In ancient China, sick people went to a healer. Healers were like doctors, despite the fact that thousands of years ago healers knew less about medicine than they do today. They bought the help of magical spirits; people called them "shaman", "medic" or "folk doctor." But about 1,100 years ago, Chinese doctors began to attend medical school.
As civilization developed, magic played a smaller role in healing.
Over time, healers learned the different methods they used to help their patients. They used techniques such as Tui Na (massage therapy); acupuncture; moxabustion; herbs; food; Qigong (breathing technique and meditation); Tai Chi Chuan or other martial arts, feng shui (the practice of positioning objects based on yin and yang and the flow of chi or energy) and Chinese astrology. This knowledge has been passed down from generation to generation.
Philosophy, such as Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism, also influenced Chinese medicine. The concept of yin and yang was part of the philosophy of Taoism and Confucianism. Ancient Chinese healers believed that nature consists of two opposing forces: yin and yang, which should be harmoniously balanced for good health.
Yin and yang are cosmic energies or qi (xi). They hide in the universe and in the human body. Yin - negative energy: cold, dark and feminine. Yang is positive energy: bright, warm and masculine. Although they are opposites, yin and yang are inseparable. Everything contains yin and yang in varying degrees, but they were part of a common unifying force, Tao. (Bechor, 1998, p. 11)
Visually, yin and yang are represented by a circle. Inside this circle are two curved shapes, one black and one white, and both are tadpoles. Yin and yang never exist individually, but one can be beyond the other. It is this imbalance that causes poor health.
If yin and yang are in balance or harmony within a person, good health prevails. But if the balance is broken, the work of the Chinese healer is to restore harmony. Conventional treatments included the previously described procedures.
The Five Elements, or Five Zangs, was a different belief system, which said that everything is made of earth, wood, water, fire and metal, which are interconnected with each other and with human structure and function. Human organs have an appropriate element: fire, metal, water, wood and earth. The disease indicates disharmony among the elements. So, the healer used the philosophy of the Five Elements, viewing the patient based on the element or elements in disarray. (Ross, 1982, pp. 29-31)
Complex philosophies, such as the yin and yang doctrine and the five elements, became the basis for the diagnosis and treatment of disease. According to historians, these practices belong to the 6th century BC.
Cosmos had to be taken into account when diagnosing a patient. The stars, the season of the year, and even the hour of the onset of the illness should have been determined before the start of treatment. Need medicine.
Early alchemists or chemists mixed various materials together to form potions that could cure people of various diseases. (Bechor, 1998, pp. 15-17)
They used the theory of the five elements for the manufacture and prescription of medicines. (Ross, 1982, p. 50)
Herbs and other plants turned into medicines. Animal and mineral elements are sometimes used. The book on drugs, written in the sixteenth century, contains more than two thousand substances used to make more than sixteen thousand drugs. The ancient Chinese doctors could not always explain why so many of their medicinal potions worked, but they sharply observed the positive reactions of their patients when the herbal medicines succeeded.
All parts of the herb were used, including the stem, seeds, leaves, fruits, and roots. Various methods of drying, roasting and soaking in water were used. Some herbs were used in their natural state. Ginseng was especially popular because the ancient Chinese believed that the plant root possesses magical qualities to prolong life.
They also used the plant ephedra, which was evaluated to reduce excessive bleeding and relieve asthma cough. Medicines of animal origin are also popular. Toad secretion was used for stimulation. Minerals, such as mercury and sulfur, have often been used in preparations that have proven effective in treating many diseases. For example, arsenic has been used in ointment to treat skin rashes and ulcers; zinc sulfate was prescribed for bladder disorders.
It is believed that acupuncture existed during the Stone Age of China, when silicon needles used in acupuncture were discovered. Shamans may have used acupuncture to expel demons from the body of a patient. During the Iron and Bronze Age, silicon needles were replaced by metal.
Acupuncture is a form of therapy in which one or more needles are inserted into the patient's skin. The needles penetrate the skin at different depths and in different meridians or points of the body. Acupuncture restored yin and yang to a balanced state in the patient's body. Needles released an excess of yin or yang, depending on what kind of power was out of balance. Most diseases required more than one acupuncture treatment.
Acupuncture has survived as a healing art in China for more than 3,000 years. Moxa or mokkabuziya require the use of fire instead of needles. The healer or doctor will pester the discharged leaves of the plant of the spikes and roll them onto the cone shape.
Several cones were placed on certain spots on the patient’s body and then ignited. Burning cones would be removed just before the fire touched the skin. Moxa caused intestinal stimulation of blood and nerves in the treated areas, leaving a red spot where there was a burning cone. Mugworth leaves have historically been replaced by mulberry leaves, ginger, and monasticism.
Ancient Chinese healers were also interested in preventive medicine. Nutrition was considered important, both physical and mental calm. They also developed ways to stop the spread of the disease. They destroyed the germs by burning a chemical that sanitized the endangered home and swallowed the clothes of sick people so that others would not get sick. They also developed a primitive form of vaccination for smallpox. It was only in the eighth century that Western medicine opened up the fundamental idea of immunization against the disease. (Bechor, 1998, p. 31)
The ancient Chinese discovered some diagnostic methods that were not used in the West until centuries later. These methods included: checking the patient's pulse; study of the patient’s language, voice and body; observation of the patient’s face and ear; observation of the patient's body for tenderness; examination of the vein with the index finger on children; and comparing the relative heat or coolness of different parts of the body. Traditional Chinese medicine has evolved as a non-invasive therapeutic medicine based on ancient religious systems and traditions.
Bebor, George. Science in ancient China. New York: Franklin Watts, 1998
Ross, Frank, Jr. Oracle Bones, stars and cars: ancient Chinese science and technology. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1982
