Scientist Francis Bacon once gave a high opinion, when he appraised China's four big inventions' contribution to the world, saying, "They completely changed the world's appearance…there was no other country, religion, or person who had displayed as big an influence on human progress than them." There were many great inventions in ancient China. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) was one of them. TCM is not merely a general invention, but also a great invention, which in fact, can be called the "fifth great invention in ancient China."
TCM (the classical Chinese medicine system) was originally created by China and is an outstanding representative of ancient China's science and technology. It has a long history of more than 3,000 years. Since the 1970s, Chinese medicine has spread to more than 140 countries and areas. Its scientific value and remarkable curative effect have been recognized by the medical circle and accepted by more and more people.
The Yellow Emperor's Canon of Internal Medicine, written by unknown medical scholars during the Warring States Period (476-221 BC), is regarded as the first comprehensive medical classic. Based on then scientific achievements and people's medical practice, this book gives detailed description of human anatomy, morbid anatomy, pathological physiology, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease. It lays the theoretical foundation for traditional Chinese medical theory.
Another medical book, Shen Nong's Materia of Medica, finished around the second century BC, is the earliest extant classic on Chinese pharmacology. It is a summary of the experience of ancient Chinese in using medical substances. In this book, 365 kinds of herbs as well as some pharmacological theories are clearly listed. The effectiveness of these specific medicines has been confirmed by modem pharmacologist.
During the period from the Eastern Han Dynasty (24 220) to the Western Jin Dynasty (265-317), many outstanding doctors appeared in China. Among them Hua Tuo and Zhang Zhongjing were the most celebrated. Hua Tuo s invention and application of Ma Fei San, a kind of anesthetic, greatly advanced the development of then surgical operations. Zhang Zhongjing, through thorough and comprehensive research of medical classics before him, wrote by combining what he had accumulated with his own findings in clinical practice a book called Treatise on Febrile and Miscellaneous Diseases. The book establishes Chinese medicine's theoretical system and therapeutic principle -- diagnosis and treatment based on an overall analysis of signs and symptoms.
