TCM or Traditional Chinese Medicine is medical practices originating in China that has been is use for a very long time. The methods range from eating the correct things and herbal remedies to acupuncture and various types of massage, including Shitatsu and Tui na. The martial art Tau chi chuan is performed for health reason rather than protection and is together with the practice of Qigong associated with TCM.
Importnat parts and believes in Traditional Chinese medicine includes, the Zang fu organ hypothesis, Ying and Yang, Wu Xing (AKa the five phases in English) and the meridians. TCM can find a lot of its roots in general ideas from the Taoistic and Buddhistic religions.
One of the most important sources of about traditional Chinese medicine is a 2000 year old book calledShen Nong’s Herbal Classic“. It is the worlds oldest book on the topic of Chinese herbal remedies and is divided into three different categories or chapters and contain information on how to use 365 species of animals and plants
- The three chapters all deals with different aspects of medicine and the first one contains information about herbs that can help the body maintain balance and thereby stay healthy. According to the book, these herbal supplements be effective against a long row of different illnesses and have few if any side effects.
- The second category is comprised of tonics and booster, and the reader is warned against prolonged consumption of these products.
- The third chapter contains info on disease specific treatments. The herb used in the third chapter should only be used in small doses and can have severe side effects.
Two thousand years after the book was composed, herbal medicine is still considered the primary therapeutic modality of internal medicine by a large part of the Chinese population. Single herbs are often combined with each other to form mixtures consisting of anything from two to over 25 herbs.
While some part of traditional Chinese medicine is very well known to westerners such as thai chi and acupuncture thre are other practices that are still rather unknown outside China such as the Zang Fu organ. To put it simple, the Zang Fu organ theory describes the functions of the organs in the human body and the interactions that occur between them. It is strongly linked to the belief in Yin and Yang, with the term Zang referring to the yin organs and the term Fu referring to the yang ones.
Heart, lungs, liver, kidneys, spleen and pericardium are all zang (i.e. yin) organs, while the large and small intestine, gall bladder, stomach, urinary bladder and gall bladder are considered fu (i.e. yang) organs. The fu list also contain the San Jiao organ but this organ does not have a physical component and is likely primarely a energetic organ.
Each of the organs mentioned above have a corresponding organ, except the pericardium and san jiao. In this practice the fu and zang organs are paired up with eachother and assigned on of the WU Xing phases. The lung and large intestine to metal, heart and the small intestine is assigned to fire,liver and gallbladder to wood, spleen and stomach to earth,and kidney and urinary bladder to water.
Tags: chinese herbal remedies, Health, herb, herbal remedies, herbal supplements, medicine