文化 | What is Traditional Chinese Medicine?
Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM; simplified Chinese: 中医; traditional Chinese: 中醫; pinyin:Zhōngyī) is a style of traditional medicine built on a foundation of more than 2,500 years of Chinese medical practice that includes various forms of herbal medicine, acupuncture, massage (tui na), exercise (qigong), and dietary therapy, but recently also influenced by modern Western medicine. TCM is widely used in Greater China (where it has long been the standard system of medicine), and is becoming increasingly popular and recognized worldwide (where it is primarily approached as alternative medicine).
It is a type of holistic, natural health care system that dates back at least 2,000 years to the year 200 B.C. TCM is “holistic” and “natural” because it stimulates the body’s own healing mechanisms and takes into account all aspects of a patient’s life, rather than just several obvious signs or symptoms. TCM practitioners view the body as a complex network of interconnected parts (part of a larger concept known as Qi), rather than separate systems or organs.
According to the University of Maryland Medical Center, Traditional Chinese Medicine treatments aim to correct imbalances in the body and primarily work in three major ways:
Addressing a patient’s external factors and environment
Helping patients relate to their internal emotions in a healthier way, including managing stress
Improving someone’s lifestyle factors, including diet and exercise routine
Organs that are especially focused on during TCM treatments include the kidneys, heart, spleen, liver, lung, gallbladder, small intestine and large intestine. Depending on the specific type, the benefits of TCM therapies range considerably. Some of the health problems most commonly treated with Traditional Chinese Medicine therapies include:
Chronic pain
Arthritis
Fatigue
Infertility
Liver disease
Headaches
Indigestion
Hormonal imbalances
High blood pressure
PMS or menopause symptoms
Cancer recovery or chemotherapy
Different Traditional Chinese Medicine therapies include:
Acupuncture: Helps lower pain, improve hormonal balance and combat stress
Cupping therapy: Used for pain management, improving immunity and helping with digestion
Herbal medicine: Used to control inflammation, fight free radical damage and boost liver function
Nutrition: For preventing deficiencies, boosting energy and improving detoxification
Exercise: Including Qi gong or tai chi for flexibility, strength and concentration
Massage: Soft tissue manipulation for improving blood flow, one of which is called tui na
Moxibustion (灸术; 艾灼): Burning an herb near the skin
Watch and learn
https://v.qq.com/txp/iframe/player.html?vid=i0627qljwsr&width=500&height=375&auto=0
Traditional Chinese Medicine is an all-encompassing term to describe an approach to healing developed in China more than 3,000 years ago. The belief at the centre of Traditional Chinese Medicine is that there are many energetic forces within your body that are constantly in flux. Balanced energies lead to balanced health. Unbalanced energies lead to illness or disease.
In Traditional Chinese Medicine, the energetic forces within your body are called qi (pronounced “chee”). They flow like water down the rivers of your body called meridians (经线). When your qi is blocked, illness or disease may result.
The aim of Traditional Chinese Medicine is to promote the proper flow of qi throughout your body. Such flow can be achieved using a variety of methods. For example, it can include a variety of treatment protocols such as acupuncture, acupressure, single herbs, formulas and dietary changes to help rebalance and bring harmony to the qi throughout the meridians of your body’s organ systems.
acupressure: the application of pressure (as with the thumbs or fingertips) to the same discrete points on the body stimulated in acupuncture that is used for its therapeutic effects (as the relief of tension or pain)
Do you know some famous TCM doctors in Chinese history?
(Look at the picture and identify them)
- Hua Tuo
- Sun Simiao
- Bian Que
- Li Shizhen
- Zhang Zhongjing
- etc.
附：十 大 名 医 之 祖
一、针灸之祖——黄帝
二、脉学介导者——扁鹊
三、外科之祖——华佗
四、医圣——张仲景
五、预防医学的介导者——葛洪
六、药王——孙思邈七、儿科之祖——钱乙八、法医之祖——宋慈九、药圣——李时珍十、《医宗金鉴》总修官——吴谦
- herb: /həːb/ n
a small plant that is used to improve the taste of food,
or to make medicine
- acupuncture:/ˈækjʊˌpʌŋktʃə US -ər/ n
a treatment for pain and disease that involves pushing special needles into parts of the body
附一张北师大版高中教材的图片
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