Traditional Chinese medicine

"The [ Chinese Communist Party ] celebrated Shi [Xuemin] for his secular approach to acupuncture. Shi [had] constantly downplayed the spiritual Taoist roots of acupuncture, which made him the official voice for acupuncture as a traditional but non-religious and non-spiritual science within the Party. Separating traditional Chinese medicine from spirituality is part of the CCP’s policy, thus making it compatible with the Party’s official Marxist worldview."

"Well, acupuncture depends entirely on the flow of qi. The acupuncturist senses and directs qi through the needle. Acupuncture without qi is only as effective as one mans sticking needles into the flesh of another. This would serve no purpose. Chinese massage is the same. Qi can be used to heal in many situations. It has been used therapeutically for thousands of years and is basic to all of Chinese medicine. Let me assure you, it is a physical reality."

"The ultimate goal of Buddhism – the termination of existential suffering for every individual – invites comparisons with the objectives of medicine. Buddha is frequently termed the ‘King of Physicians’, the only possessor of the true remedy for the eternal cure of illness."

"Blue whales are known to live one hundred years and more. For animals of their size, seals and dolphins also enjoy a long lifespan. The giant turtle has become legendary as to its longevity. Turtles also hold the record in being able to remain over eight hours without breathing.These amazing abilities shared by all diving animals could not have remained unnoticed by the Taoists since they were keen observers of nature. Needham, in his monumental work on science in ancient China, describes the Taoists as the first scientists in human history, who carefully noted down their observations and elaborated theories and methods based on such observations.Considering that pearl diving, which started many thousands of years ago in China, was an additional incentive for Chinese to try to imitate nature, it becomes then evident how Taoists related longevity to the capacity to control and stop breathing. ... The Five Viscera:1. The heart, corresponding to fire 2. The lungs, corresponding to metal 3. The liver, corresponding to wood 4. The kidneys, corresponding to water 5. The spleen, corresponding to earth ... The Seven Injuries:1. Over-fullness injures the spleen 2. Great rage injures the liver 3. Fatigue and dampness injure the kidneys 4. Cold food or drink injure the lungs 5. Grief injures the heart 6. Storms and extreme climate injure the body 7. Fear and indulgence injure the will."

"Chinese medicine, like many other Chinese sciences, defines data on the basis of the inductive and synthetic mode of cognition. Inductivity corresponds to a logical link between two effective positions existing at the same time in different places in space. (Conversely, causality is the logical link between two effective positions given at different times at the same place in space.) In other words, effects based on on positions that are separate in space yet simultaneous in time are mutually inductive and thus are called inductive effects. In Western science prior to the development of electrodynamics and nuclear physics (which are founded essentially on inductivity), the inductive nexus was limited to subordinate uses in protosciences such as astrology. Now Western man, as a consequence of two thousand years of intellectual tradition, persists in the habit of making causal connections first and inductive links, if at all, only as an afterthought. This habit must still be considered the biggest obstacle to an adequate appreciation of Chinese science in general and Chinese medicine in particular. Given such different cognitive bases, many of the apparent similarities between traditional Chinese and European science which attract the attention of positivists turn out to be spurious. ... In therapeutic disciplines such as acupuncture, moxibustion, or massage, three kinds of sensitive points are of interest. By distinguishing among them, we incidentally catch a glimpse of the evolutive stages of foraminology. the first kind are the foramina ad hoc. In Chinese these are called ah-shih-hsüeh because the patient exclaims "oh yes!" (ah shih) when one of these foramina is pressed in exploratory palpation. These ad hoc points, without scientific names or precise topology, are partly identical with the "knots" that masseurs of all civilizations work to dispel."

"There is hardly a field in all of historical scholarship of which we know so little as the development Chinese medical thought. A mountain of books which treat this subject has accumulated in the West since the sixteenth century. Some are written by European practitioners, since acupuncture is now a flourishing enterprise in the Occident, and some by scholars. But most of these writings, regardless of origin, obscure rather than illuminate the beautiful Chinese theoretical system."

"The origins of inoculation against smallpox in China are somewhat mysterious. We know that the technique originated in the southern province of Szechuan. In the south-west of that province there is a famous mountain called O Mei Shan which is known for its connections with both Buddhism and the native Chinese religion of Taoism. The Taoist alchemists who lived as hermits in the caves of that mountain possessed the secret of smallpox inoculation in the 10th century AD. How long before that they had it we shall never know."

"This illness resembles injuries caused by the influence of cold, and yet is the result of something totally different. Cold-related afflictions enter the body through the ends of the hair, and from there reach the blood channels. They continue to penetrate further into the body, eventually entering the conduits. From the yang region they invade the yin region and drive deeper and deeper into the body. Epidemics due to warmth enter the body through the mouth and nose, finally settling on the diaphragm. The affliction is thus located between inner and outer regions and can subsequently manifest itself in nine-fold form."