When I was sick as a child, my grandfather
would make a hot lemon and honey drink for me. My grandmother made delicious
chicken soup, not only when we were sick, but for most meals. In its
most basic form, this is traditional healing.
In China, grandparents offer their families similar foods, adding in
Chinese herbs as a matter of course. When doctors recommend pigeon soup,
or cooking more with peony root, patients are familiar with these foods.
Techniques such as Tui Na (Chinese massage) and cupping are used in
the home, not just at the clinic. Traditional healing, in other words,
is a way of life.
The practice of medicine in China reflects this orientation. There are
entire hospitals just for Traditional Chinese Medicine. Even biomedical
hospitals have departments of Chinese medicine. At both types of hospitals,
it is not uncommon to find two pharmacies side by side. The pharmacy
on the right might be for pharmaceutical prescriptions, the one on the
left, only for herbs.
As evidenced by the side-by-side pharmacies in mainstream hospitals,
Traditional Chinese Medicine in today's China is not an obscure, romanticized
resurrection of ancient techniques and beliefs, but a vital, multi-faceted,
evolving practice including massage, herbal medicine, and acupuncture,
tracing back thousands of years. It does not exist in opposition to
modern medicine, but as a harmonious compliment.
