Traditional Chinese Medicine - Roots.sg

The Singapore College of TCM, established in 1953, is one of the largest educational institutions for TCM doctors, and has a strong influence on ... ASingaporeGovernmentAgencyWebsite  ThissectionofRootsisawork-in-progressaswecontinuetoimproveonthesearchandfilterfunctions.We welcomeyourfeedback,ideasandsuggestions.Thankyou. readmore… TraditionalChineseMedicine IntangibleCulturalHeritage KnowledgeandPracticesconcerningNatureandUniverse Introduction TraditionalChineseMedicine TraditionalChinesemedicine(TCM)isoneoftheoldestsystemsofmedicineintheworld,datingbacktomorethan2,000years.Itviewsthehumanbodyasanorganicwholewiththeorgansrelatedtoandinfluencingeachother.Thus,allpartsofthebody,includingthefivecorezang(脏)organs(heart,liver,spleen,lung,andkidney)andsixfu(腑)organs(whichincludetheintestines,urinarybladder,andstomach),arelinkedviaanetworkofpassagesknownasmeridians(经,jing)andcollaterals(络,luo).Thisnetworkcarriesblood,theqi(气,or“lifeforce”)aswellasinformationbetweenthedifferentparts,whichkeepsthebodyworkingandinbalance. GeographicLocation1/7 GeographicLocation CommunitiesInvolved AssociatedSocialandCulturalPractices ExperienceofaPractitioner PresentStatus References Resources GeographicLocation TheoriginsofTCMcanbetracedbacktoancientChina.ItisnowpractisedwhereverChinesecommunitieshavesettled. TCMclinicscanbefoundthroughouttheisland,particularlyinlargehousingestates.Forexample,themainbranchofSingaporeThongChaiMedicalInstitutionisatChinSweeRoad,theSingaporeChungHwaMedicalInstitutioninToaPayoh,andWongYiuNamMedicalHallinChinatown. AnumberofpublicandprivatehospitalsprovideTCMtherapiesaswell,tocomplementWesternmedicaltreatments.TheseincludetheSingaporeGeneralHospital,theNationalUniversityHospital,andTanTockSengHospital. CommunitiesInvolved TheSingaporeCollegeofTCM,establishedin1953,isoneofthelargesteducationalinstitutionsforTCMdoctors,andhasastronginfluenceonthedirectionofTCMpractices.ItstrainingincludestraditionalChinesemedicaltheoriesandmodernWesternmedicalknowledge,alongwithpracticalclinicalexperience. TwoassociationscloselylinkedtoTCMaretheSingaporeCoordinatingCommitteeofChineseMedicalOrganisationsandtheSingaporeTCMOrganisationsCommittee.Theformercaterstomedicalpractitioners,whilethelattercomprisesrepresentativesfromthedrugimportanddistributionbusinesses. TCMinSingaporehasbeenformallyregulatedbytheMinistryofHealth(MOH)since1999.Proprietarymedicinesintheformoftablets,capsulesorliquidsnowhavetocomplywithsafetyandqualitycriteria.TheministryalsosetuptheTraditionalChineseMedicinePractitionersBoardtoregisteracupuncturistsandphysicians,regulatetheirconductandethics,aswellasaccreditTCMschoolsandcourses.GiventhemulticulturalnatureofSingapore,TCMpractitionerstreatnon-ethnicChineseaswell. AssociatedSocialandCulturalPractices TCMisbuiltontheconceptsofyin(阴)andyang(阳),aswellasthe“fiveelements”(五行,wuxing).Yinreferstothatwhichis“static,internal,descending,cold,andgrey”,whileyangpertainstothatwhichis“dynamic,external,rising,warm,andbright”.Theidealstateistoachieveabalancebetweentheyinandtheyang. The“fiveelements”arewood,fire,earth,metal,andwater.Thesearerelatedtotheliver,heart,spleen,lung,andkidneyrespectively.InTCMtradition,theorgans(andhencethecorrespondingelements)arelinkedtoeachotherinaspecificway,andthisrelationshipisusedtoselecttherighttherapy. TCMdoesnotjustbelieveintreatingsymptoms,butalsoinmaintainingthefunctionoftheorgansandtissuesnotdirectlyaffectedbydisease.Thispreventativeapproach(治未病,zhiweibing)or“treatingtheundiseased”focusesonone’spersonallifestyle,dietaryhabits,andconsumptionoffoodorhealthsupplementsinordertobalancetheyinandyanginthebody. CommonTCMtherapiesincludeacupuncture(theuseofneedlestoregulateqiandbloodbystimulatingspecificpointsonone’sbody,knownasacupoints)andmoxibustion(theburningofmugwortrootatacupoints). ExperienceofaPractitioner MrChowKhaiShuiisthemanagingdirectorofTeckSoonMedicalHall,andaTCMdoctor.HisinterestinTCMwassparkedasayoungboywhenhestartedhelpinghisfatheratthefamily’ssmallTCMstoreinSagoStreet.HewentontostudythesubjectattheChungHwaMedicalInstitution,graduatingasaTCMdoctorin1985. Today,thefamilybusinesshasexpandedtofourstores,whicharerunbyMrChowandhissiblings.LikemostTCMdoctors,MrChowhasbuiltupontheknowledgehegainedatmedicalschoolaswellashisexperiencetodevelophisspecialtreatmentsfordiseases.Forexample,manypatientsvisitMrChowtotreatcoughsdevelopedfromnasalsensitivity.Hehasalsoobservedthatcertainskindiseasesandstomachproblemsarecommoncomplaintsamonghispatients.HeattributesthistotheeffectsofSingapore’shotandhumidclimate,aswellasadietrichinspicyandfriedfood. EvenasMrChowremainsoptimisticaboutthefutureofTCManditsrelevanceinthemodernworld,hecautionsthatincreasingcommercialisationcancauseproblems.Henoteshowsomemedicalhallsskipprocessesneededtoimprovethepropertiesandtreatmenteffectsofcertainherbs.Thisnotonlyaffectsthebenefitsoftheherbsbutcanalsoresultinknowledgeabouttheseprocessesbeinglostovertime. PresentStatus TheeffortstoapproachTCMalong“scientificlines”byemphasisingclinicaltrialsandacademicresearchhaveprovenbeneficial.ControlledtrialsrecognisedbytheWorldHealthOrganisation(WHO)haveshownthatacupunctureiseffectiveasatreatmentformorethan20diseasesanddisorders.Infact,theBeijingDeclarationadoptedbytheWHOCongressonTraditionalMedicinein2008,recognisedtheroleoftraditionalmedicineinpublichealthandcalledforTCMtobeintegratedintonationalhealthsystems. SingaporehasadoptedasimilarapproachandviewsTCMasacomplementto,ratherthanasareplacementof,Westernmedicine.Locally,therehavebeengreaterresearchonTCM,thetraininganddevelopmentofTCMpractitionersaswellassupportforTCMclinicstoadopttechnology.ThisisespeciallyimportantasSingapore’spopulationagesandhealthcareneedsaresettorise. AccesstolearningaboutTCMhasalsowidened.Forexample,theNanyangTechnologicalUniversityoffersTCMaspartofabiomedicalsciencedoubledegree.And,forthosewhoaremorecasuallearners,organisationssuchastheSingaporeChinesePhysicians’AssociationoftenholdclassesthatteachTCMknowledgetothepublic,saysMrChow.Inrecentyears,theseclassesareconductedinEnglish,whichhasattractednon-Chinese-speakingindividualsaswell,thusexposingTCMtoawideraudience. References ReferenceNo.:ICH-078 DateofInclusion:October2019 References Chen,YanandZou,JianHua.“ThepresentsituationofTraditionalChineseMedicineinSingapore.”ChineseAcademyofChineseMedicalSciences8(5):575-578,2013. Despeux,Catherine.“Jing,qi,shen;精氣神;essence,pneuma(breath,energy,vitalforce),spirit”,inTheEncyclopaediaofTaoism,ed.FabrizioPregadio.Routledge,pp.562–565,2008. Foo,SayLiang,Daniel.Ashorthistoryofalongtradition:TheresilienceofChineseMedicineinSingapore.DepartmentofHistory:NationalUniversityofSingapore,2001. Gwee,A.L.“AStudyofChineseMedicalPracticeinSingapore”,SingaporeMedicalJournal10(1):1-7,1969. Hong,Hai.TheTheoryofChineseMedicine:AModernInterpretation.Singapore:WorldScientificPublishing,2014. Liao,Yuqun.TraditionalChineseMedicine:UnderstandingitsPrinciplesandPractices.Beijing:ChinaIntercontinentalPress,2010. Sinha,V.TheorizingtheComplexHealthScene:Reconceptualising“MedicalPluralism”.TheJohnsHopkinsUniversity,PhDThesis,1995. Song,OngSiang.Onehundredyears’historyoftheChineseinSingapore.Singapore:UniversityofMalayaPress,1967. Wang,HongcaiandBing,Zhu.BasictheoriesofTraditionalChineseMedicine.London:SingingDragon,2010. Yang,Yan.“TransmissionofChineseMedicineandtheLocalizationofChineseMedicineEducationinSingapore”,ChineseMedicineandCulture13(4):15-43,2018. Yeoh,Brenda.Municipalsanitarysurveillance,AsianresistanceandthecontroloftheurbanenvironmentincolonialSingapore,UniversityofOxford,SchoolofGeography,1991. Resources Voon,Alvin,TraditionalChineseMedicineinPost-WarSingapore:Resistance,AdaptationandLegitimacy.Dissertation,MasterofScienceinHistoryofScience,MedicineandTechnology,2013. NaturalingredientsthatareusedinTCMtherapies. Shareon SHAREWITHUS Tohelpusgrowtheinventory,wewouldliketoinviteyoutoreviewtheintangibleculturalheritageelementsintheinventoryandidentifyadditionalelementstobeincludedintotheinventory. 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