Foundations of Chinese medicine
The theoretical basis on which everything else is built: how Chinese tradition understands the body, its balance and the causes of disease.
What Is Chinese Medicine? A Clear and Rigorous Introduction
Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is a health system with more than two thousand years of history that understands the body as a set of interrelated functions, in balance with its environment. It uses concepts such as Qi, Yin and Yang and the five elements, and relies on therapies such as acupuncture, herbal medicine, moxibustion, tuina massage, dietary therapy and exercises such as qigong.
FoundationsHistory of Chinese Medicine
Chinese medicine took shape over more than two thousand years. Its theoretical foundations were set down in texts such as the Huangdi Neijing, around the Han dynasty, and expanded with works such as Zhang Zhongjing's Shanghan Lun and Li Shizhen's Bencao Gangmu. In the 20th century it was institutionalized in China and spread around the world.
Foundations阴阳Yin and Yang
In Chinese philosophy and medicine, Yin and Yang are two opposite and complementary aspects present in all phenomena: Yin represents what is cold, still and nourishing, and Yang what is warm, active and functional. Traditional Chinese Medicine understands health as their dynamic balance and disease as their imbalance.
Foundations五行The Five Elements
The five elements or five phases (wu xing) are Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water, five categories that traditional Chinese medicine uses to relate organs, emotions, seasons, colors and flavors. They are linked to one another through a generating cycle (sheng), in which each element nourishes the next, and a controlling cycle (ke), in which each element restrains another.
Foundations精气神Vital Substances
In traditional Chinese medicine, the vital substances are the components that sustain life and the activity of the body: Qi, Blood (Xue), Body Fluids (Jin Ye), Essence (Jing) and Spirit (Shen). According to this theory, they are produced from heredity, food and air, and their abundance and free circulation are the basis of health.
Foundations脏腑Zang Fu
The Zang Fu are the system of organs and viscera in traditional Chinese medicine: five yin organs (Zang) that store vital substances and six yang viscera (Fu) that transform and transport. They do not correspond exactly to the anatomical organs, but to sets of interrelated physiological, emotional and energetic functions.
Foundations经络Meridians
According to Traditional Chinese Medicine, the meridians (jing luo) are a network of channels through which Qi and Blood circulate and which connect the internal organs with the surface of the body. There are twelve main meridians, paired with the organs, and eight extraordinary vessels, the most notable of which are Ren Mai and Du Mai.
Foundations病因Causes of disease in Chinese medicine
Traditional Chinese medicine groups the causes of disease into three categories: external (the six climatic factors, such as wind, cold or dampness), internal (the seven emotions when they are intense or prolonged) and neither internal nor external (diet, overwork, injuries and other habits). It is a traditional model, distinct from the etiology of modern medicine.
