Jingis the essence with which people are born, similar to Western concepts of genes,
DNA, and heredity. Essence is the gift of one’s parents; it is the basic material in
each cell that allows that cell to function. It is the bodily reserves that support life
and must be restored by food and rest. Chi, as described previously, is the sustaining
energy of all life. The vital treasure known as shenis the gift of heaven and repre-
sents spiritual and mental aspects of life. Shen comprises one’s emotional well-being,
thoughts, and beliefs. It is the radiance, or inner glow, that can be perceived by oth-
ers. In order for people to be healthy, their physical, emotional, mental, and spiri-
tual aspects must be balanced.
How Does Traditional Chinese Medicine Work?
The Chinese regard the body as a system that requires a balance of yin and yang
energy to enjoy good health. Each part of the body is also thought of as an individ-
ual system that requires its own balance of yin and yang to function properly. TCM
assumes that a balanced body has a natural ability to resist or cope with agents of
disease. Symptoms are caused by an imbalance of yin and yang in some part of the
body, and illness can develop if the imbalance persists for any length of time.
Therefore, health is maintained by recognizing an imbalance before it becomes a
disease. Chinese medicine holds that everything needed to restore health already
exists in nature and that it is up to the individual, with or without the aid of a
health practitioner, to free up energy and restore balance using diet, herbs, acupunc-
ture, and other yin/yang treatments.
The Chinese believe that all living things—people, the earth, and the universe—are
connected by cosmic energy. Thus the balance of chi in an individual is connected to
the balance in the environment; the forces active within the world are the same
forces active within the individual body. Simply put, nothing happens without con-
sequence to something else. The concern for balance and harmony is not only
reflected in the TCM approach to the individual but also in the view that the bal-
ance and well-being of the resources of the natural world and society are vital to the
overall health of all who live on the earth. Practitioners never lose sight of the multi-
faceted relationship between individuals, communities, societies, and nature.
Traditional Chinese Diagnosis
The TCM practitioner has four diagnostic methods (szu-chen): inspection, ausculta-
tion/olfaction, inquiry, and palpation. These methods gather information about the
five phases and their related body systems. The practitioner examines how the per-
son eats, sleeps, thinks, works, relaxes, dreams, and imagines. No part of the self is
considered a neutral bystander when the body is in a state of imbalance. All of this
CHAPTER 3 TRADITIONAL CHINESE MEDICINE 41
