Asian Studies

The fields of Chinese medicine and Western medicine both arose from the need to understand the human body. Thus, extensive analysis and observation of both internal and external factors were studied, but these were done so using different approaches. Hence, they progressed and evolved differently, with Chinese medicine bound to a system of mystical origins and Western medicine hailed as the more skeptical of the two.

The ancient art of Chinese medicine, once revered as the only true medicine in the world, is gradually dying out. Originally, this art was passed down from one generation to the next in order to ensure the survival of the tradition. It was also an offshoot of the older Chinese beliefs, systematized and refined with the goal of healing and strengthening the human body. It required understanding of a wide variety of things, since it is, in a sense, an expansion of other traditional arts and sciences (Fruehauf, 1999).

On the other hand, Western medicine stood completely at odds with Chinese medicine. Western thought and discipline encouraged a more empirical approach, and this was highly visible in the way Western doctors treated their patients and developed their medicine. Furthermore, it rejected everything that reeked of mysticism, instead choosing to progress through hands-on experimentation.

As partisan as these two sides may be, Mao Zedong, during the beginning of the Communist reign, sought to join the two together. This integration attempt resulted to the birth of TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine), which also bore a political agenda for the leader. For him, Chinese medicine represented the persona of its people strong, self-reliant, native, and patriotic (Fruehauf, 1999). Noble as the initiative was, practitioners on both sides faced many challenges as a result of this union. The Western method of developing medicine seemed to heavily discredit the traditional Chinese medicines, since repeated experimentation utilizing the latter yielded poor results. By contrast, Chinese medicine required deeper insights on the nature of a multitude of disciplines a quality that Western medicine, by virtue of its emphasis on specialization, neglects. This disparity has led to numerous difficulties, as each aspect of one side only served to highlight the flaws of the other.

But looking more into the fields more traditional roots, the mysticism usually associated with Chinese medicine would be better understood if analyzed alongside their other ancient practices such as tai-chi. This ancient art, which involves the proper circulation of ones inner energy, called chi, has been so deeply ingrained within Chinese culture that it begins to affect the peoples lifestyle. Health is seen in relation to the balance of a persons chi, and Chinese medicine has been formulated with this aspect fully in mind.