Basic knowledge of Traditional Chinese
Medicine and Acupuncture
? Chinese traditional medicine is a valuable heritage, and it develops for the promotion of health. Within Chinese cosmology, all of creation is born from the marriage of two polars: yin and yang . Harmony of this union produces good health; disharmony leads to disease. The strategy of Chinese medicine is to restore harmony. One of the major assumptions in traditional Chinese medicine is that disease is due to an internal imbalance of yin and yang. So traditional Chinese doctors uses acupuncture, herbs and food to help you correct the yin and yang imbalance until the body returns to a healthy state.
? Western medicine assumes that the disease is due to an external force such as a virus or bacteria. Western medicine is based on the Cartesian philosophy that the body represents one functioning system, and the mind another. It accepts that each system may affect the other, but essentially the western medicine sees disease as either physical or mental. The Chinese assume that each organ has a mental as well as a physical function, and each part of the whole body is intimately connected.
? Nature has air, sea, and land. In the same way the Chinese medicine assumes that the buman body possesses Qi, Moisture and Blood. Qi means influence or energy. It is the motivating force behind all movement in our bodies. Moisture is the liquid substance, which protects and nurtures tissue. Blood is the foundation in which bones, nerves, skin, muscles and organs are created.
? In the Chinese concept, there are three treasures or san bao. They are Jing or essence, Qi or vitality, and Shen or spirit. Shen represents consciousness and our higher mental faculties. The relationship among Jing, Qi, and Shen is that Qi is the forefather of spirit, and essence is the child of Qi, Qi is the root of essence and spirit. When Qi accumulates, it produces essence. When essence accumulates, it makes spirit wholesome spirit wholesome.
? It is a Chinese concept that Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water make up the nature. Therefore the human body is divided into five functional systems. They are called the Organ Networks, which consists of Liver, Heart, Spleen, Lung and Kidney. These Networks govern particular tissues, mental faculties, and physical activities. At the same time they regulate and preserve Qi, Moisture, Blood, Spirit, and Essence.
? Qi, Moisture, and Blood circulate within a web of pathways called channels that link all parts of the organism. Health exist when adequate Qi, Moisture, and Blood flow smoothly. Once their circulation splits, varied symptoms may occur. The common sicknesses include joint pain, headache, anxiety, fatigue, menstrual cramps, high blood pressure, asthma indigestion and others. As Qi, Moisture, and Blood are used up, it will lead to weakness, lethargy, frequent illness, poor digestion and inadequate blood flow. If they are too full, it will lead to aches, tension, a distended abdomen, irritability, and swelling.
? You may ask me how traditional Chinese doctors treat illness. They usually use acupuncture, herbs and food to help you correct the yin and yang imbalance. As for acupuncture, an acupuncturist usually inserts acupuncture needles at human body critical points for multi-medical
purposes.
? You may ask me how acupuncture works. The traditional explanation says that in traditional Chinese medicine, there exists a web of pathways called channels that link all parts of the body, and more than 360 acupuncture points are located at these channels. Qi or vitality flows through these channels and passes acupuncture points to support tissue, muscles and organs. When Qi is blocked at a certain critical acupuncture point, the function of tissue, muscles and organs will be weakened. Therefore an acupuncturist usually inserts acupuncture needles into certain points to help Qi flow. At the same time the needlework helps correct Qi imbalances and improves your energy and internal processing.
? So you see, many people do not believe that acupuncture can be painless. They may have different sensations. They may feel sore, numb, warm or swelling. People often say that they feel relaxed when the needle is inserted beneath their skin. According to many doctors’ experience, most of the time six to eight needles are used during an acupuncture treatment. Ten or more needles may be used if two or more symptoms need acupuncture treatment at the same time. For instance when a patient has back pain and a headache, the acupuncturist treats the patient for the two illnesses at the same time. Some acupuncturists insert as many as thirty or more needle at the same time.
? Normally each acupuncture treatment takes 20 to 30 minutes. However it depends on the sensitivity of each individual and the types of diseases and the kind of conditions. Generally speaking, the quality of acupuncturist. They are a combination of diagnosis of the symptom, accuracy of acupuncture points, timing, and the depth and angle of insertion, etc.

Traditional Chinese Medicinal Herbs and Main Local Herbs
In China, herbal medicine is made up of roots, bark, flowers, seeds, fruits, leaves, and branches. When herbs are combined, they can increase or promote medical effectiveness. Herbal medicine has been a part of the written history of Traditional Chinese Medicine for over 4000 years. According to the legend, the Chinese medicine started with Shennong who was a legendary miracle doctor. It is said that he has tasted a hundred plants in order to find out useful medical purposes. Only 300 to 500 of these herbs are commonly used. Moreover, Chinese herbs have low risk of adverse reaction or side effects.
Herbal therapy has three main functions as below:

1. Treat the immediate problem, such as killing bacteria or a virus.
2. Strengthen the body and help it to recover.
3. Maintain the body’s health.

Moreover, Chinese Herbs have low risk of adverse reactive or side effects.
Herbal medicine is the mainstay of traditional Chinese medicine. The knowledge of Chinese medicinal herbs was handed down from one to another through verbal instruction until the birth of Chinese characters. All the ancient books related to medicines generally named “bencao”, which means that plants are the basis of medicinal herbs. In ancient dynasties, many books related to medicinal herbs were printed. At present, there are about 300 types of medical books in existence. Some of the best-known books are listed below:
Shennong Bencaojing,( Shengnong Herbal Medicine Classics)
? It was the first known Chinese medical book written during the Eastern Han Dynasty. The book summed up the experience of using herbal drugs, which dated back to the dynasties even earlier than the Eastern Han Dynasty. The account of 365 herbs is included in the book.
? Shennong Bencaojing Jizhu (the Variorurn Edition of Shennong Herbal Medicine Classics)
? This book was written by Tao Hongjin of the Liang Dynasty (490-500). It accounted for another 365 herbs collected from the Han to the Wei dynasty. There are 730 herbs in all. The book offers the experience of how to collect and identify medicinal herbs. Furthermore, it also shows how to prepare Chinese medicine by roasting them in a pan.
?Xinxiu Bencao
This book was written by Li Shizhen of the Ming Dynasty. It accounted for 1,892 herbs attached with 1,160 pitures and 11,000 drug prescriptions. At the beginning of the 17th century, some foreign scholars began to translate the book into English, Japanese, French and several other languages. The translated versions have made an important contribution to the development of the world science of medicine.
In China, there are eight main herb productive regions. One of them is the Yun-Gui- Chuan? Herb Production Region. This region includes Sichuan, Guizhou, Tibet and small areas of Yunnan. It plays the main role in China’s herbs production. Mountains, hills, forests and plateaus mainly cover the extensive region. There are about 5,000 kinds of Chinese “material medica”, including about 4,500 plants, over 300 animals and about 80 minerals. Many drugs produced in this region are of high quality.
Within the region, Sichuan has rich resources of 3,500 types of herbs. They include about 3200 plant herbs, 340 animal drugs and 40 minerals. The production of the local staple herbs has made up one-third of national total output value. Traditionally, Chuan many local herb products like the Chuan Bulb of Fritillary and the Chuan Rhizome. Chuan in the names of herbs symbolizes the origin of herbs and their high quality.
Some valuable local herbs are listed below:
Huanglian (the Rhizome of Chinese Gold-thread )
Chuanxiong ( the Rhizome of Chuanxiong)
Beimu (the Bulb of Fritillary)
Chongcao ( Chinese Caterpillar Fungus)
Tianma ( the Tuber of Elevated Gastrodia)
This plant has been used for medical treatment for more than 2,000 years. A literal English translucent and yellowish white root. The tianma plant is categorized in traditional Chinese medicine as a sweet and neutral herb. It mainly cures corotraction of armsand legs, hemiplegia, headache or dizziness. The wild Tianma plant grows in mountainous areas aroud the Sichuan basin, ranging from 700 to 3,000 meters above sea level.
Traditionally local people gather the plant in spring or winter. However, the winter Tianma plant is better than the spring one. Due to the scientific research efforts, The wild Tianma plant started to grow in farmers’ fields, making the production become much higher than before. At present the Tianma plant is found in bulk or in tablets at Chinese pharmacies.
Chuanbeimu
The fritillary is mentioned in the ancient literature, including a brief statement in Shennong Herbal Medicine Classics. But it was not widely used in ancient medicine. This lack of use probably reflects the difficulty in finding adequate quantities of the herb. Chuanbeimu was first introduced formally in the Compendium of Materia medica. It is a larger bulb plant, and the introduction its cultivation during the Ming Dynasty paved the way for the herb to be utilized regularly thereafter.
The fritillary herb is slightly cold. It affects the lungs by clearing heat and moistening dryness. It is used for hot-type bronchitis with dry cough.
The fritillary herb mainly grows in cold mountainous areas at 3,000 meters and above. In the past years much effort has been made on the artificial plantation as well as sexual and asecual bulb reproduction. The aim is to grow the fritillary in lower areas. The production output is expected to increase from 25 to 50 jin per mu.
Today, the fritillary herb is commonly included as a main ingredient in cough syrups such as zhikelu. Zhike means “treating cough”, lu means “syrup”.
A well-known food therapy for cough is to steam a sliced pear, in which the fritillary herb powder and sugar fills the emptied corearea. The patient who has the cough eats the steamed pear with fritillary powder and consumes the juice that is formed during cooking of one pear per day.
Chongcao
This fungus is one of the valuable local herbs in Sichuan. The eaterpillar fungus is a traditional medicine that has been widely used as a tonic and /or medicine by the Chinese for hundreds of years. It mainly grows in mountains and grassland 3,000 meters above sea level. In the old days, Chinese people thought that the caterpillar fungus were worms. However, after years of study, it was found that it really is a fruiting body produced by the fungus. When the caterpillar dies, the fungus produces a stalked fruiting body that produces spores. The sores are spread in the wind to the next generation of caterpillars. The fungus contains cordyceps sinensis acid, fatty acid, protein and amino acid. The output of the fungus in Sichuan occupies first place in China. In 1981, the artificial fungus plantation became successful. The sale at home and abroad goes on very well.
The use of the caterpillar fungus is believed to have started a thousand years ago. It was either ground into a powder, or mixed with other tonics. Today, the caterpillar fungus is mainly used as a tonic to increase stringy or for rejuvenation after a long serious injury. The most common way to prepare the caterpillar fungus is to stuff a duck with the caterpillar fungus and then boil the duck in hot water. Patients drink the liquid. The aroma is pleasant and the broth tastes sweet.
Duzhong (the Bark of Eucommia)
The eucommia barks are flakes, 3-7mm thick and different in size; some are flat in shape; some are slightly rolled up inwardly (two sides). The outer surface is light brown or grayish-brown. The inner surface is smooth, and is dark violet in color. It is crisp in texrure and easy to break. It is faint in smell, slightly bitter in taste, and gives a sensation of being gluey when chewed.
For over 2,000 years, the bark has been used for medical purposes;

1. It nourishes the liver and kidney and strengthens the bones and muscles.
2. It produces a desirable result in the treatment of deficiency of the liver-yin and kidney-yin manifested as soreness and weakness of the loins and knees.
3. Miscarriage prevention.
4. Calm and suppress liver-yang.

The eucommia trees grow in Mianyang, Leshan and some other areas. Usually local workers peel the trees to gather the bark for medical uses. However, too much bark peeling will hurt the trees. Therefore, the local agricultural department invited research workers to experiment on how to help the trees renew their bark in a more efficient manner. At the same time, an advanced pee-ling technique has been widely accepted, and now the local workers try to peel the bark in a circular way that won’t hurt the trees.
Huanglian ( the Rhizome of Chinese Gold-thread)
There are two kinds of Huanglian herbs in Sichuan. One is called weilian, and the other Yalian.
Weilian herb grows in the Shizhu, Nanchuan, and Wulong areas. Many roots are usually connected together, forming a cluster. It resembles a talon. Its surface is rough and grayish-yellow or yellowish-brown in color. In most cases, brown bud leaves remain at the upper part and a short stem remains at the top. The whole root is hard in texture, faint in odor and extremely bitter in taste.
Yalian herb grows in Emei, Ebian and Hongya areas. It has no branches. Its root is cylinder-shaped and slightly crooked. The herb is usually 4-8 cm in length and 0.5-1.0 cm in diameter. The production output of Yalian herb is low, but the quality remains the best.
Local people have grown the herb for several decades. When seedlings are planted, it takes at least five years for them to grow into the ready-made herbs. Since 1975, a rotation experiment has been carried out for the purpose of increasing the herb output.
The herb is used in the treatment of vomiting, diarrhea, dysentery, hemorrhoid and other symptoms caused by damp-heat in the intestine and stomach. This medicine may be used along or with others.

Since we are going for a Chinese medicinal meal. I’d like to say something about the medicinal meals. What I say, I think, will be helpful in your understanding of the Chinese culture in this field.
The knowledge of Chinese herbal medicine is extensive. It has always been intimately linked with the life extension. Herbs are first and foremost foodstuffs that nourish the body in precise and well-defined ways. When the Chinese discovered farming and agriculture in the early days, they discovered the medicinal properties of food. Since then, food has been studied and analyzed for its medicinal effects on people. This knowledge enables people to use food as the first line of defense to ward off common sicknesses and diseases.
Medicinal meals are unique in the Chinese food culture. It is the preparation of medicinal food dishes with selected food ingredients and superior herbs. It aims to extract the necessary nutrients to treat specific health conditions. It aims to extract the necessary nutrients to treat specific health conditions. It is also considered to be the best tonic for health because it combines fresh and natural foods with superior herbs. There are hundreds of these recipes in circulation, and many households are using them on a regular basis. The recipes can be classified into the following categories: health promotion, sickness prevention, disease control and recuperating. Besides, they are less expensive than drugs and have no adverse side effects.
Making soup is the most common method in preparing medicinal dishes. It is a long and slow simmering process to extract the essential nutrients from the ingredients into the soup. The effects are quick. Soup is suitable for people of all ages, and it is easiest for the body to digest and absorb. Even the weakest person living on a fluid diet can benefit from nutritional soup.
Another popular from of medicinal food is rice soup or rice porridge. It is prepared by cooking rice into a semi-solid form with herbs and adequate water. It is easy to digest as a meal replacement.
Typical dishes include the Stewed Squab with Chinese Caterpillar, the Mandarin Fish Grains with Pine Nuts, the Soft-shelled Turtle with Cordyceps, the Mutton with Candied Dates, the Stewed Pigeon with Ginseng and Cordyceps, the Duck with Chinese Caterpillar Fungus and others.