CHINESE HERBAL MEDICINE HISTORY

The Chinese are the most advance nation in herbal medicine.Traditional Chinese Medicine has been around for thousands of years. Although the first recorded history of TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine)dates back over 2,000 years, it is believed that the origins of TCM go back more than 5,000 years. Bear in mind that, apart from the recorded documents, much of what is said about the origins of Chinese medicine is more legend than history.

It appears most of the "facts" about the evolution of CHM are clouded. Though there are many writings that have been passed down, recent archaeological findings seem to provide not only confusion about the times of their origin, but also doubt as to the existence of some of the authors. "During the Western Han Dynasty, in the time period between the Mawangdui medical corpus and the text of earliest traditional medical classics, especially the Nanjing, that is during the several decades between 168 B.C. and the first century B.C. as part of a more general process in Chinese thought, we can recognize a grand scale standardization and systematization of Chinese medical thought and terminology, the medical knowledge and experience of the preceding centuries was revised and shaped into a new integrated model

The earliest extant evidence of nascent herbalism in China comes from two graves from the Han Era at 202 BCE to 220 CE. In 1973, the grave of a Han aristocrat was found at Mawangdui in Hunan Province. This exciting find included valuable medical data written on silk scrolls. The herbal literature included reference to 247 substances that were used by these early people for many different maladies. The body had been placed in the grave in 168 BCE. This means that the medical information is well over 2000 years old and is the oldest extant therapeutic material.
A year earlier, Chinese archaeologists discovered the tomb of a Later Han (25 to 220 CE) physician in Wu-Wei County, Kansu Province. The grave contained 92 wooden bamboo slips, which provided important pharmaceutical data. The medical records included a list of some thirty prescriptions, which featured about a hundred drugs. It is evident from the extant material that some three centuries after the burial of the Han elite at Mawangdui, Chinese herbal medicine had developed to an increased level of therapeutic sophistication. This development was to continue and in 500 CE, the first extensive materia medica or compendium of herbal substances was published. It was the work of the Daoist adept Taohong Jing and had 364 entries.
On 1596, the Ben Cao Gang Mu of the Ming medical literatus Li Shizhen (1518-1593) exemplified the apogee of Chinese herbalism. Published three years after his demise, this Grand Materia Medica contained no less that 1892 entries. In the succeeding centuries of the Imperial Era, Chinese herbal medicine continued to develop. Despite the temporary setbacks incurred following the collapse of the Manchu Dynasty in 1911, it remains on equal footing with biomedicine in China today. So to, it is now of interest to those seeking a more natural approach to their medical problems in many countries outside the People's Republic of China.
Now in Modern world growing popularity of Chinese herbalism within the wider Australian community has led to widespread acceptance of TCM as an avenue of primary health care.
The University of Technology, Sydney, is in the forefront of education in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) in the Western World. It was the second University in Australia to introduce an undergraduate degree in acupuncture, and remains one of only a few English language universities, anywhere in the world, that offer professional education in TCM.
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In traditional Chinese medical philosophy, health is described in terms of balance within the body, or yin and yang. Yin refers to blood and essence, while yang refers to vital warmth and Chi. Chi is energy, the life force that flows within us. It’s probably best described as energy resulting from metabolic activity. According to Chinese philosophy, there are two basic principles, and while they sometimes oppose, they are nevertheless, dependent upon each other. Although yin and yang may at time be opposites, they are not hostile to each other, each has need of the other, for without one, the other could not exist, nor is one superior to the other.Man is considered to be a microcosm of the universe, and subject to the same laws. The forces of yin and yang are expressed in the body through such things as contraction and dilation of the heart, inhaling and exhaling of the lungs, and the opposites of waking and sleeping. One of the most important concepts that form yin and yang is that of wholeness. The basic idea is that any system of our body is inseparable from the others. When one organ becomes unhealthy, the others are disturbed as well. While treating one part of the body, one must pay attention to the other systems of the body, and take heed not to hurt the other organs. Diseases arise because of deficiency or imbalance of the vital energy in our organs, and their associated systems.An example of this philosophy can be seen in how the Chinese deal with shortness of breath. When considering shortness of breath, Chinese Doctors say the spleen must also be strengthened so that it can support the lungs. So when dealing with this condition, rather than simply addressing the lungs, they also prescribe treating the spleen. This ‘ whole systems" approach is what distinguishes Chinese herbal practices from Western medicine.