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Archaeologists unearthed 920 bamboo strips at a
construction site in the south-western city of Chengdu in China,
containing recipes for treating ailments that date back 2,000 years. The
bamboo strips, which were once widely used as a writing material, were
reportedly found along with other relics of the Western Han Dynasty,
which came to power in 260 BC |
Archaeologists speculated that the traditional Chinese remedies may
have been written by the successors of Bian Que, reported to be China’s
earliest known physician. Now further testing has confirmed that the
texts were written by Bian Que himself, according to a news report.
Translation work has also revealed the remarkable contents of these
ancient medical manuscripts.
Experts say the works are based mainly on studies of determining disease
by taking the patient’s pulse. Other practices mentioned include
internal medicine, surgery, gynaecology, dermatology, ophthalmology as
well as traumatology. In addition, 184 tiles are related to the medical
treatment of horses, considered by the experts as one of the most
important veterinarian works in ancient China.
The bamboo strips were found, along with many other precious relics,
within four Western Han Dynasty (206 BC – 24 AD) tombs located in the
town of Tianhui. Among the finds were four models of looms, nine medical
books, 50 inscribed wooden tablets, 240 lacquer wares, jewellery, and
tomb figures. Out of the nine medical books, some have been verified to
be the long lost medical treatises written by the physician Bian Que. In
addition, archaeologists also uncovered a 14-centimeter long figurine
with major acupoints marked out. It is believed to be a key to
deciphering the origin of acupuncture treatment. |
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Bamboo Medical Books (Below) |
Bian Que |
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According to Chinese legend recorded in the Records of the Grand
Historian, Bian Que was gifted with remarkable abilities from a deity.
The story states that he was given a packet of medicine which gave him
the ability to see through the human body. He thereby became an
excellent diagnostician with his x-ray like ability. It is said that he
pioneered pulse-taking, used anaesthesia and even performed an organ
transplant.
One legend stated that once, while visiting the state of Guo, Bian Que
saw people mourning on the streets. Upon inquiring what their grievances
were, he got the reply that the heir apparent of the lord had died, and
the lord was in mourning. Sensing something afoot, he is said to have
gone to the palace to inquire about the circumstances of the death.
After hearing of how the prince “died”, he concluded that the prince had
not really died, but was rather in a coma-like state. Using his
acupuncture, he was said to have brought the prince back to
consciousness. Prescribing the prince with medicine, the prince healed
within days. |
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Whether there is factual basis to the legends or not,
Bian Que is known to have been a remarkable physician who was centuries
ahead of his time. The discovery of his ancient remedies is an
incredibly rare and important find. |
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Are the longevity and vitality of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM)
due to its holistic approach? Indeed, Chinese medicine is not simply
about treating illness, but rather about taking care of the whole person
-- body, mind, and spirit. According to an analysis of TCM's origins and
development by Lin Shi from Beijing Normal University and Chenguang
Zhang from Southwest Minzu University in China, traditional Chinese
medicine is profoundly influenced by Chinese philosophy and religion. To
date, modern science has been unable to explain the mechanisms behind
TCM's effects.
The essence of TCM lies in its foundation in spirituality, religion, and
philosophy, making it quite different from Western medicine and leading
it to be viewed by some as magical and mysterious. Chinese medicine is
an ancient discipline with a long developmental history and is very much
influenced by religion and spirituality. Shi and Zhang's paper examines
in detail six aspects of traditional Chinese medicine: its history; its
fundamental beliefs; spirituality in traditional Chinese healing
rituals; spirituality in the traditional Chinese pharmacy; spirituality
in health maintenance theories; and spirituality of master doctors of
traditional Chinese medicine.
This analysis shows, among other things, that the underlying premise of
Chinese medicine is that the mind and body of a person are inseparable.
To be in good health, a person must have good spirit and pay attention
to cultivating their spirit. Chinese doctors see "people" not "diseases"
and equate "curing diseases" with "curing people." |
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| According to the authors: "Good health and longevity are what we
pursue. More and more people are concerned about ways to prevent disease
and strengthen their bodies, which is the emphasis of traditional
Chinese medicine. It pays attention to physical pains, and at the same
time is also concerned with spiritual suffering. Therefore, TCM can
teach people to be indifferent towards having or not having, to exist
with few desires and feel at ease, to keep the body healthy and the mind
quiet, and to achieve harmony between the body and the mind and then to
achieve harmony with the world and nature." |
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For centuries, tigers have inspired awe, reverence
and sometimes, terror, in the humans they’ve lived beside. They command
the Asian landscape as the top predator—immense, magnificent, muscular
animals armed with razored claws and massive canines. They can kill with
one swipe of their dinner plate-sized paws or with a strangling bite to
the throat of their victim. But they also shimmer with radiant,
auburn beauty in the sunlight; sometimes they seem to materialize out of
nowhere, hunting under a blanket of night or appearing suddenly from a
stand of bamboo, silently stalking their prey at dawn or dusk, shrouded
by ghostly mists or by failing light, the jungle’s apparition. |
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Traditional Chinese Medicine
With this great power and mystery, tribal cultures worshipped tigers,
bestowing them with powers that extend far beyond those of any worldly
creature. Tigers became gods—and healers. For millennia, medicine men
have ascribed magical powers and medicinal properties to them, and
somehow, this cat became a universal apothecary. Many believe that by
ingesting it, you absorb an animal’s life force, its vigor, strength,
and attributes.
Nearly every part of this cat, from nose to tail (eyes, whiskers,
brains, flesh, blood, organs and more) has been used to treat a lengthy
list of maladies. Tiger parts are purported to heal the liver and
kidneys, to cure everything from epilepsy, baldness, toothaches, joint
pain and boils to ulcers, nightmares, fevers, and headaches. They’re
also used to treat rat bites and laziness and are thought to prevent
possession by evil demons. Tiger penis is said to have aphrodisiac
powers.
The hu gu (Mandarin for bones) are the parts that are most highly
prized in Oriental medicine, a favored treatment for rheumatism and
arthritis—and for impotence and flagging libido. But the humerus is the
most coveted section of a tiger skeleton: That upper front leg bone is
believed to contain the most potent healing powers. |
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| Once they’re stripped of flesh, the bones are ground into powder,
then used in pills, plasters, and as part of remedies containing other
ingredients. A standard oral dosage for rheumatic pain is three to six
grams a day. Over a year, that’s somewhere between six and a half and 13
pounds of bone—which is also used in wine. |
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TCM ingredients include a wide range of plants, herbs, minerals, and
parts from over 1,500 animals, including tigers and other endangered
species—more than 6,000 substances in all. Demand for some of the most
highly prized items, including rhino horn, pangolin scales, and tiger
parts, has nearly hunted these creatures off the planet. The first
reference in China to tiger bone medicine dates to 500 A.D., published
in the Collection of Commentaries on the Classic of the Materia Medica.
Although China banned the use of tiger bone in 1993 and removed it from
the list of approved medicines, manufacture and sale of tiger bone wine
never stopped. Labels may picture a tiger, bottles may be tiger-shaped,
but the word “tiger” has disappeared from packaging, replaced by “lion”
ingredients—or it’s called “bone-strengthening wine.” Without DNA tests
on any bone bits that might have remained in the liquid, there’s no way
to know what exactly it’s made from, but ongoing media reports coming
out of China document dealers offering tiger bone wine to customers. |
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Small pieces of tiger bone offered
for sale by a street vendor |
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There is a growing, clamoring demand
for tiger bone wine, a tonic made by steeping a tiger carcass in rice
wine to produce an extremely expensive elixir. It’s thought to impart
the animal’s great strength, a status symbol product bought or gifted by
the elite: government officials, military officers, and wealthy
businessmen |
Some of these ancient remedies have been prescribed in China for
well over 1,000 years. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) originated
perhaps as long as 5,000 years ago. According to legend, as human
civilization emerged, Heaven sent a number of “sage-kings” to teach the
people how to survive in a hostile world. One of these sage kings, Shen
Nong Shi (3000 B.C.), created medicine by ingesting plants and
discovering which served as drugs. As Chinese medical practice evolved,
circulation of chi energy, became paramount, along with balance of yin
and yang, the opposite principles in nature, and a focus on the function
and the intricate relationships between five organs: kidneys, lungs,
liver, heart, and spleen.
Initially, tiger parts came from huge local stockpiles. In 1950, some
4,000 South China tigers roamed the country; but at the end of that
decade, as part of the People’s Republic of China’s Great Leap
Forward, Mao Zedong declared the cats to be one of the four pests that
threatened progress. He organized and championed eradication campaigns,
and within a few years, just 1,000 remained. The remaining population
dwindled and ultimately crashed. A South China tiger has not been
spotted by biologists or government officials in the wild for over 35
years.
China’s stockpiles of tiger ingredients eventually ran low and beginning
around 1986, when tigers were classified as globally endangered, the
cats began to mysteriously disappear elsewhere. Professional poachers
fanned out, shooting, snaring, and trapping their way across tiger
ranges. India was a prime target, with close proximity to China, which is
still, by far, the largest consumer of tiger parts and at the time, was
the largest manufacturer and exporter of medicines containing tiger
derivatives. In 1986, China’s People’s Daily newspaper reported that 116
factories were producing medicinal wine.
From 1990 to 1992, China exported some 27 million units of tiger
medicines and wine to 26 countries. Tiger remedies were seen in
pharmacies in Asian communities all over the world.
China formally banned domestic trade of tiger bone in 1993. Today, very
few pharmacies still openly carry remedies containing tiger products.
But the market slipped underground and shadowy networks still thrive.
Though tiger hunting is illegal everywhere, the killing has continued,
and in some places, it’s accelerated.
Prices for tigers, dead or alive, continue to soar as populations
collapse. Poaching for their bones (and skins) has become a primary
threat to their survival. |
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Cupping therapy is one of the oldest methods of
traditional Chinese medicine. In China, cupping is used primarily to
treat respiratory conditions such as bronchitis, asthma, and congestion;
arthritis; gastrointestinal disorders; and pain. Some practitioners also
use cupping to treat depression, anxiety, fatigue and to reduce
swelling. Fleshy sites on the body, such as the back and stomach (and,
to a lesser extent, the arms and legs), are the most common sites for
treatment. |
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How Does Cupping Work?
In a typical cupping session, glass cups are warmed
using a cotton ball which is soaked in alcohol, lit on fire, then placed
inside the cup. Burning a substance inside the cup removes all the
oxygen, which creates a vacuum.
As the substance burns, the cup is turned upside-down so that the
practitioner can place the cup over a specific area. (The lit cotton
ball is generally removed from the cup at this point.) The vacuum
created by the lack of oxygen anchors the cup to the skin and pulls it
upward on the inside of the glass as the air inside the jar cools.
Drawing up the skin is believed to open up the skin's pores, which helps
to stimulate the flow of blood and creates an avenue for toxins to be
drawn out of the body. |
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Depending on the condition being treated, the cups will be left in
place from 5 to 15 minutes. Several cups may be placed on a patient's
body at the same time. Some practitioners will also apply small amounts
of herbal oils to the skin just before the cupping procedure, which lets
them move the cups up and down acupuncture points.
Once the suction has occurred, the cups can be gently moved across the
skin. The suction in the cups causes the skin and superficial muscle
layer to be lightly drawn into the cup. Cupping is much like the inverse
of massage - rather than applying pressure to muscles, it uses gentle
pressure to pull them upward. For most patients, this is a relaxing
sensation.
The suction from the cups pulls toxins deep in the tissues to the
surface. It can appear as light pink to dark purple marks on the body.
The more discoloration that surfaces, the greater amount of stagnation
and toxicity needs to be purged from the body. |
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What Causes the Dark Purple Bruising?
Contrary to popular belief, they are NOT bruises. These
purple marks are the expression of internal stagnation and congestion
brought to the surface of the body. They do not appear on everyone, only
those with a significant amount of congestion, poor blood flow and lymph
drainage. Those who are relatively healthy will not have these marks
while those with severe muscle tightness, headaches, painful periods and
various kinds of musculoskeletal pain will often show with purple-black
marks. These marks are both therapeutic (as they bring the stagnation
out of the tissues and to the surface, where it can resolve) and
diagnostic (the amount and nature of the discoloration gives an insight
into the patient's condition). As stagnation and toxicity are released,
the subsequent cupping sessions will have little to no discoloration. |
Generally, cupping is combined with acupuncture in one treatment,
but it can also be used alone. The suction and negative pressure
provided by cupping can loosen muscles, encourage blood flow, and sedate
the nervous system. Cupping is used to relieve back and neck pains,
stiff muscles, anxiety, fatigue, migraines, high blood pressure,
rheumatism, and even cellulite.
This traditional treatment is favored by many people because it's safe
and effective for many health disorders. |
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Acupuncture & Chinese Medical View
of the Tongue |
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Acupuncture & Chinese Medicine therapy involves a
detailed inspection of the patient’s tongue to obtain diagnostic
information about the current condition of the internal organs and
related systems. |
In Chinese Medicine the tongue is divided into five different
areas. Each area represents the current state of health of its
designated organ and organ system.
The first area is the front portion of the tongue, which is related to
the organs of the chest - the Heart and Lungs.
The second area is the tongue centre, representing the health of the
Spleen and Stomach, which equates to the digestive system in Western
Medicine.
The third and fourth areas are the sides of the tongue, which pertain to
the state of the Liver on the left and the Gall Bladder on the right.
The fifth area the rear of the tongue shows the current health of the
Kidneys, Bladder, and Intestines.What is the
Acupuncturist Looking For?
When an Acupuncturist inspects a patient’s tongue they
are assessing 6 things:
1. The overall color(s) of the tongue body
2. The shape and size of the tongue body
3. The thickness and distribution of the tongue coating
4. The color of the tongue coating
5. The moisture of the tongue
6. The appearance and color of papules on tongue body |
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The appearance of the tongue is constantly in flux,
changes often depend on a number of factors such as: types of foods
eaten that day, quality and amount of sleep, emotional state, current
health conditions, and the time of the month for women. A person in good
health should exhibit a tongue that is supple with a slightly moist pale
red body and a thin white coating.
Changes in health will reflect in the tongue. For example a person
suffering from adrenal fatigue with insomnia may present with a tongue
that has a peeled or absent coat, a red dry tongue body and a very red
tongue tip. While a person with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) may have
a tongue that is quite pink and pale, with tooth mark indentations along
the side borders of the tongue and a thin to thick white or yellow
coating.
Compare your own tongue before and after a night at the
pub or a night of pizza & wings. You might be surprised at the changes
that you see. |
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Posture and Traditional Chinese
Medicine |
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Ancient Chinese Belief
Correct Posture is a Key to Maintaining Physical Vigor and Spiritual
Health |
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Traditional Chinese Philosophy
Stance and Gait play a Significant Physical Role
and Reflects Inner Character |
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Chinese Proverb
“Stand like a pine, sit like a bell, walk like the wind, lie like a
bow.” |
Chinese children were educated not just in technical or theoretical
knowledge, but made to exercise self-discipline and propriety, which
would manifest in their everyday speech and behavior.
Core philosophical and instructional texts such as the “Book of Rites”
and “Standards for Being a Good Student and Child” instructed Chinese
for centuries and millennia on proper posture as well as ethics,
morality, and manners. This cultivation of personal bearing is central
to the Chinese worldview in general, which primarily strives first for
spiritual excellence and then material achievement as the natural
result. |
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In Confucian scholarly tradition, standing tall like the majestic
pine tree implies not simply being straight, but that one possesses a
strong moral foundation. Standing firmly as though rooted in the earth,
keeping the neck and shoulders extended skyward is not only good for the
internal organs and keeping the abdominal area in shape, but also
denotes a righteous confidence.
Chiang Kai-shek, military leader of China during World War II, was known
for his ramrod-straight back and diligent living habits that helped him
pull the country together in one of the darkest times of its history.
Through Chinese medicine, it was common knowledge that being hunchbacked
places undue stress on the stomach, intestines, and spine; the ancients
summed up these posture-induced ailments as being the manifestation of
bad chi distribution caused by slouching.. |
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Good posture was about maintaining bearing and physical focus.
Getting too comfortable and slouching into the fluff of a couch,
armchair, or mattress means not developing that focus or letting it
stagnate.
For the ancient Chinese, who did not use high-legged chairs until the
12th century, sitting or kneeling on mats was the norm. The
conversations between Confucius and his Disciples were conducted from
the ground, with those who wished to speak rising respectfully from
their positions.
Kneeling on the heels, according to Chinese Medicine, helps stimulate
the tendons around the knees, and keeps arthritis at bay. Furthermore,
kneeling encourages a straight back and helps open a vital chi pass that
assists proper functioning of the stomach, spleen, and liver.
If you sit only on the edge of the chair, as Chinese in the last few
centuries did, you actively remind yourself to maintain balance and keep
your back upright.
While the analogy of sitting like a bell may not be obvious to the
uninitiated, the logic is sound on both a physical and spiritual level.
Chinese religious traditions included static, cross-legged meditation.
Mastery of these techniques requires both a strong torsal core and the
ability to enter a mental state of tranquility. Sitting meditatively
implies having reached a relaxed yet firm composure—like a bell—which
has natural strength even as an empty object. |
| Move with decision, and carry yourself with purpose. According to
ancient Taoist teachings, by emptying oneself of distractions, one would
be able to open the requisite chi channels and walk effortlessly, with
natural poise and confidence. |
The Chinese had standards when it came to sleep. Confucius taught
that lying on the back was for the dead. People should maintain a good
resting form, like a bow, with the joints bent in relaxation. Lying on
one’s side meant maintaining some semblance of the upright pose
exercised in the daytime. According to ancient doctors, sleeping on the
side is also beneficial for optimal chi flow that would be otherwise
stifled by lying on the stomach or back.
Traditional Chinese beds were either mats on the ground or relatively
hard surfaces, like the “Kang” a flat brick oven. Popular in northern
China, the bricks, pre-heated during the day, made for a hard yet cozy
bed in the harsh winter. |
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