In China, medicine debate rages
While it is big in the West, TCM is being criticised in ChinaJane Macartney and Sophie Yu
It’s been one of those Beijing winters when flu is landing half the population in bed with a fever. But the talk is not of flu vaccinations. It is of how to find a pharmacy that hasn’t sold out of woad root. Shelves have been emptied by Chinese returning to their traditional medicine roots, literally, for a cure.
For Zheng Jinsheng, a professor of the Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, such actions are wholly sensible because they demonstrate that the Chinese recognise the value of the herbal remedies upon which they have relied for centuries.
But all this is anathema to Professor Zhang Gongyao, an outspoken critic of traditional Chinese medicine whose views have created a furore in Chinese medical circles.
The argument centres largely on whether consumption of usually vile-tasting concoctions of such exotic-sounding ingredients as powdered deer horn, simmered seahorse and boiled bat droppings, along with countless dried plants, offer an effective cure for ailments ranging from the common cold to rheumatism, gastritis and migraines.
Zhang, the critic, believes that China needs to adopt a more questioning approach. “TCM has no clear understanding of the human body, of the functions of medicines and their links to disease. It’s like a boat without a compass: it may reach the shore but it’s all up to luck.”
His online petition demands that traditional medicine be stripped of its mention in the Chinese Constitution and that such treatments should no longer be covered by medical insurance. His appeal has attracted only 200 signatures, but that response fails to reflect the full extent of the controversy surrounding Chinese medicine.
Almost every scholar has a view, and many are locked in fierce debate in internet chat-rooms. The divisions are also visible in the choices of the sick. Chinese are flocking in increasing numbers to Western hospitals. Western doctors total about two million, while, in contrast, the number of Chinese practitioners has halved since the 1949 Communist takeover to fewer than 300,000. Traditional practices are increasingly being marginalised and regarded as an alternative therapy.
The shift is taking place in spite of government support for traditional medicine and a statement from the Ministry of Health that describes Zhang’s views as “ignorant of history”.
Proponents recognise the limitations of TCM and the importance of proper practice. Most agree that poorly trained doctors who prescribe incorrectly mixed herbal medicines or patients who exceed proper consumption of these drugs are giving traditional medicine a bad name. Zheng says: “It is unreasonable to attack TCM because of the mistakes of a few doctors. There are toxins in both traditional Chinese medicines and in Western medicines and it all depends on how you take it.” He argues that the same standards apply to Western medicine.
The system in China in which Western hospitals stand next to their traditional counterparts, and where patients can claim insurance for both, endeavours to combine the best of both. Zheng argues for moderation. “We are like two friendly armies but with different equipment and theories of battle, but we are fighting one enemy. They are good at mountain battles and we are good at fighting on the plains.”
But sceptics worry that substandard herbs, unregulated ingredients and methods of diagnosis such as reading the pulse or the iris of the eye, are just plain dangerous to health.
Fang Zhouzi, a biochemist, has won a reputation for rooting out academic fraud, and the risk of poisons in traditional remedies is one that he finds particularly worrying. Some treatments contain heavy metals, others traces of mercury or arsenic. Acupuncture, too, gives him concern. At what angle should the needles be inserted, and how deep? Fang and his fellow doubters worry that the lack of scientific research in the Western manner is letting traditional practitioners get away with murder.
Zhang scoffs: “What exactly is the pulse? Do they mean the flow of blood, or is it the heartbeat, the breath and the softness of the blood vessels? Some doctors boast that they can even tell if a woman is pregnant from reading her pulse. The biggest problem is that there is no standard.”
There is little doubt that this 3,000-year-old system has come in for serious questioning in its homeland. But even those opposed do not believe that traditional medicine will disappear. It’s too deeply ingrained in the Chinese system. Chinese will choose their foods, for example, depending on the season and without even knowing the medical reasoning that is the foundation for the choice of diet.
Thus beef and lamb are winter foods that can raise the heat in the body, while crab and papaya are cooling and appropriate summer dishes. A new mother will not bathe for a certain number of days after the birth or step outside.
Fu Jinghua, who trained in Western medicine and later became a respected author and expert on traditional medicine, responds with a patient smile to the attacks. “This is just not the era of Chinese medicine. But we must just flow with history. At the moment Western medicine has the upper hand, but one day the tide will turn and we will see that Chinese medicine will be recognised for its superiority.”
Meanwhile, sales of “Influenza Number One” are booming.
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In China, medicine debate rages
在中国，对药学的激烈争论
While it is big in the West, TCM is being criticised in ChinaJane Macartney and Sophie Yu 虽然在西方大行其道，传统药物在受到华人和Sophie Yu的非难。
It’s been one of those Beijing winters when flu is landing half the population in bed with a fever. But the talk is not of flu vaccinations. It is of how to find a pharmacy that hasn’t sold out of woad root. Shelves have been emptied by Chinese returning to their traditional medicine roots, literally, for a cure. 这是北京的一个冬天，当禽流感来临时，一半的人在床上发烧。但是当前的话题不是注射禽流感疫苗，而是怎么才能找到一个没有卖光板蓝根的药房。药架上的传统药物板蓝根，毫不夸张地说，已经被中国人买光了，只是为了治疗。
For Zheng Jinsheng, a professor of the Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, such actions are wholly sensible because they demonstrate that the Chinese recognise the value of the herbal remedies upon which they have relied for centuries. 中国医学科学院的郑金生认为，这个行为是明智的，因为在几个世纪中国人就开始依赖中草药了，所以他们认识到中草药的价值。
But all this is anathema to Professor Zhang Gongyao, an outspoken critic of traditional Chinese medicine whose views have created a furore in Chinese medical circles. 但是张功耀教授讨厌这样的事，他直言无讳的对中医进行批评，中医的观点在中国医学界引起了狂热。
The argument centres largely on whether consumption of usually vile-tasting concoctions of such exotic-sounding ingredients as powdered deer horn, simmered seahorse and boiled bat droppings, along with countless dried plants, offer an effective cure for ailments ranging from the common cold to rheumatism, gastritis and migraines. 争论的焦点主要是外来探测成分，如鹿角的恶劣的味觉成分。即将沸腾的海马和煮熟的蝙蝠和无数的干植物一起流出，提供对从普通感冒到风湿，胃炎和偏头痛的有效地的治疗。
Zhang, the critic, believes that China needs to adopt a more questioning approach. “TCM has no clear understanding of the human body, of the functions of medicines and their links to disease. It’s like a boat without a compass: it may reach the shore but it’s all up to luck.” 一个张姓的批评者认为中国需要采取更多疑问的方式。传统中药对人体、药物的功能和人体和药物功能与疾病的关系都缺乏了解。这就像一条没有指南针的船，能到达彼岸都是靠的运气。
His online petition demands that traditional medicine be stripped of its mention in the Chinese Constitution and that such treatments should no longer be covered by medical insurance. His appeal has attracted only 200 signatures, but that response fails to reflect the full extent of the controversy surrounding Chinese medicine. 张先生在网上请愿认为传统医学应该通过中国宪法禁止，而且不应该包括在医疗保险的范围内。虽然他的申请只得到了200人的签名声援，但是这并不能正确反映对于中药全范围内的争论。
Almost every scholar has a view, and many are locked in fierce debate in internet chat-rooms. The divisions are also visible in the choices of the sick. Chinese are flocking in increasing numbers to Western hospitals. Western doctors total about two million, while, in contrast, the number of Chinese practitioners has halved since the 1949 Communist takeover to fewer than 300,000. Traditional practices are increasingly being marginalised and regarded as an alternative therapy. 几乎每一个学者都有一个观点，许多在互联网上的聊天室里进行热烈的讨论。对于患者的选择分歧也是显而易见的。中国西式医院不断增长，西医的数量达到了200百万，然而，在1949年新中国成立时，中医占医生的一半，少于30万，中医从业者迅速变为边缘，被用于西医无法治疗的替代疗法。
The shift is taking place in spite of government support for traditional medicine and a statement from the Ministry of Health that describes Zhang’s views as “ignorant of history”. 虽然政府支持中医药，并且卫生部认为张的观点是不懂历史，但是西医逐渐替换中医正在进行中。
Proponents recognise the limitations of TCM and the importance of proper practice. Most agree that poorly trained doctors who prescribe incorrectly mixed herbal medicines or patients who exceed proper consumption of these drugs are giving traditional medicine a bad name. Zheng says: “It is unreasonable to attack TCM because of the mistakes of a few doctors. There are toxins in both traditional Chinese medicines and in Western medicines and it all depends on how you take it.” He argues that the same standards apply to Western medicine. 支持者认识到了传统中药的局限性和正确使用的重要性。大多数人认为没有经过良好训练的医生，不能开出正确的中草药的药方和不能正确服用药物的患者给传统药物带来了坏名声。郑说，因为几个医生的错误而攻击传统药物是不合理的。传统药物和西药都有毒性，关键看你怎用服用它。他认为应用西药也应该使用相同的标准。
The system in China in which Western hospitals stand next to their traditional counterparts, and where patients can claim insurance for both, endeavours to combine the best of both. Zheng argues for moderation. “We are like two friendly armies but with different equipment and theories of battle, but we are fighting one enemy. They are good at mountain battles and we are good at fighting on the plains.” 中国的体制中，西医医院和中医医院应该共同存在，患者可以选择其中的任何一个，中药和西药需要一起更好地为患者服务。郑赞成这个中立的观点。我们希望两个具有不同装备和战斗理论的友好军队，共同对付我们的敌人。有的擅长山地战有的擅长平原战。
But sceptics worry that substandard herbs, unregulated ingredients and methods of diagnosis such as reading the pulse or the iris of the eye, are just plain dangerous to health. 但是怀疑者担心低标准的草药、不确定的成分和摸脉搏或者看眼睛虹膜这样的诊断方法，会影响人们的健康。
Fang Zhouzi, a biochemist, has won a reputation for rooting out academic fraud, and the risk of poisons in traditional remedies is one that he finds particularly worrying. Some treatments contain heavy metals, others traces of mercury or arsenic. Acupuncture, too, gives him concern. At what angle should the needles be inserted, and how deep? Fang and his fellow doubters worry that the lack of scientific research in the Western manner is letting traditional practitioners get away with murder. 方舟子，一个生物化学家，因科学的打假而出名。中草药的毒性是他特别担心的。一些治疗包括重金属，其他还有微量的汞和砷。针灸也使他担心的。什么角度进针，需要刺入多深。方和他的同志们担心以为缺少西方形式的科学研究而因为谋杀而被遗弃。
Zhang scoffs: “What exactly is the pulse? Do they mean the flow of blood, or is it the heartbeat, the breath and the softness of the blood vessels? Some doctors boast that they can even tell if a woman is pregnant from reading her pulse. The biggest problem is that there is no standard.” 张嘲笑道，什么的脉搏是准确的，他们意味着血流，还是心跳，或者是呼吸，还是血管的柔软度。一些医生夸耀他们可以通过摸脉搏来确定妇女的怀孕。最重要的是这里没有标准。
There is little doubt that this 3,000-year-old system has come in for serious questioning in its homeland. But even those opposed do not believe that traditional medicine will disappear. It’s too deeply ingrained in the Chinese system. Chinese will choose their foods, for example, depending on the season and without even knowing the medical reasoning that is the foundation for the choice of diet. 毫无疑问这个有3000年历史的体系在他的发源国遇到了严重的质疑。但是即使是反对者也不认为传统药物会消失。在中国的体系中他是根深蒂固的。中国人会选择他们的食物，例如他们会根据四季而不是医学推理作为他们选择食物的基础。
Thus beef and lamb are winter foods that can raise the heat in the body, while crab and papaya are cooling and appropriate summer dishes. A new mother will not bathe for a certain number of days after the birth or step outside. 牛肉和羊肉可以在机体产生热量，在冬天食用。螃蟹和木瓜清热，在夏天食用。一个刚生过小孩的母亲在外出或者刚生过小孩的一段日子里不洗澡。
Fu Jinghua, who trained in Western medicine and later became a respected author and expert on traditional medicine, responds with a patient smile to the attacks. “This is just not the era of Chinese medicine. But we must just flow with history. At the moment Western medicine has the upper hand, but one day the tide will turn and we will see that Chinese medicine will be recognised for its superiority.” 付菁华，曾经学习西药，但是后来成为一名令人尊敬的传统药学学者和专家，对于别人的攻击，她总还以微笑，这不是中药的时代。但是我们必须跟随历史的潮流，在这时，西药占上风，但是有一天，大潮会改变，我们会发现中药会被认为更优秀。
Meanwhile, sales of “Influenza Number One” are booming.
在中国，对药学的激烈争论
虽然在西方大行其道，传统药物在受到华人和Sophie Yu的非难。这是北京的一个冬天，当禽流感来临时，一半的人在床上发烧。但是当前的话题不是注射禽流感疫苗，而是怎么才能找到一个没有卖光板蓝根的药房。药架上的传统药物板蓝根，毫不夸张地说，已经被中国人买光了，只是为了治疗。中国医学科学院的郑金生认为，这个行为是明智的，因为在几个世纪中国人就开始依赖中草药了，所以他们认识到中草药的价值。但是张功耀教授讨厌这样的事，他直言无讳的对中医进行批评，中医的观点在中国医学界引起了狂热。争论的焦点主要是外来探测成分，如鹿角的恶劣的味觉成分。即将沸腾的海马和煮熟的蝙蝠和无数的干植物一起流出，提供对从普通感冒到风湿，胃炎和偏头痛的有效地的治疗。一个张姓的批评者认为中国需要采取更多疑问的方式。传统中药对人体、药物的功能和人体和药物功能与疾病的关系都缺乏了解。这就像一条没有指南针的船，能到达彼岸都是靠的运气。张先生在网上请愿认为传统医学应该通过中国宪法禁止，而且不应该包括在医疗保险的范围内。虽然他的申请只得到了200人的签名声援，但是这并不能正确反映对于中药全范围内的争论。几乎每一个学者都有一个观点，许多在互联网上的聊天室里进行热烈的讨论。对于患者的选择分歧也是显而易见的。中国西式医院不断增长，西医的数量达到了200百万，然而，在1949年新中国成立时，中医占医生的一半，少于30万，中医从业者迅速变为边缘，被用于西医无法治疗的替代疗法。虽然政府支持中医药，并且卫生部认为张的观点是不懂历史，但是西医逐渐替换中医正在进行中。支持者认识到了传统中药的局限性和正确使用的重要性。大多数人认为没有经过良好训练的医生，不能开出正确的中草药的药方和不能正确服用药物的患者给传统药物带来了坏名声。郑说，因为几个医生的错误而攻击传统药物是不合理的。传统药物和西药都有毒性，关键看你怎用服用它。他认为应用西药也应该使用相同的标准。中国的体制中，西医医院和中医医院应该共同存在，患者可以选择其中的任何一个，中药和西药需要一起更好地为患者服务。郑赞成这个中立的观点。我们希望两个具有不同装备和战斗理论的友好军队，共同对付我们的敌人。有的擅长山地战有的擅长平原战。但是怀疑者担心低标准的草药、不确定的成分和摸脉搏或者看眼睛虹膜这样的诊断方法，会影响人们的健康。方舟子，一个生物化学家，因科学的打假而出名。中草药的毒性是他特别担心的。一些治疗包括重金属，其他还有微量的汞和砷。针灸也使他担心的。什么角度进针，需要刺入多深。方和他的同志们担心以为缺少西方形式的科学研究而因为谋杀而被遗弃。张嘲笑道，什么的脉搏是准确的，他们意味着血流，还是心跳，或者是呼吸，还是血管的柔软度。一些医生夸耀他们可以通过摸脉搏来确定妇女的怀孕。最重要的是这里没有标准。毫无疑问这个有3000年历史的体系在他的发源国遇到了严重的质疑。但是即使是反对者也不认为传统药物会消失。在中国的体系中他是根深蒂固的。中国人会选择他们的食物，例如他们会根据四季而不是医学推理作为他们选择食物的基础。牛肉和羊肉可以在机体产生热量，在冬天食用。螃蟹和木瓜清热，在夏天食用。一个刚生过小孩的母亲在外出或者刚生过小孩的一段日子里不洗澡。付菁华，曾经学习西药，但是后来成为一名令人尊敬的传统药学学者和专家，对于别人的攻击，她总还以微笑，这不是中药的时代。但是我们必须跟随历史的潮流，在这时，西药占上风，但是有一天，大潮会改变，我们会发现中药会被认为更优秀。
字数 1431
个人观点：
从理论上讲：
认为中医是伪科学，是无知的，中医的观点在与整体，她时刻都把然人看作一个整体，在治疗上要求局部服从整体，而不是头痛医头，脚痛医脚。目前，西医也对疾病的治疗采取整体观，我认为把人当作一个整体是一个趋势，所以我认为中医一定有大行其道的一天！
从个人情感讲：
中医是国粹，我们5000年中华民族精华的一部分。作为一个中国人，我应该把我们的国粹发扬光大！
