The ancient healing art we call Traditional Chinese Medicine originated more than two millennia ago in the period 300 BC – 100 BC. Its oldest canonical text dates from that time: Inner Classic of the Yellow Emperor (Huang Di Nei Jing), complied by unknown authors. It contains theoretical medical concepts that will be elaborated and commented upon by medical scholars in every age over the subsequent years. Around the6th century A.D., Chinese medicine spread to Korea, Japan, Southeast Asia, and India, where significant variations on Chinese practices have been developed.

Because of its relatively rapid introduction to the West in the recent years, many in the West are either still unfamiliar with Chinese medicine or harbor strange ideas about it. Some see it as a byproduct of a primitive, unscientific past relying on magical, superstitious thinking, while others embrace it uncritically almost as a faith system, assuming that what is ancient must be more “true.” Both attitudes mystify the subject and hinder its proper understanding. Actually, Chinese medicine is a rational body of knowledge founded on evolving, living tradition. Based on ancient texts, its methods have been developed and refined through a continuous process of critical thought, clinical observation, and testing.

Although Traditional Chinese Medicine first gained prominence in the United States for its effectiveness in treating pain, it is a comprehensive and coherent system of medical practice, predicated on the principle that optimal health is achieved by maintaining or restoring balance and harmony in the body. The core expression of this principle is rooted in the metaphysics and ethics of an ancient Chinese philosophy called Taoism, which upholds the Tao, usually translated as “the way”, a path of conduct that allows one to live in harmony with one’s own nature, other people, and the natural world. There are various forces and relationships in nature that have universal validity, and health and disease in the human microcosm are subject to these principles of natural order. It follows that the practice of medicine should be based on these principles of natural order.

Unlike western medicine, which is primarily concerned with isolating a specific disease entity or agents of disease, Chinese medicine considers the complete physiological and psychological individual within the context of his or her life. Rather than merely addressing the physical symptoms, all relevant information including a person’s constitution, general characteristics, and environmental factors is taken into account to locate a pattern of disharmony or imbalance in a patient’s body. This integral, organismic logic of Chinese medicine enables its practitioners to adopt a synthetic, holistic approach, regarding each patient as a unique individual, and administering treatments suited to each person’s special requirements.

Interaction and relationship between the practitioner and the patient is as important as acupuncture and herbs, and the treatment is an act of collaboration between the practitioner and the patient. Health is an expression of living in balance and harmony; and this state can be achieved through moderation and discipline. It requires one to transcend the illusion of separation between mind and body, and to acknowledge the interdependence and interconnected of human beings and the nature that surround them. This approach to understanding health is perhaps the singular contribution of Traditional Chinese Medicine to the world of contemporary medicine.