Inherit the TCM quintessence "Refine" good ointment with ingenuity

TCM has always been praised as the treasure of Chinese traditional culture and the key to opening the treasure house of Chinese civilization. The development of TCM needs inheritance and innovation. So, for the TCM ointment, which is one of its characteristic therapies, how to keep pace with the times, advance with the times, be inclusive, and what valuable experience is worth sharing in the application of ointment in clinical treatment ?How can the health care concept of "preventive treatment of disease with ointment" benefit more people?

 

Modern people can not live without the TCM health preservation

The ointment has a long history. It originated in the Han and Tang Dynasties. There is a record of the ointment in the "Inner Canon of Huangdi".In the Tang Dynasty, what was called ointment was taken either internally or externally, mainly for treatment; what was called decoction was mostly taken orally, and besides being used for treatment, was also used as medicine or tonic for health preservation. The traditional Chinese medicine and pharmacology in China embodies profound philosophical wisdom and thousands of years of health preservation concepts and practical experience of the Chinese nation. However, with the advancement of modern medicine, there are more and more doubts about TCM. Will TCM be ruined by the traditional Chinese drug? Will western medicine replace TCM and force it to withdraw from the modern medical stage...

Faced with all kinds of doubts, Professor Guo Yinglu, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, does not agree." I am not only 'friendly' to TCM, but also respect TCM, love TCM. The fact is here, the Chinese have survived for thousands of years, how to achieve it without TCM?" he says.

Shi Dazhuo, member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and vice president of Xiyuan Hospital of China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, holds that on the basis of the traditional yin-yang dialectical thought, after more than two thousand years of repeated practice by physicians of generations, TCM has formed certain laws and norms through practice, and accumulated effective methods in the struggle of controlling related diseases through the ages "TCM is a developing science, and neither a self-styled discipline nor a stagnant medical means." Referring to the future development of Chinese medicine, Shi Dazhuo says that 3 aspects, inheritance, development and innovation, are indispensable. To protect and promote traditional Chinese medicine, it is necessary to avoid TCM becoming "museum medicine".

In fact, many modern medical and health care knowledge is reflected in ancient books of traditional Chinese medicine, but this point is often ignored by modern people. According to Ma Guansheng, director of Nutrition and Food Department of School of Public Health, Peking University, the "Inner Canon of Huangdi" is an early dietary guide. While the dietary guide for Chinese residents has made a lot of publicity, the TCM theory, health care knowledge and theory have not been well promoted and publicized, which is also a challenge faced by modern scholars in popularizing science. "In the newer version of the dietary guide, many basic things still do not leave the "Inner Canon of Huangdi". For example, the traces of many basic contents of the year can still be found in the suggestions of taking cereals as staple food, maintaining a variety of foods, and achieving a balance between eating and exercise."

 

Strong demand for ointment or tonic-categorized Chinese medicine

In recent years, with the further improvement of people's awareness of ointment and health preservation, more and more people use it as a fashionable choice for the pursuit of health. Therefore, ointment, the bright pearl in the ancient Chinese health preservation culture, has gradually become a symbol of modern people's pursuit of high-quality life, and at the same time, has become a female health preservation holy product sold overseas.

The reason why the ointment is "the flower blooming inside the wall, with the fragrance outside the wall" is mainly due to the wide recognition of TCM by people in foreign countries. According to Sun Yongzhang, director of the International Exchange Department of China Association of Chinese Medicine, at present, Chinese medicine has spread to 183 countries and regions, there are more than 100,000 Chinese medicine clinics around the world, and there are as many as 300,000 overseas practitioners. Sun Yongzhang says: "during my 10 years of working in the International Department of the Chinese Academy of Chinese Medicine, I have found that different regions of the world have different demands for Chinese medicine, especially in Southeast Asia, including the Arab region, where there is a strong demand for ointment or tonic-categorized traditional Chinese medicine."

The popularity of the ointment is inseparable from the quality and efficacy of the ointment. The ointment is the product of the effect of rain on the soil. The ointment in TCM is a fluid ointment that moisturizes the human body. The application range of the ointment is very wide. A large number of practices in ancient and modern times have proved that its indications have many aspects.

 

Ingenious craftsmanship, inherited from ancient methods

It's not easy to boil ointment in TCM. It's a technical job as well as a conscience job to boil a really good ointment.

Taking Qihuang paste as an example. From small copper pot to stainless steel pot to Tongshan aseptic workshop, the ancient manual method has always been adhered to. Different from the previous methods of temperature control by machine and assembly line processing, the ancient method is meticulous and complicated. The preparation of Qihuang paste requires 12 hours of immersion, 3 times of extraction, 4 times of concentration, 48 hours of gelatinization, 3 times of strong fire, and thickening with gentle fire, and undergoes 8 processes, including selection, preparation, washing, soaking, frying, secreting, filtering and collection, which retains the essence of the traditional paste boiling process.

The essence of traditional Chinese medicine should be inherited, but the broadness and profundity of traditional Chinese medicine should not be used as a gimmick to make a show, for example, putting the stove and copper pot on the street to boil the ointment. In his view, doing so can only backfire.

The real good cream smells without scorching and odor, but has a slight medicinal smell, and no sugar crystal is precipitated. The quality of ointment and tonic is closely related to the ability of the person who boils the ointment. Wen Changlu says that in the history of the application of Chinese medicine, ointment has gradually entered the common people from the medicine list of royal, wealthy and tonic families. However, it should be noted that the ointment cannot be regarded as a panacea, nor can it be mistakenly regarded as a little sweet ointment that is not necessary, an innocuous dietary treatment, or a panacea that can be used for all diseases. The ointment is only one of the formulations of traditional Chinese medicine preparations, and eating the ointment is only one option among many treatment methods, which must be carried out under the guidance of a doctor. Wen Changlu specially reminds that sellers of ointments should make medicine with conscience, and they should speak with conscience when introducing ointments, and only in this way can Chinese medicine advance and the plaster industry develop healthily.