In China, TCM is under the administration of State Administration of TCM and Pharmacology. TCM and its development are regulated. National strategies, law and regulations governing TCM are now in place to guide and promote the research and development in this promising industry. ?Evaluation of a syndrome not only includes the cause, mechanism, location, and nature of the disease, but also the confrontation between the pathogenic factor and body resistance. Treatment is not based only on the symptoms, but differentiation of syndromes. Therefore, those with an identical disease may be treated in different ways, and on the other hand, different diseases may result in the same syndrome and are treated in similar ways.

Much of the philosophy of traditional Chinese medicine derives from the same philosophy that informs Taoist and Buddhist thought, and reflects the classical Chinese belief that the life and activity of individual human beings have an intimate relationship with the environment on all levels. In legend, as a result of a dialogue with his minister Qibo , the Yellow Emperor is supposed by Chinese tradition to have composed his “Neijing”: Suwen or “Inner Canon”: Basic Questions.

The book “Huangdi Neijing”, “Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon’s” title is often mistranslated as “Yellow Emperor's Classic of Internal Medicine”. Modern scholarly opinion holds that the extant text of this title was compiled by an anonymous scholar no earlier than the Han dynasty, just over two-thousand years ago.
During the Han Dynasty (202 BC –220 AD), Zhang Zhongjing , the Hippocrates of China, who was mayor of Chang-sha toward the end of the 2nd century AD, wrote a “Treatise on Cold Damage”, which contains the earliest known reference to “Neijing Suwen”. Another prominent Eastern Han physician was Hua Tuo (c. 140 – c. 208 AD), who anesthetized patients during surgery with a formula of wine and powdered cannabis. Hua's physical, surgical, and herbal treatments were also used to cure headaches, dizziness, internal worms, fevers, coughing, blocked throat, and even a diagnosis for one lady that she had a dead fetus within her that needed to be taken out. The Jin dynasty practitioner and advocate of acupuncture and moxibustion, Huang-fu Mi (215 - 282 AD), also quoted the Yellow Emperor in his Jia Yi Jing , 265 AD. During the Tang dynasty, Wang Bing claimed to have located a copy of the originals of the Neijing Suwen, which he expanded and edited substantially. This work was revisited by an imperial commission during the 11th century AD.
There were noted advances in Chinese medicine during the middle ages. Emperor Gaozong ( 649–683) of the Tang Dynasty (618–907) commissioned the scholarly compilation of a materia medica in 657 that documented 833 medicinal substances taken from stones, minerals, metals, plants, herbs, animals, vegetables, fruits, and cereal crops.[2] In his Bencao Tujing ('Illustrated Pharmacopoeia'), the scholar-official Su Song (1020–1101) not only systematically categorized herbs and minerals according to their pharmaceutical uses, but he also took an interest in zoology. For example, Su made systematic descriptions of animal species and the environmental regions they could be found, such as the freshwater crab Eriocher sinensis found in the Huai River running through Anhui, in waterways near the capital city, as well as reservoirs and marshes of Hebei.
TCM of the last few centuries is seen by at least some sinologists as part of the evolution of a culture, from shamans blaming illnesses on evil spirits to "proto-scientific" systems of correspondence. Any reference to supernatural forces is usually the result of romantic translations or poor understanding and will not be found in the Taoist-inspired classics of acupuncture such as the Huang Di Nei Jing. The system's development has, over its history, been analyzed both skeptically and extensively, and the practice and development of it has waxed and waned over the centuries and cultures through which it has travelled - yet the system has still survived thus far. It is true that the focus from the beginning has been on pragmatism, not necessarily understanding of the mechanisms of the actions - and that this has hindered its modern acceptance in the West. This, despite that there were times such as the early 18th century when "acupuncture was a matter of course in polite European society"
The term "TCM" describes the modern practice of Chinese medicine as a result of sweeping reforms that took place after 1950, in the People's Republic of China. The term "Classical Chinese medicine" (CCM) often refers to medical practices that rely on theories and methods dating from before the fall of the Qing Dynasty (1911).

Macerated medicinal liquor with wolfberry, tokay gecko, and ginseng, for sale at a traditional medicine market in Xi'an, China. The history of TCM can be summarized by a list of important doctors and books.
Unknown, Huángdì nèijīng (Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon) - Sùwèn and Língshū . The earliest classic of TCM passed on to the present.

Warring States Period (5th century BC to 221 BC): Silk manuscripts recording channels and collaterals, Zubi shiyi mai jiu jing (Moxibustion Classic of the Eleven Channels of Legs and Arms), and Yinyang shiyi mai jiu jing (Moxibustion Classic on the Eleven Yin and Yang Channels). The latter was part of a cache of texts found in Mawangdui in the 1970s.
Han Dynasty (206 BC–AD 220) to Three Kingdoms Period (220 - 280 AD): Zhenjiu zhenzhong jing by Huà Tuó. Shanghan zabing lun, which has since been split into two texts: the Shānghán lùn ("Treatise on Cold Damage [Disorders]" - focusing on febrile conditions attributed to "Cold") and the Jingui yaolue ("Essentials of the Golden Cabinet" - focusing on "miscellaneous illnesses") by Zhāng Zhòngjǐng
Jìn Dynasty (265-420): Zhēnjiǔ jiǎyǐ jīng (Systematic Classic of Acupuncture and Moxibustion) by Huángfǔ Mì. Tang Dynasty (618–907) Beiji qianjin yaofang (Emergency Formulas Worth a Thousand in Gold) and Qianjin yifang (Supplement to the Formulas Worth a Thousand in Gold) by Sūn Sīmiǎo. Waitai miyao by Wang Tao.
Song Dynasty (960 – 1279): Tóngrén shūxué zhēnjiǔ tújīng (Illustrated Manual of the Practice of Acupuncture and Moxibustion at (the Transmission) (and other) Acu-points, for use with the Bronze Figure) by Wáng Wéiyī.
Yuan Dynasty (1271 to 1368): Shísì jīng fāhuī(Exposition of the Fourteen Channels) by Huá Shòu.
Ming Dynasty (1368 to 1644): golden age of acupuncture and moxibustion. There are many famous doctors and books. To name only a few:
o Zhēnjiǔ dàquan (A Complete Collection of Acupuncture and Moxibustion) by Xu Feng .
o Zhēnjiǔ jùyīng fāhuī(An Exemplary Collection of Acupuncture and Moxibustion and their Essentials) by Gāo Wǔ.
o Zhēnjiǔ dàchéng (Compendium of Acupuncture and Moxibustion) by Yáng Jìzhōu, completed in 1601.
o Běncǎo gāngmù(Compendium of Materia Medica) by Lǐ Shízhēn, the most complete and comprehensive pre-modern herbal book (completed in 1578).
o Wenyi lun (, by Wu Youxing (1642).

Dried plants and animals parts are used in traditional Chinese medicines. In the image are dried Lingzhi, snake, turtle plastron, Luo Han Guo, and species of ginseng.
The foundation principles of Chinese medicine are not necessarily uniform, and are based on several schools of thought. Received TCM are shown to have been influenced by Taoism, Buddhism, and Neo-Confucianism.

Since 1200 BC, Chinese academics of various schools have focused on the observable natural laws of the universe and their implications for the practical characterization of humanity's place in the universe. In the I Ching and other Chinese literary and philosophical classics, Chinese writers described general principles and their applications to health and healing.
Porkers, a Western medical doctor, placed Chinese medical theory in context as: Chinese medicine, like many other Chinese sciences, defines data on the basis of the inductive and synthetic mode of cognition. Inductivity corresponds to a logical link between two effective positions existing at the same time in different places in space. (Conversely, causality is the logical link between two effective positions given at different times at the same place in space.) In other words, effects based on positions that are separate in space yet simultaneous in time are mutually inductive and thus are called inductive effects. In Western science prior to the development of electrodynamics and nuclear physics (which are founded essentially on inductivity), the inductive nexus was limited to subordinate uses in proto sciences such as astrology. Now Western man, as a consequence of two thousand years of intellectual tradition, persists in the habit of making causal connections first and inductive links, if at all, only as an afterthought. This habit must still be considered the biggest obstacle to an adequate appreciation of Chinese science in general and Chinese medicine in particular. Given such different cognitive bases, many of the apparent similarities between traditional Chinese and European science which attract the attention of positivists turn out to be spurious.
The Shen Nong's Herbal Classic, a 2000-year old medicinal Chinese book considered today as the oldest book on oriental herbal medicine, classifies 365 species of roots, grass, woods, furs, animals and stones into three categories of herbal medicine:
? The first category, which is called "superior", including herbs effective for multiple diseases and are mostly responsible for maintaining and restoring the body balance. They have almost no unfavorable side-effects.
? The second category comprises tonics and boosters, for which their consumption must not be prolonged.
? The third category must be taken, usually in small doses, and for the treatment of specific ailments only.
“Lingzhi” ranked number one of the superior medicines, and was therefore the most exalted medicine in ancient times. The ancient Chinese use of mushrooms for medicine, has inspired modern day research into medicinal mushrooms like shiitake, Agaricus blazei, Trametes versicolor, the table mushroom and of course lingzhi. Highly purified compounds isolated from medicinal mushrooms like lentinan (isolated from Shiitake), and Polysaccharide-K, (isolated from Trametes versicolor), have become incorporated into the health care system of countries such as Japan. The compounds are used to stimulate the immune system and promote health.

Traditional Chinese medicine is largely based on the philosophical concept that the human body is a small universe with a set of complete and sophisticated interconnected systems, and that those systems usually work in balance to maintain the healthy function of the human body. The balance of yin and yang is considered with respect to qi ("breath", "life force", or "spiritual energy"), blood, jing ("kidney essence", including "semen"), other bodily fluids, the Wu Xing, emotions, and the soul or spirit (shen).

TCM has a unique model of the body, notably concerned with the meridian system. Unlike the Western anatomical model which divides the physical body into parts, the Chinese model is more concerned with function. Thus, the TCM spleen is not a specific piece of flesh, but an aspect of function related to transformation and transportation within the body, and of the mental functions of thinking and studying.

There are significant regional and philosophical differences between practitioners and schools which in turn can lead to differences in practice and theory.
Theories invoked to describe the human body in TCM include:
? Channels, also known as "meridians"
? Wu Xing
? Qi
? Three jiaos also known as the Triple Burner
? Yin and Yang
? Zang and Fu
The Yin/Yang and five element theories may be applied to a variety of systems other than the human body, whereas Zang Fu theory, meridian theory and three-jiao (Triple warmer) theories are more specific.
There are also separate models that apply to specific pathological influences, such as the Four stages theory of the progression of warm diseases, the Six levels theory of the penetration of cold diseases, and the Eight principles system of disease classification.

Following a macro philosophy of disease, traditional Chinese diagnostics are based on overall observation of human symptoms rather than "micro" level laboratory tests. There are four types of TCM diagnostic methods: observe wàng), hear and smell (wén), ask about background (wèn) and touching (qiè). The pulse-reading component of the touching examination is so important that Chinese patients may refer to going to the doctor as "Going to have my pulse felt."[18]
Traditional Chinese medicine is considered to require considerable diagnostic skill. A training period of years or decades is said to be necessary for TCM practitioners to understand the full complexity of symptoms and dynamic balances. According to one Chinese saying, A good (TCM) doctor is also qualified to be a good prime minister in a country. Modern practitioners in China often use a traditional system in combination with Western methods.

? Palpation of the patient's radial artery pulse (pulse diagnosis) in six positions
? Observations of patient's tongue, voice, hair, face, posture, gait, eyes, ears, vein on index finger of small children
? Palpation of the patient's body (especially the abdomen, chest, back, and lumbar areas) for tenderness or comparison of relative warmth or coolness of different parts of the body
? Observation of the patient's various odors
? Asking the patient about the effects of their problem.
? Anything else that can be observed without instruments and without harming the patient
? Asking detailed questions about their family, living environment, personal habits, food diet, emotions, menstrual cycle for women, child bearing history, sleep, exercise, and anything that may give insight into the balance or imbalance of an individual.

The following methods are considered to be part of Chinese medicine:
1. Acupuncture (from the Latin word acus, "needle", and pungere, meaning "prick") is a technique in which the practitioner inserts fine needles into specific points on the patient's body. Usually about a dozen acupoints are needled in one session, although the number of needles used may range anywhere from just one or two to 20 or more. The intended effect is to increase circulation and balance energy (Qi) within the body.
2. Auriculotherapy , which comes under the heading of Acupuncture and Moxibustion.
3. Chinese food therapy : Dietary recommendations are usually made according to the patient's individual condition in relation to TCM theory. The "five flavors" (an important aspect of Chinese herbalism as well) indicate what function various types of food play in the body. A balanced diet, which leads to health, is when the five functional flavors are in balance. When one is diseased (and therefore unbalanced), certain foods and herbs are prescribed to restore balance to the body.
4. Chinese herbal medicine : In China, herbal medicine is considered as the primary therapeutic modality of internal medicine. Of the approximately 500 Chinese herbs that are in use today, 250 or so are very commonly used. Rather than being prescribed individually, single herbs are combined into formulas that are designed to adapt to the specific needs of individual patients. Herbal formulas can contain anywhere from 3 to 25 herbs. As with diet therapy, each herb has one or more of the five flavors/functions and one of five "temperatures" ("Qi") (hot, warm, neutral, cool, cold). After the herbalist determines the energetic temperature and functional state of the patient's body, he or she prescribes a mixture of herbs tailored to balance disharmony. One classic example of Chinese herbal medicine is the use of various mushrooms, like reishi and shiitake, which are currently under intense study by ethnobotanists and medical researchers for immune system enhancement. Unlike Western herbalism, Chinese herbal medicine uses many animal, mineral and mineraloid remedies, and also uses more products from marine sources.
5. Cupping : A type of Chinese massage, cupping consists of placing several glass "cups" (open spheres) on the body. A match is lit and placed inside the cup and then removed before placing the cup against the skin. As the air in the cup is heated, it expands, and after placing in the skin, cools down, creating a lower pressure inside the cup that allows the cup to stick to the skin via suction. When combined with massage oil, the cups can be slid around the back, offering what some practitioners think of as a reverse-pressure massage.
6. Die-da or Tieh Ta is usually practiced by martial artists who know aspects of Chinese medicine that apply to the treatment of trauma and injuries such as bone fractures, sprains, and bruises. Some of these specialists may also use or recommend other disciplines of Chinese medical therapies (or Western medicine in modern times) if serious injury is involved. Such practice of bone-setting is not common in the West.
7. Gua Sha is a form of mechanical dermabrasion using a hand-held scraper to irritate and inflame various regions of the JingLuo's dermal areas. It is frequently used to treat invasion by seasonal external pathogens.
8. Moxibustion: "Moxa," often used in conjunction with acupuncture, consists in burning of dried Chinese mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris) on acupoints. "Direct Moxa" involves the pinching of clumps of the herb into cones that are placed on acupoints and lit until warm. Typically the burning cone is removed before burning the skin and is thought, after repeated use, to warm the body and increase circulation. Moxa can also be rolled into a cigar-shaped tube, lit, and held over an acupuncture point, or rolled into a ball and stuck onto the back end of an inserted needle for warming effect.
9. Physical Qigong exercises such as Tai chi chuan (Taijiquan ), Standing Meditation , Yoga, Brocade BaDuanJin exercises and other Chinese martial arts.
10. Qigong and related breathing and meditation exercise.
11. Tui na massage: a form of massage akin to acupressure (from which shiatsu evolved). Oriental massage is typically administered with the patient fully clothed, without the application of grease or oils. Choreography often involves thumb presses, rubbing, percussion, and stretches.
12. Some TCM doctors may also utilize esoteric methods that incorporate or reflect personal beliefs or specializations such as “Fengshui” or “Bazi”.

Much of the scientific research on TCM has focused on acupuncture. The effectiveness of acupuncture remains controversial in the scientific community, and a review by Edzard Ernst and colleagues in 2007 found that the body of evidence was growing, research is active, and that the "emerging clinical evidence seems to imply that acupuncture is effective for some but not all conditions". Researchers using the protocols of evidence-based medicine have found good evidence that acupuncture is moderately effective in preventing nausea. A 2008 study suggest that combining acupuncture with conventional infertility treatments such as IVF greatly improves the success rates of such medical interventions. There is conflicting evidence that it can treat chronic low back pain, and moderate evidence of efficacy for neck pain and headache. For most other conditions reviewers have found either a lack of efficacy (e.g., help in quitting smoking) or have concluded that there is insufficient evidence to determine if acupuncture is effective (e.g., treating shoulder pain). While little is known about the mechanisms by which acupuncture may act, a review of neuroimaging research suggests that specific acupuncture points have distinct effects on cerebral activity in specific areas that are not otherwise predictable anatomically. The website Quackwatch mentions that TCM as with many alternative medicines has been the subject of criticism as having unproven efficacy and an unsound scientific basis.
Much less scientific research has been done on Chinese herbal medicines, which comprise much of TCM. Some doubts about the efficacy of many TCM treatments are based on their apparent basis in sympathetic magic (causation due to analogy or similarity) — for example, that plants with heart-shaped leaves will help the heart. While the doctrine of signatures does underlie the selection of many of the ingredients of herbal medicines, this does not necessarily mean that some substances may not (perhaps by coincidence) possess attributed medicinal properties. It is possible that while herbs may have been originally selected on erroneous grounds, only those that were deemed effective have remained in use. Potential barriers to scientific research include the substantial cost and expertise required to conduct double-blind clinical trials, and the lack of financial incentive from the ability to obtain patents.

Acupressure and acupuncture are largely accepted to be safe from results gained through medical studies. Several cases of pneumothorax, nerve damage and infection have been reported as resulting from acupuncture treatments. These adverse events are extremely rare especially when compared to other medical interventions, and were found to be due to practitioner negligence. Dizziness and bruising will sometimes result from acupuncture treatment.
Some governments have decided that Chinese acupuncture and herbal treatments should be administered by persons who have been educated to apply them safely. One Australian report said in 2006, "A key finding is that the risk of adverse events is linked to the length of education of the practitioner, with practitioners graduating from extended traditional Chinese medicine education programs experiencing about half the adverse event rate of those practitioners who have graduated from short training programs."

Certain Chinese herbal medicines involve a risk of allergic reaction and in rare cases involve a risk of poisoning. Cases of acute and chronic poisoning due to treatment through ingested Chinese medicines are found in China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, with a few deaths occurring each year. Many of these deaths do occur however, when patients self prescribe herbs or take unprocessed versions of toxic herbs. The raw and unprocessed form of aconite, or fuzi is the most common cause of poisoning. The use of aconite in Chinese herbal medicine is usually limited to processed aconite, in which the toxicity is denatured by heat treatment.

As an example of the different roles of TCM in China and the West, a person with a broken bone in the West (i.e. a routine, "straightforward" condition) would almost never see a Chinese medicine practitioner, whereas this may be routine in some parts of rural China.
Most Chinese, in China as well as other countries, do not see traditional Chinese medicine and Western medicine as being in conflict. In cases of emergency and crisis situations, there is generally no reluctance in using conventional Western medicine. At the same time, belief in Chinese medicine remains strong in the area of maintaining health. As a simple example, they will see a Western doctor if they have acute appendicitis, but they exercise or take Chinese herbs to keep their bodies healthy enough to prevent appendicitis, or to recover more quickly from the surgery. Very few practitioners of Western medicine in China reject traditional Chinese medicine, and most doctors in China will use some elements of Chinese medicine in their own practice].
A degree of integration between Chinese and Western medicine also exists in China. For instance, at the Shanghai cancer hospital, a patient may be seen by a multidisciplinary team and be treated concurrently with radiation surgery, Western drugs and a traditional herbal formula. A report by the Victorian state government in Australia on TCM education in China noted:
Graduates from TCM university courses are able to diagnose in Western medical terms, prescribe Western pharmaceuticals, and undertake minor surgical procedures. In effect, they practice TCM as a specialty within the broader organization of Chinese health care.
In other countries it is not necessarily the case that traditional Chinese and Western medicine are practiced concurrently by the same practitioner. TCM education in Australia, for example, does not qualify a practitioner to provide diagnosis in Western medical terms, prescribe scheduled pharmaceuticals, nor perform surgical procedures. While that jurisdiction notes that TCM education does not qualify practitioners to prescribe Western drugs, a separate legislative framework is being constructed to allow registered practitioners to prescribe Chinese herbs that would otherwise be classified as poisons.
Traditional Chinese diagnostics and treatments are often much cheaper than Western methods which require high-tech equipment or extensive chemical manipulation. Modern TCM practitioners will refer patients to Western medical facilities if a medical condition is deemed to have put the body too far out of balance for traditional methods to remedy.

Dried seahorses like these are extensively used in traditional medicine in China and elsewhere. Animal products are used in certain Chinese formulae, which may present a problem for vegans and vegetarians. If informed of such restrictions, practitioners can often use alternative substances.

The practice of using endangered species is controversial within TCM. Some claimed uses of certain animal derived ingredients, such as use of the tiger's penis for impotence, cannot be considered true, because the substances in question do not appear in the ingredients lists of the pharmacopoeia. Use of rhinoceros horn (xī jiǎo) for "cooling the blood" was replaced with buffalo horn (shuǐ niú jiǎo) starting from perhaps 5CE, and cow (bovine) bile (niú dǎn) is a modern replacement for bear (ursine) bile (xíong dǎn). An ingredient like "horny goat weed" (yín yáng hoù) is obviously a plant (Epimedium).

Medicinal use is having a major impact on the populations of seahorses, which are considered a fundamental ingredient, and used to treat a variety of disorders, including asthma, arteriosclerosis, incontinence, impotence, thyroid disorders, skin ailments, broken bones, heart disease, as well as to facilitate childbirth and even as an aphrodisiac.
Shark fin soup is traditionally regarded as beneficial for health in East Asia, and its status as an "elite" dish has led to huge demand with the increase of affluence in China, but it is surely having a devastating effect on shark populations. Widespread medicinal use of turtle plastron is of concern to conservationists as well.
Customs of the authority in many countries monitor exports of medicinal products trying to ensure that no items made from CITES-proscribed species are imported. Since in some cases it is difficult to identify from what species a particular processed product has been made, sophisticated biochemical techniques are being developed to make such identification possible.
The animal rights movement notes that a few traditional Chinese medicinal solutions still use bear bile (xíong dǎn). Since 1988, the Chinese Ministry of Health started controlling production of this, which previously used bears killed before winter. The bears are often fitted with a sort of permanent catheter, which was more profitable than killing the bears. The treatment itself and especially the extraction of the bile are very painful for bears, and causes damage to their stomach and intestines, often resulting in their eventual death. However, due to international attention on the issues surrounding its harvesting, bile is now rarely used by practitioners outside of China; gallbladders from butchered cattle (cow bile / niú dǎn) are recommended as a substitute for this ingredient.

Investigation of the active ingredients in TCM has produced well-known drugs such as: Artemisinin, widely used in the treatment of malaria.The clinical diagnosis and treatment in Traditional Chinese Medicine are mainly based on the yin-yang and five elements theories. These theories apply the phenomena and laws of nature to the study of the physiological activities and pathological changes of the human body and its interrelationships. The typical TCM therapies include acupuncture, herbal medicine, and qigong exercises. With acupuncture, treatment is accomplished by stimulating certain areas of the external body. Herbal medicine acts on zang-fu organs internally, while qigong tries to restore the orderly information flow inside the network through the regulation of Qi. These therapies appear very different in approach yet they all share the same underlying sets of assumptions and insights in the nature of the human body and its place in the universe.