①Nobody likes to be sick. Nowadays many children go to the doctor to get medicine when they are sick. In ancient China, they also had doctors. But instead of treating a person after they were already sick, the Chinese believed that preventing an illness before it started was the key to one's health.
②Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has a long history of more than 5,000 years. It is a summary of the experience of the working people over many centuries of struggle against diseases. TCM considers human body as a whole of QI, XING and SHEN. The ideas of YIN-YANG and WU XING are important for TCM. WU XING refers to five basic things in the nature, that is, metal, wood, water, fire, and earth.
③One important part of TCM is Yin-Yang. The Yin-Yang symbol means balance. Hold your hand out with your palm (手掌) up. This side of your hand is the Yin side. The back of your hand is the Yang side. They are opposites, but need each other to be complete. Yin is connected with night while Yang stands for day. The symbol of Yin-Yang shows how balance is important in life and in the body.
④Another important part of TCM is chi. It is life force energy. In ancient Chinese medicine, it is believed that chi flows through the body. If chi is unbalanced or blocked, a person may become sick.
⑤How does Traditional Chinese Medicine work? How is Yin-Yang and chi balances? One way is through acupuncture (针灸), which is the way to unblock chi with the use of thin needles (针). The needles are put into the skin along points on the body where chi is blocked.
