What is TCM?

Hi all,

It appears that there exist some misunderstandings about the question "What is TCM?" The misunderstandings probably originated from some conclusions drawn by people who either had not been to China or are not practitioners of Chinese Medicine.

The question "What is TCM" involves a very large topic. Due to time limit, I will only address several points below.

(1) Introduction of the terms TCM and CM

First of all, it should be pointed out that neither the term "TCM" nor the term "CM" existed in Chinese Medicine's history. These terms came into existence in Chinese Medicine in a fairly short time.

For thousands of years, because there was only one medicine in China, it was quite clear that the medicine is Chinese Medicine, and Chinese Medicine is the medicine. So for thousands of years, there was no need to place "Chinese" in front of "medicine". As a result, there was only one term in Chinese Medicine's history - medicine - that was equivalent to Chinese Medicine. Therefore, in the most part of Chinese Medicine's history, there were no terms of TCM and CM.

The terms TCM and CM were introduced to Chinese Medicine in recent centuries. This happened about one or two hundred years ago when Western Medicine arrived in China. In order to differentiate Chinese Medicine from Western Medicine, the terms TCM and CM were coined. This occurred before 1949, and was mainly from academic considerations. There was no governmental politics involved here.

(2) Differences between CM and TCM

Since the introduction of CM and TCM, the two terms were used interchangeably referring to Chinese Medicine.

However, there is a subtle difference between these two terms. In China, the term CM is more commonly used. Outside China, TCM is used more frequently.

The fact that CM is more commonly used in China also supports that the term TCM is not a product of governmental politics. Otherwise, China government would enforce the use of TCM in China. However, it is the CM rather than TCM that enjoys the most popularity in China.

Therefore, there is no governmental plan or scheme to make or design a "TCM" in China. This saying is completely a misunderstanding about TCM.

(3) Combination of CM and WM (Zhong Xi Yi Jie He)

What many people outside China perceive as a governmental plan or scheme on Chinese Medicine probably is related to the Combination of CM and WM (Zhong Xi Yi Jie He). This indeed was called upon and advocated by China government.

However, this should not be viewed as a governmental scheme either. The original goal of the Combination of CM and WM was for better efficacy and safety in the practice of medicine, and to promote the health for patients and the public.

So the original purpose of Combination of CM and WM was benign and positive, even though it has generated some technical problems later on. The advantages and disadvantages of Combination of CM and WM is still controversial, and remained to be judged by time and history.

(4) What is TCM

To answer "What is TCM?", we should look at the question "What is Western Medicine (WM)?" first.

For hundreds years, WM has been developing and updating constantly. There are many new methods, techniques, drugs, specialties, etc. coming out from around the world. However, no matter where those progresses were made, they are all grouped under the umbrella of "Western Medicine" as long as they follow the allopathic principle. None of the new developments or branches were coined a new name or named as a new medicine simply because the new method, technique, drug, or specialty, etc were developed in a different country, location, or from different approaches, etc so long as they follow allopathic principle.

Chinese Medicine (and holistic medicine) has met similar situation.

It's clear that Chinese Medicine has been advancing and developing all the time. Each generation has made contributions to Chinese Medicine, enriched the knowledge of Chinese Medicine, broadened the scope of Chinese Medicine, and enabled Chinese Medicine to be adaptable to new challenges in corresponding eras.

At the time when CM giants appeared, milestones were established in Chinese Medicine. During the era when giants were unavailable, Chinese Medicine was still progressing. Chinese Medicine has never stopped growing and advancing.

Now let's go back to the original question: "What is TCM?"

Because Chinese Medicine is an integral part of Chinese culture and history, the answer to this question is actually very long and can be approached from many different angles. It is impossible to provide a complete answer to this question in a short paragraph. Following, we only approach this question from one angle. For doctors of Chinese Medicine (CMDs), TCM should include, but not limited to:

(1) all classics of Chinese Medicine;
(2) all growths, developments, advancements, branches, etc. derived directly from Chinese Medicine since the beginning of Chinese Medicine;
(3) all growths, developments, advancements, branches, etc. developed under direct influence of Chinese Medicine since the beginning of Chinese Medicine;
(4) all branches developed indirectly under the influence of Chinese Medicine since the beginning of Chinese Medicine.

Due to historic reasons, some issues here have not been resolved yet. Further investigations, studies, and researches are needed in order to answer the following questions:

What's the relationship between Chinese Medicine -- the world's earliest holistic medicine - and other holistic medicines?
If all new growths, developments, branches, etc. in allopathic medicine are grouped under the umbrella of WM, should all new growths, developments, branches, etc. in holistic medicine be grouped under the umbrella of CM?
Is it appropriate to coin a new name of medicine by detaching it from its source or history?

Some of these issues have been addressed in the ACMA Unified Medicine Project (to be published). Without answering these questions, "What is TCM?" could not be answered completely.


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