The History of Traditional Chinese Medicine

Just as Ayurveda's concept of doshas, ​​which should be in balance, is unfamiliar to us in the West, so too is Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), which understands a disruption of energy flow as the cause of illness. And when considering the balance or imbalance of energy flow, not only the organism itself, but also its social environment, extending even to the entire cosmos, is explicitly included. A central role in TCM is played by the life energy "Qi," which has several functions: it protects, nourishes, warms, transports, controls, and transforms. Qi is kept in flow by the two life forces of Yin and Yang: white Yang represents hard, hot, light, masculine, and active, while black Yin is associated with the qualities of dark, soft, cold, feminine, passive, and calm. When Yin and Yang are in balance, we feel healthy. Conversely, if there is a disharmony between these two life forces, it results in a reduction of Qi.

An old Chinese proverb says "Pain is the cry of Qi for free flow."

A person is healthy when Qi can flow freely. If the energy flow is disrupted, for example by environmental factors such as cold, heat, drafts, poor diet, emotional stress or overexertion, health problems can arise.

What is known as Qi in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), the life energy flowing through the meridians, is called "Agni," the biological digestive fire, in Ayurveda. If Agni is extinguished, a person dies. In Ayurveda, strong Agni is synonymous with energy, vitality, a vibrant personality, clear thinking, healthy body temperature, and efficient digestion.

In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), there are no organs; instead, various physical and psychological symptoms are associated with organs such as the liver, lungs, kidneys, bladder, or large intestine and described as functional circuits (there are a total of 12 of these circuits), for example, the large intestine or liver circuit. These functional circuits, in turn, are linked to points, pathways ("meridians"), and body regions. These conceptual pathways, called meridians in TCM, have their counterparts in Ayurveda in the so-called "nadis," which are believed to have connections to organs and the psyche.

Contrary to popular belief, the meridians do not correspond to the nerve pathways according to our Western understanding of the body, but rather describe channels in which the Qi flows.
Connections to organs and the psyche are postulated via imagined pathways, called meridians in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and nadis in Ayurveda. The term "marma," which translates from Sanskrit as "energy point" or "energy field," is used particularly in Ayurveda; in Kundalini yoga, they are called "chakras."

TCM - Diagnostics

The two central diagnostic tools in TCM are pulse diagnosis and tongue diagnosis.
Here too there is a great deal of agreement with Ayurveda, even if the execution of these two diagnostic methods differs. z.TThere are clear differences.

Pulse diagnosis serves v.aTo determine whether Yin or Yang is dominant, the pulse is measured alternately on both sides of the wrist using the index, middle, and ring fingers together on the artery on the thumb side, just above the wrist. The frequency, rhythm, shape of the pulse wave, and the flow between the fingers are felt. In total, 28 different pulse qualities are distinguished in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM).

Tongue diagnosis (“She-Zhen”) is of particular importance in TCM because it is seen as a connection between the body's interior and the outside world.According to this logic, the tongue can reveal whether, and if so, what might be wrong inside the body. The various organs are connected to specific areas of the tongue: at the tip, for example, are the heart and lungs; in the middle, the spleen and stomach; and at the back, the kidneys, intestines, and bladder. The gallbladder and liver are located on the left and right sides.

The shape, color, moisture, cracks, and type and color of tongue coating provide clues about potential illnesses. Tongue coating, which consists of bacteria, mucus, and food debris, should normally be a thin, white layer. If the tongue coating is thick and yellow, then the underlying disease is already more advanced.

TCM - Therapeutics

Since illness, according to TCM, is the result of an energetic imbalance – a dysfunction of the meridians – the therapy accordingly focuses on restoring the balance.

Since TCM does not recognize organs or comparable self-contained tissue formations, but only interconnected functional circuits in which Qi flows, treatment on the knee can, for example, affect the stomach, therapy on the little finger can affect the heart, etc.
Incidentally, our Western conventional medicine is also familiar with such effects: for example, it is known in internal medicine that a disease of the gallbladder can also cause pain in the right shoulder blade.

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) comprises five different therapeutic methods: nutrition, herbal medicine/pharmaceuticals, massage (Tuina), meditative movement forms such as Qigong and Tai Chi, and acupuncture.
TCM is not just a therapy method, but many of the o.gComponents such as nutrition or meditative forms of movement are preventive in nature.

acupuncture

Acupuncture is the best-known pillar of our healthcare system. o.gTraditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) therapies, although they don't play a central role in China, are now widely used. However, because it's the form of therapy whose complexity can be most easily reduced to our Western understanding, it has become firmly established here and is now often used by many conventional medical practitioners, usually as a complementary therapy.

In acupuncture, disruptions in the flow of Qi are eliminated by activating so-called "trigger points" in the body using acupuncture needles. In acupressure, this is achieved through finger pressure. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) describes over 700 such trigger points. There is also a strong similarity to Ayurveda, where these trigger points are called "Marma points." v.a. play a major role in massages.

It is assumed that acupuncture already 200 v.Chr. Acupuncture was fully developed. The first acupuncture needles were pieces of metal coated with verdigris. One rounded end was used to press and massage the skin surface at various points. The pointed end was used to insert the needle under the skin. The points/pathways described at that time largely correspond to the meridians known today.

According to our Western understanding, the undeniably positive influence of acupuncture on many diseases is naturally not explained by the flow of Qi, but by the increased release of pain-relieving endorphins, neurotransmitters and tissue hormones that promote relaxation.

Medicinal plants, especially medicinal mushrooms

Medicinal plants play a significant role in TCM, where they are used in complex formulas with numerous active ingredients, tailored to the individual constitution of the patient, and often administered as tea.Similar to Ayurveda, in TCM every medicine has specific properties that are composed of the tastes (sweet, sour, salty, pungent, bitter, etc.), the meridian it acts on, and the temperature.

Among medicinal plants, medicinal mushrooms hold a special significance, having been used in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) for thousands of years. The oldest official list of medicinal substances, dating from the 29th century BC, includes several mushroom species that were already used for therapeutic purposes at that time. Reishi, in particular, was revered for its diverse therapeutic applications.

In 2013, the two authors Wu Xingliang and Mao Xiolan published "The Medicinal Mushrooms of China," featuring 835 medicinal mushroom species, over 500 of which have antitumor properties. They based their work on over 2,400 scientific articles. Unfortunately, this book is still only available in Chinese.
You can find an excellent overview of the relevant medicinal mushrooms with many explanations and studies at https://www.vitalpilze.de.

Qigong and Tai Qi

These are meditative movement techniques that consciously connect movement, breath, and mind, and are intended to resolve imbalances in Qi. In Ayurveda, these techniques have their counterparts in yoga and meditation.

Massages (Tuina)

Massages play a major role in TCM, just as they do in Ayurveda – although they are significantly less “oily” – and also serve to dissolve energy blockages.

Nutrition

Here, too, there is a strong parallel to Ayurveda – both systems understand food as medicine. However, differences become apparent in the details: while Ayurveda emphasizes diet tailored to one's constitution to balance the doshas, ​​Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) focuses on energy flows. TCM posits that food can have an energetic healing effect. Some foods have a cooling effect (yogurt, for example), some a heating effect (chili peppers, for example); some foods reduce Qi, others increase it.

Certain tastes influence specific organs: sour foods, for example, stimulate the liver, bitter foods the heart. Spicy foods stimulate the lungs, salty foods the kidneys, and sweet foods the pancreas and spleen.

Legal consumer information

German and European law aims to protect consumers from potentially misleading claims about product effects. The statements made here refer to original Ayurvedic and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) texts. This millennia-old, traditional knowledge is based on experiences passed down from generation to generation. It is not intended that the products described here have any effect in the sense of Western medicine. All products are dietary supplements; they are not medications and have no medicinal effect. If you are ill and require medical attention, please consult your doctor or pharmacist.