In the West, we tend to think of medicine as something we take internally, either as a liquid or a pill. Traditional Chinese medicine – also known as TCM – is more than just a pill or something in a bottle and includes things like acupuncture, moxibustion, massage therapy, molded cups, Chinese herbs, and more.
Only Chinese herbs contain the leaves, roots, flowers, stems, and seeds of plants such as cinnamon bark, ginseng, ginger, licorice, and rhubarb. Traditional Chinese Medicine Courses in Sydney, Australia include not only plant parts, but also horns, tiger bones, rhino horn, snake bile, and minerals such as arsenic, mercury, lead, and even asbestos.
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Most people agree that TCM is described in the earliest known written records, which date back to the 3rd century BC and are called Huangdi Beijing (Classics in the Yellow Emperor). This explains the theoretical concept that is the basis of Chinese medicine in London to this day, which means that there are two opposing but complementary forces in the body – and indeed throughout the universe – known as yin and yang.
Also, there is a five-element theory that says that everything in the universe can be broken down into wood, fire, earth, water, and metal. According to the TCM, there are twelve (or some say fourteen) meridians in the body or channels through which qi, which is energy, flows.