Traditional Chinese Medicine, also known as TCM (simplified Chinese: 中医; traditional Chinese: 中醫; pinyin: zhōng yī), includes a range of traditional medical practices originating in China. Although well accepted in the mainstream of medical care throughout East Asia, it is considered an alternative medical system in much of the western world.
TCM practices include such treatments as herbal medicine (中药), acupuncture, dietary therapy, and both Tui na and Shiatsu massage. Qigong and Taijiquan are also closely associated with TCM.
TCM claims to be rooted in meticulous observation of nature, the cosmos, and the human body, and to be thousands of years old. Major theories include those of Yin-yang, the Five Phases, the human body Channel system, Zang Fu organ theory, six confirmations, four layers, etc. Modern TCM was systematized in the 1950s under the People’s Republic of China and Mao Zedong
