCM reveals its origins to be over two thousand years ago, its social history, traditions and roots predates this, making it a fundamental part of Chinese civilization.

Chinese Medicine directly and indirectly influenced the development of many herbal medicines around the globe, including but not limited to the herbal medicines in Japan, Korea, Tibet, Vietnam, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, Indonesia, etc. Through the Silk Road and other cultural exchanges, Chinese Medicine had been exported to Europe and other continents hundreds and thousands of years ago, being practiced in more than 100 countries around the world, and influencing the development of many other herbal medicines in regions outside Asia. The influence of Chinese Medicine on other alternative medicines (including homeopathy, naturopathy, chiropractic, physical therapy, etc.) can potentially be much more profound and significant than most people realize.

Therefore, Chinese Medicine is in a leading position in the Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM), and serves the largest CAM patient population in the world. Chinese Herbal Medicine (CHM) alone has millions of patients in the world, making Chinese Medicine a world medicine. Today, the term "Chinese Medicine" refers not only to the Chinese Medicine practised inside China, as the word "Chinese" has lost its original regional or ethnic meaning, and has become an abstract term representing a world medicine.

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