Traditional Chinese Medicine A medical system developed and practiced continuously in China for over two thousand years, organized around concepts of qi, yin-yang balance and the five phases, using herbal formulas, acupuncture, moxibustion and tui na massage. Its foundational text, the Huangdi Neijing, is traditionally attributed to the legendary Yellow Emperor but was compiled by multiple unknown authors over an extended period. In 2019 the World Health Organization included a supplementary chapter on traditional medicine conditions, drawing on Chinese, Japanese and Korean classification systems, in ICD-11, a decision some scientists have publicly argued risks lending unwarranted legitimacy to unproven theoretical concepts such as meridians and qi.
Facts
Disputed
Origin PeriodTraditionally dated from the legendary Yellow Emperor; most twentieth-century scholarship placed its foundational text, the Huangdi Neijing, between the late Warring States period and the early Han dynasty, but newer archaeological finds have shifted the burden of proof toward a later Han-dynasty-or-after dating for most of the received text. 2 Older historiography dated the Huangdi Neijing's core to the Warring States period (475 to 221 BCE); more recent scholarship based on excavated manuscripts argues most of the received text is later, from the mid-first century BCE or after. Classification
Type/Classification Connections
Associated With
Acupuncture is a core technique of traditional Chinese medicine.
Tu Youyou discovered artemisinin, the basis of modern artemisinin combination therapies, by systematically reviewing traditional Chinese medicine texts.
Source A Nobel for Natural Product Discoveries
Cupping therapy is a technique of traditional Chinese medicine.
Gua sha is a technique of traditional Chinese medicine.
Malaria, Conditions Tu Youyou was inspired by a traditional Chinese medicine recipe attributed to Ge Hong, circa 340 CE, in isolating artemisinin as an antimalarial.
Source A Nobel for Natural Product Discoveries
Moxibustion is a technique of traditional Chinese medicine, usually applied alongside acupuncture.
Notable Specialists
Hua Tuo was a legendary Chinese physician, a pioneer of surgery and anesthesia in Chinese medicine.
Li Shizhen wrote the Bencao Gangmu, a foundational text of Chinese materia medica.
Source A Nobel for Natural Product Discoveries
Zhang Zhongjing wrote the Treatise on Cold Damage Disorders, a foundational text of Chinese medicine.
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Medical specialty
WikipediaClassification tableQuote, Classification table
Medical specialties that focus on the diagnosis and non-surgical treatment of disease.
2. But is it History of Medicine (Social History of Medicine)
Social History of Medicine, Oxford Academicacademic.oup.com Social History of Medicine 22(2):283, Introduction, Discovering New Sources sectionQuote, academic.oup.com Social History of Medicine 22(2):283, Introduction, Discovering New Sources section
The new finds also call into question the traditional dating of the classical compilation Huangdi neijing to the Warring States period (475-221 bce).
Traditional Chinese Medicine: What You Need To Know
National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, National Institutes of Healthnccih.nih.gov TCM What You Need To Know, What Is Traditional Chinese Medicine sectionQuote, nccih.nih.gov TCM What You Need To Know, What Is Traditional Chinese Medicine section
Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has evolved over thousands of years. TCM practitioners use various psychological and/or physical approaches (such as acupuncture and tai chi) as well as herbal products to address health problems.
A Nobel for Natural Product Discoveries
National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, National Institutes of Health- Associated With: Antimalarial Therapy
- Associated With: Malaria
- Notable Specialists: Tu Youyou
View the Source Essays About This Entity (1 essay)
A 1,700 Year Old Recipe Won Traditional Chinese Medicine Its Only Nobel Prize
Traditional Chinese Medicine, the field this essay situates the discovery inside
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