Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM 中医 zhōngyī) has developed over thousands of years of practical experience and observation. Unlike Western medicine, which aims at curing a specific illness, TCM aims at healing the body as a whole. Records on medical studies date back over 2,000 years to the Spring and Autumn period and the Warring States period. During the Han dynasty there were further advances in medical studies and during the Three Kingdoms period, Hua Tuo, a famous doctor, made breath-taking discoveries in the field.
Through careful observation and studies, Hua Tuo was able to discover many medical herbs, even creating an anesthetic mixture that, according to records, allowed him to perform surgeries such as appendicitis. He made use of acupuncture points (zhēnjiǔ 针灸) in order to balance the body’s inner qi. He was also an early proponent of an active lifestyle, prescribing moderate exercise as a way to stay healthy.
Li Shizhen of the Ming dynasty wrote the Compendium of Materia Medica (běncǎo gāngmù 本草纲目), which describes the uses for thousands of herbs. This book would become a major influence in TCM by explaining the function and nature of each herb and their interaction with each other.
TCM doctors examine patients not by examining the symptoms of illnesses, but by examining the body as a complete system. Diagnoses are made based on the patients pulse, voice and mental state as much as complaints of physical discomfort.