| ObjectiveAlthough there are many results from the studies of the Chinese medicine's mode of thinking, they are fragmented and disconnected. As such, when Chinese medicine theories are misinterpreted and criticized from the Western medicine's point of view, there is hardly any reservation from the Chinese medicine profession. On the contrary, the Chinese medicine profession turns away from the traditional mode of thinking and employs the so-called scientific methods to steer the studies of the profession. As this has become an imminent problem about the future of the entire Chinese medicine profession, this study is initiated in an attempt to solve this problem by interpreting the Chinese medicine's mode of thinking in a more appropriate manner.MethodsThe methods employed by this studyTo get to know it from a historical point of view, Chinese medicine's mode of thinking becomes an inheritance and is carried and manifested by clinical practices, clinical records and medical theories. As Chinese medicine's mode of thinking is an inheritance, to study it we need to go beyond the domain of natural science and apply the principles of philosophical hermeneutics, with which a study plan for interpreting the Chinese medicine's mode of thinking can be drawn up to include six experienced historical dialogues of three different levels. They are (1) the background of the formation of Huangdi Neijing' s mode of thinking,(2) the use of Huangdi Neijing's mode of thinking,(3) the development of Huangdi Neijing's mode of thinking,(4) the contemporary challenges of Huangdi Neijing's mode of thinking,(5) clinical records, and (6) clinical practices. While the former four belong to the theoretical level, the latter two belong to the clinical record level and clinical practice level respectively. Since the above study plan is too large to handle in one-go, this study will only focus on the interpretation of the Chinese medicine's mode of thinking at the theoretical level, in an attempt to reach a phased result that is both academic and inheritable.The fore-value before the start of the interpretationAccording to the principles of philosophical hermeneutics, any interpretation starts with a fore-value, which is derived from the fore-comprehension of what have been known about the object to be interpreted.There are two basic types of mode of thinking, namely abstract thinking (or conceptual thinking) and yixiang thinking. The former contains a four-stage process using concepts to represent the ready-made, static and confirmed matters of the world. The latter contains a five-stage process using yixiang to represent the emerging, dynamic and possible matters of the world.Based on the fore-comprehension about the Chinese medical theories in Huangdi Neijing which are thought to be structured using yixiang, the fore-value before the start of the subject interpretation would be set as yixiang thinking.The background of the formation of Huangdi Neijing's mode of thinkingFrom the revisit of the history, culture, thoughts and thinking from the prehistoric period of China to the Han dynasty, it is found that the traditional Chinese thoughts and almost all knowledge at that time including Chinese medicine had been influenced by the cosmo-human relationship and the yixiang thinking that developed along with. As such, the authors of Huangdi Neijing must have been influenced by the same cosmo-human relationship and the yixiang thinking that developed along with, especially when its contents have already been proved so by many contemporaries.The use of Huangdi Neijing's mode of thinking The authors of Huangdi Neijing studied human life phenomenon from a motioned point of view. Inside human body, the combined motion of physical and non-physical objects manifests (a) as functions like viscera,(b) as information like meridians, or (c) as states like qixuejinye. All of them are yixiangderived from the process of yixiangthinking and developed into viscera doctrine, meridians doctrine and qixuejinye doctrine using the terms of qi, yi-yang and the Five Elements.Patterned motions of qixue manifest as human life phenomena or symptoms. Through yixiang thinking, one can observe these phenomena or symptoms and realize that there is a momentum representing the composite patterned motions of qixue. To a certain extent of a situation, momentum is regarded as a norm, and whatever interfering the norm is regarded as a variation. As long as the variation has not caused any irreversible change of the norm, the norm presides over the situation. This type of norm-variation relationship is a commonplace in human life phenomena. If healthy growth is a norm, then any difference in physique and disposition would be a variation. If that difference is too much such that healthy growth is affected, then disorder results. If disorder of human life phenomena is a norm, then any secondary associated symptom would be a variation. If that difference is too much such that disorder is affected, then healthy growth would be restored, or different kind of disorder would be developed or death would result. If orderly seasonal change is a norm, then any disorderly climatic change would be a variation, which is usually a common cause of human illness. As far as medical treatment is concerned, to regulate a momentum of a disorder, an anti-momentum is proposed in an attempt to cancel out each other so that healthy growth is restored.The entire Chinese medicine theory established by yixiang would be eventually transformed into text. The text can be considered as an interpretation of patterned motions of qixue of human life and assists one to use yixiang thinking to deal with the norm-variation problems occur in human life.The development of Huangdi Neijing's mode of thinkingAs part of the traditional Chinese culture, Chinese medicine is always influenced by it. The structures of the universe advocated by Huang-Lao Daoism, Confucianism and Neo-Confucianism were all established based on the cosmo-human relationship and the yixiang thinking that developed along with, encompassing a knowledge system that represents the emerging, dynamic and possible matters of the world. It was the same kind of structure that Chinese medicine borrowed to form the Chinese medicine theory which established a spatial-temporal framework with viscera as it center that opened up beyond human body and into the entire universe.The Chinese medicine yixiang thinking model first develops inside the Chinese medicine practitioner's mind in terms of psychological language for the purpose of clinical practice on the scene. It is then transformed into text in terms of natural language for the purpose of communication and inheritance off the scene. This on and off the scene usage and passing on has made the Chinese medicine yixiang thinking model itself an inheritance, which constantly under interpretation through the abovementioned theory-application cycle.As an inheritance, the Chinese medicine yixiang thinking model had in the Song Dynasties developed into a structure that dominated by the viscera xing-medical treatment sub-system and then the viscera xiang-nourishment therapy sub-system, with reference to the yunqi sub-system and the qiwei sub-system. Within the viscera xiang-medical treatment sub-system, the studies of the classical texts were more related to the viscera xiang side while the publishing of prescriptions were more related to the medical treatment side. There were also medical theory-cum-prescription texts that represented the medium. Besides, clinical division into specific subjects like internal medicine, external medicine, pediatrics, gynecology, orthopedics and traumatology, otorhinolaryngology and acupuncture and moxibustion were gradually derived from the Chinese medicine yixiang thinking model. Starting from the Jin Yuan Dynasties, different kinds of Chinese medical schools of thoughts had been developed as a result of the advanced development of the Chinese medicine yixiang thinking model. Such schools of thoughts usually manifested in the Chinese medicine practitioner's train of thoughts during clinical practice.On or before the Song Dynasties, the Chinese medicine yixiang thinking model can be considered as a period of knowledge accumulation and formation while from the Jin Yuan Dynasties to the late Qing Dynasty, the Chinese medicine yixiang thinking model can be considered as a period of knowledge enhancement and advancement. However, from the late Qing Dynasty onward, such thinking model has been challenged by another type of thinking model that has long been developed in the other parts of the world.ResultsThe interpretation of the Chinese medicine's mode of thinking yielded in this study is:the Chinese medicine's mode of thinking is yixiang thinking, which, in nature, is a hermeneutic cycle web based on a dual-circuit hermeneutic cycle manifested as all clinic practices and medical inheritances of the entire Chinese medicine profession. All clinical practices and medical inheritances as a whole is the existential mode of the Chinese medicine profession.With this fore-understanding, we turn to face the challenges imposed by the Western medicine.The contemporary challenges of Huangdi Neijing s mode of thinkingAfter revisit of the Western history, culture, thoughts and thinking from the prehistoric period to the present time, we are also given the interpretation of the Western medicine's mode of thinking:the Western medicine's mode of thinking is abstract (or conceptual) thinking, which, in nature, is a hermeneutic satellite web based on two separate single-circuit hermeneutic cycles manifested as all medical researches, clinical practices and medical inheritances of the entire Western medicine profession. The combination of all medical researches and all clinical practices is the medical inheritance itself, which is the existential mode of the Western medicine profession.Besides, comparisons were also conducted between Chinese and Western medicines in terms of clinical practice, knowledge model and medical inheritance. It is found that their differences are originated from the modes of thinking.ConclusionThis study did not use the traditional methods that abstract common concepts from the phenomena to establish its interpretation of Chinese medicine's mode of thinking. Instead, a better method applying the principles of philosophical hermeneutics was adopted, and results were successfully obtained by examination of the Chinese medicine's mode of thinking through primordial experience of it along its entire experienced history, where all related issues such as epistemology, ontology, Chinese and Western medicine, histories of Chinese and Western medicine, histories of Chinese and Western thoughts and Chinese and Western histories were inspected and properly addressed and implied by the hermeneutic cycle web and hermeneutic satellite web interpreted.While awaiting a common ground commensurable to both Chinese and Western modes of thinking and since clinical practice, knowledge model and medical inheritance are developed uniquely and exclusively from either Chinese or Western mode of thinking, it is futile to apply either mode of thinking to another in an attempt to adjust and transform domains of another including employing scientific methods to steer the future development of Chinese medicine. On the contrary, we should learn the strength of Chinese medicine better. Through continuous enhancement and improvement on our clinical practice, knowledge model and medical heritance, we will be able to address against the misinterpretation and criticism from the Western medicine's point of view in a convinced manner. |
PDF Full Text Request