Chinese Medicine

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of gaining knowledge is analysis. It is the method
of breaking things into component parts to understand the whole. This method
has been applied in China, but not to the same level as in the West. Analysis
is one of the important features of all western modern science and technology.
In fact, the analytical approach is the basis of western medicine, and it is
part of the Western mindset.(4)
Analysis is not as important to Chinese medicine as in the West. The
ancient Chinese did use analysis in their investigation of the human body, but
to a lesser degree. Analysis provided some important insights into the workings
of the human body. The ancient Chinese knew, for example, that the stomach and
intestines were organs of digestion, and that the lung drew air from the
environment.(5)
The origins of China's medical knowledge is not certain. They observed
phenomenon, and identified relationships and patterns. They compared whole
phenomena in the body, and watched how ...

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and five-phase theory provided a good foundation for understanding the
body. These have been the key elements of Chinese medicine to the present
day.(12)
The five phases: wood, fire, earth, metal, and water are the main
factors in human life: wood for construction; fire for warmth; metal for tools;
the earth that produces the crops necessary to our survival; and water on which
all life depends.(13) The ancient Chinese observed that these entities, all-
important for the support of human life, reflected important aspects of nature
as a whole. Wood has the qualities of plants; fire has heat qualities and so so
on. The five phases also correspond to organs in the body. These five ...

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