🌿 Folk Prescriptions

The relationship between Daoism and traditional Chinese medicine, generally speaking, lies in their intrinsic cultural identity at the philosophical level—a unity. Therefore, Daoism’s significant influence on traditional Chinese medicine inevitably manifests as a philosophical contribution to the development of medicine through Dao’s ontological framework. Research on Daoist philosophy and its relevance to traditional Chinese medicine is extensive, but due to the overwhelming influence of Western culture and philosophy on Chinese culture in modern times, studies on Daoism and traditional Chinese medicine have also been affected by Western formalistic philosophy. This formalistic approach to traditional Chinese medicine has hindered its development or even caused regression. Clearly, this formalistic research deviates from Daoist philosophy. Limited by the scope of this article, this paper conducts a philosophical reflection on Dao’s ontology and proposes the theoretical issue of traditional Chinese medicine evolving toward a Daoist medical model.
One, Daoist Ontology and Traditional Chinese Medicine
Daoist philosophy is closely linked to the development of traditional Chinese medicine. From the perspective of traditional Chinese medicine as the subject, it exhibits a systemic relationship of "the Three Unities"—Zhouyi, Daoism, and traditional Chinese medicine—centered on Dao’s ontology. The philosophical concept of "harmony between heaven and humanity" has been consistent throughout Chinese culture. Chinese culture, characterized by its "investigation of the relationship between heaven and humanity, and understanding of changes through time," aims for this ultimate goal. Although Chinese culture is vast and profound, it never strays from this grand vision. Regarding the development of traditional Chinese medicine itself, the influence of Daoist philosophical thinking is particularly evident. Historically, problems arising from social practice prompted philosophers to abstractly conceptualize Dao and embody it in practice. Represented by Laozi, Daoist thinkers structured their theoretical systems around Dao, directly influencing the formation of the "Yi Zhuan" and the theoretical framework of "Qi Huang’s art." Philosophically, this gave rise to the concepts of "medical and Yi interconnection" and "medical and Dao interconnection." To fully realize Daoist ultimate concerns, Daoists practiced lifelong cultivation. In their practice, the need for traditional Chinese medicine led to a practical relationship between Daoism and traditional Chinese medicine. Daoist scholars applied Daoist philosophy to concrete medical practices and developed Daoist medicine through their own cultivation experiences. Thus, Daoist scholars developed traditional Chinese medicine through embodied practice in cultivation, integrating the mechanisms of cultivation to make special contributions to traditional Chinese medicine’s theories and practices concerning yin-yang, qi-blood, meridians, sanjiao, jing-qi-shen, and syndrome differentiation and treatment principles. These contributions not only deepen the understanding of Dao through medicine but also advance traditional Chinese medicine through Daoist ontology, making outstanding contributions. Outstanding figures like Ge Hong, Tao Hongjing, and Sun Simiao are well-known and celebrated.
Evidently, traditional Chinese medicine is a discipline centered on the self-aware existence of the subject, while Daoism is a discipline transcending the self-aware existence of the subject to achieve self-realization. Specifically, traditional Chinese medicine, under Daoist philosophical influence, adopted Laozi’s philosophy of "man follows earth, earth follows heaven, heaven follows Dao, Dao follows nature" to formulate its medical model. Conversely, Daoism specifically applied traditional Chinese medicine’s understanding of the human body, especially after the Tang and Song dynasties, when Daoist neidan theory matured, heavily drawing on traditional Chinese medicine’s theories regarding jing-qi-shen. These developments illustrate the unity of Chinese philosophy’s ontology, epistemology, and methodology.
Discussing the relationship between Daoist philosophy and traditional Chinese medicine today, the most critical issue is Dao’s ontology. Indeed, for the advancement of human philosophy itself, it is imperative to draw nourishment from Daoist philosophy to overcome contemporary philosophical dilemmas. Therefore, studying Daoist philosophy is an essential component of modern philosophical research.
Yet, Daoist ontology has long been undervalued or dismissed as metaphysics. Consequently, research on Daoist philosophy and Daoist medicine remains weak. This calls for urgent attention, not only as a necessity for the continued existence and development of traditional Chinese medicine but also as a requirement to advance the traditional Chinese medical model and contribute anew to humanity. Moreover, overcoming contemporary philosophical dilemmas necessitates recognizing the rational and practical significance of Daoist philosophy’s contribution to ontology.
Thus, studying Daoist ontology is crucial. Using Dao’s ontology to define human existence and the medical model will determine the future direction of traditional Chinese medicine. The current phenomenon of the "qigong craze" reveals the latent influence of Daoist ontology. However, deeper research into qigong theory encounters obstacles due to limitations of contemporary thinking. Therefore, the most important direction for Daoist philosophy research is to clarify its roots—repositioning Daoist philosophy in philosophical development by focusing on its innate concern for the ultimate meaning of human existence and the possible methodologies for realizing it, thereby achieving a revolution in contemporary philosophy.
Based on this work, examining the path through which Daoist philosophy’s ultimate concerns can be realized, reflecting on traditional Chinese medicine’s theory and its reasonable positioning in contemporary society, identifying problems in Western medical models, and revealing the essential issues of human existence, will highlight the importance of Daoist ontology. On this shared understanding, human existence and values can truly unify with the natural Dao, shifting human societal development from self-consciousness to self-realization. Clearly, this goes beyond the scope of medical model research, precisely illustrating the wholeness and comprehensiveness of traditional Chinese medicine. Traditionally, Chinese medicine has always emphasized that human survival environments are not only a focus for medicine but also something the government and society should align with. Thus, the ancient notion of "Confucian scholars must understand medicine" remains socially and historically significant today.
Two, Metaphysics of Dao and Its Unification of Human Existence in the Material World
The metaphysical problem of Dao and its position in philosophical history, when situated within Daoist philosophy, requires resolving a series of issues, primarily: why Daoist philosophy can be established, what its superiority is, and its significance for contemporary philosophical progress and social development.
Why Daoist philosophy can be established lies within its own intellectual system. If philosophy is defined by wisdom, undoubtedly, Daoist thought is filled with wisdom everywhere. If defined by Hegel’s standards, Daoist philosophy does not belong to the formal Western philosophical system. Daoist philosophy establishes the subject’s cultivation and unification with Dao through Dao’s ontology. This philosophical position has consistently influenced the development of Chinese culture since its origins in Daoist thought. The "Dao" philosophy, originating from Daoism and shaping the subject’s cultivation into Daoist form, is essentially the unity of Dao philosophy. Today, despite many aspects needing improvement, its significance in human philosophy is evident because the essence of human existence and its realization within ontology are the ultimate concerns of human philosophy. Clearly, this metaphysics aligns with the metaphysics of Zhouyi. The metaphysical aspect of the traditional Chinese medicine system, which deals with the human body, unifies with the metaphysics of Zhouyi and Daoism. This reflects the integrity of Chinese culture and also indicates that traditional Chinese medicine is not merely medicine but a discipline about perfecting human existence. The moral and ethical ideas, human relationships, the principle of harmony between heaven and humanity, and the rules of the Five Phases theory contained in traditional Chinese medicine show that it is actually embraced by Chinese philosophy.
However, it must be emphasized that traditional Chinese medicine’s philosophy, due to its necessary focus on the subject, derives its key theoretical pillars from Daoism’s ultimate concerns. If the development of traditional Chinese medicine successfully addressed major theoretical and clinical problems by drawing on Daoism’s ultimate concern framework, then this historical fact reflects the achievement of Daoist philosophy in solving ultimate concern issues, which has become a significant philosophical issue today.
Laozi, in the "Tao Te Ching," defined the ontological meaning of Dao and indicated methods for the subject in many ways. The "Zhouyi" fundamentally pointed out the metaphysical issue of Dao. The essential nature of human existence has always been a major philosophical issue, but Western philosophy has proven incapable of addressing it. Because the "Tao Te Ching" and "Zhouyi" limit this issue through the lens of Dao, they do not provide a fundamental philosophical answer to the form of human essence. Thus, all human existential problems indicate that the essence of human existence is a crucial issue for contemporary philosophy to resolve. Traditional Chinese medicine reflects this issue, particularly the discussions in the "Inner Canon," which deserve our attention and research.
The philosophical thinking of the "Zhouyi," "Tao Te Ching," and "Inner Canon" holds significant importance for contemporary philosophical development and the continued advancement of traditional Chinese medicine. This has already become apparent in recent cultural trends in China. In my research on the essential nature of human existence, combining problems from Western philosophy and inspired by the "Zhouyi" concept of "Dao" and "Qi," I developed a philosophy of "metaphysics in the middle." The philosophy of metaphysics in the middle posits that human understanding of existence begins with "form," dividing it into "metaphysical Dao" and "material Qi." Human existence and subjectivity are essentially the "middle" between the metaphysical and material realms. Thus, humans are metaphysically "in the middle." Humans establish their understanding of form through space-time, so the epistemology and methodology of metaphysics in the middle are grounded in a space-time ontology and unified with the spatial-temporal view of traditional Chinese medicine. The philosophy of metaphysics in the middle can effectively address a series of major philosophical issues in traditional Chinese medicine. (Due to space constraints, specific discussions are referenced in my other articles).
Three, The Medical Model of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Its Development Path in the Contemporary Era
Since the late Qing Dynasty, Western philosophical thinking has dominated modern and contemporary Chinese culture, leading to the interpretation of traditional Chinese medicine’s thinking patterns and philosophy primarily through Western philosophical frameworks. These interpretations have become the mainstream in traditional Chinese medicine’s philosophical research. However, due to the absence of ontology in Western philosophy, research based on Western philosophical forms cannot correctly and comprehensively reflect the inherent thinking patterns and philosophy of traditional Chinese medicine. Therefore, re-establishing the essence of traditional Chinese medicine’s thinking patterns and philosophy—specifically the importance of Daoist and Daoist philosophy in its contemporary development—is crucial.
If the unity of thinking patterns and their resulting forms is the autonomy of philosophy, then a particular knowledge form is the result of autonomous philosophical thinking. Philosophy merely discovers the fundamental rules from the form. Therefore, if we acknowledge that traditional Chinese medicine is an independent form distinct from Western medicine, then its autonomous philosophy is incompatible with Western philosophical forms. Just as Western medicine is generated by Western philosophy, traditional Chinese medicine can only be a product of its own philosophical thinking. Thus, analyzing the philosophical thinking embedded in traditional Chinese medicine’s form and recognizing its autonomous philosophy may be more beneficial than research based on Western philosophy as the dominant framework.
For a long time, many scholars have considered traditional Chinese medicine’s philosophical thinking as dialectical or naive dialectical. Because Chinese philosophy’s autonomous way of thinking produces traditional Chinese medicine, using Western philosophical dialectics to understand and study traditional Chinese medicine leads to significant distortions, hindering both a fundamental understanding of Chinese medical philosophy and the research and development of traditional Chinese medicine. Therefore, correcting the foundation of philosophical research is a critical task for contemporary traditional Chinese medicine studies.
Differentiation and treatment based on syndrome and differentiation and treatment based on disease are key theories in traditional Chinese medicine. Their unified relationship in philosophy constitutes the unique elements of Chinese medical treatment principles and methods. The relationship between syndrome differentiation and disease differentiation reflects the epistemological philosophical system of traditional Chinese medicine, which is consistent with Chinese philosophy’s ontology. Exploring this relationship, analyzing the Chinese philosophical implications reflected in syndrome differentiation and disease differentiation, is a vital philosophical task. The principles and methods of cultivation and healing summarized by Daoist practitioners in their practice undoubtedly offer solutions, and these should be studied in the contemporary era.
Syndrome differentiation and treatment and disease differentiation and treatment are essential theories in traditional Chinese medicine for diagnosing diseases and devising appropriate treatments. Their reflections on disease recognition are remarkably profound, considering humans as integral beings within nature. Eight-principle differentiation, six-jing differentiation, wei-qi-yin-xue differentiation, zang-fu differentiation, qi-xue-jinye differentiation, and etiological differentiation—all have diverse methods, but all are grounded in yin-yang. The "Zhouyi" states: "One yin and one yang is called Dao," serving as the overarching principle of differentiation. While syndrome differentiation and disease differentiation manifest as complex relationships such as "same disease, different syndromes," "different diseases, same syndrome," "same disease, different treatments," and "different diseases, same treatment," as long as one differentiates and diagnoses based on yin-yang, results can be achieved with half the effort. In short, the theoretical system of traditional Chinese medicine is a sophisticated, comprehensive academic discipline, fundamentally different from the materialistic Western medicine.
Owing to these distinctive features of traditional Chinese medicine, reform of its talent cultivation education system is imperative, as it relates to the survival of traditional Chinese medicine. Currently, the education system for cultivating traditional Chinese medicine talent in China contradicts the inherent laws of traditional Chinese medicine, severely hindering its development and lowering the medical standards of traditional Chinese medicine. Few great masters have emerged since the late ancient period, and the current generation of traditional Chinese medicine talent is also scarce.
I believe the development path of traditional Chinese medicine should undergo the following reforms:
1. Reform the textbooks of traditional Chinese medicine. Develop a textbook on Chinese medical philosophy, add courses on "Chinese Medical Philosophy" centered on "Dao," enhance students’ philosophical thinking abilities, and help them establish a structured Chinese philosophical thinking pattern conducive to learning traditional Chinese medicine and clinical practice. Moreover, incorporate basic worldviews and health education based on traditional Chinese medicine into ordinary primary education, truly enabling comprehensive development of students’ morality, intelligence, and physical fitness. This is also crucial for cultivating high-quality members of the Chinese nation.
2. The training path for traditional Chinese medicine talent should adopt the "master-apprentice system," which is essential for transmitting the inherent epistemology and methodology of traditional Chinese medicine. This is not only determined by the oral and experiential transmission characteristics of traditional Chinese medicine skills but more importantly by the ethical and moral uniqueness of traditional Chinese medicine. Practice has shown that this informal system has nurtured generation after generation of outstanding Chinese medical practitioners. However, under modern traditional Chinese medicine education systems, few such talents emerge, calling for a thorough reflection on the current education system.
3. Traditional Chinese medicine has long held the saying: "After three years of studying medicine, one believes there is no disease that cannot be treated; after three years of practicing medicine, one believes there is no formula that can be used." Therefore, traditional Chinese medicine differs from other disciplines, as its exploration and resolution of problems are lifelong pursuits for medical scholars. Hence, the government should respect the academic characteristics of traditional Chinese medicine in medical management, protect and honor traditional Chinese medicine talents, ensure their academic research is not politicized, and create favorable academic and living environments for outstanding young people to enter the field of traditional Chinese medicine and contribute to it. This is the urgent task of protecting and developing traditional Chinese medicine.
4. Reform the medical model of traditional Chinese medicine, adopting a primary diagnosis based on traditional Chinese medicine and auxiliary diagnosis using Western medical instruments; using traditional Chinese medicine and Daoist neidan therapy as primary treatments and Western medicine as auxiliary.
5. Master Bao Pu Zi Ge Hong stated: "Food supplementation is inferior to medicinal supplementation, and medicinal supplementation is inferior to qi supplementation." This important medical idea should guide traditional Chinese medicine therapy. The therapeutic principle should prioritize internal nourishment of jing-qi-shen and the use of "great medicine" as internal medicine, supplemented by Chinese herbal adjustments and treatments. Implementing the Daoist medical system can not only thoroughly cure diseases and improve people’s quality of life but also alleviate shortages of traditional Chinese medicine and herbal resources to a considerable extent. Therefore:
6. The operational policy of traditional Chinese medicine hospitals should prioritize Daoist internal cultivation, with medicine as secondary; emphasize both rehabilitation and treatment. Patients should be taught Daoist neidan cultivation techniques, seasonal health preservation, and balanced activity and rest as auxiliary medical principles, combined with herbal medicine during practice. Implementing this medical model enables patients to sustain these practices in their daily lives and reap long-term benefits.
These should be the long-term national policies for the development of traditional Chinese medicine in the contemporary era.
In conclusion, traditional Chinese medicine is a unique and invaluable treasure in human culture. Its emergence and development are inseparably linked to Daoist philosophy and the practical medical contributions of Daoist practitioners. However, despite its mature theory and numerous schools, the historical medical models (primarily based on the seven major schools of traditional Chinese medicine) have predominantly relied on herbal medicines, with classical formulas as the mainstay and contemporary formulas as supplements. In an era of advancing human rationality, with deeper self-understanding, and with the completion of the contemporary philosophical revolution, traditional Chinese medicine will ultimately complete its transition to a medical model centered on Daoist medicine. This transition should have occurred in modern times but was hindered by the impact of Western culture. History will prove that favoring the West and belittling the East is shallow. In the current international context of renewed interest in Chinese culture, completing this task swiftly will enable traditional Chinese medicine to shine once again in global medicine. Chinese philosophers and medical scholars bear the responsibility and face a long road ahead. Let us encourage one another.