1. Chinese Medicine and Western Medicine: Two Completely Different Medical Systems

1. Chinese Medicine and Western Medicine: Two Completely Different Medical Systems

Chinese medicine and Western medicine are fundamentally distinct systems. Chinese medicine emerged from agricultural and handicraft traditions, whereas Western medicine evolved from the industrial revolution. Before the 16th century, neither East nor West had developed large-scale modern industries. Consequently, Eastern medicine—represented by Chinese medicine—was largely indistinguishable from Western medicine, which was shaped by ancient Greek and Roman medical thought. Around the 4th century BCE, thinkers such as Confucius, Mencius, Xunzi, and Han Fei began to develop ideas that would later influence medicine. Among them was Qin Yue Ren, a physician who excelled in medical practice. Meanwhile, ancient Greece also saw the emergence of notable philosophers like Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Archimedes, Pythagoras, Euclid, and Hippocrates. Among these early thinkers was Hippocrates, a renowned physician who mastered astronomy, geography, philosophy, and medicine, making him a foundational figure in Western medicine. Hippocrates’ students compiled his medical notes into the “Hippocratic Corpus,” while Qin Yue Ren’s disciples recorded his clinical experience in “Nan Jing.” At the same time, China produced another monumental medical work—the Yellow Emperor’s Inner Canon. In an era without modern industry, both hemispheres gave birth to prominent medical figures whose works were not grounded in experimental research but rather in logical reasoning. The Yellow Emperor’s Inner Canon emphasized the Five Elements, while Hippocrates’ writings focused on wind, fire, water, and earth. The Yellow Emperor’s Inner Canon proposed the concept of yin and yang, whereas Hippocrates introduced the idea of two sides of every phenomenon—a notion that resonated similarly across both systems. About three to four centuries later, Western medicine shifted its center from ancient Greece to ancient Rome, where Galen emerged as a medical giant, shining brightly on the Western medical stage. Meanwhile, in the East, Zhang Zhongjing, known as the “Medical Sage,” also rose to prominence. Galen combined Hippocrates’ medical theories with clinical practice, laying the groundwork for Western medical diagnostics. Zhang Zhongjing, in turn, integrated the principles of the Yellow Emperor’s Inner Canon and Nan Jing with clinical practice, establishing the foundation for traditional Chinese medicine. During this period, whether it was Western medicine represented by Galen or Eastern medicine embodied by Zhang Zhongjing, neither system had been tested or refined by modern industrial processes—both East and West were still in the pre-industrial age. Chinese medicine relied on observation, auscultation, inquiry, and palpation, while Western medicine employed observation, touch, percussion, and auscultation. Whether through observation, inquiry, diagnosis, or palpation, these methods all stemmed from agricultural and handicraft-based practices.

Since Galen and Zhang Zhongjing, Western medicine in Israel’s Bethlehem saw a carpenter named Jesus—someone who could heal the blind, restore hearing to the deaf, and enable those who were mute to speak. According to legend, Jesus was sent by God Yahweh to save humanity. From that moment onward, Christianity became prevalent in the West, and theology long dominated people’s lives. For nearly a thousand years after Jesus, Western medicine made little progress, continuing to rely on Galen’s methods of observation, touch, percussion, and auscultation. In contrast, Eastern medicine under the influence of Dong Zhongshu’s “Abolish All Schools, Honor Confucianism” during the Western Han Dynasty remained rooted in logical reasoning and causal inquiry, a tradition that continues to this day—still relying on observation, inquiry, diagnosis, and palpation. However, starting in the 16th century, the development of mining, metallurgy, and glassmaking in the West spurred the invention of the microscope. Dutchman Zacharias Janssen first used the microscope to discover cartilage cells, followed by German scientists Schleiden and Schwann, who meticulously described human tissue cells, uncovering cell membranes, cytoplasm, and nuclei. It was on the foundation laid by these two pathologists that the great pathologist Rudolf Virchow emerged. In 1840, Virchow published “Cell Pathology,” a groundbreaking work that reshaped the field of pathology. Soon after, German bacteriologist Robert Koch discovered the anthrax bacillus, subsequently identifying staphylococci and streptococci, and even invented bacterial culture media. His student, Gram, went on to develop a staining technique. With the advent of these new diagnostic tools, Western medicine transitioned from macroscopic to microscopic observations. As physics, organic chemistry, analytical chemistry, and other disciplines advanced, medical testing techniques emerged, allowing physicians to understand diseases at both macroscopic and microscopic levels. Western medicine boarded the fast track of modern science and technology, becoming a key component of modern scientific advancement. Within the intricate web of modern science and technology, each breakthrough in one area often spurred progress in others. For example, the explosion of the atomic bomb led to the development of X-rays; the invention of radar provided ultrasound imaging; the evolution of electronic computers gave rise to CT scans and PET-CT scans; and the discovery of radioisotopes paved the way for nuclear magnetic resonance imaging. These advances propelled Western medicine from macroscopic to microscopic perspectives, from holistic views to localized analyses, and from disease responses to pathogenic mechanisms. In this way, Western medicine emerged from the womb of ancient Roman medicine, presenting itself in a completely different form—and ultimately becoming a distinct medical system from TCM. Meanwhile, TCM continued to evolve slowly along traditional lines, never boarding the fast track of modern science and technology, remaining isolated within the network of modern science. None of the inventions in modern medicine benefited TCM; X-rays couldn’t reveal the liver’s wood, the earth’s soil, or the water’s moisture, while CT scans failed to detect the wood’s fire or the metal’s coldness. Yet throughout its long history, TCM’s predecessors had accumulated rich experience through clinical practice, developing logical reasoning and causal inquiry—experiences that could have led to TCM’s eventual elimination from history. However, thanks to the rapid advancement of Western medicine, when Western medicine moved from macroscopic to microscopic perspectives, from holistic views to localized analyses, and when it fully understood the role of pathogenic mechanisms in disease formation, it overlooked the importance of macroscopic, holistic, and systemic responses in disease development—a shortcoming inherent in modern medicine. In “Anti-Durin,” Engels criticized modern metaphysics, stating that while metaphysics was highly adept at understanding local phenomena, it fell short when it came to holistic comprehension compared to some medieval Roman analysts. It’s not that modern Western medicine was metaphysical—it merely neglected the role of holism in shaping local outcomes. Because TCM lacked the necessary conditions for experimental research, it had to focus heavily on holistic, macroscopic, and systemic aspects, accumulating vast experience in these areas. This experience allowed TCM to remain relevant and continue playing a vital role in human health.