What is TCM (English)

Hello everybody:

 

My name is Xiaoying Li (Lily Forster).

 

Because I have a understanding of both Western & Chinese medicine, I would like to compare both of them for you today, and hopefully let you know what I believe to be the good points in each. And maybe- the next time you get ill – you will have a choice about how you get better!

 

 

So, what exactly is TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine)?

Let’s look at a case first:

 

A woman got ovarian cysts on the right side. Her western doctor decided that surgery would be the best course of action and decided to operate to remove the cysts. However, two years later, the cysts returned – this time on the left side. Understandably, because she was planning to have a baby, the patient did not want surgery for a second time. She decided to consult a TCM doctor.

 

After her TCM treatment, thankfully, her condition was cured – without surgery.

 

So, how can TCM achieve these results?

 

In TCM theory it is believed that if you do not change the environment of the body, then you are leaving the body open to disease recurring.

 

Here’s an example: imagine mushrooms growing in the forest. If the conditions are just right – for example: the right temperature, right light and just enough water, then the mushrooms will grow well. In fact, even if you cut the mushrooms down, if the environment remains unchanged then the mushrooms will always grow back.

 

With many human diseases the same things happen. As in our example; you can cut away the disease, but if you don’t change the body’s environment, then the disease is liable to return.

 

Western Medicine began to spread into China in 1805, before of it, Chinese have used TCM to treat themself for more than 2000 years, they had consequently accumulated a wealth of clinical experience.

 

The earliest TCM famous book is “Yellow Emperor’s Inner Classic”, in this book, the most important principle is “tian ren he yi – 天人合一“, it means:

 

Human and nature must in harmony. They said, if human is in harmony with nature, then human will be healthy and safety.

For example, there are full of bacteria and virus in everywhere, if you check your body in microscope, you will find, there are full of bacteria and virus in your mouth, skin, stomach…etc. but normally you don’t get ill, because you and these bacteria and virus live harmony, only when your body isn’t in a balance, then these bacteria and virus can hurt you.

 

So according to different treatment principle, Western medicine and TCM, they have different ways to cure disease. It likes when we were young, we did mathematics,  we could have more ways to solve the same question.  For these bacteria, Western Medicine invented antibiotics, it likes to use guns to kill enemies.  TCM will keep your body stronger and says to these bacteria:

“We stay in harmony – or  you go way!”.  

 

Since the advent of antibiotics, Western Medicine invented more than 7000 kinds of antibiotics, but now, only not more than 100 antibiotics can be used in clinics. Why, because when you want to kill bacteria, they will change to survive. They have a strong will for living. They also have their reason to live. They made some antibiotics useless to them.

 

TCM is used for 2000 years and until now, it is still useful, because they don’t kill everything, they always do one things: “Keep the body in balance, let human and all life in the nature to be in harmony.

 

So we can say, the way of Western Medicine is: to kill disease, and the way of TCM is: to treat person.

 

“TCM” in Chinese, we call “zhong yi – 中医”,

” zhong 中” have more meanings e.g. means China

“yi 医” means medicine.
All together: “zhong yi –  中医“means Chinese Medicine, medicine comes from China.

 

 

Maybe you don’t know, “zhong 中”- it has another meaning, it means ” middle”, in the middle, not in right side, not in left side, not too high, not too down, we would like to “in the middle”. Let see these Chinese word “中”, could you see a “︱” in the middle to separate “ロ”? Could you feel the meaning of “balance” or ” middle” or ” harmony” ? This is the main rule in TCM. I am sure Swiss people know how good is it when you to be neutral.

 

So how TCM treat person to balance? Please wait for continued.