Classical Chinese Medicine

Canonical medicine, also known as Classical Chinese medicine (CCM), is an ancient system of healing that has been in use for over 2,000 years.

CCM is considered the peak period of knowledge and practice of Chinese herbal medicine. It is an earlier and original system of Chinese medicine, and it is different from Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) which was developed in the 1950s and 60s under Mao.

While both CCM and TCM are complex systems, CCM is more elemental in nature. TCM was westernized to make it easier to train more doctors and to improve the health of the general population. Mao wanted to modernize Chinese medicine and was impressed by the precision of diagnosis and speed of relief of suffering brought about by allopathic drug therapy.

CCM was traditionally taught in a master-disciple relationship for many hundreds of years.

One major feature of the Classical system is the importance of pulse diagnosis. The body displays how it is dysfunctional, and therefore how it needs to be treated via the different pulse qualities. In CCM, we treat broader and more fundamental/elemental aspects such as yin (form/substance/fluids), yang (function), blood, and qi (gasses/air).

Treatment of the body’s elemental imbalance is achieved with acupuncture and herbal prescription.

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