Concepts

What is traditional Chinese medicine

TCM does not describe the body as an anatomy of organs but as a network of functions and relationships. Illness is seen as an imbalance, which a practitioner looks for through a pattern of signs that appear together: pulse, tongue, digestion, sleep, mood, feelings of heat or cold.

“TCM” in today's sense is a 20th-century construct. After 1950 the People's Republic of China organised it under state sponsorship, standardised textbooks and combined it with modern medicine. Present-day TCM is therefore a historically layered whole of old texts, regional traditions and modern systematisation.

Core concepts used in TCMCheck

The questionnaire scores eight tendencies. They are simplified “patterns” from TCM textbooks, not medical diagnoses:

• Qi: driving vital energy, linked with movement, warmth, digestion and defence. Qi deficiency: fatigue, weak voice, tendency to catch colds.
• Yang: the warming, activating side. Yang deficiency: feeling cold, cold hands and feet, little drive.
• Yin: the cooling, moistening, calming side. Yin deficiency: dryness, afternoon heat, night sweats.
• Blood (Xue): a nourishing substance that supports sleep and calm of mind. Deficiency: paleness, dizziness, dry hair and nails.
• Dampness and phlegm: a heavy, sticky accumulation of fluids: heaviness, swelling, phlegm.
• Qi stagnation: poorly flowing energy, often tied to stress and tension.
• Internal heat: an overactive, warming tendency.
• Blood stasis: impaired circulation, stabbing pain, dark lips.
• Tongue diagnosis: the colour, coating, moisture and shape of the tongue are treated in TCM as one indicator. A photo can only be an orienting aid, not an examination.