History of Chinese Medicine
Chinese medicine, being the first recorded practice of healing, started its roots around 3,000 B.C. This practice first originated when the ancient Chinese tested certain herbal plants on themselves. Medical encyclopedias of herbs and their properties were made, and the spread of the practice’s holistic ideas began. TCM has experienced a long course of development throughout the 5,000 years of unrecorded and recorded history. China’s two renowned philosophers, Confucius and Lao-tzu, were great contributors to the Chinese medicine cause and movement. Around 500 B.C, the idea of Yin-Yang was formed using ancient emperor Shen Nung’s idea on balance. Confucius, the father of Confucianism, and Lao-tzu, the father of Taoism, advocated this idea of yin-yang to be the ideal harmony or balance in the universe. Lao-tzu went further and said that the body, mind, and spirit can have stages of harmony and disharmony. Confucianism and Taoism gained popularity, so TCM became more widespread as well. Chinese medicine was shaped by the accumulating knowledge and philosophy gathered from gifted medical practitioners and scholars from different backgrounds. When China became an international trade interest over 500 years ago, TCM was pushed overseas and across lands by classic texts and medical records. The medical encyclopedias were translated. Blending frequently with newer Western medicine, the Chinese medicine practices of the past lasted through thousands of years to be continually popular in today’s world. TCM incorporated a complete array of medical theories, real-world experiences, and distinctive therapeutic techniques throughout history.