Communique of Chinese Natural Medicine

Chinese Natural Medicine was handed 40 years ago by the Founding Head of World Federation of Chinese Natural Therapy (Taiwan) and TCM practitioner Chou-Yi Chen with a group of experts from medicine and academy under the same cause.

Chinese Natural Medicine is based on humanity to facilitate the rebirth of today’s medicine, and technology is only a measure when it comes to clinical application. However, it is moderation and ethics that have to be addressed to and kept by people practicing medicine.

  1. Attitudes towards natural medicine

An inclusive attitude is necessary to be aware of the vastness of the universe and to understand that what we know is still limited.

  1. Natural laws of life:

Give birth smoothly and safely. Live active and healthy longer. Age well and slowly. Get sick less and recover quickly. Pass away in peace.

  1. Concept determines health. Concept determines fate

The mind determines behavior, and behavior produces results.

  1. Chinese natural medicine outline

Purpose:

Combine eastern and western medical wisdom to promote the health of all humankind.

Features:

“discussion with justification, meaningful discourse, simple and convenient practice, and effective operation.”

Premise:

First, do no harm.

Cognitive:

4.1. Heaven corresponds with the human. The human cannot live by isolating oneself from the natural environment.

4.2. Adopt the laws of nature, base on the humanities, and take science and technology for the application.

4.3. All beings are equal: every individual in the universe has the right to live. Every living organism objectively coexists with internal and external microorganisms, including bacteria and viruses, to maintain its dynamic balance and harmony.

4.4. Every living thing has its powerful and exuberant natural healing powers.

4.5. For most diseases, life itself can heal itself.

4.6. Mind and body are one. Mind affects the body; body affects the brain.

4.7. Disease is a dynamic phenomenon of the growth of good and evil and the imbalance of Yin and Yang. That is, natural healing can resist the physical effects of internal or external undesirable factors or an inductive response to a dynamic phenomenon.

4.8. Regardless of the form of the disease (except hereditary, infectious, traumatic and natural aging), the main cause is the accumulation of waste toxins in the body and the low or disordered natural healing energy. That is, what Chinese medicine calls “toxin exuberates, and healthy qi declines.”

4.9. Doctors are just helpers of nature’s healing powers.

5.Attitude:

5.1.Treat patients as relatives and teachers; Be dedicated to our work; Be gregarious and charitable.

Understand and respect nature; Protect and make good use of nature.

5.2. Be humble and emulate the wise. Apply known knowledge; also, respect the unrevealed.

6.Requirements:

Any theory, method, prescription, medicine, and food used should meet the criteria of Adaptogen:

6.1.No toxic, no side effects. (Nontoxic)

6.2.It is not limited to specific tissues and organs. (Nonspecific)

6.3.Normalize the functions of the body. (Normalization)

7.The code of conduct:

7.1. Health preserving rather than healing. (Sun Siwei: no medical doctors during the period of medical treatment. Lin Jiagu: no ward in the hospital.)

7.2. Chinese medicine rather than Western medicine. (Chinese medicine and natural medicine are “favorable therapy” that remove the causes of diseases by following the inherent naturopathic energy, and Western medicine is “adverse therapy” that controls symptoms by interfering with that self-healing performance.)

7.3. Internal medicine rather than surgery. (surgical operation cannot remove the cause of diseases.)

7.4. Food rather than medication. (You are what you eat. The twenty-sixth volume of Sun Sizhen’s “Qian Jin Fang” emphasizes that eating food cures disease. He believes that “the doctor must first understand the source of the disease and treat it with food. If it still cannot be recovered, then treat the disease with medicine.”)

7.5. Simplify rather than complexity. (The wise keep it simple; The fool complicate things. Chinese medicine finds out the primary syndromes.)

7.6. Home rather than the hospital. (you can adjust your sickness at home, there is no need to always rely on a doctor. If you can solve problems in a small clinic, there is no need to enter the large hospital.)

  1. Fundamental theories of Chinese natural medicine

Life is any living organism with the resources of DNA information obtained from heredity and mutual induction of energy and information with the external environment.

8.1. The phenomenon of life is the dynamic and harmonious display of matter, energy, and information in a specific time and space, orderly, and multi-level. Information uses substances and energy as carriers to regulate the integration of substances and energy. The three are coexisting and interactive and cannot be divided, but the three are irreplaceable. The essential characteristics of life are self-generating, self-replicating, self-renewing, self-regulating, self-healing, self-adaptation, highly ordered organic living. Therefore, any life is made up of information flow, energy flow, and material flow.

8.2. Among the basic theories of traditional Chinese medicine, meridians and collaterals, in particular, are one of the essential cornerstones of Chinese natural medicine and are multi-level induction and sensory transmission systems of internal and external information and energy order of the body.

8.3 the constitution is the overall performance of various functions of the body (essence, qi, and spirit), which is composed of the following conditions

(also the focus of Chinese natural medicine) :

8.3.1. Congenital information: “endowment” or “congenital” in traditional Chinese medicine, that is, genetic DNA;

8.3.2 acquired information: ideas, consciousness, concepts, and emotions;

8.3.3. Living habits (including diet, exercise, exercise, etc.);

8.3.4. External environment factors (sunlight, air, water, sound, light, electricity, magnetism, etc.);

8.3.5. The symbiotic relationship between in vivo and microorganisms, and contact relationship between in vitro and microorganisms;

8.3.6. The amount of Enzyme Potential and its Enzyme activity in the body;

8.3.7. Nutritional balance or not

8.3.8. The state of aerobic or gasless in the body;

8.3.9. Whether the amount of water in the body and the metabolism of water are normal;

8.3.10. Whether the development and structure of body ganglion are healthy;

8.3.11. The number of toxins accumulated in the body and the strength of the body’s self-cleaning ability;

8.3.12. Other

8.4.Healthy or not:

It mainly depends on psychology, physiology, structure, lifestyle, and environment

8.5.Basic principle:

8.5.1. Principle of autonomous adjustment and adaptation

8.5.2. Principle of holistic, dynamic harmony

8.5.3. Historical origin and evolutionary principles. 【 note 3】

8.6Pathology:

When the human body is under the action of some pathogenic factors, the disorder and abnormality of information flow, energy flow, material flow circulation and exchange communication in the internal and external environment of the body are the pathogenesis mechanism of the body.

8.7Diagnosis:

Autonomous diagnosis (internal examination or internal diagnosis) and objective diagnosis (four diagnosis and eight principles of traditional Chinese medicine) can be combined with some non-invasive diagnostic techniques of modern medical technology.

8.8. Treatment:

Promote self-healing and eliminate adverse factors to help restore the dynamic harmony of the three-flow (information flow, energy flow, material flow) cycle.

8.9 model:

Use cultivation, exercise, and treatment based on favourable therapy.

8.10 scope:

Maintenance and promotion of health, prevention, and treatment of diseases (non-infectious diseases), prevention and reversal of chronic diseases (non-infectious diseases).

  1. Definition of Chinese natural medicine

9.1. Chinese natural medicine’s definition of “health”:

By WTO’s 1989 supplement to the definition of health adopted in the WTO charter in 1946:

“Health is not only the absence of physical disease but also mental health, good social adjustment, and morality.”

9.2 the definition of “disease” in Chinese natural medicine

“Disease” is the life phenomenon of the maladjustment of Yin and Yang. It is the expression of natural therapy that can resist internal and external pathogenic factors and self-healing regulation and detoxification. It’s also a distress signal

9.3 definition of “etiology” in Chinese natural medicine

No matter what form it takes, the main causes of illness are from negative emotions, thoughts, internal and external pathogenic factors, and healthy qi (nature healing energy) decline, resulting in hypoxia and the accumulation of all kinds of waste, toxins and natural healing energy low or disorder.

9.4 The definition of “poison” in Chinese natural medicine

All the visible, invisible internal, and external factors that negatively affect or damage the normal operation of the body are natural medicine “poison” in the broad sense.

9.5 The definition of “pathogenesis” in Chinese natural medicine

Poisons inevitably impede the flow of “three streams” (information flow, energy flow, material flow). When the three are blocked, they cause dysfunction and bodily injury. Therefore, poison, obstruction, disorder, and damage are the pathogenesis.

9.6 The definition of “medicine” in Chinese natural medicine

Those substances which accord to the “Adaptogen” (Adaptogen) conditions 1. Non-toxic 2. Wide effect 3. Promote the body function of normalization. Like most Chinese medicine in the top grade and few in the medium grade.

9.7 The definition of “treatment” in Chinese natural medicine

The means of treatment that use simple and effective non-invasive principles, methods, prescriptions, food, medicine, and natural elements such as sunlight, air, water to help Medicatrix, the healing power of nature, to eliminate the cause of disease and reduce or disappear the basic conditions that cause disease. 【 note 4 】

9.8 The definition of “curative effect” in Chinese natural medicine

The effect of treating the root cause (favourable therapy) rather than the symptom (adverse therapy). If necessary, the treatment for a symptom can be auxiliary.

9.9 Chinese natural medicine’s definition of “cure.”

After helping the body to recover, there are no or few complications or sequelae, or irreversible discomfort.

9.10 The definitions of Chinese natural medicine:

Those based on the philosophy of the middle way, under the premise of no harm to the body, using natural elements (sunlight, air, water, food, etc.) to stimulate and protect the natural healing energy of the body, which is helpful to reverse or maintain the physical and mental health of diseases, and can be systematized. Those whose theory and essence are consistent with each other are called Chineses natural medicine.

10.The purpose:

Through education and legislation, we will establish “medicine for all, family medicine and preventive medicine for all,” and build a “Chinese natural medicine university” in the east that combines systematic theoretical education with practice.

Appendix:

Summarizing the above mentioned, we note the following issues currently facing medical reform:

1.Cause

    • 1.1The definition and content of “medical science” may differ in different living environments and cultural systems, but health regimen and the prevention of illnesses should be a common need and right of all. People’s daily routine and proper diet, the health and biotechnology industries and organic farming are all examples of the practice of natural medicine developments, or are providers of natural medicine’s essential “diet, medicine and method”. Nevertheless, laws and regulations in many countries explicitly stipulate that food or treatments not recognized by mainstream allopathic western medicine cannot specify their healing effects. Obviously, current regulations are narrow and less thoughtful in defining “healing effects” (note 1).
    • 1.2Medical and health laws in various countries are often based on theories of allopathy. Meanwhile, the naturopathic sector has yet to develop systematically to earn the recognition of medical and health authorities of these countries.
    • 1.3The public often lacks wisdom for distinguishing among the wide range of health products and naturopathic practices, and is therefore at a loss what to do.
    • 1.4Different naturopathic practices still lack self-discipline, self-improvement and systematization.

2.Why?

    • 2.1Most people do not know the difference between natural medicine and naturopathy. Moreover, naturopathy and natural curing and healing take various forms and are not easy to integrate. In fact, medical science should be taken as the body, and healing methods are for application.
    • 2.2Although natural medicine has earned legal status in many parts of Europe and the USA, it is seldom the case in the Orient. This violates academic diversity and liberty in medical science and neglects the people’s health and their basic human right to choose their own medical services.
    • 2.3The majority of the common people are unaware that they are the best doctor for themselves. They lack the intelligence or right to make their own choices.
    • 2.4Earth is now confronted with an environmental collapse. In other words, it is in a “sub-health” or “sub-illness” condition. Mankind is also destined to have most of its members suffer from the same. Any medical science that does not consider temperament, life, living, ecology, livelihood and production factors is prone to superficial health maintenance mindset and the predicament of “the lowly-skilled treats contracted (or terminal) illnesses”.
    • 2.5There are insufficient, if any, formal natural medicine education systems (academies or universities) in the entire Asia-Pacific region.

2.6Governments have only enacted laws to secure and protect allopathy and punish non-compliant practitioners and citizens. As the Three-Character Canon says, “To feed without teaching is the father’s fault. To teach without severity is the teacher’s laziness”, the predicament of naturopathy stems from such regulatory system. Worse still, this system has produced the monopoly and arbitrariness of allopathy.

3.What to do?

The rationale, methods, prescriptions, medication and diet of natural medical science are largely in line with the principles of adaptogen (non-toxicity, broad effectiveness and normality). Their characteristics of “discussion with justification, meaningful discourse, simple and convenient practice and effective operation” not only boost health, but also often neutralize or eliminate pathogenic factors. However, several questions are to be asked:

  • 3.1Are the academic theories and education system for “meaningful discourse and discussion with justification” successfully constructed?
  • 3.2Regarding the content and definition of treatment, medication, curing and effectiveness, it is necessary to clarify the difference between that of oriental natural medicine and that of western mainstream allopathy. The two should complement each other as the saying goes: “The operations of Nature take their course without conflict or confusion. All things are nourished together without injuring one another.” (note 2)
  • 3.3Are the rationale, methods, prescriptions, medication and diet associated with “simple and convenient practice and effective operation” properly executed and utilized? How should the related practices be organized? Are practitioners really professional and true to their words and would act accordingly? Do they treat patients as family and consider illnesses as teachers? Are relevant authorities mature and sound?
  • 3.4Are relevant laws and regulations well-established? Or, how should they be drafted?
  • 3.5Does the public really enjoy genuine wisdom and right to choose their health?

4.Conclusion

The establishment of a comprehensive Chinese natural medicine professional education system to combine with its counterparts in the West should take its first step in systematic education in Asia. Legislation, examination and certification should then gradually be completed. Perhaps such professional nurturing would give Chinese natural medicine a more complete academic justification, legal status and autonomy.

[note 1 ] The idea of “Adaptogen” was introduced in the 1970s by Dr. Isolar rehman, a former researcher at the Soviet national academy of sciences. It was recognized by the world medical association.

[note 2] Refer to general principles of natural medicine by doctor Zhang Chi

[note 3] Excerpted from introduction to natural medicine principles by Dr Zhang Chi in February 2015

[note 4] This definition was supplemented and revised by professor Chen Hou Qi on May 28, 2016

[note 5] Build an extra machine farm