Study Abroad Student Blogs

Liang Gu, Public Health in China, Summer 2013

I will apologize in advance for the long post – even this is only the rough sketch of what the Traditional Chinese Medicine class will cover! In this post I will attempt to cover the theory behind TCM that we covered in class. For other parts, please refer to:

TCM Classes 

TCM Field Trips and Herb Collecting

The class on Traditional Chinese Medicine isn’t something you can just pick up on CAESAR; it’s taught in China by actual TCM practitioners and professors of the medical school of Beida. In other words, this is the real deal. In class we are introduced to the theory, practice, as well as a brief history of TCM. However, the class is a crash course at best. TCM as a profession takes tens of years to master, but we attempted to cram the theory as well as application in the short period of one month. The professors rotated constantly, each introducing us to specific subjects such as theory, acupuncture (needling), moxibustion (therapy through burning the moxa stick), or tuina (massage).

CORE THEORY

TCM in China is not regarded as a “complementary” or “alternative” form of medicine. In fact, a stroll through major cities in China will take you to hospitals that are exclusively dedicated to TCM (known as 中医院). The theory behind TCM is formulated through thousands of years of experience. The central principles of TCM revolve around the concept of “qi” (气) and the balance between Yin (阴) and Yang (阳).

“Qi,” for the lack of a directly translated English word, is the manifestation of energy in all matter. Yin and Yang are the manifestations of Qi. Yin is the substance that gives the material basis to Yang, and Yang is the function that consumes the Yin. TCM stresses the harmony between the Yin and the Yang to achieve health.

Sickness in TCM is believed to be the disharmony of the Yin Yang dynamic. As can be observed from the Yin Yang symbol, the waxing of one inevitably leads to the waning of the other. However, an excess or deficiency of one of the elements will cause normal body functions to break down. An example diagnostic: Yang excess is usually caused by stress, over-exertion, or hot natured food and can lead to fever, reddened tongue, increased heat production, and increased body fluid consumption.

The Yin – Yang Symbol

TCM does not focus on the reductionist view of identifying the cause of a set of specific symptoms and locating the exact manifestation of the disease, but instead tries to restore balance to the body’s own immunological functions.

THE THEORY OF THE FIVE PHASES

In TCM there are five elements: wood, fire, earth, metal, and water. Each element has certain symbolic properties that correspond to the five major internal organs. The heart is fire, the lungs metal, the spleen earth, the liver wood, and the kidney water. The five organs are related to each other through the symbolic relationship of the five elements: water checks fire, fire checks metal, metal checks wood, wood checks earth, and earth checks water. Some of the organs also are believed to perform different functions than what is known through biomedicine. For example, the kidney is believed to perform a vital role in reproduction.

This is the theoretical model of TCM governing the human physiology. When a disease occurs, the practitioner will attempt to identify the organ that is affected, followed by the disharmony (imbalance of Yin and Yang) and prescribe methods to help restore the order (acupuncture, moxibustion, tuina, herbs, etc), targeting the other organs in relation to the five phases.

THE THEORY OF THE CHANNELS AND MERIDIANS

Channels and Meridians on the human body

In TCM, the Qi is believed to flow throughout the human body. However, there are concentrated paths of Qi known as “Jing Luo,” or meridians. The meridians are believed to be physically unobservable channels in the human body that energetically connects all parts of the body to each other. The concentrated parts of Qi are places that are targeted by acupuncture, moxibustion, tui na, gua sha, and cupping.

ADVICE REGARDING CLASSES

A word of caution: do know what you expect from class, especially those pre-medical students. This class will be drastically different from the biomedicine that you have been exposed to for most, if not all your life. There is lots of knowledge in TCM that do not have a direct scientific explanation that would satisfy your curiosity – a lot of things are the way they are simply because they’ve always been and it works for practical purposes. Don’t treat your time in class as a dichotomy between Western and Eastern medicine, but try to think about it as a different take on the philosophy of medicine. Let this experience enhance and not challenge your view of health.