White Paper on Traditional Chinese Medicine in China (full text)
Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, December 6-the State Council Press Office published a white paper on Chinese Medicine in China on December 6. The full text is as follows:
Traditional Chinese Medicine in China
(December 2016)
People’s Republic of China (PRC) the State Council press office
catalogue
foreword
First, the historical development of Chinese medicine
II. Policies and measures for the development of Chinese medicine in China
Third, the inheritance and development of traditional Chinese medicine
Iv. international exchange and cooperation of traditional Chinese medicine
Concluding remarks
foreword
Mankind has created rich and colorful world civilizations in the long process of development, and Chinese civilization is an important part of the diversity and pluralism of world civilizations. As an outstanding representative of Chinese civilization, Chinese medicine is a medical science gradually formed and continuously enriched by people of all ethnic groups in China during thousands of years of production and life practice and fighting diseases. It has not only made outstanding contributions to the prosperity of the Chinese nation, but also had a positive impact on the progress of world civilization.
In the process of historical development, Chinese medicine is inclusive, innovative and open, forming a unique view of life, health, disease and prevention, realizing the integration and unity of natural science and humanities, and containing the profound philosophical thoughts of the Chinese nation. With the change of people’s health concept and medical model, Chinese medicine has shown more and more unique value.
Since the founding of New China, China has attached great importance to and strongly supported the development of Chinese medicine. Traditional Chinese medicine and western medicine complement each other, promote each other, and jointly safeguard and improve people’s health, which has become an important feature and significant advantage of China’s characteristic medical hygiene and health undertakings.
First, the historical development of Chinese medicine
1. The historical development of traditional Chinese medicine
In ancient times, the ancestors of the Chinese nation discovered that some animals and plants could relieve pain and accumulated some knowledge about medication. With the evolution of human beings, they began to look for drugs and methods to prevent and treat diseases purposefully. The so-called "Shennong tasted a hundred herbs" and "medicine and food are homologous" were the true portrayal at that time. The invention of wine in Xia Dynasty (about 2070-1600) and soup in Shang Dynasty (about 1600-1046) helped to improve the effect of medication. In the Western Zhou Dynasty (1046-771 BC), there was a division of labor among food doctors, disease doctors, selection doctors and veterinarians. During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period (770-221 BC), Bian Que summarized the previous experience and put forward the method of "looking, smelling, asking and feeling", which laid the foundation for clinical diagnosis and treatment of traditional Chinese medicine. Huangdi Neijing, a classic of traditional Chinese medicine in the Qin and Han dynasties (221 BC-220 AD), systematically discussed human physiology, pathology, diseases, the principles and methods of "preventing diseases" and disease treatment, established the thinking mode of traditional Chinese medicine, marked the development from simple clinical experience accumulation to systematic theoretical summary, and formed the theoretical framework of traditional Chinese medicine. In the Eastern Han Dynasty, Zhang Zhongjing’s Treatise on Exogenous Fever (including infectious diseases such as epidemic febrile disease) put forward the principles and methods of diagnosis and treatment, discussed the dialectical laws and principles of the etiology, symptoms, diagnosis, treatment and prevention of internal injuries and miscellaneous diseases, and established the theory and method system of syndrome differentiation and treatment.At the same time, Shennong’s Classic of Materia Medica summarized the compatibility and property theory of drugs such as monarch, minister, assistant, seven emotions, four qi and five flavors, which played a very important guiding role in rational prescription, safe medication and improved curative effect, and laid the foundation for the formation and development of the theoretical system of Chinese medicine. At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Hua Tuo created the anesthetic "Mafeisan", which pioneered the use of anesthetics in surgery. During the Western Jin Dynasty (265-317), Huangfu Mi’s A Classic of Acupuncture and Moxibustion systematically expounded the theories of viscera and meridians, and initially formed the theory of meridians and acupuncture. In the Tang Dynasty (618-907), Sun Simiao put forward "Great Doctor Sincerity", which embodies the pursuit of meticulous medical skills, sincere heart and sincere words and deeds, is the concentrated expression of the noble moral sentiments and outstanding civilized wisdom of the Chinese nation in Chinese medicine, and is the core value concept of Chinese medicine culture. In the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), Li Shizhen’s Compendium of Materia Medica scientifically classified medicinal plants for the first time in the world, and innovatively developed the theory and practice of Chinese medicine, which is a masterpiece of pharmacology and natural history. In the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), Ye Tianshi’s Treatise on Warm Diseases put forward the principles and methods of prevention and treatment of warm diseases and epidemic diseases, and formed the theoretical and practical system of prevention and treatment of warm diseases (infectious diseases) with traditional Chinese medicine. Since the mid-Qing dynasty, especially in the Republic of China, with the introduction of western medicine, some scholars began to explore the convergence and integration of Chinese and western medicine.
2. Characteristics of traditional Chinese medicine
In the development process of thousands of years, traditional Chinese medicine has absorbed and integrated advanced science and technology and humanistic ideas in various periods, constantly innovated and developed, and its theoretical system has become increasingly perfect, and its technical methods have become more abundant, forming distinctive characteristics.
First, pay attention to the whole. Traditional Chinese medicine believes that man and nature, man and society are an interrelated and inseparable unity, and the inside of the human body is also an organic whole. Attach importance to the influence of natural environment and social environment on health and disease, think that spirit and body are inseparable, emphasize the synergistic relationship between physiology and psychology, and attach importance to the mutual influence of physiology and psychology in health and disease.
Second, pay attention to "peace" and "harmony". Traditional Chinese medicine emphasizes that harmony plays an important role in health, and believes that human health lies in the harmonious coordination of the functions of various zang-fu organs, moderate emotional expression, and adaptability to changes in different environments, which fundamentally lies in the dynamic balance of yin and yang. The occurrence of diseases is that under the influence of internal and external factors, people’s overall function loses its dynamic balance. Maintaining health is to maintain the dynamic balance of people’s overall function, and treating diseases is to restore the overall function that has lost dynamic balance to a state of coordination and harmony.
Third, emphasize individualization. The diagnosis and treatment of traditional Chinese medicine emphasizes that it is based on people, time and local conditions, which is embodied in "syndrome differentiation and treatment". "Differentiation of symptoms and signs" means that individual information such as symptoms and signs collected by four diagnostic methods (observation, smell, questioning and pulse) is analyzed and synthesized to judge as a certain syndrome. "Treatment" is to determine the corresponding treatment methods according to the results of syndrome differentiation. The diagnosis and treatment of traditional Chinese medicine focuses on "sick people" rather than just "human diseases", and focuses on adjusting the state of overall dysfunction after pathogenic factors act on the human body.
Fourth, highlight the "prevention of disease". The core of TCM’s "prevention before disease" is "prevention first", focusing on "prevention before disease, prevention after disease, and prevention after illness". Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) emphasizes the close relationship between lifestyle and health, and advocates health preservation as an important task. It believes that health care and disease prevention can be achieved through emotional adjustment, moderate rest and rest, reasonable diet, regular daily life, and appropriate intervention according to different physique or state, so as to nourish the mind and strengthen the body, cultivate healthy qi and improve the ability to resist evil.
Fifth, it is easy to use. The diagnosis of traditional Chinese medicine mainly relies on doctors to collect patients’ data by looking, smelling, asking and cutting, and does not depend on various complicated instruments and equipment. Traditional Chinese medicine intervention includes both drugs and non-drug therapies such as acupuncture, massage, cupping and scrapping. Many non-drug therapies do not need complicated instruments, and the instruments they need (such as small splint, scraping board, cupping, etc.) can often be obtained from local materials, which is easy to popularize and use.
3. The historical contribution of traditional Chinese medicine
Traditional Chinese medicine is an important part and typical representative of Chinese excellent traditional culture, which emphasizes "Taoism is natural and harmony between man and nature", "balance and harmony between yin and yang" and "people-oriented, saving the world", which embodies the core of Chinese culture. Traditional Chinese medicine also advocates "three factors to suit the needs, syndrome differentiation and treatment", "strengthening the foundation and strengthening the bones" and "great doctors are sincere and benevolent", which enriches the connotation of Chinese culture and provides beneficial enlightenment for the Chinese nation to understand and transform the world.
As the original medical science of the Chinese nation, traditional Chinese medicine reveals the occurrence and development law of human health and diseases from a macro, systematic and holistic perspective, embodies the cognitive style of the Chinese nation, and is deeply integrated into people’s production and life practice, forming a unique health culture and practice, which has become an important means for people to treat diseases, strengthen their health and prolong their lives, and maintains people’s health. Historically, the Chinese nation has repeatedly experienced natural disasters, wars and plagues, but it has been able to turn the corner again and again. The population has been increasing and civilization has been passed down, and Chinese medicine has made great contributions.
Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) originated in the land of China. While continuously absorbing the achievements of world civilization and enriching itself, it also gradually spread to all parts of the world. As early as the Qin and Han dynasties, Chinese medicine spread to neighboring countries and had a great impact on traditional medicine in these countries. Vaccination technology to prevent smallpox spread all over the world in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Compendium of Materia Medica has been translated into many languages and widely circulated. Darwin called it "the encyclopedia of ancient China". The magical curative effect of acupuncture has triggered a global "acupuncture fever". The invention of antimalarial drug "artemisinin" has saved the lives of millions of people all over the world, especially in developing countries. At the same time, the widespread introduction of southern medicines such as frankincense and myrrh has enriched the treatment methods of traditional Chinese medicine.