3. The Superiority of Integrating Chinese and Western Medicine

3. The Superiority of Integrating Chinese and Western Medicine

Chinese medicine approaches disease from a macroscopic perspective, while Western medicine does so from a microscopic one, inevitably leading to the following tendency: Chinese medicine focuses on the whole and neglects the part, whereas Western medicine focuses on the part and neglects the whole. Over the past century, both medical traditions have felt that this tendency is detrimental to their own development, prompting a “systematization of modern medicine” movement within Western medicine. This movement was spearheaded by Pavlov’s theory of reflexes and followed by Selye’s theory of stress response. In the past 20 years, the rapid development of immunology, control theory, information theory, and other disciplines has further deepened this movement.

Pei Zhengxue’s Traditional Chinese Medicine—Discussion on TCM Theory and Clinical Cases

12 Published by Hefei Book Publishing House

The purpose of systematizing modern medicine is to shift Western medicine’s disease perception from the local to the whole, from cells and organs to the entire organism, ecosystem, climate, and society. In contrast, the trend in modern TCM development is precisely the opposite: moving from a systemic and holistic view of the seven emotions, six exogenous evils, qi, blood, phlegm, dampness, meridians, and organ manifestations toward increasingly localized and concrete exploration. The Warm Disease School’s view that diseases enter through the mouth and nose and emphasize clearing heat and detoxifying, Wang Qingren’s anatomical practice and promotion of blood circulation and removal of blood stasis, as well as modern research on the essence of the spleen and kidneys—all these are components of this process.

In summary, the Western medical drive toward systematization and wholeness, coupled with the TCM drive toward localization and concreteness, is an inevitable outcome of medical development—a natural law of historical progression. If we take TCM’s systemic and holistic perspectives as a reference for Western medical systematization, and Western medicine’s localized and concrete understanding of disease as a reference for TCM’s move toward localization, this will undoubtedly accelerate the pace of medical development. This mutual borrowing is, in essence, what is commonly referred to as the integration of Chinese and Western medicine.

Since the integration of Chinese and Western medicine began, numerous facts have proven that using this integrated approach to study Chinese medicine can elevate traditional TCM theory to new heights. Chest oppression is a traditional disease name in Chinese medicine, similar to coronary heart disease in modern medicine. According to the “Jin Gui·Chest Oppression, Heart Pain, and Shortness of Breath” chapter, this condition arises when yin occupies yang’s position and chest yang fails to diffuse, requiring methods to unblock chest yang for treatment. The nine prescriptions listed, including Gualou Xiebai Baijiu Decoction, all focus on the qi level; although these formulas do provide some relief for chest oppression, they never achieve a complete cure.

Since the integration of Chinese and Western medicine began, given that this disease is caused by narrowing of the coronary arteries due to atherosclerosis, resulting in insufficient blood supply, it should be classified under TCM’s “blood stasis” category. By combining Chinese and Western medicine to try blood-circulation-promoting and blood-stasis-removing therapies, the therapeutic effect has significantly improved, opening up new avenues for understanding and treating this condition. The Beijing collaborative team, based on this new understanding, formulated Coronary Heart No. 2, which is used in combination with Gualou Xiebai-type prescriptions in clinical practice, achieving an overall effectiveness rate of over 90%. This has added the concept of blood stasis to the understanding of chest oppression, thereby deepening TCM’s comprehension of this condition.

Regarding the treatment of edema, TCM has traditionally relied on warming yang to eliminate water, strengthening the spleen to drain dampness, and dispersing lung qi to promote diuresis—methods that all focus on the qi level. Since the integration of Chinese and Western medicine began, given that kidney inflammation is the most common cause of edema, and the pathological changes in kidney inflammation are based on the proliferation of the glomerular basement membrane, this “proliferation” can still be categorized under TCM’s “blood stasis” framework. The Shanxi Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine, based on this view, formulated Yishen Decoction, primarily focusing on blood-circulation-promoting and blood-stasis-removing methods, to treat various types of kidney inflammation, achieving an effectiveness rate of over 70%. This fact demonstrates that the integration of Chinese and Western medicine has deepened Chinese medicine’s understanding of edema and revolutionized its treatment methods, breaking away from the traditional approach of warming yang to eliminate water, strengthening the spleen to drain dampness, and dispersing lung qi to promote diuresis.

In recent years, integrators of Chinese and Western medicine have conducted extensive experimental research on the essence of the spleen, discovering that the spleen is closely related to the autonomic nervous system, metabolic system, immune system, endocrine system, and other systems. Using spleen-strengthening and qi-tonifying methods to treat diseases affecting these systems allows for syndrome differentiation and treatment, providing a substantive basis for “treating different diseases with the same method.” This has significant implications for strengthening traditional TCM theory. After the Chinese Civil War, Chinese integrators of Chinese and Western medicine also conducted a series of experiments on the “kidney,” discovering that, in addition to its role in the urinary system, the kidney primarily represents the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal cortex system and the hypothalamus-pituitary-gonadal system. This provides experimental evidence for the traditional TCM view of the kidney as the “fundamental root of life” and the “source of vitality.” Elevating a conclusion formed through logical reasoning in clinical practice to a theory backed by scientific experimentation is undoubtedly a powerful boost for the development of Chinese medicine. In summary, using the integrated approach of Chinese and Western medicine to study Chinese medicine can enrich and enhance its content, driving its development forward.

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Part One: Academic Thought

Pei Zhengxue’s Traditional Chinese Medicine—Discussion on TCM Theory and Clinical Cases

Published by Hefei Book Publishing House

Throughout history, physicians have accumulated many vivid methods of reasoning through rich clinical practice, such as analogy and seeking harmony among similar elements, striving to form an accurate mental image of the essence of disease. Although these mental images lack a foundation in experimental research, because they originate from clinical application and are rooted in practical experience, they hold universal guiding significance for TCM clinical practice.

Modern medicine provides a microscopic basis

In modern times, the development of modern industry and natural science complement and promote each other. With the help of new theories provided by natural science and advanced tools produced by modern industry, humanity’s understanding of disease has gradually become more microscopic. At the end of the 17th century, following the Industrial Revolution in Britain, Western medicine emerged under these circumstances: experimental research replaced traditional logical preaching, and microscopic understanding supplemented medieval macroscopic reasoning—this was the hallmark of that initial stage. Thus, Western medicine emerged with a brand-new appearance, forming a microscopic system based on physiological and pathological changes in organs, tissues, cells, body fluids, and nerves. Every link in this system, as well as the corresponding clinical treatments and prescriptions, is closely tied to advances in modern natural science. This transformation within Western medicine has made it an important component of the modern technological network, interacting and advancing in tandem with other branches of modern natural science, such as physics, chemistry, microbiology, meteorology, geology, and so on.

Examinations such as liver function tests, protein electrophoresis, fetal protein, and the three-system test for liver diseases; gastroscopy and tissue biopsies for stomach diseases; electrocardiograms, vectorcardiograms, and echocardiograms for heart diseases—all these diagnostic methods and microscopic data are products of experimental research, and all are the result of mutual exchange among various fields of modern natural science.

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Part One: Academic Thought

Published by Hefei Book Publishing House

For chronic nephritis, macroscopic syndrome differentiation often reveals yang deficiency with water overflowing, spleen and stomach qi deficiency, lung failing to descend properly, liver and gallbladder real fire, bladder damp-heat, and so on; microscopic syndrome differentiation, on the other hand, should pay attention to casts, red blood cells, white blood cells, urinary protein, non-protein nitrogen, carbon dioxide binding capacity, and other indicators in routine urine tests. When treating this disease, I first determine a basic formula based on macroscopic differentiation, such as Zhenwu, Jisheng, Liu Jun, Longdan Xiegan, and then prescribe tonifying and consolidating medicines for proteinuria; hemostatic and heat-clearing medicines for hematuria; heat-clearing and detoxifying medicines for white blood cells in the urine; and if non-protein nitrogen rises or carbon dioxide binding capacity declines, I recommend methods to lift the clear and sink the turbid.

For gastric pain, macroscopic syndrome differentiation identifies spleen and kidney qi deficiency, liver-kidney disharmony, excessive stomach fire, damp-heat in the stomach and spleen, and yin deficiency in the stomach and lungs; microscopic differentiation involves gastroscopy, pathological tissue sections, and gastric juice analysis. I usually determine a basic formula based on macroscopic differentiation, such as Liu Jun, Xiaoyao, Qingwei, Xiexin, Yiguan Jian, and so on. If microscopic examination reveals superficial gastritis, I add Huanglian and Huangqin; if it’s atrophic gastritis, I add Danshen, Yuanhu, Huanglian, and Qin; if it’s gastric or duodenal ulcer, I add Baishao, Shenglongmu, and Wuzi Gu; if it’s gastric prolapse, I add Huangqi, Zhishi, and Baizhu; and if it’s gastric mucosal prolapse, I add Muxiang, Tanxiang, Sharen, and Caokou, and so on.

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The Necessity and Inevitability of Integrating Chinese and Western Medicine—Pei Zhengxue

“The integration of Chinese and Western medicine”—this relationship, which determines the success or failure of Chinese medicine, has attracted increasing attention from medical professionals and all sectors of society both domestically and internationally.

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Engels stated in his book "Dialectics of Nature": "Among the Greeks—precisely because they had not yet advanced to the dissection and analysis of nature—they still regarded nature as a whole and observed it from a holistic perspective. The overall interconnectedness of natural phenomena had not yet been demonstrated in detail; for the Greeks, this interconnectedness was a direct intuitive result. Herein lies the flaw of Greek philosophy, which would later have to yield to another viewpoint. However, here also lies its advantage over all subsequent metaphysical adversaries. If, in detail, metaphysics is somewhat more correct than the Greeks, then, on the whole, the Greeks are more correct than metaphysics." Although this argument pertains to ancient Greek philosophy and modern metaphysics, it appropriately evaluates the merits and demerits of a purely

[Pei Zhengxue’s Traditional Chinese Medicine—An Introduction to TCM Theory and Clinical Case Studies]{.underline}

The holistic view versus the purely local perspective—the advantages and disadvantages of understanding things. This can provide insights into a deeper understanding of both Chinese and Western medicine. Of course, modern Western medicine is by no means equivalent to metaphysics; likewise, Traditional Chinese Medicine is not entirely identical to ancient Greek philosophy—this needs to be clarified.

Due to the aforementioned differences between Chinese and Western medicine, their respective developments have exhibited distinct achievements and shortcomings. Take, for example, the research conducted by both systems on Japanese encephalitis and meningococcal meningitis: for many years, Chinese medicine has approached these two diseases solely from a holistic perspective, believing that they both fall under the category of heat invading the pericardium, with excessive heat injuring yin and causing blood stasis. This overlooks the fundamental differences between Japanese encephalitis and meningococcal meningitis, revealing a deficiency in Chinese medicine's understanding of these two conditions.

At the same time, Chinese medicine treats Japanese encephalitis by regulating the body's reactivity, employing methods such as detoxification, opening the orifices, and relieving spasms, achieving certain therapeutic effects in clinical practice. This once again demonstrates the positive significance of TCM's syndrome differentiation and treatment. In contrast, Western medicine approaches these two diseases from the perspective of the pathogen, conducting thorough experimental research on the pathogens that cause Japanese encephalitis and meningococcal meningitis. As a result, the two diseases can be completely distinguished in terms of their pathogens, pathology, and clinical manifestations, thereby confirming that they are entirely different illnesses. This highlights the superiority of the Western medical approach based on the pathogen.

However, since Western medicine places too much emphasis on suppressing the pathogen, this to some extent weakens the possibility of improving treatment outcomes through other avenues. Consequently, for many years, progress in treating these diseases has been minimal, demonstrating the limitations of a purely pathogen-centered approach.

Through this example, we can clearly see that, in the course of their development, Chinese and Western medicine, due to their differing methods of understanding disease, have each developed unique strengths in certain areas, while also encountering insurmountable weaknesses in others.

Integration of Chinese and Western Medicine Is an Important Path for the Development of Chinese Medicine

Based on the above arguments, Chinese and Western medicine are two distinct medical systems that study human diseases from different directions and using different methods. Clinical applications have proven that for diseases primarily characterized by systemic manifestations and focusing on changes in the body's reactivity, the efficacy of Chinese herbal medicine is often superior to that of Western pharmaceuticals—for example, neurasthenia, menstrual disorders, arthritis, connective tissue diseases, chronic nephritis, and chronic hepatitis. Conversely, for diseases mainly presenting locally and focusing on the pathogenicity of the causative agent, Western pharmaceuticals often outperform Chinese herbal medicine—for example, various acute infectious diseases, infectious conditions, and localized damage to specific organs or limbs. Some say that Western medicine excels at treating acute illnesses, while Chinese medicine excels at treating chronic ones—there is indeed some truth to this statement.

This is because, in the early stages of a disease, its impact is usually limited to the affected area and related systems; however, once it develops into a chronic condition, it inevitably leads to systemic dysfunction, affecting the endocrine system, immune system, metabolic system, autonomic nervous system, and so on. Therefore, the Western medical focus on the pathogen and localized measures is more suitable for the former, whereas the Chinese medical holistic view and measures aimed at regulating the body's reactivity seem more appropriate for the latter. This situation arises naturally from the inherent biases of the two medical systems.

Throughout the history of modern medicine, many innovative physicians in both Chinese and Western medicine have recognized these shortcomings in their respective fields. In Western medicine, Ivan Pavlov's theory of reflexes and Hans Selye's theory of stress response emerged one after another, followed by the rapid development of immunology in recent years. These theories have, to a certain extent, shifted the focus of Western medical scholarship from the local to the whole, and from the pathogenicity of the causative agent to the body's reactivity.

In Traditional Chinese Medicine, schools such as the Warm Disease School represented by Ye Tianshi and Wu Jutong have also appeared, advocating the use of large quantities of heat-clearing and detoxifying herbs like Forsythia, Lonicera, Bovine Bezoar, Rhinoceros Horn, Dandelion, Burdock Seed, and Belamcanda, thereby strengthening the weak link in TCM's ability to suppress pathogens. To some extent, this has begun to shift the focus of TCM scholarship from the whole to the local, and from the body's reactivity to the pathogenicity of the causative agent.

These facts demonstrate that, driven by objective circumstances, both Chinese and Western medicine have already begun internal reforms to address their own shortcomings. There is no doubt that this is beneficial for further medical reform; however, if we expand these internal reforms to encompass the integration of Chinese and Western medicine—that is, combining the holistic emphasis of TCM with the localized focus of Western medicine, and integrating TCM's regulation of bodily reactivity with Western medicine's suppression of pathogenic factors—this will greatly benefit the development of modern medical science, enabling traditional Chinese medicine to make its due contribution to global healthcare.

(Shanxi Medical Journal, 1978.2)

① Engels: "Dialectics of Nature," People's Publishing House, 1971, p. 30 ② Zhang Jiebin: "Leijing (Volume 1)," People's Health Publishing House, 1980, p. 577

A Discussion on the Modernization of Traditional Chinese Medicine—Pei Zhengxue

The Four Modernizations are the top priority in China's socialist construction. The same holds true for the modernization of medical science, which includes both the modernization of Western medicine in China and the modernization of Traditional Chinese Medicine. The modernization of Western medicine in China benefits from the extensive experience of Western countries, significantly reducing the complexity of this task. In contrast, Traditional Chinese Medicine is a completely different medical system from modern medicine; its theoretical framework still falls, to some extent, within the scope of naive materialism and spontaneous dialectics. Therefore, its modernization process appears more complex and challenging. Nevertheless, as long as we work together with one heart and one mind, striving diligently, this glorious historical mission will surely be accomplished step by step.

[Pei Zhengxue's Traditional Chinese Medicine—Introduction to TCM Theory]{.underline}

Facts show that the formation of Chinese medical theory has been the result of continuous enrichment and development by generations of physicians, gradually evolving into an independent theoretical system.

Over the past century, although the further refinement of this theoretical system has been somewhat slowed down due to factors such as imperialist cultural aggression and domestic national nihilism, there have still been numerous physicians who have made outstanding contributions to its development—for example, Tang Rongchuan's exposition on draining fire and stopping bleeding, and Zhang Xichun's argumentation on downward collapse of qi. Particularly since the Chinese Civil War, encouraged by policies promoting Traditional Chinese Medicine, many renowned senior TCM doctors have put forward their own views. Pu Fuzhou's successful treatment of hypertension using Zhenwu Decoction corrected the notion that "all cases of high blood pressure are due to yang excess"; Yue Meizhong's insight that "acute illnesses require courage and insight, while chronic illnesses require method and adherence to principles," along with his discussions on the rules of treating geriatric diseases, have all provided significant supplements to traditional TCM theory. This shows that even amidst the rapid development of TCM modernization and the integration of Chinese and Western medicine, the enrichment and development of traditional TCM theory continue to proceed under the impetus of objective needs. This represents the continuation of the trend of TCM development since the Huangdi Neijing, Shanghan Lun, the Four Great Schools of the Jin and Yuan dynasties, and the Warm Disease School, serving as an important source of Chinese medical development. All basic TCM theories upon which TCM modernization and the integration of Chinese and Western medicine are based ultimately originate from this source. If we neglect the inheritance and development of this source, so-called TCM modernization and the integration of Chinese and Western medicine will inevitably become water without a source or trees without roots.

Therefore, in the current efforts to develop Chinese medicine, inheriting, organizing, and enhancing traditional TCM theory is the foundation of all approaches to developing TCM. Neglecting this foundation will lead to a situation where TCM modernization becomes what is known as "if the skin is gone, where will the fur cling?"

Part One: Academic Thought