【Explanation】Why was the unique system of traditional Chinese medicine born on Chinese soil? What is the core of TCM heritage? Where do you need to innovate? Zhang Boli, winner of the national honorary title of "People's Hero", academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, honorary president of Tianjin University of Chinese Medicine, and master of traditional Chinese medicine, recently went to Toronto, Canada to attend the World Forum on the High-quality Development of Chinese Medicine Education (2023), and was interviewed by the China News Agency's "East-West Question" to answer the above questions.
【During the same period】Zhang Boli, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, master of traditional Chinese medicine
The inheritance of traditional Chinese medicine should be inherited most about its concept. Its unity of heaven and man, the harmonious development of man and nature, its overall concept; Its dialectical treatment of each patient not only pays attention to the disease, but also to the sick person. To develop, Chinese medicine must keep pace with the times. To give traditional Chinese medicine and ancient Chinese medicine to the scientific and technological level of the times, use the current big data, some new IT technology, can empower traditional Chinese medicine, so that traditional Chinese medicine can enter a new era and reach the level of modern science and technology. This is the main content of innovation (in traditional Chinese medicine).
【Commentary】Zhang Boli has been committed to promoting the integration of Chinese and Western medicine, and paying equal attention to Chinese and Western medicine. Faced with the two different systems of Chinese and Western medicine, finding the point of integration is a key issue. In his view, Chinese and Western medicine have their own areas of expertise, and the most important thing is to complement each other to cure patients' diseases.
【During the same period】Zhang Boli, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, master of traditional Chinese medicine
We hope that when (facing) a disease, Western medicine will give full play to the strengths of Western medicine, and Chinese medicine will play the strengths of Chinese medicine, and if they can be combined, the advantages complement each other better. For patients (infected) with severe new coronavirus, we must emphasize the integration of traditional Chinese and Western medicine. Because the disease progresses rapidly, the onset of Chinese medicine is slow. [Probably] before you work, the people are gone. So I said that whether it is a ventilator or an ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation machine), it is a must, which is to save lives. However, some patients have symptoms such as high fever, confusion, sputum sticky cough, and lung penetration and absorption. Western medicine is very tricky about these problems, and Chinese medicine has an effect. Therefore, for this patient, Western medicine saved his life, and Chinese medicine used these drugs to improve these symptoms, improve these pathologies, and jointly cure the patient. So if you really cure (the patient), you don't have to divide, which point is Western medicine, which point is Chinese medicine, and the contribution of Western medicine is tens of percent? There is no need, saving lives is important. So this is a typical case.
Zhang Boli said that he is very confident in the integration of traditional Chinese and Western medicine, which is the general trend.
【In the same period】Like diabetes, Western medicine to reduce glucose, Chinese medicine to treat complications. The blood pressure lowering effect of Western medicine is very good, but the damage to the target organ caused by hypertension, Western medicine is not suitable for medicine, Chinese medicine has. These are all points of convergence. (Integrative medicine) is the trend of the times, and it must be like this. So it turns out that I mentioned that the concept of Chinese medicine and the technology of Western medicine, when combined, are the future (trend).
【Explanation】Why can a medical system such as traditional Chinese medicine be produced only under China's cultural system? Zhang Boli introduced that the long history of the Chinese nation has created a profound Chinese medicine system; The inclusiveness, innovation and epochality of Chinese civilization allow it to maintain the vitality of progress forever and provide impetus for the sustainable development of Chinese medicine.
【During the same period】Zhang Boli, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, master of traditional Chinese medicine
The level of science and technology in ancient times is that it has no experimental science, it is mainly an observation. Many of them are slowly and continuously accumulated in practice, enriched and sublimated from generation to generation. First (discovered) acupuncture points, then meridians, then different stabbing methods, all the way to the current acupuncture. Therefore, the ancestors of the Chinese nation are very wise and good at summing up experience. It has been able to develop to this day, self-contained, so to this day. Western medicine has only two drugs (history) over a hundred years, aspirin and nitroglycerin. Our gold kidney qi is still in use after 2000. Why? It is derived from nature, it is a compound composed of multiple drugs, and its life is long-lasting. The 21st century is the century of compounding, treating complex diseases, the conditioning of traditional Chinese medicine, and the treatment of the multi-target effect of this compound, is the direction.
Reporting by reporter Ruidong Yu Toronto
Responsible Editor: [Ji Xiang]