Chinese medicine is considered in the West to be alternative medicine. However, the theoretical framework of Chinese medicine was established more than 2000 years ago. During the Han dynasty, from 206 B.C. to 220 A.D., an authoritative and practical guide for the treatment of illness was produced that even today serves Chinese medical practitioners.
Chinese medicine is based on the philosophy that man lives between heaven and earth and comprises a miniature universe. As a result, Chinese medicine treats the body an integrated whole, with the mind and spirit as essential parts of a human being – the Chinese doctor views the body more as a functional entity while a Western doctor views the body more as a structural one.
Viewing the body as a whole, for practitioners of Chinese medicine balance is crucial for health, and balance as a primary matter is symbolized in the principle of yin-yang. This principle holds that everything in the material universe consists of two opposite, interdependent aspects: the yin that is the passive, receding aspect of nature as in water and the yang that is the active, advancing aspect of nature as in fire. These aspects are not absolute but are relative and are in constant motion. As a person changes, so do the yin-yang components.
Each organ of the body has yin-yang aspects, some more of one than the other. However, the proper balance of yin-yang throughout the body maintains good health. An excess or deficiency of either is the cause illness, and balance can be restored through natural means. Chinese medicine diagnoses diseases by looking, listening, asking and touching, and treats diseases by the control of diet and exercises, the use of acupuncture, herbs and massage.
Over the following months we will add to this introduction to offer a more comprehensive description of Chinese medicine and how it treats various illnesses. We offer these descriptions from the perspective that Chinese medicine compliments Western medicine rather than viewing one as an alternative to the other.
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