Preface

In this book, we endeavor to introduce readers to the cultural background, origins and historical development of traditional Chinese medicine. We surveyed the most important events in its long history and the conditions that influenced its development, including the cultural and philosophical ideas and assumptions that led to the development of the particular methods and techniques of healing that characterize Chinese medicine. Our goal is not to give an exhaustive survey of the history and philosophy of Chinese medicine, but rather to convey the patterns of its development and allow readers to gain an understanding of the distinctive features of traditional Chinese medicine.

Before we travel through the world of the history of traditional Chinese medicine and philosophy, the author would like to attempt to briefly introduce Chinese medical history and its relationship to ancient Chinese philosophy. This is what separates this book from other works about the history of Chinese medicine. Readers will come to understand not only the processes and events of Chinese history and traditional Chinese medicine, but why they were occurring.

We are inspired and guided by the traditional adage, “Studying history makes one wise.”

Chinese Medical System and Its Characteristics, ChinesePhilosophical System and Its Traits

What is life? How do we cherish it? What is health? How can we stay in good health? What is disease? How shall we prevent and treat it? What is medicine? How do we comprehend it? These are the questions we have to answer before we can understand the origins and development of traditional Chinese medicine.

Disease is a part of life. Resisting disease and the suffering it brings is also a part of human nature. Therefore, medical thoughts and practice represent more than just human beings’ efforts to maintain health. It also entails our attempts to rationally and systematically understand ourselves and our surroundings.

To prevent disease and stay healthy, we have to first answer the following question: “What is a human being?” Diverse answers to this question gave birth to different cultures and distinct types of medical systems with unique ideas and practices aimed at the treatment and prevention of diseases.

In the conceptual and philosophical system of ancient China, humans were believed to be the products of the interaction between yin and yang. This idea is found in many different areas of knowledge and practice in China. For example, in TheYellow Emperor’s Inner Classic （ Huáng Dì Nèi Jīng, 黄帝内经） it states: “humans come into being as a result of the qi of the heaven and earth, and are ruled by the changes of yin and yang through the four seasons.” ^[1] Wang Chong, a scholar in the Eastern Han Dynasty （25-220A.D.） asserts, in his book On Balance （ Lùn Héng, 论衡）, “the qi from the heaven and earth converges to form human beings.” ^[2]

The system of thought and practice we call “traditional Chinese medicine” is based on the correlation between human beings and nature. The concepts and beliefs regarding life, health, the treatment of disease and the prevention of illness are all predicated on this fundamental insight.

The object of medical studies is individual lives, which are inseparable from their living environment and spiritual world. Since the individual had been considered an integral part of the universe, the ancient Chinese philosophy never intended to separate them.

Therefore, an important feature of traditional Chinese medicine is that humans are considered to be an integral part of nature. The theoretical system of traditional Chinese medicine developed directly from ancient Chinese philosophy, and was never separated from the latter. Correspondence between humans and nature has always defined the development of traditional Chinese medicine and Chinese philosophy in terms of both their advantages and limitations since the very beginning of history.

Over the five thousand years of Chinese civilization, philosophy has infused and shaped Chinese culture, often acting as a balancing influence.

Of all the ancient arts, traditional Chinese medicine is the only discipline that has been kept relatively intact during its evolution from ancient times to the present. After thousands of years, people still find it relevant and useful in clinical practice. Therefore, the study of its origin and development has great significance for the academic world in general rather than just for the discipline itself. Likewise, to fully understand the system of traditional Chinese medicine, we have to first understand Chinese culture and its roots in Chinese philosophical ideas and values. Otherwise, we will not be able to grasp the essence of traditional Chinese medicine.

The author holds the view that failure to see this kind of interconnection between traditional Chinese medicine and Chinese culture will lead to bias and confusion. On the other hand, Chinese researchers immersed in the Chinese culture should try to avoid the limitations and biases caused by being in the culture all the time.

The reason why traditional Chinese medicine is distinct from modern medicine and all other types of traditional medicine is that it is based upon the philosophy, values and other features of traditional culture in China.

This textbook intends to explicate the close relation between traditional Chinese medicine and traditional Chinese culture by narrating different historical events in its long history.

Among all the ancient civilizations, it is the Chinese culture that enjoys the most attention worldwide. Diligent historians have traced Chinese culture back through five thousand years of written texts and archeological findings, and unrecorded history can be traced back even further to a more distant era.

“Philosophy” is a loanword, which has no equivalent in ancient China. However, this fact did not prevent the Chinese people from exploring, understanding and thinking carefully and deeply about the universe, nature, themselves and their surroundings.

“Philosophy” primarily consists of the following fields of inquiry: 1） the view of the universe （including the view of nature）; 2） epistemology （the way to understand the world）; 3） the view of ethics （theories of the relationship between human society and its surroundings）; and 4） the view of history.

Through their exploration and understanding of the issues above, the Chinese people have developed unique and significant philosophical theories. The legacy of Chinese philosophy can be seen today in the life and work of its successors.

Those great thinkers who dedicated their lives to thinking deeply about these fundamental issues have been known as “philosophers” throughout Chinese history. Confucius （551-479 B.C.）, a celebrated ancient Chinese philosopher, once sighed compassionately, “How difficult it is for philosophers to bring their sagacity and ambitions into full play!” ^[3] （ The Records of Court Historian, Shĭ Jì- Kŏng Zĭ Shì Jiā, 史记·孔子世家）

Studying these texts thousands of years later, we are confronted with such notions as qi, yin and yang, Tao, correlation between nature and humans. We must come to terms with the The Book of Changes （Zhōu Yì, 周易）, Laozi and Confucius. We must understand the significance of the trends in intellectual history such as “let a hundred philosophical schools contend”, “Confucianism only”, debates over “meaning versus image”, and “using Chinese cultures as the basis but learning from the Western cultures”. We are deeply touched by the great courage and wisdom of ancient Chinese philosophers as they tried to “explore the relations between nature and humans, and understand ancient and modern changes”.

Funerary objects, including tools used in production, household items and artistic or decorative items excavated from Neolithic sites show that early peoples had some consciousness of the concepts of “soul” and “afterlife”.

When a particular group of people began to rely on something that was deemed indispensable to their survival and livelihood, their awareness of this often grew into primitive totem worship.

Confronted with human phenomena such as dreams and moods, as well as natural phenomena such as thunder, lightening, wind and rain their awe and wonder transformed into a belief in “gods”.

Furthermore, in their struggle for survival, they accumulated experience or empirical evidence, which, over time, gave rise to their beliefs in the “laws” or constant patterns of life.

Hence, primitive societies realized that human beings and nature often have an oppositional relationship. Over time, this basic insight was expanded and developed into various philosophical viewpoints. As society developed, these grew into distinct schools of thought.

Culture is the soil that nurtures philosophy. Any philosophy that is the product of a particular culture will be the distillation and essence of that culture. Therefore, the meaning and value of a nations’ culture will be reflected and expressed in its philosophical traditions.

World history tells us that certain geographical, economic and social environments create specific types of cultures. Against these cultural types, we find that historical events may randomly occur and affect its course of development, but the general direction of development is quite fixed and inevitable.

Characteristics of Ancient Chinese Civilization and TraditionalChinese Medicine

It is difficult to summarize the characteristics of the main stream ideology of Chinese philosophy in a limited space, but the author will attempt to elaborate its main aspects as follows:

— Realm of human reality: Practical political ethics are emphasized: “how can our exploration of the natural world lead us to any concrete conclusions? There are only the changes of the four seasons and rise and decline of all things”. ^[4] （Confucius）With the exception of the Mohist School, which may find difficult to understand, all other schools of thought were intensively concerned with real political issues and humanistic pragmatism. This has led some scholars to conclude that “practical value”was the most prominent feature of ancient Chinese culture and philosophy.

— Intuition: Instinct and realization are emphasized. Since it is lack of methods to have direct and thorough analysis on the specific objects from aspects of formation, structure, process and result, intuition and realization became the primary “ways of knowing”.

— Wholism: This refers to the stress on correspondence between human beings and the universe. This has been an enduring presumption behind traditional Chinese medicine and this insight has been expounded and applied to every aspect of medical theory.

— Dynamics: It is well-known that “harmony” is an important, time-honored characteristic of the Chinese civilization. Like the curves of the tai ji symbol of yin and yang, “harmony” is a kind of dynamic balance, something that can only be achieved after active and effective reconciliation. It means pursuing and grasping what may often seem to be contradictory aspects of a matter.

Based on the above brief summary, we can draw some conclusions about the influence of philosophy on traditional Chinese medicine.

The Chinese philosophical system has shaped traditional Chinese medicine in the following four aspects: embracing holism; understanding life as dynamic movement; seeking dynamic balance and weighing up the pros and cons of every phenomenon. Thus, the distinct features of the traditional Chinese medical system took shape in as part of the larger background of ancient thought.

In the following chapters, readers will go on a journey with us through the dusty past and listen to stories from historical events of the remote past one after another.

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