Why is their traditional medicine missing? This philosophy professor taught a lesson to traditional Chinese medicine students, from ancient Egypt to ancient Greek horse academies | Marxism | Professor

According to the definition of the World Health Organization, traditional medicine differs from the mainstream system of modern medicine, often utilizing plant-based, mineral based drugs, or psychotherapy, limb therapy, etc. In fact, traditional medicine is not unique to traditional Chinese medicine. From ancient Egypt to ancient Greece, they all had their own traditional medicine, but why did they disappear or become "Western medicine" later on? Recently, Chen Weiping, a professor at the Philosophy Department of East China Normal University and a specially appointed professor at Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, gave a lesson to Chinese medicine students at a 5-day national graduate forum.

Jiefang Daily's Shangguan News reporter learned that traditional Chinese medicine has a long and rich history. During the Shang Dynasty, soup was invented, and during the Western Zhou Dynasty, there was a division of labor among food doctors, disease doctors, ulcer doctors, and veterinarians. During the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, the famous doctor Bian Que proposed the diagnostic method of "looking, smelling, asking, and cutting". As a summary of previous medical practices, the Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon was born over 2000 years ago and is known as the "ancestor of medical practitioners.".

In the history of world medicine, ancient Egypt has also created brilliant medical achievements. This can be seen from three medical manuscripts - Ebers papyrus, Smith papyrus, and Kahun papyrus. But since Egypt was conquered by King Alexander the Great of Macedonia, its traditional medicine has been forgotten.

Ancient Indian medicine is also quite rich, such as the book "Atha Veda" which records 77 diseases and prescribes corresponding prescriptions, and there are also medical masterpieces such as the "Shirakapa Collection" and "Miaowen Collection". However, due to the invasion of the Aryans later on, ancient Indian medicine also gradually disappeared.

The medicine of ancient Greece and Rome was very prosperous, and many theories were proposed, such as Hippocrates' four body fluid theory, Galen's human body theory, Aristotle's Enthronic vitality theory, and so on. However, with the interruption of ancient Greek and Roman civilizations, their traditional medicine was either abandoned or lost.

In Chen Weiping's view, the classic ancient book "Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon" proves from one aspect that Chinese civilization is the only original civilization in the world that has not been interrupted, and has become a prominent symbol of the never-ending continuity of this civilization. As is well known, the ancient writing of medicine is "毉", and the Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon distinguishes medicine from witchcraft. Its publication is a significant innovation in breaking through the superstition of witchcraft, ghosts, and gods in medicine. He believes that the inclusiveness bestowed upon traditional Chinese medicine by the Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon can still be maintained and promoted even after the introduction of Western medicine, making the integration of Chinese and Western medicine a natural consensus in the field of traditional Chinese medicine.

The Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon is divided into two major parts: "Su Wen" and "Ling Shu". Among them, "Ling Shu · Ying Health Association" emphasizes that "human beings and heaven and earth are in harmony", and requires that human physiological activities be consistent with natural laws to protect life and health; The book "Su Wen: The Theory of Innocence in Ancient Times" also proposes the concept of "inner defense of the mind, and peace of mind during illness", further using mental health as a barrier to resist diseases. On the basis of harmony between humans and the external environment, as well as the harmony of the internal blood and gas of the human body, the Inner Canon further proposes the standard of "harmony" as the core, which is the "constant peace of the human body", that is, the standard of health and disease-free. "In summary, it means harmony between heaven and humanity, harmony between form and spirit, and harmony between qi and blood," Chen Weiping told teachers and students of various schools.

How can ideological and political education in traditional Chinese medicine colleges integrate and integrate traditional culture, especially traditional medical culture, while adhering to the principles of integrity rather than conservatism and respecting the past rather than restoring it? Yang Yongqing, Vice President of Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, introduced at the forum that Shanghai Traditional Chinese Medicine was selected as one of the first key experimental universities for the construction of "Great Ideological and Political Courses" in Shanghai last year, focusing on building the "Great Ideological and Political Courses" brand with "characteristics of Shanghai universities" and "characteristics of traditional Chinese medicine industry universities". This year, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine has also been selected as a university for the construction of characteristic Marxist colleges in Shanghai.

At the first National Postgraduate Forum on Marxist Theory in Higher Chinese Medicine Colleges and Universities, the National Alliance for Postgraduate Training in Marxist Theory in Higher Chinese Medicine Colleges and Universities was officially established. Min Hui, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of Shanghai Municipal Education and Health Work and Deputy Director of the Municipal Education Commission, stated that since the beginning of this year, in accordance with the deployment of the Municipal Party Committee, a number of key Marxist colleges and characteristic Marxist colleges in Shanghai universities have been selected and launched, with a clear requirement to further focus on the "two combinations", especially in integrating excellent traditional Chinese culture into disciplinary construction, ideological and political course construction, and theoretical research and promotion.

Regarding Professor Li Ran, Dean of the School of Marxism at Fudan University, who proposed the "Three Horses" approach, which means that graduate students at the School of Traditional Chinese Medicine must attend the core curriculum system well, including the development history of Marxism, Marxist classics, and contemporary Chinese Marxism, Chen Weiping suggested that in addition to this, students at the School of Traditional Chinese Medicine also need to learn a "General History of Traditional Chinese Medicine" and integrate it into excellent traditional Chinese culture.