Chinese Attitudes toward Disease
2 min readChinese Attitudes toward Disease According to Chinese cosmology，all is born from the marriage of yin and yang.Harmony between the two produces good health；disharmony leads to disease.One of the major assumptions of traditional Chinese med-icine is that disease is due to an internal imbalance of yin and yang，andso the strategy is to restore harmony and traditional Chinese doctors use acupuncture，herbs and special food to help correct yin-yang imbalance until the body returns to a healthy state.Another assumption is that each organ has a mental as well as a physical function，and all parts of the bodily whole are intimately connected.
The Theory of TCM
Traditional Chinese medicine is based on yin/yang-the opposing，complementary principles of nature-and the five elements of metal，wood，water，fire and earth，believed by ancients to be the basic components of the physical universe.In complying prescriptions，TCM（Traditional Chinese Medicine）doctors adopt the strategy of“governing a country”，the principle being to employ“monarch，minister，assistant and guide”，referring to the various roles played by the components of a prescription.
Ancient TCM doctors thus introduced ethics and politics into the realm of medicine.
Complishment of TCM
TCM has achieved a new level in the prevention and treatment of common cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases，which are the most harmful to human health and the most widespread.According to Professor Weng Xinshi，a famous Chinese medical scientist，the 400-odd in-patients with acute myocardial infarction in the hospital where he works were randomly divided into two groups.
One group were treated with Western medicine only，and the other group were treated with the combination of the same Western medicine and the“anti-myocardial infarction mixture”developed by the Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine according to“treating principles of activating blood circulation and supplementing Qi.”It proved that the latter group had a lower incidence of complications and a lower death rate than the former group.TCM also has produced benefits in treating angina pectoris and high blood pressure.Scalp acupuncture has drawn international attention as a therapy for treating hemiplegic paralysis.
