A philosophical overview of Traditional Chinese Medicine. A look at its roots in the Chinese language, and the way of Chinese thought which created the Chinese healing arts. This text emphasizes the critical importance of examining ancient Chinese texts which are the basis for Traditional Acupuncture.

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) originated from the traditional medical system in the Chinese civilization, with influences from the Daoist and Chinese folk traditions in bodily cultivation and longevity techniques. In the past few decades, TCM has become one of the leading alternative medical systems in the United States. This book demonstrates the fluidity of a medical ideological system with a rich history of methodological development and internal theoretical conflicts, continuing to transform in our postmodern world where people and ideas transcend geographic, ethnic, and linguistic limitations. The unique historical trajectories and cultural dynamics of the American society are crticial nutrients for the localization of TCM, while the constant traffic of travelers and immigrants foster the globalizing tendency of TCM. The practitioners in this book represent an incredible range of clinical applications, personal styles, theoretical rationalizations, and business models. What really unifies all these practitioners is not their specific practices but the goal of these practices. The shared goal is to strive for health, not just health in terms of the lack of illness but the ultimate health of achieving perfect balance in every aspect of the being of a person—physically, mentally, spiritually, and energetically.

This title weaves together historical perspectives, ancient wisdom, and modern medicine to provide a holistic, effective, and rewarding way to understand and apply acupuncture in clinical practice

In this book, we endeavor to introduce readers to the cultural background, origins and historical development of traditional Chinese medicine. We surveyed the most important events in its long history and the conditions that influenced its development, including the cultural and philosophical ideas and assumptions that led to the development of the particular methods and techniques of healing that characterize Chinese medicine. Our goal is not to give an exhaustive survey of the history and philosophy of Chinese medicine, but rather to convey the patterns of its development and allow readers to gain an understanding of the distinctive features of traditional Chinese medicine.

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), with a history of thousands of years, is the crystallization of the ancient Chinese''s experiences in their struggle against diseases. It is also an integral part of the Chinese''s splendid culture. Under the influence and direction of classic Chinese philosophies, it has undergone long-term medical practice and infiltrated into, as well as absorbed from, other subjects in that point in time, thus gradually evolving into a unique medical theoretical system that contributed and is still contributing significantly to the healthcare of the Chinese and the prosperity of the Chinese nation.The basic theories of TCM are the theoretical foundations for guiding traditional Chinese preventive medicine and clinical medicine, and encompass aspects such as the philosophical foundation for TCM, understanding the effects of TCM on the physiology and pathology of the human body, and the principles in TCM for life cultivation, rehabilitation, diagnostics, and therapeutics. In this sense, the basic theories are regarded not only as an important part of TCM, but also as a compulsory course fundamental to the study and research of TCM.This book is compiled to allow the majority of readers to understand the theory of TCM and its methods of diagnosing and treating diseases in a relatively short period of time. It provides a brief introduction to the basic characteristics and theory of TCM, and a detailed schedule of learning commonly occurring diseases and patterns and their estimated 60 corresponding prescriptions. This is a great attempt in initiating more people to understand and apply the theory of TCM to diagnose and treat common diseases and provide corresponding formulas.