What is TCM?
TCM, or Traditional Chinese Medicine, is an ancient comprehensive medical system encompassing thousands of years of history and experience. It incorporates theories of Yin-Yang balance, Qi-Blood circulation, meridian systems, and more.
Origin of TCM Culture
The origins of TCM trace back to primitive society, with its fundamental theories taking shape during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, accumulating nearly 5000 years of history.
Rooted in Practical Experience
In TCM, one influential medical legend is the story of Shennong tasting hundreds of herbs, marking the beginning of medical practices. This legend has been passed down through generations.
According to Chen Bangxian, the author of “History of Chinese Medicine,” the origin of Chinese medicine has been historically attributed to deities such as Fuxi, Shennong, and the Yellow Emperor. Fuxi is honored for tasting hundreds of herbs and creating nine needles to save lives indirectly indicating the origin of acupuncture and herbal medicine. Shennong is recognized for tasting the flavors of hundreds of herbs, sweet and bitter qualities of springs, and teaching people to avoid seventy toxins in one day, emphasizing the earliest discovery and use of Chinese herbal medicine. The statement that “the Yellow Emperor dispatched Qibo to taste herbs and compile the master’s work on medicine” introduces the theoretical system of TCM through the mouths of the Yellow Emperor and Qibo in the first medical classics, “The Yellow Emperor’s Inner Canon” and “The Yellow Emperor’s Outer Canon.”
In summary, through countless trials and experiential accumulations, some exceptional individuals transmitted knowledge about medicines, treatment processes, and effective principles of diseases they observed to later generations, giving birth to TCM.
Ancient Philosophical Thought as the Foundation for TCM Theories
Ancient shamans and physicians were closely related, and Chinese traditional medicine emerged from early human exploration. It is intertwined with the ancient human practices of deity worship and the origins of religion, endowing TCM with distinctive humanistic medical features.
In the “Zhou Li” (Rites of Zhou), it is mentioned: “In each village, establish a shaman doctor with a hundred herbs prepared to deal with disasters.” In the historical context of primitive religion, early ancestors sought protection from deities, and divination for warding off disasters and illnesses emerged. Consequently, TCM is closely related to divination, and individuals were called “divination doctors.” These diviners, apart from using methods like prayers and divination, also utilized drugs and employed primitive medical tools such as stone needles, bone needles, bone awls, tooth knives, etc., for certain medical activities. Therefore, in the early ancient times, medicine and shamanism were inseparable; medicine was also shamanism, and shamanism was medicine, often referred to as “shamanic medicine.”
Later on, medicine evolved towards clinical and academic aspects, while shamanism mostly turned towards mysticism. During the Warring States period, a true physician, Bian Que, emerged, who proposed the famous “Six Unattainable Heals” theory, including the belief that “trust in shamans, not in physicians,” is incurable. He boldly proclaimed that medicine and shamanism must part ways. Consequently, during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, medicine separated from shamanism, establishing its independent position.