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你好,欢迎收听随行汉语。 Welcome to Takeaway Chinese.
I'm your host, Steve Hathorley.
For today's show, hello Steve.
Hi, thanks for having me again.
Always a pleasure having you here.
And I think you're getting more and more familiar with Chinese language, Chinese culture, Chinese society.
You've been here for more than a year and even much, much longer in East Asia.
So I'm going to ask you have you ever experienced any traditional Chinese medicine related herbs or techniques or doctors, anything in that regard?
Yeah, about 20 years ago actually maybe more than 20 years ago now I tried acupuncture for the first time, and it was a knee related issue.
And I had never experienced that before because, you know, being from Nova Scotia in Canada and.
TCM is not really a thing that we grow up with, that we grow up around.
So that was my first experience with it.
And it was kind of a, you know, I was nervous about it because it's needles in your body.
And you know everybody in Canada knows about acupuncture and it's conducted, you know, there as well.
But I had never had experience with it.
So yeah, I remember going to the doctor and he put needles kind of in different muscles above my knee and below my knee, or on my calf muscle and things like that.
And I only did it one time, but it was definitely a unique experience.
I myself had the experience of trying different types of acupuncture.
By saying that I mean in fact, we know acupuncture as in putting needles in your body, in your skin, sometimes in your scalp.
Yes, you can do that.
But actually, there are so many different types.
There are these really really thin ones that is thinner than your hair, and one that the doctor puts it in, or point it in or Yeah, they're going to shove it in.
Well, that's probably not the right word.
I was trying to find the right word.
What's the delicate... Yeah, I don't know what the right word is, but I know what you mean.
Like they insert it into your body.
Yes, it can be very, very delicate, but sometimes they would tort it a little bit or spin it a little bit.
Just to you know, find out where is the place, where it's the point a little bit deeper in your body that needs to be stimulated a little bit so that your entire system can wake up and deal with whatever symptoms you have.
So there's that.
So there's this really thin ones.
And there's also the very thick ones.
There's also the ones that... needed to be heated up a little bit, sometimes with fire.
And sometimes they would heat up the needle on like fire and then... Like over a candle flame?
Over a candle flame and then put it in your body.
So it leaves a little, you know, a larger or deeper mark, but it helps in certain extent or certain scenarios.
So it is something quite sophisticated, a little bit harder to grasp, especially from an outsider's point of view, a patient's point of view.
But it's also something that can be very, very effective in certain occasions.
Did you find it to be effective?
I myself found it to be very effective in releasing pressure in certain parts of my muscles, and one of my really good friends even had the experience of losing facial or losing muscle control on one side of their face.
Oh dear.
Yes.
And according to Western medicine, or according to the doctor that they went to the moment they had experience.
The doctor, the Western medicine doctor, said there's no way to do that because it has something to do with your nerve.
And if we do any kind of surgery to it, we might do more harm than good to the symptoms.
And you just have to wait for it to get back, something like that.
So they went to find a traditional Chinese doctor and resort to acupuncture.
And apparently, it is what these kinds of patients do.
Because for Western medicine, there's no very effective ways to deal with that.
But for traditional Chinese medicine, it's a very common disease they need to treat.
And they resort to acupuncture.
And it helped.
Oh, wow.
It really helped.
Did you know there's doggy acupuncture?
No.
Yeah.
My dog had it.
Heidi was a mini dachshund.
And dachshunds are kind of famous for having back problems because they have a really long spine, right.
So one day I noticed that her spine was kind of curved.
So I took her to the vet.
This was in Korea.
And the vet said, I would recommend acupuncture.
And I said, like, acupuncture, acupuncture?
And he said, yeah.
And I said, is it really?
He said, trust me, this is going to be effective.
It was the cutest thing I've ever seen.
They put the dog up on this little acupuncture bed and her paws are like hanging out the bottom.
And they had a little chin support.
She looked like she was at the spa.
Aww.
And it's just like they do to people.
There were maybe 15, 20 needles that they put in her back.
And let me tell you, she was having trouble walking before it.
And as soon as it was finished, she was 100% back to normal.
Wow.
Unbelievable.
That is so cool.
Unbelievable.
I was totally shocked and I was telling everybody about it immediately after.
And that's the thing.
When it comes to something that we do not understand, usually we are even more or we are even easier to be impressed by it.
And I think, for those who are interested in Chinese culture, who are interested in Chinese society, in Chinese people's way of living, Traditional Chinese medicine is a huge part of Chinese culture.
It has something to do with Chinese philosophy.
And I'm not saying each and every one of the prescriptions are perfectly scientific and will benefit people today.
But I'm saying within the area of modern day traditional Chinese medicine.
There's a lot there to learn about and to benefit from.
So if you're interested in this part, it is a good chance today, because today Takeaway Chinese is taking you to the world of traditional Chinese medicine.
Cool.
So traditional Chinese medicine, 中医.
中医.
So 中 is 中国, Chinese.
Okay.
And if you want to directly translate traditional Chinese medicine, TCM, it's 传统中国医学.
So 传统 is traditional.
Zhongguo is China, Chinese.
Yixue is medical, medicine related.
But here in China, and actually as long as you're speaking Chinese, you can just say Zhongyi.
Zhongyi.
So literally Chinese medicine.
Okay.
And I'm glad to say that these days there are many occasions, different days, different conference, different summit observe, celebrate and also discuss and communicate about traditional Chinese medicine.
For example, October 22nd is the World Traditional Medicine Day.
So it's not only about traditional Chinese medicine.
It's about traditional medicine in different societies, in different countries.
I'm pretty sure different places would have different traditional medicine sciences because they are home to different herbs.
They have different philosophy guiding them to live a better life.
Yes.
So that is also the fundamental principle of traditional Chinese medicine, Zhongyi.
That is, we know that for Western medicine.
You see a symptom or you see an unhappy organ or area in your body.
An unhappy organ.
That's a good way to put it.
I like it.
And you want to make it happy.
You treat the symptom.
But in TCM, you always, always treat your body as a system.
So we even have saying 头痛医头脚痛医脚.
So 头 is your head.
痛 is hurt.
医, we know it is medicine related.
And 医 is also 医生 doctor.
So 医 can also be understood as a verb that is to treat something.
A doctor treats something.
So 头痛医头 means when your head hurts, you do something to your head.
脚 is your foot.
脚痛医脚, when your foot hurts, you treat your foot.
It sounds perfectly okay and rational.
You treat the symptoms.
But this saying is trying to convey the message that this person is not looking at the bigger picture.
Right.
Is not... fixing the problem based on the entire system.
You're looking at the trees instead of the forest.
Yeah.
So TCM is looking at the human body more from a holistic approach.
Yes.
Looking at it as a whole.
Totally.
And that is why I say it's important to understand traditional medicine, even if you're just learning Chinese, because otherwise you would not understand what's wrong with 头痛一头,脚痛一脚.
Right.
Yeah, it's a logic or mentality way of thinking kind of thing.
Yeah, I mean, that approach and that concept does work in a lot of different situations.
If you cut your finger, then you put a Band-Aid on your finger.
But looking at the human body as a whole is more of looking at the body as one thing as opposed to a hundred different things, which is, you know, the theory behind where different points of your feet, acupressure points, different points on your feet, are connected to certain organs in your body.
That's part of TCM as well, right?
Yes, we have that.
We believe on your foot there are different parts, that If you stimulate those parts it's benefiting your body, certain body parts, because we believe that your entire body, all of the organs, are connected to those points on your foot.
Yes, everything leads down to the feet somehow.
And it's fun to look at one of those charts because there are so many different points on your foot connected to so many different parts of your body.
Yes.
And we mentioned acupuncture, but in Chinese, we call it 针灸.
Precisely.
But 针灸 is larger than just acupuncture because 针 is a needle.
It is the needle in the acupuncture process.
So 针 is already acupuncture.
And I talked a little bit about different types of acupuncture already.
For example, the one that you light up the needle before insert it in someone's body, that one you call it Huo Zhen, so fire needle.
Oh, that's got a different name.
It has a kind of like a sub name under the major name, and Jiu in itself is another method.
It is a method that you wrap up this i think it's wormwood or wormwood with other types of herb in it you dry it up and you put them into pieces and then you wrap it up with, rip it up really tight into a stick, oh right, and then you light it right yeah yeah, and then kind of the smoke goes around the area.
In the air, yes.
I think it is also really, it resembles the feeling of you light up a sage and you clean the room.
But for traditional Chinese medicine, it's also used to warm up areas, certain areas in your body.
The doctor would sometimes also use this wormwood stick to light not lighting up but warming up around the needle area, around the area on his body, his or her body, that needs to be treated.
Okay.
So there's that.
So that's zhenjiu.
It's a very important part of traditional Chinese medicine.
And also there's zhongyao, Chinese medicine, like herbs, Chinese herbs.
It's also quite important.
So, besides the acupuncture and moxibustion, as well as other treatment, having medicine, like having different types of drugs, is also quite important in traditional Chinese medicine, because we believe that treating your entire system is the best way to drive away the illness, the symptoms.
Well, the five elements is kind of at the core, isn't it, of TCM?
So it's like you know, metal, wood, fire, water, earth.
Those are the substances that make up the planet.
So those are the substances that can be used to heal you, because you are a member of the planet as well.
Look at you, knowing a lot about traditional Chinese medicine.
Yes.
Yeah, and yin and yang, the opposing forces.
Yes, yes, yes.
They're more of a conceptual kind of meaning in this whole system.
It's not like saying we are trying to count down the percentage of metal element in our body.
It's not in that sense of the jin or metal element, um element.
It's more of a energy.
So there are so many different types of energy in our body that conflicting each other, at the same time fostering each other.
So, in the entire system, what traditional chinese doctors want to do is to find the perfect balance.
No matter if we're talking about yin and yang or the five elements, It's always about harmonious existence.
Restoring the harmony in your body.
Yes.
So for example, yin yang tiao he is a, I think, TCM related term.
So yin yang is the yin energy and the yang energy.
Usually the yin energy would calm you down and the yang energy would give you more vitality to be alive, quite active.
But either one should not be dominating your entire system.
And there's also the, well, 调和 is harmony, but 调 carries the meaning of adjust.
So you very actively adjust to both energies instead of allowing them to well, of course, you allow them to go to a balanced point but, more importantly, with the help of TCM doctors, you get to restore balance.
You help them restore balance.
So when you break that down to specific symptoms, then yin would be things related to I don't know if it's right to say the weaker side of illnesses like having catching a cold.
Yeah, I was going to say like something maybe not so serious, but would be an example, like a cold where your body has a virus and you feel weaker, and Yeah.
But if, for example, the yin energy concentrates on one of your organs, then the organ fails a little without functioning very well.
It could also be a serious disease.
So it's all about the level, or to what extent are we welcoming or refusing the energy to be too strong?
You said vitality, so I'm thinking like excess of energy.
Yes.
But a negative excess of energy would be like, I don't know, like a fever or...
Or, for example, one time you feel like you've eaten too much and you feel like there's a fire in your stomach.
That is related to the yang energy and a very, very That's related to the hot pot, not the yang energy.
Or the hot pot directly influences the yang energy.
Possibly.
And there is a very common term in Chinese, shang huo.
Shang huo.
Shang is up.
Up.
And huo is fire.
So 上火, your heat energy is in your body and it's dominating.
It might lead to you.
For example, you're sleeping in a room, yet you feel very, very hot in an unhealthy and uncomfortable way.
And Sometimes you're not even sweating enough, because actually when you sweat you can release some of the heat.
It's very dry.
It's hot.
It's uncomfortable.
And when you get up you feel a little sore throat and you're having a little bit of headache and your gums are swollen a little bit.
And all these symptoms in a Chinese person's perspective we would say I'm feeling my yang energy a bit too much.
It's getting up there.
So that was going to be a question, because we've been talking about the fact that the yin and yang concepts are heavily related to TCM.
But I was going to ask you for Chinese people in Chinese culture, is this just something that's kind of like out there as knowledge and everybody knows about it, or no?
Not just that though, but also, or is it something that people actually deeply believe, this kind of concept of a balance of energy in your body?
Is this a commonplace belief for kind of people in the country?
Oh, I would say a little bit both, depending on who you're talking to.
Because, for example, my mom is a cardiovascular doctor, and she is really good at Western medicine.
But at the same time, she also believes in the power of TCM.
And it's also related to one of the fundamental principles of TCM, that is, TCM believes the good doctors would be able to treat the symptoms on spot.
But the best doctors, if you go to them regularly, they would make sure that you never feel sick.
So treat the no disease just yet, the yet to be disease disease.
Preventative measures.
Yes.
So we call it 治未病.
So 治 is to treat.
So 治病, treat a disease, treat a symptom.
And 病 we know is a disease.
And 未 is not yet.
For example, 未来.
未来.
未来 means future.
Lai is come, so not yet to come would be the future.
The future is yet to come.
And Wei Bing is not yet ill, not yet fallen into any disease.
So treat the not yet happening disease.
Does TCM apply to, obviously it applies to physical ailments.
Does it apply to emotional ailments?
In fact, yes.
And since traditional Chinese medicine believes in the fact that your whole body, your whole life, is a holistic system that needs to be treated, they even believe that certain symptoms that one patient is suffering from might have something to do with their mental situation as well.
So instead of giving them certain medicine or acupuncture, they would talk to the patients and release the pressure, for example, and after a while the patients will feel better directly.
Oh, just like therapy.
A therapy.
So therapy is a part of TCM.
I'm not really sure about today's TCM hospitals, but previously in ancient days definitely there have been stories and articles recording such examples.
And that makes sense, because if TCM is about the balance of harmony in your body, then naturally that would include emotional difficulties too.
Yes.
And we talk about because this is, after all, a Chinese language related show.
So I checked out certain shows. names of the Chinese herbs because they have really beautiful names.
I mean for Western medicine.
My only problem, or my long-lasting problem with them is that they have really complicated names.
The names are always related to chemical component of it, and you can never remember it.
I mean, very rarely do people even know what those names are.
We tend to associate the medicine with the brand name more than the actual name of the medicine itself.
Oh, that too.
Yes.
And it's really hard to remember what medicine is for what purpose.
And sometimes they're really, really close to each other as well.
But for traditional Chinese medicine, well, don't get me wrong because they are essentially herbs.
You have to put the herbs together with different ratio and you will boil them in different ways for them to work.
So it's more like a raw ingredient, but still they have very pretty and very interesting names.
Such as?
金银花 金 means gold, 银 means silver, and 花 is a flower, a golden silver flower.
What's that for?
Well, this is a flower that the flower buds start white, hence silver, and turn yellow as they bloom.
So that is the reason that it's named Jin Yin Hua.
And this specific type of herb, it's kind of a flower, and it is the honeysuckle flower.
I don't know if you know what it is, but according to TCM, it clears heat and relieve the toxicity in our body.
Relatively speaking, the young energy, the excessive young energy, and especially for fever.
The young energy trigger the fever, sore throats, skin infection, and it cools down your blood in a good way.
Cool down your overly heated blood.
Yeah.
Would that be then... connected to the tea culture here in China at all?
A little bit.
That is why I'm introducing to you another concept, very important and actually very popular in today's China 药食同源.
药食同源.
药 is medicine, we talked about it, and 食 is food.
同 means the same, and 源 is origin.
So 药食同源 means that in our daily life Some medicines are medicine herbs, but some other herbs, and sometimes some food, carry a certain function that is beneficial to your body.
And if we can treat, for example, some of your meals like you think about your meal also from the perspective from a TCM doctor, you would be able to find not only the delicious food, but also the superfood that is good for your current body status.
Wow.
Aha.
So in a way then, everything is related to TCM.
Yes.
And that is the concept.
We know that it's very popular for people to find the superfood that is good for your body.
But TCM believes to start with based on the function the food can have.
Not all the foods can be regarded as a kind of medicine.
Of course, the selected ones can.
And among the selected ones, you do not always need the same kind of superfood.
Food can be superfood for you at a certain stage, depending on your status.
That's pretty cool.
Going back to the emotional aspect again, I have a question.
So if yin is considered when there's a problem with the yin balance, that would be like the cold or weak side of things.
And the yang would be the hot or fiery side of things.
Are there any Chinese expressions that use yin or yang that relate to your mood?
Like if you're feeling blue or feeling depressed, is there an expression that uses yin in there to mean like oh, I'm just feeling kind of down today.
Or if you're mad, because your yang harmony is out of order, because the heat in your body is up, because you're angry.
Are there any?
Definitely.
Yes, yes, yes.
For example, we have a Chinese idiom, 怒火中烧.
Nu is angry, huo is fire.
So the angry fire, zhong is at the center, at the middle of something, and shao is burning.
It's saying that the angry fire is burning in my stomach, it's burning in me and it makes me very, very angry.
It has something to do with your energy, with your mood, and also your overall health.
Is that a commonly used expression when people are mad?
Yes, you use that expression.
What is it again?
One more time, please.
怒火中烧 And people even have another one called 怒发冲冠
So 怒 again is angry.
And 发 is your hair.
And 冲 means like to rush to or rush up to.
And 冠 is your hat.
So you're so angry that your hair stands up.
Too much energy.
It sounds so playful.
But it's really angry.
I know what you mean.
And you get the logic behind it.
It's because you're very angry.
You have a lot of energy that they are supporting.
Supporting your supposed to be soft hair.
Interesting.
Making them standing up.
And also there's the saying, 心静自然凉。 So 心 is your heart.
静 is 安静, quiet.
So when your heart is quieting down, Ziran is naturally and liang is cool.
So if your heart is in a good place, it's calming down, then you will not feel the heating, the yang energy burning in your system.
And the harmony between yin and yang is important.
Not just important, essential.
Yes.
And one person I have to remember before letting you go is the lady Tu Youyou.
Tu Youyou is the first Chinese Nobel laureate in physiology or medicine and the first female Chinese citizen to receive a Nobel Prize in any category.
And the reason she's able to get that is because she found out this element, or this combination of this chemical component in traditional chinese medicine, classic treating tuberculosis.
Wow, it's very, it's quite an achievement and it shows that there's still a lot of Mystery, still a lot of treasure, a lot of very, very valuable concept or just basically a medicine hidden in the traditional Chinese medicine world.
The human body is a mystery and doctors, regardless of which medical system they come from, continue to try to learn about it today.
Yes, and I'm very glad to see that now around China there started to be more and more hospitals.
That's combining traditional Chinese medicine with Western medicine, treating not only disease but also yet to be a disease kind of symptoms, allowing people to live a happier and healthier life.
Yeah, right.
I remembered that word, by the way reflexology.
Reflexology, that's the one your feet where they?
Oh yes yeah, the connection there.
I've tried that before.
But one thing i haven't done, and is this tcm related the hot stones.
Yes totally, i want to try that, that one.
Do you feel much, very comfortable?
Oh yeah yeah, it's not too hot.
It's very hot at the beginning, but then it grows on you.
What do you feel like after that's finished?
Very relieved, oh yes, it's like a very active exercising session.
And then you go having a hot bath and then when you're out, you feel very tired but very relaxed, very cool.
So if you had any amazing experience with TCM or any treatment, some miracle story you want to share with us, leave them in the comment area.
And that brings us to the end of today's show.
I'm Yehong Lin with Steve Happily.
For more episodes of the show, you can visit our website at radiocgtncom and go to the column podcast.
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感谢收听,我们下次再见!
Thanks so much, see you next time!
