Do You Know the Other Names of Traditional Chinese Medicine?
TCM, relative to Western medicine. Before Western medicine arrived in China, TCM was rarely called "TCM" but had unique, richly meaningful names.
The first name is "Qi Huang." This name comes from the "Huangdi Neijing." As it is a treatise on medicine by Huangdi and Qi Bo, it is called "Qi Huang’s Art." Naturally, "Qi Huang" became a synonym for TCM.
The second name is "Qing Nang." Few today know or use this name. It originates from the famous physician Hua Tuo of the Three Kingdoms period. Legend has it that before his execution, Hua Tuo, grateful for a jailer’s hospitality, packed all his medical books into a blue bag and gave it to him. After Hua Tuo’s death, the jailer practiced medicine, preserving some of Hua Tuo’s techniques. Hence, later generations referred to TCM as "Qing Nang."
The third name is "Xing Lin." This name also traces back to the Three Kingdoms. Records indicate that during the Wu Kingdom, a famous physician named Dong Feng once lived in Lushan, Jiangxi. Villagers came from afar seeking treatment, but Dong Feng never charged money. Instead, he asked light illness patients to plant one peach tree, and severe illness patients to plant five. Years later, peach trees grew densely around Dong Feng’s door—stretching endlessly. From then on, people began calling TCM "Xing Lin."
The fourth name is "Xuan Hu." Legend tells of Fei Changfang from Ruzhou, Henan. One day, he saw an old medicine vendor hanging a gourd on a pole in the street. Strangely, when night fell and the market closed, the old man jumped into the gourd. To uncover the truth, Fei invited him for wine. Later, the old man invited Fei into the gourd, revealing a magnificent hall with delicious food and fine wine. Fei then became his student, learning the Dao. After years, he mastered his skills and left to practice medicine, receiving from the old man a bamboo staff that could cure illness and exorcise demons. From then on, doctors wore gourds around their waists and hung them outside clinics—becoming symbols of TCM.