Chinese medicine for all: From history to practice and benefits

Lucio Sotte

CHINESE MEDICINE FOR ALL

(First Edition)

From history to practice and benefits

Title

CHINESE MEDICINE FOR ALL

Author

Lucio Sotte

Published by

Blu Editore

ISBN

9788885691834

Website

www.blueditore.com

DISCLAIMER: this eBook contains encrypted data aimed at a recognition in case of piracy. All rights are reserved according to law. No part of this book can be reproduced by any means without the written permission of the Author and Publisher. It is strictly prohibited to pass on this book to others, either in print or electronic format, either for money or for free. The concepts and techniques described in this book are the result of years of study and specializations, so the same outcome is not guaranteed either in personal or professional growth. The reader assumes full responsability for his choices and he/she is aware of the risks associated with any form of exercise. This book is not meant to substitute for advice and help of an expert professional instructor in the field.

The author and publisher are not responsible for the misuse or any possible harm that may result from purposes contrary to the content of this eBook, which has merely educational purposes and is not meant to replace any medical or psychological treatment. If you suspect or are aware of any health problems or any physical or psychological problem you will need to rely on an appropriate medical treatment.

Table of Contents

Preface

Origins

The Neolithic Age in China

The Xia Dynasty

The Shang Dynasty

Earliest Shamanic Practices

The Zhou dynasty

The development of medicine

Huangdi Neijing: the Earliest Text of Chinese Medicine

Bian Que: the Earliest Known Chinese Physician and the Hundred Schools of Thought

The Hundred Schools of Thought and the Cosmic Balance

The fundamentals of Chinese Medicine

Laozi, Daoism and the Dao

Yang Sheng or the Techniques for Longevity

Qi

‘Aggregation-Dispersion’ Dynamism of Qi

Vital Substances

The Quintessential Energy or Jing Qi

Genotype, the Before-Heaven Essence

Phenotype, the After-Heaven Essence

Ancestral Energy, the Kidney Essence

Psychism and the Mental, or Shen

The Heart Governs Shen through Blood

Yin-Yang

Opposition and Interaction

Interdependence

Balance

Transformation

The Yin-Yang Theory in Chinese Medical Science

The Five Movements: Wu Xing

The Reading-Key of All Reality

Nothing is Absolute

Meridians

Energy Connections between the Various Body Parts

Energy Connection between Man and Cosmos

Defence System against Pathogens

The Nourishment of the Organism

Classification of the Meridians

Principal Meridians

Secondary Meridians

Curious Meridians

The Meridian System and Embryogenesis

The Transmission of Genetic Inheritance

The Regulation of the Creation: Man as a Microcosmos

First the Exterior, then the Interior

Acupuncture Points

Either Tonifying or Dispersing to Maintain Energy Balance

The Organization of the Corpus Medicus

The Doctrine of Confucius

The Disciples and the Art of Curing Illnesses

The Qin and Han Dynasties and the Four Classics of Chinese Medicine

Pulse Lore

From the End of the Han Dynasty to the Sui Dynasty: Wang Shu He and Sphygmology

Pulse Qualities and Alterations

The Three Radial Pulses

A Method to Assess the Energy Status of the Whole Organism

Pathological Pulses

Analysis Parameters

Symptoms of Disease and Diagnosis

Visual Examination

Eye Examination

Skin Complexion

Skin Alterations

Hair, Hairs and Nails

Tongue examination

The Tongue Body Color

Shape and Mobility of the Tongue

Tongue Coating

Color of the Tongue Coating and Evolution of the Disease

Listening and Smelling

Inquiry

Palpation

From the Imperial Academy of Medicine to the Universities of Traditional Chinese Medicine

The Imperial Academy of Medicine

The Encounter with Ayurvedic Medicine

Exchanges on the Silk Road

The Evolution of Chinese Writing

A Symbolic and Analogical Thinking Approach

The Officialization of the Academy: the Clinical Courses

The Botanical Garden and Medical Pharmacopoeia

Massotherapy, Medical Gymnastics and Motor Techniques

The Age of the Great Physicians

The Classics of Medical Therapy

The Chinese Reinassance

Three Revolutionary Inventions: Printing, Compass and Gunpowder

Wealthy Merchants and a New Culture

The Reorganization and Specialization of the Academy

The Imperial Medical Encyclopedia

The Three Pathogenic Factors

The Classics of Dietetics

The Four Schools of Thought

The New Branches of Medicine

The Emergence of Public Healthcare

The Mongolian Rule (1271-1368) and Buddhism

The Influence of Indian Medical Knowledge

The Compendium of Materia Medica

The Most Complete Treaty of Chinese Pharmacology

How Chinese Medicine Tackled Major Outbreaks of Epidemic Diseases

The Decline and Rebirth of Traditional Medicine

Two New Interpretations of the Exogenous Factors of Disease

The Four Levels Theory

The Triple Burner

The Decline Under Western Influence

The Barefoot Doctors and the Universities of Traditional Chinese Medicine

The Recovery after the Cultural Revolution

Therapy

The Encounter with Western Medicine

Spreading through the Western World

France and Britain as a Vehicle of Diffusion

Identity and Differences

Acupuncture

The Filiform Needle

The Triangular Needle

The Grain-Like Needle

The Tumbtack Needle

Other Types of Needles

Indications for Acupuncture Treatment

Methodology

Moxibustion

Dispersing Cold and Tonifying Energy

Moxa Cones

Moxa Cigar

Warm (Moxa-Heated) Needle

The Moxa Box

Cupping Therapy

Indications

New Methods of Stimulating the Acupuncture Points

Electroacupuncture

Modes of Application

Laserpuncture

Magnetopuncture

Chimiopuncture

Pharmacology

Treating the Root to Enable the Plant to Thrive

Constitutional and Preventive

Tested and Studied over the Centuries

Remedy Classification Standards

Chinese Pharmacological Remedies

Harvesting

Conservation

Preparation

Administration

Synergy of the Components

Emperor

Minister

Counsellor

Courier

Dietetics

Treating Unbalances through Diet

Medicated Soups

The Classification of the Foods

Nature

Flavors

Smells

Tendencies

Transformation

Harmonious, Balanced Food Combinations

Massage

Pediatric Massage

Indications

Preventive Diagnosis

Medical Gymnastics: Qigong and Tai Chi

Qigong

Tai Chi Chuan

Wushu

Medical Research on Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine

EBM (Evidence-Based Medicine) and Acupuncture

The Modalities of Action of Acupuncture

Biochemical Mechanisms

Interstitial Transmission Theories

Autonomic Modulation Theory

Gate-Control Theory

The Placebo Effect

EBM and Chinese Pharmacology

Physio-Kinesiotherapy, Massage and Medical Gymnastics

Conclusions

Bibliography

Preface

This volume is meant to present acupuncture and Chinese Traditional Medicine to the non-experts, that is, to the many of our patients who want to delve deeper into the techniques of therapy they are being treated with and all those who wish to understand the fundamental aspects of this extremely ancient science which is becoming more and more widespread across the western world.

Covering the very long history of Chinese medical tradition from the dawn of civilization to the present day, the volume will disclose its core principles: the doctrines of yin-yang and the Five Movements, the theory of organs, viscera and meridians, and that of qi, blood and organic liquids, relating them to the period in which they appeared for the first time to later become an integral part of medical knowledge. By following this historical and temporal approach, the reader will be gradually introduced to the anatomical description of human organism and its functioning, the causes of disease and their mode of operation, the study of signs and symptoms and, eventually, a diagnostics system classifying pathologies according to very different criteria than those employed in biomedicine.

The last part of the volume is dedicated to the description of the numerous therapy techniques of Chinese medicine, which are divided into three groups: external techniques, internal techniques, and techniques that are neither internal nor external.

External techniques act from the outside and are based on the stimulation of the acupuncture points and their meridians. In addition to acupuncture, also moxibustion, cupping therapy, massage and physio-kinesiotherapy, electropuncture, laserpuncture, magnetopuncture and chimiopuncture will be presented.

Internal techniques act from the inside and presuppose the assumption of substances through food; they include dietetics and pharmacology. The latter takes advantage of the pharmacological action of a great many natural medicinal substances, thousands of which are listed in the recently published Pharmacopoea Sinica.

Techniques that are neither internal nor external include medical gymnastics such as Qigong and Tai Chi, the so-called psychophysical disciplines, which use movements based on the theory of meridians and harmonize them with breathing phases and mental focusing through a sort of autogenic training.

Origins

At the dawn of Chinese civilization.

The Neolithic Age in China

The earliest evidence of human presence in the regions corresponding to today’s Chinese territory dates back to ancient times. The first documented deposits of human fossils can be traced back to Paleolithic age. Peking Man is thought to have lived 700.000 years ago and Yuanmou Man as early as 1.700.000 years ago. From Neolithic times, the cultures of primitive Chinese populations underwent fast development leading to an uninterrupted historical process of civilization which saw the shift from a tribal subsistence economy based on hunting and wild plant gathering to a village’s economy. The start of this incredible development is witnessed above all by the evolution of pottery, which provides documentary evidence of the art and talent of Neolithic Man in China. The ancestors of today’s Chinese populations began practicing the earliest forms of agriculture and animal farming especially in the Yellow River valley. Indeed, it was in the territories surrounding the basin of this huge river that the various Chinese cultures met and mingled with each other, thus starting a process of gradual unification which gave birth to ancient Chinese civilization.

The Xia Dynasty

The first Chinese dynasty, the Xia dynasty, which lasted for five centuries, is believed to have been established around the 21st century B.C.. Despite the scarcity of historical evidence, some archaeological findings confirm that the Xia civilization made its first appearance in the area along the Yellow River’s middle course and, from there, spread out to the basins of the Fen, Yi and Luo Rivers. In addition to the fact that, at the time, bronze had already appeared, the discovery of some very large foundations dating back to that period suggests the existence of an actual building worthy of a capital city, which would testify that the Xia civilization was already organized according to a system of social classes. Although first evidence of writing was found in some pottery fragments from China’s ancient Yangshao culture, it was in the Neolithic age that there were introduced symbols that would be definitely considered by historians as real pictographs, carved into earthenware pottery from Dawenkou culture. Moreover, the discovery of some strange pointed stones known as bian stones, described in the dictionary written during the successive Han dynasty as tools used for medical purposes, suggests that acupuncture originated from some sort of primitive medical practice which originally used stone needles, then bone needles and, later, bamboo needles.

The Shang Dynasty

According to Chinese tradition, the tyrant and last ruler of the Xia dynasty King Jie was overthrown by his vassal Cheng Tang, who became the first emperor of the Shang or Yin dynasty, which lasted until the 11th century B.C.. The productive activities most practiced by the populations who lived in the Shang period were agriculture and animal farming. The remains of farm tools fabricated from wood or stone that have come to us testify that people cultivated different kinds of cereals, although millet was their main crop. In today’s region of Henan province, archaeologists found the remains of manufacturing places of bronze items, especially ritual objects and weapons, made with rather complex techniques. Moreover, China was the first country in the world to raise silkworm and in the Shang age sericolture was already highly developed, as witnessed in carved pictographs representing silkworms or mulberry plants. As regards Chinese writing, it had its origin in Shang culture. The language used in the inscriptions on tortoise shells or animal bones seems to be rather enhanced. Being nothing but oracle’s responses, these inscriptions are proof that the populations who lived during the Shang dynasty used to practice divination, in a form that relied on their broad knowledge of astronomy. They had a somewhat precise calendar system which was both lunar and solar, where each year was already divided into twelve months, some of twenty-nine and others of thirty days.

Earliest Shamanic Practices

From the 20th-century archaelogical discoveries in the Henan and Gansu regions it emerged that, along with the divinatory practices, shamanic practices of medical nature, which could not then be separated from the religious, were quite popular. Primitive medical treatment was