A presentation that discusses the origins of Traditional Chinese Medicine; pre-Yellow Emperor Classic

1. Could an understanding of
this history assist us in
modern clinical practice and
society?

2. Chinese Dynasties*
Dynasties/Periods/Republics Years
Pre-Dynastic Pre-2070 BCE
Xia Dynasty 2070-1600 BCE
Shang Dynasty 1600-1046 BCE
Zhou Dynasty
Spring and Autumn Period (Qun Qiu)
Warring States Period
1046-221 BCE
770-476 BCE
475-221 BCE
Qin Dynasty 221-207 BCE
Han Dynasty 206 BCE – 220 CE
Three Kingdoms (Wei, Shu, Wu) Period 220-280 CE
Western Jin Dynasty
Eastern Jin Dynasty
280-316 CE
317-420 CE
Northern (Tartar) Dynasty
Southern Dynasty
317-581 CE
420-581 CE
Sui Dynasty 581-618 CE
Tang Dynasty 618-907 CE
Five Dynasties 907-960 CE
Song Dynasty
Northern Song – including Liao and Xia Dynasties
Southern Song – including Jin and Xia Dynasties
960-1279 CE
960-1126 CE
1127-1279 CE
Yuan (Mongol) Dynasty 1279-1368 CE
Ming Dynasty 1368-1644 CE
Qing (Manchu) Dynasty 1644-1911 CE
Republic of China 1912-1949 CE
People’s Republic of China 1949-present
* Referenced from Cotterell (1995), Fung (1983), Maciocia (2005), Marchment (2004), Mou (2009).

3. • The main period of ancient Chinese history we will focus on is
between the Shang and Han Dynasties (1600BCE-220CE)
• Going back any further than the Shang Dynasty leads one into a
period in history that can not be adequately proven.
• Having said that a village unearthed in 1952 at Banpo (roughly
1000km south west of Beijing) is dated roughly 4500BCE (Pre-
Dynastic Period).The villages inhabitants seem to have
worshipped their ancestors (Cotterell, 1995, pp. 4-8).
• The Pre-Dynastic Period supposedly had sorcerers and witches to
regulate the spirits. “The fact that the spirits were supposed to be
able to bestow happiness, receive sacrifices, and to enter into
human beings, shows that they were regarded as
anthropomorphic beings” (Fung, 1983, pp. 23-24).
Chinese Dynasties

4. ShangTai (Dynasty) Map

5. • TCM originated out of the ashes of:
• Ancestor Worship.
• Tian Ming,Tian Zi, and Shang Di – Heavenly aspects.
• Demonological Therapy.
• Black Magic – including Contact Magic and Homeopathic Magic.
• Magical Healing.
• Wind Spirits/Demons (Feng Xie) and Qi.
• Yin Yang Philosophical School
• Wu Xing (Five Proceedings) Philosophical School/Five Element School.
• Other philosophical schools including Confucianism and Daoism – not
discussed in this presentation.
How didTCM originate?

6. • Each of the phenomena discussed on the previous
slide can be categorised into two different groups –
Conforming and Nonconforming.
• Conforming phenomena include the Yin Yang School,
Wu Xing School, Black (Contact and Homeopathic)
Magic, and Magical Healing.
• Nonconforming phenomena include Ancestor
Worship; Tian Ming,Tian Zi, and Shang Di;
DemonologicalTherapy; Wind Spirits/Demons (Feng
Xie) and Qi.
Categorising Phenomena

7. • “… any change to which one particular
phenomena is subjected will also affect any
corresponding phenomenon that shares the
underlying principle” (Unschuld, 1985, p. 5).
• Conforming phenomena include the Yin Yang
School, Wu Xing School, Black (Contact and
Homeopathic) Magic, and Magical Healing.
Conforming Phenomena

8. • http://www.inmagine.com/ikonimages-004/ptg01879816-photo
• Was originally a philosophical
school which developed around the
4th century BCE.
• Simply put, these philosophers
believed the universe was dualistic.
• The titles given for the two parts of
the universe were, of course, Yin
and Yang.
• Even though they are opposite
categories of correspondences,
they also complement each other
and cannot exist without their
opposite. For example, you can’t
have Hot without Cold.
YinYang Philosophical School

9. • http://english.eastday.com/e/zx/userobject1ai4041274.html
• Was originally a philosophical school
which was supposedly created by Zou
Yan in the 4th century BCE.
• Wu = the number five.
• Xing = to proceed.
• Known as Five ElementTheory in
modern terms and are Wood, Fire,
Earth, Metal, and Water.
• Each element generates (Sheng) and
controls (Ko) and is generated and
controlled.
• Even though they are five different
categories of correspondences, they are
also complementary and cannot exist
without the others.
Wu Xing Philosophical School

10. • http://liam-stock.deviantart.com/art/Black-Magic-20-129082815
• Black contact magic is based
on the belief that all parts of a
person make up the whole. So
if someone were to gain access
to a part of the whole this
could be used to injure/kill the
person from which it came.
• For example, a sorcerer or
witch could use a piece of your
hair (from a hairbrush) to injure
your entire being, not just your
hair.
Black (Contact) Magic

11. • http://www.legaljuice.com/2012/03/post_382.html
• Black homeopathic magic dictates
that like equals like; as in,
something resembling the
person/demon one wishes to injure
is as good as injuring the
person/demon.
• See the picture as an example.
• Injuring a person would be
considered black homeopathic
magic, whereas injuring (or
repelling) a demon would be
considered a preventative
homeopathic magic (see the
‘DemonologicalTherapy’ slide).
Black (Homeopathic) Magic

12. • http://1-healing.com/
• Magic didn’t have to be malicious, and
was used regularly for healing purposes.
This could be both as a preventative or
healing the person after they became
diseased.
• Contact magic didn’t have to be black
magic. It could also be used for good. For
example, using a part of the person to
heal the whole.
• Homeopathic magic could also be used
for good. For example, eating a walnut
“… can be beneficial to the brain, since
the two objects have similar
appearances” (Unschuld, 1985, p. 52).
• A further example would be a sorcerer or
witch crying into a river that had dried up
in order to fill it with his/her tears (rain or
water coming down from the highlands).
Magical Healing

13. • “… is based on the observation that phenomena, be
they tangible or not, coexist independently and that
they may, under specific conditions, exert influences
upon one another that may be of a harmful or beneficial
nature … The point is that these relationships are
simply temporary, recurrent, or permanent encounters”
(Unschuld, 1985, p. 6).
• Nonconforming phenomena include Ancestor Worship;
Tian Ming,Tian Zi, and Shang Di; Demonological
Therapy; Wind Spirits/Demons (Feng Xie)and Qi.
Nonconforming Phenomena

14. • http://www2.econ.iastate.edu/classes/econ355/choi/seri.htm
• The ancient Chinese believed that
their community didn’t just comprise
of the living; the dead also inhabited
the world.
• Oracle bones were used to
communicate with the dead (NOTE –
this was initially exclusive to Tian Zi –
Son of Heaven).
• Sacrifices of humans and animals was
not uncommon to appease a dead
ancestor.
• Leaving food, drink, crockery, money,
hunting implements, and so forth,
were also necessary.
AncestorWorship

15. • Failure of the living to service the dead could result in
displeasure and harm could subsequently befall the living.
• The “Curse of the Ancestor” (Zhou Zu) could create disease
in a person; this may include abdominal bloating, toothache,
nightmares, to name a few. It could also include disease to a
community including floods, droughts, mass casualties in
war, etcetera.
• “Even properly situated ancestral spirits were apt to curse
their descendants if dissatisfied with their behaviour or with
the sacrifices required for them to maintain their rank in the
spirit world. The care of the living required care of the dead”
(Hinrichs & Barnes, 2013, p. 7).
AncestorWorship

16. • “Shang responses to illness began with divination to
determine, for example, the cause (perhaps ancestral
displeasure), the prognosis, and the appropriate treatment
(usually exorcism) … They posed questions as positive and
negative alternatives – is the toothache caused by X? Is the
toothache not caused by X?” (Hinrichs & Barnes, 2013, p. 7).
• “Physicians used needles of stone and bone and perhaps fine
jade knives for drawing blood, lancing boils, and excising
putrid wounds. Other treatment methods included
cauterisation, fumigation, and the sucking (Shun) of infected
wounds or boils … [they] mixed herbs in mortars, divined
with stalks, lived in shrines, and expelled demons” (Hinrichs
& Barnes, 2013, p. 11).
AncestorWorship

17. • http://www.personal.psu.edu/faculty/g/j/gjs4/textbooks/PM-China/ch2.htm
• Tian Ming stated that the
Emperor on earth was the ‘Son
of Heaven’ (Tian Zi) and
therefore he would rule in a
‘Heavenly’ or ‘Virtuous’ way
(De). As a result his subjects
would worship him, and likewise
be virtuous (De).
• “By the Warring States Period,
the cultivation of potency or De
took on the sense of nurturing
inner moral qualities as well as
outer physical ‘virtue’” (Hinrichs
& Barnes, 2013, p. 14).
Tian Ming,Tian Zi, and Shang Di

18. • Tian = Heaven (as a anthropomorphic being sometimes
called Shang Di, as opposed to a place).
• Ming = Mandate, Order, Decree.
• Shang Di = Supreme Emperor.
• Tian Zi = Son of Heaven.
Tian Ming,Tian Zi, and Shang Di

19. • http://www.inmagine.com/imagebrokerrm-134/ptg01177761-photo
• Was originally a Shang Dynasty concept where
Shang Di (Supreme Emperor) used demons as he
saw fit. The Zhou Dynasty expanded on this concept.
• The Zhou Dynasty considered demons to be either
dead ancestors that were unhappy with their kin, or
a living persons Hun (Ethereal Soul) that was
wandering the heavens (whilst they were asleep)
and that had the potential to harm others.
• Wu soothsayers/oracles were medicine-men
employed to ensure the health of humanity by
limiting the invasion of demons into healthy
individuals. They were also employed for demonic
exorcism.
• Furthermore, Wu soothsayers were responsible for
ensuring demons didn’t wreak havoc on the
environment via floods, droughts, an increase in
poisonous creatures roaming the countryside,
etcetera.
DemonologicalTherapy

20. • “Demons were behind rashes on a person’s skin, as well as
diseases that spread within a family or community” (Hinrichs &
Barnes, 2013, p. 24).
• Homeopathic magic, such as moxibustion smudging, was used to
keep demons away from people who were sleeping. Mencius
(Confucian scholar) agreed (Hinrichs & Barnes, 2013, p. 24).
• Since demons could see and smell, moxibustion was used to blind
and repulse the demon from entering and navigating the house to
find the sleeping people.
• Pepper seeds were another repellent (Hinrichs & Barnes, 2013, p.
27).
DemonologicalTherapy

21. • http://sw1lake.wordpress.com/2007/11/08/windspirit-speaks/
• Firstly, Feng Xie was originally considered a
demonic tool for Shang Di (Supreme
Emperor).
• Secondly, around the 2nd century BCE an
alternate opinion arose which suggested
that Feng Xie was a natural phenomenon
caused by the demon TaiYi* as he travelled
through the Heavens. He could influence
(positively or negatively) a person’s health
or crop production, etcetera.
• Thirdly, Feng Xie in the text Huang Di Ne Jing
Ling Shu (Yellow Emperor), is considered
purely an EPF (External Pathogenic Factor)
and a persons Qi (both Wei and Ying) was
considered an important protector from
both external and internal invasion.
Wind Spirits/Demons (Feng Xie) & Qi

22. • TaiYi could be considered similar to the Roman Goddess Fortuna
or the Greek GoddessTyche. She held in each hand a
bounty/cornucopia and a ships rudder (or ball). One minute she
could bestow great gifts and wealth and the next shift the rudders
course and rain down great misfortune on you.
• The first two concepts of Feng Xie (the previous power point slide)
a person didn’t have much control over invasion, short of
worshipping ancestors and employing the services of TaiYi
soothsayers/oracles, called Wu.
• The third concept however, put the emphasis firmly in the hands
of the individual. If they were healthy in physical, mental, and
spiritual planes then they had the best chance of avoiding invasion
by Feng Xie.
Wind Spirits/Demons (Feng Xie) & Qi

23. • What, if anything, relates to modernTCM?
• Yin and Yang obviously do, as do the Wu Xing (Five Elements).
• Black (Contact) Magic could loosely stretch to treating a person
withTCM herbs and/or acupuncture by treating an area
completely removed from where the disease is situated but still
(or for that exact reason) have a positive impact on their healing.
• Black (Homeopathic) Magic – for example, hair or blood analysis
could be carried out to help determine what treatment to
recommend.
• Ancestor worship. Use SP4 – Gong Sun – Grandfathers Grandson?
• One could argue that emotions (or any disease) can be carried
from one generation to another when the previous generation
didn’t deal with the emotion (disease) whilst they were alive.
Summary

24. • What, if anything, relates to modern TCM?
• Points with Tian in the name generally treat the Hun (Ethereal Soul), the
Po (Corporeal Soul), and the Shen. They help ground you, allow you
access to your higher self, and balance the Shen (memory, consciousness,
thinking, sleep, emotions, etcetera); the Tian Di Ren triumvirate.
• What about: would it be possible to prompt someone to become more
virtuous (De) with TCM?
• Demonic invasion – there are certain Eastern and Western disease states
that could be considered a demonic invasion.
• TCM = Dian Kuang (Manic Depressive), or Phlegm Misting the Heart Shen.
• Western = Schizophrenic.
• In regards to Feng Xie, External Pathogenic Factors (EPF’s), Wei Qi and
Ying Qi are all modern TCM concepts.
Summary

25. • Cotterell, A. (1995). China: A History (rev. ed.). London: Pimlico.
• Fung,Y. L. (1983). A History of Chinese Philosophy:Volume 1,The
Period of the Philosophers (2nd ed.). Princeton: Princeton University
Press. (D. Bodde,Trans.).
• Fung,Y. L. (1983). A History of Chinese Philosophy:Volume 2,The
Period of Classical Learning. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
(D. Bodde, Trans.).
• Fung,Y. L. (1976). A Short History of Chinese Philosophy: A
Systematic Account of ChineseThought from its Origins to the
Present Day. NewYork:The Free Press. (D. Bodde, Trans, Ed.).
• Hinrichs,T. J., & Barnes, L. L. (Ed’s). (2013). Chinese Medicine and
Healing: An Illustrated History. Cambridge:The Belknap Press of
Harvard University Press.
References

26. • Maciocia, G. (2005). The Foundations of Chinese Medicine (2nd ed.).
Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone.
• Marchment, R. (2004). Chinese forTCM Practitioners. Melbourne: Ji
Sheng.
• Mou, B. (Ed.). (2009). History of Chinese Philosophy: Routledge
History of World Philosophies Volume 3. London: Routledge.
• Unschuld, P. U. (1985). Medicine in China: A History of Ideas.
Berkeley: University of California Press.
• Unschuld, P. U. (2009). What is Medicine:Western and Eastern
Approaches to Healing. Berkeley: University of California Press (K.
Reimers,Trans.).
• Werner, E. T. C. (1922). Myths and Legends of China. London:
George G. Harrap & Co.
References