The History of Traditional Chinese Medicine

Just as in Ayurveda, the idea of ​​doshas that should be in balance is unfamiliar to us in the West, the same applies to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), which understands a disruption of energy flows as the cause of illness. And when considering the balance or imbalance of energy flows, not only the organism itself but also its social environment and the entire cosmos are explicitly taken into account. The life energy "Qi" plays a central role in TCM, with multiple functions: It protects, nourishes, warms, transports, controls, and transforms. Qi is kept flowing by the two poles of life, Yin and Yang: the white Yang represents hard, hot, light, masculine, and active, while the black Yin is associated with the characteristics of dark, soft, cold, feminine, passive, and calm. When the Yin and Yang of life are in balance, we feel healthy. Conversely, if there is disharmony between these two poles, this 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 flow of energy is disrupted, for example, by environmental influences such as cold, heat, drafts, poor nutrition, emotional stress, or overexertion, health problems can arise.

What in TCM is called Qi, which flows through the meridians as life energy, is in Ayurveda the biological digestive fire "Agni." If Agni is extinguished, the person dies. In Ayurveda, a strong Agni is synonymous with energy, joie de vivre, strong charisma, clear thinking, healthy body warmth, and digestion.

In TCM, there are no organs; instead, the 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 12 of these functional circuits in total), such as the large intestine or liver circulation. These functional circuits, in turn, are assigned points, pathways ("meridians"), and body regions. These imaginary 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, meridians do not correspond to the nerve strands we understand in the West, but rather they describe channels through which Qi flows.
Connections to organs and the psyche are postulated via imaginary pathways, called meridians in TCM and nadis in Ayurveda. The term "marma," translated 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 agreement with Ayurveda, even if there are differences in the execution of these two diagnostic tools z.T. there are clear differences.

Pulse diagnostics is used v.a. to determine whether yin or yan dominates. This involves alternating measurements on both sides of the thumb artery just above the wrist using the index, middle, and ring fingers together. The frequency, rhythm, shape of the pulse wave, and the flow between the fingers are palpated. In total, TCM distinguishes between 28 different pulse qualities.

Tongue diagnosis (“She-Zhen”) is of particular importance in TCM because it is seen as the connection between the inside of the body and the outside world.According to this logic, the tongue can be used to determine 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 of the tongue, for example, are the heart and lungs, in the middle are the spleen and stomach, and at the back are the kidneys, intestines, and bladder. The gallbladder and liver are located on the left and right sides.

The shape, color, moisture, cracks, and the type and color of the tongue coating provide information about potential diseases. The tongue coating, which consists of bacteria, mucus, and food residue, should normally be a thin, white layer. If the coating is thick and yellow, then the disease in question is already more advanced.

TCM - Therapeutics

Since TCM understands illness as the result of an energetic imbalance – a dysfunction of the meridians – therapy aims to restore balance.

Since there are no organs or similar self-contained tissue formations in TCM, but only connected functional circuits in which the Qi flows, a treatment on the knee, for example, can influence the stomach, a therapy on the little finger can influence the heart, etc.
Incidentally, our Western medicine is also familiar with such effects: for example, internal medicine knows that a disease of the gallbladder can also cause pain in the right shoulder blade.

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

acupuncture

Acupuncture is the best known pillar of o.gTCM therapies, although it doesn't play a central role in China. However, because it's the therapy whose complexity is most easily reduced to our Western understanding, it has become firmly established in our country and is now also used by many conventional medical practitioners, often as an adjunct to therapy.

In acupuncture, disruption of the Qi flow is eliminated by activating so-called "trigger points" in the body with acupuncture needles. In acupressure, this is achieved through finger pressure. In TCM, over 700 such trigger points are described. Here, too, there is a strong similarity to Ayurveda, where these trigger points are called "marma points" and v.a. play a major role in massages.

It is believed that acupuncture already 200 v.Chr. was fully developed. The first acupuncture needles were pieces of metal coated with verdigris. A rounded side was used to press and massage the skin's surface at various points. The pointed side was used for piercing the skin. The points/body pathways described at that time largely correspond to the meridians known today.

According to our Western understanding, the undisputed positive influence of acupuncture on many illnesses 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 an important role in TCM. They are formulated in complex recipes with numerous active ingredients tailored to the individual constitution of the patient and are often administered as tea.Similar to Ayurveda, in TCM each medicine has specific properties, which are composed of the tastes (sweet, sour, salty, spicy, bitter, etc.), the meridian on which it acts, and the temperature.

Of particular importance among medicinal plants are medicinal mushrooms, which have been used in TCM for thousands of years. The oldest official list of medicinal substances, dating back to the 29th century BC, includes several mushroom species that were already used for therapeutic purposes. Reishi, in particular, was revered for its diverse therapeutic uses.

In 2013, the two authors Wu Xingliang and Mao Xiolan published "Medicinal Mushrooms of China," listing 835 medicinal mushroom species, including over 500 with antitumor effects. They cited over 2,400 scientific articles. Unfortunately, this work is still only available in Chinese.
An excellent overview of the relevant medicinal mushrooms with many explanations and studies can be found at https://www.vitalpilze.de.

Qigong and Tai Qi

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

Massages (Tuina)

As in Ayurveda, massages also play a major role in TCM – even if they are significantly less “oily” – and also serve to dissolve energy blockages.

Nutrition

Here, too, there are strong parallels to Ayurveda – both teachings view food as medicine. However, differences become apparent in the details: while in Ayurveda, type-appropriate nutrition is crucial for balancing the doshas, ​​TCM is all about energy flow. TCM assumes that food can have energetic healing effects. Some foods have a cooling effect (yogurt, for example), some have a warming effect (chili, for example); some foods reduce, others increase Qi.

Certain flavors 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 supposedly misleading claims of effectiveness. The statements made here refer to the original Ayurvedic and TCM texts. This ancient knowledge, handed down over thousands of years, is based on experience passed down from generation to generation. It is not intended to claim that the products described here have an effect in the sense of Western medicine. All products are dietary supplements; they are not medications and have no medical effect. If you are ill and require medical care, please consult your doctor or pharmacist.