Name: Lau Shan Shan Gigi UID: 3035491478

CCCH9029 Final Essay: Topic 3

In this common core course, it introduced the ideas and the practices of healing in Traditional
China. The holistic system of medicine, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), is introduced. The
concept of holism is comprised of two meanings. Firstly, TCM suggests that the human body is
an organic whole and therefore its tissues and organs are all associate and influence each other
physiologically and pathologically (Ke, 2019). Secondly, the human body works as an integrated
system and it is closely related to the external environment (Ke, 2019). Its philosophies and
principles suggest that the human body works as an integrated system. The course introduced the
philosophies and principles behind TCM. The influential holistic theories in TCM which are the
Yin-Yang and five elements “陰陽五行”, the correlation between man and nature “天人相應”,
vital energy “原氣論” and the same origin of herbs and food “藥食同源” are explained in
detail. All of the above theories and supporting concepts in TCM have brought me many changes
in different aspects like lifestyle, perspectives on healthcare and medical practice and I will
explain the changes as follows.

The first change that came to my mind was the lifestyle which includes eating habits and living
habits. According to TCM’s nutrition, food can be served as diet and medicine at the same time
(Wang, Xiu &Wang, 2008). Therefore, TCM puts a strong emphasis on eating habits and daily
diet. In one of the field trips during reading week, we went to a restaurant to try Chineses
Medicinal cuisine. Through this real-life experience, I learned more about how different kinds of
food were cooked and the corresponding medical effects that they bring to our bodies. Food has
an important role to help to regulate different imbalance (e.g. Yin-yang and Qi) in our body
constitutions (Weng & Chen, 1996). I realized that eating appropriate elements of food could
bring me unexpected benefits to my body. This kind of Chinese dietary therapy advocates the use
of food to help maintain the balance in the body, at the same time advocating a healthy lifestyle.
In the past, I have a partial eclipse as I usually eat a lot of meat but just a few vegetables and I
often have constipation. Overeating and heavy meals are some unhealthy dietary habits for me
and I didn’t realize how serious it will damage my body if I continue the poor habit. So, in order
to maintain the balance within my body, I try to understand what is the situation in my body and
what my body needs in order to choose and eat the most suitable nature of food. I become more
aware of the different ingredients of the food I eat is comprised of and choose more preferable
food to my body instead of eating everything I like without controlling the intake of food. From
now on, not only can I have more understanding of the dish, but I also start developing good
eating habits.

Apart from dietary habits, I also realized that my sleeping habit also negatively affecting my
health. Usually, I go to bed late and wake up early in the morning. I am also a procrastinator, so
sometimes I will have to work around the clock. Thus, I have an insufficient amount of sleep. At
the same time, I also found myself have a poor quality of sleep as I will struggle to get to sleep
and wake up at midnight. My sleeping habits deeply impact my energy, mood level and even
make me less functional in the day time. It is not until I finish the course do I know that my
sleeping time and quality will have strong effects on the flow of Qi and the vital energy. If I do
not maintain a good sleeping habit, it is hard for me to stabilize the flow of the energy between
the body and the head and it will bring tremendous drawbacks to my body. So from now on, I am
trying to altering my lifestyle to prevent sleeping disorders. For example, going to bed as early as
possible, not using electronic devices before sleep, drinking more herbal tea before going to bed
and etc. I guess all these light changes in lifestyles can help reduce the imbalance between body
and environment and make my body healthier.

The second change will be my personal perspective on healthcare. In the past, seldom do I put
focuses on healthcare like preventing diseases or improve my body health. When I am sick, I will
just consult Western Medicine practitioners and try to get the part of the body repaired. I also
believe that having a regular body check means to have good healthcare to myself. However,
after studying the course, I understand more about the saying that “prevention is far better than
any cure”, which is also a strong emphasis in TCM. I realized personal healthcare is not limited
to body check and there are actually many I have to do in daily life to maintain a good body
condition. Traditional Chinese Medicine, suggests the accumulation and the balance of the
attributes within a human (e.g. Yin-Yang, blood-Qi, and heat-cold) help to determine the internal
climate of an individual (Ke, 2019). So the balance between the human body and the external
environment highly attributes to human health and diseases (Hong, 2014). The body condition is
good when I can achieve the balance of Qi. On the contrary, when there is an excess or
deficiency of Qi, I will become sick. While the balance can be achieved through maintaining
good healthcare in daily life. The holistic concept in TCM emphasizes on the optimal health of
an individual and embrace effective options in the process of diagnosis and treatment such as
lifestyle changing and daily healthcare (Ke, 2019). As mentioned in the above, the balance of Qi
can actually be controlled by our living lifestyle and also dietary habits. There are actually many
unique ways in preventing modern diseases which are highly accessible, affordable and effective
such as all kinds of sub-health states and diseases. So, I changed my perspective in healthcare
and tried to keep my body in good condition by doing more prevention and treat ailments in
time.

The last change will be my medical practice. In the past, I would prefer consulting the Western
medicine practitioner when I am sick. The reason behind this is that Western medicine is
evidence-based which relies more on scientific research when comparing with that TCM, so it is
deemed to be more reliable and safer to me. For example, nuclear scans like X-rays and CT
scans use radioactive substances to see the structures and functions inside my body, therefore the
doctor can quickly diagnose many conditions like injuries and infections. So, in terms of
effectiveness and efficacy, I also perceived the scientifically and medically proven processes in
WM have a higher recognition. However, it seems that I have less knowledge about TCM before
studying this course and apparently my view is not comprehensive. This course introduced many
key concepts and actual practice in Traditional Chinese Medicine which I have not heard and
tried before. A diverse method was used on the patient to restores the body’s physiological
functions and his capacity to adapt to and improve his social circumstances. Chinese Medicine
practitioner has four basic methods to diagnose diseases: inspection, listening&smelling,
inquiring and palpation. All of these follow the principle from Zhang Xiang's theory, which is
about inferring the state of pathological changes and the functioning conditions of the internal
organs by observing the patient externally (Zang, 2014). Therefore, the analysis of the symptoms
to understand the pathological conditions and diagnose the diseases is more accurate than I
believe. Acupuncture, cupping, and moxibustion is commonly accepted as a treatment for a
number of conditions, including pain relief. Even though these are all some traditional treatment
methods, they are very effective as they can deal with patient’s body as a whole. By contrasting
and connecting TCM and Western medicine, I found that TCM can help making the body and
the outside environment balance, on the contrary, WM can only reduce the symptoms of a
particular part of the body and to prolong the patient’s life. Now, I have a deeper understanding
of the cross-cultural inquiry and become more positive about consulting the Chinese Medicine
practitioner.

To conclude, the course provided me with a valuable chance to have a closer look at what
Traditional Chinese Medicine in different dimensions such as the philosophies behind and the
actual practice. I have gained some new insights and changed some of my inherent views and
bias towards TCM. According to a recent research, TCM starts gaining popularity because of the
interpersonal sensitivity and perceived fewer side effects. I will be more open-minded to TCM
and would also consider to consult Chinese Medicine practitioner when I need. As the above
mentioned, I have some changes in lifestyle, perspectives on healthcare and medical practice
after studying this common core course and I truly hope to have more investigation on
Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Reference
王会梅, 徐桂华, 王丹文, & WANG Hui-mei, XU Gui-hua, WANG Dan-wen. (2008). 中医食疗
的理论与应用 - The Theory and Using of TCM Diet Therapy. 辽宁中医药大学学报, 10(4),
69-71.
Hong, H. (2014). The theory of Chinese medicine: A modern interpretation. Singapore, World
Scientific.
Ke, H. (2019). Modern holistic medicine from the perspective of traditional Chinese medicine.
MedCrave, 12(3), 115-120.
Went, W.,&Chen, J. (1996). The Eastern Perspective on Functional Foods Based on Traditional
Chinese Medicine. Nutrition Reviews, 54(11), S11-S16.
Zang, X. (2014, June 18). Zang Xiang Theory. Retrieved from https://tcmwiki.com/wiki/zang-
xiang-theory