Chinese Herbal Medical Terminology
Understanding What a TCM Practitioner is Saying About Your Health
When visiting a Traditional Chinese Herbalist a patient may be bombarded with new and confusing words. This article explains some of the most commonly used TCM terms.
Concerned because your Chinese Herbalist has mentioned Liver Qi Stagnation or Heart Blood Deficiency and you have no idea what that means? Here’s a quick look at some basic Traditional Chinese Herbal Medicine terminology to help you understand what’s being said without having to learn Chinese.
Chinese Medical Terms Translated
One of the reasons these terms can be confusing at first is that English language names are used for Traditional Chinese Medicine concepts. Each of the concepts that is translated from the Chinese language as an English language organ or substance that is familiar has a broader and often slightly different meaning in Chinese medicine.
Some Commonly Used TCM Terms
- Qi (Chi):This is one that has never been translated into the English language, largely because of its complexity. This term is one of the most complex in all of Chinese philosophy. The short version of its definition is life force or vital energy. It is the active, functional aspect of the body which flows through the meridians. Yin and Yang are aspects of Qi.
- Blood (Xue): Xue is the PinYin (Chinese symbols interpreted in letters which are pronounced nearly phonetically and based in the Mandarin Chinese language) term. In Traditional Chinese Herbal Medicine, that which nourishes and moistens the tissues throughout the body is called Blood. Blood circulates through the vessels and meridians.
- Exterior: This term does not refer just to the outside of the body per se but includes the lungs because of their direct connection to the outside. When discussing illness for example, Exterior imbalances often refer only to the early stages of the illness.
- Interior: The opposite of Exterior, the viscera and bone marrow are Interior. Interior illness refers to chronic phases of disease. But Interior imbalances can manifest on the outside with some skin conditions being Interior.
- Deficiency or Vacuity (Xu): According to A Practical Dictionary of Chinese Medicine:“Vacuity is weakness of right Qi, that is, the forces that maintain the health of the body and fight disease.” So while Blood Xu or Deficiency or Vacuity does include such western medical conditions as anemia, there are many other forms that it takes in Traditional Chinese Medicine, based on a very detailed assessment done by a Traditional Chinese Medical practitioner.
- Repletion or Excess: Shi is the PinYin term for this condition. In this case the term excess is probably the closest interpretation. When there is a superabundance of any aspect in the body overall balance is lost.
- Stagnation or Stasis ( Yu): Stasis/Stagnation occurs when blood or qi does not flow freely through the vessels and meridians. Stagnation may occur as the result of trauma (including surgery and childbirth) or from Shi or Xu. Heat and Cold may also interrupt the flow of Blood and Qi. When Blood and Qi do not flow freely there is pain.
This quick introduction to Traditional Chinese Medical Terminology has barely touched the surface of a very complex system of health care. Just as it is not possible to completely understand everything a physician says in medical speak without study, TCM requires effort to understand.
Source: Wiseman, N & F Ye. A Practical Dictionary of Chinese Medicine.1998.Paradigm Publications.Brookline MA
Photo Credit: Kevin Rosseel
