Comparison and analysis of the source culture and the target culture of the TCM intercultural communication

Liu Guowei（刘国伟）*

Foreign Languages College， Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine， Ji'nan 250355，China*Corresponging anuthor： E-mail： smilingdipple@126com；Moblile phone： +86-15206660509



Comparison and analysis of the source culture and the target culture of the TCM intercultural communication

Liu Guowei（刘国伟）*

Foreign Languages College， Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine， Ji'nan 250355，China
*Corresponging anuthor： E-mail： smilingdipple@126com；Moblile phone： +86-15206660509

ABSTRACT

In the process of TCM intercultural communication， as a source culture， TCM embodies the essences of excellent traditional Chinese culture by absorbing the essence of Confucianism，Daoism and Buddhism and gradually evolving into a profound philosophical and cultural system during its long development，meanwhile， it has accumulated tremendous medical achievements and has been abundant in famous doctors in almost all dynasties. In short， TCM is profound both in medical practice and philosophy and culture， which endows TCM the characteristics of cultural essence and medical uniqueness， in addition to its scientific nature which has been proved historically， all of the above-mentioned factors form the basis and guarantee of the TCM intercultural communication， in which TCM is a source culture. In contrast， the western culture shows significant difference as a target culture， from which the western medicine is developed. The major differences manifest in： western culture distinguishes mankind from heaven while traditional Chinese culture believes in the harmony between man and nature； the difference between micro rational thinking and overall perceptual thinking； the difference between individual standard and organic whole. Despite the great difference， western society welcomes TCM due to its unique effect， therefore， it is of vital significance to compare and analysis the two ends of the TCM intercultural communication， namely the source culture and the target culture，to find effective means to promote the TCM intercultural communication. The current tendency of the integration of TCM and western medicine has proved the possibility and feasibility of TCM intercultural communication.

TCM； Intercultural communication； Source culture； Target culture

The process of TCM intercultural communication starts from the source culture， namely， TCM， which is the representative of traditional Chinese culture， and arrives in the western culture，which is the target culture of this intercultural communication，therefore， the comparison and analysis of the source culture and target culture could help to find the difference in cultural roots and distinguish their different features in medical practice， with a prospect of confirming the significance and breakthrough point of TCM intercultural communication and promoting the TCM intercultural communication effectively.

COMPARISON AND ANALYSIS OF THE CULTURAL ROOTS OF TCM INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION

Being scientific and progressive are the prerequisites of TCM in the intercultural communication as the source culture. TCM embodies the essences of excellent traditional Chinese culture， it is profound both in medical practice and philosophy and culture， and those factors form the basis and guarantee of the TCM intercultural communication. The western culture originates， develops and matures in Europe and expands to America， Australia and Africa with the expansion of power and consequently greatly affects the whole world. It characterizes in expansion， which is clearly elucidated in The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order （Samuel P. Huntington）. Therefore， it is necessary to explore the traditional Chinese culture and western culture， which are cultural roots of TCM and western medicine.

The cultural root of TCM—the source culture

As one of the essences of the excellent traditional Chinese culture， TCM is rich in history and profound in content. Therefore， we can trace the cultural origin， philosophical ideas and thinking features of TCM theory in excellent traditional Chinese culture， the essence of which permeates in all aspects of TCM， hence the saying that TCM is the best representative of thecultural characteristic of Chinese1.

TCM evolves by absorbing different aspects of the excellent traditional Chinese culture， which includes multi-discipline knowledge such as philosophy， history， geometry， mathematics，astronomy and so on， among which Confucianism， Daoism and Buddhism are the most significant influential factors.

Confucianism emphasizes “respectfulness” and insists on“benevolence”， which are absorbed and internalized by TCM as the medical work ethic； Confucius neutralism is also used in TCM to form the core idea of harmony， yin and yang in equilibrium and balance between yin and yang2； besides， Confucianism concept of “unity of heaven and mankind” is reflected in TCM，which lays emphasis on “human being should comply with the Qi between the heaven and earth， be in accordance with the changes of four seasons”. Daoism emphasizes “quietness”and spiritual self-control； it advocates human being should comply with the nature by returning to the nature in the way of“inactivity”， which is absorbed into TCM to form the concept of health-maintaining. Buddhism emphasizes “purification” and encourages “be completely indifferent to worldly temptations”，which is included in TCM； meanwhile， Buddhism also provides references for curing psychological diseases in addition to the physical illnesses， which in turn helps to keep human being physically and mentally healthy. The core concept of TCM is formed on the basis of absorbing the ideas of Confucianism，Daoism and Buddhism， which manifests itself in “essence”：firstly， it means the congenital essence， which is the origin of life and the postnatal essence； secondly， essence manifests itself in the medical work ethic “Virtual of Great Physician”； thirdly， it is a requirement of the excellent skills of the medical staff； besides，it is also included in the concept of health-maintaining.

What's more， the influence of astronomy， military theory and literature could also be spotted in the process of TCM theory formation： the theory of “five elements' motion and six kinds of natural factors” originates from the ancient astronomical observation and the advancement of calendar； TCM borrows concepts from military strategy and tactics in treatment； the language of TCM shares the Chinese literary feature.

The cultural root of western medicine—the target culture

Western medicine is the product of western civilization；western culture originates in ancient Greek culture， Rome culture and Hebrew culture and incorporates Christian culture and Arabia culture in its development. During the process of the budding and development of capitalism， western culture experienced the Renaissance movement in the fourteenth century and the Religious Reform in the sixteenth century and gradually fell into a pattern； it became mature after the Technological Revolution in the seventeenth century， the Enlightenment Movement in the eighteenth century and the Industrial Civilization in the nineteenth century. Later， it expanded to the whole world at a high speed with the rapid development of capitalism. Actually，western culture， which is the root of western medicine， is an achievement of continuous integration， learning， and absorbing，just the same as the formation of traditional Chinese culture，however， compared with traditional Chinese culture， it manifests totally different ideas and strategies in its process of development and communication.

In short， the starting point of western culture is humanism；the core is rationality and science. Western culture takes the human as the center and emphasizes the importance of individual development， it pays attention to the struggle between man and the nature and holds that man is the soul of the universe in addition to believing that man can understand the nature and should conquer the nature， control the nature； western culture advocate democratic legal system consciousness， expansion conquest consciousness and adventurous spirit， etc.

COMPARISON AND ANALYSIS OF THE THINING MODEL OF TCM AND WESTERN MEDICINE IN THE INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION

The thinking model of TCM—overall perceptual thinking

TCM theory originates from ancient Chinese culture， it is reasonable that TCM bears a clear feature of medical humanities3，ancient Chinese philosophical ideas， such as the theory of yin and yang， and the theory of five elements， which lay a philosophical foundation for TCM theory. Yi-ology was popular when TCM came into being， therefore， TCM shares the thinking method and logical code with Yi-ology， in other words， Yi-ology is indispensable in TCM， which had been recorded by Sun Simiao，the King of Medicine who lived during Tang Dynasty， in his famous Supplement to Invaluable Prescriptions for Ready Reference. The theory of yin and yang is formed based on the ancient yinyang ideas and is used to describe the properties and changes， to explain the property of pathological changes and pathogeny， to analyze the diagnostic information， to determinethe therapy， to summarize the property and function of herbs in addition to guiding health-maintaining. Besides， TCM uses the theory of five elements， a plain general systematology in ancient China4， to construct a five-element-pattern， which reflects the corresponding relationship between human beings and the nature. The theory of five elements forms an open system to deal with different questions by connecting the human being and nature5.

TCM thinking also originates from traditional Chinese culture，of which the main features are holistic thinking and dialectical thinking： holistic thinking is based on the whole elements of the system， elements， structural levels， function， organization，information， contacting approach and external environment， it gives an integrated thinking to all the above-mentioned factors and summarizes the systematic features and general law from their corresponding relationship6. On the basis of holistic thinking， TCM forms its organic holism concept， in which the five-zang is the center and meridians are connecting channels，it contains the heaven， the nature and human beings， and emphasizes abstract generalization and holistic understanding. Meanwhile， TCM uses yin-yang dialectical concepts to explain the complicated relationship in life activities in the way of the unity of opposites of yin-yang， the transformation and dynamic equilibrium.

TCM contains the essence of Yi-ology， Confucianism， Daoism and Buddhism， etc.， it coheres the core concepts of Chinese culture and shows the attraction of Chinese culture， therefore，TCM is an outstanding representative of excellent traditional Chinese culture7.

The thinking model of western medicine—micro rational thinking

Due to the need of conquering the nature， westerners pay special attention to the developing of micro rational thinking in the process of cultivating the scientific awareness； therefore，ration becomes the typical feature of western culture. Philosophy is the product of human ration. The strong desire of western culture to explore and conquer the nature promotes the birth and development of natural science objectively. In ancient Greece and Rome， many scientists were also philosophers. Focusing on the exploration of the nature， paying attention to the inside of things，exploring the essence of things， emphasizing the theoretical summary of thinking in particular， are important advantages of western culture. However， the overemphasis tends to be extreme and leads to “monism”， which forms a contrast with TCM thinking， which is overall， linked and dynamic and emphasizes mutual influence， interdependence， mutual coordination.

Meanwhile， micro rational thinking emphasizes to define，judge， analyze， deduce and summarize in exact words and leads people to the infinite precision of things in solving problems，finally， highly abstract concepts of “atoms， neutrons， and particles” are used to explain the world， but this absolute and pure “monism” could not elucidate everything， especially some intangible ideas. In contrast， TCM combines rational thinking and overall perceptual thinking by explaining the world with daily visible and visualized things such as five elements “metal， wood，water， fire and earth”. Even “the general laws of the universe”summed up by the Chinese people has no absolute standard，manifests differently in different situations and bears varied results.

To sum up， under the logic of harmony between man and the nature， TCM treats people naturally as a whole with consideration of the influence of the natural environment， thus results in the overall concept of Chinese medicine， treatment based on syndrome differentiation， and other ideas under the guiding ideology of “man and the nature are not separated”while the general idea of western medicine is the adversarial，namely， the overall concept of treatment lies in sterilization， antiinflammatory， antiviral， finding and eliminating the root cause，which is the purpose of medical treatment. It is safe to say that despite the shared goal of curing the sick and saving the patient，TCM and western medicine understand the diseases in totally different ways.

THE POSSIBILITY AND FEASIBILITY ANALYSIS OF TCM INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION

The good effects of TCM guarantee the possibility of TCM intercultural communication

TCM and excellent traditional Chinese culture are consistent，at the same time， TCM is also a practical science， which has developed with the passing of time and becomes a unique system of diagnosis and treatment， of which the achievements are obvious. Firstly， there are representative famous doctors in almost all dynasties， such as Bian Que during spring and autumn and the warring states period， Zhang Zhongjing and Hua Tuo during Han Dynasty， Sun Simiao in Tang Dynasty and Qian Yi in Song Dynasty， Li Shizhen in Ming Dynasty and Ye Tianshi in Qing Dynasty， all of who served the people heartedly and wrote medical books to record their experience and conception，which contribute a lot to the continuous development of TCM；Secondly， the theoretical system of TCM becomes integrated gradually， it contains principle-method-recipe-medicines： TCM forms it unique theoretical system based on medical practice，which contains the theory of yin and yang， the theory of five elements， the theory of Zang-fu organs and collateral channels，the theory of qi， blood and body fluid in addition to the theory of etiology and pathogenesis， at the same time， TCM emphasizes treatment according to syndrome differentiation， during which diagnostic information is collected by the four examination methods and is given a comprehensive analysis to reveal the etiology and pathogenesis8； on the basis of the above-mentioned principles， TCM uses diverse methods to treat diseases， which includes eight medical therapeutic methods in addition to acupuncture and moxibustion， massage， etc.； meanwhile，the science of TCM formulas summarizes the experience of medical practioners of thousands of years， which emphasizes the compatibility of medicines and dosage on the basis of the four tastes and five properties of herbal medicine， in short， TCM has been proved effective in medical practice under the guidance of unique TCM theory by integrating its own theory， diagnosis，prescription. Thirdly， TCM experiences refinement process，during which special medical systems such as internal medicine，surgical department， gynaecology and pediatrics are formed，every special medical system forms its own theory and has its own famous doctors， literature， which develop and improve in the practice.

Therefore， it is safe to say that TCM is the accumulation and crystallization of medical knowledge during practice of thousands of years， which has an unparallel advantage compared with western medicine. In reality， TCM is world-widely recognized，especially in the field of acupuncture and moxibustion， which proves the possibility of spreading TCM as an excellent representative， or source culture， of traditional Chinese culture in intercultural communication.

The needs of target culture guarantee the feasibility of TCM intercultural communication

The difference between traditional Chinese culture and western culture is comprehensive， it manifests in the difference between TCM and western medicine in medical field. The features of TCM have been mentioned and that of western medicine lies in two aspects： on the one hand， western medicine is a laboratory medicine， which is from the laboratory to the clinic， its theory formation is open and it is constantly moving toward the micro， meanwhile， it is constantly refined with the development of medicine， its progress and contribution to human health are beyond doubt； on the other hand， the limitation of western medicine has become increasingly evident in recent years： western medicine treats man as a simple organism and the treatment is targeted to the disease location， which causes problems such as the injury of the healthy organs in contraria contrariis， drug-induced diseases caused by excessive treatment，overemphasizing the treatment of physiological diseases while ignoring the psychological diseases caused by physiological diseases， etc.. Namely， western medicine could not solve all the problems in health field while TCM establishes “biology-psychosociety” medical code and guarantees both the physiological and physiological health by comprehensive application of prevention，treatment， rehabilitation， health-care and health education， etc9. Recently， the medical reality has make the western society begin to realize the advantages of TCM and promote the trend of integrated TCM and western medicine.

The contradiction and conflict caused by the cultural differences are very sharp and intense， the difference between TCM and western medicine is no exception， however， due to the unique feature of medicine and the shared goal of curing the sick and saving the patient， the difference between TCM and western medicine is of little significance as long as they both have significant effect in treating diseases. The medical practice also proves that TCM and western medicine are actually learning from each other based on mutual reference. For example， TCM proposes “survival with tumor” in treating cancer and holds the idea of “peaceful coexistence” with tumor， which seems to be absurd but turns out to be effective in treating cancer and improving the survival rate of cancer patients in addition to promoting the quality of life. Therefore， it is natural that many western countries begin to accept TCM thinking and treatment，which is the coexistence of micro rational thinking and holistic thinking in medical practice. In other words， to study sub-health and chronic complex diseases by combining modern biological methods and TCM preventive treatment of disease and dialectical philosophy is the convergence of two systems of cognitive forces in the East and the West， which is also the inevitable trend of modern medicine to the higher level of improvement and development. It is safe to say that “preventive treatment- biologypsycho-society” medical code is the best unification of different cultures in Chinese and western medicine， which embodies the core value of the transformation of the current mode of medical behavior10.

To sum up， TCM integrates the essence of traditional Chinese culture and has been proved effective in treatment， which ensures the status of TCM as a source culture in TCM intercultural communication. At the same time， western society needs and welcomes TCM despite its great difference with western medicine， which is the target culture of TCM intercultural communication. The current tendency of the integration of TCM and western medicine has proved the possibility and feasibility of TCM intercultural communication.

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