TCM Basics
Core concepts like Yin-Yang, Five Elements, Qi, and the organ systems.
47 articles · Page 1 of 5
TCM Acupoint Categories: Understanding the Special Point Systems
Learn the major acupoint classification systems in TCM — Five Shu Points, Back-Shu Points, Front-Mu Points, Eight Influential Points, and more — and why each category has unique clinical significance.
TCM Organ Relationships: How Zang-Fu Organs Work in Pairs
Understand the six Zang-Fu organ pairings in TCM — how each Yin organ connects to its Yang partner, why treating one affects the other, and how these relationships explain complex symptom patterns.
Phlegm in TCM (痰): Understanding Visible and Invisible Phlegm — The Root of Countless Health Issues
Explore the TCM concept of Phlegm (痰 Tan) — far beyond mucus, it includes nodules, obesity, foggy thinking, and cysts. Learn how phlegm forms, where it hides, and how TCM resolves it through diet, herbs, and lifestyle.
TCM Herb Categories (中药分类): Understanding the 20 Major Groups of Chinese Medicinal Herbs
Learn how TCM organizes its vast materia medica into 20 major herb categories — from heat-clearing and blood-tonifying to exterior-releasing and spirit-calming — and why this system guides every prescription.
TCM Herb Combination Principles (君臣佐使): King, Minister, Assistant, and Courier
Learn the君臣佐使 (Jun Chen Zuo Shi) system — the ancient framework for combining herbs in TCM formulas. Discover how each role creates balanced, synergistic prescriptions that maximize efficacy and minimize side effects.
TCM Herb Processing (炮制 Pao Zhi): Why Raw Herbs Are Transformed Before Use
Discover Pao Zhi (炮制), the traditional art of processing Chinese medicinal herbs. Learn how methods like stir-frying, honey-roasting, and carbonizing change herb properties, reduce toxicity, and enhance therapeutic effects.
The Eight Treatment Methods in TCM: Sweating, Vomiting, Purging, and Beyond
Learn the eight classical treatment methods (汗吐下和温清消补) in Traditional Chinese Medicine — how practitioners choose between sweating, vomiting, purging, harmonizing, warming, clearing, dispersing, and tonifying to restore balance.
Zheng Qi and Xie Qi in TCM: The Battle Between Upright and Pathogenic Energy
Understand the central TCM concept of Zheng Qi (upright energy) vs. Xie Qi (pathogenic energy) — how disease develops when evil overwhelms the righteous, and how treatment restores the balance.
TCM Pathology: How Disease Develops — The Battle Between Zheng Qi and Xie Qi
Understand how Traditional Chinese Medicine explains the development of disease through the conflict between Zheng Qi (upright Qi) and Xie Qi (pathogenic Qi), and why some people get sick while others stay well.
The Holistic Concept in TCM (整体观念): Why Chinese Medicine Treats the Whole Person, Not Just the Disease
Understand the foundational TCM principle of holism (整体观念) — how the body is an interconnected whole, humans and nature are unified, and treatment addresses the complete person rather than isolated symptoms.