What is Traditional Chinese Medicine?
Despite the title of this post, it’s actually easier to start with what Traditional Chinese Medicine is not.
What Traditional Chinese Medicine is not
According to one scholar writing an editorial in the journal ‘Nature’, it’s all about the reckless slaughter of endangered animals. A hideous act carried out so we can eat their bones and hides in powdered form. All in the desperate hope of being cured for everything from cancer to a common cold. Unfortunately, this individual is not alone amongst other non-experts of Chinese Medicine in writing about the potential risks to the natural world presented by TCM. It would be interesting to research whether the TCM-sceptics upped the ante in their claims after the inclusion of Traditional Chinese Medicine for the first time by the World Health Organisation (WHO) in its global compendium in 2018.
About the WHO Global Compendium
For those who are not familiar with this compendium, it is a global reference for the categorisation of thousands of diseases and diagnoses. Furthermore, it sets the medical agenda in more than 100 countries. It influences how physicians make diagnoses, how insurance companies determine what cover they will provide, how epidemiologists ground their research and how health officials interpret mortality statistics. In short, it is a big deal.
And this is what concerns many Western Medicine professionals. hey fear the spread of the use of Chinese Medicine and other so-called complementary therapies as part of mainstream medicine. And speaking as a degree educated practitioner, Therapist and advocate of Chinese Medicine, it may surprise you to know I do in part share their concern. I’ll explain why later.
Back to the Bones
But first, going back to the bones and hides issue. Yes, it is sadly true that in some parts of the globe, animals are killed, and their body parts mixed into remedies and administered as ‘cures’. This is not something I would ever advocate for reasons obvious to many of us. But what is categorically not true is that this animal destruction is necessary in order to be a Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioner. Nor is it required to help people with many ailments from menopause symptoms to pain relief.
So, if TCM is not about monkey brains and rhino horns, what is it about?
Simply put, TCM is a system of medicine that has evolved over a period of time; spanning over 3000 years. I’m aware that describing it as a system of medicine will make some people twitchy. Because entitling oneself as a medic is considered by some as the sole privilege of those who have gone through a western medical education system.
TCM is based on a very different philosophy to health and wellbeing than that of the Western world. And is therefore not in any way comparable to the systems of medicine with which we Westerners are generally familiar. However, different does not necessarily mean wrong!
This post is one in a four part series on Traditional Chinese Medicine.
Part 1: What Is Traditional Chinese Medicine?
Part 2: The Evolution Of Traditional Chinese Medicine
Part 3: What is the Difference Between Western and Chinese Medicine?
