The year was 1967. It was the dawn of the Chinese Cultural Revolution. Anti-intellectualism was at its height. Schools and research institutes had been shut down, the great scientific minds of the nation banished to remote camps for re-education. Most scientific fields had ground to a halt entirely.
At the same time, the North Vietnamese Army and Viet Cong were suffering serious losses as malaria spread amongst the soldiers. The North Vietnamese Prime Minister appealed to the Chinese Premier for medical assistance, resulting in the clandestine assembly of some 600 scientists at the Beijing Hotel on the 23rd of May.
That day marked the launch of the secret military research program, Project 523. Pharmaceutical chemist, Tu Youyou, headed the Project's research group at her institute and led the screening of some 2000 Chinese herbs. Three years of investigation led to one notable compound found in sweet wormwood, known as Artemisia annua, or Qinghao as it's known in China.
This work opened the floodgates to the scientific investigation of Chinese herbs, but it's important to note that without consulting the traditional narrative of herbs, the full potential of Artemisia would likely remain hidden to this day.
There is deep traditional wisdom in the traditional herbs and narratives of Chinese Medicine. One can only imagine the potential yet to be unlocked.
The Philosophy of Chinese Herbal Medicine
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) emerged as a formal discipline some 3000 years ago, during the Zhou Dynasty. But the earliest writings on curative herbs are found in the texts Classic of Changes (Yi Jing), written in the late 9th century BCE, and Classic of Poetry (Shi Jing), a compilation of poems ranging from at least 1100 BCE.
The discipline drew on Chinese philosophy and religion, promoting Holism and balance in the body. Ingrained is the metaphysical concept of Yin and Yang, symbolizing polarities such as cold-hot, feminine-masculine, and exterior-interior.
From Tradition to Modern Research
Beginning in the 20th and early 21st centuries, traditional Chinese herbal remedies have come under the scientific lens of the West. This has stirred some discourse around the complete Westernization of traditional techniques, for the sake of preserving long-standing cultural narratives. TCM evolved from some 3000 years of trial and error and is deeply intertwined with cultural beliefs and philosophy.
Thankfully, the last century has seen not so much the deconstruction of traditional herbal narratives, but the development of traditional and modern medicine in tandem. This has resulted in a new branch of medicine integrating traditional Chinese and Western disciplines.
Integrative Medicine offers an approach that is both evidence-based and holistic. The strength of each discipline is utilized to address the full system, not merely parts of the whole. By merging the two practices, we hope to further support research into the potential of herbal compounds for the advancement of wellness around the world.
