Herbal Remedies and the Chinese Connection

Although not alone in making extensive use of nature's bounty in creating herbal remedies and formulating natural medicines, the Chinese quite possibly have the longest consistently used and developed natural medicinal tradition and have retained an understanding of the importance of herbs as part of a holistic approach to the person.

Many cultures have traditionally utilized leaves, flowers, branches, roots and seeds in creating herbal remedies. Studies indicate however that the Chinese have been systematically using herbal remedies to alleviate ailments as long ago as 5000 BC. Having accumulated a mass of knowledge related to herbal and natural medicines over thousands of years, their knowledge is sought after by other cultures looking for means of treating problems with herbal preparations.

Even in a hotbed of modernism such as the US, traditional Chinese medicine continues to flourish and other types of medical specialists will often seek out Chinese herbal medicinalists. A holistic discipline, Traditional Chinese Medicine has developed to be in tune with the perceived universal yin and yang prinicples where balance is a critical issue and those herbs used in remedies should contribute to the inner harmony of the patient.

While western medicine has largely focused on treating symptoms - and generally one at a time, Chinese herbal remedies aim for returning the body to a naturally balanced state where the body's healing power is strongest.  As a health-centric discipline, rather than one primarily focused on illness, a person's situation, mental state,and physical condition are all elements to be concerned with.  Acupuncture and acupressure as well as massage are used to regularize, stabilize and unblock energy flows within the body and a healthy diet is also an important element in Chinese medicine. 

Even Chinese emperors practiced and studied herbal medicines. Emperor Shen Nong (2697BC) tested various herbs on himself and is often credited with being the orginator of Traditional Chinese Medicine as a formal discipline.

The Nei Ching (the Yellow Emperor's Canon of Internal Medicine) was developed later by Emperor Huang Ti. As the world's oldest medical text book, it is used to this day by doctors looking for insight into the use of herbs.

Western medicine has of course affected Chinese medicine - there are some things that can only be done with modern technology.  At the same time Chinese medicine has made inroads in the west, even among technologists.

Since the Chinese view wellness as a function of both body and mind being in balance, they include mental health as an integral part of th euse of herbal remedies.  The west has tended to separate mind from body (often leading to rather bizarre so-called 'therapies' that  canbe worse than the 'disease').  What you will find now is that many herbal remedies are being used to treat "mental" problems in the west in part because of the unpleasant or downright dangerous side effects of many of the high-tech industrial drugs prescribed for such problems.