Chinese traditional herbal medicine is an alternative system of treatment arising from a holistic philosophy of life. It emphasizes the interconnection of the mental, emotional, and physical components within each person, and the importance of harmony between individuals and their social groups, as well as between humanity as a whole and nature. Although Chinese medicine is neither the oldest system recorded by historians, nor the only form of herbal therapy practiced today, it is the oldest continuous surviving tradition of herbal medicine. The only other alternative system of treatment that can be traced as far back as Chinese medicine is the Ayurvedic system of India. It should be noted that traditional Chinese herbal medicine did not develop in complete isolation. As early as the second century B.C., Chinese merchants in India came into contact with Ayurvedic medicine. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries A.D., Chinese trade with the West -- especially with the Dutch -- led to exchanges of information and observations about the use of herbs in medical treatment.
The Chinese attributed their traditional medicine to three legendary emperors: Fu Si (2852 B.C.), who was credited with authorship of the I Ching or Book of Changes, the source of the yin/yang distinction; Shen Nong (3494 B.C.), who compiled the first treatise on herbal medicine, or Shen Nong's Herbal Classic; and Huang Di (2697 B.C.), the Yellow Emperor, regarded as the author of the Yellow Emperor's Inner Classic. This third book is the earliest summary of ancient Chinese medical theories. In their present form, these books were probably written down around the third or fourth centuries B.C.. The first Chinese medical school was founded by the first emperor of the Tang dynasty in 629 A.D. Its foundation was followed by standardization of medical books and a set of formal examinations for doctors. In the centuries that followed, other medical schools were established, the curriculum was expanded, and the examination and licensing process became more comprehensive. Shen Nong's original list of 365 herbal remedies was expanded by Li Shizhen (1590) to 1892 medicines, and by Zhao Xue Min (1765) to 2500.
