China is one of the four countries in the world with an ancient civilization.The history of traditional Chinese medicine can be traced back to antiquity.Through several thousand years of medical practice,the Chinese people have accumulated a wealth of experience in fighting against illnesses and thus creating a unique and integrated system of theories.These theories are imbued with the law of the unity of opposites and with the theory of dialectical materialism.The traditional Chinese medicine has been proved to be a science by thousands of years of clinical practice.
The traditional Chinese medical diagnostics includes two parts:the method of diagnosis and the determination of treatment based on the differentiation of symptoms and signs.The method of diagnosis is composed of sizheninspection,auscultation and olfaction,inquiry,and palpation,of which each has its own clinical function.Inspection is the method to see the patients expressions,complexion,physique,posture,tongue and the fur on it and the color of secretion and excrement in order to know the situation of the internal organs.Expressions and the tongue are the most important of them all,Auscultation and olfaction are the methods to listen to the patients sounds and to smell the odour of his/her breath and discharge.The changes of his/her sounds through his/her talking,breathing and coughing and his/her odour can tell chills,fever,hypofunction and hyperfunction.Inquiry is the method to inquire the patient or his/her companions about the onset,the cause and course of the illness,the chief complaints (especially pain),the past history,the living habits and other relevant conditions.As to palpation,pulse feeling is the chief item.
Bagang are yin and yang,exterior and interior,cold and heat,deficiency and excess.They are analyzed and summed up from the data obtained by sizhen to reveal the affected site,the nature and the cause of the disease.In spite of the complexity of diseases,they could be basically summed up into bapang.They may be classified as yin syndromes or yang syndromes in view of the general classification of the disease.Of bagang,yang includes exterior,heat and excess while yin covers interior,cold and deficiency.Thus yin and wang syndromes are the general principles of hugang.
A cardinal feature of the Chinese medicine is fixed on yin and yang.Yin and yang is a view on the universe,which holds that everything in the universe is in an entity of yin and yang.The two forces not only depend upon each other and oppose each other,but also tend to transform and alternate in waxing and waning.They are considered to be the basic law of the universe.For thousands of years,combined with traditional Chinese medical practices,this theory has become one of the guiding ideological traditional Chinese medicine.As these two forces dominate the universe,they control the physical organism,too.Health is dependent upon their existence in proper proportions .
In summary,sizhen and bagang are the guidance and the basis of traditional Chinese medicine diagnostics.(520)
antiquityn古代
integratedadj完整的；綜合的
imbuev灌輸；吸收；影響
dialecticaladj辯證的
materialismn唯物主義
clinicaladj臨床的
diagnosticsn診斷學
differentiationn區別;差別
auscultationn聽診
olfactionn嗅覺
palpationn捫診
physiquen體格
posturen姿態；體態
odourn氣味
hypofunctionn機能減退；體能下降
hyperfunctionn機能增強
exterioradj.外麵的；外在的
interioradj內在的
syndromen綜合病症
cardinaladj主要的;基本的
ⅠAnswer the questions.
1What is sizhen?
2What is bagang?
3Which do you like better? The traditional Chinese medicine or the Western pills?
4After reading the passage,do you think which is indispensible in curing the patients?
5Do you think the traditional Chinese medicine is dependable,why?
ⅡFill in the blanks with the correct words from the passage.
1.
2The traditional Chinese medical diagnostics includes two parts:.
3The method of diagnosis is composed of sizhen
4Bagang are.
5Sizhen and bagang are the
Traditional Chinese Medicine is an integral part of Chinese culture.It has made great contributions to the prosperity of China.Today both of traditional Chinese medicine and Western medicine are being used in providing medical and health services in China.Traditional Chinese medicine,with its unique diagnostic methods,systematic approach,abundant historical literature and materials,has attracted much attention from the international community.
Traditional Chinese medicine has rich philosophical significance,which is very different from Western medicine.Usually a Chinese medicine practitioner approaches the illness from a broader perspective,emphasizing its entirety and dialectical implications.This is why some people view it as holistic medicine.In contrast,a Western doctor deals directly with the symptoms.For instance,if someone has a sore throat,a Western doctor will treat it as a throat problem,while a Chinese doctor may link it to the disorder of the patients stomach.In addition,the difference between Chinese and Western medicines is the process.A Chinese doctor examines his patient by using methods like observing,smelling,asking and feeling.His Western counterpart relies on symptoms or evidence,like body temperature and lab tests.The Chinese doctor determines the problems of the patients internal organs by inference of observing various problems of the patients exterior signs,such as complexion or the tongue.A Western doctor,on the other hand,makes his judgment based on the results of a lab test on the internal organs.He then reinforces his judgment by examining exterior symptoms.A Chinese doctor relies on herbal medicines and acupuncture,while a Western doctor uses chemicalbased medicines and surgery.For the choice between Chinese medicine and Western medicine,it depends on the different situations of patients.Usually a Chinese doctor will recommend Western medicine for intensive treatment,and Chinese medicine for recovery.In fact,Chinese medicine is probably more effective in treating some functional diseases where the cause is difficult to discover.