Chinese Medicine

[JohnSmith1980]

Hey everyone,

I am currently living in Beijing and in the process of researching "Chinese medicine in contemporary China" for a university project (University of London). I have a general founding in the subject but wishing to improve my understanding. If there are any students or practitoners out there who would be willing to maybe meet up for a drink or just a chat i would be grateful and feel that any help i could get would be beneficial.

Also,does anybody know any good websites that I could maybe get some statistics or data from relating to the subject ...

Cheers Everyone,

 

[Long Zhiren]

I'm nowhere near China, but if you're willing, I'd be eager to hear of any good reads that you can recommend on Chinese medicine, or better yet...nutrition.

When they say that Wiconsin ginseng tea is good for some people and Korean ginseng tea is good for other people; and bitter mellon tea is good for some diabetes...where do they get these ideas???

[quanxie]

I would be more than happy to impart what I know of this era of Chinese medicine.

A little about me:

In the early 80's I meet and was mentored in a family style medicine by a man who left China during the flight of the Guomingdan to Taiwan... Since his passing back to the bliss of the Dao, I have dedicated my life to the study and teaching of Classical Chinese Medicine (CCM). Since coming to China over three years ago, I have taught in several medical universities and observed at their affiliated hospitals. I have also studied the last 100+ years of the medicine in China at great length beginning with the introduction of western medicine in the mid-1800’s.

A little on the current state of Chinese medicine in China now:

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is the current teaching model in the 30+ universities here... TCM was established in the mid 50's by Lao Mao and his effort to free himself of the reliance on Mother Russia for western medical technology and supplies... In recent times "Zhongxi jie he" or integrated Western-Chinese medicine is the dominate force in China... I personally feel that western medicine has a choke hold on the future development of Chinese medicine and it essential to document and teach the classics of the medicine before all is lost....

anyway, I babble on,

more upon request,

Phil

[gato]

Interesting. Are you saying that Classical Chinese Medicine (CCM) is substantively different from Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM)? In what way?

[quanxie]

Most indeed we must use this title, not simply for personal reasoning but to help others understand the importance of preserving and teaching the existing 5000+ year of model of medicine in China (pre-Sun zhongsan/Mao zedong). I could give you my own differentiation of them, but I will refer you the website of another colleague who has already published an article on the subject...

Phil

http://www.qiwithoutborders.org/classical-TCM.html

[JohnSmith1980]

Thanks everyone for replying...... But greatly to Phil for his introduction, it seems as though you are a man of much knowledge upon both CCM and TCM, and thank you for any help that u are willing to part with.

Although I claim to be an amateur at best in regards to my knowledge of both CCM and TCM, there are still, I think, i couple of key issues that I am lacking an understanding about.

Firstly, I have heard that TCM and especially "ZhongXi Jiehe" have greater financial support from the state than that of Biomedicine, I have also heard that much of the patients refered to TCM departments is because of the lacking of beds in Biomedicinal Wards. so therefore without this state support, would TCM be profitable enough to be self-supporting.??

Secondly, what is the average layman's knowledge of chinese medicine? i would assume that such phrases as "qi" "heat" "dampness" etc would be known by the mass, but are technical terms known, ....how does this effect ur ability to prescribe to the patient?

Also, do you know of any good CCM and TCM medical libraries that I could go too to research in beijing, or can u recommend any books about chinese medicine in contemporary china (Chinese and English are ok) that would be beneficial?

Thanks again for your help, I hope we can stay in touch....

 

[doumeizhen]

Here are some books we used in a course on Chinese Medicine, some of which I thought gave a fantastic insight to the field, particularly in understanding some of the more, um, Chinese concepts.

Between Heaven and Earth

A general introduction to Chinese medicine including quizzes and recipies and a little bit of history. A great book to start with.

The Expressiveness of the Body and the Divergence of Greek and Chinese Medicine

A fantastic look at the ideas in Greek and Chinese medicine, how they differentiate, and how Chinese medicine was understood/misunderstood in the West. This book is hard to put into words, but it does an amazing job, and really gives a lot of insight into the understanding of the bodies of both traditions.

The Transmission of Chinese Medicine

Someone didn't do her reading... but this book I think takes a look at Chinese medicine and how it is taught and passed on in China.

Medicine in China: A History of Ideas

If you can put up with Unschuld's long sentences (I am German, so I loved it!) this book does a fantastic job of explaining the evolution of Chinese medicine and culture, which are a lot more synchornized than one would expect. It also has a lot of examples and makes for a fascinating read.

[JohnSmith1980]

thanks Doumeizhen,

Ive read the first one Between Heaven and Earth and it was like u said a great introduction...but havent read any of the others yet so Ill give them a go!

Quick question for everyone, does anybody know of any websites that I could get some medicial statistics from. Such as the amount of sales of certain chinese medicines / western medicines, amount of western pharmaceutical companies entering/entered china, amount of government support for medicinal companies, public survey results, etc.

Also, if anyone knows of any places Id be likely to score some interviews with doctors or relevant people all opinons would be appreciated.

Cheers Everyone.

Chris